Condition presentation device, condition presentation method, and program

Abstract

A condition presentation device may include a condition receiving unit that receives conditions of harvest time and yield to be satisfied by plants cultivated in a plant factory. The condition prompting device can comprise a prompting unit and a condition prompting unit, on the basis of environmental control condition information indicating environmental control conditions, and growth period and yield of the plant and quality of the plant when an environmental control apparatus controls an environmental state in the plant factory according to the environmental control conditions, at least one environmental control condition candidate satisfying the conditions, and the environmental control conditions and an environmental control condition indicating a control condition of the environmental control device that controls the environmental state in the plant factory. The condition presentation device may include a selection receiving unit that receives a selection of the environmental control condition from the at least one environmental control condition candidate for control of an environmental state by the environmental control device of the plant factory.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The contents of the following patent applications are incorporated herein by reference: Patent application No. 2023-047648, filed in Japan on March 24, 2023 This invention relates to a condition prompting device, a condition prompting method, and a procedure. Background Technology

[0002] Patent document 1 discloses a cultivation method, which includes the following steps: preparing correspondence information obtained by associating light characteristic information indicating the characteristics of light irradiating leafy vegetables with quantitative quality information that quantifies the quality of leafy vegetables; setting optical characteristic information; and irradiating leafy vegetables with light. (List of references) (Patent Documents) Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2022-13560 Summary of the Invention

[0003] The technical problem that the invention aims to solve When cultivating plants in a plant factory, it is desirable to consider plant quality in addition to harvest time and yield in order to select a system with appropriate environmental control conditions. Technical means to solve technical problems

[0004] According to one aspect of the invention, a condition prompting device may include: a condition receiving unit that receives conditions for harvest time and yield that plants cultivated in a plant factory must meet. The plants may be vegetables, fruits, or flowers. The plants may be at least one of vegetables, fruits, and flowers. The plants may be leaf lettuce. The condition receiving unit may receive a specified range of plant weight or a specified range of the number of boxes containing the plants as yield conditions. The condition prompting device may include: a prompting unit that prompts at least one candidate environmental control condition and the quality of the plant that satisfy the conditions based on environmental control condition information indicating environmental control conditions and the growth period and yield of the plant when the environmental control device controls the environmental state in the plant factory according to the environmental control conditions, the environmental control conditions indicating control conditions of the environmental control device controlling the environmental state in the plant factory. The condition prompting device may include: a selection receiving unit that receives a selection of the environmental control conditions from the at least one candidate environmental control conditions for use in controlling the environmental state by the environmental control device of the plant factory.

[0005] In the condition prompting device, the condition receiving unit can also receive the permissible range of the quality that the plant must meet. The prompting unit can prompt at least one candidate environmental control condition for meeting the conditions of harvest time and yield, and the permissible range of quality, as well as the quality of the plant, based on the environmental control condition information. The condition receiving unit can receive a range of permissible quality indicators as the permissible quality range. The quality indicators can be predetermined levels according to quality grades. Quality indicators can be at least one of size grade, taste grade, and color depth grade.

[0006] In any conditional indication device, the environmental control conditions may be control conditions of at least one of the temperature in the plant factory and the amount of light from the light source irradiating the plant.

[0007] In any condition indicator device, the quality can indicate at least one of the plant's size, taste, and color intensity.

[0008] In any condition prompting device, before the condition receiving unit receives the condition, the prompting unit may prompt candidates for the harvest time and yield of the plant based on forecast information indicating at least one of the predicted market price and the predicted demand for the plant. The prompting unit may prompt candidates for the harvest time and yield based on forecast information indicating the relationship between the harvest time and the predicted demand for the plant. The forecast information may be information indicating the relationship between daily predicted market price and daily predicted demand. The forecast information may be information indicating the relationship between weekly predicted market price and weekly predicted demand. As candidates for the harvest time of the plant, the prompting unit may determine the time point with the highest predicted market price within a target period based on the forecast information.

[0009] In any conditional prompting device, the prompting unit can prompt candidates for yield obtained by multiplying a predetermined ratio by the predicted demand at the harvest time indicated by forecast information. The predetermined ratio can be pre-determined based on the market size of the plant and the maximum yield of the plant that the plant factory can cultivate. The prompting unit can obtain the forecast information from a forecasting server that generates the forecast information using a learning model that predicts future market prices and demands based on past market prices and demands of the plant. The forecasting server can use a learning model for each type of plant to predict the predicted market price and predicted demand for each type of plant. The forecasting server can use weather information and event information for each predetermined time period as explanatory variables, and the market price and predicted demand as target variables, and perform machine learning according to a supervised learning algorithm to generate a trained forecasting model as the learning model. The forecasting server can use daily weather information and daily event information as explanatory variables, and the market price and predicted demand as target variables, and perform machine learning according to a supervised learning algorithm to generate a trained forecasting model as the learning model.

