阅读说明：本技术 生长系统和方法 (Growth system and method ) 是由 马修·维兰 于 2020-05-22 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明描述了用于根据特定环境配方生长植物或其它活的生物体的系统。生物体在生长室中生长,这些室具有应用于其中的可仔细控制的环境服务项。基于历史数据经由计算机控制的实用程序供应这些环境服务项。以这种方式,植物和生物体可在先前经历过的环境条件下生长,以例如根据已知质量或口感来生产所需植物。(The present invention describes a system for growing plants or other living organisms according to a specific environmental formulation. The organisms are grown in growth chambers having carefully controllable environmental services applied thereto. These environmental service items are provisioned via a computer-controlled utility based on historical data. In this way, plants and organisms can be grown under environmental conditions previously experienced to produce desired plants, for example, according to a known quality or taste profile.)

1. A growth system for growing organisms comprising a series of growth chambers, said growth chambers including a growth base, said base including a growth medium, said system further comprising environmental control means for controlling at least one of a series of environmental service items within said growth chambers, said growth system further comprising a control utility adapted to reconstruct growth conditions from a predetermined data set, said predetermined data set including at least one of said environmental service items, such that growth conditions for a given period of time may be reconstructed within at least one growth chamber.

2. The growing system of claim 1, wherein the environmental service items comprise temperature, pressure, humidity, radiation intensity, radiation wavelength, nutrient content, and or air flow.

3. The growth system of claim 1 or 2, wherein the growth chamber comprises a container.

4. The growing system of claim 3, wherein the containers are in a stack, the containers being accessed from above by a suitable load handling device.

5. The growing system of claim 4, wherein the load handling apparatus operates on a series of vertical rails positioned above the stack of containers, the rails comprising a grid structure, the footprint of each stack of containers being located within a separate grid space.

6. The growth system of claim 1 or 2, wherein the growth chamber comprises a bounded volume adapted to house a growth substrate.

7. The growing system of any preceding claim, wherein the control utility comprises means for looking up data and controlling environmental service items applied to the growing chamber according to predetermined parameters defined by historical data.

8. A method for brewing wine, comprising the steps of: planting suitable grapes in a growth chamber; applying a required environmental service item to the growth chamber, the service item provided being controlled by a control utility which operates to apply the required service item in accordance with a previously applied environmental service item such that the grapes produced experience substantially the same growth conditions as previously matured grapes.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an environmental control system for a growing system and method. More particularly, but not exclusively, the invention relates to an environmental control system for a mechanized upright or indoor farm.

The present invention describes a system for growing plants or other living organisms according to a specific environmental formulation (recipe). Organisms are grown in growth chambers having carefully controllable environmental services applied to the chambers. The environmental service items are provided via a computer-controlled utility based on historical data. In this way, plants and organisms can be grown under previously experienced environmental conditions to produce desired plants, for example, according to a known quality or taste profile.

Background

Conventional systems and methods for growing certain crops are known. Most require large areas of land and need to be placed in a suitable location to obtain the conditions required for crop growth.

Recently, advanced farming techniques such as hydroponics have enabled high quality crops to be grown indoors, which has a very high utilization of light, water and fertilizer. However, these systems are inefficient in terms of land use, capital and labor. The present invention describes a method to significantly improve these efficiencies.

Some commercial and industrial activities require systems capable of storing and retrieving (retrieval) a large number of different products. One known type of system for storing and retrieving items in multiple product lines involves arranging storage containers or containers on top of each other in stacks arranged in rows. The storage container or containers are accessed from above without the need for a passageway between the two rows and allowing more containers to be stored in a given space.

Methods of handling containers stacked in rows have been known for decades. In some such systems, for example, as described in US 2,701,065 to Bertel, a stack of free-standing, in-line arranged containers is included to reduce the storage volume associated with storing such containers but still provide access to the particular containers if desired. Access to a given container is made possible by providing relatively complex lifting mechanisms that can be used to stack and remove a given container from the stack. However, the cost of such systems is impractical in many cases, and they are mainly commercialized for storage and handling of large shipping containers.

