Photoperiod manipulation

Abstract

Systems and methods disclosed herein include an apparatus including a user interface configured to receive user input, and a photoperiod controller configured to calculate a photoperiod schedule for one or more plants based on the user input, and to generate control signals that adjust the light output of at least one lighting fixture to implement the photoperiod schedule.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001]

[0001] This application is an international application of U.S. Patent Application No. 63 / 009,520, filed April 14, 2020, entitled "Photoperiod Manipulation," which claims priority thereto and is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

[0002]

[0002] The subject matter of this disclosure relates generally to lighting, and more particularly to horticultural lighting systems. [Background technology]

[0003]

[0003] Lighting fixtures and artificial light sources that emit light suitable for plant photosynthesis are known. These are sometimes called "grow lights," but do not necessarily produce light with a characteristic spectrum like that of the sun. Grow lights may be based on a variety of technologies, including, but not limited to, incandescent, fluorescent, and LED (light-emitting diode). Typical embodiments may include a timer that automatically turns the grow light on and off at set times each day to control the number of hours of daily exposure of the plant to the generated light.

[0004]

[0004] Photoperiod refers to the daily period during which an organism receives or does not receive light. Photoperiodism is the plant's response to the combination of the duration of daylight (light period) and the duration of night (dark period). This phenomenon affects various plant responses, such as the development, reproduction (flowering), vegetative growth, and dormancy stages. This discovery led to the creation of photoperiod classes of plants based on their response to the duration of daylight. Photoperiod classes include short-day plants, long-day plants, day length neutral plants, intermediate day length plants, and dual induction plants. These classes are the most studied and commercially produced.

[0005]

[0005] A plant's photoperiod response depends not only on the time of year (natural day length) but also on its developmental stage. For example, long-day plants (plants that begin flowering when preceded by a long day followed by a short day) stay vegetative under long days (16-18 hours of day length and 6-8 hours of darkness). This is sometimes written as 18 / 6 or 16 / 8. When a long-day plant transitions to the flowering stage of production, the light, or rather the dark, period changes to 12 hours, and the light period also becomes 12 hours. Thus, the plant receives a specific period of "long days" followed by a specific period of "short days." This combination of light duration over time causes plants to initiate flowering and reproduction in long-day plants. Most plant types are photoperiod-dependent. In photoperiod-dependent plants, exposure to very specific cycles of light timing triggers various plant life cycle phases. Plant cultivars are generally bred to require very specific photoperiod durations to produce bountiful harvests during specific seasonal production windows. Some plants do not respond to photoperiod when they are in their very young (juvenile) stage because at this stage they do not yet have the ability to properly perceive day length. Such plants flower solely based on age, not light exposure, and are referred to as day-neutral plants. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006]

[0006] It is important that each plant is exposed to sufficient lighting based on its photoperiod class, but not excessive lighting. For example, long-day plants require days longer than their critical day length to prevent reproduction. Short-day plants will flower under short day lengths (long dark periods) if preceded by long days (short dark periods). In indoor agricultural environments, there is no natural day / night cycle, so the plant's photoperiod must be replicated. Thus, the photoperiod is artificial. Typically, this is done manually. However, this requires a lot of effort from the grower to ensure that each plant receives sufficient daylight per day based on its photoperiod class and developmental stage. Thus, there is a need in the art for more efficient methods of applying and manipulating photoperiods in indoor agricultural environments to efficiently maximize production. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007]

[0007] All examples, aspects and features described in this document may be combined in any technically possible manner. The various embodiments described herein include [TBD].

[0008]

[0008] These and other features will be better understood by reading the following detailed description in conjunction with the figures set forth herein. The accompanying figures are not intended to be drawn to scale. Each identical or nearly identical component shown in various figures may be represented by a similar numeral. For clarity, not every component may be labeled in every figure. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a lighting system for photoperiodic operation in accordance with various embodiments. [Figure 2]

[0010] FIG. 2 illustrates a photoperiod schedule according to various embodiments. [Figure 3]

[0011] FIG. 3 illustrates a process for photoperiod manipulation according to various embodiments. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010]

[0012] These and other features of the present embodiments will be better understood by reading the following detailed description in conjunction with the figures set forth herein. The accompanying figures are not intended to be drawn to scale. For clarity, not every component may be labeled in every figure.

