EP0316422B1 - Process and device for the preservation of plants - Google Patents

Abstract

PCT No. PCT/BE88/00020 Sec. 371 Date Jan. 27, 1989 Sec. 102(e) Date Jan. 27, 1989 PCT Filed Jun. 1, 1988 PCT Pub. No. WO88/09638 PCT Pub. Date Dec. 15, 1988.A conserving device for plants includes a receptacle, a support member formed of two retaining elements of which at least the first one is provided with fasteners enabling it to be fixed in a detachable and/or movable manner to the receptacle, and fixing elements which are provided for connecting the second retaining element, in a detachable and/or movable manner, to the receptacle or to the first retaining element as well as tightening elements which submit both retaining elements to forces for bringing them mutually together in such a manner that the trunk of the plant disposed between the two retaining elements is tightened in a manner adapted to its diameter.

Description

The present invention relates to a method for preserving plants with a large stem, in particular of the Christmas tree type, in accordance with the preamble of claim 1. It also relates to a preservation device of the type described in the preamble of claim 2.

One of the drawbacks of Christmas trees is well known, they dry out quickly, their needles then fall on the ground and their use inside is therefore short-lived. On the other hand, these are sometimes large plants that it is difficult to introduce into a container, such as a pot, and especially to maintain stably in the upright position.

Containers are known which are provided with means for retaining the rod of the introduced fir tree. These means only allow the introduction of a cut fir tree through a limited opening passage provided in the center of the container. There, the rod is then wedged by wedging means and the pot is stabilized by external stays of a large size.

These containers do not allow the introduction of the fir stem with its roots, a clod of earth or a container filled with soil. The introduction of the stem through the central passage of the pot is not easy if the tree is of a great weight and several people are usually necessary for this operation. Finally, the container used has a specific, obligatory shape and any pot cannot be used for this purpose.

A device is also known, of the type indicated at the beginning (see US-A-3052437). This fir fastening device only allows immobilization of an already cut trunk, using an invariable opening collar and three small clamping screws.

Furthermore, when the tree is provided with a clod or container, usually the clod or container is planted in a larger container and soil is added to fill it. You can possibly prop up the tree as much as you can, then add water to moisten the soil moderately without liquefying it. As soon as too much water is added, the soil no longer retains the tree's stem, which risks tilting or overturning.

It is therefore, under these conditions, impossible to properly supply the tree with water, which explains its rapid drying, especially when it is subjected to very bad weather conditions inside the heated interior of a living room or reception hall, etc .....

It has also been observed that, soaked only in water, a stem devoid of its roots could present an improved aspect of freshness, a little longer than the stems buried in moist soil. However, this improvement is short-lived and it is completely insufficient, because, like flowers cut in water, fir trees whose stems are cut decline at a certain point.

Finally, the sale of fir trees with clod or container is an unecological solution since it deteriorates and quickly makes the soil disappear from which these trees are uprooted.

The present invention aims to remedy the aforementioned drawbacks by the implementation of a method and a preservation device as well as a support member which make it possible to preserve for a prolonged period, in the fresh state and vigorous, a tall-stemmed plant, especially a Christmas tree, in the poor conditions of a home interior. The method and the device according to the invention must make it possible to eliminate the rapid drying out of Christmas trees and to make the danger of fire which they represent greatly disappear. The mode and the support and fixing device must also be simple, even for weak people, and the device must above all be universal, that is to say adaptable to any type of tree, cut or no, with clod or container or just with the roots. Finally, the support member must be adaptable to most pots and plant containers used on the market.

This problem is solved, according to the invention, by implementing a method as described at the start and having the features indicated in the characterizing part of claim 1.

There is also provided, according to the invention, a device for preserving plants with a large stem, in particular of the Christmas tree type, as described at the start, this device having the characteristics indicated in the characterizing part of claim 2. Particular embodiments of this device appear from claims 3 to 16.

• La figure 1 représente une vue du dessus d'une forme de réalisation de dispositif de conservation suivant l'invention.
• La figure 2 représente une vue en coupe suivant la ligne II-II de la figure 1, à l'échelle agrandie.
• Les figures 3 et 4 représentent une vue latérale et une vue en plan d'une forme de réalisation d'organe de maintien, prévu au fond du récipient.
• Les figures 5 à 8 illustrent l'universalité d'application d'un dispositif suivant l'invention.
• La figure 9 représente une vue en perspective d'un dispositif suivant l'invention avant l'introduction de la tige.
• La figure 10 représente une vue en perspective d'une tige de sapin munie d'un organe de support suivant l'invention avant l'introduction de la tige dans un récipient.
• La figure 11 représente une vue du dessus d'une autre forme de réalisation de dispositif suivant l'invention.
  Sur les différents dessins, les éléments identiques ou analogues sont désignés par la même référence.

