WO2000001220A1

WO2000001220A1 - Container for automatically dispensing water to a plant

Info

Publication number: WO2000001220A1
Application number: PCT/DK1999/000379
Authority: WO
Inventors: Thomas Sander
Original assignee: Klarsø & Co. Aps
Priority date: 1998-07-06
Filing date: 1999-07-02
Publication date: 2000-01-13
Also published as: AU4769099A

Abstract

A container (1) for automatically and time delayed dispensing of water to a plant, preferably a potted plant, and for use during for instance holidays where the person normally watering said plant is prevented from doing so, the container (1) comprising at least one chamber defined by chamber walls (2 and 3) and having an inlet (5) for introducing water into the chamber of the container (1), and one of the chamber walls (2) comprising an area (8) of a material (9) that may be dissolved, degraded or modified by the water in the container such that apertures or permeability is established in said area (8) for releasing the water in the container (1) to the soil around a plant adjacent the container (1).

Description

Container for automatically dispensing water to a plant

The present invention relates to a container for automatically dispensing water to a plant, preferably a potted plant.

In connection with potted plants, particularly in households but also in other situations, it is often desirable to provide for watering of the plants automatically when the person or persons that otherwise manually water the plants are not able to so for a period of time, for instance when on holidays.

French patent No. 2 713441 and WO 90/04456 disclose packages of water absorbent material to be placed in the soil near the roots of a plant such that water absorbed by the absorbent material is released to the roots when the soil around the roots dries out. DE 4427292 A1 discloses a water reservoir in the form of a natural sponge or some other water absorbent biodegradable material to be placed under the roots of a plant so as to provide a water source for the plant.

All these solutions are intended for embedding the water reservoir in soil together with the plant and entail leaving a large amount of foreign material in the soil around the plant roots and are relatively time consuming and expensive as well as not suited for use in connection with watering of an already rooted plant once in a while, for instance once or twice a year in connection with holidays.

The object of the invention is to provide a container for automatic time delayed wa- tering of potted plants that is relatively inexpensive, easy to use, does not require repotting the plant and leaves no or very little potentially harmful extraneous matter in the soil around the plant roots.

According to the invention, this is achieved by the container comprising at least one chamber defined by chamber walls and an inlet aperture for introducing the water into the at least one chamber, at least a portion of at least one of said walls comprising a material having properties allowing the water to automatically exit the chamber in a predetermined time delayed manner so as to dispense water to a plant in the proximity of the container.

Hereby a simple, inexpensive and easy to use container containing water and per- haps some dissolved fertilizer may be arranged on top of the soil near the plant for automatically releasing water with a substantially predetermined time delay to percolate to the roots of the plant without any person having to be present. No, or very little extraneous substances will be deposited in the soil around the roots.

In the currently preferred embodiment of a container according to the invention, said material is at least partly soluble and/or degradable in water such that the material becomes water permeable by the action of the water in the chamber on said material, or said material is soluble and/or degradable and/or modifiable in water to a degree sufficient to ensure that at least one water outlet aperture is formed in the at least one wall by the action of the water in the chamber on said material.

Hereby, the time delay between filling and placing the container and the release of the water to the roots may be predetermined and a result of the dissolving effect of the water on the material of the portion of the chamber wall intended for exit of the water.

In an alternative embodiment of a container according to the invention said material is water permeable. Hereby, the water is dispensed continuously to the plant for a period of time after placing the container near the plant, the period of time depend- ing on the dimensions of the chamber, the permeability of said material and the area of said portion of the at least one chamber wall comprising said permeable material.

Preferably, the container further comprises closure means for closing said inlet ap- erture so as to avoid spilling the water and evaporation thereof.

In the currently preferred embodiment of a container according to the invention, at least part of said chamber walls consists of a flexible film, and preferably the con- tainer is configured as a bag or pouch comprising two superimposed sheets of flexible film sealed to one another at least along a periphery thereof and constituting said chamber walls. Hereby, a particularly simple and inexpensive container is obtained that may be adapted to fit into pots of different shapes and sizes as well as to fit at least partly around the base of a plant. Furthermore, such a container may easily comprise two or more chambers having different delay times for the release of the water contained therein.

In the currently preferred embodiment of a container according to the invention, said at least one chamber wall is provided with a water outlet aperture, the outlet aperture being closed by means of a closing means comprising said material. Hereby, a particularly simple manner of obtaining time delayed automatic dispensing of water is obtained.

Preferably, the closing means is a sheet of said material arranged adjacent the at least one chamber wall such that the sheet closes said outlet aperture. The sheet may be arranged in many ways such as by adhesive or by being received in a recess or a combination thereof.

In the currently preferred embodiment, the material is a water dissoluble gelatine such as standard cooking leaf gelatine, for instance produced from animal protein extracted from pig skin. The components of most gelatines are biodegradable and suitable for being taken up by the roots of plants. The material may also be "Aqua- Film" supplied by Greensol, 28, Rue des Grahuches, 89100 SENS, France.

