JPH04200326A - Crop irrigation equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To correctly water in response to the dryness of soil and the water demand of crops by detecting the weight of a water evaporation container installed near the growing places of the crops at each constant time and subsequently watering the crops with a constant volume of water suitable for the crops. CONSTITUTION:The weight of an evaporation container 2 at the lower limit of water level is set for preventing the evaporation container 2 from being emptied. When the lower limit is compared with the weight and when the weight is judged to be below the lower limit, a water-supplying signal is outputted into a water-supplying means composed of a water-supplying pipe 9a faced to the evaporation container 2 and a water-supplying valve 10 comprising an ordinarily closed electromagnetic valve installed between the water-supplying pipe 9a and a city water pipe. The signal is transmitted to the water-supplying valve 10 from the I/O interface of a microcomputer through a relay circuit, and the valve 10 is opened to start the supply of the water. When the level of the water is raised to the upper limit by the supply of the water, a water supply-stopping signal is outputted.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] Industrial Application Field The present invention provides an effective irrigation method for watering agricultural crops in greenhouse cultivation, etc., watering garden crops, ornamental plants, watering in mushroom cultivation, etc., and implements this method. This relates to a device for

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION As one of the conventional methods for watering crops, a method is generally used in which a fixed amount of water is applied at fixed time intervals determined empirically.

The equipment is simple, but since it is carried out regardless of soil moisture content or changes in the crop environment, excesses and deficiencies may occur.1. There are drawbacks that can cause poor growth and quality deterioration. To avoid such drawbacks, a method is known in which the dryness of the soil where crops are planted is measured, and when the soil moisture drops below a certain level, a certain amount of water is applied. As a device based on this method, as shown in FIG. 4, an evaporation container 50 filled with water is placed near the crops, and electrode rods B1 to B3 of different lengths are placed on top of the evaporation container 50. The tips are immersed in water with 83 being the deepest and B1 being the shallowest. Then, the detector 54 detects a change in resistance between B2 and 83 (in the number Ω→■), and the controller 53
sends an opening signal to the electromagnetic valve 56, water supply to the container 50 is started, and the detection signal is also input to the controller 55. An irrigation instruction signal is issued to open the valve 57. Then, the water level in the evaporation container 50 rises, and B
Detector 51 detects the change in resistance value between 1 and 83 (■→number of Ω)
The controller 53 controls the electromagnetic valve 56 by detecting the
Irrigation devices are known that are configured to send a closing signal to complete water replenishment, and repeat the same operation thereafter.

Problems However, in this device, the electrode B to be detected
The distance between the water surface from the lower end of B2 to the lower end of B2 is usually around 1 ma+, and the detection level difference is extremely small. Detection error: Due to long-term use, calcium dissolved in water forms fine irregularities on the tip of the electrode, which causes the capillary phenomenon to suck up water. Detection error, or water replenishment. Since this is performed every time a level difference corresponding to the amount of evaporation is detected, an error in the amount of make-up water occurs each time, and this has various disadvantages in that it becomes an error in the detection of the amount of evaporation.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION The present invention overcomes the problems of the prior art and provides an irrigation method that can perform accurate irrigation according to soil dryness and water demand of crops, and an automatic irrigation device that implements this method. The purpose is to disclose.

