DESCRIPTION

The invention relates to a device for growing fruit-bearing greenhouse plants such as tomatoes, sweet peppers, etc., comprising a suspension system which is arranged to enable plant parts, including blossoms, to extend upwards by sus pending them, by means of suitable coupling means, to hori zontal crop threads extending into the greenhouse, which horizontal crop threads are, at least largely, suspended from vertical crop thread lowers which are connected to the greenhouse at their tops.

From Japanese patent specification JP2019129766A, among others, a device is known in which means are provided by which, in a device for cultivating fruit-bearing greenhouse plants indicated in the previous paragraph, the exchange of pollen between the blossoms of the various greenhouse plants is effected or promoted. To this end, JP2019129766A provides such a device comprising a vibration generator, which is (directly) coupled to a horizontal crop wire (32). The vibrations generated by the vibration generator are in duced in the horizontal crop wire and thus in the green house plants suspended from it, with the result that these vibrations cause the pollen in the plant blossoms to be vi brated and the pollen then attaches itself, in its environ ment, to the pistils of the blossoms of the surrounding greenhouse plants, so that the blossoms are fertilized and therefore develop themselves to fruits. In JP2019129766A, in addition to the vibration generator (40) that vibrates a crop wire, a second vibration generator (42) is used, which vibrates the cultivation bed (24).

A drawback of the device known from JP2019129766A is, inter alia, that a vibration generator is required per crop wire, as a result of which many vibration generators are required for an entire greenhouse, which must all be electrically supplied and controlled separately. The same applies to the (apparently necessary) second vibration generators that have to vibrate the breeding bed.

The present invention aims to provide an improved embodi ment of such a device, in which a substantially better and more efficient distribution of the mechanical vibrations to the (large amount of) greenhouse plants is achieved than which is possible with the configuration as proposed in JP2019129766A.

To this end, according to the invention, there is provided a device for growing fruit-bearing greenhouse plants, com prising a suspension system which is arranged to enable plant parts to extend upwards by connecting them to hori zontal crop wires which are at least partly suspended from vertical crop wire lowerers, wherein the device comprises at least one vibration genera tor and one or more vibration wires connected thereto, which extend substantially transversely of the vertical crop wire lowerers and are coupled to at least a part thereof, all this arranged such that during operation the at least one vibration generator induces a (mainly longitudinal) vibration into the one or more vibration wires, which vibration is subsequently transmitted, via the crop wire lowerers and the crop wires, to the plants sus pended therefrom, and wherein the one or more vibrating wires are formed by a double, loop-shaped ("going round", "circumambulating") vi brating wire, comprising horizontal portions which extend substantially transversely of the vertical crop wire lower ers between two, preferably to some extent rotating or piv oting, coupling members, both ends of which vibrating wire being connected to (two mutually vibrating connection points of) the same vibration generator.

The invention is based on the insight that coupling of the vibration generator and vibration wires with the vertical crop wire lowerers, at a coupling point between (for exam ple approximately in the middle of) the top of the relevant crop wire lowerer (where the crop wire lowerers are at tached to the rafters, for example) and the underlying (horizontal) crop wire, makes it possible to vibrate more than one crop wire by means of only one vibration genera tor. This is in contrast to the configuration shown in JP2019129766A, where a vibration generator is required sep arately for vibrating each crop wire.

As an unexpected consequence of this insight, the possibil ity arose to make use, instead of a single vibrating wire, of a, in a sense, multiple or "multi-layer" vibrating wire, operated by one vibration generator, in particular formed by, as indicated above, a double, i.e. loop-shaped vibrat ing wire, comprising horizontal portions which extend sub stantially transversely of the vertical crop wire lowerers between two, preferably (somewhat) rotating or pivoting, coupling members, of which loop-shaped vibrating wire both ends are connected to (two, relative to each other vibrat ing connection points of) the same vibration generator, wherein, preferably, the vertical crop wire lowerers are coupled alternately to one and the other horizontal portion of the double, loop-shaped vibrating wire.

Preferably, the vibration generator, and both ends of the loop-shaped vibration wire, are at a location between both coupling members. As a result, a symmetrical and therefore stable and robust configuration is obtained which, as a whole, is very low in vibration, due to the symmetrical vi brations in mutual opposite phase. In this configuration, the vertical crop wire lowerers are preferably connected to one and the other horizontal portion of the double, loop shaped vibrating wire so that the vertical crop wire lower ers are slightly tilted at rest, with their lower connec tion point slightly displaced towards the location of the vibrator motor, all this in such a way that, by the thus slightly inclined crop wire lowerers in combination with the weight of the plants suspended from the horizontal crop wires, a horizontal tensile force (pre- or bias tension) is exerted on the relevant piece of the vibrating wire between that (slightly displaced) lower connection point and the connection point of the vibrating wire with the vibration generator. The effect of coupling the crop wire lowerers and the vibrating wire in such a way that the crop wire lowerers hang slightly at an angle (relative to absolutely vertical) is that the weight of the plants creates a hori zontal tensile force vector (pre-tension) in the vibrating wire, causing that the vibrating wire, without additional means, retains good tensile stress, whereby the vibrations are efficiently and effectively transmitted to the crop wires and the plants hanging thereon, without loss of effi ciency as a result of a weak vibrating wire or parts thereof.

In this way it is achieved that due to the vibrating move ment of the vibrating wire, generated by the vibration gen erator, the vertical crop wire lowerers are vibrated, whereby the horizontal crop wires, on which the plants hang, also start to vibrate, as a result of which the pol len in the blossoms of the plants is released and thus the plants pollinate and fertilize each other.

