KR102474291B1 - Heat circuration system for plant factory - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a heat circulation system of a closed plant factory capable of maximizing production by precisely controlling the temperature of a nutrient solution and the atmosphere in the closed plant factory to increase temperature uniformity. A heat circulation system of a plant factory according to one aspect of the present invention comprises: a container isolated from the outside to allow crops, arranged in a cultivation module, to grow; a water pump supplying a nutrient solution or water to the cultivation module; a nutrient solution container connected to the water pump to store the nutrient solution or water; and a chiller heating or cooling the nutrient solution or water stored in the nutrient solution container. The nutrient solution container includes a circulation part and a cooling part which are sealed from each other, and the chiller heats or cools the cooling part.

Description

Heat circulation system of plant factory {HEAT CIRCURATION SYSTEM FOR PLANT FACTORY}

The present invention relates to a heat circulation system, and more particularly, to a heat circulation system that precisely controls nutrient solution and atmospheric temperature while preventing contamination inside a closed plant factory.

A plant factory is a technology that produces plants in a closed space in which the internal environment is controlled.

These plant factories theoretically have a stable supply, are not affected by weather changes such as cooling or riots, typhoons, and are not damaged by pathogens or pests. In addition, it is mentioned as an advantage that crops can be supplied at a stable price. In addition, since the plant factory has high stability and no invasion of pathogens or pests, it is not necessary to spray pesticides for their prevention and control, and it is expected that safe production without pesticides will be possible.

However, the plant factories developed so far are still in their infancy. That is, controlling the closed environment of a plant factory requires very detailed control. In other words, the plant factory needs to control the operation of various target devices in a closed environment, and the operations of all target devices must be controlled in relation to each other. For example, even when the internal temperature is controlled, if only the temperature of the area adjacent to the air conditioner is controlled, the overall temperature control of the cultivation device where the crop is placed is not achieved, and eventually the growth environment of the plant is rapidly destroyed.

Furthermore, in the plant factory, detailed temperature control is required even in the case of the nutrient solution supplied to the cultivation machine. In particular, as the length of the growing season increases, temperature deviations between one end and the other end occur. Such temperature deviations cause deviations in crop growth, eventually leading to deviations in quality. Therefore, temperature control of nutrient solution or water along with atmospheric temperature control is very important in plant factories.

However, to date, only the abstract structure of a plant factory and the content of abstractly controlling the environment for crop cultivation have been disclosed, such as in the prior art literature.

Korean Patent Registration No. 10-2128166 (2020.6.23), Title of Invention: Plant Cultivation System

The present invention is to solve the problems of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to precisely control the nutrient solution and atmospheric temperature in a closed plant factory to increase the uniformity of temperature and maximize production. Provides the plant's heat circulation system.

A plant factory heat circulation system according to an aspect of the present invention is a container isolated from the outside and arranged in a cultivation module to grow crops, a water pump for supplying nutrient solution or water to the cultivation module, and a nutrient solution or water connected to the water pump. It includes a nutrient solution container for storing and a chiller for heating or cooling the nutrient solution or water stored in the nutrient solution container.

In this case, the chiller may include a chiller pump supplying refrigerant to the nutrient solution container, and the chiller pump may be disposed inside the container.

In addition, the heat circulation system further includes an air conditioner disposed on one side of the container to discharge air having a set temperature in a first direction, and the cultivation module is composed of at least one layer and flows in a second direction according to a height gradient. The nutrient solution or water moves, and the water pump may supply the nutrient solution or water to the cultivation module so that the cultivation module moves the nutrient solution or water in the second direction.

Also, the first direction and the second direction may be opposite to each other.

In addition, the heat circulation system further includes a temperature sensor, the temperature sensor measures the temperature of the nutrient solution or water of the cultivation module, and the chiller heats or cools the refrigerant according to the temperature of the nutrient solution or water of the cultivation module. .

In addition, the temperature sensor may be disposed between a point spaced the longest distance from the chiller in the cultivation module and a central region of the cultivation module.

In addition, the nutrient solution container may be divided into a circulation unit and a cooling unit by a heat exchange unit, and the circulation unit may have a smaller volume than the cooling unit.

In addition, the winter pump, the nutrient solution container, and the chiller may be formed on one side of the container in the order of the winter pump, the nutrient solution container, and the chiller.

