Low-power-consumption agricultural irrigation three-way valve based on time control

Abstract

The invention discloses a low-power-consumption agricultural irrigation three-way valve based on time control, and relates to the technical field of intelligent agriculture, the low-power-consumption agricultural irrigation three-way valve comprises a three-way valve structure, a control circuit, a speed reducer, a mobile phone APP and a communication mechanism between a mobile phone and a valve body; wherein the three-way valve body is a physical device for switching irrigation water flow paths. And the control circuit is used for reading and writing the speed reducer motor, the Bluetooth communication device and the time chip. The speed reducer decelerates the rotating speed of the direct current motor according to a certain proportion through the speed reducing mechanism so as to drive the ball valve in the three-way valve body. The mobile phone APP software is a man-machine interaction tool, and an operator can preset the working state, the future circulation direction and the switching time of the three-way valve through the software. A communication mechanism between the mobile phone and the three-way valve body defines data transmission formats of a valve state control frame, a valve state reading frame, a valve state response frame and the like for realizing a control task between the gateway and the three-way valve.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of smart agriculture technology, specifically to a low-power agricultural irrigation three-way valve based on time control. Background Technology

[0002] For a long time, my country's agricultural irrigation methods have suffered from low levels of automation and low water use efficiency. To meet the demands of modern intelligent agricultural management, irrigation valves in agricultural irrigation systems, while fulfilling their irrigation function, must also possess unattended operation capabilities. This means that the irrigation valves should automatically switch water supply and adjust water flow paths without the need for on-site operators. Given the rising cost of human resources in agricultural irrigation, this invention can significantly reduce irrigation costs for land contractors while simultaneously achieving more scientific agricultural irrigation and greatly improving water use efficiency.

[0003] The existing technology, such as the invention application patent with announcement number CN214961602U, discloses an irrigation device based on agricultural Internet of Things (IoT) sensor sensing. This device includes a water pump, a water storage tank on one side of the water pump, a controller mounted on the front of the water storage tank, an electromagnetic check valve on the lower side of one side of the water storage tank, a fertilizer tank on the side of the electromagnetic check valve, a stirring motor centrally located at the upper end of the fertilizer tank, a feeding port on one side of the upper end of the fertilizer tank, an electromagnetic three-way valve on one side of the fertilizer tank, an irrigation pump on one side of the electromagnetic three-way valve, an irrigation pipe mounted on one side of the irrigation pump, several irrigation inlets at the lower end of the irrigation pipe, a humidity sensor mounted on the lower end of the irrigation pipe near the irrigation inlets, and a water outlet pump on the upper side of one side of the water storage tank. This invention, an irrigation device based on agricultural IoT sensor sensing, can avoid the accumulation of solid fertilizer, facilitate the mixing of water and fertilizer, and simultaneously perform fertilization while irrigating, saving time.

[0004] Existing technologies can meet the basic requirements for a time-controlled low-power agricultural irrigation three-way valve, but there are also some potential defects and challenges, specifically in the following aspects: First, it improves the pain points of insufficient automation, cumbersome operation and high energy consumption in traditional agricultural irrigation, affecting the realization of more intelligent irrigation scheduling.

[0005] Second, it reduces irrigation efficiency and labor costs, affecting the key technical support provided for the construction of smart agriculture, and consequently affecting the subsequent expansion of communication distance and the addition of soil moisture sensor linkage functions. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The purpose of this invention is to provide a low-power agricultural irrigation three-way valve based on time control, which solves the problems existing in the background technology.

[0007] To solve the above-mentioned technical problems, the present invention adopts the following technical solution: The present invention provides a low-power agricultural irrigation three-way valve based on time control, including a three-way valve structure, a control circuit, a reducer, a mobile APP, and a communication mechanism between the mobile phone and the valve body.

[0008] The three-way valve structure consists of a three-way valve body, a geared motor, a control circuit board, and a waterproof housing. The three-way valve body is a ball valve, and the valve core can rotate 360 ​​degrees.

[0009] The reducer body comprises a DC motor with a rated voltage of 6V, a reduction mechanism, and two limit switches.

[0010] The mobile app allows operators to set the current date and time of the three-way valve, change the operation password, and enter the switching time and direction of the three-way valve in the future.

