WO2011020858A2

WO2011020858A2 - Germinating device

Info

Publication number: WO2011020858A2
Application number: PCT/EP2010/062049
Authority: WO
Inventors: Constantin Santoli
Original assignee: Croc'seeds Sàrl
Priority date: 2009-08-18
Filing date: 2010-08-18
Publication date: 2011-02-24
Also published as: CH701712A2; WO2011020858A3

Abstract

The invention relates to a germinating device (1) for growing sprouts of all types, comprising a water pan (3) having a top edge for receiving water required for the germination, a seed holder (2) rotatable about a horizontal axis and disposed above the water pan, a drive system for displacing the seed holder, wherein the drive system has an electronic controller for displacing the seed holder (2) according to parameters, wherein the rotating seed holder (2) comprises a plurality of openings (25) on the circumferential side and comprises one or more water blades (22) on the exterior thereof, wherein the one or more water blades are disposed so that they are temporarily immersed in the water pan during the displacement of the seed holder, in order to transport water from the water pan through the circumferential openings and into the seed holder.

Description

KEIM DEVICE

Technical area

The present invention generally relates to a germinating device for soaking and / or growing of sprouts and seedlings, which can be used for germination of many types of seed.

State of the art

Sprouts and seedlings of many types of seeds, such as alfalfa, alfalfa, radishes, clover, soybean, almost all types of cereals have long and increasingly on the menu health-conscious diet. The advantages and uses of germinated seeds in human nutrition, including breadmaking with sprouted grain, or as animal feed, have been known for decades.

By pre-germination, depending on the seed at average room temperature two to five days (some varieties a little longer) may be stored in the seeds of the seeds stored vitamins, enzymes and minerals so that the human digestive tract and organism open up such important trace elements and elements and thus can close in particular supply gaps with otherwise often one-sided diet. Furthermore, certain ingredients of seedlings, depending on their germination, for example, develop an antibiotic effect or contribute to the flavor improvement of food produced from it.

Consequently, in nutritionally minded individuals, but also in many restaurants and canteens, sprouts and sprouted cereals are now an integral part of the nutrition plan and so ready pre-germinated and packaged sprouts are also offered on the market.

Not to buy seedlings, but even with small quantities to pull itself, has many advantages, because home-grown seedlings are fresh, cost little and the shopping for it accounts. This is how many private households practice already the pulling of seedlings and sprouts in germination containers, z. B. in so-called glass or plastic cultivators.

In the literature a variety of systems has been described in which the material to be germinated is treated in several successive stages. The treatment usually involves, in a first step, a purification step in which the material is washed with water. Then the material is in a second stage, the so-called wet switch, swollen and in a third stage, the so-called dry switch, germinated. In newer plants, the material in this last stage is humidified with water from time to time and sometimes vented in closed systems. Previously known closed systems are optionally tempered, in particular the air which is blown into these systems.

In the patent application DE 19855695 A1, e.g. describes a system in which the germinal material in a closed container in a closed circuit consuming heated, humidified and ventilated. Although this can be partly dispensed with a thorough mixing and loosening of the germs, these systems are too complex for the home and small commercial sector, too uneconomical and too expensive.

By using simple germ container or -gläser, such as. As described in DE 19752159 C2, although the cost can be reduced, but always recurring manual treatment steps must be done, which require some consideration and must be followed relatively strictly. In addition, a schedule is to be followed, which does not allow large deviations, otherwise the germinal product is exposed to unfavorable conditions and quickly putrefaction begins or decreases the germination rate and quality and prolongs the germination time.

In DE 102005002313 A1, an automated germination device for home and small business use is presented which is intended to enable germination of the seed under improved conditions by means of a rotatable and vertically movable germination container. But here too, it can come through the design of the germination container for longer standing water. In addition, the solution presented there does not allow a very low and compact design. In general, the problems with the prior art are thus to be found in the high price, complexity and size of the devices, in the lack of quality of the resulting sprouts and / or in the need for manual intervention on schedule. Also, the insufficient reliability of germination of seed or sprouting is a common problem.

Object of the invention

An object of the present invention is to provide a germination device for sprouts, which is well-suited for home or small commercial use with ease of use and with the optimal yield reliably good quality of sprouts from any seed and in any, but preferably can achieve small amounts.

General description of the invention

This object is achieved by a germinating device for pulling sprouts of all kinds according to claim 1.

According to the invention, the germination device for soaking and / or pulling of sprouts and seedlings of all kinds,

a water pan for receiving water needed for the germination process,

a germinal container rotatable about a horizontal axis, which is arranged above the water trough,

a drive system for the movement of the germination container, wherein the drive system is provided with an electronic control for the parameter-controlled movement of the germination container,

characterized in that

the rotatable seed container is circumferentially provided with a plurality of openings to the inlet and outlet of the water, and on the outside thereof with one or more water blades,

the one or more water blades are arranged so that they temporarily immersed in the water trough during the movement of the germination container, or immerse so as to convey water from the water tub through the peripheral openings in the germination container.

The decisive advantage of the invention is that it makes it possible to provide a simple and very compact and yet very reliable device for seed germination without the user being repeatedly or regularly included in the germination process, e.g. by wetting, turning, etc. must intervene.

In contrast to the known prior art, the movement is in principle only by turning the germination container and allows both the irrigation, the mixing and the ventilation of the germinal product, i. E. the device allows in the simplest way the above-described wet switch and the following dry switch. Even a possibly desired previous purification step can be carried out in the germination device according to the invention, with or without replacement of the water after the purification.

By provided with water buckets germ container and the water tank below it is still a very low and compact design possible. In addition, the device is very low maintenance and reliable by their relatively simple design.

The device requires in principle no (solid) water connection or water drainage and is therefore very flexible. However, a connection to a water inlet and / or water outlet can be provided, wherein the water inlet and / or water outlet is then preferably controlled by the controller and so the germination process can be further automated, e.g. at the cleaning step.

As already mentioned, the movement of the germination container at the same time allows the mixing, the aeration and irrigation of seed located in the germination container, or after its germination of the sprouts thus obtained. The movement of the germination container takes place by turning about its longitudinal axis by means of a drive system comprising a motor, usually comprising an electric motor, eg a stepping motor or a motor with gear ratio, as well as an electronic control which enables the parameter-controlled movement of the germination container. It is also advantageous that the presented solution is relatively independent of the water level within the water tub compared to some known devices.

The transmission of the movement of the drive system to the seed container may be effected by any known means, e.g. by direct or permanent connection, or by means of power transmission means by friction, chain, belt, toothed belt or preferably gear drive.

The invention according to the invention arranged on the peripheral side water blades are temporarily immersed by the movement of the germination container in the water tub so that they absorb the water located in the tub and pass through the circumferentially arranged openings into the interior of the germination container, i. the seed or germ. The germination container itself is preferably arranged such that its peripheral side is only minimally, preferably not at all, in the water when there is full (predetermined) filling of the water trough. In any case, the germination container is arranged so that at the latest after the wet switch its peripheral side is above the water level, so that for the rest of the germination process only the water blades dive into the water.

The water blades preferably extend substantially over the entire width of the peripheral side. However, other configurations such as juxtaposed or slightly offset water blades are also possible. The height of the water bucket opening (h) is preferably designed so that it corresponds to the distance (D) between the peripheral side of the seed container and bottom of the water pan as possible without the water blades touching the bottom of the tub, in general, the maximum height of the water blade opening h <0 , 95 D. The number of water buckets is chosen so that a suitable inflow and outflow of the water is ensured in and out of the germination container. In general, their number is from 1 to 10, depending on the diameter or volume of the germination container, but the number may also be higher for larger devices. After moistening the germinal product, the excess water leaves the germination container again through these openings. Standing water within the germinal cylinder and consequently rot of the germinal product is thus effectively avoided.

The openings are arranged in sufficient numbers on the peripheral side to grant a suitable inflow and outflow of the water, u.a. the shape and size of the germination container, the shape and size of the openings, the number, shape and size of the water buckets, the number of movements of the germination container, etc. The openings may have any shape, e.g. Star, cross, point, slot, or a combination of these shapes. The size of the openings is in principle dependent on the seed used or usable, it being necessary to ensure that the size and shape of the openings is selected so that at no time does the seed fall through the openings. In practice, openings of 0.3 to 3 mm, preferably 0.5 to 2 mm in diameter have proven useful, although in more complex forms, the dimension of the opening in some directions can also be considerably larger (eg in a slot, cross, star or long hole).

The seed container preferably has a generally cylindrical shape with a lateral surface or peripheral side, and two substantially parallel end faces or end faces. Preferably, the cylinder corresponds to a circular cylinder, deviating shapes such as cylinders with elliptical, polygonal or round-cornered end faces are also possible and may favor the mixing.

For filling the germination container with seed, or for removing the sprouts at least one filling opening is provided so that the germination container has at least one detachable or foldable, peripheral and / or frontal portion for filling with seed and for removing the sprouts and seedlings , This is preferably arranged on one of the two end faces so that it can be fastened or loosened by means of a screw, plug, clip, snap device, or the like, on the remaining germ container. Most preferably, at least one of the end faces is completely removable, for example by screw or plug-in closure, and thus serves as a filling opening. However, another arrangement of the filling opening is also possible, for example as a flap on the front side or the peripheral side. The end faces of the germination container may also have openings similar to those on the peripheral side, for example in order to further improve the ventilation of the germinal product.

