Integrated Nutrient Injection Assembly for Compact Zone Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Nutrient injection systems for plant cultivation in soil or analogous solid-form cultivation media have a large physical footprint, requiring significant labor for maintenance and lack modular and independent output control, limiting their portability and adaptability to smaller environments.
Innovation Solution
A compact, portable nutrient injection assembly with modular components, including a housing with integrated mixing and nutrient reservoirs, and an agricultural control system that allows for independent control of fluid output to multiple zones via output control solenoids, which can be added or removed as needed, and an agricultural control system that adjusts scheduling routines based on environmental parameters and plant types.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If nutrient injection systems are designed for solid-form media cultivation, then they can provide nutrients to plants in soil environments, but they require a large physical footprint and significant labor resources for maintenance
Solution Approach 1:
The system is divided into modular components including a housing with integrated mixing chamber, nutrient reservoir, and peristaltic pump. This segmentation allows the entire nutrient injection system to be contained within a compact unit that fits on or near the grow tray, dramatically reducing the physical footprint while maintaining full functionality for solid-form media cultivation
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines multiple functions into a single integrated housing: the mixing chamber, nutrient reservoir, pump mechanism, and control system are all merged into one compact unit. This consolidation eliminates the need for separate large-scale equipment, reducing the overall physical footprint while providing complete nutrient injection capability for soil-based cultivation
2Adaptability or versatility
If nutrient injection systems are designed for solid-form media cultivation, then they can operate in soil environments, but they require significant labor resources for development and maintenance
Solution Approach 1:
The peristaltic pump is designed with an automatic priming mechanism that self-primes when power is applied, eliminating the need for manual priming operations. The system also includes automatic control capabilities through the agricultural control system, reducing the ongoing labor required for maintenance and operation while maintaining adaptability to solid-form media cultivation
3Adaptability or versatility
If nutrient injection systems are designed for solid-form media cultivation, then they can support plant growth in soil, but they lack modular and independent output control
Solution Approach 1:
The agricultural control system dynamically adjusts nutrient delivery based on plant zone requirements and environmental conditions. The system can independently control output to different zones, allowing for customized nutrient schedules and concentrations for each plant or region, providing the needed modular control capability while maintaining system simplicity through automated decision-making algorithms
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables efficient nutrient delivery to smaller agricultural environments with reduced labor requirements, allowing for dynamic adaptation to changing plant zones and environmental conditions.
Implementation Method 1
The intermediate wall and a first set of the plurality of distal walls define a nutrient and peristaltic pump (NPP) chamber
Implementation Method 2
one or more output control solenoids configured to independently provide a solution to a plurality of output zones
Implementation Method 3
one or more nutrient agitators coupled to the one or more nutrient reservoirs, where the one or more nutrient agitators include an electromechanical device configured to rotate one or more magnetic mixers
Data Source
AI summary
A nutrient injection assembly includes a housing having an intermediate wall, an agricultural chamber wall, and a mixing chamber wall. The intermediate wall and a first set of the plurality of distal walls define a nutrient and peristaltic pump chamber, the first set of the plurality of distal walls, the intermediate wall, and the agricultural chamber wall define an agricultural control chamber, and a second set of the plurality of distal walls, the agricultural chamber wall, and the mixing chamber wall define a mixing chamber. The nutrient injection assembly includes a mixing reservoir. The nutrient injection assembly includes an agricultural control system comprising a controller, where the controller is disposed within the agricultural control chamber. The nutrient injection assembly includes one or more output control solenoids configured to independently provide a solution to a plurality of output zones of the agricultural environment.