Medium forming device and method of operating the same
By designing the injection chamber, cooling chamber, and cutting components in a coordinated manner, the problem of difficult culture medium formation was solved, enabling rapid mass production and culture medium formation without damage to plant roots, thus simplifying the operation process.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Patents(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- YUAN HSIEN FARMING TECH CO LTD
- Filing Date
- 2022-09-19
- Publication Date
- 2026-05-12
AI Technical Summary
In existing hydroponic cultivation methods, it is difficult to form the culture medium and it cannot be produced in large quantities quickly. Furthermore, traditional sponge materials affect the growth of plant roots and cannot be reused.
Design a culture medium forming device, including a liquid injection chamber, a cooling chamber, a heat insulation component, and a cutting component. The culture medium is extruded and shaped through a liquid injection tube by the cooperation of a glue injection punch and a pressure plate, and the temperature is controlled by a coolant to ensure the transformation of the culture medium from a liquid state to a gel state. The cutting component is used to cut the medium into specific lengths.
It enables rapid and large-scale production of culture medium, avoids the use of sponge materials, ensures that plant root growth is not affected, and the culture medium forming device is simple and efficient to operate.
Smart Images
Figure CN115777491B_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This invention relates to a culture medium forming apparatus and its operating method, particularly in the field of agriculture, for manufacturing products suitable for standardized production. Background Technology
[0002] In existing technologies, the method of growing crops in soil is easily affected by changes in the natural environment and unstable climate, which can affect yields. In addition, unpredictable natural disasters, pests and man-made environmental pollution make it increasingly difficult for traditional soil cultivation to meet the quality requirements of grown crops.
[0003] Therefore, hydroponics emerged to overcome the shortcomings of soil cultivation. However, existing hydroponic methods involve placing nutrient solution in a container and then placing the seeds on a carrier (usually a sponge) within the container. This results in a large amount of unusable sponge, and the sponge can also hinder plant root growth. Therefore, a technical solution was developed that utilizes a culture medium to provide both nutrient solution and sponge, thus addressing the issues of unusable sponge and its negative impact on plant root growth.
[0004] However, due to the characteristics of the culture medium, its formation is somewhat difficult and cannot be mass-produced quickly.
[0005] Therefore, providing a culture medium forming device and its operation method that can produce in large quantities with stable quality is a technical problem that urgently needs to be solved. Summary of the Invention
[0006] In view of the shortcomings of the prior art, the inventors propose an effective solution, which relates to a culture medium forming apparatus and its operating method for mass production of culture media. To achieve the above objective, the present invention provides a culture medium forming apparatus comprising a liquid injection chamber, a cooling chamber, a heat insulation component, and a cutting component. The liquid injection chamber is used to load a culture medium and includes at least one dispensing punch. The cooling chamber is disposed below the liquid injection chamber and includes at least one dispensing tube, the at least one dispensing tube being positioned corresponding to the at least one dispensing punch, the at least one dispensing punch being located on a first side of the at least one dispensing tube. The heat insulation component is disposed between the liquid injection chamber and the cooling chamber and includes at least one first through hole through which the at least one dispensing punch can pass. The cutting component is disposed below the cooling chamber. The at least one dispensing punch is used to compress the culture medium, causing the culture medium to pass through the at least one dispensing tube.
[0007] In a preferred embodiment, the injection chamber further includes an inlet and an outlet. The inlet is used to inject the culture medium. The outlet is used to discharge the culture medium.
[0008] In a preferred embodiment, a liquid storage tank is further included, connecting the liquid inlet and the liquid outlet.
[0009] In a preferred embodiment, the storage tank includes a heating device for heating the culture medium within the storage tank.
[0010] In a preferred embodiment, a first thermometer is also included, disposed at the outlet, for measuring the temperature of the culture medium.
[0011] In a preferred embodiment, the cooling chamber further includes a coolant inlet and a coolant outlet, wherein the coolant inlet is used to supply coolant, and the coolant outlet is used to discharge the coolant.
