FR2863251A1 - Plants e.g. flowers displayed in pot, packing device for e.g. retail shop, has plant protective covering cooperating with bottom plate for connection between covering and base that are formed from single heat molded plastic material sheet - Google Patents

Abstract

The device has a pot (R) with a base (3) equipped of a bottom plate and a unit for maintaining a plant (2). A plant protective covering (6, 61, 62) cooperates with the plate to ensure a reversible connection between the covering and the base in a closed position of the device. The base and the covering are formed from a single heat molded plastic material sheet. The plate and the covering section define a polygon regular at 2n sides, where n is a whole number equal to 6. Independent claims are also included for the following: (A) a plant placed in a container and packed in a device (B) a process for packing plants (C) a device for transporting a packed plant.

Description

DEVICE AND METHOD FOR PACKAGING A PLANT VEGETABLE

  CONDITION AND DEVICE FOR TRANSPORTING AND PRESENTING A TEL

VEGETAL CONDITIONING

  The present invention relates to the conditioning of plants such as flowers, fruiting stems or plants having or have not undergone conservation treatment, and in particular to a device for packaging such plants. The invention also relates to a method of packaging these plant ingredients using a device according to the invention. The invention finally relates to plants packaged using a device and according to a method according to the invention and a device for transporting and presenting the packaged plants.

  Usually, after harvest, the cut flowers are transported dry or moistened or in buckets of water and it is sometimes only at the florist, and in all cases at the end consumer bouquets are formed and installed in vases.

  As part of the cultivation and trade of flowers, plants or other fruiting twigs, the plants are either germinated in individual small pots, or planted and brought to a certain stage of growth in the soil, then replanted in pots of varying volume to their transport and sale to the public. In any case, the consumer usually has to replant the plants once bought in soil or pots of larger volume.

  It is known that any manipulation of fresh cut flowers, for example during the constitution of bouquets or operations of plant deplantation and replanting are harmful for said flowers and plants, because this is an attack on the plant and accelerates its senescence. In addition, flowers are particularly fragile biological organisms, and their harvesting and storage, awaiting conditioning, require protective measures and strict prophylactic measures.

  Even before their marketing, fresh flowers and plants often suffer aggression during their storage and transport from the production sites to those of marketing, such as in particular markets, central purchasing or other supermarkets. This storage and transport are carried out at best in cardboard boxes stacked on top of each other, which boxes are often of structure, volume and resistance unsuitable for the conservation of plant organisms. More frequently storage and transport are carried out in buckets of water and pots or cartons collected on the shelves of a cart, without means of protection of flowers and plants or their buttons. The result is a wilting of the buds or a stripping of the flower or plant and sometimes breakage of stems, even whole twigs due to shocks and vibrations during transport and subsequent manipulations prior to the sale Plant.

  In addition, when the cut flowers are waiting to be marketed, they are often stored in buckets of water easily accessible to the hand of buyers who do not fail to take them out of said buckets to appreciate the qualities and compare them to others bouquets. These successive manipulations do not preserve or improve the aesthetics and the state of conservation of the plants.

  For plants rooted in earthen pots or plastic, said rooting temporarily preserves the life of these plants. But unprotected, their transport remains problematic insofar as they may be subject to shocks likely to break their branches and flowering ends.

  Conversely, if the resistance of succulents, and in particular succulents and cacti, to thermal variations and external aggressions is very great, their handling and therefore their transport remains problematic because of either their spines or their consistency. brittle.

  Many protective wrappings of flowers are known to facilitate and improve their transport conditions, and storage and more generally to extend the life of the flowers after harvesting.

  In particular, there is known from the literature flower transport devices for protecting the flowering ends and stems of fresh cut flowers by maintaining said flowers by compression of the rods inside a box, generally a cardboard box, the compression being carried out by a plate pierced at its center, or a ring located at an intermediate height of the box, so that neither the cut ends of the flower stems nor the flowering ends are in contact with the sides of said box transport. Examples of its devices are described in EP 1231152 A1 and DE 19835356 A1.

  These devices have the disadvantage of allowing only improved transport of flowers and not their conservation over time. Indeed, these devices are intended to improve the transport and the holding of a bouquet between the purchase at the florist and the presentation in a vase at the end consumer. There is no provision for preserving flowers for a long time. More particularly, the flowers packaged in these devices are prone to accelerated senescence due to water deficit and vascular blockage since it is not possible to keep the cut stems of the flowers in the water, except to cover said ends with a small bag or wet paper to maintain sufficient moisture for the duration of transport as suggested by EP 1231152 Al. Nevertheless this kind of bag or paper does not prevent the lack of moisture for a long time, for example during transport by plane or truck. In addition, this type of device is not suitable for transporting plants in pots.

  In order to overcome these drawbacks, in particular the problem of vascular blocking of the flowers due to water deficit, other transport devices incorporating water-retaining compartments and / or wet material have been developed, such as for example the devices described in FIG. patent applications WO 0158783 A1 and WO 03037751 A1. However, these devices also have drawbacks.

  First, these devices are made from foldable cardboard sheets. It is therefore necessary to perform a large number of manual operations in order to shape these devices before their use, which is costly in terms of time and therefore of labor cost and therefore unsuitable for use. industrial implementation of plant conditioning. In addition, if they allow the cut flowers to be transported under hygrometric conditions satisfactory for their conservation, the watertightness of these devices is not integral insofar as the compartments containing water are not closed by lids. or other means. As a result, splashes of water may occur during transport and impact on the leaky cardboard parts of the device, particularly the top cover and closure parts, which therefore tend to soften, or even to rot, and make fragile these devices, see unusable.

