PLANTER WITH A REMOVABLE FLOOR

Abstract

A planter having a continuous sidewall with an inner surface and an outer surface forming a container with a top and a bottom end, an internal floor flange extending inwardly from the inner surface of the sidewall proximate a bottom end of the container, and a lip extending upwardly from the flange, the lip defining a drainage aperture at the bottom end of the container, a drainage channel formed by the internal floor flange, the lip, and the sidewall, a plurality of apertures in the sidewall in communication with the drainage channel; and, a removable floor arranged to rest on the lip having a plurality of inner floor apertures arranged to drain liquid via the drainage aperture, and a plurality of outer floor apertures arranged to drain liquid via the drainage channel and the plurality of apertures in the sidewall.

Claims

1. A planter comprising: a continuous sidewall with an inner surface and an outer surface forming a container, said container having a top end and a bottom end; an internal floor flange extending inwardly from the inner surface of said sidewall proximate the bottom end of said container, and a lip extending upwardly from said flange, said lip defining a drainage aperture at said bottom end of said container; a drainage channel formed by said internal floor flange, said lip, and said sidewall; a plurality of apertures in said sidewall in communication with said drainage channel; and, a removable floor arranged to rest on said lip, said removable floor comprising a plurality of inner floor apertures arranged to drain liquid via said drainage aperture, and a plurality of outer floor apertures arranged to drain liquid via said drainage channel and said plurality of apertures in said sidewall.

2. The planter recited in claim 1, wherein said continuous sidewall is frustoconical in shape.

3. The planter recited in claim 2, wherein said frustoconical sidewall has a larger diameter at the open top end of the container than the diameter at the bottom end of the container.

4. The planter recited in claim 1, wherein said drainage channel further comprises a plurality of arcuate trapezoidal protrusions arranged to direct liquid into said plurality of apertures in said sidewall.

5. The planter recited in claim 4, wherein a pair of said arcuate trapezoidal protrusions are arranged within said drainage channel adjacent each of said apertures in said sidewall.

6. The planter recited in claim 4, wherein each of said arcuate trapezoidal protrusions has a top surface which is located below a top edge of said lip.

7. The planter recited in claim 1, wherein said removable floor comprises a disk, said disk having a thickness, T.sub.RF.

8. The planter recited in claim 7, wherein said sidewall further comprises a groove in its inner surface, proximate the bottom end of the container, said groove having a width, W.sub.G, which is slightly greater than the thickness, T.sub.RF, of the disk, such that the disk can snappingly engage said groove and hold the disk in place within the container.

9. The planter recited in claim 1, wherein said internal floor flange and said drainage channel are annular in shape.

10. The planter recited in claim 1, wherein said lip is cylindrical in shape.

11. The planter recited in claim 1, wherein said plurality of inner floor apertures and said plurality of outer floor apertures are circular in shape.

12. The planter recited in claim 11, wherein said plurality of inner floor apertures have a larger diameter, D.sub.I, than the diameter, D.sub.O, of the outer floor apertures.

13. A planter, comprising: a plurality of integral sidewalls with an inner surface and an outer surface connected to one another to form a container, said container having a top end and a bottom end; an internal floor flange extending upwardly from the inside of said sidewall, proximate the bottom end of said container; a removable floor arranged to rest on said internal floor flange; and, a plurality of removable partitions operatively arranged to fit within said container and rest atop said removable floor.

14. The planter recited in claim 13, wherein said plurality of removable partitions are operatively arranged to separate soil containing seedlings.

15. The planter recited in claim 13, wherein said plurality of integral sidewalls comprise a rectangle having four walls.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] Various embodiments are disclosed, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying schematic drawings in which corresponding reference symbols indicate corresponding parts, in which:

[0022] FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of the first embodiment of the present invention;

[0023] FIG. 2 is a bottom perspective view of the invention shown in FIG. 1;

[0024] FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the invention shown in FIG. 1;

[0025] FIG. 4 is an exploded partial cross-sectional view of the invention shown in FIG. 3;

[0026] FIG. 5 is a front elevation view of the invention shown in FIG. 1, illustrating only the planter container;

[0027] FIG. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the invention shown in FIG. 5, illustrating the bottom end of the container;

[0028] FIG. 7 is a top plan view of the invention shown in FIG. 1, illustrating the planter container and the removable floor separately;