[0012] In a preferred embodiment, a second thermometer is also included, disposed at the coolant inlet, for measuring the temperature of the coolant.
[0013] In a preferred embodiment, the liquid storage tank includes a third thermometer for measuring the temperature in the liquid storage tank.
[0014] In a preferred embodiment, a pressure plate is further included, which includes at least one second through hole corresponding to the at least one dispensing punch, the at least one dispensing punch being able to pass through the at least one second through hole.
[0015] In a preferred embodiment, a sealing element is provided on the side of the pressure plate facing the heat insulation member.
[0016] In a preferred embodiment, the thermal insulation element has a vacuum chamber.
[0017] In a preferred embodiment, a power unit is further included for driving the injection punch and the pressure plate within the injection chamber.
[0018] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention also provides an operating method for a culture medium forming apparatus, comprising: first, injecting a culture medium into a liquid injection chamber through an inlet; then, squeezing the culture medium toward a first side of at least one dispensing tube disposed in a cooling chamber corresponding to the liquid injection chamber; and then, cutting the culture medium extruded from the second side of the at least one dispensing tube into a length by a cutter disposed below the cooling chamber.
[0019] In a preferred embodiment, a coolant inlet and a coolant outlet are provided in the cooling cavity to provide coolant entering the cooling cavity from the coolant inlet and exiting the cooling cavity from the coolant outlet.
[0020] In a preferred embodiment, a heat insulation element is provided between the injection cavity and the cooling cavity.
[0021] In a preferred embodiment, the thermal insulation element has a vacuum chamber.
[0022] In a preferred embodiment, a pressure plate includes at least one second through hole corresponding to the at least one dispensing punch, the at least one dispensing punch being able to pass through the at least one second through hole; wherein, before the at least one dispensing punch moves toward the at least one dispensing tube, the pressure plate moves toward the at least one dispensing tube.
[0023] In a preferred embodiment, a sealing element is provided on the side of the pressure plate facing the heat insulation member, so that the sealing element is tightly engaged with the first through hole.
[0024] In a preferred embodiment, after the cutting member cuts the culture medium extruded from the second side of the at least one dispensing tube to the specified length, the pressure plate is first returned to its original position, and then the at least one dispensing punch is returned to its original position.
[0025] In a preferred embodiment, a storage tank is provided, the culture medium is pre-prepared into a liquid state, and the liquid culture medium is injected into the injection cavity from the inlet.
[0026] In a preferred embodiment, a heating device is activated to heat the culture medium in the storage tank.
[0027] Compared to conventional technology, the present invention utilizes the combined operation of a dispensing punch and a pressure plate to avoid the problem of partial pores caused by the pressure of the cultured genes in the dispensing tube. Attached Figure Description
[0028] Figure 1 This is a side view of the culture medium forming apparatus of the present invention.
[0029] Figure 2 This is the present invention. Figure 1 Top view of the insulation component described herein;
[0030] Figure 3 This is the present invention. Figure 1 Top view of the pressure plate described herein;
[0031] Figure 4-9 This is a schematic diagram of the operation of the culture medium forming device of the present invention;
[0032] Figure 10 This is a first flowchart of the operation method of the culture medium forming apparatus of the present invention; and
[0033] Figure 11This is a second flowchart of the operation method of the culture medium forming device of the present invention.
[0034] Legend:
[0035] 10: Culture medium forming device
[0036] 100: Injection chamber
[0037] 110: Glue injection punch
[0038] 120: Pressure plate
[0039] 121: Second through hole
[0040] 130: Liquid inlet
[0041] 140: Liquid outlet
[0042] 150: First thermometer
[0043] 160: Storage tank
[0044] 170: Seals
[0045] 195: Culture medium
[0046] 200: Cooling chamber
[0047] 210: Injection tubing
[0048] 220: Coolant Inlet
[0049] 230: Coolant outlet
[0050] 240: Second thermometer
[0051] 300: Thermal insulation
[0052] 310: First through hole
[0053] 400: Cut-off part
[0054] S01-S04: Steps Detailed Implementation
[0055] The following description, with the aid of accompanying drawings, illustrates the structure, features, and embodiments of this invention, enabling the examiner to gain a further understanding of this invention.
