Abstract:
An outdoor planter system with a central opening through which a plant may grow. The planter portion surrounding the central opening is inwardly and downwardly sloped, generally impervious to liquid and light, and thereby directs liquid to the central opening while simultaneously preventing undesirable growth of weeds and the like about a central plant. The outer perimeter of the planter has several keyways for removably attachment of a planter cover. The keyways are also adapted to receive plant growing or animal protection cages.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   This invention relates to the field of planters, and in particular, to a planter system for outdoor plants. 
   The present invention is a garden and landscaping apparatus which solves several common problems encountered in the care of plants. Water is becoming an increasingly scarce, and therefore, valuable, commodity. Typical plant watering methods are wasteful in that an area is watered rather than specific plantings. This results in watering adjacent and surrounding land beyond a plant&#39;s root system. Consequently, not only is water wasted, but the growth of undesired adjacent plants, i.e., weeds, is also encouraged. In the past, this has not been a problem where water and labor have been plentiful. This is no longer the case today. Water is becoming a scarce commodity. With sky-rocking water costs to the average gardener and home owner, the economic feasibility of gardening requires drastic changes in gardening practices. 
   Historically, one way to combat water wastage in gardening has been to grow a plant in a pot rather than in a field. Pot growing also substantially eliminates problems from weeds. Major disadvantages to the use of growing pots includes the cost of a growing pot and also the problems associated with a growing pot having enough room to allow a plant to develop a full root system. The larger the growing pots, the more costly they become. The costs of the growing pots, therefore, off-sets the economic advantages of water conservation. Field grown plants eliminate the cost of growing pots as well as the artificial limitations on a plant&#39;s root system. However, field grown plants are wasteful of water resources and have substantial weed problems. 
   The use of enclosures which surround plants, and other temporary enclosures has been heretofore proposed. The enclosures are generally planar and provide weed suppression and plant protection. The enclosures of the prior art generally have a raised ring formed about a central opening. The ring provides protection for a central plant but actually makes it difficult for the plant to receive water as the ring acts as a liquid barrier. To overcome this problem, many of the prior art planar enclosures have perforations formed therein wherein liquid can then reach the covered ground. However, this defeats the purpose of the planar enclosure in that weeds now receive liquid and can grow through the perforations. 
   Another problem with prior art enclosures is the difficulty in using plant covers. It is desirable from time to time to use covers over growing plants. The covers protect against adverse weather conditions and extreme temperatures. The few prior art enclosures available rest a temporary simple cover or permanently attach a cover to the enclosure. The temporary covers easily slide off or are blown off by wind. The permanent covers simply cannot be removed or are very difficult to remove. 
   Another problem with prior art enclosures is the difficulty in using wire growing or wire protective cages. Certain types of plants require a growing cage for supporting growth, such as tomatos, string beans, cucumbers, and the like. Other types of plants require a protective cage against predators, such as squirrels, rabbits, and deer. Applicant is not aware of any prior art enclosures which may be used in conjunction with a wire cage. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention addresses the above problems by providing an outdoor planter system with a central opening through which a plant may grow. The planter portion surrounding the central opening is inwardly and downwardly sloped, generally impervious to liquid and thereby directing liquid to the central opening while simultaneously preventing undesirable growth of weeds and the like about a central plant. The outer perimeter of the planter has several keyways for removably attaching a planter cover. The keyways are also adapted to receive plant growing or animal protection cages. 
   The present invention saves water, reduces weeds, and provides savings in the use of liquid fertilizers. Plants can be started from seed or seedlings can be planted directly within the planter system. 
   These together with other objects of the invention, along with various features of novelty which characterize the invention, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed hereto and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and the specific objects attained by its uses, reference should be had to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there is illustrated a preferred embodiment of the invention. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a front perspective view of the base unit of the present invention. 
       FIG. 2  is a side view of the base unit. 
       FIG. 3  is a vertical cross section view of the base unit. 
       FIG. 4  is a top view of the base unit. 
       FIG. 5  is a top section view of the base unit outer flange. 
       FIG. 6  is a top section view of the base unit upper rim with key way shown. 
       FIG. 7  is a cross section view of a portion of the upper rim. 
       FIG. 8  is a side view, partly in section, of an attachment pin. 
       FIG. 9  is a side view of a base unit cover. 
       FIG. 10A  is a top view of one embodiment of a base unit cover. 
       FIG. 10B  is a top view of another embodiment of a base unit cover. 
       FIG. 11  is a front perspective view of a growing cage adapted for attachment to the base unit. 
       FIG. 12  is a front perspective view of a plant protective cage adapted for attachment to the base unit. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION 
   Referring to the drawings in detail wherein like elements are indicated by like numerals, there is shown an outdoor planter system constructed according to the principles of the present invention. The planter system is comprised of a base unit  10 , a cover  30  removably attached to said base unit  10 , a growing wire cage  40  removably attached to said base unit  10 , and a protective wire cage  50  removably attached to said base unit  10 . 
