GB1598198A

GB1598198A - Apparatus for liquid-feeding a plant

Info

Publication number: GB1598198A
Application number: GB2655977A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: COLLYER J
Current assignee: COLLYER J
Priority date: 1977-06-24
Filing date: 1977-06-24
Publication date: 1981-09-16

Description

(54) AN APPARATUS FOR LIQUID-FEEDING A PLANT (71) I, JOHN COLLYER, a British Subject, of Meads End, The Heath, Tattingstone, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP9 2LR, do hereby declare the invention, for which I pray that a patent may be granted to me, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: This invention relates to an apparatus for liquid-feeding a plant, for example a selfwatering plant pot.

A known self-watering plant pot comprises a reservoir for liquid-feed, e.g. water or water containing added nutrients, positioned below a compartment for soil, and a wick positioned substantially horizontally on the bottom of the soil compartment and dipping into the reservoir. In use, liquid-feed is drawn up the wick by capillary action and supplied to the lower levels of soil contained in the soil compartment. However, since only the bottom of the soil compartment is supplied with liquid-feed, soil in the lower part of the soil compartment may be supplied with too much liquid-feed and become oversaturated, whereas the soil in the upper part of the compartment is not adequately supplied with liquid-feed and becomes too dry.

My invention seeks to overcome these disadvantages by the provision of an apparatus for liquid-feeding a plant, which apparatus is able to supply liquid-feed at least to upper, and preferably also to lower, levels of a compartment for containing soil. I have found that it is possible to provide in such apparatus a wick which extends upwardly from a reservoir for liquid-feed into the upper part of a soil compartment positioned above the reservoir, the wick being able to distribute water contained in the reservoir as much as 13cms or more above the level of the reservoir. I have also found that by regulation of the surface area of the wick exposed to the soil at different levels in the apparatus it is possible to improve the distribution of liquid-feed and provide an even wetting of the soil at the different levels to which the wick extends.

According to my invention an apparatus for liquid-feeding a plant comprises a reservoir for liquid-feed, a compartment for soil positioned above said reservoir, a passage communicating at its lower end with said reservoir and extending upwardly to a level above the lower half of said compartment, a perforated, non-porous partition separating said passage from said compartment, and a wick positioned within said passage and extending from said reservoir to a level above the lower half of said compartment, the perforations in the partition being dimensioned and arranged to permit liquid-feed contained in said reservoir and drawn up said wick by capillary action to be dispersed through the perforations into at least the upper half of said compartment.

The position and size of the perforations in the partition are important for achieving an even supply of liquid-feed to different levels of the compartment. Suitably the perforations are arranged to supply the liquid-feed to both the upper and lower halves of the compartment. In this case it is preferred that the number of perforations opening into the lower half of the compartment is less than the number of perforations opening into the upper half of the compartment. Alternatively, or in addition, the perforations may have different cross-sectional areas, the perforations opening into the lower half of the compartment having smaller cross-sectional areas than those opening into the upper half of the compartment.Suitably the lower one of any two perforations opening into the compartment at two different levels has a smaller cross-sectional area than the upper one of said any two perforations.

Suitably the apparatus comprises a receptacle, made for example of plastics material, having a false floor separating the reservoir from the compartment.

The partition may be connected to, or formed integrally with, an upwardly extending external wall of the said compartment, the said passage being formed between the partition and the said external wall. Suitably the wick may be sandwiched between the partition and a non-perforated partition which defines a liquid-feed supply duct, positioned between the non-perforated parti tion and the said external wall, for the supply of liquid-feed to the reservoir. Alternatively this non-perforated partition may be dispensed with, liquid-feed being supplied to the reservoir through a section of said passage, extending from the reservoir to the top of said partition, which does not contain said wick. This section may be partitioned from the wiclc-containing part of the said passage.

Alternatively, the partition may consist of a perforated tubular member. Suitably the wick is sandwiched between this perforated tubular member and an inner, preferably non-porous tubular member defining a liquid-feed supply duct.

