GROWING DEVICE, SEED PAD AND GROWING SYSTEM FOR GROWING PLANTS FROM SEEDS

Abstract

The present invention relates to a growing device for growing plants from seeds, comprising a water container, a seed pad support structure for receiving one or more seed pads in a predetermined growing position above the water container and a wicking structure for each seed pad configured to contact, when the corresponding seed pad is in the growing position, the bottom surface of the seed pad at a predetermined wicking interface area and configured to transport water from the water container into the seed pad through the wicking interface area via capillary action and wherein the seed pad support structure comprises a protrusion for each seed pad, the protrusion having a predetermined shape and orientation and being configured to interact with a correspondingly shaped perforation in the corresponding seed pad thereby defining the predetermined growing position.

The present invention also relates to a corresponding seed pad and a growing system comprising a growing device and one or more seed pads.

Claims

1. A growing device for growing plants from seeds, comprising: a water container; a seed pad support structure for receiving one or more seed pads in a predetermined growing position above the water container; and a wicking structure for each seed pad configured to contact, when the corresponding seed pad is in the growing position, the bottom surface of the seed pad at a predetermined wicking interface area and configured to transport water from the water container into the seed pad through the wicking interface area via capillary action; and wherein the seed pad support structure comprises a protrusion for each seed pad, the protrusion having a predetermined shape and orientation and being configured to interact with a correspondingly shaped perforation in the corresponding seed pad thereby defining the predetermined growing position.

2. The growing device of claim 1, wherein the predetermined shape of the protrusion is not rotationally symmetric and the area of the cross section of the protrusion is decreasing in a direction pointing away from the top surface of the seed pad support structure.

3. The growing device of claim 1, wherein the protrusion extends through the perforation in the corresponding seed pad, when in the growing position, and comprises a top opening thereby forming a vent from the space below the seed pad to the space above the seed pad.

4. The growing device of claim 3, wherein a portion of the wicking structure for each seed pad extends underneath or through the corresponding vent formed by the corresponding protrusion, such that an air flow through the vent increases the evaporation rate of the portion of the wicking structure.

5. The growing device of claim 1, wherein each wicking structure comprises a wick dipping into the water container with both ends; and, when in the growing position, contacting the wicking interface area of the bottom surface of the corresponding seed pad with an interface portion of the wick arranged in between both ends of the wick.

6. The growing device of claim 5, wherein the seed pad support structure comprises a removable wick holder for each wick, each wick holder comprising the protrusion, wherein the protrusion extends through the perforation in the corresponding seed pad, when in the growing position, and comprises a top opening and a bottom opening thereby forming a vent from the space below the seed pad to the space above the seed pad.

7. The growing device of claim 6, wherein the vent formed by the protrusion of the wick holder comprises two lateral openings such that the wick can extend through the vent; and wherein the wick comprises two interface portions extending along the top surface of the wick holder at opposite sides of the vent.

8. The growing device of claim 6, wherein the protrusion is arranged in the center of the top surface of the wick holder.

9. The growing device of claim 1, further comprising a removable tray for each seed pad configured to be arranged in between a top surface of the seed pad support structure and a bottom surface of the corresponding seed pad; and wherein each tray comprises a cutout for the corresponding wicking structure and the corresponding protrusion.

10. The growing device of claim 1, further comprising a light source arranged above the seed pads in the growing position for providing the growing plants with energy for photosynthesis, the light source providing more than 210 mole and less than 250 mole of photosynthetic active radiation per day.

11. The growing device of claim 10, further comprising an electronic label reader operably connected to the light source configured to determine illumination parameters from a machine-readable label of the one or more seed pads.

12. A seed pad for a growing device for growing plants from seeds, comprising: a seed pad base comprising a wicking material, wherein the seed pad base is configured to receive a plurality of plant seeds arranged in or on a top surface of the seed pad base, wherein the seed pad base has at least one perforation having a predetermined shape and orientation configured to interact with a correspondingly shaped protrusion of the growing device, thereby defining a predetermined growing position for the seed pad when the seed pad is inserted into the growing device; and a wicking interface area on the bottom surface of the seed pad base configured to contact a corresponding wicking structure of the growing device, when the seed pad is in the growing position, to establish capillary water transport from the growing device to the seed pad, wherein the wicking material transports water from the wicking interface area to the plant seeds via capillary action.

13. The seed pad according to claim 12, comprising a rectangular or quadratic footprint and/or rounded corners.

14. The seed pad according to claim 13, wherein the length of the seed pad is larger than 115 mm and smaller than 121 mm, preferably 118 mm, and wherein the width of the seed pad is larger than 75 mm and smaller than 81 mm, preferably 76 mm, and wherein the seed pad comprises an elongated wicking interface area along the center line in each half of the seed pad.

