WO2020211926A1

WO2020211926A1 - Method for handling growing modules in a vertical farm

Info

Publication number: WO2020211926A1
Application number: PCT/EP2019/059702
Authority: WO
Inventors: Marcel Stefan FLORIAN
Original assignee: Growcer Ag
Priority date: 2019-04-15
Filing date: 2019-04-15
Publication date: 2020-10-22

Abstract

A growing module (5) comprises a tray (7) containing water and nutrients and a first plant carrier (8). The plant carrier (8) comprises a plant area (83) with at least one plant (6), wherein the first plant carrier (8) is arranged on a support surface (76) of the tray (7) and separable from the tray (7). A Method for automatically handling the growing module (5) within a vertical farm comprises - a robot moves horizontally and vertically to the growing module (5) arranged at a first location within the vertical farm, - the robot moves the first plant carrier (8) away from the tray (7), and - delivers the first plant carrier (8) to a second location inside the farm.

Description

Method for handling growing modules in a vertical farm

Technical Field

The invention relates to a method for auto- matically handling a growing module within a vertical farm. The growing module comprises a tray containing wa- ter and nutrients and a first plant carrier, which com- prises a plant area with at least one plant.

The invention further relates to a growing module and a robot.

Background Art

Vertical farming is the practice of producing food in vertically stacked layers. Vertical farming often uses indoor farming techniques and controlled-environment agriculture technology. The environmental factors, which influence the growing process of the plants, i.e. light, temperature, humidity, fertigation etc., can be com- pletely artificial or partially artificial. If all influ encing factors are artificial, an intelligent system can fully control the growing process, i.e. the time required from sowing to harvesting, the quality or the color of the plants etc. Thus, the growing process is optimizable with respect to the consumption of electrical energy, wa- ter, nutrients, waste etc. No herbicides or pesticides are required.

Artificially controlled vertical farms can be built everywhere. Such a system minimizes food miles, i.e. the distance that food travels from farm to con- sumer, and the amount of water needed compared to conven- tional farming.

However, the economic benefit of vertical farms mainly depends on the price of electric energy and on the efficiency of LEDs, wherein the efficiency of LEDs is still increasing. The ecological benefit mainly de- pends on the cleanliness of the electric energy. Further- more, the economic and the ecological benefit strongly depend on the efficiency of the whole growing system of the vertical farm. Energy from renewable sources and so- lar systems connected to the vertical farm play an im- portant role.

Disclosure of the Invention

Hence, it is a general object of the inven- tion to provide a method and a system of a vertical farm, which produces plants efficiently.

The method and the subjects of the independ- ent claims solve this object.

A growing module comprises a tray, in partic- ular a hydroponic or aeroponic tray, containing nutri- ents, and in particular water and/or a liquid basing on water and/or an aerosol containing water droplets and/or a nutrient solution, and a first plant carrier. The first plant carrier comprises a plant area with at least one plant, in particular with at least two plants, wherein the first plant carrier is, in particular statically, ar- ranged on a support surface of the tray and separable from the tray.

A method for automatically handling the grow- ing module within a vertical farm comprises the following steps :

- a robot moves horizontally and vertically to the growing module arranged at a first location within the vertical farm.

- the robot moves the first plant carrier of the growing module away from the tray, and

- delivers the first plant carrier without the tray to a second location inside the farm.

The "robot" is any kind of machine capable of automatically carrying out at least the mentioned ac- tions, i.e. a robot could be an autonomous lift or just a conveyor .

In particular, an external control device, e.g. a central control device which controls the complete vertical farm and which receives orders from a human or a computer, can control the robot. The robot may further comprise wheels, arms, a loading space, engines, visual sensors etc.

"Arranged on the support surface of the tray" means, that the first plant carrier is directly ar- ranged on the tray and is not swimming on the water in- side the tray. Thus, the first plant carrier can be stat- ically arranged with respect to the tray.

The tray is a container containing water and nutrients. In particular, the tray comprises a liquid in- let in order to feed water and nutrients into the tray and an outlet in order to empty the tray.

"Moving away" means any separation of the plant carrier from the tray. The robot can lift the plant carrier out of the tray, for example. Moving a first plant carrier away from a tray has the advantage that the robot does not have to transport the heavy tray containing water throughout the whole vertical farm, in particular to a harvesting or cleaning and sowing station.

