Organisms

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to improvements in and relating to controlling characteristics of photosynthetic organisms. The invention includes a method for controlling one or more characteristics of a photosynthetic organism and a system for providing control over one or more characteristics of a photosynthetic organism.

BACKGROUND ART Recent studies have shown that certain characteristics of photosynthetic organisms can be controlled by way of application of particular wavelengths of light. Non-limiting examples of characteristics that may be controlled include, a reduction in transplantation shock, alteration in colour, alteration in taste, reduction in disease, hardiness and/or transplant shelf life. The ability to reliably reproduce desirable characteristics in a photosynthetic organism requires a high degree of control over the dose of light, or regime of light dosages, in a treatment that the photosynthetic organism is subjected to.

Current systems that may be used for providing a dose of light to a photosynthetic organism are limited in their ability to provide the necessary high degree of control over the correct wavelengths, intensity and duration of light in a dose of light or dosages in a particular treatment. Each of the attributes of wavelength, intensity and duration play a significant role in the reproducibility of desirable characteristics. Therefore systems that do not provide control over any one of these attributes is unlikely to be able to provide the necessary reproducibility of desirable photosynthetic organism characteristics that a commercial system for providing a treatment in the form of a dosage of light would require. A further disadvantage of current systems that may be used to provide a dose of light to a photosynthetic organism is one of scale. It will be appreciated that in a laboratory environment a single fixed light array may be used to treat a small number of photosynthetic organisms to determine the effect of a particular dose of light. However, on a commercial scale the number of photosynthetic organisms requiring a light treatment may require a vastly larger light array and correspondingly a large number of light emitters. Typically light emitters that produce wavelengths of light that are outside of the standard human visible light spectrum are expensive. Therefore the cost of producing a large light array of sufficient size to make a commercial photosynthetic organism dosing system commercially viable may be cost prohibitive. It is an object of the present invention to address the foregoing problems or at least to provide the public with a useful choice.

All references, including any patents or patent applications cited in this specification are hereby incorporated by reference. No admission is made that any reference constitutes prior art. The discussion of the references states what their authors assert, and the applicants reserve the right to challenge the accuracy and pertinency of the cited documents. It will be clearly understood that, although a number of prior art publications are referred to herein, this reference does not constitute an admission that any of these documents form part of the common general knowledge in the art, in New Zealand or in any other country. Throughout this specification, the word "comprise", or variations thereof such as "comprises" or "comprising", will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated element, integer or step, or group of elements integers or steps, but not the exclusion of any other element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or steps.

Further aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the ensuing description which is given by way of example only.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a system for dosing photosynthetic organisms with a controlled dose of light. It will be appreciated that photosynthetic organisms rely on sunlight for processes such as photosynthesis. The term photosynthetic organism should be understood to refer to any organism, plant or animal that uses sunlight for the production of its own energy.

Particular wavelengths of natural light have been found to alter certain characteristics of photosynthetic organisms, for example their hardiness, colouration, flavour and disease and insect resistance, increased post-harvest and increased biosynthesis of valuable bio compounds. The present invention provides a system with which a photosynthetic organism can be subjected to a controlled dose of light in order to induce desirable characteristics in that photosynthetic organism.

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a light dosing system configured to direct light onto a target area, the light dosing system including: a) one or more light emitters positioned above the target area; b) a means for controlling one or more characteristics of the light emitted by the light

emitters; c) a conveyor configured to alter the relative positions of the light emitters and the target area; and d) a lighting controller configured to read a media having a predefined dosage regime stored thereon, wherein the lighting controller is configured to alter one or more characteristics of the light emitted by the, or each, of the one or more light emitters onto the target area in accordance with the predefined dosage regime.

In preferred embodiments the lighting controller may be programmed with one or more predefined dosage regimes.

A dosage regime should be understood to refer to a defined application of wavelengths of light to the target area. Each dosage regime will define a particular treatment for a photosynthetic organism located in the target area. Typically the dosage regime will define the wavelengths of light to be used, the intensity of those wavelengths of light and the period of time that the wavelengths are to be applied.

