JP2011177127A - Plant growth system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technique to enhance working efficiency of an LED unit. <P>SOLUTION: There is provided a plant growth system 100. The plant growth system 100 includes: a plant growth building 1; a growth surface 2 which is set in the plant growth building 1 and on which plants are planted; an LED unit 61 having a red LED, a blue LED and a white LED, and set at a position facing the growth surface; electric power generating means 51, 71 for generating electric power to be supplied to the LEDs of respective colors; and a control means 10 for controlling the amount of the electric power to be supplied to the LEDs of respective colors. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a plant growing system for growing a plant with illumination light of an LED.

  In recent years, plant breeding factories have been constructed that grow plants by irradiating artificial light in a space isolated from the outside. In such a plant growing factory, vegetables can be grown in a space closed from the outside without using soil, so that damage caused by pathogenic bacteria and pests can be effectively suppressed without using pesticides. . On the other hand, regarding artificial light irradiation, a technique for reducing power consumption by devising an illumination method using LEDs (Patent Document 1), and nighttime LED illumination with a high human visual sensitivity while suppressing adverse effects on plant physiology (Patent Document 2) and a technology for promoting growth by changing the spectrum of LED illumination according to the growth stage according to the growth stage of the plant (Patent Document 3).

JP 2009-171904 A JP 2008-31188 A JP-A-10-191787

  However, in the prior art, using red, blue, and green LEDs to realize irradiation in the spectrum of the three primary colors red, blue, and green necessary for plant growth has been studied. The operational efficiency of each color LED has not been sufficiently studied.

  The present invention was created in order to solve at least a part of the above-described conventional problems, and an object thereof is to provide a technique for improving the operational efficiency of an LED unit.

  The first means is a plant growing system. The plant growing system has a plant growing building, a growing surface disposed in the plant growing building, a plant on which plants are planted, a red LED, a blue LED, and a white LED, at a position facing the growing surface. A power generation unit that generates power to be supplied to each of the LEDs of each color; and a control unit that individually controls the amount of power to be supplied to the LEDs of each color. And

  In this configuration, the LED unit installed in the plant building is not a general red LED, blue LED, and green LED, but a white LED instead of a green LED. It has the feature of being. As a result, the white LED can supply the green light required for the growth level 0 (germination period) and the final growth period. Furthermore, since the LED unit can irradiate with sufficient light from the comprehensive viewpoint of plant growth such as photosynthesis and photomorphogenesis, the illuminance of the blue LED and the red LED can be adjusted to be adapted to the plant to be grown. it can. As a result, for example, an inefficient use state such as long-term low operation of the green LED can be avoided, so that the operational efficiency of the LED unit is improved.

  However, it is not necessary to completely eliminate the green LED, but it is sufficient that the red LED, the blue LED, and the white LED are equipped.

  The second means includes plant growth state detection means for detecting the growth level of the plant in the first means. The said control means determines the electric energy supplied to each of said LED of each color based on the information on the growth level of the plant which the said plant growth state detection means detected.

  In this configuration, since artificial light of the optimal wavelength can be irradiated to the plant based on the growth level information detected by the plant growth state for detecting the plant growth level, it is suitable for the actual growth state of the plant. The plant can be irradiated with artificial light having a wavelength component.

  The third means stores a work instruction file representing the relationship between the voltage of the current applied to each color LED of the LED unit and the elapsed time since the plant was planted on the growth surface in the first or second means. Work instruction file storage means which is a non-volatile storage device. The current generation means refers to the work instruction file, and when the elapsed time after the plant has been planted on the growth surface reaches the elapsed time of the work instruction file, the voltage corresponding to the elapsed time. Thus, a current is applied to each color LED.

  As a result, even if the control unit does not operate for some reason, the current generation unit refers to the work instruction file stored in the non-volatile storage device, and thereby the current applied to each color LED. The plant planted on the plant growth surface does not wither or grow slowly.

  The fourth means is any one of the first to third means, wherein the control means applies to each color LED of the LED unit at the kind of plant planted on the growth surface, the growth level of the plant, and each growth level. Whether there is a change in the reference schedule file storage means for storing the reference schedule file representing the optimum voltage of the current, the irradiation time of the LED unit at each growth level, and the growth level detected by the plant growth detection means Work for generating a work instruction file representing the relationship between the plant growth state determination means for determining whether or not, the voltage of the current applied to each color LED of the LED unit, and the elapsed time since the plant was planted on the growth surface Instruction file generation means.

  If a work instruction file has not been generated for the growth surface, the work instruction file generation means creates a work instruction file based on the reference schedule file. On the other hand, when the work instruction file is generated for the growth surface, and the plant growth state determination means determines that there has been a change in the growth level, the work instruction file generation means, In the work instruction file, change the item of elapsed time corresponding to the changed growth level to the elapsed time of change of the growth level, and sequentially change the item of elapsed time corresponding to the next and subsequent growth levels. Then, a process of changing only the difference of the changed elapsed time is performed. The current generation means refers to the work instruction file, and when the elapsed time after the plant has been planted on the growth surface reaches the elapsed time of the work instruction file, the voltage corresponding to the elapsed time. Thus, a current is applied to each color LED.

  Thereby, the optimal voltage applied to each color LED is determined appropriately, and the optimal irradiation light suitable for the growth level of the plant is irradiated.

  A fifth means is the third or fourth means, wherein the current generating means is disposed in the vicinity of each LED unit. The work instruction file storage means is disposed in the vicinity of the current generation means. The control means is characterized by transmitting the generated work instruction file to each work instruction file storage means for storage.

  As a result, even when communication between the control means and the work file storage means is interrupted, the current generation means refers to the work instruction file stored in the non-volatile storage device so that each color LED A current to be applied to can be generated.

  Moreover, since the current generation means is disposed in the vicinity of each LED unit, it is possible to reduce energy waste by avoiding current loss due to long-distance power transmission.

  A sixth means is the first to fifth means, wherein the plant growth state detection means is a plurality of sensors arranged in the height direction for detecting the height of the plant planted on the growth surface. To do.

