JP6585452B2 - Plant culture device and plant factory - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a plant culture apparatus and a plant factory for growing a plant in a culture solution.

  Such a plant culture apparatus is generally performed in a facility farm or a plant factory. For example, the plant culture apparatus is provided with a pot in which plant seedlings are planted on a culture tray floated on a culture solution, and the culture tray is moved from one end side to the other end side of the culture tank containing the culture solution over a period of days. The crop is grown while the plant is grown, and a mature plant is harvested at the terminal end (see Patent Document 1).

  In recent years, a plant culture apparatus has been proposed that includes a multi-stage culture tank in order to efficiently use the space of a plant factory (see Patent Document 2). In the plant culture apparatus described in Patent Document 2, as in the one described in Patent Document 1, culture tanks for growing from a seedling stage to a harvest period of a plant in one stage are arranged in a plurality of stages in the vertical direction. It is configured.

JP 2004-344086 A JP 2014-198003 A

  In the plant culture apparatus described in Patent Document 2, each of the plurality of stages of culture tanks grows from the seedling stage to the harvest period of the plant, so that the length of the culture tank becomes long and the plant culture apparatus becomes large. In particular, when a plant culturing apparatus is installed in a cultivation room that creates certain environmental conditions, the size of the cultivation room is limited. Therefore, if the plant culturing apparatus is enlarged, installation in the cultivation room becomes difficult and limited. The space in the cultivation room cannot be used effectively.

  In addition, the plant culture apparatus described in Patent Document 2 supplies the culture tray to the carry-in apparatus, and the operator performs the work of unloading the culture tray in which the plants in the harvest period are planted from the transport apparatus. In particular, in cultivation in a closed space of a plant factory building, cultivation in a pesticide-free and hygienic environment is required to increase the commercial value of the plant to be cultivated. However, in the plant culture apparatus described in Patent Document 2, it is not preferable for hygiene that an operator frequently enters the periphery of the cultivation shelf.

  At least one embodiment of the present invention is an invention made on the basis of such a state of the art, and the object thereof is to enable effective use of the space in the cultivation room and to be hygienic. It aims at providing the plant culture apparatus and plant factory which can be grown in an environment.

(1) A plant culture apparatus according to at least one embodiment of the present invention comprises:
A culture shelf in which a culture solution for growing a plant is contained and a bottomed container-like culture tank having an open top is disposed with a plurality of intervals in the vertical direction;
A plant culturing apparatus comprising: a transport device that is disposed in proximity to at least one of both end portions of the culture shelf and moves and holds a culture tray that stores plants that grow by absorbing the culture solution. ,
The transfer device
A hand capable of retaining and removing the culture tray;
A hand mechanism that holds or separates the culture tray by the hand; and
A hand horizontal movement mechanism for moving the hand in a horizontal direction;
A hand up-and-down mechanism for moving the hand up and down;
A hand elevating mechanism for moving the hand up and down in the transport device together with the culture tray removed from the culture shelf by the hand and held;
A controller that controls the operation of the hand mechanism unit, the hand horizontal movement mechanism unit, the hand up / down mechanism unit, and the hand lifting mechanism unit,
The controller controls operations of the hand mechanism unit, the hand horizontal movement mechanism unit, the hand up-and-down movement mechanism unit, and the hand lifting mechanism unit, so that the culture tray is moved by at least one of the plurality of culture tanks by the hand. It is comprised so that it may be carried in / out.

  In the plant culture apparatus according to (1), the transport device includes a hand that can retain and remove the culture tray, a hand mechanism that holds or separates the culture tray by the hand, and a culture tray that is held by the hand. A hand horizontal movement mechanism that moves the hand in the horizontal direction, a hand vertical movement mechanism that moves the hand in the vertical direction, and a culture tray that is held by the hand, as well as a hand lift that moves the hand up and down in the transport device. A mechanism unit, and a hand mechanism unit, a hand horizontal movement mechanism unit, a hand up-and-down mechanism unit, and a controller that controls the operation of the hand lifting mechanism unit. The controller controls operations of the hand mechanism unit, the hand horizontal movement mechanism unit, the hand vertical movement mechanism unit, and the hand lifting mechanism unit, and carries out the culture tray to at least one of the plurality of culture vessels by the hand. It is configured to enter.

  Since the conveying device can carry in and out the culture tray with respect to at least one of the plurality of culture tanks by a hand, the plurality of culture trays arranged in the vertical direction are provided with a plurality of plants corresponding to the growth stage of the plant. In the case of a stage, the culture tray taken out from any of the plurality of stages by the transport device can be carried into another stage. For this reason, after accommodating a culture tray in one of a plurality of culture tanks and growing the plant while moving it from one end side to the other end side of the culture tank over several days, the culture tray is transferred to another culture tank. Then, the plant is grown, the culture tray is transferred to the last culture tank, the plant is grown, and the culture tray can be carried out by the conveying device at the terminal end. Therefore, the culture tank in which the culture tray moves before the plant grows and is harvested can be arranged in a plurality of stages in the vertical direction. Therefore, the space in the height direction of the stage where the height of the plant is small, such as the seedling stage, can be reduced. For this reason, compared with a plant culture device configured to grow a crop while moving a plant from one end side to the other end side of the culture tank and harvest a mature plant at the terminal end, the height of the plant culture device is higher. This can be suppressed. Therefore, when installing a plant culture apparatus in the limited cultivation room, installation in a cultivation room of a plant culture apparatus becomes easy, and the plant culture apparatus which can use the space in a cultivation room effectively can be implement | achieved.

(2) In some embodiments, in the plant culture apparatus according to (1) above,
The transfer device
A bucket that is disposed in a lower part of the transfer device and is capable of moving horizontally by placing the culture tray;
And a bucket transport mechanism for moving the bucket.

  According to the plant culturing apparatus described in (2) above, the conveying device includes a bucket that is disposed in the lower part of the conveying device and is capable of moving horizontally by placing a culture tray, and a bucket conveying mechanism that moves the bucket. Are further provided. For this reason, if the culture tray in which the plant harvested by the conveying apparatus is accommodated is placed on the bucket, the bucket can be moved by the bucket conveying mechanism. For this reason, when the bucket is moved to another room adjacent to the cultivation room where the plant culturing apparatus is installed, the worker carries out the harvested plant without entering or leaving the cultivation room. can do. Therefore, the plant culture apparatus which can be cultivated in a hygienic environment can be realized.

