Patent Publication Number: US-2007113470-A1

Title: Plant support apparatus

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
      This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 to Canadian Patent Application No. 2,527,384 entitled “Plant Support Apparatus” filed Nov. 21, 2005 , the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.  
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention relates to apparatus for supporting a plant or plants.  
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      Vine plants, such as tomato vines, are commonly grown in large greenhouse operations and must be supported in order to arrange a large number of plants without damaging the vine fruit. Supports such as strings or wires are commonly used, although support poles or the like may also be used.  
      In commercial farming operations, large volumes of waste must be disposed of between crops in an environmentally safe way without considerable expense of money and/or time. To this end, various products are used to support plants during growth which are made of various polymer materials. These products must be manually separated from the plant materials once the crop has been harvested. While these products may be recycled, the time involved in the separation process is often prohibitive. Moreover, increasingly strict environmental policies for the burning of farm waste have forced farming operations to dispose of their waste that includes these support products at landfill sites, at significant cost.  
      These support products include vine clips which are used to attach portions of plants to strings or support wires. Examples of vine clips are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,349,779 (Ben-Dror), U.S. Pat. No. 3,494,072 (Olsen), Dutch patent No. 184038 (Kudelstaart), Dutch patent application No. 8402815 and at www.paskal.biz. These vine clips comprise an annular body comprised of two semi-annular halves pivotally connected together by a flexible coupling integral with the annular body at one end and releasably clasped together at the other end. In order to attach the clip to the vine, the two halves must be unclasped and pivoted apart. The string or support wire may be secured within the flexible coupling, or otherwise, (e.g. if it is too thick) looped into the clip itself. These clips are not only cumbersome to use, but are also subject to wear and tear due to repeating bending stresses on the flexible coupling. In addition, these clips are made of polymer materials which cannot be disposed of by burning in accordance with environmental regulations and are not biodegradable. They must therefore be manually separated from farm waste.  
      Truss hooks and arch supports (sometimes referred to as half-moon supports) are used to provide support to the tomato cluster itself and to the portion of the stem from which the cluster is growing, respectively. Examples of truss hooks and arch supports are disclosed at www.paskal.biz. Truss hooks will prevent kinking and cutting off of the nutrient flow to the developing tomatoes because holding the cluster in a more horizontal or upright position enhances fruit quality and yield. J-type hooks, such as those shown at www.paskal.biz have a pair of barbs at one end for attachment to string or support wire and a small hook at the other end that attaches to the tomato cluster. Both of these components are also made of polymer materials which cannot be disposed of by burning in accordance with environmental regulations and are not biodegradable. They must therefore be manually separated from farm waste. It should also be noted that these components are typically used in conjunction with polymer twine to which the same restrictions apply.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      According to a first aspect of an embodiment of the invention, there is provided an apparatus for releasably securing a portion of a plant to a support. The apparatus comprises a body having an inner opening, a gap in the body to allow the portion of the plant into the opening and at least one slot extending inwardly from an inner edge of the body for receiving and releasably retaining a portion of the support within the slot. The body may be substantially annular, may have varying thickness and may be substantially rigid. Preferably, the slot extends into a thickest portion of the body and is inwardly tapered.  
      The apparatus may further comprise means for releasably retaining the support in the slot, for example at least two teeth integral with the body wherein each of the at least two teeth extend inwardly from edges of the slot adjacent to the inner edge. These teeth may be spaced apart by a distance less than the width of the support so as to receive a portion of the support through compression of the support and/or displacement of the teeth.  
      Preferably, the apparatus is made of naturally decaying and clean-burning material. One such material is density board which comprises about 84% wood fiber, about 15% environmental protection mixture and about 1% paraffin wax.  
      According to a second aspect of an embodiment of the invention, there is provided an apparatus for releasably supporting portions of a plan, wherein the apparatus comprises at least one clip, at least one hook, at least one arch and at least one support. The apparatus is made of naturally decaying and clean-burning material. One such material is density board which comprises about 84% wood fiber, about 15% environmental protection mixture and about 1% paraffin wax. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:  
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an embodiment of the invention in use;  
       FIG. 2A  is a front view of an embodiment of the invention;  
       FIG. 2B  is a front view of an embodiment of the invention;  
       FIG. 2C  is a perspective view of the embodiment shown in  FIG. 2A  in use;  
       FIG. 3A  is a front view of part of an embodiment of the invention;  
       FIG. 3B  is a front view of part of an embodiment of the invention;  
       FIG. 4A  is a perspective view of part of an embodiment of the invention;  
       FIG. 4B  is a perspective view of part of an embodiment of the invention;  
       FIG. 4C  is a perspective view of part of an embodiment of the invention; and  
       FIG. 4D  is a perspective view of part of an embodiment of the invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
      According to an embodiment of the invention,  FIG. 1  illustrates an apparatus comprising at least one clip  10 , at least one hook  12 , at least one arch  14  and at least one support  16  for supporting various portions of a plant  18 .  
