JP2002272287A - Culture solution feeder - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a culture solution feeder allowing for stabilizing the production/feed of a diluted culture solution to be fed to a plant. SOLUTION: This culture solution feeder 1 includes the main pipe 2 for water supply, a diluted culture solution feed pipe 5 for feeding a diluted culture solution to a spreading mechanism, a plurality of branched pipes 3 and 4 connected to the main pipe 2 through integrating the respective one ends and connected to the pipe 5 through integrating the respective other ends, metering pumps 9 and 10, and stock solution feed pipes 6 and 7 connected respectively to the midway points of the respective branched pipes 6 and 7; wherein since the metering pumps 9 and 10 are served as direct current motor pumps, there are no troublesomeness for preparing the pumps mutually, therefore enabling a uniform diluted culture solution to be produced and fed stably, and enabling the feed of the stock solution to be controlled in a simple scheme as well; further, the direct current motor pump is more inexpensive than a conventional alternate current motor pump, thus this culture solution feeder can be made advantageous in terms of cost.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a culture solution supply device for supplying a culture solution diluted to a predetermined concentration to a plant growing in a greenhouse or a greenhouse.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a greenhouse or the like, for example, a spray nozzle provided above a plant being cultivated, or a spraying mechanism provided with a liquid supply hose provided on the upper surface of the culture medium or in the culture medium, sprays the plant. The culture solution is being supplied. For this reason, as a premise, it is necessary to supply a culture solution adjusted to a predetermined concentration in advance to the spraying mechanism.
It is disclosed in JP-A-8-289679.

As shown in FIG. 3, a culture solution supply device 100 includes a water storage tank 102 in which water from an arbitrary water source such as a well or a water supply is stored via a water supply pipe 101, and a water storage tank 102 in which the water is stored. The pump includes a water pump 103 having one end facing, a water main pipe 105 provided on the water pump 103 via a water pump 104, and a flow meter 106 interposed in the main pipe 105. It is configured. Furthermore, main 1
05, and the branch pipes 1 and 108
07,108, the diluted culture solution feed pipe 1 connected to the other end side
09. In the middle of each of the branch pipes 107 and 108, one end of a stock solution supply pipe 11 connected to stock solutions tanks 110 and 111 holding one stock solution of culture solution.
The other ends of 2113 are respectively connected. Reference numerals 114 and 115 are metering pumps provided in the middle of the undiluted solution supply pipes 112 and 113. In addition, the other end of the diluted culture solution feed pipe 109 is connected to an arbitrary spraying mechanism 117 having a liquid supply hose 117a disposed in, for example, a culture medium.

Then, the main pipe 105 is measured by a flow meter 106.
The flow rate of the water passing through the pump is measured, and an electric signal corresponding to the flow rate is transmitted through the controller 116 to the metering pumps 114 and 1.
The operation of the metering pumps 114 and 115 is controlled, and the amount of the stock solution supplied to the branch pipes 107 and 108 is adjusted.

[0005]

In the above-mentioned conventional culture solution supply apparatus 100, a pulse transmission type flow meter is usually used for the flow meter 106, and a pulse control type AC motor pump is used for the fixed amount pumps 114 and 115. Is used. According to this combination, the stroke number of the pulse control type AC pump can be directly controlled by the pulse signal transmitted from the pulse transmission type flow meter according to the flow rate. That is, the AC pump is operated a predetermined number of times for a constant flow rate of water passing through the main pipe 105, and a predetermined amount of the stock solution is drawn from the stock solution tanks 110 and 111 and supplied to the branch pipes 107 and 108.

[0006] However, even if the pulse control type AC pumps have the same rating, the discharge rates of the individual pumps vary. Therefore, in order to supply the undiluted culture solution to each of the branch pipes 107 and 108 in a well-balanced manner in the example of the culture solution supply device 100 described above, a test is performed in advance to grasp the discharge amounts of the individual pumps. Quantity difference is 5
% Must be used in combination with pumps having a relatively similar discharge rate of less than 10%, especially when it is necessary to arrange more branch pipes according to the type of the stock solution. It took a long time to determine the best combination of pumps. In addition, a pulse control type AC motor pump is generally expensive, and when a plurality of metering pumps are required, the economic burden is large.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and even when supplying a plurality of types of stock solutions, it is possible to stably produce and supply a uniform diluted culture solution without troublesome adjustment between pumps. It is an object of the present invention to provide a culture solution supply device which can reduce the installation cost of the device.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a culture solution supply device according to the present invention, comprising a main pipe for supplying water, a dilution pipe for sending a diluted culture solution to a spraying mechanism. A culture solution feed pipe, a plurality of branch pipes having one end integrated and connected to the main pipe, and the other end integrated and connected to the diluted culture solution feed pipe; And a stock solution supply pipe connected to a middle part of the pipe, wherein the metering pump is a DC motor pump.

