Systems and methods for bypassing harvesting for a grow pod

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11116155-B2
Application number	US-201815984663-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 21, 2018
Priority date	Jun 14, 2017
Publication date	Sep 14, 2021
Grant date	Sep 14, 2021

Abstract

A system bypasses harvesting in an assembly line grow pod when it is determined that a plant in a cart is not ready to harvest. The system includes a track, a cart configured to move on the track, one or more sensors and a controller. The cart includes an upper plate that supports a plant. The controller receives information about the plant from the one or more sensors, determines whether the plant in the cart is ready to harvest based on the information; and transmits an instruction for bypassing harvesting the plant in the cart in response to determination that the plant in the cart is not ready to harvest.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A system for bypassing harvesting in an assembly line grow pod, the system comprising:
at least one track including a harvesting zone and a growing zone, the at least one track being a closed loop track;
a cart configured to move on the track, the cart including an upper plate configured to support a plant;
one or more sensors; and
a controller comprising:
one or more processors;
one or more memory modules; and
machine readable instructions stored in the one or more memory modules that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the controller to:
receive information about the plant from the one or more sensors;
determine whether the plant in the cart is ready to harvest based on the information; and
transmit an instruction for bypassing harvesting the plant in the cart at the harvesting zone and instruct the cart to move to the growing zone of the at least one track after passing the harvesting zone in response to determination that the plant in the cart is not ready to harvest.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one track comprises:
a primary track; and
a secondary track connected to the primary track, and
wherein the instruction for bypassing harvesting includes an instruction for switching a path of the cart from the primary track to the secondary track.

3. The system of claim 2 , wherein a total length of the secondary track is shorter than a total length of the primary track.

4. The system of claim 2 , wherein the machine readable instructions stored in the one or more memory modules, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the controller to:
determine additional growth time for the plant based on the information about the plant in response to determination that the plant in the cart is not ready to harvest; and
control a speed of the cart on the secondary track based on the additional growth time.

5. The system of claim 2 , wherein the primary track includes an ascending portion wrapping around a first axis perpendicular to ground and a descending portion wrapping around a second axis perpendicular to the ground.

6. The system of claim 5 , wherein:
the ascending portion is bifurcated into a spiral track and a linear track,
the linear track is connected to the descending portion, and
the secondary track includes the linear track.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least track comprises:
a primary track; and
a plurality of secondary tracks connected to the primary track, and
the machine readable instructions stored in the one or more memory modules, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the controller to:
determine additional growth time for the plant based on the information about the plant in response to determination that the plant in the cart is not ready to harvest; and
select one of the plurality of secondary tracks based on the additional growth time.

8. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a lifter,
wherein the machine readable instructions stored in the one or more memory modules, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the controller to send to the lifter an instruction for tilting the upper plate by a predetermined degree in response to determination that the plant in the cart is ready to harvest.

9. The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more sensors include a proximity sensor, and the machine readable instructions stored in the one or more memory modules, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the controller to calculate a height of the plant in the cart based on information received from the proximity sensor.

10. The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more sensors include a weight sensor, and the machine readable instructions stored in the one or more memory modules, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the controller to determine a weight of the plant in the cart based on information received from the weight sensor.

11. The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more sensors include a camera configured to capture an image of the plant, and the machine readable instructions stored in the one or more memory modules, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the controller to:
process the image received from the camera; and
determine a chlorophyll level of the plant based on the processed image.

12. The system of claim 1 , wherein the machine readable instructions stored in the one or more memory modules, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the controller to:
determine additional growth time for the plant based on the information about the plant in response to determination that the plant in the cart is not ready to harvest; and
select a secondary track based on the additional growth time.

13. A controller for bypassing harvesting a plant in a cart, the controller comprising:
one or more processors;
one or more memory modules; and
machine readable instructions stored in the one or more memory modules that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the controller to:
send, to the cart, an instruction for moving on at least one track including a harvesting zone and a growing zone, the at least one track being a closed loop track;
receive information about the plant in the cart from one or more sensors;
determine whether the plant in the cart is ready to harvest based on the information; and
transmit an instruction for bypassing harvesting the plant in the cart at the harvesting zone and instruct the cart to move to the growing zone of the at least one track after passing the harvesting zone in response to determination that the plant in the cart is not ready to harvest.

14. The controller of claim 13 , wherein the at least track comprises:
a primary track; and
a secondary track connected to the primary track, and
wherein the instruction for bypassing harvesting includes an instruction for switching a path of the cart from the primary track to the secondary track.

15. The controller of claim 14 , wherein the machine readable instructions stored in the one or more memory modules, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the controller to:
determine additional growth time for the plant based on the information about the plant in response to determination that the plant in the cart is not ready to harvest; and
control a speed of the cart on the secondary track based on the additional growth time.

16. The controller of claim 13 , wherein the at least track comprises:
a primary track; and
a plurality of secondary tracks connected to the primary track, and
the machine readable instructions stored in the one or more memory modules, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the controller to:

determine additional growth time for the plant based on the information about the plant in response to determination that the plant in the cart is not ready to harvest; and
select one of the plurality of secondary tracks as a path for cart based on the additional growth time.

17. A method for bypassing harvesting a plant in a cart comprising:
sending, to the cart, an instruction for moving on at least one track including a harvesting zone and a growing zone, the at least one track being a closed loop track;
receiving information about the plant in the cart from one or more sensors;
determining whether the plant in the cart is ready to harvest based on the information; and
transmitting an instruction for bypassing harvesting the plant in the cart at the harvesting zone and instructing the cart to move to the growing zone of t

Assignees

• Grow Solutions Tech Llc

Inventors

• Millar Gary Bret
• Stott Mark Gerald
• Hurst Michael Stephen
• Woodbury Taylor John

Classifications

• A01G7/00

  Botany in general · CPC title

• A01D91/00

  Methods for harvesting agricultural products · CPC title

• A01G9/143

  Equipment for handling produce in greenhouses · CPC title

• A01G31/042 Primary

  with containers travelling on a belt or the like, or conveyed by chains · CPC title

• G05B19/042

  using digital processors (G05B19/05 takes precedence) · CPC title