JP7275596B2 - plant cultivation equipment - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a plant cultivation device.

Conventionally, as this type of plant cultivation apparatus, there has been proposed an apparatus for cultivating a plant placed on a tray in a predetermined cultivation space (closed space). For example, in the plant cultivating apparatus of Patent Document 1, a plate for holding a plant is formed of a moisture-absorbing/releasing moisture-conditioning material. It also suppresses the temperature rise of Further, Patent Document 2 describes a plant cultivation apparatus that supplies liquid fertilizer to plants.

JP 2015-171351 A JP-A-2000-308418

In the plant cultivation apparatus of Patent Literature 1 described above, it is difficult to freely control the humidity around the plant because the moisture absorption/desorption property of the plate is used. Therefore, in order to freely control the humidity, it is necessary to separately provide a device for supplying moisture. However, in the plant cultivation device of Patent Document 2, which supplies liquid fertilizer, a device for supplying liquid fertilizer and a device for supplying water are provided, respectively, which complicates the configuration of the device and increases the cost. I invite you.

A main object of the present invention is to appropriately perform the supply of liquid fertilizer and the supply of water in a compact configuration.

The present invention employs the following means in order to achieve the above main object.

The plant cultivation device of the present invention is
a housing having therein a cultivation space for cultivating plants;
a supply device that supplies liquid fertilizer and water to plants in the cultivation space;
with
The supply device is
a main body in which two air flow paths are formed, each of which is connected to the cultivation space;
at least one fan that causes air to flow into the airflow passage and to be discharged from the discharge port;
and a communication passage that communicates one of the two airflow passages with the storage portion. a liquid fertilizer supply unit that sucks up the liquid fertilizer in the reservoir through the passage and supplies liquid fertilizer in the form of mist from the discharge port;
arranged in the other of the two air flow passages and having a base material and a conductive polymer film provided on the base material; a fine water generating portion that changes between an adsorption state of adsorbing moisture in the air and a release state of releasing the adsorbed moisture from the conductive polymer film as uncharged fine water having a particle size of 50 nanometers or less; ,
an energizing portion capable of energizing the fine water generating portion;
liquid fertilizer supply control for driving the fan so that the liquid fertilizer is supplied by the liquid fertilizer supply unit; fine water discharged while energizing the energizing unit so that the fine water generating unit is in the releasing state; a control unit for executing fine water supply control for driving the fan so that the fine water generating unit is supplied, and supply preparation control for stopping the energization of the energizing unit so that the fine water generating unit is in the adsorption state;
The gist is to provide

The plant cultivating apparatus of the present invention comprises a liquid fertilizer supply unit that supplies liquid fertilizer in the form of a mist, an adsorption state in which moisture in the air is adsorbed by a conductive polymer film depending on the presence or absence of electricity, and a state in which moisture in the air is adsorbed by a conductive polymer film. It includes a fine water generating portion that changes to a release state in which fine water having a diameter of 50 nanometers or less is released from the conductive polymer film, and an energizing portion capable of energizing the fine water generating portion. Then, liquid fertilizer supply control for driving the fan so that the liquid fertilizer is supplied by the liquid fertilizer supply part, and supply of the fine water discharged while energizing the energizing part so that the fine water generating part is in the release state. fine water supply control for driving the fan and supply preparation control for stopping the energization of the energizing section so that the fine water generating section is in the adsorption state. As a result, it is possible to supply liquid fertilizer and fine water (moisture) with a compact configuration using one supply device. Also, fine water is non-charged and has a particle size of 50 nanometers or less, so that it is easily absorbed by plants, so that appropriate water supply can be performed.

In the plant cultivation apparatus of the present invention, the control unit may execute the fine water supply control after finishing execution of the liquid fertilizer supply control. In this way, fine water adheres to the plants immediately after the liquid fertilizer adheres to the plants. Since fine water is easily absorbed by plants, absorption of liquid fertilizer can be promoted together with fine water.

