Hydroponic Grow Tower With Varying Layer Widths to Reduce Shadowing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional hydroponic cultivation methods face challenges with vertical towers having lower layers receiving less ambient light, leading to reduced yields and requiring more floor area, while horizontal towers occupy more space with lower yields.
Innovation Solution
A multilayered grow tower design with varying layer widths and strategic placement of layers to minimize shadowing, using a supporting frame with vertically and horizontally oriented rods, allowing ambient light to reach the bottom layers and accommodating multiple NFT channels, and being portable and detachable for reassembly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If vertical cultivation is used, then floor area is reduced, but lower layers receive less ambient light resulting in lesser yields
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from traditional horizontal or simple vertical cultivation to a three-dimensional multilayered tower structure with varying widths. This dimensional transformation allows plants to be arranged in multiple vertical layers while maintaining optimal light exposure for each layer through strategic width variations, thereby achieving high yield density without sacrificing floor space efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs asymmetric layer design where each layer of the tower has a different width, with the base layer being widest and progressively narrowing toward the top. This asymmetric configuration ensures that lower layers, which would normally be shaded, receive adequate ambient light while upper layers still benefit from vertical stacking, thus resolving the contradiction between space efficiency and light availability for productivity.
2Illumination intensity
If horizontal cultivation is used, then all plants receive ambient light, but floor area occupied is higher and yields are lower than vertical cultivation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent elevates the cultivation system from a two-dimensional horizontal plane to a three-dimensional vertical tower structure with multiple layers. This dimensional change allows the system to maintain good light reception characteristics while dramatically reducing the floor area footprint, as plants are distributed vertically rather than spreading horizontally.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent divides the cultivation space into multiple discrete horizontal layers stacked vertically, with each layer capable of receiving ambient light independently. This segmentation allows light to reach different plant groups at different heights, maintaining illumination quality while concentrating the overall system into a compact vertical footprint that minimizes floor area usage.
3Device complexity
If uniform width layers are used in vertical tower, then structure is simple, but upper layers cast shadow on lower layers reducing yield
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements asymmetric width variation across tower layers, with each successive layer being narrower than the one below it. This asymmetric design strategically prevents upper layers from casting shadows on lower layers, ensuring that light reaches all planting levels effectively. While this increases structural complexity compared to uniform layers, it directly addresses the shadowing problem that would otherwise reduce productivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different width characteristics to different local regions (layers) of the tower structure. Each layer is designed with a specific width optimized for its position in the vertical stack, with lower layers being wider and upper layers narrower. This local differentiation of structural properties ensures optimal light distribution throughout the tower while maintaining high yield potential across all layers.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention provides a grow tower for cultivation of hydroponics. The present invention relates to a multilayered grow tower for cultivation of hydroponics that enables ambient light to reach to bottom most layers of the tower while occupying lesser floor area. The layers of the grow tower are designed in a manner that the bottom most layer is not shadowed at any point of time while the hydroponic yield from the grow tower is not compromised.