Flower pot with accessible watering base

A flower pot is provided having an upper pot section and a base reservoir section. The upper pot section is formed with an open top, a closed side wall and a slotted or perforated bottom wall. A concave depression is formed on the lower edge of the side wall and outer edge of the bottom wall tapering off upward and inward. Downwardly protruding from the slotted bottom wall of the upper pot section is a shaped footing section adapted to hold both soil and a substantial portion of the flower root system that has its own closed side walls and a bottom wall. A footing section extends down below the side wall of the base section. The downward protruding footing is perforated to allow water deposited in the base section to enter up into the roots.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates generally to indoor flower pots and 
particularly to flower pots having a base container section providing a 
reservoir for water. 
Flower pots having a base container section are known. These have the 
advantage that water filling the base container section can be absorbed by 
the flower roots through capillary action, over an extended period of 
time. In general such flower pots accumulate water in this base containers 
by allowing the excess water fed to the soil to seep through holes in the 
bottom of the pot. Some pots have separable bottoms which can be filled 
and some have shaped pots allowing water to by-pass the soil and flow 
directly into the base container. In any event, such pots have the 
disadvantages that an insufficient amount of water accumulates in the base 
section to maintain the roots wet for a long period. Thus, the user must 
continually add water to the soil sometimes resulting in overwatering. A 
flower pot having an integral base contained is known, wherein the wall of 
the pot is provided with a recess allowing access to the base container 
section in order to fill the base with water. Such access is very 
restricted and it is difficult to pour the water therein particularly when 
using a watering can. Also, it is difficult to observe the water level in 
the base container section and frequent spilling occurs. 
The longstanding but heretofore unfulfilled need for a flower pot having 
the desired features of access to the base container section for watering 
and observing the water level therein with out removing the upper 
container section is now fulfilled by the invention disclosed hereinafter 
and as follows. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
According to the present invention, a flower pot is provided having an 
upper pot section and a base reservoir section. The upper pot section is 
formed with an open top, a closed side wall and a slotted or perforated 
bottom wall. A concave depression is formed on the lower edge of the side 
wall and outer edge of the bottom wall tapering off upward and inward. 
Downwardly protruding from the slotted bottom wall of the upper pot 
section is a shaped footing section adapted to hold both soil and a 
substantial portion of the flower root system that has its own closed side 
walls and a bottom wall. This footing section extends down below the side 
wall of the base section. The downward protruding footing is perforated to 
allow water deposited in the base section to enter up into the roots. 
The base section has an open top, a closed side wall and a closed bottom 
wall defining a reservoir for water. The top side of the bottom wall of 
the base container section has spaced, low lying supports that allow the 
upper container section to be held above the surface of the bottom wall of 
the base section at a distance great enough to allow water to flow beneath 
the downward protruding footing. A protruding lip is formed in the wall of 
the base container. The lip, conforming in mirror-like image to the recess 
in the pot section, extends outwardly from the closed side wall of the 
base section to protrude beyond the periphery of the upper pot section 
like an inverted bird's beak. The upper edge of the lip is even with the 
upper edge of the closed side wall of the base container section, thus 
insuring the integrity of the reservoir formed by the base section. 
When the upper container section is placed on the base container section 
and the protruding lip and concave recess are aligned an access port is 
formed that allows for easy insertion of water into the base container 
section and also allows for easy viewing of the water level in the base 
container section. 
Preferably, the base section is provided with pegs that extend up from the 
bottom wall that mate with cooperating cross cuts on the downward 
protruding bottom footing of the upper pot section. The pegs and cross 
cuts are preferably unevenly spaced such that when the base and upper 
container sections are joined and the protruding lip and concave 
depression align in a singular manner to insure that the lip and recess 
are also aligned.

Similar reference numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several 
views of the drawings. 
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
As seen in the figures the invention is illustrated in a flower pot, 
designated generally by the numeral 10 having an upper pot section 12 and 
a base section 14. 
The pot section 12 comprises a conventionally shaped truncated conical wall 
16 closed at its bottom by a wall 18 formed with a plurality of slots 20. 
