Super Greenhouse Tunnel

Abstract

The Super Tunnel Greenhouse is a next-generation, resilient, technologically advanced greenhouse that enables fully autonomous and automated plant cultivation in a controlled environment largely independent of the outside environment. Its modular, tunnel-shaped architecture allows for the assembly of new modules to increase the growing area and adapt to the available space. The walls insulate the internal climate from the external climate. It is equipped with a climate control system, automatic irrigation and lighting, water recovery and storage, electrical energy production and storage, and a central computer system managing overall operation and data transmission with the outside. (See Figure 2 for more details.)

Description

Title of the invention: Super Tunnel Greenhouse Field of invention

[0001] The invention relates to a greenhouse technologically superior to traditional greenhouses (hence its name “Super Greenhouse”), the objective of which is to enable the cultivation of plants in a totally autonomous and automated manner in a predominantly controlled indoor environment independent of the outdoor environment.

[0002] The Super Greenhouse is therefore a new generation greenhouse because it exploits recent scientific and technical knowledge and skills allowing the climate to be controlled in a structure hermetically isolated from the external environment to grow any type of plant, anywhere and anytime, in an automated and autonomous manner. The technical solutions used to achieve this consist of a combination of mechanical, electronic, digital, and physical technologies described below.

[0003] The Super Tunnel Greenhouse is a combination of identical tunnel-shaped growing “modules” (detailed later), which are equipped with rainwater harvesting and recovery techniques, manual water addition, two 900-liter water reserves each, recycling of unused water, a solar panel acting as a roof, electrical energy storage (battery), two 900-liter soil reserves each with a depth of 50 cm for growing root vegetables, airtight and openable trays for easy soil replacement, a thermal insulation shield, resistance to fire, weather, vandalism, a thermoregulation system, humidity regulation and air renewal, a fully automatic, economical, intelligent, adaptive and customizable watering system, an automatic, adaptive and economical lighting system, a control panel integrated into the structure,a central computer control system and a radio wave data transfer system. Technical background

[0004] Today, the majority of market garden greenhouses are essentially "tunnels" made of a metal skeleton structure and a fabric, plastic or glass covering. These greenhouses are generally open at their ends, and provide only partial protection from hostile climatic events (heat waves, frost, storms, etc.) and often no capacity for climate control within them.

[0005] Some greenhouses, and mainly industrial ones and those in botanical gardens, are large structures of several hundred square meters also having a metal bone structure and glass or metal walls. rigid transparent plastic. These greenhouses allow solar radiation to enter through their walls to exploit the greenhouse effect and thus benefit from natural heating. These greenhouses are therefore by default insulated from the outside air, but can break this insulation thanks to openings placed on their roof allowing ventilation and release of heat. Some greenhouses have radiators coupled with thermometers to artificially increase the temperature when the greenhouse effect is not sufficient (in winter for example).

[0006] All these greenhouses rest on a particular terrain: either arable land around which the greenhouse is installed, or a foundation allowing the construction of a large structure. In addition, even if some greenhouses have means of climate control (often in one direction only: heating), none is completely isolated from the outside (for example the influence of solar radiation is always present, and thermal transfers by conduction at the level of the walls are rarely taken into consideration). Finally, all these greenhouses depend on external supplies of water and electricity to operate (city water network, drilling, connection to EDF, etc.) which considerably reduces their resilience in the event of difficulty in supplying these resources. In five words: they are not autonomous.

[0007] The invention therefore presents a new greenhouse model responding to the important issues of: independence from the external environment, internal climate control, total autonomy of the operation of the greenhouse (in particular in water and electricity), and automation of plant cultivation. The Super Greenhouse therefore presents a significant interest for the production of food in quality and quantity superior to traditional processes, including in the context of current climate changes as well as the need to eliminate pollution linked to the production, transport and consumption of food. Structure

[0008] The Super Greenhouse Tunnel being an assembly of several exactly identical tunnel modules, the structure detailed in the following paragraphs is that of one of them. The characteristic of the Super Greenhouse is that it is a modular structure, that is to say that it consists of the assembly of identical or complementary modules to create a larger and more complete greenhouse.

[0009] The structure of a Super Tunnel Greenhouse module consists of an architecture 3 meters wide by 2 meters long with 2.5 meters high. More precisely the geometry of a module consists of a rectangular parallelepiped 3 meters wide by 2 meters long and 2 meters high, on which there is an isosceles triangle 0.5 m high by 3 meters wide and 2 meters long (like the parallelepiped). The whole forms a "tunnel" in which there are two water reserves and two culture tanks (one above each water reserve) on each side, while in the middle there is a path for the user to move.

