Stand-alone mechanical device for controlled watering
View Patent ↗The invention concerns an exclusively mechanical stand-alone device for controlled watering by sprinkling, wherein a soil simulating member, having an absorbent body associated with a reclinable cup arranged beneath, contributes to determination of the interval between two watering operations. A balance arm, bearing the absorbent body and an annular magnet, is mounted and balanced by a compressed spring, contributing to the determination of the opening and closing times of a valve. The valve includes a hydraulic relay with a nozzle triggering its opening or closure, in response to the displacement of the magnet field. An impermeable sleeve encloses the core and the nozzle. A sliding canopy enables one of the parameters determining the duration of the watering operation to be adjusted. A thermostatic element has an adjustable position preventing watering in sunshine. The device is mounted rotating on a pivot including the base of the sleeve and a tail unit.
1. A stand-alone mechanical controlled watering apparatus comprising:
a soil stimulator having an absorbent body and a humidity sensor, said absorbent body corresponding to a behavior of soil with a water content, said humidity sensor having a moving part with a movement proportional to a humidity of said absorbent body;
a valve connected between a source of pressurized water and at least one watering device; and
a hydraulic relay performing a binary control function of opening said valve and closing said valve, said hydraulic relay being associated with a means for transforming movement of said moving part into said binary control function, said means for transforming being magnetic, said means for transforming comprised of a magnet and a ferromagnetic core urged upon by a retraction spring, said spring and said ferromagnetic core being enclosed within a sleeve, said humidity sensor having a single moving part placed on a stand and attached to said absorbent body, said absorbent body being mobile, said magnet incorporated into said moving part so as to directly activate said ferromagnetic core and to perform a magnetic control function, said soil stimulator having a reference case and an associated container, said reference case containing a sample of soil and at least one plant, said sample of soil being representative of the soil to be watered and a type of soil, said associated container containing water, said reference case having a base, said base having at least one perforated area resting on said base of said associated container, said base being supported by at least one insert, said moving part of said humidity sensor being a float freely movable in a central chamber between a bottom of said associated container and a bottom of said reference case, said float fitted with a ring-shaped magnet, said ring-shaped magnet being engaged around a sleeve housing of a bistable core of the hydraulic relay control valve.
2. The stand-alone mechanical controlled watering apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said magnet is either ring-shaped or C-shaped, said magnet being engaged around said sleeve of said ferromagnetic core.
3. The stand-alone mechanical controlled watering apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising:
a series of spouts capable of dripping water onto the soil, wherein water flow from a spout of a reference case and volume of soil in said reference case determine a reference watering duration, and wherein water flow from the spout is adjusted in accordance with the reference duration and with the volume of soil.
4. The stand-alone mechanical controlled watering apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said associated container comprises a base with a central opening having a rim encircling the sleeve housing of said bistable core of said valve and a set of feet fashioned to serve as fixed supports for pipe segments upstream and downstream from said valve.
5. The stand-alone mechanical controlled watering apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising:
a plurality of inserts installed between the perforated peripheral areas of said reference case and the bottom of said associated container, said plurality of inserts being tall enough to leave sufficient space for said float to revolve freely around said sleeve housing of the bistable core of said valve.
6. The stand-alone mechanical controlled watering apparatus of claim 5 , wherein said associated reference case is fitted with relatively tall and thick feet with a perforated base or with a centrally concave base and a peripheral area with several series of holes.
7. The stand-alone mechanical controlled water apparatus of claim 5 , wherein said associated reference case is fitted with a centrally concave base and a peripheral area with several series of holes.
8. The stand-alone mechanical controlled watering apparatus of claim 5 , wherein said associated container has a double bottom, said associated container having a crown-shaped upper level supporting high-capillary inserts and a lower level having a middle, said float resting in said middle.