RAINWATER HARVESTING SYSTEM FOR PLANTATION TRAYS

Abstract

Rainwater harvesting device for planting tray The present invention relates to a rainwater harvesting device for at least one planting tray (2) (3) comprising at least one water reservoir (6), notable in that it comprises a structure (10) supported by at least one first post (11) and comprising a frame (12) and a plurality of blades (13) arranged parallel to each other inside said frame (12), the first post (11) being shaped to channel rainwater and so that its lower longitudinal end is in fluidic contact with the water reservoir (6), blades (13), said frame (12) comprising at least one first profile (14) inclined with respect to the horizontal and shaped to channel rainwater and so that its lowest longitudinal end is in fluidic contact with said first post (11),the blades (13) being inclined with respect to the horizontal and shaped to collect and channel rainwater and so that their lowest longitudinal end is in fluidic contact with said first profile (14). Fig 1,

Description

Title of the invention: RAINWATER HARVESTING DEVICE FOR PLANTATION TANKS Technical field of the invention

[0001] The present invention relates to the general field of plants. More specifically, it concerns a rainwater harvesting device for planting containers. Prior art

[0002] To beautify and add greenery to a city, a house or even an apartment, it is known to place one or more containers on the ground intended to receive different types of plants such as, for example, green or flowering plants, grasses, shrubs, non-invasive bamboos or small trees such as olive trees, conifers, boxwood, ...

[0003] In a conventional manner, in order to be able to contain a more or less significant quantity of soil and to be placed mainly outdoors, these containers are made from a solid material that is resistant to weathering and UV rays such as, for example, synthetic materials, galvanized or stainless steel or even fiber cement.

[0004] Some of these containers are even equipped with a water reservoir to facilitate plant maintenance by limiting the number of waterings.

[0005] This type of container is certainly effective but has a major drawback related to water management. Indeed, despite the presence of water reservoirs, people often have to intervene at each container to water the plants when these reservoirs are empty and / or to bring water to refill them; these interventions are long and tedious, especially for all the containers in a city. Summary of the invention

[0006] The aim of the present invention is therefore to propose a rainwater harvesting device for planting containers designed for outdoor use such as, for example, in a street or courtyard, or on a square, a terrace or a balcony, said device being easy to implement while guaranteeing a regular supply of water, in an economical and sustainable manner, so as to greatly limit or even avoid interventions and while maintaining an aesthetic appearance.

[0007] In accordance with the invention, a rainwater harvesting device is therefore proposed for at least one planting container comprising at least one water reservoir, notable in that it comprises a structure supported by at least one first post and comprising a frame and a plurality of blades arranged parallel to each other within said frame, the first post being shaped to channel rainwater and so that its lower longitudinal end is in fluidic relationship with the water reservoir, said frame comprising at least a first profile inclined with respect to the horizontal and shaped to channel rainwater and so that its lowest longitudinal end is in fluidic relationship with said first post, the blades being inclined with respect to the horizontal and shaped to collect and channel rainwater and so that their lowest longitudinal end is in fluidic relationship with said first profile.

[0008] Advantageously, the first post is a hollow tube.

[0009] The first profile is advantageously a hollow tube.

[0010] According to another embodiment, the first profile has an opening in the upper part so as to have a cross-section in the general shape of a U, a V, a C rotated 90° counterclockwise or an omega rotated 180°.

[0011] Advantageously, the blades each have an opening in the upper part so as to have a cross-section in the general shape of a U, a V, a C rotated 90° counterclockwise or an omega rotated 180°.

[0012] The structure and at least the first post are advantageously made of metal or metal alloy.

[0013] Advantageously, the container has an overflow. Brief description of the figures

[0014] Other advantages and features will become clearer from the following description of an embodiment of the invention with reference to the accompanying schematic figures in which:

[0015] [Fig-1] is a schematic view explaining the operating principle of a rainwater harvesting device for a planting container according to the invention,

[0016] [Fig.2] is a perspective view of an embodiment of a rainwater harvesting device for a planting container according to the invention,

[0017] [Fig.3] is a side view of the device of [Fig.2],

[0018] [Fig.4] is a top view of the device of [Fig.2]. Description of the implementation methods

[0019] With reference to figures 1 to 4, a rainwater recovery device 1 for at least one planting container 3 is shown in accordance with the invention, the latter being advantageously of large dimensions, and arranged to receive plantings of any type and ideally designed for outdoor use and to rest on the ground S, for example, of a street, a courtyard, a square, a terrace or even a balcony.

[0020] Here, "large dimensions" means that at least one of the three dimensions of the container 2, namely the height, the width and the length, is greater than or equal to one meter.

[0021] Said container 2 conventionally comprises a substantially horizontal base 4 and a peripheral wall 5 extending substantially vertically from the perimeter edge of said base 4. The base 4 is provided with a water reservoir 6 for continuously hydrating the plants in the container 2, for example by means of a rot-proof absorbent fabric wick (not shown) immersed in said water reservoir 6 and in contact with the soil or substrate 7 of the plants. However, the water reservoir 6 is arranged to prevent the roots of said plants from being immersed directly in the water reservoir 6 and dying. Furthermore, the container 2 advantageously includes an overflow 8 for draining the water contained in the water reservoir 6 to the outside of said container 2 when the water level has reached a predetermined maximum level.

[0022] Here, "substantially horizontal" or "substantially vertical" means any element or part of an element of the device 1 or of the container 2 making an angle between -20° and +20° with the horizontal or the vertical.

[0023] In the embodiment shown in figures 2 to 4, the rainwater recovery device 1 comprises a structure 10 supported by a plurality of substantially vertical posts 11,11' arranged to rest on the ground S.

[0024] Said structure 10 comprises a frame 12 and a plurality of blades 13 arranged parallel to each other inside said frame 12.

[0025] The frame 12 is advantageously in the general form of a polygon such as, for example, a square, a rectangle or a trapezoid, but it goes without saying that it can also be of a completely different shape having in particular one or more non-straight edges in the form, for example, of an arc of a circle or a portion of an ellipse, without going out of the scope of the present invention.

[0026] The frame 12 is composed of a plurality of profiles 14, 14', namely at least a first profile 14 shaped to channel rainwater (see explanations below) and a second profile 14', each of said profiles 14, 14' forming one of the straight or non-straight edges of said frame 12. For this purpose, at least the first profile 14 is a hollow tube or has an opening in its upper part so as to have a cross-section in the general shape of a U, a V, a C rotated 90° counterclockwise, or an omega rotated 180°. For obvious reasons of mechanical strength, the first and second profiles 14, 14' of the frame 12 are advantageously made of metal or a metal alloy.

[0027] Each blade 13 is shaped to collect and channel rainwater, and therefore has an opening in its upper part so as to have a cross-section in the general shape of a U, a V, a C rotated 90° counterclockwise or of omega rotated 180°. As before, for obvious reasons of mechanical strength, the blades 13 are advantageously made of metal or a metal alloy. With their specific shape, it is clear that the blades 13 act as channels to collect and channel rainwater. Furthermore, to drain the rainwater, the blades 13 are inclined relative to the horizontal and arranged so that their lowest longitudinal end is in fluidic contact with the first profile 14 of the frame 12; that is to say, the rainwater collected in each blade 13 is then drained towards said first profile 14 under the action of gravity.

[0028] As described previously, the structure 10 of the rainwater harvesting device 1 is supported by a plurality of posts 11, 11', namely at least one first post 11 shaped to channel rainwater (see explanations below) and a second post 11'. For this purpose, at least the first post 11 is advantageously a hollow tube whose cross-section is generally in the shape of, for example, a square, a circle, a hexagon, or a rectangle. As before, for obvious reasons of mechanical strength, the first and second posts 11, 11' are advantageously made of metal or a metal alloy.

