WO2014100854A1

WO2014100854A1 - Tray for green wall

Info

Publication number: WO2014100854A1
Application number: PCT/AU2013/001516
Authority: WO
Inventors: Henry Greaves; Alan Sian Ghee Lee
Original assignee: Elmich Pte Ltd
Priority date: 2012-12-24
Filing date: 2013-12-23
Publication date: 2014-07-03

Abstract

A tray (10) for attachment to a wall for providing a green wall is disclosed. The rear of the tray provides a series of hooks (30, 32, 34) defining apertures for attachment to a support (100, 300) in the form of a mesh, rods, bars or the like. At least two vertically spaced rows of hooks are provided for hanging the trays from the support. The lowermost row of hooks (34) is defined at the bottom of tray and directly supports the weight of the tray. Typically lowermost hooks define a leg or rib (35) at the end of which is a foot (34) on which the tray is supported when the tray stands on ground. The upper part of the apertures of the hooks which receives and rests on the support are aligned in a plane (A). The plane (A) is oriented at an angle to the axis (B) of the leg or rib of the lowermost hooks.

Description

"Tray for green wall"

Cross-Reference to Related Applications

The present application claims priority from Australian Provisional Patent Application No 2012905661 filed on 24 December 2012, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference.

Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a system for creating vegetated or green walls using open top boxes or trays, to the trays themselves, and to improvements in methods and systems of mounting such trays to a wall, or the like.

Background of the Invention

With increasing development and urbanisation and growing concern about the effects of climate change, there is an increasing emphasis on the need to green buildings and cities to make them more ecologically friendly. Cities, in particular, tend to be warmer than surrounding rural areas, and city buildings tend to absorb and trap heat, whilst radiating heat to their surroundings. Rooftop greening is known to mitigate this effect as it tends to insulate the roof of the building and reduces the amount of energy required to heat and cool the building.

It is also known to green the walls of the building for insulation, to improve the appearance of the building, or for other environmental reasons. Green walls can also be used to grow crops, such as herbs, salad plants and the like, particularly in areas where there is limited space to grow crops, such as in cities and in other densely populated areas.

There are various known systems for providing green walls including a system described in the inventors' earlier International Patent application No PCT/AU2012/000638. However, such green wall systems have a number of drawbacks. In particular they are relatively expensive. Also the plants are arranged to grow from out the front of the wall, i.e. horizontally, when plants typically grow vertically, towards the sun.

It is also known to provide green walls which provide a series of open top trays or boxes attached to a wall disposed one above the other, however, these systems tend to be relatively time consuming and complex to mount to a wall and also the trays themselves are often unstable when placed on ground. Further, many of these systems do not allow for easy removal and replacement of trays, which is desirable as the trays may become damaged or the plants in the tray may become diseased or die and it is generally easier to remove the tray than replace the plant and growing medium, in situ.

Any discussion of documents, acts, materials, devices, articles or the like which has been included in the present specification is not to be taken as an admission that any or all of these matters form part of the prior art base or were common general knowledge in the field relevant to the present disclosure as it existed before the priority date of each claim of this application.

Throughout this specification the word "comprise", or variations such as "comprises" or "comprising", will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or steps, but not the exclusion of any other element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or steps.

Summary of the Invention

In a first broad aspect of the present invention, there is provided tray for attachment to a wall for providing a green wall wherein the rear of the tray provides a series of hooks defining apertures for attachment to a support in the form of a mesh, rods, bars or the like, including at least two vertically spaced rows of hooks, for hanging the trays from the support, wherein the lowermost row of hooks is defined at the bottom of tray and directly supports the weight of the tray..

Preferably, the lowermost hooks define a leg or rib at the end of which is a foot on which the tray is supported when the tray stands on ground.

It is preferred that the upper part of the apertures of the hooks which receives and rests on the support are aligned in a plane and wherein that plane is oriented at an angle to the axis of the leg or rib of the lowermost hooks.

Typically, the angle is from 10° to 45°, preferably from 20° to 35°, most preferably 20 to 25°.

Preferably the plane containing the upper part of the apertures of the hooks is generally parallel to the rear wall of the tray.

In a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a tray for attachment to a wall for providing a green wall wherein the base of the tray is shaped and configured such that when the tray is standing on a generally flat horizontal surface, the base supports the tray in a substantially stable upright position.