  This makes it possible to easily and reliably detect the growth level of the plant planted on the growing surface, improve the reliability of the plant growing system, and detect the plant growing state at low cost. Means can be realized.

  A seventh means further includes, in the first to sixth means, a solar battery that converts sunlight into an electric current and a secondary battery that stores an electric current generated by the solar battery. A current generating means current is supplied from the secondary battery.

  Thereby, it becomes possible to reduce the electricity bill accompanying plant growth, and further, carbon dioxide accompanying power generation is not exhausted, and it is possible to contribute to resource saving.

  The eighth means is the seventh means according to the seventh means, a remaining amount detecting unit for measuring the remaining amount of the secondary battery, a rectifying unit for stepping down, rectifying and smoothing an alternating current supplied from a commercial power source, and the remaining amount detecting unit. A power management unit that activates the rectifying unit to switch the current supplied to the current generation unit from a solar cell to a commercial power source when the remaining amount of the secondary battery measured by the step is less than or equal to a predetermined value. Features.

  Thereby, even when the remaining amount of the secondary battery rings below a predetermined value, such as during bad weather or at night, a current can be supplied to the LED unit, and the plant planted on the plant growing surface Will not wither or slow down.

  The ninth means is the 85th means, having a plurality of growth surfaces and LED units, and a plurality of current generating means corresponding to each LED unit. It has the some solar cell corresponding to each electric current production | generation means, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

  Thereby, it becomes possible to maintain a solar cell panel sequentially by temporarily stopping operation of a certain solar cell panel.

  The tenth means further includes entry / exit detection means for detecting entry / exit of the worker into the plant growing building in the first to ninth means. When the entrance / exit detection means detects the entry of the worker into the plant growing building, the control means determines the voltage of the current applied to each color LED so that the LED unit emits white light. When the entry / exit detection means detects the worker leaving the plant growth building, the control means is configured to detect each of the red LED, blue LED, and white LED based on the information detected by the plant growth state detection means. The voltage of the current applied to the is determined.

  Thereby, when an operator enters the plant growing building, the LED unit emits white light, so that various checking operations of the worker in the plant growing building are facilitated. For example, it becomes easy to confirm the coloring of the plant planted on the growing surface. In addition, the operator does not feel discomfort and can work in the plant breeding building.

It is a schematic diagram of a plant breeding system. It is a block diagram of a plant breeding system. It is a drive circuit diagram of an LED unit (red LED). It is a drive circuit diagram of an LED unit (blue LED, white LED). It is a graph showing the emission spectrum distribution of each color LED. It is a block diagram of a cultivation surface control part. It is a graph showing the absorption spectrum distribution of chlorophyll. It is a flowchart of a main process. It is a flowchart of a sensor data check process. It is a flowchart of an illumination color change process. It is a figure showing sensor data. It is a figure showing a plant growth file. It is a figure showing a standard schedule file. It is a figure showing a work instruction file. It is a figure showing the update state of the work instruction file. It is a flowchart of a lighting process at the time of worker entrance.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a plant growing system. The plant growing system 100 includes a plant growing building 1, a control unit 10, an operation computer device 21, a solar battery panel 51, a charge controller 52, a secondary battery 53, and a rectifying unit 71. . The rectifying unit 71 rectifies the electric power supplied from the commercial power source 99 and supplies the rectified unit 71 to the plant growing building 1.

  The plant growth building 1 is a sealed space that is isolated from the outside in order to prevent invasion of pathogenic bacteria, pests, and wind and rain. The plant growing building 1 has an entrance door 1a for an operator to enter and leave. The entrance door 1a is provided with an entrance detector 1b. The entrance detection unit 1b is, for example, a tag reader and is a device that reads an electronic tag (RFID (abbreviation of radio frequency identification)) worn by an operator. In the entrance detection unit 1b, the entry history of each worker into the plant breeding building 1 is detected.

  A growth surface 2 is disposed in the plant growth building 1. In the embodiment, a plurality of growing surfaces 2 are arranged in the plant growing building 1. Plants to be grown are planted on the growing surface 2. The growth surface 2 is automatically supplied with a fertilizer solution such as minerals necessary for plant growth. An LED unit 61 is disposed at a position facing each growth surface 2. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the growth surface 2 has one stage, but the growth surface 2 may have a multi-stage structure in a shelf shape.

  The LED unit 61 includes a large number of LEDs, each of a red LED that emits red light, a blue LED that emits blue light, and a white LED that emits white light. As described above, the LED unit 61 is not a general red LED, a blue LED, and a green LED, but has a feature that a white LED is provided instead of the green LED. Yes. The reason for this will be described later.

  FIG. 3 shows a drive circuit diagram of a red LED, and FIG. 4 shows a drive circuit diagram of a blue LED and a white LED. As shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of red LEDs 65a are connected in series (12 in the embodiment of FIG. 3). In parallel with the red LEDs 65a connected in series, a plurality of Zener diodes 66 are connected in series in the opposite direction to the red LEDs 65a. In the embodiment of FIG. 3, one zener diode 66 is connected in parallel to the two red LEDs 65a. With this configuration, when the current applied to the red LED 65a exceeds the maximum allowable current, the current exceeding the maximum allowable current flows to the Zener diode 66 connected in parallel with the red LED 65a, and flows to the red LED 65a. The flowing current value can be maintained within the maximum allowable current value, and the red LED 65a can be protected. As shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of red LEDs 65a connected in series and a plurality of Zener diodes 66 connected in series are connected in parallel. With such a configuration, even if a certain red LED 65a is damaged and one directly connected red LED 61a is turned off, the other red LEDs 65 connected in parallel with the turned off red LEDs 65a are not turned off. Plants planted on the growing surface 2 do not wither.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the drive circuit for the blue LED 65b and the drive circuit for the white LED 65c are the same as the drive circuit for the red LED 65a shown in FIG. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, eight blue LEDs 65b and white LEDs 65c are connected in series.

