KR20220118322A - Sprout cultivating device - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to technology for germinating and growing seeds, and more specifically, to a device for automatically cultivating a sprout capable of being arranged in a stacked structure in which a plurality of seedbeds are circulated and move; providing a growth environment of the sprout step by step by creating a different growth environment for each section; and increasing production efficiency of sprout cultivation by uniformly performing sowing, injecting of a seedbed, and discharging and drying of the seedbed depending on a type of the sprout. The device for automatically cultivating a sprout according to the present invention comprises: a chamber unit which vertically stands and elevates the injected seedbed; a blower unit which circulates air inside the chamber unit; a sowing supplying unit which supplies the seedbed in which seeds are sowed to the chamber unit; and a drying unit which dries the sprout of the seedbed grown and discharged in the chamber unit.

Description

Automatic sprout cultivation device {SPROUT CULTIVATING DEVICE}

The present invention relates to a technology for germination and growth of seeds, and more particularly, a plurality of seed plates are arranged in a stacked structure that circulates, and different growth environments are created for each section, thereby providing a growth environment for sprouts step by step, It relates to an automatic sprout cultivation device that can increase the production efficiency of sprout cultivation by uniformly performing seeding, seedling input, seeding discharge and drying according to the type of seedling.

Sprout vegetables are edible young hypocotyls and cotyledons in the early stages of growth by cultivating shoots that germinate from seeds in a short period of time, or burying roots or stems such as succulents for edible use. say vegetables.

In recent years, the consumption of sprouted vegetables is increasing due to increased interest in health. Such sprouted vegetables are vegetables that eat young cotyledons, leaves, or stems sprouted from seeds.

The sprout cultivation machine of Registration Utility Model Publication No. 20-0400919 has the advantage of convenient supply of water required for germination and growth of seeds, but since the cultivation tanks are multi-layered, in order to harvest the necessary vegetables among the germinated and grown vegetables, the multi-layered cultivation tanks It is cumbersome and inconvenient to have to take out one by one and then stack it again in multiple stages.

In order to solve the above problems, a rotary cylindrical sprout cultivation apparatus was disclosed in Korean Patent Publication No. 10-1805389.

The technology is formed of a cultivation tray stopper and a stopper support for supporting it, a cultivation tray caught therein, a motor rotating it, and a nutrient injection hole for injecting water or nutrients into the cultivation tray, wherein the cultivation tray stopper is It is formed of two cylindrical rims and is fixed by a horizontal connecting rod forming a predetermined space at equal intervals, and the cylindrical rim is connected to an intermediate support connected to an intermediate support and fixing part, and the fixing axis of the locking frame support is fixed as a center. It is rotatably supported by a central rod, and the cultivation tray is rotated by being caught on a horizontal connecting rod and relates to a rotary cylindrical sprout cultivation device to maintain the horizontal.

However, as the technology is configured in a cylindrical shape, a lot of space is required, and there is a problem that the cylindrical internal space cannot be utilized.

In addition, the conventional sprout grower puts seeds in a tray, covers the cover that blocks light, and then periodically supplies water to germinate the seeds. Then, the method of planting seeds on top of it, or the method of sprinkling topsoil, sand or soil inside the plastic house, and then densely sprinkling the seeds on it and supplying water are used. However, this conventional sprout cultivation method has a slow cultivation speed.

In addition, since it is grown in an enclosed space to maintain a predetermined temperature and humidity, mold may form or decay in seeds and trays.

Registered Utility Model Publication No. 20-0400919 (2005. 11. 03.) Registered Patent Publication No. 10-1805389 (2017. 11. 30.)

Therefore, the present invention has been proposed to solve the above problems, and a plurality of seed plates are arranged in a cyclically moved stacked structure, and a different growth environment is created for each section, thereby providing an automatic sprout cultivation device that provides a growth environment step by step. but it has a purpose.

Other objects of the present invention will become clearer through the examples described below.

The automatic sprout cultivation apparatus according to the present invention for solving the above problems includes: a chamber unit in which the seedling is vertically erected, and the input mother plate is raised and lowered; a blower unit for circulating air inside the chamber unit; a seeding supply unit for supplying seedlings in which seeds are sown to the chamber unit; And it is configured to include a drying unit for drying the sprouts of the grown and discharged from the chamber unit.