(3) In some embodiments, in the plant culture apparatus according to (1) above,
The transfer device
A nutrient solution receiver placed below the culture tray taken out of the culture tank by the hand;
A nutrient solution moving mechanism for moving the nutrient solution receiver between a lower position of the culture tray and a retracted position retracted from the lower position to the opposite side of the cultivation shelf,
The nutrient solution receiver is configured to include a bottom plate portion that receives a culture solution falling from a root portion of a plant housed in the culture tray.

  According to the plant culturing apparatus described in (3) above, the conveying device includes a nutrient solution receiver placed below the culture tray taken out of the culture tank by the hand, a lower position of the culture tray, and a lower position from the lower position. A nutrient solution moving mechanism for moving the nutrient solution receiver between the cultivation shelf and the retreat position for retreating to the opposite side is further provided. And the nutrient solution receiver is provided with the baseplate part which receives the culture solution which falls from the root part of the plant accommodated in the culture tray. In hydroponics where plants are grown by absorbing the culture solution, the roots of the plants are immersed in or in contact with the culture solution, and when the culture tray is removed from the cultivation tank by hand, the culture solution dripes from the roots and is removed. There is a possibility that the plants in the culture tank below the culture tank and the floor on which the plant culture apparatus is installed will be scattered. Here, there are cases where bacteria are contained in the culture solution, and when the culture solution is scattered, the bacteria are diffused, which may cause sanitary quality degradation and adversely affect plant growth. However, since the nutrient solution receiver is provided below the hand, when the culture tray is removed from the cultivation tank by the hand, even if the culture solution falls from the root of the plant stored in the culture tray, Can be received with nutrient solution receiver. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the falling culture solution from splashing to the lower plant or to the floor where the plant culture apparatus is installed. For this reason, the microbe contained in a culture solution can disperse | distribute and it can suppress a possibility of having a bad influence on the quality degradation and plant growth on hygiene.

(4) In some embodiments, in the plant culture apparatus according to (3) above,
The controller is
When the hand is moving above the culture tray accommodated in the culture tank, the nutrient solution receiving mechanism is controlled so that the nutrient solution receiver moves to the retracted position. Is done.

  According to the plant culturing apparatus described in (4) above, when the hand moves above the culture tray accommodated in the culture tank, the nutrient solution so that the nutrient solution receiver moves to the retracted position. Controls the operation of the receiving and moving mechanism. When the hand is moving above the culture tray accommodated in the culture tank, the culture tank is located below the hand. For this reason, if the nutrient solution receiver is positioned below the hand while the hand is moving above the culture tray, the nutrient solution receiver may come into contact with the culture tank. Therefore, when the hand is moving above the culture tray, the nutrient solution receiver can be moved to the retracted position to prevent the nutrient solution receiver from coming into contact with the culture tank. The possibility of damaging the tank can be prevented beforehand.

(5) In some embodiments, in the plant culture apparatus according to (2) above,
The controller is
When the hand approaches a predetermined position above the bucket, the nutrient solution receiving mechanism is controlled so that the nutrient solution receiver is retracted and the top of the bucket is opened.

  According to the plant culture apparatus described in (5) above, when the hand approaches a predetermined position above the bucket, the controller retreats the nutrient receiver and opens the top of the bucket so as to open the bucket. Control the operation of the unit. When the culture tray is placed on the bucket, if there is a nutrient solution receiver below the hand, the nutrient solution receiver interferes and the culture tray cannot be placed on the bucket. Therefore, when the hand approaches a predetermined position above the bucket, the nutrient solution receiver is retracted to open the top of the bucket so that the culture tray can be placed on the bucket.

(6) In some embodiments, in the plant culture apparatus according to any one of (1) to (5) above,
The hand includes two holding portions extending in a vertical direction,
The two holding parts are provided with two spaces extending in the vertical direction and spaced in the front-rear direction in which the hand moves by the hand back-and-forth movement mechanism.
The front holding portion is configured to extend further downward than the rear holding portion.

  According to the plant culture apparatus described in (6) above, the hand includes two holding portions extending in the vertical direction. The two holding portions are provided with a distance in the front-rear direction in which the hand moves by the hand front-rear moving mechanism portion extending in the vertical direction. The front holding portion is configured to extend further downward than the rear holding portion. For this reason, when a plurality of culture trays are stored in the culture medium in the culture tank in a floating state, when the plurality of culture trays are pushed in the direction in which the gaps exist in order to fill the gap generated in the culture tank. It is necessary to push the front holding part of the two holding parts of the hand in contact with the last culture tray. Here, when the hand is moved to the front side in order to push the plurality of culture trays by the holding unit, there is a possibility that the rear holding unit comes into contact with the rear side wall of the culture tray. However, since the rear holding portion has a shorter length extending downward than the front holding portion, the rear holding portion does not contact the rear side wall of the culture tray. For this reason, the plurality of culture trays can be reliably moved by the front holding portion to fill the gap.

(7) The plant factory according to at least one embodiment of the present invention is:
The plant culture apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
A cultivation room for accommodating the plant culture apparatus;
And a pass box provided close to the outside of the wall of the cultivation room or the wall facing the transfer device and capable of carrying the culture tray in and out.

  The plant factory according to the above (7) includes a plant culture device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, a cultivation room that accommodates the plant culture device, and a wall portion or a wall portion of the cultivation room that faces the conveying device. And a pass box that is provided close to the outside of the apparatus and capable of carrying the culture tray in and out. For this reason, when taking out a culture tray from the cultivation shelf of a plant culture apparatus, and conveying it to the outer side of a cultivation room, it takes out a culture tray from a cultivation shelf by a conveyance apparatus, and conveys it to a pass box. For this reason, a culture tray can be conveyed outside a cultivation room via a pass box. Moreover, when carrying a culture tray into the cultivation room from the outside of a cultivation room, the culture tray accommodated in the pass box can be carried into a cultivation room by a conveying apparatus, and can be accommodated in a cultivation shelf. For this reason, when carrying out or carrying in a culture tray from a cultivation room, an operator does not enter a cultivation room. Therefore, the cultivation room can be maintained in a hygienic environment, and a plant factory capable of cultivating plants with high commercial value can be realized.