  In addition, since the number of each color LED connected in series depends on the characteristic of each color LED, it is not limited to embodiment of FIG. 3 and FIG.

  FIG. 5 shows the emission spectrum distribution of each color LED. As shown in FIG. 5, the red LED has an emission peak of 660 nm and emits light in the range of 600 to 700 nm. The blue LED has an emission peak of 470 nm and emits light in the range of 420 to 530 nm. The white LED has a plurality of emission peaks and emits light in the range of 450 to 700 nm. Each color LED is configured such that the illuminance changes according to the applied voltage. FIG. 5 also shows the emission spectrum distribution of the green LED for comparison.

  In the vicinity of each LED unit 61, a growth surface control unit 40 is disposed. The growth surface control unit 40 includes a pulse current generation unit 45 that supplies a pulse current to each color LED of the LED unit 61 in the vicinity (shown in FIG. 2).

  A plant growth state detection sensor 62 (plant growth state detection means) is provided on each growth surface 2. The plant growth state detection sensor 62 is a sensor that detects the “growth level” (growth state) of a plant planted on the growth surface 2. In the present embodiment, the plant growth state detection sensor 62 is a sensor that detects the height of a plant planted on the growth surface 2, and a plurality of height directions are arranged at lateral positions of the growth surface 2. The sensor includes a photoelectric sensor and an ultrasonic sensor. As described above, when the plant growth state detection means is configured, the plant growth state detection sensor 62 has a simple structure and is therefore reliable, and the “growth level” of the plant planted on the growth surface 2 at a low cost. It is possible to realize a plant growth state detecting means for detecting "".

  The control unit 10 is connected to the growth surface control unit 40 in the vicinity of each LED unit 61. The control unit 10 is a device that determines the voltage of the current applied to each color LED of each LED unit 61 according to the “growth level” of the plant planted on the growth surface 2 detected by the plant growth state detection sensor 62. . The control unit 10 transmits information on the voltage of the current applied to each color LED of the determined LED unit 61 (a “work instruction file” described later) to each growth surface control unit 40. With this configuration, only information on the voltage of the current applied to each color LED (“work instruction file”) is transmitted from the control unit 10 to each growth surface control unit 40 and is in the vicinity of the LED unit 61. Since a pulse current is generated by the pulse current generation unit 45 and the pulse current is applied to the LED unit 61, power transmission does not take a long distance, and attenuation of the pulse current during power transmission can be avoided. An operation computer device 21 is connected to the control unit 10.

  A buzzer 63 is disposed on each growing surface 2. An imaging device 64 that images the growth surface 2 is disposed on each growth surface 2. The imaging device 64 includes an image sensor, an imaging optical system, and an image generation circuit. The image sensor has photodiodes arranged two-dimensionally. Each photodiode converts the intensity of incident light into an electric charge, and outputs the electric charge as a “signal voltage”. The image sensor includes a charge coupled device image sensor (CCD) and a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS). The imaging optical system is composed of a single lens or a plurality of lenses, and forms an incident image on an image sensor. The image generation circuit includes an A / D converter and a DSP (Digital Signal Processor). The A / D converter converts the “signal voltage” output from the image sensor into a “digital signal”. The DSP generates “captured image data” that is two-dimensional pixel data from the “digital signal” generated by the A / D converter.

  On the ceiling of the plant growing building 1, a solar cell panel 51 is disposed. The solar cell panel 51 is disposed with an inclination of 25 ° to 35 ° from the horizontal plane in the south direction. The solar cell panel 51 includes silicon (including polycrystalline silicon, microcrystalline silicon, and amorphous silicon), compound (including GaAs and CIS), and organic (including dye-sensitized and organic thin film types). Solar panel). When the solar cell panel 51 is irradiated with sunlight, light energy is converted into current by the photovoltaic effect.

  The solar cell panel 51 is connected to the charge controller 52. The charge controller 52 is connected to the secondary battery 53. The charge controller 52 has an overcharge prevention circuit so that the overcharge of the secondary battery 53 is prevented. In addition, the charge controller 52 has an overcurrent prevention circuit so that application of overcurrent to the secondary battery 53 is prevented. The secondary battery 53 includes a secondary battery using a chemical reaction such as a lithium ion battery, a nickel metal hydride battery, or a lead storage battery. The secondary battery 53 has a remaining amount detection unit 53 a (shown in FIG. 2) that detects the remaining amount based on the voltage of the secondary battery 53. In the present embodiment, the current generated by the solar cell panel 51 is used for light emission of the LED unit 61. Thus, since the electric current produced | generated with the solar cell panel 51 was used for the light emission of the LED unit 61, an electricity bill does not become enormous and production cost can be reduced. Moreover, the carbon dioxide which is a greenhouse gas is not discharged extra. As shown in FIG. 1, in the present embodiment, one solar cell panel 51 is connected to the growth surface control unit 40 of the plant growth building 1.

  The rectification unit 71 includes a transformer, a rectification circuit, and a smoothing circuit. The rectification unit 71 steps down the alternating current supplied from the commercial power supply 99 and converts it into direct current, and outputs the direct current to the pulse current generation unit 45. The transformer steps down the alternating current supplied from the commercial power supply 99 to, for example, 24 v alternating current. The rectifier circuit is composed of a diode or the like, and full-wave rectifies the alternating current stepped down by the transformer. The smoothing circuit is composed of a capacitor or the like, and smoothes the current that has been full-wave rectified by the rectifier circuit. In the present embodiment, the commercial power supply 99 of 100 V or 200 V, 50 Hz or 60 Hz is converted to 24 V DC.

(Explanation of block diagram of plant breeding system)
The control unit 10 includes a CPU 11, a RAM 12, a ROM 13, an auxiliary storage device 14, and a communication interface 15, which are connected to each other via a bus 19. The CPU 11 performs various calculations and processes in cooperation with the RAM 12 and the ROM 13. The RAM 12 temporarily stores a program processed by the CPU 11 and data processed by the CPU 11 in its address space.