A culture solution supply device according to a second aspect of the present invention is characterized in that a controller for increasing and decreasing the rotation speed of the DC motor pump is provided.

[0010] According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the culture solution supply device according to the second aspect, wherein the controller measures a flow rate measured by a flow meter interposed in a main pipe for water supply. And a first control unit for generating an electric signal for controlling the number of revolutions of the DC motor pump so that the concentration of the culture solution becomes a preset concentration.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the culture solution supply device according to the second aspect, wherein the controller sets the culture solution in advance based on the concentration of the culture solution measured by the diluted culture solution concentration measuring device. A second control unit that generates an electric signal for controlling the number of rotations of the DC motor pump in comparison with the culture solution concentration.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the culture solution supply apparatus according to the second aspect, wherein the controller measures a flow rate measured by a flow meter interposed in a main pipe for water supply. A first control unit for issuing an electric signal for controlling the number of rotations of the DC motor pump so that the concentration of the culture solution becomes a preset concentration of the culture solution, and the concentration of the culture solution measured by a dilution culture solution concentration measuring device. And a second control unit for generating an electric signal for controlling the number of revolutions of the DC motor pump in comparison with a preset culture solution concentration based on the control signal.

[0013] A culture solution supply device according to claim 6 is the culture solution supply device according to any one of claims 2 to 5,
The controller includes a PWM control circuit for performing PWM control of the rotation speed of the DC motor pump.

A culture solution supply device according to a seventh aspect is the culture solution supply device according to any one of the second to sixth aspects,
The controller detects the number of rotations of the DC motor pump, compares the number of rotations of the DC motor pump set by the first or second control unit, and controls power supplied to the DC motor pump. In addition, a power control circuit for suppressing a decrease in the number of revolutions due to an increase in load torque is provided.

The culture solution supply device according to claim 8 is the culture solution supply device according to any one of claims 3 to 7,
It is characterized in that the rotation speeds of a plurality of DC motor pumps are simultaneously controlled by an electric signal issued from the first or second control unit.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail based on embodiments shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a culture solution supply device 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention, in which a main pipe 2, branch pipes 3, 4, a diluted culture liquid feed pipe 5, a stock solution supply pipes 6, 7, and Flow meter 8, DC motor pump 9, 10
It is comprised including.

The main pipe 2 is provided for water supply, and one end 2a is directly connected to a water source such as a well or water supply, or a water storage tank (water storage tank for storing water supplied from the well or water supply). (Not shown). When a water storage tank is used, it is a matter of course that a water pump, a water pump, and the like may be used similarly to the conventional apparatus shown in FIG.

A flow meter 8 is provided at an appropriate position in the path of the main pipe 2. As the flow meter 8, for example, an impeller type flow meter is used, and the measurement result of the flow rate is transmitted as an electric signal to DC motor pumps 9, 10, which will be described later, disposed in the stock solution supply pipes 6, 7. Is sent to the controller 13 which is connected to the network.

The other end 2b of the main pipe 2 is connected to one end 3a, 4a of each of two branch pipes 3, 4 bent in a substantially U-shape via an appropriate joint pipe. In the present embodiment, two branch pipes 3 and 4 are provided, but this is because it is planned to introduce and mix two types of stock solutions of the culture solution. Of course, it is also possible to arrange more branch pipes.

The other end portions 3b and 4b of the branch pipes 3 and 4 are also integrated and connected to one diluted culture solution feed pipe 5 via an appropriate joint pipe. The other end of the diluted culture solution feeding pipe 5 is connected to, for example, a spraying mechanism (not shown) having a liquid supply hose disposed in the culture medium, similarly to the conventional apparatus shown in FIG. ing.