The concept of using free-standing stacks of containers and providing a mechanism to retrieve and store a particular container has been further developed, for example, as described in EP0767113B to Cimcorp. ' 113 discloses a mechanism for removing a plurality of stacked containers using a robotic load handler in the form of a rectangular tube that is lowered around the stack of containers and is configured to be able to grasp the containers at any height (level) in the stack. In this way, several containers can be lifted from the stack at a time. A movable tube may be used to move several containers from the top of one stack to the top of another, or to move containers from one stack to an external location, or vice versa. Such a system can be particularly useful where all containers in a single stack contain the same product (referred to as a single product stack).

In the system described by' 113, the height of the tube must be at least as high as the height of the largest stack of containers so that the highest stack of containers can be extracted in one operation. Thus, when used in an enclosed space such as a warehouse, the maximum height of the stack is limited by the tubes required to house the load handling machine.

EP 1037828B 1 (automated storage, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference) describes a system in which a stack of containers is arranged within a frame structure. Figures 1 to 4 of the accompanying drawings schematically illustrate a system of this type. The robotic load handling device may be controllably movable about the stack on a rail system on an uppermost surface of the stack.

Other forms of robotic load handling devices are further described in norwegian patent No. 317366 (the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference). Fig. 3(a) and 3(b) are schematic perspective views of the load handling apparatus viewed from the rear and the front, respectively, and fig. 3(c) is a schematic front view of the load handling apparatus lifting a container.

Further developments of load handling apparatus are described in uk patent application No. 1314313.6(Ocado) in which each robotic load handler covers only one grid space, resulting in a higher density of load handlers and thus a higher throughput for a given size system.

In these known storage systems, a large number of containers are densely stacked. Containers are commonly used to store goods that are sorted by robots (pick) to supply online shopping orders.

Disclosure of Invention

According to the present invention there is provided a growth system for growing organisms, the growth system comprising a series of growth chambers, the growth chambers including a growth base (receptacle) comprising a growth medium, the system further comprising environmental control means for controlling at least one of a series of environmental service items within the growth chambers, the growth system further comprising a control utility adapted to reconstruct growth conditions from a predetermined data set, the predetermined data set comprising at least one of the environmental service items, such that growth conditions for a given period of time can be reconstructed within at least one growth chamber.

In one aspect of the invention, environmental services items include, but are not limited to, for example, temperature, pressure, humidity, radiation intensity, radiation wavelength, nutrient content, and or air flow within a growth chamber.

In one aspect of the invention, the growth chamber comprises a container comprising a sensor device and a data logging device.

In another aspect of the invention, the growth chamber includes a container that includes a communication means to communicate the recorded data to a central data recording device.

In another aspect of the invention, the container includes a reservoir containing water or nutrients suitable for growing plants contained within the container.

In another aspect of the invention, the container includes an illumination device.

According to the present invention there is also provided a method for growing organisms in a growth system, the method comprising the steps of: providing a growth device within the growth chamber; positioning a container within a storage system; the environmental service items are provided according to a predetermined data set based on pre-existing environmental conditions.

In this way, it is possible to reproduce with high precision the specific previously experienced growth conditions in order to reproduce said growing organisms of a given strain, variety or quality indoors or in urban farms.

Furthermore, previously known forms of storage systems can be used to grow organisms, such as plants, in individual containers, the large number of containers enabling such crops to be produced in large quantities in land areas much smaller than those required using traditional growing techniques.

Clearly, this form of growing system advantageously allows, for example, grapes to grow according to an environmental recipe, so as to be able to produce a wine of a particular quality or taste that is almost comparable to known good quality or quality wines that are previously known to have undergone given growing conditions.

The contents (contents) can be monitored for data relating to the contents of the containers to be transmitted to the central processing system, in accordance with the service items provided in the respective containers. The transmitted data may provide information about the condition in the container, the contents of the container, or may provide information about adjacent containers to monitor the condition of the overall storage system. Furthermore, in this way, the container may be heated or cooled as required by the particular contents of the container.

Advantageously, according to one form of the invention, each container within the storage system may be provided with a service item in addition to the item. In addition, each container within the storage system may not contain items, but may contain service items for providing to other containers or monitoring the condition of the system.

In this manner, the present invention overcomes the problems of the prior art and provides a system and method that increases the reliability and reduces the overall cost of large container handling storage systems.

Drawings

The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying schematic drawings in which:

fig. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a frame structure for accommodating a plurality of stacks of containers in a storage system.

Fig. 2 is a schematic plan view of a portion of the frame structure of fig. 1.

