WO2008114250A1

WO2008114250A1 - Apparatus and method for animal or plant husbandry with reduced energy usage

Info

Publication number: WO2008114250A1
Application number: PCT/IL2008/000370
Authority: WO
Inventors: Ami Elazari
Original assignee: T.O.U Millennium Electric Ltd.
Priority date: 2007-03-16
Filing date: 2008-03-16
Publication date: 2008-09-25

Abstract

Irradiation apparatus for irradiation of a space used for animal or plant husbandry, the apparatus comprising at least one wavelength specific irradiation source for irradiating at a predetermined wavelength over said space, wherein the wavelength is predetermined in accordance with the biology of the plant or animal being farmed; thereby to minimize overall irradiation energy.

Description

APPARATUS AND METHOD FORANIMAL OR PLANT HUSBANDRY WITH

REDUCED ENERGY USAGE

FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention, in some embodiments thereof, relates to an improved efficiency method for animal or plant husbandry and, more particularly, but not exclusively, to such a method making more efficient use of energy so that solar energy can be a sole or main source of energy.

Today, animal and plant husbandry include the use of hothouses for the growth of flowers, fruit and other plants, and chicken coops for the breeding of fowl.

Artificial lighting is used in both hothouses and chicken coops and is kept functioning twenty-four hours a day in order to "confuse" the reproductive growth and development mechanisms of the plants and animals in order to increase production and growth rate capacities. The principal of hothouse lighting is built upon the fact that the cycle of day and night and the wavelength (radiation) cycle changes throughout the year during the different seasons and is responsible for triggering reproductive activity and growth in plants. In the animal world, the same is true for fowl. In accordance with the normal day/night cycle, a chicken lays one egg per day. If light is kept on during the night in the chicken coop, the chicken becomes "confused" and lays two eggs, thus increasing yield. However substantial lighting is required, leading to significant energy usage.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention in various aspects relates to wavelength specific irradiation of spaces devoted to animal or plant husbandry. The wavelengths are selected according to the biology of the plants or animals in question, and considerable energy may be saved. Wavelength specific LEDs may be used, and the energy saving may allow for solar power to be used as an energy source.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present invention there is provided irradiation apparatus for irradiation of a space used for animal or plant husbandry, the apparatus comprising at least one wavelength specific irradiation source for irradiating at a predetermined wavelength over said space, wherein the wavelength is predetermined in accordance with the biology of the plant or animal being farmed; thereby to minimize overall irradiation energy.

An embodiment may comprise at least two irradiation sources, each set at a different predetermined wavelength, both of said wavelengths being predetermined according to the biology of the plant or animal being farmed.

An embodiment may comprise at least three irradiation sources, each set at a different predetermined wavelength, each of said wavelengths being predetermined according to the biology of the plant or animal being farmed.

An embodiment may be such that said at least one wavelength specific irradiation source comprises a light emitting diode selected to irradiate at said predetermined wavelength.

In an embodiment, the husbandry is plant husbandry and said predetermined wavelength is selected according to a leaf absorbance spectrum.

In an embodiment, the husbandry is plant husbandry and said three predetermined wavelengths are selected according to a leaf absorbance spectrum.

In an embodiment, the husbandry is for eggs and said predetermined wavelength is selected according to chicken biology to boost egg production.

An embodiment may comprise a solar power source for generating power for said irradiation sources, and an energy storage for storing said electrical power for later irradiation.

According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided an irradiation method for irradiation of a space used for animal or plant husbandry, the method comprising irradiating at a predetermined wavelength over said space, wherein the wavelength is predetermined in accordance with the biology of the plant or animal being farmed; thereby to minimize overall irradiation energy.

An embodiment may comprise obtaining solar power for said irradiation sources during sunlight hours, and storing said electrical power for subsequent irradiation during darkness hours.

Unless otherwise defined, all technical and/or scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the invention pertains. Although methods and materials similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice or testing of embodiments of the invention, exemplary methods and/or materials are described below. In case of conflict, the patent specification, including definitions, will control. In addition, the materials, methods, and examples are illustrative only and are not intended to be necessarily limiting.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Some embodiments of the invention are herein described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings. With specific reference now to the drawings in detail, it is stressed that the particulars shown are by way of example and for purposes of illustrative discussion of embodiments of the invention. In this regard, the description taken with the drawings makes apparent to those skilled in the art how embodiments of the invention may be practiced. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a simplified diagram illustrating wavelength specific irradiation of an animal plant husbandry area according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a graph showing absorption against wavelength for a typical plant; FIG. 3 is a simplified flow chart showing operation of the apparatus of Fig. 1;

FIG. 4 illustrates an integrated unit for obtaining, storing and irradiating according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

