KR20200051951A - Plant cultivating apparatus having multistage shelf - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a multi-stage plant cultivation device, which comprises: a frame in which a plurality of loading racks in which a plurality of cultivation beds are stored are formed; a plurality of light source modules respectively disposed on top of the plurality of cultivation beds to irradiate light to crops accommodated in the cultivation beds; a plurality of nutrient solution supply modules supplying a nutrient solution to each of the plurality of cultivation beds; and a control module controlling the operation of the light source modules and the nutrient solution supply modules, wherein the control module comprises: a light environment control unit controlling each of the plurality of light source modules independently of each other; and an irrigation control unit controlling each of the plurality of nutrient solution supply modules independently of each other.

Description

PLANT CULTIVATING APPARATUS HAVING MULTISTAGE SHELF}

The present invention relates to a multi-stage plant cultivation apparatus including a plurality of loading racks, and more particularly, to a multi-stage plant cultivation apparatus that can independently control light and nutrient solution supplied to a plurality of cultivation beds.

In general, plant cultivation is achieved by applying fertilizer and water to seeds planted in the soil, and using photosynthesis that occurs in plants by sunlight.

However, in this cultivation method, not only climate change affects production, but also costs and environmental problems caused by the use of fertilizers and pesticides. In addition, because it takes a long time to cultivate the plant, it has not been able to keep up with the production compared to the demand of consumers.

In recent years, attention is paid to the fact that the growth of plants is made by photosynthesis, and by using the artificial light source (LED), the wavelength required for photosynthesis is not only promoted by the growth of plants, but also is not affected by the climate, and is pesticide-free. Eco-friendly plant cultivation methods capable of cultivating plants are in the spotlight.

A variety of structures are being developed for mass production of crops using the above-described cultivation method, and in particular, a multi-stage plant cultivation apparatus for storing a plurality of cultivation beds is also proposed.

However, in the case of a multi-stage plant cultivation device currently developed or released, an LED for irradiating an artificial light source and a nutrient solution supply device for supplying nutrient solution are provided, but each stage does not control the supply of LED and nutrient solution. There is a problem in that the multi-stage plant cultivation apparatus must accommodate only crops of the same kind.

In addition, in the case of crops, the optimal light irradiation conditions or nutrient solution supply conditions according to the growth can be extracted through experiments, etc. In the case of the conventional multi-stage plant cultivation device, the automatic control function of the artificial light source and the nutrient solution supply device over time Since it is not provided, there is a problem that it is difficult to control the supply of light and nutrient solution over time.

On the other hand, the following prior art documents disclose the technical content of the soil circulating plant cultivation apparatus capable of cultivating crops while circulating the soil in the device, and the technical subject of the present invention is not disclosed.

Republic of Korea Patent Registration No. 10-1319616

The multi-stage plant cultivation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention aims to solve the problems described above.

In order to supply light and nutrient solution to a plurality of loading trays, a plurality of light source modules and a plurality of nutrient solution supply modules are provided for each loading tray, but the plurality of light source modules can be controlled independently of each other, and a plurality of nutrient solution supply modules are also provided. It is to propose a multi-stage plant cultivation apparatus capable of simultaneously growing various varieties of crops in one plant cultivation apparatus by allowing them to be controlled independently of each other.

In addition, it is to propose a multi-stage plant cultivation apparatus capable of efficiently obtaining high-quality crops by allowing the light source module and the nutrient solution supply module to be automatically controlled based on optimization environment pattern information over time.

The problems of the present invention are not limited to those mentioned above, and other problems that are not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

Multi-stage plant cultivation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, a plurality of cultivation bed frame is formed with a plurality of loading trays are received; A plurality of light source modules respectively disposed on the plurality of cultivation beds to irradiate the crops accommodated in the cultivation beds; A plurality of nutrient solution supplying modules for supplying nutrient solution to each of the plurality of cultivation beds; And a control module for controlling the operation of the light source module and the nutrient solution supply module, wherein the control module is configured to control each of the plurality of light source modules independently of the light environment control unit and the plurality of nutrient solution supply modules. It includes an irrigation control unit to control each other independently.

