Patent Publication Number: US-2022225577-A1

Title: Plant growing vessels and holding trays

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/252,533, filed on Oct. 5, 2021, the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/236,512, filed on Aug. 24, 2021, the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/138,389, filed on Jan. 15, 2021, and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/138,391, filed on Jan. 15, 2021, each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     The inherent difficulties of growing, maintaining, and shipping large individual quantities of edible plant matter are sufficiently extensive that the field doesn&#39;t have a particularly strong record of innovation. Mistakes at any point in the growing, maintaining, and/or shipping process(es) often instantly lead to unusable products, with no possibility of recovery or regeneration. In short, the methods and apparatus for growing, maintaining, and shipping large individual quantities of edible plant matter impose requirements of precision wholly unknown in most other industries. Each individual stage for the methods and apparatus imposes its own separate challenges. 
     Existing fertigation systems encounter several challenges when attempting to fertigate a large quantity of plants, each plant or group of plants at differing growth stages—from seeds or seedlings to shoots of plants to plants —and thereby requiring differing quantities of water, nutrients, air, and so on. 
     “Plant” in this disclosure refers to a living organism of the kind exemplified by trees, shrubs, herbs, grasses, ferns, and mosses, typically growing in a permanent site, absorbing water and inorganic substances through its roots, and synthesizing nutrients in its leaves by photosynthesis. “Seed” in this disclosure refers to a flowering plant&#39;s unit of reproduction, capable of developing into another such plant. “Seedling” in this disclosure refers to a young plant, especially one raised from seed and not from a cutting. “Shoots of plants” in this disclosure refers to new growth from seed germination that grows upward and where leaves will develop. Shoots may also refer to stems including their appendages, the leaves and lateral buds, flowering stems and flower buds. 
     Plants grow at differing rates and need a combination of customized liquid, solid and gaseous nutrients if they are to reach their full growth potential. Plants growing in large collections may need monitoring at all growth stages, not least to adjust their fertigation needs as they mature. Individual plants, regardless of the scale at which they are grown and maintained, also need more than soil, water, light, and nutrients, though all four are important. The locations of these components and the timing schedule at which they are delivered to a growing plant are additionally central for plant growth. 
     Existing vessels for growing individual plants in large quantities exhibit several obstacles to successfully delivering packaged edible products. These obstacles include effectively delivering water and nutrients to the plants and controlling the climate conditions around the plant given the potential interactions between the plant and the growing medium as well as the interaction of the growing medium with the surroundings within the microclimate. Additional obstacles include protection against harsh handling when the plants are distributed, evaporation, effective watering of the growing medium, etc. 
     A need therefore exists for a system for controlling, storing, feeding, efficiently growing, monitoring, and delivering individually secured and maintained edible plant products. For efficient transfer of growing plants within a fertigation system, there is further a need for a tray system capable of holding multiple plants both within a growing rack, during fertigation at a fertigation station, and in transit between these and other locations within a growing facility. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY 
     In one aspect, a plant growing tray system, the system includes a growing tray including a plurality of tray insert openings configured to accept tray inserts, and a growing tray gripping area. The system also includes a plurality of tray inserts includes a plurality of tray locking points configured to secure each of the plurality of tray inserts within the plurality of tray insert openings, a vessel cavity configured to hold a plant vessel, and a plurality of fertigation holes on a bottom of the vessel cavity configured to receive fertigation needles. 
     In one aspect, a method, includes placing a plurality of tray inserts into tray insert openings of a growing tray of a plant growing tray system, where tray locking points secure each of the plurality of tray inserts within the plurality of tray insert openings, placing the plant growing tray system into a grow module, where the growing tray includes a pallet stop to secure the growing tray within the grow module, and removing the plant growing tray system from the grow module. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
       To easily identify the discussion of any particular element or act, the most significant digit or digits in a reference number refer to the figure number in which that element is first introduced. 
         FIG. 1A  and  FIG. 1B  illustrate a growing tray  100  in accordance with one embodiment. 
         FIG. 2A  and  FIG. 2B  illustrate a growing tray  200  in accordance with one embodiment. 
         FIG. 3A - FIG. 3E  illustrate a tray insert  300  in accordance with one embodiment. 
         FIG. 4A  and  FIG. 4B  illustrate plant vessels  400  in accordance with one embodiment. 
         FIG. 5A  and  FIG. 5B  illustrate rigid plant vessels  500  in accordance with one embodiment. 
         FIG. 6A - FIG. 6B  illustrate a tray insert with plant vessel  600  in accordance with one embodiment. 
