Tree guard

Abstract

Tree guard (1) comprising an elastically deformable grid mat (10) and at least one connecting element (20) for the detachable connection of two grid struts (21) such that the grid mat (10) assumes a substantially tubular, inherently stable design, wherein the grid mat (10) and the at least one connecting element (20) are made of renewable materials and are completely biodegradable.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a tree protection grid.

[0002] Tree guards serve to protect young plants and trees in particular from browsing damage by wild animals. The guards are placed around a seedling or around the trunk of a young tree, preventing animals such as deer or hares from reaching and damaging the plant.

[0003] Common tree guards are often made of wire mesh or plastic and, unless sufficiently flexible, must be removed once the protected tree has grown sufficiently to avoid hindering further growth. This requires regular inspection of the installed tree guard and manual removal.

[0004] Tree guards, particularly those made of plastic, are also known to be slotted in such a way that they can be widened by the tree as it grows. While this can reduce the need for regular inspections, these tree guards still have to be removed manually.

[0005] Furthermore, tree guards made of biodegradable material are known to decompose after a period of time during which a young tree should have grown sufficiently. Even if such state-of-the-art tree guards may largely decompose, components made of metal (such as nails) or plastic (such as cable ties) are regularly used for their installation. These components remain even after the biodegradable parts of the tree guard have completely decomposed, thus polluting the environment.

[0006] The object of the present invention is to create a tree protection cover in which the disadvantages known from the prior art no longer occur or only occur to a reduced extent.

[0007] This problem is solved by a tree guard according to claim 1. Advantageous further developments are the subject of the dependent claims.

[0008] Accordingly, the invention relates to a tree guard comprising an elastically deformable grid mat and at least one connecting element for the detachable connection of two grid struts such that the grid mat assumes a substantially tubular, inherently stable design, wherein the grid mat and the at least one connecting element are made of a renewable material and are completely biodegradable.

[0009] The tree guard according to the invention is characterized by the fact that all its components are completely biodegradable, i.e., they decompose completely after a certain period of time. This is achieved by the fact that both the grid mat and the at least one connecting element are made exclusively from renewable materials.

[0010] Consequently, unlike with plastics, for example, the material properties and / or the shape of the mesh or the at least one connecting element cannot be freely selected over a wide range, but must be strongly oriented towards the properties of the available renewable materials. According to the invention, the mesh is therefore designed to be elastically deformable, so that it can be brought into a substantially tubular shape, in which at least one connecting element then joins two mesh struts together, thereby maintaining the tubular shape. Since the substantially tubular shape is achieved by elastic deformation of the mesh, the mesh returns to its original state – e.g., flat – so that the at least one connecting element primarily only needs to be designed to hold the connected mesh struts together.Both the grid mat and the connecting element with properties required for the function described above can be manufactured from renewable material, which will be explained in more detail below.

[0011] Despite its elastic deformability in its tubular state, the grid mat exhibits sufficient stability that the tree protection grid according to the invention can be placed around the tree to be protected without, as a rule, requiring further fastening.

[0012] The mesh mat preferably comprises a woven structure of elastically flexible rods. Due to their elastic flexibility, these rods can be joined together to form a mesh in which the individual rods interact with each other in a force-fit manner, so that once formed, the meshes are essentially dimensionally stable. The rods of the woven structure can be made of bamboo, willow, or rattan, with bamboo being particularly suitable due to its properties. In this case, strips derived from bamboo canes are used, rather than bamboo poles themselves.

[0013] Regardless of the internal design of the mesh mat, it is preferred that the mesh comprises a circumferential band of at least two, preferably at least three, immediately adjacent bars woven in opposite directions. Due to the elastic deformability of the individual bars of the band, the opposing weaving of the bars directly adjacent to each other causes the transverse bars, around which the bars of the band are woven, to be positively "clamped" in place, thus giving the mesh or the grid mat increased dimensional stability.

[0014] If the described frictional connection in the area of ​​the bund proves insufficient, the bars of the bund can be joined to each other and / or to a transverse bar at at least one intersection point using a material bond. To ensure the tree guard remains fully biodegradable, the material used for this bonding must be suitable. For example, natural resin or a mixture of natural rubber and natural resin can be used as an adhesive.

[0015] In particular, if a bundle, as described above, is provided and already gives the mesh sufficient dimensional stability, the mesh in the remaining area - i.e., away from the surrounding bundle - can be formed from individual rods.

[0016] The mesh size of the wire mesh can be between 10 mm × 10 mm and 25 mm × 25 mm, preferably between 15 mm × 15 mm and 20 mm × 20 mm, and more preferably around 17 mm × 17 mm. The wire mesh preferably has a size of 50 cm × 60 cm to 100 cm × 120 cm, preferably around 50 cm × 60 cm, 50 cm × 100 cm, 50 cm × 120 cm, or 100 cm × 120 cm.

[0017] The at least one connecting element of the tree guard according to the invention is preferably a ring clamp. A ring clamp is an annular, but not necessarily circular, element that is dimensionally stable and has a slot through which elements to be held by the ring clamp can be inserted laterally into the interior of the ring clamp. The shape of the ring clamp and the slot can be freely chosen. It is also possible that the two end regions of the ring clamp forming the slot overlap each other and / or abut each other in the initial state. In this case, the ring clamp must be designed to be sufficiently elastically deformable so that the slot can be widened sufficiently to allow, for example, the passage of individual bars or a bundle of mesh panels.

[0018] The ring clamp can be made of plant material, preferably bamboo, shaped using steam. To prevent a shaped ring clamp from deforming under the influence of weathering, especially moisture, and thus potentially losing its function, it is further preferred that the ring clamp has a complete and closed coating of natural rubber. This coating protects the ring clamp material from moisture and is also completely biodegradable.

[0019] The invention will now be described by way of example using an advantageous embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings. These show: Fig. 1: an embodiment of a tree guard according to the invention in a substantially tubular design; Fig. 2: a detailed view of the grid mat of the tree guard made of Fig. 1; and Fig. 3: a detailed view of one of the connecting elements of the tree guard made of Fig. 1.

[0020] In Fig. Figure 1 schematically shows an embodiment of a tree guard 1 according to the invention. The tree guard 1 is shown in a state as it could be placed around a tree trunk.

[0021] The tree guard 1 comprises a mesh mat 10, as also used in Fig. 2 is shown in more detail in a flat initial configuration, as well as at least one - in the illustrated embodiment namely three - connecting elements 20, one of which is in Fig. 3 is shown in the cross-section.

[0022] The grid element 10 is in its Fig. The initial state shown in 2 can be changed, but due to elastic deformability, it can be transformed into the one shown in Fig. 1. Bring the tubular design shown.

[0023] The individual grid struts 11 of the grid element 10 are made of elastically flexible rods 13, which are woven into a mesh 12 with a mesh size of 17 mm × 17 mm. The rods 13 are made of bamboo, more precisely strips obtained from bamboo poles, which have favorable properties for the purpose of the tree guard according to the invention.

[0024] As particularly in Fig. As can be seen in Figure 2, the mesh 12 is primarily formed from individual rods 13. However, a bundle 14 is provided around the perimeter, comprising three immediately adjacent rods woven in opposite directions. This close interweaving of the rods 13 within the bundle 14 holds the transverse rods 13 in position. Should this prove insufficient, the rods 13 of the bundle 14 can be bonded to each other and / or to the transverse rod 13 at at least one intersection point 15. For this purpose, a fully biodegradable adhesive can be applied to the intersection point(s) 15.

[0025] The connecting elements 20 are ring clamps 21, which - in the section view according to Fig. 3 can be seen - having a generally square cross-section. The ring clamp 21 is formed from a bamboo strip 22 deformed under steam, which is completely surrounded by natural rubber 23 applied after deformation in order to prevent unwanted re-deformation of the bamboo strip 22 due to moisture or other weather influences.

[0026] The ring clamp 21 includes a slot 23 where the two free ends of the ring clamp 21 overlap. The ring clamp 21 is shaped to be elastic, allowing the slot 23 to widen as needed to allow the grid struts 11 of the grid mat 10 to pass through it.

[0027] The use of the tree protection grid 1 according to the invention is essentially already evident from the preceding explanations: The grid mat 10 is placed around the trunk of a tree to be protected, whereby the elastic deformation occurring in this process causes the Fig. The tubular design shown in Figure 1 results. The grid struts 11 of the now adjacent bundles 14, which are joined by the tubular design, are inserted and thus held together by the three connecting elements 20 distributed along the bundles 14 in question. Consequently, the tubular design of the tree guard 1 is maintained and can serve to protect the tree.

[0028] Over time, a tree protection element used in this way will decompose completely without leaving any residue.

Claims

[1] Tree guard (1) comprising an elastically deformable grid mat (10) and at least one connecting element (20) for the detachable connection of two grid struts (21) such that the grid mat (10) assumes a substantially tubular, inherently stable design, wherein the grid mat (10) and the at least one connecting element (20) are made of renewable materials and are completely biodegradable. [2] Tree guard according to claim 1, characterized by , that the grid mat (10) comprises a mesh (12) of elastically flexible rods (13). [3] Tree guard according to claim 2, characterized by , that the rods (13) of the woven structure (12) are made of bamboo, willow or rattan. [4] Tree guard according to one of claims 2 or 3, characterized by , that the braid (13) comprises a circumferential bundle (14) of at least two, preferably at least three immediately adjacent rods (13) woven in opposite directions to each other. [5] Tree guard according to any one of claims 2 to 4, characterized by , that the bars (13) of the bundle (14) are connected to each other and / or to the transverse bar (13) at at least one intersection point (15) by means of a material bond, wherein the material used for the material bond is completely biodegradable. [6] Tree guard according to any one of claims 2 to 5, characterized by , that the mesh (12) is formed at least away from the bund (14) from individual bars. [7] Tree guard according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by , that the mesh size of the grid mat (10) is between 10mm × 10mm and 25mm × 25mm, preferably between 15mm × 15mm and 20mm × 20mm, and further preferably approximately 17mm × 17mm. [8] Tree guard according to any of the preceding claims, characterized by, that the mesh mat (10) has a size of 50cm × 60cm to 100cm × 120cm, preferably a size of 50cm × 60cm, 50cm × 100cm, 50cm × 120cm or 100cm × 120cm. [9] Tree guard according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by , that at least one connecting element (20) is a ring clamp (21). [10] Tree guard according to claim 9, characterized by , that the ring clamp (21) is made of plant material shaped under steam, preferably bamboo. [11] Tree guard according to claim 10, characterized by , that the ring clamp (21) has a complete and closed coating of natural rubber (22).

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