Modular Grow Tower Cart Drainage with Sloped Fins
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current crop growth technologies face challenges in efficiently managing water and nutrient distribution and drainage in modular grow towers, particularly in ensuring adequate food production for areas with limited farmland, where weather, disease, and infestation can impact harvests.
Innovation Solution
The system includes a modular grow tower with carts equipped with perforations and sloped fins for water and nutrient distribution, a sustenance system for controlled watering and nutrient delivery, and a drainage system comprising troughs and pipes to collect and recycle excess water and nutrients, monitored by a computing device to optimize resource usage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If water and nutrients are provided to crops in modular grow towers, then crop growth is supported, but excess water and nutrients cause drainage issues and resource waste
Solution Approach 1:
The drainage system collects excess water and nutrients that flow from the cart trays through drainage holes into drainage channels, then transports this liquid to a reservoir at the bottom of the tower where it can be stored and reused, preventing resource waste while maintaining crop growth support
Solution Approach 2:
The system provides visual feedback through the transparent or translucent tower structure, allowing operators to monitor water and nutrient distribution and drainage in real-time, enabling optimization of resource application to prevent excess while ensuring adequate crop growth
2Reliability
If drainage systems are added to modular grow towers, then water and nutrient management is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The drainage system is integrated with the tower structure itself, using the tower's vertical framework to support drainage channels and reservoirs, thereby combining structural support and drainage functions into a single system that reduces overall complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The drainage system is divided into discrete modular components including drainage channels positioned along the tower, collection reservoirs at strategic locations, and individual cart trays with drainage holes, allowing for easy installation, maintenance, and scaling
3Productivity
If carts with perforations are used for crop support, then water and nutrient distribution is enhanced, but structural strength may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The cart trays incorporate drainage holes or perforations that allow water and nutrients to pass through to the drainage system below, providing adequate distribution while maintaining sufficient structural strength through proper hole size, spacing, and tray material selection
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
This solution enhances crop growth efficiency by ensuring precise water and nutrient distribution, reducing waste, and allowing for the reuse of resources, thereby improving crop yields and adaptability to varying growing conditions.
Implementation Method 1
a plurality of fins sloped to direct the water and/or nutrients towards the plurality of perforations
Implementation Method 2
a plurality of perforations positioned proximal to a first side and a second side of the cart, the perforations configured to allow passage of water and/or nutrients
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure presents systems and related methods for providing drainage in an modular grow tower. One such method comprises supporting a quantity of crops on a plurality of carts, where each cart comprises a tray with perforations and fins sloped to direct water and/or nutrients towards the perforations; traversing the carts in a moving path from a top end to a bottom end of the grow tower; providing water and/or nutrients to the crops via a sustenance system comprising a watering component and a nutrient dosing component; collecting the water and/or nutrients draining through the plurality of perforations in the carts using a drainage system comprising a plurality of drainage troughs; and/or transporting the collected water and/or nutrients from the drainage troughs to a drainage pipe configured to carry the water and/or nutrients away from the grow tower.