This invention relates generally to garden accessories and relates, more particularly, to planters within which plants are grown.
The class of planters with which this invention is to be compared includes those which include a vertically-arranged series of growing compartments for containing dirt or potting soil. Typically, the growing compartments are accessible at the edges thereof for planting seeds or transplanting plants for continued growth within the dirt or potting soil contained within the growing compartments.
Examples of planters of the aforedescribed class are shown and described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,438,797, 6,092,333 and 3,293,798.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a planter of the aforedescribed class whose growing compartments can be loaded with dirt or potting soil from the uppermost compartment and can be tended from positions alongside the planter with relative ease.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved planter of the aforedescribed class.
Another object of the present invention is to provide such a planter whose growing compartments can be loaded with dirt or potting soil from the uppermost growing compartment thereof.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide such a planter whose growing compartments remain centered about the vertical centerline of the planter.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide such a planter whose growing compartments are suspended from the edges thereof.
A further object of the present invention is to provide such a planter whose growing compartments increase in size as a path is traced downwardly along the vertical centerline of the planter to provide growth regions for plants growing therein which increase in size as a path is traced downwardly along the vertical centerline of the planter.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide such a planter which is supported over an underlying floor by way of a stand which rests upon the floor.
One more object of the present invention is to provide such a planter which is uncomplicated in structure, yet effective in operation.
This invention resides in a planter including a center post which is arranged in a vertical orientation and has a top. Moreover, the planter also includes a series of growing compartments which are arranged in a sequential relationship along the length of and below the top of the center post. Each of the growing compartments has a center opening through which the center post extends so that the growing compartments are maintained in a centered relationship about the center post. The growing compartments include an uppermost growing compartment and a lowermost growing compartment. The lowermost growing compartment has a substantially solid bottom for containing dirt or potting soil placed therein, and the remainder of the growing compartments have bottoms within which openings are defined to accommodate the passage of relatively large clumps of dirt or potting soil through the bottoms thereof so that each of the growing compartments can be filled with dirt or potting soil placed into the uppermost growing compartment. In addition, the growing compartments are suspended from the top of the post by tension members which are joined to the post.
Turning now to the drawings in greater detail and considering first
The base assembly 24 includes a plurality of (e.g. four) leg members 42 which are regularly disposed about the center post 28 and which interfit with the center post 28 in a manner which rigidly connects the leg member 42 to the center post 28. The base assembly 24 and the manner in which the base assembly 24 cooperates with the center post 28 has been described in detail in applicants' earlier U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/380,388, filed Feb. 26, 2009 (now Publication No. US-2010-0051762-A1), so that a detailed description of the base assembly 24 is not believed to be necessary. Suffice it to say that the leg members 42 collectively span a relatively large area of the floor 26 so that the center post 28 is supported by the base assembly 24 in a relatively stable condition, and there are provided rotatable shanks 44 associated with at least two feet of the base assembly 24 which enables the stand 22 to be adjusted, or leveled, upon an underlying floor 22 so that the center post 28 is directed substantially vertically from the floor 26. The disclosure of this referenced application Ser. No. 12/380,388 (now Publication No. US-2010-0051762-A1) is incorporated herein by reference.
With reference to
For providing water to the uppermost growing compartment 37 and with reference again to
Centrally disposed on the underside of the cap 58 is a nipple 62 which is adapted to be connected to (e.g. received by) the upper end of the tube 48 for delivery of water conducted by the tube 48 to the interior of the cap 58. The cap 58 further includes a plurality of downwardly-extending protuberances 64 which are adapted to be nestingly accepted by the upper end of the center post 28 for securement of the cap 58 to the top of the center post 28. It follows that water which is conducted to the cap 58 by way of the tube 48 is thereafter directed downwardly from the discharge openings 60 provided in the cap 58 and onto the uppermost growing compartment 37.
With reference to
With reference to
The bottom portion 70 of the lowermost growing compartment 31 defines a center hole, or opening 76, through which the center post 28 extends, and the center opening 76 is slightly larger in diameter than that of the center post 28 so that when fitted about the post 28, the growing compartment 31 is tightly fitted thereabout. The remainder of the bottom portion 70 is solid and thereby capable of supporting dirt or potting soil placed therein so that none of the dirt or potting soil is permitted to fall through the compartment 31 from the upper side thereof. The bottom portion 70 further includes a plurality of radially-extending ribs 78 formed therein to enhance the strength of the compartment 31 when filled with dirt or potting soil.
With reference to
The bottom portion 80 of each of the remainder growing compartments 32-37 defines a center hole, or opening 86, through which the center post 28 extends, and the center opening 86 is slightly larger in diameter than that of the center post 28 so that when fitted about the post 28, the growing compartment is tightly fitted thereabout. The remainder of the bottom portion 80 is provided with relatively large openings 88 through which large amounts (e.g. clumps) of dirt and potting soil are permitted to pass when the planter 20 is initially filled with dirt and/or potting soil. Within the depicted planter 20, the openings 88 provided in the growing compartments accommodate the passage therethrough of a substantially spherically-shaped clump of dirt which can be as large as about 1.5 inches in diameter. Such large openings have been found to facilitate a rapid filling of the growing compartments of the planter 20 with dirt or potting soil.
Although the bottom 80 can take any of a number of alternative forms, the bottoms 80 of the compartments 32-37 of the depicted planter 20 each include a series (e.g. four) regularly-spaced and radially-extending spokes 90 which extend from the center opening 86 to a location adjacent the edge portion 82 of the compartment, and the space provided between these spokes 90 provides the relatively large openings 88 through which the dirt and potting soil is permitted to pass downwardly therethrough when the planter 20 is initially filled with dirt or potting soil for use.