In a preferred aspect when the tray is attached to the wall, typically via a longitudinal extending bar, mesh, grid or the like, the bottom part of the tray preferably extends into the plane of the wall panel mounting system. In a preferred feature, the arrangement of hooks on the tray is such that the lowest row of hooks on one tray can hook onto the same horizontal bar or rod as the upper row of the hooks of the tray below.

Thus in a related aspect, the invention provides a combination of a support including a plurality of longitudinally extending rods, wires of the like, and at least two of trays embodying the invention, one tray being mounted vertically above the other wherein the arrangement of hooks on the trays is such that the lowest row of hooks on the uppermost tTay are hooked onto the same horizontal rod or wire as the uppermost row of the hooks of the tray below.

Typically the trays will be attached to a wall either from a mesh or a series of spaced apart horizontal bars which might be fixed directly to the wall or might be fixed to the wall via hooks, racks, rails or the like.

A preferred feature of the tray is a partition/baffle which is positioned in the tray which keeps at least a portion of the upper area of the tray free from growing medium.

In use, when one tray is disposed above another, the lower part of one tray tends to sit above or partially in the area kept free from growing medium of the tray below.

It is preferred that a reservoir is defined in the base of the tray which includes a partition preventing or inhibiting the growing medium from falling into the reservoir and a wick to transfer water from the reservoir to the growing medium.

In yet a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a moulded plastic mesh for use in attaching the trays to a wall.

The mesh, is typically sized to support approximately six trays, in two rows of three trays and defines an aperture at each corner for receiving a bolt. Typically, the mesh is configured so that the edge of one sheet of mesh either over lies or underlies under the adjacent sheet of mesh in such a way in order to attach a series of overlapping sheets of mesh to a wall, only one bolt per mesh sheet is required as each bolt will support the corners of four sheets.

This reduces the amount of time it takes to attach the mesh and the trays to the wall and reduces the damage caused to the structure of the wall by the attachment of the trays for the green wall.

Brief Description of the Drawings

A specific embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, in which:

Figure 1 is an isometric view from above of a wall tray embodying aspects of the present invention; Figure 2 is a front view of the wall tray of figure 1 ;

Figure 3 is a side view of the wall tray of figure 1 ;

Figure 4 is a rear view of the wall tray of figure 1 ;

Figure 5 is a top plan view of the wall tray of figure 1 ;

Figure 6 is a bottom view of the wall tray of figure 1 ;

Figure 7 shows a vertical cross section through the wall tray of figure 1

Figure 8 shows a cross-section through the wall tray of figure 1;

Figure 9 shows a front view of a sheet of mesh for use in attaching the trays to a wall with a single wall tray attached to it;

Figure 10 shows an isometric view of the mesh of Figure 9 with a number of trays and irrigation pipes attached;

Figure 11 shows a side view of the mesh with a number of trays and irrigation pipes attached shown in Figure 10;

Figure 12 shows a rear view of the mesh with a number of trays and irrigation pipes attached shown in Figure 10;

Figure 13 illustrates an alternative mounting means to the wall tray using horizontally extending rods; and

Figure 14 illustrates the mounting of the wall tray on a wire mesh.

Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiments

Referring to the drawings, Figures 1 to 8 show an open topped wall tray 10 or box for holding growing medium for attachment to a wall for forming a green wall. The tray 10 has a front wall 12, a rear wall 14, side walls 16 and 18 and a base 20. The tray is moulded from a suitable plastics material, preferably recycled plastic.

As can best be seen from Figures 2 and 3 of the drawings, the front and side walls of the tray are tiered/discontinuous, being wider at the open top of the tray than at the base.

As best shown in Figure 3, which shows the tray standing on ground 22, starting from the base 20 of the tray, the front wall 12 of the tray defines a first wall portion 12a which extends generally vertically upwards, a step 12b where the wall extends horizontally forwardly, a further wall portion 12c where the wall extends outwardly and upwardly at an angle to the portion 12a, a smaller horizontal step 12d, and a further wall portion 12e which slopes forwardly and upwardly at the same angle as wall portion 12c. Hence the front wall tends to extend outwards, as it extends upwards from the base. The side walls are also tiered so that the top of the tray is wider than its base, as best seen in Figure 2. The side wall 16 defines a first wall portion 16a which extends generally vertically upwards, a step 16b where the wall extends horizontally, a further wall portion 16c where the wall extends upwardly at a slight angle to the vertical portion 16a, a smaller horizontal step 16d and a further wall portion 16e which slopes forwardly and upwardly at the same angle as wall portion 16c. The opposite side wall 18 has the same shape and configuration as side wall 16.

