GB2241860A - Automatic water-feeding cultivation apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

A liquid feeding apparatus for use in cultivation of a plant comprises a first pot 12 having an open upper end, a side wall and a bottom plate, thereby defining an inner recess in which a plant is implanted, a liquid tank 14 for reserving liquid to be supplied to the first pot, liquid passage means 15 connected in liquid communication between the inner recess of the first pot and the liquid tank and liquid feed controlling means for controlling liquid communication therebetween. Liquid may he fed by means of air pump 18 supplying air to tank 14 to displace liquid via means 15 into holder 11a, the liquid entering pot 12 through holes 12a. Pump 18 may be controlled by liquid level sensor 22 or 27. In a further embodiment (Fig. 5) a liquid feeding pump is employed. <IMAGE>

Description

AUTOMATIC 1_1o,(,(,,pFFEDING CULTIVATION APPARATUS The present invention

relates to a cultivation apparatus such as a flowerpot, and more particularly to a cultivation apparatus in which a 1; u;tlevel is moved up and down by an air pressure or the like to automatically supply ti,u;cto a plant.

There are conventional methods for automatically supplying water to a potted plant, such as a method for dropping water from ab:,ve the p.-,-and another method for providing a water tral, belc.,,.. the Pot.

However, since the water level is often changed in the foregoing methods, the conventional methods suffer from problems that a root of the Flant. would be rotted or undesired gas generated by the plant, is retained to degrade the growth circumstances of the plant.

In order to overcome the above-noted defects, an object of the present invention is to provide an automatic liquid feeding cultivation apparatus in which liquid such as water is automatically supplied to or discharged from an inner pot in which the plant is implanted so that an extra 2 water in the pot may be avoided and undesired gas generated from the plant may be exhausted from the pot to ensure desired circumstances for the growth of the plant.

This and other objects may be attained by providing a liquid feeding apparatus for use in cultivation of a plant comprising: a first pot having an open upper end, a side wall and a bottom plate, thereby defining an inner recess in which a plant is implanted; a liquid tank for reserving liquid to be supplied to the first pot; liquid passage means connected in liquid communication between the inner recess of the first pot and the liquid tank; and liquid feed controlling means for controlling liquid communication therebetween.

According to another aspect of the invention, the liquid feeding apparatus further comprises a second pot having an upper open end, a side wall and a bottom plate, thereby defining an inner recess for receiving the first pot therein, and the liquid passage means comprises a liquid pipe connected in liquid communication between the liquid tank and the inner recess of the second pot and liquid communication means connected in liquid communication between the inner recess of the second pot and the inner recess of the first pot.

According to still another aspect, the liquid feed controlling means comprises means for feeding air into and discharging air from the liquid tank and means for control ling the air feeding and discharging means, the liquid communication between the liquid tank and the recess of the first pot being performed in accordance with air 'fed into and discharged from the liquid tank.

Furthermore, the bottom plate of the f irst pot may preferably be positioned in spaced apart relation to the bottom plate of the second pot, thereby defining a liquid reservoir portion between the bottom plates of the first and second pots for storing liquid therein.

According to the automatic liquid supplying cultivation apparatus with the foregoing arrangement, the liquid within the liquid feeding tank is automatically supplied into the first pot, thereby imparting liquid to the plant and at the same time exhausting from, the pot undesired gas generated by the plant, to ensure desired circumstances for the growth of the plant.

The invention will be further described b,,,- waY of non-limitative example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:- Fig. 1 is a side elevational sectional view showing a hydroponic cultivation apparatus according to a first embodiment of the invention; Figs. 2 to 4 show a second embodiment of the invention, Fig. 2 being a perspective view showing an automatic water feed pot of the second embodiment, Fig. 3 being a side elevational sectional view showing the pot, and Fig. 4 being d a block diagram showing an electrical equipment for the pot; and Fig. 5 is a side elevational sectional view showing an automatic water feed pot according to a third embodiment of the invention.

