KR20210096423A - Apparatus for cultivating aquatic plant - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a hydroponics apparatus for plants to efficiently cultivate a small amount of plants of various kinds. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the hydroponic apparatus for plants cultivates plants in a hydroponics method using an LED as a light source, and the hydroponics apparatus comprises: a housing having the inner part divided into a plurality of spaces and having an opening formed on the front surface to be covered by a door; a culture unit inserted into the housing to be positioned in any one of the spaces and having seeds of the plants disposed on one side to face the LED; a nutrient solution supply unit supplying a diluted nutrient solution to the culture unit; and a control unit independently controlling a cultivation environment of the plant in the spaces according to the type of seeds or the growth state of the plant. The culture unit includes a support part inclined with respect to the ground and a medium part mounted on one surface of the support part. The medium part includes a plurality of depressions in which the seeds are arranged in a line, a water supply part connected to the nutrient solution supply unit and supplying the nutrient solution from one side of the depression to the other side of the depression, and a partition part protruding between the depressions to form a water passage for the nutrient solution.

Description

Hydroponic plant cultivation apparatus {APPARATUS FOR CULTIVATING AQUATIC PLANT}

One embodiment of the present invention relates to a hydroponic plant cultivation apparatus that can be used at home.

In soil cultivation, the soil environment was continuously deteriorated due to excessive use of pesticides, chemical fertilizers, and multi-crop cultivation without fall season. there is.

This soil-free nutrient solution cultivation is the result of advanced agricultural countries such as the Netherlands, Denmark, France, and Israel establishing a high-tech, high-quality, high-production system by means of a centrally controlled automation system. It is leading the horticultural market as well as the related equipment market.

Recently, in Korea, as well as the spotlight of facility vegetables, the demand for clean vegetables is increasing, and interest in nutrient solution cultivation is increasing. In Korea, nutrient solution cultivation started around 1980 and is currently widely used in crops such as cucumbers, tomatoes and peppers, leafy vegetables such as lettuce, water parsley and perilla, and flowers such as roses and carnations.

Nutrient solution cultivation is a method of cultivating crops while supplying with oxygen by making a culture solution in which nutrients are dissolved in water in an appropriate ratio, rather than receiving water and nutrients needed for crop growth from the soil.

Nutrient culture is divided into air culture, hydroponics and solid culture according to the type of medium and the method of supplying the culture medium. The aeroponic cultivation is a method in which the bed is half filled with the culture solution and intermittently sprayed with the culture solution to the roots exposed to the air, and the hydroponic cultivation is a method of culturing in a state in which the roots are precipitated in the culture solution, and the solid medium culture culture is a method of cultivating crops by supporting crops with a solid medium and supplying the culture medium in various ways.

This nutrient solution cultivation excludes complex soil factors and cultivates crops, so the same crop can be repeatedly grown in the same place without any obstacles to continuous cultivation. It is evaluated as a technology that can be automated as unnecessary management tasks are significantly reduced, annual production is increased because growth is generally fast, and can be grown in places where it is difficult to secure agricultural land or where it is impossible to grow crops due to soil contamination. .

In particular, hydroponics is growing plants in a culture medium made of water and water-soluble nutrients without using soil, so you can directly observe the condition and growth of the roots, and you can produce clean, uncontaminated vegetables or crops. It can be easily cultivated in the house, and serves to decorate the house. Most of the plants that can be grown hydroponically are monocotyledonous plants with beard roots. In addition, bulbs such as tulips, hyacinths and daffodils, fruit trees such as pineapples, vegetables such as taro, sweet potatoes, onions, and bean sprouts, flowers such as begonias, violets, geraniums and marigolds, and houseplants such as ferreromia, ivy and fortune trees are all hydroponic. Cultivation is possible.

In general hydroponics, a method of arranging circular cultivation spheres at appropriate intervals on a styrofoam plate-type cultivation plate, inserting a polyurethane sponge medium into the cultivation sphere, planting seeds or seedlings here, and supplying the culture medium is used. .

A device for cultivating plants at home in a hydroponics method has not yet been commercialized. In order to grow plants at home, it is necessary to cultivate them in a multi-variety, small-volume production method, but since users do not have the know-how of plant cultivation, even if commercialization is achieved, the utilization may be reduced.

Accordingly, an apparatus capable of efficiently cultivating multi-variety plants may be considered even if the user does not directly set up a cultivation environment suitable for plant cultivation.

Korean Patent Publication No. 2009-0091584 (2009.08.28)

It is an object of the present invention to provide a hydroponic plant cultivation apparatus capable of cultivating plants more efficiently in a multi-variety, small amount method.

