Plastic drainage gutter for growing horticultural crops in a bag of substrate

Abstract

The invention relates to an elongate, rectangular, laminar body of plastic material, in which are define two parallel longitudinal folding lines that determine two foldable sections, which in turn define two lateral walls and a central section wider than the lateral sections. A plurality of protuberances are distributed in the central section, emerging from the top thereof, and determine elements for supporting a bag of substrate, which, when rested on the protuberances, causes the gutter to self-assemble. For this purpose, the lateral walls of the gutter comprise a plurality of ribs emerging from the bottom, which, when the gutter is in operative mode, determine lateral retention and reinforcement means for the lateral walls.

Description

[0001] DESCRIPTION

[0002] Plastic drainage gutter for horticultural cultivation in substrate bags.

[0003] TECHNICAL SECTOR

[0004] The present invention relates to a plastic drainage gutter for hydroponic horticultural cultivation, in a substrate bag, intended to be installed on sloping ground under a greenhouse.

[0005] OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

[0006] The object of the invention is to provide a system for supporting substrate bags and for draining water, which is made up of a single, modular, one-piece element, easily coupled to other devices of the same type, which reduces the use of plastic per linear meter, is easy to install, highly stable, durable, with less maintenance and maximum stability for the bag.

[0007] BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0008] In the field of practical application of the invention, plastic gutters are known for collecting the drained water from the substrate bags, to be transported to the end of the line, where it will be collected by a drain and subsequently recirculated.

[0009] Most known gutters are made from a polypropylene sheet between 0.7 and 0.8 mm thick, supplied in continuous roll format, with two fold marks on the sides, to later allow the sides to be folded down and thus form lateral retaining walls during installation in the greenhouse.

[0010] However, to prevent any roots that may protrude from the inside of the bag from being in constant contact with the water flow through the gutter, lifting structures are used. These structures are inserted into the gutter and raise the bag, barely interfering with the flow of water through it. A separator device of this type is described in document WO9956527. Furthermore, the sides of the gutter must be stabilized to ensure lateral retention and prevent water loss, using additional parts that fit onto said sides in order to stabilize the assembly. A system of this type is described in patent EP 2997818A1.

[0011] These are therefore complex systems, involving many parts and consequently being expensive and difficult to install.

[0012] In an attempt to solve this problem, document NL7807559A describes a gutter comprising two longitudinal side walls and a flattened central body, in which a series of protuberances or crenellated profile are established, which, although it has a single-piece character, presents a problem when it comes to being stacked, since the configuration of its side walls prevents a minimum volumetric occupation in said stack, to which must be added the fact that the aforementioned side walls do not include lateral reinforcing ribs, which makes it necessary to obtain this type of gutter in metallic or plastic materials with a very thick wall, which entails an additional cost of materials that is clearly undesirable.

[0013] EXPLANATION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] The plastic drainage gutter for horticultural cultivation in substrate bags proposed by the invention fully satisfactorily resolves the problem described above, offering a single-piece element, obtained in plastic by thermoforming, with a minimum thickness that results in minimum expenditure of materials, easy to install, stackable with minimum volumetric occupation, and extremely effective in operational situations.

[0015] To this end, the gutter of the invention is made from an essentially laminar body of plastic material, preferably an elongated rectangular body, in which two parallel longitudinal folding lines are defined by thermoforming, determining two foldable lateral sectors that define lateral walls and a central sector, that is, said central sector has a greater extension than each of the lateral sectors.

[0016] More specifically, it has been planned that the central section of the gutter body will be provided with protuberances obtained in the thermoforming of the gutter and that emerge from above, determining support and separation elements for the substrate bag with respect to the bottom of the gutter through which the irrigation water is intended to flow.

[0017] According to one of the essential features of the invention, protuberances emerge internally from the foldable side sections of the gutter body, defining reinforcing ribs for the side walls of the gutter. Thus, in operation, said ribs determine lateral retention and reinforcement means to maintain the vertical position of the gutter side walls.

