A GROWING TRAY FOR A HYDROPONIC SYSTEM

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to growing tray for a growth system, comprising a plurality of individual channels being distributed across a width of the growing tray and extending along a length of the growing tray. By means of the introduction of the channels it is possible to increase the yield of a crop to be grown at a growth substrate arranged on top of the channels. The present disclosure also relates to a growth system comprising a plurality of such growing trays.

Claims

1. A growing tray for a growth system, the growing tray having an upwardly facing side and a downwardly facing side, wherein: the growing tray has an elongated form extending along a length of the growing tray, a surface of the upwardly facing side is provided with a plurality of elongated independent channels having an upward facing protruding triangular cross section extending along the length of the growing tray, and the plurality of channels being distributed across a width of the growing tray, the width being perpendicular to the length of the growing tray, wherein upward facing protruding portions of the plurality of elongated independent channels are adapted to receive a layer of a growth substrate.

2. The growing tray according to claim 1, wherein the channels extend along a full length of the growing tray.

3. The growing tray according to claim 1, wherein the channels are evenly distributed across the width of the growing tray.

4. The growing tray according to claim 1, wherein the channels have a distance between a top of the channels to a bottom of the channels that is within the range of 0.1-5 cm.

5. The growing tray according to claim 4, wherein the distance between the top and the bottom of the channels is selected depending on at least one of a crop to be grown at the growth substrate or a selected type of the growth substrate.

6. (canceled)

7. The growing tray according to claim 1, wherein the cross section of the growing tray is the same throughout the length of the growing tray.

8. The growing tray according to claim 1, further comprising a pair of side walls extending along the length of the growing tray.

9. The growing tray according to claim 8, wherein the side walls upwardly protrude less than 5 cm from the surface of the upwardly facing side.

10. The growing tray according to claim 1, wherein the downwardly facing side is essentially flat.

11. The growing tray according to claim 1, wherein the width of the growing tray is less than a fifth of the length of the growing tray.

12. The growing tray according to claim 1, wherein the width of the growing tray is in a range of 8-20 cm.

13. (canceled)

14. The growing tray according to claim 1, wherein the growth system is a hydroponic system and the growth substrate is a fiber mat.

15. The growing tray according to claim 14, wherein the fiber mat is a single fiber mat covering a total growth area of the growing tray.

16. (canceled)

17. The growing tray according to claim 1, wherein the growth substrate is adapted for growth of microgreens.

18. The growing tray according to claim 1, wherein the growing tray is manufactured from a plastic material.

19. The growing tray according to claim 1, wherein the growing tray is manufactured using injection molding or plastic extrusion.

20. The growing tray according to claim 1, wherein the growing tray comprises at least one end stop adapted to engage with a second or a first end of the growing tray.

21. A growth system for growing a crop, comprising: a plurality of growing trays according to claim 1, each provided with a growth substrate, a cradle adapted to receive the plurality of growing trays, the cradle provided for horizontal arrangement of the growing trays, an irrigation arrangement including a water tank, the irrigation arrangement adapted to selectively supply water to the plurality of growing tray, and an illumination arrangement.

22. The growth system according to claim 21, further comprising: at least one fan, at least one humidity sensor, and a control unit connected to the irrigation arrangement, the illumination arrangement, the fan and the humidity sensor, wherein the control unit is adapted to control the irrigation arrangement, the illumination arrangement and the fan based on a humidity value received from the humidity sensor and a predetermined growth scheme.

23. The growth system according to claim 21, wherein the predetermined growth scheme is dependent on the crop to be grown at the growth substrate provided at the plurality of growing trays.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0037] The various aspects of the present disclosure, including its particular features and advantages, will be readily understood from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0038] FIG. 1 conceptually illustrates a growing tray according to the present disclosure provided with a growth substrate;

[0039] FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrates different trays in line with the present disclosure, each having different cross sections;

[0040] FIG. 3 shows an exemplary stack comprising a plurality of growing strays as shown in FIG. 1, and

[0041] FIG. 4 provides an example of a growth system according to the present disclosure comprising a plurality of trays as shown in FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0042] The present disclosure will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which currently preferred embodiments of the present disclosure are shown. This present disclosure may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided for thoroughness and completeness, and fully convey the scope of the present disclosure to the skilled addressee. Like reference characters refer to like elements throughout.