Preferably the partition extends to the bottom of the reservoir and is provided with openings at its lowermost end permitting liquid-feed to be drawn up into the said passage by said wick. However, it is possible for the lower end of the partition to terminate above the bottom of the reservoir provided that it does not terminate above the bottom of the said compartment. In this latter case it is essential for the wick to extend down to the bottom of the reservoir, As an alternative to the liquid-feed supply ducts mentioned above, apparatus according to the invention may be provided with a separate liquid-feed supply duct. Alternatively, the reservoir may be detachable from the said compartment.

The apparatus may be of any convenient shape, e.g. frusto-conical, frusto-pyramidal, parallelepipedic or cylindrical.

My invention will now be described, by way of example, and with particular reference to the drawings accompanying the provisional specification, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of an apparatus according to the invention, Figure 2 is a perspective view of an enlarged scale of part of the apparatus shown in Figure 1, Figure 3 is a perspective view of part of another embodiment of an apparatus according to the invention, Figure 4 is a side sectional view through part of the apparatus shown in Figure 3, and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:: Figure 5 is a perspective view of a further embodiment of an apparatus according to the invention, Figure 6 is a view showing the orientation of the perforations in the perforated partition of the apparatus shown in Figure 5, Figure 7 is a perspective view of a further embodiment of an apparatus according to the invention, Figure 8 is a view of part of the apparatus shown in Figure 7, and Figure 9 is a side sectional view of a yet further embodiment of an apparatus according to the invention.

Figure 1 shows a self-watering plant pot, generally designated by the reference numeral 1, for liquid-feeding a plant and comprising a parallelepipedic receptacle 2 of plastics material having a false floor 3 which separates the receptacle into a lower reservoir 4 for containing liquid-feed (e.g. water or water containing added nutrients) and an upper compartment 5 for containing soil. A tubular device, generally designated 6, is positioned within the receptacle 2 with its lower end resting on the bottom 7 of the receptacle and it upper end terminating substantially level with the upper end of the receptacle 2. The tubular device passes through, and is fixed within, a circular opening 8 in the floor 3.

As can be seen more clearly in Figure 2, the tubular device 6 consists of an outer, nonporous tube 9, having a plurality of perforations 12 through its walls, an inner, nonporous tube 10 positioned coaxially within the tube 9, and an annular wick 11 of capillary matting sandwiched between the two tubes 9 and 10 and which, in use of the pot is adapted to draw up liquid-feed by capillary action from the reservoir 4 and supply it through the perforations 12 to upper and lower levels of soil contained in the compartment 5. The tubes 9 and 10 may be made of plastics material and the wick 11 may be made of any suitable material which is able to lift a liquid-feed (e.g. water) by capillary action from the reservoir 4 to the level of the uppermost perforation(s) 12.I have found that a capillary matting manufactured in Denmark and imported into the United Kingdom by Flowering Plants Limited of 55, Well Street, Buckingham, Bucks My 18 1 EP, under the Trade Name "Fibertex", to be particularly suitable since it is capable of a water lift by capillary action of at least 13 cm and, in normal usage, has a life expectancy of at least five years.

The number of perforations 12 per unit length of the tube 9 increases from the bottom to the top of the tube 9 to encourage some of the liquid-feed to be drawn up the wick instead of all passing straight through the lower perforations. In addition or alternatively, the cross-sectional area of the perforations may increase from the bottom to the top of the tube 9.

Further openings 13 are provided at the lower end of the tube 9 to permit liquid-feed to pass from the reservoir into the annular passage occupied by the wick 11 between the two tubes 9 and 10.

Figures 3 and 4 show another embodiment of an apparatus, according to the present invention, which is generally designated by the reference numeral 20. The apparatus 20 comprises a parallelepipedic receptacle 21 having a false floor 22 dividing the receptacle into a lower reservoir 23 for containing liquid-feed and an upper compartment 24 for containing soil.

