Control device, control method, and program

Abstract

To provide a control device that can effectively utilize the processing capacity of a filtration system. [Solution] The control device 100 for controlling the aquaculture system 1 includes: an acquisition unit 101 that acquires tank information, which is information about the inside of the tanks 11 of two or more tank units 10; an allocation unit 103 that uses the tank information for each of the two or more tank units 10 acquired by the acquisition unit 101 to allocate the processing capacity of the filtration equipment 21 of one or more filtration units 20 to two or more tank units 10; and a control unit 104 that controls two or more pumps 14 that adjust the flow rate of treated water treated by the filtration units 20 into the tank units 10 according to the allocation result by the allocation unit 103.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a control device and the like for controlling an aquaculture system used for land-based aquaculture. [Background technology]

[0002] While natural marine resources are limited, global consumption of seafood is expanding. Therefore, a shift from fishing to farming is essential, and land-based aquaculture is attracting attention as a safe and secure production method (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2023-040950 [Overview of the Initiative] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0004] In land-based aquaculture, when a tank and filtration equipment are fixed in a one-to-one ratio, there is a problem in that, for example, even if there is excess processing capacity in one filtration system, it cannot be used for other tanks.

[0005] This invention was made to solve the above problems and aims to provide a control device, etc., that can effectively utilize the processing capacity of filtration equipment. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] To achieve the above objective, a control device according to one aspect of the present invention is a control device for controlling an aquaculture system comprising: two or more tank units having tanks for cultivating aquatic products; one or more filtration units having filtration equipment for treating wastewater discharged from the tank units; and two or more connection units connected to the tank units and the filtration units, wherein at least one of the tank units and the connection units has a first adjustment mechanism for adjusting the flow rate of treated water treated by the filtration unit that flows into the tank units; at least one of the filtration units and the connection units has a second adjustment mechanism for adjusting the flow rate of wastewater that flows into the filtration unit; and the two or more connection units are connected, the control device comprising: an acquisition unit that acquires tank information, which is information about the inside of the tanks of the two or more tank units; an allocation unit that uses the tank information for each of the two or more tank units acquired by the acquisition unit to allocate the processing capacity of the filtration equipment of one or more filtration units to the two or more tank units; and a control unit that controls two or more first adjustment mechanisms according to the allocation result by the allocation unit.

[0007] This configuration allows the processing capacity of the filtration equipment in a filtration unit to be adaptively allocated to multiple tank units according to the information in each tank. As a result, the processing capacity of the filtration equipment can be used effectively. For example, if the water quality in one tank is deteriorating while the water quality in other tanks is good, allocating the processing capacity of multiple filtration units to the tank with deteriorating water quality can improve the water quality in that tank in a shorter period of time.

[0008] Furthermore, in a control device according to one aspect of the present invention, the aquaculture system is equipped with two or more filtration units, and the control unit may also control two or more second adjustment mechanisms according to the allocation result by the allocation unit.

[0009] This configuration makes it possible to control the flow rate of wastewater entering two or more filtration units.

[0010] In addition, in the control device according to one aspect of the present invention, the information in the water tank may be information including at least one selected from the group consisting of water quality, water temperature, oxygen concentration, carbon dioxide concentration, turbidity, information related to the movement of aquatic products, information related to the color of aquatic products, information related to abnormalities on the surface of aquatic products, the amount of aquatic products, the density of aquatic products, and the amount of residual feed.

[0011] With such a configuration, for example, it becomes possible to allocate the processing capacity of the filtration equipment using information such as water quality.

[0012] In addition, in the control device according to one aspect of the present invention, the connection unit has a first conduit through which the drainage discharged from the water tank unit flows, a second conduit through which the treated water treated by the filtration unit flows, and on-off valves provided in the first and second conduits respectively. The first and second conduits of two or more connection units are connected in series, and the allocation unit allocates the water tank unit in which the occurrence of diseases in aquatic products is indicated by the information in the water tank so as to separate it from other water tank units, and the control unit may also control the on-off valves according to the allocation result by the allocation unit.

[0013] With such a configuration, by separating some water tank units in which diseases have occurred in aquatic products from other water tank units, it is possible to prevent the spread of diseases in aquatic products.

[0014] In addition, in the control device according to one aspect of the present invention, the acquisition unit receives the sensor information acquired by the sensors in two or more water tank units, acquires the information in the water tank using the sensor information, and the control unit may transmit the control information for controlling the aquaculture system to the aquaculture system.

[0015] <000009​​​​​​​​This configuration allows for, for example, control of the aquaculture system at its local location, and makes it easier to set information for the control device.

[0018] Furthermore, a control device according to one aspect of the present invention comprises two or more tank units having tanks for cultivating aquatic products, one or more filtration units having filtration equipment for treating wastewater discharged from the tank units, and two or more connection units connected to the tank units and filtration units, wherein at least one of the tank units and connection units has a first adjustment mechanism for adjusting the flow rate of treated water treated by the filtration unit flowing into the tank units, and at least one of the filtration units and connection units has a second adjustment mechanism for adjusting the flow rate of wastewater flowing into the filtration unit, and the two or more connection units are connected, and is a control device for controlling an aquaculture system, comprising: an acquisition unit for acquiring tank information, which is information about the inside of the tanks of the two or more tank units; an allocation unit for allocating the processing capacity of the filtration equipment of one or more filtration units to the two or more tank units using the tank information for each of the two or more tank units acquired by the acquisition unit; and a control unit for controlling one first adjustment mechanism according to the allocation result by the allocation unit.

[0019] Furthermore, a control device according to one aspect of the present invention comprises two or more tank units having tanks for cultivating aquatic products, one or more filtration units having filtration equipment for treating wastewater discharged from the tank units, and two or more connection units connected to the tank units and filtration units, wherein at least one of the tank units and connection units has a first adjustment mechanism for adjusting the flow rate of treated water treated by the filtration unit flowing into the tank units, and at least one of the filtration units and connection units has a second adjustment mechanism for adjusting the flow rate of wastewater flowing into the filtration unit, and the two or more connection units are connected, and is a control device for controlling an aquaculture system, comprising: an acquisition unit for acquiring tank information, which is information about the inside of the tanks of the two or more tank units; an allocation unit for allocating the processing capacity of the filtration equipment of one or more filtration units to the two or more tank units using the tank information for each of the two or more tank units acquired by the acquisition unit; and a control unit for controlling one second adjustment mechanism according to the allocation result by the allocation unit.

[0020] Furthermore, a control method according to one aspect of the present invention is a control method for controlling an aquaculture system comprising: two or more tank units having tanks for cultivating aquatic products; one or more filtration units having filtration equipment for treating wastewater discharged from the tank units; and two or more connection units connected to the tank units and the filtration units, wherein at least one of the tank units and the connection units has a first adjustment mechanism for adjusting the flow rate of treated water treated by the filtration unit that flows into the tank units; at least one of the filtration units and the connection units has a second adjustment mechanism for adjusting the flow rate of wastewater that flows into the filtration units; and the two or more connection units are connected, the control method comprising: acquiring tank information, which is information about the inside of the tanks of the two or more tank units; using the acquired tank information for each of the two or more tank units, assigning the processing capacity of the filtration equipment of one or more filtration units to the two or more tank units; and controlling two or more first adjustment mechanisms according to the assignment result.

[0021] Furthermore, a control method according to one aspect of the present invention is a control method for controlling an aquaculture system comprising: two or more tank units having tanks for cultivating aquatic products; one or more filtration units having filtration equipment for treating wastewater discharged from the tank units; and two or more connection units connected to the tank units and the filtration units, wherein at least one of the tank units and the connection units has a first adjustment mechanism for adjusting the flow rate of treated water treated by the filtration unit flowing into the tank units; at least one of the filtration units and the connection units has a second adjustment mechanism for adjusting the flow rate of wastewater flowing into the filtration units; and the two or more connection units are connected, the control method comprising: acquiring tank information, which is information about the inside of the tanks of the two or more tank units; using the acquired tank information for each of the two or more tank units, assigning the processing capacity of the filtration equipment of one or more filtration units to the two or more tank units; and controlling one first adjustment mechanism according to the assignment result.

[0022] Furthermore, a control method according to one aspect of the present invention is a control method for controlling an aquaculture system comprising: two or more tank units having tanks for cultivating aquatic products; one or more filtration units having filtration equipment for treating wastewater discharged from the tank units; and two or more connection units connected to the tank units and the filtration units, wherein at least one of the tank units and the connection units has a first adjustment mechanism for adjusting the flow rate of treated water treated by the filtration unit flowing into the tank units; at least one of the filtration units and the connection units has a second adjustment mechanism for adjusting the flow rate of wastewater flowing into the filtration units; and the two or more connection units are connected, the control method comprising: acquiring tank information, which is information about the inside of the tanks of the two or more tank units; using the acquired tank information for each of the two or more tank units, assigning the processing capacity of the filtration equipment of one or more filtration units to the two or more tank units; and controlling one second adjustment mechanism according to the assignment result. [Effects of the Invention]

[0023] According to one aspect of the present invention, the control device and the like can effectively utilize the processing capacity of the filtration equipment. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0024] [Figure 1] A schematic plan view showing an example of the configuration of an aquaculture system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. [Figure 2] A schematic front view showing an example of a connected aquarium unit, filtration unit, and connecting unit in the same embodiment. [Figure 3] Plan diagram showing another example of the aquaculture system according to the same embodiment. [Figure 4] Flowchart showing the manufacturing method of the aquaculture system according to the same embodiment. [Figure 5] A schematic plan view showing another example of the connected aquarium unit, filtration unit, and connecting unit in the same embodiment. [Figure 6] A schematic front view showing another example of the connected aquarium unit, filtration unit, and connecting unit in the same embodiment. [Figure 7] Plan diagram showing another example of the aquaculture system according to the same embodiment. [Figure 8] A schematic plan view showing another example of the aquarium unit in the same embodiment. [Figure 9] A schematic front view showing another example of the aquarium unit in the same embodiment. [Figure 10] A perspective view showing an example of a water tank composed of divided parts in the same embodiment. [Figure 11] Plan diagram showing another example of the aquaculture system according to the same embodiment. [Figure 12] A vertical cross-sectional view showing an example of the connection between the first conduit and the water storage tank in the same embodiment. [Figure 13] A schematic plan view showing another example of multiple connection units in the same embodiment. [Figure 14]A schematic diagram showing an example of the connection between the first conduit and the seventh conduit, and the connection between the second conduit and the eighth conduit in the same embodiment. [Figure 15] A schematic diagram showing another example of the connection between the first conduit and the seventh conduit, and the connection between the second conduit and the eighth conduit in the same embodiment. [Figure 16] A schematic plan view showing an example of the configuration of an aquaculture control system according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. [Figure 17] Flowchart showing the control method for the aquaculture system according to the same embodiment. [Figure 18A] A figure illustrating an example of controlling the aquaculture system in the same embodiment. [Figure 18B] A figure illustrating an example of controlling the aquaculture system in the same embodiment. [Figure 18C] A figure illustrating an example of controlling the aquaculture system in the same embodiment. [Figure 18D] A figure illustrating an example of controlling the aquaculture system in the same embodiment. [Figure 19] A schematic diagram showing another example of a farming control system according to the same embodiment. [Figure 20] A schematic plan view showing another example of the configuration of the aquaculture control system according to the same embodiment. [Figure 21] A schematic diagram showing an example of the appearance of the computer system in the same embodiment. [Figure 22] This figure shows an example of the configuration of the computer system in the same embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0025] The aquaculture system, the method for manufacturing the aquaculture system, the control device, and the control method according to the present invention will be described below using embodiments. In the following embodiments, components and steps denoted by the same reference numerals are the same or equivalent, and their further description may be omitted.

[0026] (Embodiment 1) The scalable aquaculture system according to this embodiment comprises one or more tank units, one or more filtration units, and one or more connecting units for connecting the tank units and the filtration units.

[0027] Figure 1 is a schematic plan view of an example of the configuration of the aquaculture system 1 according to this embodiment. The aquaculture system 1 according to this embodiment is for land-based aquaculture and may include four tank units 10a to 10d, two filtration units 20a and 20b, and four connection units 30a to 30d, as shown in Figure 1. When tank units 10a to 10d are not specifically distinguished, they may be referred to as tank unit 10. The same applies to other configurations. In addition, Figure 1 shows the case where the aquaculture system 1 includes four tank units 10, two filtration units 20, and four connection units 30, but the aquaculture system 1 only needs to include one or more tank units 10, one or more filtration units 20, and one or more connection units 30, and the number of each component included in the aquaculture system 1 is not limited. However, typically, the number of aquarium units 10 and the number of filtration units 20 are independently equal to or less than the number of connection units 30.

[0028] Figure 2 is a schematic front view of an example showing the connected aquarium unit 10, filtration unit 20, and connection unit 30. Figure 2 also shows the interior of the aquarium 11 and filtration equipment 21 through a transparent view. Note that in Figure 2, the contents of the aquatic products inside the aquarium 11 are omitted, and the contents of the filter media etc. inside the filtration equipment 21 are omitted.

[0029] The aquarium unit 10 may include an aquarium 11 for cultivating aquatic products, a conduit 12 for guiding treated water treated by the filtration unit 20 to the aquarium 11, a conduit 13 for discharging wastewater from the aquarium 11 to the connecting unit 30, a pump 14 for supplying treated water from the connecting unit 30 to the aquarium unit 10 via the conduit 12, and an on / off valve 15 provided in the conduit 13.

[0030] The tank 11 may contain, for example, freshwater or seawater. The aquatic products to be cultivated may be, for example, fish and shellfish or seaweed. The fish and shellfish may be, for example, fish, cephalopods such as squid and octopus, shellfish, crustaceans such as shrimp and crabs, or echinoderms such as sea urchins and sea cucumbers.

[0031] The conduit 12 is for carrying treated water from the connection unit 30 to the tank 11. The first end of the conduit 12 may be detachably connected to the fourth conduit 34 of the connection unit 30. The fourth conduit 34 will be described later. The second end of the conduit 12 may be connected to the tank 11. For example, the conduit 12 may allow treated water to flow into the tank 11 from above the water surface of the tank 11.

[0032] Here, the detachable connection of the two conduits may be made, for example, by connecting flanges provided at the ends of the two conduits, or by using a connection mechanism other than flanges. When connecting the two flanges, they may be connected via a sealant to prevent water leakage between them, for example. The connection of the two flanges may be made by fixing them together, for example, using bolts and nuts.

[0033] The conduit 13 is for draining wastewater from the water tank 11 to the connecting unit 30. The first end of the conduit 13 may be detachably connected to the third conduit 33 of the connecting unit 30. The third conduit 33 will be described later. The second end of the conduit 13 may be connected to the water tank 11. As shown in Figure 2, for example, the second end of the conduit 13 may be an overflow pipe that takes in water above a predetermined water level and drains it to the connecting unit 30 so that the water level in the water tank 11 remains constant. If water from the water tank 11 is taken into the conduit 13 by a method other than overflow, the water tank unit 10 may further have, for example, a water level adjustment mechanism to maintain a constant water level in the water tank 11. This water level adjustment mechanism may be, for example, a butterfly-type water level adjustment float valve, and may have a water level sensor that detects the water level in the water tank 11 and an adjustment means that adjusts the amount of wastewater so that the detected water level remains constant.