[0010] Any of the aforementioned condition prompting devices may further include: an environmental control condition providing unit that provides selected environmental control conditions to an environmental control device, the environmental control device controlling the environmental control equipment that regulates the environment of the plant factory. The environmental control conditions may include at least one of the following: controlling the air conditioning equipment of the plant factory to set the growth period shorter or longer than a reference growth period, such that the temperature is higher or lower than the temperature during the reference growth period; and controlling the light source equipment of the plant factory to set the growth period shorter or longer than the reference growth period, such that the light intensity emitted by the plants is greater or less than the light intensity during the reference growth period. Environmental control conditions may include controlling the air conditioning equipment to set the growth period shorter than a reference growth period, such that the temperature is higher than the temperature during the reference growth period. Environmental control conditions may include controlling the air conditioning equipment to set the growth period longer than a reference growth period, such that the temperature is lower than the temperature during the reference growth period. Environmental control conditions may include control conditions for at least one of an air conditioner and a blower included in the air conditioning equipment. The air conditioner may have a heat pump. Environmental control conditions may include conditions for controlling the light source device to set a growth period shorter than a reference growth period, such that the light intensity is greater than the light intensity during the reference growth period. Environmental control conditions may also include conditions for controlling the light source device to set a growth period longer than a reference growth period, such that the light intensity is less than the light intensity during the reference growth period. Environmental control conditions may include control conditions for the power, current, or voltage supplied to dimmers included in the light source device.

[0011] According to one aspect of the present invention, a condition prompting method may include: receiving, by a condition receiving unit, conditions for harvest time and yield that plants cultivated in a plant factory must meet. The condition prompting method may include: a prompting unit prompting at least one candidate environmental control condition and the quality of the plant that satisfy the conditions based on environmental control condition information indicating environmental control conditions, and the growth period and yield of the plant when an environmental control device controls the environmental state in the plant factory according to the environmental control conditions, wherein the environmental control conditions indicate control conditions of the environmental control device controlling the environmental state in the plant factory. The condition prompting method may include: a selection receiving unit receiving a selection of the environmental control condition from the at least one candidate environmental control condition for use in controlling the environmental state by the environmental control device of the plant factory.

[0012] According to one aspect of this invention, a program can cause a computer to perform the following processing: receiving harvest time and yield conditions to be met by plants cultivated in a plant factory. The program can cause the computer to perform the following processing: based on environmental control condition information indicating environmental control conditions, and the growth period and yield of the plants and the quality of the plants when environmental control equipment controls the environmental state in the plant factory according to the environmental control conditions, suggest at least one candidate environmental control condition for satisfying the conditions and the quality of the plants, the environmental control conditions indicating control conditions of the environmental control equipment controlling the environmental state in the plant factory. The program can cause the computer to perform the following processing: receiving a selection of the environmental control conditions from the at least one candidate environmental control conditions for use in controlling the environmental state by the environmental control equipment of the plant factory.

[0013] The contents of this invention do not necessarily describe all the necessary features of embodiments of the invention. The invention may also be a combination of the features described above. Attached Figure Description

[0014] Figure 1 This is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional block diagram showing the overall configuration of the plant management system according to this embodiment. Figure 2 This is a diagram showing an example of a function block for a conditional prompt device. Figure 3 This is a diagram illustrating an example of forecast information showing the relationship between predicted market prices and predicted demand for plants. Figure 4 This is a diagram illustrating an example of environmental control condition information. Figure 5 This is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process by which a condition prompting device provides environmental control conditions to a plant management device. Figure 6 This is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration. Detailed Implementation

[0015] The invention will be described below through embodiments, but these embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims. Furthermore, not all combinations of features described in the embodiments are essential to the solution of the invention.

[0016] Figure 1 This is a diagram illustrating an example of the functional block diagram of the overall configuration of the plant management system according to this embodiment. The plant management system manages the growth status of plants 30 cultivated in the plant factory 10. The plant management system includes multiple cultivation racks 20, a light source device 40, a nutrient solution supply device 50, a carbon dioxide supply device 60, an air conditioning device 70, an air supply device 80, sensors 90, and a plant management device 100. The plant management system also includes a condition prompting device 200, which provides environmental control conditions to the plant management device 100. The plant management device 100 is an example of an environmental control device. The light source device 40, the nutrient solution supply device 50, the carbon dioxide supply device 60, the air conditioning device 70, and the air supply device 80 are examples of environmental control devices.

