WO2005094560A1

WO2005094560A1 - Plant cultivation tray comprising a lower connected support, such as to form a single piece

Info

Publication number: WO2005094560A1
Application number: PCT/ES2005/000132
Authority: WO
Inventors: Manuel FRANCÉS PÉREZ
Original assignee: Indesla, S.L.
Priority date: 2004-04-01
Filing date: 2005-03-14
Publication date: 2005-10-13
Also published as: ES1057222Y; ES1057222U

Abstract

The invention relates to an improved plant cultivation tray. The inventive tray consists of a quadrangular piece (1) comprising a peripheral rim (10) and a tray body (11) with a plurality of identical open-topped, downward-projecting cultivation containers (12) which have an inverted truncated cone or truncated pyramid shape and which are distributed uniformly adjacent to one another, such as to form a grid. The quadrangular piece is made form thermoformed polyethylene terephthalate. In addition, the invention comprises a reinforcing support (2) which is also made from thermoformed polyethylene terephthalate. According to the invention, the reinforcing support (2) takes the form of a quadrangular sheet that is solidly connected to the above-mentioned quadrangular piece at the lower ends (120) of the cultivation containers, e.g. by means of thermowelding and/or gluing with an adhesive, such as to form a single piece. In this way, the mechanical stability and stiffness of the assembly formed by the quadrangular piece and the reinforcing support are increased.

Description

TRAY FOR THE GROWING OF PLANTS WITH UNITED LOWER SUPPORT FORMING A SINGLE PIECE

DESCRIPTION

PREVIOUS SCOPE AND TECHNIQUE

The present invention has application in the field of agriculture to provide culture trays

10 also called seedbeds for the development of seedlings intended for subsequent transplantation that are manufactured based on injected plastic materials. These trays consist of a quadrangular piece with a perimeter flange and central body

15 in which a plurality of culture vessels generally of a truncated-pyramidal shape or inverted conical trunk are configured equal to each other that are open from above and extend downward, distributed adjacently evenly

20 forming a grid. It is known to manufacture this type of trays with various rigid non-porous thermoplastic materials that are too heavy for occupational health and safety standards. In addition, this type of materials

25 plastics are not recyclable and therefore pose a heavy burden on the environment when they must be disposed of after use. To solve the aforementioned problems of weight and environmental pollution, the use of

30 seedbeds based on expanded polystyrene that although they are much lighter, have drawbacks derived from the porosity of the material, since they are easily penetrated by the root system of the seedlings, which makes their extraction difficult and they are also very conducive to the development of fungi that must be treated with fungicides, both harming the growth of the seedlings and constituting a source of contamination after use. To solve these problems, the application inside the culture vessels of a non-porous coating has been proposed, which is unacceptable from the point of view of manufacturing costs. It would also be possible to think of an increase in the density of expanded polystyrene material, but this will lead to a high weight that is not acceptable in accordance with the recommended occupational health and safety standards.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

The present invention proposes the development of a cultivation tray or seedbed of the type indicated at the beginning that is of reduced weight based on a plastic material that can be recycled and that also has sufficient mechanical stability to allow transport when loaded with crop peat and developing seedlings. According to the invention, this task is solved according to the invention from a tray consisting of a quadrangular piece with a perimeter flange and tray body in which a plurality of culture vessels generally of trunk-pyramidal or conical trunk shape are configured. inverted and equal to each other that are open by above and extending downwards, distributed adjacently uniformly forming a grid, which is characterized in that: the quadrangular part is constituted based on thermoformed polyethylene terephthalate; and a reinforcement support is provided, also based on thermoformed polyethylene terephthalate, in the form of a quadrangular plate that is fixedly joined by taking a single piece to the lower ends of the culture vessels, so that the assembly formed by the piece Quadrangular and reinforcement support has increased mechanical stability and rigidity. According to a further feature of the invention, the connection between the square piece 1 and the reinforcement support is carried out by means of a thermosetting joint and / or by gluing by means of an adhesive material.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

Other features and advantages of the invention will result more clearly from the following description made with the aid of the accompanying drawings referring to an example of non-limiting execution of the invention, and in which Figure 1 illustrates a partially sectioned perspective view of a culture tray according to the invention. Figure 2 shows a side elevation view of the tray according to the invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF AN EMBODIMENT

As shown by the figures, the culture tray is constituted by a quadrangular piece 1 having a flange 10 formed around a tray body 11 in which a plurality of culture vessels 12, for example, trunk-pyramidal, are configured. or inverted trunk-conics equal to each other that are open at the top and that are evenly distributed and adjacent to each other formed a grid-like structure. In accordance with the invention, it is provided to provide a reinforcement support 2 in the form of a plate of lateral dimensions similar to those of the tray body 11 which is fixedly connected, forming a single piece to the lower ends 120 of the culture vessels 12. In this way , the tray and support assembly has an increased mechanical stability and rigidity that allow to support the load of the tray with the cultivation substrate and the seedlings that are developing in it. In accordance with the invention, the connection of the square piece 1 and the reinforcement support 2 is carried out by heat welding or by gluing by means of adhesive material. As mentioned earlier, both the quadrangular piece and the reinforcement support are manufactured based on thermoformed polyethylene terephthalate to ensure reduced weight and easy recycling of the tray and support once they have been used. Sufficiently that the invention has been described, it remains only to point out that the derived embodiments of changes in shape, dimensions and the like, as well as those resulting from a routine application of the above-disclosed should be considered included in its scope so that the invention will only be limited by the scope of the following claims.

Claims

1.- Improved disposable tray for plant cultivation constituted a quadrangular piece (1) with a perimeter flange (10) and tray body (11) in which a plurality of culture containers (12) generally shaped in a trunk are configured- pyramidal or inverted conical trunk and equal to each other that are open from above and that extend downwards, distributed adjacently evenly forming a grid, characterized in that: the quadrangular piece is constituted based on thermoformed polyethylene terephthalate; and a reinforcement support (2) is provided, also based on thermoformed polyethylene terephthalate, in the form of a quadrangular plate that is fixedly joined forming a single piece to the lower ends (120) of the culture vessels, so that The assembly formed by the quadrangular piece and the reinforcement support has increased mechanical stability and rigidity.

2. A perfected disposable tray for plant cultivation according to claim 1, characterized in that the square piece (1) and the reinforcement support (2) are joined through a thermo-welded joint and / or by adhesive bonding.