JPH11266720A - Plant growing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a plant growing apparatus free from the influence of the load fluctuation of an artificial light source, capable of accurately measuring the room temperature of the plant-holding area in the growth chamber as far as possible and enabling the control of temperature and humidity with high accuracy. SOLUTION: A control chamber 40 separated by a partition wall 25 is placed at a side of a growth chamber 20 holding a plant. The air temperature- controlled in the control chamber 40 is circulated from the floor board 21 of the growth chamber 20 to the partition plate 23 on the ceiling. A ventilation hole 26 for guiding the air from the side of the growth chamber 20 to the side of the control chamber 40 is opened on a proper part of the partition wall 25 corresponding to nearly the height of the center of the growth chamber 20. A temperature sensor 29 is placed in the control chamber 40 at a position near the ventilation hole 26.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a plant growing apparatus used for research and experiments in agriculture, such as breeding or cultivating plants, comprising a growing room in which an artificial light source is arranged on a ceiling side to store plants. Equipped with a control room separated by a partition on the side of the growth room,
The present invention relates to a plant growing apparatus that circulates air whose temperature or humidity has been adjusted in the control room from the bottom side to the ceiling side of the growing room.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a plant growing device of this kind,
For example, the one shown in FIG. 5 is known. The plant growing apparatus 1 includes a growing room 3 in which a plurality of lamps (artificial light sources) 2 are arranged on a ceiling side, and a control room 5 partitioned by a partition wall 4 on the side of the growing room 3. Floor plate 3a of the training room 3
Are formed with a plurality of outlets (not shown), and a suction port 4 a is opened in the upper part of the partition wall 4.

A sensor 8 for detecting temperature and humidity is disposed at a position facing the suction port 4a in the upper part of the control room 5. Here, the sensor 8 measures an actual room temperature in the growth room 3. The reason why such a sensor 8 is provided not on the growth room 3 side but on the control room 5 side is that when provided on the growth room 3 side, the light radiation of the lamp 2 is directly received and the accurate room temperature cannot be measured. is there.

[0004] After the air discharged through the suction port 4a to the outside of the growth chamber 3 is adjusted to a desired set temperature by an air conditioner 6 disposed in the control room 5, the air is cooled. Is blown down to the bottom of the floor plate 3a. Further, after the humidity was adjusted by the humidifier 7, the air was blown into the growth chamber 3 again through the blowing holes in the entire floor plate 3 a.

The air conditioner 6 includes a heater, a cooler, and a blower. In the air conditioner 6, a difference between a desired set temperature and a room temperature measured by the sensor 8 is determined. For example, the heating or cooling output is calculated by, for example, PID calculation processing. Thereby, the air conditioner 6
The control means (microcomputer) adjusts the operation amounts of the heater and the cooler so that the room temperature approaches the set temperature.

[0006]

However, in the plant growing apparatus 1, the suction port 4a for discharging air from the growing room 3 to the control room 5 is provided with the air cooling efficiency of the light 2 in consideration of the air cooling efficiency of the light 2. Was located close to the ceiling.
Therefore, the sensor 8 located at the position facing the suction port 4 a on the control room 5 side detects the temperature of the air that has been strongly subjected to the heat load of the light 2. Therefore, the temperature of the air measured by the sensor 8 was considerably different from the room temperature at the height of the bottom or substantially the center of the growing room 3 where the plant is actually located.

In view of the above problems, the sensor 8 is preferably
The air volume in the blower of the air conditioner 6 is increased to such an extent that the heat load of the light 2 is not received so that a temperature having a small difference from the room temperature at the bottom or substantially the center of the growing room 3 can be measured. Can be considered. However, then, the wind speed circulating in the growth room 3 becomes too fast,
A new problem arises in that a wind speed (0.5 m / s or less) suitable for growing plants cannot be secured.

[0010] In short, the sensor 8 in the plant growing apparatus 1 cannot measure the room temperature at a height almost at the center of the growing room 3 which should be accurately measured. Therefore, it is difficult to perform accurate temperature control by the control means of the air conditioner 6. In particular, when the light 2 is turned on and when the light 2 is turned off, the temperature measured by the sensor 8 greatly differs. Training room 3 at the time
Could not be measured accurately.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and is not affected by the load fluctuation of the artificial light source, and is capable of adjusting the temperature of the plant storage area in the growing room as accurately as possible. It is an object of the present invention to provide a plant cultivation apparatus capable of measuring temperature and humidity and controlling the temperature and humidity with high accuracy.

