Horticulture Tray Support System
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing horticulture trays lack effective support systems that facilitate root pruning, lateral root growth, and disease prevention, leading to suboptimal plant health and soil conditions.
Innovation Solution
A movable horticulture tray carrier system with a stand featuring vertically spaced supports and horizontal members that create an air gap between the trays and the surface, allowing for root pruning, reducing root circling, and preventing disease, while enabling efficient watering and growth.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If horticulture trays are placed directly on the ground surface, then stability and simplicity are improved, but root circling increases, disease risk increases, and soil health deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a vertical dimension by elevating trays off the ground surface using stands with air gaps. This dimensional change allows air circulation beneath trays, preventing root circling and reducing disease risk while maintaining structural simplicity through basic vertical support elements.
Solution Approach 2:
The stand structure acts as an intermediary between the ground surface and the horticulture trays. It provides the necessary air gap and support function, mediating the interaction between trays and ground to prevent direct contact that causes root circling and disease while maintaining system simplicity.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If horticulture trays are supported above the ground surface with air gap, then root pruning is facilitated, lateral root growth is enhanced, and disease prevention is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The stand structure is segmented into multiple vertical supports spaced along the tray length, with horizontal supports at specific intervals. This segmentation provides the necessary air gap and structural support while allowing simplicity in each individual component, resolving the contradiction between complexity and effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The stand structure performs multiple functions simultaneously: it elevates trays to create air gaps, provides structural support, facilitates root pruning, enhances lateral root growth, and prevents disease. This multi-functionality justifies the increased device complexity by delivering comprehensive benefits in a single integrated system.
3Stability of the object's composition
If horizontal supports are added to the stand structure, then tray stability is improved and root pruning is enhanced, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The stand is divided into modular vertical and horizontal support components that can be manufactured separately and assembled. This segmentation improves tray stability through the horizontal supports while maintaining ease of manufacture by allowing simple, standardized components to be produced and connected.
Data Source
AI summary
A movable horticulture tray carrier system including a plurality of horticulture trays. Each one of the plurality of horticulture trays defines a plurality of growing cells. A stand includes a plurality of vertical supports spaced apart along a length of the stand. A horizontal support extends along the length of the stand between at least two of the plurality of vertical supports. The stand is configured to support the plurality of horticulture trays above a surface that the plurality of vertical supports are seated on to provide an air gap between a lower surface of each one of the plurality of growing cells and the surface that the plurality of vertical supports are seated on, the air gap facilitates root pruning, facilitates lateral root growth to reduce root circling, and facilitates disease prevention of plants being grown in the plurality of growing cells.