In order to achieve the above object of the present invention, the hydroponic plant cultivation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention grows plants in a hydroponic manner using an LED as a light source, and the cultivation apparatus has a plurality of spaces inside. The housing is partitioned, the opening formed in the front is covered by the door; a culture unit inserted into the housing so as to be positioned in any one of the spaces, the seeds of the plant being disposed on one side to face the LED; a nutrient solution supply unit for supplying the diluted nutrient solution to the culture unit; and a control unit for independently controlling the cultivation environment of the plant in the spaces according to the kind of the seed or the growth state of the plant, wherein the culture unit includes: a support part inclined with respect to the ground; and a medium portion seated on one surface of the support portion, wherein the medium portion includes: a plurality of depressions in which the seeds are arranged in a line; a water supply unit connected to the water nutrient solution supply unit and supplying the water nutrient solution from one side of the depression to the other side of the depression; and a partitioning portion protruding between the depressions to form a water passage for the nutrient solution.

According to an example related to the present invention, the control unit is formed to automatically adjust the angle of inclination of the support part according to the kind of the seed or the growth state of the plant, and the partition part includes an upper first member and a lower part. and a second member of , and a boundary dividing the first member and the second member is formed to be inclined so that one side is in contact with the water supply part and the other side is in contact with the support part.

According to an example related to the present invention, the control unit is connected to a server and a network, and the server accumulates data related to the growth of the plant through sensors and cameras disposed in each space, and from the accumulated data The cultivation environment of the plant may be changed by extracting factors related to the cultivation environment in the cultivation apparatus related to the growth of the plant, and changing the factors through the control unit.

In the hydroponic plant cultivation apparatus according to at least one embodiment of the present invention configured as described above, a server connected to a network collects data related to the growth of a plant from each cultivation apparatus, learns it, and finds an optimal growth condition. By changing the growing environment inside, it is possible to more efficiently grow a small amount of multi-variety plants at home.

1 is a front perspective view of a hydroponic plant cultivation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 2 is a rear perspective view of a hydroponic plant cultivation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 3 is a view of a state in which the door is removed from the hydroponic plant cultivation apparatus of Figure 1;
4 is a conceptual view of the culture unit shown in FIG.

Hereinafter, specific embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The embodiment of the present invention is intended to explain one invention, and the scope of rights is not limited to the illustrated embodiment, and the illustrated drawings are limited to the drawings because only the essential content is enlarged and illustrated for clarity of the invention and incidental elements are omitted. should not be interpreted as such. The suffixes "module" and "part" for the components used in the following description are given or mixed in consideration of only the ease of writing the specification, and do not have a meaning or role distinct from each other by themselves. In the present specification, the same and similar reference numerals are assigned to the same and similar components in different embodiments, and the description is replaced with the first description. As used herein, the singular expression includes the plural expression unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

1 is a front perspective view of a hydroponic plant cultivation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of a hydroponic plant cultivation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is the hydroponic plant cultivation apparatus of FIG. It is a view of the state in which the door is removed, and FIG. 4 is a conceptual view of the culture unit shown in FIG. 3 .

1 to 4 , the hydroponic plant cultivation apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a housing 101 , a culture unit 110 , a water nutrient solution supply unit 120 , and a control unit 150 . .

The housing 101 is formed of a metal or synthetic resin material to seal the inside. The space inside the housing 101 is divided into a plurality of spaces. For example, as shown in FIG. 1 , it may be partitioned into three spaces. The culture unit 110 may be disposed in the space of the upper part and the middle part, respectively. In addition, the nutrient solution supply unit 120 may be formed in the space formed below.

An opening is formed on the front surface of the housing 101 to open the front surface, and the door 102 is coupled to the housing 101 to cover the opening. A sealing portion may be formed in a portion where the door 102 covers the opening. The sealing part 103 may be formed to seal the space of the upper part and the middle part where the culture part 110 is located in particular. For the sealing part 103, for example, a packing material made of synthetic resin formed on the edge of the refrigerator door 102 may be used.

The culture unit 110 may be detachably inserted along the guides formed on both sides of the inside of the housing 101 . Plant seeds 10 are disposed on one surface of the culture unit 110 , and the light supply unit 109 (LED) formed inside the housing 101 irradiates light toward the seeds 10 .

The internal temperature control of the housing 101 may be made through the thermostat 131 implemented as a Peltier element. The temperature controller 131 is formed to be partially exposed on the rear surface of the housing 101 , and is formed to adjust the temperature of each space of the housing 101 .

