Cultivation Tray

Abstract

The invention concerns a tray (20) for cultivating a crop or a precursor thereof, particularly a strawberry plant cultivation tray, wherein the tray (20) comprises an upper wall (32) with a number of holders (42) for holding therein the crop or precursor thereof, wherein the holders (42) are formed by a number of longitudinally extending rows of cup-shaped recesses in the upper wall (32), herein the upper wall (32) also comprises a groove-like recess (33) arranged between adjacent rows of cup-shaped recesses (40) and extending in longitudinal direction (PI).

Claims

1. A tray for cultivating a crop or a precursor thereof, particularly a strawberry plant cultivation tray, wherein the tray comprises an upper wall with a number of holders for holding therein the crop or precursor thereof, wherein the holders are formed by a number of longitudinally extending rows of cup-shaped recesses in the upper wall, and wherein the upper wall also comprises a groove-like recess arranged between adjacent rows of cup-shaped recesses and extending in longitudinal direction.

2. The tray according to claim 1, comprising at least three rows of cup-shaped recesses, wherein at least one groove-like recess is arranged between adjacent rows of cup-shaped recesses.

3. The tray according to claim 1, wherein the tray comprises a number of sliding surfaces formed on undersides of two lateral side edges of the tray fora purpose of supporting the tray for sliding on top of girder profiles of a greenhouse system.

4. The tray according to claim 1, guides formed along the lateral side edges of the tray fora purpose of guiding the tray between the side surfaces of adjacent girder profiles of a greenhouse system.

5. The tray according to claim 1, wherein the tray is provided at two longitudinal outer ends with one or more aligning elements for mutually aligning the tray with another tray, wherein the aligning elements comprise recesses and corresponding protrusions, and wherein the recesses and protrusions are provided at corresponding positions so that they can engage in each other during use.

6. (canceled)

7. The tray according to claim 1, wherein the groove-like recess extends over substantially the whole length of the tray.

8. The tray according to claim 1, wherein the groove-like recesses are embodied to form a substantially uninterrupted passage when a number of trays are placed one behind the other.

9. The tray according to claim 1, wherein a width of the groove-like recess is constant over substantially the whole length of the tray.

10. The tray according to claim 1, wherein a cross-section of the groove-like recess is embodied for guiding along a crop treatment unit therein.

11. The tray according to claim 1, comprising a number of depending strengthening walls extending in transverse direction and formed on an underside of the upper wall and on an underside of the groove-like recesses.

12. The tray according to claim 1, wherein a part of the upper wall between a row of cup-shaped recesses and a groove-like recess has a support surface for supporting a crop or precursor thereof arranged in the cup-shaped recesses, wherein the support surface preferably has a width of at least 1 cm, still more preferably at least 2 cm.

13. The tray according to claim 1, wherein the upper wall has a non-recessed part, and the non-recessed part takes a substantially flat form.

14. The tray according to claim 1, wherein the upper wall comprises a number of recesses which define engaging surfaces whereby the tray can be engaged and moved, wherein the recesses are optionally arranged in an upper, non-recessed flat part of the upper wall and/or in the groove-like recess, and/or wherein the recesses are optionally provided at longitudinal outer ends of the groove-like recesses.

15. (canceled)

16. (canceled)

17. The tray according to claim 1, wherein the groove-like recess comprises a bottom and wherein one or more openings are arranged in the bottom.

18. The tray according to claim 17, wherein the bottom of the groove-like recess is rounded and/or chamfered.

19. The tray according to claim 1, wherein the tray is manufactured from plastic and/or wherein the tray comprises four rows of in each case three cup-shaped recesses.

20. A greenhouse system for cultivating a crop or precursor thereof, provided with a number of trays as defined in claim 1, the greenhouse system comprising: at least two elongate tracks for supporting at least a first and a second row of trays, wherein the tracks comprise at least three parallel girder profiles and a number of support parts for supporting the girder profiles at a substantially constant distance relative to a ground surface, and wherein at least one girder profile is embodied for supporting both the first row of trays and the second row of trays simultaneously.

21. (canceled)

22. The greenhouse system according to claim 20, wherein each girder profile is embodied to support the tray over the whole length thereof and/or wherein the girder profiles are manufactured from rolled profile material, in particular from rolled strip steel and/or wherein the profiles take a smooth form at an upper outer end in order to enable displacement of the tray in longitudinal direction.

23. The greenhouse system according to claim 20, configured to support the trays clear of the ground surface, preferably at a constant height, still more preferably at a constant height in a range of 0.2 to 0.6 m, and/or wherein the support parts are formed by legs provided at a mutual distance from each other.

24. The greenhouse system according to claim 20, wherein two longitudinal edges of the trays support simultaneously on two girder profiles such that a gap remains between adjacent trays.

25. (canceled)

Description

[0028] FIG. 1 shows a front view or section over one track with a rail profile on either side. The right-hand half shows only the construction, the left-hand half is with trays;

[0029] FIG. 2 shows a side view of the rail construction with foundation slabs;

[0030] FIG. 3 shows a side view of the rolled profiles on the supporting construction. The right-hand half shows only the construction, the left-hand half is with trays;

[0031] FIG. 4 shows a top view of one track with a longitudinal girder (provided with rails) on either side;

[0032] FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of an embodiment of the tray;

[0033] FIG. 6 shows a top view of the tray in the embodiment of FIG. 5;

[0034] FIG. 7 shows a front view of the tray in the embodiment of FIGS. 5 and 6;

[0035] FIG. 8 shows a side view of the tray in the embodiment of FIGS. 5-7;

[0036] FIG. 9 shows a detail of the girder profiles with trays.

