WO2005112606A1

WO2005112606A1 - Device for culture of plants and production process thereof

Info

Publication number: WO2005112606A1
Application number: PCT/IB2005/001386
Authority: WO
Inventors: António VENTURA RIBEIRO DE MATOS; Alberto Vilagrosa Carmona; Esteban Chirino Miranda
Original assignee: Ventura Ribeiro De Matos Anton; Alberto Vilagrosa Carmona; Esteban Chirino Miranda
Priority date: 2004-05-20
Filing date: 2005-05-20
Publication date: 2005-12-01

Abstract

The invention relates to a device intended to the culture of plants and to its production process. It is characterised in that it has tubular shape (1) - cylindrical or prismatic - and in that the internal surface thereof is grooved longitudinally, by means of at least two types of ribs, ones smaller (21) and the others larger (22). In an embodiment that allows the radicular pruning, the inferior part has lateral openings (10) defined by a mesh with sides (11, 12) and rings (15) substantially orthogonal to the axis of the device. The process is by extrusion, followed by cut of the extruded tube. The use of a die that can be regulated, whose exterior part is cyclically obstructed, allows obtaining the openings (10) and the rings (15).

Description

DESCRIPTION

DEVICE FOR CULTURE OF PLANTS AND PRODUCTION PROCESS THEREOF

Area of the invention

The present invention relates to a device intended to the culture of plants, eventually promoter of radicular pruning, as well as to the respective production process.

State of the art

Are widely known the traditional pots, with closed bottom, provided only with a small hole to drain the water, pots that present a mouth with a larger area than the one of the bottom, their classic shape being the one of an inverted frustum of a cone.

Such pots are generally made in ceramic materials, namely clay, although in the last years the plastic materials have been gradually more and more used.

In fact, especially in applications of industrial character, namely in the culture of forest trees, the plastic pots have almost entirely replaced the clay pots.

Still in the industrial domain, are known pots of completely opened bottom, which are intended to promote the radicular pruning of the plants contain therein. However, for this pruning to be effective, such pots have to be maintained apart from the ground, so that the roots do not come out by the open bottom of the pot, burying on the ground and developing.

Intermediate solutions have also been proposed, that is, pots with bottom, but provided with peripheral slots near the bottom, slots that are intended to promote the radicular pruning of the plants. An example of this type of solution may be found in US5761848.

Regarding plants of large size, in particular trees, were proposed solutions that foresee the use of flexible panels provided with cells for imprisonment of the roots, cells that guide these into peripheral openings, panels that are rolled, in order to obtain nearly cylindrical containers and whose ends correspondent to the generatrix of the cylinder have then to be fixed between themselves, top to top, or in an overlapping manner. Examples of this type of solution may be found in US 5099607 and US 4939865.

The cited documents, describe also with some detail certain important mechanisms, in themselves already known before, of the growth of the roots of the plants, as well as the inconvenients of certain types of development. In particular, is approached the question of the radicular pruning of the plants (stopping of the growth of the roots that get totally exposed to the air) , as well as the prejudicial effect of the circular or spiral growth of the roots . Regardless of the larger or lower efficiency of the cited devices for the resolution of the problems in question, there are some limiting aspects that must be recognised affect such devices, or, at least, the correspondent production process. Thus, it is verified that, in the case of the plastic pots, the production process thereof is limited to moulding, due to the fact that the mouth is of a larger diameter than the bottom, and, in the case of the use of flexible panels, the operation of fixation of the ends is inevitable.

Objectives of the invention The present invention aims a device that despite being provided with means that prevent or at least limit strongly the circular or spiral growth of the roots, presents a configuration that admits other production processes besides moulding, namely the extrusion. Accordingly to another objective of the invention, the device of this invention, according to a preferred embodiment, promotes the radicular pruning of the correspondent plants.

Description of the invention

According to the invention, the device for culture of plants is characterised in that it has a tubular shape and in that it has and internal surface grooved longitudinally.

Accordingly to the preferred embodiments, said tubular shape will be substantially cylindrical or prismatic.

However, this does not represent a limitation of the meaning of the term tubular, since, according to the invention, that term is used without any restriction and may designate any body obtained from the translation of one rectilinear generatrix over a closed line contained in a plane substantially perpendicular to that generatrix, closed line that is curved or polygonal. According to a preferred embodiment, the grooves are defined by at least two types of ribs, ones smaller and the others larger.