In the middle portions 3c and 4c of the branch pipes 3 and 4,
One end of each of the stock solution supply pipes 6 and 7 is connected via an appropriate joint pipe. The other ends of the undiluted solution supply pipes 6 and 7 are connected to undiluted solution tanks 11 and 12 in which undiluted culture solutions of different types are stored.

DC motor pumps 9 and 10 are provided at appropriate positions of the stock solution supply pipes 6 and 7, and branch pipes 3 and 4 are provided from the stock solution tanks 11 and 12 through the stock solution supply pipes 6 and 7.
Supply the undiluted solution. As the DC motor pumps 9 and 10, for example, a DC motor type tube pump can be used. In the present invention, the configuration in which the undiluted solution is supplied using the DC motor pumps 9 and 10 focuses on the point that the DC motor pumps of the same rating have a very small variation in the discharge amount if the rotation speed is constant. It was done. That is, even in a configuration in which a plurality of branch pipes are provided to supply a plurality of types of undiluted solutions, for example, almost equal amounts of undiluted solutions can be supplied to the branch pipes 3 and 4, respectively, without troublesome adjustment between pumps. It is possible to stably produce and supply a substantially uniform diluted culture solution. Further, since the rotation speed of the DC motor pump can be finely controlled by a relatively simple configuration, the supply amount of the stock solution can be finely controlled. Further, the DC motor pump is inexpensive as compared with the AC motor pump, and the economic burden can be reduced even when a plurality of metering pumps are required, for example, by providing a plurality of culture solution supply devices.

The controller 13 controls the pumps 9 and 10 based on the flow rate measured by the flow meter 8 so that the pumps 9 and 10 are operated at a predetermined rotation rate at a predetermined flow rate so as to have a preset culture solution concentration. A first control unit that performs the operation. As a method of controlling the number of rotations of the DC motor pumps 9 and 10, voltage control for increasing or decreasing the supplied voltage can be used. However, if the voltage is reduced to reduce the number of rotations, the torque of the motor decreases, and the pump speed decreases. Since the rotation of the liquid becomes unstable, it may not be possible to supply the undiluted solution uniformly. Therefore, a PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) that applies a peak voltage to the motor regardless of the number of rotations and can obtain a large torque even at low speeds compared to voltage control.
It is preferable to control. As a specific control method, for example, the electric signal from the flow meter 8 is
3 is output as a flow signal. The controller 13 includes a microcomputer and a PWM control circuit. The microcomputer determines the rotation speed of the DC motor pumps 9 and 10 so that the concentration of the diluted culture solution becomes a preset concentration. For example, with respect to the flow rate of water passing through the main pipe 2 obtained by the flow rate signal, a supply amount of a stock solution having a preset concentration of a diluted culture solution is calculated to satisfy the supply amount of the stock solution. Determine the required number of pump revolutions. The microcomputer outputs an electric signal to the PWM control circuit based on the determined rotation speed of the pump. The PWM control circuit generates a PWM signal based on the electric signal,
Turn on / off the power supplied to DC motor pumps 9 and 10
The number of rotations is increased or decreased by FF control.

In general, a DC motor has a characteristic that when the load torque increases, the rotation speed decreases. Therefore, even if the load torque increases, the DC motor pumps 9, 1
In order to maintain the rotation speed of 0 constant, for example, a power control circuit including a comparator and a conversion circuit for limiting a reduction in the rotation speed of the DC motor due to a change in load torque is controlled by the controller 1.
3 is preferred. According to this power control circuit, when the number of rotations of the DC motor pumps 9 and 10 is detected, it is output to a comparator via a conversion circuit. In this comparator, the first control unit or a second This is compared with the rotation speed signal of the DC motor pump set by the control unit. As a result, if there is a difference between the two rotational speeds, control is performed so as to increase or decrease the power supplied to the DC motor pumps 9 and 10, and a decrease in the rotational speed due to an increase in load torque is suppressed. The method of detecting the number of rotations of the motor includes a method of detecting the rotation of the motor by ripples of the motor current, a method of detecting the number of rotations from the motor current itself, and a method using a bridge servo (electronic governor). Or a method of directly detecting the number of revolutions of the motor by a shaft encoder using an optical sensor or the like.