According to the f irst embodiment of the present invention, a hydroponic cultivation apparatus comprises: an inner pot where a plant may be implanted; a tank provided below the inner pot for reserving therein liquid such as water; a water leading pipe serving as a water path from the tank to the inner pot; an air pump for supplying air to the tank; a discharge valve solenoid for discharging air from the tank; and a control means for controlling said air pump and said discharge valve solenoild for supplying water to the inner pot and discharging water from the inner pot.

With such an arrangement, when the control means controls the air pump to feed air to the tank, the water within the tank is supplied to the plant by the air pressure. At the same time, undesired gas which is generated from the plant and stays inside the inner pot is exhausted from the inner pot.

The first embodiment will be described in more detail - 5 with reference to Fig. 1.

As shown in Fig. 1, the hydroponic cultivation apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment includes an inner pot 12, an outer pot 11 surrounding the inner pot 12, a nutritious liquid tank 14 provided below the outer pot 11, and a pump chamber 10 provided within the nutritious liquid tank 14.

The inner pot 12 has an open upper end, a side wall and a bottom plate, thereby defining an inner recess in which a plant 30 is implanted. The outer pot 11 has an open upper end, a side wall and a bottom plate, thereby defining an inner recess lla for receiving the inner pot 12 therein, as follows.

In the inner pot 12, porous stones 13 are received, and a plant 30 is implanted in the stones 13. The inner pot 12 is provided in its bottom with a plurality of throughholes 12a. The outer pot 11 has an inner wall llb defining a recess portion'lla for receiving therein the inner pot 12. A water leading pipe 15 serving as a water path between the recess lla and the nutritious liquid tank 14 is provided to extend from a bottom of the recess lla to inside of the tank 14.

In a pump chamber 10, there are provided an air pump 18 for intaking air from the atmosphere and a drive source 16 such as a dry battery for driving the air pump 18. An air feeding pipe 19 for feeding air to the tank 14 is connected to the air pump 18, and an air discharge pipe 20 is provided in parallel to the air feeding pipe 19. An air discharge valve solenoid 17 is provided at the lower part of the discharge pipe 20. The discharge valve solenoid 17 is also driven by the drive source 16.

Water level sensor 22 is provided on the inner wall llb of the outer pot 11 for detecting water level in the recess 11a, and water level sensors 23, 24, 25, 26 and 27 are provided on an inner wall of the nutritious liquid tank 14 for detecting water level in the tank 14.

The water level sensor 22 for the inner recess lla and the water level sensors 23 through 27 for the tank 14 comprise electrodes 221 through 271, respectively. The electrodes 221 through 271 are connected to the control circuit 21. There is disposed a common electrode (not shown) on the inner wall of the tank 11i at a position spaced apart from a bottom of the tank 14 such that the common electrode is positioned at a level which is the same as that of the water level sensor 27 disposed at the lowest position among the sensors. The electrodes 221 through 271 are conductively connectable via nutritious liquid to the common electrode, to thereby form circuits 221' through 2711, respectively. The control circuit 21 detects which of the circuits 221' through 271' are in continuity state. In other words, the control 7 - circuit 21 detects which of the electrodes 221 through 271 are conductively connected to the common electrode via the nutritious liquid. The control circuit thus judges the water level in the tank 14 and in the recess lla.

A control circuit 21 for controlling the air pump 18 and the discharge valve solenoid 17 is provided on the upper portion of the nutritious liquid tank 14. The control circuit 21 stores therein an information on time interval for feeding water to the recess lla. Therefore, the circuit 21 controls the air pump 18 and the discharge valve solenoid 17 to feed water to the recess lla at the fixed time intervals. Furthermore, the circuit 21 controls the pump 18 and the solenoid 17 to properly feed water to the recess lla, in response to information on water level detected by the sensors 22 and 27.

The operation of the thus constructed hydroponic cultivation apparatus 1 will be described below.

