Multi-Zone Grow Chamber Layout for Stable Crop Climate Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing agriculture systems lack the ability to efficiently manage multiple environmental conditions for plant growth, leading to inefficiencies in resource usage and increased operational costs, particularly in vertical farming setups.
Innovation Solution
A controlled environment agriculture system with multiple grow zones, each with distinct environmental conditions, allows for plants to be cycled through these zones using conveyance mechanisms, optimizing conditions such as lighting, temperature, and humidity to meet specific crop requirements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a single growing chamber is used with fixed environmental conditions, then the system structure is simple, but it cannot meet the diverse environmental requirements of different plant growth stages
Solution Approach 1:
The growing chamber is divided into multiple independently controllable zones (first growing chamber, second growing chamber, third growing chamber) that can be set to different environmental conditions. Each zone has its own environmental control systems and sensors, allowing simultaneous cultivation of plants at different growth stages under optimized conditions without requiring a completely separate system for each stage.
2Adaptability or versatility
If environmental conditions are frequently adjusted in a single chamber, then plant growth requirements are met, but energy consumption increases due to constant HVAC adjustments
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the growing chamber into multiple zones with independent environmental controls, each zone can maintain stable environmental conditions without requiring frequent adjustments. The first growing chamber, second growing chamber, and third growing chamber can operate at different constant settings simultaneously, eliminating the energy waste associated with repeatedly heating or cooling a single chamber to meet changing requirements.
3Productivity
If plants are grown in a single zone with uniform conditions, then the system is easy to operate, but resource utilization efficiency is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the growing space into multiple zones (first growing chamber, second growing chamber, third growing chamber) that can be configured for different plant types or growth stages. This segmentation allows optimized resource allocation - lighting, temperature, humidity, and CO2 levels can be independently tuned for each zone to maximize efficiency for the specific crops being grown, while the automated conveyance system maintains operational simplicity by handling plant movement between zones.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates a conveyance mechanism that dynamically moves plant containers between different growing chambers based on growth stage requirements. This dynamic repositioning allows the same physical infrastructure to serve multiple functions throughout the growing cycle, improving resource utilization without requiring operators to manually reconfigure the entire system.
Data Source
AI summary
A controlled environment agriculture system including multiple environmental grow zones through which plants and/or lighting or other equipment that influence environmental equipment are cycled during the growth phase of farm production. In one implementation, the system includes multiple grow zones through which plants are cycled during the growth phase of farm production. The system may include a first environmentally-controlled growing chamber, a second environmentally-controlled growing chamber, and one or more interfaces to allow a conveyance mechanism to transfer grow containers between the chambers. Each growth chamber may include environmental control systems, and associated sensors, for regulating at least one environmental condition, such as air temperature, airflow speed, relative air humidity, and ambient carbon dioxide gas content.