Multi-unit flora display assembly

Abstract

A versatile interchangeable bowl, removable vase and closure member ensemble for displaying flora. The bowl is provided with an open grill in its bottom and includes concentric upper and lower ring flanges. The closure member is adapted to sealingly engage the lower flange to provide a shallow receptacle for the display of flower buds, short-stemmed flora or the like. The top portion of the vase is also adapted to engage the bottom flange of the bowl to provide a fluted decorative structure for displaying long-stem flowers. The bottom portion of the vase is adapted for engagement with the upper flange of the bowl so that an attractive display receptacle is provided for both long and short-stem flowers.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention is related to a structure for holding flora or the like, and, more particularly, to a versatile multi-unit flora display assembly.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Most of the prior art multi-unit flower receptacles comprise container groupings for minature gardens, flower pots, or the like. These units require a particular construction depending on the type and weight of soil and on the degree of moisture desired with facilities for good drainage. Additionally, arrangements for superposing or displaying flower pots are generally heavy-duty structures requiring special constructions which are not versatile due to the requirements of strength, economy, and stability.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,183,624 discloses a floral arranger having a large bottom tray portion into which may be fitted a large vase portion either along or in combination with a small vase portion. Although a significant advance in the art, the U.S. patent lacks a certain amount of versatility in that the tray portion is not provided with a means for engagement with the top of the vases and therefore, must always be located in the lowermost position of the ensemble. Also additionally, the patented floral arranger calls for the use of separate grid-like structures for the top of both the large and small vase portions. These grid structures are generally unsupported and prone to rupture and distortion.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a three unit ensemble each unit of which may be combined in various ways to form a highly versatile assembly uniquely adapted to display all types of fresh and dry flowers, other types of flora, flower buds or any other type of ornament. The ensemble comprises a bowl having on its bottom wall upper and lower ring flanges concentric with a central opening. The opening extends through the bottom of the bowl and is covered with an open mesh grid to facilitate the arrangement and positioning of flora contained therein.

The ensemble further includes a vase having a top portion which is adapted to engage the lower ring flange of the bowl so that the bowl may be positioned in an upper position on top of the vase. The top portion of the base is flared outwardly in matching conformity to the inwardly tapering bottom side walls of the bowl such that a smooth transition results when the bowl and vase are engaged. The bottom of the vase is recessed so that it may engage the upper flanges of the bowl and be positioned within the bowl for another variation.

The third part of the ensemble is a closure member having a U-shaped annular sealing portion for engagement with the lower flange of the bowl. The closure has on its top surface a plurality of projections to facilitate the arrangement of flowers or the like.

It can be seen from the above that a unique advantage of the present invention is that it allows the association of different groups of plants or flowers into one attractive display. The different flora may be presented either in an upper position when the bowl is placed on top of the vase or in a lower position when the vase is placed within the bowl. In either combination, the stems of flora may extend through the central bowl opening and be positioned by the grid contained therein. The ensemble is simple to use yet provides an adaptable means for presenting flowers in a variable manner to enhance the most attractive aspects of each different type of bud, flower or the like.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded elevational view of the multi-unit flora display assembly of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an assembled view of the units shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a verticle cross-section taken along the line 3--3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a reduced scale bottom plan view of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is an elevational view of the bowl and vase of FIG. 1 with the bowl engaged to the top of the vase;

FIG. 6 is a broken-away cross-section view of the connection between the bowl and vase taken along line 6--6 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a top plan view of the closure member shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a bottom plan view of the bowl of FIG. 1; and,

FIG. 9 is a top plan view of the bowl of FIG. 8.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows each of the separate individual components of the present invention. The engagement of each to form one version of a flora display ensemble is depicted in FIGS. 2 and 3. In this version the bowl 14 is engaged at its bottom with closure member 18 and vase 10 is connected to the interior of the bowl. To facilitate the engagement of the vase and closure to the bowl, the planar bottom wall 13 of the bowl is provided with an integral upper ring flange 15 and an integral lower ring flange 17. The upper ring flange is positioned concentric with the side walls 22 of the bowl and is provided with a central opening 25 having an open mesh grill 24 extending thereacross. The grill is provided with open spaces 26 for the insertion and relative positioning of flower stems. The lower ring flange is concentric with the bowl opening and is outwardly offset from the upper flange. It extends downwardly in a generally perpendicular direction from bottom wall 13. The lower portion 19 of said flange is slightly flared outwardly to facilitate engagement with the U-shaped sealing portion 20 of the closure member.