  According to at least some embodiments of the present invention, it is possible to provide a plant culture apparatus and a plant factory that can effectively use the space in the cultivation room and that can be cultivated in a hygienic environment. .

It is a front view of the plant culture apparatus concerning one embodiment of the present invention. It is sectional drawing of a culture shelf provided with the culture tank in the II arrow of FIG. It is the rear view seen from the front-back direction rear side of the supply side conveying apparatus concerning one Embodiment of this invention. It is a front view of the pass box installed in the back side of the supply side conveyance device and conveyance device concerning one embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the movement mechanism part which moves the hand concerning one Embodiment of this invention, and a nutrient solution receiver, The same figure (a) is a front view of the movement mechanism part seen from the front side in the front-back direction, FIG. 2B is a front view of the moving mechanism unit. It is a block diagram of the controller which controls the action | operation of the moving mechanism part concerning one Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 7 (a) is a front view of the plant culture apparatus when the operator requests a culture tray containing plants in the harvest period, and FIG. 7 (b) shows that the carry-out side transfer device takes out the culture tray and puts it into the pass box. It is a front view of the plant culture apparatus at the time of conveyance. FIG.8 (c) is a front view of the plant culture apparatus when an operator takes out a culture tray from a pass box, and FIG.8 (d) is a front view of the plant culture apparatus when an operator returns a bucket to a pass box. It is. FIG. 9 (e) is a front view of the plant culturing apparatus when the carrying-out side conveyance device collects the bucket, and FIG. 9 (f) is a view from the lower stage where the supply-side conveyance apparatus has taken out the culture tray. It is a front view of the plant culture apparatus which showed the state which moves a culture tray. FIG. 10 (g) is a front view of the plant culturing apparatus showing the state where the carry-out side transfer device takes out the culture tray from the stage of the seedling stage and moves it to the upper stage, and FIG. It is a front view of the plant culture apparatus at the time of showing the state which moves a bucket to a pass box. FIG. 11 (i) is a front view of a plant culture apparatus showing an operation in which an operator places a culture tray in which seedlings are planted in a pass box, and FIG. 11 (j) shows a state in which the supply-side transport device moves the bucket. It is a front view of the shown plant culture apparatus. It is a front view of the plant culture apparatus which showed the state which a supply side conveying apparatus supplies a culture tray to a cultivation shelf.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 12 with reference to the accompanying drawings. The plant culturing apparatus of the present embodiment will be described below by taking as an example a case where a culture tank that contains a culture solution is provided in three stages in the vertical direction and installed in a cultivation room. However, the dimensions, materials, shapes, relative arrangements, and the like of the component parts described in this embodiment are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention to that unless otherwise specified.

  FIG. 1 shows a front view of a plant culture apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional view of a culture shelf provided with a culture tank as viewed in the direction of arrows II in FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the plant culturing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment includes a plurality of bottomed container-like culture tanks 20 in which a culture solution c for growing a plant p is accommodated with an interval in the vertical direction. A pair of unloading-side transport devices 50a that are disposed close to the arranged cultivation shelf 10 and both ends in the longitudinal direction of the cultivation shelf 10 and carry the plant p in and out of at least one of the plurality of culture tanks 20, and the supply side A transport device 50b. The unloading-side transport device 50a and the supply-side transport device 50b include a hand 53 that can retain and remove the culture tray 30, and a hand mechanism 59 that holds or separates the culture tray 30 by the hand 53 (FIG. 5 ( b)), and the culture tray 30 held by the hand 53, the hand horizontal movement mechanism 60 (see FIG. 5A) for moving the hand 53 in the horizontal direction, and the hand up and down for moving the hand 53 in the vertical direction. The mechanism 61 (see FIG. 5A), the culture tray 30 held by the hand 53, the hand lifting mechanism 63 that moves the hand 53 up and down, the hand mechanism 59, the hand horizontal movement mechanism 60, the hand And a controller 67 that controls the operation of the up-and-down mechanism unit 61 and the hand lifting mechanism unit 63. The controller 67 controls the operation of the hand mechanism 59, the hand horizontal movement mechanism 60, the hand up / down mechanism 61, and the hand lifting / lowering mechanism 63, and the culture tray accommodated in any of the plurality of culture tanks 20. 30 is configured to be taken out by a hand 53 and carried into another culture tank 20.

  In the illustrated embodiment, the plant culturing apparatus 1 is installed in the cultivation room 70, and pass boxes 73a and 73b are provided on the opposing walls 71a and 71b of the cultivation room 70, respectively. The plant culture apparatus 1 is installed in the space part 75 in the cultivation room 70 between these pass boxes 73a and 73b.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the cultivation shelf 10 of the plant culture device 1 includes a frame body portion 11 formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape. The frame body portion 11 is extended between a plurality of leg portions 12 extending in a vertical direction at the four corners in plan view and the longitudinal intermediate portions of both end portions in the width direction of the frame body portion 11 and the adjacent leg portions 12. A plurality of support portions 13 a, 13 b, and 13 c that are passed and formed in a rectangular frame shape in plan view and that support the culture tank 20 are provided. Three support portions 13a, 13b, and 13c are provided at intervals in the vertical direction, and each of these support portions 13a, 13b, and 13c extends in the horizontal direction. The vertical dimensions Ha, Hb, Hc between the plurality of support portions 13a, 13b, 13c are configured to increase as they move upward (Hc> Hb> Ha).

  The culture tank 20 is installed on these support parts 13a, 13b, and 13c. As shown in FIG. 2, the culture tank 20 includes a bottom plate portion 20a formed in a rectangular shape in plan view, and a side plate portion that is bent upward and extends upward from both longitudinal end portions and short end portions of the bottom plate portion 20a. 20b and is formed in a bottomed container shape. The culture tank 20 is disposed close to the inside of the plurality of leg portions 12 and mounted and fixed on the support portions 13a, 13b, and 13c.