It will be appreciated that programming of the lighting controller with a predefined dosage regime may be performed in a number of ways, such as recording a dataset indicative of dwell times, light intensities and light emitters to activate or deactivate and rate of conveyance. It will be appreciated that the dataset will be readable and be able to be executed by the lighting controller. These aspects of the invention are considered to be well known in the art of embedded software design and are therefore aspects that would be well known to a person skilled in the art. Alternative embodiments may include a manually adjustable interface through which one or more dosage regimes can be defined. A manually adjustable interface should be understood to refer to an interface that may optionally include manually configurable timers, intensity adjustments, cycle counters and/or the like.

In preferred embodiments the one or more dosage regimes are stored on a computer readable medium readable and executable by the lighting controller.

The light incident onto a target area may be provided in a number of ways without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example the light may be projected directly onto the target area from one or more light emitters. Alternatively, the light may be directed from one or more light emitters through one or more lenses, filters or light directing means onto the target area.

Preferably there will be a plurality of light emitters associated with the light dosing system. However, some embodiments (especially those operating over a smaller target area) may only require one light emitter. For the purposes of clarity the specification will refer to light emitters, it should however be appreciated that this term refers to both single and multiple light emitter configurations. In preferred embodiments each light emitter is positioned above the target area. It will be appreciated that being positioned above the target area defines a vertical component to the relative positioning of the light emitters relative to the target area.

In preferred embodiments there is an array of light emitters. The light emitters may take any number of forms without departing form the scope of the present invention. In some embodiments a number of different light emitters may be used in order to achieve a light dose that incorporates a desired range of light wavelengths. For example a combination of one or more of fluorescent, LED, HID, Halogen, mercury vapor or any other number of lighting technologies may be used for a desired light dose. In preferred embodiments the means for controlling the one or more characteristics of the light emitted by the light emitters includes one or more filters.

In some preferred embodiments the means for controlling the one or more characteristics of the light emitted by the light emitters may include electronic control of the light emitters. It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that characteristics such as the intensity and wavelength(s) of light produced by some light emitters may be varied by altering the voltage/current supplied to the light emitters.

It will be appreciated by a skilled person that the light produced by a particular lighting technology may include wavelengths of light that are not desirable in a particular light dose.

Removal of undesirable wavelengths may be performed in a number of ways, for example, adding materials between the light emitters to filter and thereby block undesirable wavelengths of light from reaching the target area from the light emitters. For the purposes of the present application adding any materials for the purposes of blocking wavelengths of light should be understood to be encompassed within the definition of filtering. Filtering may be achieved by lenses, coatings or passing the light through specific materials. The exact configuration of the filter(s) should not be seen as being limiting and could be configured in any number of forms, such as, band pass, band stop, low pass or high pass configurations.

In preferred embodiments the means for controlling the one or more characteristics of the light emitted by the light emitters includes selective activation of light emitters that produce light having a specific spectral content. It will be appreciated that different technologies of light emitters may be more effective, in terms of cost, or efficiency, at producing particular wavelengths of light. This may result in the use of a number of different light sources to produce a range of light wavelengths that may be useable in a light dose. For a particular dose some wavelengths may be required, only necessitating a small number of the available light sources to be activated. For other doses more, or even all, available wavelengths may be required, necessitating all of the available light emitters to be activated.

In some preferred embodiments the light emitted by the light emitters onto the target area may have a spectral content having wavelengths in the UV-A range of substantially 320 nm - 400 nm.

The application of UV-A wavelengths elicit a range of known responses in photosynthetic organisms, non-limiting examples of which include leaf colour development in plants and elicitation of secondary metabolites in certain algae. It may also be desirable that UV-A wavelengths are excluded from a particular dosage. For example excluding UV-A wavelengths may be useful in insect pest vision disruption, or reduction of plant pathogen sporulation.

In some preferred embodiments the light emitted by the light emitters onto the target area may have a spectral content having wavelengths in the UV-B range of substantially 280 nm - 320 nm.

UV-B wavelengths elicit a range of known responses in photosynthetic organisms. Non-limiting examples in plants include, stimulating increases in leaf thickness, induction of secondary metabolism activity, and reductions in stem elongation.

