WO2016023948A1 - Aeroponics apparatus and aeroponic cell - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to an aeroponics apparatus comprising a plurality of rigid frames (5, 6) which are open at the upper surface and lower portion thereof and have peripheral shoulders (22, 23) for receiving at least one removable perforated plate (7), said perforated plate having a plurality of XxY recesses (9) for receiving aeroponic cells, wherein X and Y are integers greater than 3, and said frames are movable in at least one movement direction. The invention also relates to aeroponic cells.

Description

 AEROPONIC CULTURE INSTALLATION AND AEROPONIC CULTURE CELL

Field of the invention The present invention relates to the field of aeroponic culture.

Aeroponics is a culture method in which the roots of a plant are suspended in the air and sprayed at short, regular intervals with a mist of nutrient solution.

The roots grow in a chamber protected from light and are irrigated by high-pressure sprinklers to vaporize a solution composed of microdroplets of a size ideally varying between 20 and 80μπι (optimal size for root exchange) by l. intermediate of a diaphragm pump and an expansion vessel.

As a result, plants grow in a sanitized environment, protected from all diseases and contaminations.

Moreover, the physical contact between the root mass and its container is minimized so that there is no obstruction to the natural development thereof, to its access to the nutrient solution or its oxygenation. Cultivated in aeroponics, plants have constant access to the nutrient solution which itself has a very high oxygen content, allowing greater mineral absorption by the root hairs. The more the plant absorbs water, oxygen and thus nutrients, the more important is the crop produced.

Good oxygenation of the roots also allows increased prevention against pathogens.

The more the root space is confined, the more important is the probability of disease development.

Aeroponia 's main goal is to maximize root exchange.

The goal is to spray a nutrient solution for a very short time (0.5 to 1 second every 2-3 minutes) to maintain the presence of a fine nutrient mist heavily loaded with oxygen and minerals in the body. root chamber and therefore optimize the exchange of absorbent hairs. State of the art

Various solutions for the aeroponic culture are known in the state of the art. The patent FR2960574 describes a device for using food plants as architectural elements, through pipes to maintain the said plants is the concept of creating agricultural architectural spaces thanks to new agricultural techniques above ground such as aeroponics and hydroponics. Thanks to the ETFE pipes and sheets, it is possible to create any form of structures to build architectural spaces. The process will be constantly renewed and the organic space will always be changed naturally.

Disadvantages of the Prior Art The solutions of the prior art are suitable for artisanal or scientific crops, or for applications for the production of small quantities of species such as cannabis in the countries that allow its consumption. They do not allow the industrialization of production in large quantities because the manipulations of the plantations require a large and qualified manpower that makes the production costs excessive.

Solutions Provided by the Invention In order to overcome these drawbacks, the present invention relates, in its most general sense, to an aeroponic culture frame constituted by a rigid frame open at its upper surface and its lower part and having peripheral shoulders for receiving at minus an extractable plate, said pierced plate having a plurality of XxY slots to receive aeroponic culture cells, X and Y being integers greater than 3.

Advantageously, said plate is formed by a block made of polystyrene, honeycombed plastic or polycarbonate, in particular massive cellular and corrugated plates.

Preferably, the housings formed in said plate are configured to provide a seal between the upper surface and the lower surface when all the housings are occupied by culture cells.

Alternatively, the frame has plugs to close the housing without cultured cells. The invention also relates to an aeroponic culture installation comprising a plurality of elements constituted by a rigid frame having supports for receiving at least one extractable plate, said pierced plate having a plurality of housings for receiving aeroponic culture cells, said frames being mobile in at least one direction of travel.

Preferably, this installation comprises a mobile spray carriage under the surface of said frames. Advantageously, the installation comprises a zone for unloading frames at one end of said installation, and for loading frames equipped with culture cells into a loading area. According to one variant, each frame is sized to receive NxM pierced plates, where N and M are integers, at least one being greater than 1.

According to another variant, the installation comprises a plurality of pierced plates with a density of different housings.

According to one variant, the installation comprises at least one jack for moving a tube capable of pushing a culture cell out of its housing.

The invention also relates to an aeroponic culture cell for a frame according to the invention, formed by an annular ring having at least two lateral tabs.

Advantageously, the cell has an annular base extended to its underside by a tubular skirt whose outer section is substantially also to the inner section of the housing.

Preferably said annular base is pierced by an opening opening on a peripheral edge extended by at least three angles having at their lower end a shoulder. Detailed description of an exemplary embodiment of

 The invention

The present invention will be better understood on reading the description which follows, relating to a nonlimiting exemplary embodiment with reference to the appended drawings in which:

FIG. 1 represents a perspective view of an exemplary installation according to the invention; FIG. 2 represents a cross-sectional view of a frame according to the invention;

- Figure 3 shows a perspective view of a culture cell according to the invention.

Description of the Installation FIGS. 1 and 2 show a view of an exemplary embodiment of the installation according to the invention respectively in perspective and in cross-section.

The installation is formed by a frame having two rails (1, 2) extending longitudinally, supported by legs (3, 4) distributed along these rails (1, 2) to form a production line.

The installation also comprises frames (5, 6) supporting polystyrene plates (7, 8) traversed by housings (9). These frames (5, 6) are formed by assembling L-shaped metal profiles (20, 21), seen in section, to present a lower shoulder (22, 23) on which the lower peripheral edge of the plate rests. of polystyrene (7).