  Various programs are stored in the ROM 13. The ROM 13 stores programs such as a power management program 13a, a sensor data acquisition program 13b, a plant growth state determination program 13c, a work instruction file generation program 13d, an LED lighting control program 13e, an inspection request program 13f, and an entrance / exit management program 13g. Has been. The various programs are processed by the CPU 11, thereby realizing various functions of the plant growing system 100.

  The power management program 13a is a program for performing a process of switching the current applied to the LED unit 61 from the solar battery panel 51 to the commercial power source 99 when the remaining amount of the secondary battery 53 becomes a predetermined value or less.

  The sensor data acquisition program 13 b is a program that outputs a detection command to each plant growth state detection sensor 62 and acquires “sensor data” detected by each plant growth state detection sensor 62.

  The plant growth state determination program 13c is a program for determining a plant growth state based on the acquired “sensor data”.

  The work instruction file generation program 13d is a program for generating or updating a “work instruction file”.

  The LED lighting control program 13e controls the voltage of the pulse current applied to each color LED of the LED unit 61 of each growth surface 2 by transmitting a “work instruction file” to the growth surface control unit 40 of each growth surface 2. It is a program to do.

  The inspection request program 13f is a program for notifying the operator that the inspection of the growing surface 2 is necessary when the growth of the plant planted on the growing surface 2 is separated from the “reference schedule” described later. It is. Specifically, the inspection request program 13 f displays a warning on the operation computer device 21 or sounds a warning sound with the buzzer 63 installed on the breeding surface 2.

  The entrance / exit management program 13g generates “entrance / exit history” from the entrance / exit information of each worker to the plant breeding building 1 detected by the entrance detector 1b, and stores it in the entrance / exit history storage area 14e.

  Each program may be realized as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit).

  The auxiliary storage device 14 is, for example, a nonvolatile memory or a hard disk. The auxiliary storage device 14 has a sensor data storage area 14a, a plant growth history file storage area 14b, a reference schedule file storage area 14c, a work instruction file storage area 14d, and an entrance / exit history storage area 14e.

  “Sensor data” is stored in the sensor data storage area 14a. As shown in FIG. 11, the “sensor data” is data in which information on the height of the plant planted on each growth surface 2 detected by each plant growth state detection sensor 62 is stored as a “growth level”. . The “growth level” is the number detected by a plurality of plant growth state detection sensors 62 arranged in the height direction, and corresponds to the height of the plant planted on the growth surface 2.

  A “plant growth history file” is stored in the plant growth history file storage area 14b. As shown in FIG. 12, the “plant growth history file” is a file representing the relationship between the “growth level” planted on each growth surface 2 and the “elapsed time” at which the “growth level” was reached. It is.

  A “reference schedule file” is stored in the reference schedule file storage area 14c. As shown in FIG. 13, the “reference schedule file” includes the types of plants planted on the growth surface 2, “growth levels”, optimum voltages of currents applied to the respective color LEDs at each “growth level”, It is the file showing the relationship with the irradiation time of the LED unit 61 in "growth level". The “reference schedule file” is set by the operation computer device 21, and the voltage of the current applied to each color LED optimal for the growth of the plant planted on the growth surface 2 is set.

  FIG. 7 shows a graph showing the absorption spectrum distribution of chlorophyll. As shown in FIG. 7, chlorophyll hardly absorbs light in the green to yellow wavelength region, and hardly synthesizes light in this wavelength region. As is apparent from FIGS. 5 and 7, the light absorption distribution of chlorophyll almost coincides with the light emission distribution of the blue LED and the light emission distribution of the red LED. In the present invention, a “reference schedule file” is set based on this knowledge. That is, the blue LED and the red LED are made to emit light strongly in the growth process of the plant planted on the growing surface 2.

  However, according to the knowledge of the present inventor, it is known that a small amount of green light is necessary at the growth level 0 (germination stage) or at the final growth stage as compared with other frequency bands. Furthermore, from the viewpoint of plant growth including not only photosynthesis by chlorophyll but also photomorphogenesis, not only red and blue spectra used in photosynthesis, but also a broad spectrum with peaks in red and blue It has been found by the present inventors that this is preferable for the healthy growth of plants. On the other hand, the height of the red and blue peaks can be adjusted depending on the plant to be grown, so that nutrient components such as vitamins and sugar content of the plant can be abundant.

  From this point of view, in this embodiment, the LED unit 61 is not a general red LED, a blue LED, and a green LED, but a white LED is provided instead of the green LED. It is comprised as what has the characteristic of being. Thereby, green light can be supplied with the white LED at the growth level 0 (germination stage) or at the final stage of growth. Furthermore, the LED unit 61 can irradiate with sufficient light from the comprehensive viewpoint of plant growth such as photosynthesis and photomorphogenesis, and adjust the illuminance of the blue LED and the red LED to the plant to be grown. Can be adapted. Thereby, for example, since an inefficient use state such as long-term low operation of the green LED can be avoided, the operational efficiency of the LED unit 61 can be improved.

  A “work instruction file” is stored in the work instruction file storage area 14d. As shown in FIG. 14, the “work instruction file” includes the voltage of the current applied to each color LED and the “elapsed time” after the plant is planted on each growth surface 2 (after the seed has been planted). It is a file that represents the relationship. Each “elapsed time” item corresponds to each “growth level”. Each color LED of each LED unit 61 emits light according to a schedule based on the file. That is, when the “elapsed time” of the “work instruction file” is reached after the plant is planted on each growth surface 2, a voltage current corresponding to the “elapsed time” is applied to each color LED. .

  In the entrance / exit history storage area 14e, “entrance / exit history” generated by the entrance / exit management program 13g is stored.

  The communication interface 15 is connected to the entrance detection unit 1b, the breeding surface control unit 40, and the operation computer device 21. The communication interface 15 includes a LAN (Local Area Network), USB (abbreviation of Universal Serial Bus), IEEE1394, RS232, RS422, and other communication interfaces. The operation computer device 21 has input means such as a pointing device such as a keyboard and a mouse, and a display screen. The operation computer device 21 is a device for an operator to operate the plant growing system 100. Instead of the operation computer device 21, operation means such as a touch panel may be connected to the communication interface 15.