[0010] The cultivable module is the main module of the Super Greenhouse. The ground space is separated into three sections of equal size (1 meter wide and 2 meters long): the two lateral sections, each 1 meter high, are each made up of a 50 cm high water reserve (starting from the ground) capable of storing 900 L of water, above which is a soil tray also 50 cm deep, capable of storing 900 L of soil. The middle section is simply an empty space allowing movement in the module between the cultivation trays, so it is the path to cross the greenhouse.

[0011] Each cultivable module is composed of a rectangular metal floor (slightly raised by adjustable feet), a slightly inclined triangular roof (18.4°) extending over the entire length of the module (2 meters) of which one side is an aluminum panel and the other is a photovoltaic panel, with a metal layer at the top of the roof surmounting the two walls. Between the ends of the floor and the roof are walls of which the lower half (0 to 1 m high) are aluminum panels, and the upper half (1 to 2 m high) are polycarbonate panels.

[0012] As explained previously, the module has two double-level reserves (for water and for earth) whose walls assembled with metal profiles ensure watertightness. The two levels are separated by a porous wall (supported by several vertical metal beams at equal distance) allowing unused water to flow from the earth to the water reserve. The side walls and the front wall of the tank are made of metal (aluminum). The front wall of the water reserve is rigid and is completely connected to the side metal walls, but the front wall of the earth tank is mounted on a vertical rail which allows it to be opened (sliding down) and closed (sliding up and locked with a lock) to easily access the entire depth of the earth (which is useful for harvesting root vegetables or replacing the earth).

[0013] In the center and below the roof is a metal box along its entire length, in which the main electronic components of the greenhouse are arranged (microcontroller, battery, etc.) as well as a lighting station on each side (made up of LEDs) to illuminate the plants, and an interface (LCD screen and buttons) for the user to control the greenhouse.

[0014] The frame of the Super Tunnel Greenhouse is constructed using profiles with several rail-shaped faces that allow the walls to be inserted and screwed into place once they are correctly fitted and aligned. The floor, roof and exterior walls are all assembled together in this way. It is also thanks to these rail profiles that a new module can be easily assembled after one has already been assembled.

[0015] Thanks to this “kit” structure, which is self-sufficient and has feet at height Adjustable, the Super Greenhouse can be installed on any surface, buildable or not, as long as it is sufficiently rigid and uniform (which corresponds to the majority of available land). This allows in particular to install Super Greenhouses on artificial ground (parking lot, road, roof, etc.) or on sufficiently level natural ground.

[0016] The user of the Super Greenhouse enters through the door and can move along the central path to simultaneously access the crops to his right and left. He simply has to pivot on himself to be oriented towards one or the other. Since the cultivable surfaces are at a height of 1 meter above the ground, growing plants becomes ergonomic and comfortable (no need to bend down, bend, etc.).

[0017] The tunnel shape of the overall structure as well as the modular nature of the Super Greenhouse framework allow a combination in length of several cultivable modules thus forming a larger Super Greenhouse meeting the production needs of each user as well as the space available. Insulation

[0018] The purpose of the greenhouse's exterior walls is to provide radiative, convective, and conductive insulation to prevent the transfer of heat, light, and matter. They must also provide satisfactory protection against most physical attacks from the outside, such as pressure (wind), shocks (hail), and fire (fire). For these reasons, the entire exterior walls are called a "Shield".

[0019] To meet the criterion of resistance to external aggressions, the metal walls are made entirely of aluminum with a triple thickness: a first layer of pure aluminum, then a thick honeycomb layer (aluminum cells) filled with air, and a final layer of pure aluminum. We can therefore see the walls as a sandwich whose ends are aluminum plates and the center is a honeycomb structure filled with air. The aluminum plates make it possible to secure the surface of the wall, while the honeycomb structure reinforces the resistance to intense efforts of all kinds. The triple aluminum-air-aluminum layer makes it possible to greatly reduce heat transfer by conduction because despite the high thermal conductivity of aluminum, only the outer layer will be heated since the air layer makes it possible to greatly limit the heat transfer to the inner plate.Finally, a white reflective film is added over the outer layer of aluminum to reflect the majority of radiation and thus better insulate the greenhouse from radiative transfers. All these insulation solutions are applied to all walls in contact with the exterior, therefore the exterior walls, but also the floor, the roof and the door (sometimes by filling the aluminum with polycarbonate).

