Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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This invention relates to plant pots, particular plastic plant pots of the
type
having saucers securable to the underside thereof to catch water falling
through drain
holes in the bottom of the pot.
In current industry practice, the plant pots of this general type are supplied
to growers, without the saucers attached. The saucers are provided to the
growers
separately. This is because the growers do not want to catch water escaping
from the
bottom of the plant pot. Instead, they want to be able to fully flush or leach
the plant,
with a large volume of water, and have that water drain fully from the plant
pot.
However, the grocery stores and other purchasers of plants from growers
increasingly insist on having saucers not only supplied with the plant pots,
but also pre-
installed on the plant pots. This means that the growers are faced with having
to install
hundreds or thousands of saucers on plant pots at the time of shipment. Thus
ease of
installation is a critical factor. Losing just a few seconds on each pot can
obviously add
up to a good deal of lost labor time, not to mention worker frustration.
Since the plant pots are then shipped from the growers with the saucers
installed, it is also critical that the saucers remain in place, or at least
that as few as
possible become dislodged during shipment. The saucer must therefore be
securely
attached to the plant pot.
The present invention addresses both the ease and security of installation
of the saucers on the plant pots.
Plant pot and saucer combinations of the general type are well known,
and are shown for example in United States patent nos. 3,949,524 (Mickelson),
3,965,616 (Ridgeway), 4,020,592 (Saunders), 4,047,329 (Holt), 4,059,920
(Worrell),
4,092,804 (Morris et al.), 4,167,080 (Mickelson), 4,224,764 (Dziewulski et
al.),
4,299,055 (Dziewulski et al.), 4,315,382 (Kay et al.), 4,481,733 (Jacobs),
4,597,221
(Adair et al.), 5,309,670 (Bates), 5,481,826 (Dickinson et al.), and 5,638,638
(Moskowitz).
The problems which are evident to one degree or another with the prior
art plant pots and saucers is that either the saucers are too difficult to
align and install,
or they can be dislodged too easily, or both.
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The alignment issue relates to whether or not the worker can properly
position the saucer with respect to the pot with minimum effort, so that no
time is lost
in seeking the proper alignment. Some of the prior art plant pots and saucers
are
relatively easy to align, but suffer from other problems such as difficulty in
actually
snapping the saucer onto the pot once so aligned, or failing to provide a
sufficiently
secure connection.
In some prior art combinations, where the connection is on the plant pot's
central axis, exerting the required pressure to snap the saucer in place may
be very
difficult with the pot full of soil, unless the plastic is very thick and
rigid, since the force
can only be transmitted by pressing down on the outer edges of the plant pot
rather
than by pressing down at the actual point of connection.
In view of the above, it is an object of the invention to provide an improved
plant pot and saucer combination, which provides improved ease and security of
installation of the saucers on the plant pots.
It is a further object to provide a configuration which is as easy to ship as
possible, by providing improved nesting of the saucers in particular.
Thus in the invention, the plant pot has a bottom surface with a plurality
of drainage holes therethrough, and the saucer has a plurality of radially
spaced-apart
upward projections therefrom to engage selected ones of the drainage holes.
The
bottom surface of the plant pot has a raised central portion having an inner
diameter
corresponding approximately to the diameter of an imaginary circle defined by
radially
outermost points of the upward projections from the saucer, thereby
facilitating axial
alignment of the saucer relative to the plant pot. The upward projections have
radially
outwardly extending flanges adjacent distal ends thereof, the flanges being
configured
so as to extend slightly above and slightly radially outwardly from the
selected ones of
the drainage holes when installed, so as to provide snap-on securing of the
saucer to
the plant pot.
Preferably, the saucer has a plurality of radially spaced-apart recesses
extending upwardly from its bottom surface, positioned to accommodate the
upward
projections of another identical saucer when the saucers are stacked together.
This
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significantly reduces the height of a stack of saucers, for easier and more
economical
shipping and handling.
Furtherfeatures ofthe invention will be described orwill become apparent
in the course of the following detailed description.
In order that the invention may be more clearly understood, the preferred
embodiment thereof will now be described in detail by way of example, with
reference
to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the plant pot and saucer attached to each
other;
Fig. 2 is a cross-section ofthe plant pot and saucer aligned for attachment
to each other;
Fig. 3 is a cross-section similarto Fig. 2, showing the plant pot and saucer
attached to each other;
Fig. 4 is a top view of the plant pot, with the saucer attached;
Fig. 5 is a side elevation view of the plant pot, with the saucer attached;
Fig. 6 is a bottom view of the plant pot and saucer;
Fig. 7 is a side elevation view of the plant pot alone;
Fig. 8 is a bottom view of the plant pot alone;
Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the top of the saucer;
Fig. 10 is a perspective view of the bottom of the saucer;
Fig. 11 is a plan view of the top of the saucer;
Fig. 12 is a cross-section of the saucer at A-A of Fig. 11;
Fig. 13 is a cross-section of the saucer at B-B of Fig. 11;
Fig. 14 is a plan view of the bottom of the saucer;
Fig. 15 is a side cross-sectional view of a stack of saucers; and
Fig. 16 is a side cross-sectional view of the center portion of a stack of
saucers.