  Below, the control content of the growth surface control part 40 is demonstrated using FIG. The growth surface control unit 40 includes a CPU 41, a RAM 42, a ROM 43, an auxiliary storage device 46, a communication interface 44, a pulse current generation unit 45, and an interface 47, which are connected to each other via a bus 49. The CPU 41 performs various calculations and processes in cooperation with the RAM 42 and the ROM 43. The RAM 42 temporarily stores programs processed by the CPU 41 and data processed by the CPU 41 in its address space. Various programs are stored in the ROM 43.

  The auxiliary storage device 46 is, for example, a nonvolatile memory or a hard disk (nonvolatile storage device). The auxiliary storage device 46 has a work instruction file storage area 46 a and stores a “work instruction file” transmitted from the control unit 10.

  The communication interface 44 is connected to the communication interface 15 of the control unit 10. The communication interface 44 is an interface corresponding to the communication interface 15 of the control unit 10.

  The pulse current generator 45 generates a pulse current from the current supplied from the secondary battery 53 or the rectifier 71 and applies the pulse current to each color LED of the LED unit 61. The pulse current generator 45 generates a pulse current of a voltage based on the “work instruction file” stored in the work instruction file storage area 46a for each color LED.

  As described above, the pulse current is applied to the LED unit 61. When the plant grown on the growing surface 2 is a vegetable, the vitamin contained in the vegetable increases when the vegetable is irradiated with pulsed light. Because it does.

  The interface 47 is connected to a remaining amount detection unit 53a of the secondary battery 53, a rectification unit 71, a plant growth state detection sensor 62, a buzzer 63, and an imaging device 64. The interface 47 converts the physical / logical format of the data output from the remaining amount detection unit 53 a, the rectification unit 71, the plant growth state detection sensor 62, the buzzer 63, and the imaging device 64, and transfers the data to the bus 49. The interface 47 outputs a current for driving the buzzer 63.

(Description of main processing flow)
FIG. 8 shows a flowchart of the main process, and the flow will be described below. When the main process is started, in the process of S13 “sensor data acquisition”, the sensor data acquisition program 13b determines the “growth level” (height) of the plant planted on the growth surface 2 by each plant growth state detection sensor. The instruction to be detected at 62 is output to the growth surface control unit 40. Data detected by each plant growth state detection sensor 62 is output from the growth surface control unit 40 to the control unit 10 and stored in the sensor data storage area 14 a of the auxiliary storage device 14. When the process of S13 ends, the process proceeds to the determination process of S14.

  In the determination processing of S14 “insufficient secondary battery level?”, The power management program 13a determines whether or not the remaining amount of the secondary battery 53 detected by the remaining amount detection unit 53a is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. Then, it is determined whether or not the remaining amount of the secondary battery 53 is insufficient. If the power management program 13a determines that the remaining amount of the secondary battery 53 is insufficient, the process proceeds to S15. On the other hand, when the power management program 13a determines that the remaining amount of the secondary battery 53 is not insufficient, the process proceeds to S16.

  In the process of S15 “switch to commercial power”, the power management program 13a instructs the rectifier 71 to start the rectifier 71 in order to switch the power for driving the LED unit 61 from the solar battery panel 51 to the commercial power 99. Output. When the process of S15 ends, the process proceeds to S16. Thus, in this embodiment, when the secondary battery 53 runs short, it is decided to switch to the commercial power source 99. Therefore, the LED unit 61 does not remain in the off state, and the growth surface 2 as scheduled. It becomes possible to grow plants.

  In S <b> 16 “sensor data check process”, the plant growth state determination program 13 c checks the “sensor data” to determine the growth state of the plant planted on each growth surface 2. Then, the work instruction file generation program 13d updates the “work instruction file” based on the determined growth state, thereby setting the voltage value of the current applied to each color LED to an optimum voltage for plant growth. Details will be described later with reference to FIG. When the process of S16 ends, the process proceeds to the determination process of S18.

  In S18 “illuminance changing process”, the LED lighting control program 13e performs a process of changing the voltage of the current applied to each color LED and changing the illuminance of each color LED based on the “work instruction file”. Details will be described later with reference to FIG. When the process of S18 ends, the process proceeds to the determination process of S19.

  In the process of S19 “detection interval elapsed?”, The CPU 41 determines whether or not the detection interval by the plant growth state detection sensor 62 has elapsed, and if it is determined that the detection interval has elapsed, the CPU 41 proceeds to the process of S13. move on. That is, at each detection interval, the plant growth state detection sensor 62 detects in the process of S13. The detection interval is, for example, 1 hour.

(Sensor data check process)
FIG. 9 shows a flowchart of “sensor data check processing”, and the flow will be described below. When S16 “sensor data check processing” starts, the process proceeds to S1601 “plant growth history file acquisition”. In the processing of S1601, the plant growth state determination program 13c refers to the plant growth history file storage area 14b, acquires the “plant growth history file” of the growth surface 2 for checking “sensor data”, and stores it in the storage area of the RAM 12. Let When the process of S16-1 ends, the process proceeds to S1602.

  In the process of S1602 “acquisition of reference schedule file”, the plant growth state determination program 13c refers to the “reference schedule file” stored in the reference schedule file storage area 14c and checks the “sensor data” for the growth plane 2 The “reference schedule file” corresponding to is acquired and stored in the RAM 12. When the process of S1602 ends, the process proceeds to S1603.

  In the process of S1603 “elapsed time calculation”, the sensor data acquisition program 13b determines that “elapsed time” after a plant planted on the growth surface 2 for checking “sensor data” is planted (after seeds are planted). Is calculated. When the process of S1603 ends, the process proceeds to the determination process of S1604.

