Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02573216 2007-01-09
WO 2006/007698 PCT/CA2005/001110
GROWTH CHAMBER
PRIOR APPLICATION INFORMATION
This application claims the benefit of United States Provisional
Patent Application 60/588,321, filed July 16, 2004.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates generally to the field of agriculture. More
specifically, the present invention relates to a sealed growth chamber for
growing
plants therein.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Typically, plants such as bedding plants and the like are grown in
specialized greenhouses wherein humidity and temperature are carefully
controlled. Individuals often attempt to recreate greenhouse conditions in
their own
homes, for example, by having a dedicated room for plant growing wherein
humidity and temperature are controlled. However, it can be expensive to
regulate
the temperature of a large area and excess humidity can damage the structural
integrity of the surrounding area.
Clearly, a plant growth chamber is needed which allows temperature
and humidity within the chamber to be regulated.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a plant
growth chamber comprising:
a housing having an interior and a plurality of shelves for holding
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plants;
a humidity chamber for injecting humidity into incoming air;
vents directing the humidified air into the interior of the housing; and
a light system within the housing, said light system comprising a light in
an enclosed tube, said enclosed tube having a separate air system for
dissipating
heat generated by the light.
According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a plant growth
chamber comprising:
a housing having an interior, a base, a top, sidewalls and a door for
accessing
the interior of the housing;
said base having entry air holes;
said sidewalls having a plurality of shelves extending outwardly therefrom for
holding plants therein;
a humidity chamber arranged to draw outside air via a duct, said humidity
chamber having a plurality of misters for injecting water into said outside
air, thereby
producing humidified air,
said humidity chamber being connected to the entry air holes via a duct for
passing said humidified air into the interior of the growth chamber; and
a light system comprising a light in an enclosed tube within the interior of
the
housing, said tube extending from the base of the housing to the top of the
housing,
said enclosed tube having a separate air system for dissipating heat generated
by the
light, wherein heated air exits the housing through the top of the housing.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure 1 is a side view of the growth chamber with the doors open.
Figure 2 shows the base of the growth chamber and the humidifier air
feed and the light system air feed.
Figure 3 shows the base of the interior and the entry air holes of the
growth chamber.
Figure 4 shows the top of the interior and the exit air holes.
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Figure 5 is a rear view of the growth chamber which shows the feeder
lines.
Figure 6 is a rear view of the growth chamber which shows the upper
ducts.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein
have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the
art to
which the invention belongs. Although any methods and materials similar or
equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice or testing of
the
present invention, the preferred methods and materials are now described. All
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publications mentioned hereunder are incorporated herein by reference.
Referring to the drawings, a growth chamber 1 comprises a housing
10, a light system 20, a nutrient reservoir 30, a humidity chamber 40, a duct
system 50 and a temperature equilibration system 60.
In the embodiment shown in Figure 1, the housing 10 has a
substantially octagonal shape. As will be appreciated by one of skill in the
art, this
arrangement provides additional growth area for the plants as discussed below;
however, it is to be understood that other suitable shapes for example,
square,
rectangular, triangular, hexagonal, pentagonal, heptagonal, nonagonal and the
like
may be used and are within the scope of the invention.
The housing 10 includes an interior 11, at least one door 12, a base
13, a top 14, side walls 15, a plurality of shelves 16, entry air holes 17,
exit air
holes 18 and removable exterior panels 19. In a preferred embodiment, the door
12 comprises one or more side- walls 15 which is arranged to pivot from an
open
position to a closed position. That is, in some embodiments, the door 12 is in
eff ect
a pivoting side wall 15. It is also of note that as discussed herein, in some
embodiments, the housing 10 is arranged so as to be sealed or enclosed, that
is,
substantially air-tight such that air within the interior 11 of the housing 10
does not
exit to the surrounding environment when the door 12 is closed. The door 12
can
be opened to access the interior 11 of the growth chamber 1. The plurality of
shelves 16 are arranged for storing the plants therein, as discussed below. As
can
be seen in Figure 1, in some embodiments, the shelves 16 extend outwardly from
the side walls 15 of the housing 10 at an angle, as discussed below. The entry
air
holes 17 in the base 13 accept air from the humidity chamber 40 and direct the
humidified air into the interior 11 of the housing 10 as discussed below. The
exit air
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holes 18 at the top 14 allow air to exit the interior 11 of the housing 10 to
the duct
system 50, as discussed below. The removable exterior panels 19 provide access
to the backs of the shelves 16, that is, access to the roots of the plants, as
discussed below. In addition, the removable exterior panels 19 also provide
easy
access to the shelves 16 for cleaning.