[0029] FIG. 8 is a top plan view of the invention shown in FIG. 1, illustrating the removable floor inside of the planter container;

[0030] FIG. 9 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the invention shown in FIG. 7, illustrating the internal floor flange and the drainage channel proximate the bottom end of the container;

[0031] FIG. 10 is a front cross-sectional view of the invention, taken generally along line 10-10 in FIG. 5;

[0032] FIG. 11 is a front cross-sectional view of the invention shown in FIG. 10, except illustrating four identical planters as shown in FIG. 10 stacked within one another;

[0033] FIG. 12 is an enlarged view of the section of the invention shown in dotted lines in FIG. 11, illustrating the removable floor snappingly engaged with the grove of the sidewall of the container;

[0034] FIG. 13 is a top perspective view of a second embodiment of the present invention;

[0035] FIG. 14 is an exploded view of the invention shown in FIG. 13; and,

[0036] FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view of the invention, taken generally along line 15-15 in FIG. 13, except illustrating an empty container.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0037] At the outset, it should be appreciated that like drawing numbers on different drawing views identify identical, or functionally similar, structural elements. It is to be understood that the claims are not limited to the disclosed aspects.

[0038] Furthermore, it is understood that this disclosure is not limited to the particular methodology, materials and modifications described and as such may, of course, vary. It is also understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular aspects only and is not intended to limit the scope of the claims.

[0039] It should be appreciated that the term “substantially” is synonymous with terms such as “nearly,” “very nearly,” “about,” “approximately,” “around,” “bordering on,” “close to,” “essentially,” “in the neighborhood of,” “in the vicinity of,” etc., and such terms may be used interchangeably as appearing in the specification and claims. It should be appreciated that the term “proximate” is synonymous with terms such as “nearby,” “close,” “adjacent,” “neighboring,” “immediate,” “adjoining,” etc., and such terms may be used interchangeably as appearing in the specification and claims.

[0040] It should also be appreciated that like reference numbers on different drawing figures represent identical structural elements. It should also be appreciated that, while a number of different embodiments and variations of the present invention are shown in the various drawings, the invention as claimed is not intended to be limited to these specific embodiments, as the claims define a broader invention that can take many different shapes and structures. Also, the adjectives, “top”, “bottom”, “right”, “left”, and their derivatives, in the description herebelow, refer to the perspective of one facing the invention as shown in the figure under discussion.

[0041] Adverting now to the figures, FIG. 1 illustrates a first embodiment of the present invention. Planter 100 comprises continuous sidewall 10 forming container 11 that has top end 12 with top opening 13 and an outside edge 14, and bottom end 16. Sidewall 10 of planter 100 includes plurality of apertures 18 spaced equidistantly around bottom end 16 of container 11. This figure displays plant and soil 200 within planter 100 to house a growing plant.

[0042] FIG. 2 illustrates internal floor flange 23 having an annular shape in a preferred embodiment, proximate bottom end 16 of container 11 of planter 100 extending inwardly from inner surface 10a of sidewall 10 (shown in FIG. 3), and lip 24 having a cylindrical shape in a preferred embodiment, that extends upwardly from internal floor flange 23. Sidewall 10 comprises groove 17 in inner surface 10a proximate bottom end 16 of container 11. Groove 17 is arranged around the circumference of container 11 proximate bottom end 16. Removable floor 30 rests on lip 24 and snappingly engages groove 17 of inside surface 10a of sidewall 10 to hold and lock the floor in place within container 11. Removable floor 30 comprises plurality of inner floor apertures 30a and plurality of outer floor apertures 30b arranged to allow liquid to drain out of drainage aperture 20 and/or plurality of apertures 18 on sidewall 10 and bottom end 16 of container 11 described in further detail infra. In a preferred embodiment, plurality of inner floor apertures 30a and plurality of outer floor apertures 30b have a circular shape, although they could have other shapes. Further, plurality of inner floor apertures 30a preferably have a diameter, D.sub.I, that is greater than the diameter, D.sub.O, of outer floor apertures 30b (shown in FIG. 7).