Structure of the Invention The first irrigation method, which constitutes the gist of the present invention, is to install an evaporation container filled with water near the place where crops to be irrigated are grown, and to weigh the weight of this evaporation container at regular intervals. A method for watering crops, characterized in that the amount of water evaporated is calculated, and each time a predetermined amount of evaporation is detected, the crops are irrigated with a predetermined constant amount of water determined experimentally. The irrigation method uses an irrigation device comprising a water evaporation container, a weighing device for measuring the weight of the evaporation container, a means for replenishing water to the evaporation container, and a means for irrigating the crops. The amount of water evaporated in the evaporation container is calculated from the weighed value measured at regular intervals by Check to see if the weight of water in the container is below the lower limit, and if the weighed value is below the lower limit, operate the water replenishment means, and check whether the weighed value is below the lower limit of water in the evaporation container. Verify whether or not it is greater than or equal to
This method of watering crops is characterized by stopping the water supply means when the weighed value exceeds the upper limit. The evaporation container is placed on a weighing device installed nearby, and a water replenishment means is attached to the evaporation container, and the weighing device is used to measure the weight of the evaporation container filled with water. A weighed value output means that converts the value into an electrical signal and outputs it is provided, and the output signal from this weighed value output means is either the weighed value at the start of the evaporator weight measurement or the weighed value at the time of the previous irrigation. an irrigation signal generating means for operating the irrigation means for a predetermined period of time each time a predetermined amount of evaporation determined experimentally is detected in comparison with the reference value; an irrigation means for irrigating the water;
connected to the weighed value output means, and compares this output signal with weighed values corresponding to preset upper and lower limits of the water level of the evaporation container, and when the measured weight of the evaporation container is less than or equal to the lower limit; Water replenishment signal generation means for generating a water replenishment start signal to the water replenishment means; and water replenishment stop signal generation means for generating a water replenishment stop signal to the water replenishment means when the measured weight value is greater than or equal to an upper limit value. and an automatic irrigation device characterized by:

Hereinafter, the method of the present application will be explained along with an apparatus for carrying out the method.

FIG. 1 shows an irrigation device showing an embodiment of the present invention,
The weighing device 1 has a load cell as a weighing value output means 3 that converts the load of an evaporation container 2, which is a water container placed on a weighing platform 1a, into an electric signal and outputs the evaporation container 2 filled with water. The weight of the container 2 is converted into an electrical signal by a strain gauge and a bridge circuit, and this signal is further converted into an analog signal.
The data is converted into digital data and output to a microcomputer (microcomputer) as the control unit 4. The control unit 4 is a known microcomputer, and includes a serial I10 interface that inputs and outputs the weight measurement signal from the weighing device 1, a central processing unit (CPU) that performs control, calculation, etc., a program, and a weight measurement value of the evaporation container. It consists of a memory that stores (weighed values) etc. Such a control unit 4 will be explained with reference to a block diagram showing its functions and a chart 70 of an operation program stored in a memory. The weighed value output signal is obtained by storing measured values sampled at fixed time intervals in a RAM (random access memory) for a fixed time period (ΣΔL).
By integrating each time, it is possible to prevent erroneous detection due to temporal vibration and wobbling, and to obtain a valid weight measurement value (weighing value). Therefore, the weighed value is updated every Δ (step 20.23.28). The weight measurement value obtained in this way is inputted to the irrigation signal generation means 5, and compared with the weighed value of the evaporation container at the time when the measurement was started for the first time, the weight loss is calculated as the evaporation amount (step 24). ). It is determined whether this evaporation amount has reached a predetermined evaporation amount determined experimentally (step 25), and each time the predetermined evaporation amount is reached, the water supply of the irrigation device 6 is continued for a certain period of time set and stored in the memory. An irrigation signal is output to the irrigation valve 6b, which is a normally closed electromagnetic valve, so as to open the irrigation valve installed in the pipe 6a (step 26). This is done via a relay circuit (not shown) or the like.