[0017] Cultivation racks 20 cultivate plants 30 such as vegetables, fruits, or flowers. Adjustment is made by changing the sowing date of each group of one or more cultivation racks 20, allowing the plants 30 to be harvested at different times. Furthermore, by installing each of the one or more cultivation racks 20 in a separate space 12 for multiple cultivation racks 20, and by individually controlling the environment in each space 12 according to environmental control conditions using an environmental control device, plants 30 can be cultivated under different environmental conditions for each space 12. Spaces 12 can be highly insulated and airtight. Environmental control conditions indicate the control conditions used to control the operation of each environmental control device. It should be noted that in this embodiment, the plant management device 100 individually controls the environmental conditions of each group of cultivation racks 20. However, the plant management device 100 can individually control the environmental conditions of each of the multiple racks included in a single cultivation rack 20.

[0018] The light source device 40 includes multiple light sources 42, such as LEDs or incandescent lamps, that emit artificial light and emit artificial light from each of the multiple light sources 42 onto the plant 30. The multiple light sources 42 can be arranged to face the cultivation surface of the cultivation rack 20.

[0019] The nutrient solution supply device 50 includes a pump 52 and a pipeline 54, and supplies a nutrient solution containing fertilizer components such as potassium or calcium to the cultivation rack 20 via the pump 52 and the pipeline 54. The nutrient solution supply device 50 appropriately adjusts the fertilizer concentration and supplies the nutrient solution with the adjusted fertilizer concentration to the plant 30. The nutrient solution supply device 50 supplies nutrient solution to the plant 30 by atomizing the nutrient solution with the adjusted fertilizer concentration and spraying the atomized nutrient solution onto the roots of the plant 30. The nutrient solution supply device 50 can be used as an irrigation device to supply water to the growing medium of the plant 30. By adjusting the amount of nutrient solution supplied from the nutrient solution supply device 50 to the cultivation rack 20, the irrigation volume supplied to the cultivation rack 20 can be adjusted.

[0020] The carbon dioxide supply device 60 has a storage tank 62 and a nozzle 64. The storage tank 62 stores carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide supply device 60 supplies the carbon dioxide stored in the storage tank 62 to each space 12 in the plant factory 10 via the nozzle 64.

[0021] Air conditioning equipment 70 controls the temperature and humidity of the air in plant factory 10 and circulates temperature- and humidity-controlled air to each space. Air supply equipment 80 includes circulators or fans that supply air to plant factory 10. Sensors 90 include various types of sensors that measure the environmental conditions surrounding plant 30 and the growth status of plant 30. Sensors 90 include various types of sensors that respectively measure the temperature, humidity, light intensity, and carbon dioxide concentration of the stem, leaves, and fruit parts of plant 30.

[0022] The plant management device 100 controls the growth status of the plant 30 by controlling the light source device 40, nutrient solution supply device 50, carbon dioxide supply device 60, air conditioning device 70, and air supply device 80 according to environmental control conditions. The plant management device 100 communicates with the light source device 40, nutrient solution supply device 50, carbon dioxide supply device 60, air conditioning device 70, and air supply device 80 via a wireless or wired network. The condition indication device 200 communicates with the plant management device 100 via a wireless or wired network.

[0023] The plant management device 100 and the condition prompting device 200 may be computers with a central processing unit (CPU) and memory. The light source device 40, the nutrient solution supply device 50, the carbon dioxide supply device 60, the air conditioning device 70, and the air supply device 80 may include computers with a central processing unit (CPU) and memory.

[0024] The computer can be a personal computer, tablet, smartphone, workstation, server computer, or general-purpose computer, or it can be a computer system connecting multiple computers. Such a computer system is also a computer in a broad sense. The computer can be a dedicated computer designed for environmental control in a plant factory, or it can be dedicated hardware implemented using dedicated circuitry. The computer can be implemented through a virtual computer environment. When using the computer, programs are executed by the computer to implement the plant management device 100, condition prompting device 200, light source device 40, nutrient solution supply device 50, carbon dioxide supply device 60, air conditioning device 70, and air supply device 80.

[0025] In the plant management system configured as described above, the condition prompting device 200 prompts the environmental control conditions that meet the plant's harvest time, yield, and quality, and allows the user to select the optimal environmental control conditions.

