GB2219719A - Planter - Google Patents

Abstract

A planter 1 comprises an enclosure providing a main cultivation surface P at its upper end, and subsidiary cultivation surfaces 51, 52 constituted by horizontal upwardly facing openings defined between the respective upper edges of outwardly and upwardly inclined wall panels and the lower edges of vertically adjacent inclined wall panels. The planter may be of modular construction, comprising a vertical coaxial array of downwardly tapering tubular elements 3, 13, of polygonal or circular cross-section. Struts or beams may be arranged between the elements to support the elements in the required relationship. Alternatively side panels of the planter may have channels to receive edges of a rear panel and of inclined front panels arranged one above another. <IMAGE>

Description

PLANTER The present invention relates to plant holders, and is particularly concerned with containers in which a relatively large number of plants may be grown in a restricted area and for display purposes.

Hitherto, it has been proposed to use a container having vertical sidewalls to grow plants In a soil or compost within the container, the open top of the container providing a main cultivation area and subsidiary cultivation areas being provided by openings in the side walls of the container. This however leads to the problem of soil being washed out of the openings, shortening the life of the plants.

The present invention seeks to provide a planter in which a large number of plants may be grown in a small area and in which the areas available for cultivation are themselves larger than has hitherto been possible. Moreover, the planter of the present invention may be modular in construction for ease of storage and transportation.

This object is achieved in that a planter according to the present invention comprises a number of substantially vertical walls forming an open-topped enclosure for the retention of a growing medium, at least one wall having an upwardly and outwardly inclined portion, a horizontal opening being defined between the upper edge of the inclined portion and the wall, the open top of the planter constituting a main cultivation surface, and the horizontal openings constituting subsidiary cultivation surfaces.

The planter may include a wall composed substantially entirely of inclined portions, a plurality of horizontal openings being defined between the upper end of each inclined portion and the lower end of the adjacent inclined portion.

According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, a planter comprises a number of tubular tiers having first and second open ends of differing cross-sectional area, the tiers being adapted to be arranged in a vertical stack with the smaller end of each tier lowermost and the lower end of the lowermost tier closed by a floor so that a growing medium filling the tiers will present a main cultivation surface at the uppermost end of the uppermost tier and subsidiary cultivation surfaces at the uppermost ends of the lower tiers.

The cross-sectional shape of the tiers may be polygonal, circular, semicircular or elliptical, or may be any other shape such as a quadrant for fitting into a confined space or corner. In a preferred embodiment, the tiers are downwardly tapering elements of polygonal cross-sectional shape.

Three embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a first planter; Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view of the planter of Figure 1 along the line ri-ir; Figure 3 is an enlarged view of the engagement of the separators with one of the tiers of the planter.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of a tier of an alternative embodiment of a planter, and; Figure 5 is a perspective view of a planter of unitary construction.

Referring now to Figures 1 to 3, Figure 1 shows a three-tier planter 1 comprising a base tray 2, and three planter tiers 3.

The tiers 3 are trapezoidal in plan, and have planar back walls and concave side walls 3a and front walls 3b, to provide a downwardly tapering tubular structure for each tier. The upper and lower end faces of the tiers 3 are open. Clearly the side walls 3b and front walls 3a could be planar, provided that they are inclined to form a tapered tubular structure. In a further alternative, the tiers may be rectangular, triangular, circular, elliptical or of any other convenient shape in plan.

Referring now to Figure 2, there is seen a vertical sectional view of the planter.

The tiers 3 of the planter stand on a base tray 2 which has a raised side wall 6 to retain water. The tray 2 has a central raised area 5 with an inclined upper surface, the raised area conforming in size and shape to the lower end of the lowest tier 3.

Runners 7 may be attached beneath the tray 2 for ease of movement.

