Patent Application
20200355330
The present invention relates generally to hydroponic growing systems and, more particularly, to a lighting system configured to provide light to a horizontal hydroponic farm.
Given the continued growth of the world's population, and given that the regions allocated for agricultural pursuits have decreased or simply become less favorable to such activities, the ability of conventional farms to feed the world's growing population has become increasingly taxed. Additionally, since population centers and agricultural centers are frequently not co-located, and due to the time and expense associated with shipping agricultural goods, in many regions of the world only the wealthy are able to obtain adequate supplies of non-processed food, i.e., raw fruits and vegetables. Furthermore, the fruits and vegetables that do reach population centers are likely to be of decreased nutritional content and flavor, both due to the distance that they have traveled and the fact that much of today's produce is bred for durability and fertility rather than flavor & nutrition. As a result, there has been a renewed interest in soilless growing techniques that do not require the use of pesticides, drastically reduce the use of water, and allow for growing varietals that are bred for nutrition and flavor instead of durability.
Hydroponics is a soilless growing technique in which plants are grown using a liquid solution of water and nutrients. The roots of the plants are typically maintained in a fibrous or granular material, often comprised of plastic, and fed via a wick, drip, nutrient film, or other nutrient delivery system. Hydroponic growing systems are often established within indoor facilities, thus allowing them to be located in or near population centers. This approach also provides exceptional climate control (i.e., temperature, humidity, air flow, CO2 concentration, light wavelength, intensity and duration, etc.) as well as improved pest and disease control, thus allowing an indoor hydroponic farm to succeed in a region in which the outside environment and/or the soil conditions are inhospitable to the use of conventional farming techniques. Furthermore, hydroponic and other soilless growing techniques can yield extremely high plant densities, especially in those instances in which either horizontal stacking systems or vertical growth towers are used.
While hydroponic farming techniques offer a number of advantages over conventional farming techniques, in order to achieve large-scale adoption of these techniques it is vital that the cost per plant be competitive with the costs associated with conventional farming techniques. Accordingly, the present invention provides a hydroponic farm compatible lighting system.
A lighting assembly configured for use with a hydroponic growing facility is provided, the lighting assembly including (i) an LED board mounting fixture; (ii) an LED board mounted to the LED board mounting fixture; (iii) a plurality of LEDs attached to the LED board; (iv) a light shield encircling the LED board mounting fixture and the LED board mounted to the LED board mounting fixture, the light shield extending from a first end of the LED board mounting fixture to a second end of the LED board mounting fixture; (v) a first end cap bonded to a first end of the light shield, the first end of the light shield proximate to the first end of the LED board mounting fixture; and (vi) a second end cap bonded to a second end of the light shield, the second end of the light shield proximate to the second end of the LED board mounting fixture, the second end cap including an LED board power connector, wherein a set of HV wires from the LED board pass through the second end cap to the LED board power connector, and wherein the LED board mounting fixture and the LED board are completely bounded by the light shield, the first end cap and the second end cap. Preferably a first water-tight seal is created when the first end cap is bonded to the first end of the light shield, and a second water-tight seal is created when the second end cap is bonded to the second end of the light shield. The light shield may include internal features that align and locate the LED board mounting fixture within the light shield. A layer of a thermally conductive material may be interposed between the LED board and the LED board mounting fixture.
In one aspect of the invention, the lighting system may include a mounting bracket slidably attached to the light shield. The mounting bracket may include a pair of grooves with a first groove of the pair configured to slide along a first edge of a first side of the light shield, and with a second groove of the pair configured to slide along a second edge of a second side of the light shield. The mounting bracket may further include a secondary member configured to lock the mounting bracket into a specific location on the light shield. The secondary member may include a post threadably coupled to the mounting bracket via a threaded thru-hole, where the post in a withdrawn position does not lock the mounting bracket into the specific location on the light shield, and where the post in an extended position extends through the mounting bracket and locks the mounting bracket into the specific location on the light shield. Alternately, the secondary member may include a post and the mounting bracket may include a spring assembly configured to apply a spring load on the secondary member, where the spring load forces the post into an extended position that locks the mounting bracket into the specific location on the light shield, and where the application of a counter force to the secondary member withdraws the post from the extended position and unlocks the mounting bracket from the specific location on the light shield.
A further understanding of the nature and advantages of the present invention may be realized by reference to the remaining portions of the specification and the drawings.
It should be understood that the accompanying figures are only meant to illustrate, not limit, the scope of the invention and should not be considered to be to scale. The same reference label on different figures should be understood to refer to the same component or a component of similar functionality. Additionally, multiple labels using the same numerical label and differing only in the letter label (e.g., 301A and 301B) refer to components of the same or similar functionality but positioned in different locations within or on the apparatus.
