Abstract
A modular structure to protect plants and bulbs from deer and other wild animals comprising of connectable vertical poles and open-ended circles placed horizontally through eyelets located on the vertical poles. Flexible mesh or netting is wrapped around the structure and attached on to specially designed hooks on one of the vertical poles. Modular and flexible design features makes it possible for the plant protection system to be extended, widened, slanted, and be modified to enclose plants on different types of surfaces and stages of growth. The open-ended circles and connectable vertical poles make it possible for the system to be built around a plant or be dismantled piece by piece without having to damage the plant or the enclosure. System constructed with light weight materials and connectable parts makes it possible for all the necessary components to be in one package that can be shipped or picked up by do-it-your-self consumers in need of a plant and bulb protection systems that can be easily assembled by themselves without tools.
Claims
1. A modular plant protection system to protect plants from deer and other wild animals comprising: plurality of vertical poles, plurality of circles secured horizontally to the said vertical poles by means of plurality of eyelets located on said vertical poles, creating a flexible structure, enclosed with a flexible mesh or netting secured to the structure by means of plurality of hooks located in one of the said vertical poles, creating a enclosure, secured to a penetrable surface.
2. The modular plant protection system of claim 1, wherein; said vertical poles comprise of top and bottom sections, connected by a ferrules.
3. The modular plant protection system of claim 1, wherein; the two ends of said bottom vertical poles are tapered.
4. The modular plant protection system of claim 1, wherein; rods bent at a ninety degree angles with one end tapered, the other end attached to the bottom ends of the said vertical poles provides stability and a means of attaching the structure to a penetrable surface without tools.
5. The bent rod sections of claim 4 wherein: said bent rods attached to the ends of the said vertical poles acts as foot plates to exert pressure on the said vertical poles to secure the structure to a penetrable surface without the aid of tools.
6. The modular plant protection system of claim 1, wherein; top and bottom sections of the vertical poles comprises plurality of eyelets which acts as flexible joints and provides a means to connect the said plurality of circles to the said plurality of vertical poles to form a flexible structure.
7. The modular plant protection system of claim 1, wherein; said flexible structure is enclosed with a flexible piece of mesh or netting.
8. The modular plant protection system of claim 1, wherein; said flexible structure is enclosed with a flexible piece of mesh or netting with plurality of slits at the bottom edge.
9. The modular plant protection system of claim 1, wherein: plurality of hooks located perpendicular to the support poles are used to receive the filaments on the left and right edges of the rectangle mesh or netting, and also acts as a means of securing the mesh or netting to the structure.
10. The modular plant protection system of claim 1, wherein; said mesh or netting is attached to the support pole first by inserting plurality of chosen filaments on the mesh or netting to the left arm of the C hook located on the said support pole and complete attaching the mesh or netting to the frame by inserting plurality of chosen filament on the mesh or netting on the opposite end, to the right arm of the C hook on the said support pole leaving a overlap between the two edges.
11. The modular plant protection system of claim 1 wherein, said mesh or netting is further secured to the frame by means of plurality ties.
12. The modular plant protection system of claim 1, wherein: the bottom sections of the vertical supports can be changed to place the system on non-penetrable surface.
13. The modular plant protection system of claim 1, wherein: the top sections of the said vertical poles can be replaced with different sizes of top sections.
14. The modular plant protection system of claim 1, wherein, said plurality of circles are opened and closed by means of ferrules.
15. The modular plant protection system of claim 1, wherein: the said plurality circles can be removed and exchanged with plurality of circles of different diameters.
16. The modular plant protection system of claim 1, wherein, the plurality of circles secured to the vertical poles by means of said plurality of eyelets allows the of the said plurality of circles to be changed from being horizontal to being parallel to the slope of the surface.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
[0030] FIG. 1 is a front view of the preferred embodiment fully assembled and erected on flat penetrable soil.
[0031] FIG. 2 illustrates the frame of the preferred embodiment assembled with two circles horizontally oriented and attached to three vertical poles by means of eyelets located on top and bottom sections of three vertical poles. Bottom section of the support poles are tapered to penetrates soil surface.
[0032] FIG. 3 through 8 shows the unassembled top and bottom sections of starter and support poles for the preferred embodiment. It should be noted, for illustration purposes, only one length of the top sections of starter and support poles are illustrated.
[0033] FIGS. 9 and 10 illustrates the two open-ended circles in the preferred embodiment. It should be noted, for illustration purposes, only one diameter of circles is illustrated.
[0034] FIG. 11 illustrates the front view another embodiment constructed with alternative bottom sections for the system to be placed on a hard surface such as a brick patio or wooden deck.
[0035] FIG. 12 illustrates the assembled frame of the embodiment described in FIG. 11, constructed with two circles horizontally oriented and attached to vertical poles by means of eyelets located on top and bottom sections of vertical poles. Bottom sections of the vertical poles are bent at ninety degree angles for the system to be placed on a hard surface.
[0036] FIG. 13 through 18 illustrates unassembled top and bottom sections of starter and support poles of the embodiment described in FIG. 11. It should be noted, for illustration purposes, only one height of the top section is illustrated.
