U.S. patent application number 10/368882 was filed with the patent office on 2004-08-19 for greenhouse.
Invention is credited to Huang, Hsi-Chin.
Application Number | 20040159346 10/368882 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 32850230 |
Filed Date | 2004-08-19 |
United States Patent
Application |
20040159346 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Huang, Hsi-Chin |
August 19, 2004 |
Greenhouse
Abstract
A greenhouse is handy and convenient to use. The greenhouse
includes a frame assembly that stands on the ground and a dual
protection assembly attached to the frame assembly to enclose the
frame assembly. The dual protection member includes an airtight
member and a mesh member. The mesh member is attached to the frame
assembly to protect plants in the greenhouse from pests. The
airtight member is attached to the mesh member to enclose the mesh
member. Therefore, the airtight member provides protection for the
plants in the greenhouse from the weather. When the airtight member
is opened, the mesh member allows fresh air to flow into the
greenhouse. Therefore, the plants in the greenhouse will be fully
protected from not only the weather but also pests.
Inventors: |
Huang, Hsi-Chin; (Changhua
Hsien, TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
NIKOLAI & MERSEREAU, P.A.
900 SECOND AVENUE SOUTH
SUITE 820
MINNEAPOLIS
MN
55402
US
|
Family ID: |
32850230 |
Appl. No.: |
10/368882 |
Filed: |
February 19, 2003 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
135/98 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A01G 13/043 20130101;
Y02A 40/25 20180101; E04H 15/28 20130101; Y02A 40/254 20180101;
A01G 9/16 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
135/098 |
International
Class: |
E04H 015/28 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A greenhouse comprising: a frame assembly comprising an adapter
having a top, a bottom and a through hole defined from the top to
the bottom of the adapter; multiple ribs radially and pivotally
attached to the bottom of the adapter around the through hole and
each rib having a bottom tip opposite to the adapter; a shaft with
a top end and a tapered bottom end mounted under the adapter, the
top end of the shaft facing the through hole in the adapter and a
stub formed radially on the shaft near the top end of the shaft; a
draw string having two ends, one end attached to the top end of the
shaft and the other end passing through and extending out of the
through hole in the adapter; a spreader sleeve securely attached to
the shaft near the stub; and multiple spreaders pivotally
connecting the spreader sleeve to the ribs, where each spreader
connects the spreader sleeve to one of the ribs; and a dual
protection assembly mounted on the frame assembly and the dual
protection assembly comprising a mesh member attached to the frame
assembly and having a top, an outer periphery and an annular bottom
edge, the top of the mesh member attached to the adapter and the
annular bottom edge respectively attached to the ribs near the
bottom tips; and an airtight member attached to the outer periphery
of the mesh member and having a top and an annular bottom edge, and
the top of the airtight member attached to the adapter, whereby the
shaft is moved upward to move the spreader sleeve upward by pulling
the draw string out of the top of the adapter, until the top end of
the shaft extends out of the through hole to spread the greenhouse
when the stub abuts the bottom of the adapter.
2. The greenhouse as claimed in claim 1 further comprising a ground
stake mounted on the tapered bottom end of the shaft and having a
top opening and a tapered bottom end, and the tapered bottom end of
the ground stake adapted to be pushed into the ground; and multiple
fasteners respectively mounted between the mesh member and the
airtight member near the annular bottom edges of both the mesh and
the airtight members and adapted to conveniently stick the mesh and
the airtight members the together; wherein the tapered bottom end
of the shaft is inserted into the top opening in the ground stake
such that the shaft is held vertically in the ground stake and the
spread greenhouse stands on the ground.
3. The greenhouse as claimed in claim 2, wherein a foldable anchor
stake with a free end is pivotally mounted on each rib near the
bottom tip, the free end protrudes relative to the bottom tip of
the rib when the anchor stake is unfolded and is adapted to be
pushed into the ground, and a tag is attached to the bottom tip of
each rib.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to a greenhouse, and more
particularly to a greenhouse with a simple structure, which can be
used in a field.