  The culture tank 20 contains a culture solution c for growing the plant p. The culture solution c is obtained by dissolving fertilizer in water. A supply port 20c1 and a supply port 20c2 for supplying the culture solution c are provided at two corners on one end side in the lateral direction of the bottom plate portion 20a of the culture tank 20. In addition, at two corners on the other side in the short side direction of the bottom plate portion 20a of the culture tank 20, there are provided a discharge port 20d1 and a discharge port 20d2 for discharging the culture solution c stored in the culture tank 20. . The operation of electromagnetic valves (not shown) provided at the supply ports 20c1 and 20c2 and the discharge ports 20d1 and 20d2 is controlled so that the water supply and drainage flow in the direction of the flow along the diagonal of the culture tank 20. ing. That is, when the supply port 20c1 and the discharge port 20d2 are opened, the supply port 20c2 and the discharge port 20d1 are closed, and when the supply port 20c2 and the discharge port 20d1 are opened, the supply port 20c1 and the discharge port 20d2 are closed. . The supply port 20c1 and the discharge port 20d2 or the supply port 20c2 and the discharge port 20d1 communicate with a tank T (see FIG. 1) installed in the lower part of the cultivation shelf 10 through a circulation path (not shown). Note that the diameters of the supply ports 20c1 and 20c2 and the discharge ports 20d1 and 20d2 are larger at the discharge port than at the supply port.

  As shown in FIG. 1, growth spaces 23a, 23b, and 23c for growing the plant p are formed above the plurality of culture tanks 20, respectively. In the illustrated embodiment, three stages of a seedling stage 21a, an intermediate stage 21b, and a harvesting stage 21c corresponding to the growth stage of the plant p are set. In each of these three stages, growth spaces 23a, 23b, 23c suitable for the growth of the plant p are formed. Then, the height Ha of the growth space 23a corresponding to the stage 21a in the seedling stage is lower than the height Hb of the growth space 23b corresponding to the stage 21b in the intermediate period, and the height of the growth space 23b corresponding to the stage 21b in the intermediate stage. The height Hb is configured to be lower than the height Hc of the growth space 23c corresponding to the stage 21c in the harvest period. The stage 21a in the seedling stage is a stage related to the support part 13a disposed at the lowest position among the three support parts 13a, 13b, 13c formed in three stages, and the stage 21b in the intermediate stage is 3 Of the three support portions 13a, 13b, and 13c, the step is related to the support portion 13b that is disposed at the intermediate position in the vertical direction, and the harvesting stage 21c is arranged at the uppermost position among the three support portions 13a, 13b, and 13c. This is a step related to the provided support portion 13c.

  The height of the plant p generally increases as it grows, but the growth process of the plant p is divided into three stages: a seedling stage 21a, an intermediate stage 21b, and a harvest stage 21c. The heights of the growth spaces 23a, 23b, and 23c of these steps 21a, 21b, and 21c are increased as the plant p grows. For this reason, the extra space between the plants p in the growth spaces 23a, 23b, and 23c of the respective stages 21a, 21b, and 21c can be reduced. Therefore, useless space in the vertical direction of the plant culture device 1 can be reduced.

  A light source 15 for irradiating the plant p with light is provided above the corresponding growth spaces 23a, 23b, and 23c of the stage 21a in the seedling stage, the stage 21b in the intermediate stage, and the stage 21c in the harvest period. The light source 15 is provided via a bracket 16 extending above each stage. A plurality of light sources 15 are arranged side by side in the width direction of the cultivation shelf 10 so as to be positioned above each of the plurality of plants p planted on the culture tray 30. The light source 15 includes a fluorescent lamp and an LED.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the plant p is provided in a culture tray 30 formed of a material having buoyancy with respect to the culture solution c (for example, foamed styrostyrol). The culture tray 30 is formed in a rectangular shape in plan view, extends along the short direction of the culture tank 20, and floats on the culture solution c in the culture tank 20 in the longitudinal direction of the culture tank 20. Is provided in the culture tank 20 in a state of being in contact with. A plant p is provided in the middle portion in the short direction of the culture tray 30 from one end in the longitudinal direction toward the other end. The plant p is planted in a sponge or the like placed in a container (not shown) having a hole formed in the bottom, the container is mounted in the hole formed in the culture tray 30, and the plant p is provided in the culture tray 30. Yes. In the illustrated embodiment, five plants p are provided for one culture tray 30.

  At both ends in the longitudinal direction of the culture tray 30, a pair of sandwiching hole portions 31 having a gap in the lateral direction is provided. The claw part 53a (holding part) of the hand 53 provided in the carry-out side conveyance device 50a and the supply-side conveyance device 50b is inserted into the pair of sandwiching hole portions 31, and the culture tray 30 is held by the hand 53. The carry-out side conveyance device 50a and the supply side conveyance device 50b will be described later.

  The culture tank 20 further includes a guide member 25 that guides the movement of the culture tray 30 from one end side in the longitudinal direction of the culture tank 20 to the other end side. In the illustrated embodiment, the guide member 25 is disposed inside the culture tank 20 and extends from one end side in the longitudinal direction of the culture tank 20 to the other end side. The width direction guide member 25a that can come into contact with the side surface 30a and the culture tray 30 that is disposed above the culture tray 30 floating in the culture tank 20 and extends from one end side to the other end side in the longitudinal direction of the culture tank 20 And an upward guide member 25b that regulates upward movement in contact with the upper surface 30b.

  For this reason, when the culture tray 30 moves from one end side in the longitudinal direction of the culture tank 20 to the other end side, the side surfaces 30a on both sides of the culture tray 30 move along the corresponding width direction guide members 25a. 30 can move without shifting in the width direction with respect to the moving direction. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the culture tray 30 from being unable to move due to the culture tray 30 being displaced in the width direction with respect to the moving direction and being caught on the inner surface of the culture tank 20. Further, when supplying a new culture tray 30 into the culture tank 20, since the expanded portion 25a1 of the width direction guide member 25a is expanded outward in the short direction of the culture tank 20, a pair of width directions The space between the expanded portions 25a1 of the guide member 25a is widened. For this reason, the culture tray 30 can be easily supplied into the culture tank 20.

  Moreover, the width direction guide member 25a has the expansion part 25a1 which bends so that the longitudinal direction one end side may expand to the transversal direction outer side of the culture tank 20. As shown in FIG. For this reason, when supplying the culture tray 30 in the culture tank 20, the possibility that the culture tray 30 contacts the width direction guide member 25a is reduced, and the supply of the culture tray 30 can be facilitated.