Each tier 3 has a front wall 3b extending upwardly and outwardly, and a vertical planar rear wall 3c. When the tiers 3 are arranged so that rear walls 3c are in a vertical plane, the front walls are held in their corresponding spacing by struts 8 engaging in brackets 9 formed on the interior of the front walls 3b of the tiers. The rear walls 3c may have cooperating locating devices such as hooks 10 to hold them in place. The hooks 10 may be formed on the outside face of the rear wall 3c, as an alternative to the arrangement shown.

Figure 3 shows an enlarged view of a bracket 9 and the arrangement of struts at the central tier 3. The bracket 9 is a rectangular projection from the inner surface of front wall 3b, perforated by a vertical passage. Each strut 8 has an enlargement Sa adjacent its end to provide axially facing shoulders 11 which bear on the upper and lower surfaces of the bracket 9 respectively. The shoulders 11 at the respective ends of each strut are arranged so as to be spaced apart by a distance equal to the height of the tiers.

To prepare the planter for use, the tray 2 is placed in the required position for the the planter and a first tier is located on to the central raised area 5 of the tray.

A strut 8 is inserted into the bracket 9 of the tier, and is held in an approximately vertical orientation while the tier is filled with a growing medium such as soil or compost.

When the tier is full, and the growing medium has been levelled off and lightly tamped, a second tier is fitted to the first by engaging its hooks 10 over the rear wall 3c of the lowermost tier and its bracket 9 over the exposed upper end of the strut 8.

This second tier may now be filled with growing medium, after a second strut is positioned in the bracket 9 of the second tier to extend upwardly eventually to support the next tier.

When the second tier is filled, tamped and the growing medium levelled, the third tier may be placed on top and filled as previously described. The planter is now ready to accept plants, flowers, etc. In the exposed areas of growing medium.

It will be appreciated that in addition to the principal growing area P afforded by the upper end of the upper tier, two subsidiary growing areas S1 and S2 are provided by that part of the upper end of each of the lower tiers that is not covered by the lower end of the tier resting thereon.

It will readily be apparent that the weight of the growing medium is largely transmitted directly through the growing medium to the base tray 2, thus allowing the walls of the tiers to be of light construction. To eliminate the possibility of lateral flow of the growing medium at the junctions between tiers, the tiers may be made to overlap, the lowermost edge of an upper tier being positioned within the lower tier, below the level of the upper edge of the lower tier.

Since the planter is difficult to move when filled with growing medium, the base tray 2 may be provided with sockets 12 to accept a frame (not shown) extending over the planter and supporting a transparent protective cover. This will allow the plants to remain outdoors in inclement weather without damage, the cover and frame being removed as the weather improves. The transparent cover may be substituted by a netting cover if protection from birds is sought.

It is envisaged that the planter tiers may be made from plastics material for lightness, or from wood if a more traditional appearance is sought. The base tray is preferably moulded from impervious plastics material.

In Figure 4 an alternative design for a planter tier is shown. The tier 13 is generally tubular in shape, and is formed at its upper end with a number of outwardly extending pockets 14. The pockets 14 are evenly spaced about the periphery of the tier 13, with the width of each pocket W equal to the spacing S between adjacent pockets. While three pockets 14 are shown, it is possible to provide four, five or more depending on the diameter of the tier. The tiers 13 are arranged in a coaxial vertical stack with each tier rotated by a predetermined angle relative to its adjacent tiers. In the case of a tier with three pockets 14, this angle will be 600; when four pockets are provide the angle is 45O.

Most preferably the tiers 13 are provided with engagement means operable between the end faces of the tiers to provide locating and fixing between adjacent tiers. Such engagement means may take the form of upwardly-open channel sections formed in the upper edge portions 15 of the tier 13 between the pockets 14, which may receive the lower edge portions 16 situated directly below the pockets 14 of the next tier 13.

Referring now to Figure 5, a planter of unitary construction is shown. The planter comprises a rear wall panel 20, and sidewalls 21 and 22.

