A SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING ILLUMINATION TO PLANTS

• US 20160113213A1
• Filed: 06/05/2014
• Published: 04/28/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 06/06/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Flora Fotonica Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Flora Fotonica Ltd.
• Inventors: BERINSKY, Gennadiy
• Granted Patent: US 10,292,340 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A01G 7/045 with electric lighting
• CPC Class Codes: A01G 9/20 Forcing-frames; Lights , i.e. glass panels covering the forcing-frames
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 45/20 Controlling the colour of the light
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 45/32 Pulse-control circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 45/327 Burst dimming
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/105 in response to determined parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/125 by using cameras
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/155 Coordinated control of two or more light sources
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/16 by timing means
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/175 by remote control
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/19 via wireless transmission
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 20/40 Control techniques providing energy savings, e.g. smart controller or presence detection
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 60/14 Measures for saving energy, e.g. in green houses

Abstract

The present invention discloses a system for illuminating plants in an indoor site, comprising a plurality of illumination units for emitting light in intermittent pulses; a central unit connected to the plurality of illumination units for synchronizing the operation of the plurality of illumination units, such that two or more plants clusters receive light in intermittent pulses emitted in the same time. The illumination units may contain wireless communication units and are synchronized wirelessly. The present invention also discloses adjusting an illumination plan of plants according to information of various types from a central server and adjusting the height of the illumination units accordingly. The system adjusts illumination plans according to information received from one or more sites, and predicts problematic situations from a series of images.

Claims

1. A system for illuminating plants in a plant growth site, comprising:

a plurality of illumination units for emitting light in intermittent pulses;

a central unit connected to the plurality of illumination units for synchronizing the operation of the plurality of illumination units, such that two or more plants clusters receive light in intermittent pulses emitted in the same time, said synchronization is performed via wireless signals sent to at least a portion of the plurality of illumination units.

2. The system according to claim 1, further comprising a sensor unit for detecting data related to the growth of plants in the plant growth site.

3. The system according to claim 2, wherein the sensor unit comprises an image capturing device for detecting visual parameters of the plants.

4. The system according to claim 2, further comprising a transmitter for transmitting the data related to the growth of plants to a remote location.

5. The system according to claim 1, wherein the at least a portion of the plurality of illumination units comprises a plurality of light emitters that emit light in two or more wavelengths simultaneously.

6. The system according to claim 5, wherein the plurality of light emitters emit several different wavelength ranges;

wherein the light of each region is separately pulsed based on a duty cycle.

7. The system according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of illumination units comprise a wireless communication unit;

wherein the operation of the plurality of illumination units is synchronized in a wireless manner.

11. The system according to claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the plurality of illumination units comprises:

a communication unit for receiving an illumination plan.

12. The system according to claim 11, wherein the central unit is configured to transmits the illumination plan to the communication units of the plurality of illumination units.

13. The system according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of illumination units emit light in a controlled wavelength and intensity.

16. The system according to claim 1, wherein the central unit also controls pulse duty cycle and frequency of the plurality of illumination units in different wavelengths of the light spectrum in a synchronized manner.

17. The system according to claim 3, wherein the image capturing device is configured to captures images when pulses are emitted in a predefined wavelength by at least a portion of the plurality of illumination units.

18. The method according to claim 3, comprising:

obtaining sensor data sensed by a sensor unit in the plant growth site;

transmitting the sensor data to a computerized server located outside the plant growth site;

adjusting an illumination plan to be applied in the plant growth site according to the sensor data; and

transmitting the adjusted illumination plan to the plant growth site.

22. The method according to claim 18, further comprising obtaining data concerning former problematic situations;

comparing images of former problematic situations with current images taken from various plant growth sites;

predicting a problematic situation according to the comparison.

23. The method according to claim 18, further comprising measuring a distance between an illumination unit that emit light in the plant growth site to a plant canopy in the plant growth site.

24. The method according to claim 23, further comprises adjusting the height of the illumination unit in case the distance is smaller than a predefined threshold.

26. The method according to claim 18, wherein adjusting an illumination plan comprises adjusting an illumination parameter of the light emitted by at least a portion of illumination units in the plant growth site.

27. The method according to claim 26, wherein the illumination parameter is selected from:

wavelength, duty cycle, frequency, light intensity, and an angle between a light emitter in the illumination unit and a canopy of the illuminated plant.

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34. A method of synchronizing illumination of plants in a plant growth site, comprising:

providing a plurality of illumination units for emitting light in intermittent pulses; and

wirelessly synchronizing operation of the plurality of illumination units, such that two or more plants clusters receive light in intermittent pulses emitted in the same time, said synchronizing is performed by transmitting wireless signals to at least a portion of the plurality of illumination units.

35. The method of claim 34, further comprising capturing images of the illuminated plants, and analyzing the captured images to identify characteristics of the illuminated plant.