Here, it may be configured to further include a growth environment control unit installed inside the chamber unit to control the set growth environment of the sprout.

In addition, the growth environment control unit is configured to include an LED module, the light regulator for irradiating light to the sprout grown in the bed; a moisture regulator including a spray nozzle and supplying water (moisture) to the sprouts grown in the bed; a temperature controller for controlling the temperature inside the chamber; a humidity controller for controlling the humidity inside the chamber; an air circulation regulator for controlling the fan speed of the blower; an air component controller for detecting a gas component inside the chamber and supplying a gas suitable for a set air component; and a controller for controlling the growth environment of the sprout by controlling the light controller, moisture controller, temperature controller, humidity controller, air circulation controller and air component controller.

In addition, the chamber unit is erected vertically and a chamber having a predetermined space therein so that the input mother plate is raised and lowered; an elevator for raising and lowering the input bed; And an upper conveyor for moving the mother plate raised through the elevator to the descending side, an actuator for pushing the mother plate raised by the elevator to the upper conveyor side, a lower conveyor for moving the mother plate lowered through the elevator to the inlet side, and the mother plate It may be configured to include a moving conveyor including an input/discharge conveyor for putting into the elevator or for discharging the mother plate of the elevator.

In addition, the blower unit supply blower for supplying external air to the chamber unit; a discharge blower installed to face the supply blower to discharge the air inside the chamber part to the outside; And it is disposed on the upper portion of the chamber, it may be configured to include a direction change blower for converting the air flow to the exhaust blower side of the air supplied from the supply blower.

According to the present invention, there is an effect that the sprouts can be easily grown by providing a growth environment step by step by providing a growth environment for each section by arranging a plurality of mother plates in a cyclically moving stacked structure, and creating different growth environments for each section.

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

1 is a front view of an automatic sprout cultivation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;
2 is a side view of an automatic sprout cultivation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 3 is a side cross-sectional view of the chamber applied to the automatic sprout cultivation apparatus according to the present invention;
Figure 4 is an enlarged view of the configuration of the upper side inside the chamber applied to the automatic sprout cultivation apparatus according to the present invention,
5 is an enlarged view of the configuration of the lower side of the chamber applied to the automatic sprout cultivation apparatus according to the present invention;
6 is a view showing a seeding supply unit applied to the automatic sprout cultivation apparatus of the present invention;
7 is a configuration diagram of a growth environment control unit applied to the automatic sprout cultivation apparatus of the present invention;
8 is a view showing an automatic sprout cultivation apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail so that those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains can easily implement them. However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to a specific embodiment, it should be understood to include all modifications, equivalents and substitutes included in the spirit and scope of the present invention.

When a component is referred to as being “connected” or “connected” to another component, it is understood that other components may exist in between, although it may be directly connected or connected to the other component. it should be

On the other hand, when it is said that a certain element is "directly connected" or "directly connected" to another element, it should be understood that the other element does not exist in the middle.

The terms used herein are used only to describe specific embodiments, and are not intended to limit the present invention. The singular expression includes the plural expression unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. In this application, "includes." Or the term "have" is intended to designate that a feature, number, process, operation, component, part, or a combination thereof described in the specification exists, but one or more other features or number, process, operation, configuration It should be understood that the possibility of the presence or addition of elements, parts or combinations thereof is not precluded in advance.

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 this invention belongs. Terms such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries should be interpreted as having meanings consistent with the meanings in the context of the related art, and should not be interpreted in an ideal or excessively formal meaning unless explicitly defined in the present application. does not

The term "MODULE" as used herein means a unit that processes a specific function or operation, which may mean hardware or software or a combination of hardware and software.

