JPS60192525A - Illumination apparatus for growing plant - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field of the Invention] This invention relates to an artificial lighting device that uses solar cells to supply light necessary for plant growth.

It uses a discharge lamp as a light source to achieve high efficiency.

[Prior art]

In facilities for growing plants (mainly agricultural products) in which the growing environment is controlled, methods have been proposed in which the light necessary for growth is supplied by artificial lighting, or by using sunlight as the main source and supplementing it with artificial lighting. As this type of lighting device, we have developed a lighting device that corresponds to nighttime and daytime lighting based on research into the growth mechanism of plants.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 55-29991 discloses a device that can provide appropriate illumination while taking the J rhythm into account. This device allows cultivated plants to pass through a high-illuminance position directly below a ceiling lamp and a low-illuminance position midway between these lamps at intervals corresponding to daytime and nighttime.

As mentioned above, this is based on the principle that photosynthesis is promoted at high illuminance corresponding to daytime, and photosynthetic products are translocated at low illuminance.

However, in this conventional device, lighting power costs accounted for a large portion of cultivation costs.

In addition, a lighting device that lights a discharge lamp at a high frequency and lights it up with periodic off periods is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 47-21979.
However, this is merely a matter of dimming the discharge lamp.

On the other hand, regarding photosynthesis, photosynthesis in plants is carried out through photochemical reactions and thermochemical reactions, as described in publications such as Yozo Iwanami's ``The World of Photosynthesis'' (Kodansha). The former reaction requires light, but the latter does not.

These reactions vary depending on the plant and growth conditions, but photochemical reactions are several tens of μB and thermochemical reactions are known to have a longer response time (several tens of mθ), which corresponds to the light-dark rhythm corresponding to daytime and nighttime. This is a completely different reaction time.

Especially at night, in order to eliminate the lighting power costs for artificial lighting, even if you try to use the electricity charged from solar cells to batteries during the day, the required lighting power is large, and both the solar cells and batteries need large capacity. turn into.

[Summary of the invention]

The present invention utilizes the principle of the photosynthesis mechanism described above to provide a device that can significantly save power by illuminating plants and reduce the capacity of solar cells and batteries charged thereby. It is. In other words, the radiator lamp is turned on during the ``light period'' and turned off during the ``lucid period.''

This "bright period" is maintained by using less power than the rated power.
and “lucid periods” occur repeatedly in a short period of time.

This is a device designed to save effort.

[Embodiments of the invention]

The present invention will be explained in detail below with reference to Examples.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the concept of a lighting device in a plant growing facility. In the figure, (l) is a plant growing facility.

(2a)...(2c) are lighting equipment equipped with a discharge lamp, (3) is a cultivated plant, and (4D is a solar cell).

FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of the lighting device according to the present invention. In FIG. 2, (4) is a DC power source, (5) is a discharge lamp (7
) is a high frequency power source for high frequency lighting.

Push-pull type with coil 5υ, transistor 6, (to), transistor 53, base resistance of 53, (t), capacitor, output transformer 6η, secondary winding side, feedback winding 61. It constitutes a transistor inverter. (6) is a light/dark control device that controls brightness and darkness, and consists of a full-wave rectifier, a transistor, and a drive circuit. When the transistor is turned on, the discharge lamp (7)
is in a lit state, that is, a "bright" state.

The DC power source (4) is a solar cell (4) as shown in FIG.
υ, and the battery charged by this output (consisting of four charging devices). Also, this DC power supply (4) is
It may also be possible to use a DC voltage obtained by rectifying a general AC power supply. In this case, when the amount of charge from the solar cell is small, operation can be achieved by switching to direct current from a general alternating current power source. Furthermore, during the day, the lighting may be turned on using an AC power source, and only at night, power may be obtained from a battery charged during the day.

Figure 4 is a diagram for explaining the operation, (a) shows the current of the radiator lamp (7), and (b) shows the radiator lamp (schematic representation of the light output of force). It is.

In the device shown in Fig. 2, when the DC power supply (4) is turned on, the high-frequency power supply (5) self-oscillates due to the action of the feedback winding of the output transformer (7), as is well-known, and the high-frequency output voltage is increased. It's happening. If the transistor in the brightness control device (6) is in the ON state, a current flows through the open lamp, and a light output is generated as shown in the "bright" part of the lamp in Figure 4. When the lamp is turned off, the discharge lamp (
The current flowing in 7) stops, and the "dark" area in Figure 4 (b) appears.
The light output disappears as shown in the figure.