The rails (1, 2) comprise rollers (10 to 14) for moving the frames (5, 6) longitudinally.

Figure 2 shows a sectional view of an alternative embodiment where the frame receives an arrangement of NxM polystyrene plates. In this case, sleepers

(24) support the inner peripheral edges of the plates.

The plates have housings (9) passing through the plate (7), cylindrical in shape, round or square section, or frustoconical shape.

These housings are intended to receive a culture cell formed by a molded plastic part shown in FIG. 3. Description of the culture cell

The culture cell has a ring base

(25) extended to its underside by a tubular skirt (26). The outer section of the annular base (25) is greater than the inner section of the housing (9). The outer section of the tubular skirt

(26) is substantially also in the inner section housing (9), to allow insertion and extraction with a small clearance, to ensure lateral sealing and upper, through the annular base (25). This annular base (25) is pierced by a square opening (27) opening on a peripheral edge (28) extended by four angles (30 to 33) having at their lower end a shoulder (40 to 43). These cells are intended to receive blocks (34 to 36) formed by a porous substrate of parallelepipedal shape containing a plant seed to be grown. The configuration of the cell makes it possible to house this block while preserving a large area for misting, when the seed has not yet germinated. Indeed, the four side faces of the block (34 to 36) and the lower surface are accessible to receive by misting the nutrients.

The shape of these cells also ensures a seal and prevents the spread of misting over the surface of the tray. This avoids the risk of rotting leaves and loss of nutrient fluid. The excess nutrient liquid falls to the bottom of the plant in a collection and recycling bin.

The unoccupied housing of the tray are closed by a plug (37) providing a seal. Separation of culture cells

Returning to FIG. 1, a solution will now be described to facilitate the reorganization of the culture cells on the tray.

When loading, the blocks containing the seed can be arranged on the tray in a dense manner. As the plant growth progresses, the follicular system occupies a growing volume. It is therefore expedient to be able to change the surface density of the cells, with a maximum grouping during loading and one or more spacings during the growth phase.

For this, one solution is to remove some of the cells with their vegetated blocks to reposition them on another plate, with a greater spacing. For example, the central cell is removed from a set of five slots forming a square, with a central housing and a housing at each corner. For this, the installation comprises a motorized equipment ensuring the raising and lowering of a cross member (50) supporting cylinders (51 to 53) spaced at a pitch corresponding to the pitch of the housing of the polystyrene tray. These cylinders move tubes having a section corresponding to the section of the tubular skirt (26) of the cells. A tube thus surrounds the root system then pushes the cell out of its housing. An operator can then grab it to move it and insert it into the empty slot of another plate. The mobility of the frames relative to the rails makes it easier to handle the trays for loading, unloading and moving the cells. In particular, the loading can be carried out at one end of the rails, and the unloading at the other end, where the frame carrying the tray or trays whose cells carry mature plants is recovered, removed from the rails to be transported in a plant recovery area before being reloaded with blocks not yet germinated, and to be placed back on the rails, at the opposite end for a new crop cycle.

Claims

claims 1 - aeroponic culture installation characterized in that it comprises a plurality of rigid frames (5, 6) open to the upper surface and the lower part and having peripheral shoulders (22, 23) for receiving at least one extractable plate ( 7), and having supports for receiving at least one extractable plate (7), said pierced plate (7) having a plurality of XxY housings (9) for receiving aeroponic culture cells, X and Y being integers greater than 3, said frames being movable in at least one direction of displacement. 2 - Aeroponic culture installation according to claim 1 characterized in that it comprises a movable spray carriage under the surface of said frames. 3 - Aeroponic culture installation characterized in that according to claim 1 or 2 it comprises a unloading area of the frames at one end of said installation, and loading frames equipped with culture cells in a loading area . 4 - aeroponic culture installation according to at least one of claims 5 to 7 characterized in that each frame is sized to receive NxM pierced plates, where N and M are integers, at least one being greater than 1. 5 - aeroponic culture installation according to at least one of claims 1 to 4 characterized in that it comprises a plurality of pierced plates with a density of different housings. 6 - Aeroponic culture installation according to at least one of claims 1 to 5 characterized in that it comprises at least one jack for moving a tube capable of pushing a culture cell out of its housing (9). 7 - aeroponic culture installation according to at least one of the preceding claims characterized in that said plate (7) is formed by a block of polystyrene, cellular plastic or cellular polycarbonate and / or corrugated. 8 - aeroponic culture installation according to at least one of the preceding claims characterized in that the housings (9) formed in said plate (7) are configured to ensure a seal between the upper surface and the lower surface when all the housing are occupied by cultured cells. 9 - Aeroponic culture installation according to at least one of the preceding claims characterized in that it comprises plugs (37) to close the housing (9) free of culture cells (34 to 36). 10 - culture cell for an installation according to claim 1 characterized in that it has an annular base (25) extended to its underside by a tubular skirt (26) whose outer section is substantially also to the inner section of the housing (9). 11 - culture cell according to the preceding claim characterized in that said annular base (25) is pierced by an opening (27) opening on a peripheral edge (28) extended by at least three angles (30 to 33) having at their end lower a shoulder (40 to 43).