In some preferred embodiments the light emitted by the light emitters onto the target area may have a spectral content having wavelengths in the range of substantially 622 nm to 780 nm (Red). Red wavelengths are an important component of photosynthetically active radiation utilized by photosynthetic organisms for photosynthetic activity. The balance of particular red wavelengths is also known to regulate stem and leaf elongation rates.

In some preferred embodiments the light emitted by the light emitters onto the target area may have a spectral content having wavelengths in the range of substantially 455 nm to 492 nm (Blue).

Blue wavelengths are an important component of photosynthetically active radiation utilized by photosynthetic organisms for photosynthetic activity. Blue light is also required for most photosynthetic organisms to routinely repair and thus limit day-to-day damage to genetic material, as may be caused by UV wavelengths. Preferred embodiments of the lighting controller controls one or more of:

• the light intensity;

• the spectral content of the light emitted by the lighting system;

• the directionality of the light emitted by the lighting system; and/or • the duration of time over which light is emitted.

The ability to control the intensity, spectral content, directionality and duration of light presented in a particular light dosage allows characteristics of a photosynthetic organism in the target area to be manipulated in highly reproducible and controlled manner. Furthermore, the greater the control that is provided over the light dosage the greater the measurability of the response to a photosynthetic organism in the target area to that dose.

The intensity of the light produced by the light emitters may be controlled by one, or both of, electronic means or mechanical means.

Examples of suitable electronic control means may include, but should not be limited to pulse width modulation, current limiting, voltage limiting or the selective switching on or off of one or more light emitters.

Mechanical means for controlling the intensity may include mechanical filters or moving the light emitters relative to the target area, i.e. closer for increased intensity and more distant for decreased intensity. Spectral content may be controlled in a number of non-limiting ways, such as: selectively activating various light emitters which produce different wavelength light outputs; mechanically switching filters into and out of the path of light emitted by one or more of the light emitters, or by altering the voltage/current into a particular light emitter.

The directionality of the light may be controlled by way of mechanically adjusting the angle of a framework to which the light emitters are attached.

In preferred embodiments the lighting controller controls the rate of conveyance of the one or more light emitters.

It will be appreciated that the conveyor may take any number of forms without departing form the scope of the present invention. One non-limiting example is a movable gantry, or similar framework. A gantry may be self- propelling, i.e. it incorporates a motor and drive assembly, or alternatively it may be pulled by cables or the like. The conveyor may in some embodiments move the target area under the light emitters rather than moving the light emitters. For example the target area may be a portion of a conveyor system. In preferred embodiments the conveyor is configured to adjustably locate the one or more light emitters over the target area.

In some embodiments, such as in large glasshouses, the target area may comprise a large physical area. In such cases it becomes cost prohibitive to include an array of light emitters of sufficient size to provide an effective dose of light to the full target area. In such cases a smaller mobile array of light emitters may be provided which can be mobilized so as to be capable of providing, over time, a light dose to the entire target area.

It may also be the case that the number of light emitters required to provide the desired intensity or wavelengths of light to the target area cannot be physically fitted on a single array. In such embodiments the array of light emitters and associated lenses, filters and or framework becomes physically larger than the area being dosed. A moveable array allows the physical dimensions of the array of light emitters to be larger than the dosage area whilst maximizing the target area that can be dosed. Preferably the conveyor is configured to provide adjustment of the spacing between the one or more light emitters and the target area. The spacing may be adjusted vertically and/or horizontally with respect to the target area.

One limitation of many types of light emitters is that they produce light diffusely. Therefore, as the distance from the light emitters to the target area increases the intensity of the dosage is reduced. Similarly, as the distance between the light emitters and the target area decreases the intensity increases. It will be appreciated that as photosynthetic organisms grow the distance between the target area (the photosynthetic organism) and the light emitters decreases, effectively adjusting the dosage received.

Vertical adjustment of the light array provides a convenient means by which the dosage can be maintained as a photosynthetic organism grows.

