US3169897A - Flower holding plate - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 16, 1965 KwoNG TAK YUE FLOWER HOLDING PLATE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 3, 1962 f INVENTOR. Kyo/fe 72K /UE fl/wl HW Afro/@Ney United States Patent O "ice 3,169,897 FLOWER HOLDING PLATE Kwong Tak Yue, Kowloon, Hong Kong, assignor, by

direct and mesne assignments, to Rico Limited, Kowloon, Hong Kong, a corporation of Hong Kong Filed May 3, 1962, Ser. No. 192,235 1 Claim. (Cl. 161-31) The present invention relates to a base plate for an artiiicial flower arrangement and more particularly to a base plate in which artificial flowers may be easily mounted and arranged.

An object of the present invention is the provision of an improved base plate for a flower arrangement in which flowers may be easily and inexpensively assembled.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of an improved base plate for a flower arrangement wherein the flowers may be easily arranged in a predetermined manner.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of an improved base plate wherein owers may be easily mounted on the base plate and easily removed therefrom when desired.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of an improved base plate which permits a variety of floral arrangements to be formed. p

Other and further objects of the invention will be obvious upon an understanding of the illustrative embodiment about to be described, or will be indicated in the appended claim, and various advantages not referred to herein will occur to one skilled in the art upon employment of the invention in practice. y

A preferred embodiment of the invention has been chosen for purposes of illustration and description and is shown in the accompanying drawings, forming a part of the specification, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a ower arrangement which may be made in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan View showing a base plate made in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the base plate;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of a detail showing the manner of assembling the flowers on the base plate;

FIG. 6 is an exploded sectional view showing the manner of assembling the owers on the base plate;

FIG. 7 is a detail shown of one manner of affixing a fiower to a stalk;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing another flower arrangement which may be made with the present invention;

FIG. 9 is an exploded detail showing a holder adapted to be used to make the ower arrangement of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view showing a modification whereby two base plates may be easily linked together;

FIG. l1 is a side sectional View showing two base plates linked together; and

FIG. 12 is another modification showing another manner of linking two base plates together.

It will be understood that the term owers, leaves, stalk, buds, etc., as used herein are interchangeable and are intended to include any foliage.

Referring to FIGS. 1 through 6, which shows one form of the present invention, the base plate 1 comprises a support sheet 2, which may be made of any material, such as polyethylene, having a plurality of sleeves 3 which extend above and below the support sheet 2. Each of the sleeves 3 is provided with openings 4 extending there- .'lbhh? Patented Feb. 16, 1965 through. Though the openings 4 are shown in the drawings as being square or diamond-shaped, it will be understood that they may be any shape, such as circular, polygonal, elliptical, etc.

Depending from the support sheet 2 is an attaching pin 5 (FIG. 4) which may be reinforced with a stilfening member 6 in order to permit the base plate l to be mounted in a base 7, which may be made of foam plastic as vshown in FIG. 4.

As shown in the drawings, an adapter 8, which has a shape corresponding to the shape of the opening 4 and which, as shown in the drawings, is square or diamond shaped, is inserted in openings 4. Each adapter 8 has an opening 9 therein to permit the stem l0 of a flower 1I to be inserted therein as shown in FIG. 6. The iiower 11 may have a bud 12 at its upper end, as shown in FIG. 1, or, if desired, a bud 12 may be mounted on a nipple 13 extending from the stem 10,- as shown in FIG. 7.

When the desired number of owers 11 are mounted in sleeves 3, by means of adapter 8, a floral arrangement as shown in FIG. l may be formed.

In order to permit the user to get the desired effect, the top of each sleeve 3 may have a numeral, or some other indicia thereon and the stalk 10 may also be marked with a corresponding number or indicia. Thus the user easily knows which stalk is inserted into a particular opening to obtain a desired oral arrangement.r

It will of course be understood that if the size of the openings 4 in the sleeve 3 are the same as the size of the stalks I0, the adapters 8 may be eliminated and the stalk 10 inserted directly into the openings 4 in sleeve 3.

Furthermore, it will be understood that by using diiierent types of flowers or by leaving some of the sleeves 3 empty, different ower arrangements may be obtained.

One such different floral arrangement, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, is a low type of arrangement which is formed by utilizing a holder 15 having a depending supporting pin 16 and nipples 17 extending therefrom. The pin 16 is inserted in the opening 9 of adapter 8 and foliage 1S is mounted on nipples 17 to form the low oral arrangement shown in FIG. 8.

If it is desired to form a oral arrangement which requires two base plates 1, the present invention permits the two base plates to be easily linked together, as is shown in FIGS. 10 to 12. A bridge 20 comprises a bar 24 having upstanding pins 21 is inserted into the opening 4 of the sleeves 3 of each base plate I from the bottom to hold the two plates together. As shown in FIGS. 10 and 1l the pins are square to fit into the square openings 4 from the bottom and each pin may also have an opening 22 therein to accommodate the stem 10 of a flower.

FIG. l2 shows a variation which may be used wherein the bridge 20 having circular upstanding pins 21 which are insertable into the adapters 8 from the bottom.

It will thus be seen that the present invention provides an improved base plate in which flowers may be easily and inexpensively assembled in a predetermined manner and which may each have flowers added or removed therefrom.

As various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and without sacriiicing any of its advantages, it is to be understood that all matter herein is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

A base plate for an artificial floral. arrangement comprising a thin, planar, resilient support sheet, a plurality of sleeves integral with and extending above the upper surface of the support sheet, each of said sleeves having a non-circular opening therein, a non-circular adapter removably mounted within the opening in said sleeves, said adapter havinga configuration substantially matching the coniguration of the non-circular opening in the sleeves, said adapter having an opening therein to receive thek stems of artificial foliage therein.

References Ctefinthe 111e of thie patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 264,308 vLambert Sept. 12, 1882 Goeman ou. 17, 1905 t Salari Apr. 13, 19.115 Cowan Aug. 26, 1930 Buhrow Feb. 16, 1937 Dillon et al. Aug. 24, 1954 FOREIGN AlhfElN'S France 1 Aug. 13, 19,34

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