[0056] The directional terms used in this invention, such as "up," "down," "front," "back," "left," "right," "inside," "outside," and "side," are merely for reference in the drawings. Therefore, the directional terms used are for the purpose of explaining and understanding this invention, and not for limiting it.
[0057] Please refer to Figures 1-4 , Figure 1 A side view of the culture medium forming apparatus 10 of the present invention is shown. Figure 2 , picture Figure 1 Top view of the heat insulation component 300 described herein; Figure 3 , picture Figure 1 Top view of the pressure plate 120 described herein; Figure 4 A schematic diagram illustrating the operation of the culture medium forming apparatus 10 of the present invention is shown. The culture medium forming apparatus 10 includes a liquid injection chamber 100, a cooling chamber 200, a heat insulation member 300, and a cutting member 400. The liquid injection chamber 100 is used to load a culture medium 195 and includes at least one dispensing punch 110 and a pressure plate 120. The at least one dispensing punch 110 and the pressure plate 120 will be described later.
[0058] The cooling chamber 200 is disposed below the injection chamber 100 and includes at least one injection tube 210. The at least one injection tube 210 is positioned corresponding to the at least one injection punch 110, and the at least one injection punch 110 is located on the first side of the at least one injection tube 210. Here, the first side refers to the top. In this preferred embodiment, the injection punch 110 is a rod-shaped object, such as a pressure rod, and the corresponding injection tube 210 is a hollow tubular object, the size of which is just large enough for the injection punch 110 to enter. It should be noted that although the culture medium 195 in the injection chamber 100 is a liquid, when it enters the injection tube 210 of the cooling chamber 200, the culture medium 195 will begin to become a gel state (the fluid properties change from a easily flowing liquid to a non-flowing colloid). Furthermore, a sealing element 170 is provided on the side of the pressure plate 120 facing the heat insulation member 300, for tightly engaging with the first through hole 310 of the heat insulation plate 300, to prevent the culture medium 195 from leaking out from the junction of the pressure plate 120 and the first through hole 310 due to pressure when the injection punch 110 is pressing. Please refer to... Figure 3 The pressure plate 120 includes a plurality of second through holes 121, the size of which allows the dispensing punch 110 to move up and down therebetween in order to push the culture medium 195 into the dispensing tube 210.
[0059] Furthermore, the injection chamber 100 also includes an inlet 130, an outlet 140, and a first thermometer 150. The inlet 130 is used to provide the culture medium 195 in a fluid state, such as the culture medium 195 in this preferred embodiment, which contains plant growth nutrients and agar (agar) that can be changed to a liquid or gel state by changing the temperature. The inlet 130 and outlet 140 are each connected to a storage tank 160. This allows the culture medium 195 to be continuously injected into the injection chamber 100 from the inlet 130 of the storage tank 160 in a flowing manner. When the water level of the culture medium 195 in the injection chamber 100 exceeds the height of the outlet 140, it overflows from the outlet 140 and flows back into the storage tank 160. In a mass production environment, continuous production and operation are necessary. Therefore, by storing the culture medium 195 in the storage tank 160, a sufficient amount of culture medium 195 is maintained in the injection chamber 100, allowing the culture medium 195 to be continuously extruded and shaped from the end of the dispensing tube 210. Furthermore, the storage tank 160 includes a heating device (not shown) to heat the culture medium 195 within the storage tank 160, keeping it continuously in a liquid state.
[0060] The first thermometer 150 is used to monitor the temperature of the culture medium 195 to determine whether the culture medium 195 remains in a liquid state (if the temperature is too low, it will turn into a colloid, making operation difficult). It should be noted that the colloids or gels referred to in this invention are relative to liquids, having a gel-like state that is more difficult to flow than a liquid, and are not those that have already formed a solid shape.