15. The seed pad according to claim 14, wherein the length of each elongated wicking interface area is larger than 25 mm and smaller than 31 mm, preferably 28 mm.

16. The seed pad according to claim 12, wherein the seed pad comprises a single perforation in the center of the seed pad, that is not rotationally symmetric and/or has an area larger than 300 mm.sup.2 and smaller than 400 mm.sup.2.

17. The seed pad according to claim 12, wherein the perforation in the seed pad interacts with the corresponding protrusion of the growing device to determine a predetermined contact pressure between the wicking interface area of the seed pad and the wicking structure of the growing device.

18. The seed pad of claim 12, further comprising a machine-readable label providing illumination parameters for a light source of the growing device.

19. The seed pad of claim 12, further comprising; a biodegradable, hydroponic substrate; an essentially regular arrangement of seeds having an area density of 45.000 or more seed per square meter and less than 55.000 seeds per square meter; and/or a cellulose layer;

20. A growing system for growing plants from seeds, comprising: a water container; one or more seed pads comprising a protrusion in the seed pad having a predetermined shape and orientation; a seed pad support structure for receiving the one or more seed pads in a predetermined growing position above the water container; and a wicking structure for each seed pad configured to contact, when the corresponding seed pad is in the growing position, the bottom surface of the seed pad at a predetermined wicking interface area and configured to transport water from the water container into the seed pad through the wicking interface area via capillary action; and wherein the seed pad support structure comprises a protrusion for each seed pad, the protrusion having a predetermined shape and orientation and being configured to interact with the correspondingly shaped perforation in the corresponding seed pad thereby defining the predetermined growing position.

Description

4. SHORT DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0043] Various aspects of the present invention are described in more detail in the following by reference to the accompanying figures. These figures show:

[0044] FIG. 1 a technical drawing illustrating a growing device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0045] FIG. 2 an explosion view of the seed pad support structure of the growing device of FIG. 1 together with the corresponding seed pads;

[0046] FIG. 3 a technical drawing of one of the removable wick holders of the seed pad support structure of FIG. 2;

[0047] FIG. 4 a longitudinal cross section of the wick holder of FIG. 3;

[0048] FIG. 5 a longitudinal cross section of the wick holder of FIGS. 3 and 4 together with the wick and seed pad in the growing position;

[0049] FIG. 6 an illustration of a seed pad according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0050] FIG. 7 a technical drawing from the bottom perspective of the seed pad of FIG. 6 illustrating the wicking interface areas and capillary water transport within the seed pad.

5. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF SOME EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

[0051] In the following, some exemplary embodiments of the present invention are described in more detail, with reference to a specific design of a growing device and a specific seed pad geometry and function illustrated by the drawings FIG. 1 to FIG. 7.

[0052] While specific feature combinations are described in the following with respect to the exemplary embodiments of the present invention, it is to be understood that not all features of the discussed embodiments have to be present for realizing the invention, which is defined by the subject matter of the claims. The disclosed embodiments may be modified by combining certain features of one embodiment with one or more features of another embodiment. Specifically, the skilled person will understand that features, components and/or functional elements of one embodiment can be combined with technically compatible features, components and/or functional elements of any other embodiment of the present invention given that the resulting combination falls within the definition of the invention provided by the claims.

[0053] FIG. 1 depicts a growing device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The growing device 100 comprises a base 101 forming a water container. The growing device 100 further comprises a seed pad support structure 102 (for details see FIG. 2 below) that can be inserted into the water container and is configured to support one or more seed pads (e.g. three seed pads; not shown).

[0054] In the illustrated embodiment, the seed pad support structure 102 comprises three removable seed pad trays 105, each comprising an arrangement of ventilation and dripping holes as well as a central cut out for a wicking structure 103 that is configured to supply water to the seed pads via capillary action (see FIG. 5 to FIG. 7 below). In the depicted embodiment, each wicking structure 103 comprises a wick that forms two wicking interfaces to the corresponding seed pad on both sides of a central protrusion defining a growing position for the corresponding seed pad and configured to form a vent from the space below the seed pad (and the top surface of the seed pad support structure 102) to the space above the seed pad.

[0055] Moreover, the growing device 100 may also comprise a light source 104 arranged above the seed pads in the growing position for providing the growing plants with energy for photosynthesis. For instance, the light source 104 may provide more than 210 mole and less than 250 mole of photosynthetic active radiation per day. The light source 104 may further be configured to operate 12 h/day with a color rendering index of larger than 90, preferably larger than 95 and an effective temperature of less or equal than 4000 Kelvin corresponding to more of 90% of the emitted photons being photosynthetic active radiation.

[0056] To reduce the space required by the growing device, the light source 104 may be integrated on the bottom side of a handlebar.

