US 7,406,799 B1Granted

Reversible hanging plant support

OwnerJohn D Stouffer, Terry Ray Rockinventors

Life of this patent

Estimating the term…

Loading patent…

Abstract

A system for supporting a household plant includes an electric circuit for selectively moving the plant having a battery and a direct current motor for moving the plant. The motor control is by a first controllable switching device to connect the battery to the motor with a first polarity to cause the plant to move in a first direction, or a second controllable switching device to connect the battery to the motor with a second polarity opposite the first polarity to cause the plant to move in a second direction. A controller selectively enables either the first or second switching devices while leaving the other disabled and in conjunction with a light sensing device and analog comparison circuit precludes actuation of either switching device if inadequate growth promoting light is sensed.

Claims6

Dependent claims

A method of suspending a plant to distribute light from a source around the plant to ensure the application of uniform growth promoting light about the entire periphery of the plant, comprising the steps of:

suspending a motor driven plant hanger from a fixed elevated member;
suspending the plant from beneath the plant hanger;
sensing for the intensity of growth promoting light by periodically enabling a light intensity comparison circuit for a short time interval, and disabling the light intensity comparison circuit for a longer time interval between an enabled time interval and a successive enabled time interval, whereby the light intensity comparison circuit spends most of the time in a current conserving sleep mode;
periodically incrementing the angular position of the plant relative to the plant hanger;
suspending periodic incrementation when the sensed light intensity falls below a predetermined threshold;
and
resuming periodic incrementation when the sensed light intensity exceeds the predetermined threshold.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 11/306,942Filed 17 Jan 2006 · division
Priority: 14 Jun 2004
Granted: 5 Aug 2008
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification3 codes

A47G 7/047
Flower tables; Stands or hangers, e.g. baskets, for flowers: devices for suspending flower-pots by wires or the like
A47G 2007/048
Flower tables; Stands or hangers, e.g. baskets, for flowers: flower tables, stands or hangers with means for automatically rotating the plant pot
A47G
Household or table equipment

Family

Application10/710,036Parent of this division · filed 14 Jun 2004
US 7,020,999 B1Parent of this division
US 7,406,799 B1This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.

Timeline

Citations

Open elsewhere

Building an agent or pulling many patents? Use the API or MCP server instead of scraping pages. Get an API key