Seedbed and hydroponic cultivation device

Abstract

To provide a seedbed and hydroponic cultivation device capable of preventing seeds from being wasted due to the seeds getting into a gap between a holder and a cultivation sheet.SOLUTION: Means for solving the above problem is a seedbed 5 having a holder 3 installed inside a cultivation tub 2 that has an upper opening and stores water W inside, and a cultivation sheet 4 held by the holder 3 and suspended inside the cultivation tub 2. The cultivation sheet 4 has: a pair of a front piece 40 and a rear piece 41 made of fibers that are absorbent and face each other; a joint 42 formed by intermittently joining facing portions of the front piece 40 and the rear piece 41 along a left-right width direction when viewed from a front-rear direction; and a storage section A formed between the front piece 40 and the rear piece 41 and capable of holding seeds 10. The holder 3 has: a plate-shaped plate section 30; and a hook-and-loop fastener 32 provided on the plate section 30, and brought into surface contact with the cultivation sheet 4 to hold the cultivation sheet 4 detachably.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a seedbed and a hydroponic cultivation device. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, a hydroponic cultivation device includes a cultivation tub that stores water inside, a seedbed having a rectangular holder placed in the cultivation tub, and an absorbent cultivation sheet that is held by the holder and suspended inside the cultivation tub, and the cultivation sheet has a storage section that is formed between a pair of opposing sheets by intermittently joining the opposing parts of the upper part of the pair of sheets in the width direction and is capable of holding seeds.

[0003] Specifically, the holder has a rectangular plate portion, a hook portion provided at the upper end of the plate portion that can be hooked into a groove formed on the inside of the opposing side wall of the cultivation barrel, and a number of protrusions protruding from the surface of the plate portion, and holds the cultivation sheet by inserting each protrusion into a number of holes provided below the storage portion of each sheet of the cultivation sheet (see Patent Document 1).

[0004] The cultivation sheet with the seeds in the container is hung in a cultivation tub via a holder, and the lower end of the cultivation sheet is immersed in water, whereby the cultivation sheet absorbs the water and supplies it to the seeds, causing them to germinate and grow. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] JP 2020-5509 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] However, in the seedbed of such a hydroponic cultivation device, the cultivation sheet and the holder are intermittently connected by a plurality of protrusions, which results in gaps being formed between the protrusions between the cultivation sheet and the holder.

[0007] In addition, the cultivation sheet is made of a fibrous and flexible material, so the upper end of each sheet of the cultivation sheet held by the holder becomes loose, and a gap also occurs between the upper end of the cultivation sheet and the holder.

[0008] When placing seeds into the storage section of the cultivation sheet, the seeds may accidentally fall into the gap formed between the cultivation sheet and the holder.In that case, it is very tedious to retrieve the seeds from this gap, so the seeds that fell into the gap cannot be retrieved and are wasted.

[0009] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a seedbed in which there is no gap between the holder and the cultivation sheet, and a hydroponic cultivation device equipped with said seedbed. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] The seedbed of the present invention for achieving the above object comprises a holder installed inside a cultivation tub with an upper opening and storing water inside, and a cultivation sheet held by the holder and suspended inside the cultivation tub, the cultivation sheet having a pair of front and rear pieces made of fibers, having water absorption properties, facing each other, a joint formed by intermittently joining the facing parts of the front and rear pieces along the left and right width direction when viewed from the front-rear direction, and a storage section formed between the front and rear pieces and capable of holding seeds, the holder is characterized by having a plate-like plate section and a holding tape provided on the plate section and in surface contact with the cultivation sheet to detachably hold the cultivation sheet. With this configuration, the cultivation sheet is attached to the plate section of the holder while being in surface contact with the holding tape, so no gap is formed between the holder and the cultivation sheet.

[0011] In addition, in the seedbed of the present invention, the front piece and the rear piece may be formed by folding a single sheet having a square or rectangular shape with intermittent notches between the opposing sides in half along the notches. With this configuration, the holding tape of the holder can be attached to only one of the front piece and the rear piece of the cultivation sheet, but since the lower ends of the front piece and the rear piece are connected at a portion without notches, it is not necessary to align the front piece and the rear piece when joining the front piece and the rear piece to form a joint. Therefore, the cultivation sheet can be produced more easily than in the conventional case where two separate sheets are overlapped, aligned, and then joined.