The light environment control unit, a light amount control unit for controlling the amount of light generated by the light source module; A photoperiod control unit that controls an irradiation cycle of light generated from the light source module; And it is preferable to include; an optical wavelength control unit for adjusting the wavelength of light generated by the light source module.

It is preferable to further include a plurality of photosynthetic effective photon flux sensors for detecting the amount of light of each of the plurality of cultivation beds.

Preferably, the light quantity control unit controls the light quantity of the light based on the light quantity detected by the photosynthetic effective light quantity magnetic flux sensor.

Each nutrient solution supply module, a nutrient solution tank for receiving nutrient solution; A nutrient solution supply pump for discharging the nutrient solution contained in the nutrient solution tank; A supply pipe supplying the nutrient solution discharged from the nutrient solution supply pump to any one of the plurality of cultivation beds; A discharge pipe provided to recover the nutrient solution contained in any one of the plurality of cultivation beds into the nutrient solution tank; And a first valve that regulates the flow of nutrient solution in the discharge pipe.

It is preferable that the nutrient solution tank and the nutrient solution supply pump are disposed under the frame.

Each nutrient solution supply module is formed to be branched from the waste water pipe, a discharge pipe for discharging the nutrient solution received from the cultivation bed to the outside; And it is preferable to further include a; a second valve to regulate the flow of nutrient solution in the discharge pipe.

Preferably, the first valve is the normally open solenoid valve, and the second valve is the normally closed solenoid valve.

The irrigation control unit may include: a pump control unit controlling the nutrient solution supply pump; And a valve control unit controlling opening and closing of at least one of the first valve and the second valve.

It is preferable to further include; a water level sensor for detecting the water level of the nutrient solution supplied to the plurality of cultivation beds.

It is preferable that at least one of the pump control unit and the valve control unit controls at least one of the pump, the first valve, and the second valve based on the water level detected by the water level sensor.

The control module includes an input unit that receives information on the type and growth period of crops accommodated in each of the plurality of cultivation beds; And a storage unit in which optimization environment pattern information according to the type of crop and growth period information is stored.

The optimized environment pattern information includes light environment information including at least one of light quantity, photoperiod and light wavelength, and irrigation environment information including at least one of irrigation cycle, irrigation time and fresh water time, and the optical environment control unit Preferably, the plurality of light source modules are controlled based on the light environment information, and the irrigation control unit controls the plurality of nutrient solution supply modules based on the irrigation environment information.

The multi-stage plant cultivation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is configured to accommodate a plurality of cultivation beds, but provides a light source module and a nutrient solution supply module for supplying light and nutrient solution to each of the plurality of cultivation beds. It has the effect of efficiently producing crops of different varieties at the same time.

In addition, it is configured to supply light and nutrient solution by using optimized environment pattern information for each variety, so it can be expected to have an effect of efficiently producing high-quality crops.

The effects of the present invention are not limited to those mentioned above, and other effects that are not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

1 is a perspective view of a multi-stage plant cultivation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a block diagram briefly showing a control module in the configuration of a multi-stage plant cultivation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram specifically showing a light environment control unit among the control modules of FIG. 2.
4 is a view showing a first embodiment of the nutrient solution supply module of the configuration of a multi-stage plant cultivation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a view showing a second embodiment of the nutrient solution supply module of the configuration of a multi-stage plant cultivation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a block diagram specifically showing the irrigation control unit among the control modules of FIG. 2.

A preferred embodiment according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the same or similar elements will be given the same reference numbers regardless of the reference numerals, and redundant descriptions thereof will be omitted.

In addition, in the description of the present invention, when it is determined that detailed descriptions of related known technologies may obscure the subject matter of the present invention, detailed descriptions thereof will be omitted. In addition, it should be noted that the accompanying drawings are only for easy understanding of the spirit of the present invention and should not be interpreted as limiting the spirit of the present invention by the accompanying drawings.

