JP2024120641A - Hydroponic cultivation set and its manufacturing method - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a hydroponics set that can be produced more economically, secures air permeability and water holding property to plants, can protect housed plants from external force during transportation or shopwindow display, and can be assembled easily by anybody, and a method of producing the same.SOLUTION: Provided is a hydroponics set 1 comprising: a partition integrated plant 2 which has a partition body 3 having elasticity and air/water permeability, and in which underground parts 40 of an object plant 4 enter the partition body 3, tip sides of the underground parts 40 are exposed under the partition body 3, and above-ground parts 41 are exposed on the partition body 3; and a container body 5 which has a bottom 50 and an opening 51 in the top. Also provided is a method of producing the same.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Application for exception to loss of novelty has been filed

The present invention relates to a hydroponic cultivation device that can be used in ordinary households, and in particular to a hydroponic cultivation set suitable for exhibition sales and mail order sales, and a method for manufacturing the same.

Traditionally, home gardening has allowed people to easily incorporate freshly picked vegetables into their daily meals. It has been widely adopted into daily life not only because it is good for health management, but also because it allows people to observe the cultivation process, promote nutritional education for children, and facilitate smooth communication within the family.

In particular, hydroponic cultivation, which does not require soil, is highly convenient as it can be easily grown indoors by a window, the vegetables grown in the kitchen can be picked and cooked directly, and they can be easily recycled after use. Various types of home gardening kits and sets are available for sale.

However, many of these hydroponic cultivation sets for ordinary households grow crops from seeds, and have the disadvantage that it is difficult to control room temperature and sunlight until the seeds germinate, and they do not germinate well unless careful management is carried out.

To overcome these drawbacks, for example, Patent Document 1 (Utility Model Registration No. 3161228) shows a simple vegetable cultivation system that combines vegetable seedlings grown in special artificial culture soil with a plastic film bag container with perforations and cuts for water supply. A simple vegetable cultivation system is known that is composed of vegetable seedlings grown in special artificial culture soil and a plastic film bag container processed into a pot shape, with the plastic film bag container perforated and cut to allow water to pass through.

Hydroponic cultivation using discarded PET bottles has also been proposed. For example, Patent Document 2 (JP Patent Publication No. 2001-320970) shows how PET bottles are cut together to create two tanks, a cultivation tank and a water tank, with a self-watering string stretched to the water tank so that water is constantly replenished to the cultivation tank, and plants are grown hydroponically using the nutrients contained in the hydroponic medium. A known PET bottle hydroponic cultivation method is one in which an air hole is drilled into the overlapping position between the two tanks, allowing oxygen to be drawn in due to the temperature difference inside the container, stabilizing the dissolved oxygen and allowing air to rise between the medium and the container due to the chimney effect.

Utility Model Registration No. 3161228 JP 2001-320970 A

However, the simplified vegetable cultivation system in Patent Document 1 uses special artificial culture soil made by mixing polyester fibers with culture soil such as peat moss and solidifying and molding the soil at high temperatures to grow vegetable seedlings. This type of special artificial culture soil molded individually is expensive, and since the special artificial culture soil needs to be managed one by one while the seeds are sown and the seedlings are being raised, cultivation requires a lot of labor, which leads to a rise in prices. Furthermore, since the vegetable seedlings are contained in a bag container made of plastic film processed into a pot shape, the bag can easily deform when subjected to external forces during transportation, and there is a risk that the vegetable seedlings inside may be damaged.

In addition, the PET bottle hydroponic cultivation method of Patent Document 2 requires a series of steps: cutting a PET bottle into two tanks, a cultivation tank and a water tank, stretching a water-retaining string between the two tanks, attaching the cultivation tank above the water tank, and drilling an air hole where the two tanks overlap. This requires tools such as a cutter or scissors to cut the PET bottles, and an awl that can penetrate the two layers of PET material to open the air hole, leaving a drawback in that it is not safe for children to assemble.

As mentioned above, the simple hydroponic cultivation techniques available up until now for ordinary households required a lot of labor to grow seedlings, did not adequately protect the vegetable seedlings during transportation or display in stores, and required cutters, scissors, awls, etc. to make the hydroponic cultivation equipment, which was not easy or safe for children under the upper grades of elementary school to assemble. As a result, children were not able to enjoy growing vegetables safely and easily.

