FR2936929A1 - VEGETABLE CONTAINER OF THE POT OR VASE TYPE AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a container (1) for plants comprising at least one body (2) hollow reserve (3) of nutrients inscribed in a cylinder. This container is characterized in that it further comprises a sleeve (6) inside which is housed at least partially the container body (2), this sleeve (6) being heat-shrunk around said body (2) to conform to the contours of said body, a section (7) of said sheath (6) extending beyond the upper end (5) of said body (2) forming an inner peripheral collar (8) of said body (2) , this flange (8) extending towards the interior of said body in the form of a tube (9) plunger or well function on the one hand, guide introduction and maintenance of the plant stems in the body (2) container, on the other hand sealing during a reversal of said container (1).

Description

The present invention relates to a plant container pot or vase type and a method of manufacturing such a container.

Commercially packed vegetable containers, that is, containers containing plants and plant nutrients, such as water, soil, water-soaked foam or other substrate, have become widely developed in recent years. The difficulty of such filled receptacles lies especially in the transport of these containers which, because they contain nutritive elements, such as water, earth or other, must be transported vertically. On the other hand, when they are filled with water, wave formation occurs during transport which can cause at least a portion of the nutrient medium to escape from said container. To avoid such problems related to wave formation or container overturning, the containers are usually equipped with a nutrient reserve closure member. This closure member, generally elastically deformable, is for example in the form of a membrane provided with a through hole for the passage of plants and their introduction into the body of said container. This shutter member closes the upper end of said body. This closure member, because of its embodiment of an elastically deformable material, is relatively expensive. In addition, it is unsightly because of a different nature of the body. Finally, since it simply rests on the upper end of the container by interlocking, there is a risk of detachment of said shutter member from its seat during an inadvertent pull on the plants during transport or packaging.

An object of the present invention is therefore to provide a vegetable container pot or vase type, intended to be marketed filled with plants, whose design allows to overcome a sealing member elastically deformable, so expensive. Another object of the present invention is to provide a plant container whose design, at low cost, parallel to a partial closure of the upper end of said body, ensures a safe transport of said container and a dressing of said body. Another object of the present invention is to provide a plant container whose design makes it possible to offer, at low cost, a maintenance of the plants in the upright position of the plants in said container.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a plant container whose design makes it possible to obtain, at low cost, an ornamental container and / or communication medium.

To this end, the subject of the invention is a plant container of the pot or vase type, comprising at least one hollow body with a reserve of nutritive elements, such as water, earth or the like, said body, inscribed in a cylinder, being able to rest by one of its ends, said lower, forming a base on a horizontal plane and being, at its opposite end, said upper, open to allow the introduction of plant rods within said body, characterized In that the container further comprises a sleeve inside which is housed at least partially the container body, the sleeve being heat-shrunk around said body to conform to the contours of said body, a section of said sleeve extending beyond the upper end of said body forming an inner peripheral flange of said body, this flange extending towards the interior of said body in the form of a dip tube or well s function on the one hand, guide introduction and maintenance of the plant stems in the container body, on the other hand sealing during a reversal of said container.

The sheath is therefore, before being retracted by heat, in the form of a tubular body of the sleeve type of a heat-shrinkable material open at each of its ends. This tubular body surrounds the container body so that a portion of said tubular body protrudes beyond the upper end of the container body inserted into said tubular body. The heat causes the tubular body to retract so that the portion of the tubular body surrounding the container body over at least a portion of its height is pressed against the outer wall of the latter, while the portion of the tubular body protrusion of the container body retracts to form a rim, of generally annular shape, also called collar, to said container body, this collar extending at the upper end of the container body and extending towards the interior of said body in the form of a dip tube or well whose end or open bottom opens into said container body. The presence of this dip tube allows delimiting between the outer peripheral wall of the tube, the flange and the inner peripheral wall of the receiving body, a storage volume of nutrients, in particular liquid, in the inverted position of the container body, 15 preventing untimely exit of said container elements. This volume is also useful in the supine position of the container by forming an additional volume of nutrient storage.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the dip tube has the shape of a funnel, the inclined wall of the inverted truncated cone serving as a guide wall of said plant stems upon introduction of the rods into the body. of container.

Generally, the dip tube and the container body are coaxial. Preferably, the sleeve forms a printing medium. Due to the fact that the sheath is made of a printable material and forms a printing medium, an ornamental container and / or communication medium is obtained at low cost, depending on the nature of the prints. Thus, the sleeve 30 may be printed with colors or patterns reminiscent of plants that it is intended to contain. It can be printed with a bar code or any other type of information. Preferably, the sheath forms a coating of said container body extending over the entire height of said container body. This gives a uniform presentation of said container.

Preferably, the sleeve comprises, in its zone conforming to the contours of the container body, at least one rupture initiation line extending in a plane substantially parallel to the plane of said collar and, at a level below said collar to allow, if necessary, the elimination of the sleeve section constituting the flange and the plunger tube.

Thus, once the container transported and brought on its presentation link, the elimination of the sheath section allows to give the bouquet of plants a more open form. According to a first embodiment of the invention, the nutrient reserve is formed in one piece with the container body.

According to a second embodiment of the invention, the nutrient element reserve of said body is an insert element inside said container body.

Preferably, the sheath is formed of a heat-shrinkable sheet material selected from the group consisting of styrenics, especially polystyrene, polyesters, polyvinyl chloride and polylactic acid.

The invention further relates to a method of manufacturing a plant container of the above type of the type comprising at least one hollow body with nutrient reservoir open at its upper end to allow the introduction of the plants into said plant. body and a sleeve inside which is housed at least partially said body, said sleeve, heat-shrunk around said body to conform to the contours of said body, having a section of said sleeve extending beyond the upper end of said body; body forming an inner peripheral collar of said body and a plunger tube extending from said flange, characterized in that it comprises at least one step of at least partial introduction of the container body inside a sleeve presenting itself in the form of a tubular body of heat-shrinkable material open at each of its ends so that a portion of said sleeve makes its beyond the upper end of said body, a step of folding the section of the sleeve protruding from the upper end of said body, inside said container body and a heating step of said sleeve during which the sleeve retracts, the heating step being carried out before or after the folding step.

This manufacturing method makes it possible to obtain at low cost a partial closure member from the upper end of said body and the use of the container as an ornament and / or communication medium.

According to a first embodiment of the method, said method comprises the step of folding the section of the sleeve, projecting from the upper end of said body, inside said container body is carried out between step 20 of introducing the container body into the sleeve and the heating step of the sleeve.

The method further comprises, after folding the section of the sleeve protruding from the upper end of said body into said body and before heating, a step of introducing a molding shape into said section of the body. muff.

According to a second embodiment of the method, said method comprises, between the step of introducing the container body inside the sleeve and the step of heating the sleeve, a step of introducing a cylindrical or cylindro-conical mold shape of transverse lower than that of the section inside the sleeve section projecting from the upper end of said body and, immediately after the heating step, a step in which one pushes the chimney formed by said sleeve section inside said body, said step corresponding to the step of folding the section of the sleeve protruding from the upper end of said body, inside said container body.

The invention will be better understood on reading the following description of exemplary embodiments, with reference to the appended drawings in which: FIG. 1 represents a schematic sectional view of a container lined with plants;

Figure 2 shows a schematic sectional view of the container of Figure 1 in supine position; Figure 3 shows a schematic sectional view of the plant container of Figure 1 in the inverted position;

FIGS. 4A to 4D show, in schematic views, the steps of a first embodiment of a method of manufacturing the container;

FIGS. 5A to 5D represent, in schematic views, the steps of a second embodiment of a method of manufacturing a container according to the invention. As mentioned above, the pot or vase type plant container 1, which is the subject of the invention, comprises at least one hollow nutrient reserve body 2 and a sleeve 6 inside which the body 2 container is at least partially housed. The container body 2, inscribed in a cylinder, has an open upper end for the introduction of plants into the interior of said body and an opposite lower end 4 forming a base through which it is able to rest. in a stable position on any horizontal surface. This container body 2 can affect a large number of shapes. In the example shown, the container body 2 has the shape of a truncated cone.

Of course, other embodiments, able to fit in a cylinder in particular to allow the housing of said body inside the sleeve, can be considered.

