Plant Pot Base Channel for Tray Rail Engagement
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing plant container and tray systems lack versatility in pot orientation and configuration, leading to limited options for plant health and production efficiency, and do not effectively address root bound issues or facilitate easy transplanting.
Innovation Solution
A flower pot and tray system with a channel on the bottom for engaging with a rail system, providing increased inner surface area for root development, and featuring a tear-off tab for easy plant removal, along with a hexagonal honeycomb mesh tray for improved airflow and drainage, allowing for customizable pot spacing and orientations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a fixed configuration tray system is used, then manufacturing simplicity is improved, but adaptability for different pot orientations and configurations deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The tray is divided into multiple compartments with standardized features (recesses, rails, channels) that can accommodate different pot sizes and configurations. Each compartment is a functional unit that can be independently utilized, allowing the same tray structure to serve multiple purposes and configurations without requiring custom manufacturing for each scenario.
Solution Approach 2:
The tray system is designed with universal features including recesses that can hold various pot types, rails that accommodate different positioning needs, and channels that work with multiple pot orientations. A single tray design serves multiple functions: holding pots, providing drainage, enabling rotation, and supporting different spacing configurations, thereby achieving versatility without increasing manufacturing complexity.
2Ease of manufacture
If traditional pots without engagement features are used, then manufacturing simplicity is improved, but positioning precision and stability in desired orientations deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The pot design incorporates nested engagement features where the channel in the pot base fits over the rail in the tray, and the flange with recesses nests into the corresponding tray compartment. This nested structure provides precise positioning and stable orientation without requiring complex external fixtures or additional manufacturing steps for the pots themselves.
Solution Approach 2:
The engagement features (channels, rails, flanges, and recesses) act as intermediary elements between the pot and tray. These intermediaries facilitate precise positioning and stable orientation by providing mechanical interfaces that guide the pot into the correct position and maintain it during handling, transport, and display, without complicating the basic pot structure.
3Reliability
If pots with increased inner surface area are used, then root system development is improved, but pot volume and material usage increase
Solution Approach 1:
The pot design incorporates a channel that extends vertically along the inner surface, adding surface area in the vertical dimension rather than increasing horizontal volume. This vertical channel structure provides additional root attachment area and oxygen access without significantly increasing the overall pot volume or material consumption, as it utilizes the existing vertical space efficiently.
Solution Approach 2:
The channel structure creates a porous-like environment within the pot wall, providing multiple pathways for root penetration and air circulation. This internal channel network increases the effective surface area available for root interaction while using minimal additional material, as the channels are formed as integral features of the pot wall rather than adding separate components.
Data Source
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AI summary
There is provided by the present invention planting containers and associated trays for the production, distribution and display of plants where the planting containers have a channel in the base for engaging with a production or display tray for positioning plant pots in a desired orientation. In one embodiment, the plant container is a flower pot which comprises an upper part; a middle part connected at one end to the upper part; and a bottom part connected to an opposite end of the middle part; the bottom part having a channel extending from one side of the bottom part to the other side of the bottom part; said channel having an apex perpendicular to an axis of the pot, first and second sides, and a plurality of slots at the apex for engaging with a rail system on the tray having teeth.