Integrally extending from the bottom wall 18 is a pedestal 22 having three 
legs 24 arrayed in the shape of a Y. The legs 24 of the pedestal are 
hollow and thereby provide an interconnected chamber connecting with the 
hollow pot for dirt and plant roots to grow therein. 
The base section 14 comprises a circumferentially closed side wall 26 and a 
first bottom wall 28. The side wall 26 extends upward approximately the 
height of the pedestal 22 and the bottom of the pot section and is 
provided with a radially protruding lip 30 which extends outwardly in the 
shape of an inverted beak or funnel. The side wall 26 is of such a height 
that, as a whole, the base section 14 has the appearance of a shallow pan 
onto which the upper pot section 12 fits. 
To insure that the upper pot section 12 seats firmly and may be securely 
connected to the lower base section 14, the surface of the bottom wall 28 
of the base section is provided with an array of supports 32 each being a 
linear bar 34 and peg 36. The supports 32 are unevenly spaced in a Y 
shaped array conforming to the array of the pedestal 22. At the same time, 
the bottom wall of each leg 24 is formed with crucible opening 38 at their 
respective ends. The crucible opening 38 has a center portion through 
which an associated peg 36 fits. As seen from FIG. 2, the supports 32 
cause the pot section 12 to seat above the bottom of the base section 14 
by a distance 40 equal to the height of the linear support bar 34. Thus, 
water is free to flow within a reservoir 42 formed within the base section 
14 beneath the pot section 12. The crucible opening, however, is large 
enough to permit water to be absorbed, as by wicking, into the dirt and 
roots within each leg 24 of the pedestal 22. 
As support, the pegs 36 and the crucible opening 38 cooperate to lock the 
upper pot section 12 and lower base section 14 together. 
The outer wall of the upper pot section 12 is formed with a conical shaped 
recess 44 at that position where it will overlie the lip 30 when the upper 
and base sections are secured together. Thus, as seen from FIG. 1, the lip 
30 and recess 44 cooperate to form a funnel 46 into which water may be 
easily poured to fill the reservoir 42 from any type of watering can, 
faucet, or nozzle, the funnel 46 being sufficiently wide and the lip 
extending sufficiently to accommodate any filling device. It will also be 
observed that the side walls of the pedestal are solid and unperforated 
thereby insuring that water enters the pedestal only from the crucible 
openings 38 in each leg. Lastly, it will also be observed that there is a 
small space between the bottom wall of the pot 12 and the upper edge of 
the side wall 26 of the base 18. This insures that the water level L is 
always below the slots 20 formed in the bottom wall of the pot 12. 
It will be clear that water in the base section 14 will seep upward only 
through the crucible opening 38 to feed the roots. Thus, the amount of 
water in the reservoir 42 will not over soak the plant and the reservoir 
42 can be kept filled to its full capacity thereby providing several days' 
or weeks' supply of water at one time. If by chance water is poured 
directly into the top of the upper pot section, all excess water will run 
through the soil and drop into the base section through the slots 26 in 
the bottom wall of the upper pot section 12. Since all the water in the 
reservoir 42 is free to flow as a single body, its level L is clearly 
visible by looking into the protruding lip 30 or the funnel formed by it 
with the recess 44. 
The protruding lip 30, while shown conforming generally to the shape of the 
depression 44 formed in the pot section 12, extends beyond the circle of 
revolution of the pot, i.e. radius of the lowermost edge of the upper pot 
section so as to minimize spillage. 
The shape or even the recessed depression 44 is not critical and may even 
be dispensed with should the shape of the pot section be substantially 
narrowed at its bottom so that access to the protruding lip 30 is clear. 
While the shape of the protruding lip or funnel is like an inverted bird's 
beak, this too is not critical and it can take any protruding shape. 
Similarly, the Y shaped footing, while advantageous in providing good 
stability and seating because of its tri-form, could be replaced by other 
shapes. A circular foot, a foot of plural bars or even a rectilinear foot 
may be used. 
Various modifications and changes have been disclosed herein, and others 
will be apparent to those skilled in this art. Therefore, it is to be 
understood that the present disclosure is by way of illustrating and not 
limiting of the present invention.