Fig. 3(a) and 3(b) are schematic perspective views from the rear and front respectively of one form of robotic load handling device used with the frame structure of fig. 1 and 2, and fig. 3(c) is a schematic perspective view of a known load handling device lifting container in use.

Fig. 4 is a schematic perspective view of a known storage system comprising a plurality of load handling devices of the type shown in fig. 3(a), 3(b) and 3(c) mounted on the frame structure of fig. 1 and 2, incorporating a robotic service device according to one form of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view of a storage container according to one form of the present invention, the container including a growing device, such as a mat or soil.

Fig. 6a, 6b, 6c and 6d are schematic perspective views of a single storage container according to several forms of the present invention, the container comprising at least a lighting device.

Fig. 7a, 7b, 7c, 7d are schematic perspective views of a storage container according to another form of the present invention, the container including a fluid supply device.

FIGS. 8a and 8b are schematic perspective views of a growing system including a robotic sorting device for thinning plants grown in containers stored in the growing system according to at least one form of the present disclosure;

fig. 9a and 9b are schematic perspective views of another form of container for use in a growing system that enables the growing system to be used with plants ranging in size from young plants to high-maturity plants.

Fig. 10 is a schematic perspective view of a column (upright) of a grid of a storage system, the column 16 carrying a service item 17 for onward transmission to a container, the system comprising the containers of fig. 5, 9a and 9 b.

FIG. 11 is a graph showing known historical environmental data relating to the growth of a particular variety of grapes over a particular growing season, such data being used in accordance with an aspect of the present invention to reproduce growing conditions to produce grapes of similar quality and known characteristics.

Detailed Description

As shown in fig. 1 and 2, stackable containers, referred to as containers 10, are stacked on top of each other to form a stack 12. The stack 12 is disposed in a frame structure 14 in a warehouse or manufacturing environment. Fig. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a frame structure 14, and fig. 2 is a top view of a single stack 12 of containers 10 disposed within the frame structure 14. Each container 10 typically holds a plurality of product items (not shown), and the product items within the container 10 may be the same or may be different product types depending on the application.

The frame structure 14 includes a plurality of upright members 16 that support horizontal members 18, 20. The first set of parallel horizontal members 18 are arranged perpendicular to the second set of parallel horizontal members 20 to form a plurality of horizontal grid structures supported by the upright members 16. The members 16, 18, 20 are typically made of metal. The containers 10 are stacked between the members 16, 18, 20 of the frame structure 14 such that the frame structure 14 prevents horizontal movement of the stack 12 of containers 10 and guides vertical movement of the containers 10.

The top layer of the frame structure 14 includes tracks 22 arranged in a grid pattern across the top of the stack 12. With additional reference to fig. 3 and 4, the track 22 supports a plurality of robotic load handling devices 30. A first set 22a of parallel rails 22 guide movement of the load handling apparatus 30 in a first direction (X) across the top of the frame structure 14, and a second set 22b of parallel rails 22 arranged perpendicular to the first set 22a guide movement of the load handling apparatus 30 in a second direction (Y) perpendicular to the first direction. In this manner, the rails 22 allow the load handling apparatus 30 to move in two dimensions in the X-Y plane so that the load handling apparatus 30 can be moved to a position above any stack 12.

Each load handling device 30 comprises a vehicle 32, which vehicles 32 are arranged above the stack 12, travelling in the X and Y directions on the rails 22 of the frame structure 14. The first set of wheels 34 consists of a pair of wheels 34 at the front of the vehicle 32 and a pair of wheels 34 at the rear of the vehicle 32 and is arranged to engage with two adjacent rails of the first set 22a of rails 22. Similarly, the second set of wheels 36 consists of a pair of wheels 36 on each side of the vehicle 32 and is arranged to engage with two adjacent rails of the second set 22b of rails 22. Each set of wheels 34, 36 may be raised and lowered such that either the first set of wheels 34 or the second set of wheels 36 engages the respective set of tracks 22a, 22b at any time.

When the first set of wheels 34 is engaged with the first set of tracks 22a and the second set of wheels 36 is lifted off the tracks 22, the wheels 34 can be driven by a drive mechanism (not shown) housed in the vehicle 32 to move the load handling apparatus 30 in the X direction. To move the load handling apparatus 30 in the Y direction, the first set of wheels 34 is lifted off the rails 22 and the second set of wheels 36 is lowered into engagement with the second set of rails 22 a. The drive mechanism may then be used to drive the second set of wheels 36 to effect movement in the Y direction.