In view of the above circumstances, the present invention aims to provide a hydroponic cultivation set that can increase the productivity of plants in a production factory and provide them more economically, ensures breathability and water retention for the plants, and protects the plants contained therein from external forces during transportation from the production factory to the store, while they are on display in the store, and while they are transported to the home, and that can be easily assembled by anyone, as well as a method for manufacturing the same.

The present invention relates to a hydroponic cultivation set comprising a partition having elasticity and air/water permeability, a partition-integrated plant in which the underground portion of a target plant fits into the partition with the tip of the underground portion exposed below the partition and the above-ground portion exposed above the partition, and a container body with a bottom and an open top.
According to the above-mentioned partition-integrated plants, the underground parts of the plants penetrate into the partition body and are firmly integrated therewith, so that when the plants are supported in the hydroponic device, the partition body can be supported more securely without causing damage to the plants.

In addition, since the tip of the underground part is exposed under the partition, the roots can spread freely and the plant can be easily cultivated without withering.
In addition, it is easy to control irrigation while observing the condition of the roots. It is easy to obtain good root ventilation and sterilization by light, making cultivation management easy.

The present invention also relates to the hydroponic cultivation set, wherein the partition body of the partition-integrated plant is a block-shaped body having the base of the target plant roots embedded therein.
With the above-mentioned block-shaped partition body, when the support frame portion described later is annular, it is easier to compress the squares compared to those whose cross section in a plan view is circular or a polygon with five or more sides, and the supporting force due to the elastic restoring force is more stable and easier to obtain compared to a triangle.

The present invention also relates to the hydroponic cultivation set, in which a hydroponic plant support that supports the partition body of the partition-integrated plant is combined with the container body so that the tip of the underground part is disposed inside the container body and the above-ground part is exposed from the opening, and the plant support is provided with a support frame part that can be supported by the elastic restoring force of at least one of the plant support or the partition body, and an apparatus seat part that is attached to the opening of the container body.

When the container body is used as a packaging container, the plant support protects the opening at the top of the container body, and when it is used as a hydroponic device, it stably supports the partition-integrated plant at a specified height so that the tip of its underground part is submerged in the water.

The present invention also relates to a method for manufacturing a hydroponic cultivation set described above, in which a rectangular elastic medium base having elasticity and air and water permeability is provided with seedling compartments divided in a checkerboard pattern, the seeds of the plants to be cultivated are planted in each seedling compartment of the elastic medium base, water is supplied to the elastic medium base with the seeds planted, the roots of the plants sprouting from each variety penetrate the elastic medium base, the tips of the underground parts are exposed under the elastic medium base, and the above-ground parts are placed on the elastic medium base, the seedlings are raised so that the seedling compartments of the elastic medium base and the plants are integrated, the elastic medium base is separated for each seedling compartment to form partition-integrated plants, and the partition-integrated plants are housed in the container body.

According to the manufacturing method of the above-mentioned hydroponic cultivation set, the seedlings are spot-sown onto a rectangular plate-shaped elastic medium substrate set in a seedling box during the seedling cultivation process in a seedling factory, and after hydroponic cultivation, the elastic medium substrate can be separated into individual plants, making it possible to efficiently produce a plurality of the partition-integrated plants.
When plants are grown from seeds in a seedling factory, the partition body (elastic medium base) serves as a medium.
The container body described above can serve as a packaging container for protecting the partition-integrated plants during transport and enabling them to be displayed and sold, and can also function as a hydroponic device.

The manufacturing method of the hydroponic cultivation set of the present invention increases the productivity of plants in the production factory and allows them to be provided more economically, and the hydroponic cultivation set of the present invention ensures breathability and water retention for the plants and protects the plants contained therein from external forces during transportation from the production factory to the store, while they are displayed in the store, and while they are transported to the home, etc.

The container itself can be easily used by anyone as a hydroponic device, and the process of plant growth can be observed from the way the roots spread, which contributes to food education. Plants last longer. Another excellent benefit is that you can pick the amount you need while cultivating them and eat them.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a hydroponic cultivation set. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the hydroponic device during the assembly process. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the hydroponic apparatus during hydroponic cultivation. FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing a modified example of the hydroponic cultivation set. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a hydroponic device in which a water retaining body is housed in a container body. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a device seat of a plant support.

The hydroponic cultivation set according to this embodiment and the manufacturing method thereof will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings. In particular, this embodiment uses seedlings of vegetables, fruits, etc. as plants.

The hydroponic cultivation set according to this embodiment can be manufactured by the manufacturing method described below.
In a seedling factory, seedling compartments are set in a seedling box in a checkerboard pattern on a rectangular plate-like (sheet-like) elastic medium base having elasticity and air and water permeability. The elastic medium base can be a molded product such as absorbent cotton, recycled paper, nonwoven fabric, or recycled fiber, for example, a sponge medium such as continuous foam resin. The seedling compartments can be divided by slit-like cuts, holes, printed markings, etc.

Seeds are spot-sown so that they are submerged in the thickness of the medium in each seedling section, and then irrigated with an aqueous solution of dissolved nutrients, causing plants to sprout from each type. The bases of their roots (underground parts) penetrate into the elastic medium base, the tips of the underground parts are exposed underneath the elastic medium base, and the aboveground parts are placed on top of the elastic medium base, and the seedlings are raised in an integrated state with the seedling sections of the elastic medium base and the multiple plants grown in each seedling section. Multiple plants can be raised and managed together using a single elastic medium base.

After seedling raising is completed, the elastic medium base is separated into blocks for each seedling section to form a plurality of partition-integrated plants 2. Each partition-integrated plant 2 can be separated by cutting the elastic medium base along the seedling section using a carter or cutter, or by tearing it by hand along prefabricated weak parts such as slits. In the partition-integrated plant 2 thus formed, the roots are spread throughout the elastic medium base used during seedling raising, and the plant and the elastic medium base can be firmly connected.

As shown in Figures 1 to 4, the partition-integrated plant 2 is a partition body 3, and the underground part 40 of the target plant 4 is embedded in the partition body 3, the tip of the underground part 40 is exposed under the partition body 3, and the above-ground part 41 is exposed above the partition body 3, so that the partition body 3 and the target plant 4 are integrated.

For example, the target plant 4 can be a single leaf lettuce seedling. The plant 4 is not limited to leaf lettuce, but may be an edible plant such as parsley, regina tomato, mint, basil, aromaticus, or an ornamental plant. The partition-integrated plants 2 transported to the packaging factory are accommodated in one or more container bodies 5, each of which has a water-retaining body 52 made of absorbent cotton, sponge, water-absorbent polymer, or the like, which is sufficiently saturated with water and liquid fertilizer, in the bottom 50, and the roots (underground parts) 40 exposed under the partition body 3 are placed in contact with the water-retaining body 52 so that they can be watered during shipping, transportation, and display/sale.

The container body 5 can be made of pottery, glass, paper, or other container shape with a bottom and an open top, and has a triangular, rectangular, polygonal, or other cross section. For example, it can be made of transparent resin and have a roughly cylindrical shape as shown in Figure 4.
A plant support 6 is provided in the upper opening 51 of the container body 5 housing the water-retaining body 52 and the partition-integrated plant 2. The plant support 6 can be made of any of the above-mentioned materials, as with the container body 5, and can have any of the following shapes: a hemispherical dome shape made of transparent synthetic resin as shown in Figures 1 and 4, a dome shape with a trapezoidal vertical cross section as shown in Figure 4, or a horizontal disk shape.

The plant support 6 has a support frame 61 that can be supported by the elastic restoring force of the partition body 3, and an apparatus seat 62 that is installed in the opening 51 of the container body 5.

The support frame 61 is, for example, made up of the opening edge of a circular annular hole drilled concentrically in the center of the circular shape when viewed from above, and the opening diameter is set to a dimension shorter than the diagonal when the block shape of the partition body 3 is viewed from above. The partition body 3 is compressed and attached, and the supporting force can be obtained by the frictional force due to the elastic return force of the partition body 3.

As shown in FIG. 4, the support frame 61 is made up of, for example, multiple claws 61a toward the center or radial slits 61b, and the partition body 3 is pressed into the plant support 6 against the elastic force of the material (transparent synthetic resin), and the support force is obtained by the frictional force due to the elastic return force of the support frame 61 (61a, 61b).

