JP2003023883A - Method and apparatus for irrigation - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a means for irrigation enabling both water supply by utilizing a small head of a water storage source such as rainwater and uniform irrigation for vegetation by a simple constitution. SOLUTION: This method for irrigation comprises embedding irrigation pipes 6 fed with water from a rainwater tank 1, etc., through a pipe 2 in the ground. Sheetlike water diffusers 7 (diffusion permeating bodies) composed of a nonwoven fabric, etc., for permeating water therethrough by capillarity are inserted from small holes of the pipes 6 and fixed at a prescribed interval in the irrigation pipes 6. When a water absorbing valve 3 is opened, water is fed from the irrigation pipes 6 to the water diffusers 7 by the capillarity and irrigate the interior of soil 5. The soil 5 can uniformly and moderately be irrigated and equipment can be simplified and made maintenance-free because the method is carried out according to water permeation utilizing the capillarity as opposed to a method for irrigation from small holes of the pipe 2 by applying a water pressure.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for efficiently irrigating a planting plant, particularly by effectively utilizing limited water resources such as a dry zone, a wasteland or a roof garden using rainwater, Regarding things that often water planting.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In arid areas, wastelands, and roof gardens, which have been in high demand in recent years, the water content for vegetation is insufficient, or even if there is sufficient precipitation, it quickly flows out. However, since it cannot be supplied from groundwater, it is necessary to obtain a water source and irrigate it by some method. In this case, if an abundant water source is available near the vegetation, it can be used, but in deserts and wastelands, even if there is a water source, it is not enough, and it is necessary to efficiently utilize the scarce amount of water when relying on groundwater sources. . This situation is the same when using rainwater for the purpose of resource saving and energy saving in rooftop gardens, etc., and the stored rainwater must be effectively used to that extent. In addition, in these natural environments, it is difficult to secure a power source for facility operation and maintenance, and even in a rooftop garden, vegetation will die without realizing the failure of the irrigation equipment. Since it may become a problem, it is required to be maintenance-free with simple equipment.

[0003] In response to such a demand, from the viewpoint of effective use of water, a method of circulating a pipe around the vegetation and injecting water from pores provided at regular intervals in the pipe, or pouring to further improve efficiency It is also practiced to place the water pipe directly at the root of the vegetation or to bury the irrigation pipe itself in the soil. In particular, the irrigation method of burying pipes to supply water underground is considered to be effective because it can prevent excessive evaporation of water, but these techniques commonly require a constant water pressure to supply water from the pipes. To do. For this reason, in addition to requiring a power source such as electric power, the amount of water supply is controlled by adjusting the diameter of the pores provided in the pipe, but the water pressure increases with water supply as the distance from the water source to the end of the pipe increases. It is difficult to evenly supply water because it decreases. In addition, it is sufficient that the amount of water supplied to each of these irrigation points is extremely small, whereas the method of controlling the flow rate of jetting or flowing out from the openings of these pipes is not suitable for these requests. Not. For this reason, a pipe-shaped water tank is buried underground along the tree planting direction, and a suction material having a capillary action, such as woven cloth or nonwoven cloth, is extended from the water tank toward the root of the tree for watering. (Sho 62-244323 gazette) and a suction fibrous material made of hemp, cotton, ramie, etc. penetrates from the irrigation pipe buried underground, sucks water from the irrigation pipe by a capillary phenomenon, and further wraps around the absorption fibrous material. Which absorbs water by the roots of a plant (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-203
Japanese Patent No. 783) has been proposed. However,
Since these irrigation means aim at supplying water from the suction material or the absorbent fiber material in the vicinity of the plant root or directly to the root of the plant, the suction material or the absorbent fiber material is applied to the root of the plant. It is not realistic because it has no effect more than leading water, and therefore the planting condition of individual plants is limited, and the effect cannot be exhibited unless the root reaches the absorbent fiber material. In addition, in order to permeate water from the suction material or absorbent fiber material into the surrounding soil and reach the roots of the plant, its water supply capacity and water permeability into the surrounding soil are not sufficient, and a sufficient watering effect is obtained. I can't. That is, the irrigation technology in these prior arts is
All of them are intended to supply water directly to the roots of plants, and although the efficiency of water supply can be improved, it is not always the optimum condition from the standpoint of plant growth and growth. For plants,
It is essential that water is evenly irrigated through the planted soil, especially in roof gardens, etc. until the seeds are cultivated and grown, or the seedlings are planted and grown until they grow. Although it is completely different, it is important to keep the irrigation condition uniform and even during these periods, and the above-mentioned prior art cannot meet this condition.

