JP2024060086A - Water Management Equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

[Problem] To reduce labor when dealing with the occurrence of a fault in a faucet device in a farm field. [Solution] An irrigation water management system includes a plurality of faucet devices that supply irrigation water to a plurality of farm fields, the faucet devices each having a power supply unit with a storage battery and a faucet drive unit that drives the opening and closing of a faucet unit by moving a shaft unit up and down in response to the rotation of a motor, the faucet drive unit outputs an overload notification signal to a control unit when it becomes overloaded, or the control unit detects an overload state based on the load current value of the motor, and if an overload state occurs again after controlling the opening and closing of the faucet unit to eliminate the overload state, an overload notification is sent to a water management server, and if the water management server determines that a fault has occurred based on the overload notification, it issues a fault occurrence notification including information about the faucet device in fault. [Selected Figure] Figure 6

Description

The present invention relates to a water management device.

There is a known water management system that uses a computer to control the opening and closing of water supply and drainage valves in paddy fields, thereby managing water supply and drainage in paddy fields (see, for example, Patent Document 1). This configuration makes it possible to eliminate the need for human labor in supplying water to the field or draining water from the field, thereby saving labor.

JP 2001-161192 A

In fields such as rice paddies, water supply and drainage valves and other water faucet devices may experience some kind of malfunction, such as clogging with garbage or malfunctions. If such a malfunction occurs, the water faucet device will not function properly, making it difficult to properly supply and drain water to the field. For this reason, it is preferable to detect the occurrence of such water faucet device malfunctions as early as possible so that they can be dealt with promptly.
However, at present, in order to deal with a malfunction of the water faucet device, the farmer must first go to the field to check, which is an obstacle to labor saving.

The present invention was made in consideration of these circumstances, and aims to reduce the labor required to deal with malfunctions of water faucet devices in agricultural fields.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, one aspect of the present invention is a water management device that includes a fault determination unit that determines whether or not a fault has occurred in a water faucet device that supplies water to or discharges water from a field based on detection information output from a state detection unit that detects a predetermined state in the water faucet device, and a fault response unit that performs at least one of a fault resolution control that causes the water faucet device to perform an operation to resolve the fault that has occurred in response to the fault determination unit determining that a fault has occurred, and a fault occurrence notification that notifies the user that a fault has occurred.

In one aspect of the present invention, the water management device further includes an opening/closing control unit that controls the opening/closing state of a stopper unit that is provided in a flow path until the water to be supplied to the faucet device is discharged, and the fault determination unit may determine that a fault has occurred when the state detection unit that detects the presence or absence of flow in the faucet device detects that there is a flow and the opening/closing control unit has controlled the stopper unit to be in a closed state.

In one aspect of the present invention, in the water management device described above, the fault response unit may be configured to cause the opening/closing control unit to open and close the stopper unit as the fault resolution control in response to the fault determination unit determining that the fault has occurred.

In one aspect of the present invention, in the water management device described above, the fault response unit may issue the fault occurrence notification if the fault determination unit determines that the fault has occurred after performing the fault resolution control.

In one aspect of the present invention, in the water management device described above, the fault response unit may further manage fault history information indicating a history of faults determined to have occurred by the fault determination unit.

As described above, the present invention has the effect of reducing the labor required to deal with malfunctions of water faucet devices in agricultural fields.

1 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of a water management system according to a first embodiment; FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a water supply faucet in the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a water supply faucet in the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a water management server in the first embodiment. 5A to 5C are diagrams showing examples of water supply faucet control information and fault history information in the first embodiment. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing procedure executed by the water management server in the first embodiment in response to a failure caused by a clogging of a water faucet with debris. 13 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing procedure executed by the water management server in the second embodiment in response to a fault caused by an overload of a motor. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a water supply faucet in the fourth embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a water supply faucet in the fourth embodiment.

Hereinafter, an irrigation water management system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
1 shows an example of the overall configuration of an irrigation water management system according to the present embodiment. The irrigation water management system according to the present embodiment manages water supply and drainage in a plurality of farm fields.

First, the water supply and drainage system of the field that the water management system corresponds to will be described with reference to the same figure. The same figure shows an example in which the water management system manages three fields FM-1, FM-2, and FM-3. The fields FM-1, FM-2, and FM-3 in this embodiment are, for example, rice paddies, and irrigation and drainage (water supply and drainage) are performed so that the water level is appropriate depending on the rice cultivation season.
In the following description, when there is no need to distinguish between the fields FM-1, FM-2, and FM-3, they will be referred to as the field FM. The number of fields FM that are managed by the irrigation management system of this embodiment is not particularly limited.

The field FM-1 is provided with a water supply valve 100-1. The water supply valve 100-1 is a facility that supplies irrigation water sent from the farm pond FP via the pipeline PL to the field FM-1. The water supply valve 100-1 is provided with a plug section (valve) that opens and closes in the flow path (flowing water path) from the farm pond FP to the field FM-1, so that the amount of irrigation water sent from the farm pond FP to the field FM-1 can be adjusted. In addition, the field FM-1 is provided with a drain plug 200-1. The drain plug 200-1 is a facility for draining water stored in the field FM-1. The drain plug 200-1 is provided with a plug section (valve) that opens and closes in the flow path from the field FM-1 to the pipeline, so that the amount of water discharged can be adjusted.

As in the case of field FM-1 above, field FM-2 is also provided with a water supply valve 100-2 and a drain plug 200-2. Field FM-3 is also provided with a water supply valve 100-3 and a drain plug 200-3.

In the following explanation, when there is no particular distinction between the water supply taps 100-1, 100-2, and 100-3, they will be referred to as water supply tap 100.In the following explanation, when there is no particular distinction between the drain plugs 200-1, 200-2, and 200-3, they will be referred to as drain plug 200.

The irrigation water management system of this embodiment is equipped with a wireless LAN (Local Area Network) router RT whose communication range is the area covering the fields FM-1, FM-2, and FM-3. The wireless LAN router RT is connected to a network NT, and the irrigation water management server 500 is connected to the network NT.

In this embodiment, the water supply tap 100 (an example of a water tap device) and the drain plug 200 (an example of a water tap device) of each farm field FM each have a network communication function compatible with wireless LAN. This allows the water supply tap 100 and the drain plug 200 of each farm field FM to communicate with the water management server 500 via the wireless LAN router RT and the network NT.

Water is supplied (irrigated) to each of the farm fields FM as follows: Water to be supplied to the farm fields FM is first drawn from, for example, a river RV via a pipeline to a farm pond FP, and is stored in the farm pond FP. The farm pond FP is a pond that stores water for irrigation.
Water stored in the farm pond FP is pumped up by a pump (not shown) and supplied to the pipeline PL by applying pressure. In the case of the figure, the pipeline PL branches into three routes, which are connected to water supply faucets 100-1, 100-2, and 100-3 provided in the fields FM-1, FM-2, and FM-3, respectively. As a result, water sent from the farm pond FP via the pipeline PL reaches the water supply faucets 100-1, 100-2, and 100-3. At this time, if the taps of the water supply faucets 100-1, 100-2, and 100-3 are open, water is supplied from the water supply faucets 100-1, 100-2, and 100-3 to the fields FM-1, FM-2, and FM-3, respectively, for irrigation.

In addition, in the water management system of this embodiment, water sensor 300-A and water sensors 300-B1, 300-B2, and 300-B3 are provided to control the water supply to fields FM-1, FM-2, and FM-3.

The water sensor 300-A detects water flowing from the farm pond FP to the pipeline PL. As a specific example, the water sensor 300-A is a flow rate sensor provided to detect the amount of water (flow rate) flowing in the pipeline PL at a portion of the pipeline PL close to the farm pond FP. The water sensor 300-A thus provided can detect the amount of water flowing from the farm pond FP into the pipeline PL in response to the supply of water from the farm pond FP.
The water sensor 300-A also has a network communication function compatible with wireless LAN, and is therefore capable of communicating with the water management server 500 (an example of a water management device) via the wireless LAN router RT and the network NT.

The water sensor 300-B1 is provided corresponding to the water supply tap 100-1 and detects the water flowing into the water supply tap 100-1. As a specific example, the water sensor 300-B1 is provided so as to detect the amount of water (flow rate) flowing in a portion of the pipeline PL connected to the water supply tap 100-1 close to the water supply tap 100-1.
For example, when the water faucet 100-1 is closed and no water flows through the water faucet 100-1, no water flows through the pipeline PL in the vicinity of the water faucet 100-1. Therefore, the water sensor 300-B1 in this case detects that the flow rate is zero.
In contrast, when the water faucet 100-1 is open and water is flowing through the water faucet 100-1, water also flows through the pipeline PL in the vicinity of the water faucet 100-1. Therefore, the water sensor 300-B1 in this case detects a flow rate corresponding to the amount of water flowing through the water faucet 100-1.
In this manner, the water sensor 300-B1 can detect the water flowing through the water tap 100-1.

The water sensor 300-B1 and the water tap 100-1 are also installed relatively close to each other. Therefore, the water sensor 300-B1 and the water tap 100-1 are configured to be able to communicate with each other via short-range wireless communication. This allows the water sensor 300-B1 to transmit detection information indicating the detection results to the water tap 100-1, and the water tap 100-1 to transmit the received detection information from the wireless LAN router RT via the network NT to the water management server 500. In this way, the water management server 500 can obtain the detection information of the water sensor 300-B1 via communication.

