WO2000019805A1 - Plant pot holder - Google Patents

Plant pot holder Download PDF

Info

Publication number
WO2000019805A1
WO2000019805A1 PCT/GB1999/003217 GB9903217W WO0019805A1 WO 2000019805 A1 WO2000019805 A1 WO 2000019805A1 GB 9903217 W GB9903217 W GB 9903217W WO 0019805 A1 WO0019805 A1 WO 0019805A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
pot
holder
support
base
members
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/GB1999/003217
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Brian Leslie Neal
Francis Wendy Neal
Original Assignee
Brian Leslie Neal
Francis Wendy Neal
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Brian Leslie Neal, Francis Wendy Neal filed Critical Brian Leslie Neal
Priority to GB0110232A priority Critical patent/GB2365310B/en
Priority to AU61061/99A priority patent/AU6106199A/en
Priority to EP99947683A priority patent/EP1117289A1/en
Publication of WO2000019805A1 publication Critical patent/WO2000019805A1/en

Links

Classifications

    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47G—HOUSEHOLD OR TABLE EQUIPMENT
    • A47G7/00—Flower holders or the like
    • A47G7/02—Devices for supporting flower-pots or cut flowers
    • A47G7/025—Flower-pot stabilisers, i.e. means to prevent flower-pots from tipping over

Definitions

  • This invention relates to a plant pot holder.
  • Nurseries and garden centres grow and display for sale in pots large numbers of plants, shrubs and trees (hereinafter simply referred to simply as "plants").
  • the particular size of pot depends on the size and age of the plant, but a common characteristic of such potted plants is that they tend to be top heavy and are easily blown over even in quite light winds. To avoid the damage this causes to the plants and to maintain a good looking display, nurseries and garden centres provide support for the pots by, for example, forming a wire mesh or grid, the pots then being located in the spaces in the mesh to be supported by the grid.
  • the present invention is a holder for a plant pot, the holder comprising a base, at least one support upstanding from the base, the support or supports defining a pot location, and at least three resilient members extending from the support or supports for engaging a pot in said location, the resilient members being spaced apart.
  • One or more drain holes may be provided in the base beneath the pot location.
  • the base is annular and extends outwardly beyond the support or supports.
  • the resilient members may be resilient fingers.
  • the fingers may be inclined downwardly at their free ends.
  • the support may be a wall surrounding the pot location.
  • each support and the fingers are dimensioned so that the resilient members engage the pot at between one quarter and one half of the height of the pot.
  • Fig. 1 is a plan view of a plant pot holder according to the present invention
  • Fig. 2 is an elevation in section of the holder of Fig.l
  • Fig. 3 is a plan view of a part of a second embodiment of a plant pot holder according to the present invention
  • Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the part shown in Fig. 3.
  • a plant pot holder according to the present invention comprises an annular base 10 and a support in the form of a circular wall 12 upstanding from the inner edge of the base 10 and defining a central location 14 in which a pot may be placed. At the top of the wall are provided a number, in this embodiment six, resilient members or fingers 16 which extend inwardly from the wall and are spaced apart round the central location 14.
  • the fingers 16 are tapered from an outer end at the wall 12 to an inner or free edge 17 and, as seen in Fig. 2, the fingers are curled or inclined downwardly towards the free edge 17. Moreover, the upper surface of each of the fingers 16 is, at least near the inner edge, slightly concave as seen in Fig. 1 so that the end of the finger is curved to be a better fit with a pot engaged by the finger.
  • the pot holder is intended to hold a specific size or range of sizes of pot, which when placed in the pot location is engaged and supported by the fingers 16 at locations between one quarter and one half of the height of the pot.
  • the fingers are spaced apart to reduce the force required to insert a pot into, or remove it from, the holder. Typically, the spaces between the fingers exceeds 30% of the wall top periphery to reduce to a reasonable level the insertion force and the consequential wear on the fingers.
  • the blunt, downwardly curved ends of the fingers present a curved surface for engagement with the plant pot further reducing the insertion/removal forces without compromising the grip of the fingers on a pot.
  • the diameter of the base 10 should be such as to provide a stable support for the pot/plant combination and, for a given pot size, it may be desirable to provide different sizes of base to allow for different heights of plant.
  • Integral nibs or other projections 19 are provided on the interior surface of the wall 12 to space apart the holders in a stack and facilitate the removal of a holder from the stack.
  • annular base 10 provides a central drainage hole which ensures that when the plants are watered they are not left to stand in stagnant water.
  • Other embodiments of the invention may have a circular base with one or more drain holes beneath the central pot location 14.
  • the embodiment described is made of a moulded plastics material, and at the base of the wall 12 is provided a buttress 18 beneath each of the fingers 16 to strengthen the wall 12 in that region.
  • the holder could equally well be made of sheet metal.
  • the embodiment described may be further modified by providing the fingers on a number of spaced supports surrounding the pot location 14.
  • the number of fingers should be not less than three, and their dimensions may be varied as desired provided that the pot is firmly grasped by them.
  • a modular member 30 made of a plastics material and from a number of which a plant pot holder may be formed.
  • the member 30 has a base 32 at the inner end of which is a wall section 34, a buttress 36 being provided between the base 32 and the wall section 34.
  • Extending inwardly from the top of the wall section 34 is a tapered finger 38 which is similar to the fingers 16 of Figs. 1 and 2.
  • the finger is curled or inclined downwardly towards its inner or free edge 40.
  • the upper surface of the finger 38 is, at least near the inner edge 40, slightly concave so that the end of the finger is curved to be a better fit with a pot engaged by the finger.
  • a side wall section 42 or 44 At each side of the wall section 34 is provided a side wall section 42 or 44.
  • the side wall sections 42 and 44 are generally planar and extend inwardly at an angle to the central wall section 34.
  • Each of the side wall sections 42 and 44 is provided with one of a pair of interengaging members, in this embodiment a tenon 46 on the side wall section 42 and a mortise 48 on the side wall section 44.
  • a number of the modular members 30 may be secured together in a ring by means of the interengaging members to form a pot plant holder the diameter of which is determined by the number of members 30.
  • the side wall members can flex relative to the central wall member, this flexibility assisting the forming of holders from different numbers of the members 30.
  • the minimum number of members in a ring is three, and in the assembled holder the fingers 38 are spaced apart by the combined length of the side wall sections 42 and 44.
  • the pot When a potted plant is located in a holder according to the present invention, the pot is securely gripped by the resilient members or fingers.
  • the holder increases the stability of the plant by effectively increasing the base area of the pot, and the potted plant in its holder can be moved around as desired to change the display of plants or to provide access to plants at the rear of a display.