[0037] FIGS. 1-4 show an example of a greenhouse system 1 for cultivating a crop or precursor thereof. In the shown example the greenhouse system 1 comprises a minimum of one track 2 of a determined length. The number of tracks can be increased in unlimited manner in the width. The usual width of the tracks can lie between for instance 5 and 20 metres. The length of the tracks can vary, depending on the land available, from for instance 50 to 500 metres. The height (h in FIG. 1) of the system is variable, but a usual height is for instance 0.3 metre. Greenhouse system 1 comprises per track 2 two longitudinal profiles 3, 3′ on both longitudinal sides along the whole length of the track. Longitudinal profiles 3, 3′ are supported by (concrete) foundation slabs 6 for the purpose of distributing the load on the ground surface. The dimensions of the longitudinal girders and slabs depend on the load and load-bearing capacity of the ground in the relevant application. When there are a plurality of tracks alongside each other, the longitudinal girders can be coupled to one slab. There is space for instance for a spray line between the tracks.

[0038] Placed transversely between longitudinal girders 3, 3′ are transverse girders 8, again at a determined centre-to-centre distance. Depending on the load and the width of track 2, these transverse girders 8 can be further supported by one or more legs. The legs can be provided with a slab or large base plate for the purpose of distributing the load on the ground.

[0039] Girder profiles 9 can be placed over transverse girders 8 and in the lengthwise direction of track 2. These girder profiles serve as support construction for trays 20. Girder profiles 9 have sufficient load-bearing capacity for the span between transverse girders 8.

[0040] FIGS. 5-8 show an exemplary embodiment of a tray 20. In the example of the figures the tray 20 has a width (B) of 580 mm and a length (L) of 400 mm, although many variations are of course possible herein. The number of plants in length and width direction can also differ.

[0041] FIG. 9 shows that tray 20 supports with its two longitudinal edges 21, 21′ on two girder profiles, wherein each tray 20 lies on a half of a girder profile. Greenhouse system 1 can thus be fully covered with trays 20, wherein a gap 37 remains between adjacent trays in the longitudinal direction, which gap has the same function (automated trimming or cutting) as the groove-like recesses 33.

[0042] Each tray 20 comprises an upper wall 32 with a number of holders 42 for holding therein the crop or precursor thereof. Holders 42 are formed by a number of longitudinally extending rows of cup-shaped recesses 40 in upper wall 32. The upper wall 32 also comprises a number of groove-like recesses 33 arranged between adjacent rows of cup-shaped recesses 40 and extending in longitudinal direction (P.sub.L). These groove-like recesses 33 enable the automated trimming or cutting of the tendrils of the plants using a suitable crop treatment unit. In the shown embodiment the bottom 41 of groove-like recesses 33 is provided with holes 44 for discharging water and for ventilation. The grooves can have several different shapes and dimensions. The number thereof may also vary. The bottom 41 of groove-like recess 33 moreover takes a rounded form in order to prevent dirt from being able to accumulate therein.

[0043] The tray 20 comprises guides 36 formed on the lateral side edges of the tray for the purpose of guiding the tray 20 between the side surfaces of adjacent girder profiles of greenhouse system 1. Tray 20 further comprises a number of sliding surfaces 35 formed on the undersides of the two lateral side edges of the tray for the purpose of supporting the tray for sliding (i.e. displace ably) on top of girder profiles of a greenhouse system 1.

[0044] Tray 20 is further provided at the two longitudinal outer ends 45 with one or more aligning elements 34, 34′ for the purpose of mutually aligning the trays. These aligning elements can be formed by respective protrusions 34 and recesses 34′ which can engage in each other in order to prevent relative displacement of the trays in the transverse direction.

[0045] In order to be able to remove trays 20 from greenhouse system 1 they are moved (shifted) over the profiles. When the whole greenhouse system 1 is fully covered (over a length of for instance±200 metres), there is no space to engage trays 20. This is because the trays are displaced in the longitudinal direction (P.sub.L) over their full track width (typically for instance±12 metres) and by 5-6 metres at a time. Recesses 50 are therefore provided in trays 20 in order to engage and be able to displace the trays 20, for instance with movable pins on the crop carriage. In the shown embodiment the two longitudinal outer ends 45 of tray 20 are more particularly provided with a number of recesses 50 (in the shown example four, although this number may vary) arranged in the upper wall 32. The part of the upper wall 32 (and/or the strengthening walls 51) adjacent to these recesses 50 provide for suitable engaging surfaces with which tray 20 can be engaged and moved. In the shown embodiment these recesses 50 are arranged in the groove-like recess 33 of upper wall 32. Alternatively or additionally, the recesses can also be arranged in the upper, non-recessed flat part of the upper wall 32. Recesses 50 make it possible to engage the tray 20 during the automated moving/displacing of the tray 20 over the underlying girder profiles.

[0046] The groove-like recesses 33 make it possible to remove tendrils of (trim) the plants. Owing to these recesses 33, a crop treatment unit, such as a crop trimming unit (not shown), can be applied to be able to trim the (runners) off the plants.

[0047] The part (FIG. 5) of the upper wall 32 between a row of cup-shaped recesses 40 and a groove-like recess 33 has a support surface 53 for supporting a crop or precursor thereof arranged in the cup-shaped recesses. This support surface preferably has a width of at least 1 cm, still more preferably at least 2 cm.

[0048] The present invention is not limited to the embodiments thereof described here. The rights sought are rather determined by the following claims, within the scope of which many modifications can be envisaged.