Device for feeding potted plants

A device for feeding potted plants, consisting of a plant pot comprising a slot for the introduction of a wick, the said wick being attached to a tongue forming part of an adapter, a device for varying the level of the plant pot arrangement in a re-potting unit and a level indicator.

The invention relates to a device for feeding potted plants, as defined in 
the preamble of claim 1. 
These devices are used to feed the plants with at least water over a 
relatively long period of time without intermediate watering being 
required. In this connection a distinction is made nowadays between two 
principal methods. The first method is generally known by the name 
hydroponics. In this case the roots of the plant are fully immersed in 
water or a nutrient solution and held only by a granular, air-permeable 
substrate. The soil in this case is completely removed from the plant 
roots. The second principal method used is pure soil culture combined with 
so-called longterm watering. In this case the plant is simply cultivated 
in soil as in the customary manner. The plant receives water in this case 
from a reservoir through a wick arrangement. This type of watering device 
for potted plants was disclosed, for example, in German 
Offenlegungsschrift No. 2,610,613. In this specification the plant pot is 
mounted on a unit provided with an absorbent wick and arranged, together 
with the latter, in a re-potting unit serving as a water reservoir. The 
disadvantage with this arrangement is that the absorbent wick is in direct 
contact with the garden mold which absorbs the water until completely 
saturated so that the plant is overwatered. This, together with the soil, 
leads to signs of rotting of the root system. A further disadvantage is 
the absence of a level indicator. This means that firstly it cannot be 
reliably or conveniently observed when the water has been consumed and 
that secondly precise filling is a complicated operation. 
A further drawback is that the water supply cannot be increased in the 
event of a relatively long absence, for example, during holiday time. 
French Patent Specification No. 1,492,789, Patent of Addition No. 94.471, 
discloses a solution wherein a larger quantity of water can be supplied in 
the event of a relatively long absence without the plant as such being 
fully immersed in water. A ring, which is to be mounted on the re-potting 
unit and in turn presses onto the plant pot having a wick unit, is used 
for this purpose. As in the previous case, this solution does not provide 
a level indicator and the previously described problems arise. 
Overwatering of the plant is unavoidable also in this case. The ring for 
providing a solution to the so-called holiday problem can easily be lost. 
Another device for watering potted plants is known from French Patent 
Specification No. 1,395,154. In addition to the described overwatering 
problems and the lack of a solution to the holiday problem, this device 
has the disadvantage that the water reservoir and absorbent wick unit are 
specially coordinated with one another. It is therefore impossible to 
incorporate the device in conventional re-potting or potting-on units. As 
a result the plant pot must be designed to be visually observable. In 
addition, a special and fairly expensive adapter must be provided, 
together with the absorbent wick unit. This makes the entire arrangement 
fairly costly so that it can only have a limited range of application. 
It is the object of the invention to provide a device for feeding potted 
plants which makes it possible to supply different quantities of water by 
simple and easily handled means, which ensures the circulation of air 
through the root system and an adequate supply of water, and which gives a 
precise indication of the water level to facilitate refilling. 
This object is achieved by the characterizing features of claim 1. Uniform 
watering over a wide area of the plant holder, together with excellent 
oxygen absorption, is achieved on account of the flat design of the 
absorbent wick. Over-zealous watering, which is detrimental to the root 
system and is unavoidable with cyclindrical wick systems, is completely 
eliminated. Owing to the simultaneously integrated level indicator, 
overfilling of the water reservoir is reliably prevented, ensuring that 
the root system of the plant is never fully immersed in water. 
Nevertheless, even greater quantities of water can be provided by the 
adapter, for example in the event of prolonged absence, without any 
disadvantage to the plant. A further advantage is that all the components 
are connected so as to ensure simple and trouble-free operation. Sources 
of trouble are largely eliminated, and complicated fitting operations are 
not required. 
Other advantageous embodiments of the invention can be found in the 
sub-claims. Thus, the absorbent wick unit is connected to the plant pot by 
a tongue. The tongue, which is large in area, supports the absorbent wick 
and is introduced through slot-shaped openings in the plant pot. This has 
the advantage that only very small modifications need to be made to the 
actual plant pot, compared with the plant pots currently in general use. 
