JPS6128329A - Hydroponic apparatus - 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 The present invention relates to a hydroponic cultivation apparatus. More specifically, the present invention relates to a hydroponic cultivation device that provides a sufficient supply of oxygen to plant roots and is improved in its ability to prevent the spread of infectious diseases through the culture solution.

Conventional hydroponic cultivation equipment uses various techniques to increase dissolved oxygen in the culture solution, but in high temperature periods or when the plants are sufficiently large, the amount of dissolved oxygen supplied is less than the amount consumed by the roots. However, each manufacturer is trying to improve this issue.

In addition, most hydroponic cultivation systems use a method that circulates the culture solution, but if a soil (water carrier) infectious disease occurs in one of the seven cultivation tanks, the culture solution will be recirculated. Due to circulation, soil (water-borne) infectious diseases may spread to other cultivation tanks within a short period of time. A method that satisfies both conditions has not been established.

The present invention was achieved as a result of various studies aimed at simultaneously solving the above two problems in hydroponic cultivation equipment.

That is, the present invention provides a hydroponic cultivation tank in which at least the peripheral portion of the bottom of the liquid storage part is made of a flexible material, and a flexible and airtight material located below the bottom of the liquid storage part of the hydroponic cultivation tank. The present invention relates to a special cultivation system characterized by comprising one or more produced bag-like bodies and a fluid supply/discharge system connected to the bag-like bodies.

The hydroponic cultivation apparatus of the present invention will be described in detail below.

In the hydroponic cultivation apparatus of the present invention, a fluid such as water or air is injected under pressure into the bag-like body (2), and the culture solution in the liquid storage tank above the bag-like body (2) is pumped by the turgor pressure. By lifting up the bottom of the liquid storage part while pushing it away, you can lift the roots of the plant and bring them into sufficient contact with the air.

Furthermore, even when the roots of the plant are developing, sufficient air can be supplied to the entire roots.

In addition, by discharging the fluid from the bag-like body ■ through the exhaust system ■, the turgor pressure of the bag-like body disappears, the lower surface of the liquid storage part ■ falls down, and at the same time, the displaced culture fluid returns to its original location. When it returns, the culture solution will accumulate to its original depth, allowing the plant roots to be fully immersed in the culture solution.

Since this method exposes the roots directly to the air intermittently, it is less likely to cause root rot and easier to maintain root vitality than methods that rely on dissolved oxygen.

In addition, it is effective to frequently inflate the bag-like body ■ during periods of active breathing, and the fluid injected or discharged into the bag-like body ■ at the bottom of the liquid storage part ■ is safe, inexpensive, and easy to put in and take out. Any substance may be used, and water and air are suitable, for example.

When water is used, its own weight can be used, so it can be easily discharged from the bag. On the other hand, when air is used, it is easy to supply and discharge a large amount in a short time, and the structure of the discharge system can be simplified because the air can be simply exhausted into the atmosphere and does not need to be recovered. Also, unlike when using water, the weight of the air itself can be practically ignored, so even if there is a difference in height between cultivation tanks due to site conditions, uniform pressure can be transmitted between each cultivation tank, and the liquid can be stored. The lifting height of the bottom surface ■ can be kept constant.

However, when exhausting air from the bag-like body ■, the area near the discharge port contracts quickly, leaving a large amount of air in the bag-like body ■, and the bottom of the liquid storage part may not sink completely. Therefore, it is desirable to secure an exhaust path by inserting a spacer, etc.

Further, a heavy object for pressing may be placed on the bottom surface of the liquid storage section.

The pressure required to lift the bottom surface of the liquid storage part (usually 15 crn) in addition to the weight of the ungrooved culture solution stored in the liquid storage part is sufficient, and it is possible to apply a pressure of about several 10 crn in the water column. .

As the power for the fluid supply/discharge system (1), a compressor or blower can be used for gas, and a pump or the like can be used for liquid. As a blower, a turbo blower is suitable because it has an appropriate pressure and can blow a large amount of air.

The piping section of the fluid supply/discharge system may be completely independent for supply and discharge, or may be a shared type that is partially switchable via a solenoid valve or the like.

Specific examples of the flexible material used for the liquid storage portion and the bag-like body (1) include plastic sheets such as polyethylene, cloth-covered rubber sheets, and the like. The material is not limited to these, as long as it has sufficient waterproofness, airtightness, strength, flexibility, economic efficiency, and does not elute harmful substances.

