JP2575826B2 - Surplus irrigation measuring device, irrigation stop signal generator, and liquid fertilizer irrigation controller for nutrient solution cultivation - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION <Industrial Application Field> The present invention relates to an apparatus for measuring the amount of surplus liquid fertilizer irrigation and an apparatus for stopping the supply of liquid fertilizer irrigation when a plant is cultivated in an artificial medium. The present invention relates to a device for properly controlling liquid fertilization.

<Conventional technology> When nutrient solution is cultivated in an artificial medium such as a rock wool mat, the volume of the medium is limited and small. Changes can have a negative effect on plant growth. Therefore, a method is usually adopted in which a liquid fertilizer irrigation (hereinafter simply referred to as irrigation) is applied slightly excessively, and wastes from the roots, residual accompanying ions, and the like are washed out of the culture medium. For example, in JP-A-63-24827 and JP-A-24828, a liquid reservoir is formed at the bottom of a tray on which an artificial medium is laid, and when the liquid level in the liquid reservoir falls below a specified level, an irrigation supply signal is issued. There has been disclosed a proposal for issuing a watering stop signal when the amount of excess water that is overflowing from the liquid pool reaches a specified amount, and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-109726 discloses a method in which the supply time of watering is set in advance. There is disclosed a proposal in which an irrigation supply signal is issued when the time comes, and an irrigation stop signal is issued when the amount of surplus irrigation accumulated through the artificial medium reaches a specified amount.

All of the above methods generate a watering stop signal by detecting a preset amount of excess watering, but knowledge of how much excess water is best for growing crops is unknown. At present, it is cultivated by hand because it is not enough. That is, since the amount of irrigation varies depending on the crop and the same crop depending on the growth stage and also on the weather conditions such as the temperature and the amount of solar radiation on the day, the appropriate amount of excess irrigation varies depending on these conditions. . However, it does not mean that we should over-pour water while ignoring economics. Measuring the amount of daily surplus irrigation drainage and accumulating data on the relationship between this and growth,
Contributing to the establishment of finer control technology is extremely important, but if this is done with the above-mentioned equipment, the operator must measure the excess irrigation drainage with a measuring cylinder or the like. I had to work a lot, and I couldn't stand the trouble.

Further, there has been no device that can measure the amount of surplus irrigation but can immediately respond as a watering stop signal generating device or a watering control device.

<Problems to be Solved by the Invention> In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide an inexpensive and simple surplus irrigation measuring device for accurately grasping the total amount of surplus irrigation. Another object of the present invention is to provide a control device suitable not only as a surplus watering measuring device but also as a watering stop signal generating device, and further for controlling the whole or part of a cultivation field.

<Means for Solving the Problems> In order to achieve the above object, in the surplus watering and weighing device of the present invention, the surplus watering from the tray on which the artificial culture medium is laid is received when a predetermined amount is received, and the waterfalls up. A means for allowing the position of the center of gravity of the weighing container to be finely adjusted with respect to the oscillating axis is provided on the swingable weighing container, and a counter is provided for accumulating the number of times of operation of a switch which is activated each time the weighing container is discharged. It is a thing.

The weighing container is a seesaw-like device in which a reservoir is formed symmetrically on the upper surface of a plate-like body that is swingably supported. In this case, the center-of-gravity position fine adjustment means is provided at the bottom of the weighing container. It consists of a runway of steel balls and two stoppers for steel balls that are screwed from the center to screw rods whose screw directions are opposite to each other.

When the means for generating a signal is added to the above-mentioned surplus watering metering device when the cumulative number of operations of the measuring container reaches the specified number, the device becomes a surplus watering stop signal generating device, and the watering stop signal generating device has a watering supply signal generating device. Is combined with the irrigation control device.

<Operation> When the position of the center of gravity of the measuring container is finely changed with respect to the pivot axis by the center of gravity position fine adjustment means, the amount of drainage per operation also changes accordingly, and the liquid is discharged by the measuring container. It is possible to adjust the value of the drainage amount as close as possible to an integer value of, for example, 10 cc / time. Also, even if the measurement is interrupted once during the measurement, the next wastewater will accumulate on it and be counted.
Since the volume of the weighing container is small, the error is small.

In the above surplus irrigation metering device, only the count number is displayed, and a surplus irrigation stop signal generating device is added by adding a means for generating a signal when the total number of operations of the measuring container reaches a specified number, In addition, when a watering control device is formed by combining a watering supply signal generating means with a watering stop signal generating device,
Fine control by the drainage rate to the amount of irrigation becomes possible.

<Embodiment> First, an embodiment of a surplus irrigation measuring apparatus according to the present invention will be described. Before that, an installation place will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 1, a tray 1 is installed in a part of a cultivation field, a rock wool mat as an artificial medium 4 is placed on the tray 1, and a plant 5 is grown on the artificial medium 4 in a nutrient solution. Represent the whole or part of the cultivation field. Although illustration is omitted, the plant 5 is irrigated from an irrigating supply pipe, and the excess irrigation measuring device of the present invention is disposed near the tray 1.

Each time of irrigation applied to the artificial culture medium 4 passes through the artificial culture medium 4 and accumulates in a liquid pool 2 formed at the bottom of the tray 1, and the surplus is an outward protrusion formed through one side plate of the tray 1. The surplus water is discharged from the overflow pipe 8 provided on the end plate 7 of the part 6, and the surplus water is measured by the surplus water metering device A.

The configuration of the excess irrigation measuring device is configured such that the excess irrigation is dropped when it receives a predetermined amount of excess irrigation, and the swingable measuring container 15 which rises when it is discharged, and a device for finely adjusting the position of the center of gravity of the measuring container 15 with respect to the swing axis. 16, a switch means 28 which is activated each time the measuring container 15 is discharged, and a counter means 29 which accumulates the number of times of operation of the switch means 28.

As shown in FIG. 2, the weighing container 15 has a plate-like shape, and has a bilaterally symmetric reservoir formed of peaks and valleys. When discharge is being performed in one reservoir, liquid is being received in the other reservoir. The center-of-gravity position fine-tuning device 16 of the measuring container 15 includes a runway 25 of a steel ball 24 provided at the bottom of the measuring container 15 and two stoppers 27 that are screwed into a screw rod 26 whose screw direction is reversed from the center. Consists of 27. Turn the screw bar 26 to either of the two stoppers 2
7, 27 are displaced by the same amount in the left and right directions, whereby the end of movement of the steel ball 24 is adjusted.

The number of swings of the weighing container 15 is converted into a pulse-like electric signal by a switch means 28 attached to the substrate 12, and the electric signal is sent to a counter means 29 and counted and displayed.

And in this embodiment, since a reservoir part is formed symmetrically and a weighing discharge operation is performed by a swing operation in both directions, in order to detect the swing operation in both directions,
The switch means 28 is provided at two places opposite to both swing ends of the measuring container 15.

Although the illustrated switch means 28 is a micro switch, it may be a contactless switch, in which case a magnet is attached to the measuring container 15. The counter means 29 may simply display the integrated value, but if there is a reset function, by setting it to zero every morning, the integrated value every day can be easily grasped.
Although the counter means 29 is provided near the switch means 28 in FIG. 1 for convenience of illustration, the counter means 29 can be installed at any place convenient for centralized management.

In general, the irrigation supply signal is generated according to the irrigation supply time determined by inference (see JP-A-63-109726) and the amount of solar radiation (see JP-B-61-4153). There are some which detect the level of water that has passed through and the amount of water in the artificial culture medium 4 and the like, and this is emitted. In the present invention, any of them may be used.

When the irrigation supply signal is generated at a predetermined irrigation supply time or insolation, only the irrigation stop signal may be generated. In this case, the count number display function of the surplus irrigation measuring device A is replaced with the measuring container 15. By using the means B for issuing a signal when the cumulative number of times of the operation has reached the specified number, it is possible to function as an irrigation stop signal generator. By removing the capillary mat 3, the artificial medium 4 and the liquid in the liquid reservoir 2 are insulated, and the liquid in the liquid reservoir 2 in which the supply of the liquid to the artificial medium 4 is cut off is exclusively discharged to the measuring container 15. In this way, it can respond immediately as the irrigation stop signal generator B,
By sending the control output, which is the irrigation stop signal, to the controller 11, a control device capable of managing the discharge rate with respect to the given irrigation amount in cooperation with the irrigation supply signal generator A is configured. If it is necessary to change the adjustment while checking the discharge rate, the preset count may be changed by operating the presetter dial. The means B can be obtained from commercially available means, and FIG. 3 is a block diagram thereof. A predetermined count is set in the electronic counter, and a signal is issued when the same number of pulses as the set count are counted.

The irrigation supply signal generator C of the example shown in FIG. 1 is provided with a capillary mat 3 that enables the liquid in a liquid reservoir 2 formed at the bottom of the tray 1 to be supplied to an artificial medium 4 laid in the tray 1. Each time of irrigation applied to 4 passes through artificial medium 4 and accumulates in sump 2, and the liquid surface in sump 2 is supplied to artificial medium 4 via capillary mat 3 as plants 5 evaporate. An electrode 9 is attached to the upper opening of the outwardly protruding portion 6, and the tip of the electrode 9 is separated from the liquid surface by the lowering of the liquid level in the liquid reservoir 2. Cooperate with the control unit 11 to issue a watering start signal to the controller 11. Although not shown, a sheet for root cutting is stacked on the capillary mat 3 if necessary.

