Patent Application
20210352851
Planters are pots that are used for growing live plants, either indoors or outdoors, by holding soil to support a plant's roots and supply nutrients for the plant growing therein. The planters come in a variety of sizes to support both small and large plants. Many planters have one or more holes in the bottom of the pot to allow excess water to drain out of the soil upon watering the plant growing therein. Such holes are called drain holes, herein. Often a saucer is placed beneath the planter to catch the excess water and to hold the excess water for evaporation, or for later absorption by the soil inside the planter and for eventual use by the plant growing therein.
The inventor has recognized that a problem with current planter and saucer systems arises when a plant grows beyond the plant's ability to support its own weight, and a stake is needed to support the plant. This occurs, for example, during growth of some fruit bearing plants, such as tomato plants. While a stake can be inserted into the soil inside the planter, and the plant tied to the stake for support, the soil is often not sufficiently rigid to keep the stake itself from tipping over under the weight of the growing plant. Therefore, in various embodiments, a saucer is provided that can rigidly support the stake.
According to a first set of embodiments, a saucer for a planter includes a flat upper saucer surface configured to receive a planter. The planter has a bottom planter surface with at least one drain hole. The saucer also includes at least one support rigidly attached to the upper saucer surface at a location corresponding to the at least one drain hole when the planter is placed on the saucer. An outer diameter of the support is smaller than an inner diameter of the drain hole. A hole in an upper surface of the support has a size configured to snugly fit a lower end of a shaft of a stake. A depth of the hole within the support is sufficient to keep the stake inserted therein erect upon loading of the stake with a weight of an object disposed in the planter.
In some embodiments of the first set, the at least one drain hole includes a plurality of drain holes and the at least one support includes a plurality of support.
In some embodiments of the first set, the support is an annulus with a circular outer perimeter, and the hole is a concentric circular inner surface of the annulus.
In other sets of embodiments, a system includes the above saucer with the planter, or with the stake, or both.
Still other aspects, features, and advantages are readily apparent from the following detailed description, simply by illustrating a number of particular embodiments and implementations, including the best mode contemplated for carrying out the invention. Other embodiments are also capable of other and different features and advantages, and its several details can be modified in various obvious respects, all without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the drawings and description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature, and not as restrictive.
Embodiments are illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings in which like reference numerals refer to similar elements and in which:
A saucer with stake supports for a planter is described. In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the present invention.
Notwithstanding that the numerical ranges and parameters setting forth the broad scope are approximations, the numerical values set forth in specific non-limiting examples are reported as precisely as possible. Any numerical value, however, inherently contains certain errors necessarily resulting from the standard deviation found in their respective testing measurements at the time of this writing. Furthermore, unless otherwise clear from the context, a numerical value presented herein has an implied precision given by the least significant digit. Thus, a value 1.1 implies a value from 1.05 to 1.15. The term “about” is used to indicate a broader range centered on the given value, and unless otherwise clear from the context implies a broader rang around the least significant digit, such as “about 1.1” implies a range from 1.0 to 1.2. If the least significant digit is unclear, then the term “about” implies a factor of two, e.g., “about X” implies a value in the range from 0.5X to 2X, for example, about 100 implies a value in a range from 50 to 200. Moreover, all ranges disclosed herein are to be understood to encompass any and all sub-ranges subsumed therein. For example, a range of “less than 10” for a positive only parameter can include any and all sub-ranges between (and including) the minimum value of zero and the maximum value of 10, that is, any and all sub-ranges having a minimum value of equal to or greater than zero and a maximum value of equal to or less than 10, e.g., 1 to 4.
Some embodiments of the invention are described below in the context of large outdoor planters and saucers for growing plants too heavy to be supported by their own stems. However, the invention is not limited to this context. In other embodiments larger or smaller planters and saucers for various-sized objects such as living or artificial plants, or decorations such as sculptures or mobiles, utilize the saucers with stake support members described herein.
Any planter may be used. The planter may be made of any material, including ceramic, metal, plastic, plaster, and wood, alone or in some combination. The size of the planter may be any in use, from a few centimeters in diameter and height to one or more meters in either diameter or height or both. Though diameter is defined with reference to circular shapes, as used herein, a diameter refers to the smallest circumscribed circle that encloses a cross section of any three-dimensional shape in an appropriate plane. Though the planter 110 has a truncated conical planter 110 as depicted, any shaped planter may be used in various embodiments, including circular cylindrical, hemispherical or spherical, parabolic, regular or irregular polygonal cylinders, full cones, or any other straight- or curved-segmented shapes, vertically straight or tapered. Although the planter 110 is depicted with five circular drain holes 112, other planters may have more or fewer drain holes in the same or different positions with the same or different shapes. For example, a center drain hole 112 may be missing, in some embodiments. The size of the drain holes may vary in various embodiments, e.g., from a few millimeters to several or tens of centimeters in diameter.
Although one annulus-shaped stake support 134 is depicted in saucer 130, in other embodiments, depicted in more detail below, other stake supports with the same or different shapes and the same or different shaped holes at the same or different locations on basic saucer 132 may be used. The stake support 134 is rigidly attached to the basic saucer 132 and may be integrally fabricated with the basic saucer 132 (e.g., with a 3-D printer, injection molding, open molding, pre-firing sculpting, among others), or may be formed of the same or different material and rigidly fixed to the basic saucer 132, e.g., with glue, epoxy, rivets screws or other fastener. The stake support 134 may be made of any material, including ceramic, metal, plastic, plaster, and wood, alone or in some combination.