A perforated partition wall 25 is positioned within the receptacle 21 parallel and adjacent to one of its side walls 26. The partition wall 25 extends completely between a further pair of opposed, parallel side walls (only one of these side walls 27 being shown in Figures 3 and 4) so as to define a narrow passage 28 between the partition walls 25 and the side wall 26, the passage 28 extending from the bottom to the top of the receptacle 21 and for the full width of the side wall 26. A wick 29 in the form of a rectangular sheet of capillary matting (e.g. approximately 1/16" thick and sold under the Trade Name "Fibertex") is positioned in this passage 28. The wick has a height approximately equal to that of the receptacle 21 and a width slightly less than the width of the passage 28 so that a part 30 of the passage 28 adjacent the side wall 27 is not filled with the wick 29.This part 30 of the passage 28 serves as a duct for the supply of liquid-feed to the reservoir 23 via openings 31 at the bottom of the partition wall 25. A partition (not shown) may be provided in the passage 28 parallel to the side wall 27 to define this duct and protect the edge of the wick adjacent thereto.

Perforations 32 in the partition wall 25 open into the compartment 24 and are arranged so that fewer perforations are provided in the lower levels than in the upper levels of the wall 25.

Figure 5 shows another embodiment of a self-watering plant pot which is generally designated by the reference numeral 40. The pot 40 comprises a frusto-conical receptacle 41 having a false floor 42 dividing the receptacle into a lower reservoir 43 for containing liquid-feed and an upper compartment 44 for containing soil. A perforated plate 45 (see Figure 6), having perforations 46a, 46b and 46c arranged at three different levels, is fixed to the inwardly-facing surface of the side wall 47 of the receptacle 41. A passage is defined between the plate 45 and side wall 47 within which there is positioned a plate 48 defining a liquid-feed duct between itself and the side wall 47 and a wick 49 sandwiched between the plates 45 and 48.

The wick 49 is in the form of capillary matting (e.g. that sold under the Trade Name "Fibertex") and is able to draw liquid-feed from the reservoir 43 through apertures 50 in the bottom of the plate 45 and up the passage between the plates 45 and 48 by capillary action.

As can be seen from Figure 6, the plate 45 extends a distance a above, and b below, the level of the false floor 42. The lowest perforation 46a is positioned c above the floor 42, the two perforations 46b are positioned d above the floor 42, and the four perforations 46c are positioned e above the floor 42. By way of example, a = 13 cm, b = 5 cm, c = 0.5 cm, d=4 cm and e=8 cm, and the perforations are circular, each having a diameter of 1 cm. I have found that the arrangement, number and size of the perforations can be altered within the scope of the invention, but I have found this particular arrangement of perforations to be successful for supplying substantially equal amounts of liquid-feed to upper and lower havles of the compartment 44.

Figure 7 shows a yet further embodiment of a self-watering plant pot generally designated by the reference numeral 60. The pot 60 comprises a four sided, frusto-pyramidal receptacle 61 provided with rounded corners and having a false floor 62 dividing the receptacle 61 into a lower reservoir 63 for containing liquid-feed and an upper compartment 64 for containing soil. A tubular water feeding device 65 (see Figure 8) is positioned in a corner of the receptacle 61 with its lower end resting on the bottom of the receptacle 61 and its upper end terminating substantially level with the upper end of the receptacle 61. The tubular device 65 passes through a recess 66 provided in one of the corners of the false floor 62, the recess 66 being dimensioned so that the false floor 62 holds the tubular device 65 in position in the corner of the receptacle 61.The tubular device 65 consists of a non-porous tube 67, e.g. of plastics material, a wick 68 of capillary matting which covers approximately one third of the outer cylindrical surface of the -tube 67 for the entire length of the tube 67, and a snap-on, resilient clip 69 of substan tially the same length as the tube 67 and of substantially C-shaped cross-section, which is adapted to be clipped onto the tube 67 thereby partially surrounding the latter and holding the wick 68 in position against the outer cylindrical surface of the tube 67. The resilient clip 69, which may be made of a plastics material, has holes 70 of various sizes formed therein along its length, which holes are adapted to be positioned over the wick 68 when the clip 69 is clipped onto the tube 67.

