GB2035957A

GB2035957A - Improvements in and relating to devices for supporting growing plants

Info

Publication number: GB2035957A
Application number: GB7939602A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1978-11-17
Filing date: 1979-11-15
Publication date: 1980-06-25
Also published as: IE782273L; NL8002867A; GB2035957B

Abstract

A spool for use in "layering" plants has two flanges (5, 6) one of which (6) is larger and heavier than the other (5) and has cord locking slots (8, 8a) extending inwardly from its periphery (9). In use, the spool is wound with cord 21 and mounted on a horizontal support wire (22) above a plant (not shown). The spool tilts to one side on the wire (22) with the flange (6) lowermost. Cord (21) is passed from the spool, about the support wire (22) through a cord locking slot (8) and attached to a plant below. The spool is thereby maintained on the wire (22) and cord (21) is prevented from unwinding. When required, at intervals during the growing season, the spool may be rolled backwards (arrow A) to release the cord (21) from the slot (8), then rolled forward to pay out the required amount of cord (21), and then the cord (21) is reengaged in a slot (8). <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Improvements in and relating to devices for supporting growing plants The present invention relates to devices for supporting growing plants, and is particularly concerned with devices for use in the layering of plants, such as, for example, tomato plants.

Layering is the name given to a technique which has been developed in the horticultural industry and which allows the lower parts of the stems of certain plants to lie horizontally on the ground after the lower parts of the stems have borne fruit, and which involves training the fruit bearing upper parts of the stems of the plant to continue to grow verticaliy or upwardly along a cord or like support. When used in growing tomatoes the technique involves erecting a horizontally disposed support wire at a height of about 2 metres above the growing medium. A cord of about 7 metres in length is wound or rolled on to a holder, and the holder is hung from, or otherwise slidably connected to, the support wire.

The free end of the cord is then dropped to the tomato plant below the support wire and tied to the stem of the plant close to the base of the plant, and the plant is trained to grow upwardly along, and to be supported by, the cord.

When the plant has grown to a height of about 2 metres, the plant has produced a crop. When the crop has been picked, further cord is paid out from the holder which is moved along the horizontally disposed support wire in a direction away from the root of the plant. The lower part of the plant stem which has borne fruit lies on the soil and the upper part of the plant stem continues to grow upwardly along, and to be supported by, the cord.

The unrolling of the cord and the horizontal moving of the holder is continued at intervals over the growing season, until the 7 metres of cord have been paid out.

The operation of lifting the holder off the support wire, unrolling cord, replacing the holder and moving the holder along the support wire, is arduous and is time consuming, when that operation needs to be performed on a substantial number of plants.

The present invention relates to a novel holder for use in the layering of plants.

The present invention provides a spool having a pair of flanges, one at each end of the spool, for containing on the spool a length of cord, the spool being characterized in that one of the flanges is heavier than the other and the heavier flange has a slot extending inwardly from its periphery.

Advantageously, the diameter of the heavier flange is greater than the diameter of the lighter flange.

Advantageously the slot may serve to fixedly engage or lock cord wound on the spool, the inward extent of the slot being such that the volume of cord necessary for a particular application of the spool may be accommodated on the spool interiorly of the slot.

Advantageously, when the spool is rested on a horizontal support wire and cord is dravvn from the spool through the slot and is attached to a plant located below the support wire. the support wire is contained within a triangle formed by the spool, the heavier flange, and the cord passing from the spool through the slot, the spool being thereby maintained on the support wire and the cord being locked in the slot so that further cord cannot unwind from the spool.

The invention will hereinafter be described more particularly with reference to the accompanying drawings which illustrate, by way of example only, a preferred embodiment of the invention.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of the device,-from one side; Figure 2 is a side elevation from the other side; Figure 3 is a plan view; Figure 4 is a section on the line A-A of Figure 1; Figure 5 is a perspective view of the device mounted upon a wire; and Figure 6 is an end view of the device, mounted upon a wire.

Referring to the drawings, the device comprises a spool having a pair of flanges 5 and 6, bridged by a drum or cylinder 7. The flange 6 is larger than the flange 5 in both diameter and thickness and in the flange 6 are two slots 8 and two slots 8a each of which extends inwardly from the perimeter 9 of the flange 6 at an angle to a diameter of the flange 6 through said slot. The slots 8 are mirror images of the slots 8a about diameters of the flange 6.