Landscapes

  • Cultivation Receptacles Or Flower-Pots, Or Pots For Seedlings (AREA)

Abstract

A holder for a plant pot comprises an annular base (10), at least one support (12) extending upwardly from the base, the support or supports defining a pot location, and at least three resilient, spaced apart members (16) extending from the support or supports (12) for engaging a pot in the pot location.

Description

PLANT POT HOLDER
This invention relates to a plant pot holder.
Nurseries and garden centres grow and display for sale in pots large numbers of plants, shrubs and trees (hereinafter simply referred to simply as "plants"). The particular size of pot depends on the size and age of the plant, but a common characteristic of such potted plants is that they tend to be top heavy and are easily blown over even in quite light winds. To avoid the damage this causes to the plants and to maintain a good looking display, nurseries and garden centres provide support for the pots by, for example, forming a wire mesh or grid, the pots then being located in the spaces in the mesh to be supported by the grid.
This practice involves the expenditure of time and materials in forming and maintaining the grid and moreover is not very convenient as the width of the grid is effectively limited to the distance that a person can stretch to reach a particular plant. Also, the grid is inflexible in use as it cannot be moved around the nursery or garden centre and can take only pots of approximately the same size.
It is an object of the present invention to obviate or mitigate these problems.
The present invention is a holder for a plant pot, the holder comprising a base, at least one support upstanding from the base, the support or supports defining a pot location, and at least three resilient members extending from the support or supports for engaging a pot in said location, the resilient members being spaced apart.
One or more drain holes may be provided in the base beneath the pot location.
Preferably the base is annular and extends outwardly beyond the support or supports.
The resilient members may be resilient fingers.
The fingers may be inclined downwardly at their free ends.
The support may be a wall surrounding the pot location.
For a given range of sizes of pot each support and the fingers are dimensioned so that the resilient members engage the pot at between one quarter and one half of the height of the pot.
An embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:-
Fig. 1 is a plan view of a plant pot holder according to the present invention; Fig. 2 is an elevation in section of the holder of Fig.l; Fig. 3 is a plan view of a part of a second embodiment of a plant pot holder according to the present invention; and Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the part shown in Fig. 3.
Referring now to Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, a plant pot holder according to the present invention comprises an annular base 10 and a support in the form of a circular wall 12 upstanding from the inner edge of the base 10 and defining a central location 14 in which a pot may be placed. At the top of the wall are provided a number, in this embodiment six, resilient members or fingers 16 which extend inwardly from the wall and are spaced apart round the central location 14.
The fingers 16 are tapered from an outer end at the wall 12 to an inner or free edge 17 and, as seen in Fig. 2, the fingers are curled or inclined downwardly towards the free edge 17. Moreover, the upper surface of each of the fingers 16 is, at least near the inner edge, slightly concave as seen in Fig. 1 so that the end of the finger is curved to be a better fit with a pot engaged by the finger.
The pot holder is intended to hold a specific size or range of sizes of pot, which when placed in the pot location is engaged and supported by the fingers 16 at locations between one quarter and one half of the height of the pot.
The fingers are spaced apart to reduce the force required to insert a pot into, or remove it from, the holder. Typically, the spaces between the fingers exceeds 30% of the wall top periphery to reduce to a reasonable level the insertion force and the consequential wear on the fingers. In addition, the blunt, downwardly curved ends of the fingers present a curved surface for engagement with the plant pot further reducing the insertion/removal forces without compromising the grip of the fingers on a pot.
The diameter of the base 10 should be such as to provide a stable support for the pot/plant combination and, for a given pot size, it may be desirable to provide different sizes of base to allow for different heights of plant.
Integral nibs or other projections 19 are provided on the interior surface of the wall 12 to space apart the holders in a stack and facilitate the removal of a holder from the stack.