The pot 60 is a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention since the recep tacle 61 is a conventional type of plant container (which has no water drainage holes) and only the tubular device 65 and false floor 62 have to be manufactured afresh to provide apparatus according to the inven tion.

I have found that when using apparatus according to my invention there is surpris ingly good translocation of liquid-feed e.g.

water, horizontally at all levels of the soil for distances of 25 cms and more to the side of the wick. As regards vertical translocation of water, gravity causes some water to move downwards through the soil. On the other hand, upward movement of water through the soil as it moves away from the wick seems to be comparatively small. In experiments using a transparent container, where I have allowed water to travel only part of the way up the soil container through the wick, the visible line marking the boundary between wet and dry soil remains substantially horizontal, even for distances of up to 25 cms from the wick.

In practice I prefer to design a plant pot so that the wick extends almost, but not quite, to the top of the soil in the fully filled pot which enables some evaporation of moisture from the top of the soil to promote healthy plant growth in dry atmospheres. In addition this ensures that the topmost layer of soil does not become wet encouraging the growth of mosses, slimes or the like. I therefore prefer to design plant pots intended for a soil depth of not more than 15 cms.

It should be realised that in apparatus acoording to the invention the wick may be positioned centrally within the soil-containing compartment (as shown in the embodiment of Figures 1 and 2) to achieve a 360 distribution of liquid-feed to soil contained in this compartment. Alternatively, to facilitate the planting of plants in the soilcontaining compartment, the wick may be positioned at the side of the compartment (as shown in the embodiments of Figures 3 and 4, Figures 5 and 6 and Figures 7 and 8). The apparatus may be of any suitable size or shape although the height to which liquidfeed can be raised by capillary action will depend on the type of material used for the wick.

As mentioned previously it is preferable to manufacture most of the parts of the apparatus according to the invention from plastics material.

I envisage that in other embodiments of the invention, the reservoir may be separable from the soil-containing compartment. In such a case a conventional flower pot or flower pots could be placed above a container defining a liquid-feed reservoir. Thus in Figure 9 there is shown a shallow receptacle 80 having positioned therein a removable false floor 81 provided with a plurality of perforations 82, the floor 81 being spaced above a body of water 83 contained in the receptacle 80. The floor 81 supports a conventional plant pot 84 filled with soil 85 and having several water-drainage holes 86 formed in its bottom. A tubular liquid-feed device 87 is positioned within the soil 85, the lower end of the device 87 projecting downwardly through one of the water-drainage holes 86, through one of the perforations 82 and into the body of water 83.The liquidfeed device 87 comprises a plastics tube 88 containing a wick 89, the upper end of the tube 88 being closed and pointed (preferably so as not to have a sharp point) to facilitate insertion of the device 87 upwardly into the soil 85 through the bottom of the pot 84. As shown only two perforations 90 are provided in the tube 88 in the upper half of the latter.

It should of course be understood, however, that further perforations may be provided in the tube 88, for example in its lower half, to enable the lower parts of the soil 85 to be moistened. In the apparatus shown in Figure 9, a plurality of pots 84 may be supported on the floor 81. In this case a plurality of liquidfeed devices 87 would of course be required.

Alternatively the receptacle 80 and floor 81 may be dimensioned so that only one pot is supported on the floor 81. Since conventional plant pots come in many shapes and sizes liquid-feed devices 87 can be supplied having a variety of different lengths.

In the apparatus shown in Figure 9 ideal growing conditions exist for a plant contained in the pot 84 since, in addition to water being transferred to the top of the soil 85 by the liquid-feed device 87, the pot 84 and plant contained therein are surrounded by water vapour rising upwardly through the perforations 82. The level of water 85 in the receptacle 80 can be seen through the perforations 82 and can be topped up either by pouring water directly onto the floor 81, so that it drains through the perforations 82, or by providing a recess or an enlarged perforation 82, through which the water is poured.

