Plant sleeve Number:6,962,021 from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) owispatent

Title: Plant sleeve

Abstract: A sleeve comprising a lower portion preferably having a base portion and a skirt portion for packaging a floral grouping or plant. The sleeve may have an upper portion which can be detached from the lower portion of the sleeve once the function of the upper portion has been completed. The sleeve has a plurality of horizontally and diagonally positioned expansion elements.

Patent Number: 6,962,021 Issued on 11/08/2005 to Weder

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Inventors:	Weder; Donald E. (Highland, IL)
Assignee:	Wanda H. Weder and William F. Straeter (Highland, IL)
Appl. No.:	666576
Filed:	September 17, 2003

Current U.S. Class:	47/72
Intern'l Class:	A47G 007/08
Field of Search:	47/72,470.1 206/423

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Speed Cover Brochure, "The Simple Solution For Those Peak Volume Periods", Highland Supply Corporation, ©1989. "Speed Sheets and Speed Rolls" Brochure, Highland Supply Corporation, ©1990. "Color Them Happy with Highlander Products" 201 1992.

Primary Examiner: Gellner; Jeffrey L.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Dunlap, Codding & Rogers, P.C.

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Parent Case Text

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CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 10/195,595, filed Jul. 12, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,647,663, issued Nov. 18, 2003, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 09/956,833, filed Sep. 20, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,438,898, issued on Aug. 27, 2002, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 09/327,721, filed Jun. 8, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,295,760, issued Oct. 2, 2001, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 09/022,958, filed Feb. 12, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,910,051, issued Jun. 8, 1999, entitled "SLEEVE HAVING A DETACHABLE PORTION FORMING A SKIRT AND METHODS," which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 08/788,616, filed Jan. 27, 1997, entitled "SLEEVE HAVING A DETACHABLE PORTION FORMING A SKIRT AND METHODS," now U.S. Pat. No. 5,749,171, issued on May 12, 1998. The specification of each of the patents or patent applications listed herein is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

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Claims

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1. A tubular sleeve for containing a plant or for covering a pot having an outer peripheral surface, the tubular sleeve comprising:

a lower portion initially having a flattened condition, a sidewall, a lower end, and an area of excess material comprising a plurality of preformed creases or folds positioned in horizontal and diagonal orientation in the sidewall; and

an upper portion extending from the lower portion and detachable therefrom via a detaching element disposed within the tubular sleeve.

2. The tubular sleeve of claim 1 wherein the lower portion comprises a base portion sized to substantially cover the outer peripheral surface of the pot.

3. The tubular sleeve of claim 1 wherein the lower portion further comprises a skirt portion having a non-linear upper peripheral edge.

4. The tubular sleeve of claim 1 further defined as constructed from a material selected from the group consisting of treated or untreated paper, metal foil, polymeric film, non-polymeric film, cardboard, fiber, cloth, burlap, and laminations or combinations thereof.

5. The tubular sleeve of claim 1 wherein the detaching element is selected from the group consisting of perforations, tear strips and zippers.

6. The tubular sleeve of claim 1 wherein the preformed creases or folds further comprise pleats, folds with a z-shaped cross section, or accordion-type folds.

7. The tubular sleeve of claim 1 wherein the lower end is open.

8. The tubular sleeve of claim 1 wherein the lower end is closed.

9. The tubular sleeve of claim 8 wherein the closed lower end has a gusset therein.

10. The tubular sleeve of claim 1 having a bonding material disposed thereon.

11. The tubular sleeve of claim 1 wherein the upper portion is adapted to support the tubular sleeve from a support assembly.

12. A tubular sleeve for containing a plant or for covering a pot having an outer peripheral surface, the tubular sleeve comprising:

a base portion having a lower end and a sidewall, the sidewall comprising an area of excess material comprising a plurality of preformed creases or folds positioned in horizontal and diagonal orientation;

a skirt portion extending from the base portion; and

an upper portion extending from the skirt portion and detachable therefrom via a detaching element disposed within the tubular sleeve.

13. The tubular sleeve of claim 12 wherein the base portion is further defined as being sized to substantially cover the outer peripheral surface of the pot.

14. The tubular sleeve of claim 12 further defined as constructed from a material selected from the group consisting of treated or untreated paper, metal foil, polymeric film, non-polymeric film, cardboard, fiber, cloth, burlap, and laminations or combinations thereof.

15. The tubular sleeve of claim 12 wherein the detaching element is selected from the group consisting of perforations, tear strips and zippers.

16. The tubular sleeve of claim 12 wherein the preformed creases or folds further comprise pleats, folds with a z-shaped cross section, or accordion-type folds.

17. The tubular sleeve of claim 12 wherein the lower end is open.

18. The tubular sleeve of claim 12 wherein the lower end is closed.

19. The tubular sleeve of claim 18 wherein the closed lower end has a gusset therein.

20. The tubular sleeve of claim 12 having a bonding material disposed thereon.

21. The tubular sleeve of claim 12 wherein the detaching element has a non-linear pattern.

22. The tubular sleeve of claim 12 wherein the upper portion is adapted to support the tubular sleeve from a support assembly.

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Description

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FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention generally relates to sleeves and, more particularly, to sleeves used to contain floral groupings or media or used to wrap flower pots containing floral groupings and/or media containing floral groupings, and methods of using same.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an elevational view of a sleeve having detaching elements and horizontal expansion elements constructed in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the sleeve of FIG. 1, taken along line 2—2 thereof.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of a sleeve constructed in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a yet another embodiment of a sleeve constructed in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an elevational view of a version of a sleeve constructed without a detachable upper portion.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the sleeve of FIG. 1 having a pot disposed therein.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the sleeve and pot of FIG. 6 after an upper sleeve portion has been removed.

FIG. 8 is an elevational view of a sleeve having diagonally oriented expansion elements.

FIG. 9 is an elevational view of a sleeve having both diagonally and horizontally oriented expansion elements.

FIG. 10 is an elevational view of another sleeve having diagonally and horizontally oriented expansion elements.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention contemplates a plant sleeve comprising in one embodiment a combination of a protective upper portion and a decorative lower portion having a base portion and skirt portion for packaging a potted plant, a plant, or a plant and growing medium. The protective upper portion can be detached from the lower decorative portion of the plant sleeve once the protective function of the upper portion has been completed, thereby exposing the decorative cover portion and allowing the skirt portion to extend angularly from the base portion. The protective upper and lower decorative cover portions may comprise a unitary construction or may comprise separate components which are attached together by various bonding materials prior to disposition of the pot therein.

More specifically,