Stackable Module for Vertical Farming
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vertical farming systems face challenges with rigid, box-shaped containers that are difficult to manufacture, transport, and store, and struggle with providing optimal lighting, water, and airflow to vertically growing plants, especially when stacked.
Innovation Solution
A modular vertical farming system using stackable modules with a load-bearing frame, growth boards, and a non-drip watering system, where plants grow horizontally from vertically arranged boards, allowing for efficient stacking, easy assembly, and side-mounted lighting and ventilation, with a water supply and drainage system to prevent water from dripping into rail tracks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If rigid, box-shaped containers are used for vertical farming, then structural strength is improved, but ease of manufacture and transportation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The rigid box-shaped container is divided into multiple separate members (side walls, end walls, bottom, and cross-members) that can be individually manufactured and then assembled together. This segmentation allows each component to be produced more easily while the assembled structure maintains the required structural strength.
2Strength
If rigid, box-shaped containers are used for vertical farming, then structural strength is improved, but ease of transportation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The container is segmented into separate members that can be disassembled for transportation. This allows the members to be stacked or stored more efficiently during transport and storage, reducing the space required compared to moving complete rigid boxes.
Solution Approach 2:
The container members are designed with thin-walled constructions that maintain sufficient structural strength while being lightweight and easy to handle during transportation.
3Productivity
If plants grow vertically in stacked containers, then space utilization is improved, but access to light and airflow deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The container design includes vertical openings and side walls that allow light to reach plants from multiple directions (not just from above), enabling better illumination in vertically stacked configurations.
4Productivity
If plants grow vertically in stacked containers, then space utilization is improved, but airflow to plants deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The container design includes vertical openings and side walls that allow air to flow around plants from multiple directions, not just from above, enabling better ventilation in vertically stacked configurations.
5Productivity
If water is supplied to vertically stacked growth containers, then plant growth is improved, but water dripping into rail tracks occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The drainage holes in the container bottom, which could potentially cause water to drip onto rail tracks, are designed to work with the container's positioning system. When the container is properly positioned on the support structure, the drainage holes are covered or directed away from the rail tracks, converting a potential harm into a beneficial drainage function.
Data Source
AI summary
A stackable module having a functional component, where the stackable module has a load-bearing frame including a first support member and a second support member held in a spaced apart and parallel configuration by a cross-member, the cross-member forming a part of the functional component. The load-bearing frame is configured to enable the stackable module to occupy a cuboidal volume within which the functional component is supported, and wherein the load-bearing frame comprises upper and lower load-transferring edge surfaces. The functional component may be a functional component of a vertical farming system.