In this way, one or more robotic load handling devices 30 may be moved about the top surface of the stack 12 on the frame structure 14 under the control of a central sorting system (not shown). Each robotic load handling device 30 is provided with means for lifting one or more containers or receptacles from the stack to obtain the desired product. In this way, multiple products can be obtained from multiple locations in the grid and stack at any time.

Figure 4 shows a typical storage system as described above having a plurality of load handling apparatus 30 operating on the stack 12.

Fig. 1 and 4 show containers 10 in a stack 12 within a storage system. It should be understood that there may be a large number of containers in any given storage system, and that many different plants or crop varieties may be grown in the containers in the stack 12.

Fig. 5 shows a single container 10 for growing plants. The plants are grown on a growing device 13, such as a mat or soil, located in the container 10. Below the mat 13, the receptacle may include a reservoir 54 (not shown) containing water and/or plant nutrients suitable for the plants growing in the receptacle.

The containers 10 are held in a stacked configuration by cooperating surfaces on adjacent containers 10. The container 10 of fig. 5 additionally comprises a connecting means 40 positioned at the intended cooperating surface of the container 10. The connection means 40 may comprise an electrically conductive layer deposited on the cooperating surfaces of the containers 10, or may comprise spring loaded contactors (contacts) or springs as contactors or any other connection means capable of carrying forces between two or more containers 10. Furthermore, the connection means 40 may comprise carbon-loaded rubber contactors capable of carrying signals between two or more cooperating containers 10 in the stack.

The connection means 40 shown in fig. 5 comprises a releasable latching connector capable of carrying capacity, fluids (e.g. water and fertilizer) and other services or utilities (utilities) required in the plant growing system.

Each container 10 may comprise power supply means for supplying power to, for example, heating means, cooling means, data recording means, communication means and/or illumination means 60. If power is to be transmitted to adjacent containers 10 in the stack 12, each individual container 10 may also include power control means for controlling power to the or each service, and to other containers 10 in the stack 12. It should be understood that the container 10 including the power control and control device is not limited to providing power to a heater, cooler, or lighting device. Anything that requires power can utilize the power supply device. The power supply means may comprise a battery or may comprise means for transmitting power from an external power source through the connection means 40 on the container 10 or via the upright 16 of the frame structure. Non-contact power transfer methods such as magnetic induction or RF induction and optical methods may also be used.

Figure 5 shows in detail a container 10 suitable for a plant growing apparatus. The container includes an illumination device 60 that can radiate light of a predetermined wavelength suitable for growing the desired crop. Further, the container 10 includes a fluid supply 52 that, upon activation, can spray a predetermined amount of water onto the crop growing in the container 10. The power to the illumination means 60 and the fluid supplied to the spray means 52 is routed (route) through the container 10 via routing means 17 extending along one side of the container 10. The container is also provided with connection means 40 to enable service items to be routed upwardly through the stack 12 of containers 10 when the containers 10 are located in the growing system.

It will be appreciated that although the routing means shown in figure 5 is mounted on the container 10, the container 10 may be formed such that it comprises mouldings (moulidings) suitable for use as routing means 17.

Fig. 6a to 6d show another form of container 10 from a stack 12, the container 10 comprising various configurations of illumination means 60. As shown in fig. 6a and 6b, the illumination device 60 may comprise a cover containing a suitable light bulb, LED or any other suitable form of illumination device 60. The lid may be removably attached to the container 10 and folded during removal of the container 10 from the stack 12.

Alternatively, as shown in fig. 6c, the illumination device 60 may be disposed at the base of the container 10 to illuminate the container 10 below in the stack 12.

Furthermore, as shown in fig. 6d, the container 10 may be illuminated from a point outside the container 10, for example from the ceiling of a warehouse in which the columns 16 of the grid or the storage system are located. As can be seen in fig. 6d, positioning the lighting device 60 on the upright 16 of the frame requires removing the side of the container 10. In essence, this form of container is a plant growing tray with supports only at the corners to allow containers 10 to be stacked on top of other containers 10 and support the containers 10 above.

