Planar Bud Platform for Cannabis Light Distribution
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Solution Overview
Problem
Flowering plants, especially cannabis, exhibit diminished bud quality and THC concentration due to apical dominance, where the main tip receives most light, hindering lower flower growth and reducing overall yield.
Innovation Solution
A flowering plant growth assembly that supports limbs in a planar configuration using a bud platform, allowing uniform light distribution and adjustable height, which encourages all branches to act as apical tips, promoting even flower development and THC concentration across the plant.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If the plant grows with natural apical dominance, then the apical tip receives the most light and produces the largest flower, but the lower flowers receive less light and have diminished growth, quality, and THC concentration
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions the plant growth from a vertical three-dimensional structure to a horizontal two-dimensional planar configuration by bending branches and supporting them on a platform. This dimensional change allows all flower sites to be positioned at the same horizontal level, enabling uniform light distribution across all flowers while maintaining their apical tip status for optimal THC production.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of allowing the natural vertical growth pattern where the top flower dominates, the patent inverts the approach by bending the apical tip downward and supporting all branches horizontally. This inversion eliminates the hierarchical light distribution and allows all flowers to compete equally for light, transforming the single-dominant-flower system into a multi-equal-flower system.
2Quantity of substance
If multiple plants are grown to increase total yield, then the overall production increases, but government regulations limit the number of plants that can be grown by an individual or business
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the plant into multiple independent flowering branches, each capable of producing high-quality buds with uniform THC concentration. By creating multiple apical tips through branch bending and horizontal positioning, the system effectively segments the single-dominant-flower structure into multiple equal-producing units, thereby increasing total bud yield per plant without requiring additional plants.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the spatial parameter of branch orientation from vertical to horizontal, and adjusts the height parameter by using an adjustable platform. These parameter changes enable all branches to be positioned at optimal light-receiving angles and heights, maximizing the productivity of each branch and thereby increasing total buds per plant within regulatory limits.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the bud platform height is fixed, then the structure is simpler, but the ability to accommodate different plant growth stages and optimize light distribution is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a dynamic bud platform with adjustable height that can be modified as the plant grows. This dynamic adjustment capability allows the system to adapt to different growth stages, ensuring optimal light distribution and branch positioning throughout the plant's development cycle, while the simplicity of the adjustment mechanism keeps added complexity minimal.
Data Source
AI summary
A flowering plant growing system utilizes a flowering plant growth assembly that enables the limbs of a flowering plant to be retained and supported along a bud platform to spread the growth out in a planar configuration. This type of growth arrangement may stimulate the plant to produce buds that are distributed across the bud platform and may grow up from the bud platform toward a cover. The height of the bud platform and cover may be adjustable as they are secured to vertical supports by retainers.