FLOWER ARRANGEMENT ACCESSORIES
An accessory for providing an aperture through a container, including two interconnecting parts, a socket part and an insert part insertable into said socket part, at least one of said parts having a wall portion circumscribing a central bore and arranged such that an insert portion of the insert part is sized to engage with a receiving portion of the socket part such that the parts may be operatively connected to one another with their respective bores in substantial alignment, and remote from said insert and receiving portions, each said part having container engagement means for engaging with respective walls in each of a base and a lid of the container when an orifice is cut therein.
This is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/514,135, filed May 9, 2003, entitled “Flower Arrangement Accessories,” which is a national stage entry of PCT/AU03/00558. Each of the prior applications is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
FIELD OF INVENTIONThis invention relates to flower arrangement accessories, and has particular application to accessories for flower arrangements formed with the assistance of flower arranging apparatus disclosed in our co-pending International Patent Application No. PCT/AU01/00450, the specification of which is incorporated herein by reference, and in this application, reference will be made to such application. However, it will be appreciated that the invention is not limited to such use.
BACKGROUND ARTFlowers and such like may be arranged as bouquets, bunches, posies or the like and sometimes have additional decorative foliage, and even sometimes decorative items such as balloons on sticks and the lie. Flowers are often given as a gift for a special occasion and/or to communicate affection, and such social intercourse is sometimes accompanied by other gifts. Such other gifts are often sold and given separately, and there has been no convenient way to package such other gifts with a flower arrangement. In this specification, unless the context requires otherwise, the term “flower arrangement” is to be understood to include any assembled arrangement of flowers, including posies, bunches, bouquets, sheafs, wreaths and single sterns, and may include ribbons, balloons, and other decorative items which may be added. Furthermore, in the context of a flower arrangement, the terms “item” and “elongate item” are to be understood to include flowers, greenery, and the stalks or stems thereof, as well as any of the aforementioned decorative items used to constitute a bunch, unless the meanings are clearly not appropriate in the context in which the terms are used. Additionally, the flower arranging apparatus described in our abovementioned International Patent Application No. PCT/AU01/00450 will be referred to hereinafter as “the flower holding disc”.
The present invention aims to provide one or more flower arrangement accessories which alleviate one or more of the abovementioned problems or at least provide an alternative to the current tradition of gifting. Other objects and advantages may hereinafter become apparent from the following description.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTIONWith the foregoing in view, this invention in one aspect resides broadly in a flower arrangement accessory including:
a sheet of substantially flat, water permeable material;
one or more penetrations through said sheet and remote from the perimeter of said sheet, one of said penetrations being adapted to receive therethrough a flower arrangement; and
characterised in that said sheet includes on one face thereof a water resistant coating.
In another aspect, this invention resides broadly in a flower arrangement accessory including:
a sheet of substantially flat, water permeable material;
a penetration through said sheet and remote from the perimeter of said sheet and adapted to receive therethrough a flower arrangement;
a water resistant coating applied to said sheet includes on one face thereof, and an extension portion extending in one or more directions away from said penetration a distance sufficient and being of a size sufficient to bear or receive on one face thereof a token.
The token may be in the form of a message and/or greeting, and may include if desired a small gift box or the like or an adhesive pad for the attachment of same. Suitably, the sheet is formed from substantially rigid material, such as cardboard (which is preferred) or stiffened textile material and the coating is formed from a plastics lamination an the single face of the sheet. Preferably, the sheet includes decorations, such as decorative markings, decorative colouration, decorative ornaments attached thereto or the like, and the perimeter is shaped to an aesthetic outline. In exemplary form the sheet is adapted for use with the flower holding disc.
If desired, the sheet may include further penetrations about the penetration (the “main penetration”) adapted to receive therethrough the flower arrangement, said further penetrations being adapted to receive therethrough a ribbon or similar strip of textile material to form a decoration about the main penetration.
In another aspect, the invention resides broadly in an accessory for a flower arrangement including:
a container for containing one or more items;
one or more penetrations through said container and remote from the perimeter of said container, one of said penetrations (the main penetration) being adapted to receive therethrough a flower arrangement; and
characterised in that said main penetration includes engagement means for engaging the flower holding disc for arranging a bunch of flowers comprising a sheet of substantially flexible material; a plurality of penetrations through the sheet adapted to receive therethrough elongate items of the bunch of flowers to be arranged, gripping means operatively associated with each penetration whereby one or more elongate items may be passed through one or more of the penetrations and gripped thereby with a predetermined force, the penetrations being reinforced against failure of the flexible material about the penetration by one or more round aperture operatively associated with each penetration whereby the flower arrangement be operatively associated with said container. The size of the aperture is selected to accommodate the stems of a bunch of flowers insertable therethrough. In a preferred form, the main penetration is selected to from the sizes of 60 mm and 80 mm across.
The preferred height of the container is 10 mm or containing gift items like jewelery, for chocolates, between 10 nm and 70 mm. For other gifts, generally the height could be from 10 to 130 mm. It will be appreciated that the aperture size is preferably selected such that the orifice to the aperture can co-operate with the flower arranging disc described herein. In such form, there are preferably sizes selected to accommodate different size flower arrangements, including, but not limited to, posies, bunches and bouquets.