In addition, the heat circulation system of the plant factory according to another aspect of the present invention is isolated from the outside and is connected to a container in which crops placed in the cultivation module grow, a water pump for supplying nutrient solution or water to the cultivation module, and the water pump A nutrient solution container for storing nutrient solution or water, a chiller for heating or cooling the nutrient solution or water stored in the nutrient solution container, and an air conditioner disposed inside the container for discharging air at a set temperature in a first direction, the nutrient solution container The temperature of the nutrient solution or water stored in the chiller is controlled so that it does not come into contact with the refrigerant of the chiller, and the nutrient solution or water in the nutrient solution tank cooled by the chiller is moved from the cultivation module by the pump, and the nutrient solution or water is moved from the cultivation module The direction is opposite to the first direction.

The present invention maintains the temperature of the nutrient solution or water within the set range by means of an indirect contact by means of a chiller directly connected to the nutrient solution container, thereby preventing contamination of the nutrient solution, and organically installing and controlling the air conditioner, dehumidifier, and ventilation unit together to crop crops. It is possible to achieve temperature control optimized for the cultivation of

1 is a block diagram of a plant factory heat circulation system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a view showing the sensor unit of FIG. 1 in more detail.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the target device of FIG. 1 in more detail.
4 is a diagram for explaining the operation of each target device in the closed plant factory heat circulation system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail so that those skilled in the art can easily implement it. Since the present invention can have various changes and various embodiments, it will be described in detail by exemplifying specific embodiments in the drawings. However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to specific embodiments, and should be understood to include all modifications, equivalents, and substitutes included in the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Terms including ordinal numbers, such as first and second, may be used to describe various components, but the components are not limited by the terms. These terms are only used for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another.

For example, a first element may be termed a second element, and similarly, a second element may be termed a first element, without departing from the scope of the present invention. The terms and/or include any combination of a plurality of related recited items or any of a plurality of related recited items.

Unless defined otherwise, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention belongs. Terms such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with the meaning in the context of the related art, and unless explicitly defined in the present application, they should not be interpreted in an ideal or excessively formal meaning. don't

Hereinafter, a heat circulation system 1000 of a plant factory according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. 1 is a block diagram of a heat circulation system of a plant factory according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a view showing the sensor unit of FIG. 1 in more detail, and FIG. 3 is a view showing the target device of FIG. 1 in more detail. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the operation of each target device in the plant factory heat circulation system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the heat circulation system 1000 of a plant factory according to an embodiment of the present invention is blocked from the external atmosphere and external light to separately and independently control internal crop growth conditions. Largely, the sensor unit 100, It includes a control unit 200, a target device 300, a cultivation module 400 and a server 500.

Referring to FIG. 2, the sensor unit 100 detects internal environmental conditions, and more specifically, includes a temperature sensor 110 for detecting internal temperature, a humidity sensor 120 for detecting internal humidity, and an internal CO2 concentration. It may further include a CO2 sensor 130 for measuring and a flow sensor 140 for detecting the flow of water, and a pH sensor (not shown) and an EC sensor (not shown) provided in the nutrient solution container.

At this time, it is preferable that the humidity sensor 120 and the CO2 sensor 130 are disposed in an internal gas atmosphere, and a plurality of them are arranged for each zone to obtain an average value. This is because a temperature gradient may be generated even when the internal space is partitioned using a large-area container.

However, it is preferable that the temperature sensor 110 be additionally disposed in the cultivation module 400 in addition to being disposed in the internal gas atmosphere. This is to measure the temperature of the nutrient solution or water. At this time, the temperature sensor 110 is preferably disposed between the other end point of the cultivation module 400 that is the longest distance away from the chiller 390 and the central region of the cultivation module 400 .

This is because the other end point, which is the longest distance from the chiller 390, is the most important sensing point because the temperature rises the most as the nutrient solution or water moves, which can cause fatigue of plants placed at that point. ) and the point spaced the longest distance is the part that first contacts the cooled air according to the operation of the air conditioner 310 to be described later, so a temporary temperature drop occurs according to the operation of the air conditioner, so that the center area at the other end of the cultivation module 400 It is preferable to measure the temperature of the nutrient solution or water in between. At this time, the chiller 390 heats or cools the refrigerant according to the measured temperature of the nutrient solution or water.

Meanwhile, the control unit 200 controls the target device 300 according to the detected value of the sensor unit 100 to optimize internal environmental conditions. In more detail, the control unit is the target device 400, which is the air conditioner 310, the light source 320, the dehumidifying unit 330, the ventilation unit 340, the local fan 350, and the CO2 valve 360. The entire heat circulation is controlled by controlling the nutrient solution container 370, the water pump 380, and the chiller 390. At this time, the spatial organicity of each target device 400 becomes very important.

Referring to FIG. 4 , first, the air circulation system 1000 according to an embodiment of the present invention is isolated from the outside and includes a container C in which crops in which the cultivation module 400 is placed grow.

The cultivation modules 400 according to the present embodiment are arranged in a plurality of stages 400a and 400b inside the container C. In the drawing, the cultivation module 400 is formed of two, but is not limited thereto, and is preferably arranged so that the number of rows and columns is maximized within the allowable internal area.

Basically, the cultivation module 400 allows a plurality of crops 11 to be arranged and grown on the crop base 12, and causes roots to emerge from the lower portion of the crop base 12. At this time, since the water pump 380 transfers water from the bottom to the cultivation module 400, each crop 11 receives water or nutrient solution. That is, the water pump 380 supplies the nutrient solution or water so that the nutrient solution or water is moved in the second direction in the cultivation module 400 .

At this time, the cultivation module 400 forms a height gradient so that water moves to one side according to gravity, and the finally moved water falls into a watering can (not shown). More specifically, in each layer of the cultivation modules 400a and 400b, the nutrient solution or water supplied from one end by the water pump 380 moves in the same direction, and is collected in the watering can by free fall at the other end and circulated again. .

To this end, referring to FIG. 4 , the length of reference numeral ha is greater than the length of hb. That is, nutrient solution or water flows from the right side of the cultivation module 400 to the left side. At this time, in FIG. 4, there is no significant difference in the lengths of ha and hb, but when one cultivation module has a height gradient in an actual large-capacity container, the actual length deviation may be very large.

The nutrient solution or water is adjusted to a set temperature by the chiller 390 applying the refrigerant in the nutrient solution container 380. The set temperature here mainly means a cooled temperature, but of course also includes a case of warming.

At this time, the first air conditioner 310a is disposed above one side (left side) of the container C and discharges air having a first set temperature to the other side (right side, first direction). Also, here, the first set temperature refers to a temperature greater than or less than the target temperature after a set time. However, it is obvious that the first set temperature may be variously changed according to the control temperature conditions.

Here, however, it is preferable that the direction in which the nutrient solution or water flows (the second direction) is set opposite to the direction in which the first air conditioner 310a discharges air. When the direction in which the nutrient solution or water flows is the same as the direction in which the first air conditioner 310a discharges air, cooling of the nutrient solution by the chiller 390 and cooling by the air conditioner 310 are overlapped.

As this causes cold damage to plants, power consumption of the air conditioner becomes significant. Therefore, as described above, it is preferable to install an air conditioner in the vicinity of the region where the nutrient solution or water cooled by the chiller has moved the longest distance (preferably, the region between the longest distance and the intermediate region of the cultivation module to reduce the temperature difference). .

Meanwhile, the first ventilation unit 340a is disposed on the upper side to guide the air discharged from the first air conditioner 310a to the other side. Here, the first ventilation unit 340a serves to induce air from one side to the other side (right direction in FIG. 4 ). However, although the first ventilation unit 340a is shown as one in FIG. 4 , a plurality of first ventilation units 340a may be disposed in proportion to the length of the cultivation module 400 .

The second air conditioner 310b is disposed on the other side of the container, draws in air transferred from the first ventilation unit 310a and ambient air, and discharges air having a second set temperature downward. Here, the second set temperature may be the same as the above-described first set temperature or set differently depending on whether heat is emitted due to operation of the peripheral target device.

The dehumidifying unit 400 serves to remove moisture generated by transpiration of crops. In a large-capacity plant factory, a wide range of moisture is required to be removed, and at this time, a large amount of heat is released. Therefore, in the air circulation system 1000 according to an embodiment of the present invention, the dehumidifier 330 includes at least one dehumidifier, and the air discharged from the dehumidifier is supplied to the first air conditioner 310a or the second air conditioner 310b. direction, so that the heat released on the minimum path is absorbed. 4, the first air conditioner 310a absorbs the heat emitted by the first dehumidifier 330a on the shortest path, and the heat emitted by the second dehumidifier 330b is absorbed by the second air conditioner 310b on the shortest path. It is shown that air dehumidified for absorption is discharged.

The light source 320 may include a plurality of LEDs disposed on the cultivation module 400 to apply light to the cultivation module 400 . At this time, the LED is preferably used by mixing red-based light to compensate for red-based light, which is a wavelength peak lacking in normal white light and normal white light. In addition, at this time, when the light emitted by using the blue-based bare chip is excited by the phosphor and expresses white, the blue-based wavelength peak is struck and can be used to supplement the blue-based light required for photosynthesis. In the case where the wavelength peak of the bare chip itself is light separated from the blue series, it is also desirable to add another LED separately emitting blue light. Accordingly, the growth rate can be increased by allowing the chlorophyll of crops to mainly absorb blue-violet light (430-460 nm) and red light (630-680 nm).

By the way, in the closed plant factory air circulation system 1000 according to an embodiment of the present invention, an AC-DC conversion unit 325 for converting DC supplied to LEDs is installed on the cultivation module 400 at a distance. In other words, the AC-DC conversion unit 325 is disposed electrically connected to the LED module constituted by the plurality of LEDs and spaced apart by a set distance or more. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 4, the AC-DC conversion unit 325 is installed in an area adjacent to a path through which the air discharged from the dehumidifying unit 330 is directed toward the first air conditioner 310a or the second air conditioner 310b. .

Therefore, the heat emitted by the AC-DC conversion unit 325 is introduced while forming the shortest distance to the first air conditioner 310a or the second air conditioner 310b, like the heat emitted by the dehumidifying unit 330 described above. increase can be minimized. In this case, unlike the case shown in FIG. 4, AC-DC converters 325 may be formed in plurality and the same number may be symmetrically arranged. That is, the AC-DC conversion unit 325 is formed in an even number, and the same number is installed adjacent to the air conditioner 310 while installed on one side and the other side of the container, respectively, so that differential application of heat can be minimized.

The second ventilation unit 340b is disposed below the container C to guide the air discharged from the second air conditioner 310b downward to one side. Here, the second ventilation unit 340b serves to induce air from the other side to one side (left direction in FIG. 4). Similarly, although the second ventilation unit 340b is shown as one in FIG. 4 , a plurality of second ventilation units 340b may be disposed in proportion to the length of the cultivation module 400 . At this time, in order to ensure the integrity of air circulation, the cultivation module 400 is preferably disposed between the first ventilation unit 340a and the second ventilation unit 340b.

Meanwhile, as described above, the cultivation module 400 is preferably formed in a plurality of stages for high-intensity mass production. In this case, if the degree of integration is further increased, vortexes are generated between each cultivation module, which may act as an obstacle to air circulation. Therefore, in the air circulation system 1000 according to an embodiment of the present invention, at least one local fan 350 for guiding air in one direction is attached to each of the cultivation modules 400a and 400b.

At this time, it is preferable that the air induction direction of the local fan 350 disposed at the top and the air induction direction of the local fan 350 provided at the bottom are formed differently from each other. In the case of the local fan 350 disposed at the top in FIG. 4, air is assisted in guiding the air to the right side same as the main air movement direction, and in the case of the local fan disposed at the bottom, the air is induced to the left side same as the main air movement direction It is shown that it is assisting. Since air circulation in the main direction is assisted by the action of the local fan 350, more uniform air circulation and temperature control are possible.

The nutrient solution container 370 is connected to the water pump 380 to store nutrient solution or water, and the chiller 390 heats or cools the nutrient solution or water stored in the nutrient solution container 370. To this end, the nutrient solution tank 370 is composed of the cultivation module 400, the circulation unit 371 constituting the water circulation system, and the cooling unit 372 into which the refrigerant flows. The chiller heats or cools the cooling unit 372 to maintain the nutrient solution or water at a set temperature.