[0057] FIG. 2 illustrates the seed pad support structure 102 of FIG. 1 together with three seed pads 205. Each seed pad 205 has a rectangular shape with rounded corners as illustrated in more detail in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 below. In the center of each seed pad 205 a rectangular perforation with rounded corners is arranged. This perforation is configured to interact with the corresponding protrusion 204 formed in the center of the top surface of a removable wick holder 202.

[0058] The wick holders 202 can be inserted in corresponding cut outs in the support structure base 201. Each wick holder is configured to hold one wick 203.

[0059] Each wick 203 is configured to contact two wicking interface areas (see FIGS. 5 and 7 below) arranged on the bottom surface of the corresponding seed pad 205, when the seed pads 205 are inserted into the trays 105 and the perforation 206 conforms to the corresponding perforation 204 of the wick holder 202. Thereby, capillary water transport from the water container (not shown) via the wicks 203 into the seed pads 205 and ultimately to the seeds arranged in or on top of the seed pads is established. The interaction between the perforation 206 and the corresponding protrusion 204 of the wick holder 202 ensures that the wicks 203 contact the bottom surface of the seed pads 205 at a predetermined position and/or with a predetermined contact pressure such that an essentially homogenous moisture level can be maintained within the seed pad 205 throughout the complete growth cycle of the seeds/plants being grown.

[0060] The materials used for manufacturing the various components of the growing device 100 and the seed pads 205 may be selected according to various implementation requirements. For instance, the components of the seed pad support structure 102 may be selected from stainless materials such as stainless steel, or anodized aluminum that can easily be cleaned and do not degrade by prolonged exposure to photosynthetic active radiation.

[0061] Further, the wicking structure may comprise polymer fibers to prevent mold formation and ensure a long lifetime. Alternatively, the wicking structure may also comprise natural fibers that are biodegradable.

[0062] FIG. 3, FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 illustrate one of the wick holders 202 of the seed pad support structure 102 shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 above. The wick holders 202 have the shape of an inverse U with elongated base. At both legs of the wick holders 202 a wick end holder 301 is arranged that ensures that both ends of the wick 203 are properly immersed below the water level in the water container (see the dashed line in FIG. 5).

[0063] The wick holder 202 further comprises a central protrusion 204 having a rectangular footprint with rounded corners. The area of the cross section of the protrusion 204 decreases in a direction pointing away from the top surface of the wick holder 202 to facilitate insertion of the corresponding seed pad 205 (see FIG. 5).

[0064] An elongated hole 305 is arranged in the center of the top surface of the protrusion 204, that together with a bottom opening 401 of the protrusion (see FIG. 4) forms a vent from the space below the seed pad to the space above the seed pad. The air flow through the vent (indicated by the dashed arrow in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6) increases the evaporation rate of the portion of the wick 205 that extends below the central protrusion 204 (see FIG. 5). The wick holder 202 further comprises lateral openings 303, 304 for inserting the wick 205 such that two interface portions are exposed, and the central portion of the wick runs below the vent formed by the central protrusion 204. The wick holder 202 further comprises two curved support surfaces 302 for the portions of the wick that are configured to contact the wicking interface areas arranged on the bottom surface of the corresponding seed pad 205, when in the growing position that is determined by the interaction of the protrusion 204 and the perforation 206. In FIG. 5 the small arrows indicate the flow direction in the wick 205.

[0065] FIG. 6 depicts a seed pad 205 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As explained in detail above the seed pad 205 comprises a rectangular footprint and a plurality of seeds arranged in or on the top surface of the seed pad 205. When the seed pad 205 is provided with sufficient moisture (i.e. via the wicking interface as explained above) and sufficient illumination the seeds start growing into a plurality of seedlings 501.

[0066] The central protrusion 206 is configured to interact with the corresponding protrusion 204 of the seed pad support structure 102 to define a predetermined growing position for the seed pad 205 and the seeds arranged thereon. In said predetermined growing position growth conditions (e.g. water supply, illumination; etc.) for the seedlings 501 are optimized, e.g. via the wicking interface structure formed by the wick 203 the wick holder 202 and the wicking interface areas arranged on the bottom surface of the seed pad 205.

[0067] FIG. 7 shows a bottom view of the seed pad 205. The wicking interface areas 601 A, 601 B that are discussed in detail above are indicated with dashed rectangles. The dashed double arrows indicate capillary water/moisture transport from the wicking interface areas 601 throughout the seed pad 205. As explained in section 3. above the dimensions of the seed pad B and L as well as the length, width and position of the wicking interface areas 601 are chosen such, that the moisture level throughout the seed pad 205 is maintained as homogenous as possible throughout the entire growth cycle of the plants being grown.