The multi-stage plant cultivation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a frame 100, a plurality of light source modules 200, a plurality of nutrient solution supplying modules 300, and a control module 400 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. It is configured to include.

The frame 100 is a skeleton of a multi-stage plant cultivation apparatus, and a plurality of loading platforms are formed to seat a plurality of cultivation beds 10.

In FIG. 1, a multi-stage plant cultivation apparatus is illustrated in which two pallets are formed in the frame 100 and two cultivation beds 10 are seated. ) Is also acceptable.

The light source module 200 performs a function of irradiating light to the cultivation bed 10 mounted on the loading platform, and it is preferable that the cultivation bed 10 is disposed at a position opposite to the loading platform on which it is mounted, but is not limited thereto. However, it can be installed anywhere as long as it can provide the light necessary for the growth of the crop.

As described above, the light source module 200 is provided for each of the plurality of cultivation beds 10, so that each cultivation bed 10 is configured to irradiate light of different conditions.

In particular, the plurality of light source modules 200 provided for each cultivation bed 10 are controlled independently of each other by a control module 400, which will be described later, so that the amount of light irradiated to each cultivation bed 10, the irradiation cycle, and The wavelength and the like can be made different.

In addition, the light source module 200 may be composed of an LED module made of a printed circuit board (PCB) of a structure that is separated or combined in consideration of expandability along the entire length of the cultivation bed 10, Light is irradiated to the crop accommodated in the cultivation bed 10 through a plurality of LEDs in the LED module.

The nutrient solution supply module 300 performs a function of supplying nutrient solution to each of the plurality of cultivation beds 10, and is provided with one for each of the plurality of cultivation beds 10 as described above, so that each condition is different for each cultivation bed 10 It is configured to supply nutrient solution.

Each of the plurality of nutrient solution supply modules 300 includes a nutrient solution tank 310, a nutrient solution supply pump 320, a supply pipe 330, a drainage pipe 340, and a first valve 350 as shown in FIG. 1. It is configured to.

That is, in the case of a multi-stage plant cultivation apparatus configured to accommodate two cultivation beds as shown in FIG. 1, a nutrient solution tank 310, a nutrient solution supply pump 320, a supply tube 330, a drainage tube 340, and a first valve ( 350) should be provided in two.

The nutrient solution tank 310 performs a function of storing nutrient solution supplied to the crop, and the nutrient solution supply pump 320 performs a function of discharging the nutrient solution contained in the nutrient solution tank 310.

The supply pipe 330 is a flow path for supplying the nutrient solution discharged from the nutrient solution supply pump 320 to each of the plurality of cultivation beds 10, and the discharge pipe 340 is a nutrient solution tank for the nutrient solution contained in the plurality of cultivation beds 10 It is the euro to be recovered.

The first valve 350 performs a function of controlling the flow of nutrient solution in the drainage pipe 340. The reason why the first valve 350 is disposed in the drainage pipe 340 rather than the supply pipe 330 is cultivation. This is to implement a function of desalination of the crops accommodated in the bed 10.

In particular, the first valve 350 should be able to be automatically controlled by the control module 400, and considering that there are many open situations in general, the drain pipe 340 is used in the absence of current. It is preferable that the solenoid valve is a normally open type so that the drain pipe 340 can be closed by applying current only to a situation in which the crop needs to be opened and freshwater, thereby preventing unnecessary power loss.

 In addition, in order to prevent the risk of overturning the multi-stage plant cultivation apparatus by placing the overall center of gravity of the multi-stage plant cultivation apparatus at the bottom, in the case of the nutrient solution tank 310 and the nutrient solution supply pump 320, it is disposed under the frame 100 It is desirable to do.

On the other hand, if the nutrient solution is contaminated due to long-term use, it is necessary to discharge the nutrient solution from the drainage pipe 340 back to the nutrient solution tank 310 without being recovered.

Therefore, the nutrient solution supply module 300 according to an embodiment of the present invention may further include a discharge pipe 360 and a second valve 370 as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5.

Specifically, the discharge pipe 360 is formed to branch from the discharge pipe 340, and performs a function of discharging the nutrient solution received from the cultivation bed 10 to the outside, and the second valve 370 is within the discharge pipe 360 It performs the function of controlling the flow of nutrient solution.

That is, when the nutrient solution discharged through the discharge pipe 340 is recovered back into the nutrient solution tank 310, the second valve 370 is controlled to close the discharge tube 360, and the contaminated nutrient solution is discharged to the outside. The discharge pipe 360 should be opened by controlling the second valve 370.

The second valve 370 is disposed in the discharge pipe 360 as shown in FIG. 4 and should be automatically controlled by the control module 400. Considering that there are many closed situations in general, current When the discharge pipe 360 is closed during the normal time when is not applied, and when the contaminated nutrient solution is discharged through the discharge pipe 340 as it is, the current is applied to open the discharge pipe 360 so that the discharge pipe 360 is closed. Closed) Solenoid valve is preferred.

In addition, the second valve 370 may be installed in an area where the discharge pipe 360 branches from the discharge pipe 340, as shown in FIG. 5, in this case, the second valve 370 is a three-way valve (3- Way Valve).

Hereinafter, a control module 400 of a multi-stage plant cultivation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 2, 3, and 6.

The control module 400 is configured to control a plurality of light source modules 200 and a plurality of nutrient solution supply modules 300, as shown in FIG. 2, a light environment control unit 410, a watering control unit 420 , It may be configured to include an input unit 430, a storage unit 440, an output unit 450 and a communication unit 460.

As described above, the light environment control unit 410 is configured to perform a function of controlling each of the plurality of light source modules 200 independently of each other. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, the light amount control unit 411, Gwangju It consists of a control unit 412 and the light wavelength control unit 413.

The light amount control unit 411 performs a function of controlling the amount of light emitted from the light source module 200, and the photoperiod controller 412 performs a function of controlling the irradiation cycle of light generated by the light source module 200. In addition, the light wavelength control unit 413 performs a function of adjusting the wavelength of light generated from the light source module 200.

Meanwhile, the light environment control unit 410 automatically controls a plurality of light source modules 200 based on light environment information according to time set for each variety by experiment, so that it can efficiently produce excellent quality crops. do.

On the other hand, as described above, it is possible to control the light source module 200 based on the preset environmental information of each crop, which is provided by the light environment control unit 410 supplying the current of the preset pattern to the light source module 200 In this case, it is a problem to control the light source module 200 without considering the environment outside the actual multi-stage plant cultivation device, the influence of other light source modules disposed at the other end, or the failure or aging of the light source module 200. There is this.

Therefore, the multi-stage plant cultivation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention may be configured to further include a photosynthesis effective photon flux sensor 500 as shown in FIG. 3, and the photosynthesis effective photon flux sensor 500 is currently cultivated The amount of light irradiated to the bed 10 is measured in real time, and the light environment control unit 410 receives feedback of the measured light amount to check in real time whether the light source module 200 is controlled as desired by the user. have.

Furthermore, when the light environment control unit 410 determines that there is a difference between the actually irradiated light amount and the set light amount, the light source module 200 is extracted to the light source module 200 so that the light source module 200 can irradiate the set light amount. The applied current value can be automatically corrected, thereby increasing the reliability of the light source module 200.

After all, the plant cultivation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention can set the amount of light actually needed by the crop by utilizing the photosynthetic effective light flux sensor 500 compared to the conventional one-way control method, which is a light control method, and monitor in real time. The light quantity can be controlled to always match the set value.

The irrigation control unit 420 is configured to include a pump control unit 421 and a valve control unit 422 as shown in FIG. 6.