[0061] Furthermore, the cooling chamber 200 also includes a coolant inlet 220, a coolant outlet 230, and a second thermometer 240. The coolant inlet 220 provides a coolant (which can be a refrigerant or ice water) to make the culture medium 195 gel. The second thermometer 240 monitors the cooling temperature of the cooling chamber 200 to ensure that the culture medium 195 in the dispensing tube 210 can be slowly cooled by the aforementioned coolant, causing it to gradually change from a liquid state to a gel state, and finally become a gel with a fixed shape at the end of the dispensing tube 210. In addition, the storage tank 160 includes a third thermometer (not shown), mainly used to measure the temperature in the storage tank 160. When the temperature is insufficient, the heating device is activated.
[0062] The heat insulation element 300 is disposed between the injection chamber 100 and the cooling chamber 200 and includes at least one first through hole 310 through which the at least one injection punch 110 can pass. Please refer to Figure 4The heat insulation component 300 includes a plurality of first through holes 310, the size of which allows the dispensing punch 110 to move up and down between them to push the culture medium 195 into the dispensing tube 210 while isolating heat transfer between the injection chamber 100 and the cooling chamber 200 as much as possible. This prevents the culture medium 195 in the injection chamber 100 near the cooling chamber 200 from becoming a gel state (inconvenient to squeeze). Therefore, the heat insulation component 300 has a vacuum chamber, and the thickness of the vacuum chamber can be set to 1-2 cm as needed. Preferably, the second side (i.e., the bottom) of the first through hole 310 contacts the dispensing tube 210 so that the culture medium 195 can be squeezed into the dispensing tube 210 when the dispensing punch 110 squeezes downward.
[0063] The cutting element 400 is disposed below the cooling cavity 200, specifically at the outlet below the dispensing tube 210. At this time, the culture medium 195 has become a solid product with a stable appearance. Through the action of the cutting element 400, the portion exceeding the outlet below the dispensing tube 210 can be cut off, thereby producing the culture medium with a specific size.
[0064] Furthermore, the culture medium forming device 10 also includes a power unit (in this preferred embodiment, it is driven by a pneumatic cylinder and a pneumatic rod) disposed above the injection chamber 100, which is used to push the injection punch 110 and the pressure plate 120 in the injection chamber 100.
[0065] Please refer to Figure 4-9 A schematic diagram illustrating the operation of the culture medium forming apparatus 10 of the present invention is shown below. Please also refer to... Figure 1-3 Repeating components will not be described again. First, please refer to... Figure 4 The culture medium (in liquid state) is injected through the inlet 130. Note that the dispensing punch 110 is movably disposed within the first through hole of the pressure plate 120. Next, please refer to... Figure 5 The pressure plate 120 begins to press down until the first through hole 121 contacts the second through hole 121; then, please refer to... Figure 6 The dispensing punch 110 begins to press down, pushing the culture medium 195 (in liquid state) into the dispensing tube 210; then, please refer to... Figure 7 The cutting element 400 cuts the product beyond the outlet (below) of the dispensing tube 210 to produce a culture medium 195 (colloidal state) product of a specific size. Essentially, product production is complete up to this step. Next, please refer to... Figure 8 The pressure plate 120 moves upward and returns to its original position; then, please refer to... Figure 9The glue injection punch 110 moves upward and returns to its original position. At this time, the glue injection punch 110 and the pressure plate 120 return to their original positions. Figure 4 The initial position.
[0066] It should be noted that in this embodiment, the glue injection tube 210 is set vertically, so the glue injection punch 110 and the pressure plate 120 also move up and down. However, this is not a limitation. The glue injection tube 210 can also be set horizontally, and the glue injection punch 110 and the pressure plate 120 can move left and right.