In the plant cultivation apparatus of the present invention, the control section executes the supply preparation control by driving the fan to circulate air to the fine water generating section in a state where the energization of the energization section is stopped. The supply preparation control may be executed before executing the liquid fertilizer supply control. In this way, sufficient air can be circulated to the fine water generating part in the supply preparation control to promote the adsorption of moisture in the air. Water can be released. For this reason, the effect of promoting the absorption of the liquid fertilizer by the fine water can be enhanced.

In the plant cultivation apparatus of the present invention, the controller may execute the fine water supply control at time intervals shorter than the time intervals for executing the liquid fertilizer supply control. In this way, fine water can be supplied at an appropriate timing according to the desired humidity, so that the supply of liquid fertilizer and the supply of water can be performed more appropriately.

In the plant cultivation apparatus of the present invention, the control unit drives the fan at a predetermined high-speed rotation in the liquid fertilizer supply control, and drives the fan in the fine water supply control and the supply preparation control. The fan can also be driven at a rotation speed lower than the predetermined high speed rotation. In this way, in the liquid fertilizer supply control, the liquid fertilizer can be appropriately sucked up from the reservoir and sprayed. Further, by rotating the fan at a low speed when air is circulated to the fine water generating portion, moisture can be appropriately adsorbed on the conductive polymer film, for example, during supply preparation control.

In the plant cultivation apparatus of the present invention, as the fan, one fan capable of blowing air to the two air flow paths is provided, and the air sent out from the fan is distributed to either one of the two air flow paths. Additionally, a switching unit capable of switching the flow path may be provided. In this way, one fan can be used in common for supplying liquid fertilizer and supplying water, so that the apparatus can be made more compact.

1 is a configuration diagram showing an outline of the configuration of a plant cultivation device 10; FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing an outline of the configuration of a supply device 20; FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram showing an outline of the configuration of a fine water generation cartridge 30. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an example of automatic supply processing; It is explanatory drawing which shows the mode of fine water supply preparation. It is explanatory drawing which shows the mode of liquid fertilizer supply. It is explanatory drawing which shows the mode of fine water supply. It is explanatory drawing of the time chart which performs liquid fertilizer supply and fine water supply.

Next, the form for implementing this invention is demonstrated.

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of the plant cultivation device 10, and FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, the plant cultivation apparatus 10 includes a case 12 for cultivating a plant P, a plate-like mounting plate 14 arranged in the case 12, and an irradiation unit 16 for irradiating the plant P with light. and a supply device 20 for supplying liquid fertilizer (liquid fertilizer) and water required for the plant P. The cultivation space inside the case 12 is partitioned into an upper space 12 a and a lower space 12 b by a mounting plate 14 . The mounting plate 14 is formed with a plurality of through holes 14a which penetrate vertically and hold the plants P at the peripheral edges of the holes. The leaves of the plants P arranged in the through holes 14a of the mounting plate 14 are exposed in the upper space 12a, and the roots are exposed in the lower space 12b. The irradiation unit 16 is an LED, a fluorescent lamp, or the like, and is arranged in the upper part of the case 12 .

As shown in FIG. 2, the supply device 20 includes a main body 21, a fan 28, a fine water generation cartridge 30, a liquid fertilizer supply section 40, a flow path switching section 50, a control section 60, and a power supply circuit 62. Prepare. The main body 21 has an intake port 22 for sucking external air and discharge ports 24a and 24b for discharging liquid fertilizer and water into the case 12. A fine water channel (first channel) 26 as an air channel and a liquid fertilizer channel (second channel) 27 as an air blowing channel that branches from the fine water channel 26 and reaches the discharge port 24b are formed inside. It is The fan 28 is a propeller fan that is driven to rotate by a motor (not shown). Note that the fan 28 is not limited to a propeller fan, and may be a sirocco fan or the like.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram showing an outline of the configuration of the fine water generation cartridge 30. As shown in FIG. The fine water generating cartridge 30 includes a cylindrical case 32 having an outer diameter that can be attached in the fine water flow path 26 and a fine water generating element 34 provided inside the case 32 . The fine water generating element 34 is composed of a substrate 36 and a conductive polymer film 38 formed on the surface of the substrate 36 .