The method of short-range wireless communication between the water sensor 300-B1 and the water tap 100-1 is not particularly limited, but may be, for example, Bluetooth (registered trademark), ZigBee (registered trademark), or the like.
Since such short-distance wireless communication consumes little power, for example, the water sensor 300-B1 can be operated for a long period of time using a battery as a power source, which reduces the labor required for maintenance. Also, even if the power generated during the day by a solar cell is used as a power source by charging it, a small-capacity solar cell or rechargeable battery can suffice.

The water sensor 300-B2 is provided corresponding to the water faucet 100-2 and detects the water flowing into the water faucet 100-2. For example, the water sensor 300-B2 is also provided to detect the amount of water (flow rate) flowing in the pipeline PL in the vicinity of the water faucet 100-2.
The water sensor 300-B2 and the water supply tap 100-2 are capable of communicating with each other via short-range wireless communication. This allows the water management server 500 to obtain detection information of the water sensor 300-B2 from the water supply tap 100-2 via communication.

The water sensor 300-B3 is provided corresponding to the water supply tap 100-3 and detects the water flowing into the water supply tap 100-3. For example, the water sensor 300-B3 is also provided to detect the amount of water (flow rate) flowing in the pipeline PL in the vicinity of the water supply tap 100-3.
The water sensor 300-B3 and the water supply tap 100-3 are capable of communicating with each other via short-range wireless communication, which allows the water management server 500 to obtain detection information of the water sensor 300-B3 from the water supply tap 100-3 via communication.

The water management server 500 can use the detection information acquired from the water sensors 300-A, 300-B1, 300-B2, and 300-B3 as described above to perform water supply and drainage control for each of the fields FM-1, FM-2, and FM-3.

In the following explanation, when there is no particular distinction between the water sensors 300-B1, 300-B2, and 300-B3 corresponding to each water supply tap 100, they will be referred to as water sensor 300-B. Also, when there is no particular distinction between the water sensor 300-A corresponding to the farm pond FP and the water sensor 300-B corresponding to the water supply tap 100, they will be referred to as water sensor 300.

Furthermore, multiple water level sensors 400-1 are installed in the farm field FM-1. In the figure, an example in which four water level sensors 400-1 are installed is shown. Each water level sensor 400-1 detects (measures) the water level at the location where it is installed.
The water level in a field varies depending on the position in the field, for example. Therefore, when determining one water level corresponding to one field, it is preferable to place water level sensors at multiple different positions in the field and determine one representative water level based on the water levels detected by each water level sensor, in order to increase the reliability of the measurement results. In this embodiment, multiple water level sensors 400-1 are installed in the field FM-1 from this perspective.
In addition, each water level sensor 400-1 is capable of communicating with the water supply faucet 100-1 installed in the same farm field FM-1 by short-range wireless communication. This allows each water level sensor 400-1 to transmit information on the detected water level to the water supply faucet 100-1. In addition, the water supply faucet 100-1 can transmit the water level information received from each water level sensor 400-1 to the water management server 500 via the wireless LAN router RT and the network NT. In other words, each water level sensor 400-1 can transmit information on the detected water level to the water management server 500 via communication relayed by the water supply faucet 100-1.

Similarly, multiple water level sensors 400-2 are installed in the field FM-2. Each water level sensor 400-2 is capable of communicating with a water faucet 100-2 installed in the same field FM-2 by short-range wireless communication. This allows each water level sensor 400-2 to transmit detected water level information to the water management server 500 via the water faucet 100-2.
Additionally, multiple water level sensors 400-3 are installed in the field FM-3. Each water level sensor 400-3 is capable of communicating with a water faucet 100-3 installed in the same field FM-3 by short-range wireless communication. This allows each water level sensor 400-3 to transmit detected water level information to the water management server 500 via the water faucet 100-3. In the following explanation, when there is no particular need to distinguish between the water level sensors 400-1, 400-2, and 400-3, they will be referred to as water level sensor 400.
In addition, when it is desired to reduce costs by reducing the number of water level sensors 400, one water level sensor 400 may be installed in one field FM. Then, the water management server 500 performs calculations using information on the water level detected by the water level sensor 400, thereby making it possible to measure the water level of the entire field FM.

The water management server 500 can determine the water level in the field FM-1 using water level information received from each water level sensor 400-1 installed in the field FM-1, and can use the determined water level for water supply and drainage management in the field FM-1.
Similarly, the water management server 500 can use the water level information received from each water level sensor 400-2 installed in field FM-2 to determine the water level in field FM-2, and use the determined water level for water supply and drainage management in field FM-2.
In addition, the water management server 500 can use the water level information received from each water level sensor 400-3 installed in field FM-3 to determine the water level in field FM-3, and use the determined water level for water supply and drainage management in field FM-3.

The water management server 500 manages water supply and drainage (water supply and drainage management) in the fields FM-1, FM-2, and FM-3.
In managing water supply and drainage, the water management server 500 communicates with the water taps 100 in each field FM via the network NT and the wireless LAN router RT, thereby controlling the opening and closing of the taps 100. This allows the water management server 500 to individually control the water supply for each field FM.
The water management server 500 also communicates with the drain plugs 200 in each field FM via the network NT and the wireless LAN router RT, thereby controlling the opening and closing of the plugs in each drain plug 200. This allows the water management server 500 to individually control drainage for each field FM.

The field owner terminal 600-1 is a network terminal device used by the field owner (farmer) of the field FM-1. The field owner terminal 600-1 is, for example, a personal computer, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, etc. owned by the field owner of the field FM-1. Similarly, the field owner terminals 600-2 and 600-3 are network terminal devices used by the field owners of the fields FM-2 and FM-3, respectively. In the following explanation, the field owner terminals 600-1, 600-2, and 600-3 will be referred to as the field owner terminal 600 unless otherwise distinguished.
In the figure, an example is shown in which field owner terminals 600-1, 600-2, and 600-3 are provided for the fields FM-1, FM-2, and FM-3, respectively, in order to accommodate the cases in which the fields FM-1, FM-2, and FM-3 have different field owners. However, for the fields FM-1, FM-2, and FM-3 that have the same field owner, one field owner terminal 600 may be used in common.

An example of the configuration of the water supply tap 100 will be described with reference to Figures 2 and 3. In each figure, the structure of the water supply tap 100 is shown in a cross-sectional view of the water supply tap 100 as viewed from the side.
In the water faucet 100, the water supply pipe 101 is a pipe to which water is supplied from the pipeline PL. The lower end side of the water supply pipe 101 is connected to the end of the pipeline PL as shown in the figure. As a result, the water sent from the pipeline PL is supplied to a hollow portion 101a of the water supply pipe 101, as shown by the arrow α in Figure 2.

A discharge pipe 102 is attached to the upper end of the water supply pipe 101. A hollow portion 102a of the discharge pipe 102 is connected to a hollow portion 101a of the water supply pipe 101. In addition, at the joint between the water supply pipe 101 and the discharge pipe 102, the diameter of the hollow portion 101a of the water supply pipe 101 is larger than the stop valve ball 104, and the diameter of the hollow portion 102a of the discharge pipe 102 is smaller than the stop valve ball 104. In addition, the opening of the hollow portion 102a of the discharge pipe 102 on the hollow portion 101a side is tapered as shown in the figure, so that when the stop valve ball 104 rises up to the opening of the hollow portion 102a, it is located in a position where the stop valve ball 104 can block the hollow portion 102a as shown in the figure.
In this embodiment, the stop valve ball 104 and the lower opening of the hollow portion 102a form a stopper portion.

A cup 103 is provided to cover the upper side of the discharge pipe 102. A hollow portion 103a is formed between the inside of the cup 103 and the discharge pipe 102. The hollow portion 103a serves as a path (flow path) through which the water discharged from the hollow portion 102a of the discharge pipe 102 is discharged to the outside.

The stop valve ball 104 is a spherical member having buoyancy. As shown in the drawing, the stop valve ball 104 is provided in the hollow portion 101a.
The shaft 105 is provided so as to penetrate the cup 103 and the hollow portion 102a of the discharge pipe 102. The shaft 105 is movable up and down within a certain movable range by a plug drive unit 111 as shown by an arrow A in FIG.

The shaft portion 105 shown in FIG. 2 is, for example, in the uppermost position in the movable range. In this state, the pressure of the water supplied from the pipeline PL to the water supply pipe 101 causes the stop valve ball 104, which is a buoyant body, to rise to the state shown in the figure, so that the opening of the hollow portion 102a is blocked by the stop valve ball 104 (closed state). By being in this closed state, the water supplied from the pipeline PL to the water supply pipe 101 is not discharged outside the water supply valve 100.