  The known devices do not have, in addition, a constitution which, in addition to the protection of plants during the transport and storage phases, allows the presentation and aesthetic enhancement of the plants packaged in a packaging and protection device set up. place at the harvest of said plants and which is also a packaging of plants for the supply and sale thereof without any other manipulation or finishing.

  The problem underlying the present invention is therefore to provide a device and a method of packaging plants for: minimizing the handling of said flowers after harvesting, until their final destination at the consumer, to improve the conservation and to preserve the integrity of said flowers and plants after harvest during their storage and transport, - to facilitate an industrial implementation of the packaging process and the realization of said packaging device and the packaging of any type of plant, such as fresh flowers cut, bubble bouquets, fruiting stems and plants in pots or seeds to sprout, - to obtain a device that has good mechanical resistance to shocks, associated with an aesthetic presentation with an immediate enhancement of the packaged plants.

  The present invention therefore aims to provide a device for packaging plants, and more particularly plants presented in vases or pots or in airtight bags such as bouquets of flowers having undergone conservation treatment, fruiting stems, and succulent or cactious succulents, which allow the conservation and protection of plants conditioned from their harvest and packaging at the producer until their purchase by the final consumer.

  Another object of the invention is to provide a device whose shape confers not only good mechanical strength properties before and after packaging but also allows stack storage of the various components of the device before packaging and stable and convenient stacking plants once packaged.

  To this end, the present invention provides a device for packaging plants, in particular for packaging plants and flowers presented in presentation containers such as pots or vases or bags, comprising: a base comprising a base and means for holding a said container, said holding means being preferably integral with said base; and a protective envelope for said plant capable of cooperating with said base of said base to ensure a reversible connection between said envelope and said base in a closed position of the device, characterized in that: said base is essentially formed from a first sheet of thermoformed plastic material, preferably transparent, defining a base having a cylindrical side wall having 2n first side faces, and - said envelope consists essentially of a second sheet of thermoformed plastic material, preferably transparent, defining two foldable half-shells along fold lines to form a substantially cylindrical envelope in said closed position of the device, - said two half-shells each comprising an upper half-base and a lower half-base and second lateral faces between said upper half-bases and inferiors ures, said upper half-bases being integral and delimited by said fold lines, and said half-shells being symmetrical with respect to a plane equidistant from said fold lines and orthogonal to a plane containing said fold lines, and - a section said base and said cylindrical envelope defining in a plane perpendicular to said first and second lateral faces respectively of said base and said envelope a polygon substantially regular to 2n sides, n being an integer between 5 and 8, preferably included between 5 and 7, more preferably 6; and the second lateral faces of the two said half-shells being adapted to fit against said first lateral faces of said base so that said base rests on said lower half-bases when said envelope cooperates with said base in said position. closed device after folding said half-shells along said fold lines.

  The container containing said plants may be rigid, such as vases or pots made of iron, earth or glass, but it may also take the form of a flexible container formed by a pocket filled with water in which 25 soak stems cut flowers, as in particular in the realization of bouquets-bubbles.

  It is further understood that the device is in the closed position when said half-shells of the envelope are folded along their fold lines about said base, so that the base of the latter rests on the ends, or half lower bases, not integral with said half-shells. The base is then constrained on all the lateral faces of its base between said lateral faces of the half-shells of the casing, so that it can not move in translation or rotation inside the casing .

  The device according to the invention has a constitution and an original form of said envelope and of said base, which substantially define a right-sided polyhedron with 2 n side faces, which form gives it a large number of advantages over the known devices of FIG. the prior art.

  A first advantage of the device is provided by the constitution of the envelope comprising fold lines from a single sheet of thermoformed plastic material, preferably transparent, which provides a semi-rigid envelope, resistant to shocks and to moisture. In addition, this constitution makes the manufacture, the stacking of the envelopes in one another and the implementation of the packaging device by folding easier and faster, minimizing handling operations. Indeed, all operations, thermoforming of the plastic sheet to the establishment of the thermoformed envelope in the packaging device through the storage can be achieved by industrial means, for example with the aid of articulated robots with 3 or 5 axes.

  The device according to the invention makes it possible to preserve and present in the form of a box or case of polyhedral shape fresh flowers, fruiting branches, living plants or plants having undergone conservation treatment or seeds ready to sprout installed in a vase or pot or in an airtight and resistant pouch, said vase, pot or bag containing, where appropriate, the earth or any other material suitable for the preservation or the growth of these said flowers, plants or seeds .

  The polygonal shape of the section of said envelope and base of the device, with a polygon having 10 to 16 sides, and preferably 10 to 14, advantageously allows to provide an optimal internal space, namely the largest possible to contain flowers and flowering twigs of plants representing a variable volume, while conferring a good mechanical resistance to the device, in particular crush resistance during transportation and storage of the packaged plants. It is thus easy to juxtapose and stack the devices for storage and during transport, said devices then forming a stacked structure of honeycomb type, highly resistant to crushing.

  Indeed, an envelope of square section of substantially equal volume would have involved side faces of larger area which on the one hand could have lack of mechanical strength and on the other hand was difficult to thermoforming.

  Likewise, a circular section envelope, in the absence of a stiffening angle, would not have provided a mechanically strong sidewall under the transport and storage conditions.

  Moreover, the device according to the invention has the advantage, by the presence of a base and a semi-rigid envelope to maintain in a stable position and to protect the conditioned vegetation whatever the transport conditions since its harvest. and its conditioning at the producer up to the consumer without any need at any time to leave or transfer said plant of said device.

  Another advantage of the device provided by its conformation and its particular polyhedral constitution is that it is possible, if necessary, to stack several devices on one another in a stable and orderly manner without the risk of crushing, while preserving aesthetic presentation characteristics. conditioned plants and without risking to mistreat the latter because of the semi-rigid nature of the envelope and the stability provided by the base of the device. Thus the carriers and the resellers of plants thus packaged no longer need to handle the plants themselves to arrange them satisfactorily for transport or presentation on a slat or in a store sale.

  Another advantage of the device according to the invention is provided by the arrangement of the base resting on the lower half-bases not integral with said half-shells forming the polyhedral envelope of said device. Indeed, this arrangement of the base allows a distribution of the mass of plants, and in particular of said containers containing them, over the entire surface of said half-bases, not integral with said half-shells, causing tensile forces on the faces of said envelope, thus increasing the rigidity of the envelope but also eliminating the risk of opening thereof during the transport of the packaged vegetable.

  In addition, the faces of said half-shells constituting the envelope of the device form between it an obtuse angle thus defining on the outer surface of the envelope n side edges substantially perpendicular to said upper and lower half-bases. An obtuse angle between the faces and portions of faces of said half-shells facilitates the insertion of the material in the mold cavities as well as the extraction of the latter out of said cavities during thermoforming of the casing of the device. In addition, the ridges thus formed increase the resistance in bending, twisting and compression of the envelope, and therefore of the device in the closed position.

  In the case of conditioning succulents, especially succulents and cacti, the semi-rigid envelope advantageously avoids contact with the spines of the plant. In addition, if the conditioned vegetable is in the form of seeds ready to germinate, the device can be used as a greenhouse facilitating the beginning of growth of the plant or the flower before its replanting in earth or in a pot of larger volume.

  According to a preferred embodiment, said upper half-bases of said half-shells are joined by a connecting strip delimited by said fold lines, the width of said connecting strip being such that the two said half-shells delimit after folding of the rectangular openings between said connecting strip and said base.

  These lateral openings advantageously form ventilation means of the device avoiding firstly the formation of a too concentrated ethylene atmosphere inside the latter and secondly allowing the rapid elimination of the condensation produced by changes. abrupt temperature during the storage or transport of plants that are often in cold rooms. In addition, unlike existing devices, these ventilation openings are formed only once the envelope placed around said base, thus resulting from the simple folding of said half-shells of the envelope without it being necessary to cutting, which cuts would reduce the mechanical strength of the envelope. Finally, another advantage of these ventilation openings lies in their lateral disposition and not in the upper and lower surfaces of the envelope. This prevents the ventilation openings from being clogged when stacking a plurality of plants once packaged using the device according to the invention. The two half-shells thus form, respectively in said closed position of the device, a pseudo half-cylinder in that the 2 side edge faces of said half-shells are amputated a portion of their length to form said lateral openings after folding.

  According to an advantageous embodiment, said lower half-bases are able to be secured by means of a closing means of the two half-shells under said base when said envelope cooperates with said base in a said closed position of the device.

  In this way, a device is obtained whose envelope is perfectly closed, solid and symmetrical about said base, improving on the one hand the equilibrium and the stability of the device as well as the distribution of the tensile forces imposed by the base on the base. envelope and secondly the aesthetics of the device by the use of a preferably transparent plastic material, which allows to see said plants packaged in the device, which device is also in this way a gift packaging allowing the purchase and the supply of a said plant conditioned without handling or finishing it after the packaging and to the final consumer.

  According to another characteristic of the invention, said closure means is constituted by a flap coming from a material with the lower half-base of a said half-shell according to a fold line of the flap, said flap preferably comprising means for connection with said lower half-base of the other half-shell, and said flap covering the lower half-base of the other half-shell after folding and preferably connection with said lower half-base of the other half-shell; shell.

  Such a flap advantageously makes it possible to produce the means for closing the envelope of the device as soon as the envelope is thermoformed. This saves time during the manufacture and folding of the envelope and also significantly improves the rigidity of the envelope under the base and resistance of the closure means to the extent that no drilling or gluing is practiced. to secure a closure means attached to a lower half-base of the envelope. Once the envelope is made, it is simply necessary to provide any means of connection, glue type, staple or any other means of simple and economical connection that may be suitable for the fastening of the flap with the other half-shell of the envelope during packaging.

  According to another preferred feature, said base of the conditioning device according to the invention is obtained from a single second sheet of thermoformed plastics material, preferably transparent, defining a said base-based base surmounted by said integral holding means of the surface of said base, said holding means defining a full-bottom receptacle and side walls adapted to receive said container which may contain a said plant, preferably by elastic adjustment.

  Thus, as for the envelope, the base of the device can be easily manufactured by thermoforming and stored by stacking for use. The conformation of the base also advantageously allows to receive a said plant to be packaged, and more particularly ic container - 12 - in which is presented said plant between said holding means of the base. These means being made as the entire plastic device, they can undergo slight deformations to facilitate the insertion of said container containing a plant by elastic adjustment.

  In addition these holding means form a receptacle of a certain depth, in practice at most equal to the depth of a half-shell of the envelope. This keeps the plant in said base by preventing any movement in translation of said plant and its said container in a plane transverse to the device, but also any tilting movement of the plant within the device. This avoids any spillage of water and / or soil present in said container containing the plant packaged inside the packaging device in case of shocks.

  Advantageously, the conditioning device according to the invention comprises gripping and transport means, preferably located in said connecting strip.

  Such gripping means may for example take the form of holes allowing the passage of fingers or carrying handles in said connecting strip. In a preferred embodiment, these gripping means consist of perforations made in said connecting strip and preferably allowing to adapt a transport cord.

  Indeed, it is possible, in a thermoformed sheet, to make cuts in the parts of the sheet which protrude from the mold or which correspond to the horizontal upper planes of the mold. Therefore, holes 25 are made to receive the handling cord of the package in these parts.

  Such a cord then advantageously makes it possible to transport a said plant packaged in a device according to the invention, in particular to a consumer to transport in a simple manner said plant once purchased from the point of sale to his home or that of the person to which the said packaged vegetable is offered as a gift.

  According to another characteristic of the device according to the invention, the depth of each half-shell and the height of said base are less than 0.1 m for plastic sheets with a thickness of between 25/100 of millimeter and 120/100 of millimeter, and preferably a thickness ranging from 40/100 to 85/100 of millimeter.

  These dimensions of depth and thickness are to be respected in order to achieve the envelope and the base of the device according to the invention by thermoforming with sufficient mechanical strength of the casing and the base of the device. Indeed, the plastic sheet thermoforming molds have in practice a depth limited to 10 cm to prevent excessive stretching of the heated plastic material during thermoforming operations and up to the loss of rigidity of the material .

  This nevertheless makes it possible to obtain inside diameters of envelopes and pedestal, taking into account the width of said central band, which may range, for example, for illustrative purposes, from 8 to 20 cm, while maintaining a bandwidth. central linking which defines the width of the ventilation openings relatively reduced and in particular less than the width of the side faces of said half-shells of the envelope and said base of said base.

  According to another aspect, the present invention relates to a plant installed in a vessel-type vessel, jar or bag, and packaged in a device according to the invention as previously described.

  Advantageously, said container contains water and preferably a hydrophilic solid material of synthetic origin porous or cellular and in the form of particles or a block, and capable of retaining a certain volume of water and in that said container has closure means for preventing accidental spilling of water.

  More particularly, the solid water-retaining material is a porous or cellular synthetic hydrophilic material capable of retaining a water volume of at least 70%, preferably at least 90% of the apparent outer volume of the dry solid material.

  The solid material is both a reservoir of water to feed the flowers and helps to prevent water from being emptied out of the container in the event of tilting of the container, but also to limit evaporation as much as possible. some water. In addition to its anti-overflow function, the solid material, by its presentation in particulate form or in bulk, contributes significantly to the base of the plant and its setting and holding in the container stably.

  In order not to induce a settlement of the excessive solid material, which would be detrimental to the penetration of the rods into the said container, the latter is filled with only 3/4 of material. To do this, a hydrophilic material is used which is in the form of parallelepipedal or cylindrical particles, preferably elongated or in the form of a block cut according to the size of said container.

  To fulfill these various functions, it is preferable that said material is in the form of particles preferably having a larger dimension of average length 2 to 20 mm, more preferably 5 to 10 mm. These are the dimensions of the particles in situ in the container. But these particles are generally obtained from rods larger, especially 10 to 30 mm in length, insofar as these rods break during their introduction or after introduction into the vase.

  Advantageously, said solid material may be a hydrophilic synthetic foam of phenolic type, such as polyurethane, phenol-formaldehyde or urea-formaldehyde, or polystyrol. This type of material is known as floral foam or spike foam or phenolic foam open cell, and are sold under the OASIS brands by the company SMITHERS OASIS and FLORIDE by SAITEC.

  Alternatively and more simply, said container contains moistened soil. This will be particularly the case when the plant contained in said container is a rooted plant or seeds to germinate. According to a preferred characteristic, said packaged vegetable has flowering ends or fruiting branches whose volume is part of a sphere. of diameter less than nine tenths of the diameter of a circle inscribed in the polygon defined by said horizontal section of the base of the base of the device according to the invention.

  Such an arrangement of the plant in the device allows on the one hand that the flowers or fruits of said plants are not in contact with the walls of the casing, thereby providing better ventilation and secondly, the walls of said device being preferably transparent, to provide a volume of vacuum around the packaged plants improving their aesthetic enhancement inside the device.

  According to another aspect, the present invention also aims to provide a method of packaging plants of the aforementioned type using a packaging device according to the invention that allows the realization of the conditioning of said plants with the aid of mechanical means for industrial production.

  The method of packaging plants according to the invention is characterized in that: - a said plant is placed in a said container, and - said container is placed on said base such that said container cooperates with said holding means, the if necessary by elastic adjustment, - said casing is placed by folding the said half-shells around said base, and the two lower half-bases of said casing are secured to said base of said base with the aid of a so-called means of closure.

  As previously described, the term "vessel" refers to a vessel or pot of a rigid or semi-rigid material such as earth, iron or glass or plastic material, but also a container formed of a flexible bag filled with water such as especially for the constitution of bubble bouquets.