Taking advantage of the fact that the culture solution in the cultivation tank is pushed away and returned as the bag-shaped body ③ expands and contracts, for example, two cultivation tanks of the same volume can be combined into a pair, or multiple cultivation tanks can be combined into two groups. By dividing the two into two and connecting piping to allow the culture solution to flow between the two, the culture solution displaced by the expansion of the bag-shaped body can temporarily raise the level of the other liquid, allowing a special tank to be used. It is also possible to dispense with the provision of .

However, it is easier to install two or more independent bag-like bodies in each hydroponic culture tank, so that they can expand and contract at different times, and lift a part of the bottom of the liquid reservoir ■. , it becomes possible to lower other parts at the same time.

- In this way, since the culture solution does not come and go between the plurality of cultivation tanks, it is possible to prevent soil (waterborne) infectious diseases from spreading between the cultivation tanks due to the culture solution.

Regardless of this method, it is possible to prevent the disease from spreading throughout the culture tank by dividing the group of cultivation tanks in which the culture solution is commonly circulated, but it is possible to prevent the spread of diseases throughout the culture tank. It is uneconomical because it requires a power source.

In addition, when using the hydroponic cultivation apparatus of the present invention, the so-called NFT hydroponic method (a small amount of culture solution is constantly poured onto a tilted bed), which has become popular in recent years as it is easy to supply sufficient oxygen to the roots. It is extremely safe against circulation damage, withering, etc., and has the advantage of being inexpensive as it only requires intermittent operation.

This will be explained below using the drawings.

1 to 4 schematically illustrate the hydroponic cultivation tank of the present invention.

(+= indicates the direction of fluid supplied to or discharged from the bag-shaped body ■, and ← indicates the direction of flow of the displaced culture solution.) Figure 1 shows the direction of the flow between the culture tank and another paired cultivation tank. The case where the culture solution is transferred back and forth is shown.

■ is the bottom of the liquid storage part, ■ is the bag-like body, ■ is the fluid supply/drainage system, ■ is the plant under cultivation, ■ is the pump, blower, etc. Q
Fluid supply power unit.

(2) is a communication tube through which the culture solution is pushed away by the bag, and (2) is a plant support.

When the power device (■) is activated and the fluid is forced into the bag-shaped body (■) to inflate it, the bottom of the liquid storage section rises while the culture solution is discharged to another cultivation tank via the connecting pipe (■). Eventually, the roots of the plant are lifted into the air, allowing the entire root to have sufficient contact with the air.

Here, in the supply/discharge system, the supply side valve a is open, and the discharge side valve a is closed.

Figures 2 to 4 show cases in which the bags are divided into groups of two or more small bags (■) so that they can expand and contract at different times in each hydroponic culture tank. It is a schematic diagram. Here, the side with two pouch-like bodies (3) is shown. (Fluid supply/discharge system ■ is omitted in Figures 8 and 4.)
Here, ■ is the fractionated pouch-like body, and ■ is the displaced culture solution.

In Figure 2, the power unit (2) is operated and fluid is supplied to the pouch-shaped body on the right side. Valve a2 is opened,
al and b2 are closed.

FIG. 3 shows a state in which the pouch-shaped body (2) is contracted and the bottom surface (2) of the liquid storage portion is also completely lowered. The power plant is not working.

FIG. 4 shows a state in which, contrary to FIG. 2, the left pouch (2) expands and the culture solution in the left zone is pushed away, allowing the roots to come into sufficient contact with the air. After this, the state returns to the state shown in FIG.

Although not shown in the figure, the bag-like body ■ or the pouch-like body ■ in the present invention has a single bag-like structure and has an in-line sheet.
As a result of an experiment made by making a bag-like body ■ that was heat-sealed in parallel at 5 cIn intervals, even in a wide cultivation tank with a width of 8 m, it was possible to achieve high heat only in the center. The height of the bulge can be adjusted by the sealing method, and the position and orientation of the seal can be selected as appropriate.

In both Figures 1 and 2, the supply system and discharge system are completely separated, but the discharge system of the bag-like body (or pouch-like body) on one side and their supply system on the other side are connected via tanks, Alternatively, it is possible to form a circuit directly sandwiching the power device without intervening, which is convenient when using water to be recovered as a fluid. This also applies to the case where they are two sides of the same coin, such that when one expands, the other contracts.

<Example> A control bed that is approximately box-shaped and only stores a culture solution, and a model bed that uses the method of the present invention that has a bag-like body at the bottom to intermittently supply and exhaust air. I made it and conducted a cucumber cultivation test. The results are shown in Table 1.

Growth in the plots using the method of the present invention was consistently good, and both water absorption (rllt fertilizer) and yield during the period exceeded the control plots, and it was judged that the amount of root respiration and vitality were maintained high. be done.

(1) Structure of hydroponic culture tank and bag-like body A foam sheet with a thickness of 4 m is spread on the leveled ground, and a foam sheet with a width of 40 m is placed on top of this.
cm x Length 5.0 m x Height 15 cm A wooden frame was placed, and a polyethylene sheet was stretched inside to serve as a liquid storage area.A polyethylene awning was placed on the inside of the frame, and one of the frames was filled with a foam sheet and a liquid storage area. Between the bottom surface of the polyethylene sheet and the polyethylene sheet, an agricultural vinyl acetate film tube with a total length of 4.815 cm was heat-sealed horizontally at the 2.4 V position to divide it into two parts, and each was further divided into approximately
Sheets were sealed vertically at intervals of 0cIf1, and a pouch-like body consisting of an assembly of four small cylinders was made and inserted. It was connected to each of the two pouch-shaped baby compressors.

This hydroponic bed was used as the hydroponic tank of the present invention, and the bag-like body was inflated intermittently (10 minutes per hour).

The other hydroponic cultivation tank was used as a control hydroponic tank that simply stored the culture solution.

(2) Management of culture solution Pour 100ml of tap water and use Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd.
45 cc of Liquid Fertilizer A and 90 cc of Liquid Fertilizer B were dissolved to prepare a culture solution, and the solution was replenished into a hydroponic culture tank so that the water depth at rest was 63 cc.

When the culture solution water depth became 8.5 ts or less, the culture solution was replenished to a depth of 51 ts.

The total amount of additional replenishment liquid until the end of the test was defined as the amount of water absorbed (installed) in each hydroponic cultivation tank.

(8) Overview of Cultivation Cucumber seedlings with 5 to 6 leaves were grown in pots using a rectifier, and 18 cucumber seedlings were planted per 5 m bed on April B.

Due to the stagnation of 5crR, growth initially seemed to be stagnant until some of the roots were renewed, but harvesting began on May 2nd and harvest surveys were conducted until May 25th. At the time of completion, the roots of the control plot were slightly yellowed, in contrast to the white roots of the plot of the present invention.

(4) Water absorption and harvest amount The total values from April 8th to May 25th are shown in the table below. Table 1

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIGS. 1 to 4 are all cross-sectional views of the hydroponic cultivation apparatus of the present invention. Φ: Bottom of liquid storage part ■ Two bag-like bodies ■ Two fluid supply/discharge systems ■: Plants under cultivation ■: Power device for fluid ■: Communication tube for culture solution between cultivation tanks ■ Support for two plants ■Divided pouch-like body ■=Culture solution a, al, a2. b, bt, b2: Valve flow direction of supply/discharge system two fluids +: Flow direction of culture solution Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 ■ Procedural amendment (voluntary) Manabu Shiga, Commissioner of the Japan Patent Office 2,゛Name of the invention Hydroponic cultivation device 3 Relationship with the person making the amendment Patent applicant address 5-15 Kitahama, Higashi-ku, Osaka Name (2)
09) Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd. Representative Hijikata
Takeshi 4, Agent 5, Detailed explanation of the invention column 6 of the specification subject to amendment, Contents of the amendment 1) In the 7th line from the bottom of page 8 of the specification, the words "liquid storage part lower surface" have been changed to " Corrected to ``bottom of liquid storage section''. 2] In the 11th line of page 5 of the specification, the phrase "exhaust system ■" is corrected to "exhaust system ■." 8) In the fifth line from the bottom of page 12 of the specification, the word "Cinelap" is corrected to "Minerap."that's all

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1) A hydroponic cultivation tank in which at least the peripheral part of the bottom of the liquid storage part is made of a flexible material, and a part of the hydroponic cultivation tank made of a flexible and airtight material located below the bottom of the liquid storage part. 1
A hydroponic cultivation device comprising one or more bag-like bodies and a fluid supply and discharge system connected to the bag-like bodies.