Retaining Peg With Wire Hooks For Plant Shelter Anchoring

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional plant shelters lack sufficient anchoring points, leading to instability and potential damage from environmental elements and animals, and require separate ties for securing to trellis wires, which can compromise the structure's strength and cause damage when removed.

Innovation Solution

A retaining peg with a body portion for securing the shelter to the soil and a wire-attachment portion with hooks to engage overhead wires, providing multiple anchoring points without the need for additional ties, and a collapsible shelter design that transitions between configurations.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Object-affected harmful factors

If conventional plastic structures are made opaque to block environmental elements, then protection from animals and elements is improved, but light reaching the plant through walls is insufficient

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveprotection from animals and environmental elementsVSAvoidlight reaching the plant
Core Design Contradiction:
Object-affected harmful factorsVSIllumination intensity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies translucent plastic material that allows light transmission while maintaining protective function. The material's optical property (translucency) is specifically chosen to resolve the contradiction between protection and light transmission, enabling both harmful factors to be blocked and sufficient light to reach the plant.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #32Color changes

2Illumination intensity

If apertures or openings are provided in the structure to allow light passage, then light reaching the plant is improved, but the structure's overall strength is compromised

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvelight passage through structureVSAvoidstructure strength
Core Design Contradiction:
Illumination intensityVSStrength

Solution Approach 1:

The patent eliminates the need for apertures by using translucent plastic material that transmits light through its bulk material rather than through openings. This resolves the contradiction by providing light transmission while maintaining the integrity and strength of the continuous plastic structure.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #32Color changes

3Reliability

If separate ties are used to attach the shelter to trellis wires, then anchoring support is improved, but the structure's strength is compromised and damage may occur during removal

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveanchoring supportVSAvoidstructure strength
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSStrength

Solution Approach 1:

The patent integrates the anchoring function directly into the shelter structure by forming anchoring protrusions as integral parts of the plastic body. This merging of the shelter and anchoring components eliminates the need for separate ties, maintains structure strength, and prevents damage during removal as the anchoring features are designed to be pulled out without compromising the shelter.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

4Reliability

If multiple anchoring points are provided, then stability and security of the shelter is improved, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvestability and securityVSAvoidnumber of components
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent incorporates multiple anchoring protrusions as integral features of the single plastic shelter body. This merging approach provides multiple anchoring points for enhanced stability while avoiding the complexity of multiple separate components, as all anchoring features are formed as part of the monolithic plastic structure.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

The shelter is divided into functional segments including a body portion and multiple anchoring protrusions that can be positioned at different locations. This segmentation within a single integrated structure allows multiple anchoring points without increasing overall device complexity, as the segments are formed as one piece.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Data Source

PatentEP3701789A1Retaining peg providing multiple anchor points for securing a plant shelter and kit including the same
Publication Date: 2020.09.02 BERRY GLOBAL INC
  • EP3701789A1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3701789A1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3701789A1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

Retaining pegs providing multiple anchor points for securing a plant shelter around a plant or a portion of a plant are provided. The retaining pegs include a body portion configured to directly or indirectly secure a plant shelter to a section of soil positioned underneath the shelter and a wire-attachment portion configured to engage a wire located proximate to the plant shelter. The wire-attachment portion includes a first end proximate to the body portion and a second end distal to the body portion, in which the wire-attachment portion includes a plurality of bent portions to define at least one hook portion spaced-apart from the body portion.