A blower device 132 is formed in each space inside the housing 101 to control the concentration of CO2 or O2 inside the housing 101 .

A power supply 133 , a pump 134 , a fan 136 , and the like are disposed under the housing 101 . The pump 134 may be formed to adjust the mixing amount of the nutrient solution or to mix the nutrient solution. The nutrient solution supply unit 120 supplies the nutrient solution to the culture unit 110 through the solenoid valve 135 and the connecting pipes 161 and 162 . The nutrient solution supplied to the culture unit from the nutrient solution supply unit 120 may be circulated. At this time, the controller 150 may detect the state of the nutrient solution through various sensors 140 and readjust the components of the nutrient solution.

The nutrient solution is a mixture of nutrient solution and water at an appropriate ratio, and the nutrient solution is mixed in the ratio set by the server and stored in the nutrient solution supply unit 120 .

As the nutrient solution, a chemical fertilizer nutrient solution (standard nutrient solution from Korea Horticultural Testing Center: product name "Poly Power 17-10-281+MgO)" can be used, or a fermented solution obtained by fermenting leaves collected from trees for organic cultivation can be used.

Referring to FIG. 4 , the culture unit 110 may include a support unit 111 and a medium unit 112 . The support 111 is formed to be inclined with respect to the ground. The angle of inclination of the support part 111 may be adjusted by the control part 150 which will be described later. The discharging unit 112 is positioned above the supporting unit 111 and supported by the supporting unit 111 . The discharge unit 112 is detachably seated on one surface of the support unit 111 .

The discharge unit 112 includes a recessed portion 112a, a water supply portion 112b and partition portions 111c and 111d. The depression 112a is chemically stable and is formed so as not to decay or change in pH due to a reaction with nutrient solution during the cultivation period, grain bran (Hulls: Rice, Wheat, Rye, Oats and Barley etc.), sawdust ( Sawdust, Peat moss, Pine Shaving, Sheredded Pine Bark, Coconut Fibers, Hemp, Perlite, Vermiculite, Zeolite, Diatomite Diatomaceous Earth) and clay (Montmorillonite) can be formed by appropriately mixing a binding material including at least one of and a binding material such as waste paper made into a fibrous pulverized material.

Seeds 10 are arranged in a line in the depression (112a). The water supply part 112b supplies the nutrient solution toward the depression part 112a. The water nutrient solution supplied through the water supply part 112b wets the depression part 112a while moving from one side to the other side along the inclined depression part 112a. The partitioning portions 111c and 111d are formed on both sides of the recessed portion 112a to form a water passage for the nutrient solution. The seeds 10 may be disposed in the recessed portion (112a) of the inner portion from one side of the recessed portion (112a).

In particular, since the upper portion 111c of the partitions 111c and 111d must maintain the shape of the water channel, it may be formed of a water-resistant material. For example, it may be made of a biodegradable resin. For example, the biodegradable resin is polylactic acid (PLA), polyglycolic acid (PGA), polycaprolactone (PCL), polyvinyl alcohol, polybutylene succinate (Polybutylene succinate, PBS) ), polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA), copolymer of butylene succinate and adipate [Poly (butylene succinate-co-adipate), PBS/A], butylene adipate and butylene terephthalate A copolymer [Poly (butylene adipate-co-bytylene terephtalate), PBA/BT] and a copolymer of butylene adipate and terephthalate [Poly (butylene adipate-co-terephtalate), PBA/T] selected from the group consisting of It may be formed including one or more.

The lower portions 111d of the partitions 111c and 111d may be formed of the same material as the recessed portions 112a.

A boundary dividing the upper portion 111c and the lower portion 111d of the partitions 111c and 111d is formed to be inclined. As shown in FIG. 4 , the boundary is formed to contact the support 111 from the opposite side of the water supply 112b. That is, the partitions 111c and 111d include an upper first member 111c and a lower second member 111d, and a boundary dividing the first member 111c and the second member 111d is formed to be inclined. It is formed so that one side is in contact with the water supply part (112b) and the other side is in contact with the support part (111). As such, the boundary extends in the diagonal direction from the partitions 111c and 111d, one side is formed to contact the water supply unit 112b, and the other side is formed to contact the support unit 111 . The reason why the boundary extends diagonally in this way is to allow the upper portions of the partitions 111c and 111d to sufficiently absorb the nutrient solution to the inside while serving as a guide for forming a water channel. A plurality of rods 115b and 115c, a connection part 115a, and a slide part 115d may be formed under the support part to adjust the inclination of the support part according to a signal from the controller. When the slide part moves along the first rod 115c, the height of the support part connected to the second rod 115b is changed and the inclination of the support part may be adjusted.