Preferably, the thickness of the sheet is chosen depending on the degree of water solubility of the gelatine such that a predetermined time of release of the water from the interior of said at least one chamber is obtained. Hereby different containers having different time delays, or one container having several chambers each having a different time delay may easily be obtained. Naturally, this feature may also apply to other water soluble materials than gelatine, such as sheets of soluble fertilizer with or without a suitable binding agent. Advantageously, at least part of the outer surface of the container may be heat reflecting, for instance consisting of or coated with an aluminium foil. Hereby, evaporation from the soil around the plant is reduced by limiting the heating of the soil surface.

In the following the invention will be explained more in detail with reference to the embodiments shown solely by way of example in the drawings where:

Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of a first currently preferred embodiment of a con- tainer according to the invention in the form of a pouch or bag in the empty pre-use condition,

Fig. 2 shows the bag in Fig. 1 in full condition ready for use,

Fig. 3 shows a perspective view of a second embodiment with two chambers in full condition ready for use,

Fig. 4 shows a partly sectional perspective view of a third embodiment with a heat reflecting surface coating,

Fig. 5 shows a plan view of a fourth embodiment with two chambers and shaped to encircle the base of a plant,

Fig. 6 shows a partly sectional elevational view of a plant in a flower pot with a container as shown in Fig. 2 or Fig. 5 arranged on top of the soil,

Fig. 7 shows an exploded perspective view of a fifth embodiment intended for repeated use,

Fig. 8 shows a perspective view of a sixth embodiment intended for repeated use,

Fig. 9 shows a cut away sectional view of an embodiment of a water outlet according to the invention, and Fig. 10 shows a cut away sectional view of an alternative embodiment of a water outlet according to the invention.

Referring now to Figs. 1 and 2, a bag or pouch 1 comprising two superimposed sheets 2 and 3 of a flexible water impermeable material such as polyethylene or the like heat sealed or adhesively sealed to one another along the periphery at 4 except at one end where a funnel 5 is formed by projections of the sheets 2 and 3 sealed at the edges 6 thereof such that the end 7 thereof is open for introduction of water into the bag 1.

An aperture 8 is provided in the sheet 2 and a wafer or disc 9 of household cooking leaf gelatine is adhered to the outer surface of the sheet 2 such that the aperture 8 is hermetically sealed such that water may not exit the interior of the bag 1 through the aperture 8.

In use, the bag of Fig. 1 is filled with water, perhaps containing a fertilizer, through the funnel 5 until the bag 1 is substantially full. Thereafter the funnel 5 is tied into a knot 10 as shown in Fig. 2. The full pouch of Fig. 2 is now ready to be placed, as shown in Fig. 6, in a flower pot 11 adjacent a plant 12 with the sheet 2 on top of the soil 13 with the aperture 8 adjacent the soil surface.

The water in the bag 1 will slowly dissolve the gelatine of the wafer 9 until an aperture is created in said wafer 9 so that the water may exit the bag 1 through the ap- erture 8 and percolate into the soil 13 to the roots of the plant 12. By choosing the thickness of the wafer accordingly, the water will exit the bag for instance 3 days or 7 days after the bag 1 has been filled with water.

Repeated experiments have shown that the time delay for a given thickness of a leaf gelatine sheet available from F-Gruppen, Roskildevej 65, 2620 Denmark under the trade name HUSBLAS husholdnings gelatine, gives very consistent delay times calculated from the water filling to the water exit. It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that many different water soluble or water degradable substances may be used instead of leaf gelatine of the type indicated, for instance a fertilizer with or without a binding agent or the material "Aqua-Film" supplied by Greensol, 28, Rue des Grahuches, 89100 SENS, France. Likewise, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that the arrangement of the water soluble or water degradable closing means may be configured in many different ways, for instance as a wafer adhered to the inner surface of the sheet 2 or as a rivet-like plug in the aperture 8.

Referring now to Fig. 3, a bag 14 similar to the bag 1 of Figs. 1-2 comprises two chambers 15 and 16 created by sealing a transverse seal 17 and providing an inlet funnel 18 and 19 for each chamber shown in the knotted condition thereof after the chambers 16 and 16 have been filled with water. The chambers 15 and 15 are provided with apertures 20 and 21, respectively, closed by means of wafers 22 and 23, respectively, in a manner similar to wafer 9 in Figs. 1-2.

The wafers 22 and 23 have substantially different thickness such that one chamber has a delay time for dispensing water substantially longer than the other, for instance 3 days for one wafer and 7 days for the other wafer. Thereby two portions of water may be dispensed to a plant at different times, thereby prolonging the period of time in which the plant may be left unattended.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that more than two chambers may be provided, each having a particular wafer thickness and inlet means for water such that more than two portions of water may be dispensed with mutually differing delay times.