  Further, the upward guide member 25b is extended to a position where it can come into contact with the upper surface 30b outside the sandwiching hole portions 31 formed at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the culture tray 30 floating in the culture medium c. For this reason, when the culture tray 30 moves from the longitudinal one end side to the other end side of the culture tank 20, when the culture tray 30 tries to move upward, the upper surface 30b of the culture tray 30 comes into contact with the upward guide member 25b. Thus, the upward movement of the culture tray 30 is restricted. For this reason, when a plurality of culture trays 30 are floating in the culture tank 20, it is possible to prevent a situation in which the culture trays 30 adjacent to each other in the front-rear direction with respect to the moving direction of the culture tray 30 overlap in the vertical direction. . Further, the culture tray 30 and the claw portion 53a of the transport device 50 are arranged so as not to contact the upward guide member 25b.

  As shown in FIG. 1, on both sides in the longitudinal direction of the cultivation shelf 10, a carry-out side conveyance device 50 a and a supply-side conveyance for carrying in and out the plant p with respect to at least one of the plurality of culture tanks 20 in the cultivation shelf 10. A device 50b is provided. In the illustrated embodiment, since the carry-out side conveyance device 50a and the supply-side conveyance device b have the same structure, only the supply-side conveyance device 50b will be described, and the carry-out side conveyance device 50a will be denoted by the reference numerals and description thereof will be omitted. .

  FIG. 3 is a rear view of the supply-side transport device 50b according to the embodiment of the present invention as seen from the rear side in the front-rear direction, and FIG. 4 shows the supply-side transport device 50b and the supply side according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a front view of a pass box 73b installed on the rear side of the transport device 50b, and FIG. 5 is a moving mechanism unit (hand mechanism unit 59, 59) that moves the hand 53 and nutrient solution receiver 35 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5A is a front view of the moving mechanism unit viewed from the front side in the front-rear direction. FIG. 5A is a diagram for explaining the hand horizontal moving mechanism unit 60, the hand up-and-down mechanism unit 61, and the nutrient solution receiving and moving mechanism unit 66). FIG. 5B is a front view of the moving mechanism unit, and FIG. 6 is a block diagram of the controller 67 that controls the operation of the moving mechanism unit according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIGS. 3, 4, 5 (a), and 5 (b), the supply-side transport device 50 b includes a housing 51, a hand 53 for holding and transporting the culture tray 30, and the culture tray 30. The bucket 57 that is transported to the pass box 73b, the hand mechanism 59 that holds or separates the culture tray 30 by the hand 53, the hand horizontal movement mechanism 60 that moves the hand 53 in the horizontal direction, and the hand 53 A hand up-and-down mechanism 61 that moves up and down, a hand elevating mechanism 63 that moves the hand 53 up and down in the supply-side transport device 50b together with the culture tray 30 taken out from the culture tank 20 by the hand 53, and a hand mechanism 59 , A hand horizontal movement mechanism section 60, a hand up / down mechanism section 61, and a controller 67 for controlling the operation of the hand lifting mechanism section 63.

  The housing | casing 51 is a rectangular parallelepiped frame extended in an up-down direction. In the casing 51, an elevating board 63a that can be raised and lowered via a hand elevating mechanism 63 is provided. The elevating board 63a is formed in a flat plate shape and extends in the horizontal direction. The elevating board 63a is connected to both sides in the width direction of the housing 51 so as to be movable in the vertical direction along rails R extending in the vertical direction. The hand elevating mechanism 63 includes a moving carriage 63b that can move along the rail R, and an elevating motor 63c that moves the moving carriage 63b up and down. The elevating motor 63c is installed in the upper part of the housing 51, and is configured such that the driving force of the elevating motor 63c can be transmitted to the movable carriage 63b via the power transmission mechanism 63d. For this reason, when the elevating motor 63c is driven, the movable carriage 63b moves along the rail R, and the elevating board 63a can be raised and lowered. Further, a pair of guides G extending in the vertical direction in parallel with the rail R are provided on both sides in the width direction of the housing 51, and a counterweight 63 e movable along the guide G is provided between the rail R and the guide G. Is provided. The counterweight 63e is configured to be able to transmit via the movement transmission mechanism 63d, and is used for balancing when the movable carriage 63b moves in the vertical direction.

  A hand 53 is provided on the elevating board 63a via a hand horizontal movement mechanism 60 and a hand up / down mechanism 61. The hand horizontal movement mechanism section 60 includes a horizontal electric cylinder 60a provided in the horizontal direction on the back surface of the elevating board 63a, and a bracket 60b having one end connected to the slider of the horizontal electric cylinder 60a and extending downward. It becomes. For this reason, when the slider of the horizontal electric cylinder 60a moves back and forth, the bracket 60b can be moved in the front-rear direction (the left-right direction in FIG. 4).

  The front end side of the bracket 60b is connected to the bottom side of the vertical electric cylinder 61a extending in the vertical direction. The vertical electric cylinder 61a constitutes a part of the hand vertical mechanism 61, and the rod side end of the vertical electric cylinder 61a supports and supports a pair of hands 53 arranged on both sides in the width direction of the casing 51. It is connected to the. For this reason, when the vertical electric cylinder 61a expands and contracts, the hand 53 can be moved in the vertical direction.

  The support member 54 extends horizontally in the width direction of the casing 51, and a pair of hands 53 arranged at intervals in the front-rear direction via hand mechanism portions 59 are provided at both ends thereof. The hand 53 includes a pair of claw portions 53 a that are inserted into the pair of holding hole portions 31 provided on both sides in the longitudinal direction of the culture tray 30 and can be opened and closed. The pair of claws 53a extend in the vertical direction and face each other, and can be opened and closed via an open / close electric cylinder 59a and an open / close link mechanism 59b installed on the support member 54. Two hands 53 including a pair of claw portions 53a are provided at both ends of the support member 54 with a space in the front-rear direction. That is, the two hands 53 constitute a pair of hands. For this reason, the nail | claw part 53a of the hand 53 corresponding to each of the four clamping hole parts 31 provided in the culture tray 30 is inserted, and the culture tray 30 is clamped. For this reason, the culture tray 30 is clamped at the four corners and stably held.

