Plant cultivation apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12495745-B2
Application number	US-202117559481-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 22, 2021
Priority date	Dec 22, 2020
Publication date	Dec 16, 2025
Grant date	Dec 16, 2025

Abstract

A plant cultivation apparatus includes a cabinet, a bed disposed in the cabinet, a cultivator configured to be disposed on the bed and to accommodate a cultivation medium therein, where the cultivation medium is configured to accommodate at least portion of a plant, and the cultivator defines a cover water channel at a top surface thereof, and a water supply disposed inside the cabinet and configured to supply water to the cover water channel, where at least a portion of the water supply is located above the cover water channel. The cover water channel is in fluid communication with an inside of the cultivator and configured to guide the water supplied from the water supply to the cultivation medium in the inside of the cultivator.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A plant cultivation apparatus comprising:
a cabinet; a bed disposed in the cabinet; a cultivator configured to be disposed on the bed and to accommodate a cultivation medium therein, the cultivation medium being configured to accommodate at least a portion of a plant, the cultivator comprising (i) a cultivation vessel that is configured to be disposed on the bed and has an open top and (ii) a cover that is configured to cover at least a portion of the open top of the cultivation vessel and defines a cover water channel at an upper surface of the cover; and a water supply disposed inside the cabinet and configured to supply water to the cover water channel, at least a portion of the water supply being located above the cover water channel, wherein the cover water channel is in fluid communication with an inside of the cultivator and configured to guide the water supplied from the water supply to the cultivation medium in the inside of the cultivator, wherein the cover comprises a cultivation medium receiving portion that is configured to accommodate an upper end of the cultivation medium, wherein the cover defines;
a first inflow hole in the cover water channel, the first inflow hole being configured to fluidly communicate the cover water channel with an inside of the cultivation medium receiving portion,
a second inflow hole in the cover water channel, the second inflow hole being in fluid communication with an inside of the cultivation vessel, wherein a vertical level of the second inflow hole is higher than a vertical level of the first inflow hole, and
a cover through-hole at a top surface of the cultivation medium receiving portion, the cover through-hole being configured to receive the plant based on the plant growing therethrough, wherein a vertical level of the cover through-hole is higher than the vertical level of the second inflow hole, and
wherein the cultivation medium receiving portion is configured to block water in the cover water channel from flowing into the cover through-hole.

2 . The plant cultivation apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first inflow hole is configured to supply the water from the cover water channel to the cultivation medium, and
wherein the cover water channel overlaps with at least a portion of the cultivation medium receiving portion.

3 . The plant cultivation apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the cover water channel is recessed from a portion of the upper surface of the cover, and
wherein the cultivation medium receiving portion is disposed in the cover water channel and protrudes upward relative to a bottom surface of the cover water channel.

4 . The plant cultivation apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the cultivation medium receiving portion is positioned within the cover water channel and configured to be surrounded by the water received in the cover water channel, and
wherein the first inflow hole is defined at a periphery of the cultivation medium receiving portion.

5 . The plant cultivation apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the cultivation medium receiving portion has an inner surface configured to contact the cultivation medium that is inserted to the cultivation medium receiving portion, and
wherein the first inflow hole passes through the inner surface of the cultivation medium receiving portion and is configured to supply the water received in the cover water channel to the cultivation medium.

6 . The plant cultivation apparatus of claim 4 , wherein at least a portion of the first inflow hole is defined at the bottom surface of the cover water channel.

7 . The plant cultivation apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the cover water channel comprises a sidewall that faces the cultivation medium receiving portion and is horizontally spaced apart from the cultivation medium receiving portion.

8 . The plant cultivation apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the cover further comprises a protrusion that is disposed in the cover water channel and protrudes upward from the bottom surface of the cover water channel, the protrusion defining the second inflow hole at a top surface thereof.

9 . The plant cultivation apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the vertical level of the second inflow hole is lower than a vertical level of the upper surface of the cover.

10 . The plant cultivation apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the cover further comprises a first protrusion that is located at a first side of the cover, that is disposed in the cover water channel, and that protrudes upward from the bottom surface of the cover water channel, the first protrusion defining the second inflow hole at a top surface thereof, and
wherein a distance between the first protrusion and the water supply is less than a distance between the cultivation medium receiving portion and the water supply.

11 . The plant cultivation apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the cover further comprises a second protrusion that is located at a second side of the cover, that is disposed in the cover water channel, and that protrudes upward from the bottom surface of the cover water channel, the second protrusion defining another second inflow hole at a top surface thereof.

12 . The plant cultivation apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the water supply defines a discharge outlet configured to discharge water to the cover water channel, and
wherein the cover includes a water collecting recess defined at a side of the cover water channel, the water collecting recess being located below the discharge outlet and configured to receive the water discharged from the discharge outlet and to provide the received water to the cover water channel.

13 . The plant cultivation apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the cover comprises a pair of first protrusions that are located at the first side of the cover, that are disposed in the cover water channel, and that protrude upward from the bottom surface of the cover water channel,
wherein one of the pair of first protrusions is the first protrusion defining the second inflow hole at the top surface thereof, wherein the other one of the pair of first protrusions defines another second inflow hole at a top surface thereof, and wherein the water collecting recess is defined between the pair of first protrusions.

14 . The plant cultivation apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the cover water channel comprises:
a first cover water channel that extends from a first side of the cover to a second side of the cover; and a second cover water channel branched from the first cover water channel, and wherein the cover comprises a plurality of cultivation medium receiving portions that are configured to accommodate upper ends of a plurality of cultivation media, respectively, and that are disposed in the first cover water channel and the second cover water channel.

15 . The plant cultivation apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the cultivation vessel defines a discharge hole configured to discharge water in the cultivation vessel to the bed, and
wherein the bed defines a water discharge channel configured to receive the water discharged from the discharge hole and to guide the received water to the water supply.

16 . The plant cultivation apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the water supply comprises:
a storage configured to store water; and a supply channel that is connected to the storage and extends to a position above the cover water channel, the supply channel being configured to supply the water from the storage to the cover water channel, and wherein the water discharge channel is connected to the storage and configured to guide the water discharg

Assignees

• Lg Electronics Inc

Inventors

• Yoo Imsung

Classifications

• A01G31/065

  with means for recycling the nutritive solution · CPC title

• A01G31/06

  Hydroponic culture on racks or in stacked containers · CPC title

• A01G7/06

  Treatment of growing trees or plants, e.g. for preventing decay of wood, for tingeing flowers or wood, for prolonging the life of plants · CPC title

• A01G27/02

  having a water reservoir, the main part thereof being located wholly around or directly beside the growth substrate (A01G27/06 takes precedence) · CPC title

• A01G27/003

  Control of self-acting watering devices (Hydroponic system controls A01G31/008) · CPC title