PLANTPOT WITH AUTOMATIC MOISTENING SYSTEM

Abstract: The invention shows the situation of two separate pots which are placed one into another by means of a connecting lid (1) which links up both pots at the top side and at the same time completely shuts down the opening between the circular inner pot (6) and the square outer pot (5) as used in the present kind of construction. The connecting lid (1) contains two or three holes, namely as a hole for the inner pot (6), a hole (2) for the fastening of the tube (13), for the conducting of the measuring bar (11) operating according to the float principle, and - in case the filling or replenishing with water is done from the top side - a filling hole (3) for the supply of the growing liquid to the vegetable soil (12), or the other medium (12) in which the plant is pricked in. The supply of growing liquid to the plant from out of the reservoir (14) which exists in the open space between the outer pot (5) and the inner pot, is done by means of one or more fuses (7). These fuses are led through one or more holes (15) in the vertical wall (4) of the inner pot (6) to the effect that one end reaches to the bottom of the reservoir (14), which need not necessarily be flat, whereas the other end reaches to the bottom of the inner pot (6), which need not necessarily be flat either. The holes (15) to let pass the fuse (7) are made on as high a spot as possible in the vertical wall (4) of the inner pot (6) in order to enable the reservoir to contain a maximum quantity of water. The connection between the two or three parts of the plantpot is preferably constructed in such a way that the reservoir (14) remains accessible for repair for example, namely by means of a clip connection, a click connection of any other connection which attaches the parts to one another in a way that, when picking up or moving the plantpot, in will not fall apart.

Description: PLANTPOT WITH AUTOMATIC MOISTENING SYSTEM The invention relates to a naturally and automatically acting moistering system which has proved to be highly favourable for potplants. It puts into practice the well-known principle of the capillary as used in the case of fuse conduct (as applied for paraffin lamps). The invention is characterized by the fact that the moistening of the vegetable soil, or whatever other medium in which the plant or the plants is/are set, takes place by the capillary working of the fuse. This fuse is led from the construction of inner pot and outer pot together to the plant or plants in the inner pot through one or more holes in the vertical or nearly vertical wall of the non-porous inner pot. Contrary to for instance the soilless systems, such as the so called hydrochore, which were developed in order to prevent the plants from having to be given fresh water every day, or at least at relatively short intervals, the plants standing in the usual vegetable soil in which case not specially cultivated plants can be kept too without the necessity of giving them fresh water at short intervals of time. Other systems too, which were developed in order to creat an automatic supply of the growing liquid such as described in the charters 50.298 (porous wall of the inner pot), 6.711.673 (false bottom, of which the upper one is provided with holes to let through the roots), or 26.5602 (water pouring out drop-wise), originate from another working principle than the one in question, which starts from two non-porous pots. The invention mentioned in the German charter number 1.064.281, where a fuse is hanging in an open cup and is led into the bottom of a plantpot, which is placed above the cup, gets nearest to the present system. The present invention distinguishes itself from previous inventions by starting from the principle of two non-porous pots placed inside one another. The water is led from the reservoir which exists in the space between the outer pot and the inner pot, to the inside of the inner pot into the vegetable soil so that the plants can absorb it by means of the capillary working of a fuse or of the fuses which enter the inner pot through one or more hole(s) in the vertical or nearly vertical wall of the inner pot near the connecting lid. Contrary to the other known systems of automatic water supply can the water in this case constitute a reservoirs in the space between the inner pot and outer pot, provided that the top level of the water does not reach higher than the holes in the inner pot through which the capillary fuse of the reservoir is led into the inner pot. In order to check the water level in the reservoir a measuring bar has been installed which can move in a comparatively narrowly fitting tube and which is working according to the float principle. The measuring bar can be carried out in several ways and can either exclusively indicate that the top level has been reached, which is attractive from an esthetic point of view, or indicate both the above and the fact that a minimum level has been reached, so that in this way it is also indicated when fresh growing liquid should be replenished. By applying materials that are impervious to light and by shutting the filling hole with for instance a cap and by leaving only as narrow a space as possible between the measuring bar and the tube in which it moves, refreshment of the air in the reservoir between the outer pot and the inner pot will hardly take place, in which way the deterioration of the growing liquid will be kept down to a high degree and thus will the growth of alga be restricted too. The working of this invention is mainly based on the capillary effect of the various kinds of fuses suitable for this purpose. The choice of the fuses depends on the needed supply of growing liquid. Both the number of fuses as the kind of fuse that is applied, are of influence. Moreover can the supply of water be controlled by partly pinching off one or more capillary fuses by means of a clip that can be placed on the fuse in question near to the hole in the inner pot. In addition is the invention characterized by the fact that one is free to choose nearly any shape of both the inner pot and the outer pot, with the restriction that there should be a space between the inner pot and the outer pot to be used for fixing the inner pot into the outer pot on the one hand and for keeping a reservoir for the growing liquid for the plant or the plants on the other hand. This freedom of choice as to the shape of the pots is to be considered as a substantial advantage because the designers are not restricted by any other technical requirements than the necessity of a double-walled, non porous barrel construction. The attached example shows a square outer pot; however it may as well be spherical, convex, or have more angles, as it may have any other shape. The shape of the inner pot is determined by the shape of the outer pot. Some special shapes hold the opportunity to omit the connecting lid; this occurs in the case of an outer pot with a conical shape where the measuring bar tunnels through the wall of the outer pot and where the replenishing hole is also fit into the outer wall, or it may for example, as is done in all other designs, be fit into a handle. The outer pot may act as an ornamental pot. Up till now only the singular plantpot has been discussed. Within the construction of this self water supplying plantpot it is also possible to have one outer pot with a connecting lid with enough holes to enable the outer pot to contain more than one inner pot. One may for instance consider to set up a selling line for only one type of outer pot of large proportions which is fit to keep more than one inner pot so that the buyer of a plant has the opportunity to choose a singular inner pot that suits him or the nursery man could start immediately to cultivate his plant in this work-saving manner whereas the storage and transport of plants are secured against deterioration by the constant supply of water during storage and transport. The chosen construction and the freedom of choice as to the worked- up materials offer the possibility for the plantpot to be used both indoors and outside. The invention will be further explained below with the help of a drawing which only shows the type of construction with a circular inner pot and a square outer pot. Any other construction, the one with more than one inner pot included, is similar to the type showed here, as far as the working principle is concerned. The drawing contains: Figure 1. : top view Figure 2. : front/side view, where the inner construction of the pot and the water supply system are drawn in dotted lines Figure 3 : bottom view Figure 4 : right side view Figure 5 : section AA Figure 6 : oblique projection in open form to make the construction more clear. The type of construction of the invention drawn and discussed here, and referring to the figures one, two, five and six, shows the situation of two separate pots which are placed one into another by means of a connecting lid (1) which links up both pots at the top side and at the same time completely shuts down the opening between the circular inner pot (6) and the square outer pot (5) as used in the present kind of construction. The connecting lid (1) contains two or three holes, namely as a hole for the inner pot (6), a hole (2) for the fastening of the tube (13), for the conducting of the measuring bar (11) operating according to the float principle, and - in case the filling or replenishing with water is done from the top side - a filling hole (3) for the supply of the growing liquid to the vegetable soil (12), or the other medium (12) in which the plant is pricked in. Dependent on the type of construction, for example in the case of a convex shape of the outer pot, it is possible to manufacture the plantpot without a connecting lid (1). The supply of growing liquid to the plant from out of the reservoir (14) which exists in the open space between the outer pot (5), which may act as an ornamental pot at the same time, and the inner pot, is done by means of one or more fuses (7). These fuses are led through one or more holes (15) in the vertical wall (4) of the inner pot (6) to the effect that one end reaches to the bottom of the reservoir (14), which need no necessarily be flat, whereas the other end reaches to the bottom of the inner pot (6), which need not necessarily be flat either. The holes (15) to let pass the fuse (7) are made on as high a spot as possible in the vertical wall (4) of the inner pot (6) in order to enable the reservoir to contain a maximum quantity of water. The material of which both the outer pot (5), which may serve as an ornamental pot as well, and the inner pot (6) are made, is impervious to water such as there are for instance synthetic materials, glass, metals, ceramics, non porous pottery or glazed pottery, etcetera. The outer pot (5), the connecting lid (1) and the inner pot (6) are preferably non transparent in order to prevent deterioration and the growth of algae as much as possible. The filling hole (15) is shut with a cap (16) which also serves to prevent water from being spilled in case the plantpot is being moved. The connection between the two or three parts of the plantpot is preferably constructed in such a way that the reservoir (14) remains accessible for repair for example, namely by means of a clip connection, a click connection or any other connection which attaches the parts to one another in a way that, when picking up or moving the plantpot, it will not fall apart. Figure 3 shows the bottom side of the type described here with 3 legs in order to achieve a stable position of the plantpot. Any other position of the legs, such as placed in a square, a circle or even without any legs at all, is possible.

Claims: CL..IMS : 1. Plantpot, specially manufactured of material that is impervious to liquid, such as for example synthetic material, glass, metal, ceramics, non porous pottery or glazed pottery, with the characteristic that the capillary working of the fuse takes care of the transport of the growing liquid to the vegetable soil (12) in which the plant is standing, from out of a reservoir (14) that is formed by the space between the outer pot (5) and the inner pot (6). 2_ j _ Plantpot according to claim 1., with the characteristic that the fuses (7) that take care of the supply of water by their capillary working, are fitted into the vertical wall (4) of the inner pot (6) as high as possible, in order to achieve that the reservoir can hold a maximum quantity of water, to the effect that fresh water has to be given to the plant only a few times during a certain period of time. 3. Plantpot according to claim 1., with the characteristic that the water supply to the plant can be controlled very accurately by the number, the type and the thickness of the fuse (7) or the fuses (7) on the one hand and, if necessary, partly pinching off the fuse (7) or the fuses (7) on the other hand. . Plantpot according to claim 1., with the characteristic that the plant can keep on growing in a natural way and need not be adjusted artificially, like for instance hydrochore plants. 5. Plantpot according to claim 1., with the characteristic that it is very useful, though not strictly necessary, to apply a measuring bar (11) to gauge the water level in the reservoir. 6. Plantpot according to claim 1., with the characteristic that the combination of a number of inner pots with one connecting lid is one of the possibilities and that in this way the cultivation, the storage and the transport of plants has become less risky as far as the supply of growing liquid is concerned. 7. Plantpot according to claim 6., with the characteristic that other constructions are possible, in this case a construction having more than one inner pot (6) in one big outer pot, which is provided with several holes, these inner pots only later being transferred to a singular outer pot (5) matching the inner pot. 8. Plantpot according to claims 1. and 7., with the characteristic that it concerns a multi-functional system which is not only applicable for one inner pot, but also for several inner pots, the only difference being that the connecting lid covers more than one inner pot, naturally under the condition that the outer pot is sufficiently big enough to hold the inner pots as far as the depth, the surface of the top side and of the bottom side and the number of holes in the connecting lid are concerned.

Inventors: TA TU, TA, TU
Applicants: STAN PLAS B V, STICHTING UITVINDERSCENT NOORD, TA TU
Application year: 1989
Main classification: A01G27
IPC codes: A01G27