[0020] To benefit from natural sunlight in regions where total insulation is not an absolute necessity, the metal walls of the upper exterior sides (from 1 m to 2 m high) can be replaced by polycarbonate walls. This material offers excellent resistance to shocks and the majority of external aggressions (pressure, wind, humidity, hail, etc.), while allowing the passage of sunlight useful for photosynthesis in plants (which saves electrical energy by not turning on the LEDs when solar radiation is sufficient).

[0021] However, it is necessary to take into account the three openings and therefore the contact zones partially and / or temporarily breaking the insulation. These are the door when it is open, the thermoregulation and air renewal system, and the water recovery circuit. In the first case, the insulation is broken for as long as the door remains open, but for normal use (opening less than 10 seconds) too few exchanges with the outside will take place to break the stability of the interior climate. In the second case, the exchanges of matter and heat are voluntary when the system is activated, and are therefore not a defect in themselves.In the third case, the outside air can flow into the interior water reserve, but since the latter is also hermetically isolated from the rest of the greenhouse, only heat transfers by conduction are possible, but since it is air and these walls are in contact with the cold water in the reserve, then the heat transfers will be very minimal. The insulation of the Super Greenhouse is therefore not perfect, but its defects are not significant and therefore do not prevent the interior climate from being independent of the exterior climate. Climate control

[0022] The air temperature and humidity are measured with a temperature and humidity sensor placed in the center of the Super Greenhouse (in the central box under the roof) which sends its readings to a microcontroller, which activates the heat pump to increase or reduce the ambient temperature and humidity using a humidifier. This system also allows the air inside the greenhouse to be renewed over the long term to avoid disturbing the internal climate (which would have been the case if the air was renewed quickly). This is achieved thanks to the heat pump which operates in ventilation mode (air exchange without active heat exchange).

[0023] The thousands of liters of water and earth stored in the reserves have a significant thermal storage capacity. In concrete terms, when the temperature in the greenhouse increases, part of the heat is naturally stored by the earth and water and is released later when the internal temperature of the greenhouse decreases. This "thermal buffer" effect of the water and the earth makes it possible to attenuate the effect of heat waves or extreme cold from the outside to the inside. In other words, a thermal inertia is obtained which passively reduces the temperature differences inside the greenhouse, without any technology.

[0024] The lighting is controlled locally in each of the two cultivable sections of the module. For this purpose, each of these sections accommodates a lighting station at the junction between the roof and the central control box of the greenhouse. The lighting stations have several lamps with different operating temperatures ranging from Infrared to Ultraviolet through the temperatures of the visible spectrum (3,000 K to 10,000 K). Each of these lamps is individually controllable (their intensity can be modulated) which makes it possible to precisely choose the type of sunlight to which the plants in each section are subjected. The lighting stations are computer-controlled by the microcontroller at the center of the Super Greenhouse.

[0025] The only rainfall in the Super Greenhouse is that delivered by the watering system (detailed below), which protects the plants from sometimes destructive downpours and from excessively intense rainfall which drowns the soil and plants.

[0026] The atmospheric pressure of the greenhouse is approximately the same all the time, and by default has the value of the actual atmospheric pressure at the time of assembly of the greenhouse. The variation of the atmospheric pressure has a low impact on the growth of the plants compared to other atmospheric parameters, and therefore does not require a dedicated regulation system.

[0027] Wind is absent from the Super Greenhouse thanks to the Shield. It is a climatic parameter that is often more annoying than beneficial for plants, and therefore its elimination is beneficial. Automated system

[0028] Crop watering is completely automated using a combination of moisture sensors, electronics (including the central microcontroller), water pumps, and pipes. For each cultivable section, two moisture sensors are inserted into the soil. These sensors continuously read the soil moisture in the two areas in which they have been planted (the optimal position being equidistant from each other at the two foci of the cultivable surface) and the data is sent to the microcontroller. Depending on the needs of the cultivated plant, the microcontroller triggers the operation of the pumps if the moisture level falls below a certain threshold. The watering duration (and therefore the quantity of water delivered, since the flow rate is fixed) is calculated by the algorithm coded in the microcontroller and allows for the optimization of plant growth while saving water.Water is pumped directly into the water tank, and a level sensor checks whether the tank is empty or not (if it is, then the pumps are not activated to avoid damaging them).