In the simplest example only one slot-shaped opening is required, and 
consequently the plant pot can be filled, as before, by automatic potting 
machines. 
In order to achieve moistening over an even greater area of the plant 
holder, the tongue is connected to an absorbent mat in the bottom of the 
plant pot. This solution is proposed particularly when the plant holder 
consists of a core of soil directly enclosing at the least the root core 
and an air-permeable, capillary substrate surrounding the said soil core. 
This arrangement makes simple use of the hydroponics method possible, 
without the hitherto generally known problems. With hydroponics, as 
currently practised, it is necessary to cultivate special plants. The soil 
must be completely cleaned off these plants or their roots before they are 
placed in the substrate, which is usually a light expanded clay aggregate. 
On the other hand, with the device according to the invention, it is not 
necessary for the soil to be cleaned off the plant roots. In this case the 
plants are placed in the plant pot with the so-called ball of roots and 
surrounded by an air-permeable capillary substrate. In this connection 
with quantity of soil still left on the root system of the plant is of no 
importance. After a certain time the plant roots will in any case 
penetrate the ball of soil and become anchored in the substrate. Water 
and, if necessary, nutrients are then fed through the substrate into the 
root core via the flat wick and, if necessary, the absorbent mat, although 
this is not absolutely essential. 
The adapter of the plant pot in the re-potting unit, which can be designed 
in accordance with the invention by means of different constructional 
solutions, enables the quantity of water to be multiplied without the 
plant pot being placed in the water reservoir. Owing to the absorbent wick 
being large in area, reliable watering of the plant is achieved even when 
this aspiration level is relatively high. As the level indicator also 
moves due to the protective trough on the unit, it is fully capable of 
operation in the event of overfilling even when the plant pot is suspended 
in the long-term watering system (the holiday system). 
It is obvious that any desired combination of solutions from the individual 
sub-claims is also possible.

The same reference numerals are only used in the following description for 
completely identical parts. If a part differs slightly from the preceding 
one in design, even if it fulfils exactly the same function, a new 
reference numeral is used. 
FIG. 1 shows a device comprising a unit 2 rigidly connected to a plant pot 
3 to form an assembly. The adaptor 4 and level indicator 5 are attached to 
the unit 2. The level indicator 5, molded to the unit 2, consists 
essentially of a protective trough 6 with a water inlet 7, a guide support 
8, an indicating element 9 and the float 10. A guide holder 12 for the 
indicating element is provided at the end 11 of the guide support 8. 
A tongue 14 supporting the absorbent wick 15 is formed out of the bottom 13 
of the unit 2. The tongue 14 and absorbent wick 15 are connected to the 
plant pot 3 by a slot-shaped opening 16 therein. The different forms which 
the slot-shaped opening 16 can take will be described in even more detail 
in later examples. The absorbent wick 15 leads into the water reservoir of 
the re-potting unit 1 (the reservoir not being shown in detail in this 
example). To obtain a positive connection between the unit 2 and plant pot 
3, the unit is provided with a raised edge 17 for receiving the base 18 of 
the plant pot 3. 
In this embodiment the adapter 4 comprises three swivel arms 19 attached to 
the unit 2 by slotted locking studs 20 in retaining holes 21. 
The swivel arms 19 are provided with retaining claws 22 to ensure secure 
mounting on the re-potting unit 1. These claws 22 serve at the same time 
to adjust height relative to the trough 6 when the assembly is fully 
inserted in the re-potting unit 1. The embodiment having a large water 
capacity for solving the socalled holiday problem is illustrated in FIGS. 
1 and 2. 
The embodiment shown in FIGS. 3 to 6 differs from the previously described 
device in that the connection between the unit and plant pot is modified. 
The bottom 24 of the plant pot 23 is provided with a double T-shaped hole 
26 in addition to the standard drain holes 25. This double T-shaped 
opening 26 receives the unit 27 by way of the tongue 28, which supports 
the absorbent wick 29. The level indicator 5 and adapter 4 are the same as 
in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. 