Advantageously, the robot moves the first plant carrier away from the tray such that the plants with its roots are lifted out of the water, in particular without being destroyed. This requires, that the robot lifts the plant carrier sufficiently high such that the roots do not touch the tray when moving the plant carrier away .

In a preferred method, the second location is in a germination room, another tray, in particular ar- ranged in a room with a different air temperature or with different light conditions, or in particular with differ- ent nutrients in the water, a harvesting station, or a cleaning and sowing station.

The robot delivers only the plant carrier to these second locations, which are configured to handle the plant carrier.

Furthermore, the second location can be a harvesting station, which harvests the plants without de- stroying the roots, wherein the robot can deliver the harvested plant carrier with the roots to the tray or to another tray for growing again.

A multiple harvest of the same shoot in- creases the efficiency of the food production. This is possible within a vertical farm, if the robot handles the plant carriers without destroying the roots.

In a preferred method, the first plant car- rier comprises a frame which frames the plant area with the at least one plant, in particular with the at least two plants, in particular wherein the plant area (83) comprises a growing medium on which plants grow, and in particular wherein the growing medium is clamped in the frame. The growing medium can be a grid, rock wool, an arrangement of pots or cracks etc.

In particular, the robot moves the first plant carrier away from the tray by gripping the frame, in particular by gripping its gripping elements, in par- ticular formed as mushrooms, extending vertically from the frame, from above, or by gripping into holes of the frame .

"Gripping" means any kind of loading the plant carrier up to the robot.

A "frame" is a rigid structure. In particu- lar, it frames something, in particular the plant area, essentially in a horizontal plane. The frame by itself frames an opening, wherein the horizontal plane of the opening is much larger, i.e. at least three times larger, in particular at least five times larger, than the hori- zontal plane of the frame. I.e. the frame is neither a container, in particular with openings, nor a pot nor a bucket, since all these subjects do not frame something essentially in a horizontal plane.

The frame stabilizes the plant carrier. The vertically extending gripping elements allow arranging the plant carriers right next to each other without a gap, such that no light shines between two plant carriers into the tray. This avoids the growth of algae and fungal inside the tray and increases efficiency of the farming area .

In particular, the first plant carrier is conveyed in the harvesting station by supporting the frame on tracks during the complete harvesting process such that the plant area is untouched by the conveying system and the roots of the at least one plant, in par- ticular the at least two plants, are not touched and not destroyed during the harvesting process.

Advantageously, the robot arranges the first plant carrier and a second plant carrier, in particular right next to each other, on the support surface of the tray at the first location.

The advantage is that the tray can be dimen- sioned relatively large, e.g. with a width of 1.2 m, which corresponds to the width of a plant carrier, and e.g. with a length of 20 m, such that about 32 plant car- riers can be arranged side by side. A large tray simpli- fies the water supply, the water disposal and the fixa- tion of the trays in the vertically stacked layers.

Furthermore, the plants can be sown on the plant area, which comprises a grid, in particular wherein the grid has a grid size with a maximum grid size of 0.7 mm, in particular with a maximum of 1 mm, and/or with a grid size such that seeds do not fall through the grid but the roots grow through the grid.

The arrangement of the seeds and the plants on a grid simplifies the sowing process and the cleaning and re-sowing of the plant carrier. The automatization is very easy and efficient.

In particular, the plant carrier is cleaned by high-pressure cleaning of the grid.

Furthermore, the invention relates to a grow- ing module. It comprises

- a tray, and

- a first plant carrier for carrying at least one plant, in particular at least two plants, wherein the plant carrier is arranged on a support surface, in par- ticular on the edge, of the tray, and separable from the tray .

Advantageously, the growing module comprises a second plant carrier arranged on the support surface next to the first plant carrier, in particular such that no light shines between the first and the second carrier into the tray.

In a preferred embodiment, the length of the tray is at least two times, in particular five times, in particular 10 times larger than the length of the plant carrier .

In particular, the plant carrier comprises a grid, in particular wherein the grid has a maximum grid size of 0.7 mm, in particular with a maximum of 1 mm, and/or with a grid size such that seeds do not fall through the grid but the roots grow through the grid.

Advantageously, the frame can comprise at least one gripping element, in particular extending ver- tically upwards from the frame and/or formed as a mush- room, configured to be gripped by a robot.