It is needless to say that the first control unit or a second control unit to be described later can individually control the DC motor pumps 9 and 10, respectively. However, when it is necessary to arrange more branch pipes according to the type of the stock solution and provide a large number of DC motor pumps,
Controlling each DC motor pump individually
The structure becomes complicated and the economic burden increases. Therefore,
It is possible to adopt a configuration in which the rotational speeds of a plurality of DC motor pumps are simultaneously controlled by an electric signal issued from the first control unit or a second control unit described later.

In the culture solution supply device 1 according to the embodiment having the above-described configuration, first, water is sent through the main pipe 2. At this time, the flow rate of water is measured by the flow meter 8. The measurement result is sent to the controller 13 as an electric signal, and a predetermined electric signal is output to the DC motor pumps 9 and 10 electrically connected to the controller 13. Thus, the DC motor pumps 9 and 10 adjust the flow rate of the water passing through the main tube 2 so that the concentration of the diluted culture solution passing through the diluted culture solution sending pipe 5 becomes a preset concentration. The operation is performed at a predetermined rotation speed, and the stock solution of each culture solution is taken into the stock solution supply pipes 6 and 7 from the stock solution tanks 11 and 12. The water that has passed through the main pipe 2 is split at one ends 3a and 4a of the branch pipes 3 and 4, and is introduced into the respective branch pipes 3 and 4. When water passes through each of the branch pipes 3 and 4, the stock solution sucked up by the DC motor pumps 9 and 10 flows from the stock solution supply pipes 6 and 7 to the branch pipes 3 and 4, respectively.
4 and diluted with water.

One diluted culture solution diluted with water passing through one branch pipe 3 is supplied to the other end 3 b of the branch pipe 3.
Is supplied to the diluted culture solution feed pipe 5 from At the same time, the other diluted culture solution diluted with water passing through the other branch tube 4 is supplied to the diluted culture solution feed tube 5 from the other end 4 b of the branch tube 4. As a result, the diluted culture solution passing through the diluted culture solution feed pipe 5 is a mixture of two types of undiluted culture solutions. After passing through the diluted culture solution feed pipe 5, the diluted culture solution is supplied to the plant via an arbitrary spraying mechanism.

FIG. 2 is a view showing a culture solution supply apparatus 20 according to another embodiment of the present invention, in which a main pipe 21, branch pipes 22, 23, a diluted culture liquid feed pipe 24, and a stock solution supply pipe 25. ,
26, diluted culture solution concentration measuring instrument 27, DC motor pump 2
8, 29 are provided. In addition, the culture solution supply device 2
Reference numeral 2 denotes a configuration in which the number of rotations of the DC motor pumps 28 and 29 is controlled based on the concentration of the diluted culture solution measured by the diluted culture solution concentration measuring device 27 provided in the diluted culture solution feed pipe 24. The other configuration is the same as that of the culture solution supply device 1 described above.

The diluted culture solution concentration measuring device 27 is provided at an appropriate position in the path of the diluted culture solution feeding pipe 24, and is provided for constantly or appropriately measuring and monitoring the concentration of the diluted culture solution. The diluted culture solution concentration measuring device 27 is, for example, an electric conductivity (EC) of the diluted culture solution passing through the diluted culture solution feeding pipe 24.
Can be used, and an electrical signal based on the electrical conductivity measured by the EC meter is sent to the controller 32. The pumps 28 and 29 are operated by the controller 32 so that the concentration measured by the diluent culture solution concentration measuring device 27 becomes a preset diluent culture solution concentration and is operated at a predetermined rotation speed at a constant flow rate. Is provided. DC motor pump 28,2
As a specific method of controlling the number of rotations of 9, for example,
The same control method as in the case of the culture solution supply device 1 described above can be used. Thereby, the DC motor pump 28,
29 operates at a predetermined rotation speed with respect to the concentration of the diluted culture solution passed through the diluted culture solution feed pipe 24, and
From 1, stock solutions of each culture solution are taken into stock solution supply pipes 25 and 26. The water that has passed through the main pipe 21 is split at one ends 22 a and 23 a of the branch pipes 22 and 23 and is introduced into the branch pipes 22 and 23. When water passes through the branch pipes 22 and 23, the stock solution sucked up by the DC motor pumps 28 and 29 is pressed into the branch pipes 22 and 23 from the stock solution supply pipes 25 and 26, respectively.
Diluted with water.