In the embodiment shown in Figure 1, the light system 20 comprises
an air intake 22 and a tube 24 connected to the air intake 22, the tube 24
being in
the interior 11 of the housing 10 and containing one or more lights 26. As
discussed below, air is taken in at the air intake 22 and is passed into the
interior
11 of the housing 10 through the tube 24. As discussed herein, the tube 24 is
sealed and extends from the base 13 of the housing 10 to the top 14 of the
housing 10. As discussed below, the air is passed over the lights 26, thereby
heating the air, before exiting at the top 14 of the housing 10 into the duct
system
50. As a result of this arrangement, the plants in the growth chamber 1 are
not
directly exposed to air heated by the lights 26, as discussed below.
Furthermore,
this arrangement provides a quantity of dry heated air that can be used for
other
purposes, for example, heating the surrounding area or heating incoming air.
Thus,
the growth chamber 1 has two completely separate air systems: a first air
system
within the interior 11 of the growth chamber 1 and a second air system within
the
light system 20. This arrangement provides greater temperature management, as
discussed below.
As will be appreciated by one of skill in the art, there are many
suitable arrangements for the lights 26 which can be used within the invention
provided of course that plants at a given position within the growth chamber 1
are
exposed to the desired amount of light. For example, the lights 26 may be a
single
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light that extends along the entire length of the tube 24 or a single light
that
extends along substantially the entire length of the tube 24. In other
embodiments,
multiple lights may be used in substantially equivalent positions as the
single light
arrangement discussed above. In yet other embodiments, the lights 26 may be a
5 single light, for example, an eight inch light within an 8 inch sleeve that
is further
inserted into a 10 inch sleeve. In this arrangement, the light does not extend
along
the entire length of the tube 24 but may be approximately 6 inches from the
top 14
of the housing 10 and approximately 3 inches from the base 13 of the housing
10.
As will be appreciated by one of skill in the art, this will of course depend
on the
dimensions of the growth chamber which as discussed above may be varied within
the invention. In other embodiments, the eight inch sleeve may be an Inch and
a
half from the top and bottom. It is of note that this arrangement provides two
additional layers of plastic which further dissipates the heat from the lights
26.
Thus, as discussed above, there are several possible light sources
and arrangements that may be used within the invention and the exact
arrangement of the light system 20. For example, fluorescent lights, either
magnetic ballast or electronic ballast could be used. In these embodiments,
the
lights 26 may not be inserted in sleeves as discussed above. However, it is of
note
that in preferred embodiments the lights 26 are metal halide or high pressure
sodium. Furthermore, in these embodiments, multiple bulbs may be used instead
of a single cylindrical bulb as discussed above.
The nutrient reservoir 30 stores a quantity of nutrients that is fed to
the plants, as discussed below. It is of note that any suitable combination of
nutrients and water known in the art may be stored in the nutrient reservoir
30. The
nutrient reservoir 30 comprises a pump connected to a plurality of feeder
lines 32
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which are inserted into the growth media of the respective plants, as
discussed
below. It is also of note that in some embodiments, the nutrient reservoir 30
is
blacked out or otherwise made substantially light-impermeable such that light
for
example light from the light system 20 does not enter the nutrient reservoir.
As a
result of this arrangement, algae growth within the nutrient reservoir 20 is
minimized as is the breakdown of photo-labile nutrients.
The humidity chamber 40 comprises a plurality of misters 42.
Specifically, air is brought in from the outside via the duct system 50,
described
below. Once in the humidity chamber 40, the misters 42 may inject water into
the
air, thereby humidifying the air prior to passing the humidified air into the
interior 11
of the housing 10 via the entry air holes 17, as discussed below.
Specifically, by
varying the number of misters activated, the humidity injected into the air
can be
controlled, thereby regulating the humidity of the air. It is of note that as
a result of
this arrangement, the humidity of the air can be increased to 100%, if so
desired.
For example, this may be accomplished by activating all of the misters while
lower
humidity levels may be accomplished by activating fewer misters. As will be
appreciated by one of skill in the art, the actual number of misters and the
amount
of water generated by each mister in response to activation may be varied and
these arrangements are within the scope of the invention. It is of note that
the
humidity chamber may include a water reservoir for providing water to the
misters
and/or the misters may be fed water via a water line. It is noted that such
misters
are known in the art as are a variety of means for determining the humidity of
air.
The duct system 50 comprises a humidifier air feed 52, a light system
air feed 54, a light system air duct 56, and a plant air collector 58. As
discussed
below, the humidifier air feed 52 passes incoming air into the humidity
chamber 40
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and through the misters 42 and into the interior 11 of the growth chamber 1
via the
entry air holes 17. The light system air duct 56 passes air to the sealed tube
24
wherein air is heated by the lights 26 before exiting the tube 24 via the
light system
air duct 56. The plant air collector 58 collects air exiting the interior 11
of the
growth chamber 1 via the exit air holes 18. In some embodiments, this air is
passed to a filter system wherein bacteria, dust, odors, humidity and the like
are
removed from the air.
The temperature equilibration system 60 comprises a plurality of
hoses 62 each connecting the humidity chamber 40 to a respective upper opening
64 in the side walls 15 of the housing 10, as shown in Figure 1. The
temperature
equilibration system 60 is arranged to be turned on or off. When in the on
position,
humidified air is passed from the humidity chamber 40 directly to the upper
portion
of the housing 10. As a result of this arrangement, the temperature within the
interior 11 of the housing 10 can be maintained at a relatively uniform
temperature.
However, when the temperature equilibration system is off, air is not passed
directly from the humidity chamber 40 to the upper portion of the housing 10.
In
this arrangement, a temperature gradient forms wherein it is hotter at the top
14 of
the housing 10 than the base 13 of the housing 10. Thus, it is possible to
vary the
temperature between the top 14 of the housing 10 and the base 13 of the
housing
10 by as much as 10-20 F, thereby allowing plants having different growth
requirements to grow within the same chamber.
For use, the plant growth chamber 1 is assembled and/or positioned
in the desired location. Next, the humidifier air feed 52 and the light system
air feed
54 of the duct system 50 are connected to an air source and the misters 42 are
connected to a water source. Plants are placed in the shelves 16.
Specifically, the
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plants may be placed in the shelves 16 by opening the door 12 to the interior
11 of
the growth chamber 1. Next, the respective feeder lines 32 are inserted into
the
growth medium of the respective plants such that each plant is fed by a feeder
line
32 connected to the nutrient reservoir 30. It is of note that the feeder lines
32 may
be inserted either from the interior 11 of the growth chamber 1 or via the
removable exterior panels 19. In some embodiments, for example as shown in
Figure 5, the exterior panels 19 may include holes 70 for passing the feeder
lines
32 therethrough. The temperature equilibration system 60 is then connected by
attaching the hoses 62 to the upper openings 64 and the humidity chamber 40,
as
discussed above.
In a preferred embodiment, the nutrient reservoir includes a pump
which draws nutrients from the nutrient reservoir into a main line which is in
turn
connected to the feeder lines 32 for supplying nutrients to the plants within
the
chamber as discussed above.
In use, the desired humidity is selected and the appropriate number
of misters 42 are activated. Thus, as air travels into the humidity chamber
40, a
mist of water is injected into the air by the misters 42, thereby humidifying
the air
which is then passed into the interior 11 of the growth chamber 1 by the entry
air
holes 17 and the temperature equilibration system 60, if turned on. The
humidified
air then passes up the interior 11 of the chamber 1 to the plant air collector
58 at
the top 14 of the housing 10. The airflow within the growth chamber 1 is
illustrated
by the arrows shown in Figure 1. Specifically, as can be seen in Figure 1, air
enters at the bottom of the chamber (and may enter through the upper openings
if
the temperature equilibration system is on) and flows upwardly to the top of
the
chamber, as discussed below.
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As discussed above, if the temperature equilibration system 60 is on,
air from the humidity chamber 40 will enter the interior 11 of the housing via
upper
openings 64, thereby maintaining a generally even temperature within the
housing
10.
As discussed above, the lights 26 are enclosed in the sealed tube 24
which has a separate air supply system, as discussed below. As discussed
above,
controlling the air flow, that is, the rate of air passing over the lights 26,
is one
method used to regulate the temperature within the interior 11 of the growth
chamber 1. That is, increasing the air flow over the lights 26 will dissipate
heat and
lower the temperature while decreasing the air flow will increase the
temperature
within the interior 11 of the growth chamber 1. Alternatively, air flow within
the
interior 11 of the growth chamber 1 may be increased to cool the interior 11
of the
growth chamber 1.