[0034] Pump 14 may supply treated water to the aquarium unit 10 via the conduit 12 from a connecting unit 30 connected to the aquarium unit 10. Preferably, the pump 14 can adjust its flow rate. By adjusting the flow rate of pump 14, for example, the flow rate of wastewater discharged from the aquarium 11 can be adjusted. For example, if there are many fish in the aquarium 11 and the water quality of the aquarium 11 is likely to deteriorate, the flow rate of pump 14 may be increased. In addition, for example, an on-off valve may be provided on the upstream or downstream side of pump 14 in the conduit 12. In this case, by closing this on-off valve when pump 14 is stopped, the flow of water in the conduit 12 can be stopped more reliably.

[0035] The on-off valve 15 may open and close the drainage channel from the tank unit 10 to the connecting unit 30 connected to the tank unit 10. Figures 1 and 2 show the case where the drainage channel via the conduit 13 is opened and closed by the on-off valve 15. The on-off valve 15 may, for example, be capable of adjusting the flow rate, or it may not be. Also, for example, if a disease occurs in the aquatic products of a tank unit 10 and it is desired to completely separate that tank unit 10 from the filtration unit 20 and other tank units 10, the on-off valve 15 of that tank unit 10 may be closed. In this case, for example, the pump 14 that supplies treated water to the tank unit 10 where the disease occurred may also be stopped.

[0036] The filtration unit 20 may include a filtration system 21 for processing wastewater discharged from the tank unit 10, a conduit 22 for guiding wastewater discharged from the tank unit 10 to the filtration system 21, a conduit 23 for guiding treated water from the filtration system 21 to the connecting unit 30, a pump 24 for supplying wastewater from the connecting unit 30 to the filtration system 21 via the conduit 22, and an on / off valve 25 provided in the conduit 23.

[0037] The filtration system 21 is for filtering wastewater discharged from the tank unit 10. The treated water filtered by the filtration system 21 is more suitable for aquaculture than the wastewater. The filtration treatment by the filtration system 21 may also be for the purpose of purifying the wastewater. Figure 2 shows an example where the filtration system 21 has the same configuration as the tank 11. The filtration system 21 may be, for example, one or more pieces of equipment connected in series for performing the filtration treatment.

[0038] The filtration process may include, for example, physical filtration to physically remove floating debris in the water, biological filtration which utilizes the action of organisms such as bacteria to convert substances harmful to aquatic products, such as ammonia, into other substances that are safer for aquatic products, chemical filtration which chemically adsorbs substances harmful to aquatic products, or other processes. The filtration process in filtration equipment 21 is already publicly known, and a detailed explanation thereof will be omitted.

[0039] The conduit 22 is for draining wastewater from the aquarium unit 10 to the filtration system 21. The first end of the conduit 22 may be detachably connected to the third conduit 33 of the connecting unit 30. The second end of the conduit 22 may be connected to the filtration system 21.

[0040] The conduit 23 is for carrying treated water from the filtration equipment 21 to the connecting unit 30. The first end of the conduit 23 may be detachably connected to the fourth conduit 34 of the connecting unit 30. The second end of the conduit 23 may be connected to the filtration equipment 21.

[0041] Pump 24 may supply wastewater to the filtration unit 20 via conduit 22 from a connecting unit 30 connected to the filtration unit 20. Preferably, the flow rate of pump 24 can be adjusted. By adjusting the flow rate of pump 24, for example, the flow rate of wastewater taken into the filtration equipment 21 can be adjusted. For example, if the filtration equipment 21 can process a larger amount of wastewater per unit time, the flow rate of pump 24 may be increased. Also, for example, if the number of tank units 10 included in the aquaculture system 1 is small, the flow rate of pump 24 may be decreased. For example, an on-off valve may be provided on the upstream or downstream side of pump 24 in conduit 22. In this case, when pump 24 is stopped, the flow of water in conduit 22 can be more reliably stopped by closing this on-off valve.

[0042] The on-off valve 25 may open and close the flow path of treated water from the filtration unit 20 to the connecting unit 30 connected to the filtration unit 20. Figures 1 and 2 show the case where the flow path of treated water through the conduit 23 is opened and closed by the on-off valve 25. The on-off valve 25 may or may not be capable of adjusting the flow rate.

[0043] The connection unit 30 is detachably connected to the aquarium unit 10 and the filtration unit 20, and may include a first conduit 31 through which wastewater discharged from the aquarium unit 10 flows, a second conduit 32 through which treated water treated by the filtration unit 20 flows, a third conduit 33 that guides wastewater from the aquarium unit 10 connected to the connection unit 30 to the filtration unit 20 connected to the connection unit 30, a fourth conduit 34 that guides treated water from the filtration unit 20 connected to the connection unit 30 to the aquarium unit 10 connected to the connection unit 30, an on-off valve 35 provided in the first conduit 31, and an on-off valve 36 provided in the second conduit 32. Furthermore, two or more connection units 30 may be detachably connected. When two connection units 30 are connected, it is preferable that they be connected directly without other components in between.

[0044] The first conduit 31 is for forming a drainage channel. The first end of the first conduit 31 may be detachably connected to the first conduit 31 of another connection unit 30. The second end of the first conduit 31 may be detachably connected to the first conduit 31 of another connection unit 30.

[0045] If the end of the first conduit 31 is not connected to the first conduit 31 of another connection unit 30, it is preferable to attach a plug member 41 to that end to prevent water leakage from that end. For example, a plug member 41 is attached to one end of the first conduit 31a shown in Figure 1. The same applies to the second conduit 32, the third conduit 33, and the fourth conduit 34. Alternatively, instead of a plug member 41, a shut-off valve may be used to prevent water leakage from the end of the conduit.

[0046] The second conduit 32 is for forming a flow path for treated water. The first end of the second conduit 32 may be detachably connected to the second conduit 32 of another connection unit 30. The second end of the second conduit 32 may be detachably connected to the second conduit 32 of another connection unit 30.

[0047] The third conduit 33 is connected to the first conduit 31. Therefore, the drainage from the aquarium unit 10 connected to the connection unit 30 flows through the third conduit 33 to the filtration unit 20 connected to the connection unit 30 and to at least one of the first conduit 31.

[0048] The fourth conduit 34 is connected to the second conduit 32. Therefore, treated water from the filtration unit 20 connected to the connection unit 30 flows through the fourth conduit 34 to the water tank unit 10 connected to the connection unit 30 and to at least one of the second conduit 32.

[0049] By opening and closing the on-off valves 35 and 36, a specific aquarium unit 10 or filtration unit 20 can be separated from other aquarium units 10 and filtration units 20. For example, in the aquaculture system 1 shown in Figure 1, by closing the on-off valves 35a and 36b respectively, aquarium unit 10a and filtration unit 20a are separated from aquarium units 10b to 10d and filtration unit 20b. In this case, wastewater and treated water will flow only between aquarium unit 10a and filtration unit 20a. Therefore, for example, if a disease occurs in the fish being farmed in aquarium unit 10a, closing the on-off valves 35a and 36b respectively and separating aquarium unit 10a and filtration unit 20a will prevent the disease from spreading to other aquarium units 10b to 10d. Note that the on-off valves 35 and 36 do not necessarily have to be able to adjust the flow rate.

[0050] The first conduits 31 and second conduits 32 of two or more connection units 30 may be detachably connected in series. By connecting multiple first conduits 31 in series, a single conduit longer than the length through which wastewater flows is formed. Similarly, by connecting multiple second conduits 32 in series, a single conduit longer than the length through which treated water flows is formed.

[0051] In the aquaculture system 1 shown in Figure 1, the dashed arrows indicate the water flow, and the numbers next to the arrows indicate the water flow rate as an example. If filtration units 20a and 20b can each provide 100 liters of treated water per minute, then tank unit 10a may take in 100 liters of treated water per minute, tank unit 10b may take in 60 liters of treated water per minute, tank unit 10c may take in 30 liters of treated water per minute, and tank unit 10d may take in 10 liters of treated water per minute. For example, if large fish are being farmed in tank unit 10a, medium-sized fish in tank unit 10b, small fish in tank unit 10c, and even smaller fish in tank unit 10d, the flow rates may be set to those shown in Figure 1. On the other hand, if the filtration capacity becomes insufficient as the fish in tank units 10b to 10d grow larger, the filtration capacity can be easily increased by adding a filtration unit 20 to the aquaculture system 1, for example. Furthermore, as shown in Figure 3, it is possible to increase not only the filtration unit 20 but also the number of tank units 10. Also, when the grown fish are shipped, for example, tank unit 10a can be removed from the aquaculture system 1. If the number of tank units 10 is reduced, for example, the number of filtration units 20 may also be reduced. In this way, the aquaculture system 1 according to this embodiment provides a scalable aquaculture system 1, that is, an aquaculture system 1 in which the number of tank units 10 and the number of filtration units 20 can be easily increased or decreased. Also, for example, if the flow rate of treated water taken in each of the tank units 10a to 10d is small, the processing capacity of filtration units 20a and 20b may be reduced, or some of the filtration units 20 may not be operated.

[0052] Each of the aquarium unit 10, the filtration unit 20, and the connecting unit 30 may have support parts (not shown) that support, for example, conduits, pumps, on-off valves, etc. Also, as an example, each component included in the aquarium unit 10 may be placed inside a predetermined container such as a container, and each component included in the filtration unit 20 may also be placed inside a predetermined container such as a container. The predetermined container such as a container may be, for example, an assembly-type container, or it may not be.

[0053] Furthermore, the ends of the conduits 12 and 13 in the aquarium unit 10 that are connected to the connection unit 30, the ends of the conduits 22 and 23 in the filtration unit 20 that are connected to the connection unit 30, the arrangement of both ends of the first to fourth conduits 31 to 34 of the connection unit 30, and the detachable connection mechanisms at these ends may be standardized. In such cases, the aquaculture system 1 can be constructed by arbitrarily combining aquarium units 10, filtration units 20, and connection units 30 whose connection parts are standardized. If the connection points of the aquarium unit 10, filtration units 20, and connection units 30 are standardized, for example, the aquaculture system 1 can be constructed by combining aquarium units 10, filtration units 20, and connection units 30 manufactured by different manufacturers.

[0054] Furthermore, with respect to the aquarium unit 10 and the filtration unit 20, apart from the connection points with the connection unit 30, they may be the same or different for each of the two or more aquarium units 10, and they may also be the same or different for each of the two or more filtration units 20. For example, the capacities of the aquariums 11 of the two or more aquarium units 10 may be different. As another example, the processing capacities of the filtration equipment 21 of the two or more filtration units 20 may be different. On the other hand, it is preferable that the two or more connection units 30 have the same configuration, both at the connection points with the aquarium units 10 and the filtration units 20, and at other points. In other words, the two or more connection units 30 may be identical.

[0055] Figure 4 is a flowchart showing the method for manufacturing the aquaculture system 1 according to this embodiment. This manufacturing method may be, for example, the method used when manufacturing the aquaculture system 1 for the first time, or it may be the method used when manufacturing an expanded aquaculture system 1 by adding units to an existing aquaculture system 1.

[0056] (Step S101) Connect two or more connection units 30. For example, when manufacturing the aquaculture system 1 for the first time, this step 101 is performed when the aquaculture system 1 to be manufactured has two or more connection units 30, and step 101 may be skipped when the aquaculture system 1 to be manufactured has only one connection unit 30. Also, for example, when expanding the aquaculture system 1 and increasing the number of connection units 30 that the aquaculture system 1 has, in step S101, a new connection unit 30 may be connected to the end connection unit 30 of the connection unit 30 that is connected to at least one of the tank unit 10 and the filtration unit 20. When connecting a new connection unit 30, for example, the plug members 41 attached to the first and second conduits 31 and 32 of the existing connection unit 30 may be removed, and the first and second conduits 31 and 32 of the new connection unit 30 may be connected to the first and second conduits 31 and 32 from which the plug members 41 have been removed.

[0057] (Step S102) Connect the aquarium unit 10 and the connection unit 30. For example, when expanding the aquaculture system 1, a new aquarium unit 10 may be connected to a newly connected connection unit 30, or a new aquarium unit 10 may be connected to an existing connection unit 30.

[0058] (Step S103) Connect the filtration unit 20 and the connection unit 30. For example, when expanding the aquaculture system 1, a new filtration unit 20 may be connected to a newly connected connection unit 30, or a new filtration unit 20 may be connected to an existing connection unit 30.

[0059] When expanding the aquaculture system 1, for example, only one of the tank unit 10 and the filtration unit 20 may be newly connected to the connection unit 30. In this case, for example, one of steps S102 and S103 may be skipped.

[0060] Furthermore, after the aquarium unit 10, filtration unit 20, and connection unit 30 are connected, a plug member 41 may be attached to the end of the open conduit. Also, the order of processing in the flowchart of Figure 4 is just one example, and the order of each step may be changed if similar results can be obtained. For example, after connecting the connection unit 30 to the aquarium unit 10 and filtration unit 20, multiple connection units 30 to which the aquarium unit 10 and filtration unit 20 are connected may be connected.

[0061] This section describes the case of expanding the aquaculture system 1, but when reducing the aquaculture system 1, at least one of the tank unit 10 and the filtration unit 20 may be removed from the existing aquaculture system 1. Also, if, as a result of removing the tank unit 10 and the filtration unit 20, there is a connection unit 30 to which neither the tank unit 10 nor the filtration unit 20 is connected, that connection unit 30 may also be removed. In this way, the aquaculture system 1 can be reduced to a scale suitable for aquaculture of marine products. Furthermore, after the tank unit 10, the filtration unit 20, and the connection unit 30 have been removed, a plug member 41 may be attached to the end of the open conduit.

[0062] Next, a method for manufacturing the aquaculture system 1 and a method for using the aquaculture system 1 will be described. When manufacturing the aquaculture system 1 shown in Figure 1, for example, the first and second conduits 31 and 32 of the multiple connection units 30a to 30d may be connected in series (step S101). Then, the tank units 10a to 10d may be connected to the connection units 30a to 30d, respectively (step S102). Alternatively, the filtration units 20a and 20b may be connected to the connection units 30a and 30b, respectively (step S103). Then, plug members 41 may be attached to the open ends of the conduits of the connection units 30a, 30c, and 30d, respectively. In this way, the aquaculture system 1 can be manufactured.

[0063] Subsequently, water and aquatic products may be placed in each tank 11 of the tank units 10a to 10d, and the valves may be opened and the pumps operated so that the water circulates between the tank unit 10 and the filtration unit 20. In this way, land-based aquaculture of aquatic products can be realized.

[0064] Next, a method for expanding the aquaculture system 1 will be described. When expanding the aquaculture system 1 shown in Figure 1 to the aquaculture system 1 shown in Figure 3, in the aquaculture system 1 shown in Figure 1, first, the plug members 41 attached to the ends of each conduit of the connection units 30c and 30d may be removed. At that time, the on-off valves may be closed as appropriate to prevent water from flowing out from the ends from which the plug members 41 have been removed. After that, a new connection unit 30e may be connected to the connection unit 30d (step S101). In addition, a new tank unit 10e may be connected to the new connection unit 30e, and new filtration units 20c to 20e may be connected to the existing connection units 30c and 30d, and the new connection unit 30e, respectively (steps S102, S103). Finally, plug members 41 may be attached to the open ends of each conduit of the connection unit 30e, water and aquatic products may be placed in the tank 11e of the added tank unit 10e, and the on-off valves that were closed may be opened. In this way, the aquaculture system 1 can be expanded.

[0065] As described above, according to the aquaculture system 1 of this embodiment, the aquaculture system 1 can be made scalable by connecting one or more tank units 10, one or more filtration units 20, and one or more connecting units 30 to constitute the aquaculture system 1. Furthermore, by appropriately opening and closing the on-off valves provided in each unit, it is possible to separate some units from other units. For example, if a disease occurs in one tank unit 10, the disease can be prevented from spreading to other tank units 10 by separating that tank unit 10 from the others. Also, if the aquaculture system 1 is equipped with two or more filtration units 20, for example, even if the pump 24 of one of the filtration units 20 fails, treated water from the other filtration units 20 can be supplied to each tank unit 10. Therefore, even if the pump 24 fails, the impact on the aquatic products can be reduced.

[0066] In this embodiment, the case where the water tank unit 10 and the filtration unit 20 have pumps has been mainly described, but this is not required. For example, if the water tank unit 10 is positioned higher than the filtration unit 20, the wastewater from the water tank unit 10 may flow naturally into the filtration unit 20. Natural flow of water may mean that the water flows due to gravity. In this case, the filtration unit 20 does not need to have a pump 24. The filtration unit 20 may, for example, have a flow control valve to adjust the flow rate of wastewater flowing into the filtration equipment 21 instead of a pump 24. Another example is that if the filtration unit 20 is positioned higher than the water tank unit 10, the treated water from the filtration unit 20 may flow naturally into the water tank unit 10. In this case, the water tank unit 10 does not need to have a pump 14. The filtration unit 20 may, for example, have a flow control valve to adjust the flow rate of treated water flowing into the water tank 11 instead of a pump 14.

[0067] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the water tank unit 10 and the filtration unit 20 may not have pumps, and the connection unit 30 may have pumps. In this case, as shown in Figure 5, the connection unit 30 may further include a pump 51 that sends treated water from the filtration unit 20 to the water tank unit 10 via a fourth conduit 34, an on-off valve 52 provided on the fourth conduit 34, a pump 53 that sends wastewater from the water tank unit 10 to the filtration unit 20 via a third conduit 33, and an on-off valve 54 provided on the third conduit 33.

[0068] The pump 51 may be located, for example, in the fourth conduit 34, closer to the water tank unit 10 than the connection point with the second conduit 32. In this case, it is preferable that the pump 51 has adjustable flow rate. By adjusting the flow rate of the pump 51, for example, the flow rate of treated water flowing into the water tank 11 can be adjusted.

[0069] The on-off valve 52 may, for example, be located in the fourth conduit 34 on a side closer to the filtration unit 20 than the connection point with the second conduit 32. With this configuration, the on-off valve 52 opens and closes the flow path of treated water flowing out of the filtration unit 20. The on-off valve 52 may, for example, be capable of adjusting the flow rate, or it may not be.

[0070] The pump 53 may be located, for example, in the third conduit 33, closer to the filtration unit 20 than the connection point with the first conduit 31. In this case, it is preferable that the pump 53 has adjustable flow rate. By adjusting the flow rate of the pump 53, for example, the flow rate of wastewater flowing into the filtration equipment 21 can be adjusted.

[0071] The on-off valve 54 may, for example, be located in the third conduit 33 on the side closer to the water tank unit 10 than the connection point with the first conduit 31. With this configuration, the on-off valve 54 opens and closes the flow path for wastewater flowing out of the water tank unit 10. The on-off valve 54 may, for example, be capable of adjusting the flow rate, or it may not be.

[0072] For example, if the aquarium unit 10 is positioned higher than the filtration unit 20, and the wastewater from the aquarium unit 10 flows naturally into the filtration unit 20, the connection unit 30 does not need to have a pump 53. Also, as another example, if the filtration unit 20 is positioned higher than the aquarium unit 10, and the treated water from the filtration unit 20 flows naturally into the aquarium unit 10, the connection unit 30 does not need to have a pump 51.

[0073] Thus, a pump for supplying wastewater or treated water may be provided in at least one of the tank unit 10, the filtration unit 20, and the connection unit 30. That is, at least one of the tank unit 10, the filtration unit 20, and the connection unit 30 may have a pump that supplies water between the tank unit 10 and the filtration unit 20 via the connection unit 30.

[0074] Furthermore, in the aquaculture system 1 according to this embodiment, drainage and treated water may be routed around some of the connection units 30 by connecting detachable bypass conduits to any two or more connection units 30. In this case, for example, as shown in Figure 6, the first conduit 31 of the connection unit 30 may be provided with a connection part 55 for detachably connecting a fifth conduit 61, and the second conduit 32 may be provided with a connection part 56 for detachably connecting a sixth conduit 62. The connection parts 55 and 56 may have, for example, flanges or other connection mechanisms.

[0075] The detachable connection between the connecting parts 55, 56 and the fifth and sixth conduits 61, 62 may be made, for example, by connecting flanges provided at the ends of the connecting parts 55, 56 and the fifth and sixth conduits 61, 62, or by using a connection mechanism other than flanges. Furthermore, if the fifth and sixth conduits 61, 62 are not connected to the connecting parts 55, 56, a plug member may be attached to the connecting parts 55, 56 to prevent water leakage from them. Alternatively, instead of a plug member, a shut-off valve may be used to prevent water leakage from the connecting parts 55, 56.

[0076] The fifth conduit 61 may be a conduit for draining wastewater between any two or more connection units 30. The sixth conduit 62 may be a conduit for draining treated water between any two or more connection units 30. The fifth and sixth conduits 61 and 62 may be made of a soft material such as rubber, vinyl, or malleable plastic. For example, the fifth and sixth conduits 61 and 62 may be hoses.

[0077] The connecting portion 55 may be provided at the connection point between the first conduit 31 and the third conduit 33, as shown in Figure 6, or it may be provided at another location on the first conduit 31.

[0078] The connecting portion 56 may be provided at the connection point between the second conduit 32 and the fourth conduit 34, as shown in Figure 6, or it may be provided at another location on the second conduit 32.

[0079] Figure 7 shows the situation where the aquarium unit 10c and the filtration unit 20c are separated using the fifth and sixth conduits 61 and 62, and the aquarium unit 10d is connected to the aquarium unit 10b and the filtration unit 20b. In Figure 7, the connection parts 55 and 56 are omitted, but it is assumed that the fifth and sixth conduits 61 and 62 are connected to the first and second conduits 31 and 32, respectively, via the connection parts 55 and 56.

[0080] In Figure 7, the black-filled valves 35b, 35c, 36c, and 36d indicate that the valves are closed, while the other white-outlined valves 35a, 36a, etc., indicate that the valves are open. As shown in Figure 7, the aquarium unit 10c and the filtration unit 20c can be separated by closing the valves 35b, 35c, 36c, and 36d on both sides of the connection point between the third and fourth conduits 33c and 34c, which are connected to the aquarium unit 10c and the filtration unit 20c, and the first and second conduits 31c and 32c. In this case, the water in the aquarium unit 10c and the filtration unit 20c will not flow to the other aquarium unit 10 or filtration unit 20, but will only circulate between them. Furthermore, by connecting the first and second conduits 31b and 32b of connection unit 30b and the first and second conduits 31d and 32d of connection unit 30d using the fifth and sixth conduits 61 and 62, respectively, the aquarium unit 10d can be connected to the aquarium unit 10b and filtration unit 20b, allowing wastewater from the aquarium unit 10d to be treated by the filtration unit 20b, etc. For example, if a disease occurs in the aquarium unit 10c, as shown in Figure 7, the fifth and sixth conduits 61 and 62 can be connected as a bypass to circumvent the aquarium unit 10c, thereby preventing the disease from spreading beyond the aquarium unit 10c.

[0081] Furthermore, the tank unit 10 according to this embodiment may further include, for example, a sub-tank 16 into which treated water from the filtration unit 20 flows, and a temperature control mechanism 17 for adjusting the temperature of the treated water in the sub-tank 16. Figures 8 and 9 are schematic plan and front views, respectively, of an example of a tank unit 10 having a sub-tank 16 and a temperature control mechanism 17. As shown in Figures 8 and 9, treated water may be supplied to the sub-tank 16 by a pump 14. The treated water, adjusted to a desired temperature in the sub-tank 16, may then flow into the tank 11. The supply of treated water from the sub-tank 16 to the tank 11 may be carried out, for example, solely by conduits, or by using a pump. In the former case, for example, in order to make the liquid level of the sub-tank 16 the same as the liquid level of the tank 11, a position below the liquid level of the sub-tank 16 and a position below the liquid level of the tank 11 may be connected by a conduit, or water may be supplied from the sub-tank 16 to the tank 11 by an overflow pipe that takes in water above a predetermined level and flows it to the tank 11 so that the water level in the sub-tank 16 remains constant. Furthermore, temperature control in the sub-tank 16 may be performed continuously or in a batch manner. In this way, by using the sub-tank 16 and the temperature control mechanism 17, for example, treated water from the filtration unit 20 can be adjusted in the sub-tank 16 to a temperature suitable for the aquatic products being cultivated in the tank 11 before being supplied to the tank 11.

[0082] When the temperature control mechanism 17 raises the water temperature of the sub-tank 16, the temperature control mechanism 17 may be, for example, a heater or a heat pump. When the temperature control mechanism 17 lowers the water temperature of the sub-tank 16, the temperature control mechanism 17 may be, for example, a heat pump.

[0083] Furthermore, the temperature of the treated water in the sub-tank 16 does not need to be adjusted. In this case, the tank unit 10 does not need to have a temperature adjustment mechanism 17. If the tank unit 10 does not have a temperature adjustment mechanism 17, other water quality adjustments besides temperature adjustment may be performed in the sub-tank 16. For example, if seawater is placed in tank 11, the salinity of the treated water in the sub-tank 16 may be adjusted to be the same as the salinity of the seawater in tank 11 before the adjusted treated water is sent to tank 11. Another example is that a predetermined additive may be added to the treated water in the sub-tank 16, and the treated water after the additive is sent to tank 11. The additive added to the treated water may be, for example, a nutrient for aquatic products farmed in tank 11, a drug to prevent or treat diseases in aquatic products, a water quality adjuster, or other additives. Also, the sub-tank 16 may be used to adjust, for example, the water level in tank 11 to a desired level. In this case, a water level sensor is used to measure the water level in tank 11, and water may be supplied from sub-tank 16 to tank 11 via a pump or flow control valve so that the water level reaches a desired value.

[0084] In this embodiment, the case in which the aquarium unit 10 has one aquarium 11 or two aquariums, i.e., an aquarium 11 and a sub-aquarium 16, has been mainly described, but it goes without saying that the aquarium unit 10 may have three or more aquariums.

[0085] Furthermore, although this description has focused on the case where the tank unit 10 has a sub-tank 16, the filtration unit 20 may also have a sub-tank into which wastewater from the tank unit 10 flows. In the sub-tank, temperature adjustment and other adjustments may be performed on the wastewater before it is sent from the sub-tank to the filtration equipment 21. If temperature adjustment is performed on the wastewater, the filtration unit 20 may further have a temperature adjustment mechanism to adjust the temperature of the wastewater in the sub-tank.

[0086] Furthermore, the water tank 11 in this embodiment may, as an example, be composed of a plurality of divided parts 71 to 75. Figure 10 shows an example of a water tank 11 composed of a plurality of divided parts 71 to 75. The water tank 11 shown in Figure 10 may be constructed by assembling a plurality of plate-shaped divided parts 71 to 75. The divided parts 71 to 75 may be assembled into the water tank 11 by fixing them to each other using fastening means such as bolts and nuts.

[0087] Furthermore, the aquarium 11 may be made of resin, for example. By constructing the aquarium 11 from resin, the weight of the aquarium unit 10 can be reduced, making it easier to move the aquarium unit 10.

[0088] Furthermore, the tank 11 may be constructed of insulating material. For example, each surface constituting the tank 11 may be made of resin panel members with a honeycomb structure that has insulating properties. Such a configuration can improve the insulating properties of the tank 11, and even in cases where the water in the tank 11 must be heated for purposes such as aquaculture, the heating efficiency can be improved. In addition, for example, by making the panel members honeycomb structured, the rigidity of the tank 11 can be increased, making it possible to realize a tank 11 that can withstand higher water pressure.

[0089] Furthermore, in this embodiment, when supplying water between the water tank unit 10 and the filtration unit 20, if the amount of water flowing into the first and second conduits 31 and 32 of the connecting unit 30 is too large, it may not be possible to achieve the desired water supply. For this reason, for example, the cross-sectional area of ​​the first and second conduits 31 and 32 in the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction may be made larger than the cross-sectional area of ​​the other conduits in the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. As an example, if each conduit is a pipe with a circular cross-section, the inner diameters of the first and second conduits 31 and 32 may be made larger than the inner diameters of conduits 12, 13, 22, 23, and the third and fourth conduits 33 and 34. By doing so, the first and second conduits 31 and 32 can be used, for example, as a buffer water tank. The buffer water tank may be a tank for adjusting the water volume by temporarily storing water. Furthermore, a channel may be provided to allow water to flow from the second conduit 32 to the first conduit 31 when the water level in the second conduit 32 reaches its upper limit. For example, this channel may be an overflow pipe within the second conduit 32 that takes in water above the upper limit and flows it to the first conduit 31. By providing such a channel, even if the pump 14 malfunctions, treated water will flow from the second conduit 32 to the first conduit 31, preventing the second conduit 32 from becoming full. In addition, the water tank unit 10 and the filtration unit 20 may have, for example, a sub-tank that can temporarily store the outflowing water. In this case, this sub-tank may function as a buffer tank.

[0090] Furthermore, in this embodiment, if the pumps 14 and 24 are operated even though there is no water in the first and second conduits 31 and 32, the pumps 14 and 24 may malfunction. For this reason, the water level in the first and second conduits 31 and 32 may be obtained using water level sensors, and if the obtained water level is lower than a threshold, the pumps 14 and 24 may be stopped. This control may be performed, for example, by a control unit (not shown). As an example, a water level sensor may be placed for each pump 14 and 24. Alternatively, as another example, the water level sensors may be placed at any connection point or end of the multiple first conduits 31, and each pump 24 may be controlled according to the water level obtained by the water level sensor. Alternatively, as yet another example, the water level sensors may be placed at any connection point or end of the multiple second conduits 32, and each pump 14 may be controlled according to the water level obtained by the water level sensor.

[0091] Furthermore, if the water levels in the first and second conduits 31 and 32 are acquired using water level sensors, the pumps 14 and 24 may be controlled, for example, so that the water levels in the first and second conduits 31 and 32 are higher than a lower threshold and lower than an upper threshold. The lower threshold for the water level may be, for example, about 20% of the maximum water level, and the upper threshold for the water level may be, for example, about 80% of the maximum water level. Such water level control may be performed, for example, by feedback control or by the results of machine learning. In the latter case, for example, machine learning may be performed using the total flow rates of one or more pumps 14 and the total flow rates of one or more pumps 24 as inputs for each set of the number of tank units 10 and the number of filtration units 20 included in the aquaculture system 1, and the corresponding change in the water levels in the first and second conduits 31 and 32 as output. Furthermore, using the learning model obtained through machine learning, pumps 14 and 24 may be controlled so that the water levels in the first and second conduits 31 and 32 are higher than a lower threshold and lower than an upper threshold. In this control, the current total flow rate of one or more pumps 14 and the total flow rate of one or more pumps 24 are input to the learning model to obtain the change in water levels in the first and second conduits 31 and 32. If it is predicted that the water level will rise above the upper threshold or fall below the lower threshold in response to the change in water level, the learning model may be used to identify the total flow rate of one or more pumps 14 and the total flow rate of one or more pumps 24 to prevent such situations from occurring, and one or more pumps 14 and one or more pumps 24 may be operated according to the identification result. Note that the change in water level may be, for example, the change in water level per unit time.

[0092] Furthermore, in this embodiment, one or more pumps and one or more on-off valves in the aquaculture system 1 may be operated manually, for example, or via a control unit. In the latter case, the control unit may control the pumps and on-off valves via, for example, a wired or wireless communication line. The on-off valves may also be electrically driven valves, such as solenoid valves.

[0093] Furthermore, although this embodiment describes a case where each unit has an on-off valve, this is not required. For example, if there is no need to stop the wastewater discharged from the tank unit 10 or to adjust the flow rate of the wastewater, the tank unit 10 does not need to have an on-off valve 15, and the connection unit 30 shown in Figure 5 does not need to have an on-off valve 54. Also, for example, if there is no need to stop the treated water flowing out of the filtration unit 20 or to adjust the flow rate of the treated water, the filtration unit 20 does not need to have an on-off valve 25, and the connection unit 30 shown in Figure 5 does not need to have an on-off valve 52. In addition, for example, if there is no need to separate some of the tank units 10 etc. in the aquaculture system 1, the connection unit 30 does not need to have on-off valves 35, 36.

[0094] Furthermore, although this embodiment describes a case where the connection unit 30 has first and second conduits 31 and 32, that is, one set of conduits for drainage and conduits for treated water, this is not required. The connection unit 30 may have two or more sets of conduits for drainage and conduits for treated water. In this case, for example, two or more drainage conduits in the connection unit 30 do not need to be connected, and two or more conduits for treated water in the connection unit 30 do not need to be connected. In this case, for example, higher temperature drainage or treated water may flow through one set of conduits, and lower temperature drainage or treated water may flow through the other set of conduits. In this way, water can be supplied without mixing water of different temperatures. Another example is that seawater may flow through one set of conduits, and freshwater may flow through the other set of conduits. In this way, seawater and freshwater can be supplied without mixing water.

[0095] Furthermore, the aquaculture system 1 according to this embodiment may further include water storage tanks 85 and 86 that are detachably connected to the ends of the first conduit 31 and the second conduit 32, which are connected in series, respectively, as shown in Figures 11 and 12. Figure 11 is a schematic plan view showing an example of the configuration of the aquaculture system 1 equipped with water storage tanks 85 and 86, and Figure 12 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing an example of the connection between the first conduit 31 and the water storage tank 85. The connection between the second conduit 32 and the water storage tank 86 may be the same as in Figure 12. In this way, when water storage tanks 85 and 86 are connected to the ends of the first and second conduits 31 and 32, which are connected in series, water can be stored in the water storage tanks 85 and 86, thus reducing the possibility of the water in the first and second conduits 31 and 32 running dry. Therefore, the possibility of the pumps 14 and 24 running dry and failing can be reduced. Furthermore, it is preferable that the first conduit 31 and the water storage tank 85 are connected so that the water levels inside both are the same, as shown in Figure 12, or that water that cannot be held by the first conduit 31, i.e., water that overflows from the first conduit 31, is stored in the water storage tank 85. In the latter case, for example, the water storage tank 85 may be located above the first conduit 31. The same applies to the second conduit 32 and the water storage tank 86.

[0096] Furthermore, in the aquaculture system 1 according to this embodiment, as shown in Figure 13, the connection unit 30 may further include a seventh conduit 37 connected to the first conduit 31, and an eighth conduit 38 connected to the second conduit 32. Also, the seventh and eighth conduits 37a to 37d and 38a to 38d in two or more connection units 30a to 30d may be detachably connected in series. Figure 13 is a schematic plan view showing an example of the configuration of the aquaculture system 1 equipped with a connection unit 30 further having seventh and eighth conduits 37 and 38. Note that in Figure 13, for the sake of explanation, the tank unit 10 and the filtration unit 20 are omitted, but the connection units 30a to 30d shown in Figure 13 may also be connected to tank units 10a to 10d and filtration units 20a and 20b, similar to Figure 1. The seventh and eighth conduits 37 and 38 may be the same as the first and second conduits 31 and 32. In this case, the drainage from the water tank unit 10 and the treated water from the filtration unit 20 can be transported between multiple connection units 30 connected in series using the seventh and eighth conduits 37 and 38 as well. Furthermore, the seventh and eighth conduits 37 and 38 can be used like water storage tanks, reducing the possibility of running out of water in the first and second conduits 31 and 32.

[0097] The connection unit 30 may have, for example, one seventh conduit 37, or two or more seventh conduits 37. Alternatively, the connection unit 30 may have, for example, one eighth conduit 38, or two or more eighth conduits 38. If the connection unit 30 has two or more seventh conduits 37 or eighth conduits 38, for example, two or more seventh conduits 37 may be connected directly or via other conduits, and two or more eighth conduits 38 may be connected directly or via other conduits.

[0098] In the connection unit 30, for example, the first conduit 31 and the seventh conduit 37 may be provided in parallel. Also, in the connection unit 30, for example, the second conduit 32 and the eighth conduit 38 may be provided in parallel. Furthermore, the cross-sectional area of ​​the seventh and eighth conduits 37 and 38 in the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction may be larger than, for example, the cross-sectional area of ​​the third and fourth conduits 33 and 34 in the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction.

[0099] Furthermore, the connection between the first conduit 31 and the seventh conduit 37 may be made via a connecting pipe 39, as shown in Figure 13, or via a conduit other than the connecting pipe 39, such as the third conduit 33, or they may be directly connected. Also, in the connection unit 30, the first conduit 31 and the seventh conduit 37 may be connected at one point, or at two or more points. Also, the first conduit 31 and the seventh conduit 37 may be connected detachably, or not. In the former case, the detachable connection may be made using a flange or other connection mechanism, for example. The same applies to the connection between the second conduit 32 and the eighth conduit 38. Also, the seventh and eighth conduits 37 and 38 may each be provided with on-off valves, similar to the first and second conduits 31 and 32.

[0100] Furthermore, the first conduit 31 and the seventh conduit 37 may be connected so that the water levels inside both are the same, or they may be arranged so that water that cannot be held in the first conduit 31, i.e., water that overflows from the first conduit 31, is collected in the seventh conduit 37. In the latter case, for example, the seventh conduit 37 may be located above the first conduit 31. The same applies to the second conduit 32 and the eighth conduit 38.

[0101] Figure 14 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the connection between the first conduit 31 and the seventh conduit 37, and the connection between the second conduit 32 and the eighth conduit 38, while Figure 15 is a schematic diagram showing another example of these connection configurations. Both Figures 14 and 15 are longitudinal views of the first and second conduits 31 and 32, and the seventh and eighth conduits 37 and 38. In Figure 14, the first and second conduits 31 and 32 and the seventh and eighth conduits 37 and 38 are connected via connecting pipes 39, and the seventh and eighth conduits 37 and 38 are located above the first and second conduits 31 and 32. Furthermore, Figure 15 shows the case where the first and second conduits 31 and 32 and the seventh and eighth conduits 37 and 38 are connected via the third and fourth conduits 33 and 34, respectively, and the water levels inside the first conduit 31 and the seventh conduit 37 are equal, and the water levels inside the second conduit 32 and the eighth conduit 38 are equal.

[0102] Furthermore, although this embodiment describes the case where the aquarium unit 10 is connected via the connection unit 30, this is not required. Two aquarium units 10 may be connected directly. Similarly, two filtration units 20 may also be connected directly. For example, by directly connecting two or more aquarium units 10, the capacity of the aquarium 11 can be substantially increased. Also, by directly connecting two or more filtration units 20, the processing capacity of the filtration equipment 21 can be substantially increased.

[0103] Furthermore, this embodiment mainly describes a case where the first and second conduits 31 and 32 become longer when multiple connection units 30 are connected to each other, that is, when the aquaculture system 1 as a whole has one first conduit 31 and one second conduit 32, but this is not required. For example, the connection units 30 may be connectable not only horizontally but also vertically. In this case, the first and second conduits 31 and 32 may be connected to the upper connection unit 30 and the lower connection unit 30, respectively. With such a configuration, the aquaculture system 1 can be expanded vertically as well. As another example, the first and second conduits 31 and 32 of the connection units 30 may be connected in a star shape or a tree shape.

[0104] Furthermore, the connection unit 30 described in this embodiment is merely an example. The connection unit 30 can be detachably connected to the aquarium unit 10 and the filtration unit 20, and any configuration is acceptable as long as two or more connection units 30 can be detachably connected.

[0105] (Embodiment 2) A control device and control method according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The control device according to this embodiment allocates the processing capacity of the filtration equipment provided in the aquaculture system to two or more tank units.

[0106] Figure 16 is a schematic plan view showing the configuration of the aquaculture control system 200 according to this embodiment. The aquaculture control system 200 according to this embodiment comprises an aquaculture system 1 and a control device 100 that controls the aquaculture system 1. The aquaculture system 1 may, for example, comprise two or more tank units 10, one or more filtration units 20, and two or more connection units 30 connected to them. The two or more connection units 30 may also be connected to each other. In this embodiment, the case in which the aquaculture system 1 comprises two or more filtration units 20 will be mainly described. In this way, by connecting two or more tank units 10 and one or more filtration units 20 via two or more connection units 30, treated water from a filtration unit 20 may be sent to any tank unit 10. Also, when the aquaculture system 1 comprises two or more filtration units 20, wastewater from any tank unit 10 may be sent to any filtration unit 20. The aquaculture system 1 may be, for example, the same as the one described in Embodiment 1, and its detailed description will be omitted.

[0107] The control device 100 controls the aquaculture system 1 and comprises an acquisition unit 101, a storage unit 102, an allocation unit 103, and a control unit 104. In this embodiment, as shown in Figure 16, the case in which the control device 100 controls the aquaculture system 1 comprising three tank units 10, three filtration units 20, and three connection units 30 for connecting them will be mainly described. However, the number of tank units 10 and connection units 30 in the aquaculture system 1 may be two, or three or more, independently. Also, the number of filtration units 20 in the aquaculture system 1 may be one or more.

[0108] The acquisition unit 101 acquires in-tank information, which is information about the inside of the tanks 11 of two or more tank units 10. The acquisition unit 101 may acquire in-tank information using sensors 81a to 81c, for example, which are arranged for each tank 11a to 11c. In this case, the acquisition unit 101 may, for example, have a sensor 81. The acquisition unit 101 may acquire sensor information using one or more sensors 81 for each tank 11, and then acquire in-tank information using that sensor information. Alternatively, the acquisition unit 101 may receive sensor information, for example, as will be described later, and then acquire in-tank information using the received sensor information. Although Figure 16 shows the case where one sensor 81 is arranged in each tank 11, two or more sensors 81 may be arranged in each tank 11.

[0109] The in-tank information is not particularly limited as long as it is information within the tank 11, but may include, for example, at least one selected from the group consisting of water quality, water temperature, oxygen concentration, carbon dioxide concentration, turbidity, information on the movement of aquatic life, information on the color of aquatic life, information on abnormalities on the surface of aquatic life, quantity of aquatic life, density of aquatic life, and amount of leftover feed, and may also include other information related to the inside of the tank 11. Since the in-tank information is used when allocating the processing capacity of the filtration equipment 21 to two or more tank units 10, it is preferable that it includes information that can be used to determine whether or not treatment by the filtration equipment 21 is necessary for the water in the tank 11. As an example, the in-tank information may be information that changes over time and is related to the degree of contamination inside the tank 11.

[0110] Water quality may be, for example, the concentration of nitrogen-hydrogen compounds in the water tank 11. Nitrogen-hydrogen compounds may be, for example, at least one of ammonia, ammonium compounds, nitrite compounds, and nitrate compounds. As an example, ammonia concentration, nitrite concentration, and nitrate concentration may be obtained by sensors 81, respectively. In this case, the sensor information obtained by sensors 81 may be the concentrations of nitrogen-hydrogen compounds such as ammonia concentration, nitrite concentration, and nitrate concentration themselves.

[0111] The water temperature may be obtained, for example, by a sensor 81 that measures the temperature of the water in the tank 11. In this case, the sensor information obtained by the sensor 81 may be the temperature itself.

[0112] The oxygen concentration and carbon dioxide concentration may be obtained, for example, by sensors 81 that measure the oxygen concentration and carbon dioxide concentration of the water in the tank 11. In this case, the sensor information obtained by the sensor 81 may be the oxygen concentration and carbon dioxide concentration of the water in the tank 11 itself.

[0113] Turbidity may be obtained, for example, by a sensor 81 that measures the turbidity of the water in the tank 11. In this case, the sensor information obtained by the sensor 81 may be the turbidity itself.

[0114] Information regarding the movement of aquatic organisms may, for example, be the distance traveled per unit time by the aquatic organisms, i.e., the speed of the aquatic organisms. For example, information regarding the movement of aquatic organisms may be obtained when the aquatic organisms are organisms that move in water, such as fish. If there are multiple aquatic organisms in the tank 11, the information regarding the movement of the aquatic organisms may be, for example, a representative value for multiple aquatic organisms, or information regarding the movement of each individual aquatic organism. In the latter case, for example, the information regarding the movement of the aquatic organisms may be a set of speeds for each aquatic organism. The representative value may be, for example, the mean or median. The acquisition unit 101 may acquire information regarding the movement of aquatic organisms using, for example, captured images acquired by a sensor 81 such as an image sensor. In this case, for example, the sensor information may be captured images, and information regarding the movement of aquatic organisms may be obtained from that sensor information. The captured images may be, for example, moving images. For example, the acquisition unit 101 may identify one or more aquatic organisms in the moving images and acquire information regarding the movement of the aquatic organisms by tracking the identified one or more aquatic organisms.

[0115] Information regarding the color of marine products may, for example, be information indicating the color of the marine products. If there are multiple marine products in the tank 11 and the information regarding the color of the marine products is information indicating the color of the marine products, then the information regarding the color of the marine products may, for example, be information indicating the color of each of the multiple marine products. The acquisition unit 101 may acquire information regarding the color of marine products using, for example, a captured image acquired by a sensor 81 such as an image sensor. In this case, for example, the sensor information may be a captured image, and information regarding the color of marine products may be acquired from that sensor information. The captured image may be, for example, a moving image or a still image. As an example, the acquisition unit 101 may acquire information regarding the color of marine products by identifying one or more marine products in any frame of a still image or a moving image, and then identifying the color of the identified one or more marine products. Identification of the color of marine products may be, for example, by identifying a representative value of the color in the region of the marine product in the captured image. The representative value may be, for example, an average value.

[0116] Information regarding abnormalities on the surface of aquatic products may, for example, be information regarding abnormalities that appear on the surface of aquatic products when the degree of contamination in the tank 11 is high. If the aquatic products are fish, for example, the surface of the aquatic products may be the body surface of the aquatic products. If there are multiple aquatic products in the tank 11, information regarding abnormalities on the surface of the aquatic products may, for example, be information indicating whether the multiple aquatic products include a product with abnormalities on its surface, or it may be information indicating whether abnormalities have appeared on the surface of each of the multiple aquatic products. The acquisition unit 101 may, for example, acquire information regarding abnormalities on the surface of aquatic products using captured images acquired by a sensor 81 such as an image sensor. In this case, for example, the sensor information may be a captured image, and information regarding abnormalities on the surface of the aquatic products may be acquired from that sensor information. The captured image may, for example, be a moving image. As an example, the acquisition unit 101 may identify one or more aquatic products in the moving image, determine for each identified aquatic product whether there are any unusual patterns or shapes on its surface, and acquire information regarding abnormalities on the surface of the aquatic products according to the result of that determination. For example, if fish or other marine products become ill due to water pollution or are infested with parasites, unusual patterns or shapes may appear on their body surface. Therefore, information regarding abnormalities on the surface of marine products can be obtained based on these unusual patterns or shapes. Note that these unusual shapes may also include, for example, wounds on the body surface of fish or other marine products.

[0117] The quantity of marine products may be, for example, the number of marine products in the tank 11. The acquisition unit 101 may acquire the number of marine products using, for example, a captured image acquired by a sensor 81 such as an image sensor. In this case, for example, the sensor information may be a captured image, and the number of marine products may be acquired from that sensor information. The captured image may be, for example, a moving image or a still image. As an example, the acquisition unit 101 may identify one or more marine products in any frame of a still image or a moving image, and acquire the number of marine products by counting the number of the identified one or more marine products.

[0118] The density of marine life may be, for example, the number of marine life per unit area or unit volume in the tank 11. The acquisition unit 101 may acquire the density of marine life using, for example, a captured image acquired by a sensor 81 such as an image sensor. In this case, for example, the sensor information may be a captured image, and the density of marine life may be acquired from that sensor information. The captured image may be, for example, a moving image or a still image. As an example, the acquisition unit 101 may identify one or more marine life in any frame of a still image or a moving image, count the number of the identified one or more marine life, and acquire the density of marine life by dividing the count result by the area or volume of the tank 11.

[0119] The amount of leftover food may be, for example, information indicating the degree of leftover food in the tank 11 after a predetermined time has elapsed since feeding, or it may be information indicating the degree of leftover food per unit area or unit volume in the tank 11. The acquisition unit 101 may acquire the amount of leftover food using, for example, a captured image acquired by a sensor 81 such as an image sensor. In this case, for example, the sensor information may be a captured image, and the amount of leftover food may be acquired from that sensor information. The captured image may be, for example, a moving image or a still image. As an example, the acquisition unit 101 may acquire the area of ​​the food region in any frame of a still image or a moving image, and acquire information indicating the degree of leftover food, which is a value corresponding to that area, and by dividing that area by the area or volume of the tank 11, it may acquire information indicating the degree of leftover food per unit area or unit volume. The food that is the subject of acquisition of the amount of leftover food may be, for example, something that floats on the water surface.

[0120] For example, the photography performed to acquire information inside the aquarium may be carried out using a camera positioned so that its optical axis is vertical or close to vertical. In this case, the captured image may be, for example, an image taken from above and looking downwards by a camera positioned above the water surface. Another example is that the captured image may be an image taken by a camera positioned underwater.

[0121] The acquisition unit 101 preferably acquires in-tank information for each of the multiple tank units 10 provided in the aquaculture system 1. The acquisition unit 101 may, for example, store the acquired in-tank information in the storage unit 102.

[0122] The memory unit 102 may store, for example, information about the inside of the tank acquired by the acquisition unit 101. The memory unit 102 may also store other information, such as formulas for calculating information indicating the degree of water pollution in the tank 11, or the maximum processing capacity of each filtration unit 20 included in the aquaculture system 1.

[0123] The process by which information is stored in the storage unit 102 is not limited. For example, information may be stored in the storage unit 102 via a recording medium, information transmitted via a communication line or the like may be stored in the storage unit 102, information input via an input device may be stored in the storage unit 102, or information may be accumulated in the storage unit 102 by other components such as the acquisition unit 101. The storage unit 102 is preferably implemented by a non-volatile recording medium, but may also be implemented by a volatile recording medium. The recording medium may be, for example, a semiconductor memory or a magnetic disk.

[0124] The allocation unit 103 uses the in-tank information for each of the two or more tank units 10 acquired by the acquisition unit 101 to allocate the processing capacity of the filtration equipment 21 of one or more filtration units 20 to the two or more tank units 10. If the aquaculture system 1 is equipped with two or more filtration units 20, the allocation unit 103 may, for example, use the in-tank information for each of the two or more tank units 10 to allocate the processing capacity of the filtration equipment 21 of the two or more filtration units 20 to the two or more tank units 10. This embodiment will mainly describe this case. The allocation unit 103 may, for example, allocate more processing capacity of the filtration equipment 21 to tank units 10 that are indicated by the in-tank information acquired by the acquisition unit 101 to be highly polluted water in the tank 11, and allocate less processing capacity of the filtration equipment 21 to tank units 10 that are indicated by being less polluted water in the tank 11.

[0125] The processing capacity of the filtration equipment 21 may be, for example, the amount of water that the filtration equipment 21 processes per unit time. The amount of water may be, for example, the volume of water. That is, the amount of water processed per unit time may also be the processing flow rate, which is the flow rate of wastewater that the filtration equipment 21 can process. The processing flow rate is the amount of water processed per unit time. As an example, if the three filtration equipment 21a to 21c shown in Figure 16 can process a maximum of 300 liters of wastewater per minute, the allocation unit 103 may allocate that 300 liters / minute processing flow rate to the three tank units 10a to 10c based on the information in the tanks. The allocation unit 103 may also allocate a larger processing flow rate to the tank 11, where the degree of water contamination is greater. For example, if the tank information indicates that the degree of contamination of the water in tanks 11a to 11c is high, normal, and low, respectively, the allocation unit 103 may allocate treatment flow rates of 150 liters per minute, 100 liters per minute, and 50 liters per minute to tank units 10a to 10c, respectively. In this way, the allocation by the allocation unit 103 may be an allocation of the treatment flow rate of the filtration equipment 21 to each tank unit 10. When a predetermined treatment flow rate is allocated to a tank unit 10, the treated water at that allocated predetermined treatment flow rate will flow into that tank unit 10.

[0126] The allocation unit 103 may, for example, allocate the sum of the maximum processing capacities of each filtration unit 20 included in the aquaculture system 1 to each tank unit 10 included in the aquaculture system 1, or it may allocate a processing flow rate less than the sum of the maximum processing capacities to each tank unit 10. In the latter case, for example, when the filtration equipment 21a to 21c can process a maximum of 300 liters of wastewater per minute, the allocation unit 103 may allocate processing flow rates of 120 liters / minute, 80 liters / minute, and 40 liters / minute to the tank units 10a to 10c, respectively.

[0127] The allocation unit 103 may, for example, use the tank information acquired by the acquisition unit 101 to calculate contamination information for each tank unit 10, indicating the degree of contamination in the tank 11, and use this contamination information to allocate processing capacity. If the degree of contamination of the water in the tank 11 is known, the degree of cleanliness of the water in the tank 11 can be determined accordingly. Therefore, contamination information can be considered as information indicating the degree of cleanliness of the water in the tank 11. Furthermore, the degree of contamination indicated by the contamination information may be, for example, the current degree of contamination, or it may include a prediction of the future degree of contamination, such as contamination after feeding. For example, the contamination information may be such that a larger value indicates a greater degree of contamination, or a smaller value indicates a greater degree of contamination. In this embodiment, the former case will be mainly described.

[0128] The pollution information may be a larger value if, for example, the concentration of nitrogen and hydrogen compounds contained in the aquarium information is high. The concentration of nitrogen and hydrogen compounds may be, for example, at least one of ammonia concentration, nitrite concentration, or nitrate concentration.

[0129] The contamination information may be a larger value, for example, the greater the deviation of the water temperature included in the tank information from the reference water temperature. The reference water temperature may be, for example, the ideal water temperature for the water in tank 11, or it may be the water temperature of the treated water supplied from the filtration equipment 21. For example, if the tank unit 10 is placed in an environment with a temperature different from the reference water temperature, the deviation between the water temperature and the reference water temperature will increase accordingly as the amount of treated water flowing into tank 11 decreases. Therefore, if the deviation increases, the amount of treated water flowing into tank 11 will decrease, and as a result, it is expected that the degree of contamination in tank 11 will increase, so the relationship between water temperature and contamination information may be as described above. The deviation of the water temperature from the reference water temperature may be, for example, the absolute value of the difference between the water temperature acquired by the acquisition unit 101 and the reference water temperature.

[0130] The pollution information may be higher if, for example, the oxygen concentration in the aquarium information is low. Similarly, the degree of pollution may be higher if, for example, the carbon dioxide concentration in the aquarium information is high. This is because when the oxygen concentration is low or the carbon dioxide concentration is high, it can generally be assumed that there are more oxygen-consuming aquatic creatures such as fish in the aquarium 11, and accordingly, the water is likely to become polluted.

[0131] The pollution information may have a larger value if, for example, the turbidity included in the aquarium information is high. This is because, generally, the dirtier the water in aquarium 11, the higher the turbidity is considered to be.

[0132] The pollution information may be a larger value the greater the deviation from the standard value of the information regarding the movement of aquatic products included in the tank information. The standard value may be, for example, the value of the movement of aquatic products when they are in a healthy state. For example, if the information regarding the movement of aquatic products differs from the standard value, it is possible that there is some problem with the aquatic products, and that problem may be caused by water pollution, so the relationship between the pollution information and the information regarding the movement of aquatic products may be as described above. Furthermore, if the information regarding the movement of aquatic products is, for example, a representative value for multiple aquatic products, the deviation between the information regarding the movement of aquatic products and the standard value may be the absolute value of the difference between the representative value and the standard value. Also, if the information regarding the movement of aquatic products is, for example, information regarding the movement of each individual aquatic product, the deviation between the information regarding the movement of aquatic products and the standard value may be the largest absolute value among the differences between the values ​​for each individual aquatic product included in the information regarding the movement of aquatic products and the standard value.

[0133] The contamination information may be a larger value the greater the deviation from the reference color of the aquatic product information included in the aquarium information. The reference color may be, for example, the color of the aquatic product when it is healthy. For example, if the information regarding the color of the aquatic product differs from the reference color, it is possible that there is some problem with the aquatic product, and that problem may be caused by water contamination, so the relationship between the contamination information and the information regarding the color of the aquatic product may be as described above. If the information regarding the color of the aquatic product is, for example, information regarding the color of each individual aquatic product, the deviation between the information regarding the color of the aquatic product and the reference color may be the largest value among the differences between the color of each aquatic product included in the information regarding the color of the aquatic product and the reference color. The color difference may be obtained, for example, by the distance between two colors in a predetermined color space. The color space may be, for example, the RGB color space, the CMY color space, the HSV color space, etc.

[0134] The contamination information may be higher if, for example, information regarding abnormalities on the surface of the seafood indicates the presence of abnormalities on the surface of the seafood. For instance, if information regarding abnormalities on the surface of the seafood indicates that multiple seafood products contain seafood with surface abnormalities, the contamination information may be higher. Another example is if information regarding abnormalities on the surface of the seafood indicates whether abnormalities are present on the surface of multiple seafood products; in such cases, the contamination information may be higher the more seafood products have surface abnormalities.

[0135] The pollution information may be higher if, for example, the amount of marine life contained in the aquarium is large. This is because a larger amount of marine life may indicate a greater degree of water pollution.

[0136] The pollution information may be higher if, for example, the density of marine life included in the aquarium information is high. This is because a higher density of marine life may indicate a greater degree of water pollution.

[0137] The dirt information may be a larger value as, for example, the amount of uneaten food included in the aquarium information is larger. This is because when the amount of uneaten food is large, the water is likely to get dirty accordingly.

[0138] The allocation unit 103 may acquire dirt information for each aquarium unit 10 using the aquarium information obtained from the aquarium unit 10, for example, according to the relationship between each value included in the above-described aquarium information and the dirt information. For example, the dirt information p i,2 , , i , i,1 , , i ,

[0139] , i , i , i , i,N , i regarding the i-th aquarium unit 10 may be calculated as follows. Here, the N arguments x i,1 , x i,2 , …, x i,N of the following function F may be the N values included in the aquarium information obtained from the i-th aquarium unit 10. N is an integer of 1 or more. For example, the aquarium units 10a to 10c may be the 1st to 3rd aquarium units 10, respectively. Also, as an example, when x i,1 is the concentration of the nitrogen-hydrogen compound, the function F may be an increasing function of the argument x i,1 . p i = F(x i,1 , x i,2 , …, x i,N )

[0139] The allocation unit 103 may acquire the water replacement amount per unit time for each aquarium unit 10 using the dirt information p i acquired for each aquarium unit 10. The water replacement amount per unit time may be the amount of treated water flowing into the aquarium 11 per unit time. As an example, the allocation unit 103 may calculate the water replacement amount E i per unit time of the i-th aquarium unit 10 using the following formula. Here, the function G may be an increasing function of the argument p i which is the dirt information. That is, the function G may be a function that becomes a larger value as the degree of dirt indicated by the dirt information is larger. Note that the dirt information p i and the water replacement amount E iThis can be achieved, for example, by using a table or other means besides functions. E i =G(p i )

[0140] The allocation unit 103 may, for example, calculate the total amount of water exchanged per unit time obtained for each tank unit 10, and if that total does not exceed the sum of the maximum processing capacities of the filtration equipment 21 in the filtration unit 20 of the aquaculture system 1, it may allocate the calculated processing flow rate, which is the amount of water exchanged per unit time, to each tank unit 10. That is, the processing flow rate allocated to the i-th tank unit 10 is the amount of water exchanged per unit time E i That would be acceptable.

[0141] On the other hand, if the total amount of water exchanged per unit time obtained for each tank unit 10 exceeds the total maximum processing capacity of the filtration equipment 21 in the filtration unit 20 of the aquaculture system 1, the allocation unit 103 may allocate the total maximum processing capacity to each tank unit 10 in proportion to the ratio of the amount of water exchanged per unit time for each tank unit 10. In this case, the processing flow rate allocated to the i-th tank unit 10 is the modified amount of water exchanged per unit time E given by the following equation. m i This is also acceptable. Note that S in the following equation is the sum of the maximum processing capacities of the filtration equipment 21. Also, the amount of water replaced per unit time E in the denominator of the following equation is... i The sum may be taken for all aquarium units 10 included in the aquaculture system 1. E m i =S × E i / ( ΣE i )

[0142] If there are two or more filtration units 20, the allocation unit 103 may first allocate the processing capacity of the two or more filtration units 20 to the two or more aquarium units 10, and then allocate the processing flow rates to each of the two or more filtration units 20. In this case, it is preferable that the processing flow rates to the two or more filtration units 20 are allocated such that the sum of the processing flow rates allocated to the two or more aquarium units 10 is equal to the sum of the processing flow rates allocated to the two or more filtration units 20. If there is only one filtration unit 20, or if it is desired to operate only one filtration unit, the sum of the processing flow rates allocated to the two or more aquarium units 10 may be allocated to that single filtration unit 20.

[0143] If the total processing flow rate assigned to each tank unit 10 in the aquaculture system 1 is equal to the total maximum processing capacity of each filtration equipment 21 in each filtration unit 20 in the aquaculture system 1, then all filtration equipment 21 will operate at their maximum processing capacity. In this case, the allocation unit 103 may also allocate a processing flow rate corresponding to the maximum processing capacity to each filtration unit 20 in the aquaculture system 1.

[0144] On the other hand, if the total processing flow rate assigned to each tank unit 10 in the aquaculture system 1 is less than the total maximum processing capacity of the filtration equipment 21 for each filtration unit 20 in the aquaculture system 1, then at least some of the filtration units 20 do not need to operate at their maximum processing capacity. In this case, the allocation unit 103 may assign a processing flow rate to each filtration unit 20 in the aquaculture system 1 that is less than or equal to its maximum processing capacity. In this case, the allocation unit 103 may, for example, allocate the processing flow rates so that the processing flow rate of some of the filtration units 20 becomes 0. This allocation will be explained below.

[0145] (1) The allocation unit 103 may, for example, allocate the processing flow rate to each filtration unit 20 so that the processing flow rate for each filtration unit 20 is equal. In this case, the allocation unit 103 may allocate to each filtration unit 20 the processing flow rate obtained by dividing the total processing flow rate allocated to each aquarium unit 10 by the number of filtration units 20.

[0146] (2) The allocation unit 103 may, for example, allocate the treatment flow rate for each filtration unit 20 so that the flow of wastewater and treated water in the first and second conduits 31 and 32 of the connection unit 30 is reduced. For this reason, the allocation unit 103 may, for example, allocate the treatment flow rate of a certain aquarium unit 10 to the filtration unit 20 corresponding to that aquarium unit 10 for each pair of aquarium units 10 and filtration units 20 that correspond to each other. The filtration unit 20 corresponding to an aquarium unit 10 is the filtration unit 20 that is connected to the aquarium unit 10 via only one connection unit 30. For example, aquarium unit 10a and filtration unit 20a correspond to each other. Furthermore, if the processing flow rate of the aquarium unit 10 exceeds the maximum processing capacity of the filtration unit 20 corresponding to that aquarium unit 10, or if there is no filtration unit 20 corresponding to the aquarium unit 10 (for example, as in the case of aquarium unit 10c in the aquaculture system 1 shown in Figure 1 of Embodiment 1, where there is no corresponding filtration unit 20), then some or all of the processing flow rate of that aquarium unit 10 will not be allocated to the filtration unit 20. In this way, the allocation unit 103 may allocate the processing flow rate of a certain aquarium unit 10 that could not be allocated to the filtration unit 20 corresponding to that aquarium unit 10 in order, starting with the filtration unit 20 closest to that aquarium unit 10. The filtration unit 20 to be allocated is the filtration unit 20 whose previously allocated processing flow rate is less than the maximum processing capacity. A filtration unit 20 close to the aquarium unit 10 is the filtration unit 20 with fewer connection units 30 passing through from the aquarium unit 10 to the filtration unit 20.

[0147] (3) The allocation unit 103 may, for example, not allocate a processing flow rate to some of the filtration units 20 if the total processing flow rate allocated to the aquarium unit 10 can be covered even without operating some of the filtration units 20. In this case, for example, one or more filtration units 20 to which no processing flow rate has been allocated can be stopped, thus saving energy. The filtration units 20 to which no processing flow rate has been allocated may, for example, be predetermined, randomly determined, determined according to the total processing capacity of the filtration units 20, determined according to the lifespan of the filtration units 20, or one or more filtration units 20 identified in order of the smallest processing flow rate allocated to the corresponding aquarium unit 10. The total processing capacity of the filtration units 20 may, for example, be the amount (e.g., volume) of treated water that has flowed out of the filtration units 20 since the filtration units 20 were set up or since maintenance of the filtration units 20 was performed. The total processing capacity may, for example, be a theoretical value managed by the control device 100. For example, if wastewater is treated in a certain filtration unit 20 at a flow rate of 100 liters / minute for 10 days, the total treated volume may be 1,440,000 liters. In this way, when using the total treated volume during allocation, the allocation unit 103 may manage the total treated volume of each filtration unit 20. That is, the allocation unit 103 may record the total treated volume for each of the filtration units 20. The allocation unit 103 may, as an example, allocate the shutdown of the filtration unit 20 with the highest total treated volume. The lifespan of a filtration unit 20 may be, for example, the period until the filtration unit 20 is shut down for maintenance, or the treated volume up to that point. For example, if the point in time for shutting down the filtration unit 20 is determined, the lifespan, which is the period until that point, may be obtained using that point in time. Also, if the total treated volume at the time of shutdown of the filtration unit 20 is determined, the lifespan may be obtained by calculating the difference between that total treated volume and the current total treated volume. The allocation unit 103 may, as an example, allocate the shutdown of the filtration unit 20 for the period until its lifespan, or for the filtration unit 20 with the lowest treated volume.One or more filtration units 20 identified in order of the lowest processing flow rate assigned to the corresponding aquarium unit 10 may, for example, be the filtration unit 20 corresponding to the aquarium unit 10 with the lowest assigned processing flow rate if the number of filtration units 20 to be stopped is 1, or if the number of filtration units 20 to be stopped is 2, they may be the filtration units 20 corresponding to the aquarium unit 10 with the lowest assigned processing flow rate and the aquarium unit 10 with the second lowest, respectively. For filtration units 20 that do not have a corresponding aquarium unit 10, the processing flow rate assigned to the corresponding aquarium unit 10 may be set to 0. Also, for example, one or more predetermined filtration units 20 may always be kept running. For example, if a certain filtration process is performed only by some of the filtration units 20, the filtration units 20 that perform that filtration process may always be kept running and not subject to stopping. Furthermore, the allocation of processing flow rates to the filtration units 20 to be run may be done, for example, as in (1) or (2) above.

[0148] The control unit 104 controls two or more first adjustment mechanisms according to the allocation result by the allocation unit 103. The control unit 104 may also control two or more second adjustment mechanisms according to the allocation result by the allocation unit 103. As an example, the control unit 104 may control the system so that treated water flows into each tank unit 10 according to the processing flow rate of the allocation result by the allocation unit 103, and so that the flow rate of treated water for each tank unit 10 does not change over time. In this embodiment, the case in which such control is performed will be mainly described. As another example, the control unit 104 may control the system so that the flow rate of treated water for each tank unit 10 changes over time. Even in this case, it is preferable that the system is controlled so that, as a result, an amount of treated water according to the allocation result by the allocation unit 103 flows into each tank unit 10. This control may be, for example, time-division control according to the allocation result. When time-division control is performed and equal processing flow rates are allocated to each of the three tank units 10a to 10c, the control unit 104 may, for example, control the system so that treated water from all filtration units 20 flows into tank unit 10a for the first minute, so that treated water from all filtration units 20 flows into tank unit 10b for the next minute, so that treated water from all filtration units 20 flows into tank unit 10c for the next minute, and so on, repeating this control process. In addition, in time-division control, the system may switch between a single tank unit 10 that centrally supplies treated water from all filtration units 20 in a time-series manner, and for the tank units 10 to which the treated water is supplied, the system may change the amount of treated water flowing into each tank unit 10 in a time-series manner without making the amount of treated water flowing into zero. In any of these control methods, it is preferable that, as a result, an amount of treated water corresponding to the allocation result by the allocation unit 103 is supplied to each tank unit 10.

[0149] Here, the first adjustment mechanism adjusts, for example, the flow rate of treated water treated by the filtration unit 20 that flows into the water tank unit 10. The first adjustment mechanism may be, for example, a pump 14, or a flow control valve used instead of the pump 14 if the treated water flows naturally from the filtration unit 20 to the water tank unit 10, or a pump 51 if the connection unit 30 has a pump. Therefore, at least one of the water tank unit 10 and the connection unit 30 may have the first adjustment mechanism. In this embodiment, the case in which the first adjustment mechanism is a pump 14 will be mainly described.

[0150] Furthermore, the second adjustment mechanism adjusts, for example, the flow rate of wastewater flowing into the filtration unit 20. The second adjustment mechanism may be, for example, a pump 24, or a flow control valve used instead of the pump 24 if wastewater flows naturally from the tank unit 10 to the filtration unit 20, or a pump 53 if the connection unit 30 has a pump. Therefore, at least one of the filtration unit 20 and the connection unit 30 may have the second adjustment mechanism. In this embodiment, the case in which the second adjustment mechanism is a pump 24 will be mainly described.

[0151] For example, the control unit 104 may also control the second adjustment mechanism when it is necessary to change the processing flow rate for the filtration unit 20 according to the allocation result. Furthermore, if the control unit 104 also controls the second adjustment mechanism and it becomes necessary to control the filtration equipment 21 in accordance with the control of the second adjustment mechanism, the control unit 104 may also control the filtration equipment 21. The case in which it becomes necessary to control the filtration equipment 21 in accordance with the control of the second adjustment mechanism may be, for example, when the filtration equipment 21 has components that should be adjusted according to the flow rate of wastewater flowing into the filtration equipment 21, such as a pump or a flow control valve. The control unit 104 may, for example, control the first and second adjustment mechanisms, etc., via a wired or wireless path (not shown).

[0152] The control unit 104 may, for example, control a first adjustment mechanism such as the pump 14 of the tank unit 10 so that the flow rate of treated water flowing into the tank 11 of the tank unit 10 becomes the treatment flow rate assigned to that tank unit 10, for each tank unit 10 included in the aquaculture system 1. The control unit 104 may also, for example, control a second adjustment mechanism such as the pump 24 of the filtration unit 20 so that the flow rate of wastewater flowing into the filtration equipment 21 of the filtration unit 20 becomes the treatment flow rate assigned to that filtration unit 20, for each filtration unit 20 included in the aquaculture system 1.

[0153] If the total treatment flow rate allocated to each tank unit 10 is equal to the total maximum treatment capacity of each filtration unit 20 in the aquaculture system 1, then the flow rate of treated water flowing into tank 11 of the i-th tank unit 10 is equal to the modified water exchange rate E per unit time. m i The first adjustment mechanism may be controlled to such an extent. In this case, the flow rate of wastewater flowing into the filtration equipment 21 of each filtration unit 20 may be controlled to be a flow rate corresponding to the maximum processing capacity. Also, if the total processing flow rate allocated to each tank unit 10 is less than the total maximum processing capacity of each filtration unit 20 in the aquaculture system 1, the flow rate of treated water flowing into the tank 11 of the i-th tank unit 10 will be controlled to the amount of water exchanged per unit time E i The first adjustment mechanism may be controlled to achieve the following. In this case, the flow rate of wastewater flowing into the filtration equipment 21 of each filtration unit 20 may be controlled to be the processing flow rate assigned to that filtration unit 20.

[0154] Next, the operation of the control device 100 will be explained using the flowchart in Figure 17.

[0155] (Step S201) The acquisition unit 101 determines whether to acquire information inside the tank. If it decides to acquire information inside the tank, it proceeds to step S202; otherwise, it repeats the process in step S201 until it decides to acquire information inside the tank. The acquisition unit 101 may, for example, decide periodically whether to acquire information inside the tank. Periodically could be every 30 minutes, every hour, every two hours, etc.

[0156] (Step S202) The acquisition unit 101 acquires sensor information for each water tank unit 10 using the sensor 81.

[0157] (Step S203) The acquisition unit 101 acquires information inside the aquarium for each aquarium unit 10 using the sensor information acquired using the sensor 81.

[0158] (Step S204) The allocation unit 103 uses the acquired in-tank information for each tank unit 10 to allocate the processing capacity of the filtration unit 20 to each tank unit 10. This allocation may be performed by allocating a processing flow rate to each tank unit 10, as described above. Alternatively, the allocation unit 103 may allocate a processing flow rate to each filtration unit 20.

[0159] (Step S205) The control unit 104 controls a first adjustment mechanism, for example, a pump 14 for each tank unit 10, according to the allocation result for each tank unit 10 in step S204.

[0160] (Step S206) The control unit 104 decides whether to also control the second adjustment mechanism. If it decides to control the second adjustment mechanism, it proceeds to step S207; otherwise, it returns to step S201. The control unit 104 may decide to control the second adjustment mechanism if, for example, it is necessary to change the processing flow rate for each filtration unit 20 according to the allocation result for each filtration unit 20 in step S204, and not to control the second adjustment mechanism otherwise.

[0161] (Step S207) The control unit 104 controls a second adjustment mechanism, for example, a pump 24 for each filtration unit 20, according to the allocation result for each filtration unit 20 in step S204. Then, the process returns to step S201.

[0162] If the assignment result in step S204 is the same as the previous assignment result, there is no need to control the first and second adjustment mechanisms, and the process may return to step S201 from step S204. Also, the order of processing in the flowchart of Figure 17 is just one example, and the order of each step may be changed if the same result can be obtained. Furthermore, in the flowchart of Figure 17, the process may be terminated by power off or processing termination interrupt.

[0163] Next, the operation of the control device 100 according to this embodiment will be explained using a specific example. In this example, the aquaculture system 1 is assumed to consist of three tank units 10, three filtration units 20, and three connection units 30, as shown in Figure 16. Furthermore, the maximum processing capacity of each filtration unit 20 is assumed to be 100 liters / minute.

[0164] First, when it is time to acquire information inside the aquarium, the acquisition unit 101 acquires sensor information from the sensor 81 for each aquarium unit 10, and uses that sensor information to acquire information inside the aquarium for each aquarium unit 10 and store it in the storage unit 102 (steps S201 to S203).

[0165] When the in-tank information for each tank unit 10 is stored in the storage unit 102, the allocation unit 103 reads out the in-tank information and uses that information to assign dirt information p for each tank unit 10 as described above. i The dirt information p is calculated and its value is calculated. i Using this method, the amount of water changed per unit time E for each aquarium unit 10 i Calculate the following. Assume that the water change rates per unit time for tank units 10a to 10c are 110, 20, and 50 liters / minute, respectively.

[0166] The allocation unit 103 reads the maximum processing flow rate of 100 liters / minute, which is the maximum processing capacity for each filtration unit 20, stored in the memory unit 102, calculates the total, and determines the amount of water replaced per unit time E for each aquarium unit 10. i The system determines whether the total of 180 liters / minute exceeds the sum of the maximum processing capacities. In this case, since the total water exchange rate per unit time of 180 liters / minute does not exceed the sum of the maximum processing capacities of 300 liters / minute, the allocation unit 103 determines the water exchange rate per unit time E for each tank unit 10. i This is then allocated to each of the 10 tank units. In other words, the processing flow rates allocated to tank units 10a to 10c are 110, 20, and 50 liters / minute, respectively.

[0167] Furthermore, the allocation unit 103 allocates the total processing flow rate of 180 liters / minute allocated to each tank unit 10 to each filtration unit 20, and passes the results of the allocation of processing flow rates to the tank units 10 and filtration units 20 to the control unit 104 (step S204).

[0168] For example, if the processing flow rate is allocated as described in (1) above, 60 liters / minute will be allocated to each filtration unit 20. In this case, the flow rates of water entering and leaving the tank unit 10 and the filtration unit 20 will be as shown in Figure 18A.

[0169] As another example, if the processing flow rates are allocated as in (2) above, first, the processing flow rates of 110, 20, and 50 liters / minute allocated to the tank units 10a to 10c are allocated to the corresponding filtration units 20a to 20c, respectively. At this point, the filtration units 20a to 20c will be allocated processing flow rates of 100, 20, and 50 liters / minute, respectively. Note that 10 liters / minute of the processing flow rate of tank unit 10a cannot be allocated to the corresponding filtration unit 20a, so it is allocated to filtration unit 20b, which is closest to tank unit 10a and whose allocated processing flow rate is less than the maximum processing capacity. As a result, the filtration units 20a to 20c will be allocated 100, 30, and 50 liters / minute, respectively. In this case, the flow rates of water entering and leaving tank unit 10 and filtration unit 20 will be as shown in Figure 18B.

[0170] As another example, when the processing flow rate is allocated as in (3) above, the number of filtration units 20 to be stopped is first calculated. This can be calculated, for example, by the following equation. Here, ceil in the following equation is the ceiling function. Also, here it is assumed that the maximum processing capacity of each filtration unit 20 is equal. Number of filtration units to stop = Number of filtration units - ceil(Total processing flow rate allocated to aquarium units / Maximum processing capacity of one filtration unit)

[0171] In this specific example, the number of filtration units to be stopped is 3 - ceil(180 / 100) = 3 - 2 = 1. Also, in this specific example, when filtration unit 20 is stopped, it is assumed that filtration units 20c, 20b, and 20a are stopped in that order. In this case, filtration unit 20c will be stopped. That is, the processing flow rate allocated to filtration unit 20c will be 0. Also, in this specific example, it is assumed that the allocation of processing flow rates to the operating filtration units 20a and 20b is done according to (1) above. In this case, 90 liters / minute will be allocated to filtration units 20a and 20b, respectively. In this case, the flow rate of water entering and leaving the tank unit 10 and filtration unit 20 will be as shown in Figure 18C, and energy will be saved accordingly because filtration unit 20c is not operated. Furthermore, by stopping filtration unit 20c for a certain period of time, the lifespan of filtration unit 20c can also be extended. Furthermore, even if some of the filtration units 20 are stopped for maintenance, the water quality of the aquarium 11 in each aquarium unit 10 can be maintained in an appropriate state by allocating processing capacity to the remaining filtration units 20.

[0172] The control unit 104 controls the pump 14, which is the first adjustment mechanism, according to the allocation result for each tank unit 10 by the allocation unit 103 (step S205). For example, if the allocation shown in Figure 18A is made, the control unit 104 controls pump 14a to flow 110 liters / minute of treated water into tank 11a, pump 14b to flow 20 liters / minute of treated water into tank 11b, and pump 14c to flow 50 liters / minute of treated water into tank 11c.

[0173] Furthermore, if there is a change in the processing flow rate assigned to each filtration unit 20, the control unit 104 may decide to control the pump 24, which is the second adjustment mechanism, and control the pump 24 according to the assignment result for each filtration unit 20 by the assignment unit 103 (steps S206, S207). For example, if the assignment shown in Figure 18A is made, the control unit 104 may control the pumps 24a to 24c to flow 60 liters / minute of wastewater into the filtration equipment 21a to 21c, respectively. The control device 100 may repeat this series of processes at predetermined time intervals.

[0174] As described above, the control device 100 according to this embodiment allows the processing capacity of the filtration unit 20 to be adaptively allocated to multiple aquarium units 10 by allocating the processing capacity of the filtration unit 20 to each aquarium unit 10 according to the information in the aquarium. Therefore, the processing capacity of the filtration unit 20 can be effectively utilized. For example, if the water quality of a certain aquarium 11 is deteriorating, the processing capacity of the filtration unit 20 can be concentrated on that aquarium 11 to improve its water quality in a short time. As a result, the impact on aquatic products due to water quality deterioration can be minimized. Furthermore, even if some of the filtration units 20 are stopped for maintenance or other reasons, the processing capacity of the operating filtration units 20 can be appropriately allocated to multiple aquarium units 10. Also, for example, if the processing capacity of other filtration units 20 can cover the processing flow rate allocated to the aquarium units 10 even if some of the filtration units 20 are stopped, energy can be saved by stopping some of the filtration units 20.

[0175] Furthermore, if the growth stages of the farmed fish differ in each of the multiple tank units 10, for example, if juvenile fish are farmed in tank unit 10a, young fish in tank unit 10b, and adult fish in tank unit 10c, even if the maximum processing capacity of one filtration unit 20 is not very large, the processing capacity of the three filtration units 20 is adaptively allocated to the three tank units 10, thereby keeping the water in the three tank units 10 clean. As a result of this adaptive allocation of processing capacity, for example, the processing flow rate may decrease in the order of tank units 10c, 10b, and 10a. Furthermore, for example, if juvenile fish are placed in tank unit 10c after the adult fish in tank unit 10c have been shipped, and the juvenile fish in tank unit 10a and the young fish in tank unit 10b grow into young fish and adult fish respectively, the processing capacity of the three filtration units 20 is adaptively allocated to the three tank units 10, thereby keeping the water in each of the three tank units 10 clean. In such a case, even if the maximum processing capacity of one filtration unit 20 is not sufficient to keep the water in one tank unit 10 containing only adult fish clean, the processing capacity of the three filtration units 20 is allocated to the three tank units 10, allowing the water in each of the three tank units 10 to be kept clean. Therefore, there is no need to unnecessarily increase the processing capacity of one filtration unit 20, and the aquaculture system 1 can be realized at a lower cost. For example, in conventional cases where a tank and filtration equipment are fixed in a one-to-one configuration, it is necessary to use filtration equipment with processing capacity that can handle situations where the fish in the tank have grown into adult fish ready for shipment. However, when the fish in the tank are juveniles or young fish, the filtration equipment will be operated inefficiently. On the other hand, in the aquaculture control system 200 according to this embodiment, it is possible to allocate the processing capacity of one filtration unit 20 to two or more tank units 10, thus enabling more efficient operation.

[0176] In this embodiment, the allocation unit 103 may also allocate a tank unit 10 in which the occurrence of aquatic disease is indicated by the tank information to be isolated from other tank units 10. In this case, the control unit 104 may also control the on-off valves 35 and 36 provided in the first and second conduits 31 and 32 according to the allocation result by the allocation unit 103.

[0177] The allocation unit 103 may use the in-tank information to identify a tank unit 10 in which the occurrence of aquatic disease is indicated. For example, if the in-tank information includes information on the movement of aquatic products, such as fish, and this information indicates the presence of individuals whose movement is below a threshold or individuals exhibiting movement consistent with disease, the allocation unit 103 may identify the tank unit 10 corresponding to that in-tank information as the tank unit 10 in which the occurrence of aquatic disease is indicated. The in-tank information corresponding to the in-tank information may also be the tank unit 10 from which the sensor information used to acquire that in-tank information was obtained.

[0178] As another example, the allocation unit 103 may, when the color information of aquatic products included in the tank information indicates the presence of individuals with a color corresponding to disease, identify the tank unit 10 corresponding to that tank information as the tank unit 10 in which the occurrence of disease in aquatic products is indicated by the tank information. Individuals with a color corresponding to disease may, for example, be individuals in which the difference between the color of that individual and the disease reference color corresponding to the disease is smaller than a threshold.

[0179] Furthermore, if the allocation unit 103 identifies a tank unit 10 in which disease has occurred using the tank information as described above, it may allocate the processing capacity of the filtration unit 20 so that the wastewater from that tank unit 10 is processed only by the filtration unit 20 corresponding to that tank unit 10. In this case, the processing flow rate allocated to the tank unit 10 in which disease of aquatic products is indicated by the tank information is the same as the processing flow rate allocated to the filtration unit 20 corresponding to that tank unit 10, and the processing capacity allocation described above may be applied to the other tank units 10 and filtration units 20. In this case, the amount of water replaced per unit time in a tank unit 10, which indicates the occurrence of aquatic disease based on the tank information, is calculated using the contamination information of the tank unit 10. If the amount of water replaced per unit time does not exceed the maximum processing capacity of the filtration unit 20 corresponding to the tank unit 10, then the amount of water replaced per unit time becomes the processing flow rate allocated to the tank unit 10. If the amount of water replaced per unit time exceeds the maximum processing capacity, then the processing flow rate equivalent to the maximum processing capacity may become the processing flow rate allocated to the tank unit 10. Furthermore, the processing flow rate allocated to the filtration unit 20 corresponding to the tank unit 10 may be the same as the processing flow rate allocated to the tank unit 10.

[0180] Furthermore, the allocation unit 103 may pass information to the control unit 104 regarding aquarium units 10 in which the occurrence of aquatic disease is indicated by the in-tank information. For example, information regarding aquarium units 10 in which the occurrence of aquatic disease is indicated by the in-tank information may also be included in the allocation result. The information regarding aquarium units 10 in which the occurrence of aquatic disease is indicated by the in-tank information may be, for example, information that identifies the aquarium unit 10, or information that identifies the on-off valves 35, 36 that should be closed to separate the third and fourth conduits 33, 34 connecting the aquarium unit 10 and the corresponding filtration unit 20 from the third and fourth conduits 33, 34 connected to other aquarium units 10 or filtration units 20.

[0181] The control unit 104 controls the first adjustment mechanism according to the assignment result by the assignment unit 103, and may also control the second adjustment mechanism as necessary. Furthermore, the control unit 104 may, for example, use information about aquarium units 10 in which the occurrence of aquatic disease is indicated by the in-tank information included in the assignment result to close the on-off valves 35, 36 that should be closed to separate the third and fourth conduits 33, 34 connecting the diseased aquarium unit 10 to the corresponding filtration unit 20 from the third and fourth conduits 33, 34 connected to other aquarium units 10 and other filtration units 20. For example, if a disease occurs in a certain aquarium unit 10, the on-off valves 35, 36 on both sides of the connection point between the third and fourth conduits 33, 34 connecting the diseased aquarium unit 10 to the corresponding filtration unit 20 and the first and second conduits 31, 32 may be closed.

[0182] Specifically, if the in-tank information indicates the occurrence of aquatic disease in tank unit 10c, the on-off valves 35b and 36c of the first and second conduits 31 and 32 may be closed, respectively, in order to separate tank unit 10c and filtration unit 20c from tank units 10a and 10b and filtration units 20a and 20b, as shown in Figure 18D. In this case, valve 35c may or may not be closed, because since valve 35c is located at the end of conduit 31, opening or closing it does not affect the separation of tank unit 10c. In this case, the separated tank units 10a and 10b may be assigned a processing flow rate to the separated filtration units 20a and 20b. For example, if a processing flow rate is assigned to filtration units 20a and 20b as described in (1) above, the flow rates of water entering and leaving tank unit 10 and filtration unit 20 will be as shown in Figure 18D.

[0183] Furthermore, for example, if the in-tank information indicates the occurrence of a disease in aquatic products in a certain tank unit 10, the control unit 104 may separate the tank 11 from the filtration unit 20 and other tank units 10 by stopping the inflow and outflow of water from that tank unit 10 to the tank 11. In this case, the control unit 104 may also stop the pump 14 of the tank unit 10 where the disease occurred and close the on / off valve 15. As an example, the separated tank 11 may be filtered using temporary filtration equipment different from the filtration unit 20.

[0184] Furthermore, for example, if the in-tank information indicates the occurrence of a disease in aquatic products in a certain tank unit 10, and the severity of the disease is indicated to be mild, the allocation unit 103 may concentrate the processing capacity of the filtration unit 20 on that tank unit 10. The allocation unit 103 may, for example, allocate the maximum processing flow rate to that tank unit 10. For example, if ozone treatment is being performed in the filtration unit 20, allocating a larger processing capacity of the filtration unit 20 can help the aquatic products in that tank unit 10 recover. The severity of the disease in the aquatic products may be determined, for example, by information regarding the movement of the aquatic products or information regarding the color of the aquatic products.

[0185] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the case in which the acquisition unit 101 acquires tank information using the sensor 81, that is, the case in which the control device 100 acquires tank information from the aquaculture system 1 at a local location of the aquaculture system 1 and controls the aquaculture system 1, has been mainly described. However, the control device 100 may be, for example, a server that controls one or more aquaculture systems 1.

[0186] If the control device 100 is a server, for example, as shown in Figure 19, the aquaculture control system 200 may include three aquaculture systems 1a to 1c connected to each other by a communication line 500, and the control device 100 which is the server. Although Figure 19 shows the case in which the aquaculture control system 200 includes three aquaculture systems 1, the number of aquaculture systems 1 included in the aquaculture control system 200 is not particularly limited as long as there is one or more. The communication line 500 may be, for example, the Internet, an intranet, or a public telephone network.

[0187] In this case, the acquisition unit 101 may receive sensor information acquired by the sensor 81 in two or more tank units 10 and use the received sensor information to acquire information inside the tank. Alternatively, the acquisition unit 101 may receive information inside the tanks of two or more tank units 10. Furthermore, the control unit 104 may transmit control information for controlling the aquaculture system 1 to the aquaculture system 1. The transmitted control information is then received by the aquaculture system 1, and according to the received control information, for example, the first and second adjustment mechanisms may be controlled.

[0188] Furthermore, the first and second adjustment mechanisms may be controlled autonomously and in a distributed manner. In this case, the aquaculture control system 200 may include, for example, the same number of control devices 100 as the first adjustment mechanisms and the same number of control devices 100 as the second adjustment mechanisms. One control device 100 may control one first adjustment mechanism or one second adjustment mechanism. That is, the control unit 104 of the control device 100 may control one first adjustment mechanism or one second adjustment mechanism. Figure 20 is a schematic plan view showing the configuration of an aquaculture control system 200 equipped with a plurality of control devices 100-1 to 100-6 that perform autonomous distributed control. In this case, the pumps 14a to 14c, which are the first adjustment mechanisms of the tank units 10a to 10c, may be controlled by control devices 100-1 to 100-3, respectively, and the pumps 24a to 24c, which are the second adjustment mechanisms of the filtration units 20a to 20c, may be controlled by control devices 100-4 to 100-6, respectively. Note that control devices 100-1 to 100-6 may be the same as control device 100 described above, except that the control unit 104 controls only one first adjustment mechanism or one second adjustment mechanism. For example, the acquisition unit 101 of control devices 100-1 to 100-6 may acquire information inside the tank using sensors 81a to 81c arranged for each of the tanks 11a to 11c.

[0189] Furthermore, it is preferable that the allocation units 103 and control units 104 of the control devices 100-1 to 100-6 use the same algorithm to allocate the processing capacity of the filtration unit 20 and determine the control content. That is, the same processing may be performed in the multiple allocation units 103 of the control devices 100-1 to 100-6. Also, the same processing may be performed in the multiple control units 104 of the control devices 100-1 to 100-6, except that the controlled object is different. In this way, even when the aquaculture system 1 is controlled by the control devices 100-1 to 100-6, the same results can be obtained as when the aquaculture system 1 is controlled by a single control device 100. The control devices 100-1 to 100-3 may each be provided, for example, in the tank units 10a to 10c. Also, the control devices 100-4 to 100-6 may each be provided, for example, in the filtration units 20a to 20c. Thus, even when the first and second adjustment mechanisms of the aquaculture system 1 are controlled in a distributed manner, the same control as when the first and second adjustment mechanisms are controlled using only one control device 100 can be achieved. Note that if it is not necessary to control the second adjustment mechanism, the aquaculture control system 200 does not need to include control devices 100-4 to 100-6 for controlling the second adjustment mechanism. A case where it is not necessary to control the second adjustment mechanism may be, for example, when no allocation is made to the filtration units 20, such as when each filtration unit 20 is constantly operating at its maximum processing capacity.

[0190] Furthermore, although this embodiment mainly describes the case where the aquaculture system 1 controlled by the control device 100 is the aquaculture system 1 according to Embodiment 1, this is not necessarily the case. The aquaculture system 1 controlled by the control device 100 may, for example, not be scalable.

[0191] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, each process or function may be implemented by centralized processing by a single device or a single system, or by distributed processing by multiple devices or multiple systems.

[0192] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the exchange of information between each component may, for example, be performed by outputting information from one component and receiving information from the other component if the two components performing the information exchange are physically different, or by moving from the processing phase corresponding to one component to the processing phase corresponding to the other component if the two components performing the information exchange are physically the same.

[0193] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, information related to the processing performed by each component, such as information received, acquired, selected, generated, transmitted, or received by each component, as well as information such as thresholds, formulas, and addresses used by each component in processing, may be temporarily or for a long period of time stored in a recording medium (not shown), even if not explicitly stated in the above description. The storage of information in the recording medium (not shown) may be performed by each component or a storage unit (not shown). The reading of information from the recording medium (not shown) may be performed by each component or a reading unit (not shown).