[0010]

Means for Solving the Problems The gist of the present invention for achieving the above-mentioned object lies in the following inventions. [1] An artificial light source (31) is provided on the ceiling side to accommodate plants, and a growth room (20) is provided, and a control room (40) partitioned by a partition (25) is provided beside the growth room (20). A plant breeding apparatus (10) for circulating air, of which temperature or humidity is adjusted in the control room (40), from the bottom side to the ceiling side of the breeding room (20). A vent (26) for guiding air from the growth chamber (20) side to the control chamber (40) side is provided at a key point of the partition wall (25) corresponding to a substantially central height position of the (20). A sensor (29) for detecting at least one of temperature and humidity at a position facing the vent (26) from the control room (40) side.
A plant cultivation device (10), characterized in that:

[2] A tubular passage member (27) extending toward the control chamber (40) through the ventilation port (26).
The plant growing apparatus (10) according to [1], wherein the sensor (29) is disposed at a position facing the end of the passage member (27).

[3] The plant growing apparatus (10) according to [1] or [2], wherein a louver (26a) for adjusting a wind direction of the air to be sucked is provided in the ventilation port (26).

Next, the operation based on the above-mentioned solution will be described. According to the plant growing apparatus (10) described in [1], the air whose temperature or humidity is adjusted in the control room (40) circulates from the bottom side of the growing room (20) to the ceiling side. I do. A part of the circulating air is supplied to the growth chamber (2).
Through the ventilation port (26) at the key point of the partition (25) corresponding to the height position substantially at the center of (0), it is guided from the growth room (20) side to the control room (40) side.

A sensor (29) for detecting at least one of the temperature and the humidity of the growing room (20) is provided in the control room (4).
The light source of the artificial light source (31) is not directly received because it is disposed at the position facing the vent (26) on the 0) side. Moreover, the vent (26) is provided with the artificial light source (3).
Since 1) is located considerably lower than the ceiling side of a certain growth room (20), the sensor (29)
The air guided to the side will not receive much heat load of the artificial light source (31).

Thus, the sensor (29) is not affected by the load fluctuation of the artificial light source (31), and the plant (29) is not affected by the height of the vent (26) or the sensor (29) itself. Can accurately measure the room temperature and the humidity at the height position substantially at the center of the growth room (20) where the actual position is. Therefore, the temperature and humidity can be adjusted with higher accuracy in the control room (40) based on the temperature and humidity measured by the sensor (29).

As described in [2], the vent (26)
Is connected to a tubular passage member (27) extending toward the control room (40), and the sensor (29) is disposed at a position facing the end of the passage member (27). Room (2
The air on the 0) side can be reliably guided to the sensor (29). In addition, as described in [3], the vent (2
6) In addition, a louver (2)
By providing 6a), air can be more reliably taken into the vent (26).

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 4 show an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the plant growing apparatus 10 includes a growing room 20 for storing plants and a control room 40 partitioned by a partition wall 25 beside the growing room 20 in a box-shaped machine body 10 a. Consisting of The air whose temperature and humidity are adjusted in the control room 40 is configured to circulate from the bottom side of the growth room 20 to the ceiling side.

A machine body 10a is provided on the bottom side of the growing room 20.
Is provided with a floor plate 21 parallel to the bottom wall. Floorboard 21
A number of outlets (not shown) are opened in
Below 1 is a blowing space 20a for blowing the adjusted air into the growth chamber 20. Pots planted with plants are floor boards 2
1, a portion of the plant that is generally susceptible to environmental factors such as temperature is located at a height substantially near the center of the breeding room 20.

On the other hand, the machine body 1
A partition plate 23 parallel to the ceiling wall 0a is provided.
Above the partition plate 23 is a light source chamber 30 in which a lamp 31 is disposed. As shown in FIG.
Are provided with a plurality of openings 24 through which the lamps 31 are inserted.

In each of the openings 24, the corresponding lower end opening (light irradiating portion) of the cap 32 of the lamp 31 is inserted so as to protrude toward the growth room 20, and the inner peripheral edge of the opening 24 and the cap 32 are formed. A ring-shaped gap is formed between the outer circumference and the outer circumference.
This gap serves as a suction hole for discharging the air inside the growth chamber 20 to the outside of the room.

The light source chamber 30 also serves as a suction space for discharging air circulated in the growth chamber 20 to the outside. In the light source room 30, a plurality of lamps 31 with reflective shades as artificial light sources that protrude partially toward the breeding room 20 are arranged at equal intervals as described above. The lamp 31 is the light bulb 33
It is good to use a sodium lamp.

As shown in FIG. 4, a light-transmissive lid 35 is openably and closably mounted on a lower end opening of a cap 32 on the side of the light irradiation part of the lamp 31 via a hinge 34. In addition, the transparent cover 3
A heat ray cut filter 36 for preventing heat release to the growth room 20 is attached to 5. Heat ray cut filter 36
Specifically, for example, it may be made of a glass mainly composed of phosphate and excellent in infrared absorption.

