This invention generally relates to sleeves, and, more particularly, to floral sleeves used to contain floral groupings and/or media, or used to wrap flower pots containing floral groupings and/or media containing floral grouping, and methods of using same.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,595,022; 5,615,535; 5,740,657; 5,816,023; 5,687,845; 5,810,169; 5,944,187 and 6,152,301, contain subject matter which may be relevant to the present application. The disclosures of each of the above-mentioned patents is hereby expressly incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention contemplates in a preferred version a preformed flexible floral sleeve having a tubular shape for covering a flower pot having an upper end, a lower end, and an outer peripheral surface. The preformed flexible floral sleeve comprises a body which may have a skirt portion and which may have a straight or non-linear upper edge. The preformed flexible floral sleeve may further comprise a detachable upper portion which may be sized to surround and encompass a floral grouping. The upper portion when present may be detachable via a detaching element, such as but not by way of limitation, perforations, tear strips, weakened areas, or zippers. The upper portion may have one or more apertures for serving as a handle or for enabling the preformed flexible floral sleeve to be supported from a support device.
The preformed flexible floral sleeve (also referred to herein as a floral sleeve, a sleeve or a sleeve cover) may form part of a plant package when used in conjunction with a flower pot disposed within an interior space of the body of the floral sleeve, the flower pot preferably having a floral grouping disposed therein, and wherein the flower pot is substantially surrounded and encompassed by the body and the floral grouping is at least partially surrounded and encompassed and may be entirely enclosed by the upper portion when it forms a part of the floral sleeve.
Also, the body may comprise an adhesive or cohesive bonding material disposed on an inner surface thereof for bondingly connecting the body to a flower pot disposed therein. Alternately, a bonding material may be disposed on an outer surface of the body for securing a crimped portion having a plurality of crimped folds formed in the body.
These embodiments and others of the present invention are now described in more detail below. It will be appreciated that the examples provided herein are not intended to limit the scope and extent of the claimed invention but are only intended to exemplify various embodiments of the invention contemplated herein.
Referring now to the drawings, shown in
In the flattened condition, the first panel 18 and second panel 24 are positioned flatwise upon each other and are connected along a sealed left side edge 40 and a sealed right side edge 42 both of which extend from the upper end 14 to the lower end 16. The first panel 18 and second panel 24 together comprise a sidewall 44 of the body 12. The body 12 further comprises a gusset 46 extending inwardly into the interior space 30 from the first lower edge 22 and the second lower edge 28. The gusset 46 has an inner surface 48 exposed to the interior space 30 and an outer surface 50 exposed outwardly. The gusset 46 has an inner fold 52 which extends from the left side edge 40 to the right side edge 42. The body 12 preferably has a tapered shape in the flattened condition, wherein the body 12 is wider at the upper end 14 and more narrow at the lower end 16, such that in the opened condition the floral sleeve 10 preferably has a frusto-conical shape (
When the floral sleeve 10 is converted to an opened condition, the gusset 46 is unfolded to form a bottom 54 in the body 12. When the pot 62 is disposed within the interior space 30 and a bottom 68 of a lower end 66 of the pot 62 is disposed upon the bottom 54 of the body 12, the bottom 54 has three surface portions, including (1) a lower bottom surface 56 covering the bottom 68 of the pot 62, (2) a left side bottom surface 58 which extends upwardly from the lower bottom surface 56 and is disposed between the sidewall 44 of the body 12 and an outer peripheral surface 69 of the pot, and (3) a right side bottom surface 60 which extends upwardly from the lower bottom surface 56 and is disposed between the sidewall 44 of the body 12 and the outer peripheral surface 69 of the pot. In the opened condition of the floral sleeve 10, the bottom 54 of the body 12 is substantially completely concealed by a lower portion of the sidewall 44 of the body 12.
