1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to supports for plant containers, and specifically to such supports which are both collapsible and capable of being suspended from a deck railing or similar architectural feature.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Hanging supports for plant containers are well known in the art for supporting a flower pot, planter box or similar plant container from a deck railing, fence or similar structure. Arrangements of this type have been sold in the past by HMN Corporation of Toledo, Ohio under the trademark HANG OVERS. Similar structures are also disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,390,443 to Emalfarb et al and related U.S. Design Pat. Nos. 339,942 and 338,122. The railing hangers disclosed in the Emalfarb et al patents are formed of bent rod material which is welded at appropriate points to form the support construction.
The use of bent rod or wire material for collapsible supports is well known in the prior art. Examples of such arrangements are disclosed in the following U.S. Pat. No. 841,484 to Campbell; U.S. Pat. No. 933,142 to Vogt; U.S. Pat. No. 1,681,418 to Livesay; U.S. Pat. No. 2,529,267 to Sloan; U.S. Pat. No. 2,791,391 to Uphoff; U.S. Pat. No. 4,313,634 to Williams; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,460,279 to Emery et al. Other prior art of interest includes U.S. Pat. No. 1,832,801 to Wright and U.S. Pat. No. 4,064,993 to Getner.
A shortcoming of constructions like that disclosed in the Emalfarb et al patents is the inability to collapse the constructions into constituent parts so as to lie in a relatively flat plane for storage and shipping. While some of the above-identified prior art references disclose collapsible structures, the fabrication techniques do not lend themselves to providing a sufficiently strong structure so as to support a relatively heavy plant container, while maintaining the desired collapsible features.