[0194] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, if the information used in each component, such as thresholds, addresses, and various setting values ​​used by each component in processing, can be changed by the user, then even if not explicitly stated in the above description, the user may be allowed to change such information as appropriate, or not. If the user can change such information, the change may be implemented, for example, by a receiving unit (not shown) that receives change instructions from the user and a changing unit (not shown) that changes the information in response to those change instructions. The receiving unit (not shown) may receive change instructions from an input device, receive information transmitted via a communication line, or receive information read from a predetermined recording medium.

[0195] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, if two or more components included in the control device 100 have a communication device, an input device, etc., the two or more components may have a single physical device, or they may have separate devices.

[0196] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, each component may be configured with dedicated hardware, or, for components that can be implemented by software, they may be implemented by executing a program. For example, each component can be implemented by a program execution unit such as a CPU reading and executing a software program recorded on a recording medium such as a hard disk or semiconductor memory. During execution, the program execution unit may execute the program while accessing the storage unit or recording medium. The software that implements the control device 100 in the above embodiment is the following program. In other words, this program is a program for controlling an aquaculture system comprising: two or more tank units having tanks for cultivating aquatic products; one or more filtration units having filtration equipment for treating wastewater discharged from the tank units; and two or more connection units connected to the tank units and filtration units, wherein at least one of the tank units and connection units has a first adjustment mechanism for adjusting the flow rate of treated water treated by the filtration unit flowing into the tank units; and at least one of the filtration units and connection units has a second adjustment mechanism for adjusting the flow rate of wastewater flowing into the filtration unit; and the two or more connection units are connected. The program may also be a program for causing a computer to perform the following steps: acquire tank information, which is information about the inside of the tanks of the two or more tank units; use the acquired tank information for each of the two or more tank units to allocate the processing capacity of the filtration equipment of one or more filtration units to the two or more tank units; and control the two or more first adjustment mechanisms according to the allocation result.

[0197] Furthermore, the software that realizes the control device 100 that controls one first adjustment mechanism in the above embodiment is the following program. That is, this program is a program for controlling an aquaculture system comprising two or more tank units having tanks for cultivating aquatic products, one or more filtration units having filtration equipment for treating wastewater discharged from the tank units, and two or more connection units connected to the tank units and filtration units, wherein at least one of the tank units and connection units has a first adjustment mechanism for adjusting the flow rate of treated water treated by the filtration unit that flows into the tank units, and at least one of the filtration units and connection units has a second adjustment mechanism for adjusting the flow rate of wastewater that flows into the filtration unit, and the two or more connection units are connected, and may be a program for causing a computer to execute the following steps: acquiring tank information, which is information inside the tanks of the two or more tank units; using the acquired tank information for each of the two or more tank units, assigning the processing capacity of the filtration equipment of one or more filtration units to the two or more tank units; and controlling one first adjustment mechanism according to the assignment result.

[0198] Furthermore, the software that realizes the control device 100 that controls one second adjustment mechanism in the above embodiment is a program as follows. That is, this program is a program for controlling an aquaculture system comprising two or more tank units having tanks for cultivating aquatic products, one or more filtration units having filtration equipment for treating wastewater discharged from the tank units, and two or more connection units connected to the tank units and filtration units, wherein at least one of the tank units and connection units has a first adjustment mechanism for adjusting the flow rate of treated water treated by the filtration unit that flows into the tank units, and at least one of the filtration units and connection units has a second adjustment mechanism for adjusting the flow rate of wastewater that flows into the filtration unit, and the two or more connection units are connected, and may be a program for causing a computer to execute the steps of: acquiring tank information, which is information inside the tanks of the two or more tank units; using the acquired tank information for each of the two or more tank units, assigning the processing capacity of the filtration equipment of one or more filtration units to the two or more tank units; and controlling one second adjustment mechanism according to the assignment result.

[0199] Furthermore, in the above program, steps such as acquiring information and controlling the controlled object do not include processes that can only be performed by hardware, such as processes performed by sensors in the information acquisition step or processes performed by communication devices in the control object step.

[0200] Furthermore, this program may be executed by being downloaded from a server or the like, or by being read from a predetermined recording medium (for example, an optical disc such as a CD-ROM, a magnetic disc, or a semiconductor memory). This program may also be used as a program constituting a program product.

[0201] Furthermore, the computer running this program may be a single computer or multiple computers. That is, it may perform centralized processing or distributed processing.

[0202] Figure 21 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the appearance of a computer that executes the above program to realize the control device 100 according to the above embodiment. The above embodiment can be realized by computer hardware and a computer program executed thereon.

[0203] In Figure 21, the computer system 900 includes a computer 901 with a CD-ROM drive 905, a keyboard 902, a mouse 903, and a monitor 904.

[0204] Figure 22 shows the internal configuration of the computer system 900. In Figure 22, the computer 901 includes, in addition to the CD-ROM drive 905, an MPU (Micro Processing Unit) 911, a ROM 912 for storing programs such as boot-up programs, a RAM 913 connected to the MPU 911 for temporarily storing instructions for application programs and providing temporary storage space, a hard disk 914 for storing application programs, system programs, and data, and a bus 915 that interconnects the MPU 911, ROM 912, etc. The computer 901 may also include a network card (not shown) that provides connectivity to a LAN or WAN. Furthermore, the computer 901 may be connected to, for example, a sensor 81 used to acquire sensor information.

[0205] The program that causes the computer system 900 to execute the functions of the control device 100 according to the above embodiment may be stored on a CD-ROM 921, inserted into a CD-ROM drive 905, and transferred to the hard disk 914. Alternatively, the program may be transmitted to a computer 901 via a network (not shown) and stored on the hard disk 914. The program is loaded into RAM 913 when executed. The program may also be loaded directly from the CD-ROM 921 or the network. Furthermore, the program may be loaded into the computer system 900 via another recording medium (e.g., a DVD) instead of the CD-ROM 921.

[0206] The program does not necessarily include an operating system (OS) or third-party program that causes the computer 901 to execute the functions of the control device 100 according to the above embodiment. The program may include only the instruction portion that calls appropriate functions or modules in a controlled manner to obtain the desired result. How the computer system 900 operates is well known, and a detailed explanation is omitted.

[0207] Furthermore, the embodiments described above are illustrative examples for specifically carrying out the present invention and do not limit the technical scope of the present invention. The technical scope of the present invention is indicated by the claims rather than by the description of the embodiments, and modifications within the literal scope and equivalent meaning of the claims are intended. [Explanation of symbols]

[0208] 1. 1a~1c Aquaculture System 10, 10a~10e Aquarium Unit 20, 20a~20e Filtration Unit 30, 30a~30e Connection Unit 81, 81a~81c Sensors 100, 100-1~100-6 Control device 101 Acquisition Department 102 Storage section 103 Allocation Section 104 Control Unit

Claims

1. A control device for controlling an aquaculture system, comprising: two or more tank units having tanks for cultivating aquatic products; one or more filtration units having filtration equipment for treating wastewater discharged from the tank units; and two or more connection units connected to the tank units and the filtration units, wherein at least one of the tank units and the connection units has a first adjustment mechanism for adjusting the flow rate of treated water treated by the filtration unit flowing into the tank units; at least one of the filtration units and the connection units has a second adjustment mechanism for adjusting the flow rate of wastewater flowing into the filtration units; and the two or more connection units are connected. An acquisition unit that acquires information about the inside of the water tanks of two or more of the water tank units, An allocation unit that uses the in-tank information for each of the two or more aquarium units acquired by the acquisition unit to allocate the processing capacity of the filtration equipment of one or more filtration units to the two or more aquarium units, A control device comprising: a control unit that controls two or more of the first adjustment mechanisms according to the assignment results by the assignment unit.

2. The aquaculture system comprises two or more of the filtration units, The control device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit also controls two or more of the second adjustment mechanisms according to the assignment result by the assignment unit.

3. The control device according to claim 1, wherein the in-tank information includes at least one selected from the group consisting of water quality, water temperature, oxygen concentration, carbon dioxide concentration, turbidity, information regarding the movement of aquatic products, information regarding the color of aquatic products, information regarding abnormalities on the surface of aquatic products, quantity of aquatic products, density of aquatic products, and amount of leftover feed.

4. The connection unit includes a first conduit through which wastewater discharged from the water tank unit flows, a second conduit through which treated water treated by the filtration unit flows, and on / off valves provided in the first and second conduits, respectively. The first and second conduits of two or more of the aforementioned connection units are connected in series. The allocation unit performs the allocation in such a way that the tank unit in which the occurrence of aquatic disease is indicated by the tank information is separated from the other tank units. The control device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit also controls the on / off valve according to the assignment result by the assignment unit.

5. The acquisition unit receives sensor information acquired by sensors in two or more aquarium units, and uses the sensor information to acquire information inside the aquarium. The control device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the control unit transmits control information for controlling the aquaculture system to the aquaculture system.

6. The control device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the acquisition unit acquires information inside the water tank using a sensor.

7. A control device for controlling an aquaculture system, comprising: two or more tank units having tanks for cultivating aquatic products; one or more filtration units having filtration equipment for treating wastewater discharged from the tank units; and two or more connection units connected to the tank units and the filtration units, wherein at least one of the tank units and the connection units has a first adjustment mechanism for adjusting the flow rate of treated water treated by the filtration unit flowing into the tank units; at least one of the filtration units and the connection units has a second adjustment mechanism for adjusting the flow rate of wastewater flowing into the filtration units; and the two or more connection units are connected. An acquisition unit that acquires information about the inside of the water tanks of two or more of the water tank units, An allocation unit that uses the in-tank information for each of the two or more aquarium units acquired by the acquisition unit to allocate the processing capacity of the filtration equipment of one or more filtration units to the two or more aquarium units, A control device comprising: a control unit that controls one of the first adjustment mechanisms according to the assignment result by the assignment unit;

8. A control device for controlling an aquaculture system, comprising: two or more tank units having tanks for cultivating aquatic products; one or more filtration units having filtration equipment for treating wastewater discharged from the tank units; and two or more connection units connected to the tank units and the filtration units, wherein at least one of the tank units and the connection units has a first adjustment mechanism for adjusting the flow rate of treated water treated by the filtration unit flowing into the tank units; at least one of the filtration units and the connection units has a second adjustment mechanism for adjusting the flow rate of wastewater flowing into the filtration units; and the two or more connection units are connected. An acquisition unit that acquires information about the inside of the water tanks of two or more of the water tank units, An allocation unit that uses the in-tank information for each of the two or more aquarium units acquired by the acquisition unit to allocate the processing capacity of the filtration equipment of one or more filtration units to the two or more aquarium units, A control device comprising: a control unit that controls one of the second adjustment mechanisms according to the assignment result by the assignment unit;

9. A control method for controlling an aquaculture system comprising: two or more tank units having tanks for cultivating aquatic products; one or more filtration units having filtration equipment for treating wastewater discharged from the tank units; and two or more connecting units connected to the tank units and the filtration units, wherein at least one of the tank units and the connecting units has a first adjustment mechanism for adjusting the flow rate of treated water treated by the filtration units flowing into the tank units; at least one of the filtration units and the connecting units has a second adjustment mechanism for adjusting the flow rate of wastewater flowing into the filtration units; and the two or more connecting units are connected. The steps include acquiring information about the inside of the tanks of two or more of the tank units, and The steps include: using the acquired in-tank information for each of the two or more tank units, assigning the processing capacity of the filtration equipment of one or more filtration units to the two or more tank units; A control method comprising the step of controlling two or more of the first adjustment mechanisms according to the assignment result.

10. A control method for controlling an aquaculture system comprising: two or more tank units having tanks for cultivating aquatic products; one or more filtration units having filtration equipment for treating wastewater discharged from the tank units; and two or more connecting units connected to the tank units and the filtration units, wherein at least one of the tank units and the connecting units has a first adjustment mechanism for adjusting the flow rate of treated water treated by the filtration units flowing into the tank units; at least one of the filtration units and the connecting units has a second adjustment mechanism for adjusting the flow rate of wastewater flowing into the filtration units; and the two or more connecting units are connected. The steps include acquiring information about the inside of the tanks of two or more of the tank units, and The steps include: using the acquired in-tank information for each of the two or more tank units, assigning the processing capacity of the filtration equipment of one or more filtration units to the two or more tank units; A control method comprising the step of controlling one of the first adjustment mechanisms according to the assignment result.

11. A control method for controlling an aquaculture system comprising: two or more tank units having tanks for cultivating aquatic products; one or more filtration units having filtration equipment for treating wastewater discharged from the tank units; and two or more connecting units connected to the tank units and the filtration units, wherein at least one of the tank units and the connecting units has a first adjustment mechanism for adjusting the flow rate of treated water treated by the filtration units flowing into the tank units; at least one of the filtration units and the connecting units has a second adjustment mechanism for adjusting the flow rate of wastewater flowing into the filtration units; and the two or more connecting units are connected. The steps include acquiring information about the inside of the tanks of two or more of the tank units, and The steps include: using the acquired in-tank information for each of the two or more tank units, assigning the processing capacity of the filtration equipment of one or more filtration units to the two or more tank units; A control method comprising the step of controlling one of the second adjustment mechanisms according to the assignment result.

12. A program for controlling an aquaculture system comprising: two or more tank units having tanks for cultivating aquatic products; one or more filtration units having filtration equipment for treating wastewater discharged from the tank units; and two or more connection units connected to the tank units and the filtration units, wherein at least one of the tank units and the connection units has a first adjustment mechanism for adjusting the flow rate of treated water treated by the filtration unit flowing into the tank units; at least one of the filtration units and the connection units has a second adjustment mechanism for adjusting the flow rate of wastewater flowing into the filtration units; and the two or more connection units are connected. On the computer, The steps include acquiring information about the inside of the tanks of two or more of the tank units, and The steps include: using the acquired in-tank information for each of the two or more tank units, assigning the processing capacity of the filtration equipment of one or more filtration units to the two or more tank units; A program for performing the steps of controlling two or more of the first adjustment mechanisms according to the assignment result.

13. A program for controlling an aquaculture system comprising: two or more tank units having tanks for cultivating aquatic products; one or more filtration units having filtration equipment for treating wastewater discharged from the tank units; and two or more connection units connected to the tank units and the filtration units, wherein at least one of the tank units and the connection units has a first adjustment mechanism for adjusting the flow rate of treated water treated by the filtration unit flowing into the tank units; at least one of the filtration units and the connection units has a second adjustment mechanism for adjusting the flow rate of wastewater flowing into the filtration units; and the two or more connection units are connected. On the computer, The steps include acquiring information about the inside of the tanks of two or more of the tank units, and The steps include: using the acquired in-tank information for each of the two or more tank units, assigning the processing capacity of the filtration equipment of one or more filtration units to the two or more tank units; A program for performing the steps of controlling one of the first adjustment mechanisms according to the assignment result.

14. A program for controlling an aquaculture system comprising: two or more tank units having tanks for cultivating aquatic products; one or more filtration units having filtration equipment for treating wastewater discharged from the tank units; and two or more connection units connected to the tank units and the filtration units, wherein at least one of the tank units and the connection units has a first adjustment mechanism for adjusting the flow rate of treated water treated by the filtration unit flowing into the tank units; at least one of the filtration units and the connection units has a second adjustment mechanism for adjusting the flow rate of wastewater flowing into the filtration units; and the two or more connection units are connected. On the computer, The steps include acquiring information about the inside of the tanks of two or more of the tank units, and The steps include: using the acquired in-tank information for each of the two or more tank units, assigning the processing capacity of the filtration equipment of one or more filtration units to the two or more tank units; A program for performing the steps of controlling one of the second adjustment mechanisms according to the assignment result.

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