WO2019106763A1

WO2019106763A1 - Hydroponic cultivation apparatus

Info

Publication number: WO2019106763A1
Application number: PCT/JP2017/042855
Authority: WO
Inventors: Masahiko KIYOSAWA; Naruhito MORI
Original assignee: Kewpie Corporation
Priority date: 2017-11-29
Filing date: 2017-11-29
Publication date: 2019-06-06
Also published as: JP2020526227A; JP6782874B2; CN111372447A

Abstract

A hydroponic cultivation apparatus (1), comprising: a cultivation unit (10) cultivating plants, and a control unit (20) controlling said cultivation unit (10), wherein said cultivation unit (10) includes a main body (11), a cultivation panel (12) having a positive inclination angle on the front surface of said main body (11), a circulation tank (13) provided in a lower portion of said main body (11), and a spray nozzle (14) placed on the back of said cultivation panel (12) spraying a culture solution onto the root portion of the plant planted in said cultivation panel (12), said control unit (20) includes a spray pump (221) supplying said culture solution from said circulation tank (13) to said spray nozzle (14), said spray nozzle (14) has a spray pressure of 0.3 MPa to 1 MPa, said culture solution circulates in a cycle rate of 0.1 times/ min to 10 times/ min.

Description

HYDROPONIC CULTIVATION APPARATUS

This invention relates to a hydroponic cultivation apparatus.

It is conventionally known that a hydroponic cultivation apparatus is able to cultivate plants, particularly vegetables, without using soil or sunlight in a room. (See, for example, patent literature 1)

<Description of Patent Literature 1>
Patent literature 1 discloses a problem, in the water supply passage which is provided in multiple stages horizontally, the number of stages for stacking cultivation shelves is restricted due to the large weight of the culture solution and the light source and a problem of high cost for obtaining the strength of the cultivation structure. In order to solve the problems, patent literature 1 discloses a method to absorb carbon dioxide at the root part between the cultivation board and the water surface of the water supply passage and shake the root part by water flow so as to reduce the total amount of the culture solution by supplying the water to the water supply passage timely, so that the water supply passage has a full water condition and a small water condition, and to reduce the weight of the light source by cultivating with a small quantity of light.

<Demand for Technique>
Incidentally, in recent years, there is a demand for a hydroponic cultivation apparatus which is capable of maximizing water saving in a rare water resource area, for example, in a dry area where fresh water is obtained by desalinating of seawater. However, the technique disclosed in Patent Literature 1 needs to constantly supply the culture solution to the water supply passage and to have the water supply passage stacked in multiple stages, so that the water saving effect at the growth stage is insufficient. Furthermore, the leaves and roots of plants are present in the same space, so that water for washing is required even after harvesting due to the fact that pests tend to propagate to the leaves.

Patent JP2015-029423A

The object of the present invention which is made in view of such circumstances is to provide a hydroponic cultivation apparatus which is capable of sufficient saving water during the growth stage for plants and maintaining a minimal level of pests so that washing the plants after harvesting is not necessary.

<Content of claim 1>
In order to achieve such an object, the present invention is grasped by the following constitution.
(1) The first aspect of the present invention is characterized in that: a hydroponic cultivation apparatus, comprising: a cultivation unit cultivating plants, and a control unit controlling said cultivation unit, wherein said cultivation unit includes a main body, a cultivation panel having a positive inclination angle on the front surface of said main body, a circulation tank provided in a lower portion of said main body, and a spray nozzle placed on the back of said cultivation panel spraying a culture solution onto the root portion of the plant planted in said cultivation panel, said control unit includes a spray pump supplying said culture solution from said circulation tank to said spray nozzle, said spray nozzle has a spray pressure of 0.3 MPa to 1 MPa, said culture solution circulates in a cycle rate of 0.1 times/ min to 10 times/ min.

<Content of claim 2>
(2) In the above configuration (1), the main body may be substantially sealed to the outside.

<Content of claim 3>
(3) In the above configuration (1) or (2), the cultivation panel may have a planting hole at an angle of 5 degrees to 45 degrees upward with respect to the cultivation panel.

