Plant Light Raising and Lowering Apparatus with Inching Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional plant light systems are not suitable for plants with significant height differences between their young and mature states, as they require manual adjustment and lack a height sensor, leading to inadequate lighting and obstruction issues during maintenance.
Innovation Solution
A plant light raising and lowering apparatus with a base, light source carrying bases, a rope winch, and a control module that includes a counter unit and inching movement recording unit, allowing for precise control of the lighting height through upward and downward inching movements, and automatic return to a specific position.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a height-fixed plant light system is used, then the structure is simple and easy to operate, but it cannot adapt to plants with large height differences between young and mature states
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the dynamics principle by transforming the fixed plant light system into a movable one. The lighting device is mounted on a movable carriage that can travel along vertical guide rails, allowing the lighting height to be dynamically adjusted according to plant growth stages. This resolves the contradiction by enabling adaptability to height variation while maintaining operational simplicity through automated control.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements self-service through the automatic height adjustment mechanism. The system uses sensors to detect plant height and automatically controls the motor-driven carriage to adjust lighting position without manual intervention. This eliminates the need for growers to manually control each adjustment action, allowing the system to serve itself in adapting to plant growth.
2Productivity
If manual control of lifting unit is implemented, then the control mechanism is simple, but it requires frequent manual intervention and cannot respond to gradual plant growth changes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies feedback principle by incorporating height detection sensors that continuously monitor plant growth and feed this information back to the control system. The control module processes this feedback and automatically adjusts the lighting height accordingly. This creates a closed-loop system that responds to gradual plant growth changes without requiring manual intervention, thereby improving productivity while managing complexity through automated feedback control.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical control with an automated electromechanical system. Instead of manual operation of the lifting mechanism, the system uses motors controlled by electronic control modules that receive input from sensors. This substitution of mechanical manual control with automated systems increases productivity while the modular design keeps the overall system complexity manageable.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the lifting unit travels a long distance to accommodate plant growth, then it can maintain appropriate lighting height, but it causes obstruction during maintenance operations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing the lighting system into modular components mounted on a carriage that can be independently positioned. The lighting fixtures are segmented and can be adjusted in discrete steps along the vertical rails. This segmentation allows the system to achieve a wide range of height adjustment while maintaining ease of operation, as the modular design enables quick repositioning and easy access during maintenance without requiring long continuous travel distances.
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
Enables precise adjustment of lighting height to match the growth of plants, reduces manual intervention, and prevents obstruction during maintenance by accurately recording and controlling the movement of the lighting system.
Implementation Method 1
a rope winch assembly (18), comprising a motor (181) and a rope winch (182)
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosures of the present invention describe a plant light raising and lowering apparatus. Particularly, a control module is configured for controlling a rope winch to complete at least one inching rotation along a clockwise direction or a counterclockwise direction, such that a base is driven by the rope winch so as to have an upward inching movement or a downward inching movement. Moreover, a counter is adopted for counting the direction, times and/or frequency of the inching rotation, and therefore the control module is able to know a total moving distance of the base by using the inching movement recording unit to record each time of the upward inching movement and each time of the downward inching movement. Therefore, a user is able to control the base to move back to a specific position such as an initial position or a previously-staying position.