Abstract:
At least one embodiment of the invention pertains to a collapsible planter apparatus is provided comprising (1) a floor section having one or more drainage holes, (2) a first side wall hingeably coupled to a first edge of the floor section, and (3) and a second side wall hingeably coupled to a second edge of the floor section opposite the first edge of the floor section. A third side wall may be removably coupled between the first and second side walls along a third edge of the floor section. A fourth side wall may also be removably coupled between the first and second side walls along a fourth edge of the floor section opposite the third edge of the floor section.

Description:
CLAIM OF PRIORITY UNDER 35 U.S.C. §119 
   The present Application for Patent claims priority to Provisional Application No. 60/672,218 entitled “Ken&#39;s Portable Garden” filed Apr. 18, 2005, and hereby expressly incorporated by reference. 

   FIELD 
   Various embodiments of the invention pertain to garden planters. At least one embodiment of the invention pertains to a collapsible, compactable, and portable garden planter. 
   BACKGROUND 
   Gardening and landscaping serve an important part in the daily life of many Americans. Although large spaces are desirable for gardening and landscaping, all types of people garden and landscape on any available area around their home, town home, apartment or condominiums. In smaller spaces, it is often necessary to use sunny rooms, porches, and balconies and gardening in individual planters. 
   Individual planters allow the buyer to create their own gardens without a lot of space. The buyer can plant flowers, herbs, and vegetables and take care of their garden in their homes or on their balconies. This allows the consumer to garden without the typically larger spaces necessary to garden in. 
   Even though this allows gardeners with small spaces to plant flowers and other items, during the off season planters often become quite drab as the flowers and other plants die or wilt. Accordingly, the planter proceeds to occupy a great deal of space that could be used for storage or other purposes during the fall and winter seasons. This is especially true in a limited space situation like an apartment or condominium. Moreover, the lost space is not only unusable but aesthetically unattractive. 
   Additionally, full size planters also take up more shelve space at retail stores, warehouses, and carrier trucks. This additional space results in added costs to store and transport conventional planters. 
   Accordingly, a planter which solves the problems of lost space and lack of aesthetic appeal is desirable. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   A collapsible planter apparatus is provided comprising (1) a floor section having one or more drainage holes, (2) a first side wall hingeably coupled to a first edge of the floor section, and (3) and a second side wall hingeably coupled to a second edge of the floor section opposite the first edge of the floor section. A third side wall may be removably coupled between the first and second side walls along a third edge of the floor section. A fourth side wall may also be removably coupled between the first and second side walls along a fourth edge of the floor section opposite the third edge of the floor section. 
   In a disassembled state, the first and second side walls are folded onto the floor section and the third and fourth side walls are decoupled from the first and second side walls and floor section and stacked on the first and second side walls and floor section to form a compact bundle. One or more removable dividers may be provided between the side walls of the collapsible planter apparatus to provide separate planting sections. 
   The first and second side walls may include grooves to receive abutting edges of the third and fourth side walls when the collapsible planter apparatus is assembled. The grooves may include interlocking channels configured to receive corresponding interlocking edges of the third and fourth side walls. The floor section may also include grooves along the third and fourth edges to receive abutting edges of the third and fourth side walls when the collapsible planter apparatus is assembled. In some implementations, the floor section may include a first section and a second section hingeably connected at an edge that permits the floor section to be folded in the unassembled state. In the assembled position, the first, second, third, and fourth side walls define an opening for the planter that is larger than the area of the floor section. 
   The first, second, third, and fourth side walls may have a textured exterior surface that creates a faux appearance. The floor and side walls may be made of plastic, Plexiglass®, metal, fiberglass, wood, or composite material. 
   Another embodiment provides a collapsible planter comprising a floor section having a curvy-linear shape, the floor section including one or more grooves around the perimeter of the floor section that are configured to accept an interlocking edge of a side wall; and one or more side walls that bend to conform to the shape of the perimeter of the floor section. The one or more side walls may include an edge that is removably coupled to the one or more grooves on the floor section. The curvy-linear floor section may include two sections that are foldably coupled to each other and may include drainage holes. The one or more side walls may include a receiving edge and a corresponding mating edge to secure the one or more side walls together along abutting edges. The curvy-linear floor section may have a circular, semi-circular, elliptical, or oval shape. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  illustrates the unassembled pieces of a planter  100  according to one embodiment of the invention. 
       FIG. 2  illustrates an assembled planter  100  according to one embodiment of the invention. 
       FIG. 3  illustrates a circular collapsible and compactable planter according to another embodiment of the invention. 
       FIG. 4  illustrates a circular collapsible and compactable planter according to another embodiment of the invention 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
   In the following description numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the invention. However, one skilled in the art would recognize that the invention might be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well known methods, procedures, and/or components have not been described in detail so as not to unnecessarily obscure aspects of the invention. 
     FIG. 1  illustrates the unassembled pieces of a planter  100  according to one embodiment of the invention. The planter  100  includes a floor section  102  and a plurality of side wall sections  104 ,  106 ,  108 , and  110 . The floor section  102  and side walls  104 ,  106 ,  108 , and  110  may be interconnected via hinged mechanisms  114 A and  114 B that facilitate quick assembly and/or disassembly of the planter  100 . These hinged mechanisms may also include accommodating slots along the side walls  104 ,  106 ,  108 , and  110  and/or floor section  102  to receive an adjacent piece and provide strength to the assembled planter  100 . 
   In one embodiment, the side walls  104 ,  106 ,  108 , and  110  may be pivotally coupled to the floor section(s)  102  when assembled and disassembled. This may be accomplished by having foldable edges or hinges between the side walls  104 ,  106 ,  108 , and  110  and/or the floor section  102 . From the disassembled position illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the side walls  104 ,  106 ,  108 , and  110  can simply be folded upward and coupled to each other at adjacent corners to form an assembled planter (illustrated in  FIG. 2 ). 
   In one embodiment of the invention, the side walls  104  and  108  may be attached by hinged mechanisms  114 A and  114 B to the floor  102  in a disassembled state, permitting the side walls  104  and  108  to be compactly folded on to the floor  102 . The floor  102  may include two or more portions  102 A and  102 B that are also hinged and/or foldable to create a more compact bundle when the floor  102 A and  102 B and side walls  104  and  108  are folded on each other for storage or transport. Side walls  106  and  110  are removable for storage and folding purposes. The removable side walls  106  and  110  may be connected to the other side walls  104  and  108  and/or floor  102  via one/or more grooves  116  that accepts the abutting edges of the adjacent side walls  106  and/or  110 . One or more of the grooves  116  may have an interlocking channel that receives a corresponding interlocking edge of the side walls  106  and/or  110  to prevent the side walls  106  and/or  110  from accidentally decoupling from the floor section  102  and/or other side walls  104  and/or  108 . 
   In another implementation, the side walls  104 ,  106 ,  108 , and  110  may be removably coupled to the floor section(s)  102  in the disassembled position. A plurality of interlocking grooves, tabs, compression-fit joints, and/or fasteners may be located near or along the edges of the side walls  104 ,  106 ,  108 , and  110  and/or floor section(s)  102  and serve to couple the floor section(s)  102  and side walls together when assembled (as illustrated in  FIG. 2 ). When disassembled, the side walls  104 ,  106 ,  108 , and  110  and floor section(s)  102  can be aligned and bundled into a compact package that facilitates storage and/or transportation. Additionally, integrating the fastening mechanism (e.g., interlocking grooves, tabs, etc.) into the edges of one or more side walls  104 ,  106 ,  108 , and  110  and/or floor section(s)  102  prevents these from being lost or misplaced when the planter  100  is disassembled. 
   One feature provides for one or more partitions and/or dividers that may be inserted in the planter  100 . The partitions and/or dividers (illustrated in  FIG. 2 ) may be inserted into guides or slots  118  in the side walls  106  and  110 ,  104  and  108  (not shown) and/or the floor section  102  (not shown) to provide individual planting sections. 
   In one implementation the planter  100 , floor  102 , and/or side walls  104 ,  106 ,  108 , and  110  may be made of various durable materials such as plastic, Plexiglass®, fiberglass, wood, metal and/or composite material. The side walls may be of a clear material, textured, and or painted to provide an aesthetically pleasing finish (e.g., faux appearance) depending on the application. 
