Light mounting systems and methods
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional grow light systems require significant labor to position and move plants under the lights, leading to uneven growth and increased costs due to the need for multiple lights and manual handling.
Innovation Solution
A cantilever-designed LED lighting system mounted to strut channels, allowing the lights to remain fixed while carts with plants can be easily moved in and out, providing uniform top-down lighting and reducing labor through robotic assistance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If conventional grow lights are mounted directly to shelves, then plants can be positioned below the lights, but significant labor is required to actively load and unload plants onto each shelf
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of moving plants under fixed lights mounted to shelves, the patent inverts the approach by mounting lights to a movable cart that moves with the plants. The lighting system is attached to the cart frame and moves together with the cart, eliminating the need to manually position plants under separate shelf-mounted lights.
2Illumination intensity
If conventional grow lights are mounted to frames on both sides of a cart, then plants can receive light, but plants stretch towards the sides and receive uneven light intensities
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the side-mounted lights from the cart frame and replaces them with a top-mounted lighting system. A single light source is positioned on the top surface of the cart, directly above the plants, providing uniform illumination from above and preventing plants from stretching towards side lights.
3Illumination intensity
If multiple lights are positioned on each side of the cart, then plants can receive light, but the system becomes expensive due to the extra number of lights required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple side-mounted light sources into a single top-mounted light source. By positioning one light source centrally on the top surface of the cart, the system achieves adequate light coverage for all plants without requiring multiple separate lights on each side of the cart.
4Ease of operation
If lights are mounted to movable carts, then plants can be moved with the lights, but the system lacks a fixed mounting location
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by making the lighting system movable rather than fixed. The lights are mounted to the cart frame, allowing the entire lighting system to move together with the cart and plants, providing both mobility and consistent light positioning relative to the plants throughout the growth cycle.
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 system reduces labor costs and ensures uniform plant growth by maintaining lights in a fixed position, allowing carts to be efficiently loaded and unloaded, and providing consistent light distribution across plants.
Implementation Method 1
Grow lights or plant lights are artificial light sources designed to stimulate plant growth by emitting an electromagnetic spectrum appropriate for photosynthesis
Implementation Method 2
stimulate plant growth by emitting an electromagnetic spectrum appropriate for photosynthesis
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments disclosed herein describe systems and methods associated with light mounting systems. Embodiments may include lighting shelves that are configured to be mounted to a fixed structure, such as to a wall or supports within a room via a cantilever design that is mounted to strut channels. The lighting shelves may be anchored at only a single end to the strut channels, and the lighting shelves may protrude away from the strut channels. The lighting shelves may have a sufficient width and length to cover an entire region of interest below the lighting shelves, which may enable to lighting shelves to uniformly distribute light to plants.