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- Nachgewiesen in: USPTO Patent Applications
- Sprachen: English
- Document Number: 20120065772
- Publication Date: March 15, 2012
- Appl. No: 13/176527
- Application Filed: July 05, 2011
- Claim: 1. A container for holding soil and a plant comprising: at least one substantially vertical side wall, wherein the at least one vertical side wall is tapered to facilitate the stacking of other containers; a substantially horizontal bottom wall, wherein a bottom perimeter of the at least one substantially vertical side wall is coupled along a perimeter of the substantially horizontal bottom wall, and wherein at least one upward recess is located in the bottom wall, concentric with a central axis of the container; and an open upper end, wherein the open upper end includes an outwardly extending lip along a portion of the perimeter of the open upper end.
- Claim: 2. The container of claim 1, wherein the upward recess is annular.
- Claim: 3. The container of claim 2, wherein at least one liquid drainage hole is positioned radially outward from the annular recess.
- Claim: 4. The container of claim 2, wherein at least one liquid drainage hole is positioned radially inward from the upward recess, and wherein the at least one upward recess includes a section that is coupled to, and radially between, the at least one substantially vertical side wall and an outer wall of the upward recess.
- Claim: 5. The container of claim 1, wherein the upward recess generally forms an inverted “V”, wherein angle between a first side wall and second side wall of the upward recess is acute.
- Claim: 6. A containerized plant array stand-alone support structure comprising: a substantially horizontal upper wall portion, wherein the upper wall portion is contoured into a horizontal planar array of mutually contiguous, downwardly converging funnel segments; wherein each funnel segment of the horizontal planar array is associated with a container receptacle extending downward from the upper wall portion and concentric with a corresponding funnel segment, and wherein the segment incorporates at least one liquid overflow drainage passage proximal to the container receptacle; and wherein each of the container receptacles includes: at least one substantially upward-facing sealing surface for providing a seal between the container receptacle and a container, at least one side wall, wherein the at least one vertical side wall is tapered, a substantially horizontal bottom wall, wherein a bottom perimeter of the at least one container side wall is coupled along a perimeter of the bottom wall, an open upper end, and at least one liquid drainage passage.
- Claim: 7. The container array support structure of claim 6, wherein the upper wall portion further incorporates a light reflective upper surface capable of reducing thermal energy absorption by the containers mounted in the container array support structure.
- Claim: 8. The container array support structure of claim 7, wherein each funnel segment further incorporates a downward recess in the upper wall portion along an upper perimeter of the container receptacle.
- Claim: 9. The container array support structure of claim 8, wherein the upper wall portion incorporates stiffening contours.
- Claim: 10. The container array support structure of claim 9, wherein the at least one liquid drainage passage passes through a portion of at least one stiffening contour such that liquid drainage passage is elevated above an upper surface of the upper wall portion.
- Claim: 11. The container array support structure of claim 6, wherein at least one liquid drainage passage is elevated above the bottom wall of the container receptacle, thereby forming a water reservoir in the bottom of the container receptacle.
- Claim: 12. The container array support structure of claim 11, wherein the at least one liquid drainage passage includes at least one hole through the side wall of the container receptacle.
- Claim: 13. The container array support structure of claim 11, wherein the at least one liquid drainage passage extends through a wall of at least one upward recess coupled with the bottom wall of the container receptacle, wherein the at least one liquid drainage passage is located above a bottom wall of a container mounted in the container receptacle.
- Claim: 14. The container array support structure of claim 11, further incorporating at least one containerized plant lifting tool access hole.
- Claim: 15. The container array support structure of claim 14, wherein the at least one containerized plant lifting tool access hole extends through the uppermost wall of at least one upward recess coupled with the bottom wall of the container receptacle, wherein the containerized plant lifting tool access hole is more distal to the bottom wall of the container receptacle than the liquid drainage holes, and wherein the at least one containerized plant lifting tool access hole is substantially beneath a section of the at least one upward recess in the bottom wall of the container mounted in the container receptacle.
- Claim: 16. The container array support structure of claim 15, wherein the bottom wall of the container receptacle incorporates a downwardly extending recess forming a column, wherein the column includes at least one column side wall coupled at a top end to the container receptacle bottom wall and a column bottom wall coupled along an outer perimeter to the column side wall.
- Claim: 17. The container array support structure of claim 6 further comprising a secondary support structure, wherein the secondary support structure includes a substantially horizontal upper wall portion that incorporates an array of downwardly recessed wall pockets, wherein each wall pocket includes at least one side wall coupled along an upper perimeter of the pocket to the secondary support structure upper wall, and wherein the at least one side wall is tapered.
- Claim: 18. A global positioning system (GPS) guided forklift apparatus, comprising: a fork capable of manipulating a pallet; a data interface for receiving pattern data; at least one real-time kinematic (RTK) GPS receiver; a database, wherein the database includes a plurality of geographical reference locations; a processor; wherein the processor contains software instructions for performing the following operations: determining an RTK GPS based location based in part on data received from the RTK GPS receiver; converting the received pattern data to geographical target locations based at least in part on the plurality of geographical reference locations; comparing the RTK GPS based location with the plurality of geographical pallet target locations; generating location match information when the RTK GPS based location matches one of the geographical pallet target locations; and automatically triggering the fork to engage a pallet when the location match is detected.
- Claim: 19. A device for automatically nesting items into and de-nesting items from pallets, comprising: a frame; a horizontally disposed pallet conveyor, wherein the horizontally disposed pallet conveyor includes a portable pallet conveyor support carriage, a laterally spaced array of longitudinally slender pallet conveyor elements, and at least one pallet conveyor drive device; a horizontal item conveyor, spaced vertically above the pallet conveyor; a substantially vertical, movably driven, item lifting carriage, disposed substantially beneath the at least one pallet conveyor; at least one item lifting adapter, readily attachable to the item lifting carriage, wherein the at least one item lifting adapter includes an attachment means, at least one columnar plunger member, and an item transfer carriage assembly, wherein the item transfer carriage assembly includes at least one at least partially horizontal, movably driven, item first transfer carriage; an at least partially vertical, movably driven, item second transfer carriage, movably attached to the item first transfer carriage; an item gripping adapter mount; and at least one item gripping adapter, readily attachable to the item transfer carriage assembly, wherein the at least one item gripping adapter includes an attachment means, at least one item gripper, and a plurality of programmable controls.
- Claim: 20. The device of claim 19, wherein the item lifting carriage is nested within an item lifting carriage shuttle located below the pallet conveyor, wherein the item lifting carriage shuttle is driven horizontally, laterally to the pallet conveyor.
- Current U.S. Class: 700/217
- Current International Class: 06; 01
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