Patent Publication Number: US-2015068121-A1

Title: Tiered hydroponic growing stand

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims priority to and hereby includes by reference in its entirety US 29/446012 filed on Feb. 19, 2013. 
    
    
     FIELD 
     This is directed to an apparatus for holding plants on horizontal shelves and delivering nutrients to be used in soil-free horticulture. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Hydroponic systems have been known for many years and after a slow start they have found application in some horticultural niches. One application where hydroponics has not been very successful to date is with the home gardener. Hydroponics have been seen as suitable for medium scale commercial growing and the available equipment has not been viewed by most home gardeners as simple enough, compact enough and attractive enough for their use. 
     SUMMARY 
     A tiered shelving system can have enclosed shelves that act as troughs with openings in the enclosure to accommodate planting baskets. Arms that extend upward and rearward from a tank can support the shelves. With liquid in the tank, it can act as a counter-weighted base to provide stability to the tiered shelves and the plants they support. The shelves can be attached to the arms in a manner that makes them readily removable for cleaning. And the arms, shelves, and openings for planting baskets can be configured to support plants at an orientation that is tilted from normal to the ground. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a three-shelf version of a hydroponic planting stand with baskets inserted; 
         FIG. 2A  is a side view of the unit of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 2B  is the same view as  2 A with the addition of plants; 
         FIG. 2C  shows an enlarged, fragmentary view of a section of  FIG. 2A  where a tube is retained in an arm; 
         FIG. 3  is a front view of the unit of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a plan view of the unit of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 5  is a schematic view showing the liquid flow; 
         FIG. 6  shows a partially exploded, perspective view of the unit of  FIG. 1  with the top shelf removed from the arms of the stand and the upper portion of the shelf removed from the base of the shelf; 
         FIG. 7  shows an isolated shelf with grow baskets exploded from the shelf; 
         FIG. 8  is an enlarged perspective view of the underside of a basket; 
         FIG. 9A  is a fragmentary, enlarged, cut away view of a basket being inserted in an opening; 
         FIG. 9B  is the view of  FIG. 9A  with the basket being locked into place; 
         FIG. 10  shows a side view of a second embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     First Embodiment 
     The first embodiment  100  is seen in  FIG. 1 . It is a tiered shelving system with the shelves  103  supported by arcuate arms  102  that extend from a tank  101  that acts as a base for the apparatus. The weight of the tank, when filled, acts as an effective counter-weight to the mass of the growing vegetation. The shelves  103  are shallow, enclosed troughs. This allows them to hold the liquid with nutrients that are needed for hydroponic growing in a lower portion  104 . With an open-able or removable cover  105 , the entire interior surfaces of the troughs are readily cleanable. This is further facilitated by ready detachability of the shelves from the arms. Better seen in  FIG. 2A  and  FIG. 6 , the arms are notched  116  on their rear-facing sides and the profile of the shelves allows them to be inserted into the notches and be retained by gravity in a cantilevered position. Other versions might have a friction fit, a snap fit or a simple latch. This  FIG. 2A  also shows the angle at which the basket is held. In  FIG. 2B  the reason for the tilted plant orientation is seen. The plants&#39;  118  vegetation tends to lean towards the front of the unit making for a neater appearance, ease of tending and the ability to direct the growth via a trestle or net (not shown) that might be supported by the upright posts  115 . Note that these posts may be optional and are shown in some but not all of the figures. 
       FIGS. 3 and 4  show the unit from a front and plan view respectively to aid in the understanding of the structure of this embodiment. In  FIG. 5  a representation of the flow of liquid nutrients is shown. A pump  160  located in the tank of the base  101  feeds liquid up the feed tube  110  to the uppermost shelf. As that shelf fills, liquid is emitted from the other end of the shelf to a short daisy-chain tube  111 . From there gravity carries the liquid in the same manner to the lower shelves. At the lowermost shelf the return tube  112  carries the liquid back to the tank. 
     As mentioned above, and well diagramed in  FIG. 6 , the shelves  103  fit into large notches  116  in the arms  102 . The profile of the shelf as a whole is the same as the notch and the shelves are well supported in a cantilevered manner. This attachment could be made in other ways including a snap fit, a latch, etc. Also seen in this figure is the separation of the shelf cover  105  from the shelf lower portion  104 . In this embodiment it is a snuggly fitting cover but it could also be hinged. The open-ability of the shelf, and removability of the shelf allows for ready and complete cleaning of its interior and exterior. 
     As seen in  FIG. 7  the openings  152  in the cover are circular with two wide shallow slots  150  along the perimeter. These slots are aligned with the tabs  151  on the growing basket seen in  FIG. 8 . When inserted in the shelf as seen in  FIG. 9A , the tabs and slots are aligned. The basket is turned as seen in  FIG. 9B  and the tabs help to retain the basket even though they are slightly tilted. 
     Variations 
     Many variations of the first embodiment are possible. In some versions the shelves snap into notches in the arms for ready assembly and disassembly. In some versions the arms contain clips or tabs to hold the various tubes up against or within the arms providing a neater and more attractive appearance.  FIG. 2C  shows a fragmentary, enlarged view of one way to accomplish this but many other ways are known. It is also possible for one or more portions of the flexible tube lengths to be replaced by rigid pipes imbedded in or integral to the arms. 
     Although arcuate in the version shown, the arms could be leaned back at about the same angle but be straight. Baskets could be square and could be retained by a latch or other well-known mechanism. The posts for trestle or net support could be absent. The stand may also include a trellis, different trellis supports, netting supports and other accessories for growing and tending to the plants. 
     Second Embodiment 
     In an alternative embodiment the arms can be attached more centrally to the base and extend straight up or almost straight up. The arms can be a continuous S-shaped curve as seen in the side view of  FIG. 10 . Shelves are attached at portions of the curve so that sequential shelves are not directly above each other but staggered. In the version shown in  FIG. 10  the shelves are similar to the shelves of the first embodiment. The shelves can be all tilted in alternating directions as shown or, if the attachment point is moved off-center of the tank, they could all tilt in the same direction.