Flower pot cover apparatus having fingers suspended from male mold

An apparatus for forming a sheet of material into a flower pot or flower pot cover, the apparatus comprising:

• a female mold having an upper end, a lower end and a female opening extending from the upper end toward the lower end thereof to define a female forming surface;
• a male mold having an upper end, a lower end and an outer periphery defining a male forming surface adapted to mate with said female forming surface;
• a plurality of brackets attached to the upper end of said male mold, each one of said brackets having a bracket member extending laterally beyond the male forming surface, each bracket member having a finger bore therethrough;
• a plurality of fingers wherein each finger has an upper end and a lower end and extends through a corresponding one of said finger bores to telescope with respect to said male mold;
• and
• means for moving said male mold between a storage position wherein said male forming surface is spaced a distance from said female forming surface and a forming position wherein said male mold is substantially within the female opening of said female mold;
• wherein each finger engages a sheet of material disposed over the female opening and telescopes with respect to said male mold as said male mold is moved into the forming position with said female mold.

A method of forming a sheet of material into a flower pot or flower pot cover, the steps of the method comprising:

• providing a male mold having an outer periphery defining a male forming surface, and a plurality of fingers suspended about the outer periphery thereof for telescoping movement between a lower position and an upper position relative to said male mold;
• providing a female mold having a female opening defining a female forming surface;
• moving said male mold to a storage position wherein said male forming surface is spaced a distance from said female forming surface;
• placing a sheet of material over the female opening;
• positioning said fingers in the lower position in order for said fingers to engage and control the sheet of material as said male mold is moved into the female opening;
• moving said male mold into a forming position within the female opening to form the sheet of material into a flower pot or flower pot cover while said fingers engage the sheet of material and telescope from the lower position to the upper position with respect to said male mold;
• moving said male mold from the forming position to the storage position;
• and
• securing said fingers in the Upper position after moving said male mold into the forming position and before moving said male mold into the storage position.