Patent Publication Number: US-2021185954-A1

Title: Multipurpose plant growing apparatus

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to the field of plant growing technology, more particularly to a multipurpose plant growing apparatus. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     In modern agriculture, conventional planting technology in which plants grow with sunlight is out of use, and the LED light is used to replace sunlight. Plants illuminated by the LED light can carry out photosynthesis. Hence, it is possible to grow plants indoors. 
     Indoor apparatus for growing vegetables, fruits and flowers are known. Such apparatus, such as planting containers for hydroponic plants, usually grow the plants by hydroponics. Such planting containers grow the plants in such a manner that the plants immerse in nutrient solution to absorb nutrients, photosynthesize and grow up. 
     In addition, less commonly, growth substance such as soil or some medium taking the place of soil may be disposed in a growing barrel for plants. Plant seeds, mycelia or strains may be planted. In the media growing method, some medium for plants growing may be disposed in a growing container, and the plant roots are fixed in the medium and absorb nutrients to grow up. 
     However, existing plant growing apparatus are only applicable for one single growing method, and thus selections of the plants are very limited. Furthermore, since some plants can grow fast by hydroponics while some plants may not be suitable for hydroponic culture, problems may occur in the case that different plants are planted in same plant growing apparatus. Moreover, due to different nutrient requirements and different growth periods, it is necessary to grow plants independently from each other. 
     In conclusion, how to effectively solve the problem that existing plant growing apparatus are merely applicable to one single type of plants relative to various types of plants has become an urgent problem to be solved in the art. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention aims to provide a multipurpose plant growing apparatus which effectively solves the problem that existing plant growing apparatus are merely applicable to one single type of plants relative to various types of plants and makes it possible to grow different types of plants by the plant growing apparatus. 
     In order to solve the above technical problem, the present invention provides a technical solution as follows. 
     A multipurpose plant growing apparatus comprises a base having a nutrient solution cavity at its bottom and an LED illuminating device arranged above the base, wherein the base comprises a planting plate capping on the top of the nutrient solution cavity and providing with planting holes, a cup lid capable of abutting on the surface of the plate around a planting hole, and a culturing cup and a planting basket which are capable of being mounted on the cup lid and extending into the nutrient solution cavity. When growing plants, the culturing cup or the planting basket is connected to the cup lid. 
     Preferably, the cross section of the inner circumference of the culturing cup has a greater size than the cross section of the outer circumference of the planting basket. 
     Preferably, a depression is formed in the central portion of the cup lid and is provided with a through-hole having an area smaller than the area of the depression, the top surface of the planting basket can be held over the through-hole, and the portion of the planting basket lower than the top surface can pass through the through-hole. 
     Preferably, a plurality of stop grooves are provided on the outer periphery of the upper end surface of the culturing cup, and the cup lid is provided with stop blocks matching with the stop grooves. 
     Preferably, the planting holes of the planting plate are circular holes, and a recess portion is formed at the edge of each circular hole and forms an annulus concentric with respective circular hole, the cup lid is circular shaped, an annular protrusion is formed at the lower side surface of the cup lid, the annular protrusion can enter into the circular hole, and the portion of the cup lid outward than the annular protrusion abuts on the recess portion. 
     Preferably, the upper side surface of the cup lid is flush with the planting plate in the case that the cup lid is disposed at the circular hole. 
     Preferably, a retaining notch is formed on the side wall of the circular hole, and a retaining protrusion matching with the retaining notch is formed on the outer wall of the annular protrusion. 
     Preferably, the stop groove is provided on the inner surface of the annular protrusion. 
     Preferably, the depression of the cup lid forms a concentric circular depression having a smaller radius than the outer diameter of the cup lid, and the through-hole of the depression is a square shaped hole which has a same center point as that of the concentric circular depression. 
     Preferably, the square shaped hole has a diagonal line with a length similar to the diameter of the concentric circular depression. 
     Preferably, the top surface of the planting basket is a circular surface which has a diameter which equals to the diameter of the concentric circular depression. 
     Preferably, the top surface of the planting basket is flush with the upper side surface of the cup lid in the case that the planting basket is fitted in the cup lid. 
     Preferably, the lower half portion that is connected with the circular surface of the planting basket is a hollowed-out support frame. 
     Preferably, the hollowed-out support frame is disposed with a sponge or silica gel for positioning the plants. 
     Preferably, the side frames of the hollowed-out support frame are regular rectangular truncated pyramid shaped and have a cross section which decreases in a direction towards the bottom, and the hollowed-out support frame is provided at its bottom surface with an annular frame line. 
