JPH0735865B2 - Automatic irrigation system - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial field of application] The present invention uses a porous hollow tube made of ceramics or the like having a constant water absorption rate as a sensor, and changes the water content of the medium to produce a porous wall surface. An osmotic action is generated through the wall surface of the hollow tube, and the diaphragm is displaced by the pressure displacement generated in this hollow tube, and the valve provided in the water supply system is directly opened and closed to appropriately and automatically supply water to the medium. The present invention relates to an automatic watering device that can be achieved without a power source.

[Conventional technology]

When performing potted cultivation of plants or ridge cultivation on cultivated land, proper irrigation of the medium is always required. In particular, when different kinds of plants are cultivated on the same cultivated land or when potted cultivation is performed, the amount of evaporation differs depending on the degree of growth of the plants, and it is necessary to increase or decrease the frequency of irrigation. Also, it is necessary to individually adjust the water content of the medium depending on the type of plant. For this reason, if only the water content of a specific medium is measured and the entire irrigation is performed, some of the medium may have excessive irrigation or insufficient irrigation, resulting in damage such as root rot or death. From this point of view, in the case of the above-mentioned cultivation, irrigation is manually performed individually. When the manager is absent for a long period of time, as shown in FIG. 7, a water absorbent body made of glass wool or the like at the bottom of the flowerpot 10
A method is known in which 12 is buried, a part of the water absorbent body 12 is exposed to the outside from the bottom surface of the flower pot 10 and the bottom portion of the flower pot 10 is placed on the water tray 14. This method has an advantage that it can be carried out easily and at low cost, but the water absorbent body 12 continuously sucks up all the water in the water tray 14 by the capillarity to feed the water to the medium, so that the medium becomes humid. The harmful effects such as root rot cannot be avoided.

Further, as shown in FIG. 8, a porous hollow tube 16 made of ceramics or the like having one end closed is used as a sensor portion, and the hollow tube 16 and a detection tube 18 hermetically filled with water are connected and connected. A tension meter is known in which a vacuum gauge with a contact point 20 is connected to a part of a detection tube 18 to automatically detect the water content of a medium. This tension meter has a function of causing a permeation action of water in the sensor portion due to the dry and wet state of the culture medium, and generating a certain negative pressure inside the detection tube 18 at the time of drying and detecting this with the vacuum gauge 20. is there. in this case,
As for the operation of the vacuum gauge 20, the controller 22 is operated by an electric signal to electrically control the automatic valve 26 provided in the water supply pipe 24 to achieve automatic irrigation.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

It is extremely effective to detect the water content of the medium with the tension meter described above. However, the vacuum gauge 20 for measuring the change in the osmotic pressure of the water inside the detection tube 18 is not only expensive because a relatively accurate one is required, but also an automatic valve 26 and an automatic valve 26 for performing automatic irrigation. Not only does the controller 22 require a controller 22 and a control power supply, the facility cost increases significantly, but also the maintenance cost increases. Further, since the detector tube and the sensor portion have a long structure, there is a drawback that they cannot be used dimensionally for pot planting.

Therefore, conventionally, a sensor is installed for each pot in potted plant cultivation, and for each medium of relatively small compartments in cultivated land cultivation, or for each plant, and for each medium of a small area in proximity to these sensors. It was technically and economically difficult to provide an adequate amount of water.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to use a porous hollow tube made of ceramics or the like as a sensor and to apply a negative pressure generated by this sensor to a valve mechanism to control water supply, thereby making it simple and compact. To provide an automatic irrigation device that can be constructed and manufactured at low cost and that can open and close the valve even when the displacement of the diaphragm is about 1/100 mm, improves response, and can operate accurate irrigation control without power supply. It is in.

[Means for solving problems]

The automatic irrigation device according to the present invention is arranged such that a drag means for displacing the diaphragm is arranged inside a compartment partly stretched with the diaphragm, and a porous hollow tube made of ceramics or the like having one end closed is used for the partition. A valve casing is provided in communication with the chamber, the valve casing is provided on the opposite side of the chamber through the diaphragm, and a water guiding pipe communicating with an external water supply pipe is inserted into the upper inner end of the valve casing so that the water guiding pipe is positionally adjustable. A valve seat is provided at the lower end opening of the valve, a valve element is interposed between the valve seat and the diaphragm, and the irrigation pipe is led out from a part of the valve casing.

