US-12622364-B2 - Seed cartridge assembly for enclosed growing environment

US12622364B2US 12622364 B2US12622364 B2US 12622364B2US-12622364-B2

Abstract

A seed cartridge configured for indoor growing appliances. The seed cartridge is a self-contained apparatus having a structure that contain one or more seeds suspended in one or more layers of substrate. The structure of the seed cartridge includes a removable top surface, a bottom surface, and a side surface. The side surface is substantially coned shaped to provide a larger top surface when compared with the bottom surface and include one or more openings, holes, or slits along the exterior side surface to allow water to be delivered from the indoor growing appliances to the seeds.

Inventors

Scott Thomas Massey
Ivan Lee Ball

Assignees

HELIPONIX, LLC

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20220920

Claims (20)

1 . A cartridge comprising: a body having a bottom surface and a side surface defining a cavity, the side surface and bottom surface including a plurality of openings and wherein: the plurality of openings are arranged in at least a first column and a second column; a first opening of the first column positioned closer to the bottom surface of the body than a second opening of the first column; the second opening of the first column positioned below the first opening of the first column, a third opening of the first column positioned below the second opening, and wherein a length of the second opening of the first column is greater than a length of the first opening of the first column and a length of the third opening of the first column is greater than the length of the second opening of the third column; and a lid releasably coupled to the body.
2 . The cartridge of claim 1 , wherein the lid includes at least one marking indicating at least one of: a characteristic of the cartridge; a characteristic of contents of the cartridge; an entity associated with the cartridge; or a location or address associated with the cartridge or the contents of the cartridge.
3 . The cartridge of claim 1 , wherein the at least one marking is machine readable and user readable.
4 . The cartridge of claim 1 , wherein the body defines a top surface and the top surface includes at least one marking indicating at least one of: a characteristic of the cartridge; a characteristic of contents of the cartridge; or a location associated with the cartridge or the contents of the cartridge.
5 . The cartridge of claim 4 , wherein: the top surface includes a tab extending outward from the cavity and the at least one marking is located on the tab; and the first opening having a greater vertical length than the second opening.
6 . The cartridge of any of claim 1 , wherein: the first opening of the plurality of openings arranged in the first column having a center that is horizontally aligned with a midpoint between a center of a third opening of the plurality of openings arranged in the second column and a center of a fourth opening of the plurality of openings arranged in the second column; and the third opening is vertically adjacent to the fourth opening in the second column.
7 . The cartridge of claim 1 , wherein the lid remains attached to the body when the cartridge is in an open position.
8 . The cartridge of claim 1 , wherein the lid detaches from the body when the cartridge is in an open position.
9 . The cartridge of claim 1 , further comprising: a filter received within the cavity defined by the side surface and the bottom surface, the filter encapsulating a seed and a substrate.
10 . The cartridge of claim 1 , wherein the cartridge is configured to be received within a growing receptacle of a planting column of an enclosed growing environment.
11 . The cartridge of claim 10 , wherein the planting column is formed from a plurality of rings, individual rings of the planting column having a male connector and a female connector to engage with an adjacent ring of the planting column.
12 . A system comprising: a seed cartridge having a side surface and a bottom surface defining a cavity and including a plurality of openings, the cavity containing seeds and growth medium; and a planting column having a plurality of receptacles, a first receptacle of the plurality of receptacles configured to receive the seed cartridge and the planting column is formed from a plurality of rings, individual rings of the planting column having a male connector and a female connector to engage with an adjacent ring of the planting column and the planting column further comprises at least one gasket between each adjacent pair of the plurality of rings.
13 . The system of claim 12 , wherein the seed cartridge includes at least one marking on an exterior surface.
14 . The system of claim 12 , further comprising: an enclosed growing environment including the planting column and further comprising: a rotational base to couple to the planting column; a watering system to provide at least one of water or nutrients to the seed cartridge; at least one sensor for generating sensor data associated with the planting column; at least one illuminator for generating light within an enclosure of the enclosed growing environment; and a control system to determine at least one feature of the seed cartridge based at least in part on the sensor data.
15 . The system of claim 12 , wherein the seed cartridge further comprises: a first opening of the plurality of openings arranged in a first column having a center that is horizontally aligned with a vertical midpoint between a center of a second opening of the plurality of openings arranged in a second column and a center of a third opening of the plurality of openings arranged in the second column, and wherein: the third opening being vertically adjacent to the second opening in the second column; the third opening of the second column positioned closer to the bottom surface of the seed cartridge than the second opening of the second column; and the third opening has a greater vertical length than the second opening.