[0011]

[0013] 1 is a block diagram of a lighting system for photoperiod manipulation according to various embodiments. The lighting system includes a photoperiod controller 100, a user interface 102, a communication gateway 104, and transceivers 1061-106. n , lighting fixtures 1081~108 n , and one or more sensors 118. Photocycle controller 100 may include any of a wide variety of computing devices with a processor, volatile memory, and non-volatile storage. In some embodiments, photocycle controller 100 includes a PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) that is durable and adapted for use in wet, humid environments. User interface 102 may include one or more of a touch screen, keyboard, mouse, and display for interfacing with a photocycle control program running on photocycle controller 100. Communication gateway 104, connected to the photocycle controller, may include a wide variety of network devices, including, but not limited to, switches, routers, and wireless access points. Transceivers 1061-106 nThe communication gateway 104 may include a wide variety of network devices, including, but not limited to, switches, routers, and WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network) interface cards and devices. The communication gateways and transceivers may be part of a communication network. Wireless or wired communication links are established between the communication gateway 104 and the transceivers 1061-106. n The light sources 1081 to 1088 are connected to the corresponding transceivers. n The light emitted by the photoperiod controller 100 emits light suitable for plant photosynthesis. The lighting fixture is configurable to emit light at a number of different selectable light output levels (e.g., light intensity, light wavelength, irradiance) in response to signals from the photoperiod controller 100.

[0012]

[0014] In response to user input 114 provided via user interface 102, photoperiod controller 100 may calculate and implement a photoperiod schedule for plant 112. The photoperiod schedule may be, for example, the daily illumination duration for plant 112 across multiple periods (e.g., weeks) and / or growth stages of plant 112. The photoperiod schedule may also include a schedule of light output levels (e.g., light intensity, light wavelength, irradiance) for each period. For example, the photoperiod schedule may include multiple periods (e.g., weeks) and / or growth stages and a photoperiod duration (e.g., 12 hours of light / day) for each period / growth stage, as further described with respect to FIG. 2. User input 114 may include a crop identification 116 indicating one or more of the genus, species, variety, and cultivar of the plant being grown. Photoperiod schedules may be plant-specific; therefore, by selecting a crop ID, photoperiod controller 100 may link the appropriate photoperiod schedule with the plant 112 associated with the selected crop ID. In some embodiments, the crop ID is selected from a menu presented on user interface 102. User input 114 may also include climatic parameters, growth stage durations, photoperiod cycle durations, and one or more periods with corresponding irradiance deltas. Photoperiod controller 100 calculates a photoperiod schedule for plant 112 based on crop ID 116 and adjusts the photoperiod schedule based on other user inputs, if any. Photoperiod controller 100 then configures lighting fixtures 1081-1088 to implement the photoperiod schedule. n The communication gateway 104 and the transceivers 1061 to 106 n By transmitting a control signal vian Controls the light output of the

[0013]

[0015] The photoperiod controller 100 may also receive input from one or more sensors 118. The sensors 118 may include, for example, humidity sensors, ambient light sensors, solar radiation sensors, temperature sensors, pressure sensors, water quality sensors (e.g., pH sensors), image or optical sensors, laser scanners, spectroscopy sensors, near-infrared sensors, time-of-flight sensors, depth ranging sensors, air quality sensors, acoustic sensors, air composition sensors, soil or mineral sensors, and any other type of environmental sensor. The photoperiod controller 100 may adjust the photoperiod schedule based on the sensor input. This can be done when the photoperiod schedule is initially calculated, or it can be done while the photoperiod schedule is in place so that there are real-time, dynamic adjustments to the photoperiod schedule. For example, a light sensor may detect solar radiation entering through a window in an indoor agricultural environment and illuminating the plants. The photoperiod controller 100 may adjust the light output of a lighting fixture to account for the solar radiation so that the plants are illuminated consistent with the original photoperiod schedule. The photoperiod controller 100 can also adjust the photoperiod schedule based on user input received while the photoperiod schedule is in operation.

[0014]

[0016] In some embodiments, photoperiod controller 100 may communicate with server 120 via communication gateway 104. For example, server 120 may be a cloud server that connects to photoperiod controller 100 via a wide area network (e.g., the Internet) or a local area network. In some embodiments, photoperiod controller 100 may send user and sensor inputs to server 120, which may calculate and adjust the photoperiod schedule. Server 120 may then send the photoperiod schedule back to photoperiod controller 100, which may generate control signals to implement the photoperiod schedule and send the control signals to lighting fixtures 108.

[0015]

[0017] FIG. 2 illustrates a photoperiod schedule 200 according to various embodiments. The illustrated photoperiod schedule is in human-readable form. A corresponding computer-readable form of the photoperiod schedule may be created in any suitable data structure. A crop cycle includes growth stages 202, such as cloning, vegetative, acclimation to bloom, and flower maturing. The photoperiod schedule also includes multiple periods 206, which in the example of FIG. 2 are weeks. Each week is associated with a growth stage 202. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the cloning stage is associated with weeks 1-2, the vegetative stage is associated with weeks 3-5, the acclimation to bloom stage is associated with weeks 6-11, and the flowering stage is associated with weeks 12-14.

[0016]

[0018] Each period 206 is also associated with a daily photoperiod time 204. For example, weeks 1-5 (i.e., the cloning and development stages) are associated with an 18-hour / day photoperiod, and weeks 6-14 (i.e., the acclimation to blooming and flowering stages) are associated with a 12-hour / day photoperiod. Thus, photoperiod schedule 200 specifies the daily photoperiod duration for a particular crop throughout its development stages.

[0017]

[0019] The photoperiod schedule 200 may also specify an irradiance for each period 206. In some embodiments, the photoperiod schedule 200 may be combined with a photoacclimation schedule that changes the irradiance over the periods 206 to allow the plant to acclimate to the new irradiance target. Light energy or irradiance to a plant may be measured as PAR (photosynthetic active radiation), where the light falling on the plant surface is expressed in μmol / m 2 It may also be measured as PPFD (photosynthetic photon flux density) in units of PPFD / s.

[0018]

[0020] Referring again to FIG. 1, each of the lighting fixtures 1081 to 108 nmay be individually controllable by photoperiod controller 100. For example, lighting fixture 1081 may be associated with channel 1 (Ch. 1), and lighting fixture 1062 may be associated with an independently controlled channel 2 (Ch. 2). In some embodiments, different channels are used to implement different photoperiod schedules for different types of plants, e.g., plants with different crop IDs. In some embodiments, different channels are used to implement the same photoperiod schedule for plants with the same crop ID but at different stages of the crop cycle. For example, channel 1 may be in the vegetative growth stage, and channel 2 may be in the flowering stage.

[0019]

[0021] FIG. 3 illustrates a process for photoperiod operation according to various embodiments. Some or all steps may be implemented in part or in whole by a photoperiod program running on a photoperiod controller and / or a server connected to the photoperiod controller. Step 300 includes receiving a crop ID as user input. The crop ID indicates one or more of the genus, species, variety, and cultivar of the plant to be grown. Step 302 includes calculating a photoperiod schedule based on the crop ID. Step 304 includes receiving user input and / or sensor input. The input may include sensor data, climate parameters, duration of a growth stage, duration of a crop cycle, and one or more time periods with corresponding irradiance deltas. Step 306 includes adjusting the photoperiod schedule based on the received user and / or sensor input. In some embodiments, there may be no additional user or sensor input, and thus steps 304 and 306 may be skipped.

[0020]

[0022] Step 308 includes implementing the photoperiod schedule by controlling the lighting fixtures to emit light output at levels according to the photoperiod schedule. For example, the photoperiod controller may send control signals to the lighting fixtures via a communications gateway, and the lighting fixtures may adjust their respective light output levels according to the photoperiod schedule. The method may then return to step 304, and the photoperiod controller may receive user and / or sensor input while implementing the photoperiod schedule. The photoperiod controller may adjust the photoperiod schedule based on the user and / or sensor input and implement the adjusted photoperiod schedule. This enables a photoperiod system that dynamically adjusts based on real-time events (e.g., changes in the growing environment, user intervention).

[0021]

[0023] The methods and systems described herein are not limited to any particular hardware or software configuration and may find applicability in many computing or processing environments. The methods and systems may be implemented in hardware or software, or a combination of hardware and software. The methods and systems may be implemented in one or more computer programs, where a computer program may be understood to include one or more processor-executable instructions. The computer programs may be executed on one or more programmable processors and may be stored in one or more processor-readable storage media (including volatile and non-volatile memory and / or storage elements), one or more input devices, and / or one or more output devices. Thus, a processor may access one or more input devices to obtain input data and one or more output devices to communicate output data. The input and / or output devices may include one or more of the following: A solid state drive (SSD), a hard disk drive (HDD), a random access memory (RAM), a redundant array of independent disks (RAID), a floppy drive, a compact disk (CD), a digital video disk (DVD), a magnetic disk, an internal hard drive, an external hard drive, a memory stick, or other storage device accessible by a processor as provided herein. Note that the foregoing examples are not exhaustive and are for purposes of illustration rather than limitation.

[0022]

[0024] The computer programs may be implemented using one or more high-level procedural or object-oriented programming languages ​​to communicate with a computer system. However, the programs may also be implemented in assembly or machine language, if desired. The languages ​​may be compiled or interpreted.

[0023]

[0025] As provided herein, processors may thus be embedded in one or more devices that may operate independently or together in a network environment, where the network may include, for example, a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), and / or an intranet and / or the Internet and / or another network. The network may be wired, wireless, or a combination thereof and may use one or more communication protocols to facilitate communication between different processors. Processors may be configured for distributed processing, and in some embodiments may utilize a client-server model as appropriate. Accordingly, methods and systems may utilize multiple processors and / or processor devices, and processor instructions may be divided among such single or multiple processors / devices.

[0024]

[0026] Devices or computer systems integrated with a processor may include, for example, personal computers, workstations (e.g., Sun, HP), personal digital assistants (PDAs), handheld devices such as cell phones or smartphones, laptops, handheld computers, or other devices integrated with a processor and capable of operating as provided herein. Thus, the devices provided herein are not exhaustive and are provided by way of example and not limitation.

[0025]

[0027] References to "microprocessor" and "processor" may be understood to include one or more microprocessors that may communicate in standalone and / or distributed environments and thus may be configured to communicate with other processors via wired or wireless communications, and such one or more processors may be configured to operate on one or more processor-controlled devices, which may be similar or different devices. Thus, such use of the terms "microprocessor" or "processor" may be understood to include a central processing unit, an arithmetic logic unit, an application-specific integrated circuit (IC), and / or a task engine. It is noted that such examples are provided for purposes of illustration and not limitation.

[0026]

[0028] Additionally, references to memory, unless otherwise specified, may include one or more processor-readable and accessible memory elements and / or components that may be internal to the processor-controlled device, external to the processor-controlled device, and / or accessed via wired or wireless networks using various communication protocols, and may be configured to include a combination of external and internal memory devices, unless otherwise specified, and such memory may be contiguous and / or partitioned based on the application. Accordingly, references to a database may be understood to include one or more memory associations, and such references may include commercially available database products (e.g., SQL, Informix, Oracle) and proprietary databases, and may include other structures for associating memory, such as links, queues, graphs, trees, etc. It should be noted that such structures are provided by way of example and not limitation.

[0027]

[0029] References to a network may include one or more intranets and / or the Internet unless otherwise provided. References herein to microprocessor instructions or microprocessor-executable instructions may be understood to include programmable hardware in accordance with the above.

[0028]

[0030] Unless otherwise stated, use of the term "substantially" may be construed to include precise relationships, conditions, arrangements, orientations, and / or other characteristics, as would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art, and variations thereof, to the extent that such variations do not materially affect the disclosed methods and systems.

[0029]

[0031] Throughout this disclosure, the use of the article "a" and / or "an" and / or "the" to modify a noun is used for convenience and may be understood to include one or more of the modified noun, unless otherwise stated. The terms "including," "comprising," and "having" are inclusive and mean that there may be additional elements other than the listed elements.