[0043] Referring now to the drawings and to FIG. 1 in particular, there is depicted an exemplary implementation of a growing tray 100 provided in line with the present disclosure. The growing tray 100 is in FIG. 1 shown to be provided with a growth substrate, here in the form of a fiber mat 102, such as a hemp math. Other types of growth substrates, such as soil, may as discussed above be used and are in line with the present disclosure. Onto the fiber mat 102 there has initially been provided a large plurality of seeds, in FIG. 1 shown to be in “microgreen stage” where the microgreen crop is approximately 2-3 centimeters tall. The growing tray 100 is here defined to have a first 104 and a second 106 end. The tray 100 may at each of the ends be optionally provided with end stops.

[0044] In some embodiments, the length of the growing tray 100 may be selected to be within the range of 0.5-2 m, and a width may be in a range of 8-20 cm. Other lengths and widths are of course possible and within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0045] The growing tray 100 further comprises an upwardly facing side 112 and a downwardly facing side 114. The upwardly facing side 112 is provided for receiving the fiber mat 102. A surface of the upwardly facing side 112 is further provided with a plurality of elongated independent channels 116, here shown to be extending along a full length of the tray 100. The plurality of channels 116 are furthermore here shown to be distributed equally across a width of the growing tray 100, the width being perpendicular to the length of the growing tray 100.

[0046] The plurality of elongated independent channels 116 at the surface of the upwardly facing side 112 are such arranged that there is a distinct vertical difference between a top and a bottom of the channels 116. In the illustration as shown and with further reference also to FIGS. 2A and 2B, a distance between top and the bottom is between 0.5-2 cm. It should however be understood that other selection of the distance may be used, e.g. dependent on the type of crop/microgreen/growth substrate used in relation to the tray 100.

[0047] As shown in FIG. 1, the growing tray 100 is furthermore provided with a pair of side walls 118, 120 extending along the length of the tray 100. The side walls 118, 120 may in some embodiments upwardly protrude less than 5 cm from the surface of the upwardly facing side 112.

[0048] In FIGS. 2A and 2B there are shown two possible embodiments of cross sections that may be use in relation to the growing tray 100. In FIG. 2A, growing tray 100 is shown where the plurality of elongated independent channels 116 at the surface of the upwardly facing side 112 are selected to have a triangular cross section. Correspondingly, in FIG. 2B the growing tray 100 is shown where the plurality of elongated independent channels 116 at the surface of the upwardly facing side 112 are selected to have a sinusoidal cross section. Each of these cross sections are such formed that in case water is poured or otherwise provided at the growing tray 100, the water will extend along the length of the growing tray 100. That is, water will not be allowed to “move crosswise” the growing tray 100, since the selected vertical top-to-bottom distance in combination with the shape of the channels 116 ensures that such water distribution is not possible (if not crosswise extending due to wetting the fiber mat 102). In one embodiment a vertical top-to-top distance is selected be essentially corresponding (0.5-1.5 of) the selected vertical top-to-bottom distance.

[0049] The growing tray 100 as exemplified in different ways in FIGS. 2A and 2B is provided with a downwardly facing side 114 being overall essentially flat. However, as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the tray 100 is further provided with a pair of lengthwise extending downwardly facing protrusions 202, 204. The downwardly facing protrusions 202, 204 are in a preferred embodiment extending throughout a full length of the growing tray 100, giving the growing tray 100 the same cross section throughout the full length of the tray 100.

[0050] As is seen in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the pair of lengthwise extending downwardly facing protrusions 202, 204 are arranged slightly towards the center of the width of the growing tray 100, as compared to the pair of upwardly protruding side walls 118, 120. It may be suitable to arrange each of the lengthwise extending downwardly facing protrusions 202, 204 at least a thickness of the pair of upwardly protruding side walls 118, 120 towards the center of the growing tray 100, preferably slightly more.

[0051] Accordingly, in case a plurality of growing tray 100 are arranged on top of each other they may form a stack 300, such as shown in FIG. 3. Such stacking allows for ease of handling and saves space when handling a large plurality of trays, e.g. in a growth preparation of the trays 100.

