JP5179334B2 - Liquid supply device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a liquid supply apparatus for supplying a liquid such as water to a plant planted in culture soil.

  Conventionally, as a liquid supply apparatus for supplying a liquid to a plant in a flower pot, a water supply apparatus that is used by being attached to a mouth portion of a plastic bottle containing water is known (see Patent Document 1). Specifically, this water supply device is discharged from a cylindrical holding portion to which a mouth portion of a plastic bottle is attached, a hollow cone-shaped insertion portion inserted into culture soil in a flower pot, and a plastic bottle held by the holding portion. A flow path for guiding the water to be inserted into the insertion portion, and a moisturizing material attached to the opening at the tip of the insertion portion so as to protrude to the outside.

  And in this technique, after attaching a water supply apparatus to the plastic bottle which put water, it is possible to supply water to culture soil by inserting the insertion part of a water supply apparatus in culture soil. If the PET bottle is empty, pull out the water supply device from the culture soil, remove the water supply device from the PET bottle, add water to the PET bottle, reattach the water supply device to the PET bottle, By reinserting the insertion part of the apparatus into the culture soil, it is possible to supply water again to the culture soil.

JP 2001-45893 A

  However, in the prior art, every time water is supplied to the PET bottle, the water supply device has to be removed from the culture soil, so that the culture soil collapses due to frequent removal and insertion, making it difficult to insert the water supply device into the culture soil. was there. In addition, when inserting the water supply device into the culture soil, if the insertion part is pressed firmly against the culture soil, the moisturizing material attached to the tip of the insertion part is pushed inward and the culture soil is clogged at the tip of the insertion part. There was also a problem that water flow was hindered. Furthermore, because the culture soil was moved by frequent insertion and removal, there was a high possibility of damaging the roots of plants.

  Therefore, the present invention provides a liquid supply apparatus that facilitates insertion of the liquid supply apparatus into the culture soil after replenishment of a liquid such as water and can suppress clogging of the culture soil and damage to the roots of the plant. For the purpose.

  In order to solve the above problems, a liquid supply apparatus according to the present invention includes a liquid container that contains a liquid to be given to a plant, a discharge pipe that is integrally attached to the liquid container and communicates with the liquid container, A water-absorbing member that is disposed in the discharge pipe so as to protrude outward from the tip of the discharge pipe, and sucks the liquid in the liquid container to the outside by capillary action; and is inserted into plant culture soil, and the discharge pipe And a cylindrical surrounding member that is removably inserted.

  Here, the composition of the “cultured soil” is not limited, such as sandy, woody, stone, gel-like substance, and glassy material containing no nutrients.

  According to the present invention, by bringing the water absorbing member at the tip of the discharge pipe into contact with the culture soil through the surrounding member, the liquid can be supplied from the liquid container to the culture soil via the water absorbing member. And when replenishing the liquid into the emptied liquid container, the discharge pipe is pulled out from the surrounding member together with the liquid container while leaving the surrounding member in the culture soil, so that the discharge pipe can be removed even after being pulled out. The shape of the hole for passing through is maintained by the surrounding member. Therefore, after replenishing the liquid into the liquid container, the discharge pipe can be easily set in the culture soil without receiving the resistance of the culture soil by inserting the discharge pipe into the surrounding member.

  Moreover, since it is only necessary to pass the discharge pipe through the space in the surrounding member, the water absorbing member is not pushed into the discharge pipe by the culture soil, and it is possible to prevent the culture soil from being clogged at the tip of the discharge pipe. Furthermore, since the surrounding member can be left in the culture soil, the discharge pipe can be inserted into the culture soil again without moving the culture soil, and damage to the roots of the plant can be suppressed.

  In the present invention, it is desirable that the tip of the water absorbing member protruding outward from the tip of the discharge pipe is formed so as to spread outward in the radial direction from the discharge pipe. According to this, for example, when the discharge pipe and the surrounding member are first inserted into the culture soil, even if the water absorption member is pushed toward the discharge pipe due to the resistance of the culture soil, the widened tip of the water absorption member is discharged. The water absorbing member is not completely pushed into the discharge pipe by being caught at the end of the pipe. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the culture soil from clogging at the tip of the discharge pipe.