[0026] Figure 2 This is a diagram illustrating an example of the functional block diagram of the condition prompting device 200. The condition prompting device 200 includes a condition receiving unit 202, a prompting unit 204, a selection receiving unit 206, an environmental control condition providing unit 230, and a storage unit 240.

[0027] The condition receiving unit 202 receives the harvest time and yield conditions to be met by the plants 30 cultivated in the plant factory 10. The condition receiving unit 202 may receive the harvest time and yield conditions to be met by the personnel responsible for adjusting the harvest time and yield of the plants 30. As a condition for the harvest time of the plants 30, the condition receiving unit 202 may receive a specific time period of a specific length, such as a specific day, a specific three days, or a specific five days. Furthermore, as a condition for the yield of the plants 30, the condition receiving unit 202 may receive a specified range of weight or quantity, such as a specific width in tons, the number of boxes, or the number of plants.

[0028] When plant 30 is vegetables, fruits, or flowers sold in the market, market prices fluctuate with the harvest time. Determining the harvest time and yield is more convenient for those in charge if market price and demand forecasts are taken into account.

[0029] Therefore, before the condition receiving unit 202 receives the conditions for the harvest time and yield of the plant 30, the prompting unit 204 may prompt candidates for the harvest time and yield of the plant 30 based on the forecast information indicating the relationship between the predicted market price of the plant 30 and the predicted demand of the plant 30.

[0030] like Figure 3As shown, for example, forecast information can be information indicating the relationship between daily forecast market price (yen) and daily forecast demand (t). Forecast information can be information indicating the relationship between weekly forecast market price (yen) and weekly forecast demand (t). Forecast information can be information indicating the relationship between forecast market price (yen) and forecast demand (t) for each scheduled period other than daily or weekly.

[0031] As candidates for the harvest time of plant 30, prompting unit 204 can determine the time point within the target period when the predicted market price is highest. For the target period, at least one group of cultivation racks 20 with the same sowing date is assigned. This group of cultivation racks 20 may include multiple cultivation racks 20 with the same sowing date. This group of cultivation racks 20 may include multiple cultivation racks 20 with the same sowing date that exist in a space 12 where the environmental conditions can be individually controlled. For example, as candidates for the harvest time of plant 30 for target periods A to H, prompting unit 204 can determine "September 10th" when the predicted market price is highest. As candidates for the harvest time of plant 30 for target periods I to J, prompting unit 204 can determine "September 12th".

[0032] The prompting unit 204 can also determine candidate plant yields from among the candidates for harvest time of plant 30 based on forecast information. The prompting unit 204 can determine the yield S of plant 30 by multiplying a predetermined ratio by the predicted demand among the candidates for harvest time of plant 30 indicated by the forecast information. The predetermined ratio can be pre-determined based on the market size of plant 30 and the maximum yield of plant 30 that can be cultivated in plant factory 10. The prompting unit 204 can also determine the number of groups of cultivation racks 20 used as targets for cultivating plant 30 during the harvest time to meet the yield S. The yield S of plant 30 in each group of cultivation racks 20 can be pre-determined based on actual measurements and stored in storage unit 120.

[0033] The prompting unit 204 can obtain forecasting information from a forecasting server that generates forecasting information using a learning model that predicts the future market price and demand of plant 30 based on past market prices and demand. The forecasting server can use a learning model for each type of plant 30 to predict the forecast market price and forecast demand for each type. For example, the forecasting server can use daily weather information or event information as explanatory variables and market price and demand as target variables, and perform machine learning using a supervised learning algorithm to generate a trained forecasting model. This algorithm can be any type of algorithm, such as neural networks, support vector machines, multiple regression analysis, or decision trees. The prompting unit 204 can also obtain forecasting information from a server provided by an organization that provides forecasting information on market prices and demand.

[0034] The prompting unit 204 prompts for at least one candidate environmental control condition that satisfies the harvest time condition, yield condition, and quality of the plant 30 when the environmental control device controls the environmental state in the plant factory 30 according to the environmental control conditions, based on the environmental control condition information indicating the environmental control conditions and the growth period, yield, and quality of the plant 30. The environmental control conditions indicate the control conditions of the environmental control device controlling the environmental state in the plant factory 10. The environmental control conditions indicate the control conditions of the environmental control device during the growth period of the plant 30. The environmental control conditions may include control conditions for at least one of temperature in the plant factory 10 and the amount of light from the light source 42 irradiating the plant 30. The environmental control conditions may indicate hourly settings for temperature in the plant factory 10 and hourly settings for the light source 42 during the growth period of the plant 30.

