Vegetable preservation and growing case and pipe connection control method for vegetable preservation and growing case

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016113221-A1
Application number	US-201414894882-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Mar 31, 2014
Priority date	May 30, 2013
Publication date	Apr 28, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

A vegetable preservation and growing case includes a thermally-insulated case body. The thermally-insulated case is provided therein with at least one vegetable carrying box for use in vegetable growing or preservation. The vegetable carrying box bearing case ( 1 ) and the thermally-insulated case body have a pluggable electrical connection and a pluggable water-path connection and allow for disassembly, thus effectively increasing the degree of use convenience.

First claim

1 . A vegetable preservation and growing case, comprising: a thermal insulation case body, wherein at least one vegetable carrying case for vegetable growing or preservation is disposed in the thermal insulation case body, and the vegetable carrying box is connected to the thermal insulation case body by means of a pluggable electric connection and a pluggable water connection.

2 . The vegetable preservation and growing case according to claim 1 , wherein the thermal insulation case body is provided with a circulation pipeline for circularly supplying a nutrient solution to the vegetable carrying box, wherein the vegetable carrying box is connected to the circulation pipeline by means of a pluggable water connection.

3 . The vegetable preservation and growing case according to claim 2 , wherein the vegetable carrying box comprises a solution carrying case provided with a high-level liquid inlet and a low-level liquid outlet that are opposite to each other.

4 . The vegetable preservation and growing case according to claim 3 , wherein a first water swivel for supplying the nutrient solution to the vegetable carrying box and a second water swivel for discharging the nutrient solution are disposed in the thermal insulation case body, the first water swivel is pluggably connected to the high-level liquid inlet, the low-level liquid outlet is pluggably connected to the second water swivel, and the first water swivel and the second water swivel are in communication with the circulation pipeline.

5 . The vegetable preservation and growing case according to claim 3 , wherein the high-level liquid inlet and the low-level liquid outlet are provided on a same side of the vegetable carrying box.

6 . The vegetable preservation and growing case according to claim 3 , wherein an inner wall of the solution carrying case is provided with an elastic sheet corresponding to the high-level liquid inlet, and the elastic sheet is configured to prevent the nutrient solution in the vegetable carrying box from flowing out when the vegetable carrying box is pulled out.

7 . The vegetable preservation and growing case according to claim 4 , wherein a circuit component is disposed in the thermal insulation case body, the thermal insulation case body and the vegetable carrying box are provided with a corresponding first electromagnetic connection portion and a corresponding second electromagnetic connection portion respectively, the second electromagnetic connection portion is pluggably electrically connected to the first electromagnetic connection portion, and the circuit component is controlled to be on/off according to a plug/unplug state between the first electromagnetic connection portion and the second electromagnetic connection portion.

8 . The vegetable preservation and growing case according to claim 7 , wherein a first solenoid valve is cooperatively connected to the first water swivel; the first solenoid valve is in linkage with the first electromagnetic connection portion and the second electromagnetic connection portion, and is configured to control, according to a plug/unplug state between the first electromagnetic connection portion and the second electromagnetic connection portion, a nutrient solution feed branch from the circulation pipeline to the corresponding vegetable carrying box to be on/off.

9 . The vegetable preservation and growing case according to claim 7 , wherein a second solenoid valve corresponding to the low-level liquid outlet is disposed in the solution carrying case; the second solenoid valve is in linkage with the first electromagnetic connection portion and the second electromagnetic connection portion, and is configured to control, according to a plug/unplug state between the first electromagnetic connection portion and the second electromagnetic connection portion, a nutrient solution backflow branch from the corresponding vegetable carrying box to the circulation pipeline to be on/off.

10 . The vegetable preservation and growing case according to claim 4 , wherein the first water swivel comprises a first steel-core joint and a flexible material layer that is wrapped around the first steel-core joint.

11 . The vegetable preservation and growing case according to claim 4 , wherein the second water swivel comprises a second steel-core joint fitting the low-level liquid outlet.

12 . The vegetable preservation and growing case according to claim 1 , wherein at least two vegetable carrying boxes for vegetable growing or preservation are disposed in parallel at intervals along a vertical direction in the thermal insulation case body, and a first illumination component for illuminating a lower vegetable carrying box is disposed at the bottom of an upper vegetable carrying box.

13 . The vegetable preservation and growing case according to claim 1 , wherein the first illumination component comprises a light source and a light guide plate disposed on a light emergent path of the light source.

14 . The vegetable preservation and growing case according to claim 13 , wherein the light source comprises: multiple groups of linear light sources symmetrically disposed on two sides of the light guide plate.

15 . The vegetable preservation and growing case according to claim 14 , wherein the linear light source comprises multiple unit light sources arranged linearly.

16 . The vegetable preservation and growing case according to claim 15 , wherein all of the multiple unit light sources are white light sources; or the multiple light sources comprise at least one red light source and at least one blue light source; or the multiple unit light sources comprise at least one red light source, at least one blue light source, and at least one white light source.

17 . The vegetable preservation and growing case according to claim 15 , wherein the unit light source is a light-emitting diode.

18 . The vegetable preservation and growing case according to claim 17 , wherein the first illumination component further comprises a lamp shade that is disposed at a periphery of the light source and the light guide plate.

19 . The vegetable preservation and growing case according to claim 12 , wherein a second illumination component for illuminating a first-layer vegetable carrying box is further disposed on an inner wall at the top of the thermal insulation case body.

20 . The vegetable preservation and growing case according to claim 13 , further comprising a controller for controlling light source luminance, wherein the controller is separately electrically connected to the first illumination component and the second illumination component, and is configured to adjust luminance of a corresponding illumination component according to an acquired illumination control signal.

21 . A pipe connection control method for a vegetable preservation and growing case, comprising: connecting a vegetable carrying box and a thermal insulation case body by means of a pluggable electric connection and a pluggable water connection, and while the electric connection between the vegetable carrying box and the thermal insulation case body is disconnected, disconnecting the water connection.

Assignees

• Haier Group Corp
• Qingdao Haigao Design Manufacture Co Ltd

Inventors

• Wu Jian
• Zhou Shu
• Fei Zhaojun
• Liu Haibo

Classifications

• A01G31/06

  Hydroponic culture on racks or in stacked containers · CPC title

• A01G7/045

  with electric lighting · CPC title

• A01G31/02 Primary

  Special apparatus therefor (self-acting watering devices A01G27/00) · CPC title

• A01G31/065

  with means for recycling the nutritive solution · CPC title

• Y02P60/21

  Dinitrogen oxide [N2O], e.g. using aquaponics, hydroponics or efficiency measures · CPC title