  In the present invention, it is desirable that the tip of the water absorbing member is formed so as to extend at least to the inner surface of the surrounding member. According to this, since the surrounding member can be held at the tip of the water absorbing member that has spread before the liquid supply device is set on the culture soil (for example, the state at the time of sale), the surrounding member is placed around the discharge pipe. These can be put together and put into culture soil while being arranged.

  In the present invention, the liquid container includes a bottomed cylindrical transparent storage case and a lid that closes the opening of the storage case, and the discharge pipe penetrates the lid. It is desirable to be attached to the unit. According to this, since the storage case is transparent, it is possible to see how the liquid is reduced from the outside. Further, by attaching the discharge pipe to the lid, the shape of the storage case can be simplified, and a transparent storage case can be easily manufactured from glass or the like.

  In the present invention, it is preferable that the discharge pipe and the surrounding member are made of copper. According to this, corrosion of water and culture soil can be suppressed by the bactericidal effect by copper ions.

  According to the present invention, since the cylindrical surrounding member into which the discharge pipe is removably inserted is provided, the filling member can be inserted into the culture soil after replenishment of the liquid by leaving the surrounding member in the culture soil. It is possible to prevent clogging of culture soil and damage to plant roots.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings as appropriate. In the drawings to be referred to, FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a liquid supply apparatus.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the liquid supply apparatus 1 is disposed in a liquid container 2 that contains a liquid such as water to be given to plants, a discharge pipe 3 that communicates with the liquid container 2, and the discharge pipe 3. The string body 4 as an example of the water absorbing member and the surrounding member 5 into which the discharge pipe 3 is removably inserted are configured.

  The liquid container 2 includes a bottomed cylindrical transparent storage case 21 and a cork stopper 22 as an example of a lid that closes the opening 21 a of the storage case 21. The storage case 21 is formed in a round bottom by closing one end of a cylindrical glass tube, and is equivalent to a so-called “test tube”. The cork stopper 22 is formed in a truncated cone shape and is fitted into the opening 21 a of the storage case 21 so that liquid does not leak from the storage case 21.

  The discharge pipe 3 is a cylindrical pipe made of copper, and is integrally attached to the cork stopper 22 so as to penetrate through the substantially central part of the cork stopper 22. Specifically, the amount of protrusion of the discharge pipe 3 protruding from the surface on the small diameter side of the cork stopper 22 is small, and the amount of protrusion of the discharge pipe 3 protruding from the surface on the large diameter side of the cork stopper 22 is the length of the surrounding member 5. It is longer than that.

  The string 4 is a member for sucking out the water in the liquid container 2 to the outside by capillary action, and is formed by weaving or twisting fibers. And the string body 4 is arrange | positioned so that the both ends (tip part 41 and base end part 42) may protrude from the both ends (tip part 31 and base end part 32) of the discharge pipe 3. As shown in FIG. Here, the tip portions 31 and 41 mean the end portion far from the housing case 21 (end portion inserted into the culture soil).

  Further, the distal end portion 41 of the string body 4 protruding outward from the distal end portion 31 of the discharge pipe 3 is radially outward from the outer peripheral surface of the discharge pipe 3, more specifically, radially outer than the outer peripheral surface of the surrounding member 5. It is loosened to spread. Accordingly, it is difficult to push the distal end portion 41 of the string body 4 into the discharge pipe 3, and the surrounding member 5 disposed around the discharge pipe 3 is held by the loosened distal end portion 41 of the string body 4. It has become so.

  The surrounding member 5 is a cylindrical tube made of copper, and is formed to have a diameter larger than that of the discharge pipe 3 so that a gap is formed between the surrounding member 5 and the discharge pipe 3. And this surrounding member 5 is discharged | emitted by being supported by the loosened front-end | tip part 41 of the string 4 mentioned above in the state (for example, state at the time of sale) before setting the liquid supply apparatus 1 to culture soil. It arrange | positions around the pipe | tube 3 and becomes easy to insert in culture | cultivation soil with the discharge pipe | tube 3. FIG.