The present invention, in some embodiments thereof, relates to an improved efficiency method for animal or plant husbandry and, more particularly, but not exclusively, to such a method making more efficient use of energy so that solar energy can be a sole or main source of energy. A space used in animal or plant husbandry, such as a greenhouse or hothouse, and a chicken coop, is irradiated in wavelength specific manner, where the wavelengths are selected in accordance with the biology of the animal or plant. Irradiation is for specific and known purposes such as causing non-seasonal flowering and fruiting in plants and for increasing egg-laying yield in chickens. These purposes do not require broad spectrum irradiation. Rather plants only require those wavelengths mainly utilized in photosynthesis, and fowl only require certain frequencies. Thus considerable energy can be saved by restricting the irradiation to the wavelengths actually utilized. Before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not necessarily limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of the components and/or methods set forth in the following description and/or illustrated in the drawings and/or the Examples. The invention is capable of other embodiments or of being practiced or carried out in various ways.

Referring now to the drawings, Figure 1 illustrates irradiation apparatus for irradiation of a space 10 used for animal or plant husbandry, such as a greenhouse or hothouse for plants and a chicken coop for fowl. The apparatus includes a wavelength specific irradiation source such as LED 12 for irradiating at a predetermined wavelength over the space. The wavelength of the LED is selected in accordance with the biology of the plant or animal being farmed, as will be explained in greater detail below, with the aim of overall minimization of the irradiation energy.

LEDs are suitable as the irradiation device because it is relatively easy to provide irradiation at specific wavelengths, however any wavelength-specific irradiation device is suitable.

Irradiation need not be at visible wavelengths, if non- visible wavelengths are available which have the desired biological effect.

Reference is now made to Fig. 2, which is a simplified diagram illustrating light absorbance against frequency for typical plant material. Graph 20 is for chlorophyll, and graph 22 is for carotenoid pigment. It can clearly be seen that the chlorophyll has absorption peaks at around 425 and 650nm, and the carotenoid peaks at 450 and 500. Energy between 500 and 650nm is barely absorbed and thus radiation at these wavelengths would substantially be wasted. In an embodiment, two, three or more wavelengths are selected for irradiation based on optimal absorption according to the graph of Fig. 2 or to variants thereof specific to the plant in question. That is to say irradiation is selected in accordance with the leaf absorbance spectrum.

A purpose of the irradiation is to confuse the plant regarding the seasons and thus to cause it to flower and fruit off-season. Such irradiation is well-known and the present embodiments allow such irradiation to be provided more efficiently, that is with lower energy expenditure. The plant does not require to experience daylight as such for the approach to work but merely to receive irradiation which is able to manipulate light sensitive substances within the plant.

Thus one set of photodiodes may be provided with blue light at 425nm, a second set with blue-green light at 450nm, a third set with green light at around 500nm and a fourth set with red light at 650nm.

In an alternative embodiment, two sets of photodiodes may be used, one set at around d430nm and the other at around 670nm.

In an alternative embodiment the space is a chicken coop with egg-laying chickens.

Chickens irradiated with a specific wavelength may be induced to lay a second egg during the same day. Thus the predetermined wavelength is selected according to chicken biology to boost egg production. Suitable wavelengths for irradiating hens in order to improve egg laying yield are 500 - 570nm.

Returning now to Fig. 1 and a solar power source 16 may be used for generating power for the LEDs. It will be appreciated that solar power is mainly available during sunlight hours and the need to irradiate is specifically when the sunlight is not available, so the solar power unit preferably charges an energy storage 18, typically a battery or battery array, and the battery then provides energy for storing for later irradiation, at night or under overcast conditions.

In an embodiment, the battery may be built into each LED unit. In an alternative embodiment the battery may be built into the solar panels, and in a third embodiment the battery may be a stand-alone item.

Referring now to Fig. 3, an irradiation method is shown for irradiation of a space used for animal or plant husbandry, according to the previously described embodiments. The method comprises gathering solar energy during sunlight hours, storing the energy, and then during darkness irradiating at one or more predetermined wavelengths over the space. As before the wavelength is predetermined in accordance with the biology of the plant or animal being farmed, as a wavelength that has a specific desired biological effect on the plant or animal. The aim is to minimize overall irradiation energy.

Fig. 4 is a simplified block diagram showing an integrated irradiation unit for use in the above embodiments. Solar panel 30 provides energy to battery 32 during sunlight hours which in turn allows wavelength specific LED 34 to irradiate the plants or animals with the desired wavelength. The type of lighting used today, for plants or for egg-laying hens, is standard and works up to fourteen hours per night, consumes a lot of energy and upkeep is very expensive. The present embodiments are based on two biological/physical principles of plants and animals: The growth mechanism of plants (growth, production of fruit and flowers) reacts to specific wavelengths, for example; blue, green or red light, as per Fig. 2 above. With light provided all or most of the time, the plants become more productive. The plants become confused about the seasons, and strawberries for example may be produced out of season. Regarding fowl and other animals, the mechanism for laying eggs is activated by radiation in the 500 — 570nm region.