In a preferred embodiment, the tray comprises a liquid, in particular water, with a liquid level, wherein the tray is configured to raise or lower the liq- uid level inside the tray or wherein the tray is config- ured to raise or lower the support surface relative to the liquid level, in particular dependent on the size of the roots and/or controlled by a pressure sensor.

Advantageously, a system comprises at least two growing modules, wherein the at least two growing modules are stacked on each other, in particular wherein each of the at least two growing modules comprises an ar- ray of LEDs.

If the growing modules can be stacked, there is no need for a shelf.

Furthermore, the invention relates to a robot for handling a growing module. The robot is configured to move horizontally and vertically within a vertical farm, comprising a load device configured to grip and move a plant carrier with at least one plant, in particular at least two plants, away from a tray of the growing module.

In particular, the robot comprises a collect- ing tray, wherein the load device and the collecting tray are configured such that water dropping from the at least one plant, in particular the at least two plants, of the plant carrier loaded by the robot is collected by the collecting tray. Brief Description of the Drawings

The invention will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become ap- parent when consideration is given to the following de- tailed description thereof. This description makes refer- ence to the annexed drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 shows a shelf with vertically stacked growing modules;

Fig. 2 shows a growing module with a tray and four plant carriers;

Fig. 3 shows a robot;

Fig. 4a shows a growing module in side view; Fig. 4b shows the growing module in side view, wherein the robot lifts the plant carrier up;

Fig. 5 shows a schematic plan of a vertical farm; and

Fig. 6 a system of at least two stacked grow- ing modules.

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

Fig. 1 shows a shelf 1 with vertically stacked growing modules within a vertical farm. The shelf comprises three levels 2, 3 and 4. Each level comprises one growing module 5.

In Fig. 1, one growing module 5 comprises one tray 7 and six plant carriers 8. The tray 7 contains wa- ter 71 and nutrients. A plurality of plants 6 are growing in each growing module 5. A plant 6 comprises roots 61, a plant stem 62 and leaves 63.

A system, which grows plants without soil by using mineral nutrient solutions in a water solvent, is called hydroponics. The roots 61 of the plants are only exposed to the mineral solution. The nutrients used in a hydroponic system can come from different sources, e.g. from fish waste, duck manure or chemical fertilizers.

The tray 7 comprises a water inlet 72. A feed pipe 73 supplies water to the tray 7 via the water inlet 72. The water flows out of the tray 7 through the water outlet 74 into a drain pipe 75.

LEDs 9 are arranged above the growing modules 5. The light conditions within the vertical farm can be fully controlled by the LEDs.

Fig. 2 shows a growing module 5 in more de- tail. The growing module 5 of Fig. 2 comprises one tray 7 with a water inlet 72 and four plant carriers 8. Plants 6 are growing in the first plant carrier 81. The length 77 of the tray 7 is at least two times larger than the length 86 of the plant carrier 8.

The plant carrier 8 comprises a frame 82, which frames a plant area 83, where the plants 6 are growing. The frame 82 is arranged on a support surface 76 of the tray 7. In the embodiment of Fig. 2, the support surface 76 is the upper edge of the tray 7.

The plant area 83 comprises a grid 84 made of plastic, steel, or fabric/textile, for example. In the present embodiment, the grid has a grid size of 0.7 mm.

In this case, the seeds do not fall through the grid 84 when seeding, but the roots grow through the grid. The plant area can comprise further layers, e.g. a layer of cotton, which supports the growing of the plants, or the plant area could be a plate with holes where pots with plants are put inside.

The grid 84 makes the handling of the plants very easy. When seeding, the seeds can just be arranged on the grid 84, and the growing process starts, wherein the roots 61 grow through the grid 84 into the water of the tray 7. The plant carriers 8 are arranged on the tray 7 right next to each other such that no light shines be- tween two plant carriers 8 into the tray 7. This is il- lustrated in the detail view A of Fig. 2.

Every plant carrier 8 comprises six gripping elements 85, which are formed as mushrooms. They are ar- ranged on the frame 82 and extend vertically upwards. The gripping elements 85 are formed and arranged such that a robot 10 can grip the plant carrier 8 at the gripping el- ements 85 in order to move the plant carrier 8 away from the tray 7.

Fig. 3 shows the robot 10. The robot 10 com- prises a base element 101 including a power unit and a control unit, wheels 102, a load device 103 and a col- lecting tray 104. The load device 103 comprises masts 105 movable in vertical direction and gripping arms 106 with forks 107 movable in horizontal direction. The masts 105 can move the gripping arms 106 with the forks 107 in ver- tical direction.

