JPH0449378B2 - - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention (Field of Application of the Invention) The present invention is directed to a sprinkler for spraying water, liquid fertilizer, chemical solution, etc., which is installed in a pressure feed pipe for dispersing liquid such as water, liquid fertilizer, or chemical solution. It relates to valves that control quantities.

(Prior art) Conventionally, many of these types of control valves have a structure that is opened and closed by manual control.When performing manual control operations, the moisture level of the plants and soil must be frequently monitored to ensure that the appropriate level of moisture is maintained. It is necessary to open and close the valve to maintain the condition.

Therefore, in order to save labor, there is currently a strong demand from the agricultural and horticultural worlds for automatic control of the above-mentioned valves.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) When attempting to automatically control a valve as described above, a structure that simply uses a timer device to allow liquid to flow intermittently cannot achieve the purpose; If you try to replace the function of opening and closing valves to maintain an appropriate level of moisture while frequently monitoring the level of moisture in the area, you will have to use a control device with a complicated and expensive configuration. It was hot.

In addition, the irrigation device shown in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 54-49844 is
An irrigation hose is installed above the moisture-sensitive body, and a drip nipple attached to the hose allows water droplets dripped onto the ground to cross the ground, reach the lower part of the moisture-sensitive body buried in the ground, and directly flow downward. In addition, the upper part of the moisture sensitive body is indirectly moistened by capillary action, but with this configuration, water droplets pass through the ground and directly moisten a part of the moisture sensitive body. It cannot be denied that it takes time to moisten.

This invention was made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and uses a simple and inexpensive configuration to automatically control opening and closing according to the degree of dryness of the sprayed liquid, quickly, safely, and reliably. The present invention aims to provide an automatic control valve for spraying water for horticulture.

(Means and effects for explaining the problem) The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and is provided with an on-off valve and a humidity sensing section, and includes a tip of a branch pipe branching from the downstream side of the on-off valve. The liquid spraying automatic control valve is opened toward the upper end of the humidity sensing section and is provided with a throttle valve in the middle of the branch pipe, wherein the humidity sensing section includes a sensing section case having a plurality of ventilation holes and a valve housing. A diagram is interposed between the case, and a plurality of cylindrical wooden moisture sensing members are fixed in the case, and a connecting rod passing through the moisture sensing members is suspended from the upper end of the moisture sensing member. A steel plate provided facing the magnet fixed to the lower end of the connecting rod is connected to the valve body via a spring, and a pilot hole provided in the central axis of the valve body faces the pilot valve attached to the iron plate. The automatic spray control valve is configured to bring the valve body into close contact with or separate from the valve seat of the liquid pressure pipe by vertical movement of the connecting rod. A wooden moisture-sensitive member that expands and contracts depending on dryness and humidity is used as a moisture-sensing sensor, and is inserted into the pressure-feeding pipeline for spraying.
When this wooden member dries and contracts, the contractile force is expanded and transmitted to the valve body to open the valve, and when the wood gets wet and expands, the stretching force is expanded and transmitted to the valve body to close the valve. With an extremely simple configuration, the opening and closing control is automatically performed according to the degree of dryness of the sprayed liquid.In particular, by opening and closing the valve body all at once using a magnet, iron plate, and pilot hole, the opening and closing operation of the valve is controlled. I made sure to do this.

(Embodiment) FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of an installed state of an automatic control valve A according to an embodiment of the present invention. The on-off valve _A1 of the automatic control valve A is interposed and connected in the middle of a hose D that connects an agricultural water faucet B and a sprinkler C. _A2 is a humidity sensor for operating the above-mentioned on-off valve _A1 , and as will be described in detail later, a wooden member such as cork is used as a dryness/humidity sensor. Then, the tip of a branch pipe _A3 branched from the downstream side of the on-off valve _A1 was opened toward the humidity sensing section _A2 , and a throttle valve _A4 was provided in the middle of the branch pipe _A3 .

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the principle of the on-off valve A ₁ and the humidity sensor A ₂ shown in FIG. 1.

In the figure, 1 is a moisture sensing part case, 2 is a valve housing, and a diaphragm 3 is interposed between the two to prevent the liquid in the valve housing 2 from directly flowing into the humidity sensing part case 1. Reference numeral 1a denotes a plurality of ventilation holes for communicating the inside of the humidity sensing unit case 1 with the atmosphere.

