WO2008142279A2

WO2008142279A2 - Support for flower stand

Info

Publication number: WO2008142279A2
Application number: PCT/FR2008/000500
Authority: WO
Inventors: Dominique Feron
Original assignee: Dominique Feron
Priority date: 2007-04-17
Filing date: 2008-04-10
Publication date: 2008-11-27
Also published as: WO2008142279A3; FR2915071A1

Abstract

A support for a flower stand comprises a receptacle (4) of a chosen shape, and a flange (6) for connection with a substantially longitudinal suspension element, the flange (6) and the receptacle (4) comprising respective attachment portions (30, 10) suitable for being fixedly coupled together. The attachment portions (30, 10) comprise, between the flange (6) and the receptacle (4), an attachment (34), such that the receptacle (4) is placed in a chosen orientation.

Description

Improved planter stand

The invention relates to a planter support, comprising a receptacle of selected shape, and connected to a flange for connection with a substantially longitudinal suspension element.

The gardening supports are well known elements. Such supports are generally used to receive planters and suspend them to structural elements of the houses, such as the balcony railing or the banister of a staircase, for decorative purposes.

Such supports are generally made in the form of a receptacle of a shape chosen to house the planter, and one or more connecting elements for suspension to the structural element. The connecting element is often made in the form of hooks that can be directly hung on a railing.

The conventional planter supports are therefore made according to the structural element to which they must be suspended. This can be particularly inconvenient, because a conventional hook support will generally not be able to be attached to a bar.

The larger the size of the planter, the more the connecting element must be dimensioned accordingly, in order to bear the weight. In addition, in terms of aesthetics, the more binding elements are imposing, and the more they are sighted, which prevents the gardener from fulfilling its decorative task. In addition, too large connecting elements are heavy to handle, bulky and impractical to put away when not in use.

The invention improves the situation.

For this purpose, the invention proposes a support for a planter, comprising a receptacle of chosen shape and a flange for connection with a suspension element substantially longitudinal, the flange and the receptacle having respective attachment portions adapted to be fixedly coupled to each other.

Advantageously, the attachment portions comprise, between the flange and the receptacle, an attachment at an angle about a pivot axis which passes through the clamping zone of the flange, so that the flange can be coupled substantially perpendicular to the flange. suspension member while the receptacle is disposed in a selected orientation.

Such a support is particularly interesting because it is extremely adaptable. Indeed, it is possible to connect the support to virtually any structural element to which it is possible to attach the flange. In addition, this embodiment makes it possible to produce supports with relatively discrete structures, because the ease of arrangement of the attachment portions allows very varied designs.

Optionally and in particular embodiments, the planter support described above may have the following characteristics:

the attachment portions are provided with a rotational stop comprising a screw passing through a respective bore of the fastener portions;

the attachment portions comprise respective contact surfaces, and one of the attachment portions has balls protruding from its contact surface in a material that is harder than that of the attachment portions, and capable of penetrating the surface; contacting the other fastening portion when the screw of the rotational stop is tightened;

the support comprises several receptacles and several flanges, and the receptacles have corresponding shapes defining a general shape;

Other features and advantages will appear better on reading the description which follows, given by way of illustration and without limitation, of examples taken from the drawings in which: FIG. 1 is a general side view of a first embodiment of the planter support according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a general view from above of FIG. 1;

- Figure 3 is a top view of a portion of Figure 1;

- Figure 4 is a front view along the axis A-A of Figure 3;

FIG. 5 is a general side view of a second embodiment of the planter support according to the invention;

FIG. 6 is a front view of the support of FIG. 5 according to the arrow VI of FIG.

5;

- Figure 7 is a partial sectional view along the axis VII-VII of Figure 5;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view along a plane orthogonal to the axis VII-VII of FIG.

5;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view of the flange head of FIG. 5; and

FIGS. 10A and 10B are schematic diagrams for producing a receptacle for supporting the invention.

The drawings and the description below contain, for the most part, elements of a certain character. They can therefore not only serve to better understand the present invention, but also contribute to its definition if necessary.

FIG. 1 shows a side view of a planter support 2 comprising a receptacle 4 and a flange 6. The receptacle 4 comprises a support frame 8 which comprises arms 10, 12 and 14. The flange 6 comprises a head 39 and a plate 30 forming attachment portion.

