Grow tower processing for controlled environment agriculture system

US11832569B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• MJNN LLC · US

Inventors

• Gage Goodspeed Coffin · Los Altos Hills, US
• Michael Peter Flynn · Palo Alto, US
• Brice Klein · San Francisco, US
• Alexandre Le Roux · Menlo Park, US
• Nathaniel R. Storey · Laramie, US
• Tamara Hasoon · Redwood City, US
• Merritt Jonathan Jenkins · San Francisco, US
• Maria Malone · San Francisco, US
• Matthew Matera · San Francisco, US
• Anna Olson · San Mateo, US
• Nadav Sahar Hendel · San Francisco, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Oct 30, 2019
• Grant date: Dec 5, 2023
• Expiry date: Oct 16, 2040

Classification

• Technology area (CPC Y): Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
• CPC primary: Y02P60/21
• WIPO field: Other special machines
• WIPO sector: Mechanical engineering

Abstract

An automated crop production system for controlled environment agriculture that includes a horizontal-to-vertical grow tower interface between a vertical grow structure that includes vertical grow towers and associated conveyance mechanisms for moving the vertical grow towers through a controlled environment, and a processing system that performs one or more processing operations—such as harvesting, cleaning and/or transplanting—on the grow towers in a substantially horizontal orientation. The present disclosure also describes an automated crop production system for controlled environment agriculture that selectively routes grow towers through various processing stages of an automated crop production system.