Patent Publication Number: US-2009235580-A1

Title: Garden Apparatus and Method

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     Not Applicable 
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY-SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
     Not Applicable 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of Invention 
     The present invention relates generally to a planter. More particularly, the invention is directed toward a planter that is designed for use by an individual occupying a wheelchair. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Planters are well known in the agricultural and gardening fields. Some planters known in the prior are, such as that described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,825,588 issued to Norman, include a central trough member supported by upstanding wall members. Plants are grown in a medium (usually soil) in the trough. By elevating the plants and media above the ground, the planter protects the plants from insects and ground animals, as well as from foot traffic and moderate flooding. Practitioners in the art have also found that use of a planter allows the practitioner more effectively and easily to control the composition and ingredients of the medium in which the plants are grown. 
     Planters offer particular advantages to those practitioners who occupy wheelchairs. If the planter is of proper elevation and is wheelchair-accessible, then the planter allows a practitioner who occupies a wheelchair to tend to the plants without having to bend or stoop. However, traditional planters are not designed for easy use by handicapped persons, particularly persons occupying wheelchairs. Thus, a need is felt for a planter that is designed to be wheelchair-accessible. 
     The incorporation of various structures onto the planter can further assist the wheelchair-bound practitioner and allow the practitioner more effectively and easily to control the conditions under which the plants grow and develop. For example, irrigation structures can supply the plants in the planter with controlled amounts of water at regular intervals; in this way an irrigation structure relieves the practitioner of the burden of manually watering the plants and of the risk of depending upon local weather conditions for irregular rain. Special lighting structures (hereinafter “grow lights”) can illuminate the plants, supplying the light necessary for photosynthesis. Heaters can help maintain the ambient temperature within the planter, insulating the plants from cold weather. 
     Adding some or all of these structures to a planter increases the degree of control that the practitioner exercises over the conditions under which the plants grow. Adding some or all of these structures is also of benefit to a wheelchair-bound practitioner, as the wheelchair-bound practitioner may find it more difficult to perform personally some of the tasks (such as watering plants) accomplished by these structures. However, ordinarily the addition of irrigating, illuminating, or heating structures requires specialized modification of the planter. In other words, these structures are standard components of most planters, and most planters are not designed with a view to incorporating these structures. Additionally, the specialized modification of a planter to incorporate these structures can be expensive. 
     Other devices have been developed to address these and other problems. Typical of the art are those devices disclosed in the following U.S. Patents: 
     
       
         
           
               
               
               
               
             
               
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 Patent Number 
                 Inventor 
                 Issue Date 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
            
               
                   
                 1,405,568 
                 Conklin 
                 Feb. 7, 1922 
               
               
                   
                 4,825,588 
                 Norman 
                 May 2, 1989 
               
               
                   
                 5,664,367 
                 Huang 
                 Sep. 9, 1997 
               
               
                   
                 5,852,895 
                 Sinanan 
                 Dec. 29, 1998 
               
               
                   
                 Des. 428,828 
                 Gutierrez 
                 Aug. 1, 2000 
               
               
                   
                 6,243,985 
                 Miller 
                 Jun. 12, 2001 
               
               
                   
