PLANT POT HOLDER

Abstract: A holder for a plant pot comprises an annular base (10), at least one support (12) extending upwardly from the base, the support or supports defining a pot location, and at least three resilient, spaced apart members (16) extending from the support or supports (12) for engaging a pot in the pot location.

Description: PLANT POT HOLDER This invention relates to a plant pot holder. Nurseries and garden centres grow and display for sale in pots large numbers of plants, shrubs and trees (hereinafter simply referred to simply as "plants"). The particular size of pot depends on the size and age of the plant, but a common characteristic of such potted plants is that they tend to be top heavy and are easily blown over even in quite light winds. To avoid the damage this causes to the plants and to maintain a good looking display, nurseries and garden centres provide support for the pots by, for example, forming a wire mesh or grid, the pots then being located in the spaces in the mesh to be supported by the grid. This practice involves the expenditure of time and materials in forming and maintaining the grid and moreover is not very convenient as the width of the grid is effectively limited to the distance that a person can stretch to reach a particular plant. Also, the grid is inflexible in use as it cannot be moved around the nursery or garden centre and can take only pots of approximately the same size. It is an object of the present invention to obviate or mitigate these problems. The present invention is a holder for a plant pot, the holder comprising a base, at least one support upstanding from the base, the support or supports defining a pot location, and at least three resilient members extending from the support or supports for engaging a pot in said location, the resilient members being spaced apart. One or more drain holes may be provided in the base beneath the pot location. Preferably the base is annular and extends outwardly beyond the support or supports. The resilient members may be resilient fingers. The fingers may be inclined downwardly at their free ends. The support may be a wall surrounding the pot location. For a given range of sizes of pot each support and the fingers are dimensioned so that the resilient members engage the pot at between one quarter and one half of the height of the pot. An embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:- Fig. 1 is a plan view of a plant pot holder according to the present invention; Fig. 2 is an elevation in section of the holder of Fig.l; Fig. 3 is a plan view of a part of a second embodiment of a plant pot holder according to the present invention; and Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the part shown in Fig. 3. Referring now to Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, a plant pot holder according to the present invention comprises an annular base 10 and a support in the form of a circular wall 12 upstanding from the inner edge of the base 10 and defining a central location 14 in which a pot may be placed. At the top of the wall are provided a number, in this embodiment six, resilient members or fingers 16 which extend inwardly from the wall and are spaced apart round the central location 14. The fingers 16 are tapered from an outer end at the wall 12 to an inner or free edge 17 and, as seen in Fig. 2, the fingers are curled or inclined downwardly towards the free edge 17. Moreover, the upper surface of each of the fingers 16 is, at least near the inner edge, slightly concave as seen in Fig. 1 so that the end of the finger is curved to be a better fit with a pot engaged by the finger. The pot holder is intended to hold a specific size or range of sizes of pot, which when placed in the pot location is engaged and supported by the fingers 16 at locations between one quarter and one half of the height of the pot. The fingers are spaced apart to reduce the force required to insert a pot into, or remove it from, the holder. Typically, the spaces between the fingers exceeds 30% of the wall top periphery to reduce to a reasonable level the insertion force and the consequential wear on the fingers. In addition, the blunt, downwardly curved ends of the fingers present a curved surface for engagement with the plant pot further reducing the insertion/removal forces without compromising the grip of the fingers on a pot. The diameter of the base 10 should be such as to provide a stable support for the pot/plant combination and, for a given pot size, it may be desirable to provide different sizes of base to allow for different heights of plant. Integral nibs or other projections 19 are provided on the interior surface of the wall 12 to space apart the holders in a stack and facilitate the removal of a holder from the stack. In this embodiment the annular base 10 provides a central drainage hole which ensures that when the plants are watered they are not left to stand in stagnant water. Other embodiments of the invention may have a circular base with one or more drain holes beneath the central pot location 14. The embodiment described is made of a moulded plastics material, and at the base of the wall 12 is provided a buttress 18 beneath each of the fingers 16 to strengthen the wall 12 in that region. The holder could equally well be made of sheet metal. The embodiment described may be further modified by providing the fingers on a number of spaced supports surrounding the pot location 14. The number of fingers should be not less than three, and their dimensions may be varied as desired provided that the pot is firmly grasped by them. In Figs. 3 and 4 is shown a modular member 30 made of a plastics material and from a number of which a plant pot holder may be formed. The member 30 has a base 32 at the inner end of which is a wall section 34, a buttress 36 being provided between the base 32 and the wall section 34. Extending inwardly from the top of the wall section 34 is a tapered finger 38 which is similar to the fingers 16 of Figs. 1 and 2. As seen in Fig. 4, the finger is curled or inclined downwardly towards its inner or free edge 40. Moreover, the upper surface of the finger 38 is, at least near the inner edge 40, slightly concave so that the end of the finger is curved to be a better fit with a pot engaged by the finger. At each side of the wall section 34 is provided a side wall section 42 or 44. The side wall sections 42 and 44 are generally planar and extend inwardly at an angle to the central wall section 34. Each of the side wall sections 42 and 44 is provided with one of a pair of interengaging members, in this embodiment a tenon 46 on the side wall section 42 and a mortise 48 on the side wall section 44. A number of the modular members 30 may be secured together in a ring by means of the interengaging members to form a pot plant holder the diameter of which is determined by the number of members 30. As the plastics material from which the members 30 are made is flexible, the side wall members can flex relative to the central wall member, this flexibility assisting the forming of holders from different numbers of the members 30. The minimum number of members in a ring is three, and in the assembled holder the fingers 38 are spaced apart by the combined length of the side wall sections 42 and 44. When a potted plant is located in a holder according to the present invention, the pot is securely gripped by the resilient members or fingers. The holder increases the stability of the plant by effectively increasing the base area of the pot, and the potted plant in its holder can be moved around as desired to change the display of plants or to provide access to plants at the rear of a display.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. A holder for a plant pot, the holder comprising a base, at least one support upstanding from the base, the support or supports defining a pot location, and at least three resilient members extending from the support or supports for engaging a pot in said location, the resilient members being spaced apart. 2. A holder as claimed in claim 1, in which one or more drain holes are provided in the base beneath the pot location. 3. A holder as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, in which the base is annular and extends outwardly beyond the support or supports . 4. A holder as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the resilient members are resilient fingers. 5. A holder as claimed in claim 4, in which the fingers are curled or inclined downwardly towards their free ends. 6. A holder as claimed in claim 4 or claim 5, in which the upper surface of each finger is concave towards its free end. 7. A holder as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the support is a wall surrounding the pot location. 8. A holder as claimed in any preceding claim, in which, for a given range of sizes of pot, each support and the resilient members are dimensioned so that the resilient members engage the pot at between one quarter and one half of the height of the pot. 9. A holder as claimed in claim 7, comprising a number of modular members secured together, each modular member comprising a wall section from which a resilient member extends, and means on each side of the wall member for securing the modular member to adjacent modular members. 10. A modular member for making with other identical modular members a holder for a plant pot as claimed in claim 9.

Inventors: NEAL BRIAN LESLIE, NEAL FRANCIS WENDY, NEAL, BRIAN, LESLIE, NEAL, FRANCIS, WENDY
Applicants: NEAL BRIAN LESLIE, NEAL FRANCIS WENDY, NEAL, BRIAN, LESLIE, NEAL, FRANCIS, WENDY
Application year: 1999
Main classification: A01G9
IPC codes: A47G7