[0012] In addition, in the seedbed of the present invention, the holding tape may be a hook-and-loop fastener. With this configuration, the force of the hook-and-loop fastener to hold the cultivation sheet does not change even after washing, so the holder can be washed and reused together with the hook-and-loop fastener after use. This saves the trouble of having to reattach the holding tape to the plate part every time the holder is washed, and is economical because the same hook-and-loop fastener can be used repeatedly.

[0013] The hydroponic cultivation device of the present invention includes a seedbed and a sowing device capable of sowing seeds in a storage section of a cultivation sheet in the seedbed, the upper end of the rear piece being located above the upper end of the front piece, the retaining tape being in surface contact with the upper end of the front side of the front piece, the storage section being formed between the joint and the front and rear pieces, the sowing device having a feed plate slidably placed along the upper end surface of the cultivation tub and provided with a feed hole capable of facing the storage section, and when the feed plate abuts against the upper end of the rear piece from the front side, the upper end of the rear piece is pushed down toward the rear side. According to this configuration, by abutting the feed plate against the upper end of the rear piece from the front side, the upper end of the rear piece is pushed down toward the rear side, and the seeds can be fed into the storage section through the feed hole in a state in which the opening of the storage section is widened by pushing down the upper end of the rear piece toward the rear side by abutting the feed plate against the upper end of the rear piece from the front side. When the seeds are fed into the storage section in this way, if there is a gap between the holder and the front piece, there is a high possibility that the seeds will fall into the gap, but in the seedbed of the present invention, no gap is formed between the holder and the front piece. Therefore, the seedbed of the present invention exerts particularly excellent effects when used in a hydroponic cultivation apparatus equipped with such a sowing device. Effect of the Invention

[0014] According to the seedbed and hydroponic cultivation device of the present invention, no gap is created between the holder and the cultivation sheet, thereby preventing seeds from being wasted. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the hydroponic cultivation apparatus of the present embodiment with the seeding device separated. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a side cross-sectional view of the hydroponic cultivation device of the present embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating the manufacturing process of the seedbed cultivation sheet of this embodiment, in which (A) shows a sheet with intermittent cuts made near the center, and (B) shows the sheet shown in (A) folded in half along the cuts. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the seedbed of the present embodiment. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the seedbed of the present embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is an enlarged side view showing a portion of the hydroponic cultivation device of this embodiment, illustrating the state in which the seeding plate of the seeding device has been slid forward along the front end surface of the cultivation tub. [Figure 7] This is an enlarged side view of a portion of the hydroponic cultivation device of this embodiment, showing the state in which the case placed on the input plate has been slid forward so that the communication hole of the case faces the input hole of the input plate. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0016] The present embodiment will now be described with reference to the drawings, in which like reference numerals denote like parts throughout the several views.

[0017] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the hydroponic cultivation device 1 of this embodiment includes a cultivation tub 2 having an upper opening and storing water W therein, a plurality of seedbeds 5 each having a holder 3 installed inside the cultivation tub 2 and a cultivation sheet 4 held by the holder 3 and suspended inside the cultivation tub 2, and a sowing device 6 capable of sowing seeds in each seedbed 5. As shown in Figure 2, the cultivation sheet 4 has a pair of front and rear pieces 40 and 41 made of fiber, which are water-absorbent and face each other, and a storage section A formed between the front and rear pieces 40 and 41 and capable of holding seeds 10 (not shown in Figures 1 and 2).

[0018] Then, as shown in Figure 7, when the lower end of the cultivation sheet 4 suspended from the cultivation bucket 2 via the holder 3 is immersed in water, the cultivation sheet 4 absorbs the water W and supplies it to the seeds 10, allowing the seeds 10 to germinate and be cultivated.

[0019] Hereinafter, each part of the hydroponic cultivation device 1 will be described in detail. In the following description, unless otherwise specified, "left" in FIG. 2 will be referred to as "front" and "right" as "rear," and the direction crossing the front-to-rear direction of the cultivation tub 2 will be referred to as the left-to-right direction.