  And since the surrounding member 5 and the discharge pipe 3 are formed with copper, it is possible to suppress corrosion of water and culture soil by the sterilization effect by copper ions.

<Water supply method>
Next, a water supply method using the liquid supply apparatus 1 will be described. In the drawings to be referred to, FIGS. 2 (a) to 2 (c) are explanatory views showing a method of first setting the liquid supply device in the cultivation soil of the flower pot, and FIGS. It is explanatory drawing which shows the method of replenishing water in the liquid container.

  As shown in FIG. 2A, first, water W is put into the housing case 21. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 2B, the cork stopper 22 in which the discharge pipe 3, the string body 4, and the surrounding member 5 are assembled is fitted into the opening 21 a of the housing case 21.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 2 (c), while the user holds both the surrounding member 5 and the liquid container 2 with fingers, the surrounding member 5 and the discharge pipe 3 are placed in the culture soil in the flower pot 6 in which the plant P is planted. Insert into S. Thereby, the tip part 41 of the string body 4 protruding from the discharge pipe 3 is inserted to an appropriate position in the culture soil S, and the tip part 41 comes into contact with the surrounding culture soil S, so that the liquid container 2 is brought about by capillary action. Water W is supplied into the culture soil S through the string 4.

  When the surrounding member 5 and the discharge pipe 3 are inserted into the culture soil S, a hole is made in advance in the culture soil S with a finger or the like, and the surrounding member 5 and the discharge pipe 3 are inserted into the hole. desirable. According to this, it is possible to suppress the culture soil S from clogging the tip portion 41 of the string body 4. Further, even when the surrounding member 5 and the discharge pipe 3 are inserted as they are into the culture soil S without making a hole, the leading end portion 41 of the string body 4 is formed so as to spread outward in the radial direction from the discharge pipe 3. Therefore, even if the tip 41 of the string 4 is pushed into the discharge pipe 3 by the resistance of the culture soil S, the widened tip 41 is caught by the tip of the discharge pipe 3, so that the tip 41 is It is not pushed completely into the discharge pipe 3. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the culture soil S from clogging the tip of the discharge pipe 3.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 3A, when the liquid container 2 is emptied and the water container 2 is refilled with water W, as shown in FIG. 3B, the surrounding member 5 Is left in the culture soil S, and the discharge pipe 3 is pulled out together with the liquid container 2 from the surrounding member 5. As a result, the hole shape after being pulled out is maintained by the surrounding member 5. Therefore, after replenishing the water W into the liquid container 2, as shown in FIG. 3 (c), the discharge pipe 3 is inserted into the surrounding member 5 so that the culture soil S can be easily resisted. The discharge pipe 3 can be reset in the culture soil S, and the string body 4 can be reliably brought into contact with the culture soil S.

  At this time, since the discharge pipe 3 is passed through the space in the surrounding member 5, the string 4 is not pushed into the discharge pipe 3 due to the resistance of the culture soil S, and the culture soil S is at the tip of the discharge pipe 3. It can suppress clogging. Even if the culture soil S forming the space A (see FIG. 3B) below the surrounding member 5 is somewhat collapsed when the string body 4 is removed from the culture soil S, the collapsed culture soil If the tip part 41 of the string 4 is brought into contact with S, water can be supplied without problems.

  Furthermore, by leaving the surrounding member 5 in the culture soil S, the discharge pipe 3 can be inserted again into the culture soil S without moving the culture soil S, so that it is possible to suppress damage to the roots of the plant P. it can.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, in addition to the effects described above, the following effects are also achieved.
Since the storage case 21 is transparent, it is possible to see how the water W decreases from the outside. Moreover, since the shape of the storage case 21 can be simplified by attaching the discharge pipe 3 to the cork stopper 22, the transparent storage case 21 can be easily manufactured with glass.

  Furthermore, by attaching the discharge pipe 3 to the cork stopper 22, it becomes easy to exchange and use a plurality of types of storage cases having different sizes, so that depending on the degree of plant growth, the season or the size of the flowerpot, etc. The size of the storage case can be changed arbitrarily.