[0035] The quality of plant 30 can be at least one indicator indicating the state of plant 30. The quality of plant 30 can indicate at least one of, for example, the size, taste, and color intensity of plant 30.

[0036] For example, environmental control condition information can be such as Figure 4 The information shown refers to the environmental control conditions, which, for each type of environmental control condition, can indicate the light intensity of the light source 42, the temperature conditions, and the growth stage, yield, size, flavor, and color intensity of the plant 30. The light intensity of the light source 42 can indicate the light intensity conditions for each stage by dividing the growth stage into multiple phases. The temperature conditions can indicate the temperature conditions for each stage of the growth stage. The size can indicate the size of the plant 30, for example, indicated by a three-level index. The flavor can indicate the flavor level of the plant 30, for example, with five levels of flavor. The color intensity can indicate the degree of color intensity of the plant 30 at three levels. Each quality index is not limited to those mentioned above and can be appropriately set according to the type of plant 30, etc.

[0037] Information on environmental control conditions can be generated by changing environmental control conditions for each stage of the growth period and by actually cultivating plants 30 in the plant factory 10 and by evaluating the cultivation results; and stored in the storage unit 240.

[0038] The selection receiving unit 206 receives the selection of environmental control conditions from at least one environmental control condition candidate for use in the environmental control of the plant factory 10. Since at least one environmental control condition candidate that satisfies the harvest time and yield conditions received by the condition receiving unit 202 is prompted along with the quality of the plant 30, the person in charge only needs to select the environmental control condition that satisfies the desired quality from at least one environmental control condition candidate.

[0039] The condition receiving unit 202 can also receive the permissible range of quality that the plant 30 is required to meet. As the permissible range of quality, the condition receiving unit 202 can receive a range of permissible quality indicators. For example, as for size, the condition receiving unit 202 can receive permissible ranges for size, such as only "large," or only "large" and "medium." As for the permissible range of taste, the condition receiving unit 202 can receive the permissible range between level L1 and level L5 (level L1 is the lowest level of taste, and level L5 is the highest level of taste). As for the permissible range of color intensity, the condition receiving unit 202 can receive the permissible range between level L1 and level L3 (level L1 is the lowest level of color intensity, and level L3 is the highest level of color intensity). The prompting unit 204 can, based on environmental control condition information, prompt at least one candidate environmental control condition that satisfies the conditions for harvest time and yield, as well as the permissible range of quality, in relation to the quality of the plant 30. The responsible personnel only need to select the environmental control condition that better meets the requirements from the at least one candidate environmental control condition that satisfies the permissible range of quality.

[0040] The environmental control condition providing unit 230 provides selected environmental control conditions to the plant management device 100, which controls environmental control equipment to regulate the environment of the plant factory 10. Based on the environmental control conditions from the condition prompting device 200, the plant management device 100 controls at least one of the light source device 40, nutrient solution supply device 50, carbon dioxide supply device 60, air conditioning device 70, and air supply device 80; and cultivates the plants 30 to achieve the desired harvest time and desired yield. Based on the environmental control conditions from the condition prompting device 200, the plant management device 100 can control the light source device 40 to control the light intensity of the light source 42, and control the air conditioning device 70 to control the temperature in the plant factory 10. The environmental control conditions may include at least one of the following: controlling the air conditioning device 70 of the plant factory 10 to set the growing season shorter or longer than a reference growing season, such that the temperature is higher or lower than the temperature during the reference growing season; and controlling the light source device 40 of the plant factory 10 to set the growing season shorter or longer than a reference growing season, such that the light intensity of the plants leaving the plant factory 10 is greater or less than the light intensity during the reference growing season. Environmental control conditions may include controlling the air conditioning equipment 70 to set a growth period shorter than a reference growth period, such that the temperature is higher than the temperature during the reference growth period. Environmental control conditions may also include controlling the air conditioning equipment 70 to set a growth period longer than a reference growth period, such that the temperature is lower than the temperature during the reference growth period. Environmental control conditions may include control conditions for supplying at least one of the air conditioner and blower included in the air conditioning equipment 70 with electricity, current, or voltage. The air conditioner has a heat pump. Environmental control conditions may include controlling the light source device 40 to set a growth period shorter than a reference growth period, such that the light intensity is greater than the light intensity during the reference growth period. Environmental control conditions may include controlling the light source device 40 to set a growth period longer than a reference growth period, such that the light intensity is less than the light intensity during the reference growth period. Environmental control conditions may include control conditions for supplying electricity, current, or voltage to the dimmer included in the light source device 40.