On the other hand, the shaft 105 shown in Fig. 3 has been moved downward from the state shown in Fig. 2 as indicated by the arrow B in Fig. 3, and is in the lowest position within its movable range. In this state, the stop valve ball 104 is pushed down by the shaft 105 as shown in the figure. As a result, the stop valve ball 104 is in a state (open state) in which it is located lower than the hollow portion 102a in the hollow portion 101a.
By opening the pipe in this manner, the water supplied from the pipeline PL to the water supply pipe 101 passes through a flow path formed by hollow portions 101a, 102a, and 103a, as indicated by the dashed arrow β in the figure, and is discharged to the outside of the water supply tap 100. In this manner, the water is supplied from the water supply tap 100 to the field FM. At this time, because a cup 103 is provided above the discharge pipe 102, even if the pressure of the water discharged from the hollow portion 102a is high, it can flow downward through the hollow portion 103a without being sprayed out upwards.

The water supply tap 100 is also provided with a flow rate sensor 106 (an example of a state detection unit) that detects the flow rate of water in the flow path of the water supply tap 100. In the figure, the flow rate sensor 106 is provided in the hollow portion 102a and detects the flow rate in the hollow portion 102a. The flow rate sensor 106 outputs a flow rate detection signal indicating the detected flow rate to the control unit 112.
The location of the flow rate sensor 106 is not limited to the example shown in the figure. The flow rate sensor 106 may be provided at any position in the flow path from the pipeline PL to the water faucet 100 until the water is discharged from the hollow portion 103a.
The flow rate detected by the flow rate sensor 106 may be considered to be the same as the flow rate detected by the water sensor 300-B provided corresponding to the water supply tap 100. For this reason, the flow rate sensor 106 may be omitted, and the flow rate detected by the water sensor 300-B may be transmitted to the control unit 112 as the above-mentioned flow rate detection signal.
However, for example, when there is a certain distance between the water sensor 300-B and the water supply faucet 100, water leakage may occur due to deterioration of the piping. In this case, the flow rate sensor 106 provided in the water supply faucet 100 can detect the flow rate of water in the flow path of the water supply faucet 100 more accurately. In addition, based on the difference between the flow rate detected by the flow rate sensor 106 and the flow rate detected by the water sensor 300-B, it becomes possible to detect the presence or absence of water leakage in the piping and the degree of water leakage. In addition, in a configuration in which multiple water supply faucets 100 are branched and connected downstream of the water sensor 300-B, the water sensor 300-B detects the total amount of water flowing through the multiple water supply faucets 100. Therefore, in this case, the sensor 106 can detect the water amount in the flow path of each water supply faucet 100.

The water supply faucet 100 is also provided with a dismantling sensor 107. The dismantling sensor 107 is a sensor that detects whether the water supply faucet 100 has been dismantled. The dismantling sensor 107 in the figure is provided so as to detect when the water supply pipe 101 and the discharge pipe 102 have been dismantled so as to be separated. The dismantling sensor 107 may be configured to include elements, circuits, etc. that output power in response to a physical change that accompanies the dismantling of the part to be detected, and to output a dismantling notification signal to the control unit 112 using the output power.
The dismantling sensor 107 is used in a third embodiment described later. Therefore, the dismantling sensor 107 may be omitted in this embodiment. The position at which the dismantling sensor 107 is provided is not limited to the example shown in the figure. For example, the dismantling sensor 107 may be provided between the circuit case 110 and the cup 103, or on the lid of the circuit case 110 itself.

As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, a circuit case 110 is provided, for example, on the cup 103. Inside the circuit case 110, a plug drive unit 111, a control unit 112, a sensor-compatible communication unit 113, a server-compatible communication unit 114, a power supply unit 115, and a movement detection unit 116 are provided.

The plug drive unit 111 drives the plug unit to open and close. In other words, the plug drive unit 111 moves the shaft 105 in the vertical direction to change the state between a closed state in which the stop valve ball 104 closes the opening of the hollow portion 102a and an open state in which the stop valve ball 104 is located below the opening of the hollow portion 102a.
In addition, the valve driver 111 can adjust the gap between the opening of the hollow portion 102a and the stop valve ball 104 by changing the vertical position of the shaft portion 105 in the open state. This makes it possible to adjust the amount of water discharged from the water supply valve 100.

The tap drive unit 111 is configured, for example, with a motor 111a and a mechanism for moving the shaft 105 up and down in response to the rotation of the motor 111a. For example, the mechanism for moving the shaft 105 up and down can be configured with a structure in which the shaft 105 is screwed into a predetermined location on the water tap 100 so that it can be moved up and down by rotation, and the shaft 105 is rotated in response to the rotation of the motor. Note that other structures can also be used for the mechanism for moving the shaft 105 up and down, and is not limited to the above example.

The control unit 112 controls the operation of the plug drive unit 111. To this end, the control unit 112 adjusts the open/closed state of the plug unit by, for example, outputting a motor control signal to the plug drive unit 111 for rotating the motor 111a of the plug drive unit 111.

In addition, the control unit 112 transmits and receives information to and from the water management server 500 via the network NT through the server-compatible communication unit 114 .
In this embodiment, when a flow rate detection signal output from the flow rate sensor 106 is input, the control unit 112 causes the server-compatible communication unit 114 to transmit flow rate detection information including information on the flow rate indicated by the input flow rate detection signal and a water tap ID indicating the water tap 100 to the water management server 500.
The control unit 112 also transmits and receives information via the sensor-compatible communication unit 113 to and from a water level sensor 400 located within the communication distance of the sensor-compatible communication unit 113. The control unit 112 also transmits and receives information via the server-compatible communication unit 114 to and from the water management server 500 over the network NT.

The sensor compatible communication unit 113 communicates with the water level sensor 400 located within the communication distance range via short-range wireless communication.
The server-compatible communication unit 114 communicates with the water management server 500 via the network NT.

The power supply unit 115 supplies power to the plug driving unit 111, the control unit 112, the sensor-compatible communication unit 113, the server-compatible communication unit 114, and the movement detection unit 116. The power supply unit 115 includes, for example, a solar cell and a storage battery, and stores power generated by the solar cell during the day in the storage battery. The power supply unit 115 is configured to supply the power stored in the storage battery as a power source.
Alternatively, the power supply unit 115 may be configured to supply power from a battery of a specified standard, such as a secondary battery or a primary battery, and to be used so that the battery is replaced when the remaining battery charge becomes low.

The movement detection unit 116 detects whether or not the main body of the water supply faucet 100 to which the circuit case 110 is attached has moved. Specifically, the movement detection unit 116 can be configured to perform positioning in accordance with the Global Positioning System (GPS). In this case, the movement detection unit 116 detects that movement has occurred when the position to be measured changes over time.
Alternatively, the movement detection unit 116 may be configured with a gyro sensor. In this case, the movement detection unit 116 detects that movement has occurred in response to a signal corresponding to the movement being detected by the gyro sensor.
The detection output of the movement detection unit 116 is used in the third embodiment, so the movement detection unit 116 may be omitted in this embodiment.

Here, since the water flows from the river RV through an outdoor waterway before being stored in the farm pond FP, various types of garbage (one example of foreign matter) get mixed in with the water. For this reason, garbage is also included in the water that is supplied from the farm pond FP to the water tap 100 via the pipeline PL. When the water is supplied from the farm pond FP to the pipeline PL, for example, a mesh filter or the like can be installed to remove a certain degree of large garbage, but small garbage cannot be removed and remains.
In this way, water containing garbage is supplied to the water faucet 100. This can cause problems such as the garbage clogging the internal flow passage of the water faucet 100.

Specifically, as shown by the dashed line in Fig. 3, debris mostly gets stuck in the opening SP that is blocked by the stop valve ball 104. As can be seen from the figure, this opening SP is the connecting portion between the wide inner diameter hollow portion 101a and the narrow inner diameter hollow portion 102a, and is the portion where the inner diameter becomes extremely narrow.
If the opening SP is clogged with debris, the stop valve ball 104 cannot normally close the lower opening of the hollow portion 102a as shown in FIG. 2. This makes it impossible to normally open and close the stop valve. Even if the opening SP is clogged with debris, there are gaps between the clogged debris, so the water in the hollow portion 101a flows into the hollow portion 102a through these gaps, and as a result, the water is discharged from the hollow portion 103a to the outside. For this reason, for example, even if the opening and closing valve control is supposed to control the water supply valve 100 to be in a closed state, the stop valve is not completely closed inside, causing a problem in which the water leaks out.
It is preferable to discover such problems as early as possible and deal with them as quickly as possible. Furthermore, it is also preferable to reduce the amount of manual work required to discover and deal with the problem.

In this embodiment, the water management server 500 detects the occurrence of a debris clogging in the water tap 100 based on detection information from the flow rate sensor 106 transmitted from the water tap 100. If a debris clogging is detected, the water management server 500 is configured to cause the water tap 100 to perform an operation to clear the clogging, and to notify an administrator of the occurrence of a fault if the clogging is not cleared. This eliminates the need for manual work in detecting the occurrence of a debris clogging in the water tap 100 and dealing with the clogging, thereby saving labor.

An example of the configuration of the water management server 500 will be described with reference to FIG. 4. The water management server 500 in the figure includes a communication unit 501, a control unit 502, and a storage unit 503.

The communication unit 501 executes communication corresponding to the network NT. By being equipped with the communication unit 501, the water management server 500 can communicate with the water supply taps 100 and the drain taps 200 of each farm field FM from the network NT via the wireless LAN router RT.