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     Of these patents, the &#39;568 patent issued to Conklin describes a trough-shaped box. This trough-shaped box is composed of a piece of sheet metal bent at its ends partly around two circular wooden discs, which form the end walls of the trough. The box is secured to the wooden discs by screws or other suitable fasteners. 
     The &#39;588 patent issued to Norman describes an apparatus and method of manufacture wherein a corrugated fiberglass trough is sealed between matching end walls, said walls consisting of stand and plug members which have sealing surfaces which match the contour of the fiberglass trough. 
     The &#39;367 patent issued to Huang discloses an artistic flower planting case hangable on a building terrace having a flower planting case and a hanging plate. The hanging plate is channel shaped and placed on an upper surface of a terrace wall of a building. The flower planting case is an elongated case with an upper open side, forming an interior for soil and flowers. The case is assembled with the hanging plate by bolts screwing into a plurality of threaded holes in a rear side of the flower planting case and a front side of the hanging plate. 
     The &#39;895 patent issued to Sinanan describes a planter assembly that includes a planter box and a support structure for the planter box. The support structure is formed by an elevating post, a base beneath the post and a planter box support atop the post. The post is releasably secured within the support structure which enables height adjustment trimming and then refitting of the post with the support structure. 
     The &#39;828 design patent issued to Gutierrez describes a modular planter. 
     The &#39;985 patent issued to Miller describes an automatic watering system. The device of the 985 patent includes a variety of interconnecting parts to form one or more separate elongate trays which are arrange in any fashion but generally one above the next. Each linear or radial tray section is adapted for supporting one or more potted plants. Trays are interconnected by flexible tubes so that when water is introduced into an upper tray it flows downwardly into subsequent lower trays. Trays are inexpensively fabricated by an extrusion process and when attached at both ends to end sections, form a finished shelf into which water may be introduced so as to hydrate and feed the plants by root absorption. The end sections are held in place by a snap on cover which also engages a screen to provide an effective watering tray and a clog free system. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A planter is disclosed. This planter is designed so that a wheelchair-bound practitioner may access the planter and tend to plants. The planter is readily assembled from pieces that can be supplied to consumers in the form of a kit. The planter includes structures for illuminating, irrigating, and warming plants grown in the planter, as well as draining structures for removing excess water. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The above-mentioned features of the invention will become more clearly understood from the following detailed description of the invention read together with the drawings in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of one embodiment of the invention, showing the planter with its canopy in the “closed” position; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of one embodiment of the invention, showing the planter with its canopy in the raised or “open” position, revealing the plants growing in the trough; 
         FIG. 3  is an elevation view of one embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 4  is an elevation view from one end of the planter, showing the canopy raised on hinges in the open position; 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view of the planter&#39;s support apparatus, showing the brackets that secure the support apparatus; 
         FIG. 6  is an elevation view of one end of the planter, showing a heater on one end of the planter and heaters on the underside of the trough; 
         FIG. 7  is a plan view of the interior of the canopy, showing heaters and an illumination structure; 
         FIG. 8  is a bottom view of the planter trough, showing drainage holes; 
         FIG. 9  is an elevation view of the planter showing a pipe along the bottom of the planter that collects water from the drainage holes and carries the water to the bucket hanging from the pipe; 
         FIG. 10  is a close-up view of the irrigation pipe running along the inside rim of the trough; and 
         FIG. 11  is a perspective view of the planter with wheels. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention provides a wheelchair-accessible planter. The invention also incorporates illuminating, irrigating and heating structures. The invention is supplied to practitioners as parts in a kit. The practitioner then easily, quickly and inexpensively assembles the planter with the improvements already installed in a planter specially designed to integrate all of these structures. 
     One embodiment of the invention includes a planter with a retractable canopy. Referring initially to  FIG. 1 , a planter is indicated generally at  10 . The planter includes a substantially tubular trough  20  and a canopy  30 . The canopy  30  lies on top of the trough  20 . In one embodiment, the trough  20  and canopy  30  together constitute a cylindrical structure when the canopy  30  is in the “closed” position, resting atop and covering the trough  20 . End walls  22  for the trough  20  and similar end walls  32  for the canopy  30  provide the substantially flat (non-curving) faces of the cylinder. The trough  20  normally is fabricated from plastic, a light-weight metal, or a similar substance of sufficient structural strength to support and contain plants and soil or other growth media. In some embodiments, the canopy  30  is fabricated from a translucent material so as to admit sunlight, as with the walls of a greenhouse. 