This container body 2 can be made of synthetic material, terracotta or any other material. The nutrient reserve 3 of the body 2 can be formed in one piece with said body 2 or with the aid of an insert element inside said body. When the reserve is formed in one piece with the body 2, it may be constituted by the inner wall and the bottom of said body. The nutrients, which can be contained in the said reserve, may be formed by water, an aqueous nutrient solution, soil, a support, such as a foam impregnated with water or any other suitable substrate suitable in particular to prevent too fast dieback of plants.

The container further comprises a sleeve 6 inside which is housed the container body 2. This sleeve 6 marries, over part of its length, the contours of said container body 2. It has a section 7 extending beyond the upper end of said body forming an inner peripheral collar of said body 2, this collar 8 extending towards the interior of said body in the form of a tube 9 plunger . This flange 8, or inner rim 25, of generally annular shape in top view of said container, can perform various functions, such as a function of retaining at least a portion of the contents of said body and a masking function of least part of the contents of said container body. The tube 9 which plunges inside said body, also called a well, can in turn fulfill a function of guide 30 for introducing the plant stems into the body 2 of the container and a sealing function during a reversal of the container as illustrated in Figures 2 and 3.

Indeed, as illustrated in Figure 3, the outer peripheral wall of the plunger tube delimits with the flange 8 and the inner peripheral wall of the container body 2 a volume adapted to collect and retain the nutrients, especially when these the latter are present in the form of an aqueous solution inside said container in the inverted position of said container. This volume thus defined corresponds to the maximum volume of liquid nutrients to be introduced into said container body to prevent, upon a tipping of the container, leakage of nutrients outside said container. As illustrated in FIG. 2, in the supine position of the container, the lowest point of the peripheral wall of the tube corresponds to the maximum level of filling of the container body with liquid nutrients. Again, this arrangement avoids an overflow and leakage of liquid nutrients outside said container.

To achieve a shape of sheath according to that shown in Figures 1 to 3, the sleeve is at the origin, that is to say before being retracted by heating, in the form of a tubular body of the sleeve type 6 'in a heat-shrinkable material. This tubular body 6 ', open at each of its ends, is a flexible body made of a heat-shrinkable material. This flexible body is arranged around the container body 2 so that a section 7 'of said body projects beyond the upper end of said body 2. This flexible body or sleeve 6' is folded inside said body body as shown in Figure 4A. At this point, there are two possibilities. The first possibility is to subject said sleeve to heat. Under the effect of heat, the sleeve deforms, in particular retracts and comes, at the portion of the sleeve surrounding the container body, to press against the outer wall of said container and, at the sleeve portion , extending beyond the open upper end of the container, and folded inside the container body, forming an annular inner ring-like peripheral flange extending through a well. Generally, the heating takes place at a temperature of at least 70 ° C. The collar looks like a tight skin.

In the embodiment shown in Figures 4A to 4D, the conformation of the flange and the well is effected by means of a molding 11. This form of molding 11 is in the form of a cylindrical or frustoconical body, introduced inside said container body, once the sleeve portion protrudes from the upper end of said body folded inside said body as illustrates it in Figure 4A. Thus, this sleeve portion retracts around said shape to form the well and the flange of said container.

FIGS. 5A to 5D illustrate another embodiment of the method in which a chimney is first formed by means of a cylindrical shape by introducing said shape inside the section 7. With the sleeve protruding from the upper end of the container body 2, the said shape is eliminated and the shape-shaped chimney is pushed back inside the container body to form the well of the said container.

In the example shown in FIGS. 5A to 5D, the sleeve used is a sleeve provided with a line of rupture initiation which makes it possible, once the sleeve has been made, to eliminate at all times the collar and the well using said sheath.

Preferably, the sheath 6 is formed of a sheet material selected from the group consisting of styrenics, especially polystyrene, polyesters, polyvinyl chloride and polylactic acid.

In the examples shown, the sleeve 6 'of heat-shrinkable material 30 extends beyond the upper and lower ends of the container body 2 as shown in Figure 5A. As a result, the sheath 6 forms a coating of the container body 2 extending over the entire height of said container body 2. However, in an equivalent manner, the sheath 6 may extend only over a portion of the height of said body and not overlap with the base area of said body. At the lower end of said container body 2, the sleeve may form an annular inner peripheral flange similar to the collar of the upper end of said body. These flanges thus prevent slipping of the sheath along the container body 2, in particular when the latter is a cylindrical body. The sleeve 6 forms a printing medium and may be coated with ornamental or informative printing patterns depending on the wishes of the manufacturer. In the example shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, ornamental motifs in the form of an arrow constitute the print patterns of the sheath.

