Patent Application
20250024790
The present invention relates to a planter module and modular expandable planter system incorporating the planter module that may be used both indoors and outdoors for planting. The modular expandable planter system is reconfigurable and repositionable as desired.
Horticultural therapy is simply stated as well being derived from working in a garden and working with plants. Gardens and greenhouses are very soothing places that are good for mental outlook. For such reasons more people are turning to gardening as a friendly healthy hobby and/or for a means to grow certain crops as a source of food.
People living in the city often have smaller living spaces and thus require a more space-conscious approach for gardening turning to a planter-based system for a small yard, porch, patio or balcony. Planter-based gardening may be used to grow edible plants or flowers and is esthetically pleasing and decorative. Many types of planters exist and some are designed to alleviate limited space requirements or to provide a way to grow plants when open space and soil is not available. Some planters arrange plants in towers or other vertical arrangements. Multi-tier, stackable planters comprised of stackable units have been shown capable of holding multiple plants at a periphery of the planter units, however, are often unstable and thus may not be safe. They require fasteners with respect to individual components as well as to affix to a vertical support structure. Once assembled, they are difficult to move and their configuration is often unchangeable.
It is desirable to provide a modular, stackable planter system that addresses these needs and other deficiencies in prior art planters.
The present invention improves upon conventional planter systems by providing a planter module that can be used as a stand alone planter or can be incorporated as part of a modular planter system incorporating a plurality of planter module(s). The modular system is versatile with respect to configuration and size, for example planter modules can be releasably connected to adjacent planter modules in a secure and stable manner and presented as a single level garden bed, double level garden bed or higher level garden bed whereby the planter modules are arranged substantially adjacent contact and further can be stacked and reversibly connected to adjacent planter modules. A garden bed comprising a modular planter system can be expanded horizontally to cover a larger surface area and/or vertically. Furthermore, whether used as a stand alone planter or as a single level or higher level modular planter system the planter module(s) can be raised such that the first level is not in direct contact with a ground surface.
The configurations of a modular planter system permits planting of segmented garden bed(s) or mixed garden bed(s) as desired. The planter module and modular planter system is suitable for planting and growing any variety of planting and growing needs and is not limited, e.g. any type of flower, vegetable, fruit, herb, bush, tree and the like can be grown in the planter module and system described herein. The planter module and modular planter system is provided herein for both indoor and outdoor use and may be used in both residential and commercial settings.
Advantageously, each planter module is configured such that one planter module can releasably but securely and stably connect with three other planter modules without requiring any fasteners or the like. Thus large modular stable structures can be assembled, disassembled and reassembled quickly and efficiently requiring no fasteners or tools. This allows for the planter module and modular systems to be moved to any desired location and also simplifies storage.
The planter module and system is universally configurable, for example: physically configurable with respect to dimensions of each planter module (width (wide), depth (deep), and height): functionally configurable with respect to singular planter module for ‘simple’ decorative planting, multiple broad layout for urban gardening, linear layout for space definition and/or decorative planting: multiple stacked layout for vertical gardening/green wall builds; and raised by adding legs creating a raised garden bed or decorative garden layout (for indoors and/or outdoors).
Planter modules and systems described herein fit naturally together requiring no extra components or parts/fasteners or tools but instead use a high efficiency reversible fit such that there is a minimal loss of gardening area with addition of extra planter units. The fit assembly is highly stable due to the deep configuration/engagement when stacking providing superior stability and safety.
Furthermore, planter modules are configured to maintain moisture/water such that water does not simply drain out, but rather is collected in compartment(s) located in a base portion of the planter module. The means to maintain moisture/water also comprises a mechanism to plug and prevent water/moisture from escaping as well as overflow drainhole(s) for self-draining excess water.
Planter modules and systems described herein have a high aesthetic presence. In one embodiment the planter module is substantially a hexagonally shaped cylinder such that systems comprising a plurality of adjacently arranged and/or connected planter modules form a honeycomb pattern which is found in nature. The systems of hexagonal planter modules of the present invention provide optimum space usage and may be configured for a number of different uses.
