US 12,114,619 B2
Vertical farming/gardening systems and methods of growing and/or dehydrating therewith
N. Athula Kulatunga, Munster, IN (US)
Filed by N. Athula Kulatunga, Munster, IN (US)
Filed on Aug. 24, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/894,578.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/236,751, filed on Aug. 25, 2021.
Prior Publication US 2023/0067626 A1, Mar. 2, 2023
Int. Cl. A01G 31/04 (2006.01); A01C 21/00 (2006.01); A01G 7/06 (2006.01); G05B 19/042 (2006.01)
CPC A01G 31/045 (2013.01) [A01C 21/007 (2013.01); A01G 7/06 (2013.01); G05B 19/042 (2013.01); G05B 2219/2231 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A vertical farming/gardening system comprising:
a track defining a path in which a change in elevation occurs along the path;
buckets pivotally secured to the track and configured to travel along the path of the track, at least a first bucket of the buckets having a cavity adapted to contain a growing medium capable of supporting plants growing within the cavity;
a dehydration attachment adapted to be mounted to the first bucket to enable the first bucket to serve as a dehydration box, the dehydration attachment comprising a solar collector for dehydrating plants within the cavity of the first bucket;
a moving mechanism for moving the buckets along the path of the track;
one or more service stations located along the path of the track that are each configured to perform one or more actions on the growing medium or the plants within the cavity of the first bucket as the first bucket travels along the path of the track adjacent to the one or more service stations;
one or more sensors configured for analyzing the growing medium or the plants within the cavity of the first bucket; and
a master control unit configured to control the travel of the buckets along the path of the track, receive and store data collected by the one or more sensors, analyze the data received from the one or more sensors to monitor conditions of the growing medium or the plants within the cavity of the first bucket, and control the one or more service stations to perform the one or more actions on the growing medium or the plants based on the conditions of plants growing in the growing medium or the plants within the cavity of the first bucket.