ATMOSPHERICALLY WATERED PLANTER

Abstract

A planter wherein a water tray is positioned in the bottom of a front compartment of a housing and has a bottom surface angled downwardly to the horizontal. A water generating unit comprising a Peltier device is also mounted in the front compartment and draws air through a plurality of vertically disposed cold sink fins such that moisture in the air condenses on the fins, flows downwardly by gravity into the water tray, and then by gravity through the water tray and into the bottom of a plant container portion of the housing.

Claims

1. A planter comprising: a housing having a front compartment separated by a wall from a rear compartment, the front compartment having an open top and the rear compartment comprising a container configured to receive a plant, the housing further having a front surface comprising a perforated area; a water tray positioned in the front compartment of the housing and having a bottom surface configured to communicate with an opening in a lower end of the wall; a cover closing the front compartment and having a plurality of apertures formed therein; and a water generating device located in said front compartment and comprising a Peltier device, a fan, and a plurality of cold sink fins, the water generating device being configured to draw air through the perforated area of the housing so as to contact the cold sink fins and to expel the air out through said apertures such that water condenses on the cold sink fins and flows by gravity into said water tray, the water tray being further configured such that the water thereafter flows by gravity feed through the water tray and then through the opening in the lower end of said wall and into said container.

2. The planter of claim 1 wherein the plurality of cold sink fins face outwardly towards said perforated area.

3. The planter of claim 1 wherein the bottom surface of the water tray is angled downwardly to the horizontal in order to achieve the gravity feed of water through the tray.

4. The planter of claim 1 wherein the plurality of cold sink fins are vertically disposed and have lower ends which reside within a vertical perimeter of said water tray.

5. The planter of claim 4 wherein the bottom surface of the water tray is angled downwardly to the horizontal in order to achieve the gravity feed of water through the tray.

6. The planter of claim 1 further comprising a vertical guide positioned in first and second slots on a back surface of said wall so as to shield the opening in said wall from foreign matter present in said rear compartment.

7. The planter of claim 1 wherein the water generating device comprises first and second heat sinks located on respective opposite sides of the Peltier device and wherein one of said heat sinks functions as said cold sink.

8. A method of providing water to a first compartment of a housing configured to receive a plant comprising: positioning a water tray in a second compartment of the housing such that a bottom surface of the water tray is angled downwardly to the horizontal to communicate with an opening in a lower end of a wall separating the first and second compartments; and configuring a water generating device to draw air through a perforated area of the housing such that water condenses on cold sink fins of the water generating device and flows by gravity into said water tray and such that the water thereafter flows by gravity feed through an opening in a lower end of said wall and into said first compartment.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0005] FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of an atmospheric watered planter according to an illustrative embodiment;

[0006] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the planter of FIG. 1;

[0007] FIG. 3 is a top view of the planter of FIG. 1;

[0008] FIG. 4 is a front end view of the planter of FIG. 1;

[0009] FIG. 5 is a rear end view of the planter of FIG. 1;

[0010] FIG. 6 is a side view of the planter of FIG. 1;

[0011] FIG. 7 is a bottom perspective view of the planter of Fig.1;

[0012] FIG. 8 is a top view of the planter of FIG. 1 with a cover component removed;

[0013] FIG. 9 is a front sectional perspective view of the planter of FIG. 1;

[0014] FIG. 10 is a side sectional perspective view of the planter of FIG. 1;

[0015] FIG. 11 is a second side sectional perspective view of the planter of FIG. 1;

[0016] FIG. 12 is a top view illustrating air flow in an illustrative embodiment; and

[0017] FIG. 13 is a side sectional view illustrating air flow in an illustrative embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

[0018] FIGS. 1 and 2 depict an illustrative embodiment of an atmospherically watered planter 11. The planter 11 includes a housing 13, a cover plate 15, a water tray 17, and a water generating unit 19. The planter 11 further includes an upper rim component 27, a bottom piece 29, a cover piece 31, and a display unit 33, which includes a circuit board 35, a display 36, and control button 37.

[0019] In the illustrative embodiment, the water generating unit 19 includes a cold sink 21, a heat sink 23, frame components 24, 26, a fan 25, and a Peltier unit or device 22. In one embodiment, the cold sink 21 and heat sink 23 may be commercially available aluminum heat sink units, and the Peltier device 22 may be a commercially available square unit with input and output electrical leads. A Peltier device typically has two sides, and when a DC electric current flows through the device, it brings heat from one side to the other, so that one side gets cooler while the other gets hotter. The hot side is attached to a heat sink so that it remains at ambient temperature, while the cool side goes below room temperature. In some applications, multiple coolers can be cascaded together for lower temperature.

