Apparatus And Method For Automated Aeroponic Systems For Growing Plants

Abstract

The present invention may relate to Aeroponic Systems and their individual elements. More particularly to automated systems capable of monitoring and adjusting some if not all of the light, nutrient, water quality and environmental factors required for the propagation and sustained growth of all types of plants. It may also describe methods to support the plants during propagation from seeds and for growth and harvesting. It may describe various methodologies for reducing space requirements and for increasing plant density without detriment to the growth cycles.

Description

PRIORITY CLAIM[0001]This application is a U.S. nonprovisional application which claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62 / 495,556 filed Sep. 19, 2016, hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]The present invention relates to Aeroponic Systems, their individual elements, consumables and distribution channels. More particularly to automated systems capable of monitoring and adjusting some if not all of the light, nutrient, water quality, environmental factors and physical space required for optimized propagation and sustained growth of all types of plants.BACKGROUND[0003]There are many methods of growing plants. They may range from the most ancient method of planting seeds in the ground and letting nature provide the water, nutrients and light necessary for photosynthesis to more modern methods. These would include industrial agriculture methods where the seeds are still planted in the ground, but the water, nu...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0019]The technology employed in the invention may be scalable by design and may be incorporated into systems which could range from table top devices supplying one or two individuals, single family devices, home based systems to allow for income generation, container / trailer sized systems, and the like to commercial factory systems which may be capable of providing city-sized demands for a broad variety of vegetables, tubers, herbs, grains, flowering plants, and the like. Locating these systems in urban areas may reduce the time to market for mature, live plants, and may greatly simplify the supply chain. Providing live plants with a method to maintain the root's moisture level may extend their shelf life.

[0020]If the same form factor for the Seed Pods is used for both industrial and home-scale technologies, the plant germination / propagation cycle can be started on an industrial-scale system with the live seedlings delivered directly to either a system user or to point of sale vendors. Grocery type stores may have “Grow” systems to allow for the sale of either seedlings or mature live plants based on consumer tastes. These young plants could then be placed into a home-scale device to complete the growing cycle over time, or to maintain mature plants over a sustained harvest period. Having live plants available may allow the user to harvest only what they need at the time, while perhaps greatly extending the “shelf” life of the plants. This may help eliminate the complications of the current fresh produce supply chain logistics and cost while preserving the freshness of the produce. These methods and systems may also be compatible with automated home delivery scenarios.

Problems solved by technology

One serious issue with current agriculture production methods may be in the delivery to market of the harvested crops.

The outcome of this is that up to 40% of the crops harvested may be lost due to transportation issues and over-ripening at the point of sale and / or with the consumer.

A second issue may be that current agricultural methods may consume 80% of all ground and surface water in the United States to ensure productive yields.

A third issue may have to do with the inherent seasonal nature of most agriculture crops.

This may affect the quality and availability of many crops.

A fourth issue may have to do with the physical space required for current agricultural methods.

Traditional farming methods may require large tracts of land which may have to have their soil amended because of depletion caused by monoculture crops.

The use of soil and plant amendments and the use of large scale industrial machinery may cause pollutants to be released into the biosphere.

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