The terms or words used in the present specification and claims should not be construed as being limited to their ordinary or dictionary meanings, and the inventor may properly define the concept of the term in order to best describe his invention. Based on the principle that there is, it should be interpreted as meaning and concept consistent with the technical idea of the present invention. In addition, unless there are other definitions in the technical and scientific terms used, it has the meaning commonly understood by those of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs, and in the following description and accompanying drawings, the gist of the present invention Descriptions of known functions and configurations that may be unnecessarily obscure will be omitted. The drawings introduced below are provided as examples in order to sufficiently convey the spirit of the present invention to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the present invention is not limited to the drawings presented below and may be embodied in other forms. Also, like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout. It should be noted that the same components in the drawings are denoted by the same reference numerals wherever possible.

In the automatic sprout cultivation apparatus of an embodiment of the present invention, a plurality of seedlings are arranged in a stacked structure and circulated, and a different growth environment is created for each section to provide a growth environment step by step, and the seeded seedlings are automatically put in, It is configured so that the seedling can be grown and discharged through the set growth environment, so that the sprout can be automatically and easily cultivated.

The sprouts that can be grown through the automatic sprout cultivation apparatus according to the present invention may be selected from various edible sprouts such as barley sprouts, broccoli sprouts, radish sprouts, lettuce sprouts, rye sprouts, spinach sprouts, and the like. In addition, since the automatic sprout cultivation device can implement darkroom conditions, it is also possible to cultivate sprouts that germinate only in a darkroom environment.

1 is a view illustrating a front view of an automatic sprout cultivation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a view illustrating a side view of an automatic sprout cultivation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

1 and 2 , the automatic sprout cultivation apparatus according to the present invention includes a chamber unit 100 , a blower unit 200 , a seeding supply unit 300 , and a drying unit 400 . In addition, it further includes a growth environment control unit 500 installed inside the chamber unit 100 to create set growth conditions for the sprout.

Figure 3 is a view schematically showing a side cross-sectional view of the chamber applied to the automatic sprout cultivation apparatus according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3 attached, the chamber part 100 is configured to include a chamber 110 , an elevator 120 , and a moving conveyor 130 .

The chamber 110 is vertically erected and has a predetermined space therein so that the input seedling is raised and lowered, and is a space in which seeds sown in the seedling are grown.

In the inner center of the chamber 110, a diaphragm 111 for dividing a region in which a seedbed (S) rises and a region in which a seedbed descends is installed in the vertical direction.

The elevator 120 serves to raise and lower the input mother plate S, and includes a motor 121 , a sprocket 122 , a chain 123 , and a transfer plate 124 .

The motor 121 (refer to FIG. 1 ) provides rotational force through electrical energy.

The sprocket 122 is rotated by receiving rotational force from the motor 121 , and the chain 123 is rotated in an endless loop by the sprocket 122 . In addition, the transfer plate 124 is coupled to the chain 123 to seat the mother plate (S).

In the above, the sprocket 122 is a driving sprocket that is rotated by receiving rotational force from the motor 121, a driven sprocket connected to the chain 123 to guide the chain 123, and the tension of the chain 123. It may be composed of a tension sprocket for maintaining it.

According to the above configuration, the elevator 120 elevates the mother plate S while rotating in a counterclockwise direction that rises from the right and descends from the left around the diaphragm 111 that partitions the inside of the chamber 110 . .

Of course, the elevator 120 may be configured to rotate clockwise depending on the installation environment or design conditions, and the scope of the present invention is not limited by the rotation direction of the elevator 120 .

Here, a curved section is formed on the upper side and the lower side of the elevator 120 , and the mother plate S seated on the transfer plate 124 in this curved section can be separated.

Accordingly, the movable conveyor 130 for moving the mother plate S raised or lowered by the elevator 120 is configured.

The moving conveyor 130 performs a function of moving the input mother plate S, and the upper conveyor 131, the actuator 132, the stop bar 133, the lower conveyor 134 and the input/discharge conveyor 135. include

Figure 4 is an enlarged view of the configuration of the upper side inside the chamber applied to the automatic sprout cultivation apparatus according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4 , the upper conveyor 131 is disposed on the upper side of the chamber 110 to move the mother plate S raised through the elevator 120 to the descending transfer plate 124 .

At this time, the upper conveyor 131 is configured to have a short length so as not to interfere with the mother plate S raised through the elevator 120 .