Referring now to
Referring now to
Referring now to
Referring now to
Referring now to
The upper portion 70e is generally sized to surround and enclose a floral grouping 82 having a lower portion 84 and an upper portion 86 comprising blooms and/or foliage, which is disposed within the pot 62 when the pot 62 and floral grouping 82 therein is disposed within the opened floral sleeve 10e. The upper portion 70e can be detached from the body 12e via a detaching element 80e at some time after the floral sleeve 10e has been disposed about the pot 62 and floral grouping 82, for example after the pot 62 and floral grouping 82 therein have been shipped to a vendor, but may be detached at any time, either before or after the pot 62 and floral grouping 82 have been placed within the floral sleeve 10e. When the upper portion 70e is detached, the skirt portion 72e remains with the body 12e leaving a covering such as sleeve 10a disposed about the pot 62. The detaching element 80e leaves a skirt upper edge 20e on the skirt portion 72e in the body 12e. The skirt portion 72e preferably is sized to extend above the upper end 64 of the pot 62 when disposed within the floral sleeve 10d although the skirt upper edge 20d may be below the upper end 64 of the pot 62.
Referring now to
Referring now to
The detaching element 78g and skirt upper edge 20g differ from detaching element 78c and upper skirt edge 20c of floral sleeve 10c in that detaching element 78g and upper skirt edge 20g have a curved non-linear pattern rather than an angular non-linear pattern, such that when the upper support elements 74g are detached from the body 12g, the skirt portion 72g is left with the curved upper edge 20g. The skirt portion 72g preferably is sized to extend above the upper end 64 of the pot 62 when disposed within the floral sleeve 10g but may be sized to be below the upper end 64 of the pot 62 in an alternate embodiment.
Referring now to
The upper portion 70h preferably is sized to surround and enclose the floral grouping 82 as described for sleeve 10f. The upper portion 70h is generally detached from the body 12h via the detaching element 80h preferably at some time after the floral sleeve 10h has been disposed about the pot 62 and floral grouping 82, but may be detached at any time, either before or after the pot 62 and floral grouping 82 are placed within the floral sleeve 10h.
The detaching element 80h differs from detaching element 80f of floral sleeve 10f in that detaching element 80h has an curved pattern rather than an angular pattern, such that when the upper portion 70h is detached from the body 12h, the skirt portion 72h is left extending from the body 12h, in a manner similar to other sleeves described herein.
The upper edges 20a-20d and 20g of sleeves 10a-10d and 10g, respectively, and the detaching elements 80e-80f and 80h of sleeves 10e, 10f and 10h, respectively, are shown as having angular non-linear patterns or curved non-linear patterns. The angular and curved patterns are but two non-linear patterns which may be employed in the construction of the floral sleeves contemplated herein. Other configurations will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, for example, those shown in, but not limited to,
Referring now to
Referring now to
The upper portion 70j and the lower portion 92j are constructed of separate webs of material connected along the horizontal seal 94j. Preferably, the lower portion 92j is constructed of a decorative material and the upper portion 70j is constructed of a clear or transparent material. Sleeve 10j is similar to sleeve 10e in that in sleeve 10j, the upper portion 70j further comprises a support element 74j preferably having apertures 76j, an upper edge 77j and is detachable via a detaching element 78j in a manner similar to sleeve 10e. In an alternative embodiment, the sleeve 10j may be constructed without a support element 74j in a manner similar to sleeve 10f. Lower portion 92j further comprises in the body 12j a gusset 46j and an inner gusset fold 52j. The apertures 76j serve to support the sleeve 10j in a manner as described elsewhere herein before, and a plurality of sleeves 10j may be connected into a pad as described elsewhere herein before. Sleeve 10j is further similar to sleeves 10e and 10f in that the upper portion 70j is preferably sized to surround and enclose the floral grouping 82 when disposed within the opened floral sleeve 10j, as described elsewhere herein.
When the upper portion 70j and the medial portion 96j are removed, the skirt portion 72j and body 12j provide a covering such as sleeve 10a disposed about the pot 62. In an alternative version, no skirt portion is left in the body when an upper portion is removed, and may provide a covering similar to sleeve 10, or may provide a covering having an upper edge which is positioned below the upper end 64 of the pot 62 when the pot 62 is disposed therein.