  In the determination process of S1604 “Sensor data changed?”, The plant growth state determination program 13c refers to the RAM 12 and the sensor data storage area 14a to thereby determine the “plant growth history file” and the growth surface 2 corresponding thereto. The “sensor data” is compared to determine whether the “sensor data” has changed. If the plant growth state determination program 13c determines that the “sensor data” has changed, the process proceeds to the determination process of S1605. If the plant growth state determination program 13c determines that the “sensor data” has not changed, the process proceeds to the determination process of S16011. In addition, when a plant (seed) is planted on the growing surface 2 and the determination process of S1604 is first performed, the process proceeds to S1605.

  In the process of S1605 “update work instruction file”, the work instruction file generation program 13d refers to the “reference schedule file” stored in the reference schedule file storage area 14c, thereby “work instruction file” (FIG. 14). "Work instruction file update processing" is executed.

  When a plant (seed) is planted on the growth surface 2 and the determination process of S1605 is first performed, the work instruction file generation program 13d reads the “reference schedule file corresponding to the plant planted on the growth surface 2”. "Work instruction file" is created. Specifically, the work instruction file generation program 13d sequentially accumulates the “irradiation time” of each “growth level” of the “reference schedule file” corresponding to the plant planted on the growth surface 2 to thereby display each color LED. The “elapsed time” corresponding to the voltage of the current applied to the LED is sequentially calculated, and a “work instruction file” that is a schedule of the voltage of the current applied to each LED is generated.

  Further, when a plant (seed) is planted on the growth surface 2 and the determination process of S1605 is performed after the second time, the “work instruction file” (shown in FIG. 15A) that has already been generated. The “elapsed time” corresponding to the changed “growth level” is changed to the “elapsed time” (the “elapsed time calculated in the processing of S1603”) in which the “sensor data” is changed, and “ A shift process for sequentially shifting the “elapsed time” corresponding to the “growth level” by the difference of the changed “elapsed time” is performed. In the example shown in FIG. 15, the “growth level” is 0 to 1 (scheduled) and the “elapsed time” is 120 h, but the “growth level” 1 actually detected by the sensor 62 has been reached. Since the “elapsed time” is 115 h, shift processing is performed to advance each “growth level” of the “work instruction file” by 5 h. When the process of S15-5 ends, the process proceeds to S1606.

  In the process of S1606 “plant growth history file update”, the CPU 11 updates the “plant growth history file” (shown in FIG. 12) stored in the plant growth history file storage area 14b. Specifically, the CPU 11 stores the time when the “sensor data” has changed in the “elapsed time” corresponding to the changed “growth level”. When the process of S1606 ends, the process proceeds to the determination process of S1607.

  In the determination process of S1607 “Plant growth reference data and separation”, the plant growth state determination program 13c determines that the growth of the plant planted on the growth surface 2 is the plant growth schedule defined in the “reference schedule file”. It is determined whether or not they are separated. Specifically, the plant growth state determination program 13c calculates the “growth level” (height) of the plant planted on the growth surface 2 calculated from the “sensor data”, and the “reference” corresponding to the plant. Refer to the schedule file, extract the "elapsed time" that has reached the "growth level" of the plant, compare the "elapsed time" and "elapsed time" when the "sensor data" has changed, It is determined whether or not the separation is greater than a predetermined value (for example, 10% or more). When the plant growth state determination program 13c determines that the growth of the plant planted on the growth surface 2 is separated from the plant growth schedule defined in the “reference schedule file”, the processing of S1608 Proceed to On the other hand, when the plant growth state determination program 13c determines that the growth of the plant planted on the growth surface 2 is not separated from the plant growth schedule defined in the “reference schedule file”, The process proceeds to determination processing in S1609.

  In S1608 “inspection request processing”, the inspection request program 13f executes “inspection request processing” that informs the worker that the inspection of the growth surface 2 determined in the determination processing in S1607 is necessary. Specifically, the inspection request program 13f outputs a command for causing the operation computer device 21 to display a warning screen or to reproduce a warning sound. In addition, the inspection request program 13f outputs a command for reproducing a warning sound with the buzzer 63 for a predetermined time (for example, 3 minutes) to the growing surface control unit 40 of the growing surface 2. Further, the inspection request program 13 f takes an image of the growth surface 2 with the imaging device 64 and outputs a command for outputting the “captured image” to the operation computer device 21 to the growth surface control unit 40. At this time, the LED lighting control program 13e applies each color LED to the pulse current generation unit 45 of the growth surface 2 so that the LED unit 61 disposed on the growth surface 2 to be imaged emits white light. A command to make the voltage of the pulse current to be substantially the same is output. As described above, since the LED unit 61 that irradiates the growth surface 2 emits white light during imaging of the growth surface 2, the growth surface 2 displayed on the screen of the operation computer device 21 is clearly displayed, and the work is performed. It becomes easy to check the training surface 2 of the person. When the process of S1608 ends, the process proceeds to the determination process of S1609.

  In the determination process of S1609 “Check sensor data of all growth surfaces?”, The plant growth state determination program 13c determines whether “sensor data” of all the growth surfaces 2 has been checked. When the plant growth state determination program 13c determines that the “sensor data” of all the growth surfaces 2 has been checked, the “sensor data check process” ends, and the determination of S17 “Is illuminance changed?” In FIG. Proceed to processing. On the other hand, if the plant growth state determination program 13c does not determine that the “sensor data” of all the growth surfaces 2 has been checked, the process returns to S1601.

  The determination process of S1611 “Plant breeding reference data and separation?” Is the same as the process of S1607. When the plant growth state determination program 13c determines that the growth of the plant planted on the growth surface 2 is separated from the plant growth schedule defined in the “reference schedule file”, the process of S16012 is performed. Proceed to On the other hand, when the plant growth state determination program 13c determines that the growth of the plant planted on the growth surface 2 is not separated from the plant growth schedule defined in the “reference schedule file”, The process proceeds to determination processing in S1609.

  The processing of S1612 “inspection request processing” is the same as the processing of S1608. When the process of S1612 ends, the process proceeds to the determination process of S1609.

(Illuminance change processing)
FIG. 10 shows a flowchart of “illuminance change processing”, and the flow will be described below. When the “illuminance changing process” is started, the LED lighting control program 13e stores the “work instruction file” (shown in FIG. 14) of the growth surface 2 in the RAM 12 in the process of S1801 “work instruction file read”. When the process of S1801 is completed, the process proceeds to the determination process of S1802.

