US1914617A - Flowerpot support - Google Patents

Description

June 20, 1933. M. ROGERS FLOWERPOT SUPPORT Filed Dec. 30, 1931 INVENTOR ATTO R N EYS Patented June 20, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT orrlca moms-r noennabor CLEVELAND nmenrs, omo, assrenon. or one-HALF 'ro JOHN ALEXANDER SULLIVAN, or CLEVELAND smears, omo

I'LOWEBPO'I. SUPPORT 7 Application iled December 80, 1981. Serial No. 583,898.

This invention relates to supporting devices of bracket or shelf type such as are used for supporting flower pots or other devices on the sills or other parts of windows, or on the wall or in other places.

The object of the invention is to provide a very simple device of this kind. in which the ame is strong enough to support a fairly heavy load but nevertheless is capable of being bent or flexed with the fingers to adapt it to any particular location, but nevertheless retaining its graceful and efiicient form, and in which the tray for supporting the article is of pan formwith a continuous lip or wall and is adapted to hold water and is proof against leakage. A further object of the invention is to provide a device of this kind including a holding lip of thin metal adapted to enter a confined space and in which device 29 the foot which engages the wall is provided with friction material so that it will retain a good hold and not slip thereon.

Further objects of the invention are in part obvious and 1n part will appear more in detail hereinafter.

v In the drawing, Fig. 1 represents a side elevation of one form of device embodying the invention; Fig. 2 is a similar view on a reduced scale and showing the support applied for use on a window in two different positions; Fi 3 is a front elevation of the device shown in ig. 1; Fig. 4 is a plan view thereof; Figs. 5 and 6 are plan views illustrating modified forms of the invention; Fig. 7 is an elevation illustrating a wall holder; and Fig. 8 is; a sectional plan view on the line 88,

The device shown in the drawing is made essentially of two parts, to wit, a strap member or body portion 1 and a shallow pan or tra 2. The strap 1 is made of suitable width an proper thickness for the purpose. Other things being equal, it should be as thin as possible in order to enable it to be flexed or bent, as will appear, but it should nevertheless be thick enough to support the weight applied to it. Ordinarily, this strap will be a metal member approximately one inch to one and a half inches in width and something less than a sixteenth of an inch in thickness, down to as low as one thirty-second of an inch in thickness. It is a plain strap metal member simply bent to the form shown in edge view in Fig. 1, so as to provide a straight upper portion 3 which in use lies horizontally and which at one end is bent downwardly to form a depending lip 4 which may be ground off to somewhat thin it toward its edge but leaving the metal of nearly full thickness at the bend 5, the thinning of the metal enabling it to be very readily inserted into a very narrow crack or space. At its front end the shelf portion 3 of the strap is bent downwardly and rearwardly in a more or less wide curve or bend 6, which bend is approximately in the 5 are of a circle with a radius approximating the width of the strap itself, although various radii of curvature may be used so long as the bend is more or less gradual and not acute.

The return portion 7 of the strap, beyond the bend 6, is brought back beneath the horizontal body portion 3 to approximately a position directly beneath the depending lip 4, where the strap is bent downwardly into the vertical plane to form a wall engaging 7 portion 8 of fairly extensive proportions, such as a matter of from two to four inches in length, providing a vertical portion form= ing a foot adapted, as will appear, to engage the vertical surface of the wall for transmitting to it the compression thrust of the weight imposed upon the brace 7. Below the foot 8 the metal is again bent forwardly and upwardly into a curl or roll 9, which not only adds to the appearance of the device as a whole, but also encloses the raw edge of the metal to prevent scratches or other injury to articles with which the device may come in contact. The tray 2 is, as stated, of shallow pan form and may be made in various shapes or styles. In the form shown in Fig. 1 it is a round pan something after the style of a pie pan, with the upper edge of its wall curled or rolled into bead form, as at 10, to conceal all raw edges and for increasing the strength of the parts. This pan is held in horizontal position by its attachment to the shelf portion 3 of the body, which shelf portion preferably extends diametrically across the bottom of the pan 2 and beneath the same, the two parts, shelf and pan, being firmly and preferably permanently attached to each other in such manner as to avoid leakage from the pan of water collected in it. For example, the pan may be secured to the strap 3 at two or three separated points by spot welding, brazing, soldering, or other process which does not actually perforate the metal of the pan, but a suitable arrangement for the purpose is an attachment by means of tight rivets 11, as indicated in Fig. 1, said rivets being made, for example, of copper or even of steel and tightly swaged so as to fully close the openings in the pan bottom, in addition to which the entire device may be provided with a suitable coating after the riveting operation, such as a coating of paint, varnish, cellulose lacquer or other continuous coating material which is more or less water-proof and will caulk and prevent leakage through any cracks or joints.