The control unit 502 executes various controls in the water management server 500. The functions of the control unit 502 are realized, for example, by a CPU (Central Processing Unit) included in the water management server 500 executing a program.
The control unit 502 in this embodiment includes an opening/closing control unit 521, a fault determination unit 522, and a fault response unit 523 as functional units related to detecting a debris blockage in the water supply tap 100 and dealing with the debris blockage.

The opening/closing control unit 521 controls the opening and closing of a tap unit provided in a running water path through which water is discharged to be supplied to the water supply tap 100. When controlling the open/closed state of the tap unit of the water supply tap 100, the opening/closing control unit 521 transmits a tap unit control signal to the water supply tap 100 that is the target of the opening/closing control.
The plug control signal is information that indicates the degree of the plug's open state. The plug control signal includes, for example, an opening degree that indicates the degree of the plug's open state. The opening degree indicates a value corresponding to a target open state within a range from zero (closed state) indicating a closed state to a predetermined maximum value indicating a completely open state.
The transmitted tap unit control signal is received by the server-compatible communication unit 114 of the water tap 100 that is the target of the opening control, via the network NT and the wireless LAN router RT.
The control unit 112 of the water supply tap 100 controls the tap driver 111 in accordance with the opening degree included in the received tap unit control signal, and the tap driver 111 drives the tap unit in accordance with the control. This sets the state of the tap unit to the opening degree indicated by the tap unit control signal.

The fault determination unit 522 determines whether a fault has occurred in the water tap 100 based on detection information output from a state detection unit that detects a predetermined state in the water tap 100 .
In this embodiment, the state detection unit in the water supply tap 100 is a flow rate sensor 106. The flow rate sensor 106 detects the flow rate of water in a flow path within the water supply tap 100 as a predetermined state of the water supply tap 100. As described above, the water supply tap 100 transmits flow rate detection information indicating the flow rate output by the flow rate sensor 106.

The fault determination unit 522 of this embodiment determines, based on the flow rate indicated by the received flow rate detection information, whether or not a fault due to debris has occurred in the water supply tap 100 that transmitted the flow rate detection information.
As described above, when the water supply valve 100 becomes clogged with debris, the debris becomes caught between the lower opening of the hollow portion 102a and the stop valve ball 104, as shown as the opening portion SP. For this reason, even when the water supply valve 100 is controlled to be in a closed state, the stop valve ball 104 cannot completely close the lower opening of the hollow portion 102a. Then, the water that has passed through the gaps caused by the debris caught in the opening portion SP is discharged.
In this way, when clogging with debris occurs, even if the valve is controlled to be closed, water will flow in the flow path of the water tap 100 due to the occurrence of a leak.

Therefore, the fault determination unit 522 of this embodiment determines that a fault has occurred when the flow rate sensor 106 in the water supply tap 100 detects the presence of flow rate and the opening/closing control unit 521 is in a state of controlling the tap unit to a closed state.
That is, the fault determination unit 522 determines whether or not the flow rate detection information received from the water supply tap 100 indicates that there is a flow rate. For example, the fault determination unit 522 can determine that there is no flow rate if the flow rate value indicated by the flow rate detection information received from the water supply tap 100 is zero, and that there is a flow rate if the flow rate value is greater than zero.
Furthermore, the fault determination unit 522 acquires the controlled opening for the faucet 100 with the faucet ID included in the received flow detection information from the faucet control information stored in the memory unit 503. The controlled opening in the faucet control information indicates the opening currently set for the faucet 100 by the opening/closing control unit 521. The fault determination unit 522 determines whether the acquired controlled opening is a value corresponding to a closed state (for example, zero, or a value less than a predetermined value).
Then, when the fault determination unit 522 determines that the flow detection information indicates that there is a flow and that the acquired control opening degree is a value corresponding to a closed state, it determines that a fault due to debris clogging has occurred.
The occurrence of a fault due to clogging can be determined using the detection results of the water pressure inside the water supply tap 100. That is, in the case of the structure of the water supply tap 100 shown in Fig. 2, sufficient water pressure is obtained in the hollow portion 101a if there is no water leakage due to clogging with debris, but if there is water leakage due to clogging with debris, the water pressure in the hollow portion 101a drops.
In detecting the water pressure, for example, a water pressure gauge can be attached inside the water supply pipe 101 of the water faucet 100 , and information indicating the water pressure measured by the water pressure gauge can be transmitted to the water management server 500 .
In the case of the structure of the water supply tap 100A (Figures 8 and 9) described below, the valve can be provided in any location that is subject to water pressure when the tap portion is closed, such as the water conduit 131 or the pressure chamber 123a.

In response to the fault determination unit 522 determining that a fault has occurred, the fault response unit 523 performs at least one of fault resolution control, which causes the faucet device to perform an operation to resolve the fault that has occurred, and fault occurrence notification, which notifies the user that a fault has occurred.
In this embodiment, the fault response unit 523 first performs fault resolution control. The fault resolution control here is to operate the water supply faucet 100 so as to clear the debris blockage. The operation that the water supply faucet 100 performs to clear the debris blockage is, for example, to repeatedly open and close the plug a predetermined number of times. By repeatedly opening and closing the plug a predetermined number of times, the debris may be swept away by the water pressure of the water, and may escape the flow path and be discharged to the outside.
Therefore, as a fault resolution control, the fault handler 523 transmits an opening/closing control signal in accordance with a predetermined sequence so that the operation of opening and closing the tap part of the water tap 100 is repeated a predetermined number of times.

After the fault resolution control, the fault response unit 523 controls the opening/closing control unit 521 to close the water supply tap 100, and then again determines whether or not a fault due to debris clogging has occurred based on the flow rate indicated by the flow detection information received from the water supply tap 100.
If it is determined that no fault has occurred due to clogging, the fault is removed from the water supply valve 100 by fault resolution control, and the water supply valve 100 is normally in the closed state in response to the control to close the valve. In this case, the process for dealing with the fault is terminated.
In contrast, if it is determined that a fault has occurred due to debris clogging, the debris is not removed by the fault clearing control, and the water tap 100 remains clogged with debris.
Therefore, in this case, the fault response unit 523 issues a fault occurrence notification, determining that the clogging by debris cannot be cleared by fault clearing control. The fault occurrence notification notifies the manager of the water management system of this embodiment that there is a water faucet 100 where clogging by debris has occurred. The fault occurrence notification may be, for example, sent to a terminal used by the manager, or may be, for example, an email containing information about the water faucet 100 where clogging by debris has occurred to the manager's email address. The manager who has received the fault occurrence notification can go to the water faucet 100 where clogging by debris has occurred and remove the debris.
The notification of the occurrence of a fault may be sent not to the manager of the irrigation management system but to the owner of the field FM in which the faulty water tap 100 is installed. The notification of the occurrence of a fault may be sent to both the manager of the irrigation management system and the owner of the field FM in which the faulty water tap 100 is installed.

The failure response unit 523 further manages failure history information that indicates the history of failures that have been determined to have occurred by the failure determination unit 522 .
Specifically, for each fault determined to have occurred by the fault determination unit 522, the fault response unit 523 stores the date and time of occurrence, the results of the fault response processing (the control content of the fault resolution control, whether the fault was resolved by the fault resolution control, and a log of the fault occurrence notification) and the like as fault history information in the fault history information storage unit 532.

The memory unit 503 stores various information used by the control unit 502. The memory unit 503 in the figure includes a water faucet control information memory unit 531 and a fault history information memory unit 532 in relation to the processing performed by the control unit 502 in response to the occurrence of a fault in the water faucet 100.

The water faucet control information storage unit 531 stores water faucet control information. The water faucet control information is information indicating the current opening degree set by the opening/closing control unit 521 for each water faucet 100. Fig. 5(A) shows an example of the contents of the water faucet control information. The water faucet control information in the figure has a structure in which a controlled opening degree is associated with each water faucet ID of the water faucet 100. In the figure, the water faucet IDs [F0001], [F0002], and [F0003] stored in the water faucet control information respectively indicate the water faucets 100-1, 100-2, and 100-3 in Fig. 1.
The control opening indicates the opening currently set by the opening/closing control unit 521 for the water supply tap 100. In the figure, an example is shown in which the control opening is set in stages from 0 to 100% with a resolution of 16 from 0 to 15.
Here, the above-mentioned controlled opening degree is merely a control value that the opening/closing control unit 521 instructs the water supply tap 100, and may differ from the actual opening degree of the tap part in the water supply tap 100. In other words, even if the opening/closing control unit 521 sets the controlled opening degree to "0", which corresponds to the closed state, if, for example, clogging with debris has occurred, the tap part will not be in a completely closed state, and the actual opening degree of the water supply tap 100 may not be "0".
When determining whether or not a fault has occurred due to clogging of the water supply tap 100, the fault determination unit 522 obtains the control opening degree associated with the water supply tap ID contained in the received flow detection information (or information indicating the measurement results of the water pressure inside the water supply tap 100) from the water supply tap control information.

The fault history information storage unit 532 stores fault history information. The fault history information is information that indicates a history of faults that have occurred in the water supply tap 100 up to now.
Fig. 5(B) shows an example of fault history information. The fault history information in the figure has a structure managed for each water tap 100. In other words, the fault history information is associated with each water tap 100. As described above, the fault history information associated with a single water tap ID stores the date and time of occurrence, the results of the fault response process (the control content of the fault resolution control, whether the fault was resolved by the fault resolution control, and a log of the fault occurrence notification) for each fault that has occurred in the corresponding water tap 100 so far.

Furthermore, in the fault history information in the figure, each water tap ID is associated with a field owner ID. The field owner ID indicates the field owner of the field in which the water tap 100 indicated by the associated water tap ID is installed.
The field owner ID [FM0001] associated with the water faucet ID [F0001] indicates the field owner of the field FM-1 in which the water faucet 100-1 is installed. The field owner ID [FM0002] associated with the water faucet ID [F0002] indicates the field owner of the field FM-2 in which the water faucet 100-2 is installed. The field owner ID [FM0003] associated with the water faucet ID [F0003] indicates the field owner of the field FM-3 in which the water faucet 100-3 is installed.

An example of a processing procedure executed by the water management server 500 in this embodiment in response to a fault caused by clogging of the water tap 100 with debris will be described with reference to the flowchart in FIG.
Each water supply tap 100 periodically transmits flow rate detection information indicating the flow rate detected by the flow rate sensor 106 to the water management server 500. The water supply tap 100 then waits to receive the flow rate detection information (step S101-NO).

When it is determined that flow rate detection information has been received from a certain water supply tap 100 (step S101-YES), the fault determination unit 522 first performs processing to determine whether or not a fault has occurred in the water supply tap 100 that sent the flow rate detection information (the target of fault determination).
Here, the fault determination unit 522 determines whether or not the open/close control unit 521 has controlled the tap unit to be closed for the water tap 100 that is the subject of fault determination (step S102).
For this purpose, the fault determination unit 522 acquires from the faucet control information storage unit 531 the controlled opening associated with the faucet ID indicating the faucet 100 to be determined as being fault-determined, which was included in the flow rate detection information received in step S101. Next, the fault determination unit 522 determines whether the acquired controlled opening is a value corresponding to the closed state. At this time, if the controlled opening is a value corresponding to the closed state ("0"), it is determined that the faucet 100 is controlled to be in the closed state. On the other hand, if the controlled opening is a value greater than 0 corresponding to the open state, the faucet 100 is controlled to be in the open state to a degree corresponding to the controlled opening. Therefore, in this case, the fault determination unit 522 determines that the faucet 100 is not controlled to be in the closed state.

If it is determined that the valve is not controlled to be in the closed state (step S102-NO), water is discharged regardless of whether the valve is clogged with debris, so it is not possible to determine whether a malfunction has occurred. Even if the valve is clogged with debris, water is discharged in response to control to the open state, and in this respect, the water supply valve 100 is operating normally. In this case, the process shown in the figure is terminated.
On the other hand, if it is determined that the valve is controlled to be closed (step S102-YES), it is further determined whether or not the flow detection information received in step S101 indicates that there is a flow (step S103).
If the flow rate is zero (step S103-NO), the water supply valve 100 to be determined as a fault is normally closed in response to the control to close the valve. Therefore, in this case, it is determined that no fault due to clogging has occurred. In this case, the process shown in the figure is terminated.

On the other hand, if the flow rate is present (step S103-YES), the water supply valve 100 to be determined as a fault is not in the closed state even though it is controlled to be in the closed state. In this case, it is determined that a fault has occurred due to clogging, and the process proceeds to the fault response process described below.
The order of the processes in steps S102 and S103 may be reversed. That is, the determination in step S102 may be made after it is determined in the process in step S103 that there is a flow rate.

First, the fault response unit 523 executes fault resolution control (step S104). In this case, the fault resolution control is a control for repeatedly opening and closing the stopper a predetermined number of times so that the waste is pushed out by the water pressure of the service water, as described above.

When the fault resolution control is completed, the fault response unit 523 causes the opening/closing control unit 521 to execute a closing control to close the water supply tap 100 that is the subject of fault determination (step S105).
After carrying out the control to close the valve as described above, the fault determination unit 522 waits again to receive flow rate detection information transmitted from the same water supply tap 100 that is the subject of fault determination (step S106-NO).
Then, when the flow rate detection information is received (step S106-YES), the fault determining unit 522 determines whether or not the received flow rate detection information indicates the presence of a flow rate (step S107).

If it indicates that there is a flow rate (step S107-YES), the water supply tap 100 being judged as being faulty is still leaking water while being controlled to be closed in step S105. In other words, it is determined that the debris blockage has not been cleared. In this case, the fault response unit 523 notifies the administrator of the water management system of the occurrence of the fault, as described above (step S108).

As described above, the notification of the occurrence of a fault in step S108 may be sent to the owner of the field FM in which the water supply tap 100 to be evaluated is installed, instead of to the manager. Alternatively, the notification of the occurrence of a fault in step S108 may be sent to both the manager and the owner of the field.

When sending a notification of the occurrence of a problem to the owner of the farm, the notification of the occurrence of the problem can be sent, for example, to an email address stored in the information of the owner of the farm stored in the water management server 500 (not shown in Figure 4).
Furthermore, if a field management application is installed in the field owner terminal 600, the field owner ID is registered as a user account in the field management application. Therefore, in step S108, the fault response unit 523 may notify the field management application of the occurrence of the fault in the fault occurrence history, to which the field owner ID associated with the water tap ID of the target water tap 100 is registered as a user account.

After the process of step S108, or when it is determined that there is no flow rate (step S107-NO), that is, when it is determined that the debris clogging has been cleared, the fault response unit 523 adds the details regarding the occurrence of the current fault to the fault history information stored in the fault history information storage unit 532. That is, the fault history information is updated in response to the occurrence of the current fault (step S109).
When the process proceeds from step S107 to step S109 without going through step S108, the fault history information added in step S109 indicates that the fault has been resolved by fault resolution control. On the other hand, when the process proceeds to step S109 via step S108, the fault history information added in step S109 indicates that the fault has not been resolved even though fault resolution control has been performed, and that a fault occurrence notification has been performed.

If it is determined in step S107 that there is a flow rate, i.e., if it is determined that the fault caused by clogging has not been resolved, the process may be returned to step S104 again within a predetermined limit, and fault resolution control may be retried. In this embodiment, the fault occurrence notification may be sent not only when the fault is not resolved even after fault resolution control is performed, but also when the fault is resolved by the fault resolution control. In this case, if the fault occurrence notification includes information indicating whether the fault has been resolved by the fault resolution control, the water management system manager or farm owner can be informed of the occurrence of the fault as well as the results of the fault resolution control.

Second Embodiment
Next, a second embodiment will be described.
When the valve driver 111 is operated to change the valve part of the water faucet 100 from a closed state to an open state, an excessive load may be applied to the motor 111a, for example, due to stiffness in the movement of the shaft part 105 driven by the valve driver 111. Leaving such a state is not preferable because it may cause malfunctions such as breakdowns of the valve driver 111 including the motor 111a.
Therefore, the water management system of this embodiment is configured to target an overload of the motor 111a as a fault in the water faucet 100, determine whether or not a fault has occurred, and take action to respond to the occurrence of a fault.

The water supply tap 100 in this embodiment may have the same configuration as that shown in Figures 2 and 3. In addition, in the water supply tap 100 of this embodiment, the tap drive unit 111 is configured to monitor the load current of the motor 111a, and when it detects that an overload state has occurred, to output an overload notification signal indicating the overload state to the control unit 112. Alternatively, the tap drive unit 111 may notify the control unit 112 of the load current value of the motor 111a, and the control unit 112 may detect the overload state based on the load current value.
When the control unit 112 receives the overload notification signal or detects an overload state as described above, it transmits an overload notification indicating that the motor 111a is in an overload state to the water management server 500. The overload notification includes a water faucet ID indicating the water faucet 100.

In addition, the configuration of the water management server 500 in this embodiment may be the same as that in Fig. 4. However, in this embodiment, the fault determination unit 522 and the fault response unit 523 in the control unit 502 perform the following processing in response to the fault of the target water faucet 100 being determined to be an overload of the motor 111a.
Furthermore, in the case of this embodiment, since it is not necessary to use water hydrant control information to determine whether or not a fault has occurred, the water hydrant control information storage unit 531 in the storage unit 503 may be omitted.

An example of a processing procedure executed by the water management server 500 in this embodiment in response to a fault caused by an overload on the motor 111a will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
After the opening/closing control unit 521 performs control to open a certain water tap 100 (opening control), the fault determination unit 522 waits to receive an overload notification from the water tap 100 that is the target of the opening control (step S201-NO).

In this case, the control unit 112 of the water supply tap 100 that is the target of the opening control does not transmit an overload notification unless the motor 111a operates normally in response to the opening control and does not become overloaded. In this case, the process does not proceed to step S202 and subsequent steps in FIG.
In contrast, if an overload condition occurs in the motor 111a of the water supply tap 100 that is the target of the opening control as a result of the opening control, an overload notification is transmitted from the water supply tap 100 that is the target of the opening control and is received by the water management server 500 (step S201-YES). In response to receiving the overload notification, the fault determination unit 522 determines that a fault due to an overload has occurred in the motor 111a of the water supply tap 100 that is the target of the opening control.

