CONTAINER FOR TREES OR PLANTS

Abstract: Container (1) for a ball of root soil to be developed or not of plants or trees, comprising a bottom wall (6), a circumferential wall (5) and an upper wall (4), in which the upper wall (4) is formed by a number of upper wall (4) portions (4a-4e) connected to the circumferential wall (5), which are movable between an open access position which gives access to the container (1) and an in itself stable closed position in which a passage opening (8) is left free.

Description: Container for trees or plants. The invention relates to a container for trees or plants. The invention furthermore relates to an assembly for such a container and a support for it during filling. When cultivated trees and plants have sufficiently developed they are dug out from the breeding ground and conveyed to a place for further selling, -such as a plant shop or garden centre- or directly to a place of use, in the consumer's house or in the garden. In order to keep the root package intact as much as possible it is enveloped by a net with the help of a special device immediately after it is dug out. In the plant shop the ball of root soil with net is put in a pot. The same can happen in the garden centre, but is also possible to put the tree or plant back into the ground. Furthermore it occurs (especially with Christmas trees) that the trees with the ball of soil wrapped in the net are put on the floor next to each other. With consumers the tree or plant will be put in an ornamental pot or in the garden. The use of a net has several drawbacks. First of all a special device, which is prone to failure, has to be kept ready on the spot where the trees or plants are taken from the ground. Secondly it takes some effort, especially from the consumer, to remove the net. Moreover the surroundings will get dirty very quickly because of sand coming loose from the ball of soil. In the third place the net lets through soil material and moist/water ab- sorbed by it, so that the place of arrangement (shop) or the vehicle of transport (consumer's car) will get dirty, or is damaged -as a result of the action of moisture-. From Dutch patent application 81 .00696 a container for (balls of soil of) trees and plants is known, which is made of cardboard treated against the action of moisture. The container is shaped like a box, of which the upper flaps can be folded to the inside to find support on the tree trunk with bent inner edges. Although this container is an improvement on the net, there are a number of drawbacks to it, which might be the reason why this container has never been used on a large scale. A drawback of the box is that it has to be erected before use. Another drawback is that the flaps depend on the tree trunk for retaining their position. However the tree trunk is hardly ever straight in the middle of the ball of soil, so that the flaps will be in an uneven position and thus the reliability of the upward closing leaves something to be desired. Due to the (reciprocating) movement of the ball of soil and the trunk in vertical direction it can furthermore occur that the folding lines between the flaps slope down from the outside to the inside, as a result of which water falling on the container ends up in the ball of soil and wets the ball of soil more than is desired. The box also gets wet as a result, the bottom of which -despite the treatment of the cardboard- may collapse because of this. Because the flaps support on the tree the -sometimes still fragile- trunk may get damaged. Finally it is noted that the treatment of the cardboard is an additional cost increasing effort. The invention has the object to provide a container for trees or plants, - which at least improves on some of these points. To that end the invention, from one aspect, provides a container for a ball of root soil to be developed or not of plants or trees, comprising a bottom wall, a circumferential wall and an upper wall, in which the upper wall is formed by a number of upper wall portions connected to the circumferential wall, which are movable between an open access position, which gives access to the container, and an in itself stable closed position in which a passage opening is left free. In the container according to the invention, the upper wall portions, for instance flaps, do not need support of a trunk for their stability. On the one hand the upper wall portions will therefore not damage the trunk. On the other hand it is prevented to a large extent that they are changed unwan- tediy in their orientation by said trunk. Preferably the upper wall portions are connected to the circumferential wall of the container in order to go through a dead centre when switching from the access position to the closed position. Undesired moving back of the upper wall portions to an open position is prevented in this way. Preferably the upper wall portions can be snapped into the closed position, so that they can easily and in a restrained manner be brought into that position and if necessary out of that position, in a controlled manner. Preferably the upper wall portions are connected to the circumferential wall in such a way that they also take up a stable position in the access position. In this way keeping the container ready and filling it is facilitated. Preferably the upper wall portions are hingeably connected to the circumferential wall by means of first strip portions and second strip portions to be distinguished from them, which are situated next to each other and extend in two different directions between the circumferential wall and the upper wall portion concerned, and in which the first and second strip portions, respectively, are provided with hinges which run parallel to each other and which are spaced apart in a plane perpendicular to the hinge axes. In that way the transitional area between the upper wall portion and the circumferential wall is provided with a simple integrally formed mechanism for the movement between the two aforementioned positions and for stability in said positions. Preferably the first strip portions are connected to the circumferential wall via a first hinge and are connected to the upper wall portion concerned via a second hinge and the second strip portions comprise a third hinge, the first, the second and the third hinge being arranged in a triangle in the open position and in the closed position. In the movement from the open position to the closed position the "sides" of the triangle will coincide in the dead centre, to afterwards -as of its own accord- return to a stable mutual arrangement. Preferably the first strip portion is relatively rigid, though deformable to a certain extent and preferably shaped like an angular strip, with an angle which at least almost corresponds to the angle between the circumferential wall and the upper wall portion in the closed position. It is noted that per upper wall portion several first and/or second strip portions can be accommodated in the connection, for instance in an alternating manner. Preferably the second strip portions are more or less radially compilable. Preferably the connection between the upper wall portions and the circumferential wall is adapted for letting the upper wall portions slope down radially and outwardly inclined in the closed position. In this way a stable drainage for the upper wall to the outer circumference is provided. Preferably the upper wall portions at the radial inside are provided with a relatively compilable portion, which can closingly abut a trunk or stem. In this way a closing is ensured at the location in the proximity of the trunk, without the trunk being damaged or the trunk exerting unwanted lifting forces on the upper wall portions. For the provision of a large entrance opening and facilitating the connection between the upper wall portions and the circumferential wall it is preferred that the upper wall has a polygonal circumference, the upper wall portions at the location of the sides of the polygon being connected to the circumferential wall. Preferably the upper wall has a pentagonal circumference. For increasing the shape stability of the container it is preferred that the bottom wall has a circular circumference. Preferably the circumferential wall tapers in downward direction, so that several containers can be nested in storage, and the unloading from a mould is promoted. The container according to the invention can in an advantageous and simple manner be formed in the access position by a moulding process, such as by means of injection moulding, for instance from polypropylene. Moulding the container from a synthetic guarantees it to be moisture proof. Preferably the upper wall portions are only connected to the circumferential wall, so that they can be individually moved and an optimal spread access position is possible. Preferably the upper wall portions in the access position extend radially beyond the circumferential wall, so that they can be supported there during filling. To promote the filling process the invention -from a further aspect- provides an assembly of the previously described container and a support for the formation of either a stop or a support of the container during the introduction of a plant or tree therein, which support is provided with either stop or support surfaces for engaging upper wall portions radially extending beyond the circumferential wall, which stop or support surfaces define a passage for the container. When the filling movement is continued the container will be pushed along and a closing moment will be exerted on the upper wall portions. In this way the number of necessary actions is considerably reduced. Preferably the support surfaces are adapted for substantially upright support of the container, so that optimal use can be made from the weight of container and tree when generating the closing moments. Preferably the support is provided with inwardly directed surfaces for aligning the container by engaging the circumferential wall. In a simple embodiment the support is moulded as a tube length. For ease of removal of the container with tree, preferably a stop, such as a bottom, is provided for stopping the container during the filling movement. The invention will now be elucidated on the basis of an exemplary embodiment shown in the attached drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows a side view on an embodiment of the container according to the invention, with the ball of soil of a tree accommodated therein; Figure 2 shows a top view on the container of figure 1 , without tree; Figure 3 shows a top view on the container of figure 2 in open folded situation; Figure 4 schematically shows the container according to the figures 1 -3, during the introduction of a tree with ball of soil; Figure 5 shows a cross-section through a flap of the container of the previous figures; and Figures 6A and 6B show a detail of the connection of a flap to the circumferential wall of the container of the previous figures in the access position and in the closed position, respectively. The container 1 in figure 1 , hereafter to be called pot 1 , in this example is formed by means of injection moulding from polypropylene. Other materials are also possible, for instance bio degradable materials so that the pot with ball of soil can be inserted into the ground to be biologically degraded after that. The pot 1 comprises an upper wall 4, a circumferential wall 5 and a bottom wall 6, which are formed as a unity with each other. The upper wall 4 has an pentagonal circumference and slightly ascends to the centre, at an angle a of 1 0° , in this example. On each side a hinge connection 1 0 is provided in the transition from the upper wall to the circumferential wall, so that the circumferential wall 5 at the top is hin- geably connected to all -in this example 5- flaps 4a-e of the upper wall 4. At their radial inner ends the flaps 4a-e merge into compliably