The base material 36 is made of a conductive material such as a metal material such as a stainless steel metal or a copper metal, a carbon material, or a conductive ceramic material. In this embodiment, a metal foil made of stainless steel to which aluminum is added is used. The fine water generating element 34 is composed of a plurality of substrates 36 formed in a flat plate shape so that air can pass through and the surface area of the substrates 36 (conductive polymer film 38) is as large as possible. Alternatively, the substrate 36 may be formed in a honeycomb shape, a spiral shape, or the like.

The conductive polymer film 38 is made of a conductive polymer compound such as a thiophene-based conductive polymer. In this embodiment, it is made of PEDOT/PSS (poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)/poly(styrenesulfonic acid)) among thiophene-based conductive polymers. PEDOT/PSS is a core-shell structure having a core of PEDOT and a shell of sulfonic acid groups, which are acidic functional groups capable of hydrogen bonding. In the conductive polymer film 38, PEDOT/PSS shells are arranged in a laminated structure, and nanochannels, which are nanometer-sized flow paths such as 2 nanometers, are formed between the shells. Since many sulfonic acid groups are present in these nanochannels, the water content on the surface of the conductive polymer film 38 is reduced to Due to the difference, the sulfonic acid group in the nanochannel moves inside. As a result, the conductive polymer film 38 adsorbs moisture. In addition, when moisture is adsorbed inside the nanochannel and the amount of moisture on the surface is small and the amount of moisture on the inside is large, the moisture moves to the surface through the sulfonic acid groups in the nanochannel due to the concentration difference between the surface and the inside. . As a result, water is released from the conductive polymer film 38 as fine water. Further, when the temperature of the conductive polymer film 38 is raised by energization from the power supply circuit 62, water (fine water) is released more quickly than when the water is moved only by the concentration difference. When the fan 28 blows air in a state in which the power supply circuit 62 is stopped, moisture adsorption is promoted more quickly than when the moisture is moved only by the concentration difference. Thus, the fine water generating cartridge 30 (fine water generating element 34) has an adsorption state in which the conductive polymer film 38 adsorbs moisture in the air, and a release state in which the adsorbed moisture is released from the conductive polymer film 38. state and change. The thickness of the conductive polymer film 38 can be appropriately determined according to the required adsorption amount (release amount) of fine water. For example, when the conductive polymer film 38 is formed to have a thickness of 1 to 30 micrometers, it takes about 10 seconds to several tens of seconds to absorb sufficient moisture to release fine water. It becomes possible.

In addition, the fine water generating cartridge 30 has a water particle size of 50 nanometers or less, for example, a particle size of 2 nanometers or less, from the conductive polymer film 38 of the fine water generating element 34, and an uncharged fine water particle. Release water. The reason for such a particle size is that the size of the nanochannel is 2 nanometers or less. This is thought to be due to a phenomenon in which moisture jumps out of nanochannels. Moreover, even if the water particles agglomerate after being ejected, the particle size is distributed within a range of 50 nanometers or less. Detailed description of fine water generation of such a fine water generation cartridge 30 (conductive polymer film 38) is described in the specification of Japanese Patent Application No. 2018-172166 of the applicant of the present application. Detailed description is omitted.

The liquid fertilizer supply part 40 has a storage part 42 that stores liquid fertilizer containing nitrogen, phosphoric acid, potassium, etc., and a communication passage 44 that communicates the liquid fertilizer channel 27 and the storage part 42 . In the liquid fertilizer supply unit 40, the air flowing through the liquid fertilizer flow path 27 sucks up the liquid fertilizer from the reservoir 42 through the communication path 44 and supplies the liquid fertilizer in the form of mist from the discharge port 24b.

The channel switching unit 50 has a switching plate 52 that is driven by a motor (not shown). In the flow path switching unit 50, the switching plate 52 is positioned at a position (solid line in FIG. 2) where air blown from the fan 28 normally flows through the fine water flow path 26 leading to the discharge port 24a. The switching plate 52 is moved (actuated) to a position (dotted line in FIG. 2) where the air flow is circulated in the liquid fertilizer flow path 27 leading to the discharge port 24b to switch the flow path. The power supply circuit 62 is supplied with power from a predetermined power supply such as AC 100V, converts the power into power suitable for driving each part as necessary, and outputs the power. The control unit 60 controls the driving of the motor of the flow path switching unit 50, controls the switching switch 63 that switches ON/OFF of the operation of the fan 28, and controls the switching switch 64 that switches ON/OFF of the energization of the fine water generating cartridge 30. to control.