FIGS. 7 to 12 show a further alternative embodiment of a device. The plant 
pot 30 is connected to a unit 31 by way of a tongue 32, the said tongue 32 
supporting the absorbent wick 33. The protective trough 35 is molded to 
the bottom 34 of the unit 31 and provided with a side opening 36 for 
introducing the indicating element 37. The indicating element 37 is 
provided with an angled section for receiving the float 10. A support 40 
for the indicating element 37 of the level indicator is molded to the edge 
38 of the unit 31, which engages positively in the base 39 of the plant 
pot 30. In addition, the indicating element extends through a channel 41 
in the edge area 42 of the plant pot 30. Sliding arms 43 are provided as 
an adapter at the bottom 34 of the unit 31. These arms are guided in a 
holder 44 rigidly connected to the bottom 34. Webs 45 provided at the 
bottom of the re-potting unit 1 serve as a means of adjusting the height 
of the trough 35. The plant pot 30 is only indicated by a chain-dotted 
line in FIG. 8. 
FIGS. 9 to 12 show two different embodiments of plant pots provided with a 
funnel. In this connection, the fact that these plant pots can be varied 
depending on use and adapted to suit the appropriate device does not 
require any detailed explanation. 
The plant pot 46 has a slot-shaped opening 47 with a sloping inlet 48. This 
opening 47 is defined by a wall section 49 above the bottom 50 of the 
plant pot, also covering the thickness of the pot bottom in this case. The 
bottom of the plant pot is recessed in the vicinity of the sloping inlet 
48. The standard drain holes 25 are also provided in the pot bottom 50. A 
slot-shaped opening 51 lies opposite the slot-shaped opening 47. In its 
upper edge area 52 the plant pot 46 is provided with a slot 53 for 
receiving a funnel 54. The funnel 54 is slid onto the pot wall 56 by means 
of two retaining side pieces 55. On the side opposite the funnel the edge 
area 52 of the plant pot 46 is provided with a channel 57 for guiding an 
indicating element (not shown here). In its bottom section 59 the plant 
pot 58 shown in FIGS. 11 and 12 is the same as the plant pot 46. In this 
case the edge area 52 of the plant pot 58 is provided with a slot 60 only 
on the side of the sloping inlet 48. The funnel 61 is inserted in this 
slot 60 and, in this case, is retained on the pot wall 63 by four fingers 
62. In addition, a guide 64 for the indicating element (not shown) is 
formed in the funnel 61. 
FIGS. 13 and 14 show a further alternative embodiment of a device. In this 
case the re-potting unit 65 is provided with side pieces 66 and 67 at 
different levels. In this case the adapter unit comprising the absorbent 
wick and level indicator is in the form of a ring 68. Fitting at two 
different levels, i.e. for a reservoir for the normal water supply and a 
reservoir for providing a greater water supply during holiday time, is 
achieved by turning the plant pot 69/ring 68 unit and mounting it on the 
side pieces 66 and 67, respectively. 
The connection between the ring 68 and plant pot 69 is made by the tongue 
70 which in turn supports an absorbent wick 71. The ring 68 is provided 
with a notch 72 for guiding the indicating element 73. The funnel 61 and 
guide 64 act as a second means of guiding the indicating element. The 
plant pot is again omitted from FIG. 14 for the sake of greater clarity. 
Another embodiment is illustrated in FIGS. 15 to 18. A tongue 75 and 
folding arms 76 are molded to the unit 74 by film hinges. The tongue 75 
has a slot 77 for receiving an absorbent wick (not shown), and a guide 
channel 78 for the level indicator and locking cams 79. The unit 74 is 
connected to a plant pot, for example the plant pot 58 shown in FIG. 11, 
by inserting the tongue 75 into the slot-shaped opening 47 through the 
sloping inlet 48 and pushing it out again through the opposite opening 51. 
Then the unit 74 is rotated in the arrow direction 80 and locked by means 
of the locking cams 79 and locking slots 81. The level indicator is 
arranged as shown in the embodiment in FIG. 13. 