[0067] Figure 10 This is a first flowchart illustrating the operation of the culture medium forming apparatus 10. Please refer to the diagram for the component numbers used in this flowchart. Figure 1-9 The details are omitted here. First, in step S01, a culture medium 195 is injected into a liquid injection chamber 100 through an inlet 130. Next, in step S02, at least one dispensing punch 110 disposed in the liquid injection chamber 100 squeezes the culture medium 195 toward the first side of at least one dispensing tube 210 disposed in a cooling chamber 200 located below the liquid injection chamber 100. Next, in step S03, all breakers 400 disposed below the cooling chamber 200 cut the culture medium 195 squeezed from the second side of the at least one dispensing tube 210 into a specific length.
[0068] The device also includes a coolant inlet and a coolant outlet in the cooling cavity, for providing coolant to enter the cooling cavity from the coolant inlet and then exit the cooling cavity from the coolant outlet.
[0069] Figure 11 This is a second flowchart illustrating the operation of the culture medium forming apparatus 10. Please refer to the diagram for the component numbers used in this flowchart. Figure 1-9 The details are omitted here. The difference between this flowchart and the first flowchart is that it also includes a pressure plate 120, which includes at least one second through hole 121 corresponding to the at least one dispensing punch 110. The at least one dispensing punch 110 can pass through the at least one second through hole 121. Before the at least one dispensing punch 110 moves towards the at least one dispensing tube 210, that is, before step S02, step S04 is executed, and the pressure plate 120 first moves towards the first side of the at least one dispensing tube 210. In this way, the product quality of the culture medium 195 can be further improved.
[0070] In this preferred flowchart, after step S03, i.e., after the cutting member 400 cuts the culture medium 195 extruded from the second side of the at least one dispensing tube 210 to the specified length, another step can be performed: first, the pressure plate 120 is returned to its original position, and then the at least one dispensing punch 110 is returned to its original position. When the dispensing punch 110 moves upward away from the dispensing tube 210, a vacuum area is formed, causing the culture medium 195 originally squeezed into the dispensing tube 210 to be drawn back into the pressure plate 120, resulting in a void in the dispensing tube 210. Therefore, by first returning the pressure plate 120 to its original position and then returning the at least one dispensing punch 110 to its original position, the formation of a void in the dispensing tube 210 can be avoided.
[0071] Preferably, in both of the above flowcharts, a step can be selectively performed after step S01: a heat insulation element 300 is provided between the liquid injection chamber 100 and the cooling chamber 200, wherein the heat insulation element 300 further has a vacuum chamber.
[0072] Furthermore, the operation method of this culture medium forming apparatus 10 may include setting up a storage tank, pre-preparing the culture medium into a liquid state, and injecting the liquid culture medium into the injection chamber from the inlet. It also includes activating a heating device to heat the culture medium in the storage tank to maintain the culture medium in the storage tank in a liquid state.
[0073] The above are merely preferred embodiments of the present invention. It should be noted that those skilled in the art can make various improvements and modifications without departing from the principles of the present invention, and these improvements and modifications should also be considered within the scope of protection of the present invention.
Claims
1. A culture medium forming apparatus, comprising: A liquid injection chamber for loading a culture medium and including at least one dispensing punch; A cooling chamber is disposed below the liquid injection chamber and includes at least one glue injection tube, wherein the at least one glue injection tube is disposed corresponding to the position of the at least one glue injection punch, and the at least one glue injection punch is located on the first side of the at least one glue injection tube; A heat insulation element is disposed between the liquid injection cavity and the cooling cavity and includes at least one first through hole through which the at least one injection punch can pass; A cutting element is disposed below the cooling cavity; A pressure plate includes at least one second through hole corresponding to the at least one glue injection punch, wherein the at least one glue injection punch is capable of correspondingly passing through the at least one second through hole; The at least one dispensing punch is used to squeeze the culture medium to pass the culture medium through the at least one dispensing tube, and the dispensing punch is movably disposed in the second through hole of the pressure plate.