[0018] These ribs, by emerging in the opposite direction to the protuberances of the central section, make installation extremely quick and simple, since the device will initially present a flattened shape, elevated with respect to the ground due to the aforementioned reinforcing ribs that protrude internally. Thus, the very support of the bag on the protuberances of the central section will automatically bend the side walls or sections, embracing the bag. Likewise, this maneuver makes it possible to stabilize the side walls through the aforementioned ribs, which will prevent them from tending toward their original position, thus ensuring the lateral containment of the water flowing through the gutter, offering lateral stability not offered by any other known device to date.

[0019] As previously stated, the device has a preferably elongated rectangular configuration and is intended to be able to be coupled to other devices of the same type by partial overlapping on an inclined surface, in a similar way to how it is done with roof tiles, such that in correspondence with its front and rear ends it includes turrets acting as complementary protuberances, such that they constitute the joining elements that fit together perfectly and create a stack without any gaps, such that, if the established inclination of the terrain is followed, there are no water leaks.

[0020] This effect is enhanced by placing the substrate bags on top of the turrets, where due to the weight exerted on them, the sealing or pressure on the joint is greater.

[0021] Advantageously, the turrets have been designed so that it is impossible to place them incorrectly, since the turret that must go on top has external reliefs added to the base that act as a stop in the event of incorrect stacking, showing that said position is not correct, while in the correct assembly position, these elements do not pose any obstacle as they are arranged externally on the upper face.

[0022] From this structuring, the following advantages arise:

[0023] • Reduction in the number of components that make up the drainage system.

[0024] • Reduction in the use of plastic per linear meter.

[0025] • Faster installation.

[0026] • Stability of the side walls and the impossibility of them opening over time.

[0027] • Less maintenance.

[0028] • The sidewall fold lines are obtained by thermoforming rather than by die-cutting or pressure marking, making them less fragile and therefore less susceptible to breakage and leaks.

[0029] • Greater durability.

[0030] • The side walls “hug” the bag, preventing dry leaves and fruits from falling into the channel and contaminating the water.

[0031] • Provides greater stability to the bag.

[0032] • The gutter design allows for continuous development or thermoforming of the gutter.

[0033] DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0034] To complement the description that follows and in order to help better understand the characteristics of the invention, in accordance with a preferred example of practical implementation thereof, a set of drawings is attached as an integral part of said description, in which the following has been represented for illustrative and non-limiting purposes:

[0035] Figure 1 shows a plan view of a plastic drainage gutter for horticultural cultivation in a substrate bag made in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0036] Figure 2.- Shows a side elevation view of the gutter shown in Figure 1.

[0037] Figure 3.- Shows a perspective detail of the gutter of the invention represented in the previous figures in correspondence with its upper overlapping coupling end to a gutter of the same type.

[0038] Figure 4.- Shows a view similar to that of figure 3, but corresponding to the opposite end of the gutter, the one intended to occupy the lower position in the partial overlap between devices or gutters.

[0039] Figure 5.- Shows a detail similar to that of figure 3, but according to a perspective captured internally.

[0040] Figures 6 and 7 show perspective views of the device of the invention in its installation situation, where it can be observed how the simple support of the substrate bag on the device causes it to automatically adopt the final working position shown in Figure 7.

[0041] Figure 8.- Finally, it shows a perspective view of the operational position of the gutter, which appears without the corresponding bag, to show its structure more clearly.

[0042] PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

[0043] In view of the figures shown, it can be observed that the gutter of the invention is made from a laminar body of plastic material, elongated rectangular, in which two parallel longitudinal folding lines (1) are defined, determining two foldable sectors or side walls (2) and a central sector (3) that is in relation to the side walls.

[0044] Each gutter, merely as an example, could have a length of between 100 cm and 12 m (the limit is set by the storage / transport means), since they can be thermoformed continuously.

[0045] A series of protuberances (4) are distributed over the central sector (3) with a preferably truncated-pyramidal configuration, to allow stacking between gutters with a minimum volumetric occupation, without intermediate spaces.

[0046] These protuberances (4) protrude from the central sector (3) in an upper or ascending direction, while from the lateral sectors (2) emerge in a lower or descending direction a plurality of ribs (5) - which essentially also represent protuberances -. As can be seen in figures 6 and 7, when the sack (6) of substrate is placed on the protuberances (4), which offer a function of separating elements for said sack (6), the weight of the same causes the lateral walls (2) to fold over the sides of the sack (6), embracing it, while the ribs (5) pass to an operative position in which they determine lateral retention and reinforcement means to maintain the vertical position of the lateral sectors (2), preventing them from returning to their original position.

[0047] As can be seen in figures 3 and 4, at the edges or ends (7) and (8) of the gutter it is planned to include coupling means between gutters by means of partial overlapping of the same and arrangement on an inclined surface, and which are materialized in complementary protuberances as joining elements called lower turrets (9) and upper turrets (10), respectively, intended to fit together, preferably of a truncated-pyramidal configuration. Thus, the coupling means materialized in lower turrets (9) and upper turrets (10) are intended to fit together and, therefore, are arranged, respectively, on the opposite edges (7) and (8) of the gutter.

[0048] On the other hand, the central sector (3) will preferably include markings (12) that determine the direction of water flow by virtue of the inclination provided for in the installation of the horticultural crop, so that the lower turrets (9) are always arranged below the upper turrets (10), fitting together. To this end, the upper turrets (10) include external reliefs (1 1) that determine a single possible coupling position with respect to the inner turrets (9), thereby preventing proper coupling between these elements, showing that the correct position is that in which they are arranged above the lower turrets (9), in a manner analogous to how the tiles of a roof are mounted.

[0049] For all the above reasons, this creates a gutter that is very easy to install, extremely effective and economical, and made from a single piece.

Claims

CLAIMS 1 a .- Plastic drainage gutter for horticultural cultivation in a substrate bag, characterized in that it is made from a laminar body of plastic material, in which two parallel longitudinal folding lines (1) are defined, determining two foldable lateral sectors (2) that define side walls and a central sector (3), of greater extension than each of the lateral sectors (2), such that in the central sector (3) a plurality of protuberances (4) are distributed that emerge superiorly and that determine support elements for a substrate bag (6), with the particularity that a plurality of ribs (5) emerge internally from the side walls (2) that, in operative situation, determine lateral retention and reinforcement means to maintain the vertical position of the lateral sectors (2) of the gutter. 2 a.- Plastic drainage gutter for horticultural cultivation in substrate bags, according to claim 1 a , characterized in that it has markings (12) that determine the direction of water flow based on the inclination provided for in the installation of the horticultural crop. 3 a .- Plastic drainage gutter for horticultural cultivation in a substrate bag, according to claim 1, characterized in that the edges (7) and (8) of the gutter include coupling means by partial overlap between gutters, said coupling means being materialized in lower turrets (9) and upper turrets (10) intended to fit together and arranged, respectively, on the edges (7) and (8). 4 a .- Plastic drainage gutter for horticultural cultivation in substrate bags, according to claims 3 a, characterized in that the upper turrets (10) include external reliefs (11) that determine a single possible coupling position with respect to the inner turrets (9). 5 a .- Plastic drainage gutter for horticultural cultivation in substrate bags, according to claim 1 a , characterized in that the protuberances (4) have a truncated-pyramidal configuration. 6 a .- Plastic drainage gutter for horticultural cultivation in substrate bags, according to claims 3 a or 4 a , characterized in that the lower turrets (9) and the upper turrets (10) have a truncated-pyramidal configuration. 7 a .- Plastic drainage channel for horticultural cultivation in a substrate bag, according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the laminar body of plastic material is elongated rectangular.

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