  This process advantageously makes it possible to use the conditioning of plants in an industrial manner. Indeed, as the manufacture and storage of the casing and the base constituting the device according to the invention, all the steps of the process, with the possible exception of the first, can be carried out independently of any handling operation by a operator. It is thus possible to implement this process in a simple way in an industrial production line, at the beginning of which there is a stock of plants to be packaged, while waiting for a stock of containers that can be of various sizes and shapes, said plants being then moved on conveyors between different robotic stations performing the different stages of packaging.

  According to a preferred embodiment, the packaging method according to the invention is characterized in that successively in the first step: said presentation container is filled with a solid hydrophilic material such as earth or a material of synthetic porous or cellular origin or in the form of particles and capable of retaining a certain volume of water, - said hydrophilic material is watered inside said container 20 with water, - said plant is placed in said presentation container, preferably with its stem and / or roots in said hydrophilic material - there is a cover and closure means on said presentation container, said cover and closure means surrounding said stem of said plant.

  Preferably, the hydrophilic material chosen will be soil when the conditioned plant will be a rooted plant, a cactus or seeds to germinate. If the conditioned vegetable consists of cut flowers or fruiting shoots, preference will be given to a synthetic hydrophilic solid material, preferably in the form of particles, for example a hydrophilic solid material of the type described above.

  According to a fourth aspect, an object of the invention is also to propose a device for transporting plants packaged with the aid of a packaging device and according to a method of such as previously described, said device being simple and inexpensive to make and store.

  This transport device is characterized in that it comprises - a plate obtained by folding a single sheet of cardboard, said plate having a flat bottom and side walls, and - a setting grid disposed on the bottom between said walls side of the plate, said grid defining wedging cells of a said conditioned vegetable, and - a lid formed by folding a single sheet of cardboard, said lid having side walls integral with an upper ceiling, said side walls comprising apertures constituting aeration means of a said plant and, if appropriate, means for gripping said cover, said cover being inserted into said plate, said side walls thereof being locked on said plate by elastic adjustment between said grid and said sidewalls of said tray.

  The other features and advantages of the invention through the detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the device and the packaging method according to the invention with reference to FIGS. 1 to 10, of which FIG. cavalier perspective of the device according to the invention in closed position.

  FIG. 2a is a perspective view of the envelope of the device according to the invention in the open position at 90.

  Figure 2b is a cross-sectional view along the plane IIB of the envelope of the device according to the invention in the closed position.

  FIG. 3 is a plan view of the base of the device according to the invention.

  Figure 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of the base of the device according to the invention, along the axis IV-IV.

  Figure 5a is a side view of the envelope of the device according to the invention in the open position.

  Figure 5b is a sectional view along the axis VB-VB of Figure 5a.

  Figure 6a is a bottom view of the envelope of the device according to the invention in the open position.

  Figure 6b is a sectional view along the axis VIB-VIB of Figure 6a.

  Figure 7 is a front view of the packaging device in the closed position.

  Figure 8 is a top view of the packaging device e closed position.

  FIGS. 9 to 12 represent the various steps of the method of packaging a plant using a device according to the invention.

  Figure 13 is a perspective view of a transport device according to the invention.

  Fig. 14 is a front view of a sheet for forming the cover of the transport device according to the invention.

  Figure 15 is a front view of a sheet for forming the tray of the transport device according to the invention.

  Fig. 16 is a perspective view of the tray of the conveyor device according to the invention containing a packing grid of packaged plants.

  According to a preferred embodiment represented in FIGS. 1 to 8, the plant conditioning device according to the invention consists essentially of a protective envelope 6 for protecting said plant 2 installed in a container R and a base 3 for supporting such a plant, said casing 6 and said base 3 being both obtained by thermoforming and able to cooperate with one another.

  By reference, firstly, in Figures 1 and 2a, 2b, the envelope 6 of the device comprises two half-shells 6 ,, 62 each defining a right half-polyhedron. Each half-shell has rectangular straight side faces 7 separated by longitudinal edges 8 forming generatrices of the half-cylinder circumscribed to the half-polyhedron defined by each said half-shell 6 ,, 62.

  These ridges 8 are formed during the thermoforming of the envelope 6 by the imprints of the molds used to make the two said half-shells 6 6, and they serve to increase the mechanical resistance to torsion and compression of the two half-shells , and therefore of the envelope 6.

  The lateral faces 7 of each half-shell 61, 62 of the envelope 6 are integral at their ends with two perpendicular half-bases, an upper half-base 91, 92 and a lower half-base 9'1, 9'2 , the two half-bases 20 being parallel to each other. The two half-shells 61, 6, of the casing 6 thus have an identical shape.

  The two half-shells 6, 62 are secured to each other by means of a rectangular connecting strip 10 formed also during the thermoforming between the two upper half-bases 9 ,, 9, of each said half-shells 6, 62. This connecting strip 10 is delimited by two fold lines 10 ,, 10 ,, each fold line forming the junction between said upper half-base 91, 92 of a half-shell 6, , 62 and the connecting strip 10. The two half-shells of the envelope are thus symmetrical to one another with respect to a plane P, equidistant from each fold line and orthogonal to the plane P2 of the strip of These folding lines 10, 102 are preferably made by partial melting of the plastic material under High Frequency and they make it possible, on the one hand, to make each said half-shell 6, 62 movable. relative to each other between an open storage position of the envelope shown in FIG. 5, in which the half upper bases 9 ,, 92 and lower 9 '9'2 are all contained in different planes and substantially parallel to each other, and a closed position of conditioning shown in Figures 1 and 7 wherein the two upper half-bases 9 92 are in the same first plane as said connecting strip 10, and the two lower half-bases 9 ', 9'2 are a same second plane, the two said first and second planes containing being substantially parallel.