The inner end of each of the slots 8 and 8a is formed at a distance from the axis of the cylinder 7 which is greater than the distance between that axis and the perimeter 14 of the smaller flange 5.

Ideally, the angle XYZ formed between lines XY and YZ and shown in Figure 6 is not less than 200.

In use, a spool wound with cord 21 is located on a horizontal support wire 22 disposed about 2 metres above the growing medium in which there is a growing plant (not shown), such as a tomato plant. When located on the support wire 22, because the flange 6 is heavier than the flange 5, the spool has a tendency to "tilt" over, to a position in which the flange 6 is lower than the flange 5. The free end of the cord 21 is fed through one of the slots 8 and is connected to the stem of the plant in the conventional manner so that the wire 22 is located within a triangle 23 (as shown in Figure 6) formed by the flange 6, the cord 21 and the periphery of the cylinder 7.

Because the wire 22 is confined within the triangle 23, the spool is retained on the wire 22 generally in the position shown in Figures 5 and 6, when the cord 21 is held taut by the weight of the plant.

When it is desired to pay out further cord 21, it is merely necessary to roll the spool backwards along the wire i.e. in the direction of arrow A (shown in Figure 5) so as to disengage the cord 21 from the slot 8 and then to roll the spool forward along the wire 22 until the desired further length of cord 21 has been unrolled or paid out, and finally to alow the cord 21 to enter one of the slots 8, thus again locking the spool onto the wire 22.

It will be seen from the drawings that the slots 8 and 8a, and in particular the open ends of the slots 8 and 8a at the periphery of the flange 6, are so shaped that if, as the cord 21 is being unrolled, it slides along the periphery of the flange 6 then, if it encounters the open end of a slot 8 it will enter the slot 8 and become engaged therein, but if it encounters the open end of a slot 8a it will slide past the opening of said slot.

Where a large number of tomato plants are being grown, it may be necessary for an individual to rotate a considerable number of the spools one after the other. The dimensions of the flange 6 are accordingly chosen so that the flange 6 may easily be rotated by hand and will not cut or bruise the hand. The flange 6 shown in the drawings has a diameter of 90 millimeters and has a thickness at its periphery of 2.5 millimeters.

Where a large number of tomato plants are being grown, for example in a glasshouse, each one of a row of plants may be supported by means of a spool according to the invention, the spools being mounted above the plants on a single horizontal support wire parallel to the row of plants. It is desirable, at periodic intervals during the growing season to pay out further cord to each plant. This may be acheived by walking along beside the row of plants and performing the above described operation of rolling the spool backwards to disengage the cord, rolling forwards to pay out further cord, and then, when sufficient cord has been paid out, allowing the cord to become reengaged in a slot.This operation may be performed more quickly and easily then, for example, tying knots above each plant, and thus, where plants are grown on a large scale, the use of spools according to the invention may result in considerable savings in iabour.

The smaller flange 5 is provided with two radial slots 1 5 at its periphery and the larger flange 6 is provided with two ridges 1 6 on its outer surface.

The slots 1 5 and ridges 1 6 are complementary so that two or more spools may be held or fastened together by the ridges 1 6 of one spool interlocking with the slots 1 5 of another. This may facilitate packaging, transportation and the like, and may also be of assistance during the operation (described below) of winding cord onto the spools.

The interior of the hollow cylinder 7 may be provided with means (not shown) whereby the device may be located on a spool rotating shaft or axle (not shown). For example the hollow cylinder 7 may have one or more flat surfaces by means of which the spool may be located upon and rotated by a spool-rotating axle. A plurality of the spools mounted upon the spool-rotating axle may be wound with cord in a semi-automated fashion.

The spools are mounted end to end along the axle, with the larger flange of each spool adjacent the smaller flange of its neighbour. The free end of cord from a bobbin (not shown) is wound one turn onto the first spool, is fed through one of the slots 8a, and is knotted exteriorly of the flange 6. The knotted end of the cord is held by the slot 8a and the spool rotating axle is then rotated so that cord is drawn off the bobbin and onto the spool.

When the first spool has been wound with cord, rotation of the axle is stopped. The cord extending between the first spool and the bobbin is drawn through a slot 8a on the next spool, so that on further rotation of the cylinder rotating axle, cord is wound onto the second spool. The procedure is repeated for the third and subsequent spools.

