Support tray for crops

Abstract

The present invention relates to a support tray for crops which is formed by a structure comprising: a flat grate, formed by interlocking profiles that define mesh enclosures, on the top of which rests a container element for containing a plant substrate; and support legs, extending from the bottom of the grate and resting on the ground, keeping the grate lifted a certain distance from said ground. The tray is characterised in that the support legs have a pyramidal shape, being formed by several segments extending from the bottom of the grate and arranged in an inclined manner such that they converge and are connected at a common support point.

Description

[0001] CROP SUPPORT TRAY

[0002] DESCRIPTION

[0003] OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

[0004] The invention, as expressed in the title of this specification, relates to a support tray for crops that provides advantages and features, described in detail below, which represent an improvement on the current state of the art.

[0005] The object of the present invention lies in a tray for cultivation, the purpose of which is to provide a support structure to physically separate a container of substrate for the plants, whether hydroponic substrate, sacks or pots, preventing the roots of said plants from coming into contact with contaminating agents in the soil and / or drainage or flood water to avoid contagion, with the advantage that, thanks to the improved configuration based on pyramidal legs of the tray structure, the need to incorporate and fix it on gutters for drainage is avoided, as occurs in other solutions currently existing on the market.

[0006] FIELD OF APPLICATION OF THE INVENTION

[0007] The scope of the present invention falls within the agricultural sector, and more specifically within the scope of the industry dedicated to the manufacture of accessories, apparatus and devices for the protection of plant crops, focusing particularly on the manufacture of substrate separation supports with drainage. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0008] Currently, to prevent the substrate of crop plants from becoming waterlogged with irrigation water, drainage collection gutters are used. Some models include a spacer that physically separates the substrate container from the bottom of the gutter. This prevents the roots of some plants from coming into contact with leachate from others, which can cause infection or contamination. This also facilitates aeration of the area, which also prevents the proliferation and spread of fungal diseases.

[0009] A clear example of this is the cultivation device disclosed in patent ES2725628, which is based on a spacer element and a drainage collection channel, where the spacer element is arranged inside the drainage collection channel, where the spacer element comprises: a grid structure on the upper face of which the substrate container element is arranged, the grid comprising longitudinal and transverse profiles with a T section, except for the peripheral profiles that have an angular section; and support legs that extend from the lower face of the grid structure and rest on the bottom of the drainage collection channel, and where the support legs extend from the confluence nodes where the longitudinal and transverse profiles of the grid converge;the spacer element being arranged within the interior space of the gutter, preferably further comprising an anchoring structure as a means of fixing the spacer element to the sides of the gutter;

[0010] The problem is that, on the one hand, using gutters entails both financial costs, due to their purchase, and labor costs, due to the installation required. Therefore, it would be desirable to have a solution that avoids the need for gutters to facilitate drainage of crop plants. Furthermore, existing spacer systems, such as the one described in the cited document, do not allow for the avoidance of gutters, as they are not strong enough and are only designed for use in conjunction with them. Therefore, it would also be desirable to have a solution that allows the substrate to remain elevated off the ground, regardless of whether gutters are used for drainage.

[0011] The objective of the present invention is, therefore, to provide an improved support for cultivation substrates that allows them to be supported at a certain distance from the soil through which the drainage runs, regardless of whether gutters are used or whether flooding or puddling of irrigation water occurs, keeping the roots from coming into contact with said soil and conveniently aerated, avoiding the production of possible contagion with leachates from other plants.

[0012] On the other hand, and as a reference to the current state of the art, it should be noted that, at least on the part of the applicant, the existence of any other support tray for crops, or any other invention of similar application, that presents technical characteristics equal to or similar to those claimed here, is unknown.

[0013] EXPLANATION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] The crop support tray proposed by the invention is configured as an optimal solution to the aforementioned objectives which, in turn, represents an improvement on the current state of the art, with the characterizing details that make it possible and distinguish it being conveniently included in the final claims that accompany this description.Specifically, what the invention proposes, as noted above, is a tray for crops, the purpose of which is to provide a support structure to physically separate a container of substrate for the plants, whether hydroponic substrate, sacks or pots, from the soil on which it is incorporated and prevent the roots of said plants from coming into contact with said soil and / or, where appropriate, with drainage or flooding water, with the advantage, among others, that, in addition to isolating the roots of the plants from possible contaminants in the soil or drainage water, avoiding infections by contagion with leachates from other plants, the particular configuration of the tray avoids the need to have to use it incorporated and fixed on drainage gutters, since said configuration provides sufficient stability and robustness so that neither the tray nor the substrate container placed on top of it move from where they have been placed.

[0015] To this end, and more specifically, the support tray object of the invention is configured, essentially, from a profile structure, normally made of plastic, which comprises, in a known manner:

[0016] - a flat grid formed from intersecting profiles that define reticular frames, on the upper face of which rests the substrate container element, and

[0017] - support legs extending from the underside of the flat grate and resting on the ground, keeping the grate elevated at a certain distance from said ground.

[0018] And, based on this already known configuration, the structure of the tray is essentially distinguished in the following way: Firstly, the support legs do not extend perpendicular to the grid and individually from the points of confluence of the longitudinal and transverse profiles that make up the grid structure, as occurs in other known solutions. Instead, the legs of the tray of the invention extend, from the lower face of the grid, in groups of several inclined segments, preferably of four, which converge and join at a common support point on the ground, defining legs with an inverted pyramidal shape.

[0019] Furthermore, in a preferred embodiment, the common support point on the ground of each pyramidal leg comprises a reinforcing base, preferably circular, where the ends of all the segments that form said leg are joined.