16 . A system comprising: a seed cartridge having a side surface and a bottom surface defining a cavity and including a plurality of openings, the cavity containing seeds and growth medium and wherein the plurality of openings are arranged in at least a first column and a second column and a first opening of the first column positioned closer to the bottom surface than a second opening of the first column; and an enclosed growing environment comprising: a planting column having a plurality of receptacles and formed from a plurality of rings, a first receptacle of the plurality of receptacles configured to receive the seed cartridge and individual rings of the planting column having a male connector and a female connector to engage with an adjacent ring of the planting column; a rotational base to couple to the planting column; a watering system to provide at least one of water or nutrients to the seed cartridge; at least one sensor for generating sensor data associated with the planting column; at least one illuminator for generating light within an enclosure of the enclosed growing environment; and a control system to determine at least one feature of the seed cartridge based at least in part on the sensor data.
17 . The system of claim 16 , wherein the seed cartridge includes at least one marking on an exterior surface.
18 . The system of claim 17 , wherein the at least one marking indicating at least one of: a characteristic of the cartridge; a characteristic of contents of the cartridge; or a location associated with the cartridge or the contents of the cartridge.
19 . The system of claim 16 , wherein: the planting column further comprises at least one gasket between each adjacent pair of the plurality of rings.
20 . The system of claim 16 , wherein the seed cartridge further comprises a lid releasably coupled to the side surface.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a U.S. national stage application under 35 USC § 371 of International Application No. PCT/US22/44097 filed on Sep. 20, 2022 and entitled “SEED CARTRIDGE ASSEMBLY FOR ENCLOSED GROWING ENVIRONMENT,” which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/261,446, filed on Sep. 21, 2021 and entitled “SEED CARTRIDGE ASSEMBLY FOR ENCLOSED GROWING ENVIRONMENT,” the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. BACKGROUND Home gardening and usage of micro gardens in the apartment complexes and neighborhoods has grown in recent years throughout the United States in response to food deserts limiting the availability of fresh produce in densely populated areas. More consumers desire to have fresh produce and herbs grown at home to provide fresher produce, as well as to limit the preservatives and chemicals used in large grocery stores. Depending on climate, homeowners may be limited to indoor systems for growing fresh produce and herbs. However, most indoor systems are limited in space and provide unitary growing conditions for all produce and herbs that often results in suboptimal conditions for all produce and herbs being produced by the homeowner. Additionally, homeowners often lack the education and time to properly maintain optimal growth conditions for each individual species and type of plant. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The detailed description is described with reference to the accompanying figures. In the figures, the left-most digit(s) of a reference number identifies the figure in which the reference number first appears. The use of the same reference numbers in different figures indicates similar or identical components or features. FIG. 1 is an example pictorial diagram of an enclosed growing environment or appliance in a closed configuration according to some implementations. FIG. 2 is an example pictorial diagram of an enclosed growing environment or appliance in an open configuration according to some implementations. FIG. 3 illustrates an example front view of a planting column associated with the enclosed growing environment according to some implementations. FIG. 4 is an example top down pictorial diagram of a seed cartridge with a cover or lid removed according to some implementations. FIG. 5 is an example side view of a pictorial diagram of a seed cartridge with contents removed according to some implementations. FIG. 6 is an example pictorial diagram of a seed cartridge according to some implementations. FIG. 7 is an example diagram of the openings within the exterior surface of the seed cartridge according to some implementations. FIG. 8 is an example diagram of the openings within the exterior surface of the seed cartridge according to some implementations. FIG. 9 is an example pictorial diagram of multiple seed cartridges having differing markings according to some implementations. FIG. 10 is an example pictorial diagram of filters for the interior of the seed cartridges according to some implementations. FIG. 11 illustrates example pictorial diagrams of top surfaces of the seed cartridge according to some implementations. FIG. 12 illustrates example pictorial diagrams of bottom surfaces of the seed cartridge according to some implementations. FIG. 13 illustrates example pictorial diagrams of the seed cartridge according to some implementations. FIG. 14 illustrates example pictorial diagrams of a mold associated with the seed cartridge according to some implementations. FIG. 15 illustrates example pictorial diagrams of a mold associated with the seed cartridge according to some implementations. FIG. 16 illustrates example pictorial diagrams of a mold associated with the seed cartridge according to some implementations. FIG. 17 illustrates example pictorial diagrams of a ring or row of a planting column that may be utilized with the enclosed growing environment or as standalone system according to some implementations. FIG. 18 illustrates another example pictorial diagrams of a planting column and seed cartridges that may be utilized with the enclosed growing environment or as standalone system according to some implementations. The figures depict various embodiments for purposes of illustration only. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from the following discussion that alternative embodiments of the structures and methods illustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principles described herein. DETAILED DESCRIPTION Discussed herein are systems and methods associated with automating, optimizing, and customizing at home enclosed growing appliances (such as a micro garden) or plant growing apparatuses for individual users. For example, the systems, discussed herein, may be configured to provide an enclosed growing environment for at home and indoor cultivation of plants (e.g., fungi, flowers, produce, mushrooms, herbs, and/or the like). The system may, in some implementations, pro