     Preferably, the whole culturing cup has a circular truncated cone shaped cup body, the growing media can be disposed in the culturing cup, the center of the cup bottom of the culturing cup is provided with an opening, a thin tube is connected to the opening, the opening extends through the cup bottom and the thin tube, and the thin tube is provided at its bottom with an absorbing notch. 
     Preferably, the LED illuminating device is a light cover which is connected with the base by a supporting connection rod, a lamp panel arranged with a plurality of LED lamp beads is mounted on the lower surface of the light cover. 
     Preferably, the multipurpose plant growing apparatus is hollowed-out at four sides, and the multipurpose plant growing apparatus is made of plastics. 
     Preferably, the upper portion of the cup lid is arranged with a handle to facilitate moving. 
     The multipurpose plant growing apparatus of the present invention comprises a base having a nutrient solution cavity at its bottom and an LED illuminating device arranged above the base, wherein the base comprises a planting plate capping on the top of the nutrient solution cavity and providing with planting holes, a cup lid capable of abutting on the surface of the plate around a planting hole, and a culturing cup and a planting basket which are capable of being mounted on the cup lid and extending into the nutrient solution cavity. During using, the culturing cup or the planting basket can be connected to the cup lid. 
     The multipurpose plant growing apparatus of the present invention solves the problem that existing plant growing apparatus are merely applicable to one single type of plants relative to various types of plants. It is capable of planting plants by two methods. In the condition that some plants can grow fast by hydroponics while some plants may not be suitable for hydroponic culture, it has very good adaptability for the selections of the plants. Furthermore, different plants can be planted in same plant growing apparatus, and the problem that the plant growing apparatus has very high plant growing portion having high weight and volume ratios due to the hydroponics nutrient solution is solved. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       To facilitate the detailed description of embodiments according to the present invention or prior art, drawings illustrating the embodiments or prior art will be briefly described below. It is apparent that the drawings described below merely illustrate some embodiments of the present invention. Based on these drawings, those skilled in the art may obtain some other drawings without any creative work. 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic drawing of a multipurpose plant growing apparatus according to a particular embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic drawing of a planting plate; 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic drawing of a cup lid; 
         FIG. 4  is a bottom view of a cup lid; 
         FIG. 5  is a schematic drawing of a planting basket; 
         FIG. 6  is a schematic drawing of a culturing cup. 
     
    
    
     Reference numerals used in the drawings are as follows:  1 . base;  2 . supporting connection rod;  3 . light cover;  11 . planting plate;  111 . planting holes;  112 . retaining notch;  12 . cup lid;  121 . through-hole;  122 . handle;  123 . annular protrusion;  124 . retaining protrusion;  125 . stop blocks;  13 . planting basket;  131 . hollowed-out support frame;  14 . culturing cup;  141 . stop grooves;  142 . thin tube;  143 . absorbing notch. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENTS 
     A core of the present invention is to provide a multipurpose plant growing apparatus which effectively solves the problem that existing plant growing apparatus are merely applicable to one single type of plants relative to various types of plants and makes it possible to grow different types of plants by the plant growing apparatus. 
     Embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described in conjunction with the attached drawings. It is apparent that the embodiments described below are merely some, but not all, embodiments of the present invention. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, those skilled in the art may obtain other embodiments included within the scope of the present invention without any creative work. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1-6 ,  FIG. 1  is a schematic drawing of a multipurpose plant growing apparatus according to a particular embodiment of the present invention;  FIG. 2  is a schematic drawing of a planting plate;  FIG. 3  is a schematic drawing of a cup lid;  FIG. 4  is a bottom view of a cup lid;  FIG. 5  is a schematic drawing of a planting basket;  FIG. 6  is a schematic drawing of a culturing cup. 
     In a particular embodiment, a multipurpose plant growing apparatus of the present invention comprises a base  1  having a nutrient solution cavity at its bottom and an LED illuminating device arranged above the base  1 , wherein the base  1  comprises a planting plate  11  capping on the top of the nutrient solution cavity and providing with planting holes  111 , a cup lid  12  capable of abutting on the surface of the plate around a planting hole  111 , and a culturing cup  14  and a planting basket  13  which are capable of being mounted on the cup lid  12  and extending into the nutrient solution cavity. To plant plants, the culturing cup  14  or the planting basket  13  can be connected to the cup lid  12 . 