constructed, in view of this thinner designed, undulated or flashing-shaped edge strips 7, which at their radial inner ends define a circular edge for passage opening 8 for the trunk 2a of the tree 2 (see the figures 5, 2 and 1 respectively) . At their side edges the flaps 4a-e are limited by turned firming edges 1 9 (figure 5). The bottom wall 6, more clearly to be seen in figure 3, comprises a number of recessed areas 9 and a number of drainage holes 1 3. The upright walls of the recessed areas constitute a reinforcement for the bottom 6. As can be seen in figure 3 the circumferential wall of the bottom 6 remains a little within the inscribed circle of the pentagon which is defined by the circumferential edge of the upper wall 4. As a result the circumferential wall 5 has a form which is somewhat downwardly tapering at an angle β, which is advantageous when filling and moulding the pot 1 . The pots 1 can be nested for storage. They can also be stacked transversely on a pallet in a stable manner. The hinges 1 0 are multiple composed. In this example for each flap 4a-e they comprise two angular strips 1 1 a, 1 1 b and alternatingly situated therewith three hinge strips 1 2a, 1 2b and 1 2c. At the one end at the location of the weakening 24, which forms hinge S1 , the angular strips 1 1 a-c are hingably connected to the circumferential wall 5, and at the other end, at the location of the weakening 23, which forms hinge S2, is connected to the rest of the flap 4 concerned. On either side of it a hinge strip 1 2 (a-c) is situated, which for a large part (1 7: figure 6A) is a continuation of the flap 4, but is turned downwards at the outer circumference (shown the other way around in figure 6A) and changes into a hinge area 1 8, which forms the connection to the upper wall 1 6 of the circumferential wall 5 and forms hinge S3. As can be seen in figure 6A, seen in that projection, the hinges S1 , S2, S3 form a triangular arrangement. In the position of the flap 4 as shown, the open or access position, also shown in figure 3, the flap 4 is in a stable position. In this position the pot 1 can also be formed by means of injection moulding, because no counter or underloading portions are present. A two-part shape can simply be used here. By exerting a lifting force on the flap 4 it will want to rotate about hinge S1 with the strip 1 1 and about hinge S3 with flap portion 1 7. As a result traction will arise in strip 1 1 and pressure in strip 1 7. Some deformation will be made possible because the edge 1 6 can spring somewhat to the outside and the strip 1 1 can take up a larger angle position. At a certain moment a dead centre will be reached, in which the hinges S1 , S2 and S3 are aligned. When the flap is moved beyond it, the flap will take up the first stable situation, shown in figure 6B. Here the strip 1 1 has taken the shape in which it is moulded, and the hinges S1 , S2 and S3 again form an imaginary triangle. The edge 1 6 here has also sprung back again to the moulding position. This situation is also present in the pot of figure 1 . The pot 1 can be used for plants cultivated in pots, that is to say cuttings which are put in the pot. The flaps 4 shield the earth from light, so that no weed will grow and a foil need no longer be applied. However, the pot can be particularly destined for so-called pot pressed plants, that is to say trees and plants which after having been cultivated outdoors are put in a pot. In an application often occurring, a vehicle will be used for picking up the trees or plants/shrubs from a nursery, on which vehicle provisions are made for placing trees taken from the ground into the pots. In an advantageous manner use is made here of an arrangement as shown in figure 4. A holder 20 is provided on the vehicle, for instance in the shape of a tube length, which at the upper wall is provided with a support edge 21 and at the bottom is provided with a bottom 22 serving as a stop. In or on the holder 20 a pot 1 is put, like the one in figure 3, in which the flaps 4 are open and support on the edge 21 of the holder 20. The cultivator picks up a tree 2 with ball of soil 3 and brings it in direction S downward into the pot 1 , until the ball of soil 3 abuts the bottom 6. When pressing further downward the pot 1 will be moved along downward in the direction V, and at the location of the upper edge 21 upward forces T will be exerted on the flaps 4, as a result of which these will want to hinge in the direction U and turn to the other stable position, the closed position, indicated by striped lines and shown in figure 1 . After this as it were automatic closing of the upper wall 4 the bottom wall 6 ends on the bottom 22 and the assembly of pot 1 and tree 2 is ready and can be reached to be taken out of the holder 20 and to be stored away, after which a new pot 1 can be placed in the holder 20 for a next tree 2. As can be seen in figure 1 the flashing-shaped inner edge areas 7 extend around the trunk 2a of the tree 2 in the closed position of the upper wall 4, without engaging the tree, so that damage of the trunk 2a is prevented. The position of the flaps 4a-4e is defined by the connection to the circumferential wall 5 and not by the trunk 2a. Nonetheless the flashing-shaped edge areas 7 ensure sufficient cover against water falling down, which is subsequently drained to the outside via the inclined upper surfaces of the flaps 4a-4e. The position of the flaps 4a-e is independent from the relative vertical position of the trunk 2a and the ball of soil 3 in relation to the pot 1 . As a result of its relative rigid design the pot 1 us suitable for further purposes, such as ornamental purposes. Using the pot 1 as a Christmas tree container, which is suitable to be used again every year could be thought of in particular here. Other possibilities are advertising purposes or purposes of attention. At least the outer surface of the pot 1 is suitable is suitable for either printing or painting or engraving.

