WO2015033487A1

WO2015033487A1 - Hydroculture device

Info

Publication number: WO2015033487A1
Application number: PCT/JP2014/001061
Authority: WO
Inventors: あゆみ酒井; 宏矢野; さやか加藤
Original assignee: パナソニックＩｐマネジメント株式会社
Priority date: 2013-09-09
Filing date: 2014-02-27
Publication date: 2015-03-12
Also published as: JP2015050979A

Abstract

In the hydroculture device (70), multiple moisture-detecting units (32, 34) are provided in a support (20) for supporting a plant (100). A control unit (40A) calculates the difference in the amounts of moisture detected by any two of the multiple moisture-detecting units (32, 34) and when the difference in said amounts of moisture is at or above a specified value, causes a nutrient solution-supplying unit (50A) to supply a nutrient solution (1) to the support (20). As a result, it is possible to keep the amount of moisture surrounding the underground portion of the plant, which is supported by the support, close to a uniform level.

Description

Hydroponic equipment

The present invention relates to a hydroponic cultivation apparatus for cultivating plants without using soil.

This application claims the priority of Japanese Patent Application No. 2013-186265 filed on Sep. 9, 2013, and incorporates the entire contents of the Japanese Application.

Conventionally, hydroponic culture which cultivates a plant without using soil is performed. For hydroponic culture, a method to make the fertilizer nutrient solution infiltrate the support part called culture medium, apply the fertilizer nutrient solution to the plant from the support part, immerse the root of the plant in the fertilizer nutrient solution, and make the nutrient solution directly to the plant. There is a way to give. Moreover, as a cultivation method using a support part, there are a urethane cultivation method, a rock wool cultivation method, and the like. As a method of directly immersing the roots of plants in a nutrient solution serving as a fertilizer, there are a method of cultivating soybeans, a method of cultivating thin films, and the like.

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses, as an example of a technique related to a hydroponic cultivation apparatus, a technique for automatically controlling drainage for raising a harvest.

JP-A-8-88

In the case of hydroponic culture where fertilizer requirements are infiltrated into the support portion of a plant, if the nutrient solution is not supplied to the support portion, for example, the upper portion of the support portion becomes dry while the lower side of the support portion Parts may be wet. In this case, the amount of water in the support varies widely depending on the position. Therefore, in the case of a plant in which the underground part supported by the supporting part is enlarged, the degree of enlargement of the underground part of the plant is greatly increased depending on the part due to large dispersion of the water content around the underground part of the plant of the supporting part. It will be different. As a result, there is a possibility that the underground part of the plant may be cracked between the part where the degree of hypertrophy is large and the part where the degree of hypertrophy is small.

Then, this invention is proposed in view of the situation mentioned above, and provides the hydroponic cultivation apparatus which can approximate distribution of the moisture content around the underground part of the plant supported by a support part to a uniform state. The purpose is to

A hydroponic cultivation apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention comprises a container for storing a nutrient solution, and an underground part of the plant positioned above the nutrient solution and soaking plant roots in the nutrient solution. And a support portion through which the nutrient solution penetrates. Further, the apparatus includes a plurality of moisture detection units each detecting a moisture amount at a predetermined position of the support unit, and a nutrient solution supply unit for supplying the nutrient solution to the support unit. Furthermore, the apparatus calculates a difference in the amount of water detected by any two of the plurality of water detection units, and when the difference in the amount of water is equal to or more than a predetermined value, the nutrient solution supply unit Control unit for supplying the nutrient solution to the support unit.

The plurality of moisture detection units detect a first moisture detection unit that detects a moisture content at a first position of the support unit, and a moisture content at a second position that is lower than the first position. It is preferable to have a second moisture detector.

It is preferable that the said nutrient solution supply part has a discharge port which drips the said nutrient solution to the said support part.

It is preferable that the said nutrient solution supply part has a discharge port which sprays the said nutrient solution to the said support part.

A hydroponic cultivation apparatus according to a second aspect of the present invention is a container for storing a nutrient solution, and an underground part of the plant so that the root of the plant is immersed in the nutrient solution and positioned above the nutrient solution. And a support portion through which the nutrient solution can penetrate. The apparatus includes a water detection unit that detects the amount of water at a predetermined position of the support unit, and a nutrient solution supply unit that can supply the nutrient solution to the support unit. Furthermore, the apparatus includes a control unit that causes the nutrient solution supply unit to supply the nutrient solution to the support unit when the water content is equal to or less than a predetermined value.