As is best seen in Figure 3, the rear wall 14 of the tray extends at an angle (typically about 20-35°' in the described embodiment around 22°) to the vertical. The rear wall 14 defines three rows of two moulded hooks, an upper/top row of hooks 30, a middle row of hooks 32 and a lower row of hooks 34. The upper and middle hooks are defined at the edges of the rear wall. Each hook defines an aperture 30a, 32a, 34a, for receiving a horizontally extending bar or the like. The hooks/apertures are aligned with the rear wall so extend at the same angle to the vertical, along axis A, shown in Figure 3.

The base of the tray at its front is moulded to define an elongate foot 40 having a flat base 41 which extends across the width of the front portion 12a. Both of the two lower hooks also define a foot 42 on which the tray can stand as best shown in Figure 3. The base of the foot 42 lies in the same plane as the flat base 41 of the front foot 40 and this helps the tray to stand stably on flat ground. The lower hook 34 could be considered to be a groove and when the tray is supported on the lower hook much of the weight of the tray is directly supported by the hook/groove 34.

As is best seen in Figures 1 and 3, a latch/catch 50 is provided for preventing accidental removal of the upper hooks from the rod or other support which can be disengaged by pulling back on a retractable lever 52. The catch is biased to the closed position, retaining the upper catch on the support.

With reference to Figures 6 to 8, a drainage hole/tube 60 is defined in the base of the tray. The drainage hole extends into a reservoir 62 defined in the lower part of the tray. The walls of the tube extend upwards, almost as far as, but short of, the roof/ceiling 64 of the reservoir 62, so that excess water drains out from the reservoir before the reservoir becomes full. As is best seen in Figure 8 the ceiling of the reservoir defines a series of elongate slots 66 to allow water in the tray to drain into the reservoir and one or more arrays 68 of flexible fingers are provided for securing a fabric wick, not shown, extending from the reservoir into the tray. The roof 64 of the reservoir forms the base of that part of the tray which receives the growing medium. Typically, it will be covered in a piece of geotextile or the like, not shown. As is best seen in Figure 8, at the top of the tray, there is a removable baffle or partition 70 having an L-shaped cross-section, which defines an array of narrow slits 72. The insert extends from one side 16 of the tray to the other 18 and defines a space at the top of the tray which is separate from the main volume of the tray.

In use, the tray is filled with growing medium and seed or plants. Typically the growing medium will not extend as far as the lip of the tray, to prevent spillage. The partition 70 keeps a part of the upper volume of the tray free from growing medium.

Figures 9 to 13 illustrate the mounting of the trays to a wall or the like. Figures 9 to 12 show the use of a moulded plastic mesh sheet 100 to attach the trays 10 to a wall.

With reference to Figure 9, the mesh is made of a moulded plastics material, is rectangular and sized to receive eight trays 10 in four horizontal rows of two trays. The mesh includes vertically extending members 102 as well as generally thicker horizontally extending members 104 and a rectangular external frame 106 having three sides, a top 108, and two side members 110 and 112. The horizontal members are spaced to suit the positioning of the three rows of hooks on the rear of the trays 10. A hole 114 is provided in the frame at each corner of the mesh. The edges of the mesh are configured so that the top of one sheet of mesh will overlie the bottom of an adjacent sheet of mesh and the right side 110 of one sheet of mesh overlies the left side of an adjacent sheet of mesh. When multiple sheets of mesh are so arranged the holes coincide so that a single bolt can attach the corner of four mesh sheets to a wall. This reduces the number of bolts needed to attach the mesh to a wall. Additional bolt holes may be provided in the mesh, if the weight of the trays is such that additional fixing to the wall is needed. The plastic mesh may include additional stiffening/strengthening in-fill plates 120 which may be made of metal.

Figure 10 shows a plurality of trays 10 attached to a single sheet of mesh. Typically, the green wall may include multiple sheets of mesh with their edges overlaid as discussed above. A number of the trays are shown including growing medium 150 and the Figure also shows irrigation tubes 152.

Figure 1 1 is a side view of the mesh and trays. As can be seen the hooks and the lowermost rear part of the tray extends slightly into the plane of the mounting mesh. This assists in supporting the weight of the trays.

As is best seen in Figure 12, the arrangement of hooks on the tray is such that the lowest row of hooks/grooves 34 on one tray hook onto the same horizontal bar or rod as the upper row of hooks 32 of the tray below. The front face of each tray slopes forwardly and upwardly so that when one tray is mounted vertically above another, plants growing upwards in the lower tray tend to cover the front face of the upper tray.

