DE2501796A1 - PLANT CULTURE PLANT - Google Patents

Description

PATENT ADVOCATE DR. HANS ULRICH MAY

8 Munich 22, Thierschstr .. 27 43U I / tJO Telephone (089) 22 50 51

Commissariat ä 1'Energie Atomique 29, rue de la Federation
F-75015 PARIS / France

Munich, January 17, 1975

CP 504/1343 Dr.M./es B 5

Plant cultivation system

The invention relates to a plant cultivation system for Plants growing on the ground, namely a system for heating or optionally cooling the Soil to encourage the plant cultures established there to thrive.

Up to now, either heated by pulsed hot air or by very hot water, either in pipes leading through the air of very small diameter flows, which give off heat through radiation, or through into the Cables of small diameter that are laid in the bottom flow, which dissipate the heat by conduction. in the The latter case, the thermal inertia is very large, so that the system is sensitive to sudden climatic changes can not react.

The invention is intended to create a plant culture system which are compared with a water flowing in pipes with a low temperature difference the environment is working and looking easier and cheaper set up and use. Be according to the invention for this purpose, pipes laid on the floor are used, in which water flows at only a slightly elevated temperature.

The plant cultivation system according to the invention is thereby characterized in that they have at least one heat exchange

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has shear, which consists of a flexible, flattened, elongated and thin-walled, laid on the ground There is hose and that supply facilities are provided, which in the hose or the Let a film of a heat transfer fluid flow through the tubing.

Preferred embodiments emerge from the subclaims.

The supply facilities preferably supply water with a temperature below 45 C as a liquid medium temperature and preferably with a hydrostatic pressure of less than 10 cm water column.

In a particularly advantageous embodiment the supply device consists of a heat pump which supplies water with a temperature between 25 and 45 ° C and the heat required to heat this water that with a temperature between 4 and 25 ° C is taken from the evaporator belonging to the pump. The heat pump's evaporator can be fed either with waste water from an industrial plant or water from a phreatic layer.

The plant cultivation system can also directly through the hot water given off by an industrial system be fed.

According to another favorable embodiment of the invention, the tubes are provided with a tube at one of their ends first manifold that itself with the utility is connected, and connected at their other ends to a second manifold.

According to a modified embodiment, the Hoses shaped like hairpins and the two Manifolds arranged side by side.

The "plant culture system according to the invention is also for Culture with a heated base (bed) can be used.

Furthermore, the culture system according to the invention can be used

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as an air-conditioning system for a greenhouse, comprising devices to regulate the flow of warm water to interrupt the hoses when the temperature in the greenhouse is high enough, and devices whereby cool water is passed through the hoses can be used to cool the atmosphere in the greenhouse during periods of exposure to the sun.

The invention is illustrated by the following description several embodiments. The description refers to the attached drawings. Show here:

1 schematically shows an overall view of the system according to the invention;

- Fig. 2 shows a section through the hose of the heat exchanger ;

3 shows a modification of the embodiment of FIG

Figures 1 and 2;

- Fig. 4 shows a further modification showing the waxing

of the plants over a base and pricking out is possible

5 is a view, partly in section, of one

upholstery-like subdivided hose;

- Figures 6 and 7 with views of the hoses

the collecting lines serving to supply them;

- Fig. 8 schematically a modified supply '

establishment of the plant; ',

9 schematically shows a further modification of the supply device;

10 shows another embodiment of the hose.

According to Fig. 1, the heat exchanger 1 has a hose 2 (or hose-like casing or tube), the upstream is connected by a connector 4a at a constant height to a storage vessel 3, from which it is fed, and ends downstream in an end piece 4b with a pressure drop. The hose 2 is

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a film of hot liquid 8 flows through it.

The tube 2 (Fig. 2) is flattened with a much greater width _1 than thickness £. The thin walls 2a delimit a likewise flattened free inner cross section 2b. The hose 2 can consist of a Rubber or plastic tubing can be made of large diameter that is under its own weight collapses when it is placed on the floor 6. Preferably the hose consists of one opaque material. This prevents the occurrence of microorganisms on the inner wall of the Hose.

