Field of the Invention The invention relates to containers for carrying flowers and is especially applicable to the carrying of long-stemmed flowers.

Review of Art Known to the Applicant (s) Typically in supermarkets, flower bunches come in a pre-wrapped envelope.

These flower bunches are often difficult to carry along with other shopping articles and bags. While juggling with several shopping items, a busy shopper often accidentally damages the delicate flowers.

In an attempt to prevent damage to the flowers, the shopper usually carries them in one hand and directs his or her attention to avoiding damaging them.

Another drawback of the traditional flower envelope is that they are designed for a single usage. And since they are not usually recyclable, they contribute to damaging the environment.

Wrapping flowers with these traditional envelopes is an operation which requires great dexterity-it is often difficult to satisfactorily attach the envelope around the bunch of flowers.

The present invention aims to overcome the drawbacks of the traditional flower envelope.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a container for carrying flowers whose transportation is hand free and comfortable.

Another object of the invention is to provide a reusable container for the flowers so that the container is more environmentally friendly than the traditional flower envelopes.

A further object of the invention is to provide a container which prevents the flowers from being accidentally damaged during transportation.

The invention will also provide a container which easily envelopes the flowers.

This invention also aims at providing a container capable of retaining water to prevent dehydration during periods of transit.

Summary of the Invention In a first broad independent aspect, the invention presents a container adapted for carrying long-stemmed flowers, the container comprising: A sheet of inherently flexible material which defines a receptacle having an aperture at its top section facilitating the insertion or removal of the flowers and a wall enveloping the flowers when these are placed in a receptacle and which tapers from top to bottom; the bottom region being of sufficiently small cross- section in order to retain the flowers when these are placed in said receptacle; the

wall being adapted to receive-or itself incorporating-one or more shoulder straps long enough to enable a user of the container to carry it, in use, on his or her shoulder and/or generally diagonally across his or her back.

The container of the invention is particularly advantageous because it can be transported leaving both hands free.

The geometry of the container is particularly advantageous for the transportation of flowers which comprise long stems because the tapering of the container from top to bottom is particularly well adapted to the natural change in cross section of the flowers'bunch from the flowers'head to the stems'region.

In a subsidiary aspect of the present invention, the receptacle comprises one or more cut-outs located in one or more areas of the wall to facilitate bending of the receptacle when in use.

The provision of cut-outs in one or more areas of the wall is particularly advantageous because these allow the container to flex to increase the comfort of the user when he or she carries the container on his or her shoulder and/or generally diagonally across his or her back. The provision of these cuts is also beneficial in limiting the likelihood of the wall tearing when the container is being carried.

In a further subsidiary aspect of the present invention, the or each cut-out is V- shaped.

These V-shaped cut-outs are particularly advantageous in improving the three- dimensional flexibility of the container when in use.

In a subsidiary aspect of the invention, a container in accordance with the broadest encapsulation of the first aspect of the invention, bends or conforms to the curve of the user's back.

This feature is advantageous because it improves the comfort of the user.

In a further subsidiary aspect of the invention, the or each strap is cut out from the sheet.

Cutting the strap out of the sheet is advantageous because it economises material which in turn will reduce the cost of production of the containers and it avoids having to separately assemble the straps to the sheet during the production of the container.

In a further subsidiary aspect, the invention provides that the receptacle comprises a separable base.

Furthermore, in another subsidiary aspect, the sheet incorporates releasable edge attachments.

These features are particularly advantageous because their incorporation will avoid the user having to employ additional edge attachments such as adhesive tape or heat seals-both of which are very labour-intensive.

These releasable edge attachments also permit the container of being repeatedly used.

In a second broad independent aspect, the present invention discloses a sheet of material specifically adapted to be folded into a container having the features of any of the preceding aspects of the invention and being adapted with one or more

shoulder straps long enough to enable the user to carry it on his or her shoulder and/or generally diagonally across his or her back.