  Of the pair of hands 53, the claw portion 53a of the front hand 53 is configured to extend further downward than the claw portion 53a of the rear hand 53 (see FIG. 5B). The difference L between the lengths of the claw portions 53a is that when the culture tray 30 floating in the culture tank 20 is pushed by the claw portions 53a of the front hand 53, the lower end portion of the rear claw portion 53a is placed in the culture tank 20. It has a size so as not to contact the side plate portion 20b. The hand 53 is not limited to the one that mechanically holds the culture tray 30, and may be a sucker using air.

  The operations of the horizontal electric cylinder 60a, the upper and lower electric cylinders 61a, the open / close electric cylinder 59a, and the elevating motor 63c described above are controlled by the controller 67.

  Below the pair of hands 53, a nutrient solution receiver 35 for receiving a culture solution c dripping from the root of the plant p is disposed. The nutrient solution receiver 35 has a bottom plate portion 35a extending in the horizontal direction and a side plate portion 35b that is bent from the peripheral portion of the bottom plate portion 35a and extends upward, and is formed in a dish shape. The nutrient solution receiver 35 is movable in the front-rear direction via a nutrient solution receiver moving mechanism 66 connected to the elevating substrate 63a.

  The nutrient solution receiving and moving mechanism 66 has a nutrient solution receiving electric cylinder 66a extending along the back surface of the elevating board 63a, and one end connected to the slider of the nutrient solution receiving electric cylinder 66a and extending downward to the other end. Has a bracket 66b connected to the nutrient solution receiver. Therefore, the nutrient solution receiver 35 can be moved between the receiving position Pu below the hand 53 and the retracted position retracted from the hand 53 by the longitudinal movement of the slider of the nutrient solution receiving electric cylinder 66 a.

  A bucket 57 extending in the housing width direction extends at the lower part in the housing 51. The bucket 57 is formed in a rectangular shape in plan view, and the culture tray 30 can be placed thereon. The bucket 57 is movable in the front-rear direction of the casing 51 via the bucket moving mechanism 65 and is detachably attached to the bucket moving mechanism 65. The bucket moving mechanism 65 includes a pedestal 65a that is connected to the bottom of the bucket 57 and supports the bucket 57, and a first bucket electric cylinder 65b and a second bucket electric cylinder 65c that move the pedestal 65a in the longitudinal direction of the casing. Have.

  The first bucket electric cylinder 65b and the second bucket electric cylinder 65c are arranged side by side in the front-rear direction, and are configured such that the second bucket electric cylinder 65c extends when the first bucket electric cylinder 65b is fully extended. The pedestal 65a can be transported from a placement position Ps (see FIG. 11 (j)) where the tray 30 can be placed to a carry-out position Pd (see FIG. 11 (j)) where the culture tray 30 can be carried out. The reason why two electric cylinders are used is that the stroke of one electric cylinder is smaller than the movement amount of the pedestal portion 65a. The expansion and contraction operation of the first bucket electric cylinder 65b and the second bucket electric cylinder 65c is controlled by the controller 67.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the controller 67 includes an operation control unit 67a, a memory 67b, a hand opening / closing drive unit 67c, a hand up / down drive unit 67d, a hand horizontal drive unit 67e, a hand lift drive unit 67f, and a first bucket front / rear drive unit 67g. The second bucket front / rear drive unit 67h and the nutrient solution receiving / moving drive unit 67i are provided. The controller 67 is electrically connected to a harvesting switch 72, a carry-out return switch 74, a supply switch 76, and a supply-side return switch 77. The controller 67 is electrically connected to an open / close electric cylinder 59a, a vertical electric cylinder 61a, a horizontal electric cylinder 60a, a lifting motor 63c, a first bucket electric cylinder 65b, a second bucket electric cylinder 65c, and a nutrient solution receiving electric cylinder 66a. Has been.

  When any one of the harvesting switch 72, the carry-out return switch 74, the supply switch 76, and the supply-side return switch 77 is turned on, the operation control unit 67a moves the hand 53 set in advance according to the turned-on switch. The hand opening / closing drive part 67c, the hand vertical drive part 67d, the hand horizontal drive part 67e, the hand lift drive part 67f, the first bucket front / rear drive part 67g, and the second bucket front / rear drive part 67h so that the hand 53 moves according to the movement data. The operation of the cylinder and the motor corresponding to these is controlled via the nutrient solution receiving movement drive unit 67i. The movement data of the hand 53, the bucket 57, and the nutrient solution receiver 35 are stored in advance in the memory 67b.

FIG. 7A is a front view of the plant culturing apparatus 1 when the operator requests the culture tray 30 containing the harvested plants p, and FIG. It is a front view of the plant culture apparatus 1 at the time of taking out and conveying to the pass box 73a. FIG. 8C is a front view of the plant culture apparatus 1 when the operator takes out the culture tray 30 from the pass box 73a, and FIG. 8D is a view when the worker returns the bucket 57 to the pass box 73a. 1 is a front view of a plant culture device 1. FIG. FIG. 9E is a front view of the plant culture apparatus 1 showing a state in which the carry-out side conveyance device 50a collects the bucket 57, and FIG. 9F is a stage where the supply-side conveyance device 50b has taken out the culture tray 30. It is a front view of the plant culture apparatus 1 which showed the state which moves the culture tray 30 from the lower stage. FIG. 10 (g) is a front view of the plant culturing apparatus 1 showing a state in which the carry-out side conveyance device 50a takes out the culture tray 30 from the stage of the seedling stage and moves it to the upper stage, and FIG. It is the front view of the plant culture apparatus 1 which showed the state which pushes the switch 76 and moves the bucket 57 to the pass box 73b. FIG. 11 (i) is a front view of the plant culturing apparatus 1 showing an operation of placing the culture tray 30 on which the worker has planted seedlings on the pass box 73b. FIG. It is a front view of the plant culture apparatus 1 which showed the state which moves. FIG. 12 is a front view of the plant culture device 1 showing a state in which the supply-side transport device 50b supplies the culture tray 30 to the cultivation shelf.