In this case, the fault response unit 523 executes fault resolution control targeting the water supply tap 100 (step S202). As the fault resolution control in this case, the fault response unit 523 performs, for example, opening control again. In the fault resolution control in step S202, the fault response unit 523 may perform opening control once, or may perform it repeatedly a predetermined number of times. By attempting opening control again in this way, for example, the mechanism for moving the shaft 105 may return to normal, allowing the shaft 105 to move in accordance with the rotation of the motor 111a, and as a result, the load current of the motor 111a may also return to the normal range.

Opening control is also performed in the fault resolution control in step S202. Therefore, when the tap driver 111 is operating in response to opening control as fault resolution control, if the overload state of the motor 111a is not resolved, the control unit 112 of the tap 100 again transmits an overload notification. On the other hand, if the overload state of the motor 111a is resolved by the tap driver 111 operating in response to opening control as fault resolution control, the control unit 112 of the tap 100 does not transmit an overload notification.
Then, the fault determining unit 522 determines whether or not an overload notification has been received in response to the opening control in step S202 (step S203).

If an overload notification is received (step S203-YES), it is determined that the fault caused by the overload of the motor 111a has not been resolved. In this case, the fault response unit 523 notifies at least one of the administrator of the irrigation management system and the farm owner of the fault occurrence (step S204).

After the processing of step S204, or if it is determined that an overload notification has not been received (step S203-NO), i.e., if it is determined that the overload of the motor 111a has been resolved, the fault response unit 523 updates the fault history information stored in the fault history information storage unit 532 with information related to the occurrence of the current fault (step S205).

In this embodiment as well, if an overload notification is received in step S103, i.e., if it is determined that the fault has not been resolved, the process may be returned to step S202 again within a predetermined limited number of times, so that fault resolution control can be retried.
In this embodiment as well, the fault occurrence notification may be made not only when the fault is not resolved even after fault resolution control is performed, but also when the fault is resolved by the fault resolution control.
Moreover, the overload notification may be performed in multiple stages. As an example, in the case of performing the overload notification in two stages, in the first stage, a state in which the load of the motor has increased by a certain percentage or more compared to normal due to, for example, dirt around the moving part and the rotating shaft, or debris caught in the motor is detected. When this state is detected, the water supply faucet 100 transmits a primary overload notification to the water management server 500. The primary overload notification indicates that the water supply faucet 100 has not yet reached an overload state, but there is a possibility that it may reach an overload state. The water supply faucet management server 500 that has received the primary overload notification transmits, for example, an overload advance notification to the corresponding field owner terminal 600 that notifies the field owner that the water supply faucet 100 is approaching an overload state. In response to receiving the overload advance notification, the field owner terminal 600 outputs a message, for example, by display, to notify the field owner that the water supply faucet 100 is approaching an overload state. By viewing the message displayed in this manner, the farm owner can carry out maintenance of the water supply tap 100 in advance, thereby preventing an overload condition from occurring.
In the second stage, an overload notification similar to that previously explained with reference to Fig. 7 is sent as a secondary overload notification from the water supply tap 100 to the water management server 500. The water management server 500 that has received the secondary overload notification executes fault resolution control, fault occurrence notification, and the like, similar to that previously explained with reference to Fig. 7.

Next, a modification of the second embodiment will be described.
For example, in the water supply tap 100, an abnormality may occur in the power, voltage, current, etc. in a portion (hereinafter also referred to as a circuit system) having circuits such as the power supply unit 115 and a circuit unit operated by the power supply unit 115. It is preferable to respond as quickly as possible to the occurrence of an electrical abnormality in such a circuit system.
Therefore, when an abnormality in the circuit system as described above is detected, the control unit 112 transmits a circuit system abnormality notification indicating the abnormality to the water management server 500. That is, in the modified example, an abnormality in the circuit system in the water supply tap 100 is targeted as a fault in the water supply tap 100.

By receiving the circuit system abnormality notification, the fault determination unit 522 in the water management server 500 can determine that a fault due to an abnormality in the circuit system has occurred in the water supply tap 100 that sent the circuit system abnormality notification.
When it is determined that a fault has occurred due to an abnormality in the circuit system, the fault response unit 523 can perform control such as stopping the operation of the power supply unit 115 as a fault resolution control. This prevents the water supply tap 100 from operating while an abnormality has occurred in the circuit system. The fault response unit 523 can then notify at least one of the manager of the irrigation water management system and the owner of the field of the fault. This enables the manager of the irrigation water management system or the owner of the field to quickly inspect and repair the circuit system in response to the abnormality.
In addition to electrical abnormalities in the circuit system, for example, a low battery voltage in the power supply unit 115 may be notified as a fault. Also, when it is determined that a communication failure has occurred with the water supply tap 100 on the water management server 500 side, a fault may be notified.
Furthermore, a water level abnormality notification may be sent when it is determined that there is an abnormality in the water level, for example, based on the water level detected by the water level sensor 400. Specifically, the water management server 500 may determine that an abnormality in the water level has occurred, for example, when it is determined that the water level is higher than a preset upper water level or lower than a preset lower water level.
In addition, when the water management server 500 determines that the water level does not change while controlling the water supply tap 100 to supply water to the field FM, it may be configured to issue an abnormality notification indicating that an abnormality has occurred due to water leakage from the field FM.
Furthermore, a water thermometer is installed in the field FM, and the water temperature measured by the water thermometer is monitored by the water management server 500 via the water supply tap 100. The water management server 500 may be configured to issue an anomaly notification indicating an abnormality in the water temperature when the monitored water temperature exceeds, for example, a preset upper limit water temperature.
In addition, a water pressure gauge is provided inside the water supply tap 100 so that the water pressure can be monitored by the water management server 500. If an abnormality occurs, such as the monitored water pressure becoming lower than a predetermined lower limit pressure, the water management server 500 may be configured to issue an abnormality occurrence notification indicating an abnormality in the water pressure.

Third Embodiment
Next, a third embodiment will be described. The water supply tap 100 is permanently installed outdoors in the field FM, and is therefore vulnerable to theft and vandalism. In this embodiment, the water supply management system is configured to determine a state in which it is presumed that fraudulent activity such as theft of the water supply tap 100 or vandalism against the water supply tap 100 is occurring, and if it is determined that fraudulent activity is occurring, to notify the administrator of the water supply management system of that fact, for example.
This makes it possible to catch fraudulent acts such as theft and vandalism in the act, and thus to deter fraudulent acts.

The determination that fraudulent activity has been committed against the water supply tap 100 (fraudulent activity determination) is specifically performed using the following two estimation methods, a first determination method and a second determination method.
First, when fraudulent acts are committed, such as theft of the water tap 100 or mischief such as moving or knocking over the water tap 100, the water tap 100 moves from its original installation location. Based on this, the first determination method determines whether fraudulent acts have occurred as follows.

The water supply tap 100 is equipped with a movement detection unit 116 (FIGS. 2 and 3). As described above, the movement detection unit 116 has a positioning function compatible with GPS or an acceleration sensor, and detects whether or not its own position has moved based on the position measured by the positioning function or the acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor. When the movement detection unit 116 detects that its own position has moved (been moved), it outputs a movement detection signal to that effect to the control unit 112.
When the control unit 112 receives a movement detection signal from the movement detection unit 116, it transmits a hydrant movement notification to the water management server 500 notifying the water management server 500 that the hydrant 100 has moved.

Then, when the water hydrant movement notification is received, the fault determination unit 522 of the water management server 500 determines that fraudulent activity has occurred on the water hydrant 100 that sent the water hydrant movement notification. The fault response unit 523 then notifies at least either the administrator of the water management server 500 or the farm owner of the occurrence of a fault to inform them that fraudulent activity has occurred on the water hydrant 100.

In addition, the control unit 112 may determine whether the water supply tap 100 has moved based on the position determined by the positioning function of the movement detection unit 116 or the acceleration detected by an acceleration sensor provided in the movement detection unit 116.
Furthermore, for example, the location information measured by the movement detection unit 116 or the acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor is transmitted from the water supply tap 100 to the water management server 500 at regular intervals. The water management server 500 can also be configured to determine whether or not fraudulent activity is being carried out on the water supply tap 100 based on the received location information or acceleration.

Furthermore, in cases of fraudulent acts such as theft or vandalism, the water supply tap 100 may be disassembled. Therefore, in the second determination method, fraudulent acts are determined as follows.
The water supply faucet 100 is provided with a dismantling sensor 107 (FIGS. 2 and 3). As described above, the dismantling sensor 107 in the figures is configured to detect when the water supply pipe 101 and the discharge pipe 102 are dismantled so as to be separated, and to output a dismantling detection signal to the control unit 112.
When the control unit 112 receives a movement detection signal from the dismantling sensor 107, it transmits a dismantling notification to the water management server 500 notifying the water supply faucet 100 that it has been dismantled.

Then, when the water management server 500 fault determination unit 522 receives the dismantling notification, it determines that fraudulent activity has occurred on the water supply tap 100 that sent the dismantling notification. The fault response unit 523 then notifies at least either the manager of the water management server 500 or the farm owner of the fault occurrence, informing them that fraudulent activity has occurred on the water supply tap 100.

It is preferable that the fault occurrence notification transmitted in response to the first determination method includes information indicating that the water supply tap 100 has been moved, and the fault occurrence notification transmitted in response to the second determination method includes information indicating that the water supply tap 100 has been dismantled. This allows the manager or farm owner who receives the fault occurrence notification to have some understanding of the circumstances under which the theft or vandalism is occurring.
In addition, in this embodiment, either a configuration for dealing with fraudulent activity using the movement detection unit 116 or a configuration for dealing with fraudulent activity using the dismantling sensor 107 may be adopted, or both configurations may be combined.
For example, the water supply tap 100 and the water management server 500 communicate with each other at regular intervals. If a communication error occurs a predetermined number of times in succession, the water management server 500 may determine that fraud such as theft or dismantling has occurred and send a failure occurrence notification indicating that fraud has occurred.
In addition, the water management server 500 may monitor the water pressure at the water tap 100 at regular intervals, and if water pressure is no longer detected, may issue a notification of a malfunction indicating that fraudulent activity such as theft or dismantling has occurred.

Fourth Embodiment
Next, a fourth embodiment will be described. As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the water supply valve 100 in the first and second embodiments is configured to open and close the valve portion by utilizing the buoyancy of the stop valve ball 104. However, the structure of the water supply valve that is the subject of the determination of the occurrence of a fault in this embodiment is not limited to the example shown in Figures 2 and 3.
Therefore, in this embodiment, a water supply faucet having a structure in which a faucet portion is opened and closed according to the water pressure received by a diaphragm is used as the subject for determining whether or not a fault has occurred.

An example of the configuration of the water supply tap 100A of this embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 8 and 9. In each figure, the structure of the water supply tap 100A is shown in a cross-sectional view of the water supply tap 100 as seen from the side.
In the water supply faucet 100A, the water supply pipe 121 is a pipe to which water is supplied from the pipeline PL. The lower end side of the water supply pipe 121 is connected to the end of the pipeline PL (FIG. 1) (not shown). As a result, as shown by the arrow α in FIG. 8, the water sent from the pipeline PL is supplied to the hollow portion 121a of the water supply pipe 121. In addition, the opening 121b on the upper end side of the water supply pipe 121 is tapered in accordance with the shape of the bottom side of the valve body portion 125.

A discharge pipe 122 is attached to the upper end of the water supply pipe 121. A hollow portion 122a of the discharge pipe 122 communicates with the hollow portion 121a of the water supply pipe 121 at a portion corresponding to the opening 121b.
For example, as shown in FIG. 9, when the opening 121b is not blocked by the valve body portion 125, the water supplied from the pipeline PL passes through the flow path formed by the hollow portion 121a and the hollow portion 122a, as shown by the arrow β, and is discharged to the outside from the discharge port 122b.
In contrast, when the opening 121b is blocked by the valve body portion 125 as shown in Figure 8, the water supplied from the pipeline PL remains in the hollow portion 101a and does not flow into the hollow portion 122a, and is therefore not discharged to the outside.

A diaphragm case 123 is attached to the top of the discharge pipe 122. A diaphragm 124 is attached inside the diaphragm case 123. The upper space in the internal space of the diaphragm case 123, partitioned by the diaphragm 124, is formed as a pressure chamber 123a for driving the diaphragm 124 by water pressure.

The diaphragm 124 is fixed to the upper side of the shaft portion 126. The shaft portion 126 also passes through the discharge pipe 122 downward from inside the diaphragm case 123. The lower side of the shaft portion 126 is then fixed to the valve body portion 125 inside the discharge pipe 122. As a result, the valve body portion 125 also moves in the vertical direction in response to the displacement of the diaphragm 124 in the vertical direction.

A guide shaft 127 is attached to the upper side of the shaft 126, and the guide shaft 127 is inserted inside the handle shaft 129. Although detailed structural illustrations are omitted, by rotating the handle 128 attached to the handle shaft 129, the shaft 126 can be moved up and down to adjust the open/closed state of the valve body 125 at the opening 121b. In other words, the water supply faucet 100A can manually adjust the open/closed state of the faucet part, including the valve body 125 and the opening 121b.

In addition, a filter 141 is provided on the side of the water supply pipe 121, and a water pipe 131 is connected from the filter 141 to the switching valve 142.

The switching valve 142 switches the flow path between the connected water pipes. A water pipe 132 is connected from the switching valve 142 to the lower side of the atmosphere release valve 151. A water pipe 133 is connected from the upper side of the atmosphere release valve 151 to the switching valve 142. The switching valve 142 is also connected to the inside of the pressure chamber 123a.

The atmosphere release valve 151 has a spherical valve body 160 provided in an inner chamber 151a. An opening 151b is provided below the valve body 160.
The valve body portion 160 is suspended from an arm 171 of a valve body drive portion 170 by, for example, a rope or a chain.
The valve body drive unit 170 operates to move the arm 171 up and down by a plug drive unit provided in the circuit case 110 .
8 shows a state in which arm 171 is located at the lowest position in its movable range. In this state, valve body 160 suspended from arm 171 descends to opening 151b and closes opening 151b.
9 shows a state in which arm 171 is positioned at the top of its movable range. In this state, valve body 160 suspended from arm 171 moves away from opening 151b, opening 151b being opened.

2 and 3, the circuit case 110 includes a plug driving unit 111, a control unit 112, a sensor-compatible communication unit 113, a server-compatible communication unit 114, and a power supply unit 115. If the present embodiment is configured to deal with fraudulent activities as in the third embodiment, a movement detection unit 116 may be provided.
The control unit 112 in this embodiment can also communicate with the water management server 500 via the server-compatible communication unit 114, for example, as in the first embodiment. The control unit 112 can also transmit water level information acquired from the water level sensor 400 to the water management server 500 by communicating with the sensor-compatible communication unit 113. As a result, in this embodiment as well, it is possible to control each water supply tap 100A so that water is appropriately supplied to and drained from the field FM according to, for example, the water level of each field FM.

In response to the opening and closing control of the control unit 112, the water supply tap 100A operates as follows.
First, the case where the water supply tap 100A is closed will be described with reference to Fig. 8. In this case, the control unit 112 controls the atmosphere release valve 151 to be in a closed state. In other words, the control unit 112 controls the valve body drive unit 170 to move the arm 171 to the lowest position in its movable range. As a result, the valve body unit 160 is in a state where it blocks the opening 151b of the atmosphere release valve 151, and the atmosphere release valve 151 is in a closed state.

Here, the water in the hollow portion 121a flows from the filter 141 through the water conduit 131 to the switching valve 142 due to pressure from the pipeline PL. At this time, the switching valve 142 connects the water conduit 131 and the water conduit 132. The water that flows through the water conduit 131 flows into the inner chamber 151a of the atmospheric release valve 151 via the water conduit 132, but the atmospheric release valve 151 is in a closed state. Therefore, the water that flows into the inner chamber 151a of the atmospheric release valve 151 is stored in the inner chamber 151a.

When the inner chamber is filled with water supplied from the water guide pipe 132, water flows from the inner chamber 151a through the water guide pipe 133. At this time, the switching valve 142 connects the water guide pipe 133 to the pressure chamber 123a in the diaphragm case 123, and the water that flows through the water guide pipe 133 is stored in the pressure chamber 123a.

As described above, water accumulates in the pressure chamber 123a, and when the pressure chamber 123a is filled with water, the water pressure exerts a force that pushes the diaphragm 124 downward. Here, the effective pressure area of the diaphragm 124 is much larger than the valve body portion 125, so the diaphragm 124 is pushed downward. As a result, the valve body portion 160, which is connected to the diaphragm 124 via the shaft portion 126, also moves downward, blocking the opening 121b. In this way, the water supply faucet 100A is closed.

Next, the case where the water supply faucet 100A is opened will be described with reference to FIG. 9. In this case, the control unit 112 controls the atmospheric release valve 151 to be in an open state. In other words, the control unit 112 outputs a control amount corresponding to a predetermined control opening degree greater than "0" to the valve body drive unit 170. The valve body drive unit 170 drives the arm 171 according to the input control amount. As a result, the arm 171 is moved to a position corresponding to the control opening degree, above the lowest position in the movable range. As a result, the valve body unit 160 moves the atmospheric release valve 151 away from the opening 151b, and the atmospheric release valve 151 is opened. Note that the same figure shows an example in which the arm 171 is moved to the highest position in the movable range to achieve the highest open state.

In this case, the water in the hollow portion 121a flows from the filter 141 through the water pipe 131 due to the pressure from the pipeline PL, and then flows further into the water pipe 132 by the switching valve 142, and flows into the inner chamber 151a of the atmospheric release valve 151. However, in this case, the atmospheric release valve 151 is in an open state. Therefore, the water that flows into the inner chamber 151a of the atmospheric release valve 151 is not stored in the inner chamber 151a, but is discharged to the outside from the opening 151b.

In the above case, water is not filled in the inner chamber 151a of the atmosphere release valve 151. Therefore, water is not allowed to flow under pressure into the pressure chamber 123a in the diaphragm case 123 and fill the pressure chamber 123a.
In this case, no force is generated to push the diaphragm 124 downward, so the pressure that the valve body 125 receives from the hollow portion 121a side becomes higher. This causes the diaphragm 124 to move upward, and the valve body 125 also moves away from the opening 121b. This causes the water supply faucet 100A to be in an open state, and water flows from the hollow portion 121a through the hollow portion 122a and is discharged from the discharge port 122b.
In the case of the water supply tap 100A having such a diaphragm, when the force acting on the valve body in the opening direction, i.e., the water supply pressure, is low, it may be difficult to raise the diaphragm 124 which is directly linked to the valve body portion 125, and the valve body may be difficult to open. In response to such a case, the valve body drive portion 170 of this embodiment also has a function of raising the diaphragm 124 to compensate for the shortage of water supply pressure as an electrical drive assist.

In the water supply tap 100A having such a configuration, for example, the water conduit 131, the filter 141, the switching valve 142, the opening 151b, etc. are easily clogged with debris, and this may cause problems. If the water conduit 131 or the filter 141 becomes clogged with debris, water cannot be sent to the pressure chamber 123a, and the plug cannot be closed. Also, if the switching valve 142, the opening 151b, etc. become clogged with debris, water cannot be discharged from the pressure chamber 123a, and the pressure on the diaphragm 124 cannot be reduced, and the plug cannot be opened.
Therefore, in this embodiment, the water supply tap 100A having the diaphragm structure shown in Figures 8 and 9 is configured to be able to determine the occurrence of a fault and to perform fault response processing in response to the occurrence of a fault, even when the water supply tap 100A is installed in a farm field FM.

In this embodiment, the configuration for determining whether a fault has occurred due to clogging may be the same as in the first embodiment. That is, in this embodiment as well, a flow sensor is provided to detect the amount of water (flow rate) flowing through the flow path in the water supply tap 100A. In addition, in this embodiment as well, a fault may be determined based on whether the flow rate detected by the flow sensor when the opening/closing control unit controls the tap unit to be in a closed state (or an open state) corresponds to the closed state (or open state).

In this embodiment, if the above-described clogging occurs, it is unlikely that the clogging will be resolved even if the tap portion is opened and closed as in the case of the water supply tap 100 in Figure 2.
Therefore, in this embodiment, the following configuration can be adopted for the fault resolution control.
For example, although not specifically shown, the valve shaft 126 shown in Figures 7 and 8 is made hollow and a hole is further drilled in the valve body 125 to communicate the hollow portion 121a with the pressure chamber 123a. In other words, a bypass is provided to supply water into the pressure chamber 123a. In addition, during normal times, the bypass is closed, for example, by a solenoid valve to prevent communication between the hollow portion 121a and the pressure chamber 123a. When the water management server 500 determines that debris has clogged the stopper and the stopper cannot be closed, the solenoid valve is driven to allow water to pass through the bypass and close the stopper.
Although not shown, a plurality of water conduits 131 may be provided. In this case, when the water management server 500 determines that the water conduits 131 are not closed despite having controlled them to be closed, the water management server 500 controls the solenoid valves of the water conduits 131 to open, and supplies water to the pressure chamber 123a from the water conduits 131 that are not clogged with debris. This allows the stopper to be closed.
To cope with a state in which the stopper is not in the open state, another auxiliary release valve that communicates with the outside from the diaphragm 124 is provided in addition to the atmospheric release valve 151. Then, when the water management server 500 determines that the stopper is not in the open state despite having controlled the stopper to be in the open state, the auxiliary release valve can be controlled to open, and water can be discharged from the pressure chamber 123a to the outside, thereby opening the stopper.
Also in this embodiment, a failure occurrence notification may be made in the same manner as in the previous embodiments.

Even when the water supply tap 100A has the structure shown in Figures 8 and 9, the determination of whether a fault has occurred and the processing to respond to the fault that has occurred in the second or third embodiment can be applied.

In addition, either the first or fourth embodiment can be combined with the second or third embodiment as appropriate.

The structure of the water supply faucet in this embodiment is not limited to the examples shown in Figures 2, 3, 8, and 9, and other structures may be used. For example, the water supply faucet device that is the subject of the judgment for the occurrence of an obstruction in this embodiment may include, for example, not only water supply faucets but also drain plugs. Furthermore, the water supply faucet device that is the subject of the judgment for the occurrence of an obstruction is not limited to water supply faucets and drain plugs installed in agricultural fields, and may be, for example, a water gate such as a slide gate installed in a dam or river.

In addition, a program for implementing the functions of the water management server 500 and the water taps 100 and 100A may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium, and the program recorded on the recording medium may be read into a computer system and executed to perform the processing of the water management server 500 and the water taps 100 and 100A. Here, "reading a program recorded on a recording medium into a computer system and executing it" includes installing the program into a computer system. The "computer system" here includes hardware such as an OS and peripheral devices. The "computer system" may also include multiple computer devices connected via a network including the Internet, WAN, LAN, dedicated lines, and other communication lines. The "computer-readable recording medium" refers to portable media such as flexible disks, optical magnetic disks, ROMs, and CD-ROMs, and storage devices such as hard disks built into a computer system. In this way, the recording medium storing the program may be a non-transient recording medium such as a CD-ROM. The recording medium also includes a recording medium provided inside or outside and accessible from a distribution server to distribute the program. The code of the program stored in the recording medium of the distribution server may be different from the code of the program in a format executable by the terminal device. In other words, as long as it can be downloaded from the distribution server and installed in a format executable by the terminal device, the format in which it is stored in the distribution server does not matter. The program may be divided into multiple parts, downloaded at different times, and then combined on the terminal device, or each of the divided programs may be distributed by a different distribution server. Furthermore, the "computer-readable recording medium" includes a memory that holds a program for a certain period of time, such as a volatile memory (RAM) inside a computer system that becomes a server or a client when a program is transmitted over a network. The program may also be a program for realizing part of the above-mentioned functions. Furthermore, the program may be a so-called difference file (difference program) that can realize the above-mentioned functions in combination with a program already recorded in the computer system.

100 (100-1, 100-2, 100-3), 100A water supply valve, 101 water supply pipe, 101a hollow portion, 102 discharge pipe, 102a hollow portion, 103 cup, 103a hollow portion, 104 water stop valve ball, 105 shaft portion, 106 flow rate sensor, 107 dismantling sensor, 110 circuit case, 111 valve drive portion, 111a motor, 112 control portion, 113 sensor-compatible communication portion, 114 server-compatible communication portion, 115 power supply portion, 116 movement detection portion, 121 water supply pipe, 121a hollow portion, 121b opening portion, 122 discharge pipe, 122a hollow portion, 122b discharge port, 123 diaphragm case, 123a pressure chamber, 124 diaphragm, 125 Valve body portion, 126 Shaft portion, 127 Guide shaft, 128 Handle, 129 Handle shaft, 131 Water pipe, 132 Water pipe, 133 Water pipe, 140 Movement sensor, 141 Filter, 142 Switching valve, 151 Atmospheric release valve, 151a Inner chamber, 151b Opening, 160 Valve body portion, 170 Valve body drive portion, 171 Arm, 200 (200-1, 200-2, 200-3) Drain plug, 300 (300-A, 300-B1, 300-B2, 300-B3) Water sensor, 400 (400-1, 400-2, 400-3) Water level sensor, 500 Water management server, 501 Communication portion, 502 Control portion, 503 Memory portion, 521 Opening/closing control portion, 522 Fault determination unit, 523 Fault response unit, 531 Water supply hydrant control information storage unit, 532 Fault history information storage unit, 600 (600-1, 600-2, 600-3) Farm owner terminal, 600-1 Farm owner terminal, 600-2 Farm owner terminal, 600-3 Farm owner terminal

Claims (4)

A plurality of water faucet devices are installed in a plurality of farm fields and supply water to the farm fields,
The faucet device includes a control unit, a server-compatible communication unit that communicates with a water management server, a power supply unit having a storage battery, and a tap drive unit that drives the opening and closing of a tap unit provided in a flow path until the water to be supplied to the faucet device is discharged by rotating an axis unit in response to rotation of a motor using power supplied from the power supply unit to move the axis unit in an up and down direction,
In the faucet device, the tap drive unit monitors the load current of the motor, and outputs an overload notification signal to the control unit when the load current becomes an overload state, or the control unit detects an overload state based on the load current value of the motor, and the control unit transmits an overload notification including identification information indicating the faucet device to the water management server in response to an overload state occurring again after fault resolution control that opens and closes the tap unit to resolve the overload state,
The water management server includes:
The water management system includes a fault response unit that, when it is determined that a fault has occurred based on the overload notification sent by the control unit, sends a fault occurrence notification including information about the faucet device in which the fault has occurred to at least one of an administrator of the water management system and a farm owner. The water management system according to claim 1 , wherein the water faucet device has a positioning unit, and the position information obtained by the positioning unit is transmitted to the water management server. The water management system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the fault response unit issues a notification of an abnormality when the fault determination unit determines that the water level in the field does not change based on the water level detected while controlling a water faucet device to supply water to the field. The water management system according to claim 1 , wherein when a fault determination unit determines that a fault has occurred in communication with a faucet device, the fault response unit issues a notification of the communication fault.

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