Moveable Cart Cultivation With Spine-Supported Shelf Climate Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cultivation systems face challenges in optimizing irrigation and environmental conditions, such as temperature, humidity, and CO2 levels, leading to uneven microclimates and inefficiencies in plant growth.
Innovation Solution
A modular cart station with integrated lighting, irrigation, and ventilation systems that provide uniform lighting, irrigation, and airflow to each shelf of a moveable cart, using a station spine to support these systems and ensure even distribution of resources, with automation for precise control.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If traditional cultivation systems are used, then basic plant growth is supported, but uneven microclimates and inefficient resource distribution occur
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the cultivation space into multiple independent shelf levels, each equipped with dedicated lighting, irrigation, and ventilation components. This segmentation allows precise control of environmental parameters for each level, eliminating uneven microclimates while maintaining high overall productivity through optimized resource distribution to each segment.
Solution Approach 2:
Each shelf level receives customized environmental conditions tailored to specific plant needs and growth stages. The lighting intensity, irrigation amount, and ventilation rate are locally adjusted for each shelf, ensuring optimal growth conditions for plants at different positions and stages, thereby improving both uniformity and productivity.
2Manufacturing precision
If integrated lighting, irrigation and ventilation systems are added to each shelf, then uniform environmental conditions are achieved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The station spine serves as a multi-functional support structure that simultaneously houses lighting fixtures, irrigation nozzles, and ventilation outlets. This universal design consolidates multiple systems into a single integrated framework, achieving uniform resource distribution across all shelves while minimizing the increase in overall system complexity through shared structural elements.
Solution Approach 2:
The lighting, irrigation, and ventilation components are nested within or attached to the station spine structure, with each shelf level containing integrated sub-systems that are contained within the larger overall system. This nesting approach allows compact organization of multiple functions, reducing spatial requirements and structural complexity while maintaining uniform environmental control.
3Adaptability or versatility
If modular cart station design is implemented, then flexibility in arranging plant configurations is improved, but structural complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cultivation system is divided into modular shelf units that can be independently arranged, removed, or reconfigured on the station spine. Each module contains its own environmental control components, allowing flexible adaptation to different plant types and growth stages while maintaining a relatively simple standardized connection interface that minimizes structural complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The modular design enables dynamic reconfiguration of the cultivation system as plant needs change. Shelves can be moved to different positions on the station spine or removed entirely, allowing the system to adapt to varying agricultural requirements. This dynamic flexibility is achieved through standardized mounting mechanisms that balance adaptability with structural simplicity.
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention relates a cultivation system for cultivating plants, the cultivation system comprising: a cart station; and a moveable cart comprising a plurality of shelves for supporting trays with plants to be cultivated. The cart station comprises a lighting system, an irrigation system, a ventilation system, and a station spine. The station spine is extending in a vertical direction upwards from ground. The station spine supporting the lighting system, the irrigation system and the ventilation system. The lighting system, the irrigation system and the ventilation system are all configured to provide lighting, irrigation and ventilation to each of the shelves of the moveable cart. A cart station and a moveable cart are also presented.