[0011] Embedded programs and embedded software are the application code of the MCU in the control circuit to implement the three-way valve function. The main functional programs include Bluetooth communication program, three-way valve time setting and reading program, DC motor driver program, and memory read / write interface program.

[0012] The communication mechanism between the mobile phone and the valve body defines the data transmission format between the gateway and the three-way valve for valve status control frames, valve status reading frames, valve status response frames, etc., to achieve control tasks.

[0013] Furthermore, the valve core can rotate 360 ​​degrees. The three-way valve consists of one inlet and two outlets, named outlet #1 and outlet #2 respectively. When the valve core rotates to 90 degrees, the inlet and outlet #1 are open to water flow. When the valve core rotates to 270 degrees, the inlet and outlet #2 are open to water flow.

[0014] Furthermore, the ball valve core plate is driven by a geared motor inside the waterproof housing. The geared motor consists of a DC motor with a rated voltage of 6V and a reduction gear.

[0015] Furthermore, the control circuit board, specifically the three-way valve control circuit, consists of a low-power MCU chip, a Bluetooth module, a motor drive circuit, a real-time clock circuit, a storage circuit, and a low-power switching circuit. When powered by two 18650 batteries, the internal MCU drives the geared motor to rotate forward or backward via the motor drive chip. The MCU communicates with a mobile app via the Bluetooth module. The storage circuit stores the setting parameters of the three-way valve, including future switching time records, calibration parameters, the three-way valve serial number, and the operation password.

[0016] Furthermore, the waterproof housing achieves waterproof isolation of the internal reducer and circuit board through a sealing sleeve.

[0017] Furthermore, the motor drive chip enables the geared motor to rotate forward or reverse. The control circuit is powered by two 1200mAh 18650 lithium batteries and comprises an MCU, a timer chip, a memory chip, and a BLE Bluetooth chip. The control circuit operates in two modes: dynamic and static. The operating current in dynamic mode is 200mA, and the operating current in static mode is 2mA. When the start button on the valve body is pressed, the control circuit enters dynamic mode. If no command is received from the mobile phone within 3 minutes, the system will enter static mode.

[0018] Furthermore, in the reducer, when the ball valve rotates to position 1 and the outlet is open, limit switch 1 is disconnected and limit switch 2 is open; when it rotates to position 2 and the outlet is open, limit switch 2 is disconnected and limit switch 1 is open.

[0019] Furthermore, the mobile app is characterized in that: the mobile app software is the human-machine interface between the operator and the three-way valve. The operator sets the working parameters of the three-way valve through the app. The working parameters to be set for the three-way valve include the valve's operation password, the current time of the three-way valve, the future direction of water flow and the action time. After the working parameters are set by the operator, they are saved in the storage unit of the control circuit. The settings of the future action time and direction of the three-way valve are stored in the storage unit in a record manner. The operator can set up to 100 operation records.

[0020] Furthermore, the communication mechanism between the mobile APP and the three-way valve body is characterized by defining the data transmission format of valve status control frames, valve status reading frames, valve status response frames, etc., between the gateway and the three-way valve to realize the control task.

[0021] Furthermore, the specific analysis method for the data transmission format is as follows: the communication methods of the two are as follows: 1) the communication method of the two is BLE Bluetooth mode; 2) The App actively searches for three-way valves with different serial numbers and establishes a connection with one of them; 3) The App needs to provide an operation password to the three-way valve. If the password is incorrect, operation of the three-way valve will be prohibited. 4) The start byte of the communication frame is 0x01, the end byte is 0x02, and the other bytes are all ASCII characters; 5) The specific frame format is as described in the first part of the embodiment.

[0022] The beneficial effects of this invention are as follows: This solution, through an integrated design of low-power hardware, precise time control, and wireless communication, solves the pain points of insufficient automation, cumbersome operation, and high energy consumption in traditional agricultural irrigation. The software functions are tailored to the actual needs of agricultural irrigation, effectively improving irrigation efficiency and reducing labor costs, providing key technical support for the construction of smart agriculture. Future development can further extend the communication distance and add soil moisture sensor linkage functions to achieve more intelligent irrigation scheduling. Attached Figure Description

[0023] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0024] Figure 1 This is a physical structure diagram of the agricultural irrigation three-way valve body of the present invention.