[0029] Crop lighting has already been described previously, but not its automation. As with watering, lighting is controlled by the microcontroller, and the Lighting sequences and their nature (temperature and light intensity) are determined by the algorithm taking into account the light requirements of the cultivated plants and their current level of growth, as well as the ambient light level.

[0030] The air temperature and humidity are, as previously described, controlled by the microcontroller from the air temperature and humidity sensor. These parameters (temperature and humidity) are regulated when the temperature and humidity of the internal climate go beyond the tolerance threshold defined by the microcontroller algorithm, having itself calculated these thresholds from the cultivated plants and their current level of growth. Autonomous system

[0031] Water is the central resource of the Super Greenhouse, it is harvested, stored, used intelligently (by the microcontroller software), and recycled when not in use. To harvest water, the roof of the Super Greenhouse is slightly inclined from the center (like a teepee) and gutters implemented at the top of all the external walls make the water flow towards the center of each wall, where there is a hollow vertical pillar bringing the water down through the walls to the water reserves of each section. In this way, 100% of the rainwater falling on the surface of the greenhouse (and not evaporated) is harvested and stored. A hole on the outside of each central pillar at the top of the water reserves allows for manual addition of water and also serves as a drain outlet when the reserve is completely full (without this hole the water would continue to rise, which would drown the earth and then overflow inside the structure).Inside each water tank are two water pumps used to raise water through the wall to the cultivable surface. When the water is distributed over the plants, some is absorbed, but the majority slowly flows through the soil and, rather than being lost as is the case in a conventional vegetable garden or field, it passes through porous holes in the wall supporting the soil, and thus falls into the water tank. This system allows for the recycling of unused water and therefore achieves enormous water savings in the long term.

[0032] Electricity is essential to the operation of the greenhouse since all its automation is based on electronic systems. To ensure electrical autonomy, the Super Greenhouse is equipped with a solar panel on one side of the roof. All the energy produced is immediately stored in a battery via a charge controller. It is by drawing from this battery, located just below the solar panel (in the box below the center of the greenhouse roof), that the microcontroller and all the electronic systems (lighting, pumps, etc.) operate.

[0033] The soil, stored in the raised soil bins of each cultivable section, is easily installed and replaced thanks to the wall mounted on a rail which can descend to open access to the 50 cm depth of soil. This system makes it easy to replace the soil when its resources (minerals, trace elements, etc.) are exhausted and it needs to be revitalized (by amendment with the addition of compost for example), which makes it a system suited to the practice of permaculture. List of figures

[0034] [Fig. 1] is a side perspective view (not to scale) of a cultivable module of the Super Tunnel Greenhouse. It shows the part of the sloping roof consisting of a photovoltaic panel which ends on the outside with the gutters at the ends of the walls in the center of which are the pipes sending the water to the reserves on the lower level. The exterior walls of the reserves, the polycarbonate walls letting in outside light, and the plants in the process of growing are detailed.

[0035] [Fig.2] is a view of a combination of four cultivable modules to form an 8-meter-long Super Greenhouse with a cultivable surface area of ​​16 m2. We can see that the door is obviously only present at the ends and that each module is connected to the others in an open manner (no door inside).

[0036] [Fig.3] is a front perspective view (not to scale) of a module of the Super Tunnel Greenhouse. Detailed are the front and side metal walls of the storage tanks, the floor (also metal), the "high" external polycarbonate walls, the central aluminum pillars (into which the water falls before landing in the storage tanks, and the electrical wires in a double layer insulated from the water), the central box in which most of the electronics are located, and the lighting stations in operation. The end walls (doors) are not shown to facilitate the visualization of the internal elements.

[0037] [Fig.4] is a front perspective view (not to scale) of a combination of 3 cultivable modules. We can see how easy it is to simply move around inside the Super Tunnel Greenhouse to access each growing tray.

[0038] [Fig.5] is a side perspective sectional view (not to scale) of a module of The Super Tunnel Greenhouse. You can see the watering system with the humidity sensors planted in the ground, the pipes delivering the water thanks to the action of the water pumps (located in the box visible in the water reserve), and the space taken up by the soil trays and the water reserves.

[0039] [Fig.6] is a front perspective sectional view (not to scale) of a module of the Super Tunnel Greenhouse. It includes the elements already mentioned in [Fig.5], including the humidity sensors planted in the ground, as well as the electrical wiring that goes up each central pillar (along the exterior walls) then into the roof to reach the central electrical control box. Also shown is the location of the lighting stations in the corner in the center of the roof on each side of the central box.

[0040] [Fig.7] is an illustration of the water cycle from the irrigation system, in which Unused water flows through the soil before passing through the porous wall and returning to the water reserve to be redistributed by the pumps to the soil when necessary, etc. This illustration also shows how root vegetables can grow thanks to the 50 cm depth of the soil container.

[0041] [Fig.8] is a side perspective view (not to scale) of a cultivable module of the Super Tunnel Greenhouse. The illustration is similar to [Fig.l] except that the door is open this time. We can see that the door opens by sliding it to the side of the wall using a rail system. Since the door is 1 meter wide and the side walls are also 1 meter wide, it fits perfectly against the wall when it is completely pushed back and therefore allows the passage to the Super Tunnel Greenhouse to be completely open.

Claims

Claims

1. Super Greenhouse Resilient technological tunnel in the shape of a tunnel made up of modular cultivation modules dedicated to the automatic cultivation of plants in complete autonomy while being isolated from the outside.

2. Greenhouse according to claim 1, characterized in that the external walls of its structure are composed of three layers of aluminum-honeycomb (filled with air)-aluminum, all covered with a white reflective film on the outer face, with other external walls of polycarbonate following the same honeycomb structure for better insulation, allowing the most complete insulation and sealing possible of the greenhouse.

3. Greenhouse according to claims 1 and 2, characterized by a sloping roof ending on a gutter implemented on the walls in the center of which is a vertical pillar leading the water into a sealed water reserve equipped with a hole for filling and evacuating excess water, all allowing total autonomy in water for the operation of the Super Tunnel Greenhouse all year round.

4. Greenhouse according to claims 1 to 3, characterized by a metal box at the junction of the two roof panels in the center of the greenhouse in which the microcontroller, the battery and the electronics linked to the systems characterized by claims 5 to 10 are located. On the lower face of this box there is a control panel composed of a screen and push buttons connected to the electronic system inside the box.

5. Greenhouse according to claims 1 to 4, characterized by a photovoltaic panel constituting the entirety of one of the sides of the inclined roof. The photovoltaic panel is connected to the electrical control box in the center of the Super Greenhouse. All the electrical energy produced by the solar panel is stored in a battery via a charge controller. The battery level and the operating status of the solar panel can be viewed using a charge indicator. The electrical production and storage capacity are sufficient to ensure the total energy autonomy of the Super Greenhouse all year round (particularly in southern regions).

6. Greenhouse according to claims 1 to 5, characterized by an automatic watering system composed for each cultivable section of two humidity sensors sending their data to the brain's microcontroller which, thanks to a regulation algorithm, controls the operation of two water pumps located in the water reserve (provided that the latter is not empty, which is verified by a water level sensor sending its readings to the microcontroller), which then inject the water into two pipes going up to the cultivable surface where the plants are located.

7. Greenhouse according to claims 1 to 6, characterized by an automatic lighting system composed for each side of the cultivable module of a sunshine sensor, a lighting station composed of several lamps of different temperatures, all controlled by the brain microcontroller and controlled by a regulation algorithm and all the electronics complementary to the correct functioning of the system (battery, relay, etc.

8. Greenhouse according to claims 1 to 7, characterized by an automatic climate control system located in the central housing, composed of a temperature and humidity sensor sending the readings to the brain microcontroller which controls, thanks to the climate control algorithm, the operation of the heat pump with the humidifier to modify the temperature and humidity of the air and to gradually renew the interior air of the Super Greenhouse.

9. Greenhouse according to claims 1 to 8, characterized for each cultivable section by a 50 cm deep soil reserve whose cultivable surface is located 1 meter above the ground. The reserves are completely airtight and watertight. The front wall is mounted on a rail to slide it downwards. The soil reserve is separated from the water reserve located just below by a perforated metal wall covered with a porous geotextile to support the soil and allow the water to flow towards the water reserve, which allows all unused water (i.e. not drawn by the plants) to be recycled.

10. Greenhouse according to claims 1 to 9, characterized by a device for transmitting data by radio waves (transmission and reception) via an antenna located on the central control box in the center of the structure to consult the operation and remotely control the Super Greenhouse with a Web application dedicated to this use.

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