When all the spools have been wound, the cord connecting contiguous spools is cut. Cord wound on the second and each subsequent spool is then secured on the spool by knotting, exteriorly of the flange, the end of the cord which protrudes from the slot 8a.

It has already been mentioned that the slots 8 and 8a are "mirror images" of one another. Thus if a spool is incorrectly mounted upon the spool rotating axle so that in the winding operation the cord is initially fed through a slot 8, rather than a slot 8a, then, in operation, the cord connected to the plant is fed through one of the slots 8a.

Claims

1. A spool having a pair of flanges, one at each end of the spool, for containing on the spool a length of cord, characterized in that one of the flanges is heavier than the other and the heavier flange has a slot extending inwardly from its periphery.

2. A spool according to claim 1 in which the diameter of the heavier flange is greater than the diameter of the lighter flange.

3. A spool according to claim 1 or 2 for use in supporting a growing plant, characterised in that the slot may serve to fixedly engage or lock cord wound on the spool, the inward extent of the slot being such that the volume of cord necessary for a particular application of the spool may be accommodated on the spool interiorly of the slot.

4. A spool according to any preceding claim characterized in that when the spool is rested on a horizontal support wire and cord is drawn from the spool through the slot and is attached to a plant located below the support wire, the support wire is contained within a triangle formed by the spool, the heavier flange, and the cord passing from the spool through the slot, the spool being thereby maintained on the support wire and the cord being locked in the slot so that further cord cannot unwind from the spool.

5. A spool according to any preceding claim in which the heavier flange is provided with more than one cord locking slot.

6. A spool according to claim 2 or any of claims 3-5 as dependent on claim 2 in which the cord locking slot or slots in the heavier flange extend inwardly from the periphery of the heavier flange by an amount which is less than the difference between the radii of the two flanges.

7. A spool according to claim 6 in which the cord locking slot or slots in the heavier flange extend a distance inwardly from the periphery of said flange such that there is an angle of at least 1 50, and preferably 200, between a line through the periphery of the lighter flange and parallel to the axis of the spool, and a line through the periphery of the lighter flange and the inner end of said slot or slots.

8. A spool according to any preceding claim in which the or each cord locking slot extends inwardly from the periphery of a flange at an angle to a diameter of said flanges through said slot.

9. A spool according to claim 8 in which a flange provided with cord locking slots has one or more pairs of such slots, the slots of a pair being mirror images of one another about a diameter of said flange.

1 O. A spool according to claim 9 in which the slots, and in particular the openings of the slots are so shaped that when cord is held taut against the peripheral edge of a flange provided with a pair of such cord engaging slots and the cord is moved along said peripheral edge, if the cord encounters one of a pair of slots it becomes fixedly engaged therein but if it encounters the other it does not.

1 A spool according to claim 9 or 10 in which the or each flange has two pairs of slots.

1 2. A spool according to any preceding claim in which the drum of the spool is hollow and open at both ends so that it may be mounted on a rotatable shaft, and is provided with means on the inside surface of the drum whereby the spool may be detachably fixed to said rotatable shaft.

13. A spool according to any preceding claim in which the or a slotted flange has a thickness at its periphery of at least two millimetres.

14. spool according to claim 2 or any of claims 3-1 3 as dependent on claim 2, in which the heavier flange has a thickness at its periphery of at least two millimetres.

1 5. A spool according to any preceding claim in which the or a slotted flange has a diameter of between 70 and 110 millimetres, and preferably between 80 and 100 millimetres.

16. A spool according to claim 2 or claims 3-1 5 as dependent on claim 2, in which the heavier flange has a diameter of between 70 and 110 millimetres, and preferably between 80 and 100 millimetres.

1 7. A spool according to any preceding claim, provided with attachment means whereby the spool may be detachably connected end to end to another similar spool so that a line of similar spools may be attached end to end to one another.

1 8. A spool substantially as herein described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.

1 9. A method, substantially as herein described, of layering plants, and in particular tomato plants, using a spool according to the invention.

20. A method, substantially as herein described, of winding cord from a bobbin of cord or the like on to a plurality of spools according to the invention.

21. The features described in the foregoing specification or any obvious equivalent thereof in any novel selection.