[0041] For example, when plant 30 is a variety such as leaf lettuce, plant management device 100 can control air conditioning equipment 70 according to environmental control conditions to make the temperature higher than the temperature during the reference growing season, thereby setting the growing season shorter than the reference growing season. Plant management device 100 can also control air conditioning equipment 70 according to environmental control conditions to make the temperature lower than the temperature during the reference growing season, thereby setting the growing season of plant 30 longer than the reference growing season.

[0042] Optionally, the plant management device 100 can control the light source device 40 according to environmental control conditions, so that the light intensity is greater than the light intensity during the reference growth period, thereby setting the growth period to be shorter than the reference growth period. Alternatively, the plant management device 100 can control the light source device 40 according to environmental control conditions, so that the light intensity is less than the light intensity during the reference growth period, thereby setting the growth period to be longer than the reference growth period.

[0043] The plant management device 100 can regulate the yield of the plant 30 by adjusting the number of cultivation racks 20, which serve as the control target. Environmental control condition information can be used to indicate the number of cultivation racks 20, which serve as the control target, based on the yield of the plant 30.

[0044] Figure 5 This is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process by which the condition prompting device 200 provides environmental control conditions to the plant management device 100.

[0045] Therefore, the prompting unit 204 determines candidates for the harvest time and yield of the plant 30 within the target period based on the forecast information of the relationship between the predicted market price of the indicator plant and the predicted demand of the plant; and prompts the determined candidates for the harvest time and yield of the plant 30 on a display or the like (S100).

[0046] The condition receiving unit 202 receives the harvest time and yield conditions that the plants 30 cultivated in the plant factory 10 must meet, as well as the permissible range of quality that the plants 30 must meet (S102). The condition receiving unit 202 can receive the harvest time and yield conditions from the candidates of harvest time and yield of the plants 30 within the target time period.

[0047] The prompting unit 204 can, based on environmental control condition information, prompt on a display or the like at least one candidate environmental control condition that meets the conditions for harvest time and yield and the allowable range of quality, as well as the quality of the plant 30 (S104).

[0048] The receiving unit 206 receives a selection of environmental control conditions from at least one candidate environmental control conditions to be used for environmental control of the plant factory 10 (S106). The environmental control condition providing unit 230 provides the selected environmental control conditions to the plant management device 100, which controls environmental control equipment that regulates the environment of the plant factory 10 (S108).

[0049] As described above, the condition prompting device 200 according to this embodiment prompts environmental control conditions that meet the plant harvest time and yield along with the plant quality; allows the user to select the optimal environmental control conditions; and enables the control of the environment of the plant factory 10 based on the selected environmental control conditions. In this way, the plant factory 10 can cultivate plants 30 that meet the desired harvest time and yield while taking into account the quality of the plants.

[0050] Figure 6 An example of a computer 1200 that can fully or partially implement aspects of this embodiment is shown. A program installed in the computer 1200 can cause the computer 1200 to perform operations associated with one or more "units" of a device or apparatus according to embodiments of the present invention. Optionally, the program can cause the computer 1200 to perform operations or one or more "units". Such a program can be executed by the CPU 1212 to cause the computer 1200 to perform specific operations associated with some or all of the blocks in the flowcharts and block diagrams described in this specification.

[0051] The computer 1200 according to this embodiment includes a CPU 1212 and RAM 1214 interconnected via a host controller 1210. The computer 1200 also includes a communication interface 1222 and an input / output unit connected to the host controller 1210 via an input / output controller 1220. The computer 1200 also includes a ROM 1230. The CPU 1212 operates according to programs stored in the ROM 1230 and RAM 1214, thereby controlling each unit.

[0052] Communication interface 1222 communicates with other electronic devices via a network. A hard disk drive can store programs and data used by CPU 1212 in computer 1200. ROM 1230 stores boot programs, etc., executed by computer 1200 at startup, and / or programs dependent on the hardware of computer 1200. Programs are provided via computer-readable storage media such as CR-ROM, USB memory, or IC cards, or via a network. Programs are installed on RAM 1214 (also an example of a computer-readable storage medium) or ROM 1230 and executed by CPU 1212. Information written into these programs is processed and read by computer 1200, providing cooperation between the programs and the various types of hardware resources described above. The apparatus or method can be configured to implement the operation or processing of information according to the use of computer 1200.