Each container 10 may also include data logging means and communication means for transmitting the logged data to a remote central data logging device. The data logging device includes sensors adapted to monitor conditions in the container 10, such as temperature, any gaseous emissions, for example due to fruit decay, and humidity. The data logging device and communication device enable the contents and condition of each container 10 to be monitored. Furthermore, knowledge of the information about a particular container 10 in a stack 12 in the system enables monitoring of the condition of the storage system as a whole. It should be understood that the type and method of communication may be, but is not necessarily limited to, WiFi. Any suitable form of communication protocol or method may be used.

Each container 10 in the stack 12 may also include heating and/or cooling means and temperature monitoring means for monitoring the temperature in the container 10. The heating means may comprise a flow of hot fluid via direct means, such as hot air, or via indirect means, such as a heat sink means, or may further comprise an electric heater or an electromagnetic induction heater.

The cooling means may comprise a Peltier cooler or may comprise a cold fluid flow via direct means, e.g. cold air, or via indirect means, e.g. a heat sink means comprising a driven slush compressor.

In this manner, the temperature of each container 10 may be controlled and varied according to the contents of the individual container 10. If the contents of the containers require refrigeration, the individual containers can be maintained at a temperature of 5 degrees Celsius without requiring a portion of the stack 12 in the storage system to be maintained at a predetermined temperature by a space heater and cooler. It will be appreciated that these are examples only and that any suitable form of heater or refrigerator may be used to achieve the desired effect.

Preferably, air is blown through the containers 10 within the stack 12 of the plant growing system. This may be accomplished by generating an airflow throughout the system using a fan or other airflow device.

Fig. 7a to 7d show another form of container 10 from the stack 12, the container 10 comprising a fluid supply 52 and further comprising a fluid reservoir (not shown). The contents of the container 10 may require water to be supplied thereto. Thus, the container 10 is provided with a reservoir which may be filled with a liquid or a gas. To fill the reservoir 54, the container 10 may be removed from the stack 12 by the robotic load handling device and brought to a position in the system where the reservoir may be filled as desired. As shown in fig. 7a and 7b, water and nutrients may be supplied via a sprinkler system 52 in the lid portion of the container 10. Alternatively, as shown in fig. 7c, a sprayer 52 may be located at the base of the container 10 to provide water and/or nutrients to the plants in the container 10 below in the stack 12. In another example, as shown in fig. 7c, a container lid 72 including a fluid supply is removably attached to the container 10 and folded during removal of the container 10 from the stack 12.

Figure 7d shows another form of container 10 in which the fluid supply is routed via the uprights 16 of the frame. This again requires removal of the sides of the container 10. In essence, this form of container is a plant growing tray with supports only at the corners to allow containers 10 to be stacked on top of other containers 10 and support the containers 10 above.

It should be understood that the uprights 16 of the grid of the growing system may carry any of the services referred to herein or alternative services for onward transmission to the container 10 by wire, cable or pipe or any other suitable means.

Uk patent application numbers GB1518091.2 and GB1518115.9 (which are claimed for their priority in the present application) detail a system and method of routing service items through a container 10 and framework structure, and are incorporated herein by reference.

Fig. 8a and 8b show the service part of the growth system described above. For clarity, only a portion of the frame structure is shown, and a representative number of containers 10 are shown in a stack 12 within the frame. The portion of the container 110 located within the system includes only the growing device ready for use. A portion of the containers 10 in the system include plants that have become too large for the spacing pattern when initially planted. Thus, one function of the service area of the system may be to thin out the container 10 containing overcrowded plants by picking a proportion of the plants from the overcrowded container 10 to be replanted in the container 110 which includes only growing means.

A robotic sorting device 100 may be provided to fully automate this task. However, it should be understood that this task may be performed manually by an operator of the service area of the growing system.

Fig. 9a and 9b show another form of container 10 for a growing system. During the life cycle of a crop growing in the system, the crop concerned may reach a height protruding from the top of the container 10. The containers shown in fig. 9a and 9b are compartmentalized containers 10' which function to allow the plants 150 to continue to grow in the system even if the plants reach such a height. The spacer container 10' may be placed over the plant and act as a support for any container 10 located above in the stack 12 of containers 10. The spacer container 10' may comprise a plastic material that allows light to pass therethrough. In addition, the compartmentalized container 10' may include service items routed as described above for the generic container 10.

