WO1991012710A1

WO1991012710A1 - Forked plant support

Info

Publication number: WO1991012710A1
Application number: PCT/GB1991/000168
Authority: WO
Inventors: Thomas William Ralph Davies; Daphne Priscilla Davies
Original assignee: Thomas William Ralph Davies; Daphne Priscilla Davies
Priority date: 1990-02-22
Filing date: 1991-02-05
Publication date: 1991-09-05
Also published as: AU7321691A

Abstract

A forked plant support comprising a rigid, in use, upright member (4) with an end (8) adapted for insertion into the ground, to which rigid member is attached a forked malleable member (6).

Description

FORKF-T) PT-ANT SUPPORT

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to forked plant supports.

Background to the Invention

There are many designs for supporting plants, most of which comprise one or more vertical members driven into the ground combined with horizontal members encircling or partially encircling the plants. The simplest form of support apart from tying a plant to an upright stick is to use a naturally forked stick in the form of a 'Y^* where the base of the Υ' is driven into the ground and the forks embrace all or part of the plant.

The supply of naturally occurring forked sticks of suitable shape is limited and the manufacture of substitutes out of thin steel rod or wire suffers from the problem of obtaining sufficient rigidity in the vertical member without using excessively heavy gauge material.

Summary of the Invention

According to the present invention there is provided a forked plant support comprising a rigid, in use, upright member with an end adapted for insertion into the ground, to which rigid member is attached a forked malleable member. The rigid member is preferably a tubular member. The forked member may be secured into the tubular member by crimping an end of the tubular member around the, in use, bottom end of the forked member. Preferably the forked member forms a loop within the tubular member, the loop being crimped between its two respective legs, whereby the spacing between the crimped area of the tubular member in the loop is less than the thickness of the forked member.

The rigid, in use, upright member is preferably adapted for insertion into the ground by having a pointed end. The pointed end may be formed by closing the tubular member by flattening the tube and trimming off surplus material to form a narrow blade or pointed end.

The forked member will normally have the ends of the fork bent into eye loops.

Preferably the forked member comprises a length of wire.

In some embodiments of the present invention, when the forked member comprises a length of wire, the rigid member may be a wooden member secured to the forked member by staples or circiips.

In another embodiment the forked member and the rigid member are formed from a single piece of wire having looped eyes at the forked ends and an upright member consisting of a doubled length of the wire secured at the base of the fork by bending one leg of the fork round the upright.

The invention further provides a kit of parts comprising forked wire members together with the means of securing the forked wire members to wooden uprights either by staples or circiips.

Preferably the kit of parts includes the wooden upi-ights. The invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings; in which:

Brief Description of the ra ings

Figure 1 is a front view of a forked plant support in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 2_. is a. side view of the forked plant support in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is an enlarged view showing a cross-section on the line X-X in Figure 1.

Description of the Preferred Embodiment

Referring now to Figures 1 and 2 there is shown a forked plant support 2 comprising a rigid member 4 that, in use, is substantially upright; and a forked malleable member 6.

The rigid member 4 is made from a metallic or plastic tubing. The, in use, lower end of the member 4 includes a point 8 formed by flattening the tube and trimming off surplus matei'ial to form a narrow blade or pointed end for easy insertion into the ground in normal circumstances.

The forked malleable member 6 comprises a length of {plastic) coated steel wire. The ends of the wire are bent to form eye loops 10 which act both to enhance the safety of the product and to allow the securing of cord or thin wire joining the ends of the forks or joining a series of two or more additional forks set round the same plant. The coated steel is rigid enough to provide plant support and malleable enough to be bent by hand into shapes convenient for supporting plants.

The forked member 6 is doubled within the, in use, upper end of the tubular member 4 to form a substantially U-shaped loop 12 as shown in Figure 1, the loop 12 comprising legs 14a, 14b and a base 16. The loop 12 assists in anchoring the forked member 6 in the tubular member 4. The, in use, upper end of the tubular member 4 is crimped to enclose and secure the loop 12. The crimping, shown most clearly in Figure 3, secures the loop 12 by compressing the wire and also by forming a crimped area 18 between the legs 14a and 14b of the loop 12 wherein the spacing between the crimped area 18 parts of the tubular member 4 in the loop 12 is less than the thickness of the forked member 6 thus requiring ^• deformation of the tubular member 4 or the forked member 6 to remove the loop 12 from the crimped area 18; since a lengthways withdrawal (sliding the forked member 6 out) is impractical. The forked member 6 is, in this case, so crimped that it is rigidly held in place within the end of the tubular member 4.

Alternatively, or in addition, the forked member 6 may be secured within the tubular member 4 by welding or with the assistance of suitable adhesives.

In an alternative form of the invention the bent wire forks 6 would be supplied separately together with circiips or other suitable means for securing them to lengths of bamboo or other wooden stakes. In a further alternative form of this invention the wire fork and upright member would be formed of one continuous length of wire or thin rod, or the forked member would be welded to a solid upright member of larger diameter.

Forked plant supports in accordance with the present invention provide convenient and versatile means to assist plant growers in obtaining maximum results from their efforts.

Claims

-o-CT,ATMS:

1. A forked plant support comprising a rigid, in use, upright member with an end adapted for insertion into the ground, to which rigid member is attached a forked malleable member.

2. A forked plant support according to Claim 1, in which the rigid member is a tubular member.

3. A forked plant support according to Claim 1 or Claim 2 in which the forked member is secured into the tubular member by crimping an end of the tubular member around the, in use, bottom end of the forked member.

4. A forked plant support according to Claim 3, in which the forked member forms a loop within the tubular member, the loop being crimped between its two respective legs, whereby the spacing between the crimped area of the tubular member in the loop is less than the thickness of the forked member.

δ. A forked plant support according to any preceding Claim, in which the rigid, in use, upright member is adapted for insertion into the ground by having a pointed end.

6. A forked plant support according to Claim 5 in which the pointed end is formed by closing the tubular member by flattening the tube and trimming off the surplus material to form a narrow blade or pointed end.

7. A forked plant support according to any preceding Claim, in which the ends of the forked member are bent into eye loops.

8. A forked plant support according to any preceding Claim, in which the forked member comprises a length of wire.

9. A forked plant support according to Claim 8, in which the rigid member is a wooden member secured to the forked member by staples or circiips.

10. A forked plant support according to Claim 1, in which the δ forked member and the rigid member are formed from a single piece of wire having looped eyes at the forked ends and an upright member consisting of a doubled length of wire secured at the base of the fork by bending one leg of the fork around the upright.

10 11. A kit of parts comprising forked wire members together with the means of securing the forked wire members to wooden uprights either by staples or circiips.

12. A kit of parts according to Claim 11, which includes the wooden uprights.

15 13. A forked plant support substantially as described herein with reference to, and as illustrated in, the accompanying drawings.