Patent Abstract:
Methods and apparatus for retaining an informational tag to a container are provided. In some embodiments of the disclosure, a container is provided with a retaining member on a rim thereof. The retaining member can have in inlet opening, with an inlet channel having inwardly tapering walls that terminate at an outlet aperture. The outlet aperture can have a zigzagging configuration for compressing the tag.

Full Description:
BACKGROUND 
       [0001]    1. Technical Field The present disclosure relates to containers for plants, and in particular, retaining members for informational tags on planting pots. 
         [0002]    2. Description of Related Art 
         [0003]    Planting pots are often provided with apertures, such as, for example, slots, formed on a portion of the pots, for use in retaining informational tags or labels. The informational tags or labels can be constructed of plastic, or other flexible material with at least some elastic deformation characteristics, to exert tension against a perimeter of the apertures within which the tag has been compressed. As such, the apertures can be designed to require that a portion of the tag is crimped or otherwise bent, to be placed into the aperture, after which, the elastic tendency of the tag places it under tension to bias the tag against the perimeter of the aperture, to retain the tag. In this manner, information on the tag can be easily affixed to a planting pot, and/or, removed from the planting pot. Many such conventional tags and aperture assemblies are inconvenient, and unreliable. Among other things, the tags may be difficult to insert, and may only loosely retain the tags. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY 
       [0004]    Some embodiments of the present disclosure comprise a container having a retaining member for retaining an informational tag to the container. The retaining member can include an aperture and an inlet channel having an inlet opening opposite the aperture. The inlet channel can have an inwardly tapering sidewall that tapers inward from the inlet opening to join and terminate at a perimeter of the aperture. In some embodiments, the aperture is a non-linear elongated slot, and can be formed in a zigzagging configuration. 
         [0005]    Some embodiments of the present disclosure comprise a method of retaining a tag on a container. The method can include inserting a tag into an inlet opening of a retaining member and pushing the tag through an inlet channel having an inwardly tapering sidewall, until the tag extends through an outlet aperture. The tag can be compressed by compressing lateral edges of the tag toward one another to extend the tag through the outlet aperture. Furthermore, the tag can be compressed by imparting two or more bends on the tag, with at least two of the bends being toward opposite directions relative to a planar surface of the tag. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0006]      FIG. 1  is a bottom perspective view of a plant container for some embodiments of the present disclosure, showing a tag placed within a retaining member formed on the container. 
           [0007]      FIG. 1B  is a front elevation view of an example tag, for use in some embodiments of the present disclosure. 
           [0008]      FIG. 2  is a bottom perspective view of the plant container of  FIG. 1 , with the tag removed from the retaining member. 
           [0009]      FIG. 2B  is an enlarged perspective view of the retaining member for the plant container of  FIG. 2 . 
           [0010]      FIG. 3  is a top plan view of the plant container of  FIG. 2 . 
           [0011]      FIG. 3B  is an enlarged top plan view of the aperture of the retaining member, with a tag retained within the aperture. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0012]    In the following description, certain specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of various embodiments of this disclosure. However, upon reviewing this disclosure one skilled in the art will understand that the invention may be practiced without many of these details. In other instances, well-known or widely available structures associated with plant pots, or informational tags used on plant pots, have not been described in detail to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the descriptions of the embodiments of the present disclosure. 
         [0013]    Various embodiments of the present disclosure are described herein for purposes of illustration, in the context of use with plant pots. However, as those skilled in the art will appreciate upon reviewing this disclosure, use with other types of containers may also be suitable. 
         [0014]    In the present description, where used, the terms “about” and “consisting essentially of” mean ±20% of the indicated range, value, or structure, unless otherwise indicated. It should be understood that the terms “a” and “an” as used herein refer to “one or more” of the enumerated components. The use of the alternative (e.g., “or”) should be understood to mean either one, both, or any combination thereof of the alternatives, unless expressly stated otherwise. As used herein, the terms “include” and “comprise” are used synonymously, and those terms and variants thereof are intended to be construed in a non-limiting, open sense. 
         [0015]    As shown in  FIGS. 1-3B , some embodiments of the present disclosure comprise a container  2  for holding planting soil and one or more plants. The container  2  can comprising a bottom wall  12 , a vertical sidewall  6  extending upward from the bottom wall, and a top rim  4 , positioned at a top edge region of the vertical sidewall  6 . The rim  4  can extend laterally outward from the vertical sidewall  16 , surrounding the entire circumference of the top edge region of the vertical sidewall  16 , and can be reinforced by spaced apart support ribs  10 , the spaced apart support ribs  10  extending radially outward from the vertical sidewall  6 . In some embodiments, such as that illustrated, the rim  4  is annular in shape, and a vertical sidewall  6  is comprised of annular horizontal cross sections. 
         [0016]    Referring to  FIGS. 1-2B , in some embodiments, a retaining member  14  is formed on the rim  4  of the container  2 , accessible from a downward facing portion of the rim  4 . 