That is, the length of the upper conveyor 131 is set on the transfer plate 124 of the elevator 120 so that the ascending mother plate S and the transferred mother plate S do not interfere in the descending process. It is constructed relatively shorter than the distance between them.

Accordingly, an actuator 132 (actuator) for pushing the raised mother plate S to the upper conveyor 131 is configured.

The actuator 132 is for pushing the mother plate S raised by the elevator 120 toward the upper conveyor 131, and the drawn-out piston pushes the mother plate S to the upper conveyor 131, and the As the piston is operated to be drawn in, it is driven using electric/hydraulic/compressed air.

That is, when the mother plate S is located in the operating range of the actuator 132 by the lifting operation of the elevator 120, the piston of the actuator 132 is drawn out from the cylinder and the mother plate S is transferred to the upper conveyor ( 131 ), and the upper conveyor 131 is operated to move the mother plate S pushed by the actuator 132 to the descending transfer plate 124 . At this time, a stop bar 133 for limiting the movement of the mother plate (S) is configured so that the mother plate (S) moved by the upper conveyor (131) is arranged in the upper center of the transfer plate (124).

The input mother plate S is seated on the raised transfer plate 124 of the elevator 120 and rises, and the raised mother plate S is lowered by the upper conveyor 131 again. ), and then move to the lower side. At this time, the seeds sown in the mother plate (S) are grown in the process of being moved to the elevator (120).

Accordingly, the seedling (S) in which sprout growth is completed should be discharged.

An input/discharge conveyor 134 for discharging the nursery S of the elevator 120 is installed on the lower side of the elevator 120 to discharge the seedlings S on which sprout growth is completed.

5 is an enlarged view of the configuration of the lower side inside the chamber applied to the automatic sprout cultivation apparatus according to the present invention.

5, the lower conveyor 134 moves the mother plate S lowered through the elevator 120 toward the inlet. Here, the length of the lower conveyor 134 is in contact with the lower part of the mother plate (S) seated on the transfer plate 124, so that the mother plate (S) can be seated on the opposite transfer plate 124 on which it is transferred and seated. It is constructed to have sufficient length.

The input/discharge conveyor 135 puts the mother plate S into the transfer plate 124 of the elevator 120 or discharges the mother plate S moved by the lower conveyor 134 to the outside. do.

That is, the input/discharge conveyor 135 places the mother plate S supplied from the outside by forward rotation or reverse rotation on the transfer plate 124 of the elevator 120, or discharges the growth completed mother plate to the outside.

The blower unit 200 is configured to perform a function of circulating air inside the chamber unit 100 , and includes a supply blower 210 , an exhaust blower 220 and a direction change blower 230 .

The supply blower 210 sucks in the outside air and supplies it to the chamber part 100 , and the exhaust blower 220 discharges the air inside the chamber part 100 to the outside.

At this time, the supply blower 210 and the exhaust blower 220 are installed to face each other, and the air supplied from the supply blower 210 by the diaphragm 111 inside the chamber 110 is directed toward the exhaust blower 220 . configured to not be transmitted.

Here, the flow of air supplied from the supply blower 210 and proceeding to the exhaust blower 220 may be configured to be the same as the path through which the chain 123 of the elevator 120 moves.

That is, referring to FIG. 3 , the air supplied from the supply blower 210 rises through the right space partitioned by the diaphragm 111 of the chamber 110 , and is converted in the upper part of the chamber 110 . It descends through the left space partitioned by the diaphragm 111 of 110 and proceeds to the discharge blower 220 .

At this time, a direction change blower 230 may be installed on the upper side of the chamber part 100 to naturally convert the flow of air.

The direction change blower 230 is disposed on the upper portion of the chamber part 100, and performs a function of converting the air flow from the supply blower 210 to the exhaust blower 220 side.

The direction change blower 230 may be replaced with a round-shaped duct according to design conditions.

According to the blower unit 200, fresh air from the outside is supplied to the inside of the chamber, and the air used for growth of the sprout in the chamber is discharged to the outside, so that fresh air is sufficiently supplied to the growth of the sprout. It can provide a good environment.