At a lower end, the arm 10 is connected by a weld to one end of the arm 12, so that the arms 10 and 12 are at substantially right angles to one another. At its other end, the arm 12 is also connected by welding to a lower end of the arm 14, so that the arms 12 and 14 are at an angle α to one another. The angle α can vary between 90 ° and 120 °, depending on the planter that is received in the receptacle 4.

The arm 12 receives, substantially in the middle thereof, transversely two rods 16 and 18 substantially U-shaped oriented substantially transversely to the longitudinal direction of the arm 12, the base of the U having a length L2. The rods 16 and 18 are welded by the ends of the branches of the U to the arm 12 on either side thereof, so that the U are substantially coplanar, and that the U bases are substantially opposite. The rods 16 and 18 are also interconnected as shown in FIG.

The arm 14 receives for a substantially L-shaped rod 20, which extends in a plane substantially parallel to that of the rods 16 and 18. The rod 20 which can slide along one of the arms of the L through a opening of the arm 14, the other arm having a length L1. Once the position of the rod 20 has been selected, a screw 22 of the arm 14 serves to lock the rod 20 in place. It is possible to remove the rod 20 from the opening of the arm 14 to reverse the direction of the L, or to replace it with a rod of another form.

The arms 10, 12 and 14 are made in the form of empty steel tubes of selected thickness and square section. The arms 10 and 14 are closed at their free end by respective plastic plugs 24 and 26. Such arms are advantageous because they are both light and strong. Other sections may be envisaged for the arms 10, 12 and 14 (for example circular instead of square), the essential being that these elements are of generally elongate shape. The rods 16 and 18 form a receiving base, and the rod 20 defines a lateral support for positioning the planter in the receptacle 4, while the arms 10, 12 and 14 provide support for the assembly.

In an upper part, the arm 10 receives, substantially at the level of the rod 20, the plate 30 forming the attachment portion for collaboration with the flange 6 for attaching the support 2 to a structural element not shown for the sake of simplicity . The connection between the plate 30 and the arm 10 is made by means of welds 32 and 34 which appear best in FIG. 3. As can be seen in this figure, the plate 30 has openings 36 for receiving screws 38 which ensure the tightening with the head 39 of the flange 6.

As can be seen in FIG. 4, the plate 30 has a generally cross-shaped shape, which allows a connection with 90 ° pivoting with a suspension element in the form of a horizontal bar or a vertical bar. The openings 36 are holes provided in each arm of the cross.

In order to reinforce the connection of the support 2 with the suspension element to which it is attached, the plate 30 also receives balls 42 arranged substantially symmetrically with respect to the axes of symmetry of the plate 30. The balls 42 are arranged in relation to to these axes so as to correspond substantially to the portion of the arm 10 opposite on which the plate 30 is received.

The balls 42 are made of a material harder than the contact surface of the suspension element to which the flange 6 is attached. Thus, when the flange 6 is tightened by means of the screws 38 against the suspension element such as a bar, the balls 42 come into indentation in the contact surface with the suspension element and thus ensure a strengthening of the connection of the support 2.

In this way, the screws 38 form a pivot axis which passes through the clamping zone of the flange 6, so that it can be coupled substantially perpendicular to the suspension element while the receptacle is arranged according to an orientation chosen to be parallel to the ground. Therefore, for a correct attachment of the receptacle, the orientation of the suspension element does not matter as long as it remains close to a multiple of 90 °.

Figures 5 to 9 show another embodiment of the planter support 2.

As can be seen in FIG. 5, the arms 10, 12 and 14 are unchanged. The rod 20 L-shaped has been replaced by a rod 40 substantially circular diameter L3. The rod 40 is welded to the arm 14 as in the previous embodiment, and to a fastening portion 44 connected to the upper portion of the shaft 10 which will be described below. The U-shaped rods 16 and 18 have been replaced by two half-circles 42 extending on either side of the arm 12 in a plane substantially parallel to that defined by the rod 40, each having a diameter L4.

As can be seen in Figure 6, on which the head of the flange is not shown for clarity, the plate 30 is always cross-shaped, but it has only two openings 36. As appears on 7, in the center of the cross, a rotational stop portion 46 has been welded to the plate 30. The attachment portion 44 has been welded to the upper end of the arm 10 and it interacts with the flange 6 as described below.