[0043] FIG. 3 illustrates an exploded view of the invention shown in FIG. 1, where sidewall 10 of planter 100 comprises inside surface 10a and outside surface 10b to form container 11. Inside surface 10a includes plurality of vertical protrusions 15 proximate outside edge 14 of top end 12 of top opening 13 of container 11. Plurality of vertical protrusions 15 are spaced equidistantly around inner surface 10a of sidewall 10 proximate top end 12 of container 11. Plurality of vertical protrusions 15 aid in stacking planter 100 within other planters described in further detail infra.

[0044] Removable floor 30 is shown to include plurality of inner floor apertures 30a, plurality of outer floor apertures 30b, and center 30c. The floor sits within the inside surface 10a of sidewall 10 of container 11 and rests on lip 24 by snappingly engaging groove 17. Plant and soil 200 can be planted within container 11 of planter 100 when removable floor 30 is placed inside container 11. The soil rests atop floor 30 when the planter is in use.

[0045] FIG. 4 illustrates an exploded partial cross-sectional view of the invention shown in FIG. 1. It is seen that internal floor flange 23 extends inwardly from inner surface 10a of sidewall 10 proximate bottom end 16 of container 11. Removable floor 30 has thickness T.sub.RF described in further detail infra.

[0046] As shown in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4, in a preferred embodiment, sidewall 10 defines container 11 which is frustoconical in shape, having a larger diameter at top opening 13 of top end 12 than the diameter at bottom end 16 of container 11. Further, in a preferred embodiment, the diameter at top opening 13 of top end 12 has a larger diameter than that of drainage aperture 20 (shown in FIG. 7) proximate bottom end 16 of container 11 to allow plant and soil 200 to be pushed out of planter 100, described in further detail infra.

[0047] To remove plant and soil 200 from planter 100, removable floor 30 is pushed upwardly toward the top opening 13 of top end 12 of container 11. The plant may be lifted, slid, or pushed out by a hand, a tip of a shoe, a small tool, the bottom of an inverted smaller pot, etc., for transplanting. When plant and soil 200 is removed from planter 100, removable floor 30 may be peeled from the bottom of plant and soil 200. Planter 100 may be assembled and disassembled many times to accommodate different individual plants.

[0048] FIGS. 5, 6, and 10 illustrate a front view of container 11 without removable floor 30. Proximate bottom end 16 of container 11 is drainage channel 25 having an annular shape in a preferred embodiment. Drainage channel 25 (best shown in FIG. 7) facilitates draining of excess liquid provided to plant and soil 200. Drainage channel 25 is formed by internal floor flange 23, lip 24, and sidewall 10. In a preferred embodiment, drainage channel 25 further comprises plurality of arcuate trapezoidal protrusions 26 spaced equidistantly around drainage channel 25. Plurality of arcuate trapezoidal protrusions 26 are arranged within drainage channel 25 adjacent plurality of apertures 18 of sidewall 10. Plurality of arcuate trapezoidal protrusions 26 have top surface 26a with height H.sub.T that is less than height H.sub.L of top edge of lip 24a. Top edge of lip 24a sits below groove 17 of sidewall 10 proximate bottom end 16 of container 11 which allows removable floor 30 to rest on lip 24 and snappingly engages groove 17 of sidewall 10 (shown in FIG. 12).

[0049] FIG. 6-9 illustrates lip 24 that extends upwardly from internal floor flange 23 and defines drainage aperture 20 proximate bottom end 16 of container 11. In a preferred embodiment, drainage aperture 20 is annular in shape. The figures also illustrate liquid 300 (ideally water) passing through drainage channel 25 and flowing out of plurality of apertures 18 of sidewall 10. Liquid 300 can take the form of a multitude of liquid nutrients, such as, but not limited to, pure water, liquid fertilizer, mineral water, distilled water, rainwater, etc., depending on the plant's classification and the needs of the plant. Excess liquid can drown the plants, and to prevent this, drainage channel 25 moves liquid 300 out of planter 100 through drainage aperture 20 or through plurality of apertures 18 of sidewall 10.