By using the loop-shaped vibrating wire, the speed of the vibration can be better controlled and the process is more stable. By connecting the vibrating wire to the crop wire lowerers it is possible, by move it slightly inclined, for example about 3 cm (compared to absolutely vertical) to wards the vibration generator, so that the pulling forces make it possible to pollinate a larger number of plant rows by vibrating, so that the cost of the whole system accord ing to the invention is very competitive. Due to the pro posed double (returning, revolving) vibrating wire system with (for example) revolving wheels or tumblers, all wires will have the same vibration.

The invention will now be discussed in more detail with reference to the figure description below.

Figure 1 shows an exemplary embodiment of a device ac cording to the invention.

Figure 1 shows an exemplary embodiment of a device accord ing to the invention for growing fruit-bearing greenhouse plants such as tomatoes, peppers, etc., comprising a sus pension system 1 with plant hooks la, which is arranged to make plant parts 2, including blossoms, to extend upwards through them by means of suitable coupling means lb to be suspended from horizontal plant wires 3 extending in (the length or width of the) the greenhouse.

The horizontal crop wires 3 are largely (at their ends they are generally connected to the greenhouse wall frame) sus pended from substantially vertical crop wire lowerers 4, which are connected at their top sides (or top connection points) 4a to (the top frame of) the greenhouse.

The device according to the invention comprises a (at least one) vibration generator 5, for example a vibrating motor or vibrating magnet, and a vibrating wire 6 comprising vi brating wire sections 6a (subsections 6a' and 6a") and 6b connected thereto (on both sides) which extend substan tially transverse to (the main direction of the) vertical crop wire lowerers 4 and are coupled to at least a part thereof by means of couplings.

All this is arranged such that, in operation, the (at least one) vibration generator 5 induces a (substantially longi tudinal) vibration (see arrows 7a and 7b) in the vibrating wire sections 6a and 6b.

The vibrating wire sections 6a and 6b, which together form a loop-shaped vibrating wire 6, extend substantially trans versely of the vertical crop wire lowerers 4 between two, preferably to some extent rotating or pivoting coupling members 8, for example designed as rollers or swing yokes, for example connected to the sides of the greenhouse, both ends 6c of the vibrating wire 6, loop-shaped in this way, being connected to the same vibration generator 5.

The vertical crop wire lowerers 4 are coupled, at their lower connection points 4b, alternately with the one and the other vibrating wire section 6a and 6b respectively, which together form a double, loop-shaped vibrating wire 6. By alternately coupling the vertical crop wire lowerers 4 with the one vibrating wire section 6a and the other vi brating wire section 6b (which together thus form a double, loop-shaped vibrating wire 6), the adjacent vertical plant wire lowerers 4, and therefore also the horizontal crop wires 3 suspended from them, mutually in opposite phase whereby the mutual vibration amplitude doubles but, at the same time, the entire vibration system is, due to the mu tual opposite phase symmetry, more balanced and external vibrations are minimized.

In the exemplary embodiment shown in Figure 1, the vibra tion generator 5 and both ends 6c of the loop-shaped vibra tion wire 6 are located at a location 9 between both cou pling members 8. In an alternative embodiment (not shown), the vibration generator 5 and both ends 6c of the loop shaped vibration wire 6 are substantially located at or near the location of one of the two coupling members 8 (for instance on a side of the greenhouse). In that case, the vibration generator 5 can form part of or be directly cou pled to the relevant coupling member 8 on that side of the greenhouse.

The device further comprises control means which are (inter alia) arranged to ensure that the vibration generator (s) can operate intermittently, for instance once per hour for a maximum of 10 seconds.

In the configuration shown in figure 1, the vertical crop wire lowerers 4 are preferably so connected with the one and the other horizontal portion 6a, respectively 6b of the double, loop-shaped vibrating wire 6, so that the vertical crop wire lowerers 4 at rest (dotted lines 4') hang slightly inclined (compare the vertical /perpendicular line 4c drawn in the figure), i.e. with their lower connec tion point 4b slightly (for example about 3 cm) ) moved into the direction of the location of the vibration genera tor 5, all this in such a way that, by means of the verti cal crop wire lowerers 4 suspended in this way slightly in clined, in combination with the weight of the plants 2 sus pended from the horizontal crop wires 3, a horizontal ten sile force F is exerted on the relevant piece of the vi brating wire 6a resp. 6b between that lower connection point 4b and the connection point of the vibrating wire with the vibration generator 5. The effect of coupling the crop wire lowerer 4 and the vibrating wire 6 in such a way that the crop wire lowerers 4 hang slightly inclined (with respect to absolutely vertical, see perpendicular 4c), is that due to the weight of the plants 2 a horizontal tensile force vector F is created in the vibrating wire 6, due to which the vibrating wire, without additional means, remains well at tensile stress, whereby the vibrations are effi ciently and effectively transmitted to the plant wires 3 and the plants 2 hanging thereon, without loss of effi ciency due to a slack vibrating wire 6 or parts thereof.

The present invention thus provides an improved embodiment of a device for growing fruit-bearing greenhouse plants, comprising a vibration generator for mutual pollination of the greenhouse plants, in which a substantially better and more efficient transmission and distribution of the mechan ical vibrations to the greenhouse plants can be achieved than was previously possible. By using the loop-shaped vi brating wire ("revolving wire"), the speed of the vibration can be better controlled and the process and the system are more stable. By arranging the crop wire lowerers slightly at an angle, the vibrating wire is kept at (pre) tension and a larger number of plant rows can be pollinated by vi bration in this way, as a result of which the costs of the entire system according to the invention are very competi tive and the system as a whole has a low-vibration opera tion.