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, distribution of the moisture content of the underground part periphery of the plant supported by a support part can be closely approached to a uniform state.

It is a schematic diagram which shows the hydroponic cultivation apparatus of Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the nutrient solution supply process of the water culture apparatus of Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the hydroponic cultivation apparatus of Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the hydroponic cultivation apparatus of Embodiment 3 of this invention. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the nutrient solution supply process of the water culture apparatus of Embodiment 3 of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the structure of the support part used by each of Embodiment 1-3 of this invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

Embodiment 1
First, the structure of the hydroponic cultivation apparatus 70 of Embodiment 1 of this invention is demonstrated using FIG. The hydroponic cultivation apparatus 70 of the present embodiment is an apparatus for hydroponic cultivation of the plant 100 using the nutrient solution 1. The plant 100 according to the present embodiment is a ginseng (Gorax or ginseng) as a root vegetable that may cause an increase in the underground part. Panax ginseng is a plant in which the problem of the occurrence of cracks in the underground part caused by the variation in the amount of water mentioned above is remarkable. Hereinafter, the method of suppressing that dispersion arises in distribution of the water content around the underground part of root vegetables which made a ginseng as an example by hydroponic cultivation apparatus 70 of this embodiment is explained.

The hydroponic cultivation apparatus 70 includes a container 10 for storing the nutrient solution 1. In the container 10, above the nutrient solution 1, the support part 20 is indirectly attached to the container 10 via the plate-shaped member 26 (refer FIG. 5). In addition, if the container 10 is provided with a structure for holding the support portion 20, the support portion 20 may be inserted into, for example, the constriction of the container 10 without being intervened by the plate-like member 26, and directly attached to the container 10. Good. In short, if the support 20 is positioned above the nutrient solution 1 and can support the underground part of the plant 100 so that the roots of the plant 100 are immersed in the nutrient solution, the support part 20 is indirectly attached to the container 10 It may be attached directly or directly.

The support part 20 can support the plant 100 so that the root of the plant 100 is immersed in the nutrient solution 10 in a state of being attached to the container 10. In addition, it is preferable that the support part 20 can support the plant 100 so that the leaf of the plant 100 performs photosynthesis.

The support 20 is made of, for example, a porous material such as a sponge. Therefore, in the support portion 20, when the nutrient solution 1 is supplied from the outside, the nutrient solution 1 permeates into the inside by capillary action. The nutrient solution 1 penetrates the entire support 20 if its amount is sufficient. As a result, the entire support portion 20 is in a substantially uniform wet state. In other words, the distribution of the water content is almost uniform.

The support portion 20 is provided with a plurality of

water detection portions

32 and 34 each detecting the amount of water at a predetermined position of the support portion 20. Information on the amount of water detected by the water detection unit 32 and the water detection unit 34 is transmitted to a control unit 40A described later. The detection of the amount of water may be performed by directly measuring the amount of water, but may be performed indirectly by detecting the humidity. In the present embodiment, in the plurality of water detection units, the first water detection unit 34 provided on the root side of the plant 100 in the support unit 20 and the leaf side of the plant 100 in the support unit 20 are provided. It is preferable that the second moisture detection unit 32 is included. In other words, it is preferable that two moisture detection units be provided in the vertical direction of the support unit 20. This is because in normal use, the nutrient solution 1 in the support 20 mainly evaporates from the upper surface of the support 20, so the lower portion of the support 20 becomes wet, while the upper side of the support 20 It is because a part will be in a dry state. That is, in the vertical direction of the support portion 20, it is considered that there is a high probability that the state in which the difference in the water content is largely different occurs.

Moreover, the hydroponic cultivation apparatus 70 of this Embodiment is provided with the nutrient solution supply part 50 which supplies the nutrient solution 1 to the support part 20. As shown in FIG. The nutrient solution supply unit 50 includes a tank 54 in which the nutrient solution 1 is stored, and a pump 52 for supplying the nutrient solution 1 in the tank 54 to the support unit 20. The pump 52 is driven by the control unit 40.

The control unit 40A of the present embodiment calculates the difference in the amount of water from the amount of water at two locations detected by the two water detection units, ie, the first water detection unit 32 and the second water detection unit 34. Means for In the present embodiment, an example in which only two moisture detection units are provided is shown, but three or more moisture detection units may be provided. In this case, any water detection unit may be used as long as the difference between the water content can be calculated from the water content of any two places among the three or more water detection units. For example, as long as the wet state varies greatly in the left-right direction of the support portion 20, the moisture detection portion may be provided at each of the left and right end portions of the support portion 20. In addition, the moisture detection unit may be provided at each of the left, right, upper and lower ends of the support unit 20.

The control unit 40A includes means for determining whether the difference between the amounts of water calculated by the calculation means is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. The control unit 40A also includes means for driving the pump 52 when it is determined that the difference in the amount of water calculated by the means for determination by the means for determination is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. Accordingly, when the control unit 40A drives the pump 52, the nutrient solution 1 in the tank 54 is supplied to the support unit 20.

Next, the process performed in control part 40A of the water culture apparatus of Embodiment 1 is demonstrated using FIG.

In step S1, the control unit 40A acquires the water content W1 from the first water detection unit 32. Next, in step S2, the control unit 40A acquires the water content W2 from the second water detection unit 34. Thereafter, in step S3, the calculation unit of the control unit 40A calculates the difference ΔW of the water content between the water content W1 and the water content W2. Next, in step S4, the determination unit of the control unit 40A determines whether the water content difference ΔW is equal to or greater than a predetermined value K1. Thereafter, in step S4, if the difference ΔW in the amount of water is equal to or more than the predetermined value K1, it is considered that the state in which the difference in the amount of water exceeds the allowable range in the vertical direction of the support portion 20 has occurred. , The pump 52 is driven by the control unit 40A. Thereby, the state in which the nutrient solution 1 in the tank 54 is supplied to the support part 20 or the nutrient solution 1 is maintained is maintained. At this time, the processing from step S1 to step S5 is repeated. On the other hand, if the difference ΔW in the amount of water is smaller than the predetermined value K1 in step S4, it is considered that the state in which the difference in the amount of water differs significantly in the vertical direction of the support 20 does not occur. The state where the pump 52 is stopped or the pump 52 is stopped is maintained. In this case, the processes of steps S1 to S4 and step 6 are repeated.

Although the nutrient solution supply processing of this embodiment is shown in FIG. 2, any method such as real-time feedback control or ON / OFF control can be used as a method of controlling the supply of nutrient solution 1 by control unit 40A. Good. In any case, the control unit 40A may execute control to drive the pump 52 when the difference between the moisture content at any two locations of the support unit 20 is equal to or greater than a predetermined value.

In the above-described embodiment, the supply of the nutrient solution 1 to the support unit 20 by the nutrient solution supply unit 50 is stopped based on the difference ΔW in the water content detected by the water

content detection units

32 and 34. However, when the control unit 40A measures the drive time of the pump 52 and the pump 52 is driven for a predetermined time, the supply of the nutrient solution 1 to the support unit 20 may be stopped. In this case, the driving time of the pump 52 necessary to make the wet state around the underground part of the plant 100 of the support portion 20 uniform is grasped in advance by experiments. Therefore, the control unit 40A executes control to stop the pump 52 when the required driving time has elapsed since the start of driving the pump 52.

According to the hydroponic cultivation apparatus 70 of the present embodiment as described above, when the difference between the water content at any two locations of the support portion 20 is equal to or greater than the predetermined value, the nutrient solution supply portion 50 to the support portion 20 The nutrient solution 1 is supplied. As a result, the water content around the underground part of the plant 100 of the support part 20 can be brought close to a uniform state. Therefore, the growth rate of the plant 100 is improved. In addition, in the support portion 20, it is possible to prevent the wet state from largely changing depending on the position. As a result, when growing plants 100 in the underground part such as root vegetables, which are enlarged, the generation of cracks in the plants 100 caused by the variation in the amount of water in the support portion 20 is suppressed.

In the hydroponic cultivation apparatus 70 of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, it is preferable that two moisture detection units are provided in the vertical direction of the support unit 20. In other words, the plurality of water detection units include the first water detection unit 32 that detects the amount of water at the first position of the support unit 20, and the water amount at the second position below the first position. It is preferable to have the 2nd moisture detection part 34 to detect. According to this, it is possible to make the distribution of the moisture content of the support portion 20 close to a uniform state in the vertical direction in which the difference in the moisture content tends to be large.

Further, in the present embodiment, the nutrient solution supply unit 50 has the discharge port 60 for dropping the nutrient solution 1 onto the support unit 20. According to this, with the simple configuration of the nutrient solution supply unit 50, the distribution of the amount of water around the underground part of the plant 100 of the support unit 20 can be brought closer to a uniform state. However, the structure of the discharge port 60 is not limited to this, and may be any structure as long as the nutrient solution 1 can be supplied to the support portion 20.

Second Embodiment
The hydroponic cultivation apparatus 70 of Embodiment 2 of this invention is demonstrated using FIG. The water culture apparatus 70 of the present embodiment has substantially the same configuration as the water culture apparatus 70 of the first embodiment. Therefore, in FIG. 3, in the first embodiment and the second embodiment, the same reference numerals are given to the same components, and the description of those same components will not be repeated. In the following description of the present embodiment, only points different from the first embodiment will be described.

In the present embodiment, a nutrient solution supply unit 50B is provided instead of the nutrient solution supply unit 50A. The nutrient solution supply unit 50B has

outlets

62 and 64 for spraying the nutrient solution 1, instead of the outlet 60 for dropping the nutrient solution 1 of the first embodiment. According to this, it is possible to bring the distribution of the amount of water around the underground part of the plant 100 of the support part 20 closer to a uniform state with the smallest amount of nutrient solution. In the present embodiment, the

discharge ports

62 and 64 are provided on the inner side wall of the container 10, and supply the nutrient solution 1 to the side surface of the support portion 20. However, the

discharge ports

62 and 64 may be provided at any position, and the nutrient solution 1 may be supplied to any position of the support portion 20. In any case, the nutrient solution 1 may be uniformly penetrated around the underground part of the plant 100 of the support portion 20 by utilizing the capillary phenomenon of the support portion 20.

Third Embodiment
The structure of the hydroponic cultivation apparatus 70 of Embodiment 3 of this invention is demonstrated using FIG. The water culture apparatus 70 of the present embodiment has substantially the same configuration as the water culture apparatus 70 of the first embodiment. Therefore, in FIG. 4, in the first embodiment and the third embodiment, the same reference numerals are given to the same components, and the description of those same components will not be repeated. In the following description of the present embodiment, only differences from the first and third embodiments will be described.

In the present embodiment, only one moisture detection unit 36 that detects the amount of moisture at the leaf side of the plant 100 is provided in the support unit 20. The moisture detection unit 36 is provided in a portion of the support unit 20 in which the amount of moisture is relatively minimized by an experiment. In general, since the nutrient solution 1 is directed downward by its own weight in the support portion 20, the upper side of the support portion 20 has a smaller water content than the lower side. Therefore, in general, the moisture detection unit 36 is preferably provided in the vicinity of the top or the top of the support 20. However, in the case where the moisture content of the support portion 20 varies in the left-right direction, the moisture detection portion 36 may be provided at the left or right end of the support portion 20 or in the vicinity thereof. In addition, if it is known that the water content of the specific part inside the support part 20 is the smallest, the water content detection part may be provided in the specific part.

In the present embodiment, a control unit 40B is provided instead of the control unit 40A of the first embodiment. The control unit 40B determines whether or not the amount of water detected by the water detection unit 36 is equal to or less than a predetermined value in order to determine whether to supply the nutrient solution 1 to the support unit 20. Is equipped.

Next, the nutrient solution supply process of the hydroponic cultivation apparatus 70 of the present embodiment will be described using FIG. 5. In the present embodiment, at step SS1, the control unit 40B acquires the value of the water content W from the water detection unit 36. Next, in step SS2, the control unit 40B determines whether or not the value of the water content W detected by the water detection unit 36 is equal to or less than a predetermined value K2. Thereafter, if the value of the water content W detected by the water detection unit 36 is less than or equal to the predetermined value K2 in step SS2, it is considered that the dispersion of the water content is large in the support unit 20, and in step SS3 The control unit 40B controls the nutrient solution supply unit 50. Specifically, the pump 52 is driven to supply the nutrient solution 1 in the tank 54 to the periphery of the underground part of the plant 100 of the support unit 20. That is, in the present embodiment, if the value of the water content W detected by the water detection unit 36 is equal to or less than the predetermined value K2, under the assumption that the dispersion of the water content in the support unit 20 is large. Then, the nutrient solution 1 is supplied to the support portion 20.