[0030]

[0032] Elements, components, modules, and / or parts thereof described through the drawings and / or otherwise depicted as communicating with, associated with, and / or based on others may be understood to communicate with, be associated with, or be based on directly and / or indirectly, unless otherwise specified.

[0031]

[0033] Some aspects, features, and embodiments described herein may include machines such as computers, electronic components, optical components, and processes such as computer-implemented steps. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that computer-implemented steps may be stored as computer-executable instructions on a non-transitory computer-readable medium. Furthermore, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that computer-executable instructions may be executed on a variety of tangible processor devices. For ease of description, not every step, device, or component that may be part of a computer or data storage system is described herein. Those skilled in the art will recognize such steps, devices, and components in light of the teachings of this disclosure and knowledge generally available to those skilled in the art. Corresponding machines and processes may therefore be used and are within the scope of this disclosure.

[0032]

[0034] Although several features, aspects, embodiments, and implementations have been described, it should be understood that a wide variety of modifications and combinations can be made without departing from the scope of the inventive concepts described herein. Accordingly, these modifications and combinations are intended to fall within the scope of the following claims.

Claims

1. A method for generating a plant population comprising: a user interface configured to receive user input including at least one of a genus, a species, a variety, and a cultivar of one or more plants; and calculating a photoperiod schedule for the one or more plants based on the user input, the photoperiod schedule including a plurality of time periods and / or growth stages of the one or more plants and a photoperiod duration for each of the plurality of time periods and / or growth stages; and generating a control signal to adjust the light output of at least one lighting fixture to implement the photoperiod schedule; a photoperiod controller configured to 1. An apparatus comprising:

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the photoperiod controller is configured to adjust the photoperiod schedule based on further input from at least one of a user and a sensor.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the photoperiod controller is configured to dynamically adjust the photoperiod schedule during implementation of the photoperiod schedule based on the further input.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the photoperiod schedule includes a PPFD (Photosynthetic Photon Flux Density) value for each of the plurality of periods.

5. The photoperiod controller sending the user input to a server; and receiving the photoperiod schedule from the server; It is configured as follows: The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the server calculates the photoperiod schedule.

6. receiving user input via a user interface of a controller to generate a photoperiod schedule for one or more plants, the user input including at least one of a genus, a species, a variety, and a cultivar of the one or more plants; calculating the photoperiod schedule based on the user input, the photoperiod schedule including a plurality of time periods and / or growth stages of the one or more plants and a photoperiod duration for each of the plurality of time periods and / or growth stages; generating a control signal to adjust the light output of at least one lighting fixture to implement the photoperiod schedule; A method comprising:

7. The method comprises: adjusting the photoperiod schedule based on further input from at least one of a user and a sensor; The method of claim 6, comprising:

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein adjusting the photoperiod schedule comprises dynamically adjusting the photoperiod schedule during implementation of the photoperiod schedule based on the further input.

9. 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the photoperiod schedule includes a PPFD (Photosynthetic Photon Flux Density) value for each of the plurality of periods.

10. The method comprises: transmitting the control signal to the at least one lighting fixture; adjusting, by the at least one lighting fixture, the light output of the at least one lighting fixture according to the photoperiod schedule; The method of claim 6, comprising:

11. the controller transmits the user input to a server; The server calculates the light period schedule and transmits the light period schedule to the controller; and The method of claim 6 , wherein the controller generates the control signal based on the photoperiod schedule.

12. The device of claim 1, a plurality of lighting fixtures configured to emit light suitable for plant photosynthesis at a plurality of different selectable light output levels; a communications network over which the control signals are provided to the plurality of lighting fixtures, the lighting fixtures adjusting their light outputs in response to the control signals; and Including, the system.

13. The system of claim 12 , wherein the photoperiod controller is configured to adjust the photoperiod schedule based on further input from at least one of a user and a sensor.

14. The system includes a server communicatively coupled to the photoperiod controller via the communication network; the photoperiod controller is configured to send the user input to the server and receive the photoperiod schedule from the server; The system of claim 12 , wherein the server is configured to calculate the photoperiod schedule based on the user input.

15. The system of claim 14 , wherein the server is configured to adjust the photoperiod schedule based on further input from at least one of a user and a sensor.

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