In the above automatic irrigation system, the drag means provided inside the compartment may have a pair of permanent magnets having a repulsive action, which are arranged to face each other. Further, as a drag means provided inside the compartment, a compression coil spring may be used, and the coil spring may be pressed against the diaphragm via a spring receiving member.

The porous hollow tube made of ceramics and the inside of the compartment are filled with water by eliminating air. In this case, it is preferable to connect the water test tube to one side of the casing forming the compartment.

Furthermore, the porous hollow tube made of ceramics or the like can be connected to the casing forming the compartment directly or via an intermediate pipe.

It is preferable to provide an adjusting dial that can change the operating point of the valve body at the outer end of the water conduit.

[Action]

According to the automatic irrigation system of the present invention, a porous hollow tube made of ceramics or the like is communicated with a compartment partly provided with a diaphragm, and the interior of the compartment is displaced with respect to the diaphragm. By providing a drag means and a valve casing on the opposite side of the diaphragm to introduce a part of the water supply pipe and a valve body that acts on the diaphragm, the water content of the medium in which the hollow pipe is embedded is contained. A negative pressure change is generated in the hollow tube and the inside of the compartment corresponding to the rate to displace the diaphragm against the drag means, and at the same time, the valve is opened and closed to move the water having the required head to the culture medium. A proper amount can be automatically irrigated. Thus, the automatic irrigation device of the present invention integrally configures a sensor unit that performs a displacement operation in response to a change in the water content of the medium and a valve mechanism unit of a water supply system that opens and closes the valve,
It is possible to realize an automatic irrigation system that can maintain an optimum water content without power supply at a low cost.

〔Example〕

Next, an embodiment of an automatic watering device according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of the automatic watering device according to the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 30 denotes a ceramic hollow tube whose one end is closed. This hollow tube 30 is made of Al ₂ O
Water absorption of about 9 to 13% by burning ceramic materials such as ₃
The one molded into a porous body of a certain degree is used. This hollow tube
The open end of 30 is connected to the lower end of a casing 36 in which the upper end is sealed with a diaphragm 32 to form a compartment 34 and communicates with the compartment 34. The hollow tube 30 and the casing 36
Since it is liquid-tightly connected to the special mounting screw 38 and O
-Use ring 40. Inside the compartment 34, a pair of permanent magnets 42, 44 are arranged so as to face each other so as to have repulsive polarity, whereby the diaphragm 32 is set to be flexibly displaced upward as shown in the figure.

On the other hand, the valve casing 46 is hermetically fixed to the upper portion of the diaphragm 32. A ventilation hole 48 is formed in a part of the valve casing 46, and one end of an irrigation pipe 50 is connected to the ventilation hole 48. In this case, one or a plurality of irrigation pipes 50 can be provided.
Further, from the top of the valve casing 46, a water guiding pipe 54 having a valve seat 52 at the lower end is inserted so as to be positionally adjustable, and the valve seat 52
A ball valve 58 is disposed between the diaphragm 32 and the diaphragm 32 via a slide plate 56. Therefore, the water conduit 54 and the inside of the valve casing 46 are configured to be openable and closable via the ball valve 58. However, the water content adjusting dial 60 is integrally provided at the outer end of the water conduit 54, and one end of the water supply pipe 64 is connected to the upper open end of the water conduit 54 via the bush 62.

In the apparatus of the present embodiment configured as described above, the hollow pipe 30 and the compartment 34 that communicate with each other are preliminarily filled with water by eliminating air, and the water supply pipe 64 is used as the main water supply pipe (Fig. By connecting to (not shown), it can be used as it is as an automatic watering device. In this case, when the hollow tube 30 is inserted into the medium and the medium has a sufficient water content, the osmotic pressure of the water filled in the hollow tube 30 and the compartment 34 does not change, and the diaphragm 32 is The ball valve 58 is closed by holding the displaced state by the repulsive action of the permanent magnets 42, 44. After that, when the medium is dried, the water filled in the hollow tube 30 and the compartment 34 tries to permeate into the medium, and the osmotic pressure makes the compartment 34 a negative pressure. As a result, the diaphragm 32 is displaced downward against the repulsive action of the permanent magnets 42, 44. As a result, the ball valve 58 separates from the valve seat 52 and opens, and water having a required head guided from the water supply pipe 64 flows into the valve casing 46 and is supplied to the medium via the irrigation pipe 50. It In this way, when the culture medium reaches a predetermined water content again, the water content of the culture medium reversely osmose due to the negative pressure inside the hollow tube 30, and the pressure inside the hollow tube 30 and the compartment 34 returns to the original state. As described above, the ball valve 58 is closed.

