Air movement control and air source device for cultivation

• US 10,667,472 B2
• Filed: 11/17/2017
• Issued: 06/02/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 12/14/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mankaew Muanchart
• Original Assignee: Mankaew Muanchart
• Inventors: Muanchart, Mankaew
• Primary Examiner(s): Topolski, Magdalena
• Assistant Examiner(s): Barlow, Morgan T
• Application Number:
  US16/470,123
• Publication Number:
  US 20190357451A1
• Time in Patent Office: 928 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A01G 7/02 Treatment of plants with carbon dioxide
• CPC Class Codes: A01G 9/18 Greenhouses for treating plants with carbon dioxide or the like
• CPC Class Codes: A01G 9/246 Air-conditioning systems
• CPC Class Codes: Y02A 40/25 Greenhouse technology, e.g. cooling systems therefor

Abstract

A system for mixing gases affecting the growth of plants (such as carbon dioxide) with returned extracted gases, refrigerating and introducing the mixed gases (via an air-moving device) into a space containing cultivated plants, and maintaining movement the mixed gases over the plants and then away from them is provided. As the mixed gases move over the plants, the mixture interacts with the plants, gathering emitted gaseous and vapor photosynthesis products from the plants. The movement of the mixed gases, which can be assisted by additional devices, transports emitted photosynthesis products away from the plants and towards a region of the spatial volume where these can be removed for subsequent processing, reintroduction, and/or storage. Processing can include moisture capture and liquid/gas separation. In an embodiment, separated mixed gases can be re-introduced into the spatial volume by the air-moving device, and separated liquid can be provided to the plants for nutrition.

Claims

1. An air movement system for plant cultivation, the system comprising:

a crop rail configured for holding plants;

an air conditioner for the cooling of incoming air and producing cooled outgoing air, the outgoing air routed to an air emission point (048);

a mixing arrangement for introducing stored gases into the incoming air;

an air movement device for creating a flow of air movement of the outgoing air, further configured to direct the flow of air movement from the air emission point (048) to flow over an area of plants and arranged so that the flow of air movement traverses an essentially linear path from the air emission point (048) to an air intake (049);

at least one air velocity retention device (AVRD) attached to the crop rail, each AVRD comprising . . . of each AVRD

wherein the essentially linear path is arranged to traverse surfaces of at least one plant held in the crop rail, and

wherein the at least one AVRD is oriented and arranged to assist the flow of air movement on the path from the air emission point (048) to the air intake (049).

2. The system of claim 1 wherein a plurality of AVRDs are attached to the crop rail, the plurality of AVRDs configured in a consecutive sequence so that air expelled from one of the AVRDs is directed towards the air intake of the next AVRD in the consecutive sequence.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein the AVRDs are spatially arranged in a consecutive sequence, and wherein the distance between consecutive AVRDs in the sequence is separated by a distance within a range of 15 to 300 centimeters.

4. The system of claim 2 wherein the crop rail is arranged to be able to hold at least one plant between a consecutive pair of AVRDs.

5. The system of claim 1, the system configured to implement an air movement control process comprising:

retrieving at least one gas from a gas storage tank (201), the gas capable of affecting the growth of plants of plants,

transferring the gas through a nozzle (311) to inject the gas into the airflow inlet (045) of the air conditioner (100), the air conditioner is configured to regulate the air temperature to be suitable for growing plants;

directing the flow from an air outlet of the air conditioner (046) through the air inlet accelerator (325), wherein the air enters an air collector tube (328) for distributing air to a discharge pipe (047), which releases the moving air through the emission point (048) into a spatial volume comprising living plants;

passing the moving air from the emission point (048) to a first AVRD (110) then through a region configured to comprise at least one plant (001) and into a second AVRD (111), then through a region configured to comprise at least plant (002), each AVRD is configured to maintain directed air movement;

drawing the flow through the air intake (049), into the pipe (050), and to a collecting pipe (329);

separating the flow into gas product and liquid product;

directing the liquid product into a solution tank (354) wherein the liquid product stored in the storage tank (354) is available for use in plant nutrient processing; and

directing the gas product into an air accelerator device (326) and subsequently to an excess moisture trap (320) for removing moisture from the gas product, and then directing the gas product to the air conditioner.

6. The system of claim 5 wherein the gas storage tank (201) comprises at least carbon dioxide gas.

7. The system of claim 5 wherein the solution storage tank (354) is a closed container comprising at least one passage and an outlet.

8. The system of claim 5 wherein the air inlet accelerator (325) comprises at least one of a centrifugal pump and an axial flow fan.

9. The system of claim 5 wherein at least one of the air discharge tube (047), the air collector tube (328), the collecting pipe (329), and the pipe (050) comprise at least one of aluminum, plastic, stainless steel, or foil, or equivalent.

10. The system of claim 5 wherein the surface area of the air collector tube (328) is within a range of 19 to 6360 square centimeters.

11. The system of claim 5 wherein the air conditioner provides an air temperature within the range of 5 to 50 degrees Celsius.

12. The system of claim 5 wherein the excess moisture trap (320) comprises at least one of a desiccant dehumidifier, an air filter, and a humidity control unit.

13. The system of claim 5 wherein the air accelerator device (326) comprises at least one of a centrifugal pump and an axial flow fan.

14. The system of claim 5 wherein the surface area of the collecting pipe (329) is within a range of 19 to 6360 square centimeters.

15. The system of claim 1 further comprising a measurement device configured to measure a concentration of gases that affect plant growth.

16. The system of claim 1 wherein the crop rail (931) has an exterior surface color comprising a photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) within the range of 100-1000 microns per square meter per second (micron mol/sqr·

m·

sec).

17. The system of claim 1 wherein the surface of the crop rail (931) comprises a textured surface.

18. The system of claim 1 wherein the crop rail (931) supports a plurality of plants in a vertical stack or in a horizontal array.

19. The system of claim 1 wherein the air movement velocity is essentially within a range of 0.1-5 meters per second.

20. The system of claim 1 wherein the carbon dioxide concentration in the outgoing air is in a range of 450 to 1600 parts per million (ppm).

21. The system of claim 1 wherein the crop rail (931) comprises at least one of Polyvinyl Chloride, Polyethylene, Polypropylene, 316L stainless steel, 304 stainless steel, 308 stainless steel.