One end of the light source chamber 30 communicates with the upper end of the control chamber 40, and the lower end of the control chamber 40 communicates with the outlet space 20a. Has formed. An air filter 37 for removing dust and dirt in the air is interposed between the light source chamber 30 and the control chamber 40 in the air circulation path. The air filter 37 can be easily replaced by sliding in the horizontal direction.

The partition wall 25 for partitioning the growth room 20 from the control room 40 is provided with a vent 26 for guiding air from the growth room 20 side to the control room 40 side. Here the vent 26
Is provided at a height position substantially at the center of the growth room 20.
Further, a sensor 29 for detecting a temperature is provided at a position facing the vent 26 from the control room 40 side.

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, a tubular passage member 27 extending toward the control chamber 40 is connected to the ventilation port 26. The sensor 29 is disposed at a position facing the end of the passage member 27. The sensor 29 is fixed at a position shown in the drawing via a mounting bracket 28. In the present embodiment, the sensor 29
Detects only the temperature, a sensor that detects not only the temperature but also the humidity may be provided, or a sensor that can detect only the humidity may be provided.

The vent hole 26 is provided with a louver 26a for adjusting the direction of the air to be taken.
In FIG. 2, the louver 26 a is set at an angle such that a part of the air circulating so as to rise from below the growth chamber 20 is horizontally guided into a passage member 27 extending perpendicular to the vertical partition wall 25. Have been.

The control room 40 is arranged beside the breeding room 20. In the control room 40, an air conditioner 41 for adjusting the temperature and humidity of the air and sending the air in a certain direction is arranged. I have. Here, the air conditioner 41 specifically includes a blower, a cooling coil, an electric heater, and the like. Air conditioner 41
Is disposed downstream of the sensor 29 in a position below the sensor 29, that is, in a series of air circulation paths. Thus, there is no possibility that the sensor 29 measures the temperature of the air immediately after being adjusted by the air conditioner 41.

The operation of the blower, cooling coil, electric heater and the like of the air conditioner 41 is adjusted by control means (computer). For example, with respect to temperature control, the control unit calculates a deviation value between a desired set temperature and the room temperature measured by the sensor 29. Based on the value of the deviation, the control means calculates the heating or cooling output by, for example, PID calculation processing, and adjusts the operation amount of the heater or the cooler so that the room temperature approaches the set temperature. It is set as follows.

Next, the operation will be described. The air in the plant growing device 10 is first adjusted to a desired temperature by the air conditioner 41 in the control room 40 and then sent to the blowing space 20 a below the growing room 20. This temperature adjusted air
In a state where the humidity is adjusted to a desired level by the humidifier 42 in the blowing space 20a, the air is blown into the growing room 20 through a number of blowing holes in the floor plate 21 of the growing room 20.

On the other hand, the light source room 30 above the growing room 20 is under a negative pressure due to the operation of the air blower of the air conditioner 41, and the air in the growing room 20 flows from the opening 24 in the partition plate 23 to the outside of the room. The air is sucked and discharged. Thereby, the distribution of environmental factors such as temperature and humidity in the breeding room 20 can be maintained substantially uniform, and variations in plant growth due to unevenness of the environmental factors in the breeding room 20 can be prevented.

A part of the air circulating from the bottom side to the ceiling side in the growth chamber 20 passes through a vent hole 26 in a partition wall 25 corresponding to a height position substantially at the center of the growth chamber 20 and grows. It is led from the room 20 to the control room 40. As shown in FIG. 2, the ventilation port 26 is provided with a louver 26a,
By the louver 26a, a part of the air circulating so as to rise from below the growth chamber 20 is smoothly guided in the horizontal direction into the passage member 27 extending at right angles to the vertical partition wall 25.

A sensor 29 for detecting the temperature of the growing room 20
Is disposed at a position facing the end of the passage member communicating with the ventilation port 26, and the air in the growth chamber 20 can be reliably guided to the sensor 29. In addition, sensor 2
9 is disposed on the control room 40 side, so that the lamp 31
Light radiation is not directly received.

Moreover, since the vent 26 is located at a substantially central height, which is considerably lower than the ceiling side of the growth chamber 20 where the lamp 31 is located, the air guided from the vent 26 to the sensor 29 side is artificial. Less heat load of the light source. Thereby, the sensor 29 is not affected by the load fluctuation of the lamp 31 and, even when viewed from the height position of the vent hole 29 or the sensor 29 itself, the height of approximately the center of the growing room 20 where the plant is actually located. The room temperature at the position can be accurately measured.