In addition, since the generation of microorganisms such as mold can be minimized as fresh air flows, there is an advantage in that safe food can be produced.

The seeding supply unit 300 supplies the seedbed in which the seeds are sown to the chamber unit 100 .

6 is a view showing the seeding supply unit applied to the automatic sprout cultivation apparatus of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 6 attached, the seeding supply unit 300 applied to the automatic sprout cultivation apparatus of the present invention is configured to include a seedling feeder 310 , a transfer conveyor 320 , and a seeding machine 330 .

The mother plate feeder 310 is a plurality of mother plates are stacked.

The transfer conveyor 320 pushes and moves the lowermost mother plate among the mother plates stacked on the mother plate feeder 310 .

The planter 330 sows seeds on the seedling transferred through the transfer conveyor 320 .

According to the seeding supply unit 300, while sequentially transferring the seedlings stacked on the seedling feeder 310 through the transfer conveyor 320, seeds can be sown on the seedlings transferred through the seeding machine 330.

The drying unit 400 performs a function of drying the sprouts of the nursery grown and discharged in the chamber unit 100 .

The nursery circulated inside the chamber and transferred to the end section is fed into the dryer through a conveyor belt. For example, in the process of transferring the seedling from the inside of the chamber to the end section, the seed grows to a size of about 15 cm, and the sprout thus grown is washed and dried by a dryer. Sprouts washed and dried by a dryer can prevent contamination (eg, mold, etc.) occurring in the process of distributing the moisture removed.

The growth environment control unit 500 controls the growth environment of the sprouts sown in the seedling inside the chamber unit based on the set input information.

7 is a view showing the configuration of the growth environment control unit applied to the automatic sprout cultivation apparatus of the present invention.

7, the growth environment control unit light controller 510, moisture controller 520, temperature controller 530, humidity controller 540, air circulation controller 550, air component controller 560) and a controller 570 .

The light controller 510 irradiates light to the sprouts grown in the mother plate, and may be configured to include an LED module 511 (see FIG. 3 ). At this time, the LED module is configured to be adjusted in consideration of the wavelength, intensity, and time of light.

The moisture regulator 520 supplies water (moisture) to the sprouts growing in the bed, and although not shown in the drawing, a water tank and a spray nozzle 512 for spraying the water supplied from the water tank to the bed (S). 3) is included. In addition, the injection nozzle may be configured to be connected to the nutrient solution tank so that at least one selected from water or nutrient solution is sprayed as needed. In addition, the injection amount of water injected from the injection nozzle may be adjusted to be injected differentially according to the arrangement position. For example, the injection amount may be set to a large amount in the section in which the mother plate vertically rises during the growth section, and the injection amount may be set to a small amount in the section in which the mother plate is vertically descended.

Here, the light controller 510 and the moisture controller 520 are installed in a plurality in the vertical direction inside the chamber 110, it may be installed so as to properly supply light or moisture to the sprout growing in the mother plate (S). .

In addition, as a plurality of light controllers 510 and moisture controllers 520 are configured in the vertical direction, it may be configured to create a different growth environment for each section for each lifting height. For example, in some sections, the amount of light, light wavelength, and moisture that can increase the growth rate are supplied to improve the growth size of the sprout, and in some sections, the amount of light, light wavelength and moisture that can improve the thickness of the sprout can be supplied. is composed

The temperature controller 530 detects a temperature inside the chamber part 100 including a temperature sensor, and adjusts the temperature inside the chamber part 100 based on a set temperature value.

The humidity controller 540 detects the humidity inside the chamber part 100 including a moisture sensor, and adjusts the humidity inside the chamber part 100 based on the set amount of moisture.

The air circulation regulator 550 controls the fan speed of the blower unit 200 .

The air component controller 560 is configured to include a gas detection sensor inside the chamber unit 100, detects gas components such as carbon dioxide and methane inside the chamber unit 100, and supplies a gas suitable for the set air component. .

The controller 570 controls the light controller 510, the moisture controller 520, the temperature controller 530, the humidity controller 540, the air circulation controller 550 and the air component controller 560 according to the type of the selected sprout. control to provide optimum growth conditions for sprouts.

