Modular Grow Tower Vertical Farming System
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current crop growth technologies face challenges such as weather, disease, and limited farmland, which affect harvest efficiency and production, especially in regions with insufficient agricultural land to meet food and livestock needs.
Innovation Solution
A modular grow tower system comprising adjustable body and lift frames, carts with wheels, lowering and raising lift mechanisms, a sustenance system for precise water and nutrient delivery, a drainage system for water reuse, and a master controller managing environmental factors and grow recipes, along with sensors for monitoring crop growth and adjusting conditions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If traditional farming methods are used, then farmland area is large, but crop production efficiency is low and vulnerable to weather and disease
Solution Approach 1:
The farming system is divided into multiple independent vertical layers (rows) within a compact tower structure. Each layer can be independently managed for planting, watering, and harvesting, allowing continuous production without weather dependency and enabling controlled environment agriculture that protects against disease and environmental hazards.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions from horizontal farmland expansion to vertical space utilization. By stacking multiple growing layers vertically, the system achieves high crop production efficiency in a compact footprint, eliminating the need for large land areas while maintaining controlled environmental conditions that protect against weather and disease.
2Productivity
If farmland area is expanded to meet food needs, then crop production capacity increases, but land availability becomes insufficient in resource-limited regions
Solution Approach 1:
The invention utilizes the vertical dimension to multiply production capacity within a minimal footprint. Multiple stacked rows allow the system to produce crops equivalent to large horizontal farmland areas while occupying only a small ground space, making it feasible for urban and resource-limited regions.
Solution Approach 2:
The system nests multiple growing layers within a compact tower structure, with each row containing multiple planting levels. This nested arrangement maximizes the use of vertical space, enabling high crop production capacity to be achieved within a small overall footprint suitable for land-constrained environments.
3Adaptability or versatility
If modular design with multiple frames and mechanisms is implemented, then system adaptability and control precision increase, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system is segmented into standardized modular components (body frames, lift frames, row modules) that can be independently manufactured, assembled, and configured. This modularity enables high adaptability and versatility while managing complexity through standardization and interchangeable parts.
Solution Approach 2:
The modular components are designed with universal interfaces and standardized dimensions, allowing the same body frames, lift mechanisms, and row modules to be used across different system configurations. This universality reduces the total number of unique parts needed while maintaining high system adaptability and configurability.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure presents modular grow tower systems and related methods. One such system comprises a modular grow tower assembly having a plurality of body frames, a plurality of lift frames, and a plurality of rows extending in a longitudinal direction and stacked in a vertical direction; a plurality of carts for supporting crop material, one or more lowering lift mechanisms for vertically translating the carts between rows; one or more raising lift mechanisms for vertically translating the carts; a sustenance system for providing water and nutrients to the crop material; a lighting system including lighting elements mounted within the body frames; a drainage system comprising drainage troughs and drainage pipes for collecting and transporting excess water and nutrients; and/or a master controller for managing and controlling operations of the modular grow tower system.