The hose forms a single flow channel 2b, and despite the thin wall thickness, it can be used without a large one Kick or perforate damage. A perforation only leads to liquid seeping through, which does not affect the performance of the heat exchanger. Since the film of hot liquid flowing in the hose has a low pressure, it retains Hose has the flattened shape of its passage cross section 2b.

To increase the surface area of the heat exchanger and on the other hand, increasing its resistance to accidental knocks and blows is with one Preferred embodiment of the invention, a flexible hose 5 divided in the longitudinal direction as a heat exchanger provided, which has parallel longitudinal channels 5a of very small diameter (Fig. 3).

The hose 2 is connected upstream to the storage vessel 3 by the connecting piece 4a, downstream on the other hand, the closing piece 4b enables the hot liquid to exit above the level of the ground .

For cultures on a base (black plastic), the hoses can be used as a base and for the

509830/0324 " ⁵ "

Form flow of water. For this purpose, holes 10 are formed in the opposite walls 2a of the tube 2, which holes are connected to one another by round weld seams 12 so that the throughflow channel 2b remains tight (FIG. 4). The holes 10 are distributed at equal intervals over the entire surface of the hose 2, so that the plants can be transplanted (pricked out) through them into the ground. For this type of application, the totality of the hoses should cover at least 50% of the surface of the ground. The same holes with welded edges can also be provided in the subdivided hose 5, but this embodiment is not shown in the drawing. To simplify the production of such underlay materials, that is to say hoses with holes that extend through their walls and are welded with their edges, the holes can be produced by simply punching them out essentially in the center of the welded area. One method of producing such washers is that at the same time opposing walls of the hoses are welded together by a weld seam and they are punched out within the weld seam by pressing at least one tool onto the hose which has a heating ring, in the interior of which a knife is arranged .

The heat exchanger according to the invention works with ge ' wrestle with temperature differences compared to the environment, i.e. with an average temperature of the liquid below 45 ° C. Often the most convenient hot liquid to use is, of course, water, however it is also possible to use another liquid, e.g. oil, without disadvantage, provided that one is able to recover it cares.

If water is used as heating fluid, a height of 10 cm in the storage vessel and regulation of the Pressure drop of the terminator 4b to be a regular

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To get the outflow of the film 8. The large area of the hose in relation to the ground is guaranteed a good thermal performance of the heat exchanger, and its flat shape makes it easy to roll it up on a Coil as well as convenient intermediate storage.

Fig. 5 shows a modified embodiment of the Hoses 2. These are "quilted" hoses, i.e. hoses with opposite walls in specific areas are connected to each other. This connection of the two walls can be in the form of points, Circles or straight sections that are arranged in lines, offset or in zigzag lines are. This embodiment has great advantages:

- it stabilizes the hose and prevents it from rolling in on itself and thus damaging the cultures;

it reduces its thickness during operation, while maintaining a corresponding flow rate;

- it enables a pressure increase of the liquid, which can then have a pressure of more than 10 cm water column, because the hoses do not inflate, can take on a cylindrical shape and roll on the floor. By such a pressure increase can be used longer hoses during operation;

- it creates eddies that promote heat transfer;

- It enables a good intermixing of the flow threads of the water and thus a good balance of the water temperature across the width of the hose.

Fig. 5 shows the case of cushion formation by straight weld seam sections 14 which are arranged in a zigzag are.

In the manner of supplying the hoses with water as a heat exchanger shown in FIG. 1, this is not recovered. Such a measure is disadvantageous if the heat-transferring liquid is relatively expensive

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is. It is also disadvantageous when the liquid is water and the system is set up in a dry area.

Figures 6 and 7 show two different embodiments of the system, which a return of the Provide fluid that has passed through the hoses.

According to the embodiment shown in Fig. 6, the hoses 2 are parallel to each other between an upstream collecting line (feed line) 16 and a downstream collecting line (discharge) 18 arranged. Each connecting piece 4a is on the feed line 16 and each terminating piece 4b is on the discharge line 18 connected. These collecting lines can advantageously consist of rigid pipes. The feed line 16 is .an the supply point for hot water connected. Through the drain 18, the water or another liquid can after Passage through the hoses 2 are returned, with the necessary pressure drop being provided. The kind the hot water supply in this case is explained below.