That is, the controller 570 supplies or adjusts the temperature, humidity, wavelength of the light source, and gas according to the sprout.

In addition, the controller 570 controls the circulation speed of the nursery so that the sprout can grow to a predetermined size from the time when the nursery is introduced into the chamber to the time when it is discharged. For example, the controller 570 controls the seedbed circulation time inside the chamber unit 100 based on the time required for the sprout to grow to a size of about 15 cm depending on the type of sprout.

8 is a view showing an automatic sprout cultivation apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to the accompanying FIG. 8 , the two chamber parts 100 , the blower part 200 and the seeding supply part 300 are configured to face each other, and the drying part 400 may be configured to be used in common.

According to the present invention, it is possible to easily cultivate sprouts by providing a growth environment step by step by providing a growth environment by creating a plurality of seed plates in a stacked structure in which a plurality of seed plates move in circulation, and by creating different growth environments for each section. As the input, discharge and drying of the seedlings are uniformly performed, the production efficiency of sprout cultivation is increased, and there is an advantage in that the production cost can be reduced by minimizing the input of manpower.

In the above, the present invention has been described with reference to several embodiments of the present invention, but those of ordinary skill in the art can use the present invention within the scope not departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention described in the claims below. It will be understood that various modifications and variations are possible.

100: chamber part 110: chamber
120: elevator 130: mobile conveyor
200: blower 210: supply blower
220: exhaust blower 230: direction change blower
300: sowing supply unit 400: drying unit
500: growth environment control unit 510: light controller
520: moisture controller 530: temperature controller
540: humidity controller 550: air circulation controller
560: air component controller 570: controller

Claims (5)

The chamber unit 100 is vertically erected, and the input mother plate is raised and lowered;
a blower unit 200 for circulating air in the chamber unit 100;
a seeding supply unit 300 for supplying seedlings in which seeds are sown to the chamber unit 100; and
a drying unit 400 for drying the sprouts of the seedlings grown and discharged in the chamber unit 100;
Automatic sprout cultivation device comprising a. The method according to claim 1,
a growth environment control unit 500 installed inside the chamber unit 100 to control the set growth environment of the sprout;
Automatic sprout cultivation device, characterized in that it further comprises. 3. The method according to claim 2,
The growth environment control unit 500,
a light controller 510 configured to include an LED module 511 and irradiating light to the sprout grown in the mother plate;
a water regulator 520 including a spray nozzle 512 and supplying water (moisture) to the sprouts grown in the bed;
a temperature controller 530 for controlling the temperature inside the chamber part 100;
a humidity controller 540 for controlling the humidity inside the chamber part 100;
an air circulation regulator 550 for controlling the fan speed of the blower unit 200;
an air component controller 560 for supplying a gas suitable for a set air component by detecting a gas component inside the chamber unit 100; and
A controller for controlling the growth environment of the sprout by controlling the light controller 510, moisture controller 520, temperature controller 530, humidity controller 540, air circulation controller 550 and air component controller 560 (570);
Automatic sprout cultivation device comprising a. The method according to claim 1,
The chamber part 100,
a chamber 110 having a predetermined space therein so as to be vertically erected and to be raised and lowered for the input mother plate;
Elevator 120 for elevating the input mother plate; and
The upper conveyor 131 for moving the mother plate S raised through the elevator 120 to the descending side and the actuator 132 for pushing the mother plate S raised by the elevator 120 to the upper conveyor 131 side ), a lower conveyor 134 for moving the child plate S lowered through the elevator 120 to the inlet side and the child plate S into the elevator 120 or the child plate S of the elevator 120 ) a moving conveyor 130 including an input and discharge conveyor 135 for discharging;
Automatic sprout cultivation device comprising a. The method according to claim 1,
The blower unit 200,
a supply blower 210 for supplying external air to the chamber part 100;
a discharge blower 220 installed to face the supply blower 210 to discharge the air inside the chamber part 100 to the outside; and
a direction change blower 230 disposed on the upper part of the chamber part 100 and configured to convert the air flow supplied from the supply blower 210 to the exhaust blower 220 side;
Automatic sprout cultivation device comprising a.

Images