Referring now to
For example, the body 12k, skirt 72k, and skirt insert 98k may be constructed of metallized film, polymer film, foil, spun bonded or melt blown material, lace material, fabric, or cellophane, any of which may have different colors, patterns or textures. For example, the body 12k and skirt portion 72k may be constructed of a metallized polymer film while the skirt insert 98k is constructed of a fabric, lace material, or spun bonded material. Other combinations will readily come to the mind of the person of ordinary skill in the art.
Further, the skirt insert 98k may be attached to only one of the first panel 18k or the second panel 24k of the sleeve 10k rather than to both the first panel 18k and second panel 24k as shown in
It will also be understood by a person of ordinary skill in the art that although the location of the skirt seal 100k of the skirt insert 98k is shown as being positioned near the upper end 14k, the skirt seal 100k may in fact be positioned at any location below the upper end 14k at any position on the inner surface 32k and inner surface 36k of the sleeve 10k (as shown in phantom in
As noted above, the sleeves described herein can be constructed, in whole or in part, from materials including, but not limited to, polymer films, metallized polymer films, natural films, metallized natural films, printed materials of any type, matted materials of any type, cloth, fabric, spun bonded or melt blown materials, paper, tissue, cellophane, biodegradable materials, recyclable materials, and metal foils.
As noted above, any of the sleeves described herein may comprise a skirt insert. In those sleeve embodiments having both a skirt insert and an upper portion sized to surround and enclose a floral grouping, and/or for supporting the sleeve from a support assembly or as an attachment within a pad, the upper portion may be attached to the body, to the skirt portion, or to the skirt insert of the sleeve.
Any of the sleeves described herein may be banded about a potted plant as shown in
Any of the sleeves described herein in any embodiments can be used to contain floral groupings or plants with or without pots, and with or without a growing medium or support medium such as a floral foam. When used with a growing medium, they may be used to cultivate a botanical item. The sleeves described herein may be used as flexible vases to contain floral groupings and preferably are waterproof or leak resistant. The sleeves described herein may be used as covers for jardinieres, for pots or for vases, or any type of floral grouping or floral container. Any of the sleeves described herein may be equipped with reservoirs, pouches or packets for containing moisture, fertilizers, growing media, or other items useful or beneficial for growth or presentation of floral grouping or other botanical items. The reservoirs, pouches or packets may be attached to an inner portion of the sleeve.
Any of the sleeves described herein can be constructed using multiple webs of material which are laminated or attached together to achieve contrasting effects in the completed sleeve, produced for example by using webs of materials having different patterns, colors, or textures.
For example, a 20″×20″ sheet of metallized film may be used in conjunction with a 24″×24″ sheet of spun bonded material; or, a 20″×20″ sheet of metallized material may be used with a 24″×24″ sheet of lace material and with a 28″×28″ sheet of spun bonded material.
Further, by laminating a narrower web and a wider web, centering the narrower web on the wider web. Any number of consecutive webs can be used in the process. These webs need not be laminated but could be left unlaminated and held in place only by the seal on the sleeve. However, for ease of processing, it may be preferable in some instances and with some equipment to laminate either by overall adhesively laminating or spot laminating or strip laminating the material. It may be preferable to leave certain portions of the material un-laminated so as to provide the appearance of separate sheets.
Using the lamination technique or using a sleeve made without lamination but using multiple materials, it is not necessary to use an entire standard web. For example, it is possible to take a 20″ web as the base web and to laminate two additional webs of 3″ each, for example, overlapping 1″ of each of the two additional 3″ strips over the base web and laminating them at that point or simply feeding them into the machine at that point and forming them. Or, entirely overlapping webs could be used, that is, one 20″ web is centered on a 24″ web. It could be laminated or un-laminated as it passes through the sleeve forming machine.