The indoor temperature measured by the sensor 29 is:
The control unit of the air conditioner 41 compares the temperature with a preset target temperature, and first calculates a deviation between the two temperatures. Based on the value of the deviation, the control means calculates the heating or cooling output by, for example, PID calculation processing,
The operating amounts of the heater and the cooler of the air conditioner 41 are adjusted so that the indoor temperature approaches the set temperature. Thus, the temperature of the air conditioner 41 in the control room 40 can be adjusted with high accuracy based on the temperature measured by the sensor 29.

One end of the light source chamber 30 communicates with the upper end of the control chamber 40, and the lower end of the control chamber 40 communicates with the blowing space 20a. The continuous space forms an air circulation path. That is, the air discharged from the suction hole 24 of the partition plate 23 to the outside of the growth chamber 20 is directly introduced into the light source chamber 30 and passes therethrough, and is again adjusted to a desired temperature by the air conditioner 41 of the control room 40. Then, it circulates to the blowing space 20a side.

As described above, since the light source chamber 30 also becomes a part of the air circulation path, excess heat generated from the lamp 31 in the light source chamber 30 is constantly discharged to the outside of the light source chamber 30 together with the air flowing through the air circulation path. Excess heat is cooled by the cooling coil of the air conditioner 41. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide a refrigerator specifically for the light source room 30, and the cost can be reduced. In addition, since the temperatures of the air in the growth room 20 and the light source room 30 are almost equal, the occurrence of dew condensation is reliably prevented. can do.

The plant growing apparatus according to the present invention is not limited to the specific configuration according to the above-described embodiment. For example, in the present embodiment, the sensor 29 detects only the temperature, but a sensor that detects not only the temperature but also the humidity may be provided, or a sensor that can detect only the humidity may be provided. . In such a case, the humidity control may be set to be performed by the control unit of the air conditioner 41, similarly to the temperature control described above.

The partition plate 23 is made of a light-transmitting glass plate (not shown), and the lamp 31 is provided in the light source chamber 30 without providing an opening through which the lamp 31 is inserted.
It may be configured such that a large number of suction holes are regularly drilled in the glass plate. In addition, the blowing space 2
0a is provided with a humidifier 42 for adjusting the humidity of the air circulated to the breeding room 20.
2 may be included in the air conditioner 41.

[0039]

According to the plant growing apparatus of the present invention, a control room partitioned by a partition wall is provided on the side of the growing room, and a key portion of the partition wall corresponding to a height substantially at the center of the growing room is provided. Since a ventilation opening for guiding air from the growing room side to the control room side is provided, and a sensor for detecting at least one of temperature and humidity is provided at a position facing the ventilation opening from the control room side, the sensor is provided in the growing room. The light emitted from the artificial light source on the ceiling side is not directly received, and the air vent is located at a considerably lower position than the artificial light source. There is not much load. Furthermore,
Even from the height position of the vent or the sensor itself, it is possible to accurately measure the room temperature and humidity at the height position substantially at the center of the growing room where the plant is actually located, Based on the humidity, it is possible to control the temperature and humidity with higher accuracy.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing an internal structure of a plant growing device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing a vent and a sensor of the plant growing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an attached state of a lamp constituting an artificial light source of the plant growing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing an artificial light source of the plant growing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a front view showing the internal structure of a conventional plant growing device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Plant growing apparatus 10a ... Machine body 20 ... Growing room 21 ... Floor plate 23 ... Partition plate 24 ... Opening 25 ... Partition wall 26 ... Vent 26a ... Louver 27 ... Passage member 28 ... Mounting bracket 29 ... Sensor 30 ... Light source room 31 ... lamp with reflector (artificial light source) 40 ... control room 41 ... air conditioner 42 ... humidifier

Claims (3)

[Claims] An artificial light source is arranged on a ceiling side to accommodate a plant for storing a plant, and a control room partitioned by a partition wall beside the growing room, wherein at least one of temperature and humidity is adjusted in the control room. In the plant growing apparatus that circulates the generated air from the bottom side to the ceiling side of the growing room, a key portion of the partition wall corresponding to a substantially central height position of the growing room is controlled from the growing room side. A plant breeding apparatus, comprising: a vent that guides air to a room; and a sensor that detects at least one of temperature and humidity at a position facing the vent from the control room. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a tubular passage member extending toward the control chamber is connected to the vent, and the sensor is disposed at a position facing an end of the passage member. Item 10. The plant growing apparatus according to Item 1. 3. The plant growing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a louver for adjusting a wind direction of air to be taken is provided in the vent.