In a particularly preferred embodiment of the germinating device, the germinating container and / or the water trough are designed such that they are simple, e.g. for cleaning and filling / removal, are removable. This is for a simple and hygienic use of particular advantage.

In such an embodiment, the germination device additionally has an axle support on which the germination container can be movably arranged for operation. Preferably, the axle support is designed so that the germination container can be inserted from above and then simply by gravity or by snapping, o.a. simultaneously positively connected with the power transmission means. The transmission of force preferably takes place by engagement of a gearwheel connected to the drive system in a gearwheel ring arranged on one of the front sides of the germination container.

The germ container, as well as the attached water buckets, are preferably made of one or more materials that are corrosion resistant and easy to clean, preferably dishwasher safe. The same applies in principle for the water tub. Suitable materials are e.g. Stainless steel or impact-resistant plastics, wherein preferably at least parts of the germination container consist of a transparent plastic, so that the user can control the respective degree of germination or the ripe state of the sprouts without having to open the germination container. Particularly preferably, the water tub, the germ container, and optionally the attached water blades, made of impact-resistant plastic, in particular a polycarbonate plastic. The water blades can be attached to the seed container in any known manner, whether by welding, gluing, clipping, tucking, snapping, etc.

Within the germination container, it may be advantageous to provide baffles which further improves the mixing of the germinal product. However, it is important to ensure that their design is chosen such that the Seeds or germs can not be damaged during operation. The design of such baffles can also be achieved by clipping or snapping the water scoops and thus forming baffles by the clip or snap connections projecting into the interior of the germ container.

The seed container is rotated by the Anthebssystem in rotation. The speed of rotation of the seed container should generally be chosen so as to ensure, on the one hand, good mixing with simultaneous aeration and irrigation, and, on the other hand, to ensure that the seedlings emerging from the seed grains are not damaged or broken off, e.g. such that the germination container is put into a relatively slow rotation every one to eight hours, in particular approximately every four hours, for about one minute. The term "relatively slow rotation" means a circulation rate of, for example, 5 U / min to 60 U / min, preferably from about 10 to about 40 U / min., In particular of about 30 U / min.

A particular advantage of this thorough mixing of the germinal product by careful and intermittent rotation of the germination container results from the fact that the germinal material builds curved and therefore stable fiber structures since the sprouts emerging from the seed grains always align perpendicular to the force of gravity. This is desirable because it is the quality of the sprouts product on the one hand, but in particular the yield by avoiding e.g. significantly improved by local heat build-up.

The controlled movement of the germination container according to the invention via the drive system by means of an electronic control after the germination device has been put into operation. This control is parameter based, i. depending on the value of one or more parameters, the movement of the germination container is initiated or interrupted. By way of example, the parameters for the parameter-controlled movement of the germination container can be selected from, time, air temperature, humidity, water temperature, water level, water quality, moisture of the germinal product, type of sprouts, etc., or a combination of several of these parameters.

Preferably, the controller is programmable and has separate predefined drains or programs for the wet switch, the dry switch, and possibly the cleaning step. In general, for the

Cleaning step and for the wet well of the germination container more often, faster and / or longer moves, wherein the dry switch the movement of longer breaks is interrupted.

In the simplest embodiment, the controlling parameter is the time, i. the time elapsed since the device was switched on. In such a case, the value of this parameter determines either simply how often and how long it is rotated, or preferably which predefined sequence or program to go through.

Preferably, the control also allows, at least, the consideration of the nature of the seed, which, in conjunction with the elapsed time, allows optimal conditions to be established for different germinal velocities, depending on the nature of the seed, e.g. by extending or shortening the respective programs. The type of seed may e.g. selected by the user at the start of the device from several options, and e.g. be entered via control element or switch. For this purpose, the device according to the invention preferably contains at least one operating element for the manual entry of parameter values by the user.

Also other parameters can be integrated into the control, whereby their respective values e.g. via sensors for humidity, level, etc.

The said parameters can also be used to alert the user to a particular condition when exceeding or falling below predefined values, e.g. by flashing a warning light, by emitting a specific tone or sequence or by displaying it on a display. Exemplary events are the achievement of a predefined period of time corresponding to the (assumed) end of the germination process, the falling below a given fill level or moisture of the germinal product for replenishing water, etc.

In a further preferred embodiment, a thorough mixing and aeration can be achieved even without significant moistening / irrigation of the germinal product, for example during the dry switch, in that the germ container is rotated backwards, ie in the opposite sense of the water blades, the germinative material still moves and is ventilated. When "turning backwards" of the germination container, therefore, the water buckets do not fill with water and accordingly do not introduce any water into the interior of the germination container. Thus, non-uniform dehydration and / or local heating can be effectively counteracted to achieve a more uniform yield. It also prevents unnecessary flushing out of important nutrients and minerals. Accordingly, "rotating forward" means rotating the germination container so that the water vanes, while immersed in the water pan, will fill with the water contained therein and deliver it to the interior of the germination container through the openings. In a particularly preferred embodiment, therefore, the drive system allows the rotation of the germination container in both forward and backward directions.

In a further preferred embodiment of the invention, the germinating device comprises two or more germination containers, preferably with a respective independent drive system, which can be used to pull larger amounts of sprouts or several different varieties simultaneously or with a time delay. In principle, each germ container can also be divided into several compartments.

Another aspect of the invention is to provide a method of growing germs and sprouts in which both irrigation, mixing and aeration occur by movement of a seeded water container equipped with water buckets as described above. Preferably, the process is carried out with a seed device as described herein.

Brief description of the figures

In the following, an embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying figures. These show:

1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the germination device according to the invention,

2 shows a cross section of the preferred embodiment of FIG. 1, 3 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the seed container with water buckets,

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the end face of the germination container of Fig. 3, and

5 is a plan view of the peripheral side of the germination container from FIG. 3.

Further details and advantages of the invention can be taken from the following detailed description of possible embodiments of the invention with reference to the accompanying figures. These show:

Description of several embodiments of the invention

The germination device shown in the figures, to illustrate the invention, is characterized by its compact, low-maintenance yet versatile construction.

The germination device 1 shown in Fig. 1 comprises a housing 10 wherein the drive system (not shown) is housed. On the housing a warning light 11, and a control element 12 is provided for interactive operation by the user. As an alternative or in addition to the indicator light, a display can also be provided for improved output of information or for facilitating selection of various parameter values and / or programs.

In the housing 10, a water trough 3 is provided, which is configured removable for filling and cleaning.

Above the water tub 3 is a seed container 2 having a peripheral side and a visible end face 23. A plurality of water blades 22 is arranged on the peripheral side of the container.

The cross-section in Fig. 2 substantially corresponds to the embodiment described above and in particular shows a possible attachment of the water blades by a clip connection, wherein the protruding into the interior of the container pin 24 additionally serve as a chicane. In addition, Fig. 2 shows cross-shaped openings 25 in the peripheral side of the seed container in contrast to the round openings in Fig. 1st Figures 3, 4 and 5 show the germination container 2 as it can be removed, for example, from the apparatus of FIG. 1.

In addition to the features already described, these figures show the axis 26 which is designed here as an axle ring and in the germ device rests on an axle support (not shown). In addition, the germ container at a front side 23 a gear rim 27 for transmitting the rotational movement of the drive system (not shown).

Explanations:

1 germination device

10 housing

11 control display

12 control element

2 germ containers

21 peripheral side

22 water bucket

23 front side

24 Mounting clip for water scoop or chicane

25 opening

26 axis

27 gear wreath

3 water tub

Claims

claims

1. comprising germination device for pulling sprouts of all kinds

a water tub having an upper rim for receiving water needed for the germination process,

characterized in that

the rotatable seed container is circumferentially provided with a multiplicity of openings, and on its outside with one or more water blades,

the one or more water blades are arranged so as to temporarily dive into the water pan during movement of the seed container so as to convey water from the water tank through the peripheral openings into the seed container.

2. Device according to claim 1, wherein the water pan and the germ container are removable.

3. Device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the germination container has at least one detachable or foldable peripheral and / or frontal portion for filling with seed and for removing the sprouts and seedlings, preferably an end face of the germination container is detachably arranged by screw or plug closure.

4. Device according to one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the drive system for the movement of the germination container comprises a gear which engages positively inserted in the seed container in a ring gear attached to this.

5. Device according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the one or more parameters for the parameter-controlled movement of the germination container are selected from: time, air temperature, humidity, water temperature, water level, water quality, moisture of the germ, kind of sprouts or a combination of several of these parameters.

6. Device according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the drive system allows the rotation of the germination container in both directions.

7. Device according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the controller is programmable and has separate programs for wet switch, dry switch, and possibly cleaning.

8. Device according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the controller is programmable and has different programs for different types of seeds.

9. Device according to one of the preceding claims, further comprising at least one operating element for manual input of parameter values by the user.

10. Device according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the germination container also has openings on the front side for the inlet and outlet of the water.

11. Device according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the seed container further comprises one or more baffles inside for improved mixing of the seed / germ.

12. Device according to one of the preceding claims, wherein it comprises two or more seed containers with a respective drive system.

13. Device according to one of the preceding claims, wherein furthermore a connection to a water inlet and / or water outlet is provided and wherein the water inlet and / or water outlet is preferably controlled by the controller.