     Referring to  FIG. 2 , it is seen that the canopy  30  retracts to reveal plants growing in media in the trough  20 . As seen in  FIGS. 1 and 3 , one or more handles  34  on the canopy  30  assist the practitioner in raising the canopy from the “closed” position shown in  FIG. 1  to the “open” position shown in  FIG. 2 . Referring to  FIG. 4 , the canopy switches between the “closed” and “open” positions by pivoting on one or more hinges  36 . In the “open” position, a practitioner has access to the interior of the planter  10  and to the plants growing in the trough  20 . In the “open” position, the practitioner is able to tend to the plants or to perform maintenance on the planter components. People familiar with the art will recognize that the degree to which the canopy must be raised in order for the practitioner to perform certain tasks will vary depending upon the practitioner, and therefore the degree to which the canopy is raised may vary, and so numerous “open” positions may exist. 
     Referring again to  FIG. 1 , the trough  20  is raised above the ground by a number of legs  42 . As seen in  FIG. 5 , the legs  42  are part of a larger support structure  40 , which supports the trough  20 , canopy  30 , and other components of the planter that are elevated off the ground. In one embodiment, the support structure  40 , in addition to the legs  42 , also includes beams  44  in a substantially horizontal orientation. The trough  20  rests upon or is otherwise connected to these beams  44 . In one embodiment, the various constituent parts of the support structure  40 , including the legs  42  and the beams  44 , are connected and held in place by braces  46 . In other embodiments, wheels or rollers  48  attached to the bases of legs make the planter more mobile, as seen in  FIG. 11 . 
     The support structure  40  elevates the trough  20  above the ground to a height such that a person occupying a wheelchair may approach the planter and position the legs of said person and a portion of the wheelchair substantially beneath the trough  20 . 
     Heaters help to maintain within the planter a temperature conducive to growing plants. Referring to  FIG. 6 , in some embodiments heaters  50  are connected to the underside of the trough  20 . In some embodiments one or more heaters  52  are also connected to the end wall  22  of the trough. Wires  70  connect the heaters to a power source. Referring to  FIG. 7 , in some embodiments heaters  54  are connected to the interior/underside (concave side) of the canopy  30 . Wires  72  connect the canopy heaters to a power source. 
     A light source provides light for the plants when sunlight is not available or practicable. Referring to  FIG. 7 , one or more electric lamps  60  are connected to the underside of the canopy  30 . The electric lamps  60  are connected to a power source through wires  70 . Similar wires supply power to those electrically-powered structures connected to the trough  20 . Referring to  FIG. 4 , said canopy wires  70  are connected to one or more wires  70  that link the canopy wires  70  to wires leading to the a power source. The wires collectively convey electrical power drawn either from an external power source or from solar panels  92 , seen in  FIG. 11 . 
     Irrigation structures provide water to the plants growing within the trough  20 . Referring to  FIG. 10 , in one embodiment, one or more tubes  80  line the rim of the trough  20 . Water flows through the tubes  80 , and said water is released through holes in the tubes  80  into the space where plants are growing in the trough. Referring again to  FIG. 11 , a pump  90  connected to the trough  20  or close nearby supplies water to the tubes  80 , drawing the water from an external water source (such as a well or a garden hose connected to a residential water supply). Solar panels  92  or an external power source supply electricity to the pump  90 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 8 , apertures  82  in the trough  20  allow excess water to drain from the trough. A gutter  84  suspended or positioned beneath the trough  20  collects the water flowing from the apertures  82 . The gutter  84  then channels the water into a collection bucket  86  that hangs from the trough  20  or support structure  40 . 
     As shown in  FIGS. 3 and 6 , in one embodiment, the depending sides  21  of the trough  20  are designed to extend over the beams  44  on opposite sides of the support structure  40 . To this end, the support structure  40  is braced and the elongated beams are substantially covered by the depending sides or lips  21  on the opposite sides of the trough  20 .  FIG. 6  shows the opening  23  which receives the beams  44  for mounting the trough  20  on the support structure. Similarly, as shown in  FIG. 4 , the support structure  40  beams  44  at the opposite ends of the support structure are likewise received behind the depending lips  21  in the openings  23  defined between the end walls  22  of the trough  20  and the depending sides or lips  21  of the trough. The openings  23  (see  FIG. 6 ) at the opposite ends of the trough are similar in cross-sectional outline to side openings  23  shown in  FIG. 6 . The only difference is that the end openings  23  are shorter than the side openings, and receive the end beams and side beams, respectively. By securing the opposite end walls  22  of the trough to the braces  43  at the opposite ends of the support structure, the lateral stabilization of the structure bearing the trough is enhanced. 
     All of the components described above can be supplied to consumers in the form of a kit, allowing a practitioner to assemble the device from pieces prefabricated for inclusion in the assembled invention. 
     While the present invention has been illustrated by description of some embodiments, and while the illustrative embodiments have been described in detail, it is not the intention of the applicant to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the appended claims to such detail. Additional modifications will readily appear to those skilled in the art. The invention in its broader aspects is therefore not limited to the specific details, representative apparatus and methods, and illustrative examples shown and described. Accordingly, departures may be made from such details without departing from the spirit or scope of applicants general inventive concept.