Next, the operation of the supply device 20 configured in this manner will be described. FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing an example of automatic supply processing, FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing preparation for supplying fine water, FIG. FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing the state of supply, and FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of a time chart for performing liquid fertilizer supply and fine water supply. The flowchart of FIG. 4 is executed by the control unit 60 . In the automatic supply process, the control unit 60 first determines whether or not it is time to supply the liquid fertilizer (S100). The supply timing of this liquid fertilizer is determined at predetermined time intervals such as, for example, two or three times a day.

When the control unit 60 determines in S100 that it is time to supply the liquid fertilizer, the control unit 60 turns off the power to the fine water generation cartridge 30 and performs low-speed driving to drive the fan 28 at a predetermined low speed. to adsorb moisture (S110, FIG. 5). S110 is performed as a preparation for supplying fine water after supplying liquid fertilizer, and is called fine water supply preparation control (hereinafter referred to as supply preparation control). S110 is performed, for example, over a period of about ten seconds to several tens of seconds. The predetermined low speed rotation is set to a rotation speed suitable for causing the conductive polymer film 38 to adsorb moisture.

Subsequently, the control unit 60 switches the switching plate 52 of the flow path switching unit 50 so that the air blown by the fan 28 flows through the liquid fertilizer flow path 27 and is discharged from the discharge port 24b (S120). Then, the control unit 60 performs high-speed driving to drive the fan 28 at a predetermined high-speed rotation, sucks up the liquid fertilizer in the storage unit 42 with the air flowing through the liquid fertilizer flow path 27, and sprays the liquid fertilizer in the form of mist from the discharge port 24b. and supplied into the lower space 12b of the case 12 (S130, FIG. 6). Thereby, the liquid fertilizer can be attached to the surface of the root of the plant P. When the liquid fertilizer supply control of S130 is executed, the control unit 60 switches the switching plate 52 again (S140), energizes the fine water generating cartridge 30, and drives the fan 28 at a low speed to rotate the conductive polymer film. Fine water discharged from 38 is supplied into the lower space 12b of the case 12 (S150, FIG. 7). As a result, immediately after the liquid fertilizer is attached to the surface of the roots of the plant P by the liquid fertilizer supply control, the fine water supply control of S150 is performed (FIG. 8A) to attach fine water to the surface of the roots of the plant P. be able to. Since fine water has a water particle size of 50 nanometers or less, for example, a particle size of 2 nanometers or less, it easily permeates from the surface of the root of the plant P to the inside. For this reason, penetration into the inside of the liquid fertilizer adhering to the surface of the root of the plant P is promoted, and the plant P can be made to absorb the liquid fertilizer appropriately.

Next, the control unit 60 determines whether or not it is time to supply fine water separately from the timing of supplying liquid fertilizer (S160). do. It should be noted that the supply timing of this fine water can be a timing that occurs at shorter time intervals than the supply timing of the liquid fertilizer, depending on the desired humidity. For example, liquid fertilizer can be supplied twice a day, and fine water can be supplied four times a day. When the controller 60 determines in S160 that it is time to supply fine water, it performs supply preparation control in the same manner as in S110 (S170, FIG. 5). Then, the control unit 60 performs fine water supply control (S180, FIG. 6) as in S150, and ends the automatic supply process. Thus, a single fine water supply (FIG. 8B) occurs more frequently than a liquid fertilizer supply followed immediately by a fine water supply (FIG. 8A). Since fine water easily penetrates from the surface of the root of the plant P to the inside, the fine water can be absorbed by the plant P appropriately.

In the plant cultivation apparatus 10 of the present embodiment described above, the supply device 20 controls the liquid fertilizer supply to drive the fan 28 so that the liquid fertilizer is supplied to the plant P by the liquid fertilizer supply unit 40, and the fine water generation cartridge. A supply preparation control for placing the conductive polymer film 38 of the fine water generating cartridge 30 in an adsorbed state and a fine water supply control for driving the fan 28 with the conductive polymer film 38 of the fine water generating cartridge 30 released by energization are executed. As a result, it is possible to supply liquid fertilizer and fine water (moisture) with a compact configuration using one supply device 20 . In addition, fine water is uncharged and has a particle size of 50 nanometers or less, so that the plant P can easily absorb the fine water, and appropriate water supply can be performed.