         FIG. 7A - FIG. 7E  illustrate a plant growing tray system  700  in accordance with one embodiment. 
         FIG. 8  illustrates a growing tray with tray insert openings for pillow-shaped plant vessels  800  in accordance with one embodiment. 
         FIG. 9  illustrates a growing tray with pillow-shaped plant vessels  900  in accordance with one embodiment. 
         FIG. 10  illustrate growing trays with round tray insert openings  1000  in accordance with one embodiment. 
         FIG. 11  illustrates a growing tray with round plant vessels  1100  in accordance with one embodiment. 
         FIG. 12  illustrates a grow module with automated tray transferring device  1200  in accordance with one embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The disclosed solution comprises a plant growing tray system capable of holding multiple growing plants securely as they are moved around a growing facility, to and from growing racks, fertigation stations, other locations in the facility, and potentially during shipment from the facility to retail locations. In this manner, live produce may be effectively and efficiently grown, shipped, sold, and consumed, retaining freshness and nutrition better than produce that is harvested before shipping. 
     The plant growing tray system may comprise a growing tray including a plurality of tray insert openings configured to accept tray inserts. A pallet stop and a transfer catch may be included to facilitate robotic transfer of the tray from growing rack pallets to fertigation stations. The transfer catch may allow a robotic gantry arm to latch onto the growing tray for transport. The pallet stop may allow the transfer system to recognize when the tray has been completely and securely replaced in a pallet. 
     The plant growing tray system may further comprise a plurality of tray inserts that may be placed within the tray insert openings of the growing tray. The tray inserts may include tray locking points that secure the tray insert within the tray insert opening of the growing tray. The tray inserts may also each have a vessel cavity that may hold a plant vessel containing growth medium and seeds or root mass as the plant grows within the plant growing tray system. The vessel cavity may be configured to contain a sausage-type plant vessel. The sausage-type plant vessel may comprise a pierceable, biodegradable membrane disposed around a mass of growth medium having a cylindrical shape and rounded ends. The ends may be closed off by pinching, clamping, twisting, tying, heat sealing, or otherwise securing the ends. 
     The vessel cavity may alternatively be configured to contain a pillow-type plant vessel, similar in construction to the sausage-type plant vessel, but of a flatter shape, either round, oblong, rectangular, or some other shape. The vessel cavity may also be configured to hold conventional round or square growing pots or other plant vessel types disposed to hold growing medium and growing plants, and to allow fertigation of these plants during growth. 
     The tray insert may further include a plurality of fertigation holes on the bottom of the vessel cavity configured to receive fertigation needles. These allow the fertigation needles at a fertigation station to penetrate the vessel cavity and plant vessel and deliver water, gases, and nutrients into the plant vessel while it remains in the tray insert. 
     The fertigation needles may exert enough pressure at early stages of growth, before established needle channels have been created by repeated fertigation, to dislodge the plant vessel from the tray insert vessel cavity. For this reason, the tray insert may further comprise a plurality of plant vessel securement points configured to secure the plant vessel within the vessel cavity. The plant vessel securement points in one embodiment may be a series of pressure ridges configured to extend into the vessel cavity and apply pressure and friction to an inserted plant vessel. In another embodiment, plant vessel securement points may be gripper hold-down slots at the edges of the vessel cavity. The gripper hold-down slots may allow a gripper to be attached across the top of the vessel cavity to hold the plant vessel secure within the vessel cavity. 
       FIG. 1A  and  FIG. 1B  illustrate a growing tray  100  in accordance with one embodiment.  FIG. 1A  shows a top view of a growing tray  100  embodiment manufactured from aluminum.  FIG. 1B  illustrates an isometric top view of the aluminum growing tray  100 . The growing tray  100  comprises a plurality of tray insert openings  102 , a growing tray gripping area  104  that may comprise transfer catches  106 , a pallet stop  108 , and thickness strips  110 . 
     In one embodiment, as illustrated in  FIG. 1A , the growing tray  100  may comprise thirty-six tray insert openings  102 , as shown, in order to transfer thirty-six separate plants or groups of plants around a growing facility. This number may be adjusted to allow more smaller plants or fewer larger plants within a footprint compatible with growing racks, which may be standardized throughout a growing facility. The transfer catches  106  may allow a robotic gantry arm to latch onto the growing tray  100  for transport. A transfer catch  106  may be provided on two sides of a growing tray  100  such that either end of the growing tray  100  may be grabbed for transport. 
