US 11,690,326 B2
Vertical grow tower conveyance system for controlled environment agriculture
Gage Goodspeed Coffin, Los Altos Hills, CA (US); Michael Peter Flynn, Palo Alto, CA (US); Brice Leon Klein, San Francisco, CA (US); Alexandre Le Roux, Redwood City, CA (US); Timothy Michael Murcko, San Mateo, CA (US); and Nathaniel R. Storey, Laramie, WY (US)
Filed by MJNN LLC, South San Francisco, CA (US)
Filed on Jul. 12, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/372,751.
Application 17/372,751 is a continuation of application No. 16/982,549, granted, now 11,089,741, previously published as PCT/US2019/023201, filed on Mar. 20, 2019.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/752,974, filed on Oct. 30, 2018.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/761,366, filed on Mar. 21, 2018.
Prior Publication US 2021/0337742 A1, Nov. 4, 2021
Int. Cl. A01G 9/029 (2018.01); A01G 31/00 (2018.01); A01G 31/04 (2006.01); A01G 9/02 (2018.01); A01G 27/00 (2006.01)
CPC A01G 9/0299 (2018.02) [A01G 9/023 (2013.01); A01G 27/005 (2013.01); A01G 31/04 (2013.01)] 10 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A crop production system for controlled environment agriculture, comprising:
a grow line;
a plurality of grow towers, each of the plurality of grow towers vertically attached to, and moveable along, the grow line;
a conveyance mechanism operative to move the plurality of towers to a plurality of positions along the grow line; and
wherein each of the plurality of grow towers comprises a tower body and a funnel disposed on the top of the tower body, wherein each of the plurality of grow towers further comprises a first plurality of plug containers arranged along a first face of the grow tower, and a second plurality of plug containers arranged along a second face of the grow tower, wherein the second face is opposite to the first face, and wherein each of the plurality of grow towers includes a central wall defining a first cavity containing the first plurality of plug containers and a second cavity containing the second plurality of plug containers;
wherein each funnel comprises a first collector and a second collector, wherein the first collector is configured to direct fluid flowing therethrough over a desired region within the first cavity of the tower body, and wherein the second collector is configured to direct fluid flowing therethrough over a desired region within the second cavity of the tower body; and
an irrigation system operative to supply fluid to respective first and second collectors of the funnels of the plurality of grow towers at one or more of the positions along the grow line.