  On the other hand, the fold lines 10 ,, 10, allow to maintain the two said half-shells 6 ,, 62 symmetrically with respect to each other, so that the envelope substantially describes in position closed a right polyhedron 2n side faces, a cross section 9 is a regular polygon 2n sides, and preferably a substantially regular dodecagon as shown in Figure 2b.

  The fold lines 10, 102 also facilitate the shaping of the envelope 6 during the conditioning of a plant 2.

  In a preferred embodiment shown in FIGS. 2a and 5, the casing 6 also comprises a means for securing the lower demibases 9'1, 9'2 of the two half-shells 61, 62 which also form, in this way, a closing means 11 of the device 1 after conditioning of a said plant 2.

  This closure means takes, for example, the form of a flap 11 or tab in one piece coming from material with a lower half-base 9'1, 9'2 of one of the two half-shells of the envelope 6, said flap 11 being integral with said half-base and movable relative thereto along a fold line 12 of the flap 11, also formed during thermoforming of the envelope. Preferably the flap 11 also comprises a connecting means 13, with the other lower half-base 9 ', 9'2 of the other half-shell.

  Referring now to Figures 1, 3 and 4, the base 3 of the device 1 of packaging according to the invention comprises a base 4 surmounted by substantially circular side walls 52 constituting means 5 for maintaining a said plant 2 conditioned .

  The holding means 5 surmount said base 4 and they form (Figure 4) a solid bottom receptacle 5, bordered by side walls 52. This receptacle allows, as shown in Figure 1, to receive a plant 2 packaged in a container R such as a pot, vase or bag filled with water or earth, and to maintain said container R stably on the base 3 and in the device 1, in particular by preventing any longitudinal or transverse translation movement of said container R relative to to the base 3.

  Preferably, said holding means 5 receive such a container R by elastic adjustment of the side walls around the walls of the container R. The base 4 of the base 3 has substantially the shape of a straight polyhedron wafer with 2n straight side faces 4, a base of which is a regular polygon with 2n sides, and preferably a regular dodecagon as shown in FIG.

  According to an essential characteristic of the present invention, the width 12 of the straight lateral faces 4, of the base 4 and the angle 2 between two consecutive faces of the base are respectively equal to the width of the lateral faces 7 of the two halves. shells 6, 62 of the envelope 6 and at the angle a, formed between two of these faces.

  With reference to FIGS. 1, 7 and 8, the external diameter of said base 4 is moreover substantially equal to the internal diameter of the envelope 6 when it is in the closed position.

  The envelope 6 and the base 3 constituting the device according to the present invention are both obtained by thermoforming a sheet of plastic material.

  Preferably, these sheets are PET or PVC sheets or PE, with a thickness of between 25/100 of millimeter and 120/100 of millimeter. More preferably, the sheets have a thickness ranging from 40/100 to 85/100 of millimeter for final dimensions (diameter X height) of the device ranging from 080 X 100 millimeters mm to 0170 X 280 millimeters depending on the size and desired volume for the device.

  The thermoforming operations are carried out in molds whose indentations have a depth ranging from 40 to 90 mm, at temperatures between 250 C and 300 C for a period of 15 to 20 seconds.

  It is thus easy to implement the manufacture, storage and implementation of the packaging devices according to the present invention using automated industrial means.

  The base 3 and the casing 6 of the device according to the present invention have complementary shapes and dimensions which enable them to cooperate with each other.

  In particular when the device 1 is in the closed position as shown in FIGS. 1, 7, 8 and 12, said base 4 of the base 3 rests on the two lower half-bases 9 ', 9'2 of the two half-shells 6 , 62 of the envelope 6 and the lateral faces 7 of these said half-shells come against the lateral faces 4 of the base 4 and constrain them so that the base 3 is blocked between the side walls 7 of the half-shells 6, 62. Thus, the weight of a plant 2 disposed on the base 3 between the holding means 5 of said base 3 is perfectly distributed over the entire surface of the two half-bases lower the envelope 6 and over the entire periphery of the latter, which has the effect of improving the stability of the device but also the rigidity of the envelope 6 by tension of the edges and side faces thereof.

  In addition, the device according to the present invention also comprises in the closed position two rectangular lateral openings 14, 142 diametrically opposite between the two half-shells of the envelope 6. These two openings have a width equal to that of the connecting strip. 10. These two openings are formed during the closing of the envelope 6 around the base 3 during the conditioning of a plant 2, thus allowing air circulation within the device favorable to the plant 2 conditioned .

  The device 1 according to the invention can also be provided with gripping means 15 to facilitate the transport of a said plant 2 conditioned.

  In a preferred embodiment shown in Figures 1 and 7, these gripping means consist of a transport cord 15 passed through perforations 161, 162 made in the connecting strip 10 of the envelope. These gripping means may also be of any other shape such as, for example, a handle or simple openings for the insertion of fingers in the connecting strip to lift and wear the device.