However, in large-capacity plant factories, rapid real-time control of nutrient solution or water is very important. This is because the growth rate of crops must always be guaranteed at a certain level. Therefore, it is preferable to make the volume of the cooling unit 372 smaller than the volume of the circulation unit 371 so that the time required to reach the set temperature becomes faster.

Meanwhile, the chiller 390 further includes a chiller pump (not shown) for supplying refrigerant to the nutrient solution container, and the chiller pump is preferably disposed inside the container C. Furthermore, it is preferable that the water pump 380, the nutrient solution container 370, the chiller pump, and the chiller 390 are disposed on one side of the container in the order described sequentially from the shortest distance. This is to prevent waste of power and to minimize the insertion of contaminants into the refrigerant. In addition, since the nutrient solution or water in the nutrient solution container 370 is installed so that the refrigerant of the chiller is not contacted, contamination of the nutrient solution by contaminants is further minimized.

As described above, the present invention can achieve remarkably uniform temperature control by controlling the temperature of the nutrient solution by organically connecting it to the air conditioner, the dehumidifying unit, and the ventilation unit while preventing contamination of the nutrient solution.

Furthermore, according to the present invention, more uniform temperature control can be achieved by separating the heat emitted from the light source so that the separated portion is directly absorbed by the air conditioner.

In addition, the present invention controls the heat controlled by the air conditioner and the heat emitted by other target devices together in one air circulation path, while promoting the movement of the nutrient solution in the opposite direction to this circulation path, so that optimal cultivation of crops and power consumption can be further reduced. can

In the above specification and drawings, preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed, and although specific terms have been used, they are only used in a general sense to easily explain the technical content of the present invention and help understanding of the present invention, and the present invention It is not intended to limit the scope of It is obvious to those skilled in the art that other modified examples based on the technical spirit of the present invention can be implemented in addition to the embodiments disclosed herein.

C: container
11: crops
12: crop base
100: sensor unit
110: temperature sensor
120: humidity sensor
130: CO2 sensor
140: water flow sensor
200: control unit
300: target device
310, 310a, 310b: air conditioner
320: light source
325 AC-DC converter
330,330a,330b: dehumidification unit
340: ventilation
350: local fan
360: CO2 valve
370: nutrient solution container
371: circulation unit
372: cooling unit
375: heat exchange unit
380: water pump
390: chiller
400, 400a, 400b: cultivation module
500: server
1000: plant factory heat circulation system

Claims (9)

A container in which crops isolated from the outside and placed in the cultivation module grow;
a water pump supplying nutrient solution or water to the cultivation module;
a nutrient solution container connected to the water pump to store nutrient solution or water;
a chiller for heating or cooling the nutrient solution or water stored in the nutrient solution container; and
An air conditioner disposed on one side of the container to discharge air having a set temperature in a first direction;
including,
The nutrient solution container is composed of a circulation part and a cooling part that are sealed to each other, and the chiller heats or cools the cooling part,
In the cultivation module, the nutrient solution or water moves in a second direction opposite to the first direction according to the height gradient,
The water pump supplies nutrient solution or water to the cultivation module so that the cultivation module moves the nutrient solution or water in the second direction.
According to claim 1,
The chiller includes a chiller pump supplying refrigerant to the nutrient solution container,
The chiller pump is a heat circulation system of a plant factory, characterized in that disposed inside the container.
delete delete According to claim 1,
The heat circulation system further includes a temperature sensor,
The temperature sensor measures the temperature of the nutrient solution or water of the cultivation module,
The chiller is a heat circulation system of a plant factory, characterized in that for heating or cooling the refrigerant according to the temperature of the nutrient solution or water of the cultivation module.
According to claim 5,
The temperature sensor is a heat circulation system of a plant factory, characterized in that disposed between a point spaced the longest distance from the chiller in the cultivation module and a central region of the cultivation module.
According to claim 1,
The nutrient solution container is divided into a circulation part and a cooling part by a heat exchange part,
The heat circulation system of the plant factory, characterized in that the volume of the circulation portion is formed smaller than the volume of the cooling portion.
According to claim 1,
The water pump, the nutrient solution container, and the chiller are heat circulation systems of plant factories, characterized in that formed on one side of the container in the order of the winter pump, the nutrient solution container, and the chiller.
delete

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