Expandable container for floral grouping

Abstract

This invention generally relates to expandable containers, more importantly, to expandable containers having a housing with at least one chamber devoid of a fill material in an unexpanded condition and in an expanded condition the chamber having a fill material disposed therein.

1 . A container for a floral grouping, the container having a collapsed condition and an expanded condition, the container comprising: 
 a housing having a chamber for receiving and retaining a fill material, in the collapsed condition the fill material external to the chamber and in the expanded condition the fill material disposed within the chamber such that the chamber is substantially full of the fill material and thereby expands the chamber and the housing so as to provide the container with a retaining space for containing the floral grouping.    
   
   
       2 . The container of  claim 1  wherein the housing further comprises an inlet for permitting selective introduction and removal of the fill material from the chamber.  
   
   
       3 . The container of  claim 2  wherein the fill material is a gas.  
   
   
       4 . The container of  claim 3  wherein the inlet is an air valve.  
   
   
       5 . The container of  claim 2  wherein the fill material is a liquid.  
   
   
       6 . The container of  claim 5  wherein the inlet is a hollow tube and a cap for selectively sealing and unsealing the hollow tube.  
   
   
       7 . The container of  claim 2  wherein the fill material is a granular solid.  
   
   
       8 . The container of  claim 1  wherein in the expanded condition the container has a frusto-conical configuration.  
   
   
       9 . The container of  claim 1  wherein in the expanded condition the container has a conical configuration.  
   
   
       10 . The container of  claim 1  wherein in the expanded condition the container has a cubic configuration.  
   
   
       11 . The container of  claim 1  wherein in the expanded condition the container has a cylindrical configuration.  
   
   
       12 . The container of  claim 1  wherein the housing comprises a plurality of chambers.  
   
   
       13 . A self inflating container for containing a floral grouping, the self inflating container comprising; 
 a housing, the housing having inner chamber impermeable to a first fill material disposed in the inner chamber and an outer chamber impermeable to a second fill material disposed in the outer chamber, the inner chamber disposed within the outer chamber, the inner chamber constructed of a material such that when a force is applied to the housing, the internal chamber is ruptured causing the first fill material to mix with the second fill material causing a chemical reaction producing an expanding material which causes the outer chamber and the housing to expand and provide a retaining space configured for containing the floral grouping.    
   
   
       14 . The self inflating container of  claim 13  wherein the first fill material is manganese dioxide and the second fill material is our aqueous solution of hydrogen peroxide.  
   
   
       15 . The self inflating container of  claim 13  wherein the first fill material is a sodium bicarbonate and the second fill material is an acetic acid.  
   
   
       16 . The self inflating container of  claim 13  wherein in the expanded condition the container has a frusto-conical configuration.  
   
   
       17 . The self inflating container of  claim 13  wherein in the expanded condition the container has a conical configuration.  
   
   
       18 . The self inflating container of  claim 13  wherein in the expanded condition the container has a cubic configuration.  
   
   
       19 . The self inflating container of  claim 13  wherein in the expanded condition the container has a cylindrical configuration.  
   
   
       20 . A method of expanding a container from a collapsed condition to an expanded condition for containing a floral grouping the method comprising the steps of: 
 providing a fill material;    providing a housing, the housing having a chamber for receiving and retaining the fill material, in the collapsed condition the chamber being substantially devoid of the fill material such that the flexible material folds forming a plurality of overlapping folds, and in the expanded condition the chamber being substantially full of the fill material such that the fill material causes the overlapping folds to disperse and the chamber to expand and cause the housing to expand and thereby provide the container with a retaining space configured for containing at least part of the floral grouping; and    disposing a sufficient amount of the fill material into the chamber to expand the chamber and the housing and provide the container with the retaining space for disposing the floral grouping therein.    
   
   
       21 . The method of  claim 20  wherein the fill material is a gas.  
   
   
       22 . The method of  claim 20  wherein the fill material is a liquid.  
   
   
       23 . The method of  claim 20  wherein the fill material is a granular solid.  
   
   
       24 . The method of  claim 20  wherein the fill material is a combination of gas, liquid and granular solids.  
   
   
       25 . The method of  claim 20  wherein the housing further includes an inlet for permitting selective introduction and removal of the fill material into and from the chamber.  
   
   
       26 . The method of  claim 20  further including providing a pump for pumping fill material into the chamber of the housing.  
   
   
       27 . The container of  claim 20  further wherein the pump for adding fill material into the chamber of the housing is an electric pump.  
   
   
       28 . The container of  claim 20  further wherein the pump for adding fill material into the chamber of the housing is a hand pump.  
   
   
       29 . The container of  claim 20  further wherein the pump for adding fill material into the chamber of the housing is a pressurized reservoir of fill material.  
   
   
       30 . The container of  claim 29  wherein the pressurized reservoir of fill material is a CO 2  gas cartridge.  
   
   
       31 . The method of  claim 20  wherein in the expanded condition the expandable container has a frusto-conical configuration.  
   
   
       32 . The method of  claim 20  wherein in the expanded condition the expandable container has a conical configuration.  
   
   
       33 . The method of  claim 20  wherein in the expanded condition the expandable container has a cubic configuration.  
   
   
       34 . The method of  claim 20  wherein in the expanded condition the expandable container has a cylindrical configuration.  
   
   
       35 . The method of  claim 20  wherein the housing has a plurality of chambers.  
   
   
       36 . A method of inflating a self inflating container for containing a floral grouping, the method comprising the steps of: 
 providing the self inflating container for a floral grouping, the self inflating expandable container for a floral grouping comprising: 
 a housing having an inner chamber impermeable to a first fill material disposed in the inner chamber and an outer chamber impermeable to a second fill material disposed in the outer chamber, the inner chamber disposed in the outer chamber, the inner chamber constructed such that when a force is applied to the housing the inner chamber ruptures causing the first fill material to mix with the second fill material causing a chemical reaction producing an expanding material which causes the outer chamber and the housing to expand and thereby providing a retaining space configured for containing the floral grouping; and  
 applying a force to the housing such that the inner chamber ruptures, combining the first fill material with the second fill material, producing the expanding material, causing the outer chamber and housing to expand and thereby inflating the self inflatable container and providing the retaining space configured for containing the floral grouping.  
   
   
   
       37 . The method of  claim 36  wherein the self inflating container in the expanded condition has a frusto-conical configuration.  
   
   
       38 . The method of  claim 36  wherein the self inflating container in the expanded condition has a conical configuration.  
   
   
       39 . The method of  claim 36  wherein the self inflating container in the expanded condition has a cubic configuration.  
   
   
       40 . The method of  claim 36  wherein the self inflating container in the expanded condition has a cylindrical configuration.