As shown in FIG. 4, the support frame 61 can have a fragile ring 61c, for example, as shown by a dashed circle. The fragile ring 61c can be, for example, a dashed annular slit or a thin-walled fragile ring, and can be closed when used as a packaging container, and when used as a hydroponic device, the center can be pushed out and removed, allowing anyone to easily form a through-hole-shaped support frame 61.

As shown in Figures 1, 2 and 6, the device seat portion 62 is grounded to the flange PR5 around the opening 51 of the container body 5 when the plant support 6 is installed in an upright position.
For example, a packaging sealing mechanism PR and a hydroponic temporary fastening mechanism HR may be provided between the container body 5 and the plant support 6 .

For example, as shown in FIG. 6, the packaging sealing mechanism PR is a combination of a flange PR5 on the opening 51 of the container body 5 when the container is in an upright position as a packaging container, and an inward engaging claw PR6 on the device seat 62 of the plant support 6, and the opening 51 of the container body 5 and the device seat 62 of the plant support 6 can be detached and connected to each other so as to provide a substantially uniform seal around the entire perimeter.

For example, as shown in FIG. 6, the hydroponic temporary fixing mechanism HR is composed of an engaging portion HR5 provided on the inner peripheral wall of the opening 51 of the container body 5, and an engaging portion HR6 provided on the outer peripheral wall adjacent to the device seat portion 62 of the plant support 6 when the hydroponic device is mounted in an inverted position with the top and bottom turned upside down. The inner wall of the opening 51 of the container body 5 and the outer peripheral wall adjacent to the device seat portion 62 of the plant support 6 can be detached freely, and can be connected approximately uniformly around the entire circumference.

For example, the mating portion HR5 and the mating portion HR6 can both be provided in a continuous ring shape around the entire circumference, or the mating portion HR5 can be provided in a ring shape around the entire circumference, and the mating portion HR6 can be disposed at multiple locations around the entire circumference at equal intervals.

The plant support 6 has an extension wall 60 that bulges upward when the plant support 6 is mounted in an upright position relative to the container body 5 to be used as a packaging container, and the extension wall 60 can become a plant protection wall 60 that is concave downward when the plant support 6 is mounted in an inverted position relative to the container body 5 to be used as a hydroponic device.

The plant support 6 can also be, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, in which multiple small holes 60a for both ventilation and water supply are drilled at approximately equal intervals in the expansion wall portion (plant protection wall) 60, or made of a lattice-like framework.

The container body 5 can be, for example, as shown in FIG. 2, marked with a scale line L that indicates the water level of the water W and liquid fertilizer when used as a hydroponic device.

In the hydroponic cultivation method using the hydroponic cultivation set 1, for example, as shown in Figs. 1 to 3, the plant support 6 is removed from the container body 5, and the two partition-integrated plants 2 and the water retaining body 52 are taken out.
Water W is poured into the container body 5 up to about halfway (for example, up to the scale line L). The water W may contain liquid fertilizer, which may be filled in a small airtight container and packed with the hydroponic cultivation set 1. At this time, in order to make the partition 3 invisible, the relevant portion of the container body 5 may be covered with a strip (such as the blind strip 7 in FIG. 4).

The plant support 6 is turned upside down and the two partition-integrated plants 2 are attached from above downward to the circular hole-shaped support frame portion 61 of the plant support 6 so as to compress each square side of the two partition bodies 3.
The plant support 6 is placed in the opening 51 at the top of the container body 5. When placed, the tips of the roots of the underground parts 40 of the two partition-integrated plants 2 are submerged in the water W. If they are not submerged, fine-tune the support position of the partition body 3.
Thereafter, when the water W decreases or becomes dirty, the plant support 6 is removed from the container body 5 and the water W is frequently replaced.

4, when the container body 5 is used as a hydroponic device, an endless screen belt 7 may be provided in the upper and lower range where the partition body 3 and the support frame part 61 that supports it are arranged. The screen belt 7 may be, for example, printed opaquely on the container body 5, or made of an opaque material (paper, a resin colored film cover, etc.).
The privacy band 7 can be, for example, one with colored printing of scales for the water W, one with a transparent window in an opaque band that serves as a scale for the water W, or one with patterned lines that serve as a guide for the water level W.

As shown in FIG. 4, the hydroponic cultivation set 1 can be, for example, one that contains freshwater fish and shellfish FS that can be housed in the container body 5, and water W sufficient for the freshwater fish and shellfish FS to live in. The freshwater fish and shellfish FS can be, for example, killifish or river shrimp that live in the water W and whose excrement becomes a fertilizer component. When the freshwater fish and shellfish FS are included in the package, either the freshwater fish and shellfish FS or the partition-integrated plant 2 can be housed in a separate container.

As shown in FIG. 5, the hydroponic cultivation set 1 can have, for example, a hydroponic culture medium (ceramic balls, coffee extract residue, etc.) 8 that can be housed in the container body 5. The hydroponic culture medium 8 can also be housed in and attached to a container separate from the container body 5. In particular, coffee residue is approximately 99% organic matter, much of which is carbonaceous, and contains approximately 2% nitrogen, 0.2% phosphoric acid, and 0.3% potassium, which can improve the growing environment for plants in hydroponic cultivation. In particular, by using a mixture of coffee residue and water, the coffee extract components can be used to grow plants.

As shown in Fig. 1, the hydroponic cultivation set 1 according to this embodiment is a packaging container in which the container body 5 and the plant support 6 protect the partition-integrated plant 2 from external forces and ensure breathability, and the plant can be viewed while it is on display in the store to check its quality. Furthermore, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, anyone can easily reassemble it into a hydroponic device. In addition, it is easy to manage irrigation by visually checking the water level, and it can present an aesthetic appearance that will not tire of being seen even if you look at it every day to observe the growth of the plants.

The hydroponic cultivation set of the present invention can be used as a packaging container and hydroponic device for transporting, displaying and selling plants for cultivation, living organisms for breeding, hydroponic cultivation supplies, animal breeding supplies and the like. The manufacturing method of the present invention can also be used for the manufacture and sale of hydroponic cultivation sets and the associated hydroponic cultivation supplies, animal breeding supplies and the like.

1 Hydroponic cultivation set 2 Partition integrated plant 3 Partition body 4 Target plant 40 Underground part 41 Aboveground part 5 Container body 50 Bottom 51 Opening 52 Water retention body L Scale line 6 Plant support 60 Expansion wall part (plant protection wall)
60a: A plurality of small holes for ventilation and water supply; 61: Support frame portion; 61a: Claw; 61b: Radial slit; 61c: Weak ring portion; 62: Device seat portion; PR: Sealing mechanism for packaging; PR5: Flange; PR6: Interlocking claw; HR: Temporary fastening mechanism for hydroponics; HR5: Interlocking portion; HR6: Interlocking portion; 7: Blinding band; W: Water (and liquid fertilizer);
FS Freshwater fish and shellfish 8 Hydroponic medium (ceramic balls, coffee extract residue, etc.)

Claims (4)

A partition body having elasticity and air and water permeability, and a partition-integrated plant in which an underground part of a target plant is inserted into the partition body, and the tip of the underground part is exposed under the partition body and the above-ground part is exposed above the partition body;
A container body having a bottom and an open top;
A hydroponic cultivation set comprising: The hydroponic cultivation set according to claim 1, wherein the partition body of the partition-integrated plant is a block-shaped body with the base of the target plant's roots embedded inside. The container body is combined with a hydroponic plant support that supports the partition body of the partition-integrated plant so that the tip of the underground part is disposed inside the container body and the above-ground part is exposed from the opening,
The plant support includes a support frame that can be supported by an elastic restoring force of at least one of the plant support and the partition body;
a device seat portion to be installed in the opening of the container body;
The hydroponic cultivation set according to claim 1 . A seedling section divided into a checkerboard pattern is set on a rectangular elastic medium base having elasticity and air and water permeability,
Planting seeds of plants to be cultivated in each seedling section of the elastic medium base;
Water is supplied to the elastic medium base in which the seeds are planted, and the roots of the plants sprouting from each species penetrate into the elastic medium base, with the tips of the underground parts exposed beneath the elastic medium base and the above-ground parts placed on top of the elastic medium base, and the seedlings are raised in such a way that the seedlings are integrated with the seedling section of the elastic medium base;
The elastic medium substrate is separated into seedling compartments to form partitioned integrated plants;
4. The method for manufacturing a hydroponic cultivation set according to claim 1, wherein the partition-integrated plants are accommodated in the container body.