The outer diameter of the stake support 134 is advantageously smaller than the diameter of the drain hole 112 of the planter with which the saucer will be used, and the location of the stake support 134 on the basic saucer 132 is advantageously aligned with a location of at least one drain hole 112 in the planter 110 when the planter 110 is placed on the saucer 130, so that the stake support 134 can pass through the drain hole 112 and the stake support 134 can be accessed from an inside of the planter 110. Example outer diameters of the stake support 134 are 1 to 10 centimeters, or 1 to 2.5 centimeters.
The stake 120 may be any stake in use, including painted or unpainted wood dowels, painted or unpainted metal rods, plastic rods for gardening or for mobile sculptures or for other uses. It is only required that the at least one end be smaller in diameter than the drain hole 112 of the planter 110 and smaller than an outer diameter of the stake support. It is advantageous for the diameter of hole 135 in the stake support 134 to match the diameter of the end of the stake 120 so that the end of the stake 120 fits snugly into the hole 135. The hole 135 should be deep enough in the stake support 134, and thus the stake support 134 should be tall enough above basic saucer 132, so that when the end of the stake 120 is fit into the hole 135, the stake 120 is able to withstand tipping by the application of a transverse force onto the stake 120, such as a force imposed by a plant too heavy for its own stalk. The stake advantageously extends above the upper rim of the planter 110 by a distance on the same order (e.g., 0.1 to ten times) as the height of the planter 110, e.g., several centimeters to several meters, and preferably at least about one foot (about 30 cm). The holder advantageously prevents the stake falling over or out under lateral forces from about 5 newtons to about 40 newtons, or from 10 newtons to about 30 newtons, or for example from 12 newtons to about 30 newtons.
As stated above, the stake support 134 can have any outer shape and centered or off-centered hole shape. Example shapes are depicted in
Experiential embodiments were constructed and used, as described here. In a first experimental embodiment, the basic saucer is made of plastic and has a diameter of about 20 inches (about 50 cm). An annular stake support made of threaded galvanized steel pipe had an outer diameter of about ⅞ inch (2.2 cm) and an inner diameter of about 6/8 inch (1.9 cm) circumscribing the hole. The annulus is about 1.5 inches (4 cm) high and the hole is also about 1.5 inches deep, traversing through the basic saucer. The annulus is attached to the basic saucer at a center location and is rigidly attached to the saucer using nuts and washers. This embodiment is depicted in photographs in
An advantage of the saucer with stake support is that the stake positioned within the state support can withstand a greater lateral force; and thus hold upright a larger object, e.g., a plant laden with fruit such as tomatoes. In an experimental embodiment, a 20 inch (50 cm) planter pot was filled with about 16 inches (40 cm) of potting soil. In a control experiment, a ⅝ inch (1.6 cm) metal tomato stake was inserted in soil only (not into the stake holder) to the bottom of the pot. A luggage scale was attached halfway up the stake. A lateral force of 2.8 pounds (lbs, 2.8 lbs is about 12.5 newtons) pulled the stake over to the top edge of the pot. In an embodiment of the invention, a ⅝ inch tomato stake was inserted into the stake holder, then up through a drainage hole of the same planter. A lateral force of 6.9 lbs (30.7 newtons) pulled the stake only to a 45° angle. At greater force, the stake itself would bend.
In various other embodiments, commercial stakes are used, such as ⅝ inch diameter stakes or ⅜ inch diameter stakes or ¼ inch diameter stakes, each with a height of about 4 feet, or about 5 feet or about 6 feet, and each used with a stake holder having a hole with a matching inner diameter of about ⅝ inch or about ⅜ inch or about ¼ inch, respectively. In various embodiments, small planter pots (less than or equal to about 6 inches in diameter), medium planter pots (from about 6 inches in diameter to about 20 inches in diameter), or large planter pots (greater than or equal to about 20 inches in diameter) are used. In various embodiments, small planter pots have drain holes in a range from about ½ inch to about ¾ inch; medium planter pots have drain holes of about one inch in diameter; and, large planter pots have drain holes about 1.5 inches or more in diameter. Thus, in some embodiments, stake holders have an outer diameter of about one half inch to fit inside the drain holes of the small pots and each with a hole having a smaller inner diameter of about ¼ inch or ⅜ inch to accommodate various commercially available stakes. In other embodiments, the stake holders have an outer diameter of just under one inch to fit inside the drain holes of medium and large pots, each with a hole having a smaller inner diameter of about ⅝ inch or about ⅜ inch to accommodate various commercially available stakes.
In the foregoing specification, the invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments thereof. It will, however, be evident that various modifications and changes may be made thereto without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the invention. The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense. Throughout this specification and the claims, unless the context requires otherwise, the word “comprise” and its variations, such as “comprises” and “comprising,” will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated item, element or step or group of items, elements or steps but not the exclusion of any other item, element or step or group of items, elements or steps. Furthermore, the indefinite article “a” or “an” is meant to indicate one or more of the item, element or step modified by the article.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63024920 | May 2020 | US |