  In the determination process of S18-2 “Is the work instruction file updated?”, The LED lighting control program 13e determines whether the “work instruction file” has been updated. If the LED lighting control program 13e determines that the “work instruction file” has been updated, the process proceeds to S1803. On the other hand, if the LED lighting control program 13e determines that the “work instruction file” has not been updated, the process proceeds to S1804.

  In the processing of S1803 “work instruction file transmission”, the LED lighting control program 13e transmits the “work instruction file” to the growth surface control unit 40 of the growth surface 2 in which the “work instruction file” has been changed. The breeding surface control unit 40 that has received the “work instruction file” stores the “work instruction file” in the work instruction file storage area 46 a of the auxiliary storage device 46. Then, the CPU 41 outputs a command for changing the voltage of the current applied to each color LED of the LED unit 61 to the pulse current generation unit 45 based on the “work instruction file” stored in the work instruction file storage area 46 a. . The pulse current generator 45 changes the voltage of the current applied to each color LED of the LED unit 61 based on the command. When the processing of S1803 ends, the process proceeds to determination processing of S1804.

  In the determination processing of S1804 “processing for all growing surfaces?”, The LED lighting control program 13e determines whether the processing of S1801 to S1803 described above has been performed for all the growing surfaces 2. When the LED lighting control program 13e determines that the processing of S1801 to S1803 has been performed for all the growing surfaces 2, the “illuminance changing process” is ended, and the process proceeds to S19 shown in FIG. On the other hand, if the LED lighting control program 13e determines that the processing of S1801 to S1803 is not performed for all the growing surfaces 2, the process returns to S1801.

  As described above, in the present invention, plant growth (height) is detected by the plant growth state detection sensor 62, and the optimal irradiation light is irradiated in accordance with the plant growth level, so that plant growth is delayed. It became possible to grow plants in a shorter period of time.

  Further, in the present invention, the control unit 10 generates a “work instruction file”, transmits the “work instruction file” to the growth surface control unit 40 of each growth surface 2, and each of the growth surface control units 40 performs the “work”. The instruction file ”is stored and retained, so that even when the control unit 10 fails or when communication between the control unit 10 and each growth surface control unit 40 is interrupted, the growth surface control unit 40 can supply a pulse current to the LED unit 61 based on the “work instruction file” held by itself, which is excellent in fault tolerance, and a plant planted on the growing surface 2 may wither. Absent.

  In the present embodiment, one solar cell panel 51 is connected to one growth surface control unit 40. For this reason, the solar cell panel 51 can be sequentially maintained by temporarily stopping the operation of a certain solar cell panel 51.

(Lighting process when entering the worker)
FIG. 16 shows a flowchart of the “lighting process at worker entry”, and the process will be described below. In the determination process of S81 “Is the admission detection part detected the worker's admission?”, The admission / exit management program 13g determines whether the operator has entered the plant growth building 1 based on the signal output from the admission detection part 1b. If detected, the process proceeds to S82.

In the determination process of S82 “turn the illumination light of the LED unit to white”, the LED lighting control program 13e causes the LED unit 61 disposed on each growth surface 2 to emit white light, so that the LED unit is white. The voltage of the current applied to each color LED that emits light is determined. In addition, when the number of each color LED arrange | positioned at LED unit 61 is the same number, and when the same voltage is applied to each color LED and the illumination intensity of each color LED becomes the same, the LED lighting control program 13e is: The voltage of the pulse current applied to each color LED is made substantially the same. Then, the LED lighting control program 13e outputs a command for setting the determined voltage to each pulse current generator 45. As described above, when the operator enters the plant growing building 1, each LED unit 61 emits white light, so that the operator can easily perform various checking operations in the plant growing building 1. For example, it becomes easy to confirm the coloring of the plant planted on the growing surface 2. Moreover, the operator can work in the plant breeding building 1 without feeling uncomfortable. When the process of S82 ends, the process proceeds to the determination process of S83.
In the determination process of S83 “Is the entrance detection unit detected the worker leaving?”, The entrance / exit management program 13g detects the worker leaving the plant breeding building 1 based on the signal output from the entrance detection unit 1b. If detected, the process proceeds to S84.

  In the process of S84 “Release the illumination color of the LED unit from white”, the LED lighting control program 13e applies each pulse current generation unit 45 to each color LED to release the illumination color of each LED unit 61 from white. A command to cancel the command to make the voltage of the pulse current substantially the same is output. Then, each pulse current generation unit 45 generates a pulse current to be applied to each color LED with a voltage based on the “work instruction file” stored in the work instruction file storage area 46a. As described above, when the worker leaves the plant growth building 1, each pulse current generator 45 applies a pulse based on the “work instruction file” stored in the work instruction file storage area 46a, and is applied to each color LED. Since the electric current is generated, the illumination light of the optimal illumination color for plant growth is irradiated to the plant planted on the growth surface 2, and the plant growth is not delayed. In addition, energy is not wasted. When the process of S84 ends, the process proceeds to the determination process of S81.

(Summary)
In the embodiment described above, a pulse current is applied to each color LED of the LED unit 61. However, a direct current may be applied to each color LED.

  The LED unit 61 may be turned on for a predetermined time and then turned off for a predetermined time to reproduce day and night. In this case, vitamins and minerals contained in plants (vegetables) increase.

  In the embodiment described above, the plant growth state detection means for detecting the “growth level” of the plant planted on the growth surface 2 is the plant growth state detection sensor 62 disposed on the side of the growth surface 2. The imaging device 64 may be used as the plant growth state detection means. In this case, the growth surface 2 is imaged by the imaging device 64 to generate “nurturing surface imaging data”, and the plant growth state determination program 13c analyzes the “nurturing surface imaging data” to analyze the “planting surface imaging data”. "Growth level" is determined.