Today, the radiation used is multi- wavelength light and much of this energy wasted is simply wasted since it has no biological effect. But if irradiation is restricted to just the active wavelengths then it becomes possible to use an LED with a current of just 15mA, which can be powered by a small solar panel. The embodiments make use of the mechanisms described above and on Light

Emitting Diode (LED) technology which can:

1. Consume small amounts of energy (1/30^th the energy consumed by regular artificial lights).

2. Emit radiation at specific wavelengths. 3. Have a life span of up to 100,000 hours.

4. Can be activated with peak efficiency by solar photovoltaic cells.

As explained, the lights used today in hothouses and chicken coops emit the entire range of the electromagnetic spectrum thus wasting a huge amount of energy. The present embodiments provide wavelengths specific LED irradiation for hothouses for use with plants and chicken coops. Due to the specific wavelengths used, the energy can be targeted at the required biological activity and will be of high efficiency, thus resulting in great savings in energy and significant reduction of the maintenance costs for the hothouses and chicken coops.

The terms "comprises", "comprising", "includes", "including", "having" and their conjugates mean "including but not limited to". This term encompasses the terms "consisting of and "consisting essentially of.

As used herein, the singular form "a", "an" and "the" include plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. It is appreciated that certain features of the invention, which are, for clarity, described in the context of separate embodiments, may also be provided in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features of the invention, which are, for brevity, described in the context of a single embodiment, may also be provided separately or in any suitable subcombination or as suitable in any other described embodiment of the invention. Certain features described in the context of various embodiments are not to be considered essential features of those embodiments, unless the embodiment is inoperative without those elements.

Although the invention has been described in conjunction with specific embodiments thereof, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, it is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications and variations that fall within the spirit and broad scope of the appended claims.

All publications, patents and patent applications mentioned in this specification are herein incorporated in their entirety by reference into the specification, to the same extent as if each individual publication, patent or patent application was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated herein by reference. In addition, citation or identification of any reference in this application shall not be construed as an admission that such reference is available as prior art to the present invention. To the extent that section headings are used, they should not be construed as necessarily limiting.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. Irradiation apparatus for irradiation of a space used for animal or plant husbandry, the apparatus comprising at least one wavelength specific irradiation source for irradiating at a predetermined wavelength over said space, wherein the wavelength is predetermined in accordance with the biology of the plant or animal being farmed; thereby to minimize overall irradiation energy.

2. The irradiation apparatus of claim 1, comprising at least two irradiation sources, each set at a different predetermined wavelength, both of said wavelengths being predetermined according to the biology of the plant or animal being farmed.

3. The irradiation apparatus of claim 1, comprising at least three irradiation sources, each set at a different predetermined wavelength, each of said wavelengths being predetermined according to the biology of the plant or animal being farmed.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said at least one wavelength specific irradiation source comprises a light emitting diode selected to irradiate at said predetermined wavelength.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the husbandry is plant husbandry and said predetermined wavelength is selected according to a leaf absorbance spectrum.

6. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the husbandry is plant husbandry and said two predetermined wavelengths are substantially 430nm and 670nm.

7. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the husbandry is plant husbandry and said three predetermined wavelengths are selected according to a leaf absorbance spectrum.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the husbandry is for eggs and wherein said predetermined wavelength is selected according to chicken biology to boost egg production.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein said predetermined wavelength is within the range 500 - 570nm.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a solar power source for generating power for said irradiation sources, and an energy storage for storing said electrical power for later irradiation.

11. Irradiation method for irradiation of a space used for animal or plant husbandry, the method comprising irradiating at a predetermined wavelength over said space, wherein the wavelength is predetermined in accordance with the biology of the plant or animal being farmed; thereby to minimize overall irradiation energy.

12. The irradiation method of claim 11, comprising irradiating at two different predetermined wavelengths, both of said wavelengths being predetermined according to the biology of the plant or animal being farmed.

13. The irradiation method of claim 11, comprising irradiating using at least three irradiation sources, each set at a different predetermined wavelength, each of said wavelengths being predetermined according to the biology of the plant or animal being farmed.

14. The method of claim 11, comprising irradiating using a light emitting diode selected to irradiate at said predetermined wavelength.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein the husbandry is plant husbandry and said predetermined wavelength is selected according to a leaf absorbance spectrum.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the husbandry is plant husbandry and said three predetermined wavelengths are selected according to a leaf absorbance spectrum.

17. The method of claim 11, wherein the husbandry is for eggs and wherein said predetermined wavelength is selected according to chicken biology to boost egg production.

18. The method of claim 11, further comprising obtaining solar power for said irradiation sources during sunlight hours, and storing said electrical power for subsequent irradiation during darkness hours.