RU2407279C2 - System of modular containers - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: agriculture.

SUBSTANCE: system may be used in agriculture, landscape gardening, arrangement of partitions, walls and paths in open areas and is suitable for use inside premises, shopping malls and offices. System comprises container in the form of parallelepiped with two separating walls, which form three chambers. Upper edge of each extreme chamber is equipped with cartridge, which forms a vertical channel. Lower end of cartridge goes outside the container bottom limits, has slightly smaller dimensions and is equipped with slot arranged along the whole perimetre. System comprises connectors for connection of adjacent containers in horizontal plane, base for arrangement of containers on soil, side support identical to upper edge of chamber, grid for collection of moisture on container bottom and provision of root system aeration, tray for collection of drained water, support element arranged with the possibility of installation in channel and support of profile for suspension and retention of shading grid or film, protective plastic coating for creation of greenhouse and/or installation of air irrigation system.

EFFECT: such design of the system makes it possible to grow crops on height and in vertical direction with the help of containers stacking on top of each other, and also provides for easy harvesting and increases crop capacity of area occupied by the system.

10 cl, 31 dwg

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a system of modular containers, and more specifically, to a system of pots for plants that can be joined together using connectors and by stacking, which allows you to create modular designs of various formats. The system can be used in agriculture, floriculture, installation of partitions, walls and paths in open spaces and is especially suitable for indoor use, shopping centers and offices. In agriculture, it can be used as pots for plants when grown on the street or inside the greenhouse. In particular, the system is useful for growing crops using the hydroponic technique, in which instead of soil the pots are filled with a substrate (nutrient medium). In gardening, it can be used as a pot for growing ornamental plants, and in the construction industry it can be used as a decorative element for outdoor and indoor areas (with or without plants), for the formation of walls, partitions, or as ordinary flower pots.

State of the art

The applicant is not aware of container systems that have the features of paragraph 1 of the claims.

Among the known containers or pots, according to the applicant, technical solutions according to US 5511342, DE 29720843U and DE 20014244U should be indicated.

US Pat. No. 5,511,342 relates to flower pots forming a self-supporting modular structure comprising a plurality of flower pots, each pot containing first container elements being combined together by at least one channel, suitable for containing ornamental plants and capable of being coaxially joined by a rigid connection, formed by their joined profiles. Each of these flower pots can coaxially dock with the second container element by means of a rigid connection formed by abutting profiles. In addition, each of these container elements is coaxially mounted inside the pan under the pot.

The patent DE 29720843U relates to a modular design for flower pots, boxes, pallets, etc., in which each of the structural modules has a diamond shape, consisting of two triangular modules and truncated at each of the four corners. Two protrusions formed by three parts are divided into two triangular sections and one rectangular section. These protrusions are located in the center of the two leading edges of the diamond-shaped portion on the longitudinal axis of the profile, in side view.

DE 20014244U relates to a modular socket in the form of a column for home or garden plants, which contains a number of tubular sections and dividing panels with openings, as well as a drip tray for collecting flowing water. The various sections of the column with a circular cross-section can be joined together by screw connection systems, possibly using screwed-up dividing panels. Side openings for plants can be positioned in various directions by rotating sections. The column can be used as a simple outlet for plants or as an architectural element capable of absorbing loads, or to form a partition between compartments. The socket consists of modular parts that can be easily assembled by mounting them on top of each other so as to form a socket for plants or a flower pot.

As you can see, none of these documents is an analogue of the present invention.

Disclosure of invention

The invention provides a modular container system for use in agriculture, horticulture and construction, comprising a box in the form of a parallelepiped with two dividing walls that form three chambers. The upper edge of each extreme chamber is provided with a sleeve that forms a vertical channel. The lower end of the specified sleeve extends beyond the bottom of the container, has a slightly smaller size and is equipped with a groove running along the entire perimeter. The system further comprises connectors for connecting adjacent containers in a horizontal plane; base for placing containers on the ground; lateral support identical to the upper edge of the chamber; a grate for collecting moisture on the bottom of the container and providing aeration of the root system; a pan for collecting water glasses and a support element configured to install in the channel and support the profile for hanging and holding a shading net or film, a protective plastic coating to create a greenhouse and / or install an air irrigation system.

The longer side walls of the container are preferably provided with conical protrusions forming bulges that extend outward and are formed on one side of the container or on both sides thereof.