     It should be noted that, the nutrient solution cavity which serves to provide nutrients for the plants is arranged at the bottom of the base  1 . The LED illuminating device arranged above the base  1  takes the place of sunlight such that the plants illuminated by the LED light can carry out photosynthesis. 
     In the above configuration, the base  1  comprises a planting plate  11 , a cup lid  12 , a culturing cup  14  and a planting basket  13 , wherein the planting plate  11  caps on the top of the nutrient solution cavity, that is, the upper surface of the base  1  is defined by the one planting plate  11 . The planting plate  11  is provided with planting holes  111 , through which the plant roots can extend into the nutrient solution cavity. 
     It should be noted that, the cup lid  12  may abut on the surface of the plate around a planting hole  111  means, the cup lid  12  may be disposed at a planting hole  111 , and the cup lid  12  is removably connected with the planting plate  11 . To plant plants, the cup lid  12  can be removed from the planting plate  11  so as to connect various planting containers such as the culturing cup  14  and the planting basket  13 . 
     In the above configuration, the culturing cup  14  and the planting basket  13  can be mounted on the cup lid  12  and extend into the nutrient solution cavity. To plant plants, the culturing cup  14  or the planting basket  13  can be connected to the cup lid  12 . In other words, both the culturing cup  14  and the planting basket  13  can be removably connected with the cup lid. Specifically, if the culturing cup  14  is needed, the cup lid  12  can be connected with the culturing cup  14 , and the planting basket  13  can be removed from the cup lid  12 ; if the planting basket  13  is needed, the cup lid  12  can be connected with the planting basket  13 , and the culturing cup  14  can be removed from the cup lid  12 . The planting basket  13  and the culturing cup  14  which can be alternatively connected with the cup lid  12  are easy and convenient to use and do not interfere with each other. 
     The multipurpose plant growing apparatus of the present invention solves the problem that existing plant growing apparatus are merely applicable to one single type of plants relative to various types of plants. It is capable of planting plants by two methods. In the condition that some plants can grow fast by hydroponics while some plants may not be suitable for hydroponic culture, it has very good adaptability for the selections of the plants. Furthermore, different plants can be planted in same plant growing apparatus, and the problem that the plant growing apparatus has very high plant growing portion having high weight and volume ratios due to the hydroponics nutrient solution is solved. 
     If neither the culturing cup  14  nor the planting basket  13  is needed, the cup lid  12  can be connected with both the culturing cup  14  and the planting basket  13 , or none of the culturing cup  14  and the planting basket  13 , or anyone of the culturing cup  14  and the planting basket  13 . In order to save space, the cup lid  12  may be preferably connected with both the culturing cup  14  and the planting basket  13 . In the case that both the culturing cup  14  and the planting basket  13  are connected to the cup lid  12 , the cross section of the inner circumference of the culturing cup  14  has a greater size than the cross section of the outer circumference of the planting basket  13 , such that the planting basket  13  can be accommodated in the culturing cup  14 , thereby saving space, reducing required area, and allowing easier placement. Furthermore, since the culturing cup  14 , the planting basket  13  and the cup lid  12  can be nested one by one, they can be put together and stocked as a set when not in use, thereby facilitating taking-out if desired and avoid loss. 
     Based on the above particular embodiment, a depression is formed in the central portion of the cup lid  12 , and the depression is provided with a through-hole  121  having an area smaller than the area of the depression, such that the plant is capable of extending into the nutrient solution cavity through the through-hole  121 . The planting basket  13  can be supported by the portion of the depression around the through-hole  121  and prevented from falling off. The planting basket  13  can be connected with the cup lid  12  in such a manner that the top surface of the planting basket  13  is held over the through-hole  121 , and the portion of the planting basket  13  lower than the top surface can pass through the through-hole  121  such that the bottom of the planting basket  13  extends into the nutrient solution cavity. The combination of the planting basket  13  and the cup lid  12  is applicable for the hydroponic culture of the plant culture. The assembly can be disposed on the culturing plate. A cuboid sponge in which a general plant seedling or a seed is fixedly positioned can be disposed in the planting basket  13 , whereby the plant disposed in the planting basket  13  can be fixed there. In such case, the whole plant roots not only can be fixed, but also can pass through the planting basket  13  to absorb nutrients from the nutrient solution. 