Brief Description of the Drawings Figure 1 represents a plan view of the sheet prior to being folded to form the container.

Figure 2 shows a schematic side view of the container.

Figure 3 presents a schematic perspective view of the container.

Figures 4A and 4B show a schematic perspective view of an unfolded sheet and its base, and a schematic perspective view of the container when folded.

Figure 5 shows an essentially plan view of a sheet prior to being folded to form a container in a further embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description of the Drawings Figure 1 shows an unfolded sheet 1 which is sectioned into three portions 2,3 and 4 by two fold lines 5 and 6 which extend from the top edge of the sheet and which converge with side edges 7 and 8 at point 9 of the sheet 1.

Fold line 5 is interrupted at regular intervals by three V-shaped cut-outs 10 whose edges 11 extend at an angle comprised between 30° and 50° from the fold line.

The person skilled in the art will select an appropriate number of cut-outs to meet his requirements of flexibility for a given container.

Portion 4 of the sheet 1 is the surface which is designated to run against the back and/or shoulder of the user. This portion projects beyond the length of the other

two portions 2 and 3 in the shape of a triangle whose edges converge at a higher extremity 12.

A first ring 13 is attached to sheet 1 at point 12 of the sheet by any appropriate method selected by the person skilled in the art from any known alternatives.

A second ring 14 is attached in a similar manner at point 9 of sheet 1.

A strap which is not represented on the figure can easily be assembled to rings 13 and 14.

Figure 2 presents a container 21 which is the result of folding the sheet 1 presented in Figure 1 and attaching edges 7 and 8 together. In this configuration fold line 25 separates faces 23 and 22 of the container 21. And portion 4 of Figure 1 has become face 24. Thus, faces 23,22 and 24 are the walls of a container into which flowers may be easily inserted, removed and carried from one location to the next.

Figure 3 shows a container 31 in which face 34 is curved in order to conform to the shape of the user's back and/or shoulder. This flower container or flower quiver incorporates as did sheet 1 and container 21, three cut-outs which allow the container to flex in any direction without the wall of the container tearing.

In Figures 4A and 4B, sheet 41 and container 42 are illustrated with a separable base 43. The base 43 is of the type that can be simply slid into container 42 and held therein by simple friction at its lower extremity. This base can interact with the wall of the container in such a manner as to prevent the passage of water from the inside of the container to the outside.

The base can be made of any appropriate material-the user may for example if he wishes select a porous base in order to absorb and retain liquid which could hydrate the flowers during transportation.

The incorporation of the base element will also permit the lower cross-section of the container to be larger than the lower cross-section of the containers represented in the previous drawings. This will enable the user to place a large amount of flowers in the container or to place therein flowers whose size would require the container to have a large base.

The base section may also be secured to the sheet or wall of the container by other methods than the friction between the base and the wall. A loop and hook attachment, for example, may be provided to fix the base to the wall of the container.

Figure 4A also shows two parallel slits 44 and 45 which form the strap 46 for the carrying of the container.

Furthermore, the sheet 41 comprises projections 48 which can easily be inserted into the rectangular cut-outs 47 to releasebly attach the edges of the sheet. The person skilled in the art will easily be able to determine alternative means of releasable attachments such as push buttons and zips.

Figure 5 shows a sheet 50 prior to being folded into a container. Sheet 50 comprises in its lower region a ring 51 attached to the main body 52 of sheet 50 by known attachment means. Ring 51 may also be made integral to the main body 52 of sheet 50 in order to simplify the manufacturing process required to produce the inventive sheet.

In the upper region of the sheet, lid 53 is provided which incorporates a projection 54 whose geometry is so selected by the person skilled in the art to allow it to be matingly engaged to cut-out 55 located in the upper region of the main body 52 of sheet 50. There is also provided in said upper region ring 56 whose properties allow the engagement of a strap for carrying the container which the sheet 50 may be formed into,