In accordance with the present invention, a hydroponic cultivation apparatus is provided which is capable of sufficient saving water during the growth stage for plants and maintaining a minimal level of pests so that washing the plants after harvesting is not necessary.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a hydroponic cultivation apparatus in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2A is a side view of a cultivation unit in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2B is a side view of a control unit in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2C is a rear view of a control unit in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2D is a horizontal projection view of a cultivation unit and a control unit in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing operation of a hydroponic cultivation apparatus in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

<Description of Embodiment-1>
The embodiment of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as “embodiment”) will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Throughout the description of the embodiment, the same numbers refer to the same elements.

<Description of Embodiment-2>
(Configuration of the embodiment)
First, the configuration of the hydroponic cultivation apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 2D.

<Entire Constitution of Hydroponic Cultivation apparatus 1>
FIG. 1 shows a hydroponic cultivation apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the hydroponic cultivation apparatus 1 comprises a cultivation unit 10 and a control unit 20. The cultivation unit 10 is a unit for cultivating plants of interest. The control unit 20 is a unit for controlling the cultivation unit 10. Also the hydroponic cultivation apparatus 1 comprises a lighting unit 30 (see FIG. 2A) for lighting the plants. Each will be described below.

<Cultivation unit 10>
First, the cultivation unit 10 will be described. The cultivation unit 10 is a unit for cultivating plants of interest. As shown in FIG. 2A, the cultivation unit 10 includes a main body 11, a cultivation panel 12, a circulation tank 13 and a spray nozzle 14.

<Main Body 11>
The main body 11 is a box body that houses each part of the cultivation unit 10, and a caster 11a is attached to the bottom of the main body 11 for convenience in movement. In the side view, the main body 11 is configured so that the front (facade) side has a positive inclination angle, and on the front side thereof, the cultivation panel 12 is also arranged to have a positive inclination angle. Herein, the positive inclination angle refers to an acute angle counterclockwise relative to the bottom side of the main body 11 (for example, 85 degrees, a range of 60 degrees to 90 degrees is preferable) and means that the lower side of the cultivation panel 12 is positioned on the front side of the main body 11, and the upper side thereof is positioned on the rear side of the main body 11.

<Main Body 11-2>
The front surface of the main body 11 is surrounded by the cultivation panel 12, and the other surfaces are surrounded by wall surfaces (In FIG. 1 and FIG. 2A, an example is shown in which the wall surface is composed of an upper surface, both side surfaces, a bottom surface and a back surface) constituting the main body 11. Thereby, the main body 11 is substantially sealed to the outside. This sealability makes it possible to separate the environment of the plant leaves and root parts so that pests such as anaerobic bacteria for breeding plants do not leak out of the main body 11. In addition, it is possible to prevent the cultivation space on the surface side of the cultivation panel 12 from being brought into a state of over-humidity due to the leakage of the mist-form culture solution sprayed inside the main body 11, and furthermore it is possible to avoid such a situation that the opening of the pores in the leaf portion of the plant is reduced and the plant is growing slower. Herein, "to be substantially sealed" means that it is hermetically sealed within a range where anaerobic bacteria and the like can be prevented from leaking to the outside of the main body 11 as described above.

<Cultivation Panel 12>
Although the quality of material for the cultivation panel 12 is not particularly limited. Urethane or polystyrene foam is particularly preferable because of its lightweight. A panel frame formed of aluminum or the like may be provided around the cultivation panel 12. The cultivation panel 12 is replaced with a temporary planting panel having a relatively large number of holes for implanting or a permanent planting panel having a relatively small number of holes for implanting according to the growth stage of the plant. Plants are seeded, nursed and raised, and excellent strains are selected at the growing days of about 1 to 2 weeks, and transplanted to the temporary planting panel. At this stage, in particular, care is taken to control the culture solution and temperature to maintain an optimum growing environment, and seedlings with poor growth or irregular are thinned out. Then, when plants grow to such an extent that the leaves of adjacent strains come into contact with each other, in order to grow towards harvesting, the plants are transplanted to a permanent planting panel which has a wider interval of implantation except for plants with like broken stems or petiole.

<Cultivation Panel 12-2>
As described above, the cultivation panel 12 is disposed so as to have a positive inclination angle in a side view, and the holes for implanting face diagonally upward. This makes it possible to prevent pests such as anaerobic bacteria and the like existing inside the cultivation panel 12 from leaking to the outside of the main body 11, in combination with the sealability of the main body 11 described above. Furthermore, in order to prevent pests from leaking to the outside of the main body 11, it is preferable that the cultivation panel 12 has implanting holes at an angle of 5 degrees to 45 degrees upward with respect to the cultivation panel.

