WRAPPER FOR A BUNCH OF FLOWERS

Abstract: Holder for a bunch of flowers consisting of a sleeve (1) surrounding the bunch. This sleeve is designed as a truncated cone, circumferential reinforcements (6-8) being present at least at the free openings (3, 4). As a result, the sleeve has a relatively rigid form, as a result of which the bouquet which is accommodated therein remains stably in place. A trying cord (2) is fastened to the sleeve in order to secure the bouquet.

Description: WRAPPER FOR A BUNCH OF FLOWERS The present invention relates to a holder according to the preamble of Claim 1. A holder of this kind is generally known in the prior art as flower wrapping and consists of film material. This (transparent) film material is wound around a bouquet of flowers and is often closed from the top. On the underside, an opening remains free in order to be able to place the stalks of the flowers in a bucket or the like, in order to provide supply of water. It should be understood that where reference is made in this description to bottom opening or other parts with bottom or top, a state of the holder in which the flowers of a bouquet are situated at the top side and the stalks are situated at the underside is intended. A bunch of flowers can, of course, also be positioned inversely. Although packaging with film of this kind is quite adequate it has the disadvantage of being unattractive and, in particular, if a. bouquet consisting of different sorts of flowers is accommodated therein, of ruining the carefully chosen arrangement when various flower wrappings are placed on top of one another. Moreover, the delicate plants can easily be damaged, because the flower wrapping offers minimal protection against external forces. The object is to provide an improved, attractive holder for a bunch of flowers providing optimum protection of the plants. This object is achieved in the case of a holder as described above by means of the characterizing features of Claim 1. Due to the presence of the circumferential reinforcement, the holder will provide considerably more resistance to mechanical deformations resulting from external forces than (flimsy) flower wrappings known from the prior art. As a result, the arrangement of a bouquet is preserved and damage to the plants is prevented. Moreover, due to the presence of a tying cord, the bouquet can easily be secured. The above-described circumferential reinforcement may be present not only on the underside but also on the top side. Moreover, further circumferential reinforcements may be present. Although the sleeve may have all forms known in the prior art, it is preferably designed as a truncated cone. The above-described tying cord is preferably fastened to a circumferential reinforcement. The sleeve may be made from all materials known in the prior art. In a preferred embodiment, the structure comprises strip parts which extend perpendicularly to the above-described circumferential reinforcement. These strip parts, as well as the rest of the sleeve, can be made from reed-like material. It is, however, also quite possible to construct the sleeve in a different manner. Thus it can consist of a lattice, such as gauze. With a construction of this kind, at least part of what is situated inside the sleeve remains visible, which can be attractive for certain applications. The above-described holder can also be used in combination with pot plants. If the underside of the pots is provided with openings, it is often undesirable for moisture to escape to the outside through these openings. In such a case, it is proposed to arrange a sheet of plastic material or other liquid-tight material in the vicinity of the opening of the holder, and such a sheet provides a liquid-tight seal at the bottom when the pot plant is placed through the opening. The invention will be illustrated in more detail below with reference to an exemplary embodiment depicted in the drawing, in which: Fig. 1 shows a perspective and cut-away view of the holder according to the invention; Fig. 2 shows the holder according to the invention with a number of flowers arranged therein; and Fig. 3 shows the holder according to the invention in combination with a pot plant. The sleeve according to the invention is indicated in its entirety by 1 in Figures 1 and 2. This sleeve consists of a number of reinforcement ribs 6-8 which extend along the circumference of the sleeve 1. In this case, reinforcement rib 6 is situated in the vicinity of the bottom opening 4, reinforcement rib 7 in the vicinity of the top opening and reinforcement rib 8 between them. These reinforcement ribs are supported by strip parts 9. Tying cords 2 are fastened to the bottom reinforcement ribs 6. All the said components can be made from a reed-like material. Conventional joining techniques, such as sewing, can be used to hold the various parts together. Instead of the relatively fine structure shown here, it is also possible to use a coarse structure. In Fig. 2, the use of the sleeve according to the invention in combination with a bunch of flowers 5 is shown. It can be seen from this that stalks of the bunch project through the bottom, smaller opening 4, which stalks are held together by the tying threads 2. For protection, a further sleeve 10 may optionally be placed over the stalks, or a piece of aluminium foil may be used. With the structure chosen here, the bouquet which is present in the sleeve will not easily be changed to a different arrangement. Moreover, the reinforcement ribs 6-8 provide protection against external forces. The bouquet according to the present invention will also not be flattened during transportation and optimum presentation is obtained. In Fig. 3, a further embodiment of the holder according to the invention in combination with a pot plant is shown. Parts which correspond to Figures 1 and 2 are provided with the same reference numerals. The tying threads 2 are used here to secure the pot plant to the sleeve 1. The pot of the pot plant is indicated by 12 and is provided with an opening 13. In order to prevent moisture from leaking through this opening 13, it is proposed to arrange a sheet of material 14 in the holder according to the invention. When the opening 4 arranged on the underside of the sleeve 1 is spread open, the sheet 14 will provide a lower boundary for the structure. This sheet 14 remains invisible to the user due to the presence of the reed-like material. Although the invention is described above with reference to a preferred embodiment, it should be understood that numerous modifications may be made thereto without departing from the scope of the present application. Thus it is possible to produce the structure from gauze material, which may or may not be provided with a curing resin. The opening in the holder may also be present in a prepared state, that is to say due to the absence of threads extending around the top of the cone. It is also possible to use a different polygonal shape instead of a truncated cone shape. This and similar variants are all considered to be obvious and to lie within the scope of the claims.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. Holder for a bunch of flowers, comprising a sleeve (1) surrounding the bunch, which sleeve comprises an opening (4) in the vicinity of the underside, that is the stalk side, characterized in that the sleeve is provided at least in the vicinity of the opening (4) on the underside with a circumferential reinforcement (6), and in that at least one tying cord (2) is fastened to the sleeve, which tying cord is designed to extend through said opening on the underside. 2. Holder according to Claim 1, wherein the sleeve comprises an opening (3) on the top side, a circumferential reinforcement (7) being arranged at least in the vicinity of the opening. 3. Holder according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the sleeve is designed as a truncated cone. 4. Holder according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the sleeve is provided with a number of circumferential reinforcements (6-8). 5. Holder according to Claim 4, wherein the tying cord is fastened to a circumferential reinforcement (6, 8). 6. Holder according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the sleeve comprises strip parts (9) extending perpendicularly to the circumferential reinforcements (6-8). 7. Holder according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the sleeve comprises reed-like material. 8. Holder according to one of Claims 1-6, wherein the sleeve comprises a lattice, such as gauze.

Inventors: DE JONG NICOLAAS ARIE, DE JONG, NICOLAAS, ARIE
Applicants: JONG NICOLAAS ARIE DE, DE JONG, NICOLAAS, ARIE
Application year: 1996
Main classification: B65D85
IPC codes: B65D85