GB2418340A

GB2418340A - A potted plant watering device

Info

Publication number: GB2418340A
Application number: GB0421507A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Brian Shenk; Paul Harrison
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2004-09-28
Filing date: 2004-09-28
Publication date: 2006-03-29
Also published as: GB0421507D0

Abstract

A potted plant watering device consists of a plant pot 1 with one or more drainage holes, a reservoir 2 and a pot support 3, which holds the base of the pot above the level of the water in the reservoir. Water is drawn from the reservoir by a wick 5 which is made of fibrous material and is held by a wick support 4. The wick support has a slit to hold the wick as it is pushed into the pot to its proper height. The wick support has a clip device which locks the pot support to the pot. The reservoir has locators around the perimeter of the interior of the base to centralise the pot support within the reservoir to ensure uniform presentation and stability.

Description

24 1 8340

POTTED PLANT WATERING DEVICE

This invention relates to a plant water device for both indoor and outdoor potted plants.

Most of us find it difficult to maintain an appropriate water supply for our plants. We tend to over or underwater them. We are not certain: I How much water our plants require? 2 How often should we water them? 3 How we can be certain our plants will have enough water while we are away on holiday? 4 If the plants are outdoors, how can we keep the plants from being saturated by rain? ? 5 How can we be certain that we have not over watered our potted houseplants so that the water does not flood onto the floor? There is a need for a simple method of watering plants, a system that will provide the appropriate amount of water, as the plant requires it.

This invention covers the five basic questions asked above. Its design allows it to be used either as a complete standalone system, or in conjunction with an existing potted plant. The Potted Plant Watering Device provides the right amount of water regardless of the type of plant, providing the reservoir has water in it. Thirsty plants or those that require little water, all do well on this system. The device may be used on any household potted plant either in or outdoors.

The present invention, a watering device for indoor or outdoor potted plants, consists of a plant pot that has one or more drain holes, a reservoir, a pot support, a wick support with clip, and a wick. The pot may be any plant pot with one or more drain holes. The reservoir is designed to hold sufficient water for several days. The plant pot support is designed to keep the pot above the f ll level of the reservoir to prevent over watering. The wick support with its clip device locks the base support to the pot making assembly easier and ensures that the pot and support are properly aligned and acts as a guide and support for inserting the wick into the pot to the appropriate height for the pot being used.

The wick support with clip device can be easily removed for disassembly and storage purposes. The wick draws water up from the reservoir into the pot. The reservoir provides ample water for several days. The exact length of time between taping up the water in the reservoir depends upon the type of plant and moisture content of the air.

A specific embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 Shows the system in perspective illustrating how the system would appear to the Viewer.

Figure 2 Shows the reservoir with locator studs to centralise the pot holder.

Figure 3 Shows and example of the wick and wick support inserted into the locator hole appropriate for the pot being used, Figure 4 Shows an example of a wick support with clip device.

Figure 5 Shows an example of a wick.

Figure 6 Shows a cut away view of an assembled potted plant watering device Figure 7 Shows an example of a support with clip locked into place attaching the pot to the pot support..

Figure 8 Shows an example of a pot support locators.

Referring to the drawings as shown in Figures 1-8. The Potted Plant Watering Device comprises a Pot l, a pot support 2, a reservoir 3, a wick support 4, and a wick 5.

Referring to figures l and 6 the plant pot l is any commercial plant pot with one or more drain holes in its base. Typically, and for the best results, the pot contains potting soil. The plant may be potted before or after assembly, thus permitting the system to be used on existing potted plants with a minimum of stress to the plant.

Referring to figures 2, 6 and 8 the reservoir 2 has locators 7 around the perimeter of the interior of the base that are used to centralise the pot support within the reservoir to ensure a uniform presentation when the system is assembled and the plant is on display. The locators help prevent the pot support 3 from sliding about within the reservoir 2 when the potted plants watering device is moved from one location to another, thus reducing the chance of toppling the plant over. The support 6 is designed to make the reservoir stronger, this was found to be important when moving assembled plants. Ordinary reservoirs tend to buckle and water can spill out when the plants are moved. The reservoir is made of suitable plastic material that is fairly ridged.

Referring to figures 3 and 6 the pot support 3 is designed to hold the pot above the fill level of the reservoir 2 This feature is particularly important for outdoor plants that are susceptible to overfilling during heavy rains. There are drain/fill points 9 around the parameter of the pot support 3 which allows free flow of water into the reservoir 2 when filling, or out of the reservoir 2 in the case of outdoor systems during heavy rain There are locator holes 8 in the top of the pot support 3, which allows the pot support 3 to be properly aligned with any plant pot with one or more drain hole, for insertion of the wick. The locator holes 8 permit the use of more than one wick 5 when required for larger plant pots.