The conical protrusions can pass through all the chambers to form a single protruding bulge or can be provided in each of the chambers, forming three protruding bulges. In the case of a conical protrusion that passes through all three chambers, the dividing wall of the chambers passes directly to the wall of the protrusion.

In a preferred embodiment, the lower ends are configured to install the container on the upper ends of the channels, thereby stacking the containers on top of each other.

In other embodiments, the connectors that connect adjacent containers in a horizontal plane are made in the form of an annular element with two holes, an element with three brackets, each of which is provided with an opening, and a cross with four holes, which are respectively designed to connect the containers side by side in the form triangle and in the form of a cross.

Connectors can be mounted inside the groove provided on the inside of the container.

The channels preferably form a tubular structure which, when stacked vertically stacked, connects them together, and the vertical channel created by the sequence of containers can be used as a drainage channel for leaking or irrigation water and as a guide for the introduced vertical tube in order to increase the stability of the entire structure.

In another embodiment, a drainage grate is installed inside the chambers to collect moisture on the bottom of the container and provide aeration of the root system through a channel formed when the containers are connected, said grate consisting of a tray with supports distributed on its inner surface to support the bottom of the container, and directly grates for aeration.

In more complex designs, the side supports provide container-free spaces and configure the side walls of such structures.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The following description is based on the accompanying drawings, which, without any limitation, represent:

1-4 are an embodiment of a container according to the invention, respectively a perspective view, a main front view, a side front view and a plan view;

5-8 show a container according to a second embodiment of the invention;

Figures 9-12 show a container according to a third embodiment of the invention;

13-16 show a container according to a fourth embodiment of the invention;

17-20 are an embodiment of the invention;

21, 22 and 23a and b are respectively a front view and a plan view of the connectors of the container;

figa, b and c - the basis for the container, respectively, a plan view, the main front view, perspective view and side front view;

figa, b and c is a view of the side support, respectively, the main front view, side front view and plan view;

FIG. 26 is a perspective view of a support member; FIG.

figa and b, respectively, a perspective view from above and below the lattice placed inside the container;

FIG. 28 is a perspective view of a drip tray;

Fig. 29 is a perspective view of a suspension element;

Fig - a possible set of modular containers and

Fig - another set of modular containers.

The implementation of the invention

As can be seen in the figures, the modular container according to the invention consists of a box 1 in the form of a parallelepiped with two dividing walls 2, which form three chambers 3. At the upper edge of each chamber there is a sleeve 4, which forms a vertical channel 5, and the lower end 6 of this sleeve extends beyond the bottom of the container and is slightly smaller. The dimensions of the lower end 6 are selected so that the container can be placed on the upper ends of the channels 5, which allows the containers 1 to be stacked, stacking them on top of each other.

Such a tubular structure formed by channels 5, when stacking containers vertically allows them to be joined together, and the vertical channel created by the sequence of containers can be used as a drainage channel for leaked or irrigation water and as a guide for the introduced vertical tube in order to increase the stability of the entire designs. The supporting element 16 (Fig. 26) can be inserted into the channel 5 and can receive a tube capable of supporting the profile 17 (Fig. 29) for hanging and holding a shading net or film, a protective plastic coating for creating a greenhouse and / or installing an air irrigation system .

The containers shown in FIGS. 5-15 have the same characteristics and are provided with conical protrusions on the longer side walls. These protrusions form "bulges" that extend outward and can be formed on one side of the container 1 or on both sides.

In FIGS. 5-8, the container 1 has conical protrusions 7, one on each chamber 3, but only on one side of the container 1. In FIGS. 9-12, the container 1 has the same conical protrusions 7, but on both sides.

13-16 represent other embodiments of the invention. As you can see, in Fig.13-16, the container 1 has only one protrusion 8 with a configuration essentially similar to the configuration of the conical protrusion 7, which passes through all the chambers 3. In Fig.17-20 container 1 has a protrusion 8 which passes through the three chambers 3. In the last two embodiments, the separation wall 2, which forms the chambers 3, extends directly to the wall of the protrusion 8.