The tank 14 is usually filled with nutritious liquid such as water at a water level A. In order to feed the liquid such as water to the recess lla at the fixed time intervals, the control circuit 21 starts controlling the pump 18 and the solenoid 17, so that the dry battery drives the air pump 18 to operate and the discharge valve solenoid 17 to close the valve. Therefore, external air is fed to the nutritious liquid tank 14 through the air feed pipe 19, and air pressure inside the tank is increased to cause a water level in the tank to descend to the level B. As a result, the water rises in the water leading pipe 15 to move into the inside of the recess lla. The water rises further upwardly in the recess lla. As the water rises in the recess, the water enters the inner pot 12 through the through holes 12a to rise among the stones 13 in the inner pot 12. As a result, water is supplied to the root of the plant 30 in the stones 13. Simultaneously, undesired gas which is generated by the plant 30 and is staying among the stones 13 is exhausted from the interior of the inner pot 12 to the outside by a pressure of the entered water.

When the water level in the recess lla reaches the level C to be detected by the water level sensor 22 or the water level in the tank 14 is detected by the sensor 27, the air pump 18 is stopped, and simultaneously therewith, the valve of the discharge valve solenoid 17 is opened. Air inside the tank 14 is discharged through the discharge pipe 20, and the air pressure inside the tank 14 is reduced. As a result, the water level is lowered from the level C back to the level A. Thus, the water is returned from the recess 11a to the tank 14.

As described above, in the hydroponic cultivation apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, the operation of the air pump 18 is stopped when at least one of the water level 4 9 - sensors 22 and 27 detects the water level, so that it is possible to certainly stop the operation of the air pump, even in the case where an amount of the water reserved in the tank 14 is small. Following are reasons why the operation of the air pump is controlled not only by the sensor 22 but also by the sensor 27 in this embodiment: In the case where the operation of the air pump is controlled by only the sensor 22, if the amount of the water reserved in the tank 14 is small, water level cannot reach the water level C even when all the water reserved in the tank 14 is transferred into the recess lla. Therefore, the sensor 22 cannot detect the water level, to thereby let the air pump continue operating even when no water is remained in the tank 14. To the contrary, according to this embodiment of the present invention, the operation of the air pump is stopped when at least one of the sensors 22 and 27 detects the water level. Therefore, even in the case where the amount of water reserved in the tank is small and the water level in the recess lla cannot reach the level C, the sensor 27 can detect the water level in the tank, so that the operation of the air pump 18 is certainly stopped. As apparent from the above description, it is possible to certainly stop the operation of the air pump, according to this embodiment of the present, invention.

According to the present invention, the air discharge valve solenoid 17 may be eliminated, in the case where the air pump 18 has.such a low airtight property as allows the air inside the tank to pass therethrough to be discharged out. In this case, when the operation of the air pump is stopped, the water inside the recess 11a tends to return to the tank 14 due to its own weight. As a result, a pressure of the air inside the tank 14 is increased, so that the air inside the tank is gradually discharged out through the low airtight air pump 18. Therefore, it is possible to return the water in the recess lla back to the tank 14, even in the case where the tank is not provided with the air discharge valve solenoid 17.

The water level in the tank 14 is always detected by the sensors 23, 24, 25 and 26. The detections of the water level by the water levelL sensors 23, 24, 25 and 26 are displayed in an LCD display panel (not shown) disposed on the apparatus 1, as a result of which it becomes possible for an user to confirm the present water level, as follows. The detection of the water level by the sensor 23 indicates the fact that the tank is much fully filled with water, and therefore it becomes unnecessary for the user to additionally pour water into the tank. The detection of the water level by the sensor 24 indicates that the tank is filled with water of preferable amount. On the other hand, detection of the water level by the sensor 25 indicates the fact that the water amount is being decreased and the user has to prepare - 11 replenishment of the tank with water. The detection of the water level by the sensor 26 shows that the tank will be exhausted shortly and therefore the user has to replenish the tank with water immediately.

As described above, according to the first embodiment, since the air is automatically fed to the tank from the air pump, air pressure inside the tank is increased to supply the water within the tank to the inner pot, to thereby supply the water to the plant. Furthermore, the supplied water presses the undesired gas which is generated by the plant and remains among the stones 13 in the inner pot 12, to thereby discharge the undesired gas out of the inner pot. Therefore, it becomes possible to ensure desired:.-ircumstances for the growth of the plant.

A second embodiment of the invention will be described below.

According to the second embodiment, an automatic water feeding pot comprises: an inner pot; a hermetic container-type outer pot having a wall defining a recess for receiving the inner pot and a water feeding tank located below the recess; a water feeding unit for supplying the water within the tank to inside of the recess of the outer pot; an operational condition display section disposed above the outer pot; a power source disposed in the bottom side of the outer pot; and wirings for connecting the power source and the operational condition display section arranged in the interior of the outer pot.

With such an arrangement, since the wirings for connecting the power source and the operational condition display section are arranged in the interior of the container-type outer pot, there would be no fear that the wirings would be damaged from the outside or that the aesthtic appearance would be degraded. In addition, since the power source is disposed in the lower part of the outer pot, the gravitational stability of the pot per se would be enhanced. Also, since the display section is located at the upper part of the pot section, the display section is easily visible.

The second embodiment will be described in greater detail with reference to Figs. 2 to 4.

As shown in Fig. 3, an automatic water feeding pot 121 of the embodiment is made of resin, and comprises a double wall structured outer pot 124, with its outer wall serving as an outer wall of the pot 121 and an inner wall 124b defining a recess-shaped portion 124a in which an inner pot 122 is received. That is, the outer pot 124 has an open upper end, a side wall and a bottom plate, thereby defining an inner recess 124a for receiving the inner pot 122 therein. The inner pot 122 has an open upper end, a side wall and a bottom plate, thereby defining an inner recess in which a plant is implanted. The outer pot 124 has a water feeding tank portion 123, at its lower portion. The water feeding tank reserves therein liquid such as water. The inner pot 122 receives stones 134 so that a plant may be implanted therein. An air pump 125 is received in a recess 123a formed in a bottom part of the water feeding tank portion 123 of the outer pot 124. An air suction pipe 126 which extends upwardly in the interior of the pot 124 is provided on the air pump 125. A discharge pipe 128 is mounted on a solenoid valve 127 received in the recess 123a. A water feeding /di s charging pipe 129 is laid between a bottom portion of the recess 124a and the water feeding tank portion 123. A water level sensor 130a is located at an upper part of the inner wall 124b, and water level sensors 130b, 130c and 130d are located at the upper position, intermediate position and lower position of the water feeding tank portion 1231, respectively. A switch 131 is provided on a top surface of the pot 124, and a plurality of through-holes 132 are formed in the bottom portion of the inner pot 122. As shown in Figs. 2 through 4, a display device 135 is provided on a top surface of the pot 124 for indicating conditions of water level "FULL", "NORMAW, and "REPLENISW' by lighting lamps 135b, 135c and 135d, respectively. A temperature sensor 136 and a sunshine sensor 137 made of a solar battery are provided on the top surface of the pot 124, as shown in Fig. 2.

As shown in Figs. 3 and 4, a power source device 133 having a CPU (central processing unit) 133a is connected through wirings 138 to the air pump 125, the solenoid valve 127, the water level sensors 130a through 130d, the switch 131, the indicator 135 for the operational conditions, the temperature sensor 136, and the sunshine sensor 137. The wirings 138 are arranged in interior of the outer pot 124. The pot 124 which has the double wall structure are hermetically formed except for the communication with the atmosphere only through the air pump 125, the solenoid valve 127 and the water feeding/discharging pipe 129.