As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The terms “comprises”, “comprising”, “includes”, and/or “including”, as used herein, specify the presence of stated features, process steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, process steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. As used herein, the term “and/or” and the symbol “/” are meant to include any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. Additionally, while the terms first, second, etc. may be used herein to describe various steps, calculations, or components, these steps, calculations, or components should not be limited by these terms, rather these terms are only used to distinguish one step, calculation, or component from another. For example, a first calculation could be termed a second calculation, and, similarly, a first step could be termed a second step, and, similarly, a first component could be termed a second component, without departing from the scope of this disclosure.
The present invention provides a lighting system that is configured for use with a hydroponic farm, preferably a hydroponic farm utilizing horizontal racks. The primary component of the lighting system is a light assembly, the light assembly including one or more LED boards affixed to a central, thermally conductive, mounting fixture. The LED boards are preferably fixed to a single side of the mounting fixture, where the number and location of the LED boards on the mounting fixture is primarily dependent upon the size and layout of the hydroponic racks within the hydroponic farming facility. A light shield, which surrounds the LED boards and mounting fixture, extends the entire length of the light assembly. The light shield is sealed, as described in detail below, to both light assembly end caps, thereby providing a completely sealed light assembly. A flexible mounting system is used to locate each light tube within the hydroponic farming facility.
In addition to providing a mounting surface for the LED boards comprising the light assembly, mounting fixture 100 also provides an effective heat sink for the heat generated by the LED board(s). To improve thermal communication between the back surface of the LED board(s) and mounting fixture 100, a layer of a thermally conductive medium (not visible in the figures) may be located between the LED board(s) and the mounting surface of the fixture. A double-sided, thermally conductive tape may be used for this purpose, although it should be understood that other thermally conductive media, such as thermally conductive paste, may be used to provide a preferential heat-transfer path between the LED light board(s) and fixture 100.
Depending upon the desired overall length of the light assembly, multiple LED boards may be attached to a single mounting fixture. Alternately, one or more mounting fixtures, each with one or more LED boards, may be combined into a single light assembly in order to achieve the desired light assembly length.
Given the environment of a hydroponic farm, the light assembly of the invention includes a clear tube that surrounds the LED light board(s) as well as the mounting fixture.
In the preferred embodiment, light shield 501 is clear and is used solely for protection as noted above. The inventors, however, envision that shield 501 can be treated to provide secondary benefits such as light control (e.g., focusing or diffusing the light emitted by the LEDs) and/or wavelength control (e.g., filtering the light emitted by the LEDs to provide a selective light spectrum). In the preferred embodiment, light and wavelength control is provided through selection of specific LEDs that emit the desired light spectrum and light spread (e.g., via LED lenses).
In the preferred embodiment of the invention, one or more mounting brackets are attached to the light assembly, thereby simplifying attachment of the light assembly to the hydroponic farm facility.
The sides 1305 of mounting bracket primary member 1301 are shaped to capture the edge 505 of light shield 501. As shown in the figures, each side 1305 of member 1301 includes a groove 1405 into which light shield edge 505 fits, this configuration allowing mounting bracket 1300 to slide along the length of the light assembly. Due to this edge capturing feature of the mounting bracket, primary bracket member 1301 must either be slid onto the light shield prior to bonding both end caps to the light shield, or member 1301 must be sufficiently pliable that it may be slightly deformed thereby allowing it to be placed on the light shield after the end caps have been bonded to the light shield.
Secondary bracket member 1303 preferably serves multiple purposes. First, it can be used to lock mounting bracket 1300 into a specific location on the light assembly. Second, member 1303 provides a convenient means to attach the mounting bracket to a suitably shaped bracket located in the hydroponic farm. It will be understood that member 1303 can be configured to perform either, or both, of these functions.
In the preferred embodiment, attached to secondary bracket member 1303 is a threaded post 1307. Threaded post 1307 is threadably coupled to a threaded thru-hole 1309 located in primary bracket member 1301. In this configuration when member 1303 is screwed completely through thru-hole 1309, the end surface 1311 of post 1307 is pressed against the back surface 507 of light shield 501, thereby locking mounting bracket 1300 in place. The inventors envision other bracket configurations that may be used to lock mounting bracket 1300 in place relative to light shield 501. For example and as shown in
Preferably the light assembly of the invention uses one or more light assembly mounting brackets 1301/1303 to attach to a suitably configured hydroponic farming facility mounting bracket.
Systems and methods have been described in general terms as an aid to understanding details of the invention. In some instances, well-known structures, materials, and/or operations have not been specifically shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring aspects of the invention. In other instances, specific details have been given in order to provide a thorough understanding of the invention. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize that the invention may be embodied in other specific forms, for example to adapt to a particular system or apparatus or situation or material or component, without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. Therefore the disclosures and descriptions herein are intended to be illustrative, but not limiting, of the scope of the invention.
