Collapsible protective plant cover

A collapsible protective plant cover comprises a pair of vertically spaced and coaxial support rings of spring steel. A tubular wall made of highly flexible sheeting is connected between the rings for protection from weather and animals. The tubular wall is sized for surrounding a plant with sufficient spacing therefrom. The top ring is spanned by a flexible top sheet. A small handle is attached across a small central hole on the top sheet. A stake is inserted into the ground near the center of the plant. The handle is supported on a hook positioned above the plant on the stake. The cover is entirely supported by the stake. The cover is easily removed from the plant and collapsed by twisting and coiling the rings on themselves. In a second embodiment, the top sheet is removable, and the tubular wall is supported on the stake by a pair of cords attached to the top ring. In a third embodiment, the rings are interwoven into the top and bottom edges of a relatively visually unobtrusive, flexible mesh tubular wall for protection from animals.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
This invention relates generally to covers for protecting plants from 
weather and animals. 
2. Prior Art 
Some outdoor plants must be protected from weather and animals, such as 
deer and birds. The prior art includes a variety of covers for providing 
such protection. U.S. Pat. No. 5,687,505 to Haufler et al. and U.S. Pat. 
No. 5,479,741 to Underwood each show a semi-rigid sheet rolled into a tube 
for surrounding a plant. Although the protector can be collapsed by 
unrolling the tube, the disassembly required makes it inconvenient to do 
so. Even if they are unrolled, the large sheets are inconvenient to store. 
Further, the open tubes do not provide weather protection. U.S. Pat. No. 
5,456,043 to Dacon, Sr. shows a mesh cover that is merely draped over a 
plant. It weighs down the plant and may thus damage it. Due to the close 
contact, the mesh may be caught in the branches, and become difficult to 
remove and reinstall. U.S. Pat. No. 5,016,388 to Burress et al. and U.S. 
Pat. No. 4,969,555 to Fitzgerald each show a fabric or mesh sheet for 
wrapping around a plant. They must be in close contact with the plant for 
support, so that they may distort and damage it. They have open ends, so 
that they do not provide any weather protection. U.S. Pat. No. 4,787,173 
to Lewis shows a fabric dome with a large ring on the bottom. It may also 
damage the plant by weighing down on it. It completely covers the plant, 
which may overheat in hot weather. The large, rigid ring cannot be 
collapsed, so that it is inconvenient to store. U.S. Pat. No. 3,706,160 to 
Deibert shows an umbrella plant protector. It is complicated and 
expensive. 
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION 
Accordingly, objects of the present plant cover are: 
to protect a plant from weather and animals, such as deer and birds; 
to be relatively visually unobtrusive when protecting against animals; 
to avoid distorting and stressing the plant; 
to be adjustable for covering plants of different heights; 
to provide selectable ventilation to prevent overheating in hot weather; 
to be easily removed from the plant for picking, pruning, cultivating, 
etc., 
to be easily reinstalled over the plant; and 
to be collapsible into a very compact shape for shipping and storage. 
Further objects of the present invention will become apparent from a 
consideration of the drawings and ensuing description. 
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
A collapsible protective plant cover comprises a pair of vertically spaced 
and coaxial support rings of spring steel. A tubular wall made of highly 
flexible sheeting is connected between the rings for protection of a plant 
from weather and animals. The tubular wall is sized for surrounding a 
plant with sufficient spacing therefrom. The top ring is spanned by a 
flexible top sheet. A small handle is attached across a small central hole 
on the top sheet. A stake is inserted into the ground near the center of 
the plant. The handle is supported on a hook positioned above the plant on 
the stake. The cover is entirely supported by the stake. The cover is 
easily removed from the plant and collapsed by twisting and coiling the 
rings on themselves. In a second embodiment, the top sheet is removable, 
and the tubular wall is supported on the stake by a pair of cords attached 
to the top ring. In a third embodiment, the rings are interwoven into the 
top and bottom edges of a relatively visually unobtrusive, flexible mesh 
tubular wall for protection from animals.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
FIG. 1: 
A first embodiment of the present collapsible protective plant cover is 
shown in the front perspective view in FIG. 1. It comprises a top ring 10 
and a bottom ring 11 both preferably made of easily coiled spring steel. 
Rings 10 and 11 are connected by a coaxial collapsible tubular wall 12 
preferably made of a lightweight, very flexible and easily collapsible 
material, such as fabric or netting. Top ring 10 is spanned by a top sheet 
13, preferably made of the same flexible material from which the tubular 
wall is made as shown in FIG. 1. A central hole 14 on top sheet 13 is 
surrounded by a reinforcing disc 15 of a tougher material. A small 
supporting handle 16 has opposite ends hinged to a metal ring 17 attached 
to the rim of hole 14. A ventilation flap 18 provided on tubular wall 12 
is closed by hook-and-loop fasteners 19 and 20. Eyelets 21 are arranged 
around the bottom edge of tubular wall 12. 
The plant cover is sized for positioning around a plant 22 with sufficient 
spacing therefrom to avoid distorting and stressing the plant. Handle 16 
is supported on an elevated support or hook 23 attached to a vertical 
stake 24, which is inserted into the soil adjacent the center of plant 22. 
Hook 23 is preferably positioned on stake 24 just high enough to support 
the plant cover in a fully expanded position, and to position bottom ring 
11 in contact with the ground. The bottom end of the plant cover is 
secured to the ground by conventional gardening staples 25 inserted 
through eyelets 21. The lower portions of staples 25 are inserted into the 
ground, so they are not shown. 
The plant is thus fully enclosed and protected from weather and animals. 
The bottom end of the cover can be easily lifted temporarily for providing 
access to the ground around the base of the plant, such as for 
fertilization, weeding, etc. Alternatively, hook 23 can be attached higher 
on stake 24 to support the bottom end of the plant cover spaced above the 
ground. Hook 23 can be repositioned on stake 24 for covering plants of 
different heights. Flap 18 can be opened for ventilating the interior of 
the plant cover in hot weather to prevent overheating the plant. The plant 
cover can be easily removed by lifting it vertically by freeing the 
staples 25 and lifting the stake 24 to which the top sheet 14 is suspended 
by the hook 23. Alternatively, if it is desired to leave the stake 
embedded in place, the staples 25 are freed, the handle 16 is detached 
from the hook 23, and the plant cover is lifted off the stake and the 
plant.. Tubular wall 12 is generally spaced from the plant, so that the 
plant cover can be removed without snagging on the plant. 
FIG. 2: 
A second embodiment of the present collapsible protective plant cover is 
shown in the front perspective exploded view in FIG. 2. It is 
substantially identical to the first embodiment of FIG. 1, except for a 
top sheet 26 which is removably attached to a tubular wall 27 by 
hook-and-loop fasteners 28 and 29 instead of being an extension of the 
tubular wall as in FIG. 1. A steel ring 40 is arranged around top sheet 
26. A pair of supporting means or cords 30 are attached to a top ring 31 
for independently supporting the plant cover on a stake 24 and hook 23 
(not shown) when top sheet 26 is removed. Supporting cords 30 may be 
removed from the hook 23 and tubular wall 27 collapsed to the ground for 
providing access to the plant. 
FIG. 3: 
A third embodiment of the present collapsible protective plant cover is 
shown in the front perspective view in FIG. 3. It comprises a top ring 32 
and a bottom ring 33 interwoven into the top and bottom edges of a tubular 
wall 35 made of a flexible mesh. A pair of supporting means or cords 36 
have ends that are preferably attached to opposite quadrants of top ring 
32. Cords 36 are supported on a hook 37 attached to a stake 38 inserted 
into the ground adjacent a plant 39. The cover is preferably supported so 
that it is fully expanded and bottom ring 33 is on the ground, but the 
plant cover may be supported higher so that the bottom ring 33 is elevated 
above the ground for providing easier access to the bottom of the plant 
and the soil around it. Plant 39 is thus protected from animals, such as 
deer and birds, while being relatively visually unobtrusive. If desired, 
the plant can be fully exposed by unhooking cords 36 from hook 37, moving 
cords 36 outwardly to the position shown in dashed lines, and collapsing 
wall 35 around the base of the plant. Moving cords 36 outwardly prevents 
them from snagging on the plant when wall 35 is collapsed. 
Alternatively, top ring 32 and bottom ring 33 may be connected by a 
plurality of connecting straps 34 arranged around their circumferences. 
Mesh wall 35 is removably wrapped around straps 34 and rings 32 and 33. 
The mesh can be removed and replaced with other materials if desired. 
FIG. 4: 
In all embodiments, the plant cover can be initially compacted by 
collapsing the tubular wall and superimposing the rings together. The 
cover is further compacted by twisting the rings into small coils 
according to the process in FIGS. 4-8 (for clarity, the tubular wall and 
top sheet are not shown, and only one ring is shown). The plant cover is 
thus compacted to a very small size for convenient shipping and storage. 
SUMMARY AND SCOPE 
Accordingly, a collapsible protective plant cover is provided. It protects 
a plant from weather and animals. It avoids distorting and stressing the 
plant. It is adjustable for covering plants of different heights. It 
provides selectable ventilation to prevent overheating the plant in hot 
weather. It is easily removable from the plant, and it is collapsible to a 
very compact size for storage. 
Although the above description is specific, it should not be considered as 
a limitation on the scope of the invention, but only as an example of the 
preferred embodiment. Many substitutes and variations are possible within 
the teachings of the invention. For example, the cover can be provided in 
different sizes for covering plants of different sizes. It can be 
supported by an overhead rope or bar instead of an internal stake, and 
several covers can be ganged together on the rope or bar. A variety of 
lightweight, very flexible, and collapsible materials, including fabric, 
plastic sheeting, and mesh, can be used for the tubular wall. Handle 16 
may be a metal arc or flexible cord. Connecting straps 34 can be 
eliminated, and tubular wall 35 permanently connected between rings 32 and 
33. The rings can be polygonal instead of circular. Central hole 14 can be 
eliminated, so that top sheet 13 serves as a supporting means by being 
supported on the end of stake 24. The rings can be made of any suitable 
material. Hooks 23 and 37 can be of any form, such as notches cut into 
stakes 24 and 38. Therefore, the scope of the invention should be 
determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents, not by the 
examples given.