In the present embodiment, the nutrient solution 1 is supplied to the top of the support portion 20. This is because, in general, it is presumed that the amount of evaporation of the nutrient solution 1 from the upper surface of the support 20 is the largest, and the amount of water at the top of the support 20 is the smallest. Under this assumption, supplying the nutrient solution 1 to the top of the support portion 20 is considered to be the most effective for reducing the difference in the amount of water in the support portion 20. However, if the nutrient solution 1 is sufficiently supplied to the support part 20, the nutrient solution 1 permeates into the whole of the support part 20 by capillary action, so the position to which the nutrient solution 1 is supplied is It may be at any position.

According to the hydroponic cultivation apparatus 70 of the present embodiment described above, it is determined whether or not the amount of water in the support portion 20 varies with only one water detection portion 36. Therefore, the periphery of the underground part of the plant 100 of the support part 20 can be efficiently brought close to a uniform wet state by the minimum number of water detection parts.

In each of the first to third embodiments described above, as shown in FIG. 6, the support portion 20 has a structure that can be inserted into the hole 25 having a circular or elliptical shape of the plate-like member 26. It may be done. It is preferable that such a support part 20 is a material with high permeability of the nutrient solution 1 such as a sponge, and an elastic body having an elastic coefficient that is easily held by the plate-like member 26. According to such a support portion 20, desorption of the support portion 20 from the plate-like member 26 is facilitated. Moreover, the support part 20 may be one in which the material 22 having high permeability of the nutrient solution 1 and the material 24 which is easily elastically deformed are joined. According to this, the range of material selection of the support part 20 which can implement | achieve both high permeability of the nutrient solution 1 and being easy to be supported by the plate-shaped member 26 becomes wide.

According to the above-described hydroponic cultivation apparatus 70 of the present embodiment, the periphery of the underground part of the plant 100 supported by the support portion 20 can be brought close to a uniform wet state. Therefore, the growth rate of the plant 100 is improved. Furthermore, in a plant where the underground part of root vegetables etc. enlarges, generation | occurrence | production of the crack in the underground part of the plant 100 which originates in the wet state around the underground part of the plant 100 differing with positions largely can be suppressed.

The above embodiment is an example of the present invention. For this reason, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various other embodiments may be used according to design etc. as long as they do not deviate from the technical concept of the present invention. Of course it is possible to change.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 nutrient solution 10 container 20 support part 32 1st moisture detection part 34 2nd moisture detection part 36

moisture detection part

40A,

40B control part

50A, 50B nutrient solution supply part 52 pump 54

tank

60, 62, 64 discharge port 70 Hydroponics equipment 100 plants

The present invention can be applied to a hydroponic cultivation apparatus for cultivating plants without using soil.

Claims

A container for storing nutrient solution,
A support portion positioned above the nutrient solution and supporting an underground part of the plant so that a root of the plant is immersed in the nutrient solution;
A plurality of moisture detection units each of which detects a moisture amount at a predetermined position of the support unit;
A nutrient solution supply unit for supplying the nutrient solution to the support unit;
The difference in the amount of water detected by any two of the plurality of water detection units is calculated, and when the difference in the amount of water is equal to or more than a predetermined value, the nutrient solution supply unit sends the support to the support unit. The hydroponic cultivation apparatus provided with the control part which supplies a nutrient solution.
The plurality of moisture detection units detect a first moisture detection unit that detects a moisture content at a first position of the support unit, and a moisture content at a second position that is lower than the first position. The hydroponic cultivation apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a second moisture detection unit.
The hydroponic cultivation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the nutrient solution supply unit has a discharge port for dropping the nutrient solution onto the support unit.
The hydroponic cultivation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the nutrient solution supply unit has a discharge port for spraying the nutrient solution onto the support unit.
A container for storing nutrient solution,
A support portion positioned above the nutrient solution and supporting an underground part of the plant so that a root of the plant is immersed in the nutrient solution;
A moisture detection unit that detects a moisture amount at a predetermined position of the support unit;
A nutrient solution supply unit for supplying the nutrient solution to the support unit;
The hydroponic cultivation apparatus provided with the control part which makes the said nutrient solution supply part supply the said nutrient solution to the said support part, when the said water content is below predetermined value.