On the other hand, the weighed value is also input to the water replenishment signal generation means 7 and the water replenishment stop signal generation means 8 (step 20). In the former, in order to prevent the evaporation container 2 from becoming empty, the weight of the evaporation container 2 at the lower limit value of the water level is set. If it is determined that it is below the value (Y side in step 21), a water supply valve consisting of a normally closed electromagnetic valve interposed between the water supply pipe 9a facing the evaporation container 2 and the water pipe 20 is activated. A water replenishment signal is output to the water replenishment means constituted by 10 (step 27). The signal is sent from the I10 interface "-7 Ace" of the My Fun to the water replenishment valve 10 via a relay circuit (not shown), and the valve 10 is opened to start water supply. On the other hand, the water replenishment stop signal generating means 8 The upper limit of the water level in the evaporation container is set, and the measured weight value is checked to see if it exceeds this upper limit (two steps). If the values match, a water replenishment stop signal is output (step 30).Specifically, the water replenishment valve 10
to a relay circuit (not shown) that continues to send an open signal to
This is done by sending a signal to release the self-holding state. It should be noted that the irrigation signal generation means 5 is similar to the water replenishment signal generation means 7.
The lower limit value, which is a requirement for the operation of the water replenishment signal generation means 7, is slightly lower than the predetermined evaporation amount, which is an operation requirement for the irrigation signal generation means 5. Since the value is set as a value with a wide range, when water replenishment operation is activated, it is always performed immediately after irrigation operation, and the weighed value at the time water replenishment is stopped is used for the new evaporation calculation. This becomes the reference value. In this way, each time evaporation of a certain amount of water from the evaporation container 2 is detected, the crops are automatically irrigated. Separately from the irrigation operation, when the water in the evaporation container decreases to a certain limit, the water replenishment means automatically replenishes the evaporation container with water up to a specified water level. From then on,
Irrigation is performed by repeating this operation.

In the above example, the correlation between the amount of evaporation and the amount of irrigation varies depending on the type of crop, the conditions of the place where the crop is grown, the season, etc., so in order to select and use these conditions appropriately, the correlation between the amount of evaporation and the amount of irrigation is It is desirable to set this in the microcomputer so that the user can select and use it.

Effects According to the irrigation method and device of the present invention, the opening conditions can be easily and precisely determined or changed by changing the My Fun program or by setting the selection conditions as described above. Furthermore, in order to determine the appropriate time for irrigation, the amount of evaporation is determined by measuring the weight of the evaporation container, and irrigation is performed every time a certain amount of evaporation is detected, which is more effective than conventional equipment. As a result, measurement errors are small and the chances of errors occurring are drastically reduced, making it possible to perform accurate irrigation and produce high-quality crops. In addition, since a commercially available highly accurate electronic balance can be used as a weighing device, manufacturing is easy, which is an excellent advantage.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an embodiment of the irrigation device according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a 70-chart showing the operation of the microcomputer of the embodiment device of FIG. FIG. 3 is a side view showing the external appearance of the embodiment device of FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the prior art. Figure 2 Ajiku Gutmi

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) Install a water evaporation container near the crop growing area,
The weight of the evaporation container is weighed at regular intervals to calculate the amount of water evaporated, and each time a predetermined amount of evaporation is detected, a certain amount of water suitable for the crop determined experimentally in advance is irrigated. Characteristic irrigation method. (2) Using an irrigation device that includes a water evaporation container, a weighing device for measuring the weight of the evaporation container, a means for supplying water to the evaporation container, and a means for watering crops, The amount of water evaporated in the evaporation container is calculated from the weighed value measured every hour, and each time a certain amount of evaporation is detected, the irrigation means is operated for a certain period of time. Check whether the weight of water in the container is below the lower limit value, and when the weighed value is below the lower limit value, operate the water replenishment means, and check whether the weighed value is below the lower limit value of water in the evaporation container. A method for watering crops, characterized in that the water supply means is stopped when the weighed value is equal to or greater than the upper limit value. (3) An evaporation container is placed on a weighing device, and a water replenishment means is placed on the evaporation container, and the weighing device is configured to convert the weighed value of the evaporation container containing water into an electrical signal. A weighed value output means is provided, and the output signal is compared with the weighed value at the start of evaporator weight measurement or the weighed value at the most recent irrigation, and each time a predetermined amount of evaporation is detected, a predetermined amount is output. an irrigation signal generation means for operating the time irrigation means; an irrigation means for irrigate crops based on the output signal of the irrigation signal generation means; water replenishment signal generating means that compares the weighed value corresponding to the upper and lower limits of the water level of the evaporator and sends a water replenishment start signal to the water replenishing means when the weighed value of the evaporator container is below the lower limit; 1. An irrigation device comprising: water replenishment stop signal generating means for sending a water replenishment stop signal to the water replenishment means when the measured value is greater than or equal to an upper limit value.