PROTECTIVE LINING FOR A CONTAINER

Abstract: Protective lining (2) for a container (1) for preventing damage to the container (1) by any contents thereof. The liner (2) is provided with a rim (4) having a clip projection (6) extending around the periphery of the rim (5) which is arranged to clip into a groove (7) in the container wall so as to provide a seal between the container wall and liner (3). Any material being put into the container will therefore not fall between the container wall and liner. The liner (3) is provided with an extension (9) in its bottom which can be clipped to allow drainage of contents from the liner (3). Also disclosed is a "spider" means (25) which acts to maintain the position of the liner within the container (1). The invention is particularly useful for plant containers.

Description: PROTECTIVE LINING FOR A CONTAINER The present invention relates to a protective lining for a container, and more particularly to a prot¬ ective lining arranged to prevent damage to a container by any materials held therein. The present invention further relates to a container and protective lining for the container. Further aspects of the present invention relate to a drainage mechanism allowing the draining of liquid from a container provided with a liner, and to a means for ensuring correct alignment of a protective lining within a container. It is often the case that materials held by a container can actually cause damage to the container. For example, wooden containers arranged to hold soil for plants are prone to damage and rotting from the water retained in the soil . Such damage can be prevented by chemically treating the wood, but such chemical treatment detracts from the attractiveness of the container. It is known to line containers with disposable flexible plastics bags, for example dustbin bags. These, however, because of their flexibility are generally retained in the container by having the open end of the bag folded over the rim of the container, which tends to be unattractive - and particularly undesirable where the container is an ornamental plant container, for example, which may have been obtained as much for its aesthetic as functional value. Also, plastics bags can easily fall away from the rim of the container under the weight of a load, leaving a gap between the bag and inside of the container down which materials can fall. It is also known to protect a container by placing a further rigid container inside the first container to hold the material. For example, one plant pot inside another. This again has the disadvantage that it is difficult to prevent there being a gap between the inside and outside containers down which material can fall. The present invention provides a container with protective lining, the container comprising a base and walls, the internal surfaces of the walls being provided with first engagement means, the liner comprising a liner portion arranged to prevent material in the container coming into- contact with the walls and a rim portion being provided withϊ second: engagement means arranged to engage with said first, engagement means, whereby to provide a seal between the li ; ner andi container walls. The present invention further provides a protective lining for a container arranged to prevent damage to the container by materials contained therein, the protective lining comprising a liner portion and a rim portion the rim being provided with engagement means more rigid than the liner portion for engaging with the container wall, whereby to provide a seal between the container wall and liner. In some applications it is desirable that means be provided in the container to allow drainage of liquid therefrom, for example, some plant containers are provided with holes to allow drainage of water from the soil. The present invention is also concerned with the provision of a drainage means, whereby liquid may be drained from a container with a liner. Further, when fitting a liner into a container, it is possible to accidentaly misalign the liner so that it does not fit propterly in the container, eg large gaps exist between the walls of the container and the sides of the liner, or the bottom of the liner sits askew in the container. This may lead to problems such as, for example, where drainage holes are provided in the container base corresponding drainage means provided in the liner bottom would not be properly aligned with the holes in the base. Also, with the liner askew in the container it would not be possible to fill it wit'h as much material, eg soil, as it is actually capable of holding. The present invention is further concerned with the provision of a means for facilitating the positioning of a liner within a container whereby to assure secure alignment of the liner within the container. In the case of the applicant's co-pending European Patent Application No. S43071&4.6 (publication number 0139529) there is disclosed a self assembly container which has a removable base which sits within the container walls and may be supported therein either by friction between the edges of the base and the container walls or by projectio extending from the container walls. It is envisaged in the present invention that a liner could be securely aligned within a container having a removable base, such as, for example, the above-mentioned container, by attaching the bottom of the liner to the base of the container and position ing the base and the liner in the container at the same time. The present invention is particularly useful when applied to plant containers, which are preferably arranged to be aesthetically pleasing but yet must still hold damp soil which may be damaging to the container and will cause rot if the container is of untreated wood. The invention will be described specifically in terms of a plant container. It will be appreciated, however, that the present invention may be utilised with other types of containers. Features and advantages of the present invention will become clear from the following description of embodiments thereof, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which; Figure 1 is a perspective view from above of a first embodiment of a container and protective lining in accordance with the present invention; Figure 2 is an enlarged cross-section view along line X-X of Figure 1; Figure 3 shows part of a protective -lining in accordance with the present invention; Figure 4 shows two ways in which a protective lining in accordance with the present invention can be constructed; Figure 5 shows a top plan view of a means in accordance with the present invention for facilitating the positioning of a liner within the container; Figure 6 shows a cross-section through part of a container fitted with a liner and illustrating a drainage assembly in accordance with the present invention; Figure 7 shows a cross-section through part of 0 a container having a removable base section and fitted with a liner which is attached to the base section in order to facilitate positioning of the liner within the container, and Figure S shows a sectional perspective view of ^ a second embodiment of container and liner in accordance with the present invention. With reference to Figures 1,2 and 3 a container 1 is shown, which may be, for example, a wooden plant tub, but which could be any type of container generally. The 0 container 1 is provided with a protective lining therein, designated generally by reference numeral 2. The protective lining comprises a liner 3 and rim 4 . the liner 3 depending from a collar portion 5 of the rim 4- The liner 3 may be, for example, a flexible, eg J ζ not self supporting, plastics bag which may be secured in some manner, for example heat welding, at its open end to the collar portion 5 of the rim 4- At least the collar portion is of a more rigid material than the liner. The liner 3 is of a size to rest on the base of the container. The rim 4 may, for example, be a plastics extrusion, which may be extruded as a single length and butt welded, but which can be extruded as any number of parts or it may be a moulding. The rim 4 comprises a clip portion 6 which extends around the periphery of the collar portion 5- The clip portion 6 is of a generally 'V shaped cross section. The clip portion 6 is arranged to clip into a corresponding groove 7 provided in the inner wall of the container 1, thereby securing the protective lining 2 to the container j. The protective lining 2 can easily be removed from the container 1 merely be unclipping the clip portion 6 from the groove 7« When the protective lining 2 is clipped into position a good seal is produced between the wall of the container 1 and the lining. Any material being put into the container will therefore not fall between the outside of the liner and the walls of the container, nor will enter the space between the liner and the container. The corresponding groove 7 in the container wall may easily be machined. The groove may be machined with an upwards slant, so that when the soil is watered water will flow down the inclined dip portion 6 into the liner, rather then get trapped between the clip portion and the container wall. The container 1 is provided with a hole 8 in its base which acts as a drainage means, allowing liquid to drain out of the container. An extension 9 of the liner 3 is provided to act as drainage means. The closed end of the extension 9 is clipped with scissors, if it is desired to utilise the drainage means. Any number of these extension 9 may be provided to coincide with any number of holes 8 in the container 1 base. Advantageously, when in use the extension 9 is clipped so that a portion of the extension 9 projects below the bottom of the container 1. This reduces the likelihood that any liquid draining through the extension 9 will come into contact with the bottom of the base - any such contact may cause damage to the container 1 base. it is possible that when it is used for drainage the extension 9 could become blocked by materials present in the container, eg soil, or the materials present in the container could even escape through the drainage hole. These disadvantages may be overcome by utilising the plug illustrated in Figure 6. Figure 6 shows a section of the base of the container 1 illustrating the drainage hole 8 and extension 9 of the liner 3- Also illustrated is a plug 15 arranged to fit over the drainage hole 8 within the liner. The plug 15 is provided with holes 16 in the manner of a sieve to allow liquid to drain through to the extension 9. but to prevent any material from falling through the drainage hole or blocking it up. The plug 15 has a project¬ ing portion 17 which fits into the drainage hole 8 so that the plug 15 is firmly retained in the drainage hole. It will be appreciated that other plug constructions could be used to serve the same purpose. For example, the projecting portion 17 could be omitted, the plug being merely placed over the drainage hole 8 and retained in position by the weight of material on it . The plug may be made up of suitable plastics mat- erial, for example. With reference to Figure 4 alternative ways in which the liner 3 can be attached to the collar 5 are shown. Figure 4 (9) shows the collar 5 ending in a 'U' shaped portion 10. The open end of the liner 3 is folded into the ' U 1 shaped portion 10 and may be retained by being pinched between the arms of the 'U' . Figure 4b shows the collar having parallel grooves 11 provided in one wall thereof. Corresponding parallel beads 12 are provided around the inside of the open end of the liner 3 - The beads 12 fit into the grooves 11 and secure the liner 3 to collar 5« Further, the liner need not be attached to the collar portion, the liner and collar may be two completely separate pieces. In this case the liner could be made of a relatively rigid material such as, for example, a relatively rigid poly¬ thene, such that the liner, is self-supporting so that the liner walls remain in a substantially upstanding attitude within the container. The seal between the liner and walls of the container is then made by "sandwiching" the rim of the liner between the outer surface of the collar and the walls of the tub, so that the rim of the liner is trapped between the collar and the walls of the tub. It will be appreciated that the clip and correspond¬ ing groove in the container described in the specific embodi- ment is not the only way in which the protective lining can be attached to the container, and that other engagement means could be used. For example, the rim 4 could be with an inverted 'ϋ' shaped cross-section, so that it could fit over the rim of the container 1. In that event the rim 4 could be formed to provide an aesthetically pleasing appearance. It will also be appreciated that the protective lining need not comprise two separate pieces, i.e. a liner and a rim, but that the liner and rim could be a continuous moulded body, for example. It should also be noted that the protective liner could be made of any shape to fit any shape container, and need not necessarily have a circular open end as described and shown in the specific embodiment. However, it is pre¬ ferred that the liner could be of substantially the same size and shape as the container into which it is to be fitted so that the weight of material in the liner is borne by the con¬ tainer rather than primarily by the seal. Figure 5 illustrates a means for facilitating the positioning of a flexible liner within a container, in the form of a"spider" arrangement 25- The spider arrangement 25 comprises a central hub 26 having locating sockets 27 in its periphery, elongate arms 28 have first ends located in the sockets 27 and second ends supporting retaining arms 29- Advantageously the hub 26, elongate arms 28, and retaining arms are all separable from each other so that components of the spider arrangement 25 may be easily inter¬ changed. For example the elongate arms 28 may be changed for arms of a different length in order that the spider arrangement may fit into a container of different dimensions. The retaining arms 29 may be attached to the elongate arms 28 by suitable means. In operation the assembled spider arrangement 25 is placed within the liner at the base portion thereof , and arms 28 and retaining arms 29 act to push out the liner walls so that the liner is expanded to its full extent and does not sit askew in the container. The retaining arms 29 are flexible and "sprung" as illustrated, so that their natural tendency is to bow out¬ wards at each end. When placed within a liner in a container having, for example, straight or curved walls the retaining arms 29 conform to the shape of the particular wall, the sprung nature of the arms helping tension the liner walls and helping retain it against the container wall. Preferably, the elongate arms 28 are made just slightly longer than is necessary to "fill out" the liner, so that when the spider arrangement 25 is initially placed within the liner the elongate arms 28 are bowed so that the central portion of each arm tends to lift away from the liner base. When the elongate arms 28 are pressed flat with respect to the liner and container base the liner is caused to stretch and expand, and is thus tensioned and retained against the walls of the container. The arms 28 are in the form of flat "blades" which, when' under tension, do not bow in the plane of the blade. If the arms 28 are not bladelike they may bow not only up¬ wards away from the base of the container, but also to the left or right. Such tension would tend to twist the central hub 25 and move it away from the centre. Where drainage means are present in the container the central hub 25 may be formed by the plug 15 . as is illustrated in Figure 5« It should be noted that such a spider arrangement may be utilised in any shape of container and liner, e.g. rectangular, square, octagonal. The retaining arms 29 may be replaced by further hubs 26 on to which other spider - re ¬ arrangements can be built. A complete spider arrangement consisting of a number of interlocked hubs and arms can be built up to suit any type of container. In containers having more than one drainage hole the hubs could be constituted by drainage plugs. It should also be noted that the hub 25 and arms 28, 2_9 may be constituted as a single unit, and need not be separable from each other. The spider arrangement 25 may be made of suitable plastics material. The bladelike arms 28 may be of extruded plastics . Nor need the spider be of the particular form which is shown in the drawing, but could be of any form which causes expansion and support of the liner. For example, a wheel form, having an inner hub from which radially extending spokes which support an outer peripheral member could be considered as a suitable spider. For irregularly shaped containers a suitable irregularly shaped spider can be designed. Figure 7 shows a section through the lower half of a container 1A having a removable base 21. In the illust¬ rated case the base is supported within the container by friction with the container walls, but the base.21 could just as easily be supported by other means, such as, for example, projections projecting from the inside of the container walls, or a "shoulder" formed from the inside of the container wall. The liner 3 is attached to the base 21 by means of a skirt 22 which is integral with the liner 3 and which extends all the way around the disc-like base 21. The liner 3 may be attached to the base in any convenient manner. For example, where the liner material is suitable, e.g. polythene, it may be pre-shrunk onto the base by known techniques. When the base 21 is placed within the container the liner 3 is then automatically correctly aligned in the container. If desired, such a liner/base combination could be used in conjunction with the spider described above. It will be appreciated that the liner may be attached to the base by different methods from that described above. For example the liner could be stapled or even glued to the base. It will also be appreciated that the skirt 22 need not be necessary as it may be sufficient in many cases to attach the base of the liner 3 to the base 21. Where the base of the container is not removable it is still possible to attach the base of the liner to the base of the container, e.g. by stapling. It will be appreciated that the liner in accordance with the present invention may be of any suitable shape to fit any container, and that it may be of a suitable shape to fit any shape container base. Figure 8 illustrates a further plant container 30 and liner 20 arrangement embodying the invention, the plant conta'iner 30 being configured to allow a "self-watering" operation. The plant container 30 may be, for example, a wooden plant tub. The same reference numerals with a subscript "a" are used in Figure 8 to designate features which are the same as those in the embodiment illustrated in Figures 1 and 2. Reference numeral 30 designates a self-watering plant container. The container 30 comprises walls 31 . a first base 32 and a second base 33 which is arranged between the first base 32 and container 30 rim. The first base 32 may be integral with the container walls 31 or separated and supported within the container walls 31 by some means e.g. friction or projections extending from the container walls 31- The second base 33 is separate from the container walls 31 and is supported within the container walls by some means e.g. friction or projections extending from the con¬ tainer walls 31« A protective liner, designated generally by refer- ence numeral 2a, is supported within the container 30 by a rim 4a. The rim 4a comprises a collar portion 5a and engag¬ ing means 6a, in the form of a "V" cross-section clip, arranged to engage with corresponding engaging means 7 in the container walls 31 . in the form of a corresponding cross- section groove, whereby to provide a seal between the contain¬ er walls 31 and- protective liner 2a. The liner portion 3 of the protective lining 2a extends from the collar portion 5a, covering the container walls and extending externally of the periphery of the second base 33, in between the periphery of the second base and the container wall 31 • The bottom of the liner 3a rests on the top of the first base 32, such that there is a chamber 34 formed between the liner 3 bottom and second base 33- This chamber 34 may be used to contain water for the self-watering operation. The base 33 is provided with two holes therein com¬ municating with the chamber 34 * A first hole 35 is arranged to receive a plug member 36, in the form of a sieve, which prevents material (soil) held in the container 30 passing through to the chamber 34- Wicks 37 are arranged to pass through the sieve plug 3 from the open part of the container 30 into the chamber 34- A second hole 38 in the second base 33 is arranged to receive a tube 39 down which water can be poured when it is desired to refill the chamber 34 * The tube 39 is provided with a float 40 which is arranged to indicate the level of water in the chamber 34 at any time. The first base 32 comprises a drainage hole 8a. A drainage pipe 41 is arranged to receive waste from the drain¬ age hole 8a and transport it from the container 30 via a hole 42 in the wall 31 • A tap 43 is operative to cause removal of waste from the chamber 34 when desired. The liner 3a is provided with drainage means 9a to allow communication of the chamber 34 with the drainage hole 8a. In operation the open part (designated 44) of the container 30 will be filled with soil. The soil will be - 12 - prevented from contacting and damaging the container walls 31 by means of the protective lining 2a. The chamber 34 contains water which will diffuse from the chamber 34 into the soil in the open part 44 of the con- tainer 30 by means of the wicks 37, when the soil is dry enough to require water (i.e. when the right diffusion grad¬ ient is set up) . When the float 40 indicates that the water level is low the chamber 34 may be refilled via the tube 39• The chamber 34 may be emptied periodically via waste pipe 41 in order to remove any waste products. It will be appreciated that the liner 2a could be attached to the first base 32 in a similar manner as des¬ cribed in relation to Figure 7• It will also be appreciated that a spider arrangement such as described in relation to Figure 5 could . be utilised with this embodiment, and that a plug as described in relation to Figure 6 could be utilised with the first base 32. It will be noted that in the embodiment of Figure 8 the liner may be removed and replaced by taking out the cont¬ ents of the container and removing the second base 33 . The second base 33 may be of a material not subject to corrosion or rotting by materials contained in the soil and water, or may be, for example, of wood which has been chemically treated to protect against water. The appearance of the second base 33 is not of great concern as it is not seen in use. On the other hand, the material of the container wall 31 and first base 32 need not be resistant to the contain- er contents as they are protected therefrom by the liner 2a. They may be formed of an aesthetically pleasing material, therefore, such as untreated wood. In the present invention the liner advantageously acts to prevent the container from rotting or being corroded as any contact of soil or water with the container walls is prevented. It will be appreciated that the container need not only be of untreated wood, but could be of any type of material. It will also be appreciated that the present invent¬ ion is not restricted to a plant container, but could be utilised with any type of container which requires lining. It will be appreciated that there are three separate aspects to the present invention, these are; the container and protective lining therefore; a drainage means allowing for drainage from a liner. Preferably, a sieve plug is provided to prevent solid contents of the container from exiting through the drainage means, and a means for positioning a liner within a container.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. A container with protective lining, the container comprising a base and walls, the internal surfaces of the walls being provided with first engagement means, the liner comprising a liner portion arranged to prevent 5 material in the container coming into contact with the walls and a rim portion, the rim portion being provided with second: engagement means arranged to engage with said first engagement means, whereby to provide a seal between the I±ne-r" aiiid: container walls. ID 2. A container with protective lining in accordance with claim 1 , wherein said second engagement means comprises a clip portion which extends around the inner rim, and the first engagement means comprises a groove extending 15 around the inside of the container wall. 3. A container with protective lining in accordance with claim 2, wherein said clip portion is of "V" shaped cross section. 20 4- A container with protective lining in accordance with claim 3, wherein said groove is cut into the container wall with an upwards slant. 25 5• A container with protective lining in accordance with any preceding claim, wherein said rim portion is a plastics extrusion and said liner portion is a plastics bag. 6. A container with protective lining in accordance 30 with any preceding claim, wherein the container base has a hole therein, and the liner is provided with an extension arranged to extend through the hole to allow for drainage of liquid from the container. 35 7• A container with protective lining in accordance with claim 6, wherein there is provided a sieve plug arranged to fit into the hole in the base with the liner extension whereby to prevent solid contents of the container exiting through the drainage hole. 8. A container with protective lining in accordance with any preceding claim, wherein there is provided a means for positioning and maintaining the shape of the liner within the container. 9 •• A container with protective lining in accordance with claim S, wherein said means comprises a spider having" a- hub, elongate arms extending from the hub and having retaining arms at their ends farthest from the hub for contacting the liner sides and maintaining the liner in the correct position within the container. 10. A container with protective lining in accordance with any preceding claim wherein said base is removable and the liner bottom is attached to the base. 11. A container with protective lining in accordance with any preceding claim, wherein there is provided a further base arranged to be supported inside the container by the walls, above the first base, and inside the lining such that a portion of the lining is trapped between the periphery of the further base and the walls, a chamber being formed between the further base and the liner bottom. 12. A container with protective lining in accordance with claim 11, wherein the container is a self watering plant container and said chamber may be utilised to contain water for self-watering purposes. 13- A container with protective lining in accordance with any preceding claim wherein the container is a wooden plant container. 14« A protective lining for a container arranged to prevent damage to the container by materials contained therein, the protective lining comprising a liner portion - - and a rim portion the rim being provided with engagement means more rigid than the liner portion for engaging with the container wall, whereby to provide a seal between the container wall and liner. 15- A protective lining in accordance with claim 14 wherein said engagement means is a clip portion extending around the periphery of the rim. 1-6.. A protective lining in accordance with claim 15, wheireiinj said clip is "V" shaped in cross section. 17 " . A protective lining in accordance with any of claims 14 to 16, wherein said engagement means is a plastics extrusion and said liner portion is a plastics bag, the engagement means being more rigid than the plastics bag- lδ. A protective lining, in accordance with any of claims 14 to 17, wherein the liner is provided with an extension in its bottom which may be clipped to allow for drainage of the container.

Inventors: GEORGE WILLIAM RODNEY, GEORGE, WILLIAM, RODNEY
Applicants: GEORGE WILLIAM RODNEY, GEORGE, WILLIAM, RODNEY
Application year: 1986
Main classification: B65D25
IPC codes: A01G9, B65D25, B65D77