Other details and particularities of the invention will emerge from the description given below, without implied limitation, with reference to the appended drawings, as well as from the claims which follow.

• Figure 1 shows a top view of an embodiment of the preservation device according to the invention.
• Figure 2 shows a sectional view along line II-II of Figure 1, on an enlarged scale.
• Figures 3 and 4 show a side view and a plan view of an embodiment of the holding member, provided at the bottom of the container.
• Figures 5 to 8 illustrate the universality of application of a device according to the invention.
• FIG. 9 represents a perspective view of a device according to the invention before the introduction of the rod.
• FIG. 10 represents a perspective view of a fir stem provided with a support member according to the invention before the introduction of the stem into a container.
• Figure 11 shows a top view of another embodiment of the device according to the invention.
  In the various drawings, identical or analogous elements are designated by the same reference.

In Figures 1, 2 and 5 to 8, a device is illustrated for storing large stem plants, in particular Christmas trees. This device comprises a container 1 into which the stem 2 of the plant is introduced. This container 1 is formed by a bottom 3 from which protrudes upward a peripheral envelope 4. The illustrated container is of the plastic or metallic bucket or ceramic pot type, but it is understood that its shape and the material from which it is made is not critical. The container must of course be opened upwards to allow the introduction of the plant stem.

The device according to the invention further comprises, in its embodiment illustrated in the aforementioned figures, a support member 5. As is clear in particular from FIG. 1, this member comprises two retaining elements 6 and 7. The first retaining element 6 is provided with hooking means which make it possible to attach it detachably or removably to the container. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, these attachment means comprise elongated holes 8 provided at the ends of the retaining element 6, so as to allow an adjustment of the length of the retaining element 6 to the diameter of container 1 and lateral adjustment to the plant. The aforementioned hooking means further comprise hooking rods 9 threaded at one end and in the form of a hook 10 at the opposite end. This hook is designed to be able to bear from below on the rim 11 of a current container for plants and the illustrated shape of this hook is only given by way of example. The threaded rods 9 can be slid through the holes 8 and the aforementioned hooking means further comprise wing nuts 12 which serve to tighten the retaining element 6 against the rim 11 of the container 1. When one of the attachment means is detached and the nut 12 on the other is slightly loosened, it is even possible that the attachment rod 9 serves as a pivot axis for the retaining element 6 (see FIG. 9) . This arrangement therefore allows a detachable or simply removable fixing of the retaining element 6 on the container 1. This fixing can also take place before or after the introduction of the rod into the container, since even in the fixed position of a side he can leave the opening of the container free for the passage of the stem, even if it is still provided with its roots, a clod of earth or a container.

The first retaining element 6, as illustrated in FIG. 1, is a bar made of a resistant material of any kind. Its length is at least equal to that of the upper opening of the containers commonly used for planting Christmas trees indoors. Instead of the elongated holes 8 described above, other common arrangements known to the specialist can be provided to adapt the length of the bar 6, such as for example a telescopic arrangement (see FIG. 11). It is also possible, as illustrated in FIG. 1, for the bar 6 to be formed of two interlocking parts 6A and 6B (at 6C), so that the bar 6 can be placed at the bottom of the container when it is not in use .

The second retaining element 7 of the support member of the device according to the invention is, in its embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, a bar made of a resistant material of any kind. Its length is advantageously less than the opening of the container.

In FIG. 1, fixing means are provided for detachably and / or detachably connecting the bar 7 to the bar 6. These means comprise two rods 17 and 18 which project parallel to one side of the bar 6. These stems 17 and 18 are spaced apart by a distance greater than the usual maximum diameter of the fir stems to be stored inside. Their length is sufficient so that, when the fir rod is in abutment against the bar 6 between them, they still protrude at least slightly beyond said rod. The free ends of these rods 17 and 18 are threaded and are capable of sliding through perforations 19 and 20 provided correspondingly in the bar 7. As fixing means cooperating with the rods 17 and 18, nuts are finally provided. with ears 21 and 22 to be screwed onto the threaded free ends of the rods 17 and 18 which protrude beyond the perforations 19 and 20 of the bar 7. This arrangement therefore makes it possible to arrange the two retaining elements 6 and 7 of on either side of the rod, connecting them mutually. If you loosen only one of the nuts 21 or 22 and loosen the other slightly, it is also possible to rotate the bar 7 around the axis formed by one of the rods 17 or 18 (see figure 9).

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, the fixing means 17 to 22 simultaneously form the clamping means which, when they are tightened, subject the two retaining elements to forces of mutual approach, so that the plant stem arranged between them can be clamped in a manner appropriate to its diameter.

The bar 6 has, in the embodiment illustrated in Figure 1, a support area 13 for the rod 2 of the tree. This first support zone 13 is shaped substantially in the center of the bar 6 in the form of a lateral recess. The first support zone 13, in a plan view, has substantially the shape of an arc of a circle whose diameter corresponds approximately to the maximum diameter of the plant stems to be stored inside (see rod 2A shown in phantom) in Figure 1). This support zone 13 is also provided, at its bottom, with a vertical groove 14. In this way, when the rods have a smaller diameter than that of the rods 2A, they always have at least two contact points. with the support zone 13 (in FIG. 1, see the rod 2B shown in solid lines and the rod 2C represented in broken lines). The support zone 13 can advantageously be provided with anti-friction means, such as for example a ribbing as illustrated in FIG. 9.

In the middle of one of its faces, the bar 7 has a projection 15, the top of which is provided with a recess forming a second support zone 16 for the tree stem. The height and width of this projection 15 are provided so that it can possibly penetrate into the recess forming the first support zone 13, when the bars 6 and 7 are tightened around a rod of small diameter, as the rod 2C. The dimensions of the projection 15 are however such that it cannot come into contact with the first support zone 13.

In the exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, the second support zone 16 is formed by two sections arranged perpendicular to one another by forming a V-shaped recess. In this way, this zone of support is always in contact with the tree stem at at least two points, in the tightening position of the stem. In this position, therefore, four contact points are always obtained between the support member and the shaft of the shaft, which makes it a very secure attachment. It is obvious that other embodiments of the support zones could be envisaged. For example, the support area 13 could also be V-shaped.

On the bar 7, there is provided, on the face opposite to the second support area 16, a potential additional support area 23 formed by a recess made up of two inclined V-shaped faces. the recess forming the support zone 16, the support zone 23 is not hollowed out in a projection of the bar and can advantageously be used for large plant stems, by installing the bar 7 on the fixing rods 17 and 18 in the inverted position (see the position of the bar 7A shown in phantom in Figure 1).

All these support zones 16 and 23 can naturally be provided, in a manner not shown, with anti-friction means, such as a ribbing similar to that illustrated in FIG. 9 for zone 13.

It is also possible to provide, at the bottom 3 of the container, a holding member 24 in the form of a point on which the Christmas tree stem can be pricked, when a previously cut stem has been used. Since this member is not necessary in other cases, provision is made for it in a recess 25 in the bottom 3, into which it can be inserted and from which it can then be easily removed.

The stabilization means of the device according to the invention consist of water, the upper level 26 of which is shown in FIGS. 5 to 8. The water therefore serves not only as a supply medium for the fir trees but also as a means stabilization of the container and therefore of the tree planted inside the latter.

The preservation device which has just been described will be implemented in the following manner:

The bar 6 is in a position hooked at its two ends to the edge of the container 1. The bar 7 is moved away enough from the bar 6 by progressive unscrewing of the nuts 21 and 22. The rod is then introduced into the passage formed between the bars 6 and 7 and the two fixing rods 17 and 18. This process, like the prior art, only allows the fixing of previously cut rods.

Advantageously, it is rather possible to completely detach the support member 5 from the edge of the container 1, by completely unscrewing the nuts 12. Similarly, the bar 7 is completely detached from the bar 6. The rod 2, still outside the container, is passed between the fixing rods 17 and 18 of the bar 6 then the bar 7 is screwed back on the rods 17 and 18. After tightening of the rod 2 between the bars 6 and 7, as illustrated in FIG. 10, the whole is placed on the container, and the bar 6 is hooked again to the edge of the container by tightening the nuts 12. This procedure, as well as that described below, is no longer limited to cut rods, but allows all the potting illustrated in Figures 5 to 8.

