Claims
- 1. A method of packaging a potted plant comprising the steps of:
providing a potted plant having an exterior surface; providing an automatic covering apparatus for automatically applying a cover to the potted plant, the cover having an interior space; transferring the potted plant to the automatic covering apparatus; automatically applying the cover about the potted plant by non-manually disposing the potted plant into the interior space of the cover to form a covered potted plant; and bonding the cover about the potted plant via a bonding material.
- 2. The method of claim 1 comprising the additional step of sorting the potted plant into one of at least two grades in accordance with a predetermined grading criterion.
- 3. The method of claim 2 wherein the step of sorting the potted plant occurs before the step of automatically applying the cover.
- 4. The method of claim 2 wherein the step of sorting the potted plant occurs after the step of automatically applying the cover.
- 5. The method of claim 2 wherein the step of sorting the potted plant comprises using an automatic sorting apparatus to sort the potted plant.
- 6. The method of claim 1 wherein in the step of applying the cover, the cover is a preformed cover provided by an automatic cover supplying apparatus which retrieves the cover from a set of preformed covers and places the cover in an application position.
- 7. A method of packaging a potted plant comprising the steps of:
providing a potted plant having an exterior surface; providing an automatic covering apparatus for automatically applying a cover to the potted plant, the cover having an interior space; transferring the potted plant to the automatic covering apparatus; automatically applying the cover about the potted plant by non-manually disposing the potted plant into the interior space of the cover to form a covered potted plant; and bonding the cover about the potted plant via a band.
- 8. A method of packaging a potted plant comprising the steps of:
providing a potted plant having an exterior surface; providing an automatic covering apparatus for automatically applying a cover to the potted plant, the cover having an interior space; transferring the potted plant to the automatic covering apparatus; automatically applying the cover about the potted plant by non-manually disposing the potted plant into the interior space of the cover to form a covered potted plant; and bonding the cover about the potted plant via a tie.
- 9. A method of packaging a potted plant comprising the steps of:
providing a potted plant having an exterior surface; providing an automatic covering apparatus for automatically applying a cover to the potted plant, the cover having an interior space; transferring the potted plant to the automatic covering apparatus; automatically applying the cover about the potted plant by non-manually disposing the potted plant into the interior space of the cover to form a covered potted plant; and bonding the cover about the potted plant via a ribbon.
- 10. A method of packaging a potted plant comprising the steps of:
providing a potted plant having an exterior surface; providing an automatic sleeving apparatus for automatically applying a sleeve to the potted plant; automatically transferring the potted plant to the automatic sleeving apparatus; automatically applying a sleeve about the potted plant by non-manually disposing the potted plant into the sleeve to form a sleeved potted plant; and bonding the sleeve about the potted plant via a bonding material.
- 11. The method of claim 10 comprising the additional step of sorting the potted plant into one of at least two grades in accordance with a predetermined grading criterion.
- 12. The method of claim 11 wherein the step of sorting the potted plant occurs before the step of automatically applying the sleeve.
- 13. The method of claim 11 wherein the step of sorting the potted plant occurs after the step of automatically applying the sleeve.
- 14. The method of claim 11 wherein the step of sorting the potted plant comprises using an automatic sorting apparatus to sort the potted plant.
- 15. The method of claim 10 wherein the automatic sleeving apparatus comprises an apparatus for automatically opening the sleeve to provide an open sleeve for receiving the potted plant.
- 16. The method of claim 10 comprising the additional step of sealing an upper portion of the sleeve of the sleeved potted plant.
- 17. A method of packaging a potted plant comprising the steps of:
providing a potted plant having an exterior surface; providing an automatic sleeving apparatus for automatically applying a sleeve to the potted plant; automatically transferring the potted plant to the automatic sleeving apparatus; automatically applying a sleeve about the potted plant by non-manually disposing the potted plant into the sleeve to form a sleeved potted plant; and bonding the sleeve about the potted plant via a band.
- 18. A method of packaging a potted plant comprising the steps of:
providing a potted plant having an exterior surface; providing an automatic sleeving apparatus for automatically applying a sleeve to the potted plant; automatically transferring the potted plant to the automatic sleeving apparatus; automatically applying a sleeve about the potted plant by non-manually disposing the potted plant into the sleeve to form a sleeved potted plant; and bonding the sleeve about the potted plant via a tie.
- 19. A method of packaging a potted plant comprising the steps of:
providing a potted plant having an exterior surface; providing an automatic sleeving apparatus for automatically applying a sleeve to the potted plant; automatically transferring the potted plant to the automatic sleeving apparatus; automatically applying a sleeve about the potted plant by non-manually disposing the potted plant into the sleeve to form a sleeved potted plant; and bonding the sleeve about the potted plant via a ribbon.
- 20. A method of packaging a potted plant comprising the steps of:
providing a potted plant having an exterior surface; sorting the potted plant into one of at least two grades in accordance with a predetermined grading criterion; providing an automatic sleeving apparatus for automatically applying a sleeve to the sorted potted plant; transferring the sorted potted plant to the automatic sleeving apparatus; automatically applying a sleeve about the sorted potted plant by non-manually disposing the sorted potted plant into the sleeve to form a sleeved potted plant; and bonding the sleeve about the potted plant via a bonding material.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The present application is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 09/909,374, filed Jul. 19, 2000, which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 09/785,891, filed Feb. 16, 2001, which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 09/393,041, filed Sep. 8, 1999, which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 09/005,630, filed Jan. 9, 1998, which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 08/720,961, filed Oct. 10, 1996, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,706,628, which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 08/462,332 filed Jun. 5, 1995, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,605,029, which is a division of U.S. Ser. No. 08/417,477 filed Apr. 5, 1995, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,586,425, which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 07/954,635, filed Sep. 30, 1992, now abandoned.
Divisions (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
08417477 |
Apr 1995 |
US |
Child |
08462332 |
Jun 1995 |
US |
Continuations (7)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09909374 |
Jul 2001 |
US |
Child |
10208566 |
Jul 2002 |
US |
Parent |
09785891 |
Feb 2001 |
US |
Child |
09909374 |
Jul 2001 |
US |
Parent |
09393041 |
Sep 1999 |
US |
Child |
09785891 |
Feb 2001 |
US |
Parent |
09005630 |
Jan 1998 |
US |
Child |
09393041 |
Sep 1999 |
US |
Parent |
08720961 |
Oct 1996 |
US |
Child |
09005630 |
Jan 1998 |
US |
Parent |
08462332 |
Jun 1995 |
US |
Child |
08720961 |
Oct 1996 |
US |
Parent |
07954635 |
Sep 1992 |
US |
Child |
08417477 |
Apr 1995 |
US |