Multi-nozzle misting system for an indoor gardening appliance
An indoor gardening appliance includes a liner defining a grow chamber and a grow tower mounted within the grow chamber for receiving a plurality of plant pods. A hydration assembly is positioned within a root chamber and includes an upper nozzle mounted to a top wall of the root chamber, an inverted tripod mounted to the top wall of the root chamber for supporting a lower fluid conduit, a lower nozzle mounted on the lower fluid conduit proximate a bottom of the root chamber, and a valve assembly for selectively and independently regulating the flow of fluid through the upper nozzle and the lower nozzle.
1. A gardening appliance defining a vertical direction, the gardening appliance comprising:
a liner positioned within a cabinet and defining a grow chamber;
a grow tower rotatably mounted within the liner and defining a root chamber;
a plurality of apertures defined through the grow tower, the plurality of apertures being configured for receiving a plurality of plant pods that grow a plurality of plants;
a hydration system for hydrating the plurality of plants, the hydration system comprising:
a water supply for supplying a flow of fluid;
an upper nozzle mounted proximate a top of the root chamber;
a lower nozzle mounted proximate a bottom of the root chamber;
a valve assembly for selectively regulating the flow of fluid through the upper nozzle and the lower nozzle; and
an inverted tripod mounted to a top wall of the root chamber, the inverted tripod being configured to support a lower fluid conduit fluidly coupled to the lower nozzle.
2. The gardening appliance of claim 1 , wherein the grow tower defines a flared bottom end where the root chamber widens, and wherein the lower nozzle is positioned at the flared bottom end.
3. The gardening appliance of claim 1 , wherein the upper nozzle is oriented downward along the vertical direction and the lower nozzle is oriented upward along the vertical direction.
4. The gardening appliance of claim 1 , wherein the upper nozzle and the lower nozzle have different spray patterns.
5. The gardening appliance of claim 1 , wherein the upper nozzle sprays in an 80 degree cone and the lower nozzle sprays in a 120 degree cone.
6. The gardening appliance of claim 1 , wherein the lower nozzle sprays substantially along a radial direction.
7. The gardening appliance of claim 1 , wherein the hydration system comprises a plurality of upper nozzles and a plurality of lower nozzles.
8. The gardening appliance of claim 1 , wherein the valve assembly comprises:
a first valve fluidly coupled to the upper nozzle for regulating the flow of fluid through the upper nozzle; and
a second valve fluidly coupled to the lower nozzle for regulating the flow of fluid through the lower nozzle.
9. The gardening appliance of claim 1 , further comprising a controller operably coupled to valve assembly, the controller being configured to:
provide a larger volume of fluid to the upper nozzle than the lower nozzle.
10. The gardening appliance of claim 1 , wherein both the upper nozzle and the lower nozzle are mounted along a central axis of the grow tower.
11. The gardening appliance of claim 1 , wherein the lower fluid conduit passes down along a central axis of the grow tower.
12. The gardening appliance of claim 1 , wherein the lower fluid conduit comprises rigid tubing that is cantilevered from a bottom of the inverted tripod.
13. The gardening appliance of claim 1 , wherein the grow tower comprises a plurality of partitions extending substantially along a radial direction to define a plurality of grow chambers spaced apart along a circumferential direction, and wherein arms of the inverted tripod are aligned with the plurality of partitions.
14. A hydration system for a gardening appliance, the gardening appliance comprising a grow tower rotatably mounted within a liner and defining a root chamber, the hydration system comprising:
a water supply for supplying a flow of fluid;
an upper nozzle mounted proximate a top of the root chamber;
a lower nozzle mounted proximate a bottom of the root chamber;
a valve assembly for selectively regulating the flow of fluid through the upper nozzle and the lower nozzle; and
an inverted tripod mounted to a top wall of the root chamber, the inverted tripod being configured to support a lower fluid conduit fluidly coupled to the lower nozzle.
15. The hydration system of claim 14 , wherein the grow tower defines a flared bottom end where the root chamber widens, and wherein the lower nozzle is positioned at the flared bottom end.
16. The hydration system of claim 14 , wherein the valve assembly comprises:
a first valve fluidly coupled to the upper nozzle for regulating the flow of fluid through the upper nozzle; and
a second valve fluidly coupled to the lower nozzle for regulating the flow of fluid through the lower nozzle.
17. The hydration system of claim 14 , wherein the lower fluid conduit comprises rigid tubing that is cantilevered from a bottom of the inverted tripod.
18. The hydration system of claim 14 , wherein the grow tower comprises a plurality of partitions extending substantially along a radial direction to define a plurality of grow chambers spaced apart along a circumferential direction, and wherein arms of the inverted tripod are aligned with the plurality of partitions.