In addition, in cases whereby a low dosage is required the light emitters can be moved further from the target area so as to provide a low intensity dose over a larger target area. In contrast a high intensity dose can be provided to a small target area by moving the light emitters closer to the target area. This has the advantage of providing both low and high dose levels at constant light emitter intensity.

Preferably the lighting controller includes one or more microprocessors.

In some embodiments the light dosing system may include a light sensor positioned at or near the target area.

Preferably the sensor provides feedback to the lighting controller. Locating a light sensor at or near the target area allows the microprocessor to dynamically adjust the light produced by the light emitters to provide a desired light intensity at the target. It will be appreciated that in a glasshouse situation the presence and intensity of natural light may be used by the light dosing system to schedule dosages of light. Use of a light sensor may also be used to measure the levels of natural light so as to allow the light dosage system to supplement the existing light levels to provide a desired dosage. In some preferred embodiments the lighting controller alters one or more characteristics of the light emitted by the light emitters onto the target area based on sensor feedback.

In some preferred embodiments the lighting controller is configured to adjust the dosage or select a particular dosage regime based on the feedback from a sensor. For example a particular photosynthetic organism may be identified by the sensor and the lighting controller may select a dosage regime based on the organism identified, or on the size, colour or some other attribute of the organism that is detected by the sensor.

It will be appreciated by the skilled person that the configuration of the light dosing system will depend upon both feedback from the sensor(s) as well as the dosage regime that has currently been selected. Aspects such as array height, rate of conveyance and emitter intensity may vary between instances of the same dosage regime based on the feedback from the sensor(s).

According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of controlling a light dosing system, the light dosing system including one or more light emitters, a means for controlling one or more characteristics of the light emitted by the light emitters onto a target area, a conveyor configured to alter the relative positions of the light emitters and the target area, and a lighting controller configured to control one or more characteristics of the light emitted by the light emitters, the method including the steps of: a) controlling one or more characteristics of the light emitted by the light emitters onto the target area by way of the lighting controller, b) conveying the one or more light emitters by way of the conveyor.

In some embodiments the method may include the additional step of providing feedback of the dosage of light from a light sensor to the lighting controller. Preferably in response to feedback from the light sensor the lighting controller is configured to alter one or more characteristics of the light emitted by the light emitters.

According to yet a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of controlling a photosynthetic organism characteristic using a light dosing system, the light dosing system including one or more light emitters, a means for controlling one or more characteristics of the light emitted by the light emitters onto a target area, a conveyor configured to alter the relative positions of the light emitters and the target area, and a lighting controller configured to control one or more characteristics of the light emitted by the light emitters, the method including the steps of: a) locating one or more photosynthetic organisms in the target area; b) controlling one or more characteristics of the light emitted by light emitters onto the photosynthetic organisms in the target area.

Preferably the step of controlling one or more characteristics of the light emitted by the light emitters includes controlling one or more of:

• the intensity of the light produced by the light emitters;

• one or more aspects of the spectral content of the light emitted by the light emitters; · the directionality of the light emitted by the light emitters;

• the position of the light emitters over the target area;

• the height of the light emitters above the target area, and/or

• the duration of time over which light is emitted by the light emitters. Preferably the photosynthetic organism characteristic being controlled is one or more of: · hardiness;

• transplantation shock;

• post-harvest handling;

• shelf life;

• colour; · taste; and/or

• disease resistance.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention may provide a number of advantages over the prior art, non-limiting examples of which include:

• providing a system that allows a controlled light dose to be applied to a target area in a reproducable and commercially scalable manner.

• Providing a system that allows a characteristic of a photosynthetic organism to be reproducably controlled on a commercial scale by way of a controlled dose of light to a target area in which the photosynthetic organism is located. • Providing a system that allows a controlled dose of light to be reproducably generated in which the wavelengths, intensity and duration of light dose is controlled.

Providing a system that requires few light emitters relative to the size of the target area.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further aspects of the present invention will become apparent from the ensuing description which is given by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a first system for dosing photosynthetic organisms in accordance with one preferred embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2 shows a perspective view of a second system for dosing photosynthetic

organisms in accordance with one preferred embodiment of the present invention; Figure 3 shows a perspective view of a third system for dosing photosynthetic organisms in accordance with one preferred embodiment of the present invention; and

Figure 4 shows a perspective view of a lighting module in accordance with one preferred embodiment of the present invention.