[0020] In turn, preferably, the segments that form each of the pyramidal legs of the tray, instead of starting from the confluence between the longitudinal and transverse profiles of the grid, start from the central area of ​​the sections that define each of the reticular frames of the grid, providing a support point to said section that reinforces the entire structure.

[0021] Finally, it should be noted that, in a preferred embodiment, the grid is formed by perpendicular, longitudinal and transverse profiles, which define square or rectangular frames, and the pyramidal-shaped legs are formed by groups of four segments that start from the center of each side of said square or rectangular frames.

[0022] Thus, the advantages of the support tray object of the invention compared to other solutions are mainly the following:

[0023] - Being a stable and resistant structure, it allows drainage without the need for it to be fixed onto a gutter.

[0024] - It constitutes a support system to raise the crop substrate above the ground, which has fewer support points for the same grid size, without reducing resistance, thus facilitating good drainage.

[0025] - Pyramidal legs, as the segments that form them are joined to the grid in the center of the sections that form the grid's frames, the resistance of said sections to the supported weight is greater.

[0026] - Finally, another advantage of the tray of the invention is that, thanks to the pyramidal configuration of the legs, it allows the stacking of various trays on top of each other, minimizing the space they occupy, which translates into less space required for transporting and storing the trays.

[0027] DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0028] To complement the description being made and in order to help better understand the characteristics of the invention, some drawings are attached to this specification, as an integral part thereof, in which the following has been represented for illustrative and non-limiting purposes:

[0029] Figures 1 and 2 show top and bottom plan views, respectively, of an example of an embodiment of the crop support tray object of the invention, showing the structural configuration of the grid; Figures 3 and 4 show top and bottom perspective views, respectively, of the example of the support tray according to the invention shown in the preceding figures, showing the pyramidal legs; Figures 5 and 6 show enlarged views of details A and B indicated respectively in Figure 5 and Figure 6, showing the configuration of the pyramidal legs in greater detail; Figure 7 shows a side elevational and partially sectioned view of the crop support tray, according to the example shown in the preceding figures, showing the configuration of the profiles that form it; and Figure 8.- Shows an elevation view of various stacked trays.

[0030] PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

[0031] In view of the aforementioned figures, and in accordance with the numbering adopted, one can observe in them a non-limiting embodiment of the culture support tray of the invention, which comprises what is described in detail below.

[0032] Thus, as can be seen in said figures, the support tray (1) of the invention is formed by a structure that essentially comprises:

[0033] - a flat grid (2), formed from intersecting profiles (20, 21) defining reticular fences (22), on the upper face (2a) of which rests the element containing the substrate of a plant (not shown), and - support legs (3), extending from the lower face (2b) of the grid (2) and resting on the ground(s), keeping the grid (2) raised at a certain distance (d) from said ground(s) sufficient to prevent the roots of the plant from coming into contact with the ground(s).

[0034] And, from this already known configuration, the structure of the tray (1) is essentially distinguished in that:

[0035] - the support legs (3) have a pyramidal shape, for which they extend, from the lower face (2b) of the grid (2), formed by several segments (30) arranged inclined and so that they converge and join at a common support point (31).

[0036] Preferably, the common support point (31) of the pyramidal legs (3) comprises a reinforcement base (32), preferably of a flat circular shape, where the ends of all the segments are joined together.

[0037] (30) that form each leg (3) and that determines a contact surface with the ground, providing greater stability to the tray.

[0038] Preferably, the segments (30) that form each of the pyramidal legs (3) start from the central area of ​​the sections that define each of the reticular fences (22) of the grid (2).

[0039] In a preferred embodiment of the tray (1), each pyramidal leg (3) is formed by four segments (30) that extend from the lower face (2b) of the grid (2) and converge, joining at a common support point.

[0040] (31 ).

[0041] In said preferred embodiment of the tray (1), the grid (2) is formed by perpendicular, longitudinal (20) and transverse (21) profiles, which define square or rectangular frames (22), and the pyramidal legs (3) are formed by four segments (30) that start from the center of each of the four sides of said square or rectangular frames (22).

[0042] Having sufficiently described the nature of the present invention, as well as the manner of putting it into practice, it is not considered necessary to make its explanation more extensive so that any expert in the field understands its scope and the advantages derived from it.

Claims

1.- A support tray for crops, made up of a structure comprising: a flat grid (2), formed from intersecting profiles (20, 21) that define reticular fences (22), on whose upper face (2a) rests an element containing the substrate of a plant; and support legs (3), which extend from the lower face (2b) of the grid (2) and rest on the ground(s), keeping the grid (2) elevated at a certain distance (d) from said ground(s), it is characterized in that the support legs (3) have a pyramidal shape, being formed by several segments (30) that extend from the lower face (2b) of the grid (2) arranged at an angle and so that they converge and join at a common support point (31). 2.- Support tray for crops, according to claim 1, characterized in that the common support point (31) of the pyramidal legs (3) comprises a reinforcement base (32) where the ends of all the segments (30) that form each leg (3) are joined together. 3.- Support tray for crops, according to claim 2, characterized in that the reinforcement base (32) of the common support point (31) of the pyramidal leg (3) has a flat circular shape that determines a contact surface with the ground. 4.- Crop support tray, according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the segments (30) that form each of the pyramidal legs (3) start from the central area of ​​the sections that define each of the reticular fences (22) of the grid (2). 5.- Support tray for crops, according to any of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that each pyramidal leg (3) is formed by four segments (30) that extend from the lower face (2b) of the grid (2) and converge, joining at a common support point (31). 6.- Support tray for crops, according to claim 4, characterized in that the grid (2) is formed by perpendicular, longitudinal (20) and transverse (21) profiles, which define square or rectangular frames (22), and the pyramidal legs (3) are formed by four segments (30) that start from the center of each of the four sides of said square or rectangular frames (22).

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