Instead of straight, the tubes can also be designed in the form of a hairpin. One can this form also obtained, as Fig. 7 shows, by connecting two tube parts 2 ¹ and 2 "· to each other at one of their ends by a curved line 20, the connection portion 4a of the tube piece 2 ¹ -is to the feed line 16 and the End piece 4b of hose section 2 ″ connected to discharge line 18. In this case, the collecting lines 16 and 18 run side by side. If the system is set up in a greenhouse, as a result of this training, the entrance to the greenhouse, if there is only one access, can be made free without the connections having to be disconnected.

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To expose the ground, you just need to roll up the hoses.

Fig. 8 shows a particularly favorable supply device for the system, which supplies the warm liquid, namely using a heat pump.

The liquid flowing through the hoses is heated by a heat pump, which is the first manifold with liquid at a temperature between 25 and 45 ° C, with the heat coming from the evaporator the feed water supplied to the pump at a temperature between 4 and 25 ° C is taken.

All natural or technical measures can be used to operate the system according to the invention to optimize the performance of the heat pump. So you can use the vaporizer of the Feed the pump either with water taken from a phreatic layer or with warm water, that is delivered by an industrial plant. In the latter In the case, the heat-transferring liquid can be used directly with the interposition of a pressurized working heat exchanger are heated by the hot industrial waste water.

Fig. 8 shows schematically the heat pump 21, the useful outlet through the line 22 with the collecting line 16. and the useful inlet of which is connected to the manifold 18 by the line 24. The heat pump evaporator 2S is indicated by a schematically as a line 2? drawn source with water at a temperature between 4 and 25 ° C, whereby the source can be a phreatic layer, i.e. groundwater.

In spring and summer, the heat exchanger according to the invention can also be used for air conditioning in certain warm areas to serve. Certain crops must be protected from excessive heat so that the surrounding

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temperature must lower in order to be able to use them. on the other hand very hot days are followed by very cool nights in the same areas. These temperature fluctuations are detrimental to the economic use of crops.

According to a modification of the method according to the invention, the systems are allowed to operate with warm liquid during the night and with cool liquid in the hoses during the day. Fig. 9 shows such a system. For heating, the evaporator 28 of the heat pump 2Ί is fed from the water source of the phreatic layer 29 through the three-way valve 30 and the line 31.

The three-way valve 34 enables the feed line to be fed 16 through the heated water line 22, while the three-way valve 35, the return of the the discharge 18 lukewarm water coming through the line 24 to the condenser of the heat pump 21 is made possible.

For cooling, the three valves 30, 34 and 35 are in their brought another position so that the feed line 16

en 33
is supplied with cool water through the line / 2Sj, while the collecting line 18 is emptied through the valve 35 to the environment 36.

There can also be strong temperature fluctuations during a day. The thermal inertia of greenhouses is relatively low. This leads to a sharp drop and rise in temperature in a relatively short time Time. The system according to the invention can also be used to equalize the temperatures in greenhouses. As is well known water has a large amount of heat. One can therefore by a simple cycle of water in the Tubing keep the crops in the greenhouses at substantially constant temperatures. if If the thermal inertia obtained in this way is not sufficient, a water supply can be used to increase the heat content

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(Swimming pool).

If the system is installed directly, without the interposition of heat pumps, is fed with warm industrial wastewater, according to the invention, in one embodiment, a pressurized working heat exchanger between the hot industrial waste water and the liquid flowing in the hoses be provided. This design effectively separates the two fluids and prevents each other Ingress of industrial waste water into the heating fluid of the greenhouses.

The small temperature difference between the heat transfer fluid flowing in the hoses and the ground on which the hoses rest requires a relatively large coverage of the ground, advantageously at least half of the floor is covered by the hoses.

It has been found that the water flowing in the hoses is partially degassed in certain cases. Leading to form gas bubbles that adhere to the upper wall of the hose. This will allow the heat exchange between the water and the soil does not change, but the heat exchange between the water and the surrounding area Air. This phenomenon is very annoying when the hoses are used, for example, to heat a greenhouse to serve.