The closure member 18 presents a top surface having a lowered generally horizontal planar central area 28 and a large number of upstanding projections or spikes 30 symmetrically spaced thereabout. The closure member is provided with a continuous flat outer rim 32 about its entire circumference which extends vertically with respect to the central area 28. Extending inwardly from the rim is a generally flat horizontal annular ridge 34 which merges radially inwardly into an annular recess or channel 20. The recess is generally U-shaped in cross-section and is concentric with the outer ring 32 and ridge 34. The U-shape presents a top opening 36 for frictional engagement with lower flange 17. To further facilitate such engagement, the outer wall portion 20a, adjacent ridge 34, is vertically longer than the inner wall 20b which merges into the central area 28. The difference in height, in part may be caused by the ridge 34 being at a higher level relative to the central area 28. However, the advantageous effect is to make opening 36 more accessible for insertion of lower flange portion 19 during assembly of the units. It will be understood that each of the component parts of the present invention are preferably made of resilient plastic material providing for a firm snap-on frictional engagement with one another.

The side walls 22 of the bowl converge downwardly and inwardly at 38 and terminate in a downwardly projecting protuberance 40 having a flat mating surface 42. The protuberance and mating surface present a circular configuration about the outside lower portion of the bowl as shown best in FIG. 8. The circular configuration is concentric with the ring flanges 17, 19 and is of the same diameter as the top edge 40 of vase 10 for a purpose to be hereinafter described.

In the assembly shown in FIGS. 2-4, the vase is positioned within the bowl by frictional engagement of upper flange 15 with the downwardly extending lower side wall portion 46 of the vase. To facilitate this engagement, the inner surfaces of the lower side wall portion contain a series of ribs 48 at spaced intervals thereabout. These ribs contact the outer surfaces of flange 15 and allow ease of engagement and disengagement with the vase.

The side walls 52 of the vase are slightly flared outwardly from the base 44 and extend into a fluted top portion 53. The top portion terminates into the aforementioned flat top edge 50 and includes an annular inner ridge 54 having an undercut portion 56. When the bowl is placed on top of the vase as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the undercut portion 56 frictionally engages the flared portion 19 of the flange ring 17. In this combination the closure member would not be utilized.

Because the curvature of the lower bowl portion 38 corresponds to the degree of flare of the vase top portion 53, a smooth transition is effected giving the appearance of a unitary display structure. This appearance is also enhanced with the use of the flat horizontal edges 42 and 50 which form a flat abutting joint. This serves to substantially minimize interruption of the curvalinear outline of the display structure.

In the variation shown in FIG. 5, long-stemmed flowers may be inserted through the open areas 26 of grill 24 in a manner to achieve an attractive floral arrangement. Additionally, because of the relatively large flat bottom wall portion 13 of the bowl, there is ample space for the placement of short-stemmed flowers, buds, wreath materials, or the like. With the upstanding annular ring flange 15 constructed integral with the bottom portion 13, it is possible that fluids may be contained within the lower region of the bowl for floating flower buds. Of course, it is apparent that the bottom 44 of the vase is also integral with the side walls 52 such that fluids may be held therein to prolong the freshness of flowers. In this regard it is to be understood that the vase portion may be utilized by itself and the bowl may be utilized either alone or in combination with the closure member such that the entire bowl area can be sealed in a fluid tight manner. When the bowl is used with the closure member, one would have the advantage of utilizing both the grid 24 and projections 30 for arranging flora or the like.

While the invention has been described with respect to preferred embodiments, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and improvements may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Accordingly, it is to be understood that the present invention is not to be limited by the specific illustrative embodiments, but only by the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

We claim:

1. A floral arranger comprising:

a. a bowl having a sidewall and being alternately positionable upon or under a vase and having an opening in the bottom wall thereof, said opening being bounded by an upper flange member integral with said bottom wall and extending upwardly therefrom and a lower flange member extending downwardly from said bottom wall; and,

b. a vase having a recessed base and an integral sidewall, said sidewall including a lower portion releasably engaged with said upper flange member.

2. A floral arranger according to claim 1 including an imperforate closure member engaged with said lower flange member and extending across said bottom wall opening.

3. A floral arranger according to claim 2 wherein said closure member includes a substantially planar central wall and a peripheral U-shaped groove that sealingly engages said lower flange.

4. A floral arranger according to claim 2 wherein said closure member includes a plurality of elongate projections adjacently positioned one with respect to the other and extending upwardly from said central wall into said bowl but below said bowl opening.

5. A floral arranger according to claim 1 wherein the opening of said bowl is covered with an open mesh grid comprising a plurality of ribs extending thereacross.

6. A floral arranger according to claim 5 wherein said ribs are integral with said upper flange approximately midway along the vertical extent thereof.

7. A floral arranger according to claim 1 wherein said top portion of the sidewall of said vase terminates in a flat horizontal top edge and includes an inner annular undercut portion located below said edge for releasable engagement with said lower flange member.

8. A floral arranger according to claim 1 wherein said bowl includes a vertical sidewall extending upwardly to a terminal upper edge lying in a plane located above said upper flange and said sidewall extending downwardly and inwardly to a horizontal flat annular base.

9. A floral arranger according to claim 7 wherein the outer surface of said bowl sidewall includes an annular projection having a downwardly facing flat surface adapted to mate with the horizontal edge of the sidewall top portion of said vase.