<Mounting of the Cultivation Panel 12 to the Main Body 11>
The main body 11 has an upper guide member 111 and a lower guide member 112 for locking the cultivation panel 12 on its upper part (the upper end of the main body 11) and its lower part (the boundary between the main body 11 and the circulation tank 13). The cultivation panel 12 is supported such that the upper end portion thereof is inserted from the lateral direction into the upper groove 111a formed by the upper guide member 111 and the lower end portion thereof is inserted from the lateral direction into the lower groove 112a formed by the lower guide member 112.

<Circulation tank 13>
The circulation tank 13 is provided at the lower part of the main body 11, and stores a culture solution made of water or by mixing fertilizer etc. in water, to be supplied to plants. The circulation tank 13 is for recovering the culture solution sprayed on the root portion of the plant by the spray nozzle 14 and dropped downward after being sprayed from the spray nozzle 14, except for those absorbed from the roots of plants, those lost by evaporation or transpiration. The recovered culture solution is pumped again to the spray nozzle 14 by a spray pump 221 described later. In addition, in order to replenish water whose amount gradually decreases from the outside, a city water supply pipe 225 opens into the circulation tank 13, as described later, although not shown here. It is preferable that the water of the culture solution is circulated in a cycle rate of 0.1 times/ min to 10 times/ min. In this way, it is possible to suppress the consumption of water and additionally to efficiently circulate the recovered culture solution. In addition, the water storage amount of the circulation tank 13 can be set to 30 L to 100 L, for example, assuming that the hydroponic cultivation apparatus 1 is on the scale of an experiment plant.

<Spray Nozzle 14>
The spray nozzle 14 is provided on a support 141 on the rear side of the cultivation panel 12 and extending from the spray pump 221. The culture solution stored in the circulation tank 13 is pumped by the spray pump 221 and sprayed from the spray nozzle 14 on the root portion of the plant planted in the cultivation panel 12. FIG. 2A shows an example in which the spray nozzles 14 are provided in three stages in the vertical direction, but the number of stages in which the spray nozzles 14 are provided may be 2 or less or 4 or more depending on the size of the cultivation panel 12 and accordingly the number of plants to be implanted. Further, the support 141 of the spray nozzle 14 may be a fixed type or a telescopic type. In addition, when the support 141 is of the fixed type, the support 141 may be formed in a rail shape so that the spray nozzle 14 can move along the support 141 up and down. The spray angle of the spray nozzle 14 is preferably 30 degrees to 180 degrees, and the spray pressure is preferably 0.3 MPa to 1 MPa. The spray pressure is set so as to be able to prevent the adhesion of pests to the roots of plants and to kill eggs of pests.

<Control Unit 20>
Next, the Control unit 20 will be described. The control unit 20 is a unit for controlling the cultivation unit 10. FIG. 2B and FIG. 2C respectively show a side view and a rear view of the control unit 20. The control unit 20 includes a main body 21 and a water supply section 22, a fertilizer supply section 23, a meter section 24, and a control panel 25 provided in the main body 21 in order from the bottom.

<Main Body 21>
The main body 21 constitutes a box body that houses each part of the control unit 20, and a caster 21a is attached to the bottom portion thereof for the convenience of movement. The main body 21 has a substantially rectangular shape in a side view and a rear view, and the front side thereof is arranged so as to face the rear face of the main body 11 of the cultivation unit 10. The water supply section 22, the fertilizer supply section 23, the meter section 24 and the control panel 25 are operated from the rear side of the main body 21.

<Water Supply Section 22>
The water supply section 22 includes a spray pump 221, a circulation water suction pipe 222, a circulation water supply pipe 223, a filter 224 provided in the middle of the circulation water supply pipe 223, a city water supply pipe 225, and a motor valve 226 for opening and closing the city water supply pipe 225.

< Spray Pump 221, Circulation Water Suction Pipe 222>
The spray pump 221 is an on-off type which is capable of being turned on and off, sucks the culture solution stored in the circulation tank 13 of the cultivation unit 10 via the circulation water suction pipe 222, passes through the circulation water supply pipe 223, and pumps it to the spray nozzle 14. The liquid feed speed of the spray pump 221 can be set to, for example, 10 L / min to 100 L / min to keep the spray pressure of the spray nozzle 14. The spray pump 221 may be a single unit. However, in order to secure power according to the scale of the hydroponic cultivation apparatus 1, two or more spray pumps may be provided, such as a first spray pump and a second spray pump arranged in series.