Figure 13 illustrates alternative ways of attaching the trays to a wall using spaced apart horizontally extending bars 200, which are fixed to a wall using either hooks 202 or by means of brackets 204 attached to vertically extending rails 206.

Figure 14 illustrates the tray mounted to a wire mesh 300. In this Figure the horizontal spacing between the vertical mesh bars is 50mm and the vertical spacing between the horizontal mesh bars is 75mm. However, as can be seen, due to the spacing, shape and width of the hooks on the rear of the tray, the tray is able to be attached to the mesh despite it being much wider than 50mm. The lower hooks 34 define ribs 35 which have an axis B which extends away from the axis A at an angle a which is between about 20° and 35° (refer to Figure 3). This provides a larger footprint which helps keep the tray upright when it is on the ground 22 and, as a result, allows the tray to hold an increased volume of soil without toppling over

It is to be noted that as shown in Figure 14, the ribs 35 project through the mesh

300 when the tray is mounted.

Hence the tray is able to protrude backward through the mesh although the tray is much wide than the mesh spacing. Likewise the tray may be mounted on mesh having horizontal bars 75mm apart despite being much taller than 75mm. That allows the tray to be mounted on standard mesh having those dimensions, if required, rather than requiring a non-standard custom designed mesh.

It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that numerous variations and/or modifications may be made to the above-described embodiments, without departing from the broad general scope of the present disclosure. The present embodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive.

Claims

g CLAIMS:

1. A tray for attachment to a wall for providing a green wall wherein the rear of the tray provides a series of hooks defining apertures for attachment to a support in the form of a mesh, rods, bars or the like, including at least two vertically spaced rows of hooks, for hanging the trays from the support, wherein the lowermost row of hooks is defined at the bottom of tray and directly supports the weight of the tray.

2. A tray as claimed in claim 1 wherein the lowermost hooks define a leg or rib at the end of which is a foot on which the tray is supported when the tray stands on ground.

3. A tray as claimed in claim 2 wherein the upper part of the apertures of the hooks which receives and rests on the support are aligned in a plane and wherein that plane is oriented at an angle to the axis of the leg or rib of the lowermost hooks.

4. A tray as claimed in claim 3 wherein the angle is from 10° to 45°, preferably from 20° to 35°, most preferably 20 to 25°.

5. A tray as claimed in any one of claims claim 3 to 4 wherein the plane containing the upper part of the apertures of the hooks is generally parallel to the rear wall of the tray.

6. A tray as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the base of the tray is shaped and configured such that when the tray is standing on a generally flat horizontal surface, the base supports the tray in a substantially stable upright position.

7. A tray as claimed in any preceding claim wherein, when the tray is attached to the wall via a support in the form of a plurality of longitudinally extending rods, wires of the like, the lower part of the tray extends into the plane of the support.

8. A tray as claimed in and preceding claim wherein a partition/baffle which is positioned in the tray which keeps at least a portion of the upper area of the tray free from growing medium such that in use, when one tray is disposed above another, the lower part of one tray tends to sit above or partially in the area kept free from growing medium of the tray below.

9. A tray as claimed in claim 1 or 2 wherein a reservoir is defined in the base of the tray which includes a partition preventing or inhibiting the growing medium from falling into the reservoir and a wick to transfer water from the reservoir to the growing medium.

10. A tray as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the top of the tray is wider than the base of the tray and the front and/or rear walls of the tray slope outwardly from the base of the tray and wherein the tray provides three vertically spaced rows of hooks.

11. A combination of a support including a plurality of longitudinally extending rods, wires of the like, and at least two of trays as claimed in any preceding claim one tray being mounted vertically above the other wherein the arrangement of hooks on the trays is such that the lowest row of hooks on the uppermost tray are hooked onto the same horizontal rod or wire as the uppermost row of the hooks of the tray below.

12. A moulded plastic mesh for use in attaching trays as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 10 to a wall, the mesh defining a plurality of first parallel members extending in a first direction and a plurality of second parallel members extending is a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, the mesh defining an aperture at each corner for receiving a bolt, and being configured so that the edge of one sheet of mesh either over lies or underlies an adjacent sheet of mesh in such a way that in order to attach a series of overlapping sheets of mesh to a wall, only one bolt per mesh sheet is required as each bolt will support the corners of four sheets.