The portions 44 and 46 have corresponding sections, and are pierced at their center with a bore 48 for receiving a rotational stop screw 50. On the face opposite the portion 44, the portion 46 receives three balls. in steel 52 distributed at an angle of 120 ° to each other. To ensure the connection between the receptacle 4 and the flange 6, the screw 50 received in the bore 48 of the portions 44 and 46 is tightened, which causes the balls 52 to indent the surface of the portion 44 by forming beads 53. The portion 46 thus cooperates by screwing with the portion 44 to ensure the connection between the plate 30 and the receptacle 4, and the indentation by the balls 52 ensures a stop in rotation.

Thus, the flange 6 can be arranged at a substantially straight angle relative to a suspension element, accommodating the inclination thereof relative to the ground, while the receptacle 4 can be attached to the flange 6 while maintaining the general orientation substantially parallel to the ground, thanks to the cooperation of the attachment portions 44 and 46.

In this way, the screw 50 forms a pivot axis which passes through the clamping zone of the flange 6. Thus, the flange thereof can be coupled substantially perpendicularly to the suspension element to obtain a good support, while the receptacle may be disposed in an orientation parallel to the ground.

Because of this, the orientation of the suspension element does not matter for a correct attachment of the receptacle, since the latter can be fixed at any angle relative to the pivot axis to be substantially parallel to the ground.

In addition, the head 39 of the flange 6 is modified and accommodates many shapes and widths of suspension element, thanks to the profile shown in Figure 9. This profile has a central V 60 whose branches are extended by wings 62 slightly inclined relative to the horizontal, so that the assembly forms an elongate V.

Although these embodiments have been described separately, the features of the variants can be combined. Thus, the two heads of the flange 6 can be interchanged freely, the plate 30 can be made invariably with or without indentation balls according to the desired performance, and the shapes given to the receptacle 4 are not limiting. Two other embodiments of receptacle directly usable in FIGS. 10A and 10B are thus represented.

In FIG. 10A, the receptacle 4 further comprises the arms 10, 12 and 14 and the rods 16 and 18 disposed on either side of the arm 12. On the other hand, the rod 20 here has the shape of a square, for to accommodate a gardener of this form. Obviously, this shape could be more elongated and have the shape of a rectangle or another shape. FIG. 1OB shows a receptacle 4 which can be particularly interesting in addition to the receptacle shown in FIG. 2. In this embodiment, the rod 20 is straight and is intended to express itself in the extension of the one of the branches of the L of the receptacle of FIG.

It is thus possible to achieve extremely flexible support for very long planters by having at selected points supports such as those illustrated in Figures 2 and 1OB which provide a support in several pieces that is both discreet and particularly effective . Other variants will be apparent to those skilled in the art which are covered by the following claims.

Claims

claims

A planter stand, comprising a receptacle (4) of selected shape and a flange (6) for connection with a substantially longitudinal suspension member, the flange (6) and the receptacle (4) having attachment portions (30). 10, 30-46, 44-10) adapted to be fixedly coupled together, characterized in that the attachment portions (30, 10; 30-46, 44-10) comprise between the flange (6) and the receptacle (4), an attachment at an angle about a pivot axis (48) which passes through the clamping area of the flange (6), so that the flange can be coupled substantially perpendicular to the suspension while the receptacle is disposed in a selected orientation.

2. Support according to claim 1, characterized in that the attachment portions (44, 46) are provided with a rotational stop (48, 50, 52) having a screw (50) passing through a respective bore (48). portions of fasteners.

3. Support according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the attachment portions comprise respective contact surfaces, and in that one of the attachment portions comprises balls (52) projecting from its contact surface. in a material harder than that of the attachment portions, and adapted to penetrate the contact surface of the other fastening portion when the screw of the rotational stop is tightened.

4. Support according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the fastening portion (30) of the flange (6) comprises a contact surface with the suspension element, and in that it comprises balls (42) protruding from its contact surface in a material harder than that of the suspension element, and capable of penetrating the contact surface of the suspension element when a clamping screw (38) of the flange ( 6) is tight.

5. Support according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the receptacle (4) comprises support arms (10, 12, 14) and support rods (16, 18, 20; 40, 42) defining a chosen form.

6. Support according to claim 5, characterized in that the shape is a round.

7. Support according to claim 5, characterized in that the shape is a square.

8. Support according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the flange (6) comprises a head (39) whose profile is V-shaped elongated.

9. Support according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a plurality of receptacles and several flanges, and in that the receptacles have corresponding shapes defining a general shape.