1 to 2 , the control unit 150 and the communication unit 160 are formed on the upper portion of the housing 101 . And, the communication unit 160 enables communication between the hydroponic plant cultivation apparatus 100 and the server or between the hydroponic plant cultivation apparatus 100 and the network in which the server is located. The communication unit 160 may include at least one of a mobile communication module, a wireless Internet module, a short-range communication module, and a location information module.

The controller 150 controls the overall operation of the hydroponic plant cultivation apparatus 100 . When the user sets a certain condition, the control unit 150 may control the cultivation environment based on a signal detected by the sensor 140 and the camera disposed inside the housing 101 .

One or more cameras and various sensors 140 may be disposed inside the housing 101 . The camera and various sensors 140 may collect various data related to the growth of the housing 101 plant. For example, one or more sensors 140 for measuring temperature, humidity, illuminance, concentration of CO2 or O2, electrical conductivity (EC), PH, etc. may be disposed inside the housing 101 .

In the present invention, the control unit 150 transmits data collected through the sensors 140 or the camera related to the growth of plants to the server through communication with the server. The server analyzes the accumulated data and extracts factors related to plant growth. The server can learn from the accumulated data and choose a better growing environment for plant growth.

The server may be connected to a plurality of hydroponic plant cultivation devices 100 and each other in a network to collect cultivation environments in each device, and analyze the collected data to find an optimal cultivation environment. For this, the server may include a storage device, a communication unit, an operation unit for information processing, and the like.

The control unit 150 may change the cultivation environment of the hydroponic plant cultivation apparatus 100 by receiving the selected cultivation environment received from the server. Through this, the cultivation environment of the hydroponic plant cultivation apparatus 100 may be set to be optimal for the growth of plants.

For example, lettuce can be grown in the upper space, and green onions can be grown in the middle space. When the temperature, humidity, illuminance, and electrical conductivity of the upper space are set to 1, 2, 1, 3, which are one of the set values, the growth of lettuce has a value of 0.5 for 1 day, and different cultivation environments collected from the server have different values. When set to , if the growth of lettuce has a value of 0.7 for one day, the control unit 150 may change the preset cultivation environment using data of the corresponding cultivation environment from the server. The server can learn and update the optimal cultivation environment by using data collected from various cultivation devices, so that the hydroponic plant cultivation apparatus 100 according to the present invention even if the user does not have professional knowledge about the cultivation of the corresponding plant. ) can be used to efficiently grow plants.

In the hydroponic plant cultivation apparatus described as described above, the configuration and method of the above-described embodiments are not limitedly applicable, but all or part of each embodiment is selectively combined so that various modifications can be made. may be configured.

Claims (3)

In the cultivation apparatus for cultivating plants in a hydroponics method using an LED as a light source,
The cultivation device is
The housing is divided into a plurality of spaces, the opening formed in the front is covered by the door;
a culture unit inserted into the housing so as to be positioned in any one of the spaces, the seeds of the plants being disposed on one side to face the LED;
a nutrient solution supply unit for supplying the diluted nutrient solution to the culture unit; and
A control unit for independently controlling the cultivation environment of the plant in the spaces according to the kind of the seed or the growth state of the plant,
The culture unit,
a support portion inclined with respect to the ground; and
It includes a discharge unit that is seated on one surface of the support,
The discharge unit,
a plurality of depressions in which the seeds are arranged in a line;
a water supply unit connected to the water nutrient solution supply unit and supplying the water nutrient solution from one side of the depression to the other side of the depression; and
Hydroponic plant cultivation apparatus, characterized in that it comprises a partition portion protruding between the depressions to form a water passage for the nutrient solution.
According to claim 1,
The control unit is
It is formed so as to automatically adjust the inclined angle of the support part according to the kind of the seed or the growth state of the plant,
The compartment includes an upper first member and a lower second member,
A boundary dividing the first member and the second member is formed to be inclined so that one side is in contact with the water supply part and the other side is formed to be in contact with the support part.
According to claim 1,
The control unit is connected to the server and the network,
The server accumulates data related to the growth of the plant through sensors and cameras disposed in each space, extracts factors related to the cultivation environment in the cultivation device related to the growth of the plant from the accumulated data, and the Hydroponic plant cultivation apparatus, characterized in that for changing the cultivation environment of the plant by changing the factors through the control unit.

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