In this embodiment, the opening / closing operating point by the ball valve 58 is
It can be changed depending on the set position of the water conduit 54 with respect to the ball valve 58. That is, by rotating the water content adjusting dial 60 to bring the valve seat 52 closer to the ball valve 58, the valve can be opened when the water content of the culture medium further decreases, and conversely the valve seat 52 can be opened. By separating the ball valve 58, the valve can be opened when the water content of the medium is relatively high. Therefore, in order to facilitate the setting of the opening / closing operating point by such a ball valve 58, as shown in FIG. 2, an indicator scale 66 is provided on the valve casing 46, and a high water content is provided on the upper surface of the water content adjusting dial 60. The regions (wet regions), the intermediate regions (medi regions), and the low regions (dry regions) may be displayed to facilitate the setting for each region.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing another embodiment of the automatic watering apparatus according to the present invention. The apparatus of this embodiment differs from the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 described above in that the internal structure of the compartment 34 of the casing 36 is changed. Therefore, for convenience of explanation, the first
The same components as those in the embodiment shown in the drawings are designated by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted. That is, in the device of the present embodiment, the compression coil spring 68 is disposed inside the compartment 34, the lower end of the coil spring 68 is locked to the bottom of the compartment 34, and the upper end of the coil spring 68 is spring-loaded. The diaphragm 32 is pressed against the diaphragm 32 via the receiving member 70 so that the diaphragm 32 is flexibly displaced upward. In this embodiment, the open end of the hollow tube 30 is directly fixed to the connecting portion of the casing 36 by an appropriate adhesive means. Further, in this embodiment, in order to fill the hollow pipe 30 and the compartment 34 with water, a through hole 72 is provided on one side of the casing 36, and the connecting pipe 74 is externally connected to this through hole 72. The water test tube 76 is connected to this. With this configuration, it is possible to monitor the state of air invasion in the hollow tube 30 and the compartment 34 and facilitate water replenishment work. The other structure is basically the same as that of the embodiment shown in FIG. Therefore, the apparatus of the present embodiment can be used and operated in exactly the same manner as the apparatus of the above-described embodiment. For example, when the culture medium dries, if the water filled in the hollow tube 30 and the compartment 34 tries to permeate into the culture medium and the osmotic pressure makes the pressure of the compartment 34 a negative pressure, the diaphragm 32 is compressed. It is displaced downward against the elasticity of the coil spring 68. This causes the ball valve 58 to move to the valve seat 52.
The water having a required head led from the water supply pipe 64 flows into the valve casing 46 and is supplied to the culture medium via the irrigation pipe 50.

By the way, the pressure (negative pressure) in the hollow tube 30 and the compartment 34 used in the above-described embodiment of the device of the present invention may have characteristics as shown in FIG. 4 in relation to the water content of the medium. confirmed. That is, as is clear from FIG. 4, the pressure changes substantially linearly when the water content of the medium is 100% to 40%, and changes exponentially when the water content is 40% or less. Therefore, when the operating point of the ball valve is selected within a medium water content range of 100% to 40%, the spring elasticity can be adjusted in proportion to the distance by using the embodiment apparatus shown in FIG. It is suitable. Further, when the operating point of the ball valve is selected within the range of the water content of the culture medium of 40% or less, the apparatus of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 capable of adjusting the repulsive force of the magnet in inverse proportion to the square of the distance may be adopted. Is suitable. Even if the repulsive force is a magnetic force or a spring, it is possible to operate from high humidity to dry state by appropriately determining the dial scale.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and for example, the attachment of the water detection tube is optional, and the hollow tube is directly connected to the casing. It goes without saying that various design changes can be made within the range not departing from the spirit of the present invention, such as that the connection can be made freely via an intermediate pipe whose volume does not change in the middle.

〔The invention's effect〕

As is apparent from the various examples described above, according to the present invention, the diaphragm is held in a constant state by a porous hollow tube made of ceramics or the like and a predetermined drag means provided in a compartment communicating with the hollow tube, A valve element is acted on this diaphragm to move the valve element by displacing the diaphragm against the drag means by the change in the negative pressure generated in the hollow tube and the compartment due to the water content of the medium, whereby the water is supplied. By opening and closing the passage, it is possible to easily achieve automatic irrigation according to changes in the water content of the medium. As described above, according to the present invention, the sensor portion including the porous hollow tube made of ceramics and the like, the compartment and the drag means of the diaphragm provided inside the compartment, and the water supply system that is opened and closed by the displacement of the diaphragm are communicated. Since it is integrally configured with the valve mechanism part, the automatic irrigation device has a compact structure, can be manufactured at low cost, and can be operated without a power source. It has different characteristics.