A plurality of sensing members 4 made of cork are made in a cylindrical shape, and their lower ends are fixed to the moisture sensing part case 1. A connecting rod 5 is suspended from the upper end of the cylindrical moisture sensing member 4. The connecting rod 5 passes through the cylindrical moisture sensitive member 4 and has a magnet 6 fixed to its lower end. An iron plate 7 facing the magnet 6 is connected to a valve body 9 via a spring 8. 10 is a pipe for pumping liquid, and 11 is a valve seat.

As will be described later, when the cork tube 4 becomes wet and expands vertically, the connecting rod 5 is pulled up to bring the valve body 9 into close contact with the valve seat 11 to close the valve, and when the cork tube 4 dries and shrinks vertically. , the connecting rod 5 is lowered to separate the valve body 9 from the valve seat 11 and open the valve.

The reason why the magnet 6 and the iron plate 7 are interposed in the transmission path is to open and close the valve all at once when the gradual expansion and contraction of the cork tube 4 reaches a predetermined amount. Its specific configuration and operation will be described in detail later with reference to FIG.

Referring to FIG. 1, when the humidity sensing part _A2 is now dry and the on-off valve _A1 is opened, the water coming out of the faucet B is sprayed from the sprinkler C through the hose D. At the same time, part of the water that has passed through the on-off valve _A2 is injected into the humidity sensing section _A2 through the branch pipe _A3 . Therefore, the humidity sensing part _A2 becomes wet and the water sprinkling from the sprinkler C is stopped, which causes the on-off valve _A1 to close. The length of the watering period in the above operation can be adjusted by adjusting the throttle valve _A4 .

After that, the humidity sensing part _A2 dries again and the on/off valve closes.
The time it takes to open the valve _A1 is determined by the sun's irradiation state, temperature, atmospheric humidity, wind speed, etc., but it depends on the degree of drying of the cultivated land E that has been watered and the degree of dryness of the humidity sensor _A2 . is almost proportional. Therefore, there is no need to manually monitor the wetness of the cultivated land E, and the appropriate amount of water is automatically sprinkled at the right time.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing details of a humidity sensing section and an on-off valve section according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The moisture sensing part case 1 is constructed by fitting a tube 1c into a seat 1b, and the tube 1c is provided with a plurality of ventilation holes 1a.

The valve housing 2 is fixed to the seat 1b by a tightening screw 2b, and a diaphragm 3 is inserted between the two.
Insert. Note that FIG. 3 is a partially exploded view in which a space is provided between the valve housing 2 and the seat 1b for convenience of expressing the shapes of the individual constituent members.

A cylindrical cork 4 made of wood is housed in the tube 1c as a moisture-sensitive member, and its lower surface is connected to the seat 1.
b, and the seat 5a of the connecting rod 5 is placed on the upper surface thereof and fixed to the connecting rod 5 with a mounting screw 5b.

A spring 13 is compressed and interposed between the upper spring seat 16 fitted to the lower end of the connecting rod 5 and the seat 1b to urge the connecting rod 5 downward, and the seat 5a is made of cork, which is a moisture-sensitive member. The moisture sensing member 4 is brought into close contact with the cylinder 4, and the moisture sensing member 4 is brought into close contact with the seat 1b.

Reference numeral 14 denotes a spring compressed and interposed between the lower spring pressure 16 fitted above the diaphragm 3 and the connecting rod 5.

On the other hand, an annular magnet 6 is fixed to a guide member 6a slidably fitted to the valve housing 2, and a spring seat 15a is clamped and fixed between the valve housing 2 and the pipe 10. A spring 15 is compressed and interposed between 15a and the guide member 6a of the magnet 6.

Furthermore, the valve seat 1 formed by partitioning the flow path of the pipe 10
A valve body 9 is opposed to the valve body 1, and a diaphragm-shaped valve membrane 12 is interposed between the two. The above valve body 9
A pilot hole 9a is provided along the central axis. 9a is a guide vane of the valve body 9.

Further, an iron plate 7 is positioned above the valve body 9, and the pilot valve 18 attached to the iron plate 7 is opposed to the upper end opening of the pilot hole 9a.

Reference numeral 8 denotes a spring compressed and interposed between the iron plate 7 and the spring seat 15a.

The illustrated H is located upstream (high pressure side) of the valve seat 11 and communicates with the valve chamber V. L is the downstream side (low pressure side).

In this embodiment configured as described above, when the cork cylinder 4 becomes wet and expands in the vertical direction, the seat 5
Push up a to pull up the connecting rod 5. Along with this, the spring load of the spring 14 that presses down the diaphragm 3 decreases, and the magnet 6 moves the spring 1
5, the diaphragm 3 is pushed up and raised.

