US4086725A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Method and apparatus for growing plant sprouts
Assignee: Individual
•
Filing: 1976-06-25
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Granted: 1978-05-02
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Expires: 1996-06-25
Abstract
Abstract Apparatus for sprouting plant seeds and growing the sprouts to a desired size is disclosed comprising a container having an open top and perforated bottom and side wall, a flexible screen means adapted to upwardly extend the horizontal restraint of the sidewall on the sprouts and, optionally, a heat reflective gas and moisture impermeable means adapted to surround and cover the top and side wall of the container. An improved method of growing plant sprouts is disclosed which comprises growing the sprouted plants in the above described container with the flexible screen means arranged to exert a constant pressure radially inward against the growing sprouts. In a preferred embodiment the open top of the container is covered by the flexible screen means and the screen-covered container is covered with the heat reflective means.
Inventors
- 👤 Tsiang Kwang Li
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-03 08:54
CPC Classifications
A; A01; A01G; A01G31/00; A01G31/02; A01G31/06; A01G31/065; Y; Y02; Y02P; Y02P60/00; Y02P60/20; Y02P60/21
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 37
Claim 1
Independent Claim
66 words
Apparatus for growing plant sprouts comprising (1) a container having an open top, a sidewall and a perforated bottom, and (2) flexible means held in contiguous relationship with said sidewall and providing a longitudinal extension thereof and being adapted to restrain expansion of the plant sprouts during the plant sprout growing period, said means being adjustable to permit the restraint on the sprouts to be varied.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
66 words
Apparatus for growing plant sprouts comprising (1) a container having an open top, a sidewall and a perforated bottom, and (2) flexible means held in contiguous relationship with said sidewall and providing a longitudinal extension thereof and being adapted to restrain expansion of the plant sprouts during the plant sprout growing period, said means being adjustable to permit the restraint on the sprouts to be varied.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
15 words
The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the expansion restraining means is made of flexible screening.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
48 words
Apparatus for growing plant sprouts (1) a container having an open top, a perforated bottom, and a sidewall, and (2) a flexible mantle having a heat reflective surface disposed around and over the container in snug relationship with the container with the heat reflective surface facing the container.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
48 words
Apparatus for growing plant sprouts (1) a container having an open top, a perforated bottom, and a sidewall, and (2) a flexible mantle having a heat reflective surface disposed around and over the container in snug relationship with the container with the heat reflective surface facing the container.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
54 words
Apparatus for growing plant sprouts comprising (1) a container having an open top, a sidewall and a perforated bottom, and (2) flexible screen means held in contiguous relationship with said sidewall and extending at least partly over said open top, said flexible screen means being adapted to provide a longitudinal extension of said sidewall.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
54 words
Apparatus for growing plant sprouts comprising (1) a container having an open top, a sidewall and a perforated bottom, and (2) flexible screen means held in contiguous relationship with said sidewall and extending at least partly over said open top, said flexible screen means being adapted to provide a longitudinal extension of said sidewall.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
20 words
The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said flexible screen means forms an annulus over the open top of the container.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
18 words
The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said flexible screen means completely covers the open top of the container.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
28 words
The apparatus of claim 4 wherein at least one adjustable restraining means is disposed concentrically around said flexible screen means at a position longitudinally displaced from said sidewall.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
28 words
The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said flexible screen means is held in contiguous relationship with said sidewall by restraining means disposed concentrically around said flexible screen means.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
21 words
The apparatus of claim 4 disposed within a mantle having a heat reflective surface, said heat reflective surface facing said container.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
72 words
Apparatus for growing plant sprouts comprising (a) a container having an open top, a perforated bottom and a sidewall, (b) an adjustable flexible screen means disposed about the open top of said container, a portion of said screen means being held in continuous, contiguous relationship with said sidewall, and (c) a flexible mantle having a heat reflective surface disposed to surround and cover said container, said heat reflective surface facing said container.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
72 words
Apparatus for growing plant sprouts comprising (a) a container having an open top, a perforated bottom and a sidewall, (b) an adjustable flexible screen means disposed about the open top of said container, a portion of said screen means being held in continuous, contiguous relationship with said sidewall, and (c) a flexible mantle having a heat reflective surface disposed to surround and cover said container, said heat reflective surface facing said container.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
16 words
The apparatus of claim 10 wherein said flexible mantle is moisture and vapor impermeable and lightproof.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
13 words
The apparatus of claim 10 wherein said container is substantially circular in cross-section.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
87 words
In a method of growing plant sprouts by soaking plant seeds with an aqueous medium to effect sprouting of the seeds and growing the sprouts with intermittent watering in a perforated container having an open top, the amount of sprouts being grown in said perforated container being such that the volume of the sprouts will exceed the volume of the container during the growing period, the improvement comprising limiting, during the growing period, the expansion of those sprouts which have outgrown the confines of the perforated container.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
87 words
In a method of growing plant sprouts by soaking plant seeds with an aqueous medium to effect sprouting of the seeds and growing the sprouts with intermittent watering in a perforated container having an open top, the amount of sprouts being grown in said perforated container being such that the volume of the sprouts will exceed the volume of the container during the growing period, the improvement comprising limiting, during the growing period, the expansion of those sprouts which have outgrown the confines of the perforated container.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
25 words
The improved method of claim 13 wherein the expansion of the sprouts is controlled by circumscribing the growing sprouts with a flexible, adjustable restraining means.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
15 words
The improved method of claim 14 wherein said restraining means includes a flexible screen means.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
16 words
The improved method of claim 15 wherein said flexible screen means is a soft gauzelike material.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
19 words
The improved method of claim 15 wherein said flexible screen means completely covers the open top of the container.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
28 words
The improved method of claim 15 wherein at least one additional adjustable restraining means is disposed around the growing sprouts in a position longitudinally displaced from said sidewall.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
71 words
In a method of growing plant sprouts by soaking plant seeds with an aqueous medium to effect sprouting of the seeds and growing the sprouts with intermittent watering in a perforated container having an open top, the improvement comprising placing the perforated container inside a flexible mantle having a heat reflective surface during the sprout growing period, the mantle being arranged so that the heat reflective surface faces the perforated container.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
71 words
In a method of growing plant sprouts by soaking plant seeds with an aqueous medium to effect sprouting of the seeds and growing the sprouts with intermittent watering in a perforated container having an open top, the improvement comprising placing the perforated container inside a flexible mantle having a heat reflective surface during the sprout growing period, the mantle being arranged so that the heat reflective surface faces the perforated container.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
12 words
The improved method of claim 19 wherein the mantle is light proof.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
14 words
The improved method of claim 19 wherein the mantle is moisture and vapor impermeable.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
19 words
The improved method of claim 19 wherein the mantle is drawn snugly around the sidewall of the perforated container.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
83 words
In a method for growing plant sprouts by soaking plant seeds with an aqueous medium to effect sprouting of the seeds and growing the sprouts with intermittent watering in a perforated container having an open top, the improvement comprising placing, during the sprout growing period, the perforated container within a flexible mantle the inside surface of which is covered with a heat reflective material, and controlling the expansion of the growing sprouts by surrounding them with at least one adjustable expansion restraining means.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
83 words
In a method for growing plant sprouts by soaking plant seeds with an aqueous medium to effect sprouting of the seeds and growing the sprouts with intermittent watering in a perforated container having an open top, the improvement comprising placing, during the sprout growing period, the perforated container within a flexible mantle the inside surface of which is covered with a heat reflective material, and controlling the expansion of the growing sprouts by surrounding them with at least one adjustable expansion restraining means.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
18 words
The improved method of claim 23 wherein the expansion restraining means is positioned inside of the flexible mantle.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
26 words
The improved method of claim 24 wherein the water used in watering the sprouts is recirculated over the sprouts at least once during each watering period.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
36 words
The improved method of claim 23 wherein the plant sprouts are grown in two or more perforated containers arranged in vertical order within the flexible heat-reflective mantle, each perforated container having its own expansion restraining means.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
13 words
The improved method of claim 23 wherein the plant sprouts are bean sprouts.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
89 words
In a method of growing plant sprouts by soaking plant seeds with an aqueous medium to effect sprouting of the seeds and growing the sprouts with intermittent watering in a perforated container having an open top, the improvement comprising, during the sprout growing period, keeping the growing sprouts covered with flexible screening adapted to restrict the expansion of the sprouts and maintain a continuous force thereagainst, and keeping the container with the flexible screening-covered sprouts snugly wrapped in a flexible mantle having a heat reflective surface facing the container.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
89 words
In a method of growing plant sprouts by soaking plant seeds with an aqueous medium to effect sprouting of the seeds and growing the sprouts with intermittent watering in a perforated container having an open top, the improvement comprising, during the sprout growing period, keeping the growing sprouts covered with flexible screening adapted to restrict the expansion of the sprouts and maintain a continuous force thereagainst, and keeping the container with the flexible screening-covered sprouts snugly wrapped in a flexible mantle having a heat reflective surface facing the container.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
34 words
The method of claim 28 wherein the girth and height of the flexible screening are periodically adjusted to maintain said containuous force of the desired magnitude against the lant sprouts during the growing period.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1981-05-01 | 1981-10-31 | 1982-05-02 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1985-05-01 | 1985-10-31 | 1986-05-02 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1989-05-01 | 1989-10-31 | 1990-05-02 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |