PRODUCE PRODUCTION SYSTEM AND PROCESS
First Claim
1. A system for growing produce comprising:
- an insulated enclosure housing said system;
an HVAC (heating, ventilating and air-conditioning) system that maintains a positive air pressure within said enclosure relative to an external environment and an ambient temperature within said enclosure that is approximately equal to room temperature, said HVAC system including at least one component for shielding against particulate contamination and pest infiltration from said external environment;
a soil blend engineered to have absorptive characteristics that provide a watering cycle of predetermined length and nutritional characteristics that provide a plant growth cycle of predetermined length;
at least one non-compartmentalized growing tray that receives a portion of said soil blend sufficient to provide a growth medium for seedlings of said predetermined crop of plants;
at least one production lane comprising at least one gravity feed growing rack and at least one watering station, wherein said at least one gravity feed growing rack indexes said at least one growing tray along said production lane toward said at least one watering station at a rate that delivers said at least one growing tray to said at least one watering station for watering at a time interval established by said watering cycle of predetermined length;
a lighting system proximal to said production lane comprising;
a plurality of lighting elements selected and combined to produce light of of a predetermined wavelength range, said lighting elements changeably fixed within said system to allow variation in distribution of said lighting elements relative to at least a portion of said plants as said at least one growing tray advances along said production lane; and
a lighting control system that controls;
any of light intensity and duration of said plants'"'"' exposure to said light; and
distance between said plants and lighting elements; and
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a metering system that delivers water in at least one predetermined portion, a predetermined portion of water being selected to maintain a predetermined moisture level in said portion of said soil composition.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A process and system for growing produce decouples farming from the unpredictability of the external environment by moving the farm into a highly-controlled enclosed environment in which all variables are optimized to grow produce of exceptional quality in a consistent, predictable manner, while minimizing or eliminating deleterious environmental impacts. A filtered, positive-pressure environment greatly reduces particulate contamination and pest infiltration from the outside. Seedlings are planted in containers of an organic soil mix engineered to deliver optimal amounts of water, nutrients, fiber and organic matter. The containers advance along a production line, in the process being given controlled exposure to light of predetermined intensity and wavelength, optimized to produce a desired growth pattern. Water is given at regular intervals in amounts calculated to produce optimal growth without waste. Nearly all inputs to the process are fully recyclable or are completely consumed; thus little or no waste is produced.
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Citations
53 Claims
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1. A system for growing produce comprising:
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an insulated enclosure housing said system; an HVAC (heating, ventilating and air-conditioning) system that maintains a positive air pressure within said enclosure relative to an external environment and an ambient temperature within said enclosure that is approximately equal to room temperature, said HVAC system including at least one component for shielding against particulate contamination and pest infiltration from said external environment; a soil blend engineered to have absorptive characteristics that provide a watering cycle of predetermined length and nutritional characteristics that provide a plant growth cycle of predetermined length; at least one non-compartmentalized growing tray that receives a portion of said soil blend sufficient to provide a growth medium for seedlings of said predetermined crop of plants; at least one production lane comprising at least one gravity feed growing rack and at least one watering station, wherein said at least one gravity feed growing rack indexes said at least one growing tray along said production lane toward said at least one watering station at a rate that delivers said at least one growing tray to said at least one watering station for watering at a time interval established by said watering cycle of predetermined length; a lighting system proximal to said production lane comprising; a plurality of lighting elements selected and combined to produce light of of a predetermined wavelength range, said lighting elements changeably fixed within said system to allow variation in distribution of said lighting elements relative to at least a portion of said plants as said at least one growing tray advances along said production lane; and a lighting control system that controls; any of light intensity and duration of said plants'"'"' exposure to said light; and distance between said plants and lighting elements; and
;a metering system that delivers water in at least one predetermined portion, a predetermined portion of water being selected to maintain a predetermined moisture level in said portion of said soil composition. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A process for growing produce comprising the steps of:
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in a production facility equipped with at least one production lane, producing non-compartmentalized growing trays of plants growing in a soil blend engineered to have absorptive characteristics that provide a predetermined soil moisture level and a watering cycle of predetermined length, said soil blend also engineered to have nutritional characteristics that provide a plant growth cycle of predetermined length; advancing individual growing trays of growing plants along the production lane toward a watering station on a gravity-fed growing rack; as growing trays advance along the production lane, illuminating the growing plants with light at frequency, intensity and duration selected to produce desired plant characteristics within a predetermined growing cycle; as trays reach watering stations along said production lane, adding water in amounts calculated to maintain said predetermined soil moisture level; and controlling environmental inputs to maintain plant health and produce plants within said plant growth cycle of predetermined length, said plants having at least one predetermined desired characteristic. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
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35. A planting tool, comprising:
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a plurality of facing fabric layers fastened together into a single assembly, said assembly defining openings at predetermined intervals for receiving plants being planted in a quantity of planting medium covered by said assembly; at least one of said layers being at least partially photo-reflective for minimizing heating of said planting medium and at least one of said layers being at least partially light-absorbing for preventing said at least partially photo-reflective layer from absorbing light; at least one of said layers being highly water-absorbent for inhibiting evaporation of moisture from said planting medium. - View Dependent Claims (36, 37, 38)
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39. A computer-implemented method of growing customized produce to order comprising the steps of:
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via a computational device, providing a customer a plurality of options for customizing a selection of produce for purchase and options for customizing physical characteristics of at least one individual variety within said selection of produce for purchase; via a computational device, receiving a custom order from said customer; via a computational device, selecting varieties and quantities to be grown in fulfillment of said custom order; responsive to said selected varieties and quantities being planted in at least one growing tray, via a computational device, monitoring environmental variables for said grow tray over time; responsive to said custom order, said computational device altering at least one of said environmental variables in a predetermined manner to customize at least one physical characteristic of at least one variety. - View Dependent Claims (40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51)
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52. A tangible computer-readable medium having computer-readable instructions for a method of growing produce embodied thereon, the method comprising the steps of:
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providing a customer a plurality of options for customizing a selection of produce for purchase and options for customizing physical characteristics of at least one individual variety within said selection of produce for purchase; receiving a custom order from said customer; selecting varieties and quantities to be grown in fulfillment of said custom order; responsive to said selected varieties and quantities being planted in at least one growing tray, monitoring environmental variables for said grow tray over time; responsive to said custom order, altering at least one of said environmental variables in a predetermined manner to customize at least one physical characteristic of at least one variety.
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53. A tangible computer-readable medium having computer-readable instructions for a method of growing customized produce to order embodied thereon, the method comprising the steps of:
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in a production facility equipped with at least one production lane, producing non-compartmentalized growing trays of plants growing in a soil blend engineered to have absorptive characteristics that provide a predetermined soil moisture level and a watering cycle of predetermined length, said soil blend also engineered to have nutritional characteristics that provide a plant growth cycle of predetermined length; advancing individual growing trays of growing plants along the production lane toward a watering station on a gravity-fed growing rack; as growing trays advance along the production lane, illuminating the growing plants with light at frequency, intensity and duration selected to produce desired plant characteristics within a predetermined growing cycle; as trays reach watering stations along said production lane, adding water in amounts calculated to maintain said predetermined soil moisture level; and controlling environmental inputs to maintain plant health and produce plants within said plant growth cycle of predetermined length, said plants having at least one predetermined desired characteristic.
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Specification