The invention provides a plant pot 1 in combination with a saucer 2. The
plant pot and saucer have a broad base as a result of the reverse curve of the
side of
the plant pot, which provides excellent stability which tends to prevent the
pot from
tipping during transportation to the market. The saucer, when attached,
provides a
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CA 02238914 1998-OS-28
continuation of the curvature of the pot, i.e. it does not project radially
outwardly to any
significant degree. This makes it less likely that the saucer will catch on
something and
become dislodged, and also makes packaging in conventional sleeves much
easierand
much less prone to tearing of the plastic or other sleeve material.
The plant pot has a bottom surface 3 with a number of drainage holes 4
therethrough. As best seen in Figs. 4 and 8, there are four such drainage
holes in the
preferred embodiment, although obviously this number could vary and is not
critical to
the invention. Nor is the precise location of these drainage holes critical.
The bottom surface 3 has a raised central portion 5, best seen in Figs. 2
and 8, with a number of slots 6 adjacent the outer edge thereof. These slots
act as
additional drainage holes, but also are used in securing the saucer to the
pot, as
explained below. In the preferred embodiment, there are four such slots,
although
obviously this number could vary as well.
As most clearly seen in Fig. 9, the saucer 2 has a number of radially
spaced-apart upward projections 7 therefrom generally positioned and aligned
to fit
through the slots 6. There are four of these projections in the preferred
embodiment,
to correspond with the four slots 6. Obviously, there could be more slots than
projections, if desired, but not more projections than slots.
The raised central portion 5 has an inner diameter corresponding
approximately to the diameterof an imaginary circle defined by radially
outermost points
of the upward projections 7. This feature greatly facilitates axial alignment
of the saucer
relative to the plant pot, which is an essential step in attaching the saucer
to the pot. To
install a saucer onto a pot, the worker can very easily align the two
components axially,
since the projections naturally ride up into the raised central portion. This
is preferably
facilitate further by the side edges of the raised portion being angled
upwardly and
inwardly. The worker then just needs to twist the saucer slightly until the
projections 7
align with the slots 6, and apply a little upward pressure on the saucer (or
downward
pressure on the pot). Radially outwardly extending flanges 8 adjacent distal
ends of the
projections 7 then snap through the slots, the flanges being configured so as
to extend,
when installed, slightly above the bottom surface 3 of the pot and slightly
radially
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outwardly from the slots 6 of the pot, thus providing snap-on securing of the
saucer to
the pot. Support ribs 9 add strength to the upward projections.
A particularly advantageous feature of the saucer is that it has a plurality
of radially spaced-apart recesses 10 extending upwardly from its bottom
surface,
positioned to accommodate the upward projections 7 of another saucer when
saucers
are stacked together. This is clearly illustrated in Figs. 15 and 16.
Successive saucers
are offset from each other radially by 45 degrees (in the preferred embodiment
with four
projections at 90 degrees to each other, or by whatever angle is relevant if
there are
fewer or more projections), so that the projections of one saucer align with
the recesses
of the next saucer, the recesses preferably but not necessarily being offset
from the
projections by 45 degrees. This "projection-in-recess" configuration
significantly
reduces stack height is reduced to facilitate shipping and handling. This is
an important
feature since the saucers are now typically shipped separately from the pots.
Other features, less critical to the invention, include:
a. small ridges 12 on the bottom of the pot 1 near its periphery, to act as
spacers to provide a small gap between the bottom of the pot and the
saucer, which is obviously desirable for drainage from the pot;
b. a raised central dome 14 of the saucer, simply for strengthening or
reinforcement of the saucer in that area;
c. several ribs 16 (four of them in the preferred embodiment), extending
outwardly from the raised central portion 5 of the pot, for strengthening
or reinforcement of the pot and for providing air flow to the root structure
of the plant;;
d. a strengthening ridge 18 on the bottom of the saucer 2, between the
dome 14 and the recesses 10;
e. various strengthening ridges 20 on the upper surface of the saucer 2.
It will be appreciated that the above description relates to the preferred
embodiment by way of example only. Many variations on the invention will be
obvious
to those knowledgeable in the field, and such obvious variations are within
the scope
of the invention as described and claimed, whether or not expressly described.
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