[0020] As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the cultivation tub 2 has a rectangular bottom 20a that is long in the front-rear direction, and four side walls 20b, 20c, 20d, and 20e that stand up from each side of the bottom 20a, and is provided with a tub body 20 formed in the shape of a rectangular box with an open top. Water W is stored inside the tub body 20. 1 and 2, the cultivation barrel 2 has a pair of pedestals 21, 21 that protrude from a position lower than the upper end on the inner periphery of the opposing left and right side walls 20b, 20c toward the opposing side walls 20b, 20c and extend in the front-rear direction. Each pedestal 21 has a plurality of vertical grooves 21a arranged in the front-rear direction, so that a holder 3, which will be described later, can be installed by being hooked onto the pair of opposing vertical grooves 21a, 21a.

[0021] The configuration of the cultivation tub 2 is not limited to the rectangular box shape described above, and is not particularly limited as long as it can store water and can accommodate the holder 3. For example, the cultivation tub may be configured to include a frame body, a support member having legs that support the frame body from below, and a moisture-permeable waterproof sheet that is fixed in a slack state inside the frame body, and water may be stored in the slackened parts of the moisture-permeable waterproof sheet.

[0022] Next, the seedbed 5 having the cultivation sheet 4 and the holder 3 for holding the cultivation sheet 4 will be described in detail. The cultivation sheet 4 of this embodiment is formed by folding a single sheet S made of fibers and having water absorption, which is square and has slits 4a intermittently inserted between the sides facing each other at the top and bottom as shown in FIG. 3(A), in half along the slits 4a as shown in FIG. 3(B) to form a pair of front and rear pieces 40 and 41 facing each other, and by providing a joint 42 formed by intermittently joining the facing parts of the front and rear pieces 40 and 41 along the left and right width direction as viewed from the front and rear direction. In this embodiment, the sheet S is square, but the sheet S may be rectangular.

[0023] In this embodiment, since the lower ends of the front piece 40 and the rear piece 41 are connected to each other at the portion where the notch 4a is not present, when the front piece 40 and the rear piece 41 are joined to form the joint 42, the front piece 40 and the rear piece 41 can be folded along the notch 4a, so there is no need to align the front piece 40 and the rear piece 41. Therefore, compared to the conventional case where two separate sheets are overlapped, aligned, and then joined, the production of the cultivation sheet 4 is easier. However, the lower ends of the front piece 40 and the rear piece 41 do not have to be connected to each other.

[0024] In addition, since notches 4a are intermittently provided between the lower ends of the front piece 40 and the rear piece 41, even if the lower ends of the front piece 40 and the rear piece 41 are connected, the roots of the plant germinated in the storage section A can extend through the notches 4a.

[0025] 3(A), the notch 4a is located lower than the center of the sheet S in the vertical direction by a distance equal to half the projection (length) of the rear piece 41 projecting upward from the front piece 40. Therefore, in the cultivation sheet 4 formed by folding the sheet S in half along the notch 4a, the upper end of the rear piece 41 is located higher than the upper end of the front piece 40, as shown in FIG.

[0026] In addition, the cultivation sheet 4 is provided with a joint 42 formed by joining opposing portions of the front piece 40 and the rear piece 41, thereby forming a storage section A capable of holding the seeds 10 between the joint 42 and the front piece 40 and the rear piece 41. The position at which the joint 42 is formed may be arbitrarily determined according to the depth required for the storage section A to hold the seeds 10.

[0027] The joints 42 are provided intermittently, so that when the seeds 10 held in the storage section A germinate, the roots that break through the seed coat can grow through the gaps in the joints 42. Therefore, the joints 42 do not hinder the growth of the plants.

[0028] In this embodiment, the joint 42 is formed by joining the front piece 40 and the rear piece 41 by welding. However, the joint 42 may be formed by a method other than welding. , for example by bonding by crimping.

[0029] 2 and 4, the holder 3 has a rectangular plate portion 30 extending horizontally and having a width equal to that of the cultivation sheet 4, a rod portion 31 provided at the upper end of the plate portion 30, an axial length formed longer than the width of the plate portion 30, and each end portion protruding laterally from each side end portion of the plate portion 30, and a hook-and-loop fastener 32 provided on the surface of the plate portion 30 as a holding tape capable of detachably holding the cultivation sheet 4. In FIG. 2, the hook-and-loop fastener 32 is made thicker than it actually is to make the configuration of the holder 3 easier to understand.