[0003] 2. Description of Related Art
[0004] A greenhouse is used to grow plants that need protection
from weather or environmental contaminants. A conventional
greenhouse is a permanent or semi-permanent structure, is
expensive, requires a large area and is not appropriate to protect
individual plants, such as flowers or shrubs that need protection
from the weather in a person's backyard.
[0005] With reference to FIG. 6, another kind of greenhouse is
smaller and comprises a frame (60) and an airtight member (61). The
airtight member (61) is made of pliable translucent plastic film
and covers the whole frame (60). The plants, such as potted flowers
(70) in this kind of greenhouse are protected from the weather
because the plastic airtight member (61) isolates the plants from
the outside environment. However, the airtight member (61) also
keeps the wind from blowing into the greenhouse. Plants, like
animals, also need to breathe to live. The airtight member (61) of
this kind of conventional greenhouse must be opened to let in fresh
air. Opening the translucent plastic film allows the plants in the
greenhouse to breath but provides a means of entry for pests and
contaminants to enter the greenhouse. The pests and contaminants
may eat or disease the plants and cause them to die.
[0006] To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention provides
a convenient and useful dual protection greenhouse to mitigate or
obviate the aforementioned problems.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] The main objective of the invention is to provide a simple
greenhouse with a capability to protect plants outside from
environmental conditions and pests and allow the plants to breathe.
The greenhouse has a frame assembly and a dual protection assembly.
The frame assembly is foldable and is easy to spread and cover a
plant on the ground. The dual protection assembly is attached to
and covers the frame assembly and comprises an airtight member and
a mesh member. The mesh member is attached to the frame assembly to
keep pests from entering the greenhouse. The airtight member is
made of translucent plastic film and attached to the mesh member to
cover the mesh member. The airtight member protects the plants in
the greenhouse from severe weather. When the airtight member is
opened, the mesh member allows fresh air to flow into the
greenhouse and keeps pests from entering. Consequently, plants in
the greenhouse will be fully protected from both severe weather and
pests.
[0008] Other objectives, advantages and novel features of the
greenhouse will become more apparent from the following detailed
description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying
drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a greenhouse in accordance
with the present invention;
[0010] FIG. 2 is an operational side plan view of a frame assembly
of the greenhouse in FIG. 1, when the frame assembly is spread and
stands on the ground;
[0011] FIG. 3 is a side plan view of the frame assembly in FIG. 2
when the frame assembly is folded;
[0012] FIG. 4 is an enlarged operational side plan view of an
anchor stake on a rib of the frame assembly in FIG. 2 showing the
anchor stake unfolded to be pushed into the ground;
[0013] FIG. 5 is an operational perspective view of the greenhouse
in FIG. 1 when the airtight member is open; and
[0014] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a greenhouse in accordance
with the prior art.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0015] With reference to FIGS. 1 to 3, a greenhouse (10) in
accordance with the present invention is used to protect growing
plants from severe weather and pests. The greenhouse (10) comprises
a frame assembly (11) and a dual protection assembly (not
numbered). The dual protection assembly is attached to and covers
the frame assembly (11).
[0016] The frame assembly (11) is similar to a frame of an umbrella
and comprises an adapter (111), multiple ribs (112), multiple
spreaders (113), a spreader sleeve (114) and a shaft (115). The
adapter (111) has a top (not numbered) and a bottom (not numbered).
A through hole (not numbered) is defined through the adapter (111)
from the top to the bottom. The ribs (112) are radially and
pivotally attached to the adapter (111) at the bottom around the
through hole. Each rib (112) has a bottom tip (not numbered)
opposite the adapter (111), and a tag (not numbered) is attached to
the bottom tip. A foldable anchor stake (1121) has a free end (not
numbered) and is pivotally mounted on each rib (112) near the
bottom tip. With further reference to FIG. 4, the free end is
extended out relative to the bottom tip of the rib (112) when the
anchor stake (1121) is unfolded.
[0017] The spreaders (113) are used to pivotally connect the ribs
(112) to the spreader sleeve (114). The shaft (115) has a top end
(not numbered) facing the bottom of the adapter (111) and
corresponding to the through hole in the adapter (111) and a
tapered bottom end (not numbered). A stub (1151) is formed radially
on the shaft (115) near the top end of shaft (115). A ground stake
(116) is attached to the bottom end of the shaft ( 15). The
spreader sleeve (114) is securely attached to the shaft (115) near
the stub (1151), and the spreaders (113) are radially and pivotally
connected to the spreader sleeve (114). Each spreader (113)
connects the spreader sleeve (114) to one of the ribs (112). A draw
string (117) has a first end (not numbered) and a second end (not
numbered), and the first end is attached to the top end of the
shaft (115). The second end of the draw string (117) passes through
and extends out of the through hole in the adapter (111) and is
connected to a pull ring (118). The ground stake (116) has a top
opening (not numbered) and a bottom tapered end (not numbered) and
is mounted on the tapered bottom end of the shaft (115). The ground
stake (116) securely holds the tapered bottom end of the shaft
(115), and the tapered bottom end of the ground stake (116) is
adapted to be inserted into the ground (50).
[0018] With reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, the frame assembly (11) is
spread by pulling the pull ring (118) and the draw string (117) to
move the top of the shaft (115) upward through the hole in the
adapter (111) upward until that the stub (1151) abuts the bottom of
the adapter (111). As the top end of the shaft (115) passes through
and extends out of the through hole in the adapter (111), the
spreader sleeve (114) will move the spreaders (113) upward and
cause the ribs (112) to extend out from the shaft (115).
[0019] With reference to FIGS. 1 and 5, the dual protection
assembly comprises a mesh member (21) and an airtight member (22).
Both are like a canopy of an umbrella. The mesh member (21) has a
bottom annular edge (not numbered), an outer periphery (not
numbered) and a top (not numbered). The top of the mesh member (21)
is attached to the adapter (111) and the bottom annular edge is
attached to the tips of the ribs (112). The airtight member (22)
also has a bottom annular edge (not numbered) and a top (not
numbered). The top of the airtight member (22) is attached to the
adapter (111) but the bottom annular edge is not attached. The
airtight member (22) entirely encloses the mesh member (21) to
protect plants in the greenhouse (10). To keep the airtight member
(22) from being blown up by the wind, multiple fasteners (not
shown) are respectively attached to the mesh and the airtight
members (21, 22) near the bottom annular edges of both to stick the
mesh end the airtight members (21, 22) together. The fasteners
could be Velcro or the like that allow the airtight member (22) to
be conveniently opened relative to the mesh member (21).
[0020] To install the greenhouse over a plant, the ground stake
(116) is pushed into the ground near the plant, and the tapered
bottom end of the shaft (115) is inserted in the top opening in the
ground stake (116). The bottom tips of the ribs (112) contact the
ground (50) so the frame assembly (11) can firmly stand on the
ground (50). To more securely mount the greenhouse (10) on the
ground (50), the anchor stakes (1121) can be unfolded so the free
ends of the anchor stakes (1121) can also be pushed into the ground
(50). Therefore, the greenhouse (10) is securely mounted on the
ground (50) over the desired plant.
[0021] To conveniently store the greenhouse (10), the ground stake
(116) and the anchor stakes (1121) are pulled out of the ground and
the greenhouse (10) is removed from the plant. The top end of the
shaft (115) is pushed back through and out of the through hole in
the adapter (111), and the shaft (115) is pulled downward to
collapse the ribs (112).
[0022] Consequently, when the airtight member (22) is opened
relative to the mesh member (21), fresh air can flow into the
greenhouse (10). Simultaneously, the mesh member (21) keeps pests
from entering the greenhouse (10). The greenhouse (10) provides a
dual protection from the weather and pests so growing plants can
flourish. Consequently, the greenhouse (10) in accordance the
present invention is not only convenient for a person to use but
also provides good protection to plants so they can grow well and
be healthy. Furthermore, the structure of the greenhouse (10) is
simple, which makes fabricating the greenhouse (10) easy for the
manufactures.
[0023] Even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the
present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description,
together with details of the structure and function of the
invention, the disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be
made in detail, especially in matters of shape, size, and
arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the
full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in
which the appended claims are expressed.
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