Therefore, the automatic irrigation system according to the present invention is, for example, as shown in FIG. 5, provided with an automatic irrigation system 80 for each flower pot in a large number of potted plants, and a water supply pipe 82 of each device is used as a common main water supply pipe. It can be connected to 84 to achieve automatic irrigation suitable for each medium condition. In this case, as a water supply source of the main water supply pipe 84, a water storage tank 86 is installed so as to have a sufficient head with respect to the culture medium in order to give a required head to the water guided to each water supply pipe 82. Further, also in cultivated land cultivation, as shown in FIG. 6, an automatic irrigation device 80 can be provided for each plant to achieve automatic irrigation suitable for each medium condition. In this case, the main water supply pipe 84 may be directly connected to the discharge side of the pumping pump, for example.

As described above, the device of the present invention has a compact configuration,
Since it can be used without a power source and the water content of the medium can be adjusted arbitrarily, it can be used from automatic irrigation in home-grown pot cultivation to automatic irrigation system in mass-produced pot and cultivated land cultivation. Can be realized widely and at low cost.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of the automatic watering apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view of the water content adjusting dial shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is an automatic watering apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing another embodiment, FIG. 4 is an internal negative pressure characteristic curve diagram with respect to changes in water content in the sensor part of the device of the present invention, and FIGS. 5 and 6 are application examples of the automatic watering device according to the present invention. FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing an automatic watering means applied to conventional potted plant cultivation, and FIG. 8 is a water content detection system and water supply control using a conventional porous hollow tube made of ceramics or the like. It is explanatory drawing which shows a system. 10 …… Flower pot, 12 …… Water absorber 14 …… Water tray 16 …… Ceramic porous hollow tube 18 …… Detection tube, 20 …… Vacuum gauge with contacts 22 …… Controller, 24 …… Water supply tube 26 …… Automatic valve, 30 …… Hollow tube 32 …… September, 34 …… Compartment 36 …… Casing, 38 …… Mounting screw 40 …… O-ring, 42,44 …… Permanent magnet 46 …… Valve Casing, 48 ... Vent hole 50 ... Irrigation pipe, 52 ... Valve seat 54 ... Water pipe, 56 ... Slide plate 58 ... Ball valve 60 ... Water content adjustment dial 62 ... Bush, 64 ... Water supply Pipe 66 …… Indicating scale, 68 …… Compression coil spring 70 …… Spring receiving member, 72 …… Through hole 74 …… Connecting pipe, 76 …… Water detector 80 …… Automatic watering device, 82 …… Water supply pipe 84… … Main water supply piping, 86 …… Water tank

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-55-142181 (JP, A) Actual development S57-37171 (JP, U) JP-B 40-17953 (JP, B1)

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A porous hollow tube made of ceramics or the like having one end closed and a drag means for displacing the diaphragm disposed inside a compartment having a partially stretched diaphragm connected to the compartment. Then, a valve casing is provided on the opposite side of the compartment through the diaphragm, and a water guiding pipe communicating with an external water supply pipe is inserted into the inner upper end portion of the valve casing in a positionally adjustable manner and the lower end opening of the water guiding pipe is provided. An automatic irrigation system characterized in that a valve seat is provided on the valve seat, a valve body is interposed between the valve seat and the diaphragm, and a irrigation pipe is led out from a part of the valve casing. 2. The automatic irrigation system according to claim 1, wherein the drag means provided inside the compartment has a pair of permanent magnets having a repulsive action arranged opposite to each other. 3. The automatic irrigation system according to claim 1, wherein the drag means provided inside the compartment is a compression coil spring, and the coil spring is pressed against the diaphragm via a spring receiving member. Automatic watering device. 4. The automatic irrigation system according to claim 1, wherein the porous hollow tube made of ceramics and the compartment are filled with water by eliminating air. 5. The automatic irrigation system according to claim 4, wherein a test tube is connected to one side of a casing forming a compartment. 6. The automatic irrigation system according to claim 1, wherein the porous hollow tube made of ceramics or the like is connected to a casing forming a compartment directly or through an intermediate pipe. . 7. The automatic irrigation system according to claim 1, wherein an adjusting dial for changing the operating point of the valve element is provided at the outer end of the water conduit.