With such an arrangement, when the switch 131 is depressed, the CPU 133a within the power source device 133 is operated to close the solenoid valve 127 and to drive the air pump 125, so that air is fed in the upper portion of the interior of the pot 124 and the air pressure inside the interior of the pot 124 increases to cause the water level within the water feeding tank portion 123 to be lowered. As a result, the water within the water feeding tank portion 123 is fed to the recess portion 124a through the water feeding/discharging pipe 129. As the water level inside the recess 124a rises upwardly, the water enters the inner pot 122 through the through holes 132 and rises among the stones 134 in the inner pot. As a result, the plant in the inner pot is supplied with the water. When the water level in the recess 124a reaches the water level sensor 130a or the water - 15 level in the tank portion 123 reaches the water level sensor 130d, the CPU 133a stops the drive of the air pump 125 and opens the solenoid valve 127 to discharge the air in the upper portion of the interior of the pot 124. The pressure applied to the water surface within the water feeding tank 123 is reduced, and the water residual in the recess 124a outside the inner pot 122 is returned back to the water feeding tank 123 through the water feeding/discharging pipe 129.

Although in the above description the switch 131 is manually depressed for feeding the water, the CPU may be operated to control the pump 125 and the solenoid valve 127 so that the water feeding may be performed at fixed time intervals, as in the first embodiment. In this case, it is preferable that the CPU performs accumulative count in accordance with signals from the temperature sensor 136 and the sunshine sensor 137. That is, when the temperature is high and the amount of sunshine is large, the CPU changes the water feeding time interval to be shorter, whereas when the temperature is low and the amount of sunshine is small, the CPU changes the water feeding time interval to be longer.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the water amount is always detected and information on the detected water amount is indicated, as in the first embodiment. That is, when the water amount within the water feeding tank portion 123 corresponds to the level of the water level sensor 130b, the CPU 133a detects this state, and lights the 'TULL" lamp 135b on the display 135 to indicate that the tank portion is much fully filled with the water, as shown in Fig. 4. In the same way, when the water level within the water feeding tank 123 is located below the water sensor 130b but above the water sensor 130c, the display lamp 135c showing "NORMAL" is lighted to indicate that the tank portion is filled with preferable amount of water. When the water level is located below the water level sensor 130c, the lamp 135d showing "REPLENISH" is lighted to indicate that the tank is exhausted and the user has to replenish the tank with water. Accordingly, when the display 135d showing "REPLENISH" is lighted, if the user replenishes water from the outside to the recess portion 124a, the water is poured into the water feeding tank portion 123 through the water feeding/discharging pipe 129. It is sufficient that the user pours the water until the lamp 135d showing 'TULL" is lighted.

As has been apparent from the above, according to this embodiment, since the wirings for connecting the power source and the operational condition indicator for indicating the operational conditions such as an water amount within the water tank pass through the interior of the containertype outer pot having the hermetic structure, there is no fear that the wirings would be damaged from the outside and the 1 aesthetic design would be degraded. In addition, the power source having a large weight, the air pump 125 and the solenoid valve 127 are located in the bottom of the pot 124 to enhance the gravitational stability. Since the indicator is located in the upper portion of the pot, the visibility thereof is enhanced.

According to another aspect, the apparatus of the second embodiment comprises: an inner pot for receiving sand, stone, mud,clay or the like; an outer pot having a recess for receiving the inner pot; a water feeding tank for reserving water; a water feeding unit for feeding the water within the feeding tank to the recess; a water amount detecting unit for detecting the water amount within the water feeding tank; and a water amount indicator provided on a top surface of the outer pot for indicating the water amount in accordance with output signals from the water amount detecting unit. The water amount detecting unit detects the respective conditions of the water amount within the water feeding tank, such as FULL, NORMAL,and REPRENISH which are indicated by the water amount indicator. Thus, since the water amount within the water feeding tank is detected by the water amount detecting unit, it is possible to measure the amount of water with accuracy. Also, since the water amount indication is present on the top surface of the outer pot, the visibility is considerably enhanced.

- 18 The above-described arrangement of the wirings 138 and the display, section 135 may be easily applied to the first embodiment.

A third embodiment of the invention will now be described below.