Further, when the execution of the liquid fertilizer supply control is finished, the fine water supply control is executed. Absorption can be promoted.

In addition, since the supply preparation control is executed before the liquid fertilizer supply control is executed, the fine water supply control executed after the liquid fertilizer supply control releases more fine water and the liquid fertilizer is produced by the fine water. The effect of promoting absorption can be enhanced.

Further, fine water supply control is executed at time intervals shorter than the time intervals for executing liquid fertilizer supply control, so fine water can be supplied at an appropriate timing according to the desired humidity.

Further, in the liquid fertilizer supply control, the fan 28 is driven at a predetermined high speed rotation, and in the fine water supply control and the supply preparation control, the fan 28 is driven at a predetermined low speed rotation. Therefore, the liquid fertilizer can be properly sucked up and sprayed in the liquid fertilizer supply control, and the water can be properly adsorbed on the conductive polymer film 38 in the supply preparation control.

In addition, since the supply device 20 includes one fan 28 capable of blowing air to the fine water flow path 26 and the liquid fertilizer flow path 27, and each flow path is switched by the flow path switching unit 50, the supply device 20 can be configured more compactly. can be

In the embodiment, the supply preparation control is executed before the liquid fertilizer supply control is executed, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the supply preparation control may not be executed before the liquid fertilizer supply control is executed. . In this case, S110 of the automatic supply process of FIG. 4 may be omitted. Even if the supply preparation control is not executed, the moisture can be adsorbed on the conductive polymer film 38 due to the concentration difference. It is possible to release water. For the same reason, the supply preparation control in S170 of the automatic supply process may be omitted.

In the embodiment, fine water supply control is executed when execution of liquid fertilizer supply control is finished. may be In this case, S110 and S150 of the automatic supply process of FIG. 4 may be omitted.

In the embodiment, fine water supply control is executed at time intervals shorter than liquid fertilizer supply control, but the present invention is not limited to this, and liquid fertilizer supply control and fine water supply control may be executed at the same time intervals. However, liquid fertilizer supply control may be executed at time intervals shorter than fine water supply control. Alternatively, the liquid fertilizer supply control and fine water supply control may be executed at arbitrary timing by manual operation of the operator or the like.

In the embodiment, the fan 28 is driven at a predetermined high speed in the liquid fertilizer supply control, and the fan 28 is driven at a predetermined low speed in the fine water supply control and the supply preparation control, but it is not limited to this. do not have. For example, in the supply preparation control, the fan 28 is driven at a predetermined low speed rotation, in the fine water supply control, the fan 28 is driven at a predetermined high speed rotation, or at a predetermined medium speed rotation between the low speed rotation and the high speed rotation. may be driven. Alternatively, the fan 28 may be driven at the same rotational speed for each control.

In the embodiment, one fan 28 capable of blowing air is provided in the fine water channel 26 and the liquid fertilizer channel 27, and each channel is switched by the channel switching unit 50. However, the invention is not limited to this, and the fine water channel 26 and a fan for the liquid fertilizer channel 27 may be provided, and each channel may be separately configured without the channel switching unit 50 .

In the embodiment, the supply device 20 supplies fine water or liquid fertilizer to the lower space 12b, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the supply device 20 may supply fine water or liquid fertilizer to the upper space 12a. . In other words, fine water or liquid fertilizer is not limited to being supplied to the roots of the plant P, but may be supplied to the leaves. Further, a plurality of supply devices 20 may be provided to supply the roots and leaves of the plant P, respectively.