Such ribs can all have cross section of the same type, for example triangular, or of a distinct type. In particular, the smaller ribs can have cross section of one single type and the larger of another type, or the smaller ribs can have cross section of more than one type, the larger ribs having cross section of only one type, or of more than one type, and, in this case, they can be of types identical or not to the ones of the smaller ribs.

The ribs are parallel between themselves, and the spacing between each of two neighbouring ribs can be equal or not . According to a preferred embodiment, intended to promote the radicular pruning of the plants, the zone constituting one of the open tops of the device (top that is destined to occupy the inferior position in the normal use of the device in the culture of plants) is provided with lateral openings.

Preferentially, those openings are defined by a mesh whose sides are placed in the continuity of the ribs. In the inferior end or, in case there is more than one row of openings, in the separation of the openings of each row, there are some continuous portions that are constituted as a kind of rings of section correspondent to the one of the tubular device, which develop in a way substantially orthogonal to the axis of the device.

The invention respects also to a production process of the device in question, process that is characterised in that a plastic material is extruded through a die with a shape substantially identical to the one of the cross section of the device and in that the extruded product thus obtained is cut transversally accordingly with the length intended for the device.

Accordingly to an embodiment for said process, the extrusion is done with a die that can be regulated, whose exterior part is cyclically obstructed, thus obtaining in alternation said slots and rings, whose height will depend, respectively, on the duration of the period in which the exterior part of the die is maintained closed or opened.

Although the device of the invention can be produced by any other conventional means, the above-indicated process, for the practical and technical advantages that it presents, is clearly preferential.

Breaf description of the drawings

The present invention will be described hereinafter with more detail based on the enclosed drawings, where, with a non-limitative character of mere illustration, is represented a device according to said invention, in a case in which was adopted the cylindrical tubular configuration provided with openings in the inferior part (considering the device set according to its normal position of use during the culture) .

Figure 1 constitutes a perspective view of the mentioned device.

Figure 2 represents an orthogonal projection according to the direction of the longitudinal axis of the device ,

Description of an embodiment

Accordingly to the particular embodiment represented in said figures, the longitudinal ribs are of two types, ones being of smaller section (21) and the others of larger section (22) . These have a cross section substantially triangular and those have a cross section configured like an inverted ^λΛU" or like a small trapezium. In said particular embodiment, the number of ribs of smaller section is substantially higher than the one of ribs of the larger section, the correspondent spacing being uniform.

The device of tubular configuration (1) - cylindrical - presents in its inferior part several rows of openings (10) .

According to the invention, such device is preferably produced by extrusion of a plastic material. Using a die that can be regulated it is possible to provide its partial closing, namely of its exterior part, the extrusion being done through discontinuous points forming a kind of threads correspondent to the ribs. By reopening the die completely, the passage zone of the material becomes continuous again. By repeating the process cyclically are obtained several rows (in the drawing are represented four) of openings (10) . In fact, a kind of mesh or net is formed in which the openings (10) are limited, in the longitudinal direction, by the portions of material constituting the rings (15) and, in the other direction, either by thin sides (11), or by thicker sides (12) , correspondent, respectively, to said ribs or smaller of larger cross section (21, 22) . The velocity of extrusion and the time during which the die remains closed (partially) define the length of the openings (10) . The spacing of the ribs defines, in principle, the width of such openings (10) . The number of cycles of partial closing/opening of the die defines the number of rows of openings (10) . The velocity of extrusion and the period of time between each two consecutive periods of partial closing of the die define the height of the rings (15) , that is, the size of these rings measured in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of the tubular device (1) .

According to the degree of closure of the die and the depth of the various types of ribs, it is possible that the openings (10) be limited by an enlarged mesh, whose sides are aligned only with ribs of a certain type, that is, with ribs with a depth superior to a predetermined limit. Thus, an enlarged mesh can be obtained, for one or more rows of openings. In particular, can be obtained a row with very large but very short openings, that is, resulting from very near rings (15) .

In one single complete extrusion cycle it is possible to produce a length of tube correspondent to various devices according to the invention, obtaining its separation by a simple cutting operation. The cutting operation, besides the transversal separation of the various devices, from a single tube, can also promote the partial cutting of the device in the transversal direction or according to oblique directions. Such cuttin'g can be promoted simultaneously or not with the aforementioned separation cut.

As in the case of the traditional pots, it will be possible to produce a complete range of devices according to the invention, range that will comprise devices referenced, basically, by its diameter (or transversal area) and height. In the case of the devices provided with lateral openings for radicular pruning, also the height of the part provided with openings or the characteristics of these openings can produce sub-references of complementary products within the said range. However, the devices according to the invention and the correspondent process present a considerable advantage, comparatively with the traditional plastic pots, which consists in the circumstance that with only one die is possible to produce all a sub-range, for a given diameter (or transversal area) , with different heights (and eventually also with various heights and/or structures of lateral openings) . In fact, while in the traditional plastic pots a simple change of height (maintaining the diameters) would imply, on its own, a new mould, that does not happen in the case of the device and process according to the invention. On the other hand, even in the cases of change of the diameter, or of the area (either in its value, or only in the configuration) , it will only be necessary to use a new die and not a new mould, which is also an advantage, all the more since, in general, a die for extrusion is cheaper than a mould. This characteristic also facilitates the production of specific series with the configuration of the ribs (configuration and dimensions of the cross section of each type of ribs, relative spacing of the ribs, etc.), specifically studied to promote the maximization of the growth of plants of specific species.

The use, in practice, of the present device is simple. Bearing in mind the type of plant to grow, as well as its age, the time foreseen of residence in the device and remaining parameters considered relevant, is made the selection of the diameter (or transversal area) and height, in a similar way to the one of the conventional pots.

Once the selection made, the procedure is identical to the one that would be used in the traditional pots. To avoid the loss of substratum of the plant by the open bottom of the device is made the compactation of the inferior part of that substratum. The interior grooved surface of the device facilitates the fixation of the compacted substratum. In the case in which the bottom part is provided with lateral openings, these and the mesh that defines them also' contribute to a good fixation of the inferior compacted part of the substratum.

The plants that grow in devices according to the invention have their roots guided to the bottom, oriented by internal ribs (21) that avoid that the roots, arriving at the walls, start to circle around. In the cases in which a root, notwithstanding the effect of the smaller ribs (21) , manages to assume a development in an undesired direction it will end up to encounter one of the larger ribs (22), then being oriented in the intended longitudinal direction. Arriving at the end of the clod of soil (that ends before reaching the inferior top of the device) or at the lateral openings near this top, the roots will automatically suffer the radicular pruning.

The removal of the plant, once the intended degree of growth is achieved, is facilitated since, instead of being conditioned only to make a traction effort by the upper part, it is also possible to exert compression strength by the open bottom.

In the cases in which the compactation is not possible or advisable, for example due to the type of substratum used (case of the substrata rather sandy) , a support for the bottom may be easily provided.

In fact, taking advantage of the possibility of providing the device with very wide and short openings, as mentioned above, it is possible to insert any type of support blade through them (preferentially perforated) . It may also be inserted, inside the tube, a disk (preferentially also perforated) of shape identical to the one of the cross section of the device, disk with the edge provided with small protrusions. Such disks would enter inside the tube slightly bended, the protrusions lodging in openings (10) especially foreseen for that effect. As an alternative, it may also, in the case of the devices cut near the inferior top according to a fairly longitudinal direction, flex parts of the lateral wall (located between two successive cuts) inward the tube in order to define a kind of bottom. This would be done preferentially based on the zone provided with rows of openings .(10) , so that the bottom support thus defined would naturally be perforated.

Claims

1. Device for culture of plants, characterised in that it has a tubular shape (1) created by a rectilinear generatrix and in that the internal surface thereof is grooved (21, 22) longitudinally, being parallel, in its entire surface, to the longitudinal axis of the correspondent hollow.

2. Device according to claim 1, characterised in that it is substantially cylindrical.

3. Device according to claim 1, characterised in that it is substantially prismatic.

4. Device according to claim 1, characterised in that the grooves are defined by at least two types of ribs, ones smaller (21) and the others larger (22).

5. Device according to claim 1, characterised in that the inferior part has lateral openings (10) .

6. Device according to claim 5, characterised in that the lateral openings (10) are defined by a mesh whose sides (11, 12) correspond to the ribs (21, 22) and to rings (11) that develop in a way substantially orthogonal to the axis of the device.

7. Production process of a device according to claim 1, characterised in that a plastic material is extruded through a die with a shape substantially identical to the one of the cross section of the device and in that the extruded product thus obtained is cut transversally according to the intended length for the device. Production process according to claim 7, characterised in that the extrusion is made with a die that can be regulated, whose exterior part is cyclically obstructed, thus obtaining the openings (10) and the rings (15), whose height will depend, respectively, on the duration of the period in which the exterior part of the matrix is maintained closed or opened.