  Next, the case where the plant p is harvested from the cultivation shelf 10 by the carry-out side conveyance device 50a and the supply side conveyance device 50b will be described with reference to FIGS. First, as shown in FIG. 7A, an operator (not shown) turns on a harvesting switch 72 provided outside the wall 71a on one side. When the harvest switch 72 is turned on, the carry-out side conveyance device 50a arranged on the side from which the plant p is taken out operates, and the hand 53 of the carry-out side conveyance device 50a has a width in the vertical direction of the uppermost growth space 23c. It moves into the range, moves into the growth space 23c, holds the culture tray 30 on which the plant p as a harvesting object is planted, and lifts it upward.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 7B, the hand 53 takes out the culture tray 30 from the culture tank 20 and moves it into the housing 51. At this time, the nutrient solution receiver 35 is located below the hand 53 (see FIG. 5B). For this reason, the culture solution c dripping from the root part of the plant p planted on the culture tray 30 can be received by the nutrient solution receiver 35, and scattering of the culture solution c can be prevented beforehand. The hand 53 is lowered while the nutrient solution receiver 35 is positioned below the hand 53, and when the hand 53 is moved to a predetermined position above the bucket 57, the nutrient solution receiver 35 is retracted from below the hand 53. And the upper part of the bucket 57 is opened. The hand 53 is further lowered to place the culture tray 30 on the bucket 57. And the bucket 57 moves to the pass box 73a side. When the bucket 57 approaches the pass box 73a, the bucket 57 temporarily stops. When a door (not shown) provided inside the pass box 73a opens, the bucket 57 moves into the pass box 73a, and then the door inside the pass box 73a closes. The inner door of the pass box 73a is configured to automatically open and close when the pass box 73a approaches the inner door.

  And as shown in FIG.8 (c), an operator opens the door (not shown) of the outer side of the pass box 73a, and takes out the culture tray 30 with the bucket 57 from the pass box 73a. Thus, since the door inside the pass box 73a is closed when the culture tray 30 is carried out, the cultivation room 70 is a closed space. Further, when the culture tray 30 is carried out, it is carried out together with the bucket 57, so there is no possibility that the culture solution c will drip into the cultivation room 70 from the plant p planted on the culture tray 30. For this reason, the sanitary environment in the cultivation room 70 can be maintained in a good state.

  Next, in order to return the taken-out bucket 57 to the pass box 73a, the worker opens the door outside the pass box 73a and puts the bucket 57 into the pass box 73a. Then, as shown in FIG. 8D, after the operator closes the outer door, the carry-out side return switch 74 is turned on. When the carry-out side return switch 74 is turned on, as shown in FIG. 9E, the bucket 57 is moved to the placement position via the bucket moving mechanism unit 65 and collected.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 9 (f), the supply-side transport device 50b allows a plurality of suspensions to float in the culture tank 20 in the lower stage (intermediate stage 21b) of the stage 21c in the harvest period from which the plant p has been taken out. The culture tray 30 closest to the supply-side transport device 50b side is taken out of the culture tray 30 and moved to the stage 21c in the harvest period. When the culture tray 30 is moved to the stage 21c in the harvest period, as described above, the length of the claw portion 53a of the front hand 53 of the pair of hands 53 arranged in the front-rear direction is the rear. Since the claw part 53a of the side hand 53 is formed longer than the claw part 53a, the claw part 53a of the front side hand 53 pushes the culture tray 30 accommodated in the stage 21c in the harvesting period, so that the back side hand 53 The claw portion 53a does not come into contact with the culture tank 20.

  And as shown in FIG.10 (g), it carries out by the carrying-out side conveyance apparatus 50a among several culture trays 30 which float in the culture tank 20 of the stage (stage 21a of the seedling stage) below the stage 21b of the intermediate period. The culture tray 30 closest to the side transfer device 50a is taken out and moved to the intermediate stage 21b. Then, as shown in FIG. 10 (h), when the operator turns on the supply switch 76 provided on the outer side of the other wall 71b, the bucket moving mechanism 65 of the supply-side transport device 50b is activated, The bucket 57 moves to the pass box 73b side. When the bucket 57 approaches the pass box 73b, the bucket 57 temporarily stops. When the door provided inside the pass box 73b is opened, the bucket 57 moves into the pass box 73b. When the bucket 57 moves into the pass box 73b, the inner door closes.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 11 (i), the operator opens the door outside the pass box 73b and places the culture tray on the bucket 57 in the pass box 73b. Then, the worker closes the door outside the pass box 73b. Then, as shown in FIG. 11 (j), when the worker presses the supply side return switch 77 provided on the outer side of the wall 71b, the door inside the pass box 73b is opened and the bucket moving mechanism 65 is interposed. Then, the bucket 57 moves to the placement position Ps. Thus, when the culture tray 30 is carried in, the door inside the pass box 73b is closed, so that the cultivation room 70 is a closed space. In addition, when the culture tray 30 is carried in, the culture tray 30 is carried together with the bucket 57, so there is no possibility that the culture solution c will drip into the cultivation room 70 from the plant p planted on the culture tray 30. For this reason, the sanitary environment in the cultivation room 70 can be maintained in a good state.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 12, the culture tray 30 placed on the bucket 57 is moved to a position near the stage 21a in the seedling stage by the supply-side transport device 50b.

  As described above, the carry-out side conveyance device 50a and the supply-side conveyance device 50b of the plant culture apparatus 1 take out the culture tray 30 accommodated in any of the plurality of culture tanks 20 arranged in the vertical direction by the hand 53. Since it can be carried into other culture tanks 20, when the plurality of culture tanks 20 arranged in the vertical direction are set to a plurality of stages corresponding to the growth stage of the plant, any one of the plurality of stages is transferred by the transfer device. The culture tray 30 taken out from can be carried into another stage. For this reason, after accommodating the culture tray 30 in any one of the plurality of culture tanks 20 and growing the plants while moving from one end side to the other end side of the culture tank 20 over the days, The plant can be grown by moving to the culture tank 20, the culture tray 30 can be transferred to the last culture tank 20, the plant can be grown, and the culture tray 30 can be carried out by the conveying device at the terminal end. Therefore, it is possible to arrange the culture tank 20 in which the culture tray 30 moves until the plant grows and is harvested in a plurality of stages in the vertical direction. Therefore, the space in the height direction of the stage where the height of the plant is small, such as the seedling stage, can be reduced.