  Specifically, the plant growth state determination program 13c samples the intensity of the wavelength of the “growth plane imaging data” and analyzes the intensity of the sampled wavelength, thereby the “growth of the plant at the time of imaging”. "Level" is determined. Alternatively, the plant growth state determination program 13c performs pattern matching with the “growing surface imaging data” and “reference data” corresponding to each “growth level”, thereby determining the “growth level” of the plant at the time of imaging. It can be judged. In order to improve the determination accuracy of the “growth level”, when imaging the growth surface 2 with the imaging device 64, the voltage applied to each color LED is made substantially equal, and the LED unit 61 emits white light. Is preferred.

  Although the present invention has been described above in connection with the most practical and preferred embodiments at the present time, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed herein. However, it should be understood that changes can be made as appropriate without departing from the spirit or concept of the invention that can be read from the claims and the entire specification, and that a plant growing system involving such changes should also be included in the technical scope. I must.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Plant growth building, 1a ... Entrance door, 1b ... Entrance detection part, 2 ... Growth surface, 10 ... Control part, 11 ... CPU, 12 ... RAM, 13 ... ROM, 13a ... Power supply management program, 13b ... Acquisition of sensor data Program, 13c ... Plant growth state determination program, 13d ... Work instruction file generation program, 13e ... LED lighting control program, 13f ... Inspection request program, 13g ... Entrance / exit management program, 14 ... Auxiliary storage device, 14a ... Sensor data storage area , 14b ... Plant growth history file storage area, 14c ... Reference schedule file storage area, 14d ... Work instruction file storage area, 14e ... Entrance / exit history storage area, 15 ... Communication interface, 16 ... Interface, 19 ... Bus, 21 ... Operation Computer device, 22 ... server, 22a ... plant Composition data 40 ... Growth surface controller 44 ... Communication interface 45 ... Pulse current generator 46 ... Auxiliary storage device 46a ... Work instruction file storage area 51 ... Solar cell panel 52 ... Charge controller 53 ... Second Secondary battery, 53a ... remaining amount detection unit, 61 ... LED unit, 62 ... plant growth state detection sensor, 65a ... red LED, 65b ... blue LED, 65c ... white LED, 66 ... zener diode.

Claims (10)

A plant breeding building,
Arranged in the plant breeding building, a growing surface on which plants are planted,
An LED unit having a red LED, a blue LED, and a white LED, disposed at a position facing the growth surface;
Power generation means for generating power to be supplied to the LEDs of the respective colors;
Control means for individually controlling the amount of power supplied to the LEDs of the respective colors;
A plant breeding system comprising: Comprising plant growth state detection means for detecting the growth level of the plant,
2. The plant growing system according to claim 1, wherein the control unit determines an amount of electric power to be supplied to the LED of each color based on information on a plant growth level detected by the plant growing state detecting unit. Work instruction file storage means that is a non-volatile storage device that stores a work instruction file representing the relationship between the voltage of the current applied to the LEDs of each color and the time elapsed since the plant was planted on the growth surface. Have
The control means refers to the work instruction file, and when the elapsed time since the plant has been planted on the growth surface reaches the elapsed time of the work instruction file, the voltage corresponding to the elapsed time. Then, a voltage is applied to each of the LEDs of each color, and the plant growing system according to claim 1 or 2. The control means includes
A reference schedule file representing the relationship between the type of plant planted on the growth surface, the growth level of the plant, the voltage applied to the LED of each color at each growth level, and the irradiation time of the LED unit at each growth level is stored. A reference schedule file storage means,
Plant growth state determination means for determining whether or not there is a change in the growth level detected by the plant growth detection means;
The work instruction file generating means for generating a work instruction file representing the relationship between the voltage of the current applied to the LEDs of each color and the elapsed time since the plant was planted on the growth surface,
If a work instruction file has not been generated for the growth surface, the work instruction file generation means creates a work instruction file based on the reference schedule file,
On the other hand, when the work instruction file is generated for the growth surface, and the plant growth state determination means determines that there has been a change in the growth level, the work instruction file generation means, In the work instruction file, change the item of elapsed time corresponding to the changed growth level to the elapsed time of change of the growth level, and sequentially change the item of elapsed time corresponding to the next and subsequent growth levels. , Perform a process of changing only the difference of the changed elapsed time,
The current generation means refers to the work instruction file, and when the elapsed time after the plant has been planted on the growth surface reaches the elapsed time of the work instruction file, the voltage corresponding to the elapsed time. The plant growing system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a current is passed through the LEDs of the respective colors. The current generating means is disposed in the vicinity of each LED unit,
The work instruction file storage means is disposed in the vicinity of the current generation means,
The plant growing system according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the control means transmits the generated work instruction file to each work instruction file storage means for storage.   The plant growth state detection means is a sensor arranged in a plurality in the height direction for detecting the height of a plant planted on the growth surface. The plant cultivation system described in 1. Solar cells that convert sunlight into current;
A secondary battery that stores the current generated by the solar battery,
The plant growing system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein a current generating means current is supplied from the secondary battery. A remaining amount detection unit for measuring the remaining amount of the secondary battery;
A rectifying unit for stepping down, rectifying and smoothing alternating current supplied from a commercial power source;
A power management unit that activates the rectifying unit to switch a current supplied to the current generation unit from a solar cell to a commercial power source when the remaining amount of the secondary battery measured by the remaining amount detection unit is equal to or less than a predetermined value; The plant growing system according to claim 7, further comprising: While having a plurality of growth surfaces and a plurality of LED units, having a plurality of current generating means corresponding to each LED unit,
The plant growing system according to claim 7 or 8, comprising a plurality of solar cells corresponding to each current generating means. It further has an entry / exit detection means for detecting the entry / exit of the worker into the plant breeding building,
When the entrance / exit detection means detects the entry of the worker into the plant breeding building, the control means supplies power only to white LEDs among the LEDs of the respective colors,
When the entry / exit detection means detects the worker's exit to the plant growth building, the control means, based on the information detected by the plant growth state detection means, the current applied to the LED of each color 10. The plant growing system according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein a voltage is determined.

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