       FIGS. 2A and 2C  illustrate in detail the clip  10  for securing a portion of a plant  18  to a support  16 . The clip  10  comprises a body  20  having an inner opening  22  and a gap  24  in the body  20  to allow the portion of the plant  18  into the inner opening  22 , as shown in  FIG. 2C . The support  16  may be a string or support wire, or other suitable supports for tomato plant or the like, known in the art.  
      A slot  26  extends inwardly from an inner edge  28  of the body  20  and receives a portion of the support  16 . The slot  26  comprises means for releasably retaining the support  16  in the slot  26 . In the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 2A and 2C , the slot  26  tapers inwardly into a thickest portion of the body  20 .  
      The body  20  is substantially rigid and may have varying thickness. It is made from a naturally decaying and clean-burning material, such as Density Board. Density Board comprises about 84% wood fiber, about 15% environmental protection mixture and about 1% paraffin wax. Preferably, the material is smooth so as to minimize damage to the plant. Environmental protection mixture refers to an adhesive mixture or material for binding the wood fiber together, known to those skilled in the art.  
      The body  20  is substantially annular. It should be noted, however, that the body  20  may be of any suitable shape. An annular shape is simply convenient for the support of plants that typically have substantially cylindrical stems.  
      The means for releasably retaining the support  16  in the slot  26  comprises at least two teeth  30  integral with the body  20 . These teeth  30  extend inwardly from edges of the slot  26  adjacent to the inner edge  28 . They are spaced apart by a distance less than the width of the support  16  so as to receive a portion of the support  16  through compression of the support  16  and/or displacement of the teeth  30 .  
       FIG. 2B  illustrates in detail another embodiment of a clip  40  for securing a portion of a plant  18  to a support  16 . The clip  40  comprises a body  42  having an inner opening  44  and a gap  46  in the body  42  to allow the portion of the plant  18  into the inner opening  44 , similar to as shown in  FIG. 2C .  
      A slot  48  extends inwardly from an inner edge  50  of the body  42  and receives a portion of the support  16 . The slot  48  comprises a first slot portion  52  extending inwardly from the inner edge  50  of the body  42  and at least one second slot portion  54  extending from an innermost end  56  of the first slot portion  52 . The second slot portion  54  may extend generally perpendicularly from the innermost end  56  of the first slot portion  52 . The slot  48  may be T-shaped, as shown in  FIG. 2B  or any other suitable shape.  
      The width of the slot  48  is less than the width of the support  16 . The slot  48  receives a portion of the support  16  through compression of the support  16 .  
      The body  42  is also substantially rigid and may have varying thickness. It is made from a naturally decaying and clean-burning material, such as Density Board. Density Board comprises about 84% wood fiber, about 15% environmental protection mixture and about 1% paraffin wax. Preferably, the material is smooth so as to minimize damage to the plant. Environmental protection mixture refers to an adhesive mixture or material for binding the wood fiber together, known to those skilled in the art.  
      The body  42  is also substantially annular. It should be noted, however, that the body  42  may be of any suitable shape. An annular shape is simply convenient for the support of plants that typically have substantially cylindrical stems.  
      An embodiment of the hook  12  is shown in detail in  FIG. 3A  and comprises an elongate body  64  having a curled portion  66  at one end and at least one integral pair of barbs  68  at or near an opposite end for engaging support  16 . The curled portion  66  fits around a stem or branch of the plant  18 . The gaps between each one of the integral pair of barbs  68  and the elongate body  64  may be dimensioned so as to receive and engage a portion of the support  16  through compression of the support  16  and/or displacement of each of the integral pair of barbs  68 .  
      The hook  12  is substantially rigid and is made from a naturally decaying and clean-burning material. A suitable material is Density Board comprising about 84% wood fiber, about 15% environmental protection mixture and about 1% paraffin wax. Preferably, the material is smooth so as to minimize damage to the plant.  
