PACKAGING FOR SHIPPING PLANTS

Abstract

A cardboard container for shipping a potted plant is provided. The cardboard container includes a first cardboard blank bent to shape to form a pot tray. The pot tray includes a floor for supporting a plant pot, and a plurality of walls extending upward from the floor and at least partially surrounding the plant pot, wherein the walls are bent to cover at least a portion of an upper surface of the plant pot. One or more rails are beneath the floor. A second cardboard blank is bent to shape to form an outside box surrounding the potted plant and the first cardboard blank for shipment thereof, wherein the one or more rails contacts a lower surface of the outside box such that the floor and the plant pot are elevated from the lower surface of the outside box.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/656,609 filed Apr. 12, 2018, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated in its entirety by reference herein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates to packaging of plants for shipping. In more particular embodiments, this disclosure relates to a soil retention system and packaging concept for enabling potted plants to be shipped while supporting the root system and preventing loose soil during shipping.

BACKGROUND

Online purchasing and shipping outlets are growing exponentially. More and more, people are buying a majority of their items online, from household items, to gifts, and even groceries. However, potted plants are still typically sold in brick-and-mortar storefronts. For example, if one were to purchase a potted plant online and have it shipped to their home, the purchaser might be disappointed at the amount of soil that became dislodged during shipping, the leaves or flowers being damaged, and other potential hazards associated with the turbulence of shipping.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The attached documents and Figures detail the packaging surrounding and supporting a potted plant for shipping.

FIG. 1 shows an overview of retained soil for shipment, a potted plant, and an associated packaging, in perspective view, for shipping the potted plant.

FIG. 2A shows a plan view of a single or one-piece blank of paperboard, cardboard, or similar material which is suitably cut and provided with hinge lines (dashed) to form the outer box for shipping a potted plant, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 2B shows a plan view of a single or one-piece blank of paperboard, cardboard, or similar material which is suitably cut and provided with hinge lines (dashed) to form a pot tray to be contained within the outer box for supporting the potted plant within the outer box, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 2C is a plan view of a single or one-piece blank of paperboard, cardboard, or similar material which is suitably cut and provided with hinge lines (dashed) to form a layer of insulation to help insulate the shipped plant during cold weather, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a front view of an assembled but open outer box with the pot tray for supporting a potted plant for shipment, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 4 shows steps of forming the pot tray out of the blank of FIG. 2B, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 5 shows steps of forming the outer box and finalizing the assembly of the outer box and pot tray with honeycomb insulation, according to one embodiment.

FIGS. 6A and 6B show a front cross-sectional and top view, respectively, of an assembled outer box with pot tray, according to one embodiment.

FIGS. 7A and 7B show a top and cross-sectional view, respectively, of supporting the pot tray according to one embodiment in which honeycomb insulation is used.

FIGS. 8A and 8B show a top and cross-sectional view, respectively, of supporting the pot tray according to another embodiment in which a pop-in corner method is used to improve airflow and help prevent overheating, in which the corners of the outer box are pressed in certain locations.

FIGS. 9A and 9B show a top and cross-sectional view, respectively, of supporting the pot tray according to another embodiment in which a sticky block method is used for heavier pots, in which honeycomb corrugate blocks are adhered to the outer box and used to hold down the pot tray.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention that may be embodied in various and alternative forms. The figures are not necessarily to scale; some features may be exaggerated or minimized to show details of particular components. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention.

Various embodiments are disclosed herein which allow a potted plant to be shipped while reducing any potential damage to the plant due to the shipping. Also, the packaging systems described herein prevent the plant's soil from coming loose during shipment. This can be done without any shrink-wrap or cellophane surrounding the plant, which can be harmful to the plant. This allows a customer to simply open the box and pull out the plant without cutting or otherwise removing suffocating material surrounding the plant or soil.

In one embodiment of soil-retention, a plant is placed in soil, and then the soil is surrounded with a soil-and-binder combination. The binder may be a binding material (e.g., water and an emulsion) that infuses with the soil to keep the soil tightly packed. The soil-and-binder combination creates a shell that is much harder and denser than the enclosed soil. As shown in the bottom picture in FIG. 1, the plant may be immediately and directly surrounded by normal soil. Then, directly and immediately surrounding the soil is the soil-and-binder combination. This creates a shell of soil and binder around the interior soil, properly containing the soil for shipment. This prevents or inhibits soil from coming dislodged during shipment.

FIGS. 2A-2C show the outer box, the pot tray, and the honeycomb insulation before being formed into their final shape, which will be described below and as shown in FIGS. 4-5.

FIG. 4 shows an assembly method of forming the pot tray which surrounds and supports the pot of the potted plant during shipment, according to one embodiment. First, the user is provided with a blank of the pot tray. The upper part of the blank is folded inward on either side, then rotated and tilted into place, as shown. This creates triangular supports that extend upward and transverse from the remainder of the blank. This is repeated on the other side of the blank. The plant can be placed in the center. Then, both sides can be tilted to cover the plant. The four triangular supports now surround the pot from four areas. The sides can be taped on either side of the plant over the edges.

The last two pictures of FIG. 4 show side rails that may be formed by folding inwardly and attaching through apertures in the blank. The side rails are folded downwardly instead of upwardly, to create side rails that elevate the pot tray from the underlying surface. The side rails provide longitudinal support for the assembled package.

FIG. 5 shows the assembly of the outer box. One longitudinal side of the box can be taped, and flipped over. The honeycomb lay-in can be set into the box, extending along the length of the box. The potted plant with the attached pot tray is placed into the box with the rails contacting the bottom of the box and the honeycomb sides pushed to the top edge of the box above the top surface of the pot trey. A separate saucer can be slid into the box beneath the pot trey between the rails.

The packaging concepts disclosed herein allow the potted plants to remain in-tact, while retaining soil without the need to shrink-wrap a plant for shipping, which can be harmful to the plant.

While exemplary embodiments are described above, it is not intended that these embodiments describe all possible forms of the invention. Rather, the words used in the specification are words of description rather than limitation, and it is understood that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Additionally, the features of various implementing embodiments may be combined to form further embodiments of the invention.

Claims

1. A cardboard container for shipping a potted plant, the cardboard container comprising:

a first cardboard blank bent to shape to form a pot tray including: a floor for supporting a plant pot, a plurality of walls extending upward from the floor and at least partially surrounding the plant pot, wherein the walls are bent to cover at least a portion of an upper surface of the plant pot, and one or more rails beneath the floor, and

a second cardboard blank bent to shape to form an outside box surrounding the potted plant and the first cardboard blank for shipment thereof, wherein the one or more rails contacts a lower surface of the outside box such that the floor and the plant pot are elevated from the lower surface of the outside box.

2. A pot tray for supporting a potted plant, the pot tray comprising:

a floor for supporting a plant pot;

a plurality of walls extending upward from the floor and at least partially surrounding the plant pot;

one or more rails beneath the floor configured to contact an underlying surface of a shipment container such that the floor and the plant pot are elevated from the underlying surface during shipping.

3. The pot tray of claim 2, wherein the floor, the plurality of walls, and the one or more rails are all part of a continuous cardboard material.

4. The pot tray of claim 2, wherein the floor, the plurality of walls, and the one or more rails are all bent from a single cardboard blank.

5. The pot tray of claim 2, wherein the floor includes one or more apertures configured to receive one or more tabs extending from the one or more rails to maintain the shape of the one or more rails.