According to the third embodiment, an automatically water supplying pot comprises: an inner pot; a pot section having a recess for receiving the inner pot; a water feeding tank disposed below the pot section; a water feeding means for feeding the water to the recess of the pot section from the water feeding tank; a water path for feeding water to the recess and returning water back to the water feeding tank; and a water reservoir portion having a small capacity provided in the recess at its bottom portion.

With such an arrangement, it is possible to feed the water within the water feeding tank into the recess, to return the water to the water feeding tank and to always reserve the water in the water reservoir in the recess.

The third embodiment will now be described in more detail with reference to Fig. 5.

In Fig. 5, an automatic water supplying pot 203 has at its lower portion a water feeding tank portion 205 and at its upper section a wall 201a defining a recess section 201 for receiving an inner pot 202. That is, the pot 203 has an open upper end, a side wall and a bottom plate, thereby - t defining an inner recess 201 for receiving the inner pot 202 therein. The inner pot 202 has an open upper end, a side wall and a bottom plate, thereby defining an inner recess in which a plant is implanted. A water leading pipe 206 is mounted in the tank 205 with its upper end passing through a bottom of the recess 201 to project upwardly therefrom. A water feeding pump 207 is provided on the pipe 206. A water reservoir 204a for reserving therein a small amount of water is defined by the projected leading pipe 206 and a plurality of inner pot supporting members 204 of plate- or rod- shape provided on the bottom of the recess 201. The supporting plates or rods 204 support the inner pot 202 at their upper ends so that the inner pot 202 may be placed above the upper end of the water leading pipe 206. In other words, the projection amount than a height of 1 of the water leading pipe 206 is smaller the support plates 204. A plurality of through-holes 202a are formed in the bottom of the inner pot 202. Thus, water paths are formed to connect the tank 205, the water feeding pump 207, the water leading pipe 206, the water reservoir 204a, the through holes 202a and the inner pot 202. The pot 203 has a control circuit 208 at its upper portion and has a water level sensors 209, 210 and 211.

With such an arrangement, the automatically water supplying pot 203 will operate as follows.

The control circuit 208 controlls to drive the water feeding pump 207 while receiving signals representative of the amount of sunshine and the temperature from sensors, as in the second embodiment. Liquid such as water within the water feeding tank 205 is fed by the pump 207 through the water leading pipe 206 to the bottom of the recess 201. When the water level in the recess 201 becomes higher than the bottom of the inner pot 202, water is fed into the inner pot 202 through the through holes 202a. As the water level in the recess 201 further rises, water rises among stones in the inner pot 202. When the water level in the recess 201 is detected at the position of the upper water level sensor 209 or the water level inside the tank 205 is detected by the lower water level sensor 210, the water feeding pump 207 is stopped so that the water is returned back to the water feeding tank 205 through the same water path. At this time, however, since the water leading pipe projects upwardly from the bottom of the recess, the water level inside the recess cannot be lowered to be smaller than the projection amount of the leading pipe 206. As a result, water of a fixed amount is always reserved in the water reservoir 204a in the bottom of the recess.

Accordingly, it is possible to dampen the dried inner pot 202 with a simple structure. Furthermore, even if the root of the plant projects outside of the inner pot through the through holes 202a, the water is fed thereto from the inner y [ 1:', - 21 pot water reservoir 204a. It is therefore possible to automatically feed water to the plant to thereby ensure the desired circumstances for the growth of the plant.

As has been described above in detail, according to this embodiment, since the water reservoir having a small capacity is provided in the bottom of the recess, it is possible to ensure the circumstances for elongating the life of the plant with a simple structure.

The water reservoir of this embodiment may be easily applied to the structures of the foregoing first and second embodiments. Furthermore, the pump 207 may also be applied to the embodiments, in place of the air pump and the discharge valve solenoid.

As described above, according to the automatic liquid supplying cultivation apparatus of the present invention, the liquid within theliquid feeding tank is automatically supplied into the inner pot, thereby imparting liquid to the plant and at the same time exhausting from the pot undesired gas generated in the plant, to ensure desired circumstances for the growth of the plant.