[0030] The hook-and-loop fastener 32 has a number of very small hooks that can be hooked onto the fibers of the cultivation sheet 4. As shown in FIG. 4, the hook-and-loop fastener 32 is a rectangular sheet whose width in the left-right direction is equal to the width of the plate portion 30 and whose width in the up-down direction is shorter than the length of the plate portion 30, and is attached to the plate portion 30 so that its upper end is aligned with the upper end of the plate portion 30. The force (holding force) of the hook-and-loop fastener 32 to hold the cultivation sheet 4 is proportional to the area of ​​the hook-and-loop fastener 32. Therefore, the size of the hook-and-loop fastener 32 can be freely set as long as it can exert a holding force sufficient to hold the weight of the cultivation sheet 4 and the plants grown in the storage portion A of the cultivation sheet 4.

[0031] Then, as shown in Figure 5, when the surface opposite the rear side of the front piece 40 of the cultivation sheet 4 is brought into surface contact with the hook-and-loop fastener 32 so that the upper ends are aligned, the hooks of the hook-and-loop fastener 32 catch on the fibers of the cultivation sheet 4, and the cultivation sheet 4 is attached to the hook-and-loop fastener 32, so that the cultivation sheet 4 is held in the holder 3 with the upper end of the front piece 40 and the upper end of the plate portion 30 aligned.

[0032] Then, the front piece 40 of the cultivation sheet 4 is attached to the plate part 30 of the holder 3 in a surface contact state via the hook-and-loop fastener 32, and the cultivation sheet 4 is continuously attached to the plate part 30 in the left-right width direction, and the upper end of the front piece 40 does not slacken, so no gap is generated between the cultivation sheet 4 and the holder 3. In addition, since the vertical width of the rod part 31 is shorter than the projection of the rear piece 41, when the cultivation sheet 4 is held by the holder 3 in this manner, the rear piece 41 protrudes upward beyond the rod part 31. The means for attaching the hook-and-loop fastener 32 to the plate part 30 of the holder 3 is not particularly limited, and may be attached, for example, by double-sided tape or adhesive.

[0033] In addition, in this embodiment, the holding tape is a hook-and-loop fastener 32, but the holding tape is not particularly limited as long as it can hold the cultivation sheet 4 detachably, and may be, for example, a double-sided tape. However, since the force of holding the cultivation sheet 4 does not change even if the hook-and-loop fastener 32 is washed, if the holding tape is a hook-and-loop fastener 32, the holder 3 after use can be washed and reused. This reduces the effort of reattaching the holding tape to the plate portion 30 every time the holder 3 is washed, and is economical because the same hook-and-loop fastener 32 can be used repeatedly.

[0034] The axial length of the rod portion 31 is set to be longer than the distance between a pair of pedestals 21, 21 facing each other in the left-right direction of the cultivation barrel 2, and shorter than the distance between the left and right side walls 20b, 20c facing each other in the left-right direction. Therefore, each end of the rod portion 31 can be hooked onto the vertical grooves 21a, 21a provided on the pair of pedestals 21, 21 facing each other in the left-right direction, so that the holder 3 can be installed inside the cultivation barrel 2.

[0035] Therefore, when the holder 3 holding the cultivation sheet 4 is placed inside the cultivation barrel 2 as described above, the cultivation sheet 4 is suspended inside the cultivation barrel 2 and immersed in the water W stored in the cultivation barrel 2, as shown in Figure 2.

[0036] In addition, in this embodiment, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, multiple seedbeds 5 are installed in a row along the front-to-back direction inside the cultivation barrel 2 by hooking the rod portions 31 of the holders 3 of multiple seedbeds 5 into each of the vertical grooves 21a arranged in a row in the front-to-back direction.

[0037] In this embodiment, the rod portion 31 is formed in a D-shaped cross section, and the flat portion of the rod portion 31 protrudes rearward from the surface of the plate portion 30, but the flat portion of the rod portion 31 may be flush with the surface of the plate portion 30. In that case, the hook-and-loop fastener 32 is attached not only to the surface of the plate portion 30 but also to the flat portion of the rod portion 31. This increases the area of ​​the hook-and-loop fastener 32 without increasing the size of the plate portion 30, thereby increasing the holding power of the hook-and-loop fastener 32. The cross-sectional shape of the rod portion 31 is not particularly limited, and the cross-sectional shape of the rod portion 31 may be a semicircle or a circle. Alternatively, instead of the rod portion 31, protruding portions protruding from each side end of the plate portion 30 may be provided, and the protruding portions may be hooked into a pair of vertical grooves 21a, 21a.