In this embodiment the annular base 10 provides a central drainage hole which ensures that when the plants are watered they are not left to stand in stagnant water. Other embodiments of the invention may have a circular base with one or more drain holes beneath the central pot location 14.
The embodiment described is made of a moulded plastics material, and at the base of the wall 12 is provided a buttress 18 beneath each of the fingers 16 to strengthen the wall 12 in that region.
The holder could equally well be made of sheet metal. The embodiment described may be further modified by providing the fingers on a number of spaced supports surrounding the pot location 14. The number of fingers should be not less than three, and their dimensions may be varied as desired provided that the pot is firmly grasped by them.
In Figs. 3 and 4 is shown a modular member 30 made of a plastics material and from a number of which a plant pot holder may be formed. The member 30 has a base 32 at the inner end of which is a wall section 34, a buttress 36 being provided between the base 32 and the wall section 34. Extending inwardly from the top of the wall section 34 is a tapered finger 38 which is similar to the fingers 16 of Figs. 1 and 2. As seen in Fig. 4, the finger is curled or inclined downwardly towards its inner or free edge 40. Moreover, the upper surface of the finger 38 is, at least near the inner edge 40, slightly concave so that the end of the finger is curved to be a better fit with a pot engaged by the finger.
At each side of the wall section 34 is provided a side wall section 42 or 44. The side wall sections 42 and 44 are generally planar and extend inwardly at an angle to the central wall section 34. Each of the side wall sections 42 and 44 is provided with one of a pair of interengaging members, in this embodiment a tenon 46 on the side wall section 42 and a mortise 48 on the side wall section 44.
A number of the modular members 30 may be secured together in a ring by means of the interengaging members to form a pot plant holder the diameter of which is determined by the number of members 30. As the plastics material from which the members
30 are made is flexible, the side wall members can flex relative to the central wall member, this flexibility assisting the forming of holders from different numbers of the members 30. The minimum number of members in a ring is three, and in the assembled holder the fingers 38 are spaced apart by the combined length of the side wall sections 42 and 44.
When a potted plant is located in a holder according to the present invention, the pot is securely gripped by the resilient members or fingers. The holder increases the stability of the plant by effectively increasing the base area of the pot, and the potted plant in its holder can be moved around as desired to change the display of plants or to provide access to plants at the rear of a display.

Claims

1. A holder for a plant pot, the holder comprising a base, at least one support upstanding from the base, the support or supports defining a pot location, and at least three resilient members extending from the support or supports for engaging a pot in said location, the resilient members being spaced apart.
2. A holder as claimed in claim 1, in which one or more drain holes are provided in the base beneath the pot location.
3. A holder as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, in which the base is annular and extends outwardly beyond the support or supports .
4. A holder as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the resilient members are resilient fingers.
5. A holder as claimed in claim 4, in which the fingers are curled or inclined downwardly towards their free ends.
6. A holder as claimed in claim 4 or claim 5, in which the upper surface of each finger is concave towards its free end.
7. A holder as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the support is a wall surrounding the pot location.
8. A holder as claimed in any preceding claim, in which, for a given range of sizes of pot, each support and the resilient members are dimensioned so that the resilient members engage the pot at between one quarter and one half of the height of the pot.
9. A holder as claimed in claim 7, comprising a number of modular members secured together, each modular member comprising a wall section from which a resilient member extends, and means on each side of the wall member for securing the modular member to adjacent modular members.
10. A modular member for making with other identical modular members a holder for a plant pot as claimed in claim 9.
PCT/GB1999/003217 1998-10-01 1999-09-28 Plant pot holder WO2000019805A1 (en)