Although certain perferred embodiments have been shown and described, it should be understood that many changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the scope of the appended claims.

- 22

Claims (16)

1. A liquid feeding apparatus for use in cultivation of a plant, comprising:

a first pot having an open upper end, a side wall and a bottom plate, thereby defining an inner recess in which a plant is implanted; a liquid tank for reserving liquid to be supplied to said first pot; liquid passage means connected in liquid communication between the inner recess of said first pot and said liquid tank; and liquid feed controlling means for controlling liquid communication therebetween.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a second pot having an upper open end, a side wall and a bottom plate, thereby defining an inner recess for receiving said first pot therein, and wherein said liquid passage means comprises a liquid pipe connected in liquid communication between said liquid tank and the inner recess of said second pot and liquid communication means connected in liquid communication between the inner recess of said second pot and the inner recess of said first pot.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said liquid feed controlling means comprises:

means for feeding air into and discharging air from said liquid tank; and means for controlling said air feeding and discharging means, the liquid communication between said liquid tank and the recess of said first pot being performed in accordance with air fed into and discharged from said liquid tank.

4. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the 1; bottom plate of said first pot is positioned in spaced apart relation to the bottom plate of said second pot, thereby defining a liquid reservoir portion between the bottom plates of said first and second pots for storing liquid therein.

5. The apparatus according to claim 3 or 4, wherein said liquid pipe is connected to said second pot in a position between the bottom plates of said first and second pots so that liquid may be stored in the reservoir portion.

6. The apparatus according to claim 3,4 or 5 further comprising a supporting member disposed on the bottom plate of said second pot for supporting said first pot to provide the reservoir portion.

7. The apparatus according to any one of claims 3 to 6, wherein said liquid feed controlling means comprises:

first detecting means for detecting liquid amounts in both said liquid tank and the recess of said second pot; and first control means for controlling liquid communication between said liquid tank and the recess of said first pot, in accordance with liquid amounts detected by said first detecting means.

8. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said liquid feed controlling means further comprising:

second detecting means for detecting at least one of temperature and amount of sunshine; and second control means for controlling liquid communication between said liquid tank and the recess of said first pot, in accordance with at least one of temperature and sunshine amount detected by said second detecting means.

9. The apparatus according to claim 7 or 8, wherein said first detecting means comprises a first liquid level sensor disposed in the inner recess of said second pot and a second liquid level sensor disposed in said liquid tank, and wherein said first control means stops air feeding operation of said air feeding and discharging means when at least one of said first and second liquid level sensors detects that the liquid reaches a predetermined level.

10. The apparatus according to clairr. 7,8 or cP further comprising:

means for indicating water amount in said liquid tank detected by said first detecting means.

11. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said indicating means is disposed in an upper portion of the contained.

12. The apparatus according to claim 7, 8, 9, 10 or 11, wherein said liquid feed controlling means comprises wiring means disposed in the interior of the container for connecting said first detecting means and said first controlling means.

13. The apparatus according to any one of claims 3 to 12, wherein said air feeding and discharging means are disposed in a lower portion of the container.

14. The apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 13 wherein said liquid communication means comprise; at least one through-hole formed in the bottom plate of said first pot.

15. The apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 10 wherein said liquid tank is integrally connected with said second pot to thereby form a unified container.

16. For use in plant cultivation,,liquid feeding apparatus constructed and arr anged to operate substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

1 Published lc)ql a' 'llic Patent Office. Concept House. Cardiff Road. Gwent NP9 3M Furth,r copies may be obtained frorn S.), branch. Unit 6. Nine Mile Point. C%x-mfelinfa(b. Cros, Kevs. Newpon, NPI 7HZ. Printed by -MulilDijtx leell, Sa)c branch. Unit 6. Nine Mile Point. C%x-mfelinfa(b. Cros, Kevs. Newpon, NPI 7HZ. Printed tiv MuluDlex icehri)aues. lid St Mary rrnv X