Indoor garden center with a moisture management system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11528851-B2
Application number	US-202017090262-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 5, 2020
Priority date	Nov 5, 2020
Publication date	Dec 20, 2022
Grant date	Dec 20, 2022

Abstract

An indoor gardening appliance includes a liner defining a grow chamber and a grow module rotatably mounted within the grow chamber for receiving a plurality of plant pods. A moisture management system includes an evaporator plenum in fluid communication with the grow chamber and a fan assembly that recirculates air from the respective grow chambers and/or the ambient environment through an evaporator positioned within the evaporator plenum. In this manner, chamber humidity may be regulated while water is extracted from the air which may be used by a hydration system to hydrate plants.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A gardening appliance, comprising:
a liner positioned within a cabinet and defining a first grow chamber and a second grow chamber, the second grow chamber being substantially isolated from the first grow chamber;
a grow module mounted within the liner and defining a plurality of apertures for receiving one or more plant pods; and
a moisture management system comprising:
an evaporator plenum;
a first supply duct and a first intake duct providing fluid communication between the evaporator plenum and the first grow chamber;
a second supply duct and a second intake duct providing fluid communication between the evaporator plenum and the second grow chamber;
a fan assembly operably coupled to the evaporator plenum for urging a flow of air through the evaporator plenum; and
an evaporator positioned within the evaporator plenum for dehumidifying the flow of air passing through the evaporator plenum.

2. The gardening appliance of claim 1 , wherein the fan assembly comprises:
a first fan operably coupled to the first supply duct; and
a second fan operably coupled to the second supply duct.

3. The gardening appliance of claim 2 , wherein the first fan is selectively operated in reverse to prevent the flow of air from entering the first grow chamber and the second fan is selectively operated in reverse to prevent the flow of air from entering the second grow chamber.

4. The gardening appliance of claim 1 , wherein the moisture management system further comprises:
a first intake damper operably coupled to the first intake duct for regulating a first flow of intake air from the first grow chamber; and
a second intake damper operably coupled to the second intake duct for regulating a second flow of intake air from the second grow chamber.

5. The gardening appliance of claim 1 , wherein the moisture management system further comprises:
an ambient air intake that is fluidly coupled to the evaporator plenum; and
an ambient damper operably coupled to the ambient air intake for selectively permitting a flow of ambient air to pass into the evaporator plenum.

6. The gardening appliance of claim 1 , further comprising a hydration system for selectively spraying a mist of nutrients into the grow chamber, wherein the hydration system comprises:
a sump for collecting extracted water from the evaporator; and
a pump fluidly coupled to the sump for recirculating the extracted water through the hydration system.

7. The gardening appliance of claim 6 , wherein the moisture management system comprises:
a water return path for directing the extracted water from the evaporator into the sump.

8. The gardening appliance of claim 1 , wherein the evaporator plenum is defined above the grow module along a vertical direction.

9. The gardening appliance of claim 1 , wherein the evaporator is operably coupled to a sealed system, the sealed system comprising a condenser, an expansion device, and a compressor.

10. The gardening appliance of claim 1 , wherein the gardening appliance further comprises:
a lighting source for selectively illuminating the grow chamber;
a light cooling duct for passing a flow of cooling air over the lighting source; and
a cooling fan for circulating the flow of cooling air from the grow chamber through the light cooling duct.

11. A moisture management system for a gardening appliance, the gardening appliance comprising a liner positioned within a cabinet and defining a first grow chamber and a second grow chamber, the second grow chamber being substantially isolated from the first grow chamber, and a grow module mounted within the liner, the moisture management system comprising:
an evaporator plenum;
a first supply duct and a first intake duct providing fluid communication between the evaporator plenum and the first grow chamber;
a second supply duct and a second intake duct providing fluid communication between the evaporator plenum and the second grow chamber;
a fan assembly operably coupled to the evaporator plenum for urging a flow of air through the evaporator plenum; and
an evaporator positioned within the evaporator plenum for dehumidifying the flow of air passing through the evaporator plenum.

12. The moisture management system of claim 11 , wherein the fan assembly comprises:
a first fan operably coupled to the first supply duct; and
a second fan operably coupled to the second supply duct.

13. The moisture management system of claim 12 , wherein the first fan is selectively operated in reverse to prevent the flow of air from entering the first grow chamber and the second fan is selectively operated in reverse to prevent the flow of air from entering the second grow chamber.

14. The moisture management system of claim 11 , further comprising:
a first intake damper operably coupled to the first intake duct for regulating a first flow of intake air from the first grow chamber; and
a second intake damper operably coupled to the second intake duct for regulating a second flow of intake air from the second grow chamber.

15. The moisture management system of claim 11 , further comprising:
an ambient air intake that is fluidly coupled to the evaporator plenum; and
an ambient damper operably coupled to the ambient air intake for selectively permitting a flow of ambient air to pass into the evaporator plenum.

16. The moisture management system of claim 11 , further comprising a hydration system comprising for selectively spraying a mist of nutrients into the grow chamber, wherein the hydration system comprises:
a sump for collecting extracted water from the evaporator; and
a pump fluidly coupled to the sump for recirculating the extracted water through the hydration system.

Assignees

• Haier Us Appliance Solutions Inc

Inventors

• Hunter Matthew R
• Schroeder Michael Goodman
• Wantland Louis A
• Gardner John Alexander
• Allgeier Brian

Classifications

• A01G9/023

  Multi-tiered planters · CPC title

• A01G9/0297

  Grids for supporting several receptacles · CPC title

• A01G9/00 Primary

  Cultivation in receptacles, forcing-frames or greenhouses (of mushrooms A01G18/00; soilless cultivation A01G31/00); Edging for beds, lawn or the like · CPC title

• A01G9/027

  Pots connected in horizontal rows · CPC title

• A01G9/246 Primary

  Air-conditioning systems · CPC title