Fig. 10 shows two of the above-mentioned spaced containers 10' in a stack above the container 10, in such a way as to carry a plant 150 of considerable height compared to the container 10. Fig. 10 further shows the upright 16 of the growing system carrying the lighting means 60 and the watering means 52. Furthermore, fig. 10 shows a container 10 comprising a utility supply device 40, which utility supply device 40 is supplied from the base of the growth system via a routing device 17.

It should be understood that the compartmentalized container 10 'may be provided with a releasable latching mechanism to allow the compartmentalized container 10' to be attached to the container 10 below. The latching mechanism is required if the load handling apparatus 30 is required to sort containers 10 having a compartmentalized container 10' mounted thereon. However, it will be further appreciated that alternative forms of load handling means may be used to enable tall plants 150 to be handled in a standard size container 10.

In use, seeds or seedlings are planted in the growing apparatus within each container 10. The container 10 is provided with water or food required for plant growth contained therein. The containers 10 are placed in the stack 12 within the storage system by the load handling apparatus 30. The propagation of the plants is monitored remotely by sensing means located within the system or by periodically removing the container 10 from the system to inspect the crop. The container 10 is removed from the system by load handling means operating on a substantially horizontal grid structure mounted on a frame. The target container 10 is sorted from the system and the target container 10 is transported to the service area by the load handling device. The load handling device places the target container 10 on a conveyor loop (conveyor loop) that includes a drive roller device or other suitable movement mechanism capable of moving the target container around the conveyor loop 120.

When the container 10 is on the conveyor loop, tasks may be performed, such as selecting crops, thinning seedlings, adding fertilizer, either manually by an operator or automatically under the control of a central computerized utility.

Once the desired task is completed, the containers 10 may be collected by the load handling apparatus and placed back into the stack 12 within the growth system.

It will be appreciated that a large number of generally labor-intensive and time-consuming acts can be automated in this manner. Furthermore, the use of suitable sensing means may ensure that each plant species within the system receives optimal growth conditions for that species. In this way, the yield can be increased in an efficient manner.

A number of uses are envisaged in view of the highly automated and controlled nature of the system. Some of these uses are described below, but should not be considered limiting.

For example, the system may be used to develop new plant varieties, or if optimal growth conditions for a given variety are being established, the use of the system will need to be continuously monitored and all conditions within each vessel need to be checked for individual parameters and the contents checked regularly. The amounts of water, nutrients and light need to be closely monitored and changed accordingly. This would require many containers to be removed, inspected, and replaced at intervals. Advantageously, this can be achieved in the system of the present invention because the process of sensing, monitoring and removing the container 10 from the system is highly automated.

If the system is used for mass production of a given plant or crop, the production costs need to be minimized and thus the parameters needed for optimal growth will be established beforehand. Thus, the light, water, nutrients and temperature required for each plant or crop variety will be determined at the beginning of the growth cycle. The containers are removed from the storage system only every 3 to 10 days for re-spacing of the seedlings and then finally harvesting and reseeding the containers 10.

Advantageously, there may be two types of use in a single storage system. A portion of the container 10 may hold crops for mass production and a portion of the container may hold products or new varieties being developed that are being monitored and optimal growth protocols are being established.

It will be appreciated that a portion of the system may be segmented by suitable segmentation means.

In the examples described herein, it should be understood that not all containers 10 include all of the service items described. Furthermore, some containers, particularly those used for mass production, may not require any other service items other than the appropriate levels of light, water, and nutrients. Conversely, for vessels 10 used for research and development or testing, more sensing and monitoring devices may be required in each vessel.

In the case of research and development type containers, the container or containers 10 are removed from the stack 12 at regular intervals by the load handling apparatus 30 and brought to an inspection port within the system. The condition of the plant is checked and nutrients or water are added to the container as required. If the plants in the container still require time to mature, the container 10 is placed back in the stack 12. If the plants have grown sufficiently and the crop is mature, the plants or crop are removed and the container 10 is cleaned and re-planted and then placed back in the stack 12.

In the case of mass production, the relevant container 10 may not be removed for inspection, but may be removed only when the crop is expected to have matured.