In order to overcome this disadvantage, one can form the hoses in the shown in FIG. 10 Form. The upper part of the thin wall 2a is folded up into a bead 50 in which a passage 52 for the gas runs parallel to the passage 2b for the liquid. This bead 50 is obtained, for example, by means of spot welds 54a, 54b. The gas bubbles pass through the intermediate spaces 56, which separate two successive weld points from one another, into the passage space 52 and collect there.

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Claims (20)

Claims Plant cultivation system for use on the ground, characterized by at least one heat exchanger, the one made of a flexible, flat, elongated, thin-walled hose that rests on the floor (2) consists, and supply devices, which in the hose or hoses a film of a heat transferring Let the liquid flow. 2. Systems according to claim 1, characterized in that it has several heat exchangers fed in parallel. 3. Plant according to claim 2, characterized in that the flexible flat hoses made of rubber or one Plastic are made. 4. Plant according to one of claims 2 and 3, characterized in that that the tubes (2) are made of an opaque material. 5. Installation according to one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that the hoses (2) are divided like a cushion (quilted) are. 6. Plant according to one of claims 2 to 5, characterized in that that the hoses (2) open through holes (10) going through them from one side to the other, have that from the interior (2b) of the hose through a tight weld seam (12), which the two opposite Walls (2a) of the hoses are connected to one another, are separated and by which at least one each Plant is plantable. · 7. Plant according to claim 6, characterized in that the holes (10) of the tubes by welding of two opposite walls (2a) of the shell (2b) in the form of a circular border and punching out the Hole (10) are made inside the border. - 12 509830/0324 8. Plant according to one of claims 3 to 7, characterized in that that the thin upper wall (2a) of each tube (2) has a hollow bead (50) which a gas passage (52) forms which from the rest of the interior (2b) of the hose through regularly the length of the hose distributed welding points (54a, 54b) is separated. 9. Plant according to one of claims 2 to 8, characterized in that that the hoses (2) at one of their ends with a feed line (16), which itself with the Supply device is connected, and to their other Ends with a derivative (16, 18) are connected. 10. Plant according to claim 9, characterized in that the hoses (2 ·, 2 ") are hairpin-shaped and the common inlets and outlets (16,18) next to each other, are arranged. 11. Plant according to one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the supply device supplies water with an average temperature below 45 ° C as the heat-transferring liquid. 12. Plant according to one of claims 1 to 11, characterized characterized in that the supply device as the heat transfer liquid water with a hydrostatic Releases pressure under 10 cm water column. 13. Plant according to one of claims Λ to 12, characterized in that the supply device emits warm water that was supplied as waste water from an industrial plant. 14. Plant according to one of claims 1 to 12, characterized characterized in that 'the supply device from a Heat pump (21) consists · that water with a temperature between 25 ° C and 45 ° C and its heat output from the heat content of its evaporator (28) - 13 509830/0324 added water with a temperature between 4 ° C and 25 ° C. 15. Plant according to claim 14, characterized in that that the evaporator (28) of the heat pump (21) is fed with water (29) from a groundwater layer. 16. Plant according to claim 14, characterized in that that the evaporator (28) of the heat pump (21) is fed with warm waste water originating from an industrial plant. 17. Plant according to one of claims Λ to 13, characterized in that the supply device consists of a pressurized heat exchanger which is fed with hot industrial water. 18. System according to one of claims T to 17, for air conditioning of greenhouses, characterized by devices (30,34,35) for interrupting the passage warm water through the hoses (2) when the temperature in the greenhouses is high enough, and devices which, through the hoses (2), allow cool water to flow to the atmosphere in the greenhouses to cool down during periods of sun exposure. one of the 19. Use of the system according to claims 6 to 17 for plant cultivation on a substrate, the entirety of the heated hoses (2) covering at least 50% of the surface of the ground. 20. Use of the system according to one of claims 1 to 17 for plant crops in greenhouses, wherein the The hoses (2) are laid inside the greenhouse. 509830/0324 Blank page