Planting container

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9769991-B2
Application number	US-67433808-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 19, 2008
Priority date	Aug 21, 2007
Publication date	Sep 26, 2017
Grant date	Sep 26, 2017

Abstract

The present invention provides a planting container capable of sufficiently and stably supply planting water to a rhizosphere where roots of a plant grow, securing as large a space as possible for the rhizosphere, and further accelerating the growth of the stem or leaves of the plant. The planting container comprises a planting container body 1 including a planting space 2 having an opening at a front portion thereof to allow a plant to grow, a reservoir 8 for planting water that is provided in a lower part of the planting space 2 , and a water-absorbing planting bed placed within the planting space 2 with a bottom portion thereof being positioned in the reservoir 8 for absorbing planting water retained in the reservoir 8 to cultivate the plant, wherein the container further comprises a receiving surface 10 for receiving the planting bed within the planting space 2 formed as an inclined surface that is raised progressively toward the opening and is lowered progressively away from the opening.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A planting container comprising:
a planting container body including a planting space defined by a square-shaped bottom wall, three side walls extending upwardly from three sides other than a front side of the bottom wall, and a front wall extending upwardly from the front side, the front wall having an opening through which a plant is allowed to grow;
a reservoir for planting water that is provided in a lower part of the planting space, the reservoir arranged as a part of the planting space, a portion of the reservoir being defined by at least the bottom wall and the front wall, both the reservoir and the planting space accommodating at least a portion of the plant;
a water-absorbing planting bed placed within the planting space with a bottom portion thereof being positioned in the reservoir for absorbing planting water retained in the reservoir to cultivate the plant;
a receiving surface for receiving the bottom portion of the planting bed within the planting space, at least a part of the receiving surface formed as an inclined surface that is raised progressively toward the opening in the front wall and is lowered progressively away from the opening in the front wall; and
an overflow outlet communicating with the reservoir and the planting space for maintaining a level of planting water retained in the reservoir and the planting space constant, the overflow outlet protruding upwardly from the bottom wall of the planting container body into the reservoir and the planting space, such that a portion of the overflow outlet is located inside the reservoir and the planting space and reaches into a part of the planting water that is located inside the reservoir.

2. The planting container as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the receiving surface is defined by the bottom wall of the container body.

3. The planting container as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the receiving surface is formed by a plurality of receiving surface forming elements projecting upward from the bottom wall of the container body.

4. The planting container as claimed in claim 1 , wherein a plurality of the container bodies are stackable vertically with the opening in the front wall of each of the plurality of the container bodies container body oriented in a same direction to allow planting water running over the overflow outlet of an upper container body to flow down to a lower container body with the plurality of container bodies being stacked.

5. The planting container according to claim 1 , wherein the container body further includes a partition wall extending vertically for allowing the planting space to be divided into a plurality of planting-space units.

6. The planting container according to claim 5 , further comprising:
a feed water inlet that is arranged centrally inside the planting container body, the feed water inlet formed integrally with the partition wall.

7. The planting container according to claim 6 , wherein the feed water inlet and the overflow outlet are separate elements.

8. The planting container according to claim 5 , wherein the partition wall extends vertically and the overflow outlet is projecting at a position farther from the front wall than the partition wall is from the front wall.

9. The planting container according to claim 1 , wherein an upper circumferential edge of the overflow outlet is arranged in a plane that is parallel to an upper surface of the planting water retained in the reservoir.

10. The planting container according to claim 1 , wherein the bottom wall of the planting container body is arranged in a plane that is perpendicular to the side walls of the planting container body at least at a location where the overflow outlet is arranged.

11. The planting container according to claim 1 , wherein the portion of the overflow outlet protruding upwardly into the reservoir and located inside the reservoir is exposed to the planting water that is located inside the reservoir.

12. The planting container according to claim 1 , wherein the overflow outlet forms a cylindrical tube that protrudes into the reservoir and is located inside the reservoir such that side walls of the overflow outlet are in contact with the planting water inside the reservoir.

13. The planting container according to claim 1 , wherein the receiving surface for receiving the planting bed does not protrude outside of the planting container body.

14. The planting container according to claim 1 , wherein the reservoir that is formed in the lower part of the planting space is configured such that planting water accumulates on both the front wall of the container body and on the inclined surface of the receiving surface.

Assignees

• Hashimoto Masaki
• Ota Hironobu
• Kanayama Norio
• Suntory Holdings Ltd

Inventors

• Hashimoto Masaki
• Ota Hironobu
• Kanayama Norio

Classifications

• A01G9/025 Primary

  Containers and elements for greening walls (for covering roofs A01G9/033) · CPC title

• Y02P60/244

  Cross-Sectional Technologies · mapped topic

• Y02P60/20

  Reduction of greenhouse gas [GHG] emissions in agriculture, e.g. CO2 · CPC title