While the hexagonal shape is one desired embodiment, permitting substantially close adjacent positioning and connection between planter modules and therefore a more stable and esthetically pleasing garden bed other shapes are within the scope of the invention. For example, the planter module can be shaped as a triangle, circle, semi-circle, square, rectangle, parallelogram, rhombus, trapezium, kite and various other polygons (e.g. pentagon, hexagon, octagon, nonagon, decagon, and so forth). The shape can be varied so long as the connection means between planter modules is maintained, the addition of reversibly connected legs to form a raised garden bed is maintained, and the moisture/water can be maintained as for the hexagonal system described herein.
The planter module(s) and systems described herein can be customizable to any color, blended with UV-12 inhibitors to protect color, decorated further with a desired logo, icon, or finish, are weather resistant, substantially maintenance free, easy to clean as needed, have some degree of flexibility enough to absorb impact without damage, easy to move, substantially non-porous and non-hydroscopic, impervious to water damage, rust and insects, and can support and is safe for plantings with various mulches and soils therein.
The planter module described herein can be fabricated from thermoplastic polymers, resins, elastomers and mixtures thereof. The planter module can be injected molded from compositions comprising plastic, recycled plastic, recycled crumb rubber and mixtures thereof. In aspects recycled rubber, adds durability and all-weather resistance in both hot and cold seasons.
In one aspect, a planter module or modular planter system described herein may be used as a complete system or as individual components for providing landscape elements, such as terracing, borders, a tree ring-guard, a freestanding structure, mailbox base, for decoration or concealment of posts, hydrants, property markers, etc.
The planter may be used to safely grow a variety of plants, including herbs, flowers, strawberries, ground covers, cactus, etc.
According to an aspect of the invention is a planter module configured for receiving soil and plants planted therein, said planter module comprising an open top portion and a lower base portion, wherein said lower base portion comprises a dual means for releasable fitted connection with at least one other adjacent modular planter and for receiving and securely connecting support legs around the periphery of the lower base portion. The planter module optionally comprises a water reservoir in the lower base portion.
According to an aspect of the invention is a self watering planter module configured for receiving soil and plants planted therein, said planter module comprising an open top portion and a lower base portion, wherein said lower base portion comprises reversibly connected support legs around the periphery of the lower base portion.
According to an aspect of the invention is a planter module comprising:
In aspects, the lower base portion of a planter module is configured to securely engage and interconnect the three other planter modules.
A single layer garden bed comprising a plurality of planter modules, each of said planter modules comprising:
According to an aspect of the invention is a kit for assembling a modular expandable planter system, comprising a plurality of planter modules, each of said planter modules comprising:
In aspects the kit further comprises a plurality of support legs for attachment to the lower base portion, and optional instructions.
The features, functions, and advantages that have been discussed can be achieved independently in various embodiments of the present disclosure or may be combined in yet other embodiments. Other features, functions and advantages of the present disclosure will be or become apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the following drawings and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, features, and advantages be included within this description, be within the scope of the present disclosure, and be protected by the accompanying claims.
Many aspects of the disclosure can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the present disclosure. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views:
All publications, patent applications, patents, and other references mentioned herein are incorporated by reference in their entirety. The publications and applications discussed herein are provided solely for their disclosure prior to the filing date of the present application. Nothing herein is to be construed as an admission that the present invention is not entitled to antedate such publication by virtue of prior invention. In addition, the materials, methods, and examples are illustrative only and are not intended to be limiting.
Unless defined otherwise, all technical terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the invention pertains. Although any methods and materials similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice for testing of the present invention, the typical materials and methods are described herein.
It is also to be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular aspects only, and is not intended to be limiting.
The articles “a” and “an” are used herein to refer to one or to more than one (i.e., to at least one) of the grammatical object of the article. By way of example, “an element” means one element or more than one element.
