US3027684A - Plant receptacle having improved drainage means - Google Patents

Description

April 3, 1962 A. KEIDING 3,027,684

PLANT RECEPTACLE HAVING IMPRovED DRAINAGE MEANS Filed Nov. l0, 1958 INVENTOR, ,9A/@Pew Kew/va A r rot/VE Y! United States Patent O f' 3,027,684 PLANT RECEPTACLE HAVING IMPROVED DRAINAGE MEANS Andrew Keiding, Milwaukee, Wis., assignor to Kedng Paper Products Company, Milwaukee, Wis., a co-partnership of Wisconsin Filed Nov.` 10, 1958, Ser. No. 773,014 2 Claims. (Cl. 47-34) This invention relates to a plant receptacle and method and apparatus for the manufacture thereof.

It is common to provide pulp containers -for growing plants, To the extent to which such containers are provided with drain ports, the ports are located in the bottom. In this location, stoppages frequently occur due to the bottom of the container becoming sealed, when wet, against a saucer or the like, and thus preventing free drainage `from the soil within the container. Moreover, the drainage port at the bottom of a container is usually its weakest point where the pulp is thin and particularly susceptible to rot, being usually removed from air circulation.

The container of the present invention has ports in its side wall, usually adjacent its bottom. From these ports moisture can drain freely from the planting medium within the container. Not only is there little or no tendency for the pulp to rot when fully exposed to air circulation, but the pulp wall is thickened around the opening in the preferred product as made by the process herein disclosed. Moreover, the wall of the container is desirably recessed slightly in the area of the aperture. While the recess results inherently from the preferred process of manufacture, and the mold used, it has advantages in that the recessing of the wall around the drain port prevents stoppages from occurring in the event that the container is used within a jardiniere or the like.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a view in lateral perspective of a pulp receptacle embodying the invention.

FIG. 2 is a view taken in horizontal section on the line 2-2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a view taken in vertical axial section on the line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a view taken in vertical axial section on the line 4-4 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a view in perspective showing a modified container embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a View in side elevation of a mold according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary detail view on an enlarged scale showing the deposit of pulp on a mold according to FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a view taken in section on line 8-8 of FIG. 7.

The device of FIG. 1 is a planting receptacle 10 of molded pulp or the like. The composition may be any composition suitable for the manufacture of articles of molded pulp. It usually comprises wood pulp or paper pulp or a mixture thereof, frequently with a rosin size and sometimes containing a fungicide. As best shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, the side wall portions 11 of the container 10 are integrally joined with a bottom wall 12 adjacent which the side wall portions have drain ports 1S. The wide wall portions adjacent the drain ports are inwardly formed at 16 and are materially thickened at 17. While it is not absolutely necessary that the ports be disposed immediately adjacent the container bottom 12, such is their desirable position so that water from the entire contents of the container will readily drain through the ports.

. 3,027,684 Patented Apr. 3, 1962 "ice FIG. 5 shows the invention embodied in a rectangular walled receptacle wherein the ports are located, by preference, in two opposing elongated side walls 110, near the respective end walls 111. The shape of the ports 15 and the thickened wall areas 170 around them and the fact that such wall areas are inwardly recessed at are in general correspondence with the previously described embodiment except for the fact that the container in its entirely is rectangular rather than circular in cross section.

It will be noted that in the interior of the receptacle there is an upwardly opening slot at 18 above each of the ports 15 and between the thickened wall areas 1'7. This slot accommodates the insert 19 which is soldered or otherwise mounted on the foraminous wall of the mold 20. This mold desirably comprises an inner wall 21 having a plurality of small perforations 22 and externally covered by a screen cloth 23. At the points where drain ports are desired, the entire wall of the mold is formed inwardly in the manner indicated at 162 in FIGS. 6, 7 and 8. The mold, over-all, progressively increases in width in an upward direction so that the mold may readily be withdrawn from the pulp deposit shown at 25 in FIGS. 7 and 8. To each of the indented portions of the wall at 162 there is attached by soldering or otherwise an impervious insert 19 whereof the outer margin 26 projects no farther than the outer surface of the screen cloth immediately above the insert. This clearly appears in FIG. 8. In some instances the insert margin has projected farther than the screen and has been withdrawn without damaging the pulp. This is practicable because of the resilience of the molded wall.

When the molding operation is conducted by immersing the mold in an aqueous solution of pulp and withdrawing the liquid from the mold interior, in :accordance with conventional molding practice, the pulp deposit 25 develops on the exterior of the mold except where the water is prevented from passing through the mold by the wedgeshaped insert 19. Wherever the insert 19 is used, the pulp builds up as shown at 250 in FIG. 7. Since the insert 19 projects from the screen cloth to a distance greater than the thickness of the pulp deposit, an opening through the pulp deposit will remain when the insert and mold are withdrawn. Above that opening, the rnold withdrawal will retract the insert from the deposited pulp without deformation of the pulp, since the margin 26 of the insert is desirably substantially parallel to the direction of withdrawal. This leaves a slot 18 from which the margin 26 of the insert has been withdrawn. The method is simple, requiring no retractable mold or die parts such as are ordinarily required to make a lateral opening. The resulting receptacle has openings which are strongly reinforced, provide substantially complete drainage without any likelihood of clogging, and are unusual and distinctive in appearance and have their drain surfaces exposed to ambient air circulation.

I claim:

1. A pulp planting receptacle having a bottom and having side wall portions joined to the bottom, certain side wall portions being offset inwardly respecting contiguous side wall portions adjacent the bottom and being curvilinearly concave in horizontal section and provided with drain port means opening through the offset side wall portions substantially at the level of the bottom wall portion, the side wall portions having upright interior channels intersecting the exterior of said certain side wall portions at the offset thereof and constituting said drain port means.

2. A pulp planting receptacle according to claim 1 in which the said inwardly offset side wall portions are 2,140,932 Avery Dec. 20,1938 laterally thicker adjacent the port means than the said 2,584,109 Blackburn Feb. 5, 1952 contiguous side wall portions. 2,738,621 Abbrecht Mar. 20, 1956 2,810,234 Blackburn etal. Oct. 22, 1957 References Cited in the le of this patent 5 2,858,647 Cotton Nov` 4I 1958 UNITED STATES PATENTS 942,238 Balsley Dec. 7, 1909 FOREIGN PATENTS

Images