Here, the ratio of the "light" and "dark" periods t1 + 70 is 1:100 to 1:1000 for the photosynthetic reaction alone.
For convenience of explanation, t1 and tO = 1:9.
, and a discharge lamp (rated power of 100W)
shall be. Then, in the "light" period, even if the power consumption of the discharge lamp (7) is 10 times the rated power (1ooow),
The average power consumption of this discharge lamp is 100W, which does not exceed the rated power.

In this way, by increasing the instantaneous power over the rated power during the "light" period, the light output of the discharge lamp (7) is increased as shown in Figure 4 (
As shown in b), it is possible to obtain a higher Fl value than the value Fo when the lamp is lit at the rated power without a 'dark' period.

This can be done without overloading the discharge lamp. this is"
This can be achieved because the repetition period T of "light" and "dark" is relatively short, and such an overload is difficult to achieve over a long period of time corresponding to daytime and nighttime. Moreover, the "light" period is much shorter than the "dark" period in response to the photosynthetic reaction, resulting in significant power savings.

Next, other embodiments will be described.

In the above example, no current was passed through the discharge lamp during the "dark" period, but it may be possible to pass a small amount of current to maintain the discharge, and this is particularly suitable when a lamp is used as the discharge lamp. An example of a device that achieves this is the fifth
As shown in the figure, the auxiliary impedance (8
) in parallel with the light/dark control device (6).

Still other embodiments will be described. FIG. 3 shows yet another embodiment, in which a single high-frequency power source supplies power to a plurality of discharge lamps. In the figure (6a)...(6
c) is a brightness control device, and (7a)...(7c) are discharge lamps. In this device, as mentioned above, the "light" period t1 is much shorter than the "dark" period tQ, so if the light/dark control device is operated so as not to supply power to multiple lamps at the same time, the capacity of the high-frequency power supply can be hardly increased. do not have.

Next, regarding the setting of the "light" period t1 and the "dark" period to, tl must be passed through the discharge lamp for more than one cycle of the output current of the high frequency power source (5) in order to perform stable discharge.

In order to take advantage of the advantages of high-frequency lighting, the minimum period of time is determined by the fact that the frequency of high-frequency lighting is 2 to 3K) or higher than Iz, but if the frequency is high (generally t1≧100μ)
A grade of B is appropriate. In addition, dark TG is required for several IQme thermochemical reactions in conventional grinding. If tQ is made longer, such as several tens of seconds, the discharge lamp becomes equivalent to repeating blinking.

There is a risk that the lifespan will be shortened. Therefore, although it differs depending on whether the discharge lamp is a low-pressure discharge lamp or a high-pressure discharge lamp, in a device that completely cuts off the current during the "dark" period, tQ of several 100 ms or less is appropriate even for a low-pressure discharge lamp. However, the repetition period T is 5 to 2 f21/T in order to avoid the effects (unpleasant flicker) on the human body working in the breeding facility.
o cycles/sec is not preferred. Furthermore, f)5
If it is G cycles/sec, 2 normal flickers will be difficult to perceive, so it may be set to approximately T<2 am θ corresponding to this.

The electric power when lighting the discharge lamp is determined by changing Fl in Figure 4 (b) to F.
It is possible to increase the illuminance during lighting, which affects how much higher illumination can be obtained than o, and to reduce the illumination intensity from the point of view of saving on the number of lighting equipment.
It is preferable to set both F1/Fo>2 or more, and for example, power twice or more of the rated power may be supplied during lighting.

In the explanation of the embodiment, a push-pull type transistor inverter was used as a high-frequency power source, but it may be any type that can light the discharge lamp to be used at high frequency, and the light/dark control device can also control the period for supplying power to the discharge lamp appropriately. It is acceptable as long as it can be set to . Further, if the discharge lamp is a low-pressure discharge lamp such as a fluorescent lamp, electrode preheating means may be added. In addition, if it is a high-pressure discharge lamp, a means such as applying a high voltage at the time of starting the lamp may be added. - for a long time during some period of
For example, a device may be added that operates on a 24-hour cycle to keep the lights off.