Referring now to Fig. 4, an embodiment similar to Figs. 1-2 is shown where the sole difference if that an aluminium foil or sheet 26 has been adhered in superimposed relationship to the sheet 3 such that the bag will heat insulate the soil beneath the plant because of the heat reflecting properties of the aluminium foil 26 opposite the water exit aperture (not shown) in the sheet 2. Referring now to Fig. 5, an alternative embodiment of a container according to.the invention with two chambers 27 and 28 is shown. The container is in the form of a bag comprising two sheets 29 and 30 of flexible material heat or adhesively sealed to one another along the periphery at 31 and along a transverse seam 32. The chambers 27 and 28 each are provided with a water outlet aperture 33 and 34, respectively. The aperture 33 is closed by a wafer or disc 35 in a manner identical to wafer 9 in Fig. 1. The aperture 34 (see also Fig. 10) is closed by means of a wafer or disc 36 adhered to the outer surface of the sheet 29 around the aperture 34. A sheet 37 of a water permeable material is adhered to the outer surface of sheet 29.

In use, the chambers 27 and 28 are filled with water, the inlets closed by knotting and the bag is placed around the base of a plant to be watered such that the base is received in the circular opening 40. The wafer 33 has a solubility time in water of for instance three days such that the water in chamber 27 is dispensed in one por- tion to the plant after three days. The wafer 36 has a somewhat longer solubility time in water of for instance six days, but the water in chamber 28 is dispensed during a time period thereafter determined by the water permeability of the sheet 37.

The inverse may also be the case, i.e. that the wafer 36 has a solubility time in water shorter than the wafer 33 such that the first portion of water is dispensed to the plant gradually and the second portion almost at once at a suitable point in time after the first portion has been dispensed.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various combinations of number of chambers, water soluble materials and water permeable means may be applied to achieve different water dispensing intensities and flow profiles over time.

Referring now to Fig. 7, a container intended for repeated use is shown in disas- sembled condition. A cylindrical container 41 intended for being closed by a lid 42 is provided with a water exit aperture 43 in the bottom of a recess 44 intended for receiving a water soluble wafer 45 as indicated by the arrow R1. In use, the wafer 45 is placed in the recess 44 and the container is filled with water whereafter the lid 42 is arranged to close the container 41. When the wafer 45 has been dissolved to a sufficient degree, the water in the container 41 will be dispensed to soil under the container. Wafers with different solubility time in water may be chosen depending on the time delay required.

In Fig. 9 a sectional view of the bottom of the container 41 in Fig 7 is shown with an alternative embodiment of the water exit means, a sheet 46 of water permeable material being adhered to the bottom exterior surface of the container 41 across the aperture 37 so as to achieve the same effect as described in connection with Fig. 10.

Referring now to Fig. 8, another embodiment of a container intended for repeated use is shown. A plate having a lid 51 that may be swung up and down about a weakening line 52 serving as a hinge by means of gripping a projection 53 is provided with four support legs 54 and a container in the form of a bag 55 of water permeable material adhered to the periphery 56 of the plate 50.

In use, the lid 51 is swung up and water is filled into the bag 55, the lid is closed and the water will thereafter permeate through the material of the bag 55, thus watering soil under the bag.

Although the invention has been described and explained in connection with a number of exemplifying embodiments, said embodiments are not intended to be limiting in any manner as many variations and modifications will be obvious to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A container for automatically dispensing water to a plant, preferably a potted plant, the container comprising at least one chamber defined by chamber walls and an inlet aperture for introducing the water into the at least one chamber, at least a portion of at least one of said walls comprising a material having properties allowing the water to automatically exit the chamber in a predetermined time delayed manner so as to dispense water to a plant in the proximity of the container.

2. A container according to claim 1 , wherein said material is at least partly soluble in water such that the material becomes water permeable by the action of the water in the chamber on said material.

3. A container according to claim 1 , wherein said material is soluble and/or de- gradable and/or modifiable in water to a degree sufficient to ensure that at least one water outlet aperture is formed in the at least one wall by the action of the water in the chamber on said material.

4. A container according to claim 1 , wherein said material is water permeable.

5. A container according to any of the preceding claims further comprising closure means for closing said inlet aperture.

6. A container according to any of the preceding claims, wherein at least part of said chamber walls consists of a flexible film.

7. A container according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the container is configured as a bag or pouch comprising two superimposed sheets of flexible film sealed to one another at least along a periphery thereof and constituting said chamber walls.

8. A container according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said at least one chamber wall is provided with a water outlet aperture, the outlet aperture being closed by means of a closing means comprising said material.

9. A container according to claim 8, wherein the closing means is a sheet of said material arranged adjacent the at least one chamber wall such that the sheet closes said outlet aperture.

10. A container according to any of the claims 1 -3 or 5-9, wherein the material is a water dissoluble gelatine or the material "Aqua-Film" supplied by Greensol.

11. A container according to claim 9 and 10, wherein the thickness of the sheet is chosen depending on the degree of water solubility or degradability of the material such that a predetermined time of release of the water from the interior of said at least one chamber is obtained.

12. A container according to any of the preceding claims, wherein at least part of the outer surface of the container is heat reflecting, for instance consisting of or coated with an aluminium foil.