In the example shown, the nutrient reserve 3 is formed in one piece with the container body 2.

Equivalently, the nutrient reserve of the body could be an insert within said container body and formed, for example, of an interlocked or suspended tube within said body. 2.

Equivalently, the base of said container body 2 can be made in one piece with said body or in the form of an insert on the rest of said body. 25

Claims (10)

REVENDICATIONS1. Plant container (1) of pot or vase type, comprising at least one hollow body (2) with reserve (3) of nutritive elements, such as water, earth or other, said body (2), inscribed in a cylinder, being able to rest by one (4) of its ends (4), said lower, forming a base on a horizontal plane and being, at its opposite end (5), said upper, open to allow the introduction of plants ( 10) with a shaft inside said body (2), characterized in that the container (1) further comprises a sleeve (6) inside which is housed at least partially the container body (2), this sheath (6) being thermo-retracted around said body (2) to conform to the contours of said body, a section (7) of said sheath (6) extending beyond the upper end (5) of said body (2). ) forming an inner peripheral collar (8) of said body (2), this collar (8) extending towards the inside of said body (2) orps in the form of a tube (9) plunger or well function on the one hand, guide introduction and maintenance of the plant stems in the body (2) container, on the other hand sealing when a reversal of said container (1). 20 2. Plant container (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the tube (9) has the shape of a funnel, the inclined wall of the inverted truncated cone serving as a guide wall of said plant stems (10). ) during the introduction of the rods into the container body (2). 25 Vegetable container (1) according to one of claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the plunger tube (9) and the container body (2) are coaxial. 30 Vegetable container (1) according to one of Claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the sleeve (6) forms a printing medium. he 5. Vegetable container (1) according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the sleeve (6) forms a coating of said container body (2) extending over the entire height of said body (2). ) of container. 6. container (1) plant according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the sheath (6) comprises, in its area conforming to the contours of the container body (2), at least one line (12). rupture primer extending in a plane substantially parallel to the plane of said flange (8) and at a level below said flange (8) to allow, if necessary, the elimination of the segment (7) of sheath constituting the flange (8) and the tube (9) plunger. 7. A method of manufacturing a plant container (1) according to one of claims 1 to 6, of the type comprising at least one hollow body (2) with reservoir (3) of nutrients open at its end ( 5) upper to allow the introduction of plants inside said body and a sheath (6) within which is housed at least partially said body (2), said sheath (6), heat-shrunk around said body (2) to conform to the contours of said body, having a section (7) of said sleeve (6) extending beyond the upper end (5) of said body (2) forming an internal peripheral collar (8) of said body (2) and a tube (9) plunger extending from said flange (8), characterized in that it comprises at least one step of at least partial introduction of the body (2) container inside of a sleeve (6 ') in the form of a tubular body of heat-shrinkable material open to each end of its ends so that a section (7 ') of said sleeve (6') protrudes beyond the upper end (5) of said body (2), a step of folding the section (7 ') of sleeve (6 '), protruding from the upper end of said body (2), inside said container body (2) and a step of heating said sleeve (6') during which the sleeve (6 ') retracts, the heating step being carried out before or after the folding step. 8. Method according to claim 7, characterized in that the step of folding the section (7 ') of the sleeve (6') protruding from the upper end of said body (2), inside said body (2). ) of container is performed between the step of introducing the container body inside the sleeve (6) and the step of heating the sleeve (6 '). 9. The method of claim 8, characterized in that it further comprises, after folding of the section (7 ') of the sleeve (6') protruding from the upper end of said body (2) inside said body (2) and before heating, a step of introducing a molding form (11) inside said sleeve section (7 '). 10. The method of claim 7, characterized in that it comprises, between the step of introducing the container body (2) inside the sleeve (6 ') and the heating step of the sleeve (6). '), a step of introducing a cylindrical or cylindroconic transverse molding shape (11) smaller than that of the section inside the sleeve section (7') protruding from the upper end said body and, immediately after the heating step, a step during which the chimney formed by said section (7) of sleeve (6 ') is pushed inside said body (2), said step corresponding to the step of folding the section (7 ') of the sleeve (6') protruding from the upper end of said body (2), inside said container body (2).