Systems and methods for managing water dosages in an assembly line grow pod

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10973178-B2
Application number	US-201815985239-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 21, 2018
Priority date	Jun 14, 2017
Publication date	Apr 13, 2021
Grant date	Apr 13, 2021

Abstract

Assembly line grow pods that include watering stations positioned to provide water plant material at predetermined days of growth and methods of supplying the same are disclosed. An assembly line grow pod includes a track extending a length between a seeder component and a harvester component, a plurality of watering stations arranged adjacent to the track at a plurality of locations along the length of the track between seeder and harvester components, and a cart supported on and movable along the track from the seeder component to the harvester component such that seeds that are placed by the seeder component within the cart grow into plant material that is harvested at the harvester component. Each one of the plurality of watering stations is positioned between the seeder and harvester components such that water is provided by the watering station to the cart at a predetermined growth metric.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An assembly line grow pod comprising:
a track extending a length between a seeder component and a harvester component;
a plurality of watering stations arranged adjacent to the track at a plurality of locations along the length of the track between the seeder component and the harvester component;
a cart supported on the track and movable along the track from the seeder component to the harvester component such that seeds that are placed by the seeder component within the cart grow into plant material that is harvested at the harvester component; and
a controller that determines an amount of water provided by each watering station to the cart based on a location of the cart and according to a predetermined growth metric determined from one or more characteristics of the plant material.

2. The assembly line grow pod of claim 1 , further comprising:
a watering component; and
one or more water lines fluidly coupled to the watering component and each one of the plurality of watering stations, the one or more water lines fluidly coupled between the watering component and each one of the plurality of watering stations.

3. The assembly line grow pod of claim 2 , further comprising one or more pumps fluidly coupled to the one or more water lines between the watering component and each one of the plurality of watering stations.

4. The assembly line grow pod of claim 2 , further comprising one or more flow control valves fluidly coupled to the one or more water lines between the watering component and each one of the plurality of watering stations.

5. The assembly line grow pod of claim 1 , wherein:
the track is arranged such that an ascending portion of the track spirals in a vertical direction to create a perceived plurality of floors; and
each one of the plurality of watering stations is arranged on a corresponding one of the perceived plurality of floors.

6. The assembly line grow pod of claim 1 , wherein the one or more characteristics of the plant material are selected from: an amount of stem growth in a time period, an amount of leaf growth in a time period, a number of fruits produced in a time period, a number of seeds produced in a time period, and an amount of mass increase in a time period.

7. The assembly line grow pod of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the plurality of watering stations comprises one or more watering manifolds that deliver a predetermined amount of water to the cart or a section of the cart.

8. The assembly line grow pod of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the plurality of watering stations comprises one or more peristaltic pumps that deliver a predetermined amount of water to the cart or a section thereof.

9. The assembly line grow pod of claim 1 , wherein each one of the plurality of watering stations comprises one or more water outlets that are positioned above the track such that, when the cart moves adjacent to each one of the plurality of watering stations, each one of the one or more water outlets is aligned with a particular area of a tray supported by the cart.

10. An assembly line grow pod comprising:
a track extending a length;
a plurality of watering stations positioned adjacent to the track at a plurality of locations along the length of the track;
a cart supported on the track, the cart holding plant material therein; and
a master controller comprising a processor and a non-transitory storage medium having one or more programming instructions stored thereon that, when executed, cause the processor to:
determine a location of the cart relative to one or more of the plurality of watering stations,
determine one or more characteristics of the plant material held within the cart,
determine an amount of water to be supplied to the cart based on the location of the cart and the one or more characteristics of the plant material,
determine one or more of the plurality of watering stations to supply the water to the cart, and
transmit a signal to the one or more of the plurality of watering stations, wherein the signal causes the one or more of the plurality of watering stations to supply the amount of water to the cart when the cart is adjacent to each of the one or more of the plurality of watering stations.

11. The assembly line grow pod of claim 10 , wherein the one or more programming instructions that, when executed, cause the processor to determine the one or more characteristics of the plant material further cause the processor to identify the plant material in a tray supported by the cart.

12. The assembly line grow pod of claim 10 , wherein the one or more programming instructions that, when executed, cause the processor to determine the one or more characteristics of the plant material further cause the processor to identify a number of seeds in a tray supported by the cart.

13. The assembly line grow pod of claim 10 , wherein the one or more programming instructions that, when executed, cause the processor to determine the one or more characteristics of the plant material further cause the processor to determine an amount of growth undergone by the plant material according to a growth metric.

14. The assembly line grow pod of claim 10 , wherein the one or more programming instructions, when executed, further cause the processor to determine a water dosage that is based on a recipe, a predetermined amount of water to be supplied, a modified recipe based on previous water usage, an amount of water present in the cart, or an amount of water that should be present in the cart.

15. A method of supplying a predetermined amount of water to plant material within a tray on a cart supported on a track in an assembly line grow pod, the method comprising:
determining, by a processor, a location of the cart relative to one or more of a plurality of watering stations adjacent to the track within the assembly line grow pod;
determining, by the processor, one or more characteristics of the plant material within the tray;
determining, by the processor, an amount of water to be supplied to the tray based on the location of the cart and the one or more characteristics of the plant material;
determining, by the processor, one or more of the plurality of watering stations to supply the water to the tray; and
transmitting, by the processor, a signal to the one or more of the plurality of watering stations, wherein the signal causes the one or more of the plurality of watering stations to supply the amount of water to the tray when the cart is adjacent to each of the one or more of the plurality of watering stations.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein determining the one or more characteristics of the plant material comprises identifying the plant material in the tray.

17. The method of claim 15 , wherein determining the one or more characteristics of the plant material further comprises identifying a number of seeds in the tray.

18. The method of claim 15 , wherein determining the one or more characteristics of the plant material comprises determining an amount of growth undergone by the plant material according to a growth metric.

19. The method of claim 15 , further comprising:
determining, by the processor, a water dosage that is based on a recipe, a predetermined amount of water to be supplied, a modified recipe based on previous water usage, an amount of water present in the cart, or an amount of water that should be present in the cart.

20. The method of claim 15 , further comprising:
moving the cart along the track such that the tray is adjac

Assignees

• Grow Solutions Tech Llc

Inventors

• Millar Gary Bret
• Stott Mark Gerald
• Tueller Todd Garrett

Classifications

• Y02P60/21

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• G06Q50/02

  Agriculture; Fishing; Forestry; Mining · CPC title

• G06Q10/06395

  Quality analysis or management · CPC title

• B60L5/04

  using rollers or sliding shoes in contact with trolley wire (B60L5/40 takes precedence) · CPC title

• A01G31/06

  Hydroponic culture on racks or in stacked containers · CPC title