The pump control unit 421 performs a function of controlling the driving of the nutrient solution supply pump 320 described above, and the valve control unit 422 functions to control opening and closing of the first valve 350 and the second valve 370. Perform.

In addition, the multi-stage plant cultivation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention may further include a water level sensor 600 and a nutrient solution contamination sensor 700 as shown in FIG. 6.

The water level sensor 600 performs a function of detecting the water level of the nutrient solution supplied to the cultivation bed 10, and in real-time, the amount of nutrient solution supplied to the cultivation bed 10 in the situation where fresh water of the cultivation bed 10 is required in real time It is possible to appropriately control the nutrient solution supply pump 320, the first valve 350, and the like based on the detected content.

Furthermore, the nutrient solution contamination sensor 700 performs a function of detecting the degree of contamination of the nutrient solution supplied to the cultivation bed 10, and the contamination rate of the nutrient solution detected by the nutrient solution contamination sensor 700 is greater than a preset value. It is also possible to control the valve 370 so that the nutrient solution can be discharged to the outside without being recovered by the nutrient solution tank 310.

On the other hand, young crops in the early stage of growth require relatively low light quantity and long irrigation cycle (about once every few days), but mature crops in the last stage of growth have large photosynthesis and high amount of nutrient solution required for high light quantity and short Requires an irrigation cycle.

Therefore, the multi-stage plant cultivation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is provided with an input unit 430 and a storage unit 440 so that the environment such as a light environment and an irrigation cycle can be set differently for each period during the cultivation period of the crop. desirable.

The input unit 430 performs a function of receiving the type and growth period information of the crop accommodated in each of the plurality of cultivation beds 10, and the storage unit 440 optimizes environment pattern information according to the type of crop and the growth period information. It performs the function of saving.

Here, the optimized environment pattern information includes light environment information such as light quantity, photoperiod, and light wavelength, and irrigation environment information such as irrigation cycle, irrigation time, and fresh water time.

For example, in the multi-stage plant cultivation apparatus, when the first cultivation bed for growing lettuce is accommodated in the first loading rack and the second cultivation bed for growing broccoli in the second loading rack, the user input unit Through 430, information such as a corresponding pallet number, a type of crop to be accommodated in the pallet, and a desired growth period are input.

At this time, the control module 400 of the optimized environment pattern information stored in the storage unit 440, the light environment control unit using the light environment information and irrigation environment information matched with the information input by the user through the input unit 430 ( Let 410 control the light source module 200, and allow the irrigation control unit 420 to control the nutrient solution supply module 300.

In particular, the user can set the optimized environment pattern information by dividing 1 day into 1 to 10 segments based on the time set by the user, and then setting the light environment, irrigation cycle, and fresh water time for each segment. In order to create various environmental conditions, one to ten segments may be set as one optimization environment pattern information.

The user can easily operate the plant cultivation apparatus by blowing the required environmental pattern information among the plurality of optimized environmental pattern information stored in the storage unit 440 at a required time.

The output unit 450 performs a function of displaying the growth status of the multi-stage plant cultivation device, and specifically displays the type of crops growing in each loading platform, light environment information and irrigation environment information, and furthermore, a light source module 200 ) And the operation status of the nutrient solution supply module 300 can also be displayed.

The communication unit 460 functions to transmit information output from the output unit 450 to the outside, that is, the user's smart terminal or PC, and at the same time, the user remotely inputs the information to the input unit 410 through his terminal. You can perform the function to do.

Furthermore, it will be possible for the user to directly control the light source module 200 and the nutrient solution supply module 300 of the multi-stage plant cultivation device remotely through an external terminal.

The embodiments described in the present specification and the accompanying drawings are merely illustrative of some of the technical spirit included in the present invention. Therefore, the embodiments disclosed in the present specification are not intended to limit the technical spirit of the present invention, but to explain, and it is obvious that the scope of the technical spirit of the present invention is not limited by these embodiments. Within the scope of the technical spirit included in the specification and drawings of the present invention, modifications and specific embodiments that can be easily inferred by those skilled in the art are all included in the scope of the present invention. Should be interpreted.

