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US 6,308,459 B1Granted
Accordion-type plant cover with attached skirt and methods
AssigneeSouthpac Trust International, Inc.
InventorDonald E. Weder
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A plant cover, comprising a base formed from a sheet of material, said base having an upper end, a lower end, and an outer peripheral surface, an opening intersecting the upper end forming an inner peripheral surface and a retaining space, a skirt formed from a sheet of material, said skirt connected to the upper end of the base, and expansion means formed integrally with the base, the expansion means comprising an excess of material, the expansion means permitting the base to expand and contract to both closely encompass and follow the contours of a pot. Methods of using a plant cover.
Claims40
A method of using a flower pot cover, comprising the steps of:
- providing a pot having an outer peripheral surface;
- providing a flower pot cover formed from a sheet of material and having an upper end, a lower end, and a plurality of expandable overlapping folds around an outer peripheral surface, an opening intersecting the upper end forming an inner peripheral surface and a retaining space, a skirt and at least a portion of the skirt extending a distance from the upper end;
- providing an expansion element formed from a second sheet of material, the expansion element comprising an excess of the second sheet of material, the expansion element having an outer periphery and an inner periphery;
- disposing the pot into the retaining space of the flower pot cover;
- expanding the expansion element such that the inner periphery of the expansion element is of a wider diameter than the outer peripheral surface of the flower pot cover;
- and
- disposing the expansion element over the flower pot cover such that the outer peripheral surface of the flower pot cover is adjacent to and in contacting engagement with the inner periphery of the expansion element;
- wherein the expansion element permits the flower pot cover to expand and contract to both closely encompass and follow contours of the outer peripheral surface of the pot, and
- positioning the skirt such that the skirt extends a distance from the upper end of the flower pot cover.
6 more elements
A method of using a flower pot cover to cover a pot having an outer peripheral surface, comprising the steps of:
- providing a flower pot cover formed from a sheet of material having an upper end, a lower end, and a plurality of expandable overlapping folds around an outer peripheral surface, an opening intersecting the upper end forming an inner peripheral surface and a retaining space, the flower pot cover having a skirt, said skirt connected to the flower pot cover and at least a portion of the skirt extending a distance from the upper end of the flower pot cover;
- providing an expansion element formed from a second sheet of material, the expansion element comprising an excess of the second sheet of material, the expansion element having an outer periphery and an inner periphery;
- disposing a pot having an outer peripheral surface into the retaining space of the flower pot cover;
- expanding the expansion element such that the inner periphery of the expansion element is of a wider diameter than the outer peripheral surface of the flower pot cover;
- and
- disposing the expansion element over the flower pot cover such that the outer peripheral surface of the flower pot cover is adjacent to and in contacting engagement with the inner periphery of the expansion element;
- wherein the expansion element permits the flower pot cover to expand and contract to both closely encompass and follow contours of the outer peripheral surface of the pot, and
- positioning the skirt such that the skirt extends a distance from the upper end of the flower pot cover.
5 more elements
A method of using a flower pot cover, comprising the steps of:
- providing a pot having an outer peripheral surface;
- providing a flower pot cover comprising a base formed from a sheet of material and having an upper end, a lower end, and a plurality of expandable overlapping folds around an outer peripheral surface, an opening intersecting the upper end forming an inner peripheral surface and a retaining space, the flower pot cover further comprising a skirt wherein at least a portion of the skirt extends a distance from the upper end of the base;
- providing an expansion element formed from a second sheet of material, the expansion element comprising an excess of the second sheet of material, the expansion element having an outer periphery and an inner periphery;
- disposing the pot into the retaining space of the flower pot cover;
- expanding the expansion element such that the inner periphery of the expansion element is of a wider diameter than the outer peripheral surface of the base of the flower pot cover;
- and
- disposing the expansion element over the base of the flower pot cover such that the outer peripheral surface of the base of the flower pot cover is adjacent to and in contacting engagement with the inner periphery of the expansion element;
- wherein the expansion element permits the flower pot cover to expand and contract to both closely encompass and follow contours of the outer peripheral surface of the pot.
5 more elements
A method of using a flower pot cover to cover a pot having an outer peripheral surface, comprising the steps of:
- providing a flower pot cover comprising a base formed from a sheet of material and having an upper end, a lower end, and a plurality of expandable overlapping folds around an outer peripheral surface, an opening intersecting the upper end forming an inner peripheral surface and a retaining space, the flower pot cover further comprising a skirt wherein at least a portion of the skirt extends a distance from the upper end of the base of the flower pot cover;
- providing an expansion element formed from a second sheet of material, the expansion element comprising an excess of the second sheet of material, the expansion element having an outer periphery and an inner periphery;
- disposing a pot having an outer peripheral surface into the retaining space of the flower pot cover;
- expanding the expansion element such that the inner periphery of the expansion element is of a wider diameter than the outer peripheral surface of the base of the flower pot cover;
- and
- disposing the expansion element over the base of the flower pot cover such that the outer peripheral surface of the base of the flower pot cover is adjacent to and in contacting engagement with the inner periphery of the expansion element;
- wherein the expansion element permits the flower pot cover to expand and contract to both closely encompass and follow contours of the outer peripheral surface of the pot.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.