Sensor means disposed within the container 10 monitor the condition of the plants growing therein. While a maintenance schedule for the plants in the container 10 may be used, it should be understood that the sensor may initiate removal of the container 10 from the stack 12 outside of the maintenance schedule. For example, if the container 10 contains growing mushrooms but the mushrooms are already over-ripe, the sensor may detect gas associated with food ripening and the container 10 may be removed for inspection outside of the maintenance schedule.

Some greenhouses are operated in an atmosphere with elevated levels of carbon dioxide. It will be appreciated that in these cases, a suitable gas sensing device will be able to monitor and control CO accordingly₂The level of (c).

It will be appreciated that many crops may be grown in such a mechanized greenhouse. These include, but are not limited to, mushrooms, peppers, herbs, and lettuce. In some energy-rich but water-deficient locations, such systems may also be used to grow cereal crops and other organisms. Although the embodiments described herein relate primarily to plant growth for mass production or research and development purposes, it should be understood that any living organism, plant, animal, or fungus may be grown in such a storage system. For example, the storage system may be used for the growth of fish, chicken, oysters, and lobsters. Furthermore, the system may be used for GM tests, drug tests, storage of wine requiring specific maturation conditions, or cheese requiring careful temperature and humidity control.

The advantages of this system for growing crops are: since different containers 10 can hold different crops, multiple crops can be grown in a single location. Furthermore, since diseases, wilting, fungi, or other plant-related problems will be confined to a single container 10, growing plants in the container 10 may prevent the spread of diseases through a wide range of crops. While infection from the external environment may be limited by filters in the system warehouse, any damage in this respect may be limited to a single container so that "plant-related problems" may be minimized.

It should be understood that the storage system includes a large number of containers 10 arranged in a stack 12. In one embodiment of the invention, the storage system includes different categories of containers 10 distributed within the system. For example, there may be an empty container 10, a container 10 in which plants are grown, a container 10 in which items are to be stored, a container in which services such as power or communication means are accommodated, a container 10 in which heating means are included, a container 10 in which cooling means are included, a container 10 in which items requiring liquid and/or light are accommodated.

It should be understood that some containers 10 may contain one or more of the above-described service items or devices. For example, the container 10 with the reservoir 54 may also be provided with a lighting device 60.

The illumination means 60 may take the form of an LED lamp or fluorescent tube or any other suitable form of illumination.

Providing data recording and condition monitoring devices in the containers 10 within the stack 12 enables the condition and topography of the system to be generated, which is not possible unless a particular container 10 is removed and inspected.

Furthermore, providing service items to a particular single container 10 via the post 16 or via container-to-container contactors enables items with different needs to be stored in the same storage system without relying on splitting the system and storing items with different needs separately in separate grid sections.

Furthermore, the connections between the container 10 and the communication between the container 10 and the stack 12 will generate a knowledge base of the storage system in real time, which will help in events such as power outages, and which will help in recovering from possible disasters. Another approach is to empty all the containers and rebuild the stack, which would be inefficient and costly.

It will be appreciated that all of the containers 10 may be removed from the stack 12 by the load handling apparatus 30. No vessel 10 is fixed in position and all contacts between vessel 10 and vessel 10 are connectable and disconnectable. Furthermore, the containers 10 that require service items through the column 16 are not secured to the column 16 in any way. Any suitable means of establishing and disconnecting may be used.

It should also be understood that a single container may be provided with one service item, selected service items, or all of the service items described. Furthermore, the listed service items should not be considered as limiting. Any form of service item that can be carried or transmitted to the container 10 is contemplated.

In one embodiment of the invention, by way of example only, the container 10 comprises a tray on which plants are grown. The trays are approximately 1000 x 1400 mm. The tray includes a frame that is high enough so that the plants can grow to their natural harvesting height. In a specific embodiment, the trays are stacked to 20m high or higher. Each tray receives illumination, either by a light attached to the top frame of the tray, or by the base of the tray above or by lights in the grid (as shown in the example forms in fig. 6a to 6d above only). All treatments (planting, harvesting, trimming, spraying and possible watering) are carried out at professional workstations with good ergonomics and possible robotics or other automation.

It should be understood that a plurality of different illumination arrays may be used. For example, different arrays may be used in the early stages of plant growth and in the later stages of plant growth. At the start, it is preferable to concentrate all the light on the plant and reduce the waste of the soil around the light. Individual arrays may be used or a portion of the lamps may be turned off. Thus, the illumination device 60 may be movable relative to the crop growing in the container 10. For example, if the crop is growing in height, the height of the illumination device 60 may be raised and lowered relative to the height of the crop in the container 10.

