Reciprocating Cam Mechanism for Dynamic Grow Tower Spacing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current vertical farming systems lack flexibility in spacing and efficient conveyance mechanisms for grow towers, limiting the ability to optimize crop growth and harvesting processes.
Innovation Solution
A reciprocating cam mechanism and tower shuttle mechanism are introduced to dynamically adjust the spacing of grow towers and decouple loading and unloading operations, allowing for batch harvesting and separate loading processes within a controlled environment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If fixed spacing between plants is used in vertical farming systems, then structural simplicity is maintained, but operational flexibility and crop optimization capability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the dynamics principle by implementing a reciprocating cam mechanism that transforms continuous rotational motion into intermittent reciprocating motion. This allows the conveyance system to dynamically adjust the spacing between grow towers during different phases of the crop growth cycle, enabling closer spacing during early growth and increased spacing during later stages when crops require more resources. The cam mechanism's variable profile creates non-uniform spacing intervals that adapt to crop development needs.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements parameter changes by modifying the spacing parameter between grow towers based on crop growth stage. The reciprocating cam mechanism varies the temporal and spatial parameters of tower conveyance, creating changing intervals between towers as they move through the controlled environment. This allows optimization of resource distribution and light exposure by adjusting spacing parameters dynamically rather than maintaining fixed spacing throughout the growth cycle.
2Productivity
If loading and unloading operations are coupled in vertical farming systems, then system simplicity is maintained, but operational efficiency and harvesting flexibility deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing the coupled loading-unloading operation into separate independent processes. The tower shuttle mechanism enables unloading of mature towers at one location while the loading mechanism independently introduces new towers at a different location or time. This segmentation allows harvesting operations to be decoupled from planting operations, enabling batch harvesting of multiple towers before introducing new ones, thereby improving overall system productivity and operational flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary tower shuttle mechanism that acts as a buffer between the loading and unloading operations. This shuttle system temporarily holds grow towers and enables independent control of loading and unloading timing. The intermediary mechanism allows the system to accumulate harvested towers for batch processing while maintaining continuous operation of the controlled environment modules, improving harvesting efficiency without requiring synchronized loading-unloading operations.
Data Source
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Figure 3A~3B
AI summary
A vertical farming structure having vertical grow towers and associated conveyance mechanisms for moving the vertical grow towers through a controlled environment, while being exposed to controlled conditions, such as lighting, airflow, humidity and nutritional support. The present disclosure describes a reciprocating cam mechanism that provides a cost-efficient mechanism for conveying vertical grow towers in the controlled environment. The reciprocating cam mechanism can be arranged to increase the spacing of the grow towers as they are conveyed through the controlled environment to index the crops growing on the towers. The present disclosure also describes a tower shuttle mechanism that provides operational flexibility by decoupling the loading and unloading operations of the grow towers from the vertical farming structure and, therefore, allowing multiple grow towers to be extracted for harvesting in a batch process before loading new grow towers into the vertical farming structure in a separate process.