BEST MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

With reference to Figures 1 to 3 there are shown three variations of systems for dosing photosynthetic organisms in the form of plants with a controlled dose of light. It should however be appreciated that the systems described with reference to Figures 1 to 3 could be configured for dosing other photosynthetic organisms. Figure 1 illustrates a first system 1 a which provides conveyance of lighting array 4 in X and Z directions.

The second system 1 b of Figure 2 provides conveyance of lighting array 4 in X, Y and Z directions.

The third system 1 c of Figure 3 provides motion in X, Y, Z directions. The systems 1 a, 1 b and 1 c shown in Figures 1 to 3 illustrate that there are a numerous variations possible in the physical configuration of the present invention. It should also be appreciated that the scale of the gantry 11 shown in Figures 1 and 2 may be scaled to industrial size gantry systems such as those commonly found in factories.

The light dosing systems 1 a, 1 b and 1c are each configured to direct light onto a target area 2, shown as hashed, within which, in use, one or more plants (not shown) will be positioned. It will be appreciated that the number of plants which can be dosed is limited only by the scale of the light dosing system. It is however envisaged that commercial system will be capable of dosing several thousand plants.

Each of the light dosing systems 1 a, 1 , 1 c includes light emitters 3 (shown in Figure 4) attached to a lighting module 4. The lighting module 4 may simply carry the light emitters 3, however in some cases it may form a heat-sink, or contain drive circuitry, for the light emitters should either be required. The lighting module 4 and attached light emitters 3 are positioned above the target area 2 such that the light emitted from the light emitters 3 is directed downwards onto the target area 2 and, in use, any plants within the target area 2.

Microprocessor and associated electronic drive circuitry 5 control one or more characteristics of the light emitted by the light emitters 3. It will be appreciated that the microprocessor and associated drive circuitry 5 will vary depending upon the topology of the light emitters 3 used and the number of sensors or the like used by the system. The microprocessor and associated drive circuitry 5 is configured to control the light intensity, the spectral content, the directionality of and the duration of time over which light is emitted by the light emitters 3, all in accordance with a predefined dosage regime (not shown). The predefined dosage regime may be programmed into the microprocessor or an associated media readable by the microprocessor. Programming of the microprocessor with new or additional dosage regimes could be achieved in any number of ways, such as, but not limited to, the addition of additional media such as a memory module, programming of the media readable by the microprocessor or the

microprocessor's memory by way of USB or wireless technology or by entering an additional dosage regime by way of a user interface associated with the microprocessor.

Each of the systems 1 a, 1 b and 1 c control the intensity of the light by a combination of adjusting the drive voltage/current supplied to the light emitters 3 and physically moving the lighting module 4 to which the light emitters 3 are attached. The drive voltage adjustment varies depending on the light emitter 3 topology, for example LEDs may use pulse width modulation (PWM), or current control. Other light emitter technologies may use one or more of current control, voltage control or PWM.

In systems 1 a, 1 b and 1 c movement of the lighting module 4 is performed by an electronic actuator in the form of vertical adjustment motor 6. By moving the lighting module 4 closer towards the target area 2 the intensity of light on the target area 2 can be increased and by moving the lighting module 4 further away from the target area 2 the intensity of light can be reduced. In some embodiments the vertical adjustability of the lighting array 4 may be performed manually rather than being automatically adjusted by the system.

The spectral content of the light incident on the target area 2 is controlled by way of the selective activation of different light emitters 3. The light emitters 3 may be arranged in groups according to the wavelengths of light they produce, or in groups of dissimilar wavelength producing light emitters. It will be appreciated that the light emitters in the array may be arranged in a number of ways without departing from the scope of the present invention. The aspects of the light emitter are discussed in further detail in relation to Figure 4.