As used herein, the terms “invention” or “present invention” are non-limiting terms and not intended to refer to any single aspect of the particular invention but encompass all possible aspects as described in the specification and the claims.
As used herein the terms ‘comprises’, ‘comprising’, ‘includes’, ‘including’, ‘having’ and their inflections and conjugates denote ‘including but not limited to’ and are to be understood to be open-ended, e.g., to mean including but not limited to.
As used herein, the term “about” refers to variation in the numerical quantity. In one aspect, the term “about” means within 10% of the reported numerical value. In another aspect, the term “about” means within 5% of the reported numerical value. Yet, in another aspect, the term “about” means within 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, or 1% of the reported numerical value.
Should a range of values be recited, it is merely for convenience or brevity and includes all the possible sub-ranges as well as individual numerical values within and about the boundary of that range. Any numeric value, unless otherwise specified, includes also practical close values and integral values do not exclude fractional values. Sub-range values and practically close values should be considered as specifically disclosed values.
It will be understood that any component defined herein as being included may be explicitly excluded from the claimed invention by way of proviso or negative limitation.
As may be used herein, the terms ‘preferred’, ‘preferably’, ‘typical’, ‘typically’ or ‘optionally’ do not limit the scope of the invention or embodiments thereof.
As may be used herein the term ‘substantially’ (or synonyms thereof) denote with respect to the context a measure or extent or amount or degree that encompass a large part or most of a referenced entity, or an extent at least moderately or much greater or larger or more effective or more important relative to a referenced entity or with respect to the referenced subject matter.
As used herein the term ‘may’ denotes an option or an effect which is either or not included and/or used and/or implemented and/or occurs, yet the option constitutes at least a part of some embodiments of the invention or consequence thereof, without limiting the scope of the invention.
The phrase “and/or,” as used herein in the specification and in the claims, should be understood to mean “either or both” of the elements so conjoined, e.g., elements that are conjunctively present in some cases and disjunctively present in other cases. Other elements may optionally be present other than the elements specifically identified by the “and/or” clause, whether related or unrelated to those elements specifically identified unless clearly indicated to the contrary.
As used herein in the specification and in the claims, “or” should be understood to have the same meaning as “and/or” as defined above. For example, when separating items in a list, “or” or “and/or” shall be interpreted as being inclusive, e.g., the inclusion of at least one, but also including more than one, of a number or list of elements, and, optionally, additional unlisted items. In general, the term “or” as used herein shall only be interpreted as indicating exclusive alternatives (e.g. “one or the other but not both”) when preceded by terms of exclusivity, such as “either,” “one of,” “only one of,” or “exactly one of.”
As used herein in the specification and in the claims, the phrase “at least one,” in reference to a list of one or more elements, should be understood to mean at least one element selected from any one or more of the elements in the list of elements, but not necessarily including at least one of each and every element specifically listed within the list of elements and not excluding any combinations of elements in the list of elements. This definition also allows that elements may optionally be present other than the elements specifically identified within the list of elements to which the phrase “at least one” refers, whether related or unrelated to those elements specifically identified.
As used herein “a plurality” is understood to be any number greater than one. “Plurality” means “two or more”.
As used herein “garden bed” is understood to be intentional plant placement within a defined area that is typically compact.
As used herein a “raised garden bed” is a form of gardening in which the soil is enclosed in a containment unit (“bed”) and where the soil is raised above the surrounding soil/ground. The containment unit as described herein in accordance with the invention is a planter module.
It should also be understood that, unless clearly indicated to the contrary, in any methods claimed herein that include more than one step or act, the order of the steps or acts of the method is not necessarily limited to the order in which the steps or acts of the method are recited.
The following description provides an overview and description of non-limiting embodiments of a planter module constructed in accordance with the present invention. While illustrative examples are described herein, these examples are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Similarly, any process steps described herein, e.g., for assembling or configuring an embodiment of the present invention, may be interchangeable with other steps, or several combinations of steps, in order to achieve the benefits and advantages of the invention.
Referring now to
It is understood by one skilled in the art that the planter module can be made of any desired height and diameter with a desired thickness of sidewalls. A representative planter module is about 16″×about 14″ (flat to flat)×about 12″ tall (about 21″ tall w/legs). The thickness of the sidewalls is only limited by the width of the channel system, for example about 0.25 inches thick.
The reservoir insert can be made of any desired plastic such as for example high density polyethylene (HDPE) by injection molding forming a unitary body.
The physical composition and construction of the planter modules provides unique durability and expandability. They may be constructed of plastic, such as polyethylene, in aspects high density polyethylene (HDPE). However, other materials are also contemplated including metals, polypropylene and polystyrene. Although high density polyethylene is desired, the use of low density polyethylene, linear low density polyethylene and mixtures of high density/low density polyethylene are also contemplated as is linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE)
The planter modules are each one piece articles formed by standard injection molding procedures well known in the art. Briefly, in one aspect high density polyethylene is melted, injected into a mold, allowed to cool and removed from the mold.
The material of construction may be enhanced using ultraviolet radiation inhibitors to improve durability and retention of physical characteristics such as color and surface texture as well as a strengthening filler as desired.
The walls of the planter module are strong and not capable of any significant flexing. In particular, the wall panels cannot be flexed to form a curved configuration. On the contrary, the walls provide rigid and flat planar surfaces as a polygonal planter. As opposed to planters comprising more flexible and fragile material construction, the present modular panel construction promotes interconnecting of planter units into preferred arrangements.
Again, the planter module and reservoir insert may be made by example by injection molding and may or may not include any integrated parts or components using a wide range of thermoplastic polymers, resins and elastomers. They can be injected molded from compositions comprising plastic, recycled plastic, recycled crumb rubber and mixtures thereof. Briefly in one aspect, injection molded planter modules may be generally made by pouring a raw plastic composition into a hopper, then heating injecting it into a custom mold. Pressure is used accommodate shrinkage and once the plastic molded planter has fully cooled, the mold is opened, and the planter module removed. Planter modules of the invention can be also made incorporating techniques of over-molding and insert molding.
In aspects, the planter modules of the invention are made from a suitable polyolefin selected from the group consisting of polyethylene, polypropylene, polybutene, polyisoprene, polypentene and mixtures thereof. In aspects the polyolefin is polyethylene or polypropylene. The polyolefin can be from a recycled source.
In other aspects the polyolefin can further comprise admixed particles of crumb rubber to form a mixture for injection molding. In aspects, the crumb rubber can comprise a synthetic rubber selected from styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR—a copolymer of styrene and butadiene), ethylene propylene diene rubber (EPDM—a terpolymer of ethylene, propylene and a diene-component), ethylene propylene rubber (EPR), butadiene rubber (BR) and mixtures thereof. Any rubber source can be of a recycled nature. When heated at temperatures of about 140° C. to about 230° C., inclusive of any specific temperature in between, the polyolefin will melt about the crumb rubber. The amount of crumb rubber to polyolefin used in the composition for injection molding a planter module is understood by one of skill in the art to range and can be up to about 25% by weight.
Up to about 10% by weight additives can be incorporated into the composition for injection molding as desired to improve and/or alter certain properties of the end product, as would be understood by a skilled person. These are selected from the group consisting of titanium dioxide, UV stabilizers, calcium carbonate, talc, flame retardants and combinations thereof. It is also understood that in embodiments of the invention, no additives are incorporated. Up to about 10% by weight colorant can be incorporated into the composition for injection molding as desired. It is also understood that in embodiments of the invention, no colorants may be incorporated.
While the invention has been described with respect to certain specific embodiments, it will be appreciated that many modifications and changes may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is intended, therefore, by the appended claims to cover all such modifications and changes as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the claims.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/CA2022/051740 | 11/28/2022 | WO |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63284001 | Nov 2021 | US |