The system also includes connectors 9, shown in Fig.21-23, for connecting adjacent containers in a horizontal plane. In Fig.21, connector 9 is formed by an annular element with two round holes, in Fig.22, connector 9 is formed by an element with three brackets, each of which contains a round hole, and in Fig.23, connector 9 is formed by a cross-shaped element with four brackets, each of which contains a round hole. As you can understand, these connectors allow you to respectively connect two containers side by side, three containers in the form of a triangle and four containers in four directions defined by the sides of the connector. All connectors 9 are placed inside the groove 10 provided for this purpose on the inside of the container 1.

All of the above containers are installed on the base 11 (Fig.24), which allows you to put the containers on the ground. They are installed by inserting the lower end 6 into the tubular protrusion 12 provided on the base.

The side supports 13 (shown in FIGS. 25a, b and c), which are exactly identical to the upper edge of the chamber 3, make it possible to create spaces without containers in more complex structures and configure the side walls of such structures.

Inside the chambers 3, a drainage grate 14 can be inserted (Fig. 27), which is designed to collect moisture on the bottom of the container and provide aeration of the radicular system through the channel 5 formed after the containers are connected. This element consists of a pallet with supports distributed on its inner surface to support the bottom of the container 1, and the grate for aeration.

Glass rain or irrigation water can be collected in a pan 15, which is located at the bottom of the container and is shown in Fig. 28.

Along with numerous design solutions resulting from assembly combinations of containers, connectors and supporting parts, this system also provides an innovative crop solution that allows you to grow crops at heights and in the vertical direction by stacking containers with stacking them on top of each other (Fig. 30 and 31). This solution is especially suitable for decorative and intensive agriculture, as well as for gardening. As an example, we can cite the advantages of using this technique in relation to growing strawberries, which include the ability to grow fruits without any contact with the ground, easy harvesting and, most importantly, the yield with m ^{2 of the} occupied area is six times higher (in in the case of flower pots stacked with stacking in six rows) than with the traditional solution.

Claims (10)

1. The system of modular containers for use in agriculture, horticulture and construction, containing the container (1) in the form of a parallelepiped with two dividing walls (2), which form three chambers (3), and the upper edge of each extreme chamber is equipped with a sleeve (4) , which forms a vertical channel (5), while the lower end (6) of the specified sleeve extends beyond the bottom of the container, has slightly smaller dimensions and is equipped with a groove (10) that runs along the entire perimeter; connectors (9) for connecting adjacent containers in a horizontal plane; base (11) for placing containers on the ground; side support (13) identical to the upper edge of the chamber (3); a grate (14) for collecting moisture on the bottom of the container and providing aeration of the root system; a tray (15) for collecting drained water; a support element (16) configured to install in the channel (5) and support the profile (17) for hanging and holding a shading mesh or film, a protective plastic coating to create a greenhouse and / or install an air irrigation system. 2. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that the longer side walls of the container are provided with conical protrusions forming bulges (7, 8) that extend outward and are formed on one side of the container (1) or on both sides thereof. 3. The system according to claim 2, characterized in that the conical protrusions pass through all the chambers (3) to form a single protruding bulge (8) or are provided in each of the chambers, forming three protruding bulges (7). 4. The system of claim 3, characterized in that in the case of a conical protrusion (8), which passes through all three chambers, the separation wall (2) of the chambers (3) passes directly to the wall of the protrusion. 5. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that the lower ends (6) are configured to install the container on the upper ends of the channels (5), thereby stacking the containers (1) on top of each other. 6. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that the connectors (9) that connect adjacent containers in a horizontal plane are made in the form of an annular element with two holes, an element with three brackets, each of which is provided with an opening, and a cross with four holes which are respectively designed to connect containers side by side, in the form of a triangle and in the form of a cross. 7. The system according to claim 1 or 6, characterized in that the connectors are installed inside the groove (10) provided on the inside of the container (1). 8. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that the channels (5) form a tubular structure, which when stacking containers vertically connects them together, the vertical channel created by a sequence of containers, can be used as a drainage channel for leaked or irrigation water and as a guide for the inserted vertical tube in order to increase the stability of the entire structure. 9. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that a drainage grate (14) is installed inside the chambers (3) to collect moisture on the bottom of the container and to provide aeration of the root system through the channel (5) formed when the containers are connected, and this grate consists of a pallet with supports distributed on its inner surface to support the bottom of the container (1) and directly the grate for aeration. 10. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that the side supports (13) provide the creation of spaces without containers and configuration of the side walls of such structures in more complex structures.

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