JP2000207933A - Illumination panel for plant cultivation - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an illumination panel consuming little electric power and moreover having high durability even under highly humid environments. SOLUTION: This panel A is equipped with a base 1, a substrate 7 of a thin metal sheet adhered to the base 1, many light-emitting diodes 8 disposed on the substrate 7, a cover 2 disposed so as to make a space S between it and the base 1, and a sealing material interposed between the base 1 and the cover 2 to airtightly maintain the space to the external part. Dry air is filled in the space S, and desiccant 5 is contained in a frame material 3.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a lighting panel for cultivating plants.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in greenhouse cultivation of vegetables, etc.,
In order to adjust the cultivation time so that it can be shipped when the commercial value is high, lighting such as fluorescent lamps is sometimes applied to plants to extend the sunshine hours. Also, in plant cultivation of vegetables and the like, in order to secure a sufficient cultivation area, cultivation tanks are stacked on several shelves, and cultivation is performed by illuminating each cultivation tank. On the other hand, since the wavelength of emitted light is relatively uniform and the calorific value is relatively small, it has been proposed to use a panel in which a large number of light emitting diodes (LEDs) are arranged as a lighting device for growing plants. (See Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-275779).

[0003]

In the case of a traditional luminaire such as a fluorescent lamp, the power consumption is large, so that the electricity cost is high, and the power consumption of the cooling device is also large due to the high heat generation. On the other hand, in the case of a panel using a light emitting diode, there is a problem that the humidity is high in a cultivation environment of a plant, so that the panel is easily deteriorated and the durability is poor. An object of the present invention is to provide a lighting panel for plant cultivation that has low power consumption and high durability even in an environment with high humidity.

[0004] A lighting panel for plant cultivation according to the present invention comprises a metal base, a large number of light emitting diodes arranged on the base, and a light-transmitting trans- parent arranged with a space between the base. It is characterized by comprising a cover, and a sealing material interposed between the base and the cover, for maintaining the space airtight to the outside. In such a lighting panel, it is preferable that the space be in a vacuum state. Further, the space may be filled with dry air, and a desiccant may be stored in the space. Further, a dry inert gas such as nitrogen or argon gas may be filled. Further, after being filled with an inert gas, a deoxidizer and / or a desiccant may be contained in the space.

[0005]

The lighting panel of the present invention uses a light emitting diode as a light source, and thus requires less power than a conventional light source such as a fluorescent lamp. Further, since the calorific value is small, the power consumption of the cooling equipment is small. Further, by selecting a light-emitting diode that contains a large amount of light having a wavelength suitable for plant cultivation and a small amount of light having an unsuitable wavelength, plant growth can be promoted.

Further, the light emitting diode is housed in a space between a metal base and a translucent cover,
Since the space is made airtight by a sealing material, moisture does not enter from the outside. Therefore, the light emitting diode is less deteriorated by moisture and has high durability. Since the space is sealed, heat accompanying light emission tends to accumulate. However, since the light emitting diodes are arranged on a metal base, heat generated due to light emission is radiated to the outside through the base. Therefore, heat accumulation in the space is relatively small.

[0007] In the lighting panel in which the space is evacuated, not only moisture from the outside but also moisture contained in the space from the beginning is extremely small. Therefore, the light emitting diode is protected from deterioration due to moisture. Furthermore, since oxygen in the space is extremely small, deterioration due to oxidation is also small.

The lighting panel in which the space is filled with dry air and the space contains a desiccant can protect the light emitting diode from deterioration due to moisture for a long period of time.
Further, this is easy to manufacture because air is used as the filling gas. In a lighting panel filled with an inert gas such as nitrogen or argon gas, a light emitting diode is protected from deterioration due to oxidation. In addition, when the space is filled with an inert gas and a deoxidizer or a desiccant is contained, the light emitting diode can be further protected from oxygen and moisture, and the durability is improved.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, an embodiment of a lighting panel according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing one embodiment of a lighting panel of the present invention, and FIG.
Is a cross-sectional view of a main part of the lighting panel, FIG. 3 and FIG.
FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing one embodiment of a cultivation shelf using the lighting panel of the present invention.