   One feature provides for the side walls and floor section to have approximately the same width so that when disassembled and stacked together they form a compact bundle. For this purpose, the floor section may be composed of two or more pieces  102 A and  102 B that fold or are interconnected to each other along an edge  112 . This compactable planter  100  frees up much needed floor and storage space when not in use and eliminates the need for bulky planters. 
   The planter may be designed in various lengths, widths, and heights according to each desired implementation. In one embodiment the planter  100  has dimensions of approximately four and one half feet in length, three feet wide, and one and one half feet in depth when assembled. 
   In another embodiment of this invention the side walls  104 ,  106 ,  108 , and  110  may be trapezoidal in shape such that when the planter is fully assembled the perimeter at the top of the planter is greater than that of the floor  102 . In various embodiments of the invention, other planter shapes may be used including circles, semi-circle ovals, triangles, rectangles, and/or squares. 
   The floor section  102  may include a plurality of drainage holes allowing any water poured over the planter to drain out of the holes. If the planter  100  is for indoor use, a basin may be attached or place at the bottom of the planter to receive any leaking water not absorbed by the soil. 
     FIG. 2  illustrates an assembled planter  100  according to one embodiment of the invention. The planter  100  may be easily assembled by laying the floor section flat and attaching the side walls thereto and/or folding the hinged side walls up so that they stand upright in relation to the floor section creating a unit that is a base enclosed by four erected side walls. 
   One feature provides for one or more partitions and/or dividers  202 ,  204 , and  206  that are inserted in the planter  100 . The partitions and/or dividers  202 ,  204 , and  206  may be inserted into guides or slots in the side walls  110 ,  106 ,  104 , and  108  and/or the floor section  102  to provide individual planting sections. The planter  100  may then be filled with an adequate amount of soil to grow the desired plants. Each section may hold a different flower, herb, vegetable, or spice for variety or may hold the same material. If desired, the consumer may use as many or as few partitions and/or dividers  202 ,  204 ,  206  according to the consumer&#39;s preference. 
   To disassemble the planter  100 , the soil is first removed. The planter  100  may then be rinsed to remove any soil or particles from the unit prior to storage. The side walls  110 ,  106 ,  104 , and  108  and partitions  202 ,  204 , and  206  can then be removed by unlocking the hinges. Once the hinges are unlocked, the user could fold them down onto the floor section  102  such that the entire planter could be compacted into a flat rectangle. At that point, the user could easily store the planter, during the off season, in a smaller space such as a closet or even under a bed. 
     FIGS. 3 and 4  illustrate a circular collapsible and compactable planter according to another embodiment of the invention.  FIG. 3  illustrates an unassembled circular collapsible and compactable planter  300  with a plurality of grooves  302  situated around the perimeter of a floor section  310  such that each groove  302  can accept or interlock with a corresponding hook  304  on a wall  306  and  308 . In various embodiments of the invention, the planter  300  may have a curvy-linear shape such as a circular, semi-circular, oval and/or elliptical shape for aesthetic or other purposes. When assembled, the side walls  306  and  308  may bend to conform to the shape of the perimeter of the floor section  310 . The side walls  306  and  308  may include a receiving edge and a corresponding mating edge to secure the one or more side walls together along abutting edges. In other embodiments, a single side wall that bends to wrap around the perimeter of the floor section  310  may be used to form the planter wall. When disassembled, the side walls  306  and  308  may substantially flat so that they can be stacked on the floor section  310  and form a compact bundle for storage. 
   One feature provides for the floor section  310  comprised of two pieces  310 A and  310 B so that the planter  300  may collapse along an edge  312 . The floor section  310  may include a plurality of drainage holes to allow water to flow out of the planter  300 . When collapsed, the planter  300  can be easily stored away when not it use. 
   One or more of the components and functions illustrated in  FIGS. 1 ,  2 ,  3  and/or  4  may be rearranged and/or combined into a single component or embodied in several components without departing from the invention. Additional elements or components may also be added without departing from the invention. 
   While certain exemplary embodiments have been described and shown in the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that such embodiments are merely illustrative of and not restrictive on the broad invention, and that this invention not be limited to the specific constructions and arrangements shown and described, since various other modifications are possible. Those skilled, in the art will appreciate that various adaptations and modifications of the just described preferred embodiment can be configured without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Therefore, it is to be understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced other than as specifically described herein.