[0004]

According to the present invention, water can be supplied by utilizing a small head of a reservoir such as rainwater, and a simple structure enables even watering under natural conditions for vegetation. It is an object to provide a proper irrigation means.

[0005]

According to the present invention, the water in an irrigation pipe is extracted outside the pipe by a capillary phenomenon of a water diffuser (diffusive permeation body) made of a permeable material, and is extended / developed according to the irrigation range. It is a watering method that uniformly penetrates the soil from a band-shaped or sheet-shaped water diffuser.In addition, a mat made of the same permeable material is placed below the water diffuser, and a permeable layer made of permeable soil such as vermiculite is contacted with the water diffuser. The water is evenly distributed to the soil. For this reason, one end of the water diffuser made of a permeable nonwoven fabric is inserted into the opening provided in the irrigation pipe, and the water diffuser outside the pipe is extended / deployed in accordance with the irrigation range to use a band-shaped or sheet-shaped irrigation device. Further, as the water diffuser, a structure in which one end of the permeable nonwoven fabric is cut into an inverted trapezoidal shape from the edge is adopted.

[0006]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The irrigation method of the present invention has a capillary action in which a pipe is circulated from a water source having a relatively small head such as a rainwater storage tank and is branched from an irrigation pipe (irrigation pipe) buried in the ground. Water is supplied to the soil from a water diffuser (diffusive permeation body) made of a permeable material, for example, a nonwoven fabric.This water diffuser is a sheet-like and extracts water from the irrigation pipe by capillary action to the outside of the pipe and The soil layer is irrigated by contacting it over a large area, allowing the water contained therein to permeate directly into the soil, and diffuse it widely. Therefore, the water supply from the irrigation pipe does not depend on the water pressure, but at a flow rate determined by the cross-sectional area of the water diffuser, which is a medium that allows water to permeate by capillarity, etc., it is possible to move water throughout the water diffuser at an extremely slow speed. it can. That is, it suffices that the water is supplied and present in the irrigation pipe, and the water is always sucked and supplied through the water diffuser to be irrigated into the soil. Therefore, as long as the water reaches the extension of the pipe for supplying water from the water source, water supply / irrigation is possible.
This means that there is no need to apply a hydraulic pressure load such as a pump for water supply, and the water just needs to reach the end of the pipe, so the above-mentioned slight drop is sufficient.
There is no need for a special power source for pumps,
It also works well due to the head drop of normal irrigation water facilities.

[0007] Further, the watering by the above water diffuser has a small flow rate due to the capillary phenomenon, but generally the level of watering required by the plant is rather lower than that, so that the surrounding water can be watered. The flow rate may be adjusted by adjusting the cross-sectional area of the water diffuser for receiving water supply from the irrigation pipe and the area in contact with the soil as necessary. Further, the water diffuser is not directed to the root of the plant like the suction material or the absorbent fiber material of the above-mentioned conventional irrigation means, or the root is wrapped around to supply water, but a strip having a wide contact area with soil. Or it is made of a sheet, and its usage is to extend the non-woven fabric in advance according to the range of planting, that is, the irrigation range, and arrange it so that it penetrates widely into the soil. Of the plant, which is distributed in the same manner according to the groundwater source and has different growth conditions,
Water can be uniformly and evenly supplied to plants of different sizes and types. That is, it is a means for diffusing and permeating water into the soil. These irrigation ranges can be adjusted according to the length and width of the water diffuser, which is made of a non-woven fabric such as a strip or sheet, and can contact the water diffuser to penetrate water by the same capillary phenomenon. By providing a permeation layer such as a mat that can be spread, water can further permeate and diffuse through the mat, and uniform watering can be performed in a wider range. In addition, by forming the soil layer in which the water diffuser is deployed with a material with good permeability, known as vermiculite with good water permeability, it controls the permeation and diffusion of water into the soil, resulting in wider and even watering. It can be carried out. The shape of the water diffuser may be a rectangle having a size suitable for the irrigation range. However, as shown in FIG. 3, an inverted trapezoidal cut 75 is formed in one end edge of the water diffuser, and the inverted trapezoidal portion is formed into a pore formed in the irrigation pipe. By pushing it in, it is difficult for the water to come out of the irrigation pipe and the water can be smoothly permeated by the capillary phenomenon. The outside of the cut is not inserted into the irrigation pipe, so it may be cut, but it may be left as it is.

[0008]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of the irrigation method of the present invention,
In the figure, reference numeral 1 is a tank for storing rainwater, which has a predetermined head with respect to the greenery ground 5 on the roof. Water is supplied from the storage tank through the pipe 2 to the irrigation pipe 6 arranged over the entire artificial ground along substantially the bottom surface of the artificial ground 5 for greening. The irrigation pipe is provided with pores of 3 to 5 mmφ at predetermined intervals, and one end of a strip-shaped water diffuser 7 made of a permeable nonwoven fabric is inserted into the pores,
It is wound and fixed including the insertion part, is arranged so as to be evenly distributed according to the range of planting, and is embedded in the artificial ground 5 in which the greening plants 8 are planted together with the irrigation pipe to form a roof garden or the like. Has been done. To irrigate the planting, simply open the valve 2 provided in the storage tank 1 to supply water to the irrigation pipe. Due to the head gap with the storage tank, the water will fill the irrigation pipe 7 and the soil from the water diffuser 7 Water seeps out and is irrigated. Even if air remains in the irrigation pipe, the water diffuser has air permeability, so it quickly escapes, and even if the pipe moves up and down due to some irregularities, the water is flooded while irrigation is performed gently. The discharged water expels the air and reaches the end, so water supply is not hindered. In the above example, the water diffuser was composed of strips, but in order to further increase the contact area with soil and improve the irrigation range and irrigation effect, it may be in the form of a wide area sheet, which will be described later. Instead of the water-permeable mat in the example, a sheet that covers a wider irrigation range may be used.

FIG. 2 shows a partial cross-sectional detail of the irrigation system of the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 61 is a tail plug at the end of the irrigation pipe, showing a state where water has reached the end of the irrigation pipe. A state in which a small amount of air layer remains above the water surface in the irrigation pipe is shown, but in the present invention, if water is supplied to the irrigation pipe, there is no problem in irrigation even if there is a residual air layer. The water diffuser 7 is a strip-shaped or sheet-shaped material made of non-woven fabric, one end of which is inserted into the pores 62 of the irrigation pipe, is wound around the outer circumference of the pipe almost once, and the outer circumference is fixed by the clip 71. The length will be extended according to the irrigation range. One end of the water diffuser inserted in the irrigation pipe may be set in a protruding state in the pipe as long as water supply is not hindered. Thereby, the water in the pipe can be sucked up, and if necessary, the water can be smoothly irrigated even if it is arranged on the upper surface side of the pipe, and the residual air in the pipe can be quickly removed. There is no particular restriction on the material of the irrigation pipe, and a commercially available vinyl chloride piping material may be used. Further, as the material of the water diffuser 7, a synthetic fiber material which is commercially available as a non-woven fabric having so-called water supply and water retention property is suitable because it can be used for a long time without decaying. The size of the non-woven fabric used for the water diffuser may be about 100 × 600 mm for constructing a relatively small-area roof garden or the like in which ordinary flower beds or shrubs are planted.

Further, depending on the material of the soil of the artificial ground,
Water from the water diffuser made of non-woven fabric is difficult to directly permeate and the irrigation range may be limited. In such a case, the size of the water diffuser should be increased according to the irrigation range. Further, by arranging the mat 72, which is made of a material that allows water to easily permeate due to the capillary phenomenon similarly to the water diffuser, so as to be in contact with these water diffusers, it is possible to uniformly irrigate the water in a wider range.