Referring to figure 4, 6 and 7 the wick support 4 is designed to guide the wick S into the plant pot 1 to its proper height. To make assembly easier the wick support clip lo locks the pot l and the pot support 3 together. The wick support 4 can be easily removed by compressing the lower end 11 of the wick support 4 and pulling the assembled wick out of the pot. This feature enables the pot l, the reservoir 2, and the pot support 3 to be stacked for convenient storage. The slot 12 is used to hold the wick 5 securely in place during insertion into the pot. The wick support 4 is made of a semi flexible plastic material, flexible yet firm enough to insert the wick.

Referring to figure 5 and 6 the wick 5 is made of fibrous material that has suitable capillary action to raise the appropriate amount of water for the application. The wick S is cut in such a way l 3 that as the wick is passed though the wick support it will indicate when the wick is in its proper assembly position.

To assemble the device the wick 5 is inserted into the wick support 4 pulling it through until the wick is properly positioned in the wick support 4 with the cut out portion 13 of the wick S resting in the slot 12 of the wick support 3. The assembled wick S and wick support 4 are inserted through the matching holes 8 in the base of the pot support 3 and the pot] . When the wick support 4 clicks into place, locking the pot 1 and the pot support 3 together, the wick S is at the appropriate height. The assembled pot l with wick 5, wick support 4, and pot support 3 are placed in the reservoir 2. If the plant is not already in the pot 1, place the plant in the pot 1 and fill with potting soil. The reservoir 2 is filled with water and then topped up as required.

Claims

1. The present invention, a watering device for indoor or outdoor potted plants, consists of a plant pot that has one or more drain holes, a reservoir, a pot support designed to be used with most existing pots with one or more drainage holes in the base keeps the pot above the fill level of the reservoir to prevent over watering, a wick support with clip, and a wick to draw water up from the reservoir into the pot, the wick support with clip device locks the pot support to the pot making assembly easier and ensures that the pot and support are properly aligned and acts as a guide and support for inserting the wick into the pot to the appropriate height for the pot being used, the wick support with clip can be easily removed for disassembly and storage purposes.

2. The Plant Watering Device as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the reservoir 2 has locators which help stabilize the system when being moved, and centralise the pot support 3 within the reservoir 2 so that the completed assembly is uniform in appearance.

3. The Plant Watering Device as claimed in Claim 2 wherein the reservoir 2 has a suitable support 6 to provide additional lateral strength to the reservoir, this is important as most reservoirs tend to buckle when the plant is being moved, thus spilling water.

4. The Plant Watering Device as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the pot support 3 holds the pot 1 above the overflow level of the reservoir, this feature is important when the system is used outdoors where excess rain fall will be drained off through the pot drain holes down into the reservoir 2 and over its top to the ground.

5. The Plant Watering Device as claimed in Claim 4 wherein the pot support 3 has drain/fill points 9 around the parameter of the pot support 3 which allows free flow of water into the reservoir 2 when filling, or out of the reservoir 2 in the case of outdoor systems during heavy rain.

6. The Plant Watering Device as claimed in Claim 4 wherein the pot support 3 has holes 8 located to accommodate most pots with drain holes whether they have one central hole or several holes near the edge of the pot base, this allows the system to be more flexible, satisfying the needs of a variety of pots.

7. The Plant Watering Device as claimed in Claim 4 and 6 wherein the pot support holes 8 allows for the use of more than one wick 5 when required by larger pots.

8. The Plant Watering Device as claimed in as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the wick support 4 is designed to guide the wick 5 through the pot support 3 into the pot I to the appropriate height for the pot size, the wick support is made of plastic material that is flexible yet firm enough to tolerate wick insertion into the pot.

9. The Plant Watering Device as claimed in as Claim 8 wherein the wick support 4 has a locking device 10 which locks the poll and pot support 3 together for assembly purposes.

10. The Plant Watering Device as claimed in as Claim 8 wherein the wick support 4 has a release mechanism 11 that allows the wick support to be removed from the assembled pot 1 and pot support 3, this feature allows the disassembled units to be easily nested for storage.

11. The Plant Watering Device as claimed in as Claim 8 wherein the wick support 4 has a slot 12 designed to hold the wick securely in place when the assembled wick support 4 and wick 5 are inserted into the pot.

12. The Plant Watering Device as claimed in as Claim 1 wherein the wick 5 is made of fibrous material that has suitable capillary action to raise the appropriate amount of water for the application, the wick has a locator point 13 cut into it which is used to indicate, during assembly, that the wick is properly assembled to the wick support.

13. The Plant Water Device substantially as described herein with reference to Figures 1-8 of the accompanying drawings.