Patent Application
20200100435
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The disclosure and prior art relates to plant growing devices and more particularly pertains to a new plant growing device for vertically supporting a plurality of plants to be grown in a hydroponic fashion such that each plan is individually contained for easy removal and attachment to the system as desired.
An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a plurality of containers. Each of the containers includes a perimeter wall having an upper edge and a lower edge. The upper edge bounds an upper opening into the container and the lower edge bounds a lower opening. The perimeter wall includes a top portion adjacent to the upper edge, a bottom portion adjacent to the lower edge and a central portion positioned between the top and bottom portions. The perimeter wall has a slot therein extending downwardly into the upper edge. The slot extends through the top portion and through at least a part of the central portion. A rack for releasably receiving each of the containers is provided such that the containers are vertically aligned with each other.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.
The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:
With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to
As best illustrated in
The perimeter wall 16 has a slot 32 therein extending downwardly into the upper edge 20. The slot 32 extends through the top portion 26 and through part of the central portion 30. The slot 32 is spaced from the bottom portion 28. The bottom portion 28 forms an inwardly tapering funnel from the central portion 30 to the bottom edge 20. This will allow water and roots to extend outwardly of the bottom opening 24 of the container 12 while preventing the plant 14 from falling outwardly of the container 12. The perimeter wall 16 includes a front wall 34, a rear wall 36, a first lateral wall 38 and a second lateral wall 40 such that the upper edge 18 had a rectangular shape. The slot 32 is positioned in the front wall 34 and is spaced from the first 38 and second 40 lateral walls.
A rack 42 releasably receives each of the containers 12 such that the containers 12 are vertically aligned with each other. The rack 42 may be attached to any vertical surface using conventional fasteners. The rack 42 includes a vertical frame 44 and plurality of couplers 46 that is attached to the frame 44. The couplers 46 are vertically spaced from each other. Each of the couplers 46 is releasably engaged with one of the containers 12. In one embodiment, each of the couplers 46 includes a pair of hooks 48 wherein each of the hooks 48 is extendable through the perimeter wall 16 of a corresponding one of the containers 12. Each of the containers 12 therefore has a pair of apertures 50 extending therethrough to receive the hooks 48. The apertures 50 are positioned adjacent to an associated upper edge 18 and more specifically are positioned in the rear walls 36 of the containers 12. Multiple ones of the racks 42 may be attached together laterally to form a large area for supporting the containers 12. As can be seen in
In order to support the growth of the plants 14, a conventional foam grow media 54 is positioned in each of the containers 12. The foam grow media 54 is typically comprised of a foamed plastic and is impregnated with nutrients. However, other similar materials may include Rockwool, coco fiber, perlite, and other media which are porous and retain their shape such that they not flow outwardly of the bottom openings 24 of the containers 12. Additionally, a conventional wicking material 56 may be positioned in each of the containers 12 and extends through a corresponding one of the foam grow media 54. The wicking material 56 is water absorbent and configured to draw fluid through the foam grow media 54.
In use, the system 10 is utilized to grow, transport and display individual plants 14 in a hydroponic-like system. The system 10 allows for the mounting of the rack 42 where desired such that the system 10 may be used for display and decorative purposes as well as for growing flowers and vegetables. Additionally, the containers 12 and rack 42 provide an efficient means for selling and transporting plants to and by customers. The containers 12 are partially filled with the foam media 54 and a plant 14 positioned therein such that it may grow outwardly through the slot 32. The plant 14 is then covered with additional grow media 54. The wicking material 56, which may be a strip or panel, extends vertically through the grow media 54 to ensure proper hydration of the grow media 54. As fluid, which may include water and nutrients, flows through the system, it may be collected when as it leaves a bottommost one of the containers 12 positioned on the rack 42. The collected fluid is then re-circulated, for example by a pump, back to an uppermost one of the containers 12. The number of containers 12 per rack 42 may vary depending on the space available and therefore may include as few as three containers 12 and as many as ten or more.
With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.
Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.