     In one embodiment, as shown in  FIG. 1B , in addition to the tray insert openings  102  and growing tray gripping areas  104  such as transfer catches  106 , the growing tray  100  may comprise two pallet stops  108 , one on each end also having the transfer catches  106 . These pallet stops  108  may allow a robotic transport system to recognize when the growing tray  100  is securely and completely seated in a pallet. 
     Aluminum sheeting may be selected to construct a growing tray that has a thickness adequate to support the weight of fully loaded tray inserts. This thickness may be no more than is adequate for this weight to conserve material and reduce cost. As such, this thickness of aluminum may not be compatible with holding pallet configurations. Thickness strips  110  may be configured on the two edges of the growing tray  100  that slide along pallet or rack rails in order to make the growing tray  100  compatible with these rails. The thickness strip  110  may be made of materials such as High Density Polyethylene (HDPE). This material may reduce friction against rails as well as bring the aluminum edges of the growing tray  100  up to thickness dimensions compatible with the railed systems. 
       FIG. 2A  and  FIG. 2B  illustrate a growing tray  200  in accordance with one embodiment.  FIG. 2A  illustrates a top isometric view of a growing tray  200  embodiment manufactured from molded plastic.  FIG. 2B  illustrates an isometric underside view of the molded plastic growing tray  200 . The molded plastic growing tray  200  comprises a plurality of tray insert openings  202 , transfer catches  204 , and pallet stops  206 . 
     Rather than the separate and attached components used to form the transfer catches  106  of  FIG. 1A  and  FIG. 1B , the transfer catches  204  in this embodiment may be integrated into the molded plastic of the growing tray  200 . The pallet stop  206  may in some embodiments comprise a feature running along the bottom of the growing tray across its entire width, such that a pallet stop may contact a leading edge of a pallet and, on release, pop up under the tray without hitting it. An example of this slot feature is shown in  FIG. 2B . 
       FIG. 3A - FIG. 3E  illustrate a tray insert  300  in accordance with one embodiment. The tray insert  300  comprises a vessel cavity  302 , a fertigation hole  304 , a pressure ridge  308 , an edge lip  316 , a tray locking point  318 , and a gripper hold-down slot  310 . 
       FIG. 3A  illustrates a top view of the tray insert  300 . The vessel cavity  302  may be configured as shown to contain an elongated plant vessel such as a sausage-type plant vessel. The bottom of the vessel cavity  302  may comprise a plurality of fertigation holes  304  configured to allow the fertigation needles of a fertigation station to access the plant vessel. Plant vessel securement points  306  may be provided at the edges of the vessel cavity  302  to secure a plant vessel within the vessel cavity  302 . 
       FIG. 3B  shows an isometric bottom view of the tray insert  300 . The plant vessel securement points  306  may be seen in greater detail as comprising both pressure ridges  308  and gripper hold-down slots  310 . The side not visible in this view may be symmetrically configured, as indicated in the top view shown in  FIG. 3A . 
     During fertigation, fertigation needles  312  may be pressed into the fertigation holes  304  in order to penetrate the plant vessel and deliver water, nutrients, and gasses into the growing medium within the plant vessel. The insertion of these fertigation needles  312  may exert a pressure  314  into the vessel cavity  302  which may be strong enough to dislodge the plant vessel within the vessel cavity  302 . The pressure ridges  308  may extend into the vessel cavity  302  in order to exert pressure and friction upon an inserted plant vessel. This pressure and friction may act to hold the plant vessel in place within the vessel cavity  302  in spite of the pressure  314  exerted during fertigation. The gripper hold-down slots  310  may be configured to interface with a gripper at the edges of the vessel cavity  302  to allow the gripper to attach across the top of the plant vessel in order to hold it into place in spite of this pressure  314 . 
       FIG. 3C  and  FIG. 3D  illustrate a side view of the tray insert  300  and a side view detail of the tray insert  300 , respectively. An edge lip  316  and a tray locking point  318  are shown illustrating how this embodiment may interface with the growing tray. When placed into a tray insert opening of a growing tray, the edge lip  316  may rest along the edges of the tray insert opening, preventing the tray insert  300  from falling through the tray insert opening. The tray locking point  318  may provide friction or pressure against the edge of the tray insert opening to hold the tray insert securely within the tray insert opening in spite of movement or pressure during fertigation. In one embodiment, the edges of the tray insert opening may comprise additional features interfacing with the tray locking points  318  to provide additional support or securement beyond pressure and friction. 
       FIG. 3E  shows a side view of a tray insert  300  and illustrates how the vessel cavity  302  may be seated within the tray insert opening  102  while the edge lip  316  rests against the top of the growing tray  100  and the tray locking point  318  may contact the edge of the tray insert opening  102  to provide securement through friction and outward pressure against the growing tray  100 . 
       FIG. 4A  and  FIG. 4B  illustrate plant vessels  400  in accordance with one embodiment. “Plant vessel” in this disclosure refers to container designed to facilitate individual plant growth. The plant vessel may include an outer membrane, an impervious outer vessel, a cover, a substrate, a nutrient chamber a pervious membrane, an outer membrane, and a root zone. “Substrate” in this disclosure refers to a biologically and chemically unreactive material that a plant may grow in or on. 
     The plant vessels  400  illustrated comprise the sausage-type plant vessel  402  of  FIG. 4A  having an outer membrane  406  and a substrate  408 , as well as the pillow-shaped plant vessel  404  of  FIG. 4B  having an outer membrane  406  and a substrate  408 . The outer membrane may be a flexible permeable or impermeable material intended to hold the substrate and root zone of a growing plant in place within the plant growing tray system, as well as to conserve moisture injected at fertigation from evaporation and protect the substrate inside from dispersal, fungus, or other damage. 
       FIG. 5A  and  FIG. 5B  illustrate rigid plant vessels  500  in accordance with one embodiment. The tray insert openings may, in one embodiment, be configured to accommodate rigid plant vessels rather than or in addition to tray inserts. The rigid plant vessels  500  illustrated comprise the round plant vessel  502  of  FIG. 5A  and the rectangular plant vessel  504  of  FIG. 5B . Both the round plant vessel  502  and the rectangular plant vessel  504  may comprise an outer membrane  506  containing a substrate  508 . The round plant vessel  502  may be protected above by a round cover  510 , maintaining the integrity of the substrate  508 , the roots of a growing plant, and water and nutrients injected at fertigation. The rectangular plant vessel  504  may be protected by a rectangular cover  512  performing the same functions. 
     While the outer membranes  406  and  506  are illustrated as transparent, allowing visibility of the substrates, in one embodiment a vessel outer membrane may be opaque and/or have other insulating qualities. Managing root zone temperature to a constant target is important for healthy plant growth. With the changing ambient temperatures and nearby heat sources of equipment and lighting, the vessel outer membranes may be configured with insulating qualities such as material composition, color, opacity, and double wall construction. These qualities may assist in optimally achieving a desired root zone temperature, as well as maintaining complete darkness in the root zone, even while bright light is concentrated on the plant tissue. This may prevent the growth of algae or other pathogens in the root zone. 
       FIG. 6A - FIG. 6B  illustrate a tray insert with plant vessel  600  in accordance with one embodiment. The tray insert with plant vessel  600  comprises a tray insert  300  with a plant vessel in place. The sausage-type plant vessel  402  may be a sausage-type plant vessel as shown and may rest within the vessel cavity  302  of the tray insert  300  as shown. 
     The pressure ridges  308  introduced with respect to  FIG. 3B  may be seen here exerting an inward pressure on the sausage-type plant vessel  402  such that the sausage-type plant vessel  402  may deform around the pressure ridges  308 , increasing the surface area of the sausage-type plant vessel  402  in contact with the pressure ridges  308  and thus increasing the friction forces exerted to hold the sausage-type plant vessel  402  secure within the vessel cavity  302 . Gripper hold-down slots  310  are also shown which would allow a gripper  602  to hold the sausage-type plant vessel  402  in place, as indicated. The gripper  602  may include portions that span the top of the sausage-type plant vessel  402  across the vessel cavity  302  as shown or may include fingers that extend from the bottom of the tray insert  300  up through the gripper hold-down slot  310  and over the vessel cavity  302  in another embodiment, or may be otherwise configured such that the gripper  602  may exert a downward counterpressure against the pressure from the fertigation needles to keep the plant vessel seated in the tray insert during fertigation. 
       FIG. 6B  illustrates a bottom view of the tray insert with plant vessel  600 . The sausage-type plant vessel  402  may be seen through the fertigation holes  304  resting on the bottom of the vessel cavity  302 . In this manner, fertigation needles inserted into the fertigation hole  304  as illustrated in  FIG. 3B  may contact, pierce, and penetrate the outer membrane of the sausage-type plant vessel  402 , in order to inject water and nutrients (i.e., fertigate) the substrate within the outer membrane, along with the seed or plant contained therein. 