  The device according to the invention is advantageously suitable for packaging plants 2 such as plants, flowers and fruiting branches or seeds to germinate according to a method easy to implement industrially whose steps are shown in Figures 9 to 12.

  The plants 2 are firstly installed in a rigid container R such as a vase or a pot for example made of earth, glass or iron or in a flexible container R, such as, for example, a pocket filled with water. for the realization of bouquets-bubbles.

  Preferably, said container R contains water and a hydrophilic solid material of natural origin such as earth or of synthetic origin. In the case of a synthetic material, it is preferentially porous, cellular or particulate and capable of retaining a certain volume of water.

  In addition, it is possible, when said container is rigid, to have on the open upper end thereof a closure means for preventing accidental spillage of water or hydrophilic material within the packaging device. In this case, the 24-cover and closure means surrounds the plant stem (s) installed in the pot.

  According to a preferred mode of packaging not shown, the container R is filled with synthetic hydrophilic material in the form of chips of 10 to 30 mm in initial length, cut into solid blocks of water-retaining material and made of commercial artificial phenolic foam by the companies SMITHERS OASIS under the brand OASIS or by SAITEC under the brand FLORIDE, including a foam of about 20 kg / m 'density.

  Once the plant 2 installed in a said container R as described above, said container R is placed on said base 3 between said holding means 5 of the base 3 so that said container R cooperates with the holding means 5, the case appropriate by elastic adjustment. This envelope 6 is then put in place by folding the half-shells of the casing 6 around said plant 2 and said base 3 and the two lower half-bases 9 ', 9'2 of the casing 6 are secured to each other. base 4 with the closing flap 11.

  According to an unrepresented feature of the invention, when the vegetated plant 2 has flowery ends or consists of fruiting branches, the volume of these flowering ends or fruiting branches is contained in a sphere whose diameter is at most equal to nine tenths. the diameter of a circle inscribed in the polygon described by a cross section of the envelope 6 in the closed position (FIG. 2b), or of the base polygon of the base 4 of the base 3 of the conditioning device 1 (FIG. 4) .

  In order to facilitate the transport of a large number of packaged plants, the invention also provides a device 17 for transporting these packaged plants as described in FIGS. 13 to 16.

  Such a transport device comprises, in the first place, a cover 18 formed by folding a sheet of cardboard with fold lines and cutouts 19. Preferably, said cover has sidewalls integral with a ceiling 21 and said side walls preferably having side openings 22, 23 forming means for aeration and gripping of the lid.

  The transport device also comprises a plate 24 having a flat bottom 25 and side walls 26, said plate being formed by folding a cardboard sheet having fold lines and cuts 27.

  In order to stably maintain plants packaged inside the transport device 17, the latter also comprises a wedge grid 28 disposed on the bottom 25 between said side walls 26 of the plate, which wedge grid comprises rectangular cells 29 or any other form in order to place plants 2 packaged in conditioning devices 1 according to the present invention. This clamping grid may for example be made of expanded polystyrene or cardboard or any other material.

  In practice, a so-called plant 2 is placed in each cell 29 of the staggering grid 28 disposed on the bottom 25 of the plate 24 of the transport device 17 and then said tray is covered with the cover 18, said side walls 20 of the cover inserting and locking on said plate 24 by elastic adjustment between the edges 30 of the wedge grid 28 and the side walls 26 of said plate 24. The lid thus closed allows to maintain the plants 2 packaged in the darkness during transport, which helps to lengthen the life of the flowers or plants by decreasing photosynthesis and thus the production of oxygen and ethylene.

  Preferably, the cells 29 of the spacer grid 28 are of a size slightly greater than that of the devices 1 in which the plants are conditioned. The cells are also spaced apart from each other by the branches 31 of the wedging grid to ensure both a stable maintenance of the conditioning devices 1 in the cells and facilitate air circulation and gas exchange between each plant 2 conditioned stored inside the transport crate, which is a condition for extending the life of said conditioned plants.

  In addition, the lid and the tray of the transport device 17 are made of resistant cardboard, preferably of a quality allowing on the one hand the absorption of moisture from either condensation or evaporation. produced during storage or transport by the packaged plants and on the other hand the evacuation of this moisture without being weakened.

  In addition, once the cover 18 has been removed, the tray 24 of a said transport device 17 loaded with packaged plants can be placed directly on shelves or shelves for the stable and aesthetic presentation of said plants at the point of sale. Thus, all plants are visible through their transparent packaging device but not manipulated by potential buyers, which prevents them from deteriorating early.

  The invention has been described here according to preferred but nonlimiting embodiments and implementations. Other alternative embodiments are possible, in particular other forms of envelope or pedestal but also other forms of transport device, without departing from the scope and scope of the present invention.

