GB1573754A - Plant pot holders - Google Patents

Description

(54) IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO PLANT POT HOLDERS (71) We, BRITISH INDUSTRIAL PLASTICS LIMITED, a Company organised under the laws of Great Britain, of 20 St.

Mary's Parsonage, Manchester M3 2NL (formally of 77 Fountain Street, Manchester M2 2EA), do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: This invention relates to plant pot holders.

House plants are a frequent sight in present-day households and many holders are sold simply to permit the normal moulded plant pot to be concealed or dispensed with altogether in order to improve appearance. A number of self-watering plant pots have also been proposed and marketed but these have involved the use of a special plant pot incorporating wicks and other special provisions to supply water to the interior of the pot. The disadvantage of such special pots is that they are very much more expensive than conventional simple plant pots, and when they contain intrusions into the interior of the pot, they render more difficult the process of re-potting a plant or plants.

According to the present invention a plant pot holder comprises an open-topped container having side-walls and a base and incorporating a plurality of supporting members extending from the base of the container, together with spacer members extending inwardly from the side-walls, and wherein said supporting members are also arranged to serve as a holder for at least one wick extending from the base of the container such that, when in use, with a plant pot in the holder positioned on said wick, the plant pot is placed apart from both the walls and the base of the container and the wick serves to feed moisture to the base of the pot from the base of the container.

Preferably the plant pot holder is integrally moulded from plastics material.

It will be appreciated that holes are provided in the base of a plant pot for watering purposes. In general a plurality of holes are arranged in a circle around the centre of the base of the common moulded plastics plant pots. There are other designs of plant pot such as an earthenware variety which usually have a single central hole in the base.

In the plant pot holder of the present invention it is intended that at least some or part of the holes are located against the wick for watering purposes and the holder may be designed for one only of the above types of plant pot. If desired however, the supporting member may provide alternative possible positions for a wick in order to cater for more than one plant pot design.

In use the plant pot holder of the invention, is provided with a wick, and water placed in the holder up to a level below the supW porting surface of the supporting members. A plant pot having hole dispositions appropriate to the location of the wick may then be inserted in the holder and a plant therein will be fed with water from the moist wick.

The invention also includes the combination of the plant pot holder of the invention with a plant pot having at least one hole in its base disposed so that, in use in the holder, said hole is located adjacent the wick to feed moisture from the base of the container to the interior of the pot.

Preferably a wad of wicking material is provided to feed moisture from the base of the container to the interior of the pot.

The plant pot holder may conveniently be moulded from plastics material and may have a decorative exterior finish if desired.

The wick may be any suitable wick material such as a felt of a proprietary capillary matting of the kind sold for horicultural purposes. The invention will now be described in more detail by way of example only with reference to the drawings accompanying the Provisional Specification and in which: Figure 1 is a cross-sectional side view and Figure 2 is a plan view of a plant pot holder.

As shown in figures 1 and 2 the plant pot holder consists of a container integrally moulded from plastics material and having side-walls 1 and a slightly convex base 2.

From the sidewalls four spacing ribs 3 extend radially inwardly and from the base a plurality of supporting ribs 4 extend upwardly.

As can be seen from the plan view in figure 2 the supporting ribs 4 define an annular channel 5 into which a wick can be inserted, and whose walls have openings 6 which allow access to the wick of water from the base of the holder.

It will be appreciated that this plant pot holder is designed for a standard moulded plastics plant pot which has holes in its base arranged in a circle at a radius corresponding to that of the channel 5 in the holder.

In use, a wick is placed in the channel 5, the bottom surface of the wick being in the base of the channel, and the top surface being slightly proud of the upper edges of the supporting ribs 4 which define the channel.

Water is then placed in the bottom of the holder, up to a level not above the upper edges of the supporting ribs. The holder is now ready to receive a suitable plant pot, and preferably inside the bottom of the plant pot a layer of wicking material is provided in order to assist in transfer of moisture from the wick in the channel to the interior of the pot.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS: 1. A plant pot holder comprising an opentopped container having side-walls and a base and incorporating a plurality of supporting members extending from the base of the container, together with spacer members extending inwardly from the side-walls, and wherein said supporting members are also arranged to serve as a holder for at least one wick extending from the base of the container such that, when in use, with a plant pot in the holder positioned on said wick, the plant pot spaced apart from both the walls and the base of the container and the wick serves to feed moisture to the base of the pot from the base of the container.

2. A plant pot holder according to claim 1 integrally moulded from plastics material.

In combination with the plant pot holder of claim 1 or claim 2, a plant pot having at least one hole in its base disposed so that, in use in the holder, said hole is located adjacent the wick to feed moisture from the base of the container to the interior of the pot.

4. A plant pot holder substantially as hereinbefore defined with reference to and as illustrated by the drawings accompanying the provisional specification.

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims (4)

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. As shown in figures 1 and 2 the plant pot holder consists of a container integrally moulded from plastics material and having side-walls 1 and a slightly convex base 2. From the sidewalls four spacing ribs 3 extend radially inwardly and from the base a plurality of supporting ribs 4 extend upwardly. As can be seen from the plan view in figure 2 the supporting ribs 4 define an annular channel 5 into which a wick can be inserted, and whose walls have openings 6 which allow access to the wick of water from the base of the holder. It will be appreciated that this plant pot holder is designed for a standard moulded plastics plant pot which has holes in its base arranged in a circle at a radius corresponding to that of the channel 5 in the holder. In use, a wick is placed in the channel 5, the bottom surface of the wick being in the base of the channel, and the top surface being slightly proud of the upper edges of the supporting ribs 4 which define the channel. Water is then placed in the bottom of the holder, up to a level not above the upper edges of the supporting ribs. The holder is now ready to receive a suitable plant pot, and preferably inside the bottom of the plant pot a layer of wicking material is provided in order to assist in transfer of moisture from the wick in the channel to the interior of the pot. WHAT WE CLAIM IS:

1. A plant pot holder comprising an opentopped container having side-walls and a base and incorporating a plurality of supporting members extending from the base of the container, together with spacer members extending inwardly from the side-walls, and wherein said supporting members are also arranged to serve as a holder for at least one wick extending from the base of the container such that, when in use, with a plant pot in the holder positioned on said wick, the plant pot spaced apart from both the walls and the base of the container and the wick serves to feed moisture to the base of the pot from the base of the container.

2. A plant pot holder according to claim 1 integrally moulded from plastics material.

In combination with the plant pot holder of claim 1 or claim 2, a plant pot having at least one hole in its base disposed so that, in use in the holder, said hole is located adjacent the wick to feed moisture from the base of the container to the interior of the pot.

4. A plant pot holder substantially as hereinbefore defined with reference to and as illustrated by the drawings accompanying the provisional specification.