The sidewalls 21 and 22 have a 'saw-tooth' profile at their front edges, with two horizontal parts 23 and 24 and three inclined parts 25, 26, and 27. The sidewalls 21 and 22 are formed with channels extending adjacent and parallel to their rear and inclined edge parts, into which channels the edges of the rear wall panel 20 and front wall panels 28 are received. As is clear from the Figure, the front wall panels 28 are inclined upwardly and outwardly of the planter, and horizontal openings 29 are defined by the upper edge of each front panel 28, the horizontal edges 23 of the side walls 21 and 22, and the lower edge of the adjacent front panel 28.

A bottom panel (not seen in the Figure) is held in grooves formed at the lower region of the sidewalls, and forwardly projecting feet 30 assist the stability of the planter.

To retain the planter in the assembled condition, two struts 31 extend between the sidewalls 21, 22 and fix them at a predetermined distance apart. Bolts or screws may be used to secure the struts in place, the arrangement shown being a bolt 32 engaging a captive nut 33 held in a transverse bore in the strut 31.

With the struts assembled, the rear wall panel 20, base panel, and front panels 28 are simply slid into their respective slots in the sidewalls. Preferably, rear wall panel 20 rests with its bottom edge on the base panel.

The planter may then be sited and filled with a growing medium, and sown with seed or planted with seedlings or plants1 it being clear that the principal growing area at the top of the planter is augmented by the growing areas provided by the openings 29.

While various embodiments of the invention have been described in detail, it is clear that various modifications are possible without departing from the scope of the present invention.

For example, alternative means of locating and fixing the tiers of a modular planter together may be employed, such as bolts, screws etc., and the struts may be replaced by beams resting horizontally between the tiers. In situations where the planter is positioned on a soil bed, the base tray 2 may be omitted.

While three-tiers planter have been described, it is foreseen that two, four or more tiers may be practical, and that the arrangement may be such that each subsidiary growing area extends on more than one side of the planter, or even completely around the planter.

Preferably modular planters are constructed in such a way that the tiers 3 may be nested for storage and transportation. The unitary planter of Figure 5 is constructed to be transportable as a flat pack for home assembly.

Claims (10)

1. A plantercomprising a number of substantially vertical walls forming an open-topped enclosure for the retention of a growing medium, at least one wall having an upwardly and outwardly inclined position, a horizontal opening being defined between the upper edge of the inclined portion and the wall, the open top of the planter constituting a main cultivation surface, and the horizontal openings constituting subsidiary cultivation surfaces.

2. A planter according to Claim 1 and including a base, a pair of side walls, a rear wall, and a front wall composed of three inclined sections, a horizontal upwardly facing opening being defined between each adjacent two sections of the front wall.

3. A planter according to Claim 2, wherein the rear wall includes two or more inclined sections defining therebetween at least one horizontal upwardly facing opening.

4. A planter according to Claim 2, wherein the sidewalls are formed with grooves to accept edge portions of the base, rear wall, and front wall sections.

5. A planter according to Claim 1, comprising a number of tubular tiers having first and second open ends of differing cross-sectional area, the tiers being adapted to be arranged in a vertical stack with the smaller end of each tier lowermost and the lower end of the lowermost tier closed by a floor so that a growing medium filling the tiers will present a main cultivation surface at the uppermost end of the uppermost tier and subsidiary cultivation surfaces at the uppermost ends of the lower tiers.

6. A planter according to Claim 5, wherein the cross-section shape of the tiers is polygonal.

7. A planter according to Claim 5, wherein the cross-section shape of the tiers is circular, part-circular, elliptical or partelliptical.

8. A planter according to any of Claims 5 to 7, wherein supporting struts extend between the lower ends of the tiers.

9. A planter according to any of Claims 5 to 7, wherein beams extend horizontally between the lower end of a tier and the upper end of the tier beneath it.

10. A planter according to any preceding Claim, in which there are subsidiary cultivation surfaces on two distinct levels below the main cultivation surface.