In another aspect, the present invention resides broadly in an accessory for providing an aperture through a container, including two interconnecting parts, a socket part and an insert part insertable into said socket part, at least on of said parts having a wall portion circumscribing a central bore and arranged such that an insert portion of the insert part is sized to engage with a receiving portion of the socket part such that the parts may be operatively connected to one another with their respective bores in substantial alignment, and remote from said insert and receiving portions, each said part having container engagement means for engaging with respective walls in each of a base and a lid of the container when an orifice is cut therein.
Preferably, each part includes the wall portion and the outer face of part of the wall portion or the insert part is engageable with the inner face of part of the wall portion engages with the socket part. In such form, the accessory when operatively engaged with the lid and base of the container provides an aperture through the container embodied by the bore through the respective parts of the accessory. The bore is preferably circular in section, and preferably is provided in a range of sizes, such as, for example, in 10 mm incremental diameters from 20 mm to 70 mm. This form of accessory could be manufactured from for example, plastics, metal or cardboard, or a combination of same, selected to be compatible with the material from which the container is constructed.
The container engagement means is preferably in the form of a flange adapted to be adhesively attached to the inner face of the walls of the lid and base, and the insert and receiving portions may be arranged to accommodate various lengths of bore to suit a range of different sized containers.
In another aspect, the invention resides broadly in an accessory for a flower arrangement including:
an elongate rod of a length and cross-section selected for incorporation in the flower arrangement, said rod having two ends, one of said ends including attachment means;
embellishment means for embellishing said flower arrangement, said embellishment means including complementary attachment means for operative attachment of said embellishment means to the end of said rod having said attachment means.
Preferably, the rod is firmed from plastics material to imitate the form of a flower stem or the like, or is formed to be aesthetically compatible with a flower or foliage stem. It is also preferred that the attachment means includes a ball-and-socket type joint wherein the socket for receiving the ball is arranged on one end of the rod, and the ball be sized to fit into the socket with an interference fit, and arranged at a suitable attachment location on the embellishment means. In such form, the rod and the embellishment means may be operatively attached to one another by inserting the ball into the socket, the relative sizes of the ball and the socket being selected to provide a “snap fit”. The length of the rod is preferably selected such that a single length is suitable for a posy, two lengths are suitable for a bunch and three lengths art suitable for bouquet. It is also preferred that the ball-and-socket type joint includes abutment means, such as a shoulder about the stem connecting the ball to the embellishment means, which engages with the peter of the socket when the parts are snapped together. Thus attached, the parts may pivot relative to one another about an elongate axis substantially in alignment with the rod, but not substantially bend about the axis or nutate with respect to one another.
The embellishment means may be in the form of a clamp or container for holding and/or containing an object or item, such as a greeting card, confectionery, jewelery, novelty item, such as a balloon, or the like. The embellishment means when attached to the rod may then be incorporated into a flower arrangement by inserting the rod through the gripping means of the flower holding disc. The flower arranging disc may further be incorporated with a container having a penetration extending therethrough as hereinbefore described.
It will be appreciated that the flower arranging accessories of the present invention may be used with conventional flower arranging aids, such as friable solid foams, wire frames, ceramic beads or the like by insertion of the rod into or through the aid.
In another aspect, the invention resides broadly in a method of forming a flower arrangement including:
providing the flower holding disc as herein described;
selecting one or more flower arranging accessories as herein described;
selecting cut flowers, foliage and/or decorative items to make up the flower arrangement;
selecting the cut flowers, foliage and/or decorative items one or more at time through the one or more penetrations in the flexible sheet until the flower arrangement is completed; and
passing the flower arrangement through the main penetration of the accessory for operative association with bunch of flowers.
If desired, the flower arrangement may include an laminated sheet of card, the apertured container and the embellishment means may be operatively associated with a flower holding disc.
In order that the invention may be more readily understood and put into practical effect, reference will now be made to the following drawings which illustrate preferred embodiments of the invention, and wherein:
The five circular flower arranging discs 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14 shown in
In the example 15 shown in separate parts and together in
The larger circular penetrations in examples 12, 13, 14, and 15 may be used, for example, to thread ribbon or the like through to enhance the appearance of a bunch of flowers assembled with the aid of example 10 or 11. The break-out portion may be the same dimensions as example 10, or may be larger or smaller. The threading of the ribbon 25 is performed for example by passing a length of ribbon through each larger penetration as shown partially threaded in
The heart shaped card 40 shown in
The circular card 46 has its circular disc 10 or 21 offset from centre from its card portion 47. The irregular shaped card 50, a “gift tag card”, shown in
The circular container 60 shown in
In similar fashion, the triangular container 63 shown in
The alternative circular container 70 shown in
The aperture accessory 160 may be used to provide an aperture through any one of the container of
The bunch of flowers 80 shown in
The two straight rods 96 shown in
Various embellishment accessories are shown in
In
The clamp assembly 120 shown in
The card, confectionery and balloon holder 140 shown in
The photoframe clamp 95 shown in
The confectionery container 130 shown in
The means of connecting the embellishment accessories to the rod may be alternatively by the ball and socket shown in
The photograph holder 170 shown in
The alternative photograph holder 171 shown in
Although the invention has been described with reference to several examples, it will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the invention may be embodied in other forms within the broad scope and ambit of the invention as defined by following claims.
Claims
1. An accessory for a flower arrangement including a container for containing one or more items and one or more penetrations through said container and remote from the perimeter of said container, one of said penetrations being adapted to receive therethrough a flower arrangement; wherein said penetration includes
- engagement means for engaging a flower holding disc for arranging a bunch of flowers comprising a sheet of substantially flexible material;
- a plurality of penetrations through the sheet adapted to receive therethrough elongate items of the bunch of flowers to be arranged;
- gripping means operatively associated with each penetration whereby one or more elongate items may be passed through one or more of the penetrations and gripped thereby with a predetermined force, the penetrations being reinforced against failure of the flexible material about the penetration by one or more round apertures operatively associated with said container, and
- said container includes a wall formed to provide an annular interior substantially surrounding said flower holding disc and separated from said main penetration by a part of said wall.
2. An accessory for providing an aperture through a container, including two interconnecting parts, a socket part and an insert part insertable into said socket part, at least one of said parts having a wall portion circumscribing a central bore and arranged such that an insert portion of the insert part is sized to engage with a receiving portion of the socket part such that the parts may be operatively connected to one another with their respective bores in substantial alignment, and remote from said insert and receiving portions, each said part having container engagement means for engaging with respective walls in each of a base and a lid of the container when an orifice is cut therein for assembly to form the annular cavity surrounding said main penetration.
3. An accessory according to claim 2, wherein the container engagement means is in the form of a flange adapted to be adhesively attached to the inner face of the walls of the lid and base, and the insert and receiving portions are arranged to accommodate various lengths of bore to suit a range of different sized containers.
4. An accessory for a flower arrangement including:
- an elongate rod of a length and cross-section selected for incorporation in the flower arrangement, said rod having two ends, one of said ends including attachment means;
- embellishment means for embellishing said flower arrangement, said embellishment means including complementary attachment means for operative attachment of said embellishment means to the end of said rod having said attachment means, and wherein:
- said attachment means comprises a ball-and-socket joint which includes
- a ball connected to one end of the rod by a neck extending from a shoulder which extends from a flat abutment face;
- a socket in the other end of the rod, the socket including two snap locations inwardly from two pinches;
- the ball being sized to fit into the socket with an interference fit through the pinches, and said complementary attachment means comprises either
- a ball half complementary to the socket of the ball-and-socket joint or a socket half including two snap locations inwardly from two pinches and complementary to the ball of the ball-and-socket joint.
5. An accessory according to claim 4, wherein the length of the rod is selected such that a single length is suitable for a posy, two lengths are suitable for a bunch, and three lengths are suitable for bouquet.
6. An accessory according to claim 4, wherein said embellishment means includes a token in the form of a message and/or greeting.
7. An accessory according to claim 4, wherein said embellishment means includes a token in the form of a gift box.
8. An accessory according to claim 8, wherein said embellishment means includes an adhesive pad for the attachment of said gift box.
9. A flower arrangement including a plurality of cut flowers formed into a bunch and inserted through the main penetration of an accessory according to claim 1.
10. A method of forming a flower arrangement including:
- providing a flower holding disc;
- selecting one or more flower arranging accessories;
- selecting cut flowers, foliage and/or decorative items to make up the flower arrangement; inserting the cut flowers, foliage and/or decorative items one or more at time through one or more penetrations in the flexible sheet until the flower arrangement is completed; and
- passing the flower arrangement through a main penetration of the accessory for operative association with bunch of flowers.
11. A flower arrangement accessory including:
- a sheet of substantially flat, water permeable material;
- one or more penetrations through said sheet and remote from the perimeter of said sheet, one of said penetrations being adapted to receive therethrough a flower arrangement; and
- wherein in that said sheet includes on one face thereof a water resistant coating.
12. A flower arrangement accessory including:
- a sheet of substantially flat, water permeable material;
- a penetration through said sheet and remote from the perimeter of said sheet and adapted to receive therethrough a flower arrangement;
- a water resistant coating applied to said sheet includes on one face thereof, and
- an extension portion extending in one or more directions away from said penetration a distance sufficient and being of a size sufficient to bear or receive on one face thereof a token.
13. A flower arrangement accessory according to claim 12, wherein the token is in the form of a message and/or greeting.
14. A flower arrangement accessory according to claim 13, wherein the token includes a small gift box or the like or an adhesive pad for the attachment of same.
15. A flower arrangement accessory according to claim 11, wherein the sheet includes further penetrations about the adapted to receive therethrough the flower arrangement, said further penetrations being adapted to receive therethrough a ribbon or similar strip of textile material to form a decoration about the main penetration.
Type: Application
Filed: Mar 17, 2009
Publication Date: Jan 21, 2010
Inventor: Dale Kathleen Wright (Pullenvale)
Application Number: 12/406,076
International Classification: A47G 7/00 (20060101);