[0020] According to one construction of a Peltier device, two unique semiconductors, one n-type and one p-type, are used to provide different electron densities. The semiconductors are placed thermally in parallel to each other and electrically in series and then joined with a thermally conducting plate on each side. When a voltage is applied to the free ends of the two semiconductors there is a flow of DC current across the junction of the semiconductors causing a temperature difference. The side with the cooling plate absorbs heat which is then moved to the other side of the device where the heat sink is located.

[0021] As may be seen in FIGS. 5-11, the water generating unit 19 is mounted in a front compartment 14 of the housing 13, while a rear portion of the housing 13 provides an open faced container 39 for one or more plants, e.g. 40, FIG. 3. The water generating unit 19 includes vertical fins 44 formed as part of the cold sink 21 and which are positioned behind a perforated area 42 formed in the front of the housing 13. In one embodiment, the perforated area 42 may be rectangular, but may be other shapes in other embodiments. In the illustrative embodiment, a lower end 47 of each vertical fin 44 is positioned within the vertical perimeter 43 of the water tray 17.

[0022] In operation, as shown by the dashed arrows in FIGS. 12 and 13, moisture laden atmospheric air is drawn in by operation of the fan 25 and passes across the cold sink fins 44, then through the fan 25, then past the heat sink 23, then through a discharge port 48 of the water generating unit 19, and out through apertures 49 formed on a back side 51 of the curved surface 53 (FIG. 1) of the cover plate 15. Atmospheric moisture condenses on the outward facing cold sink fins 44 and then flows downwardly via gravitational force into the water tray 17. The bottom surface 54 of the water tray 17 is disposed at an angle to the horizontal such that the water collected from the vertical fins 44 flows by gravity feed downwardly and through a rectangular slit or opening 55 in a wall 57 of the water tray 17 and into the plant container 39. Once in the bottom of the container 39, the water moves upwardly on its own into the soil 45 (FIG. 3).

[0023] The display unit 33 is mounted in the downwardly curved front surface 59 of the cover plate 15 and contains a numeric display 36 and a control button 37. The control button 37 and display 36 are used to set the time interval during which the water generating unit 19 operates to extract moisture from the air for watering purposes. For this purpose, the control button 37 supplies a suitable electrical input signal to a control unit mounted on the circuit board 35 located behind the display 36. In response to the control button input, the control unit controls the amount of time that electrical power is supplied to the water generation unit 19 to thereby control its period of operation. For example, it may be desirable to vary the time of operation of the water generating unit 19 as the humidity in the surrounding air varies, dryer air typically requiring a longer period of operation.

[0024] In an illustrative embodiment, the control unit may comprise a microprocessor, while in other embodiments it may comprise hard wired control logic. In one embodiment, the control button 37 selects an integer number of hours during which the water generating unit 19 operates, but could be configured to select other time periods of operation, particular days of operation etc.

[0025] As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the cover piece 31 slides into vertical guides 71, 73 located on a back surface of a vertical wall 75 of the housing 13. The cover piece 31 is shaped to shield the water outlet 55 of the water tray 13 from dirt and other contaminants, while providing a slight gap 77 at its bottom edge 79 to allow water to flow into the container 39 from the water tray 17. A power port 68 is formed in a depression 67 in the bottom 29 of the housing 13 beneath the water tray 17 to allow for a power connection to the circuit board 35, the Peltier device 22 and the fan 25 from an external power supply, which may be, for example, a transformer, a battery or other source of power.

[0026] From FIGS. 9-13, it may be seen that suitable support members 80, 83, 85, 87, 89 are molded into or otherwise formed on the housing 13 for purposes of mounting, positioning, and supporting the water generating unit 19 and water tray 17. FIG. 10 illustrates a support 87, which has a pin 90 that fits through a slot or hole in the water tray 17 and another support 89, which has a bore 91, which may receive a screw. In one embodiment, the water tray 17 may snap or plug into the housing 13, and the water generating unit 19 and fan 25 may be screwed to the water tray 17. Various alternative support and fastening structures may be provided according to alternative embodiments.

[0027] As may be seen in FIGS. 10 and 11, the upper rim 27 includes a u-shaped channel which snaps or otherwise fits onto the top edges of the vertical walls, e.g., 75, 76 of the housing 13. The cover plate 15 snaps or otherwise fits into the top of the front compartment 14 of the housing 13 and rests on horizontal lips 95 extending from the top rim 27. In an illustrative embodiment, the housing 13, upper rim 27, bottom 29, water tray 17, cover plate 15 and cover piece 31 may be molded plastic components, but may fabricated according to other methods in other embodiments.

[0028] From the foregoing, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various adaptations and modifications of the just described illustrative embodiments can be configured without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Therefore, it is to be understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced other than as specifically described herein.