In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, It can utilize with various forms so that it may illustrate below.
In the above embodiment, the discharge pipe and the surrounding member are copper pipes, but the present invention is not limited to this, and these members can be formed of various materials, for example, a member having some flexibility is discharged. It is good also as a pipe. Further, the discharge pipe and the surrounding member are not limited to a cylindrical shape, and may be formed in a polygonal shape in a sectional view. Further, the surrounding member may be partially formed with holes or slits as long as no culture soil is contained therein.

  In the said embodiment, although the liquid put in a liquid container was set to water W, this invention is not limited to this, What kind of liquid may be sufficient as long as it is a liquid given to a plant, for example, a liquid fertilizer, what is called It may be a liquid containing micronutrients other than nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potassium.

In the said embodiment, although the string body 4 was employ | adopted as a water absorbing member, this invention is not limited to this, Fiber members, such as cloth and a felt, sponge-like thing, an inorganic or organic porous body, etc. are employ | adopted. May be.
In the above embodiment, the cork stopper 22 is used as the lid, but the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, a rubber cap fitted into the outer peripheral surface of the housing case 21 may be used.

  In the above-described embodiment, the distal end portion 41 of the string body 4 is loosened so as to spread outward in the radial direction from the outer peripheral surface of the surrounding member 5, but the distal end portion of the string body may be loosened so as to spread to the inner surface of the surrounding member. . Even when the leading end of the string body extends only to the inner surface of the surrounding member, the surrounding member can be held around the discharge pipe by the loosened leading end contacting the inner surface of the surrounding member. .

  In the above embodiment, the distal end portion 41 of the string body 4 is loosened outward in the radial direction of the discharge pipe 3, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the distal end portion of the string body is appropriately bent so as to have a diameter. It may be spread outward in the direction. Moreover, the front-end | tip part of a string (water-absorbing member) does not necessarily need to extend radially outward. Furthermore, the tip of the water-absorbing member does not necessarily have to protrude from the tip of the surrounding member (the end surface that comes into contact with the culture soil), as long as it reaches at least the tip of the surrounding member.

  In the embodiment, when the liquid supply apparatus 1 is first set on the culture soil S, the surrounding member 5 and the discharge pipe 3 are simultaneously inserted into the culture soil S. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a hole may be first formed in the culture soil S with disposable chopsticks, and the surrounding member 5 may be inserted into the hole first, and then the discharge pipe 3 may be inserted into the surrounding member 5.

It is a disassembled perspective view which shows a liquid supply apparatus. (A)-(c) is explanatory drawing which shows the method of setting a liquid supply apparatus initially in the culture soil of a flowerpot. (A)-(c) is explanatory drawing which shows the method of replenishing water in the liquid container which became empty.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Liquid supply apparatus 2 Liquid container 3 Discharge pipe 4 String body 5 Enclosure member 6 Flower pot 21 Storage case 22 Cork stopper 31 Tip part 41 Tip part P Plant S Culture soil W Water

Claims (5)

A liquid container for storing liquid to be given to plants;
A discharge pipe integrally attached to the liquid container and communicating with the liquid container;
A water-absorbing member that is disposed in the discharge pipe so as to protrude outward from the tip of the discharge pipe, and sucks the liquid in the liquid container to the outside by capillary action;
A liquid supply apparatus comprising: a cylindrical surrounding member that is inserted into plant culture soil and into which the discharge pipe is removably inserted.   The liquid supply apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a tip of a water absorbing member protruding outward from a tip of the discharge pipe is formed so as to extend radially outward from the discharge pipe.   The liquid supply apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a tip end of the water absorbing member is formed so as to extend at least to an inner surface of the surrounding member. The liquid container is
A transparent cylindrical storage case with a bottom;
A lid for closing the opening of the housing case;
The liquid supply apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the discharge pipe is integrally attached to the lid so as to penetrate the lid. The liquid supply apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the discharge pipe and the surrounding member are made of copper.

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