  For this reason, the height of the plant culturing apparatus 1 is higher than that of a plant culturing apparatus configured to grow a plant while moving it from one end side to the other end side of the culture tank and harvest a mature plant at the terminal end. Can be suppressed. Therefore, when installing the plant culture apparatus 1 in the limited cultivation room 70, installation in the cultivation room 70 of the plant culture apparatus 1 becomes easy, and the space in the cultivation room 70 can be used effectively.

  As mentioned above, although the preferable form of this invention was demonstrated, this invention is not limited to said form. For example, the above-described embodiments may be combined, and various modifications can be made without departing from the object of the present invention.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the culture tank is provided in three stages on the cultivation shelf and the culture tray is ejected from one end side of the cultivation shelf and carried from the other end side on both sides of the cultivation shelf and Although the case where the supply side conveyance apparatus was provided was demonstrated to the example, the plant culture apparatus of this invention is not limited to this. For example, the plant culture apparatus of the present invention may be configured so that the number of culture tanks is an even number, and the culture tray is discharged and supplied from one end side only on one side of the cultivation shelf. If it does in this way, the structure of the conveyance apparatus of one side among conveyance apparatuses becomes simple, a plant culture apparatus can be reduced more in size, installation in a cultivation room of a plant cultivation apparatus becomes easier, The space can be used more effectively.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Plant culture apparatus 10 Cultivation shelf 11 Frame part 12 Leg part 13a, 13b, 13c Support part 15 Light source 16 Bracket 20 Culture tank 20a, 35a Bottom plate part 20b, 35b Side plate part 20c1, 20c2 Supply port 20d1, 20d2 Discharge port 21a Seedling Stage 21b Intermediate stage 21c Harvest stage 23a, 23b, 23c Growth space 25 Guide member 25a Width direction guide member 25a1 Widening portion 25b Upward guide member 30 Culture tray 30a Side surface 30b Upper surface 31 Clamping hole portion 35 Liquid receiver
50a Unloading side conveyance device 50b Supply side conveyance device 51 Housing 53 Hand 53a Claw portion 54 Support member 57 Bucket 59 Hand mechanism portion 59a Opening / closing electric cylinder 59b Opening / closing cylinder mechanism portion 60 Hand horizontal movement mechanism portion 60a Horizontal electric cylinder 60b Bracket 61 Hand up / down Mechanism 61a Vertical electric cylinder 63 Hand lifting mechanism 63a Lifting board 63b Moving carriage 63c Lifting motor 63d Power transmission mechanism 63e Counterweight 65 Bucket moving mechanism 65a Pedestal 65b First bucket electric cylinder 65c Second bucket electric cylinder 66 Liquid receiving / moving mechanism 66a Nutrient receiving electric cylinder 66b Bracket 67 Controller 67a Operation control 67b Memory 67c Hand opening / closing drive 67d Hand vertical drive 67e Han Horizontal drive part 67f Hand raising / lowering drive part 67g 1st bucket front-rear drive part 67h 2nd bucket front-rear drive part 67i Nourishing liquid receiving movement drive part 70 Cultivation room 71a, 71b Wall 72 Harvest switch 73a, 73b Pass box 74 Unloading side return switch 75 Space 76 Supply switch 77 Supply side return switch C Culture medium G Guide p Plant Pd Discharge position Ps Placement position Pu Receiving position R Rail T Tank

Claims (7)

A culture shelf in which a culture solution for growing a plant is contained and a bottomed container-like culture tank having an open top is disposed with a plurality of intervals in the vertical direction;
A plant culturing apparatus comprising: a transport device that is disposed in proximity to at least one of both end portions of the culture shelf and moves and holds a culture tray that stores plants that grow by absorbing the culture solution. ,
The transfer device
A hand capable of retaining and removing the culture tray;
A hand mechanism that holds or separates the culture tray by the hand; and
A hand horizontal movement mechanism for moving the hand in a horizontal direction;
A hand up-and-down mechanism for moving the hand up and down;
A hand elevating mechanism for moving the hand up and down in the transport device together with the culture tray removed from the culture shelf by the hand and held;
A controller that controls the operation of the hand mechanism unit, the hand horizontal movement mechanism unit, the hand up / down mechanism unit, and the hand lifting mechanism unit,
Wherein the controller, the hand mechanism, the hand horizontal movement mechanism, the hand on the lower machine構部controls the operation of the hand elevator mechanism, at least one of the plurality of culture tanks culture tray in the hand A plant culturing apparatus, wherein the plant culturing apparatus is configured to be carried in and out. The transfer device
A bucket that is disposed in a lower part of the transfer device and is capable of moving horizontally by placing the culture tray;
The plant culture apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a bucket transport mechanism that moves the bucket. The transfer device
A nutrient solution receiver placed below the culture tray taken out of the culture tank by the hand;
A nutrient solution moving mechanism for moving the nutrient solution receiver between a lower position of the culture tray and a retracted position retracted from the lower position to the opposite side of the culture shelf;
The plant culture apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the nutrient solution receiver includes a receiving plate portion that receives a culture solution falling from a root portion of a plant accommodated in the culture tray. The controller is
When the hand is moving above the culture tray accommodated in the culture tank, the operation of the nutrient solution moving mechanism is controlled so that the nutrient solution receiver moves to the retracted position. The plant culture apparatus according to claim 3. The transfer device
The controller further comprising a bucket that is disposed in a lower part of the transfer device and is horizontally movable by placing the culture tray thereon ,
The operation of the nutrient solution receiving mechanism is controlled such that when the hand approaches a predetermined position above the bucket, the nutrient solution receiver is retreated and the upper portion of the bucket is opened. Item 4. The plant culture apparatus according to Item 3 . The hand includes two holding portions extending in a vertical direction,
The two holding portions are provided with two spaces extending in the vertical direction and spaced in the front-rear direction in which the hand moves by the hand horizontal movement mechanism portion,
The plant culture apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the front holding portion extends further downward than the rear holding portion. The plant culture apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
A cultivation room for accommodating the plant culture apparatus;
A plant factory comprising: a path box provided close to a wall portion of the cultivation room facing the transfer device or the outside of the wall portion and capable of carrying the culture tray in and out.

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