[0053] For example, in the case of communication between computer 1200 and an external device, CPU 1212 can execute a communication program loaded in RAM 1214 and instruct communication interface 1222 to perform communication processing based on the processing written in the communication program. Under the control of CPU 1212, communication interface 1222 reads transmission data stored in RAM 1214 or in a transmission buffer set in a storage medium such as a USB memory, to transmit the read transmission data to the network, or to write received data received from the network into a receive buffer set in the storage medium, etc.

[0054] Furthermore, the CPU 1212 can enable the RAM 1214 to read all or a desired portion of a file stored on an external storage medium (such as a USB flash drive) or in a database to perform various types of processing on the data in the RAM 1214. The CPU 1212 can then write the processed data back to the external storage medium.

[0055] Various types of information, such as programs, data, tables, and databases, can be stored in the storage medium for information processing. The CPU 1212 can perform various types of processing on data read from RAM 1214, as described throughout this disclosure and specified by a sequence of program instructions, including various types of operations, information processing, conditional judgments, conditional branches, unconditional branches, information retrieval / replacement, etc., to write the results back to RAM 1214. Furthermore, the CPU 1212 can retrieve information from files or databases in the storage medium. For example, when multiple entries are stored in the storage medium, each having an attribute value of a first attribute associated with a second attribute value, the CPU 1212 can retrieve from the multiple entries the entry whose first attribute value is specified and matches a condition, and read the attribute value of the second attribute stored in that entry, thereby obtaining the attribute value of the second attribute associated with the first attribute that satisfies predetermined conditions.

[0056] The aforementioned program or software module may be stored on or near the computer 1200 in a computer-readable storage medium. Furthermore, storage media such as hard disks or RAM located in a server system connected to a dedicated communication network or the Internet may be used as computer-readable storage media to provide the program to the computer 1200 via the network.

[0057] Computer-readable media can include any tangible device capable of storing instructions executable by a suitable device. Consequently, computer-readable media storing instructions include articles of manufacture that include instructions executable to create means for performing the operations specified in a flowchart or block diagram. Examples of computer-readable media can include electronic storage media, magnetic storage media, optical storage media, electromagnetic storage media, and semiconductor storage media. Specific examples of computer-readable media can include floppy disks (registered trademark), diskettes, hard disks, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), static random access memory (SRAM), portable optical disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), digital versatile optical disc (DVD), Blu-ray discs (registered trademark), memory sticks, or integrated circuit cards, etc.

[0058] Computer-readable instructions may include source code or object code written in any combination of one or more programming languages. Source code or object code includes traditional procedural programming languages. Traditional procedural programming languages ​​may be assembly instructions, instruction set architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions, machine-dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions, status setting data, or object-oriented programming languages ​​such as Smalltalk (registered trademark), Java (registered trademark), C++, and programming languages ​​such as the "C" programming language or similar programming languages. Computer-readable instructions may be provided locally or via a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN) such as the Internet, to a processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing device, or to programmable circuitry. The processor or programmable circuitry may execute the computer-readable instructions to create means for performing the operations specified in a flowchart or block diagram. Examples of processors include computer processors, processing units, microprocessors, digital signal processors, controllers, and microcontrollers.

[0059] Although the invention has been described by way of examples, the scope of the invention is not limited to the above embodiments. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes or modifications can be made to the above embodiments. As will also be apparent from the description of the claims, embodiments with such changes or modifications can be included within the scope of the invention.

[0060] The operations, processes, steps, and stages of each process performed by the apparatus, system, program, and method shown in the claims, embodiments, or figures may be performed in any order, provided that the order is not indicated by "before," "previously," etc., and that the output of the previous process is not used in the subsequent process. Even if phrases such as "first" or "next" are used in the claims, embodiments, or figures to describe the process flow, it does not necessarily mean that the processes must be performed in this order. List of reference numerals

[0061] 10: Plant Factory 20: Cultivation rack 30: Plants 40: Light source equipment 42: Light source 50: Nutrient solution supply equipment 52: Pump 54: Piping 60: Carbon dioxide supply equipment 62: Storage tank 64: Nozzle 70: Air conditioning equipment 80: Air supply equipment 90: Sensor 100: Plant management equipment 200: Conditional prompt device 202: Conditional Access Unit 204: Prompt Unit 206: Select Receiving Unit 230: Environmental Control Conditions Provision Unit 240: Storage unit 1200: Computer 1210: Host Controller 1212: CPU 1214: RAM 1220: Input / Output Controller 1222: Communication Interface 1230: ROM

Claims

1. A conditional prompting device, comprising: The condition receiving unit receives the harvest time and yield conditions that the plants cultivated in the plant factory must meet. The prompting unit prompts at least one candidate environmental control condition that satisfies the conditions and the quality of the plant when the environmental control device controls the environmental state in the plant factory according to the environmental control conditions, based on environmental control condition information indicating the environmental control conditions and the growth period and yield of the plant and the quality of the plant. The environmental control conditions indicate the control conditions of the environmental control device that controls the environmental state in the plant factory. and The selection receiving unit receives the selection of the environmental control condition from the at least one environmental control condition candidate for use in controlling the environmental state by the environmental control equipment of the plant factory.