The shape of the tray 1 is a cross section. And a liquid bottom 2 on which the electrode 9 is attached at the deep bottom side.
This is easier to manufacture than the tray 1 shown in FIG. When used exclusively as a surplus irrigation measuring device or an irrigation stop signal generator, it is not necessary to retain the liquid in the liquid pool 2, and the liquid pool 2 in this case may simply function as a drainage drainage channel. Therefore, the overflow pipe 8 is unnecessary, and instead, it is only necessary that the liquid can be discharged from the bottom of the liquid pool 2.

<Effect of the Invention> In the surplus irrigation measuring device of the present invention, the position of the center of gravity of the measuring cylinder can be finely changed by the rotational position fine adjustment means, so that the value of the drainage amount per operation is, for example, 10 cc / time. It is easy to get as close as possible to integer values such as
Since the number of times of operation of the weighing cylinder is integrated at the counter, it is extremely easy to calculate the total discharge amount, which is the product of the two.

Therefore, it is possible to accumulate the data on the relationship between the daily drainage of excess irrigation and the growth of cultivated crops, which is very useful for establishing management techniques.

In addition, in a large greenhouse, if such a surplus irrigation measuring device is installed at a plurality of locations having different environmental conditions, it is very convenient to know how the excess irrigation is performed in each location.

In addition, since the generation of the irrigation stop signal can be easily performed, the greenhouse is divided into a plurality of blocks, and if the surplus irrigation measuring device of the present invention is installed in each block, partial control can be performed for each block. Further, the liquid fertilizer irrigation control device for hydroponic cultivation combined with the irrigation start signal generator can control the discharge rate with respect to the given amount of irrigation. If it is necessary to change the adjustment while checking the emission rate, the set count may be changed. This is much less troublesome and more convenient for the user than the case where the adjustment is changed by changing the height of the electrode.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view also showing a place of use of a surplus irrigation measuring device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing the structure of a measuring container and a center of gravity position fine adjustment means, and FIG. It is a block diagram of the means which emits a watering stop signal when the total number of times of operation of the container reaches a specified number. 1 ... tray, 2 ... pool, 4 ... artificial medium, 5 ...
Plant, 9 ... electrode, 11 ... controller, 15 ... measuring container, 24
…… Steel ball (fine position adjustment device), 25… Runway (fine position adjustment device), 26… Screw rod (fine position adjustment device), 27… Stopper (fine position adjustment device), 28 ...
... switch means, 29 ... counter means, A ... surplus irrigation measuring means, B ... means for issuing an irrigation stop signal when the cumulative number of times of operation of the measuring container reaches a specified number, C ... ... irrigation supply signal generating means.

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Akio Suzuki 1 Tayacho, Totsuka-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture Inside Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. Yokohama Works (72) Tatsuo Akamatsu 1, Tayacho, Totsuka-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. Yokohama Works (72) Inventor Eiichi Kanno 9-18 Kamiyama-cho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A swingable measuring container which falls down when a predetermined amount of surplus irrigation is received from a tray on which an artificial medium is laid, and which rises when it is discharged, and the position of the center of gravity of the measuring container is finely adjusted with respect to the pivot axis. An adjusting device, switch means that operates each time the measuring container is discharged, and counter means for accumulating the number of times of operation of the switch means, wherein the measuring container is
A seesaw-like plate-like body with a symmetrical reservoir formed on the upper surface is formed.The center-of-gravity position fine-adjustment device uses a steel ball runway provided at the bottom of the weighing container, and reverses the direction of the screw from the center to the runway. A surplus irrigation measuring device comprising two stoppers which are screwed to a set screw rod. 2. A swingable measuring container which falls down when it receives a predetermined amount of excess irrigation from a tray on which an artificial medium is laid, rises up when it is discharged, and positions the center of gravity of the measuring container with respect to the pivot axis. Surplus irrigation measuring means A comprising a regulating device
And a means B for issuing an irrigation stop signal when the cumulative number of operations of the weighing container has reached a prescribed number, wherein the weighing container is a seesaw-like plate-like body having a symmetrically formed reservoir on an upper surface portion. The fine adjustment device for the position of the center of gravity is characterized in that it has a runway of steel balls provided at the bottom of the weighing container, and two stoppers which are screwed into screw rods whose screw directions are opposite to each other from the center. Irrigation stop signal generator. 3. A swingable measuring container which falls down when it receives a predetermined amount of excess irrigation from a tray on which an artificial medium is laid, rises up when it is discharged, and moves the center of gravity of the measuring container with respect to the swing axis. Surplus irrigation measuring means A comprising a regulating device
And a means B for issuing an irrigation stop signal when the cumulative number of times of operation of the weighing container has reached a specified number of times, and an irrigation supply signal generating means C, wherein the weighing container has a reservoir portion symmetrically on the upper surface portion. The see-saw-like plate-shaped body is formed, and the center-of-gravity position fine-adjustment device is composed of a steel ball runway provided at the bottom of the weighing container and two stoppers which are screwed from the center to a screw rod whose screw directions are opposite to each other. A liquid fertilizer irrigation control device for hydroponics, comprising: