Horticultural Lighting Device with Segmented LED Modules
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Solution Overview
Problem
Horticultural facilities, especially indoor growing facilities, face challenges in providing optimal light conditions for plant growth due to limited sunlight exposure, requiring efficient grow lights that effectively supplement natural light and promote photosynthesis.
Innovation Solution
A lighting device featuring a one-piece circuit board with an LED driver and a set of deep-red, far-red, and white-light LEDs, configured to output specific wavelengths of light, including radiation above 700 nm, to enhance photosynthetic growth with improved light distribution and efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If grow lights are mounted high above plants in indoor facilities, then the lighting device can cover a larger area, but the light intensity reaching plants decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The lighting device is divided into multiple LED modules arranged in series, each module containing LEDs of different wavelengths (deep red, far red, white). This segmentation allows the light to be emitted from multiple points along the length of the device, maintaining intensity over distance while covering a larger area.
Solution Approach 2:
The lighting device transitions from traditional point-source or compact fixtures to an elongated linear structure that extends in one dimension. This dimensional change allows the device to cover larger horizontal areas while maintaining adequate light intensity through distributed emission along its length.
2Productivity
If multiple LED types are integrated into a single device, then light spectrum optimization for photosynthesis is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple LED types (deep red, far red, and white LEDs) are merged into a single integrated lighting device with a common circuit board and housing. This combining provides the full spectrum needed for photosynthesis and photomorphogenesis in one unit, improving productivity without requiring multiple separate fixtures.
Solution Approach 2:
The lighting device is designed as a multi-functional unit that simultaneously provides deep red light for photosynthesis, far red light for photomorphogenesis and the red far-red ratio, and white light for supplemental illumination. This universal design replaces what would traditionally require multiple specialized fixtures.
3Productivity
If far-red LEDs are added to provide radiation above 700 nm, then plant growth promotion is improved, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The device optimizes the spectral parameters by including far-red LEDs that emit above 700 nm, which are crucial for photomorphogenesis and the red far-red ratio. This parameter change in light spectrum composition improves plant growth rate and can increase photosynthetic efficiency, potentially reducing overall energy consumption per unit of plant growth.
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
The device provides efficient light supplementation, promoting plant growth by optimizing light emission patterns and reducing energy consumption, allowing for more compact facility designs and increased growth density.
Implementation Method 1
The set includes one or more deep-red LEDs configured to output, when powered by the driver, a first number W1 of watts of radiation of a band of deep-red light at 660 nm
Implementation Method 2
The set further includes one or more far-red LEDs configured to output, when powered by the driver, a second number W2 of watts of radiation of a band of far-red light at 730 nm
Implementation Method 3
The set further includes one or more white-light LEDs configured to output, when powered by the driver, a third number W3 of watts of radiation of white light having a color rendering index (CRI) of less than 75
Implementation Method 4
The driver is configured to input a high-voltage alternating-current (AC) driver-input current. The driver is configured to, when the driver is powered by the driver-input current, output a driver-output current at a stepped driver-output voltage.
Implementation Method 5
Grow lights are typically electrically powered and provide light to support a plant's growth through photosynthesis and other photochemical processes during plant growth
Data Source
AI summary
A lighting device for supporting plant-growth includes an LED driver that inputs a high-voltage AC driver-input current. The driver outputs a driver-output current at a stepped driver-output voltage. LEDs are powered by the driver-output current. The LEDs include deep-red LEDs that output a first number W1 of radiation watts of a deep-red light band at 660 nm, far-red LEDs that output a second number W2 of radiation watts of a far-red light band at 730 nm, and white-light LEDs that output a third number W3 of radiation watts of white light having a color rendering index (CRI) of less than 75. W3 is greater than the sum L1+L2. At least 3% of all radiation output by the LEDs is at or above 700 nm.