Any of the flexible floral sleeves contemplated herein may also be equipped with drainage elements (e.g., one or more holes) in the bodies 10-10h thereof or ventilation holes (not shown) in the bodies 10-10p or upper portions 70e, 74f or 74h, for example, or can be made from permeable or impermeable materials.
The materials from which the flexible floral sleeves 10-10p are constructed preferably have a thickness in a range from about 0.1 mil to about 30 mil. Often, the thicknesses of the floral sleeves 10-10p are in a range from about 0.5 mil to about 10 mil or preferably, in a range from about 1.0 mil to about 5 mil. Preferably, the floral sleeves 10-10p are constructed from a material which is flexible, semi-rigid, rigid, or any combination thereof. The floral sleeves 10-10p may be constructed of a single layer of material or a plurality of layers of the same or different types of materials. Any thickness of the material may be utilized as long as the material functions in accordance with the present invention as described herein. The layers of material comprising the flexible floral sleeves may be connected together or laminated or may be separate layers. Such materials used to construct the floral sleeves are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,111,637, which is hereby expressly incorporated herein by reference. Any thickness of material may be utilized in accordance with the present invention as long as the floral sleeves 10-10p may be formed as described herein, and as long as the floral sleeves 10-10p may contain at least a portion of a flower pot, potted plant, growing medium or floral grouping, as described herein. Additionally, an insulating material such as bubble film, preferable as one of two or more layers, can be utilized in order to provide additional protection for the item, such as the floral grouping, contained therein.
As noted above, the floral sleeves 10-10p are constructed from any suitable material that is capable of being formed into a floral sleeve as contemplated herein and wrapped about a flower pot and a floral grouping disposed therein. Preferably, the material comprises treated or untreated paper, metal foil, polymeric film, non-polymeric film woven, or nonwoven fabric, or synthetic or natural fabric, cardboard, fiber, cloth, burlap, or laminations or combinations thereof.
The term “polymeric film” when used herein means a film made of a synthetic polymer such as a polypropylene or a naturally occurring polymer such as cellophane. A polymeric film is relatively strong and not as subject to tearing (substantially non-tearable), as might be the case with paper or foil.
In one embodiment, the floral sleeves 10-10p may be constructed from sheets comprising two polypropylene films. The material comprising the flexible floral sleeves 10-10p may be connected together or laminated or may be separate layers. In an alternative embodiment, the flexible floral sleeves 10-10p may be constructed from only one sheet of the polypropylene film.
The materials comprising the floral sleeves 10-10p may vary in color and as described herein consists of designs or decorative patterns which are printed, etched, and/or embossed thereon using inks or other printing materials. An example of an ink which may be applied to the surface of the material is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,147,706, which is hereby expressly incorporated herein by reference.
In addition, the material may have various colorings, coatings, flocking and/or metallic finishes, or other decorative surface ornamentation applied separately or simultaneously or may be characterized totally or partially by pearlescent, translucent, transparent, iridescent, neon, or the like, qualities. The material may further comprise, or have applied thereto, one or more scents. Each of the above-named characteristics may occur alone or in combination and may be applied to the upper and/or lower surface of the material comprising the floral sleeves 10-10p. Moreover, portions of the material used in constructing the floral sleeves 10-10p may vary in the combination of such characteristics. The material utilized for the floral sleeves 10-10p may be opaque, translucent, transparent, or partially clear or tinted transparent.
The term “floral grouping” as used herein means cut fresh flowers, artificial flowers, a single flower or other fresh and/or artificial plants or other floral materials and may include other secondary plants and/or ornamentation or artificial or natural materials which add to the aesthetics of the overall floral grouping. The floral grouping comprises a bloom or foliage portion and a stem portion. Further, the floral grouping may comprise a growing potted plant having a root portion (not shown) as well. However, it will be appreciated that the floral grouping may consist of only a single bloom or only foliage, or a botanical item (not shown), or a propagule (not shown). The term “floral grouping” may be used interchangeably herein with both the terms “floral arrangement” and “potted plant”. The term “floral grouping” may also be used interchangeably herein with the terms “botanical item” and/or “propagule”.