10: cultivation bed
100: frame
200: light source module
300: nutrient solution supply module
400: control module

Claims (13)

A frame in which a plurality of loading stands in which a plurality of cultivation beds are respectively stored is formed;
A plurality of light source modules respectively disposed on the plurality of cultivation beds to irradiate the crops accommodated in the cultivation beds;
A plurality of nutrient solution supplying modules for supplying nutrient solution to each of the plurality of cultivation beds; And
A control module that controls the operation of the light source module and the nutrient solution supply module;
Including,
The control module is a multi-stage plant cultivation apparatus comprising a light environment control unit for controlling each of the plurality of light source modules independently of each other and a watering control unit for controlling each of the plurality of nutrient solution modules independently of each other.
According to claim 1, The light environment control unit,
A light amount control unit for controlling the amount of light generated by the light source module;
A photoperiod control unit that controls an irradiation cycle of light generated from the light source module; And
An optical wavelength control unit that controls the wavelength of light generated by the light source module;
Multi-stage plant cultivation apparatus comprising a.
According to claim 2,
A multi-stage plant cultivation apparatus further comprising; a plurality of photosynthetic effective light flux sensor for detecting the amount of light in each of the plurality of cultivation beds.
According to claim 3,
The light amount control unit is a multi-stage plant cultivation device for controlling the amount of light emitted from the light source module based on the amount of light detected by the photosynthetic effective photon flux sensor.
According to claim 1, Each of the nutrient solution supply module,
A nutrient solution tank for receiving nutrient solution;
A nutrient solution supply pump for discharging the nutrient solution contained in the nutrient solution tank;
A supply pipe supplying the nutrient solution discharged from the nutrient solution supply pump to any one of the plurality of cultivation beds;
A discharge pipe provided to recover the nutrient solution contained in any one of the plurality of cultivation beds into the nutrient solution tank; And
A first valve that regulates the flow of nutrient solution in the discharge pipe;
Multi-stage plant cultivation apparatus comprising a.
The method of claim 5,
The nutrient solution tank and the nutrient solution supply pump is a multi-stage plant cultivation device that is disposed under the frame.
According to claim 5, Each of the nutrient solution supply module,
A discharge pipe which is formed to branch from the discharge pipe, and discharges the nutrient solution received from the cultivation bed to the outside; And
A second valve that regulates the flow of nutrient solution in the discharge pipe;
Multi-stage plant cultivation device further comprising a.
The method of claim 7,
The first valve is the normally open (Normally Opened) solenoid valve, and the second valve is the closed (Normally Closed) solenoid valve.
According to claim 7, The irrigation control unit,
A pump control unit controlling the nutrient solution supply pump; And
A valve control unit controlling opening and closing of at least one of the first valve and the second valve;
Multi-stage plant cultivation apparatus comprising a.
The method of claim 9,
A multi-stage plant cultivation apparatus further comprising; a water level sensor for detecting the water level of the nutrient solution supplied to the plurality of cultivation beds.
The method of claim 10,
At least one of the pump control unit and the valve control unit is a multi-stage plant cultivation device for controlling at least one of the pump, the first valve and the second valve based on the water level detected by the water level sensor.
According to claim 1, The control module,
An input unit that receives information on the type and growth period of the crop accommodated in each of the plurality of cultivation beds; And
A storage unit storing optimized environment pattern information according to the type of crop and growth period information;
Multi-stage plant cultivation device further comprising a.
The method of claim 12,
The optimized environment pattern information includes light environment information including at least one of light quantity, photoperiod and light wavelength, and irrigation environment information including at least one of irrigation cycle, irrigation time and fresh water time,
The light environment control unit controls the plurality of light source modules based on the light environment information,
The watering control unit is a multi-stage plant cultivation device for controlling the plurality of nutrient solution supplying module based on the watering environment information.

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