JP-7855178-B2 - Hydroponic cultivation sheets and hydroponic cultivation systems

Inventors

• 大嶋 泰平
• 平井 裕二
• 渡邊 博之

Assignees

• 西松建設株式会社
• 学校法人玉川学園

Dates

Publication Date

20260508

Application Date

20220329

Claims (5)

1. An impermeable sheet that, when attached to a hydroponic cultivation system comprising a culture medium channel through which the culture medium flows naturally, and a cultivation tray provided above the culture medium channel to hold plants, dams up a portion of the culture medium flowing down the culture medium channel. A fixing part is inserted between the planting hole provided in the cultivation tray and the growing medium that fits into the planting hole, A hydroponic sheet characterized by comprising: a main body that hangs down from the cultivation tray and is installed in a convex curve toward the downstream side of the culture solution channel, thereby damming a portion of the culture solution flowing down the culture solution channel.
2. An impermeable sheet that, when attached to a hydroponic cultivation system comprising a culture medium channel through which the culture medium flows naturally, and a cultivation tray provided above the culture medium channel to hold plants, dams up a portion of the culture medium flowing down the culture medium channel. A sheet for hydroponics, characterized in that it is provided with slits that conform to the inner surface shape of the trough that forms the culture medium channel.
3. An impermeable sheet that, when attached to a hydroponic cultivation system comprising a culture medium channel through which the culture medium flows naturally, and a cultivation tray provided above the culture medium channel to hold plants, dams up a portion of the culture medium flowing down the culture medium channel. A hydroponic sheet characterized by having an overflow port for adjusting the amount of the culture solution blocked by the sheet .
4. In the hydroponic sheet according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , A hydroponic sheet characterized by being detachably fixed to the aforementioned hydroponic system.
5. A culture medium channel through which the culture medium flows naturally, A cultivation tray for holding plants is provided above the culture medium channel, A hydroponic cultivation system characterized by comprising a hydroponic cultivation sheet according to any one of claims 1 to 3 .

Description

This invention relates to a hydroponic sheet and a hydroponic system equipped therewith. In hydroponics, there are several methods for supplying nutrient solution to plant roots, but the methods used for cultivating leafy vegetables such as spinach and lettuce can be broadly divided into two types: DFT (Deep Flow Technique) and NFT (Nutrient Film Technique). Both methods utilize a nutrient solution tank and a nutrient solution pump, supplying and circulating the nutrient solution to the tank containing the plants via pumping. The DFT method is a hydroponic cultivation method in which plant roots are immersed in a tank filled with a nutrient solution to a depth of about 10 cm. In the DFT method, even if the water supply pump stops, there is still enough nutrient solution in the tank, so problems such as the wilting of cultivated plants or delayed growth due to drying will not occur. However, when multi-tiered cultivation is carried out using artificial light sources, as in a plant factory, the weight increases and high-strength cultivation shelves are required, thus increasing the initial cost. On the other hand, the NFT (Nutrition Feeding) method is a hydroponic cultivation method in which a small amount of nutrient solution is flowed down a flat surface with a gentle slope of about 1%, creating a membrane of about 5 mm in thickness. In the NFT method, the amount of circulating nutrient solution is small, and even if multi-tiered cultivation is performed, high-strength cultivation shelves are not required, which helps to suppress initial costs, and is therefore adopted by many plant factories. However, if the water supply pump malfunctions or breaks down and stops, the nutrient solution in the water tank will be depleted, and problems such as the wilting of cultivated products or delayed growth due to drying will occur within a few hours. In the NFT method, the failure of the water supply pump affects all cultivated products, and there is only a few hours between the detection of the water supply pump failure and the need for restoration, so multiple countermeasures such as adding backup pumps or installing automatic detection devices to detect malfunctions may be implemented, leading to increased equipment and maintenance costs. For example, as described in Patent Document 1, by laying a water-retaining sheet in the culture medium flow path within the tank, the culture medium will be retained by the sheet even if the water supply pump stops, thus extending the time before the culture medium is depleted. Furthermore, since only a water-retaining sheet needs to be prepared, the cost increase can be kept down compared to adding backup pumps or installing automatic detection devices. Japanese Patent Publication No. 2019-71824 This figure schematically shows the configuration of a hydroponic cultivation system according to an embodiment of the present invention.This is a plan view showing the configuration of a hydroponic cultivation system according to an embodiment of the present invention.This figure shows the relationship between the trough, cultivation tray, and hydroponic sheet.This diagram shows the main parts of a hydroponic cultivation sheet fixed to a cultivation tray.This diagram shows the main parts of a hydroponic cultivation sheet fixed to a cultivation tray.This diagram shows the main parts of a hydroponic cultivation sheet fixed to a cultivation tray.This figure shows a modified example of a hydroponic cultivation sheet.This figure shows a modified example of a hydroponic cultivation system. Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. However, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to those illustrated in the embodiments and drawings below. <Hydroponic cultivation system> Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the hydroponic cultivation system 1 according to this embodiment. Figure 2 is a plan view showing the configuration of the hydroponic cultivation system 1 according to this embodiment. In Figure 2, for convenience, the water supply pipe 31, culture medium 42, cultivated products, etc. are omitted from the illustration. The hydroponic cultivation system 1 is an NFT (Nutrient Film Technique) hydroponic cultivation system and is composed of multiple gutters 10, a nutrient solution tank 20, a nutrient solution water supply pump 30, multiple cultivation trays (cultivation plates) 40, and multiple hydroponic cultivation sheets 50. The plants (cultivated products) targeted for production in hydroponic cultivation system 1 are leafy vegetables with large root elongations, such as spinach, bok choy, lettuce, arugula, komatsuna, and herbs. Multiple troughs 10 are arranged side by side in the width direction (left-right direction) of each trough 10. Each trough 10 is a tank that forms a culture medium channel R through which the culture medium flows. It is installed with a slope of approximately 1% (