       FIG. 7A - FIG. 7E  illustrate a plant growing tray system  700  in accordance with one embodiment.  FIG. 7A  shows a top view of the plant growing tray system  700 . The growing tray  100  may be seen, along with its transfer catch  106 . The tray insert openings  102  are not visible in this view, as tray inserts  300  have been inserted into each one. sausage-type plant vessels  402  are seen within each tray insert  300 . In this embodiment, the growing tray  100  is configured to hold thirty-six tray inserts  300 . The tray inserts  300  shown are configured to hold sausage-type plant vessels. 
       FIG. 7B  illustrates a side view of the plant growing tray system  700 . The growing tray  100  with transfer catch  106  and pallet stop  108  are visible. The vessel cavities  302  of the tray inserts  300  may be seen extending down along the bottom of the growing tray  100 . 
       FIG. 7C  illustrates an isometric bottom view of the plant growing tray system  700 . The growing tray  100  with transfer catch  106  and pallet stop  108  may be seen, along with the lower side of the tray inserts  300 . The vessel cavities  302  are visible at the lower side of the growing tray  100 . 
       FIG. 7D  illustrates a detailed isometric top view of a portion of the plant growing tray system  700 . The growing tray  100  may be seen with a tray insert  300  resting in a tray insert opening  102 . The edge lip  316  prevents the tray insert  300  from slipping through the tray insert opening  102 . The sausage-type plant vessel  402  is visible within the vessel cavity. The plant vessel securement points  306  are shown providing pressure and friction upon the sausage-type plant vessel  402  within the tray insert  300 . 
       FIG. 7E  illustrates a detailed side view of a portion of the plant growing tray system  700 . The sausage-type plant vessel  402  may be seen held in the tray insert  300  with side pressure from the plant vessel securement points  306 . The tray insert  300  rests in the growing tray  100 . 
       FIG. 8  illustrates a growing tray with tray insert openings for pillow-shaped plant vessels  800  in accordance with one embodiment. 
       FIG. 9  illustrates a growing tray with pillow-shaped plant vessels  900  in accordance with one embodiment. 
       FIG. 10  illustrates growing trays with round tray insert openings  1000  in accordance with several embodiments. 
       FIG. 11  illustrates a growing tray with round plant vessels  1100  in one embodiment. A seed  1102  may be seen placed within the substrate of one of the round plant vessels  502 . In another of the round plant vessels  502 , a sprouting plant  1104  may be seen. Finally, in the round plant vessel  502  positioned within the growing tray with round plant vessels  1100 , a grown plant  1106  may be seen growing up and out from its round plant vessel  502 . 
       FIG. 12  illustrates a grow module with automated tray transferring device  1200  in accordance with one embodiment. “Grow module” in this disclosure refers to a storage medium for a plurality of growing trays to be extracted and inserted by the fertigation system. A grow module  1202  may be a rack or other system capable of holding a plurality of growing trays  1208 . The growing trays  1208  may have transfer catches  106  as introduced in earlier sections. These transfer catches may be designed for compatibility with end of arm tooling  1206  installed at the end of an arm of the automated tray transferring device  1204 . In this manner, the automated tray transferring device  1204  may attach to or otherwise grip a growing tray  1208 , and exert a force to pull it out of the grow module  1202 . Friction of the growing tray  1208  against rails or shelves within the grow module  1202  may be reduced through the action of the thickness strips  110  previously described. The thickness strips  110  may further act to maintain the gripping area of the growing tray  1208  at an appropriate height for engagement between the transfer catch and the end of arm tooling  1206 . 
     The growing trays  1208  may be thus removed from the grow module  1202  for the purpose of transferring growing trays to a fertigation station  1210 , where water and nutrients may be injected into a plant vessel contained in the growing tray  1208  as described with respect to  FIG. 3A . The automated tray transferring device  1204  may further attach to or grip the growing trays  1208  for the purpose of returning fertigated growing trays  1208  to the grow module  1202 . The growing tray  1208  may also be removed from the grow module  1202  for the purpose of populating a plant vessel within a growing tray and removing the plant growing tray system from the grow module at the end of a growth cycle for a grown plant residing in the plant vessel. 
     The methods, apparatuses, and systems in this disclosure are described in the preceding on the basis of several preferred embodiments. Different aspects of different variants are considered to be described in combination with each other such that all combinations that upon reading by a skilled person in the field on the basis of this document may be regarded as being read within the concept of the disclosure. The preferred embodiments do not limit the extent of protection of this document. 
     Having thus described embodiments of the present disclosure of the present application in detail and by reference to illustrative embodiments thereof, it will be apparent that modifications and variations are possible without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.