[0025] Figure 2 This is a structural diagram of the three-way valve control circuit of the present invention.

[0026] Figure 3 This is a circuit diagram of the three-way valve control circuit of the present invention.

[0027] Figure 4 This is a flowchart of the three-way valve operation procedure of the present invention.

[0028] Figure 5 This is a diagram of the working interface of the mobile app of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0029] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0030] Reference Figure 1 As shown, the present invention provides a low-power agricultural irrigation three-way valve based on time control, including: a three-way valve structure, a control circuit, a reducer, a mobile APP, and a communication mechanism between the mobile phone and the valve body.

[0031] 1. Valve status control frame The valve status control frame is a control frame sent from the mobile app to the three-way valve. Its purpose is to switch the water flow path of the irrigation valve, and its format is as follows: The meanings of each field are as follows: ST: Start of Frame byte 0x01, indicating the start of a frame; Fun: Frame format definition segment, 2 bytes, the string "01" is defined as a valve status control frame; ValveID: Valve serial number definition field, 8 bytes, each byte is ASCII code. When this field is "00000000", it indicates broadcast mode; Password: Three-way valve operation password, 8 bytes, each byte is ASCII code; State: Valve status byte, the character "0" indicates switching to the 1# on position, and "1" indicates switching to the 2# on position; Sum: Check word, 2 bytes; the ASCII code representation of the sum of all bytes before Sum and the result of an AND operation with 0xff.

[0032] End: Frame end byte 0x02, indicating the end of a frame; 2. Valve status read frame After the APP sends this frame, its purpose is to read the working status of the three-way valve, and its format is as follows: The meanings of each field are as follows: ST: Start of Frame byte 0x01, indicating the start of a frame; Fun: Frame format definition segment, 2 bytes, the string "03" is defined as a valve status read frame; ValveID: Valve serial number definition field, 8 bytes, each byte is ASCII code. When this field is "00000000", it indicates broadcast mode; Password: Operation password, 8 bytes, each byte is ASCII code; Sum: Check word, 2 bytes; the ASCII code representation of the sum of all bytes before Sum and the result of an AND operation with 0xff.

[0033] End: Frame end byte 0x02, indicating the end of a frame; 3. Valve status response frame The response frame returned after the three-way valve sends out a read status frame.

[0034] The meanings of each field are as follows: ST: Start of Frame byte 0x01, indicating the start of a frame; Fun: Frame format definition segment, 2 bytes, the string "04" is defined as a valve status response frame; ValveID: Valve serial number definition field, 8 bytes, each byte is ASCII code; State: Valve status byte, where "0" indicates the closed state and "1" indicates the open state; Sum: Check word, 2 bytes; the ASCII code representation of the sum of all bytes before Sum and the result of an AND operation with 0xff.

[0035] End: Frame end byte 0x02, indicating the end of a frame; 4. Date and Time Setting Frame The date and time setting frame is used to set the current date and time for the three-way valve, and its format is as follows: The meanings of each field are as follows: ST: Start of Frame byte 0x01, indicating the start of a frame; Fun: Frame format definition segment, 2 bytes, the string "05" is defined as the valve opening control frame; ValveID: Valve serial number definition field, 8 bytes, each byte is ASCII code. When this field is "00000000", it indicates broadcast mode; Password: Three-way valve operation password, 8 bytes, each byte is ASCII code; Date: The definition of a date, 8 bytes, "20251212", described using ASCII code; Time: The definition of time, 6 bytes, "121212", described using ASCII code; Sum: Check word, 2 bytes; the ASCII code representation of the sum of all bytes before Sum and the result of an AND operation with 0xff.

[0036] End: Frame end byte 0x02, indicating the end of a frame; 5. Read date and time frames After receiving this frame, the irrigation valve will return its current time, in the following format: The meanings of each field are as follows: ST: Start of Frame byte 0x01, indicating the start of a frame; Fun: Frame format definition segment, 2 bytes, the string "05" is defined as the valve opening read frame; ValveID: Valve serial number definition field, 8 bytes, each byte is ASCII code. When this field is "00000000", it indicates broadcast mode; Password: Operation password, 8 bytes, each byte is ASCII code; Sum: Check word, 2 bytes; the ASCII code representation of the sum of all bytes before Sum and the result of an AND operation with 0xff.