[0038] The method of installing the holder 3 inside the cultivation tub 2 described above is merely an example, and is not particularly limited as long as the holder 3 can be installed inside the cultivation tub 2 so as to be removable.

[0039] Next, the configuration and operation of the sowing device 6 will be described in detail. As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the sowing device 6 of this embodiment includes an input plate 60 that is slidably placed along the upper end surface of the cultivation tub 2 in the front-rear direction and has an input hole 60a1 that can face the storage section A of the cultivation sheet 4 suspended in the cultivation tub 2, a box-shaped case 61 that is slidably placed on the input plate 60 in the front-rear direction and has a communication hole 61c that can face the input hole 60a1 and is open at the top, and a biasing means 62 that biases the case 61 forward.

[0040] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the input plate 60 of this embodiment has a rectangular plate shape whose front-to-rear width is wider than the front-to-rear width of the cultivation barrel 2 and whose left-to-right width is equal to the left-to-right width of the cultivation barrel 2, and has a plate main body 60a that is placed on the upper end surface of the cultivation barrel 2 so as to be slidable in the front-to-rear direction, a stopper piece 60b that rises from the front end of the plate main body 60a and restricts the forward movement of the case 61, and a spring support piece 60c that rises from the rear end of the plate main body 60a.

[0041] 1, the plate body 60a is provided with an input section B consisting of a plurality of input holes 60a1 arranged at equal intervals along the left-right direction and at the same intervals as the installation intervals of the seedbeds 5, in the same number as the number of installed seedbeds 5. Furthermore, at the lower end of the plate body 60a, as shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of truncated cone-shaped guide tubes 60a2 communicating with each input hole 60a1 are provided.

[0042] In addition, a pair of guide plates 60d, 60d that are flat and extend along the front-rear direction of the plate body 60a and protrude upward and downward from the plate body 60a are provided at the left and right ends of the plate body 60a. The width between the pair of guide plates 60d, 60d is set to be slightly wider than the left-right width of the cultivation barrel 2, so that when the input plate 60 is placed on the upper end surface of the cultivation barrel 2, the pair of guide plates 60d, 60d sandwich the upper end of the cultivation barrel 2 from the left and right directions. Therefore, the left-right movement of the input plate 60 is restricted by the guide plates 60d, 60d, and the input plate 60 can be prevented from sliding in any direction other than the front-rear direction.

[0043] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the case 61 has a rectangular bottom plate 61a, a frame-shaped frame wall 61b standing along the outer peripheral edge of the bottom plate 61a, and a number of communicating holes 61c provided in the bottom plate 61a, the number of which is the same as the number of input holes 60a1, and which can face each of the input holes 60a1, and is formed in a box shape with an open top.

[0044] Two bolt holes 61b1 are provided at a predetermined interval in the left-right direction in a portion of the frame wall 61b of the case 61 facing the spring receiving piece 60c of the input plate 60. On the other hand, two insertion holes 60c1 facing the bolt holes 61b1 are provided in the spring receiving piece 60c of the input plate 60.

[0045] The biasing means 62 is constituted by a bolt 62a that is inserted into the insertion hole 60c1 of the spring receiving piece 60c and screwed into the bolt hole 61b1 of the frame wall 61b, and a coil spring 62b that is arranged on the outer periphery of the bolt 62a and interposed between the spring receiving piece 60c and the frame wall 61b to bias the case 61 forward.

[0046] When the coil spring 62b is fully extended, as shown in FIG. 2, the front end of the case 61 abuts against the stopper piece 60b, the communication hole 61c is positioned forward of the insertion hole 60a1, and the communication hole 61c is closed by the insertion plate 60.

[0047] Next, a method for sowing seeds in the accommodation section A of the cultivation sheet 4 in the seedbed 5 using the seeding device 6 will be described in detail. First, as shown in Fig. 2, the seeding device 6 is installed on the upper end surface of the cultivation tub 2 inside which a plurality of seedbeds 5 are installed along the front-rear direction. Specifically, the seedbeds 5 are installed by hooking the rod portion 31 of the holder 3 into the vertical grooves 21a, 21a provided on a pair of pedestals 21, 21 facing each other in the left-right direction, so that the front piece 40 of the cultivation sheet 4 faces forward and the rear piece 41 faces backward.

[0048] Next, the input plate 60 of the sowing device 6 is placed on the upper end surface of the cultivation tub 2 so that the guide tube 60a2 is disposed in front of the rear piece 41, as shown in FIG. 2. Here, the axial length of the guide tube 60a2 of the input plate 60 is set to a length that does not interfere with the rod portion 31 of the holder 3 suspended in the cultivation tub 2 when the input plate 60 is placed on the upper end surface of the cultivation tub 2. In addition, the length by which the rear piece 41 of the cultivation sheet 4 protrudes upward from the front piece 40 is set to a length that protrudes upward from the rod portion 31 and can face the guide tube 60a2 of the input plate 60 installed on the upper end surface of the cultivation tub 2 in the front-rear direction.

[0049] Therefore, when the input plate 60 of the sowing device 6 is placed on the upper end surface of the cultivation barrel 2 so that the guide tube 60a2 is positioned in front of the rear piece 41, as shown in Figure 2, the guide tube 60a2 faces the rear piece 41 in the front-to-rear direction.

[0050] In this state, when the input plate 60 is pulled backward and moved together with the case 61, the guide tube 60a2 of the input plate 60 abuts against the upper end of the rear piece 41 from the front side and pushes down the upper end of the rear piece 41 backward, as shown in Fig. 6. Then, with the opening of the storage section A formed between the front piece 40 and the rear piece 41 widened, the input hole 60a1 faces the storage section A through the guide tube 60a2.

[0051] Next, the seeds 10 are dropped into the communication hole 61c by stirring the seeds 10 in the state where the seeds 10 are placed in the case 61. At this time, as described above, the case 61 is urged forward by the urging means 62, so that the communication hole 61c is closed by the feed plate 60. Therefore, the seeds 10 that have dropped into the communication hole 61c are accommodated in the communication hole 61c as shown in FIG. 6. The seeds 10 may be put into the communication hole 61c before the feed hole 60a1 is made to face the accommodation section A through the guide tube 60a2.

[0052] 7, when the case 61 is pulled backward against the biasing force of the biasing means 62 to bring the communication hole 61c into opposition to the input hole 60a1, the seed 10 falls into the storage section A while being guided by the guide tube 60a2. Then, the seed 10 is placed on the joint 42 and is held in the storage section A.

[0053] Furthermore, when the case 61 is released after the seeds 10 have been dropped into the storage section A, the case 61 automatically returns to its original position due to the biasing force of the biasing means 62, and the communication hole 61c is closed again, thereby preventing two or more seeds 10 from being dropped into the storage section A through one input hole 60a1.

[0054] Therefore, according to the seeding device 6 of this embodiment, the seeds 10 can be simultaneously placed into the storage sections A of a plurality of seedbeds 5. As described above, the cultivation sheet 4 is held by the holder 3 in surface contact with the hook-and-loop fastener 32, so no gaps are formed between the cultivation sheet 4 and the holder 3. Therefore, when the seeds 10 are placed into the storage section A, the seeds 10 do not get caught between the cultivation sheet 4 and the holder 3, and the seeds 10 can be reliably placed into the storage section A, preventing the seeds 10 from being wasted.

[0055] The above-mentioned configuration of the seeding device 6 is an example, and is not limited to the above-mentioned configuration. For example, in a state where the upper end of the rear piece 41 of the cultivation sheet 4 is positioned above the upper end of the barrel body 20, the plate body 60a without the guide tube 60a2 may be moved backwards and the plate body 60a placed on the upper end of the barrel body 20 may be used to directly push down the rear piece 41 backwards with the plate body 60a. Alternatively, the case 61 may be omitted and the seeds 10 may be directly thrown into the throw-in hole 60a1. Also, the biasing means 62 may be omitted and the case 61 may be manually moved to a position where the communication hole 61c does not face the throw-in hole 60a1.

[0056] In the present embodiment, the method of sowing seeds in the storage area A of the cultivation sheet 4 using the seeding device 6 has been described, but the seeding work may be performed manually without using the seeding device 6.

[0057] As described above, the seedbed 5 of this embodiment comprises a holder 3 installed inside a cultivation tub 2 having an upper opening and storing water W inside, and a cultivation sheet 4 held by the holder 3 and suspended inside the cultivation tub 2, the cultivation sheet 4 having a pair of front and rear pieces 40 and 41 made of fiber, absorbent and facing each other, a joint 42 formed by intermittently joining the facing portions of the front piece 40 and the rear piece 41 along the left-right width direction when viewed from the front-to-back direction, and a storage section A formed between the front piece 40 and the rear piece 41 and capable of holding seeds 10, and the holder 3 has a plate-shaped plate portion 30 and a hook-and-loop fastener 32 as a holding tape provided on the plate portion 30 and in surface contact with the cultivation sheet 4 to hold the cultivation sheet 4 in a removable manner.

[0058] In the seedbed 5 configured in this manner, the cultivation sheet 4 adheres to the plate portion 30 of the holder 3 in surface contact with the hook-and-loop fastener 32. As a result, the cultivation sheet 4 adheres to the plate portion 30 continuously in the left-right width direction, and the upper end of the cultivation sheet 4 does not slacken, so no gap is created between the holder 3 and the cultivation sheet 4. Therefore, when the seeds 10 are placed in the storage section A, it is possible to prevent the seeds 10 from falling between the holder 3 and the cultivation sheet 4 and being wasted.

[0059] In addition, in conventional seedbeds, the holder holds the cultivation sheet by inserting multiple protrusions on the holder into multiple holes in the cultivation sheet, so in order to make the holder hold the cultivation sheet, it is necessary to insert the protrusions into the holes while aligning them with each other. Therefore, in conventional seedbeds, it was very time-consuming to make the holder hold the cultivation sheet.

[0060] In contrast, with the seedbed 5 of this embodiment, the cultivation sheet 4 can be held by the holder 3 simply by contacting the cultivation sheet 4 with the hook-and-loop fastener 32 provided on the plate portion 30 of the holder 3, so the time required to produce the seedbed 5 can be significantly reduced. In particular, since a large number of seedbeds 5 are required to produce plants using the hydroponic cultivation device 1, the mass productivity of the seedbeds 5 can be significantly improved if the time required to produce each seedbed 5 can be significantly reduced in this manner.

[0061] Furthermore, according to the seedbed 5 of this embodiment, there is no need to provide multiple protrusions on the holder and create holes in the cultivation sheet into which the multiple protrusions of the holder can be inserted, as was done in the conventional method, thereby reducing the amount of processing work.

[0062] In addition, in the seedbed 5 of this embodiment, the front piece 40 and the rear piece 41 are formed by folding a single sheet S, which is square or rectangular and has notches 4a intermittently made between the opposing sides, in half along the notches 4a.

[0063] In the seedbed 5 configured in this manner, the hook-and-loop fastener 32 of the holder 3 is attached only to the rear piece 41, which is one of the front piece 40 and the rear piece 41 of the cultivation sheet 4, but since the lower ends of the front piece 40 and the rear piece 41 are connected at a portion where there is no notch 4a, there is no need to align the front piece 40 and the rear piece 41 when joining the front piece 40 and the rear piece 41 to form the joint 42. Therefore, the cultivation sheet 4 is easier to manufacture than when two separate sheets are overlapped, aligned, and then joined as in the conventional case.

[0064] Furthermore, even if the lower ends of the front piece 40 and the rear piece 41 are connected to each other, the presence of the notch 4a allows the roots of a plant that has germinated within the storage section A to grow through the notch 4a.

[0065] However, the cultivation sheet 4 may also be formed by overlapping two separate sheets and joining the sheets together.

[0066] In the seedbed 5 of this embodiment, the retaining tape is a hook-and-loop fastener 32. With the seedbed 5 configured in this manner, the force of the hook-and-loop fastener 32 to retain the cultivation sheet 4 does not change even after washing, so the holder 3 after use can be washed together with the hook-and-loop fastener 32 and reused. This eliminates the need to reattach the retaining tape to the plate portion 30 every time the holder 3 is washed, and is economical because the same hook-and-loop fastener 32 can be used repeatedly.

[0067] However, the holding tape is not particularly limited as long as it can hold the cultivation sheet 4 in a detachable manner, and may be, for example, a double-sided tape.