Priority Applications (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB0110232A GB2365310B (en) 1998-10-01 1999-09-28 Plant pot holder
AU61061/99A AU6106199A (en) 1998-10-01 1999-09-28 Plant pot holder
EP99947683A EP1117289A1 (en) 1998-10-01 1999-09-28 Plant pot holder

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB9821279A GB2342028A (en) 1998-10-01 1998-10-01 A holder for a plant container
GB9821279.8 1998-10-01

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
WO2000019805A1 true WO2000019805A1 (en) 2000-04-13

Family

ID=10839731

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
PCT/GB1999/003217 WO2000019805A1 (en) 1998-10-01 1999-09-28 Plant pot holder

Country Status (4)

Country Link
EP (1) EP1117289A1 (en)
AU (1) AU6106199A (en)
GB (2) GB2342028A (en)
WO (1) WO2000019805A1 (en)

Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB2391157A (en) * 2002-07-30 2004-02-04 Lawrence George Aves Plant pot support
FR2889043A1 (en) * 2005-07-28 2007-02-02 Sas Fouineteau Ind Soc Par Act Flower pot stabilizing device for gardening field, has frame and base defining receiving volume for flower pot, and flexible wings with concave profile configured such that free ends of wings are oriented towards exterior of device

Families Citing this family (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US9338948B2 (en) 2012-12-18 2016-05-17 East Jordan Plastics, Inc. Plant pot holder tray

Citations (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3965616A (en) * 1974-12-30 1976-06-29 Ridgeway John C Lockable vegetation pot and saucer
FR2557761A1 (en) * 1984-01-10 1985-07-12 Naas Daniel Stabilising base for flower pots
GB2185388A (en) * 1986-01-17 1987-07-22 Ferranti Plc Article support cradle
US5022183A (en) * 1989-07-31 1991-06-11 Kord Products Limited Flower pot carrying tray with restraining means for plural pots
FR2664483A1 (en) * 1990-07-16 1992-01-17 Sofradecor Flowerpot-stabilising support
EP0649592A1 (en) * 1993-10-22 1995-04-26 Kaneya Sangyo Kabushiki Kaisha Tray for carrying plant pots

Family Cites Families (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
FR2442005A1 (en) * 1978-11-22 1980-06-20 Doftoras Sarah Support for flower pot - has hollow section ring with flexible segmented inner lips to adjust around base of pot for stability
US4638595A (en) * 1983-08-11 1987-01-27 Mauricio Rivero Plant transporting device
FR2557791A1 (en) * 1984-01-09 1985-07-12 Pelgrin Rene Device for access to bathtubs for handicapped persons

Patent Citations (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3965616A (en) * 1974-12-30 1976-06-29 Ridgeway John C Lockable vegetation pot and saucer
FR2557761A1 (en) * 1984-01-10 1985-07-12 Naas Daniel Stabilising base for flower pots
GB2185388A (en) * 1986-01-17 1987-07-22 Ferranti Plc Article support cradle
US5022183A (en) * 1989-07-31 1991-06-11 Kord Products Limited Flower pot carrying tray with restraining means for plural pots
FR2664483A1 (en) * 1990-07-16 1992-01-17 Sofradecor Flowerpot-stabilising support
EP0649592A1 (en) * 1993-10-22 1995-04-26 Kaneya Sangyo Kabushiki Kaisha Tray for carrying plant pots

Cited By (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB2391157A (en) * 2002-07-30 2004-02-04 Lawrence George Aves Plant pot support
GB2391157B (en) * 2002-07-30 2004-06-16 Lawrence George Aves Plant pot support
FR2889043A1 (en) * 2005-07-28 2007-02-02 Sas Fouineteau Ind Soc Par Act Flower pot stabilizing device for gardening field, has frame and base defining receiving volume for flower pot, and flexible wings with concave profile configured such that free ends of wings are oriented towards exterior of device

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
GB2342028A (en) 2000-04-05
GB2365310B (en) 2003-01-29
GB2365310A (en) 2002-02-20
GB9821279D0 (en) 1998-11-25
AU6106199A (en) 2000-04-26
EP1117289A1 (en) 2001-07-25
GB0110232D0 (en) 2001-06-20

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