This disclosure relates generally to a support for a bouquet or floral arrangement, and a method for preparing a bouquet or floral arrangement using the same.

The term bouquet or floral arrangement as used throughout this specification may include any arrangement of flowers and/or other flora which have been chosen for the purpose of being arranged In a particular fashion.

The correct technique for making a bouquet of flowers involves "strausing" the stems of the flowers in the bouquet. Strausing is a skill that requires hours of training before proficiency is reached.

In some instances, transient and therefore untrained labour must be utilised to prepare floral bouquets. Examples of these instances include those periods that are busiest for florists, flower wholesalers and bouquet makers i.e. Mothers day and Valentines Day. At times like these, employers can ill afford the downtime associated with training transient staff in the correct techniques for preparing floral arrangements, but doing so has until now been a necessity.

US patent 5,758,452 A describes a floral arranging aid that comprises a base top cover having a plurality of partially scored apertures that are opened by a flower stem. The apertures are arranged in rows and columns that are coded so that each aperture is located at a junction.

It is an object of the present disclosure to overcome, or at least substantially ameliorate, the aforementioned difficulties.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description, taking In connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein, by way of illustration and example, an embodiment of the present invention Is disclosed.

For the purpose of this specification the word "comprising" means "including but not limited to", and the word 'comprises' has a corresponding meaning.

One aspect of the present invention includes a support apparatus for a bouquet or floral arrangement (1), the apparatus including a body portion (2) having a plurality of apertures (4) passing there through, each aperture (4) being adapted to accept at least a stem of a flower or cutting there through, said body (2) being adapted to be supported in a position above a base portion of the support apparatus (1) and wherein there are a plurality of legs (8) extending from the body (2), wherein the plurality of legs (8) in a second position extending downwardly from the body (2) form the base portion, wherein said legs (8) can be moved between at least a first position in which they extend outwardly from the body (2) and said second position in which at least part of an edge of each leg (8e) is contiguous with at least a part of an edge of another leg (8e), and wherein said base portion has a substantially hollow, inverted, conical shape, which is adapted to retain the end of each stem after it has been passed through an aperture (4) in the body so that the stems are substantially convergent at or toward the ends thereof.

Preferably, the body is substantially disc shaped.

Preferably, in an alternative, the body has the shape of a polygon.

Preferably, the apertures in the body are arranged in a pattern.

Preferably, when the legs are positioned so as to extend downwardly from the body, they are adapted to support the body, and any flowers or cuttings positioned therein.

Preferably, when the legs are positioned so as to extend downwardly from the body, they are biased toward convergence via biasing means.

Preferably, the biasing means includes an elastic band placed around the downwardly extending legs so as to bias these together.

Preferably, the support apparatus is made or manufactured so that the legs and the body are integral or unitary.

Preferably, the support apparatus is made out of a suitable plastic material.

Preferably, in alternative, the apparatus is made out of a suitable (i.e. waterproof) cardboard material, paper or metal.

Preferably, the support apparatus Is sized and adapted to be positioned within a vase or container when the legs are extending downwardly.

Preferably, the support apparatus is adapted to releasably engage the vase or container.

Preferably, a base of the support apparatus is adapted to releasably engage the vase or container.

In a further aspect, the invention may be said to include a method for forming a bouquet or floral arrangement using the support apparatus described above, including the steps of positioning the legs so that they extend downwardly from the body so that they form thereby the base portion and inserting the stems of flowers or cuttings into the apertures.

Preferably, the method includes the further step of inserting the support in a vase or container before positioning any flowers therein.

Preferably, the method includes the further step of placing a rubber band around the legs before positioning the support in the vase or container.

Preferably, the method includes the further step of cutting the stems to a desired length according to flower type prior to inserting these in the support.

In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawing. The invention is capable of embodiments in addition to those described and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein, as well as the abstract, are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate certain embodiments of the invention, and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception upon which this disclosure is based may readily be utilized as a basis for designing other structures, methods, and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, to recognize that the invention should be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the scope of the claims.

For a better understanding of this disclosure it will now be described with respect to one or more exemplary embodiments, which shall be described herein with the assistance of drawings, wherein:

• Figure 1 is a top view of an exemplary blank for a support apparatus, illustrating the legs extending outwards from the body;
• Figure 2 is a perspective view of the exemplary support apparatus in Figure 1, illustrating the legs extending downward from the body so as to form thereby the base portion;
• Figure 3 is a perspective view of an exemplary blank for a support apparatus according to a further aspect, illustrating the legs extending outwards from the body;
• Figure 4 is a perspective view of the exemplary support apparatus in Figure 3, illustrating the legs extending downward from the body so as to form thereby the base portion;
• Figure 5 is a perspective view of an exemplary support apparatus according to a further aspect, illustrating the legs extending straight down;
• Figure 6 is a perspective view of the exemplary support apparatus in Figure 5, illustrating the legs extending downward from the body so as to form thereby the element adapted to retain the stems; and
• Figure 7 is a perspective view of an exemplary support apparatus and an exemplary support vase for the same.

Referring now to the illustrations, and in particular to Figure 1, where there is illustrated a blank of a support for a floral arrangement 1 including a disc shaped body 2 having a plurality of apertures 4 passing there through, each aperture being adapted to accept a stem of a flower or cutting there through. These apertures are arranged in a hexagonal pattern, but they may be arranged in any desired pattern, including the shape of any of a star, triangle, square, round, letter or numeral.

There are a series of legs 8 (6 in this case) attached to the body 2 so that they can be moved between at least a first position in which they extend outwardly from the body, as illustrated in Figure 1, and a second position in which they extend downwardly from the body, as illustrated in Figure 2.

An advantage of being able to extend the legs 8 outward of the body 2 is that this folds the support 2 substantially flat, allowing a large number of these to be stacked for ease of transport and storage.

Referring now to Figure 2, it can be seen that each leg 8 includes two sets of opposing semi-circle shaped cut-outs 9a and 9b positioned at spaced apart locations along the length thereof. A rubber band can be placed around the legs 8 and located in one (or in the case of two rubber bands, both) of these sets of cut-outs so as to bias the legs 8 together and form a base portion.

When these legs 8 are extending downwardly, they can be converged until at least part of an edge of each leg (the part 8e extending below uppermost cut-outs 9a in this case) is contiguous with a part of an edge of another leg.

In this position, the legs 8 not only support the body 2 and any flowers or cuttings positioned therein, but they form a hollow, inverted, substantially conical base that is adapted to retain the end of each stem after it has been passed through an aperture 4 in the body. More particularly, the stems are retained so that these are substantially convergent at or toward the ends thereof.

In use, the stems of the flowers or cuttings are passed through the holes 4 in the body 2 until they reach the bottom of the vase or container. Preferably, the vase or container has an upwardly domed floor, or has been provided with a disc shaped insert that is upwardly domed. In doing so, the stems are converged by the legs 8, forming thereby a "strausing" effect in the completed flower arrangement.

The stems can be cut to a desired length (by product) before production, so that the depth of flowers in the arrangement is consistent.

The apertures 4 in the disc 2 can be arranged in a pattern, and a guide or recipe provided to persons preparing the arrangements that shows them precisely which type of flower is to be inserted into a given aperture. This ensures both consistency in the volume and arrangement of flowers in a bouquet, and repeatability in arrangements.

In one embodiment of the invention, the body of the support is adapted to interconnect with the case or container in which it is positioned. This provides stability for the arrangement during both shipping and retail display.

Referring now to Figures 3 and 4, where there is illustrated a further embodiment wherein the support for a floral arrangement 100 includes a circular body 102 having a downwardly extending perimeter skirt 103.

As before, there is a plurality of apertures 104 passing through the body 102, each aperture being adapted to accept a stem of a flower or cutting there through.

There is a pair of legs 108 attached to the downwardly extending perimeter skirt 103 of the body 102 so that they can be moved between at least a first position in which they extend outwardly there from, as illustrated in Figure 3, and a second position in which they extend downwardly there from, as illustrated in Figure 4. These legs 108 are shaped so that when they are positioned so as to be in the fully downwardly extended position they are contiguous with each other along the entire length of the side edges 108e thereof, and form thereby a conically shaped cup base.

At the end of each leg 108 there is an outwardly extending lip 110 that is adapted to capture a rubber band (not shown) passed around the legs 108 to bias these together. Preferably, there would be a further lip positioned approximately half way up each of the legs as well.

Referring now to Figures 5 and 6, where there is illustrated an embodiment wherein the support for a floral arrangement 200 includes a circular body 202 having a downwardly extending perimeter skirt 203.

There are a series of legs 208 (6 in this case) attached to the body so that they can be moved between at least a first position in which they extend outwardly from the body, and a second position in which they extend downwardly from the body, as illustrated in Figure 6, so as to form a base.

Similar to the first embodiment, only the edges 208e of lower portion of each leg 208 are adapted to be contiguous when the legs are converged.

Similar to the second embodiment, at the end of each leg 208 there is an outwardly extending lip 210 that is adapted to capture a rubber band (not shown) passed around the legs 208 to bias these together. Preferably, there would be a further lip positioned approximately half way up each of the legs as well.

Referring now to Figure 7, where there is illustrated a support apparatus 300, and a support vase 302 , upon which the support apparatus 300 may be disposed whilst a bouquet is being assembled. This allows both hands of the person preparing the floral arrangement to be free during production. If the support vase 302 is partially filled with water, an unfinished arrangement can be left temporarily without risk of the flowers drying out. When assembly of the bouquet is completed, the support apparatus 300 is lifted off of the support vase 302 and the elastic band 304 biases the legs 306 of the support apparatus 300 together, so as to capture and converge the stems of the flowers.

In each case, the supports according to the respective aspects or embodiments described above are used in substantially the same fashion.

The supports according to the present invention may be made cheap enough for mass production, or equally up market versions may be produced that incorporate attractive designs and colours. In the cases of the later, they may provide a suitable location for promotional indicia to be printed.

Furthermore, it is considered that the supports according to the present invention lend themselves to utilisation in an automated production system, where machines may be used to load them.

Finally, it is considered that the support for a floral arrangement according to the present invention will be of considerable use to florists, flower wholesalers and bouquet makers who from time to time utilise transient and/or unskilled labour to meet demand, because it allows these novices to quickly and consistently prepare near perfect floral arrangements.

Although the invention has been herein shown and described in what is conceived to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is recognized that departures can be made within the scope of the invention, which is not to be limited to the details described herein but is to be accorded the full scope of the appended claims so as to embrace any and all equivalent devices and apparatus.