2. The culture medium forming apparatus of claim 1, wherein the injection chamber further comprises: At least one inlet port for injecting the culture medium; At least one outlet is provided for discharging the culture medium.
3. The culture medium forming apparatus as described in claim 2, comprising a liquid storage tank, which is respectively connected to the liquid inlet and the liquid outlet.
4. The culture medium forming apparatus as described in claim 3, wherein, The storage tank includes a heating device for heating the culture medium inside the storage tank.
5. The culture medium forming apparatus of claim 2, further comprising a first thermometer disposed at the outlet for measuring the temperature of the culture medium.
6. The culture medium forming apparatus of claim 1, wherein the cooling chamber further comprises: At least one coolant inlet for supplying coolant; At least one coolant outlet is provided for discharging the coolant.
7. The culture medium forming apparatus of claim 6, further comprising a second thermometer disposed at the coolant inlet for measuring the temperature of the coolant.
8. The culture medium forming apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein, The liquid storage tank includes a third thermometer for measuring the temperature in the liquid storage tank.
9. The culture medium forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a sealing element is provided on the side of the pressure plate facing the heat insulation member.
10. The culture medium forming apparatus of claim 1, wherein the heat insulation member has a vacuum chamber.
11. The culture medium forming apparatus of claim 9, further comprising a power unit for driving the injection punch and the pressure plate in the injection chamber.
12. A method of operating a culture medium forming apparatus, the culture medium forming apparatus comprising: A liquid injection chamber for loading a culture medium and including at least one dispensing punch; A cooling chamber is disposed below the liquid injection chamber and includes at least one glue injection tube, wherein the at least one glue injection tube is disposed corresponding to the position of the at least one glue injection punch, and the at least one glue injection punch is located on the first side of the at least one glue injection tube; A heat insulation element is disposed between the liquid injection cavity and the cooling cavity and includes at least one first through hole through which the at least one injection punch can pass; A cutting element is disposed below the cooling cavity; A pressure plate includes at least one second through hole corresponding to the at least one glue injection punch, wherein the at least one glue injection punch is capable of correspondingly passing through the at least one second through hole; The at least one dispensing punch is used to squeeze the culture medium to pass the culture medium through the at least one dispensing tube, and the dispensing punch is movably disposed in the second through hole of the pressure plate; The injection chamber further includes: At least one inlet for injecting the culture medium, and at least one outlet for discharging the culture medium; The operation method includes: A culture medium is injected into a dispensing chamber through an inlet. At least one dispensing punch disposed in the injection chamber squeezes the culture medium toward the first side of at least one dispensing tube disposed in a cooling chamber below the injection chamber; All the components located below the cooling cavity will cut the culture medium extruded from the second side of the at least one dispensing tube into a certain length. After the cutting component cuts the culture medium extruded from the second side of the at least one dispensing tube into a specific length, the pressure plate will be returned to its original position first, and then the at least one dispensing punch will be returned to its original position.
13. The method of operation as claimed in claim 12, further comprising: A coolant inlet and a coolant outlet are provided in the cooling cavity to provide coolant to enter the cooling cavity from the coolant inlet and then exit the cooling cavity from the coolant outlet.
14. The method of operation as claimed in claim 12, further comprising: A heat insulation component is provided between the injection chamber and the cooling chamber.
15. The method of operation as claimed in claim 12, further comprising: A pressure plate is provided, which includes at least one second through hole corresponding to the at least one glue injection punch, wherein the at least one glue injection punch can pass through the at least one second through hole. Specifically, before the at least one dispensing punch moves toward the at least one dispensing tube, the pressure plate moves toward the at least one dispensing tube first.
16. The operating method of claim 15, wherein a sealing element is provided on the side of the pressure plate facing the heat insulation member, such that the sealing element is tightly engaged with the first through hole.
17. The method of operation as claimed in claim 12, wherein, A storage tank is provided, the culture medium is prepared into a liquid state, and the liquid culture medium is injected into the injection cavity through the inlet.