Each of the systems 1 a, 1 b, 1c includes a conveyor, Figures 1 and 2 use a gantry 7. The gantry of Figure 1 provides travel in the X direction and the gantry of Figure 2 provides travel in both the X and Y directions. The size and shape of the gantry may vary without limitation and, in use, will be configured to suit a particular size of installation.

Alternative embodiments may use other forms of conveyor rather than a gantry system, for example in the system 1c of figure 3 the lighting array remains stationary whilst a portion of a conveyor belt 20 passes through the target area 2. Systems that use a conveyor belt will typically have a lighting array that is fixed in an X and Y direction but may include a variable Y axis, or height, relative to the conveyor belt. At any particular instant in time the target area is the region of the moving conveyor belt that is being illuminated by the light emitters. That particular instant of a target area moves relative to the light emitters as time passes. The function of the conveyor 7 is to move a relatively small lighting module 4 relative to a larger target area 2.

The ability to move the lighting module 4 relative to the target area 2 reduces the cost of the lighting module 4, due to the reduced number of light emitters necessary to cover a particular target area, as well as allowing a larger variety of light emitters to be positionable over a particular target area.

The conveyor of Figures 1 , 2 and 3 also provide vertical adjustment of the lighting module 4 by way of motors 6. Vertical adjustment allows the intensity of a light dose to be adjusted as well as a particular dosage intensity to be maintained as the plants being dosed grow and move closer to the lighting module 4. The vertical adjustment of the lighting module may be performed automatically by the system, or alternatively the vertical adjustment may be performed manually.

With reference to Figure 4 there is shown a lighting module 4 as used by one preferred embodiment of the present invention. The lighting module 4 includes a plurality of light emitters as generally indicated by designator 3. The array shown in figure 4 includes four rows, 9a, 9b, 9c and 9d, each row comprising 1 1 individual light emitters 3. Each of the rows of light emitters 9a, 9b, 9c and 9d, comprise light emitters capable of producing light in a specific spectral range. Row 9a provides wavelengths of light in the UV-A part of the spectrum, row 9b provides wavelengths of light in the UV-B part of the spectrum, row 9c provides wavelengths of light in the blue part of the spectrum and row 9d provides wavelengths of light in the red part of the spectrum. The proximity of the individual light emitters in each of the rows 9a, 9b, 9c and 9d provides an overlap of the light emitted onto the target area by adjacent light emitters. This overlap of light emission allows the intensity of a dose to be varied by selectively activating only some of the light emitters in a particular row. For example, a maximum dosage may be applied by activating all light emitters in a row 9a, 9b, 9c, 9d, and a minimum dose may be applied by activating only one light emitter in a row 9a, 9b, 9c, 9d.

The system 1a shown in Figure 1 includes a light sensor 12 positioned in the target area 2. The light sensor 12 provides feedback of the light intensity measured at the target area 2. By monitoring the light intensity in the target area the lighting controller can adjust the height of the light emitters up or down in order to automatically achieve a desired dosage intensity. In some embodiments separate sensors may be provided for each type of wavelength that is to be used in a dosage. It will be appreciated that a typical light sensor may not have a linear response characteristic, therefore separate sensors may be needed for measurement of each desired part of the spectrum. The light dosing system of Figure 1 also includes a sensor 13 for determining the height of the lighting module from the top of the plants being dosed (not shown). In some alternative embodiments sensor 13 may include a range of sensors, optionally including humidity, pressure, temperature and colour sensors.

It will be appreciated that as the plants grow they move closer to the light emitters 3 and thereby may increase the light dosage they receive to a level greater than is desirable. By detecting the distance from the lighting module 4 to the top of the plants being dosed the lighting controller is able to automatically adjust for plant growth in order to provide the correct dosage level.

It will be appreciated that a sensor is an optional element to the system as equivalent results can be achieved by calibration of the system for a height/intensity relation and typical plant growth rates. The advantage of sensing the light levels is that the ambient lighting conditions can be factored into a dosage intensity as well as being used for cyclical timing to match natural light patterns.

Aspects of the present invention have been described by way of example only and it should be appreciated that modifications and additions may be made thereto without departing from the scope thereof as defined in the appended claims.