[0037] End: Frame end byte 0x02, indicating the end of a frame; 6. Date and Time Response Frame The response from the three-way valve is in the following format: The meanings of each field are as follows: ST: Start of Frame byte 0x01, indicating the start of a frame; Fun: Frame format definition segment, 2 bytes, the string "06" is defined as the valve opening response frame; ValveID: Valve serial number definition field, 8 bytes, each byte is ASCII code. When this field is "00000000", it indicates broadcast mode; Date: The definition of a date, 8 bytes, "20251212", described using ASCII code; Time: The definition of time, 6 bytes, "121212", described using ASCII code; Sum: Check word, 2 bytes; the ASCII code representation of the sum of all bytes before Sum and the result of an AND operation with 0xff.

[0038] End: Frame end byte 0x02, indicating the end of a frame.

[0039] Reference Figure 3 As shown, the three-way valve control circuit uses an STC8 microcontroller with low power consumption as the main control MCU. When the mobile app does not send any instructions to the three-way valve or the preset action time of the three-way valve has not yet arrived, the MCU is in a power-down state. The MCU cuts off the power supply relay, and at this time, except for the clock chip and the MCU chip, all other chips stop receiving power. The PCF8563 in the figure is a clock chip from Huaguan Company. The MCU sets the specific time of this chip through the IIC bus. When the time of the PCF8563 reaches the specified switching time of the three-way valve, the interrupt signal INT will go low, thereby waking up the MCU and restoring it from the power-down state to the normal operating state. At this time, the MCU turns on the power supply relay to supply power to the peripheral circuits. The MB85RS16 produced by Fujitsu is an FRAM chip, which is used in this invention to store the set parameters and the flow path and switching time of the three-way valve. It realizes information interaction with the MCU through the SPI bus. The CP2119L is a motor drive chip produced by Chipbola. The MCU controls the forward and reverse rotation of the motor through BI and FI signals, thereby controlling the valve core to reach the specified position. The VG6328A is a Bluetooth communication chip. Through this chip, the MCU realizes information exchange with the Bluetooth module on the mobile phone via serial communication.

[0040] Reference Figure 4 As shown, after power-on, the MCU illuminates the run indicator light and starts the timeout timer. Before the timeout timer overflows, the MCU can receive commands from the mobile phone via the Bluetooth chip and execute the corresponding tasks. After the timeout period expires, the MCU will disconnect the power supply relay, turn off the run indicator light, and enter a power-down state, waiting to be woken up by the clock chip PCF8563. When the clock reaches the user-set path switching time, the interrupt signal issued by PCF8563 will wake up the MCU. At this time, the MCU drives the CP2119L to drive the DC motor to rotate forward or reverse, so that the water flow direction of the three-way valve switches to the expected path.

[0041] Reference Figure 5 As shown, the main function of the mobile app is to set the operating parameters, switching time, and switching direction of the three-way valve. After the three-way valve is powered on, it can be connected to via Bluetooth while its indicator light is on. After searching for the serial number of a Bluetooth device using the "Search" button, a Bluetooth connection can be established with a three-way valve. After establishing a Bluetooth connection, an operation password must be verified to obtain permission to operate the three-way valve. Specific operations include: a) setting the system time of the three-way valve; b. Set the expected water flow path switching time and switching direction for the three-way valve; c. Test the running direction of the geared motor; d. Calibrate the valve core to the orifice position; e. Change the operating password of the three-way valve.

[0042] The above content is merely an example and illustration of the concept of the present invention. Those skilled in the art can make various modifications or additions to the specific embodiments described, or use similar methods to replace them, as long as they do not deviate from the concept of the invention or exceed the scope defined by the present invention, and all such modifications and additions should fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A low-power agricultural irrigation three-way valve based on time control, characterized in that, include: The three-way valve structure consists of a three-way valve body, a geared motor, a control circuit board, and a waterproof housing. The three-way valve body is a ball valve, and the valve core can rotate 360 ​​degrees. The reducer body comprises a DC motor with a rated voltage of 6V, a reduction mechanism, and two limit switches; The mobile app allows operators to set the current date and time of the three-way valve, change the operation password, and enter the switching time and direction of the three-way valve in the future. Embedded programs and embedded software are the application code of the MCU in the control circuit to implement the three-way valve function. The main functional programs include Bluetooth communication program, three-way valve time setting and reading program, DC motor driver program, and memory read and write interface program. The communication mechanism between the mobile phone and the valve body defines the data transmission format between the gateway and the three-way valve for valve status control frames, valve status reading frames, valve status response frames, etc., to achieve control tasks.