[0052] Turning finally to FIG. 4, conceptually illustrating a growth system 400 for growing a crop, such as microgreens, using a plurality of growing trays 100 according to the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 4, the growth system 400 is shown to comprise four different “levels”, each provided with a plurality of growing tray 100. It should however be understood that any number of levels are possible (such as 1-100 or even more) and within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0053] The growing tray 100 are here shown to be arranged onto a cradle system 402 adapted to receive the plurality of trays 100. The growing tray 100 are here arranged essentially horizontally, however with the first end 104 slightly elevated in comparison to the second end 106, thus arranging the trays 100 slightly inclined. In some embodiments it may be possible to control the inclination, such as by allowing the elevation of the first end 104 to be adjustable. Such an adjustment could possibly allow for an overall inclination between 0.0-2.5 degrees. As understood, horizontal arrangement of growing tray 100 is not limited to arranging the growing tray 100 exactly lengthwise and crosswise horizontal.

[0054] The growth system 400 further comprises an irrigation arrangement including a water tank 404, an illumination arrangement e.g. including a plurality of light sources 406, at least one fan (not shown), at least one humidity sensor (not shown), and a control unit 408 connected to the irrigation arrangement, the illumination arrangement, the fan and the humidity sensor.

[0055] During operation of the growth system 400, water may be distributed from the water tank 404 and to each of the first ends 104 of the plurality of growing trays 100. Since the growing trays 100 are slightly inclined, the water will flow from the first 104 to the second 106 end of the growing trays and be received e.g. by a drainage arrangement 410 arranged such that any excess water pouring out from the second end 106 enters the drainage arrangement 410. The water will then, using pipes or similar, be returned to the water tank 404. It may in some optional embodiments be suitable to further include some form of water treatments means (not shown) for cleaning the “return water”.

[0056] The irrigation arrangement may further comprise at least one pump (not shown) that ensures that the water is flowing throughout the irrigation arrangement. The tank 404 as well as the pump may be arranged as suited for the explicit implementation at hand. The pump and further valves (not shown) are preferably controlled using the control unit 408, for example depending on a humidity level measured using the humidity sensor.

[0057] The control unit 408 is further arranged to control the light sources 406, for example dependent on predetermined growth scheme, where for example the predetermined growth scheme is dependent on the crop to be grown at the growth substrate provided at the plurality of trays 100. The predetermined growth scheme may in some embodiment be adjusted throughout a growth cycle for the crop.

[0058] For reference, the control unit 408 may in some embodiments for example be manifested as a general-purpose processor, an application specific processor, a circuit containing processing components, a group of distributed processing components, a group of distributed computers configured for processing, a field programmable gate array (FPGA), etc. The processor may be or include any number of hardware components for conducting data or signal processing or for executing computer code stored in memory. The memory may be one or more devices for storing data and/or computer code for completing or facilitating the various methods described in the present description. The memory may include volatile memory or non-volatile memory. The memory may include database components, object code components, script components, or any other type of information structure for supporting the various activities of the present description. According to an exemplary embodiment, any distributed or local memory device may be utilized with the systems and methods of this description. According to an exemplary embodiment the memory is communicably connected to the processor (e.g., via a circuit or any other wired, wireless, or network connection) and includes computer code for executing one or more processes described herein.

[0059] In FIG. 4, there is further illustrated a method for preparing a stack 300 of growing trays 100. The method includes providing a first growing tray 100, arranging a fiber mat 102 onto the first tray 100. Once the fiber mat 102 is in place, e.g. a person or a machine may be provided for arranging a large plurality of seeds onto the fiber mat 102.

[0060] Subsequently, the first tray 100 may be put to the to the side and the next growing tray 100 may be prepared. Once the next growing tray 100 has been prepared, it may be stacked onto the first growing tray 100, and the preparation process may continue. In some embodiments the stack of growing trays comprises two-10 growing trays.

[0061] Although the figures may show a sequence the order of the steps may differ from what is depicted. Also, two or more steps may be performed concurrently or with partial concurrence. Such variation will depend on the software for the mentioned control unit and hardware systems chosen and on designer choice. All such variations are within the scope of the disclosure. Likewise, software implementations in relation to the control unit could be accomplished with standard programming techniques with rule-based logic and other logic to accomplish the various connection steps, processing steps, comparison steps and decision steps. Additionally, even though the present disclosure has been described with reference to specific exemplifying embodiments thereof, many different alterations, modifications and the like will become apparent for those skilled in the art.

[0062] In addition, variations to the disclosed embodiments can be understood and effected by the skilled addressee in practicing the claimed present disclosure, from a study of the drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims. Furthermore, in the claims, the word “comprising” does not exclude other elements or steps, and the indefinite article “a” or “an” does not exclude a plurality.