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The present invention relates to a barrier arrangement for plants, and more particularly to a barrier arrangement to be placed between the pot of a plant and the supporting surface, such as, the hardwood floor or carpet, which can be assembled to approximate size for a given size of a flower pot and which can also be readily assembled and disassembled for cleaning purposes.
Flower pots, if placed on carpets or hardwood floors leave invariably a stain, especially if the pots are made of terracotta or similar materials. So-called plant saucers are frequently used between the supporting surface to avoid the stains and to permit watering of the plant by way of the saucer. However, these saucers are of little protection, especially if made of the same material as the pots.
Presently available supports for pots are of fixed size and cannot be readily adapted to the size of the plant nor can they be readily cleaned.
It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide a protective barrier arrangement to be interposed between the pot for the plant and the supporting surface thereof which can be readily assembled and disassembled to obtain a desired size and at the same time to permit complete cleaning thereof by placing the individual disassembled parts, for example, into a dishwasher.
Moreover, it is an object of this invention to provide a barrier arrangement of the type described above which can be selectively assembled into a predetermined configuration matching the size of the flower pot.
Still another object of this invention is to provide a barrier arrangement which can hold a certain amount of water that may leak from or through the bottom of the flower pot or saucer.
To achieve the foregoing objects, the barrier arrangement of this invention comprises a number of slat-like support members which, to permit ready assembly and disassembly, include a number of pegs and holes. More specifically, the slat-like members include a number of pegs along one side thereof and a corresponding, similarly arranged number of holes on the other side thereof to receive the pegs of the next slat-like member. Additionally, to conceal and protect the pegs in the last-assembled lateral slat-like member, the slat-like members are additionally provided with similarly arranged holes on the same one side thereof as the pegs but symmetrically arranged with respect to the central transverse plane of the slat-like member.
These and further objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing which shows, for purposes of illustration only, two embodiments in accordance with the present invention, and wherein:
FIG. 1 is a bottom view of an exploded barrier arrangement in accordance with the present invention consisting of three slat-like members; and
FIG. 2 is a transverse cross-sectional view through a preferred embodiment of a slat-like member provided with a moisture-retaining channel in the top surface thereof.
Referring now to the drawing wherein like reference numerals are used throughout the various views to designate like parts, reference numeral 10 generally designates a slat-like support member of predetermined length, width and height as determined by the mold used to injection-mold these parts. Each slat-like member is thereby provided on one side 10a thereof with a number of pegs 11 which are circular in cross section. Aligned with these pegs and extending inwardly from the other side of the slat-like member are a corresponding number of holes 12 which are of complementary dimension to receive and securely hold the pegs 11. Additionally, to protect and conceal the pegs of the last lateral slat-like support member 10, each slat-like member is provided with a number of holes 13 which are similarly arranged as the holes 12 though located on the one side 10a of the slat-like member and symmetrically arranged with respect to the center transverse plane x-x of the slat-like member. These holes serve to permit installation of the last lateral slat-like member, i.e., in FIG. 1, the left-most slat-like member, rotated through 180° in order to protect and conceal its pegs. As can be seen from FIG. 1, the pegs 11 of the left-most slat-like member 10, when rotated through 180°, will extend into the holes 13 so that no pegs are projecting outwardly from the assembled barrier arrangement.
As mentioned above, the slat-like members 10 are injection-molded parts, utilizing conventional techniques with conventional plastic materials. These materials may be either opaque or transparent and may also be of different color to meet interior design criteria. The number of pegs and corresponding holes is thereby so chosen as to hold the barrier arrangement in properly aligned condition when assembled, i.e., to retain the slat-like members in parallel arrangement. Though the number and arrangement of these pegs and holes may be varied to suit any particular requirements, the use of three spaced pegs along one side of one-half of a slat-like member with respect to the central transverse plane is sufficient to achieve the objects of this invention, whereby the holes are similarly arranged as described above.
As moisture (water) may permeate through the bottom of the pot and also through the bottom of the saucer, according to a preferred embodiment of this invention the top surface of each slat-like member may be provided with a moisture-retaining channel in the form of a depression and generally designated by reference numeral 15 (FIG. 2). This channel 15 may be of any appropriate configuration, for example, triangularly shaped as shown in FIG. 2 or curvilinear-shaped, for example, as part of a circle with a radius of curvature chosen to provide the appropriate depth of the depression. The channel 15 extends over at least a major part of the length of each slat-like member, preferably over the entire length thereof. The channel 15 is thereby closed at both ends thereof but may also be open at least at one end thereof, especially if the channel slants downwardly toward the open end. The downward slant is preferably slight so that the moisture primarily stays in the channel 15 and does not spill over or empty out until the level is above the closed end at the lower end of the channel. If closed at both ends, the channel 15 may also be provided with a very small hole, especially at the lower end of the channel, if slanting, to permit a minuscule drainage.
The barrier arrangement according to this invention entails a number of significant advantages. The slat-like members 10 can be mass-produced at relatively low cost in different colors utilizing appropriate plastic materials of conventional type. Additionally, the barrier arrangement of this invention permits ready assembly and disassembly so as to permit cleaning of the barrier arrangement by disassembling the slat-like members and placing them into a dishwasher. The tolerances between the pegs and the holes are thereby so chosen as to permit ready assembly and disassembly without danger of unwanted disassembly. This can be achieved by suitably selecting a tolerance between the pegs and the holes to provide a more-or-less press-fit therebetween, especially if plastic materials are used that make the pegs somewhat compressible.
While I have shown and described only two embodiments in accordance with the present invention, it is understood that the same is not limited thereto, but is susceptible of numerous changes and modifications as known to those skilled in the art, and I therefore do not wish to be limited to the details shown and described herein but intend to cover all such changes and modifications as are encompassed by the scope of the appended claims.