Abstract:
A hanging basket display collar includes at least one pop-put panel when the conical collar is formed. In one embodiment, the pop-out panel is formed by two facing semicircular die cuts which define a generally circular pop-out panel coupled by integral hinges at the top and bottom edges, such that, when the collar is formed, the disk-shaped pop-out panel remains flat and extends in a plane spaced outwardly from the conical surface of the collar. A plurality of such pop-out panels can he provided and include printed plant identification and care information thereon.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention relates to a collar which extends over the hook and wires of a hanging basket used in merchandising live plants. 
         [0002]    There exists numerous hanger collars which have been used in a variety of applications for advertising or protective purposes in connection with hangers, such as garment hangers. U.S. Pat. No. 2,880,928 is illustrative of a cylindrical collar which fits over the hook of a hanger and provides protection for the collared area of an item placed on the hanger. Similarly, collars have been placed on a variety of containers, such as milk containers, for advertising and providing, information as to the nature of the contents. U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,829,915 and 2,214,436 are illustrative of such collars. 
         [0003]    When merchandising five plants, frequently they are placed in hanging baskets, which are suspended on a hook with wires extending to the rim of the pot containing the live flowers. With such merchandising, plant stakes can be inserted directly into the soil, however, they frequently can be easily removed or obscured by the foliage of the plant itself and, therefore, do not provide an ideal medium for the communication of information to the customer. Also, plant locking tags can be inserted into slots in the plant pot itself, as shown, for example, by U.S. Pat. No. 7,076,900. A hanger tag also has been employed for use with hanging baskets, U.S. Pat. No. 6,145,233 is representative of such a tag. 
         [0004]    Another manner by which the plants can be identified and care instructions can be communicated to the consumer is through the use of a banging basket collar. One such hanging collar is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. D 501,514, issued to the Assignee of the present invention. Although such a collar provides a convenient location for the display of information regarding the plant on which it is placed, it requires additional steps for its application, namely, the folding of the collar into flat panels. Hanging baskets typically use either three or four wires for their suspension from a hook. Thus, folded collars, in order to conform to the different number of suspension wires must have either three panels or other structure to allow the collar to nest on the suspension wires. Accordingly, it would he desirable to provide an improved hanging basket collar which eliminates both the necessity of additional folding steps for application of the collar to a basket and the need for two different designs depending upon the number of suspension wires. Also, it is desirable to provide a collar which provides plant information carried thereon in an eye-catching manner. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION. 
       [0005]    This invention satisfies this need by providing a display collar comprising a curved body and a pop-out display panel coupled to a body by hinges integral with the body, with the hinges aligned on an axis orthogonal to the radius of curvature of the body. In a preferred embodiment, the collar is a hanging basket collar which includes at least one pop-out panel with plant identification indicia for display when the continuous collar is placed around the wires of a hanging basket. In one embodiment of the invention, the pop-out panel is formed by two facing semicircular die cuts in a polymeric material which define a generally circular pop-out panel coupled at the top and bottom by integral hinges to the polymeric material, such that, when the collar is formed, the disk-shaped pop-out panel remains flat and extends in a plane spaced outwardly from the conical surface of the collar. In another embodiment of the invention, a plurality of such pop-out panels are provided and, in a most preferred embodiment, two opposed pop-out panels are provided. The collar body and pop-out panels carry printed indicia, such as photographs of the plant, plant care instructions, pricing information, and the like, for use by the consumer in making a purchasing decision and for subsequent plant care assistance. 
         [0006]    These and other features, objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the following description thereof together with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0007]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a hanging basket collar of the present invention; 
           [0008]      FIG. 2  is a front elevational view of the collar shown in  FIG. 1 , shown in its installed condition; 
           [0009]      FIG. 3  is a right side elevational view of the collar shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0010]      FIG. 4  is a left side elevational view of the collar shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0011]    Fig,  5  is a top plan view of the collar shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0012]      FIG. 6  is a bottom plan view of the collar shown in  FIG. 1 ; and 
           [0013]      FIG. 7  is a plan view of the die cut structure defining the collar shown in  FIGS. 1-6 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0014]    Referring initially to  FIGS. 1-6 , there is shown in phantom form in  FIG. 1  a hanging basket  10  of the type which is employed for merchandising live plants at various retail outlets. Basket  10  typically includes three or four hanging wires  12  which can be wires or plastic members which are integrally molded with a hook  14  for the hanging of plants in a home or office environment. 
         [0015]    A hanging basket collar  20  of the present invention is installed over hook  14  and supported on wires  12 , as best seen in  FIG. 1 , and comprises a generally conical body  22  having a circular upper edge  24  (when installed) and a scalloped lower edge  26 , which is generally circular and has a diameter greater than that of upper edge  24 . Edge  26  is scalloped with outwardly extending curved projections  25 . The collar, as described in greater detail below in connection with  FIG. 7 , is integrally formed from a die cut member of polymeric material, such as high density polyethylene (HDPE), having a thickness of about 10 to about 20 mills and includes, in the preferred embodiment shown in  FIGS. 1-6 , a pair of generally circular pop-out panels  30  and  32 . The generally circular pop-out panels are held to the body  22  of collar  20  by integral upper and lower hinges  31  and  33  and are formed by opposed semicircular die cuts  35  and  37 , which each extend through an arc less than 180° to leave the hinges  31  and  33  on each of the pop-out panels  30  and  32 . By aligning integral hinges  31 ,  33  on an axis orthogonal to the radius of curvature of the collar as the collar is curved during assembly, the edges of panels  30 ,  32  adjacent die cuts  35 ,  37  extend (or pop-out) from the surface of the collar. The collar also includes a locking slot  40  and a locking tab  42  which extends through slot  40 , as shown in  FIG. 6 , to assemble the conical collar for installation on a hanging basket, such as seen in  FIG. 1 . 
         [0016]    The collar is formed from a planar panel of material  22 , as best seen in  FIG. 7 , which has an upper edge  24  having a first radios of curvature, such as about 3.75 inches, and a lower scalloped edge  26  having a mean radius of curvature of about 7.5 inches leaving the overall width W (in  FIG. 7 ) of collar  20  of about 3.65 inches. The arcuate length in  FIG. 7  of collar  20  is from about 10 to about 12 inches, and preferably about 10.5 inches, in one preferred embodiment. In such embodiment, the diameter of the circular pop-out panels  30  and  32  are about 2.75 inches and the die cuts  35 ,  37  forming the pop-out panels  30 ,  32  each circumscribe an arc of about 150° to about 160° to define the generally circular pop-out panels  30  and  32 . When the flat body  22  defining the conical collar  20  is formed into the conical shape shown in  FIGS. 1-6  and the tab  42  is inserted, into slot  40  as shown, the panels  30  and  32  pop-out and extend in a plane outwardly from the otherwise conical surface  39  of the collar  20 , as best illustrated in  FIGS. 1 and 6 . 
         [0017]    Tab  42  is relatively short and wide to improve the locking of the collar edges  45  and  47  together. Tab  42  includes opposed tabs  41  and  43  spaced from the edge  45  of body  22  a distance sufficient to interlock the tab  42  within slot  40  adjacent the opposite edge  47  of body  22 . In a preferred embodiment of the invention, slot  40  had a width of about 1.20 inches while the distance between tabs  41  and  43  was 1.3 inches. The resilient tab  42  deflects sufficiently for the insertion of the tab  42  into slot  40 , but, once inserted, the collar remains firmly locked in the conical shape shown in  FIGS. 1-6 . 
         [0018]    Printed indicia  50 , such as illustrated in phantom lines on panel  30  in  FIG. 1 , identifies the plant and its care and can be included on the body  39  of collar  20  as well as on the second pop-out panel  32 , as shown in  FIG. 7 . Thus, with the hanging basket collar  20  of the present invention, an easily assembled collar is provided which can be used with hanging baskets with different numbers of suspending wires. The collar has one or more noticeable pop-out panels which extend from the body of the conical collar to provide an attraction which stands out and easily catches the consumer&#39;s eye for providing information as to the plant being purchased as well as providing information regarding the care of the plant, such as amount of sunlight required, watering instructions, and the like. Collar  20  may also include information identifying the retailer and may carry a retailer&#39;s trademarks and logos, as well as other helpful information. 
         [0019]    The collar may include a single pop-out panel or multiple pop-out panels, such as the two opposed ones shown in the figures. Also, smaller multiple panels may be employed, although one to three and most preferably two pop-out panels provide the greatest attraction to the information contained in these panels. The geometry of the pop out panels also may be varied by making them oval, square, rectangular, triangular, or the like, as long as they are integrally hinged to the conical body of the collar. Also, the pop-out display provided by this invention may be used with a body other than a conical shape, as long as the body is curvilinear when assembled for use and the pop-out panel(s) is hinged along an axis orthogonal to the radius of curvature of the body. By providing a pop-out panel which has a surface plane which extends outwardly front the plane of the curved collar, the information presented thereon is eye-catching and conveniently located for access. 
         [0020]    It will become apparent to those skilled in the art that these and other modifications to the collar of the present invention may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.