   Referring more particularly to  FIGS. 1 through 4  there is shown the invention base unit  10 . In the embodiment shown the base unit  10  is circular, but could be rectangular in another embodiment. The base unit  10  has a top  11 , a bottom  12 , and a generally vertical perimeter wall  13 . An inverted frusto-conical element  14  downwardly slopes from the perimeter wall  13  at the base unit top  11  to a base unit central opening  15 . The base unit  10  may be made from any durable, corrosion-resistant material, such as plastic, fiber glass, stainless steel, etc. The base unit  10  has two primary functions. The first function is to collect water, either from rain, sprinkler or hand held hose, and direct it to the central opening  15  in which a plant is positioned. The downwardly sloping, inverted frusto-conical element  14  is impervious to liquids and light and covers a large area relative to the central opening  15  in which a plant is planted. This greatly reduces the waste of water which would otherwise run-off or be absorbed by an area of ground in which no plants are located. To prevent puddling at the central opening  15  in the case of heavy rains, downpours and the like, two small triangular apertures  16  may be formed in the element  14  a desired distance between the central opening  15  and the perimeter wall  13  to allow drainage of excess water. The apertures  16  may each have a small barrier  19  along the element up-slope side, toward the perimeter wall  13 , whereby normal water flow is directed to either side of the aperture  16 . 
   The second function of the base unit  10  is to block weed growth. The downwardly sloping, inverted frusto-conical element  14  blocks sunlight and water from the area beneath it, thereby eliminating the ability of weeds to grow beneath it. To prevent water seepage and weed growth, the central opening  15  has a downwardly extending flange  9  adapted to dig into the ground  2  a desired depth when the base unit  10  is positioned on the ground. The flange  9  also stabilizes and anchors the base unit  10  to a particular spot. 
   The base unit  10  has a circumferential flange  17  extending outwardly from the perimeter wall  13  at the base unit bottom  12 . The flange  17  has a four openings  18  formed therein, equidistantly about the perimeter wall  13 . The flange openings  18  are adapted to receive stakes (not shown) for fastening the base unit  10  into the ground  2 . 
   Referring more particularly to  FIGS. 4 through 7 , The base unit  10  has four keyway openings  20  in the perimeter wall  13  at the base unit top  11 . The keyway openings  20  are equidistantly positioned about the base unit perimeter. Each keyway opening  20  is comprised of a circular portion  21  merged into a rectangular portion  22 . The circular portion  21  has a radial diameter coincident with a longitudinal axis of the rectangular portion  22 . The circular portion  21  has a radial diameter greater than the transverse axis width of the rectangular portion  22 . 
   The present invention is further comprised of a cover  30  removably attachable to the base unit  10 . See  FIGS. 8 through 10B . The cover  30  is generally transparent, has a dome shape and acts as a solar dome and/or frost cover for early spring planting in colder climates. A preferred material used for the cover would be a plastic material. The cover central portion  31  is upwardly domed and has two finger apertures  38  formed therein, said apertures  38  providing means for grasping the cover  30  and means for venting the area within the cover  30 . See  FIG. 10A . In an alternate embodiment, shown in  FIG. 10B , the cover central portion  31  may have an aperture  38  formed therein with a slidable lid  39  over said aperture  38  allowing the aperture to be open or closed to ambient environment. The cover  30  has a perimeter  32  terminating in a circumferential outwardly extending flange  33 . The cover perimeter  32  will generally match the shape of the base unit  10 , e.g., round, rectangular, etc. The cover flange  33  has an upper surface  34  and a bottom surface  35 . The flange bottom surface  35  has four downwardly projecting pins  24  fixedly attached thereto, equidistantly about the flange  33 . The pins  24  are adapted to fit into the base unit keyways  20 . The cover flange  33  has an outer perimeter  36  terminating in a downwardly extending sealing lip  37 . The sealing lip  37  is adapted to engage the base unit perimeter wall  13  when the cover  30  is joined to the base unit  10 . 
   As may be seen in  FIGS. 8 ,  11  and  12 , the invention also provides a wire growing cage  40  for vine-like plants, tomatos, and the like, and a wire animal protective cage  50  with a wire top  52 . The animal protective cage top  52  may be removable converting the protective cage  50  into a simple growing cage  40 . Each cage  40 ,  50  has four downwardly extending legs  41 ,  51  terminating in downwardly projecting pins  24  fixedly attached thereto. The pins  24  are adapted to fit into the base unit keyways  20 . 
   Each pin  24  is comprised of an conical upper element  25  attached to a semispheric lower element  26  by means of a short rod element  27 , said rod  27  being attached to an upper element  25  flat surface  28  and a lower element  26  flat surface  29 , said rod  27  having a radial diameter less than the radial diameter of the flat surface  28  of the pin upper element  25 , less than the flat surface  29  of the pin lower element  26 , and less than the transverse width of the base unit keyway rectangular portion  22 . Each pin lower element  26  is adapted to being inserted into the base unit keyway circular portion  21 . The flat  28  surface of the upper element  25  has a diameter greater than the diameter of the base unit keyway circular portion  21  and the transverse width of the base unit keyway rectangular portion  22 . The radial diameter of the semispheric lower element  26  is less than the base unit keyway circular portion  21  but greater than the transverse width of the keyway rectangular portion  22 . The element  30 ,  40 ,  50  to which each pin upper portion  25  is attached is then horizontally rotated, wherein each said pin  24  is slid to the keyway rectangular portion  22 , thereby holding each pin  24  within a keyway  20 . 
   It is understood that the above-described embodiment is merely illustrative of the application. Other embodiments may be readily devised by those skilled in the art which will embody the principles of the invention and fall within the spirit and scope thereof. For example, although a keyway system is preferred, other methods for attaching accessories to the base unit may be used, e.g., screw type fasteners.