Note that, also in the culture solution supply device 20, the flow meter 8 in the culture solution supply device 1 is provided in the main pipe 21, and
A configuration in which the first control unit based on the flow rate is incorporated in the controller 32 can be adopted. That is, normally, the first control unit increases or decreases the number of rotations of the DC motor pumps 28 and 29 to adjust the supply amount of the stock solution to generate and supply the diluted culture solution. The diluted culture solution concentration measuring device 27 detects the concentration of the diluted culture solution generated and supplied by the first control unit and transmits an electric signal to the second control unit. The second control unit compares the concentration detected by the diluted culture solution concentration measuring device 27 with a preset diluted culture solution concentration, and calculates whether or not the difference is within an allowable range. As a result, if the concentration difference is out of the allowable range, a signal for instructing an increase or decrease in the number of rotations may be output from the second control unit to the DC motor pumps 28 and 29 to control the number of rotations. it can.

According to the culture solution supply apparatus 20 having the above-described configuration, the supply of the stock solution of the culture solution can be controlled by the concentration of the diluted culture solution passing through the diluted culture solution feed pipe 24, and more strict dilution can be achieved. It can be used when production and concentration control of a culture solution are required.

[0032]

According to the culture solution supply apparatus of the present invention, since the DC motor pump whose discharge amount is stable at a constant amount when the rotation speed is constant is used as the fixed amount pump, a plurality of types of undiluted solution can be used. Therefore, even when a plurality of metering pumps are installed, the labor required for adjusting the pumps can be omitted, and a uniform diluted culture solution can be stably generated and supplied. Further, the DC motor pump is inexpensive as compared with the conventional AC motor pump, and can be a device which is advantageous in cost.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a culture solution supply device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a culture solution supply device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the configuration of a conventionally used culture solution supply device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1,20 Culture solution supply device 2,21 Main tube 3,22 Branch tube 4,23 Branch tube 5,24 Diluted culture solution feed tube 6,7,25,26 Stock solution supply tube 8 Flow meter 9,10,28, 29 DC motor pump 27 Diluent culture solution concentration measuring instrument

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A main tube for water supply, a diluted culture solution feed tube for sending a diluted culture solution to a spraying mechanism, one end portion is connected to the main tube, and the other end portion is integrated. A plurality of branch pipes connected to a diluted culture solution feed pipe, and a stock solution supply pipe having a metering pump, and a stock solution supply pipe connected to a middle portion of each branch pipe, respectively. Is a DC motor pump. 2. The culture medium supply device according to claim 1, further comprising a controller for increasing and decreasing the rotation speed of the DC motor pump. 3. The controller according to claim 1, wherein the controller controls the rotation speed of the DC motor pump based on a flow rate measured by a flow meter interposed in the main pipe for water supply so that the concentration of the culture fluid is set in advance. The culture solution supply device according to claim 2, further comprising a first control unit that emits an electric signal for controlling the culture solution. 4. The controller according to claim 1, wherein the controller outputs an electric signal for controlling the number of rotations of the DC motor pump based on the concentration of the culture solution measured by the diluted culture solution concentration measuring device, in comparison with a preset culture solution concentration. The culture solution supply device according to claim 2, further comprising a second control unit that emits the culture solution. 5. The controller according to claim 1, wherein the controller measures a flow rate measured by a flow meter interposed in the main pipe for water supply.
A first control unit that issues an electric signal for controlling the number of revolutions of the DC motor pump so that the culture solution concentration is set in advance, based on the concentration of the culture solution measured by a dilution culture solution concentration measuring device, A second control unit for generating an electric signal for controlling the rotation speed of the DC motor pump in comparison with a preset culture solution concentration, is provided.
The culture solution supply device according to any one of the preceding claims. 6. The culture solution supply device according to claim 2, wherein a PWM control circuit for performing PWM control on a rotation speed of the DC motor pump is incorporated in the controller. . 7. The controller detects a rotation speed of the DC motor pump and compares the rotation speed with the rotation speed of the DC motor pump set by the first or second control unit. The culture solution supply device according to any one of claims 3 to 6, further comprising: a power control circuit that controls the supply power of the power supply and suppresses a decrease in the number of revolutions due to an increase in load torque. 8. The method according to claim 3, wherein the number of rotations of the plurality of DC motor pumps is simultaneously controlled by an electric signal generated from the first or second control unit. Culture solution supply device.