2. The condition prompting device according to claim 1, wherein, The condition receiving unit also receives the permissible range of the quality that the plant must meet; and The prompting unit prompts at least one candidate environmental control condition that satisfies the conditions for the harvest time and the yield, as well as the quality of the plant, based on the environmental control condition information.

3. The condition prompting device according to claim 1, wherein, The environmental control conditions include at least one of the following: temperature in the plant factory and the amount of light from the light source irradiating the plants.

4. The condition prompting device according to claim 1, wherein, The quality refers to at least one of the following indicators: size, taste, and color intensity of the plant.

5. The condition prompting device according to claim 1, wherein, The condition receiving unit receives a specified range of the weight of the plant or a specified range of the number of boxes containing the plant as a condition for the yield.

6. The condition prompting device according to claim 1, wherein, Before the condition receiving unit receives the condition, the prompting unit prompts candidates for the harvest time and yield of the plant based on forecast information indicating at least one of the predicted market price of the plant and the predicted demand of the plant.

7. The condition prompting device according to claim 6, wherein, The prompting unit prompts the candidates for the harvest time and yield of the plant based on the predictive information indicating the relationship between the harvest time and the predicted demand of the plant.

8. The condition prompting device according to claim 6, wherein, The prompting unit obtains the prediction information from a prediction server that generates the prediction information using a learning model, and prompts candidates for the harvest time and yield of the plant based on the obtained prediction information. The learning model predicts the future market price and demand based on the past market price and demand of the plant.

9. The condition prompting device according to claim 8, wherein, The prediction server sets the weather information and event information for each predetermined time period as explanatory variables, and the market price and the predicted demand as target variables. It then performs machine learning based on a supervised learning algorithm to generate a trained prediction model as the learning model.

10. The condition prompting device according to claim 6, wherein, The prompting unit prompts the candidate yield obtained by multiplying a predetermined ratio by the predicted demand at the harvest time indicated by the forecast information.

11. The condition prompting device according to claim 6, wherein, As a candidate for the harvest time of the plant, the prompting unit determines the time point with the highest predicted market price within the target period based on the prediction information.

12. The condition prompting device according to any one of claims 1 to 11, further comprising: An environmental control condition providing unit provides selected environmental control conditions to an environmental control device, which controls and regulates the environmental control equipment that regulates the environment of the plant factory.

13. The condition prompting device according to claim 12, wherein, The environmental control conditions include at least one of the following conditions: The air conditioning equipment in the plant factory is controlled to set the growth period to be shorter or longer than a reference growth period, such that the temperature is higher or lower than the temperature during the reference growth period. The light source equipment of the plant factory is controlled to set the growth period to be shorter or longer than the reference growth period, such that the light intensity of the plant leaving the factory is greater or less than the light intensity during the reference growth period.

14. A conditional suggestion method, comprising: The condition receiving unit receives the harvest time and yield conditions that the plants cultivated in the plant factory must meet. The prompting unit prompts at least one candidate environmental control condition that satisfies the conditions, as well as the quality of the plant, when the environmental control device controls the environmental state in the plant factory according to the environmental control conditions, based on the environmental control condition information indicating the environmental control conditions and the plant's growth period, yield, and quality. The environmental control conditions indicate the control conditions of the environmental control device that controls the environmental state in the plant factory. as well as The selection receiving unit receives the selection of the environmental control condition from the at least one environmental control condition candidate for use in controlling the environmental state by the environmental control equipment of the plant factory.

15. A program that causes a computer to perform the following processes: The conditions for harvesting time and yield that must be met when receiving plants cultivated in a plant factory; Based on environmental control condition information indicating environmental control conditions, and the growth period and yield of the plants and the quality of the plants when the environmental control equipment controls the environmental state in the plant factory according to the environmental control conditions, at least one candidate environmental control condition and the quality of the plants are suggested to satisfy the conditions. The environmental control conditions indicate the control conditions of the environmental control equipment controlling the environmental state in the plant factory. The selection of an environmental control condition is received from the at least one candidate environmental control condition for use in controlling the environmental state by the environmental control equipment of the plant factory.

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