The pan 2 may also be made in various shapes in plan view, Fig. 5 showing an arrangement in which the pan 2a. is square or rectangular. In this case flanges will be bent up along its edges and Welded, brazed or soldered at the corners, as at 12, as will be readily understood. Fig. 6 shows still another arrangement in which the pan 2?) is more or less semi-circular, with one straight edge 13 and one curved edge 14, with soldered or welded joints at the corners 12, as in Fig. 5. With this latter arrangement two of the supporting brackets or straps 1 are necessary because the over-hang of the shelf laterally of the strap is too great for a single supporting bracket.

The device may be used in various ways, Fig. 2 illustrating two such uses. In the lower portion of that view the device is applied for use at the level of the sill 15 of a window, the tongue 4 being hooked back of the window sill and between it and the lower stile 16 of the sash. The strap member 3 extends forwardly and the brace 7 downwardly and rearwardly until the foot 8 meets the wall. If desired, and as shown in Fig. 2, this foot portion may be provided with means for preventing it from slipping or sliding along the wall, such as a thin layer 17 of any friction material, such as sponge rubber, which may be glued or cemented to the rear surface of the metal. The upper portion of the same view shows the device applied at the upper stile 16a of the lower sash, the lip 4 here being introduced into the crevice between the two sashes. In this case the foot 8 bears directly against the glass, but the rubber or other friction material, if used, prevents slip.

Figs. 7 and 8 alsoshow an attachment enabling the device to be applied to any vertical surface, such as a wall, and away from the window. This attachment consists of a strip of sheet metal 20 of approximately the same thickness and width as the strap 1, with its end (portions bent back upon itself but separate by a gap 21. The two end portions are provided with holes 22 by which it may be attached to a vertical surface by screws or nails 23, the gap 21 providing a recess to receive the depending tongue 4 of the bracket.

In all cases, the device is capable of convenient application to any articular posi tion, the strap 1 being of suc material as to enable it to be readily bent by the housewife with her fingers so as to adapt it to any particular location. Because of the large curve of the bend 6 the brace 7 may be bent in various ways with respect to the horizontal shelf 3, such as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, and in all cases the foot 8 may be readily brought into a vertical plane so as to. obtain full contact of said foot with the vertical surface. The device is quite strong and will support an appreciable wei ht. One of its chief uses is for su porting ower pots without any necessity o utilizing a saucer or like tray for the pot. The plant may be watered either by applying the water to the earth at the top of the pot, in which case the tray 2 will collect any excess, or if a porous pot is used, the water may be introduced directly into the trayand distributed to the plant by capillary action. However, the device is also capable of other uses for supporting other articles than flower pots, as will be readily understood.

Both parts, pan and strap, may be made of any suitable metal, such as iron, steel, stainless steel, copper, brass or the like, and ornamented or decorated in any desirable manner.

What I claim is:

A support of the class described, comprising a tray-like member having a bottom and a continuous wall around its entire periphery and adapted to hold liquid, and supporting means therefor, comprising relatively thin flat metal stratpnmeans adapted to be readily bent with the gers, said strap means being secured to and beneath the bottom of the traylike member in a manner to avoid leakage of liquid from said member and having hook means at one side of said member and at the opposite side thereof being bent downwardly under the tray on a curve of relatively large radius and then reversely to form an inclined brace, the lower portion of which is again bent downwardly on a curve of relatively 7 nature. 15 MARGARET ROGERS.

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