The term “growing medium” when used herein means any liquid, solid or gaseous material used for plant growth or for the cultivation of propagules, including organic and inorganic materials such as soil, humus, perlite, vermiculite, sand, water, foam, and including the nutrients, fertilizers or hormones or combinations thereof required by the plants or propagules for growth.
The term “botanical item” when used herein means a natural or artificial herbaceous or woody plant, taken singly or in combination. The term “botanical item” also means any portion or portions of natural or artificial herbaceous or woody plants including stems, leaves, flowers, blossoms, buds, blooms, cones, or roots, taken singly or in combination, or in groupings of such portions such as bouquet of floral grouping. The term “propagule” when used herein means any structure capable of being propagated or acting as an agent of reproduction including seeds, shoots, stems, runners, tubers, plants, leaves, roots, or spores.
In accordance with the present invention a bonding material may optionally be disposed on a portion of any of the floral sleeves 10-10p described herein to attach each floral sleeve 10-10p to a flower pot 62 having a floral grouping 82 therein when such a flower pot 62 is disposed within the floral sleeve 10-10p or to assist in closing or sealing the upper portion 70e, 70f or 70h of the floral sleeve 10e, 10f or 10h or in adhering the floral sleeve 10-10p to the flower pot 62 after the flower pot 62 has been disposed therein. Examples of how a bonding material may be disposed on the floral sleeve 10-10p are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,493,809 and in U.S. Pat. No. 5,625,979, each of which is hereby expressly incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
The term “detaching element” 78c, 78d, 78e, 78g, 80e, 80f or 80h, for example, when used generally herein, means any element or device such as, but not limited to, perforations, tear strips, zippers, and any other devices or elements of this nature known in the art, or any combination thereof, which enable the tearing away or detachment of one object from another. Therefore, while perforations are shown and described in detail herein, it will be understood that tear strips, zippers, or any other “detaching element” known in the art, or any combination thereof, could be substituted therefore and/or used therewith.
The upper portions 70e, 70f, 70h and 70j of the floral sleeves 10e, 10f, 10h and 10j, respectively may also have an additional vertical detaching element comprising a plurality of vertical perforations (not shown) for facilitating removal of the upper portion 70e, 70f, 70h and 70j and which are disposed more or less vertically therein.
It will be understood by a person of ordinary skill in the art that equipment and devices for forming flexible floral sleeves are commercially available, and are well known to a person of ordinary skill in the art. Therefore, further detailed discussion of the construction of the sleeves described herein is not deemed necessary.
However, briefly, the flexible floral sleeves 10-10p described herein may be formed by intermittently advancing, one or two webs preformed in the form of a tube, or a single web folded double, indenting the lower end to form a folded pouch portion for forming the gusset, and sealing the longitudinal sides of the two facing panels and the sides of the gussets, then cutting the floral sleeve 10-10p thus formed from the webs or web. Machines which can form floral sleeves 10-10p from such single webs or tubes are well within the knowledge of one of ordinary skill in the art.
The term “flower pot” or “pot” 62 as used herein refers to any type of container used for holding a floral grouping or plant, including vases. Examples of pots, used in accordance with the present invention include, but are not limited to, clay pots, foam pots, wooden pots, plastic pots, pots made from natural and/or synthetic fibers, and/or any combination thereof. The flower pot 62 is adapted to receive a floral grouping 82 in the retaining space thereof. The floral grouping 82 may be disposed within the flower pot 62 along with a suitable growing medium described elsewhere herein, or other retaining medium, such as a floral foam. It will also be understood that a floral grouping, botanical item or propagule and any appropriate growing medium or other retaining medium, may be disposed in the floral sleeve 10-10p without the flower pot 62 for displaying, transporting or cultivating the item disposed within the floral sleeve 10-10p.
Preferably the floral sleeve 10-10p is sized to contain and conform to one of a variety of standard sizes of pots known to those of ordinary skill in the art, such as 3½ inch, 4 inch, 4½ inch, 5 inch, 5½ inch, 6 inch, 6½ inch, 7 inch, 7½ inch, 8 inch and 8½ inch pots or pots that are larger than, smaller than, or intermediate between such pot sizes.
Although not shown herein, any of the sleeves 10-10p described herein may be used as a container for a growing medium and a floral grouping 82 wherein the floral grouping 82 is disposed within the growing medium without using a pot 62. In a preferred version, at least a portion of the sleeve 10-10p is constructed of a material resistant or impermeable to leakage, while the detachable upper portion, if present, is preferably constructed of a thinner transparent material.
Any of the floral sleeves described or contemplated herein, such as floral sleeves 10-10p may be secured about the pot 62 by a securing element as described above or by forming a crimped portion which is held in a crimped shape by an adhesive or cohesive bonding material. The securing element or crimped portion could be positioned either above or below the upper end 64 of the pot 62 when the pot 62 is disposed within the floral sleeve 10-10p.
It should be further noted that various features of the versions of the present invention such as closure bonding areas, support apertures, handles or handle apertures, additional perforations, drainage holes, ventilation holes, combinations of material may be used alone or in combination as elements of any of the embodiments described above herein.
Changes may be made in the construction and the operation of the various components, elements and assemblies described herein or in the steps or the sequence of steps of the methods described herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.
The present application is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 11/007,146, filed Dec. 8, 2004; which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 10/636,521, filed Aug. 6, 2003, now abandoned; which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 10/135,334, filed Apr. 25, 2002, now abandoned; which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 09/972,499, filed Oct. 5, 2001, now abandoned. U.S. Ser. No. 10/636,521 is also a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 10/423,497, filed Apr. 24, 2003, now abandoned; which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 09/954,665, filed Sep. 18, 2001, now abandoned; which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 09/612,122, filed Jul. 7, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,389,904, issued May 14, 2002; which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 09/466,705, filed on Dec. 17, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,105,311, issued Aug. 22, 2000; which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 09/062,329, filed Apr. 17, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,061,959, issued May 16, 2000; which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 08/749,626, filed Nov. 18, 1996, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,829,194, issued Nov. 3, 1998; which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 08/458,327, filed Jun. 2, 1995, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,575,133, issued Nov. 19, 1996; which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 08/386,859, filed Feb. 10, 1995, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,493,809, issued Feb. 27, 1996; which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 08/237,078, filed May 3, 1994, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,625,979, issued May 6, 1997; which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 08/220,852, filed Mar. 31, 1994, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,572,851, issued Nov. 12, 1996. The entire contents of each of the above-referenced patent applications and patents are hereby expressly incorporated herein by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 11007146 | Dec 2004 | US |
Child | 11651763 | Jan 2007 | US |
Parent | 10636521 | Aug 2003 | US |
Child | 11007146 | Dec 2004 | US |
Parent | 09466705 | Dec 1999 | US |
Child | 09612122 | Jul 2000 | US |
Parent | 09062329 | Apr 1998 | US |
Child | 09466705 | Dec 1999 | US |
Parent | 08749626 | Nov 1996 | US |
Child | 09062329 | Apr 1998 | US |
Parent | 08386859 | Feb 1995 | US |
Child | 08458327 | Jun 1995 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
Parent | 10135334 | Apr 2002 | US |
Child | 10636521 | Aug 2003 | US |
Parent | 09972499 | Oct 2001 | US |
Child | 10135334 | Apr 2002 | US |
Parent | 10423497 | Apr 2003 | US |
Child | 10636521 | US | |
Parent | 09954665 | Sep 2001 | US |
Child | 10423497 | Apr 2003 | US |
Parent | 09612122 | Jul 2000 | US |
Child | 09954665 | Sep 2001 | US |
Parent | 08458327 | Jun 1995 | US |
Child | 08749626 | Nov 1996 | US |
Parent | 08237078 | May 1994 | US |
Child | 08386859 | Feb 1995 | US |
Parent | 08220852 | Mar 1994 | US |
Child | 08237078 | May 1994 | US |