[0037] FIG. 19 is the front view of the ferrules used to connect top and bottom sections of starter and support poles. Same ferrule is used for connecting circles in all of the embodiments described.
[0038] FIG. 20 is a cross sectional view taken along line 34-34 in FIG. 19.
[0039] FIG. 21 is the side view of the eyelets used with the top and bottom sections of the starter and support poles.
[0040] FIG. 22 is the top view of the C hook used on top and bottom section of the starter pole.
[0041] FIG. 23 is the side view of another embodiment of the invention erected on a sloped or uneven terrain.
[0042] FIG. 24 is the cross sectional view taken along line 35-35 in FIG. 23 illustrates how the circle inserted through the eyelets allows the horizontal orientation of the circles' plane to move freely up or down, providing flexibility to the frame.
[0043] FIG. 25 is the natural shape of an unfolded piece of mesh or netting. The same type of mesh or netting is used in all the embodiments described, except for the embodiment designed for a sloped terrain shown in FIG. 23 It should be noted, for illustration purposes, only one height and length of the rectangle mesh or netting is shown.
[0044] FIG. 26 is the front view of rectangle piece of mesh or netting with slits at the bottom edge used in embodiment shown in FIG. 23. It should be noted, for illustration purposes, only one height and length of the rectangle mesh or is netting shown.
[0045] FIG. 27 is the top view of the preferred embodiments and all other embodiments, showing the placement of the support poles erected in clock hand positions of two, six, and ten, and the placement of the circle around a tree. It should be noted, that support poles can be erected in any position along the perimeter of the circle, as long as they are evenly spaced apart to form a triangle.
[0046] FIG. 28 is front view of the top left edge of the mesh or netting showing how the left arm of the top C hook is attached to the mesh or netting.
[0047] FIG. 29 is the front view of the top section of the mesh or netting showing how the two ends overlap, and how the top right edge of the mesh or netting is attached to the right arm of the C hook.
[0048] FIG. 30 is a view of an optional length of wire or plastic that may be included with the unit. It will be pliable enough to twist around the contact points of the metal frame of the enclosure and the mesh to further secure it and prevent slipping.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0049] A front view of the invention fully assembled on penetrable soil is shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 shows the front view of the assembled frame of the preferred embodiment consisting of two circles 5 and three vertical poles made up of top section of starter pole 1, top section of support poles 3, bottom section of starter pole 2, and bottom section of support pole 4 fixed to a penetrable soil surface 27. FIG. 3 shows the individual components of the starter and support poles. The top and bottom sections are connected together by ferrules 6 shown in FIG. 19.
[0050] Ferrule 6 in FIG. 19 may be made of thin wall tubing or a UV treated synthetic material where the inner wall diameter of the ferrule is a few millimeters larger than the outer diameter of the pole ends inserted into the open end of the ferrule 6. The connected sections can be taken apart to modify the system if necessary. Ferrule 6 may be welded to the bottom end of the top section poles 1, 3 or the ferrule can be a standalone piece that can be used as a connector because the middle point of the ferrule has two indent points 15 pressed on both sides of the hollow tube as shown in FIG. 20 to stop the pole ends from sliding more than half the length of the ferrule.
[0051] Circles 5 are connected to vertical poles by means of eyelet 8. Eyelets are welded 19 as shown in FIG. 24 to the body of the starter and support poles a few inches away from the top and bottom ends of the poles. The top section of starter pole 1 and top sections of support poles 3 have one eyelet per piece welded and the bottom part of starter pole 2 and bottom part of support pole 4 have two eyelets per piece welded to them. Eyelet 8 is used as a mechanism to connect the two circles 5 to the three vertical poles and provides a joint so the planes of the circles can be changed. A very small tolerance between the walls of the eyelet and the outer surface of the circle permits the plane of the circle to freely move up and down or be turned around when necessary.
[0052] FIG. 22 is the front view of C hook7 which is used to start and end the process of attaching the plastic mesh or netting to the said frame of the preferred embodiment shown in FIG. 2. It also acts as a mechanism to hold the mesh or netting tightly onto the frame. The distance between the left arm end 16 and right arm end 17 of the C hook 7 is a few millimeters larger than the thickness of the mesh or netting filament. The top section of the starter pole 1 has one welded C hook 7 and the bottom section of the starter pole 2 has two welded C hooks 7.
[0053] As shown in FIG. 4, 6, 8, the ends of the bottom sections of starter poles 2 and support poles 4 are tapered 10 at the end to penetrate the moistened soil surface 27. An L shaped rod with one tapered end 36 is turned upside down and welded to the bottom section of starter pole 2 and support poles 4. The piece of the rod welded perpendicularly towards the end of bottom sections 2, 4 is hereafter referred to as the foot plate 9. Foot plate 9 is used to exert pressure to drive the system into penetrable soil 27.
[0054] The open-ended pair of circles 5 in FIG. 9 and FIG. 10 may be fabricated with low carbon steel, wrought Iron, spring steel, or any other suitable material and may finished with powder coating or any other finish for durability and weather resistance. Ends of the open circles 5 have ferrules 6 welded or attached in the same manner described for the vertical poles.
Assembly of Invention
[0055] The modular plant protection system can be assembled around the plant 29 if the plant is tall and wide or the system can be constructed away from the plant and be placed over the plant if the plant is not too tall. The instructions given below are for assembling the preferred embodiment around a tall branched out plant 29.
[0056] Connect the top sections 1, 3 shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 5, and bottom sections 2,4 shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 6. Place the open end circle 5 over the trunk centering the plant 29 as shown in FIG. 27. Take the assembled starter pole and place the tapered end 10 approximately a quarter of an inch outside the circle 5 where the tapered end 10 is in clock hand position six. Rotate the pole so the pressure foot 9 and the C hooks 7 are perpendicular to the circle 5. Firmly press the pole a few inches into the ground using the foot plate 9 located on the bottom of the pole. Erect the other two assembled support poles in clock hand positions two and ten in the same manner. Slide out or remove the open-ended circle 5 away from the plant 29 and the three erected support poles. Insert the open end 11 of circle 5 through all the eyelets 8 on the bottom sections of poles and close the circle by pushing in the open-end 11 into the open-end of the ferrule 6. Insert the open-end 11 of the second circle 5 through all the eyelets 8 on the top section of all 3 poles and close the circle in the same manner. Now that the frame is assembled, further attach the frame to the ground by exerting pressure on the pressure plate 9 on all three foot plates until the bottom surface of the pressure plate 9 is resting on surface 27.
[0057] To attach the mesh or netting illustrated in FIG. 25, take the left edge 25 of the mesh or netting and thread the right filaments of the highlighted squares 22 in the mesh or netting through left arm 16 of C ring 7 located on the top section of starter pole 1 and bottom section of starter pole 2. Pull and take the rectangle mesh or netting around the other two vertical poles completing a full circle until the edge 24 overlaps edge 25 by a few inches as shown in FIG. 29. Select a column of mesh or net opening on edge 24 which will give the mesh the tightest fit around the frame. Pull the selected mesh or net column slightly towards vertical starter pole to stretch the left filament of the selected mesh column directly over the right arm 17 of the C hook 7. Insert the stretched filament of the mesh or net through the small gap between right arm 16 and 17 of C hook 7.
[0058] After the mesh is fitted on to the frame, the top end 23 of the mesh or netting will be a few inches taller than the upper circle 5. The mesh or netting bottom edge 26 extends vertically below the bottom circle 5 touching the planting surface 27 to prevent small animals from crawling beneath the plant protection system.
[0059] Now that the assembly is complete, to prevent the mesh cylinder from sliding down or moving around the frame, use ties 18 in FIG. 30 to tie the mesh on to the circles 5 and vertical poles for additional security.
[0060] In another embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. 11 where the preferred embodiment is modified for the modular plant protection system to be placed on a hard surface such as brick 28 or a wooden deck. FIG. 12 shows the fully assembled frame of the modified embodiment with a different style of bottom sections of starter pole 12 and support poles 13. FIG. 13 through 18 shows the unassembled top section 1,3 and bottom section 12,13 of the vertical poles for this embodiment. The end of the bottom sections 12,13 are bent at ninety degree angles to form an L shape foot. The method of attaching the circles 5 to the vertical support poles and attaching the mesh or netting to the frame is the same as in the preferred embodiment. It should be noted that, since the system is modular where interchangeable parts can be used, the same components used in the preferred embodiment; circles, top sections are used in the modified embodiment.
[0061] In another embodiment of the invention, the preferred embodiment is modified by attaching different sizes of top sections (not shown in drawings) to extend the height of the system. The method of attaching the circles to the support poles and attaching the mesh or netting to the frame is the same as described for the preferred embodiment. It should be noted that, since the system is modular where interchangeable components can be used, the same circles and bottom sections used in the preferred embodiment can be used in this embodiment.
[0062] In another embodiment of the invention, the preferred embodiment is modified by attaching a different size of circles (not shown in drawings) to the system to accommodate wider trees. The method of attaching the circles to the support poles and attaching the mesh or netting to the frame is the same as described for the preferred embodiment. It should be noted that, since the system is modular where interchangeable components can be used, the same top and bottom sections used with the preferred embodiment can be used in this embodiment.
[0063] In another embodiment of the invention, the preferred embodiment is modified for the modular plant protection system to be placed on a slope or uneven surface as shown in FIG. 23 where the bottom support pole are at different levels. When the modular system is erected on a slope or uneven surface, the shape of the frame can be changed from the circles being perpendicular to the support poles to the circles being pararelle to the surface as shown in FIG. 23. The method of attaching the circles to the support poles is the same as described for the preferred embodiment. For this embodiment, the mesh or net shown in FIG. 26 with several slits 21 at the bottom edge 32 is attached to the frame in the same manner as described for the preferred embodiment. Because of the slope of the terrain, the bottom edge 32 should be bent and arranged along the slope terrain as shown in FIG. 23.