Claims: Claims 1 . Container for a ball of root soil to be developed or not of plants or trees, comprising a bottom wall a circumferential wall and an upper wall, in which the upper wall is formed by a number of upper wall portions connected to the circumferential wall, which are movable between an open access position which gives access to the container and an in itself stable closed position in which a passage opening is left free. 2. Container according to claim 1 , in which the upper wall portions are connected to the circumferential wall of the container in order to go through a dead centre when switching from the access position to the closed position. 3. Container according to claim 2, in which the upper wall portions can be snapped from the access position into the closed position. 4. Container according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the upper wall portions are connected to the circumferential wall in such a way that they also take up a stable position in the access position. 5. Container according to claim 4, in which the upper wall portions are hin- geably connected to the circumferential wall by means of first strip portions and second strip portions to be distinguished from them, which are situated next to each other and extend in two different directions between the circumferential wall and the upper wall portion concerned, and in which the first and second strip portions, respectively, are provided with hinges running parallel to each other and which are spaced apart in a plane perpendicular to the hinge axes. 6. Container according to claim 5, in which the first strip portions are con- nected to the circumferential wall via a first hinge and are connected to the upper wall portion concerned via a second hinge and the second strip portions comprise a third hinge, the first, the second and the third hinge being arranged in a triangle in the open position and the closed position. 7. Container according to claim 6, in which the first strip portion is relatively rigid, though deformable to a certain extent and preferably shaped like an angular strip, with an angle which at least almost corresponds to the angle between the circumferential wall and the upper wall portion in the closed position. 8. Container according to claim 5, 6 or 7, in which the second strip portions are more or less radially compilable. 9. Container according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the connection between the upper wall portions and the circumferential wall is adapted for letting the upper wall portions slope down radially and outwardly inclined in the closed position. 1 0. Container according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the upper wall portions at the radial inside are provided with a relatively compliable portion, which closingly abuts a trunk or stem. 1 1 . Container according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the upper wall has a polygonal circumference, the upper wall portions at the location of the sides of the polygon being connected to the circumferential wall. 1 2. Container according to claim 1 1 , in which the upper wall has a pentagonal circumference. 1 3. Container according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the bottom wall has a circular circumference. 14. Container according to any one of the preceding claims, formed in the access position by a moulding process, preferably by means of injection moulding. 1 5. Container according to claim 14, formed from polypropylene. 1 6. Container according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the upper wall portions are only connected to the circumferential wall. 17. Container according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the circumferential wall tapers in downward direction. 1 8. Container according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the upper wall portions in the access position extend radially beyond the circumferential wall. 1 9. Assembly of container according to claim 1 8 and a support for the formation of either a stop or a support of the container during the introduction of a plant or tree therein, which support is provided with either stop or support surfaces for engaging upper wall portions radially extending beyond the circumferential wall, which stop or support surfaces define a passage for the container. 20. Assembly according to claim 1 9, in which the support surfaces are adapted for substantially upright support of the container. 21 . Assembly according to claim 1 9 or 20, in which the support is provided with inwardly directed surfaces for aligning the container by engaging the circumferential wall. 22. Assembly according to claim 21 , in which the support is moulded as a tube length. 23. Container, comprising one or more of the characterizing measures described in the description and/or shown in the drawings. 24. Assembly, comprising one or more of the characterizing measures described in the description and/or shown in the drawings.

Inventors: DE WINTER JOSUA BERNARD, DE WINTER, JOSUA, BERNARD
Applicants: CLICK TECHNOLOGY B V, WINTER JOSUA BERNARD DE, CLICK TECHNOLOGY B.V., DE WINTER, JOSUA, BERNARD
Application year: 1999
Main classification: A01G9
IPC codes: A01G9, A01G23