         [0017]    As best seen in  FIGS. 1 and 1B , the retaining member  14  can be used to retain an informational tag  8 , having text and/or graphical designs, printed thereon, by inserting a retaining strip  9  of the tag  8 , into an aperture  16  of the retaining member  14 . In some embodiments, the retaining strip  9  must be deformed to be placed within the aperture  16 . The tag  8 , including its retaining strip  9 , or only the retaining strip  9 , can be a sheet like material, comprised of a plastic, or any other material having at least some elastic deformation tendencies sufficient to allow the retaining strip  9  to exert biasing force against the inside wall of the aperture when the retaining strip  9  is crimped and pushed through the aperture  16 , to place the retaining strip  9  under tension against inside walls of the aperture, to thereby retain the tag  8 . 
         [0018]    As shown in  FIGS. 1 &amp; 1B , in some embodiments, the retaining strip  9  extends upward from a top portion of the tag  8 , with respect to the orientation of textual information, so that the retaining strip  9  can be inserted in an upwardly direction, from below the rim  4 , into the retaining member  14 , with a main body portion  8 ′ of the tag  8  hanging below the retaining member  14 . 
         [0019]    As best seen in  FIGS. 2-3B , the retaining member  14  can comprise a non-linear, elongated aperture  16  (or slot like opening), opening on an upward facing wall  20  of the rim  4 , and an inlet channel  18  leading to the aperture  16  from below the aperture  16 . The inlet channel  18  can have an inlet opening  17  on a downward facing side of the rim  4 , with a laterally inwardly tapering sidewall  19  that extends upward toward the aperture  16 , with one or more portions of the inwardly tapering sidewall  19 , tapering laterally inward toward a perimeter of the aperture  16  and terminating at the aperture  16 . 
         [0020]    As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art after reviewing the present disclosure, a user may insert a portion of a tag (e.g., a retainer strip  9 ) upward through the inlet opening  17  of the retaining member  14 , to be guided by the inwardly tapering sidewall  19 , through the aperture  16 . As the tag is pushed upward, the inwardly tapering sidewall  19  can cause the edges of the tag to be compressed laterally toward one another, to crimp the tag gradually to conform to a contour that can pass through the aperture  16 , before being pushed through the aperture  16 , as best seen in  FIG. 3B  (showing a top plan view of the aperture with retaining strip  9  pushed through the aperture). 
         [0021]    The aperture  16  itself can be defined by a perimeter  16 ′ formed at the top wall of the rim  4 , with the aperture  16  zigzagging (or otherwise alternating in direction) across a face thereof, as best seen in  FIG. 3B . When the tag (or portion thereof, such as the retaining strip  9 ), is pushed through the aperture  17  in crimped or compressed form, and conforming to the zigzag perimeter shape of the aperture  17 , the elastic characteristics of the tag cause it to exert tension on the inside perimeter  16 ′ of the aperture  17 , to removably retain the tag in the retaining member  14 . 
         [0022]    Referring to  FIG. 3B , in some embodiments, a length “L” of the elongated aperture is about 1.07 inches. In other embodiments, the length is about 1.07 centimeters. In other embodiments, the length is less than or greater than 1.07 inches, or 1.07 centimeters. 
         [0023]    Length “L” is defined to represent the furthest distance between two perimeter points of the elongated aperture  16 . In some embodiments, the width W 1 , between two perimeter points of the elongated aperture is about 0.11 inches. In other embodiments, W 1  is greater than, or less than 0.11 inches. In some embodiments, the width W 2 , between two perimeter points of the elongated aperture is about 0.03 inches. In other embodiments, W 2  is greater than, or less than 0.03 inches. In other embodiments, the dimensions indicated above as inches, are instead, centimeters. 
         [0024]    In some embodiments, the inwardly tapering sidewall extends vertically a distance that is equal to about one third of a length “L” of the elongated aperture  16 . In some embodiments, the inwardly tapering sidewall extends vertically a distance that is equal to about half of a length “L” of the elongated aperture  16 . In some embodiments, the inwardly tapering sidewall extends vertically a distance that is equal to about ¾ of a length “L” of the elongated aperture  16 . In other embodiments, the inwardly tapering sidewall extends vertically a distance that is greater than one third, one half, or ¾ of a length “L” of the elongated aperture. In other embodiments, the inwardly tapering sidewall extends vertically a distance that is less than one third, one half, or ¾ of a length “L” of the elongated aperture. 
         [0025]    After reviewing the present disclosure, an individual of ordinary skill in the art will immediately appreciate that some details and features can be added, removed and/or changed without deviating from the spirit of the invention. Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” or “some embodiments,” means that a particular feature, structure or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment(s) is included in at least one or some embodiment(s), but not necessarily all embodiments, such that the references do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment (s). Furthermore, the particular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. These and other changes can be made to the embodiments in light of the above-detailed description. In general, in the following claims, the terms used should not be construed to limit the claims to the specific embodiments disclosed in the specification and the claims, but should be construed to include all possible embodiments along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. Accordingly, the claims are not limited by the disclosure.

Technology Classification (CPC): 5