       FIG. 3B  illustrates another embodiment of a hook  70  for releasably securing a portion of a plant to a support. The hook  70  comprises an elongate body  72  having a curled portion  74  at one end for engaging a portion of the plant  18  and a enlarged portion  76  at an opposite end. A slot  78  extends into the enlarged portion  76  for receiving and releasably retaining a portion of the support  18  within the slot  78 . Of course, more than one slot could extend into the enlarged portion. The enlarged portion is preferably generally circular. The width of the slot  78  is less than the width of the support  16  so that the slot  78  receives a portion of the support  16  through compression of the support  16 . The slot  78  may be angled at approximately 45 degrees from the elongate support, as shown. Of course, any suitable angle may be used.  
       FIG. 4A  illustrates an arch  14  having a generally curved body  88 . The body  88  comprises a groove  90  for receiving a portion of a plant  18 . Arch  14  may be used to support in a preferred orientation the portion of the stem of the plant  18  from which the cluster is growing during flowering.  
      The arch  14  is substantially rigid and is made from a naturally decaying and clean-burning material. A suitable material is Density Board comprising about 84% wood fiber, about 15% environmental protection mixture and about 1% paraffin wax. Preferably, the material is smooth so as to minimize damage to the plant. It is not necessary to implement gaps and/or holes in the arch structure as the use of naturally decaying and clean-burning material typically allows for ventilation through the material itself.  
       FIG. 4B  illustrates another embodiment of an arch  92  similar to the arch  14  shown in  FIG. 4B . The arch  92  has a generally curved body  94  having a groove  96  for receiving a portion of a plant  18 . Arch  92  may also be used to support in a preferred orientation the portion of the stem of the plant  18  from which the cluster is growing during flowering. A first edge portion  98  of the arch  92  is thicker than a first edge portion  100  of the arch  14 .  
      The arch  92  is also substantially rigid and is made from a naturally decaying and clean-burning material. A suitable material is Density Board comprising about 84% wood fiber, about 15% environmental protection mixture and about 1% paraffin wax. Preferably, the material is smooth so as to minimize damage to the plant.  
       FIG. 4C  illustrates another embodiment of an arch  106  comprising a generally curved body  108  having a plurality of extensions  110  and  112  extending from first and second edges, respectively. The extensions  110  and  112  define a groove  114  for receiving a portion of a plant  18 . These extensions  110 , 112  may be arranged perpendicular to the body  108  (or at any suitable angle). These extensions may be spaced apart so as to allow for additional ventilation. Arch  106  may also be used to support in a preferred orientation the portion of the stem of the plant  18  from which the cluster is growing during flowering.  
      The arch  106  is also substantially rigid and is made from a naturally decaying and clean-burning material. A suitable material is Density Board comprising about 84% wood fiber, about 15% environmental protection mixture and about 1% paraffin wax. Preferably, the material is smooth so as to minimize damage to the plant.  
       FIG. 4D  illustrates another embodiment of an arch  118  having a generally curved body  120 . The body  120  comprises a groove  122  for receiving a portion of a plant  18 . A plurality of holes  124  are located in a third edge portion  126  of the arch  126  to allow for additional ventilation. Of course, the holes  124  could also be located in a first edge portion  128  or a second edge portion  130 . Arch  118  may also be used to support in a preferred orientation the portion of the stem of the plant  18  from which the cluster is growing during flowering.  
      The support  16  may be naturally decaying and clean-burning string, such as cotton string.  
      In use, the plant  18  is proximate to a suitable support  16 , as illustrated in  FIG. 1 . At least one clip  10  and at least one hook  12  may engage proximate portions of the plant  18  and the support  16  in order to hold the plant  18  in a preferred orientation relative to the support  16 . At least one arch  14  may engage a portion of the plant  18  in order to hold the plant in a preferred orientation. Referring to the embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 1 , two of the clips  10  engage respective portions of the support  16  and receive respective portions of the plant  18 . Portions of the stem of the plant  18  are thus secured to the support  16 . Also in the embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 1 , a hook  12  engages support  16  between the body  32  and each of the integral pair of barbs  36 . The curled end  34  fits around and engages a portion of the stem of the plant, shown in  FIG. 1  as the portion which supports a cluster of tomatoes.  
       FIG. 1  also illustrates two of the arches  14  supporting portions of the plant  18 , specifically portions of the plant where the stems supporting respective clusters of tomatoes branch out from the main stem of the plant  18 .  
      While  FIG. 1  illustrates hook  12  and arches  14  in use, it should be understood that hook  70  could be used in the same way as hook  12  and arches  92 ,  106  and  118  could be used in the same way as arch  14 .  
      While the invention has been described in detail in the foregoing specification, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that variations may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, being limited only by the appended claims.