A lighting panel A shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 has a base 1 made of a metal plate having a high thermal conductivity such as aluminum, and a glass plate arranged at an interval H so as to face the base 1. And a cover 2 made of a metal. The base 1 and the cover 2 each have a rectangular shape, and a frame member 3 is interposed between the two. The frame member 3 is, for example, a thin metal plate bent into a C-shaped cross section to form a square pipe shape, and has a joint 4 between its ends inside. The inner space of the frame member 3 communicates with the inner space S surrounded by the frame member 3 by the joint 4. The inside of the inner frame member 3 is filled with a desiccant 5. An oxygen scavenger may be charged together. The frame member 3 may be made of a synthetic resin.

The sizes of the base 1 and the cover 2 are not particularly limited, and various sizes from about 10 cm to about 5 m on one side can be used. However, due to the ease of assembly and transportation, and the high efficiency, each side is 50 cm to 2 cm.
m, particularly preferably about 1 m. The thickness of the base 1 is preferably about 0.3 to 3 mm. Cover 2
Preferably has a thickness of about 1 to 5 mm. Although the distance H between the base 1 and the cover 2 varies depending on the size of the panel, it is preferably about 3 to 20 mm, and particularly preferably 5 to 10 mm.
mm is more preferable.

On the inner surface side of the base 1, a light emitting unit 9 in which a number of light emitting diodes 8 are arranged on a surface of a substrate 7 made of aluminum thin plate or the like is arranged. The substrate 7 is tightly fixed to the base 1 by brazing or the like so that the substrate 7 is made of high thermal conductivity. A large number of recesses 10 are formed in the substrate 7, and each of the recesses 10 accommodates the light emitting diode 8 so as not to move. The inner surface of the recess 10 also functions as a reflection surface. The type of the light emitting diode 8 is not particularly limited, but red light having a peak wavelength of 600 nm, which has the highest utilization efficiency for photosynthetic reaction of plants, is preferable. The wiring of the light emitting diode 8 is formed on the substrate 7 in a series or parallel wiring pattern by printed wiring or the like. However, wiring may be performed by connecting wires separately. The wirings of the respective substrates 7 are connected to each other, and then output to the outside from a corner portion or the like of the lighting panel A, and sealed with a sealant to be described later.

The space S between the base 1 and the cover 2 is filled with dry air. The periphery of the frame member 3 is filled with a sealing material 11 such as a silicone sealant to seal a space S between the base 1 and the cover 2. The method of filling the space S with dry air includes, for example, a base 1, a desiccant 5
It is only necessary to assemble the frame material 3, the cover 2 and the like in the drying room. Moreover, even if it is normal air, it becomes dry air naturally by the action of the desiccant 5 through the joint 4. Frame material 3
The base and the cover 1 or the cover 2 may be temporarily attached with, for example, a double-sided tape or the like, and the whole may be integrated by filling the sealing material 11.

The lighting panel A configured as described above has:
For example, it is arranged above each shelf 22 of the laminated shelf 21 shown in FIG. 5, and a cultivation tank 23 of a plant to be grown is arranged on each shelf 22. Thereby, the light of the light emitting diode 8 is irradiated to the plant, and the growth of the plant is promoted in combination with the supply of water and nutrients, the temperature control, and the like, so that the plant can be efficiently harvested.
In that case, the stacking shelf 21 in which the cultivation tank 23 and the like are arranged
The room where is installed has high humidity. However, as shown in FIG. 2, the light emitting diode 8 is hermetically sealed between the base 1 and the cover 2, and the inside of the light emitting diode 8 is absorbed by the desiccant 5 so that the humidity is extremely low. Therefore, the light emitting diode 8 is protected from deterioration due to moisture. The light emitting diode 8 generates less heat than a conventional fluorescent lamp or the like, but generates heat to some extent due to light emission, and heat is accumulated in the lighting panel A. However, since the heat conduction of the base 1 is high, heat is efficiently radiated to the outside from the upper surface side of the lighting panel A. Therefore, the light emitting diode 8 is protected from deterioration due to heat.

The radiating fins may be attached to the base 1 of the lighting panel A shown in FIG. The fins 25 can be manufactured by, for example, bending a metal sheet having high thermal conductivity such as aluminum into a C shape. It is preferable to send air to the fins 25 with a blower or the like.

In the lighting panel B shown in FIG. 3, a frame 26 made of synthetic resin is used instead of the frame filled with the desiccant. Therefore, heat conduction from the cover 2 side to the base 1 side is small. Further, in this lighting panel B, a pipe 27 for passing a coolant such as cooling water is arranged in close contact with the upper surface of the base 1. A chlorofluorocarbon-based refrigerant such as alternative chlorofluorocarbon or a refrigerant such as alcohol may be used, and cold air may be passed through the pipe 27. In addition, the substrate 7 on which the light emitting diodes 8 are arranged is not provided with a concave portion but is made flat. Therefore, the thermal conductivity from the substrate 7 to the base 1 is even higher. As described above, the heat conduction from the cover 2 to the base 1 is reduced, the heat dissipation of the light emitting diode 8 is increased, and the base 1 is forcibly cooled by providing the refrigerant pipe 27 to thereby cool the light emitting diode 8. Temperature control can be performed more reliably. As a result, the efficiency of the light emitting diode 8 is increased because the light emitting diode 8 is maintained at a low temperature. The shelf 22 in FIG. 5 can be made of a pipe, and the refrigerant can be sent to the pipe using the pipe. In addition, an air-cooled type that sends cool air through a duct can be adopted.

In the lighting panel C shown in FIG. 4, the light emitting diodes 8 are directly mounted on the base 1. In addition, such as frame materials,
The frame material interposed between the base 1 and the cover 2 is omitted, and the seal material 11 is used to simply maintain the interval between them. In a comparatively small lighting panel, the base and the frame material can be omitted as described above.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the space S between the base 1 and the cover 2 is filled with dry air. Instead, the space S is filled with an inert gas such as nitrogen gas or argon gas. You may. In that case, deterioration of the light emitting diode due to oxidation is reduced. In this case, the space S may be set in a vacuum state of, for example, about 0 to 0.3 at. In this case, deterioration due to oxygen and deterioration due to moisture is reduced, and heat conduction due to convection from the cover 2 side is also reduced. The light emitting diode 8 may be sealed with a sealing material such as epoxy resin including bonding as usual. However, when an inert gas such as nitrogen gas is sealed in the space S or when the space S is in a vacuum state, the sealing material is unnecessary, and the durability of the light emitting diode 8 is improved without the sealing material of the synthetic resin. May be caused.

In each of the above-mentioned lighting panels A to C, a cover 2 made of a glass plate is employed on the lower surface side. However, a transparent synthetic resin plate such as an acrylic plate, or a glass or synthetic resin plate and a synthetic resin film are used. Can be used.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing one embodiment of a lighting panel of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a main part of the lighting panel.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing another embodiment of the lighting panel of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing another embodiment of the lighting panel of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing one embodiment of a cultivation shelf using the lighting panel of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List A lighting panel 1 base 2 cover 3 frame material 5 desiccant 7 substrate 8 light emitting diode 9 light emitting unit 10 recess 11 seal material H interval S space B lighting panel 21 laminated shelf 22 shelf 23 cultivation tank 26 frame material 27 piping

Continuation of front page (72) Inventor Hisakazu Uchiyama 1338 Kawai, Fukuroi-shi, Shizuoka Prefecture Cosmo Plant Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 2B022 AA03 DA01 DA19 3K014 AA01 NA01 RB09

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A base made of metal, a number of light emitting diodes arranged on the base, a translucent cover arranged with a space between the base, and a base between the base and the cover. A lighting panel for plant cultivation, comprising: a sealing material interposed between the sealing member and the sealing member to keep the space airtight to the outside. 2. The lighting panel according to claim 1, wherein the space is evacuated. 3. The lighting panel according to claim 1, wherein the space is filled with dry air, and a desiccant is contained in the space. 4. The lighting panel according to claim 1, wherein the space is filled with a dry inert gas. 5. The lighting panel according to claim 4, wherein a deoxidizer and / or a desiccant is further contained in the space.