I also envisage that an apparatus according to the invention could form part of a gardening kit which could also include a suitable plant or plants, pre-measured quantities of compost, sachets of plant feed for adding to water, and possibly also a watering can and funnel for filling the reservoir of the apparatus with liquid-feed.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS: 1. An apparatus for liquid-feeding a plant comprising a reservoir for liquid-feed, a compartment for soil positioned above said reservoir, a passage communicating at its lower end with said reservoir and extending upwardly to a level above the lower half of said compartment, a perforated, non-porous partition separating said passage from said compartment, and a wick positioned within said passage and extending from said reservoir to a level above the lower half of said compartment, the perforations in the partition being dimensioned and arranged to permit liquid-feed contained in said reservoir and drawn up said wick by capillary action to be dispersed through the perforation into at least the upper half of said compartment.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1, in which the said passage extends upwardly to a position adjacent or above the top of the said compartment.

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. hand, upward movement of water through the soil as it moves away from the wick seems to be comparatively small. In experiments using a transparent container, where I have allowed water to travel only part of the way up the soil container through the wick, the visible line marking the boundary between wet and dry soil remains substantially horizontal, even for distances of up to 25 cms from the wick. In practice I prefer to design a plant pot so that the wick extends almost, but not quite, to the top of the soil in the fully filled pot which enables some evaporation of moisture from the top of the soil to promote healthy plant growth in dry atmospheres. In addition this ensures that the topmost layer of soil does not become wet encouraging the growth of mosses, slimes or the like. I therefore prefer to design plant pots intended for a soil depth of not more than 15 cms. It should be realised that in apparatus acoording to the invention the wick may be positioned centrally within the soil-containing compartment (as shown in the embodiment of Figures 1 and 2) to achieve a 360 distribution of liquid-feed to soil contained in this compartment. Alternatively, to facilitate the planting of plants in the soilcontaining compartment, the wick may be positioned at the side of the compartment (as shown in the embodiments of Figures 3 and 4, Figures 5 and 6 and Figures 7 and 8). The apparatus may be of any suitable size or shape although the height to which liquidfeed can be raised by capillary action will depend on the type of material used for the wick. As mentioned previously it is preferable to manufacture most of the parts of the apparatus according to the invention from plastics material. I envisage that in other embodiments of the invention, the reservoir may be separable from the soil-containing compartment. In such a case a conventional flower pot or flower pots could be placed above a container defining a liquid-feed reservoir. Thus in Figure 9 there is shown a shallow receptacle 80 having positioned therein a removable false floor 81 provided with a plurality of perforations 82, the floor 81 being spaced above a body of water 83 contained in the receptacle 80. The floor 81 supports a conventional plant pot 84 filled with soil 85 and having several water-drainage holes 86 formed in its bottom. A tubular liquid-feed device 87 is positioned within the soil 85, the lower end of the device 87 projecting downwardly through one of the water-drainage holes 86, through one of the perforations 82 and into the body of water 83.The liquidfeed device 87 comprises a plastics tube 88 containing a wick 89, the upper end of the tube 88 being closed and pointed (preferably so as not to have a sharp point) to facilitate insertion of the device 87 upwardly into the soil 85 through the bottom of the pot 84. As shown only two perforations 90 are provided in the tube 88 in the upper half of the latter. It should of course be understood, however, that further perforations may be provided in the tube 88, for example in its lower half, to enable the lower parts of the soil 85 to be moistened. In the apparatus shown in Figure 9, a plurality of pots 84 may be supported on the floor 81. In this case a plurality of liquidfeed devices 87 would of course be required. Alternatively the receptacle 80 and floor 81 may be dimensioned so that only one pot is supported on the floor 81. Since conventional plant pots come in many shapes and sizes liquid-feed devices 87 can be supplied having a variety of different lengths. In the apparatus shown in Figure 9 ideal growing conditions exist for a plant contained in the pot 84 since, in addition to water being transferred to the top of the soil 85 by the liquid-feed device 87, the pot 84 and plant contained therein are surrounded by water vapour rising upwardly through the perforations 82. The level of water 85 in the receptacle 80 can be seen through the perforations 82 and can be topped up either by pouring water directly onto the floor 81, so that it drains through the perforations 82, or by providing a recess or an enlarged perforation 82, through which the water is poured. I also envisage that an apparatus according to the invention could form part of a gardening kit which could also include a suitable plant or plants, pre-measured quantities of compost, sachets of plant feed for adding to water, and possibly also a watering can and funnel for filling the reservoir of the apparatus with liquid-feed. WHAT WE CLAIM IS:

1. An apparatus for liquid-feeding a plant comprising a reservoir for liquid-feed, a compartment for soil positioned above said reservoir, a passage communicating at its lower end with said reservoir and extending upwardly to a level above the lower half of said compartment, a perforated, non-porous partition separating said passage from said compartment, and a wick positioned within said passage and extending from said reservoir to a level above the lower half of said compartment, the perforations in the partition being dimensioned and arranged to permit liquid-feed contained in said reservoir and drawn up said wick by capillary action to be dispersed through the perforation into at least the upper half of said compartment.

3. An apparatus according to claim I or

2, in which the perforations in said partition open into both the upper and lower halves of the compartment.

4. An apparatus according to claim 3, in which the number of perforations opening into the lower half of the compartment is less that the number of perforations opening into the upper half of the compartment.

5. An apparatus according to claim 3 or 4, in which the total cross-sectional area of the perforations opening into the lower half of the compartment is less than the total cross-sectional area of the perforations opening into the upper half of the compartment.

6. An apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the lower one of any two perforations opening into the compartment at two different levels has a smaller cross-sectional area than the upper one of said any two perforations.

7. An apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising a receptacle having a false floor separating the reservoir from the compartment.

8. An apparatus according to claim 7, in which the false floor is removable from the receptacle.

9. An apparatus according to claim 7 or 8, in which the partition is connected to, or formed integrally with, an upwardly extending side wall of the receptacle, the said passage being formed between the partition and the side wall of the receptacle.

10. An apparatus according to claim 9, in which a section'of the said passage, extending from the reservoir to the top of the perforated partition, does not contain said wick and defines a liquid-feed supply duct for the reservoir.

I 1. An apparatus according to claim 8, in which the perforated partition at least partially circumferentially surrounds a tubular member, the wick being sandwiched between the cylindrical outer surface of the tubular member and the surrounding perforated partition.

12. An apparatus according to claim 11, in which the perforated partition is made of resilient material and is adapted to be clipped onto the tubular member.

13. An apparatus according to claim 12, in which the perforated partition has a substantially C-shaped cross-section, whereby the longitudinal edges of the partition can be resiliently urged apart to enable the partition to be clipped onto or removed from the tubular member.

14. An apparatus according to any one of claims 11 to 13, in which the wick only partially surrounds the tubular member.

15. An apparatus according to claim 11, in which the perforated partition is tubular and surrounds the said tubular member to define an annular passage between the latter and the partition.

16. An apparatus according to any one of claims 11 to 15, in which the false floor holds the perforated partition and the tubular member in position within said compartment.

17. An apparatus according to any one of claims 11 to 16, in which the said tubular member is made of a non-porous material.

18. An apparatus according to claim 8, in which the partition is tubular and defines the passage containing the wick.

19. An apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the wick comprises a capillary matting capable of lifting water by capillary action at least 13 cm.

20. An apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the partition rests on the bottom of the reservoir and is provided with openings at its lowermost end permitting liquid-feed to be drawn up into the said passage by said wick.

21. An apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, including a separate liquid-feed supply duct.

22. An apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 20, in which the reservoir is detachable from the said compartment.

23. An apparatus for liquid-feeding a plant, the apparatus being constructed and arranged substantially as herein described with reference to, and as illustrated in, Figures 1 and 2, or Figures 3 and 4, or Figures 5 and 6, of the drawings accompanying the provisional specification.

24. An apparatus for liquid-feeding a plant, the apparatus being constructed and arranged substantially as herein described with reference to, and as illustrated in, Figures 7 and 8, or Figure 9, of the drawings.