Hydroponic Gutter Flange for Substrate Stabilization
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Solution Overview
Problem
In hydroponic gutter systems, the issue arises during harvesting as the blade used to cut crop units often comes into contact with the substrate, causing contamination and hindering the cutting process due to the substrate's movement.
Innovation Solution
The gutter system incorporates a flange on its upper surface, which acts as a stop to hold the substrate in place, preventing contact with the blade and minimizing contamination. The flange can extend downward or upward from the opening, providing stability and facilitating harvesting.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the blade is used to cut crop units during harvesting, then crop units are separated from substrates, but the blade contacts the substrate causing contamination and hindering the cutting process
Solution Approach 1:
The flange acts as an intermediary element between the substrate and the blade during harvesting. By positioning the flange between these two components, it prevents direct contact between the blade and substrate, thereby eliminating contamination while still allowing the cutting operation to proceed efficiently.
Solution Approach 2:
The flange is positioned in advance to prevent the harmful contact between blade and substrate before it occurs. By having the flange already in place during the harvesting operation, it proactively blocks the substrate from being contaminated by the blade, rather than attempting to clean or remediate contamination after it happens.
2Ease of operation
If the substrate is allowed to move freely in the gutter, then ease of placement is improved, but substrate movement during harvesting causes contamination and operational difficulties
Solution Approach 1:
The flange provides localized constraint only at the critical harvesting zone where blade-substrate contact would occur. The substrate remains free to be easily placed and positioned during initial operations, but becomes constrained only when needed during harvesting to prevent contamination, thus applying quality control only where necessary.
Solution Approach 2:
The flange structure allows the substrate to have dynamic characteristics - free movement during placement and positioning phases, then constrained movement during harvesting phases. This dynamic behavior enables the substrate to transition between different operational states as needed throughout the cultivation and harvesting cycle.
Data Source
AI summary
A gutter system for use in a hydroponic system for cultivating a crop includes a gutter and an upper surface. Arranged in the upper surface are a plurality of openings which are mutually separated in a longitudinal direction of the gutter, such that the gutter forms a channel in which substrates for having crop units of the crop grow therein are placeable via the openings. The upper surface is provided at the position of each of the plurality of openings with a flange which extends substantially perpendicularly relative to the upper surface from an edge of the opening and as such forms a stop for a respective substrate of the substrates.