Experimental Example In the apparatus of FIG. 1, a water tank having a water storage capacity of 250 liters was used to test the irrigation effect on the artificial vegetative disc. Structure of artificial ground: A water-permeable non-woven mat was laid on the lower part, and an artificial soil having a thickness of 20 cm was formed on the mat. In the artificial soil, a vermiculite layer containing the following water diffuser and having a thickness of about 1 to 2 cm was formed as a water permeable layer on the mat. Area: 50 m ² Watering device: A watering pipe in which water diffusers are arranged at intervals of about 1 m on a vinyl pipe with an inner diameter of 20 mmφ.
They were laid on the mat at intervals of about 1 m. The water diffuser has a width of 100 mm and a length of 600 mm, and the actual extension length is about 500 mm excluding the insertion part and the winding part of the irrigation pipe. The water supply valve was released, and the 250-liter water storage tank became empty in about 3 hours. Therefore,
It means that about 5 liters / m ² of water was supplied in 3 hours. The irrigation effect can be clearly discerned by visual observation because the color of the water infiltrated into the soil is different from that of the area in which water is spread. According to the results, at a position away from the irrigation pipe, there was a region on the surface where moisture did not reach partly, but below the surface, moisture had penetrated uniformly over almost the entire region.

In the above example, the case of irrigating from the tank storing rainwater in a rooftop garden or the like has been described, but as described above, the water of the water source is not wasted, and irrigation is performed in a manner suitable for vegetation is dry. The same applies to irrigation in a zone or a wasteland with poor water retention, and is applicable without being limited to the above example. Further, the material of the water diffuser is also not limited to the non-woven fabric as long as it can be permeated with an appropriate amount of water by the capillary phenomenon to be extracted outside the irrigation pipe and further permeated into the soil, but the action to directly permeate into the soil In order to achieve the above, the shape is suitably a belt-like body or a sheet-like body, and since the area in contact with the soil is large, it is possible to uniformly supply water. In the above example, a water-permeable mat is laid in contact with the water diffuser in order to spread the water widely and evenly in the ground by using a strip material with a relatively small area for the water diffuser. In order to promote, the material with good water permeability such as vermiculite is spread in contact with the water diffuser, but depending on the structure of the ground and the type of soil, the water diffuser is used as a sheet covering a larger area.
The mat or the like may be omitted.

[0013]

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY As described above, the irrigation method and device of the present invention are easily and easily maintained as a key technology for rooftop greening, which has recently been taken up as an efficient use of water resources and measures for urban heat islands. Can be applied as free. In addition, it is possible to grow plants by utilizing scarce water resources in an environment unsuitable for growing normal plants such as arid regions and wastelands, and it can be widely applied to these environments.

[Brief description of drawings]

Fig. 1 Overview of irrigation system

FIG. 2 Water diffuser mounting mode

[Figure 3] Shape of water diffuser

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Rainwater storage tank 2 water pipe 3 valves 5 artificial ground 6 Irrigation pipe 7 water diffuser 8 plants 10 water 61 pores 62 stopper 71 clips 72 Penetration mat 75 notches

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A strip-shaped or sheet-shaped water diffuser in which water in an irrigation pipe is extracted to the outside of the pipe by a capillary phenomenon of a water diffuser (diffusion penetrant) made of a permeable material, and further extended / developed according to the irrigation range. A method of irrigation that uniformly penetrates the soil. 2. A mat made of the same permeable material is arranged below the water diffuser, and a water-permeable layer made of water-permeable soil is provided in contact with the water diffuser to allow water to uniformly permeate into the soil. Item 1. An irrigation method according to item 1. 3. A water diffuser made of a permeable nonwoven fabric is inserted at one end into an opening provided in the irrigation pipe, and the water diffuser outside the pipe is extended / developed into a strip or sheet according to the irrigation range. Watering device. 4. The irrigation system according to claim 3, wherein the water diffuser is formed by cutting one end of the permeable non-woven fabric from the edge in an inverted trapezoidal shape.