As discussed above, the plants in the shelves 16 can be accessed by
removing the removable exterior panels 19. As a result of this arrangement,
all
plants and their roots can be accessed at any time with minimal disruption to
the
surrounding plants.
Because the plant growth chamber 1 is a sealed unit, the
temperature and the humidity therewithin can be varied while having minimal
impact on the surrounding environment or area. Furthermore, the growth chamber
1 is arranged to maximize the available growing area through the use of the
shelves 16 and the light system 20 which extends from the base 13 of the
housing
10 to the top 14 of the housing 10, thereby supplying substantially equal
amounts
of light to all of the plants in the growth chamber.
As will be appreciated by one of skill in the art, the depth, height,
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location and angle of the shelves 16 can be varied according to user
preference.
As a result of this arrangement, the growth chamber 1 is flexible enough that
a
variety of plants can be grown in a single growth chamber. In a preferred
embodiment, the shelves 16 are at 230, although as discussed above, other
5 suitable angles may also be used and are within the scope of the invention.
It is of
note that other suitable angles include but are by no means limited to 15-30
degrees and 20-25 degrees. It is of note having the plants at an angle places
the
top of the plant closest to the lights 26 which has many advantages, including
speeding the set time for the plants.
10 As discussed above, in the embodiment shown in the attached
figures, the growth chamber 1 has 8 walls with up to 6 shelves per wall. It is
of note
that this arrangement provides approximately 90 square feet of growing area.
As
discussed above, other suitable geometries and sizes may also be used which
may accommodate more or fewer walls as well as more or fewer shelves.
Plants which may be grown in the growth chamber 1 include but are by no
means limited to lettuce, kale, chard, collards, arugula, peppers, tomatoes,
cucumbers, melons, strawberries, sprouts, herbs, for example, basil, oregano,
thyme, sage, parsley and the like, chives, and various flowers.
In other embodiments, one or more of the sidewalls may be arranged for
easy removal from the housing such that the sidewall can be placed outside if
so
desired. In these embodiments, it is of note that the sidewall may be arranged
to
be a separate enclosed unit, for example, having separate feeder lines as well
as
possibly a separate nutrient reservoir connected to the sidewall. As a result
of this
arrangement, the sidewall can be removed from the housing and transported to
another location without disconnecting the feeder lines. Furthermore, the
sidewall
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is arranged to be inserted back into the housing when done.
In an alternative embodiment, the invention comprises a stand-alone unit
comprising one sidewall with shelves for storing plants and a plurality of
feeder
lines connected to a reservoir for feeding the plants. In this arrangement,
the
sidewall can be placed in any suitable location, either indoors or outdoors,
and
plants can be placed in the shelves. The feeder lines connected to the
reservoir
are then inserted into a respective one of the plants such that all of the
plants are
fed by the reservoir, as is the case with the growth chamber 1 discussed
above. In
this arrangement, the sidewall may be moved to different locations with a
minimum
of disruption to the plants.
The invention will now be explained by way of example; however, the
invention is not limited by the example which is intended for illustrative
purposes
only.
In one example, lettuce plants are placed on the bottom shelves of the
growth chamber 1 while tomatoes and/or herbs are placed in the middle shelves
and peppers and/or melons are placed on the top shelves. The growth chamber 1
may then be arranged such that the bottom shelves are subjected to a
temperature
of 60-65 degrees, while the middle shelves are subjected to a temperature of
approximately 75 degrees and the top shelves are subjected to a temperature of
approximately 90 degrees. As discussed above, in this embodiment, the
temperature equilibration system 60 is turned off such that the temperature in
the
upper portion of the growth chamber 1 is greater than the temperature in the
lower
portion, as discussed above.
In another example, each panel or wall of the growth chamber 1 holds
plants of a specific variety and the temperature of the growth chamber is
uniform
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throughout. It is of note that as discussed above in these embodiments, the
temperature equilibration system 60 is on, meaning that the temperature is
kept
uniform.
While the preferred embodiments of the invention have been described
above, it will be recognized and understood that various modifications may be
made therein, and the appended claims are intended to cover all such
modifications which may fall within the spirit and scope of the invention.