     Based on the above particular embodiment, a plurality of stop grooves  141  are provided on the outer periphery of the upper end surface of the culturing cup  14 , and the cup lid  12  is provided with stop blocks  125  matching with the stop grooves  141 . In the case that the culturing cup  14  is connected with the cup lid  12 , the stop grooves  141  of the culturing cup  14  and the stop blocks  125  of the cup lid  12  can be engaged with each other. The combination of the culturing cup  14  and the cup lid  12  is applicable for the growing media culture. The assembly can be disposed on the culturing plate. When planting, a growing medium in which a plant seed or seedling is disposed can be disposed in the culturing cup  14 . In the case that the assembly of the cup lid  12  and the culturing cup  14  is disposed in the base  1 , due to the increased water pressure and the siphonic effect, the nutrient solution can be absorbed by the growing medium in the cup body from the bottom of the culturing cup  14  and supplied for the plant roots. 
     Based on the above particular embodiment, the planting holes  111  of the planting plate  11  are circular holes, and a recess portion is formed at the edge of each circular hole and forms an annulus concentric with respective circular hole. The cup lid  12  may be circular shaped, and an annular protrusion  123  may be formed at the lower side surface of the cup lid  12 . The annular protrusion  123  can enter into the circular hole. A bottom surface of the portion of the cup lid outward than the annular protrusion  123  may abut on the recess portion, such that in the case that the cup lid  12  is disposed at the circular hole, the upper side surface of the cup lid  12  is flush with the planting plate  11 . 
     In the above configuration, the shape of the planting hole  111  is not limited, and circular holes, square holes, and irregular shaped hole are all conceivable. Preferably, the planting hole  111  may be circular shaped and do not have any corner, such that the plant roots which usually are circular shaped will not get stuck, thereby facilitating growing and pruning of the plants and improving the aesthetic appearance. 
     It should be noted that, the recess portion formed at the edge of each circular hole may be square shaped or circular shaped, depending on particular practical application, which is not limited in the present invention. Preferably, the recess portion forms an annulus concentric with respective circular hole. In such case, the cup lid  12  may be circular shaped, which facilitates the connection with the planting plate  11  and prevents the users from being injured. 
     Preferably, in the case that the annular protrusion  123  is formed at the lower side surface of the cup lid  12 , it should be noted that the outer diameter of the annular protrusion  123  is smaller than or equals to the inner diameter of the circular hole, such that the annular protrusion  123  can enter into the circular hole. In the case that the planting plate  11  is connected with the cup lid  12 , the annular protrusion  123  enters into the circular hole, the bottom surface of the portion of the cup lid outward than the annular protrusion  123  abuts on the recess portion. In such case, the cup lid  12  is disposed at the circular hole in a manner that the upper side surface of the cup lid  12  is flush with the planting plate  11 , whereby the planting plate  11  maintains a flat surface and has a neater and aesthetic appearance. 
     In a further preferred technical solution, a retaining notch  112  serving as position restraining points for the cup lid  12  may be formed on the side wall of the circular hole. One retaining notch  112  may be provided, to facilitate simple structure and easy processing. Two retaining notches  112  may be provided, at opposite positions spaced apart at 180 degrees. Alternatively, a plurality of retaining notches  112  may be provided, preferably evenly spaced apart. A retaining protrusion  124  matching with the retaining notch  112  may be formed on the outer wall of the annular protrusion  123 , such that the cup lid  12  and the planting plate  11  can be fitted with each other and fixed relative to each other, whereby the cup lid  12  can be fixed at the planting plate  11  and prevented from swinging and rotating. The shape and the size of the retaining notch  112  is not limited in the present invention, well-known details are not described herein. 
     In a further preferred technical solution, a stop groove  141  may be provided on the inner surface of the annular protrusion  123 . The inner surface of the annular protrusion  123  is a surface which may be in contact with the culturing cup  14 . The cup lid  12  and the culturing cup  14  may have resilience, and the inner diameter of the annular protrusion  123  may be equal to the outer diameter of the culturing cup  14 , such that they can tightly fit with each other and the culturing cup  14  can be fixed due to the annular protrusion  123  of the cup lid  12 . Due to the stop grooves  141  and the stop blocks  125 , the culturing cup  14  can be further fixed. Since the stop grooves  141  and the stop blocks  125  are engaged with each other, a contact area is increased and the chucking force is increased, whereby the culturing cup  14  can be prevented from being released from the cup lid  12 . It should be noted that at least three stop grooves  141  may be provided, preferably evenly spaced apart. In such case, the culturing cup  14  is subjected to more even force and can be better fixed. Alternatively, the stop grooves  141  and the stop blocks  125  may have any suitable shapes such as triangle and rectangle, which is not limited in the present invention. 
