GB2155318A

GB2155318A - Potted plant carrier blank

Info

Publication number: GB2155318A
Application number: GB08406386A
Authority: GB
Inventors: A D Brewin
Original assignee: DRY TRANSFERS OF MELTON LIMITE
Current assignee: DRY TRANSFERS OF MELTON LIMITE
Priority date: 1984-03-12
Filing date: 1984-03-12
Publication date: 1985-09-25
Also published as: GB8406386D0

Abstract

A paperboard blank that can be assembled into a carrier for potted plants comprises a sheet 1 tapering outwardly to an arcuate collar portion 2 that can be wrapped around the rim of a plant pot and secured to itself by a cooperating lug 3 and slots 4. This brings the carrier into a frusto-conical shape, and strip portions 8 formed by cuts 7 can be bent inwardly to overlie the pot rim to support the carrier when the plant pot is put down. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Potted plant carrier blank This invention relates to potted plant carriers, facilitating the point-of-sale display and easy individual transportability of potted-plants.

Potted-plant carriers are known, in the form of frustro- conical containers of semi-rigid plastics film material which are formed around their upper edges with outwardly turned lips which serve as carrying handles. The base of each container is sized and shaped to receive a particular sized plant pot, so that a potted-plant can simply be dropped into the container where it stands on full display ready for sale. After sale the entire container and potted plant can be transported to the home of the purchaser.

One serious disadvantage of the above known containers is their cost of manufacture. The moulding is quite complicated, and the overall cost adds significantly to the cost of the potted plant. Also individual containers have to be designed to the sizes of plant pots to be used. Thus, for example, a container designed for a 125 cm pot would not be suitable for a 70 cm pot. Customers also find it difficult on occasion to remove the potted plant without damaging it, since the film material from which the container is made is generally very difficult to tear. Having removed the plant, there is also a nuisance value in having to dispose of a relatively bulky formed container.

The present invention overcomes all of the above disadvantages, provides a potted plant carrier that can be formed from a blank of sheet material such as paperboard, as an alternative to the more expensive semi-rigid sheet material previously used.

This invention provides a blank for a potted plant carrier, comprising a flexible sheet for receiving printed matter, the sheet tapering outwardly to an arcuate bottom edge portion which has at its opposite ends means for cooperating one with the other to draw the sheet into a frustro-conical configuration with the bottom edge portion received as a supporting collar around the rim of a pot of a potted plant; and carrying means formed in an upper portion of the sheet. The arcuate bottom edge portion of the blank thus forms a collar which in use extends around the rim of the plant pot. The cooperating means at the ends of this collar preferably comprise a lug formed at one end and at least one slot formed near the other end for receiving and retaining the lug.By providing a number of such slots the collar can be made adjustable so that the blank can be assembled into carriers, for different sized plant pots. A preferred feature of the invention in the provision of at least one column of concentric arcuate slits in the flexible sheet, spaced slightly from and concentric with the arcuate bottom edge. Such slits define one or more portions of the flexible sheet which, when the blank is assembled around a potted plant, can be bent inwardly, closely to overlie a top edge of the plant pot to support the carrier on the pot. Thus when the blank is assembled around a plant pot, or when the blank is first assembled to a suitable size and then a plant pot dropped into place to be supported by the collar, the one or more portions defined by the slits can be bent inwardly over the top edge of the plant pot.It follows that when the plant pot is standing on a horizontal surface the carrier is supported on the pot by those inwardly bent portions; and when the carrier is held by its carrying means the pot is supported by the collar surrounding the rim of the pot.

Drawings: Figure 1 is a plan view of a blank according to the invention; Figure 2 is a perspective view of a plant pot carrier assembled from the blank of Figure 1; and Figure 3 is a plan view from above of the assembled carrier, showing the inwardly bent portions of the flexible sheet which retain the carrier on the pot in use. The plant pot carrier blank of Figure 1 comprises a sheet of paperboard 1 for receiving printed matter (on one or both sides of the sheet, as desired). This sheet 1 tapers outwardly to a bottom edge of the blank, which is arcuate and defines the bottom edge of a collar portion 2 of the blank. At one end of the collar portion 2 is a lug 3 which in use can be received and retained in any of a series of slots 4 as shown in Figure 2.

Assembly of the blank into a carrier is by bending the collar portion 2 around in the direction of the arrow 5 until the lug 3 is received and retained in any of the slots 4. This forms a frustro-conical container as shown in Figure 2, and it will be appreciated that the bending of the collar 2 also imparts a frustro-conical curvature to the upstanding sheet 1, giving it a rigidity in excess of that which would be established by a planar sheet.

At the top portion of the sheet 1 there is formed an oval cut-out portion 6 which serves as a carrying handle.

At the bottom portion of the sheet 1, above the collar portion 2, are three columns of arcuate slots 7 all concentric with the bottom arcuate edge of the blank. Between each pair of adjacent slots 7 in each column is thus formed a portion 8 of the blank which can, in use, be bent inwardly as shown in Figure 3. In use when a potted plant is supported by the carrier by having the collar closely engaging the rim of the plant pot, these portions 8 are pressed inwardly closely adjacent to the top edge of the plant pot rim. Thus when the carrier is put down, and the weight of the potted plant taken by the base of the plant pot rather than by its rim, the carrier is still held in its original position relative to the pot. Stability is ensured by having the three columns of slits 7 spaced equally so as to bring the supporting portions 8 into a mutual spacing of approximately 1200.

The carrier and blank illustrated may be modified by varying the shape of the outline of the sheet 1 for aesthetic reasons. For example the smooth contour of the outer edge of the sheet could be replaced by one that is fluted or otherwise discontinuous, without affecting the functions of the individual portions of the sheet as described above.

The blanks of the invention are easy to print to customers' requirements; easy to store; and inexpensive. Moreover the assembled carriers are readily removed from the pot plants by the customer, and do not provide a bulky item for refuse disposal.

Claims

1. A blank for a potted plant carrier, comprising a flexible sheet for receiving printed matter, the sheet tapering outwardly to an arcuate botton edge portion which has at its opposite ends means for cooperating one with the other to draw the sheet into a frustro- conical configuration with the bottom edge portion received as a supporting collar around the rim of a pot of a potted plant; and carrying means formed in an upper portion of the sheet.

2. A blank according to claim 1, wherein the cooperating means at the ends of the bottom edge portion of the flexible sheet comprise a lug formed at one end and at least one slot formed near the other end for receiving and retaining the lug.

3. A blank according to claim 2, wherein a number of such slots formed near the said other end enables the blank to be assembled into carriers for different sized plant pots.

4. A blank according to any preceding claim, wherein at least one column of concentric arcuate slits in the flexible sheet, spaced slightly from and concentric with the arcuate bottom edge, defines one or more portions of the flexible sheet which, when the blank is assembled around a potted plant, can be bent inwardly closely to overlie a top edge of the plant pot to support the carrier on the pot.

5. A blank according to claim 4, wherein three such columns of concentric arcuate slots define three such inwardly bendable portions of the flexible sheet which, in the assembled condition of the carrier, are spaced generally equally around the circumference of the plant pot.

6. A blank according to any preceding claim, formed from paperboard or from a semi-rigid homogeneous plastics film material.

7. A blank for a potted plant container, substantially as described herein with reference to the drawings.