[0068] In addition, the hydroponic cultivation apparatus 1 of this embodiment is equipped with a seedbed 5 and a sowing device 6 capable of sowing seeds within the storage section A of the cultivation sheet 4, wherein the upper end of the rear piece 41 is located higher than the upper end of the front piece 40, the hook-and-loop fastener 32 is in surface contact with the upper end side of the front side of the front piece 40, and the storage section A is formed between the joint 42 and the front and rear pieces 40 and 41, and the sowing device 6 has an input plate 60 which is slidably placed along the upper end surface of the cultivation barrel 2 and has an input hole 60a1 which can face the storage section A, and when the input plate 60 abuts against the upper end of the rear piece 41 from the front side, the upper end of the rear piece 41 is pushed down towards the rear.

[0069] In the hydroponic cultivation device 1 configured in this manner, by abutting the input plate 60 against the upper end of the rear piece 41 from the front, the upper end of the rear piece 41 is pushed backward to widen the opening of the storage section A, and the seed 10 can be input into the storage section A through the input hole 60a1.

[0070] When the seeds 10 are thus put into the storage section A, if there is a gap between the holder 3 and the front piece 40, there is a high possibility that the seeds 10 will fall into the gap, but in the seedbed 5 of this embodiment, no gap is formed between the holder 3 and the front piece 40. Therefore, the seedbed 5 of the present invention exerts particularly excellent effects when used in a hydroponic cultivation device 1 equipped with such a seed sowing device 6. The length by which the rear piece 41 protrudes upward beyond the front piece 40 can be set arbitrarily as long as it is a length that can face the portion (guide tube 60a2) of the input plate 60 placed on the upper end surface of the cultivation tub 2 that abuts from the front side against the upper end of the rear piece 41 from the front side.

[0071] However, the above-mentioned configuration of the sowing device 6 is only an example, and the configuration of the sowing device 6 is not particularly limited. In addition, if the sowing device 6 does not push down the rear piece 41 with the input plate 60 to expand the storage section A, the positions of the upper ends of the front piece 40 and the rear piece 41 of the cultivation sheet 4 may be aligned. In that case, either surface of the front piece 40 or the rear piece 41 may be attached to the hook-and-loop fastener 32.

[0072] Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail above, it will be appreciated that modifications, variations and changes can be made thereto without departing from the scope of the appended claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0073] 1 cultivation device, 2 cultivation bucket, 3 holder, 4 cultivation sheet, 4a notch, 5 seedbed, 6 sowing device, 30 plate portion, 32 hook-and-loop fastener (retaining tape), 40 front piece, 41 rear piece, 42 joint portion, 60 input plate, 60a1 input hole, A storage portion, S sheet, W water

Claims

1. A seedbed comprising a holder installed inside a cultivation tub having an upper opening and storing water therein, and a cultivation sheet held by the holder and suspended inside the cultivation tub, The cultivation sheet has a pair of front and rear pieces made of fibers, which are absorbent and face each other, a joint portion formed by intermittently joining the facing portions of the front and rear pieces along the left and right width direction when viewed from the front-to-rear direction, and a storage portion formed between the front and rear pieces and capable of holding seeds. The holder has a plate-shaped plate portion and a holding tape provided on the plate portion and in surface contact with the cultivation sheet to detachably hold the cultivation sheet. A seedbed characterized by the above.

2. The front piece and the rear piece are formed by folding a single sheet having a square or rectangular shape and intermittent cuts between opposing sides in half along the cuts.

2. The seedbed according to claim 1 .

3. The retaining tape is a hook-and-loop fastener 3. A seedbed as claimed in claim 1 or 2.

4. A hydroponic cultivation device comprising the seedbed according to claim 1 and a seeding device capable of sowing seeds in the storage portion of the cultivation sheet, The upper end of the rear piece is located higher than the upper end of the front piece, The retention tape is in surface contact with an upper end side of the front surface of the front piece, The storage portion is formed between the joint portion, the front piece, and the rear piece, The sowing device has an input plate that is slidably placed along the upper end surface of the cultivation tub and has an input hole that can face the storage section, When the throw-in plate abuts against the upper end of the rear piece from the front side, the upper end of the rear piece is pushed down toward the rear side. A hydroponic cultivation device characterized by the above.

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