In a further embodiment, the plant may be grown upside down and illuminated from below. Advantageously, this will reduce the energy consumed by the plant to move water and nutrients against gravity, and may allow some species to grow faster.

The main reason for removing plants from the storage system to re-pot or re-space them (re-space) is to maximize the use of the provided illumination. A key advantage is that this operation can be performed using automated equipment (which can be fully utilized at 24 x 7), making it very capital and labor efficient. Inspection, which is otherwise expensive, can also be done by automated means.

In a further embodiment, it is advantageous to move the plants to a 24 x 7 use checkpoint rather than to perform continuous monitoring in each container.

In a further embodiment, the section (section) of the storage system may be partitioned from the rest of the growth system. For example, if one part of the system requires different characteristics than the rest of the system, several stacks 12 may be split. It should be appreciated that the segments may be permanently fixed, or the segments may include an openable and closable shutter system to enable a more flexible segment system.

It will also be appreciated that the division may have additional advantages, for example, the division enables the compartments of the storage system to be isolated from other compartments, for example different parts of the system may be maintained at different temperatures. Furthermore, in case the system is used for such plant growing purposes, it may be advantageous to have different gaseous atmospheres in different parts of the system. For example, at different time points in the growth cycle of certain crops, the crops are exposed to different levels of CO₂An atmosphere may be advantageous. This can be achieved by a segmentation system.

Furthermore, while the embodiments of the invention described above and shown in the drawings describe systems in which the containers 10 all have substantially the same size and shape, it should be understood that this need not be the case. As described in uk patent application number GB1506364.7 filed on 15/4/2015 (which is incorporated herein by reference), it will be appreciated that such a system may be configured to operate containers 10 of multiple sizes by using load handling devices 30 of different sizes, which load handling devices 30 are capable of lifting and moving containers 10 of multiple sizes.

In all the above examples, the system is provided with controllable ambient service items. These service items are controlled by a control utility that is adapted to be able to monitor, measure and provide environmental service items according to a predetermined environmental recipe.

For example, as shown in fig. 11, the exact environmental conditions are known for good wine (bauke, first Class vineyard) used to grow the 1982 lagrange (Grand Vin de Chateau Latour, Paulliac,1er Cru Class). Thus, in a controlled city or upright farm, such as but not necessarily limited to the above examples, the grapes needed can be grown under almost the same conditions to reproduce grape varieties of substantially the same quality and taste, thus reproducing expensive wines at lower process costs.

Once a set of environmental criteria is known, the control utility may apply these criteria to the organisms in the growth chamber to reproduce the same variety and quality of organisms as previously grown organisms.

Other examples of organisms whose variety or quality can be reproduced in this way may include certain types of wood. For example, it is known that wood from which high quality music equipment is made is severely affected by environmental conditions as the wood grows, resulting in trees having a particular configuration of a ring-like structure. To produce wood having the desired or expected characteristics, reproduction can be performed by applying the same ambient atmosphere (including but not limited to temperature, pressure, humidity, air pressure and length of time to apply these parameters) to the appropriate trees or plants in a controlled atmosphere within the growth chamber.

It will be appreciated that there are many other examples in which the atmosphere in a growth chamber may be controlled and varied using a control utility adapted to control a range of environmental services in order to produce living organisms of a desired quality and variety.

It should be understood that the growth chamber may comprise a substantially sealed container unit comprising a series of growth trays within a container. The container may comprise several growth trays. The environmental services may be supplied to the container via a number of known means. For example, british patent publication No. GB2541766 a1(Ocado innovations limited) describes a method of supplying environmental services to such containers. However, it should be understood that there are many ways known to those skilled in the art to provision such services to containerization systems.

It should also be understood that the growth chamber may include a volume greater than the containers described above, for example the containers may include shipping container sized containers. Further, the growth chamber may comprise a room or larger volume capable of environmental control as described above.

The environmental service items detailed above are not limiting. It should be understood that there are many environmental service items that can be properly controlled by the control utility according to the present invention.

The storage system described above is only one example of a system that can be used to produce living organisms (e.g., plants) in an urban environment. Any other suitable form of upright or urban farm may be used.

Many variations and modifications not explicitly described above are possible without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.