For suspension of the growing compartments 31-37 from the top of the center post 28 and with reference to
To assemble the planter 20 for use, the stand 22 is put together so that the center post 28 is supported substantially vertically and then the growing compartments 31-37, from largest to smallest, are positioned upon the support post 28 by directing the center holes 76 or 86 of the growing compartments 31-37 downwardly onto the center post 28 from the top thereof. With the compartments 31-37 positioned about the center post 28, the wires 94 are directed hook-end first upwardly through corresponding openings 74 or 84 provided adjacent the edges of the compartments 31-37 until all of the wires 94 are threaded through the compartment openings and so that each growing compartment rests atop a corresponding set of pins 98 disposed along the wires 94. At that point, each hook 96 is hooked within a corresponding notch 38 provided at the top 50 of the center post 28 so that the compartments 31-37 are supported from the top of the post 28 by the wires 94. If desired, the water tube 48 can be routed upwardly through the hollow interior of the post 28 (by way of the post opening 46) and connected to the nipple 62 of the manifold cap 58, and the cap 58 is thereafter positioned upon the top of the post 28.
To fill the compartments 31-37 with dirt or potting soil, the dirt or potting soil, indicated 102 in
As dirt or potting soil is poured into the upper compartment 37 so as to flow downwardly through the openings 88 of the compartments 31-36 situated below, the poured dirt or potting soil is prevented from gravitationally flowing over the peripheral edges 18 of the compartments 31-36, and the planter 20 is advantageous in this respect. Such a feature is believed to be due, at least in part, to the positional relationship between the openings 88 provided in each growing compartment and the edge portions 72 or 82 situated immediately beneath each compartment and the capacity of dirt or potting soil to normally accumulate in a somewhat conically-shaped pyramid or mound as the dirt or potting soil is poured into a pile. More specifically, the spacing between each adjacent pair of compartments and the vertical arrangement of the edge portions 82 or 72 of each growing compartment relative to the openings 88 provided in each superposed growing compartment 32-37 (i.e. the one situated immediately above the growing compartment being considered is such that the dirt or potting soil poured into the uppermost compartment 37 so as to flow downwardly through the openings 88 of the compartments 31-36 plugs or clogs up the openings 88 provided in each compartment before the edges of the mound of dirt or potting soil accumulating in the compartment below reaches the peripheral edge 18 thereof.
While a number of factors (such as the vertical spacing between adjacent compartments and the size of the openings 88) are believed to contribute to the aforedescribed feature, it will be understood that the peripheral edge 18 of a compartment being considered is disposed sufficiently outboard of (e.g. radially outboard of) the openings 88 provided in the superposed compartment (i.e. the compartment disposed immediately above the compartment being considered) so that poured dirt or potting soil which flows downwardly through the openings 88 in the superposed compartment and into the compartment being considered will plug or clog the openings 88 in the superposed compartment before the dirt or potting soil being piled up in the compartment being considered reaches the peripheral edge 18 thereof. For example and with reference to the cross-sectional view of
As shown in the
With reference to
Each growing compartment of the planter 120 includes a steel ring 175 which is positionable along the edge portion 172 of the compartment and beneath the lip portion 173 thereof. The steel ring 175 is exposed to view through the cutouts 174 at the four cutout locations provided along the edge portion 172, and as will be apparent herein, the tension means 140 cooperate with the exposed portions of the ring 175 for suspending the compartments from the center post 128.
To this end, the tension means 140 includes four (only one shown) cable wires 194 which are each provided with a hook 196 at the upper end thereof and which are each provided with a series of L-shaped pins 198 joined at spaced locations along the length of the wires 194. As best shown in
To suspend the growing compartments of the planter 120 from the center post 128, the growing compartments are first directed downwardly along the center post 128 to a location adjacent the base thereof, and then the compartments are suspended in sequence one-at-a-time from the center post 128 beginning with the uppermost compartment, which in this case is compartment 137. Each cable wire 194 can be hooked atop the center port 128 with the hooks 196, and then while grasping the uppermost compartment 137 with one hand and grasping the uppermost pin 198 of one of the cable wires 194 in the other hand, the free leg of the grasped pin 198 can be manipulated beneath an exposed section of the steel ring 175 from the outside thereof and then upwardly through the spacing, indicated 202 in
By repeating the aforedescribed steps to secure the next-to-uppermost growing compartment 136 to the cable wires 154 and then repeating the process again with each compartment downwardly in sequence along the center post 128 to the lowermost compartment 131, all of the growing compartments can be readily secured to the cable wires 154.
A planter such as aforedescribed can possess the following dimensions: The overall height of the planter is about 55.5 inches; the width of the planter (as measured between two diametrically-opposed feet of the base assembly) is about 43 inches; the diameter of the uppermost growing compartment is about 16 inches; the diameter of the lowermost growing compartment is about 22 inches; the depth of the growing compartments can range from between about 3.5 and 4 inches; the spaced distance between the bottoms of adjacent compartments in the series of compartments is about 3 inches; and the overall length of the center post is about 47 inches.
It will be understood that numerous modifications and substitutions can be had to the aforedescribed embodiments 20 and 120 without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, although each of the growing compartments of each of the aforedescribed embodiments 20 and 120 have been shown and described as having circular peripheral edges 18, growing compartments in accordance with the broader aspects of this invention can possess non-circular peripheral edges. Accordingly, the aforedescribed embodiments 20 and 120 are intended for the purpose of illustration and not as limitation.
The benefit of Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/215,052, filed May 1, 2009 and TERRACED GARDEN PLANTER, is hereby claimed. The disclosure of this referenced provisional application is incorporated herein by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
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61215052 | May 2009 | US |