The Fig. 4a and 4b show the separation of the tray 7 and the plant carrier 8. Fig. 4a shows a growing module 5 in side view. The plant carrier 8 is arranged on the tray 7 and the roots of the plants 6 are standing in the water of the tray 7. The plants 6 are growing.

In order to deliver the plant carrier 8 to another location in the farm, the robot 10 grips the plant carrier 8, lifts it up and moves it to the other location in the farm. The robot 10 grips the plant car- rier 8 by moving the forks 107 under the mushroom heads of the gripping elements 85. Then, the robot 10 moves the masts 105 and the gripping arms 106 upwards such that the plant carrier 8 is moved away from the tray 7 and such that the plants 6 are lifted out of the water in the tray 7. This is shown in Fig. 4b. The robot 10 can deliver the plant carrier 8 to another location in the farm, wherein the tray 8 with the water stays in position on the shelf 1. Fig. 5 shows a schematic plan of a vertical farm in top view. The vertical farm comprises four shelves 1 with a plurality of growing modules. Two shelves 1 are arranged in a first cultivation room 11. The environment in the room 11 is optimal for a fast ger- mination. The two other shelves 1 are arranged in a sec- ond cultivation room 12 where the environment is optimal for the growing of the plants before harvesting. An auto- matic door 13 connects the first cultivation room 11 with the second cultivation room 12.

Furthermore, a harvesting station 14, a pack- ing station 15 and a cleaning and sowing station 16 are arranged in the vertical farm, but in separate rooms. A control system 17 controls the whole process, which is fully automatic.

The process starts at the cleaning and sowing station 16, where a cleaned plant carrier 8 is ready. The process comprises the following steps:

- Seeds are arranged on the grid 84 of the plant carrier 8.

- The robot 10 picks the plant carrier 8 up and delivers it to a tray 7, which is arranged on a shelf 1 in the first room 11. The robot 10 arranges the plant carrier 8 on the edges of the tray 7, as shown in Fig. 2. The tray 7 contains water and nutrients and the LEDs are activated. The seeds start growing.

- After a while, the robot 10 picks the plant carrier 8 up and delivers it to another shelf 1 in the second cultivation room 12.

- As soon as the plants are ready for har- vest, the robot 10 picks the plant carrier 8 up again and delivers it to the harvesting station 14. The plant car- rier 8 is arranged on tracks 141 of the harvesting sta- tion 14.

- The tracks 141 convey the plant carrier 9 in the harvesting station such that the roots of the plants are not destroyed. After harvest, the food is con- veyed to the packing station 15 and the robot picks the plant carrier 8 up for growing again, or the plant car- rier 8 is conveyed to the cleaning and sowing station in order to freshly prepare the plant carrier 8.

Fig. 6 shows a system of two stacked growing modules 5. Pillars 79 support the growing modules, such that the growing modules 5 can be stacked on each other. There is no need for a shelf 1, as shown in Fig. 1.

While there are shown and described presently preferred embodiments of the invention, it is to be dis- tinctly understood that the invention is not limited thereto but may be otherwise variously embodied and prac- ticed within the scope of the following claims.

Claims

1. Ά method for automatically handling a growing module (5) within a vertical farm,

wherein the growing module (5) comprises a tray (7) containing at least nutrients and a first plant carrier (8), which comprises a plant area (83) with at least one plant (6), wherein the first plant carrier (8) is arranged on a support surface (76) of the tray (7) and separable from the tray (7), and

wherein the method comprises:

- a robot (10) moves horizontally and verti- cally to the growing module (5) arranged at a first loca- tion within the vertical farm,

- the robot moves the first plant carrier (8) away from the tray (7), and

- delivers the first plant carrier (8) to a second location within the farm. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the robot

(10) moves the first plant carrier (8) away from the tray (7) such that the plants (6) with its roots (61) are lifted out of the tray (7), in particular without being destroyed .

3. The method of one of the preceding claims, wherein the second location is

- in a germination room (11),

- another tray (7), in particular arranged in a room (12) with a different air temperature or with dif- ferent light conditions, or in particular with different nutrients,

- a harvesting station (14), or

- a cleaning and sowing station (16).

4. The method of one of the claims 1 or 2, wherein the second location is a harvesting station (14), which harvests the plants (6) without destroying the roots (61), wherein the robot (10) delivers the harvested plant carrier (8) with the roots (61) to the tray (7) or to another tray (7) for growing again or to a cleaning and sowing station.

5. The method of one of the preceding claims, wherein the first plant carrier (8) comprises a frame (82) which frames the plant area (83) with the at least one plant (6), in particular at least two plants (6), in particular wherein the plant area (83) comprises a growing medium on which plants grow, and in particular wherein the growing medium is clamped in the frame .

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the robot (10) moves the first plant carrier (8) away from the tray (7) by gripping the frame (82),

in particular by gripping its gripping ele- ments (85) of the frame (82), in particular formed as mushrooms, extending vertically from the frame (82), or by gripping into holes of the frame (82).

7. The method of claim 4 and 5 or of claim 4 and 6, wherein conveying the first plant carrier (8) in the harvesting station (14) by supporting the frame (82) on tracks (141) during the complete harvesting process such that the plant area (83) is untouched by the convey- ing system and the roots (61) of the at least one plant (6) are not touched and not destroyed during the harvest- ing process.

8. The method of one of the preceding claims, wherein the robot (10) arranges the first plant carrier (8) and a second plant carrier, in particular right next to each other, on the support surface (76) of the tray (7) at the first location.

9. The method of one of the preceding claims, wherein the plants (6) are sown on the plant area (83) comprising a grid (84), in particular wherein the grid (84) has a maximum grid size of 0.7 mm, in particular with a maximum of 1 mm, and/or a grid size such that seeds do not fall through the grid (84) but the roots (61) grow through the grid (84) . 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the plant carrier (8) is cleaned by high-pressure cleaning the grid (84) .

11. The method of one of the preceding claims, wherein the first plant carrier comprises at least two plants (6).

12. The method of one of the preceding claims, wherein the plants are harvested, packed and pre- pared for sale.

13. A growing module for a vertical farm com- prising

- a tray ( 7 ) , and

- a first plant carrier (8) for carrying at least one plant (6), wherein the plant carrier (8) is ar- ranged on a support surface (82) , in particular on the edge, of the tray (7), and separable from the tray (7). 14. The growing module of claim 13, compris- ing a second plant carrier (8) arranged on the support surface (76), in particular next to the first plant car- rier (8), in particular such that no light shines between the first and the second plant carrier into the tray (7).

15. The growing module of one of the claims 13 to 14, wherein the length (77) of the tray (7) is at least two times, in particular five times, in particular 10 times, larger than the length (86) of the plant car- rier ( 8 ) . 16. The growing module of one of the claims

13 to 15, wherein the plant carrier (8) comprises a grid (84), in particular wherein the grid (84) has a maximum grid size of 0.7 mm, in particular with a maximum of 1 mm, and/or a grid size such that seeds do not fall through the grid (84) but the roots (61) grow through the grid ( 84 ) .

17. The growing module of one of the claims 13 to 16, wherein the first plant carrier (8) comprises a frame (82), which frames a plant area (83).

18. The growing module of claim 17, wherein the frame (82) comprises at least one gripping element (85), in particular extending vertically upwards from the frame (82) and/or formed as a mushroom and/or configured to be gripped by a robot (10),

and/or the frame (82) comprises grippable holes .

19. The growing module of one of the claims 13 to 18, wherein the tray comprises a liquid, in partic- ular water, with a liquid level,

wherein the tray is configured to raise or lower the liquid level inside the tray or wherein the tray is configured to raise or lower the support surface relative to the liquid level,

in particular dependent on the size of the roots and/or controlled by a pressure sensor.

20. A system of at least two growing modules, in particular according to one of the claims 13 to 19, wherein the at least two growing modules, each comprising a tray (7) and a plant carrier (8), are stacked on each other, in particular wherein each of the at least two growing modules comprise an LED. 21. A robot (10) for handling a growing mod- ule (5) , in particular the growing module (5) of one of the claims 13 to 19, configured to move horizontally and vertically within a vertical farm, comprising a load de- vice configured to grip and move a plant carrier with at least two plants away from the tray of the growing mod- ule .

22. The Robot of claim 21, comprising a col- lecting tray (104), wherein the load device (103) and the collecting tray (104) are configured such that water dropping from the at least two plants (6) of the plant carrier (8) loaded by the robot (10) is collected by the collecting tray (104).