     Based on the above particular embodiment, the depression of the cup lid  12  forms a concentric circular depression having a smaller radius than the outer diameter of the cup lid  12 . The through-hole  121  of the depression may be a square shaped hole which has a same center point as that of the concentric circular depression and a diagonal line with a length similar to the diameter of the concentric circular depression. In such case, the portion of the concentric circular depression greater than the square shaped hole has a regular shape and is neat, and the planting basket  13  has a regular shape and is not intended to be displaced. 
     In a further preferred technical solution, the top surface of the planting basket  13  is a circular surface which has a diameter which equals to the diameter of the concentric circular depression. In such case, the planting basket  13  can be disposed just in the cup lid  12 , such that they are in close contact with each other and tightly fit with each other to avoid swinging. In the case that the planting basket  13  is fitted in the cup lid  12 , the upper side surface of the cup lid  12  is flush with the top surface of the planting basket  13 , such that the cup lid  12  maintains a flat surface without any protrusion and avoids the risk of injuring the users. 
     Based on the above particular embodiment, the lower half portion that is connected with the circular surface of the planting basket  13  is a hollowed-out support frame  131 . The hollowed-out support frame  131  may be disposed with a sponge or silica gel for positioning the plants. A cuboid sponge in which a general plant seedling or a seed is fixedly positioned can be disposed in the hollowed-out structure, whereby the plant disposed in the hollowed-out support frame  131  can be fixed there. In such case, the whole plant roots not only can be fixed, but also can pass through the hollowed-out structure to absorb nutrients from the nutrient solution. 
     In a further preferred technical solution, the side frames of the hollowed-out support frame  131  are regular rectangular truncated pyramid shaped and have a cross section which decreases in a direction towards the bottom. The hollowed-out support frame  131  is provided at its bottom with an annular frame line, which serves to support the sponge when the sponge is disposed over there and to a certain extent provides an out-expanding space for the sponge when the sponge is compressed, thereby preventing the sponge from pressing inwards and damaging the plant roots. 
     Based on the above particular embodiment, the whole culturing cup  14  has a circular truncated cone shaped cup body. The growing media can be disposed in the culturing cup  14 . The center of the cup bottom of the culturing cup  14  is provided with an opening, and the opening may be a circular opening. A thin tube  142  may be connected to the opening. The opening can be easily connected with the thin tube  142 . The opening extends through the cup bottom and the thin tube  142 . As long as the thin tube  142  and the opening are clear, the plants can smoothly absorb the nutrient solution. Preferably, the thin tube  142  is provided at its bottom with an absorbing notch  143 . In the case that the thin tube  142  is in contact with the bottom of the base  1  of the plant growing apparatus, the nutrient solution can flow through the absorbing notch  143 . Furthermore, the impact to the plants in the cup body resulted from the flowing of the liquid during refilling of the nutrient solution can be reduced. The thin tube  142  and the culturing cup  14  may be formed integrally, or connected by means of a connecting sleeve. The thickness of the thin tube  142  may be selected depending on particular practical application, which is not limited in the present invention. 
     Based on the above particular embodiment, the LED illuminating device may be a light cover  3 , which is connected with the base  1  by a supporting connection rod  2 . Preferably, the multipurpose plant growing apparatus may be hollowed-out at four sides, to facilitate moving of the growing unit and harvesting plants. It has low cost and increased growing space for the plants. 
     Meanwhile, a lamp panel arranged with a plurality of LED lamp beads may be mounted on the lower surface of the light cover  3 . The connection between the LED lamp beads and the lamp panel known in the art is not described herein. The numbers and the position arrangements of the LED lamp beads may be determined individually depending on various particular practical applications, which is not limited in the present invention. 
     In a further preferred technical solution, the multipurpose plant growing apparatus is made of plastics such as PS, PP, PC, PET, which has light weight, and is stable and easy to move, and is not easy to rust. The upper portion of the cup lid  12  may be arranged with a handle  122  to facilitate moving of the cup lid  12 . 
     The embodiments of the present invention are described in a progressive manner. Each embodiment is described with an emphasis on a difference from the other embodiments, and same and similar arrangements are not repeated. 
     The multipurpose plant growing apparatus of the present invention has been described as above. The principles and embodiments of the present invention are illustratively described with reference to particular embodiments disclosed above. The description with reference to the embodiments is merely illustrative of the principle and concept of the present invention. It should be noted that the present invention is intended to cover all changes and various modifications those skilled in the art may obtain within the principle of the present invention. Thus, the present invention will not be limited to the embodiment disclosed above, but shall accord with the widest scope consistent with the principles and now characteristics disclosed herein.