GB2339380A - Non-draining plant container - Google Patents

Description

1 2339380 NON-DRAINING PLANT CONTAINER The invention relates to a

non-draining plant or flower container of the type which may be put anywhere convenient.

Plant containers such as pots, baskets or boxes are well-known, but suffer from the disadvantage that they have drainage holes and so do not retain all the water added to them. This excess water must be collected if the plants or flowers are kept indoors which can be inconvenient.

An object of this invention is to provide a plant or flower container which is designed to retain water and thus a container which may be used anywhere convenient without needing special drainage requirements.

Accordingly, this invention provides a plant or flower container which retains water added to it and has a means of indicating how much water is being retained to indicate watering requirements.

Preferably the container is made of plastics, but it may instead be made from wood, or from a combination of these materials.

A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 shows in perspective the whole container, FIGURE 2 shows the superstructure of the container and the protective cover, and FIGURE 3 is a section showing the removable deck plates, the space saver block and the float mechanism as explained below.

2 Referring to the drawings the container comprises a hull 1 with a removable upper deck 2 and a removable lower deck 3. There are also removable plugs 4 on each side of the hull 1. The hull 1 is attached to a superstructure 5 which represents the bridge and funnel of a ship. A mast 6 fits into the bridge section of the superstructure 5. The mast 6 has a hollow tubular section running from top to bottom. This hollow tubular section allows a rod 7 to move freely up and down. Attached to rod 7 at the lower end is a float 8. The rod 7 protrudes from the top of the mast 6 and has a flag 9 attached to it.

When water collects in the bottom of the hull I it causes the float 8 to rise thus raising the flag 9 from the top of the mast 6. Immediately below the flag 9 is a coloured section of the rod 7 which indicates water is being retained at the bottom of the hull 1. This coloured section is hidden in the mast 6 when the float 8 rests on the bottom of the hull 1.

As shown in Figure 2, to prevent float 8 being fouled by compost or plant roots, rod 7 and float 8 are protected by a cover 10 which fits onto the superstructure 5.

As shown in Figure 3, the protective cover 10 has ridges 11 which support the removable upper deck 2 and the removable lower deck 3. To prevent the collection of too much water before the flag 9 rises out of the mast 6 there is a removable water-proof space saver block 12 in the bottom of the hull 1.

In order to use the container for ftesh cut flowers, the lower deck 3 and the space saver block 12 may be removed and the hull 1 filled with water up to the plugs 4. Flowers may be arranged in the holes provided in upper deck 2. In order to use the container for living plants, the upper deck 2 may be removed and compost placed on the lower deck 3. The lower deck 3 has one or more holes to allow excess water to drain into the bottom of the hull 1 and raise the float 8. In order to use the container for trailing plants, the plugs 4 may be removed to allow tailing plants to grow out of the sides of hull 1. In order to use the container as a wall decoration, the container may be affixed to a wall by means of a hole in the back of the superstructure 5 (not shown).

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Claims (1)

1. CIAIMS

   1 A non-draining plant or flower container comprising a main body which contains the plants or flowers and means for indicating the amount of water being retained by the container. - 2 A non-draining plant or flower container as claimed in Claim 1, wherein means are provided as part of the main body to adapt the container according to its contents.