FIG. 17 shows the unit 74 and plant pot 58 arranged in the re-potting unit 
1. The unit 74 is provided with retaining holes 83 in the peripheral wall 
82. The folding arms 76 are swung into these holes when the water is at a 
low level. In the embodiment for solving the so-called holiday problem as 
shown in FIG. 18, the folding arms are swung out and suspended on the 
edges of the re-potting unit 1. 
FIGS. 19 and 20 show a further alternative embodiment of an adapter. 
On the bottom 84 of a plant pot or unit, a control disk 86 with spiral cams 
87 is rotatably mounted in a recess 85. Control pins 88 of sliding arms 89 
engage the spiral cams 87, the said sliding arms 89 extending through 
double slots 90 in the bottom 84. The sliding arms 89 are adjusted by a 
control knob 91. 
The embodiments mentioned are only intended to show some of the possible 
variations according to the invention. Thus, the illustrated embodiments 
can naturally also vary from one another in any desired manner. For 
example, another device as shown in FIG. 21 is conceivable in such a way 
that the plant pot 58 shown in FIG. 11 is only designed with an opening 47 
for receiving an absorbent wick and tongue. Acting as an adapter, the 
swivel arms 19 are directly locked in the standard drain holes 25 in the 
plant pot 58. An indicating element 73 as shown in FIG. 13 could be used 
as a level indicator, in which case only one additional guide 99 would 
need to be clipped on the plant pot 58. 
Moreover, the absorbent wick as shown in FIG. 21 can be partially coated 
with a protective film 93 to prevent water evaporation. This prevents too 
much water from evaporating along the aspiration path in the event of 
strong sunlight and during holiday periods. In this case the protective 
film is advantageously designed so as to leave free only the absorption 
area 94 directly in the water and the transfer area 95 in the unit. In 
order to ensure proper immersion in the water, it is advantageous to 
provide the end of the wick in this embodiment with a counterweight 96. 
LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS 
1--Re-potting unit 
2--Unit 
3--Plant pot 
4--Adapter 
5--Level indicator 
6--Protective trough 
7--Inlet 
8--Guide support 
9--Indicating element 
10--Float 
11--End 
12--Guide holder 
13--Bottom 
14--Tongue 
15--Absorbent wick 
16--Slot-shaped opening 
17--Edge 
18--Base 
19--Swivel arms 
20--Locking stud 
21--Retaining holes 
22--Retaining claws 
23--Plant pot 
24--Bottom 
25--Standard drain hole 
26--Double T-shaped opening 
27--Unit 
28--Tongue 
29--Absorbent wick 
30--Plant pot 
31--Unit 
32--Tongue 
33--Absorbent wick 
34--Bottom 
35--Protective trough 
36--Side opening 
37--Indicating element 
38--Edge 
39--Base 
40--Holder 
41--Channel 
42--Edge area 
43--Sliding arms 
44--Holder 
45--Side pieces 
46--Plant pot 
47--Slot-shaped opening 
48--Sloping inlet 
49--Wall section 
50--Plant pot bottom 
51--Opposite opening 
52--Edge area 
53--Slot 
54--Filling funnel 
55--Retaining side pieces 
56--Plant pot well 
57--Channel 
58--Plant pot 
59--Bottom section 
60--Slot 
61--Filling funnel 
62--Fingers 
63--Plant pot well 
64--Guide 
65--Re-potting unit 
66--Side pieces 
67--Side pieces 
68--Ring 
69--Plant pot 
70--Tongue 
71--Absorbent wick 
72--Guide notch 
73--Indicating element 
74--Unit 
75--Tongue 
76--Folding arms 
77--Receiving slot 
78--Guide notch 
79--Locking cam 
80--Direction of arrow 
81--Locking holes 
82--Peripheral wall 
83--Retaining holes 
84--Bottom 
85--Recess 
86--Control disk 
87--Spiral cams 
88--Control pins 
89--Sliding arms 
90--Double slots 
91--Control knob 
92--Slots 
93--Protective film 
94--Absorption area 
95--Transfer area 
96--Counterweight 
97--Core of soil 
98--Substrate 
99--Guide 
100--Absorbent mat