The correspondence relationship between the main elements of the embodiments and the main elements of the invention described in the column of Means for Solving the Problems will be described. In the embodiment, the case 12 corresponds to the "casing", the supply device 20 corresponds to the "supply device", the main body 21 corresponds to the "main body", and the fan 28 corresponds to the "fan". The storage part 42 corresponds to the "storage part", the communication path 44 corresponds to the "communication path", the liquid fertilizer supply part 40 corresponds to the "liquid fertilizer supply part", and the base material 36 corresponds to the "base material". The conductive polymer film 38 corresponds to the "conductive polymer film", the fine water generating cartridge 30 corresponds to the "fine water generating section", and the power supply circuit 62 and the switch 64 correspond to the "energizing section". 4 corresponds to the "controller". Also, the flow path switching unit 50 corresponds to the "switching unit".

Note that the correspondence relationship between the main elements of the embodiment and the main elements of the invention described in the column of Means for Solving the Problem indicates that the embodiment implements the invention described in the column of Means to Solve the Problem. Since it is an example for specifically explaining the mode for solving the problem, it does not limit the elements of the invention described in the column of the means for solving the problem. That is, the interpretation of the invention described in the column of Means to Solve the Problem should be made based on the description in that column, and the embodiment should be based on the description of the invention described in the column of Means to Solve the Problem. This is only a specific example.

As described above, the mode for carrying out the present invention has been described using the embodiment, but the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment at all, and various forms can be used without departing from the scope of the present invention. Of course, it can be implemented.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be used in the manufacturing industry of plant cultivation apparatuses.

10 plant cultivation device, 12 case, 12a upper space, 12b lower space, 14 mounting plate, 14a through hole, 16 lighting device, 20 supply device, 21 main body, 22 suction port, 24a, 24b discharge port, 26 first feed air flow path 27 second air flow path 28 fan 30 fine water generation cartridge 32 case 34 fine water generation element 36 base material 38 conductive polymer film 40 liquid fertilizer supply section 42 storage section 44 Communicating path, 50 flow path switching unit, 52 switching plate, 60 control unit, 62 power supply circuit, 63, 64 switching switch, P plant.

Claims (5)

a housing having therein a cultivation space for cultivating plants;
a supply device that supplies liquid fertilizer and water to plants in the cultivation space;
with
The supply device is
a main body in which two air flow paths are formed, each of which is connected to the cultivation space;
at least one fan that causes air to flow into the airflow passage and to be discharged from the discharge port;
and a communication passage that communicates one of the two airflow passages with the storage portion. a liquid fertilizer supply unit that sucks up the liquid fertilizer in the reservoir through the passage and supplies liquid fertilizer in the form of mist from the discharge port;
arranged in the other of the two air flow passages and having a base material and a conductive polymer film provided on the base material; a fine water generating portion that changes between an adsorption state of adsorbing moisture in the air and a release state of releasing the adsorbed moisture from the conductive polymer film as uncharged fine water having a particle size of 50 nanometers or less; ,
an energizing portion capable of energizing the fine water generating portion;
liquid fertilizer supply control for driving the fan so that the liquid fertilizer is supplied by the liquid fertilizer supply unit; a control unit for executing fine water supply control for driving the fan so as to supply water, and supply preparation control for stopping energization of the energization unit so that the fine water generating unit is in the adsorption state; ,
with
As the fan, one fan capable of blowing air to the two air flow paths is provided,
A plant cultivation apparatus comprising a switching unit capable of switching flow paths so that the air sent out from the fan flows through either one of the two blowing flow paths. The plant cultivation device according to claim 1 ,
The control unit executes the fine water supply control after completing execution of the liquid fertilizer supply control. Plant cultivation apparatus. The plant cultivation device according to claim 2 ,
The control unit executes the supply preparation control by driving the fan to circulate air to the fine water generating unit in a state where the energization of the energization unit is stopped, and the liquid fertilizer supply control is performed. A plant cultivation device that executes the supply preparation control before execution. The plant cultivation device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 ,
The control unit executes the fine water supply control at time intervals shorter than the time intervals at which the liquid fertilizer supply control is executed. Plant cultivation apparatus. The plant cultivation device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 ,
The control unit drives the fan at a predetermined high-speed rotation during the liquid fertilizer supply control, and rotates at a speed lower than the predetermined high-speed rotation when driving the fan during the fine water supply control and the supply preparation control. to drive the fan. A plant cultivation device.

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