It is also possible to detach the bar 6 at one end and slightly loosen the nut 12 at the other end, so as to pivot the bar 6 outwards, around the hook element 9, 10. This operation allows to largely open the opening of the container. Similarly, one of the nuts 21 or 22 is detached and the bar 7 is released from one of the fixing rods 17 or 18, while the other nut is only loose. This allows the bar 7 to pivot down around one of the fixing rods. The position thus obtained is illustrated in FIG. 9. In this position the rod 2 can be pressed into the container and then, by pivoting the bars and screwing the nuts back, the two bars can be tightened on either side of the rod .

After all these operations, or before them, the container is filled with water and ballasted with it. This water is kept constantly at this filling level, such as that illustrated by reference 26 in FIGS. 5 to 8.

Another embodiment of the device according to the invention is illustrated in FIG. 11. Unlike the device according to FIG. 1, the support member 5 comprises a first retaining element in the form of a telescopic bar 6. The second retaining element is a spring 27, for example of the leaf type, which can be fixed, not on the bar 6, but on the upper edge of the container, by fixing means 28 of any known type . The clamping means is here formed by the spring itself, and simultaneously by the bar 6 which can be brought closer to the spring 27.

The great advantage of a device according to the invention and of its support member is therefore to allow the placement of a fir tree in a container regardless of the state of its stem, with or without roots. It also makes it possible to use the supply water from the tree, as ballast for the device, which therefore remains compact and very stable.

Unexpectedly, a fir tree provided with its roots and supported in a preservation device according to the invention experiences a freshness and an altogether unusual vigor, which fir trees provided with some roots and a clod of earth and whose earth is only humidified in a common way. Indeed, the latter, if they are adequately supplied with water, can continue to live for a certain time inside a dwelling. However, this feeding cannot be done under the conditions really required by a fir tree so that it is in perfect vigor and freshness, because then the feeding water liquefies so much the compost added in the container that this one is more capable of retaining only the fir tree introduced into the container.

The applicant planted a fir tree with roots, without soil at the end of December, using a conservation device according to the invention. The tree was thus kept in the boiler room of his home, that is to say in the worst conditions that can exist. However, two months later, we saw not only that the tree was still alive, but also that it had also budded and emitted branches up to 14 cm in length, and that it had lost none of its luster. On the other hand, it did not stop during this whole period to embalm the house with the very particular odor of this coniferous tree, which one can perceive while walking in fir forests after a heavy rain. An abnormal loss of needles could not be observed around the tree.

The conservation device and method used also make it possible to reduce or eliminate the amount of earth displaced during the uprooting of the tree. This makes it possible not to remove quantities of soil from the original soil, which in the long run represents a significant factor in the depletion of this soil. On the other hand, fir trees without clods do not require a short cutting of the roots, as required to make the clod. More rootlets can accompany the tree delivered.

Finally, as can be imagined, the process according to the invention allows the fir trees to be stored inside under conditions of greater fire safety.

One can for example consider support zones of different shapes or provide only three points of contact between the rod and these support zones (see Figure 11).

It is also possible to envisage a second retaining element in the form of an elastic clamp, which, instead of being fixed, like the spring 27 in FIG. 11, on the container, would have to be attached to the first retaining element.

Provision may be made to add, to the feed water, a composition of additives suitable for the cultivation of the plant concerned.

Finally, it is obvious that the method and the conservation device as well as the support member described above can also be used for the conservation of plants outdoors.

Claims (16)

1. A process for the preservation of plants with large-sized stems, in particular of the Christmas tree type, comprising the introduction of the plant stem into a receptacle, the filling of the receptacle, before or after the introduction of the plant stem, with water which serves not only to feed the plant and to preserve its vigour and freshness but also to ballast the receptacle and thus to stabilise it, the immobilisation of the plant in the receptacle in a stable manner by fastening the stem to an upper peripheral edge of the receptacle with the aid of retention means, and also a regular supply of water to the receptacle, characterised in that it comprises the introduction of the plant provided with its roots, if desired also furnished with a lump of earth or a container, the application, bearing against the stem, before or after its introduction, of a bearing zone of a first retention means fastened or to be fastened to the receptacle, the arrangement of a bearing zone of a second retention means on the side of the stem opposite that against which the first retention means is applied and a progressive bringing together of the two retention means so as to clamp the stem between the said bearing zones in a manner adapted to its diameter.

2. A device for the preservation of plants with large-sized stems, in particular of the Christmas tree type, comprising a receptacle (1) into which the plant stem (2) is introduced, this receptacle (1) being formed from a base (3), from which a peripheral shell (4), which defines an upper peripheral edge and is open towards the top, projects upwards, a supporting member (5) consisting of retention elements (6, 7, 27), by means of which the said stem is held in the upright position in the receptacle (1), attachment means (8, 9, 10, 12) enabling a first retention element (6) to be fastened to the upper peripheral edge of the receptacle, in a detachable and/or removable manner, means (17-22; 28) for fastening a second retention element (7, 27) so that the two retention elements (6, 7, 27) are disposed on either side of the stem (2), and also means for stabilising the receptacle (1), in the form of ballasting formed principally by water (26), characterised in that the two retention elements (6, 7) each have at least one bearing zone (13, 16, 23) for the stem (2), even provided with its roots, and if desired furnished with a lump of earth or a container, in that the abovementioned fastening means (17-22; 28) join the second retention element, in a detachable and/or removable manner, to the receptacle (1) or to the first retention element (6), and in that the device additionally comprises tightening means (17-22; 27) which cause a progressive mutual bringing together of the two retention elements (6, 7, 27) so that the plant stem (2) disposed between the latter is clamped between their bearing zones in a manner adapted to its diameter.

3. A device according to claim 2, characterised in that the bearing zones (13, 16, 23) are shaped so that, in the clamping position, there are always, in cross-section, at least four points of contact between the stem (2) and the retention elements (6, 7).

4. A device according to claim 3, characterised in that one of the retention elements (6) has a first bearing zone (13), the shape of which is adapted to cooperate with a stem (2A) of maximum diameter for the plants to be preserved indoors, and in that the other retention element (7) is provided with a second bearing zone (16, 23) which can be arranged facing the first bearing zone (13), these bearing zones being shaped so as to enable, under the effect of the tightening means (17-22), an adjustment of their distance down to values much lower than the aforementioned maximum diameter.

5. A device according to claim 4, characterised in that the first bearing zone (13) has a vertical groove (14) approximately at its centre.

6. A device according to any of claims 3 to 5, characterised in that each of the retention elements, or one of them (7), has a plurality of potential bearing zones (16, 23) for the purpose of adaptation to the diameter of the stem.

7. A device according to any of claims 2 to 6, characterised in that the abovementioned fastening means (17-22) simultaneously form the abovementioned tightening means.

8. A device according to any of claims 2 to 7, characterised in that the first retention element (6) is a bar, made of one or more pieces, with a length at least equal to that of the top opening of the receptacle (1), and in that it carries the said attachment means (8-10, 12) at each of its ends.

9. A device according to claim 8, characterised in that it comprises means for adjusting the length of the bar to the size of the receptacle opening.

10. A device according to any of claims 2 to 9, characterised in that the first retention element (6) is attached at one of its ends to the edge (11) of the receptacle (1) by an attachment means (8-10, 12) enabling a pivoting of the first retention element (6) about this attachment means.

11. A device according to any of claims 8 to 10, characterised in that the bar (6) has, on one of its lateral faces, a recess in the form of an arc of a circle, the radius of which corresponds approximately to the maximum radius of a stem of a plant preserved indoors, this recess forming the abovementioned first bearing zone (13), it being possible, if desired, to provide the latter with anti-friction means, such as ribbing.

12. A device according to any of claims 4 to 11, characterised in that the second retention element (7) has, facing the first retention element (6), a projection (15), the vertex of which is provided with a recess forming the said second bearing zone (16), the length and the height of this projection (15) being provided so as to enable its penetration into a recess, fashioned on the first retention element in order to serve as first bearing zone (13), without permitting contact with this first bearing zone (13).

13. A device according to claim 12, characterised in that the second retention element (7) has, opposite the abovementioned projection (15), a recess forming a potential additional bearing zone (23), in the inverted position of the second retention element (7).

14. A device according to any of claims 2 to 13, characterised in that the abovementioned tightening means comprise two rods (17, 18) which project parallel from one of the retention elements (6), at a distance greater than the diameter of the plant stem, and over a length greater than this diameter, in that the free ends of these rods (17, 18) are threaded and passed through perforations (19, 20) provided in a corresponding manner on the second retention element (7), and in that locknuts (21, 22) are screwed onto the ends of these rods (17, 18) projecting beyond these perforations (19, 20).

15. A device according to any of claims 2 to 14, characterised in that the second retention element (7) is joined to the first retention element (6) by one of its ends, so as to be capable of pivoting relative to the first retention element (6).

16. A device according to any of claims 2 to 6, characterised in that at least one of the retention elements (27) is made of a strong elastic material, the elastic force of which serves as a force for mutually bringing together the retention elements (6, 27).

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