As the magnet 6 rises, the magnet 6 and the iron plate 7 are separated, and the magnetic attraction force acting between them is reduced.

Therefore, the iron plate 7 is pushed down by the spring 8, and the pilot valve 18 attached to the iron plate 7 closes the pilot hole 9a. Therefore, the valve body 9 is moved by the valve membrane (which acts as a packing) 12 by the biasing force of the spring 8 and the pressure difference between the valve chamber V and the low pressure side L.
It comes into close contact with the valve seat 11 via.

When the cork cylinder 4 is wet, the valve is automatically closed as described above.

When the cork cylinder 4 dries and shrinks in the vertical direction, the connecting rod 5 descends and gradually pushes up the magnet 6. Initially, when the magnet 6 starts to descend, the valve body 9 is held in the closed position. When the magnet 6 descends to a certain position, it approaches the iron plate 7 and sucks up the iron plate 7 all at once. As the iron plate 7 is sucked up, the valve body 9 is no longer subjected to the urging force of the spring 8, and accordingly, the pilot hole 9a is opened and no longer receives the differential pressure.

Therefore, the valve body 9 opens all at once.

When the cork cylinder 4 is dry, the valve opening operation is automatically performed as described above.

(Effects of the Invention) As detailed above, according to the device of the present invention,
A wooden member that expands and contracts depending on dryness and humidity is used as a dryness/wetness sensor, and the sensor is moistened directly from above through a branch pipe of the hose.This is an extremely simple and inexpensive configuration that allows the sensor to respond to the degree of dryness of the sprayed liquid. Automatic opening/closing control is performed quickly and reliably, making it possible to spray the right amount of liquid at the right time.

Therefore, it is not only possible to keep plants and soil appropriately moist, but it also greatly contributes to labor saving in agriculture and horticulture, and to reducing the cost of managing agricultural products.

In particular, by inserting a magnet and iron plate and providing a pilot hole to magnify the contraction and expansion forces of the wooden moisture-sensitive member and transmit them to the valve body, the gradual expansion and contraction of the moisture-sensitive member is controlled by a predetermined amount. When this is reached, the valves can be opened and closed all at once, and the valves can be opened and closed reliably and safely.

Further, since the device of the present invention does not include any electrical components, it is easy to handle since there is no need to supply power, and it is safe because there is no risk of electric shock. Moreover, the structure is simple and the manufacturing cost is low.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of the installed state of the device of the invention, FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the principle of the main parts of the invention, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view of one embodiment of the device of the invention. 1...Moisture sensing part case, 1a...Vent hole, 2...
Valve housing, 3...Diaphragm, 4...
Moisture-sensitive member made of wood (cork cylinder), 5... Connecting rod, 5a... Seat, 6... Magnet, 7... Iron plate, 8
... Spring, 9 ... Valve body, 9a ... Pilot hole, 10 ... Liquid pressure feeding pipe, 11 ... Valve seat, 1
8...Pilot valve, A...Automatic spray control valve, _A1 ...Opening/closing valve, _A2 ...Humidity sensing unit, _A3 ...
Branch pipe, A ₄ ... Throttle valve.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 Equipped with an on-off valve A ₁ and a humidity sensing section A ₂ , the tip of a branch pipe A ₃ branching from the downstream side of the on-off valve A 1 is opened toward the upper _end of the humidity sensing section A ₂ , and the branch pipe A liquid dispersion automatic control valve A having a throttle valve _A4 provided in the middle of _A3 , the humidity sensing portion
A ₂ is the moisture sensitive part case 1 having multiple ventilation holes 1a.
A diaphragm 3 is interposed between the valve housing 2 and the valve housing 2, and a plurality of cylindrical wooden moisture sensing members 4 are fixed in the case 1, and a connecting rod 5 passes through the moisture sensing members 4. An iron plate 7 is suspended from the upper end of the member 4 and is provided facing a magnet 6 fixed to the lower end of the connecting rod 5. The iron plate 7 is connected to the valve body 9 via a spring 8, and is attached to the central axis of the valve body 9. The provided pilot hole 9a is arranged to face the pilot valve 18 attached to the iron plate 7, and the valve body 9 is brought into close contact with or separated from the valve seat 11 of the liquid pumping pipe 10 by vertical movement of the connecting rod 5. An automatic sprinkler control valve for agriculture and horticulture, which is characterized by: