FR2745702A1 - Container to hold tall objects such as flowers - Google Patents

Abstract

The container (1) has a hole (3) in the top in which the objects are held. Radial tongues (5) are fixed to the periphery of the top of the container and their free ends are turned inwards. The tongues flex downwards when the objects are put into the container and prevent their removal. The tongues are adjacent and their free ends define the central hole (6). The container is made in moulded plastics material and the tongues are made in one piece with the container.

Description

"Container intended to receive elongated objects in particular a flower vase, the entrance of which includes means for retaining the objects"
The present invention relates to a container intended to receive elongated objects, in particular a flower vase, comprising an entry intended to allow passage to a predetermined length of the objects.

 The beauty of a bouquet of flowers depends not only on its composition but also on the vase in which it is kept. In fact, when the vase used is too large, the flowers tend to separate from each other and to spread out around the periphery of the vase's entrance, tilting sharply outwards. Such a distribution of flowers unfortunately has a detrimental effect on the configuration and the beauty of the bouquet.

 In addition, when florists sell flowers in a bouquet, they place them in packages that they usually make on site from a strip of transparent material. However, these packages are not fully satisfactory to florists who find them difficult and tedious to make, nor to customers for whom they are bulky.

 The present invention proposes to provide a solution to the problems described above and, to do this, it relates to a container, in particular a flower vase, which is characterized in that its inlet is provided with retaining means to keep grouped objects partially introduced into the container and to prevent their extraction from it.

 The flowers arranged in a vase according to the invention remain against each other in a practically vertical position, even if they are few.

The bouquet they constitute therefore retains its original configuration and beauty.

 The vase according to the invention can moreover be used as packaging by the florist, its retaining means being opposed to an accidental or involuntary extraction of the flowers during transport.

 The tedious preparation of packages of current flower bouquets from strip material can therefore now be avoided. The transport of the bouquets arranged in vases in accordance with the invention is also facilitated, the latter being less bulky than the packaging of conventional bouquets.

 According to a particular embodiment of the invention, the retaining means are constituted by radial tongues fixed at the periphery of the inlet and whose free ends are rotated towards the center of the latter, the tongues bending inwards of the container during the introduction of the objects and bracing against them during their extraction.

 It will be noted here that in order to be able to extract the objects from the container, it suffices to exert downward pressure on the tongues in order to release the objects from the latter's grip, this pressure being able to be exerted with one hand while objects can be extracted with the other hand.

 Preferably, the tongues are adjacent while their free ends delimit an opening whose center coincides with the center of the entry.

 The container according to the invention is further characterized in that it can be made of molded plastic and in that the retaining means can be made in one piece with the container.

Two embodiments of the present invention will be described below by way of non-limiting example with reference to the accompanying drawing in which
- Figure 1 is a schematic perspective view of a container according to the invention, intended to receive elongated objects such as canes or umbrellas and
- Figure 2 is a schematic sectional view of a flower vase according to the invention.

 Figure 1 shows a container for receiving elongated objects such as canes or umbrellas, while Figure 2 shows a flower vase.

 The container visible in Figure 1 keeps the objects against each other in a substantially vertical position, even if the number of objects it contains is small.

 It comprises a cylindrical body 1 provided with a flat bottom 2 and an inlet 3 axially spaced from the bottom 2.

 The inlet 3 is provided with retaining means 4 intended to hold the objects grouped together against each other after they have been placed in the container and to prevent inadvertent extraction of the objects from the latter.

 The retaining means 4 are constituted by radial tongues S fixed at the periphery of the inlet 3 and whose free ends are turned towards the center of the latter.

 The tongues S are flexible so as to be able to flex towards the inside of the container during the introduction of the objects and to brace against them during their extraction. They are arranged one after the other and leave little or no free space between them. In addition, their free ends define a circular opening 6, the center of which coincides with the center of the inlet 3.

 It goes without saying that the container could have a square or rectangular cross section. In this case, the tongues S could be produced so that their free ends delimit an opening which is no longer circular but square or rectangular.

 The flower vase shown in Figure 2 has a body 1a having a curved side wall, a flat bottom 2a and an inlet 3a located above the bottom 2a.

 The inlet 3a is in turn provided with retaining means 4a intended to group the flowers against each other and to prevent an involuntary subsequent extraction of these flowers.

 The retaining means 4a here again consist of radial tongues fixed to the periphery of the inlet 3a and whose free ends are turned towards the center of the latter and delimit a circular opening 6a centered on the longitudinal axis of the vessel.

 It will be noted here that the container and the vase visible in FIGS. 1 and 2 are preferably made of molded plastic and that the radial tongues S and Sa have come integrally with the bodies 1 and 1a respectively.

 Of course, the tongues S and Sa could be produced independently of the bodies 1 and la and be fixed to the latter by gluing, welding, interlocking, etc.

 It is clear from the above that the containers according to the invention make it possible to keep the objects against one another in a practically vertical position, even if they are few in number, and prevent the objects from being removed involuntarily .

 In the particular case where the containers are flower vases, these can be used as packaging by florists, which prevents them from making on-site packaging from a strip material.

Claims (4)

 1. Container intended to receive elongated objects, in particular flower vase, comprising an entry (3.3a) intended to allow passage to a predetermined length of the objects, characterized in that the entry is provided with retaining means ( 4,4a) to keep together the objects partially introduced into the container and to oppose their extraction from it.  2. Container according to claim 1, characterized in that the retaining means (4,4a) are constituted by radial tongues (S, Sa) fixed to the periphery of the inlet (3,3a) and whose free ends are turned towards the center of the latter, the tongues bending towards the inside of the container during the introduction of the objects and bracing against them during their extraction.  3. Container according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the tongues (S, Sa) are adjacent while their free ends delimit an opening (6,6a) whose center coincides with the center of the inlet (3, 3a).  4. Container according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that it is made of molded plastic and in that the retaining means (4,4a) form a single piece with the container.