Claims (14)

-27-CLAIMS   1. Device for packaging (1) plants (2), in particular for packaging plants and flowers presented in presentation containers (R) such as pots or vases or bags, comprising: - a base (3) comprising a base (4) and holding means (5) of a said container (R), said holding means being preferably integral with said base (4); and an envelope (6) for protecting said plant (2) capable of cooperating with said base (4) of said base (3) to ensure a reversible connection between said envelope and said base in a closed position of the device (1), characterized in that: - said base is essentially formed from a first sheet of thermoformed plastic material, preferably transparent, defining a base (4) having a cylindrical side wall having 2n first side faces (4,), and - said casing (6) consists essentially of a second sheet of thermoformed plastic material, preferably transparent, defining two half-shells (6 ,, 62) foldable along fold lines (10 ,, 102) to form a substantially cylindrical envelope in said closed position of the device (1), - said two half-shells (61, 62) each comprising an upper half-base (9 9) and a lower half-base (9 ', 9', ) and of s second side faces (7) between said upper and lower half-bases (9 ,, 9, 9 '9'2), said upper half-bases (9 ,, 92) being integral and delimited by said fold lines (10 , 102), and said half-shells (6, 62) being symmetrical with respect to a plane P, equidistant from said fold lines (101, 102) and orthogonal to a plane P2 containing said fold lines, and - a section said base (4) and said cylindrical envelope (6) defining in a plane perpendicular to said first and second lateral faces (4 ,, 7) respectively of said base (4) and said envelope (6) a substantially regular polygon in 2n sides, n being an integer from 5 to 8, preferably from 5 to 7, more preferably from 6 to 7.   the second lateral faces (7) of the two said half-shells (6, 62) being able to fit against the said first lateral faces (4,) of the said base (4) so that the said base (4) rests on said lower half-bases (9 ', 9'2) when said envelope (6) cooperates with said base (4) in a said closed position of the device (1) after folding of said half-shells (6, 62 ) along said folding lines (10 ,, 102).   2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that said upper half-bases (9 ,, 92) are joined by a connecting strip (10) delimited by said fold lines (10 ,, 102), the width of said connecting strip (10) being such that the two said half-shells (61, 62) delimit after folding two opposite rectangular longitudinal openings (14 14,) between said connecting strip (10) and said base (4), both said rectangular lateral openings ensuring the aeration of the plants (2) in a said closed position of the device (i).   3. Device according to one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that said lower half-bases (9 ', 9'2) are adapted to be secured by means of a closure means (12). two half-shells (6 ,, 62) under said base (4) when said casing (6) cooperates with said base (4) in a said closed position of the device (1).   4. Device according to claim 3, characterized in that said closure means is constituted by a flap (11) of material with the lower half-base (9 ', 9'2) of a said half-shell ( 6 62) along a folding line (12) of the flap, said flap (11) preferably comprising connecting means (13) with said lower half-base (9 '9'2) of the other half-shell (6, 62), and said flap (11) covering the lower half-base (9'1, 9'2) of the other half-shell after folding and preferably bonding with said lower half-base (9 ' ,, 9'2) of the other half-shell (61, 6,).   5. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that said base (3) is obtained from a single second sheet of plastic material 29 - thermoformed, preferably transparent, defining a said base (4) open base and topped said holding means (5), said holding means (5) defining a solid bottom receptacle (5) and side walls (5z) adapted to receive said container (R) which can contain a said plant (2), of preferably by elastic adjustment.   6. Device according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that it comprises gripping means (15), preferably located in said connecting strip (10) of said half-shells (6 62).   7. Device according to claim 6, characterized in that said gripping means (15) consist of perforations (16 ,, 162) made in said connecting strip (10) and preferably allowing to adapt a transport cord .   8. Device according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the depth of each half-base and the height of said base (4) are less than 0.1 m for plastic sheets of a thickness of between 25/100 of millimeter and 120/100 of millimeter, and preferably of a thickness ranging from 40/100 to 85/100 of millimeter.   9. Vegetal (2) installed in a container (R) and packaged in a device (1) according to one of claims 1 to 8.   10. Vegetal (2) according to claim 9, characterized in that said container (R) contains water and preferably a hydrophilic solid material of synthetic origin porous or cellular and in the form of particles or a block, and capable of retaining a certain volume of water and in that said container (R) has a closure means for preventing the accidental spilling of water.   Plant according to claim 9, characterized in that said container (R) contains moistened soil.   12. Vegetal according to claims 9 to 11, characterized in that it comprises flowering ends or fruiting branches and in that the volume of the flowering ends or fruiting branches is in a 30-sphere of diameter less than nine tenths. the diameter of a circle inscribed in the polygon defined by a said horizontal section of said base (4) of said base (3).   13. A method of packaging plants with a device (1) according to one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that: - a said plant (2) is placed in a said container (R), and - said container is placed on or in said base (3) so that said container (R) cooperates with said holding means (5), if necessary by elastic adjustment, - said envelope (6) is put in place; by folding said half-shells (6 ,, 62) around said base (3) in a said closed position of said conditioning device (1), and the two lower half-bases (9 ',, 9'2) are secured of said envelope (6) under said base (4) of said base with the aid of a said closure means (11) 14. Transport device (17) for a plant (2) conditioned according to   claims 13 or 14, comprising:   - a tray (24) obtained by folding a single sheet of cardboard, said tray having a flat bottom (25) and side walls (26), and a grid (28) of wedging disposed on said flat bottom (25). ) between said side walls (26) of the tray and defining cells (29) for wedging a said plant (2) conditioned, and - a lid (18) formed by folding a single sheet of cardboard, said lid having side walls (20) integral with an upper ceiling (21), said side walls (20) having openings (22, 23) constituting aeration means (22) of said plant (2) and gripping means of said cover (23), and - said cover (18) fitting on said plate (24), said side walls (20) locking on said plate by elastic adjustment between the edges (30) of said grid (28) and said side walls (26) of said plate (24).