AU733911B3 - An ornamental display - Google Patents

Description

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AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A PETTY PATENT Name of Applicant: Actual Inventor: Address for Service: Invention Title: Robert Leslie McMULLEN As above CULLEN CO., Patent Trade Mark Attorneys, 239 George Street, Brisbane, QId. 4000, Australia.

AN ORNAMENTAL DISPLAY The following statement is a full description of this invention including the best method of performing it known to me: TECHNICAL FIELD This invention relates to ornamental displays and has particular relevance to the display of potted and ornamental plants.

BACKGROUND ART Pot and other ornamental plants are used extensively to enhance indoor and outdoor environments where people live or gather.

Pot plants are particularly popular with unit and high rise dwellers and can be used to great effect to help create a natural and colourful environment in situations where in-earth planting is not available or viable.

Larger pot plants are not particularly easy to move or change and it is difficult to grow climbing plants without making permanent fixtures to walls.

Among the variety of display devices available, none are known to provide a system to incorporate the facilities to carry the pot plant, hold water, allow the quick and easy removal, replacement and rearrangement, either within the display device or from one display unit to another, either indoors or outdoors.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a pot plant display stand that can be used in a wide variety of configurations and situations and one which will accept a number of pot plant holders that can be attached to any area of the stand without upsetting the stability of the stand.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a pot plant holder for the display stand, as above, that will contain excess water from the plant and allow the plant to use that water.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a pot plant holder, as above, to receive a clip on attachment that will securely support the pot plant holder and plant.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a clip on attachment that will support the pot plant and plant, as above, also attach to the display stand in a manner that will allow the quick and easy placement or removal of the pot plant holder.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION According to the present invention, there is provided an ornamental display comprising a base, an upright extending from the base, a plurality of plant containing devices suspended from the upright by a suspension lug which is adapted to engage with a cross member or members of the upright and the containers.

A first side of the lug can engage with the cross member of the upright and be provided with at least one angularly orientated open channel or hook therein and a second side of the lug opposite to the first side may be provided with means for connecting the lug to said plant containing devices.

The upright may be a lattice framework.

The lattice framework may be substantially trough-shaped.

The lattice framework may comprise a first section and extending from the base and a second section connected to the free end of the first section which creates a second tier of the upright.

This second tier, whilst supporting additional pots will enable a vine to be grown and entwined around the tiers, creating a leafy background to the flowering pots. This second tier can be adjusted to create a pressure towards the floor, from the ceiling.

The first and second sections of the framework are connected by a connector which secures cross-members of overlapping sections of the framework and supports the weight of the second section of the framework.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a lug for suspending a container from a crossbar, the lug comprising an elongate body having a first side, having at least one angularly orientated open channel therein and a second opposite side provided with a pair of spaced and opposed hooks which are adapted to engage with and secure the top edge and bottom walls of a container.

According to yet a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a clip for securing together overlapping lattice frameworks, the clip comprising an elongate bar, having at one end a single return hook and at the other end, a double return hook, the hooks enabling overlapping ends cross members of a lattice framework to be joined together and secured against relative axial movement.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Aspects of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which; Figqure 1 is a perspective view of an ornamental display according to one aspect of the present invention, and Figures 2 2A are perspective views of an ornamental display according to one aspect of the present invention, and Figure 3 is a side view of a lug used for suspending pot containers on the upright of the display of Figure 1, and Figure 4 is a side view of an ornamental display according to the present invention, and Figure 5 is a perspective view of a wall mounting bracket for suspending a pot plant container according to a further aspect of the present invention.

With respect to the drawings an ornamental display according to the present invention comprises a base generally indicated by arrow 1, an upright generally indicated by arrow 2 which extends from the base 1, and a plurality of pot containers 3 suspended from the upright by a suspension lug 14 generally indicated by arrow 4.

The upright 3 is in the form of a lattice framework formed from intersecting rods In the example illustrated by Figure 1, the upright comprises a lower tier 6 and an upper tier 7.

The upper and lower tiers 6, 7 overlap and are secured together by a clip generally indicated by arrow 8.

The tiers 6,7, of the upright can be formed from complimentary trough-shaped lattice frameworks, formed from stock metal reinforcing mesh materials which may be painted, powdercoated or otherwise finished.

The lower end of the lower tier 6 of the upright can be fixed to the base by a cross-bar 9, the free ends of which engage with the lattice.

The cross-bar 9 can be fixed to the base by a bolt 10 or other fixture means.

The clip 8 can be formed from metal or plastics and comprises an elongate section- 9 (see Figure the free ends of which are fashioned into hooks.

At one end a hook is fashioned from a single return 12 and at the other end a double return 13, which provides two rod engaging slots.

As will be appreciated from the illustration, the clip 8 secures the adjacent sections of the uprights against axial displacement in either direction and overlying sections at the sides of the frameworks resist tilting.

Clip 8 can be a single narrow piece as per drawing or preferably a wider section of the same hooked shape but slotted to locate around the vertical pieces of mesh ensuring correct alignment.

The lug 4 (best exemplified by Figure 3) has an elongate body 14. At one edge of the body 14 two spaced and angularly orientated open channels 15 are provided.

On another opposite edge of the body 14 an open channel 16 is provided which is flanked by two opposed hooks 17, 18. The hooks 17, 18 are used to support the side edge and bottom wall of a container 3 (shown in broken outline in Figure 3).

To engage a container 3 with the channel 16, the top lip of the side wall 19 of the container fully enters the slot formed by the hook 17 in an upward movement and the bottom wall 20 engages with and is secured by the hook 18 when the container is subsequently lowered.

Figure 5 of the drawings illustrates a container wall or post mounting accessory generally indicated by arrow 21 which performs the same function as cross members of the lattice formworks 6, 7.

The accessory 21 is provided with a U-section body 22 and two attachment brackets 23 for engagement with the channels 15 of the lug 4.

Fixture holes 24 are provided for fixing the accessory to a post, wall or the like. The lug 4 can be of such a width that it fits snugly in between the sides of the U-section body 22.

It is to be appreciated that the lug 4 may form an integral part of the wall of a container, however, by preference the lug is formed as a separate item and in this way the containers supplied with the system would be stackable for storage and transportation.

The present invention provides the flexibility to change the display of plants as one desires in conjunction with the flowering of the plants, for example, one display stand may be placed in the foyer area of a building, the stand displaying a variety of colorful flowering plants, another outside the building in an appropriate place, carrying a range of other pot plants not yet flowering.

As the flowering plants indoors begin to lose their blooms, they can be quickly and easily changed to maintain the pleasant colourful aesthetic surroundings in the foyer area, by replacing them with others from outside which have started to bloom or are in full bloom.

The present invention provides a combined flower potholder, an attachment device and wire mesh upstand that marry together to create a unique plant display system.

Aspects of the present invention have been described by way of example only and it will be appreciated that modifications and additions thereto may be made without departing from the scope thereof, as defined in the appended claims.

Claims (3)

1. An ornamental display comprising a base, an upright extending from the base which provides a plurality of spaced and adjacent cross members and a plurality of plant containing devices suspended from the upright by suspension lugs characterised in that the suspension lugs each have a first side providing means for connection to the plant containing devices and a second side opposite to the first side adapted to be releasably engaged with adjacent cross members of the upright.

2. An ornamental display as claimed in claim 1 wherein the second sides of the lugs are provided with at least one downwardly angularly orientated open channel therein for engagement over a cross member of the upright.

3. An ornamental display as claimed in claim 1 and substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings. DATED this 14 th day of March 2001 ROBERT LESLIE McMULLEN By his Patent Attorneys CULLEN CO.