<Circulation Water Supply Pipe 223, Filter 224>
The filter 224 is arranged in the middle of the circulation water supply pipe 223, and filters the culture solution stored in the circulation tank 13. The filter 224 is provided for removing impurities such as organic substances accumulated in the culture solution to be circulated. A disk filter is suitably used as the filter 224. Even if relatively large impurities are mixed in the culture solution, it is excellent in filtration ability, high in durability and low in trouble. Note that the disc filter is formed by laminating discs having grooves and can filter impurities by the grooves of the discs without weakening the momentum of the water flow.

<City Water Supply Pipe 225, Motor Valve 226>
The hydroponic cultivation apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment realizes hydroponic culture with high water-saving effect. Then, the hydroponic cultivation apparatus 1 is provided with a city water supply pipe 225 and a motor valve 226 for opening and closing the city water supply pipe 225, in order to secure the initial water volume at the start of operation and to compensate for gradually decreasing water during operation, so that minimal amount of water can be supplied from the outside of the equipment. Although not shown here, the city water supply pipe 225 opens into the circulation tank 13 of the cultivation unit 10.

<Fertilizer Supply Section 23>
The fertilizer supply section 23 is provided to supply fertilizer and the like to the water, and herein, it shows an example in which acid, alkali and reducing agent can be supplied in addition to two types of fertilizer, fertilizer A and fertilizer B. That is, a fertilizer etc. injection pump 231 is provided for each of fertilizer A, fertilizer B, acid, alkali and reducing agent, and a fertilizer etc. tank 232 containing each solution is provided under each pump. Each solution pumped up from the fertilizer etc. tank 232 by the fertilizer etc. injection pump 231 is supplied to the circulation tank 13 by respective piping (not shown).

<Meter Section 24>
The meter section 24 includes an EC / PH meter 241 (conductivity / hydrogen ion exponent) and an ORP meter 242 (oxidation reduction potential). According to the measurement result of the EC / PH meter 241, fertilizer A, fertilizer B, acid and alkali in the fertilizer supply section 23 are supplied and the measurement result of the ORP meter 242, the reducing agent in the fertilizer supply section 23 is supplied.

<Control Panel 25>
On the uppermost stage of the main body 21, a control panel 25 for controlling the control unit 20 is provided. The control panel 25 is equipped with a control part that operates or stops the spray pump 221, the filter 224, the motor valve 226, and the fertilizer etc. injection pump 231 as necessary.

<Arrangement of cultivation unit 10 and control unit 20 >
During operation of the hydroponic cultivation apparatus 1, the control unit 20 is arranged to be connected to the rear side of the cultivation unit 10, as shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 2D is a plan view of a state in which both the cultivation unit 10 and the control unit 20 are connected as viewed from above. The circulation water suction pipe 222 and the circulation water supply pipe 223 of the control unit 20 are respectively connected to the circulating tank 13 and the support 141 of the cultivation unit 10.

<Lighting Unit 30>
Returning to FIG. 2A, on the front side of the cultivation unit 10, a lighting unit 30 for lighting plants is provided. The lighting unit 30 includes a frame 31 and a light source 32 installed horizontally on the frame 31. The type of the light source 32 is not particularly limited, and fluorescent lamps, LEDs, and the like can be suitably used. In addition, a high-pressure sodium lamp that emits yellow light may be used in combination depending on the stage of plant growth. Note that the light irradiated on the plant is not necessarily limited to only the light from the artificial light source, and it may be irradiated from a natural light source (sunlight).

<Operation of Hydroponic Cultivation apparatus 1>
With reference to FIG. 3, the operation of the hydroponic cultivation apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing the operation of the hydroponic cultivation apparatus 1, mainly around the flow of water or culture solution. At the start of the operation, water is supplied from the city water supply pipe 225 to the circulation tank 13 by opening the motor valve 226. The circulation tank 13 is provided with an EC sensor 131, a PH sensor 132, and an ORP sensor 133, and the measured values are displayed on the EC / PH meter 241 and the ORP meter 242. Based on the measured value, the fertilizer etc. injection pump 231 is operated to supply the necessary amount of fertilizer or the like from the fertilizer etc. tank 232 to the circulation tank 13 via the fertilizer etc. supply pipe 134. The spray pump 221 pumps up the culture solution from the circulation water suction pipe 222 and pumps it to the spray nozzle 14 via the circulation water supply pipe 223 and the support 141. In the course of the circulation water supply pipe 223, impurities are removed by passing through a filter 224 (disk filter). The culture solution sprayed from the spray nozzle 14 is sprayed on the root portion of the plant, and the remaining culture solution not absorbed or evaporated in the root portion is recovered in the circulation tank 13.

<Specifications of Hydroponic Cultivation apparatus 1>
Although the embodiment described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 shows an example of an experimental plant, the hydroponic cultivation apparatus 1 can be set with various specifications within the scope of the gist of the present invention. Therefore, the specifications of each constituent element of the hydroponic cultivation apparatus 1 described above should be understood as being appropriately settable in consideration of the purpose of use of the experimental plant, the production plant and the like, the required production amount of the plant, and the like.

<Effect of Embodiment>
As specifically described above with the embodiment, the hydroponic cultivation apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment has an inclined cultivation panel 12 and sprays the culture solution on the root portion of the plant planted in the cultivation panel 12, so that the recovered culture solution can efficiently circulate and consumption of water can be suppressed. Therefore, the hydroponic cultivation apparatus 1 which is capable of high water-saving effect can be provided even in an area such as a dry zone. Furthermore, the hydroponic cultivation apparatus 1 which is capable of maintaining a minimal level of pests so that washing the plants after harvesting is not necessary.

<Conclusion>
While the present invention has been described with reference to the embodiments, it is apparent that the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above embodiment. It is obvious to a person skilled in the art that various modifications or improvements can be added to the above embodiment. It is obvious from the description of the scope of the claims that embodiments with such modifications or improvements can also be included in the technical scope of the present invention.

For example, in the above-described embodiment, one cultivation panel 12 is provided, but a plurality of cultivation panels 12 may be provided side by side. In that case, it is preferable to have a joining part configured so that the adjacent cultivation panels 12 overlap each other at the side end. According to the above configuration, it is possible to avoid such a situation as the growth of plants becoming slower in the case that the opening of the pores in the leaf part of the plant is reduced by the excessive humidity in the cultivation space on the front side of the panel due to leakage of the misted culture solution from the gap between the adjacent cultivation panels 12.

In the embodiment described above, while one control unit 20 is arranged on the rear side of one cultivation unit 10, it is also possible to control a plurality of cultivation units 10 with one control unit 20. For example, two control units 20 may be provided on both sides of one control unit 20 as a center.

1 hydroponic cultivation apparatus
10 cultivation unit
11 main body
12 cultivation panel
13 circulation tank
131 EC Sensor
132 PH sensor
133 ORP sensor
134 fertilizer etc. supply pipe
14 spray nozzle
141 support
20 control unit
21 main body
22 water supply section
221 spray pump
222 circulation water suction pipe
223 circulation water supply pipe
224 filter
225 city water supply pipe
226 motor valve
23 fertilizer supply section
231 fertilizer etc. injection pump
232 fertilizer etc. tank
24 meter section
241 EC / PH meter
242 ORP meter
25 control panel

Claims

A hydroponic cultivation apparatus, comprising:
a cultivation unit cultivating plants, and
a control unit controlling said cultivation unit, wherein
said cultivation unit includes
a main body,
a cultivation panel having a positive inclination angle on the front surface of said main body,
a circulation tank provided in a lower portion of said main body, and
a spray nozzle placed on the back of said cultivation panel spraying a culture solution onto the root portion of the plant planted in said cultivation panel,
said control unit includes
a spray pump supplying said culture solution from said circulation tank to said spray nozzle,
said spray nozzle has a spray pressure of 0.3 MPa to 1 MPa,
said culture solution circulates in a cycle rate of 0.1 times/ min to 10 times/ min.
a hydroponic cultivation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
said main body is substantially sealed to the outside.
a hydroponic cultivation apparatus according to any of claim 1 to 2, wherein
the cultivation panel has a planting hole at an angle of 5 degrees to 45 degrees upward with respect to the cultivation panel.