2. The low-power agricultural irrigation three-way valve based on time control according to claim 1, characterized in that, The valve core can rotate 360 ​​degrees. The three-way valve consists of one inlet and two outlets, named outlet #1 and outlet #2 respectively. When the valve core is rotated to 90 degrees, the inlet and outlet #1 are open to water flow. When the valve core is rotated to 270 degrees, the inlet and outlet #2 are open to water flow.

3. The low-power agricultural irrigation three-way valve based on time control according to claim 1, characterized in that, The ball valve core plate is driven by a geared motor inside a waterproof housing. The geared motor consists of a DC motor with a rated voltage of 6V and a reduction gear.

4. A low-power agricultural irrigation three-way valve based on time control according to claim 2, characterized in that, The control circuit board, specifically the three-way valve control circuit, consists of a low-power MCU chip, a Bluetooth module, a motor drive circuit, a real-time clock circuit, a storage circuit, and a low-power switching circuit. When powered by two 18650 batteries, the internal MCU drives the geared motor to rotate forward or backward via the motor drive chip. The MCU communicates with a mobile app via the Bluetooth module. The storage circuit stores the three-way valve's setting parameters, including future switching time records, calibration parameters, the three-way valve serial number, and the operation password.

5. A low-power agricultural irrigation three-way valve based on time control according to claim 2, characterized in that, The waterproof housing achieves waterproof isolation of the internal reducer and circuit board through a sealing sleeve.

6. A low-power agricultural irrigation three-way valve based on time control according to claim 2, characterized in that, The motor drive chip enables the geared motor to rotate forward or backward. The control circuit is powered by two 1200mAh 18650 lithium batteries and consists of an MCU, a timer chip, a memory chip, and a BLE Bluetooth chip. The control circuit operates in two modes: dynamic and static. The operating current in dynamic mode is 200mA, and the operating current in static mode is 2mA. When the start button on the valve body is pressed, the control circuit enters dynamic mode. If no command is received from the mobile phone within 3 minutes, the system will enter static mode.

7. A low-power agricultural irrigation three-way valve based on time control according to claim 1, characterized in that, When the ball valve rotates to position 1 and the outlet is open, limit switch 1 is disconnected and limit switch 2 is open. When the ball valve rotates to position 2 and the outlet is open, limit switch 2 is disconnected and limit switch 1 is open.

8. A low-power agricultural irrigation three-way valve based on time control according to claim 1, characterized in that, The mobile app is characterized in that: the mobile app software is the human-machine interface between the operator and the three-way valve. The operator sets the working parameters of the three-way valve through the app. The working parameters to be set for the three-way valve include the valve's operation password, the current time of the three-way valve, the future direction of water flow and the action time. After the working parameters are set by the operator, they are saved in the storage unit of the control circuit. The settings of the future action time and direction of the three-way valve are stored in the storage unit in a record manner. The operator can set up to 100 operation records.

9. A low-power agricultural irrigation three-way valve based on time control according to claim 1, characterized in that, The communication mechanism between the mobile APP and the three-way valve body is characterized by defining the data transmission format between the gateway and the three-way valve for valve status control frames, valve status reading frames, valve status response frames, etc., to achieve control tasks.

10. A low-power agricultural irrigation three-way valve based on time control according to claim 1, characterized in that, The specific analysis method for the data transmission format is as follows: The communication methods of the two are as follows: 1) The communication method of the two is BLE Bluetooth mode; 2) The App actively searches for three-way valves with different serial numbers and establishes a connection with one of them; 3) The App needs to provide an operation password to the three-way valve. If the password is incorrect, operation of the three-way valve will be prohibited. 4) The start byte of the communication frame is 0x01, the end byte is 0x02, and the other bytes are all ASCII characters; 5) The specific frame format is as described in the first part of the embodiment.

Images