[0050] In a preferred embodiment, liquid 300 can drain out of container 11 through drainage aperture 20 proximate bottom end 16 of container 11, or through drainage channel 25 formed by internal floor flange 23, lip 24, and sidewall 10, proximate bottom end 16 of container 11, or through plurality of apertures 18 of sidewall 10. When removable floor 30 is placed within container 11 to rest on lip 24 and snappingly engages groove 17 of sidewall 10 (shown in FIG. 12), plurality of inner floor apertures 30a line up with drainage aperture 20 and plurality of outer floor apertures 30b line up with plurality of apertures 18 on sidewall 10 and drainage channel 25, including plurality of arcuate trapezoidal protrusions 26. This configuration, best shown in FIG. 8, allows liquid 300 to drain out of planter 100 in various ways. Liquid 300 can drain out of planter 100 through drainage aperture 20 proximate bottom end 16 of container 11 by flowing through inner floor apertures 30a. Further, liquid 300 can drain out of planter 100 by flowing through outer floor apertures 30b, into drainage channel 25, over plurality of arcuate trapezoidal protrusions 26, and out plurality of apertures 18 on sidewall 10. Even further, liquid 300 can drain through a gap (defined by the difference between thickness T.sub.RF of removable floor 30 and width W.sub.G of groove 17 as shown in FIG. 12) between removable floor 30 resting on lip 24 and the top surface of plurality of apertures 18 of sidewall 10.

[0051] FIG. 12 illustrates removable floor 30 resting on top edge 24a of lip 24 and snappingly engaging groove 17 of container 11. Thickness T.sub.RF of removable floor 30 is slightly less than width W.sub.G of groove 17, which allows removable floor 30 to snappingly engage groove 17 to hold removable floor 30 in place within container 11.

[0052] FIG. 11 illustrates multiple planters 100, 100.sub.2, 100.sub.3, 100.sub.4, stacked on top of one another as removable floor 30 snappingly engages container 11. Plurality of vertical protrusions 15 of inner surface of sidewall 10a allow stable stacking of planters 100, 100.sub.2, 100.sub.3, 100.sub.4. Removable floor 30 remains in place even when planters 100, 100.sub.2, 100.sub.3, 100.sub.4 are split apart or inverted.

[0053] Adverting now to FIGS. 13-15 which illustrate the second preferred embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 13, planter 100 comprises container 11 with multiple sections to plant and grow multiple seedling plants 200.

[0054] FIG. 14 illustrates container 11 that comprises internal floor flange 23, first wall 33, second wall 34, third wall 35, and forth wall 36. In a preferred embodiment plurality of walls 33, 34, 35, and 36 are integral, although obviously the walls could be discrete and secured to one another. Plurality of removable partitions 40 comprises first row wall 41, second row wall 42, first column wall 43, second column wall 44, and third column wall 45. Plurality of row walls 41 and 42 are slidably secured to plurality of column walls 43, 44, 45, at intersection points. In an alternative embodiment, plurality of removable partitions 40 may have more than two row walls or more than three column walls to accommodate a greater number of seedling plants 200.

[0055] Removable floor 30 is operatively arranged to rest on bottom internal floor flange 23 of container 11. A fully assembled planter 100 has removable floor 30 resting within container 11 on flange 23, with plurality of removable partitions 40 resting thereon. When assembled, planter 100 can accommodate a plurality of seedling plants in soil 200. Plurality of removable partitions 40 creates twelve compartments to create plurality of seedling plants in soil 200, operatively arranged to rest on the top surface of removable floor 30. Plurality of removable partitions 40, first row wall 41, second row wall 42, first column wall 43 in combination with container 11 first wall 33, second wall 34, and fourth wall 36, create three (3) four-sided compartments operatively arranged to hold first section of seedling with soil 51a, second section of seedling with soil 51b, and third section of seedling with soil 51c. Plurality of removable partitions 40 first row wall 41, second row wall 42, first column wall 43, second column wall 44 in combination with container 11 second wall 34 and fourth wall 36, create three (3) four-sided compartments operatively arranged to hold fourth section of seedling with soil 52a, fifth section of seedling with soil 52b, and sixth section of seedling with soil 52c. Plurality of removable partitions 40 first row wall 41, second row wall 42, second column wall 44, third column wall 45 in combination with container 11 second wall 34 and fourth wall 36, create three (3) four-sided compartments operatively arranged to hold seventh section of seedling with soil 53a, eighth section of seedling with soil 53b, and ninth section of seedling with soil 53c. Plurality of removable partitions 40 first row wall 41, second row wall 42, third column wall 45 in combination with container 11 second wall 34, third wall 35, and fourth wall 36, create three (3) four-sided compartments operatively arranged to hold tenth section of seedling with soil 54a, eleventh section of seedling with soil 54b, and twelfth section of seedling with soil 54c.

[0056] FIG. 15 illustrates a sectional view of container 11, removable floor 30, and plurality of removable partitions 40. Removable floor 30 sits within container 11 and on internal floor flange 23, allowing liquid 300 to drain through the bottom of container 11. Removable partitions 41, 42, 43, 44, and 45 rests on the top surface of floor 30.

[0057] To remove any one of plurality of seedling plants in soil 200, removable floor 30 of planter 100 may be placed on a raised surface like an inverted plant pot. Container 11 may then be slid in the downward direction, leaving removable floor 30, plurality of removable partitions 40, and plurality of seedling plants in soil 200. Outer seedlings, 51a, 51b, 51c, 52a, 52c, 53a, 53c, 54a, 54b, and 54c, may be lifted or slid out either by hand or with a small hand tool for transplanting. Inner seedlings 52b and 53b may be removed for transplanting by removing one or more of plurality of removable partitions 40, e.g., first row wall 41 of plurality of removable partitions 40 and first column wall 43 of plurality of removable partitions 40. Planter 100 may be assembled and disassembled many times to accommodate different individual seedling growth and timing for transplanting.

[0058] It will be appreciated that various aspects of the disclosure above and other features and functions, or alternatives thereof, may be desirably combined into many other different systems or applications. Various presently unforeseen or unanticipated alternatives, modifications, variations, or improvements therein may be subsequently made by those skilled in the art which are also intended to be encompassed by the figures attached hereto.

REFERENCE NUMERALS

[0059] 10 sidewall of planter 100 [0060] 10a inner surface of sidewall 10 [0061] 10b outer surface of sidewall 10 [0062] 11 container of planter 100 [0063] 12 top end of container 11 [0064] 14 outside edge of top end 12 of container 11 [0065] 13 top opening of top end 12 [0066] 15 plurality of vertical protrusions of inner surface 10a of sidewall 10 [0067] 16 bottom end of container 11 [0068] 17 groove of sidewall 10 [0069] 18 plurality of apertures of sidewall 10 [0070] 20 drainage aperture [0071] 23 internal floor flange [0072] 24 lip [0073] 24a top edge of lip 24 [0074] 25 drainage channel [0075] 26 plurality of arcuate trapezoidal protrusions of drainage channel 25 [0076] 26a top surface of arcuate trapezoidal protrusions 26 [0077] 30 removable floor [0078] 30a plurality of inner floor apertures [0079] 30b plurality of outer floor apertures [0080] 30c center of removable floor 30 [0081] 33 first wall of container 11 [0082] 34 second wall of container 11 [0083] 35 third wall of container 11 [0084] 36 fourth wall of container 11 [0085] 40 plurality of removable partitions [0086] 41 first row wall of plurality of removable partitions 40 [0087] 42 second row wall of plurality of removable partitions 40 [0088] 43 first column wall of plurality of removable partitions 40 [0089] 44 second column wall of plurality of removable partitions 40 [0090] 45 third column wall of plurality of removable partitions 40 [0091] 51a first section of seedling in soil [0092] 51b second section of seedling in soil [0093] 51c third section of seedling in soil [0094] 52a fourth section of seedling in soil [0095] 52b fifth section of seedling in soil [0096] 52c sixth section of seedling in soil [0097] 53a seventh section of seedling in soil [0098] 53b eight section of seedling in soil [0099] 53c ninth section of seedling in soil [0100] 54a tenth section of seedling in soil [0101] 54b eleventh section of seedling in soil [0102] 54c twelfth section of seedling in soil [0103] 100 planter [0104] 100.sub.2 stacked planter 2 [0105] 100.sub.3 stacked planter 3 [0106] 100.sub.4 stacked planter 4 [0107] 200 plant and soil/seedlings and soil [0108] 300 liquid [0109] D.sub.I diameter of inner floor apertures 30a [0110] D.sub.O diameter of outer floor apertures 30b [0111] H.sub.L height of lip 24 [0112] H.sub.T height of arcuate trapezoidal protrusion 26 [0113] T.sub.RF thickness of removable floor 30 [0114] W.sub.G width of groove 17