[0029] In an "extreme" embodiment not shown, the structure 10 of the rainwater recovery device 1 may be supported by only one single post, namely the first post 11. This embodiment may be interesting, but it requires significant and therefore costly mechanical reinforcement of the structure 10 and the first post 11.

[0030] To channel rainwater, the first profile 14 of the frame 12 of the structure 10 is inclined with respect to the horizontal and arranged so that its lowest longitudinal end is in fluidic relationship with the first post 11, that is to say that the rainwater channeled by said first profile 14 is then evacuated towards said first post 11 under the action of gravity.

[0031] Finally, with reference to [Fig. 1], in order for the rainwater collected by the recovery device 1 according to the invention to be conveyed to the water reservoir 6 of the planting tray 2 3, the lower longitudinal end of the first post 11 must be in fluidic relationship with said water reservoir 6, that is to say, the rainwater evacuated by said first post 11 must then be conveyed to said water reservoir 6 under the action of gravity.

[0032] Thus, with reference to [Fig.1], with its particular configuration, the recovery device 1 according to the invention recovers rainwater thanks to the blades 13 of its structure 10, then the rainwater collected by said blades 13 is successively evacuated towards the first profile 14 and the first post 11, up to the water reserve 6 of the planting tray 2 3, all thanks to the sole action of gravity.

[0033] As previously described, the structure 10 (frame 12 and blades 13) and the at least first post 11 are advantageously made of metal or metal alloy, but it goes without saying that they can be made of other materials such as, for example, a composite or synthetic material, or even plastic, without departing from the scope of the present invention.

[0034] In the embodiment shown in Figures 2 to 4, the structure 10 comprises only one generally flat face, but it is understood that the structure 10 may include one curved face or several faces, without departing from the scope of the present invention. In this latter case, the recovery device 1 according to the invention may then comprise several first profiles 14 and / or first posts 11 and be associated with several planting trays 2 3.

[0035] The rainwater recovery device 1 according to the invention finds a particular application to guarantee a regular supply of water to a planting tray 2 3, but it can nevertheless be adapted to guarantee a regular supply of water to a set of planting trays 2 3.

[0036] Finally, it goes without saying that the examples of rainwater recovery devices 1 according to the invention which have just been described are only particular illustrations, in no way limiting of the invention.

Claims

Demands

1. A rainwater harvesting device (1) for at least one planting container (2) (3) comprising at least one water reservoir (6), characterized in that it comprises a structure (10) supported by at least one first post (11) and comprising a frame (12) and a plurality of blades (13) arranged parallel to each other within said frame (12), the first post (11) being shaped to channel rainwater and so that its lower longitudinal end is in fluidic relationship with the water reservoir (6), said frame (12) comprising at least one first profile (14) inclined with respect to the horizontal and shaped to channel rainwater and so that its lowest longitudinal end is in fluidic relationship with said first post (11),the blades (13) being inclined with respect to the horizontal and shaped to collect and channel rainwater and so that their lowest longitudinal end is in fluidic contact with said first profile (14).

2. Device (1) according to claim 1 characterized in that the first post (11) is a hollow tube.

3. Device (1) according to any one of claims 1 or 2 characterized in that the first profile (14) is a hollow tube.

4. Device (1) according to any one of claims 1 or 2 characterized in that the first profile (14) has an opening in the upper part so as to have a cross-section in the general shape of a U, a V, a C rotated 90° counterclockwise or an omega rotated 180°.

5. Device (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 4 characterized in that the blades (13) each have an opening in the upper part so as to have a cross-section in the general shape of a U, a V, a C rotated 90° counterclockwise or an omega rotated 180°.

6. Device (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 5 characterized in that the structure (10) and the at least first post (11) are made of metal or metal alloy.

7. Device (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 6 characterized in that the tray (2) has an overflow (8).

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