In the above explanation, we have described the case where artificial lighting is used throughout the period, but during periods when there is sufficient sunlight, plants are irradiated with sunlight, and only when there is insufficient sunlight or at night, artificial lighting is used as described in this invention. may be done. In this case, 1For example,
Output of DC power supply (4).

This can be achieved by opening and closing an automatic blinker using an optical sensor.

Also, in the explanation of the above example, what is the power during 2 lighting? 1/F
Although it is preferable to set o>2 or more, power is supplied from a general AC power source or directly from a pond. If this setting is made and power is supplied from a battery, the lamp power may be reduced from F1/FO>2 to dim the lamp in order to reduce the capacity of the battery as much as possible.

FIG. 1 is a concrete example of this, and only the points different from the device shown in FIG. 2 will be explained. In the figure, Ql is a dimming device, and the dimming impedance α1. It consists of a switch Qυ and an opening/closing control device a.

In the above device, the opening/closing control device a is, for example.

Like an automatic flasher, switch I opens and closes depending on the presence or absence of sunlight, and if power is obtained from a battery, the light can be dimmed by opening switch αυ. Similarly, you can set a lucid period and turn it on only when power is supplied from the battery (6) or solar cell Ql).

On the other hand, at night, in order to make effective use of late-night electricity.

Lights up using electricity from a general AC power source, and during the day,
The light may be turned on by the output of a solar cell.

In this case, the battery (b) requires only a small capacity ridge compared to the output of the solar cell +40.

Furthermore, if the discharge lamp (7) is capable of direct current lighting, a lighting device that performs direct current lighting instead of high frequency lighting may be used instead of the high frequency power source.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, according to the device of the present invention, a light period is provided to promote photochemical reactions in photosynthesis from illumination by a discharge lamp, and a sunny period is provided to promote thermochemical reactions, so solar cells can be used as a power source for illumination. It has the advantage that the capacity can be small when it is used.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual explanatory diagram of a plant growing facility, FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing another embodiment, and FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining operation. FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram showing still another embodiment, FIG. 6 is a circuit diagram showing a configuration example of a DC power supply, and FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram showing still another embodiment. In the figure, (5) is a high-frequency power supply, (6) is a brightness control device, (
7) indicates a discharge lamp, (1υ indicates a solar cell, and the same symbol indicates the same or equivalent part. Agent Masuo Oiwa Figure 1 Figure 3

Claims (1)

[Claims] tl) In a lighting device for growing plants by lighting a discharge lamp using the output of a solar cell or a battery charged by the solar cell, the output of the discharge lamp is used to compare the output of the lamp with the light period of photosynthesis of the plant. There are two types of brightness and shouting that correspond to the lucid period, and one open side.
A lighting device for growing plants characterized by comprising a brightness control device that repeatedly generates the bright and dark outputs in a short period of time and makes the bright period much shorter than the bright period. (2) A patent characterized in that the discharge lamp output is controlled by a light/dark control device so that when tl is the bright period and t (1 is the lucid period, y t1 + to < 20 m5 and tl > 100 μ days) A lighting device for growing plants according to claim 1. (3) A discharge lamp is produced by selectively supplying the output of either a solar cell or a battery charged by the solar cell and the output of a general AC power source. In a lighting system for growing plants, the output of a discharge lamp is controlled to two levels, bright and dark, corresponding to the light and lucid phases of photosynthesis in plants, and these bright and dark outputs are generated repeatedly in a short period of time. A lighting device for plant cultivation characterized by being equipped with a brightness control device that makes brightness much shorter than brightness. (4) Brightness when power is supplied to the discharge lamp by the output from the AC power supply. The lighting device for growing plants according to claim 3, characterized in that the lamp output is increased compared to the bright period due to the output of other power sources. The lighting device for growing plants according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that the lighting device is configured to use the output of the solar cell and the output of the AC power source at night. If the light period is tl and the lucid period is to, then tl-1-to (zom days and t
The lighting device for growing plants according to any one of claims 3 to 5, characterized in that the lighting device is controlled by a #JAIllt control device so that 1>100 μe.