Automatic water inlet and outlet device of circulating water culture system
The automatic water inlet and outlet device, composed of a siphon drainage pipe and an air pipe, solves the problems of high energy consumption and inaccurate control in traditional recirculating aquaculture systems, achieving zero-energy, convenient water quality control and improving the system's reliability and flexibility.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Utility models(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- GUANGXI ACADEMY OF FISHERY SCI
- Filing Date
- 2025-08-05
- Publication Date
- 2026-06-26
AI Technical Summary
In existing recirculating aquaculture systems, traditional automatic water inlet and outlet devices rely on manual operation, resulting in high energy consumption, high failure rate, difficulty in accurately controlling water quality, impacting fish growth rate and survival rate, and failing to meet the needs of industrialized production.
An automatic water inlet and outlet device consisting of a siphon drainage pipe, a water level indicator pipe, and an air pipe is used to achieve zero-energy drainage start-up by utilizing the siphon physical effect. Combined with the structural design of adjustable air pipe insertion depth, it can achieve precise flow regulation and eliminate the need for manual intervention.
It achieves energy-free and easy-to-operate semi-automatic control, ensuring synchronized water level and precise flow regulation, improving the flexibility and reliability of water quality control, and reducing labor costs and equipment failure rate.
Smart Images
Figure CN224402653U_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This utility model relates to the field of aquaculture technology, and in particular to an automatic water inlet and outlet device for a recirculating aquaculture system. Background Technology
[0002] With the rapid development of agricultural industrial automation and IoT technology, automatic water inlet and drainage devices, as a core subsystem of recirculating aquaculture systems, are undergoing a dual-track innovation of "de-electrification + intelligentization." The short-term goal is to overcome environmental adaptability challenges through mechanical reliability, becoming the preferred cost-reduction solution for small and medium-sized farms and land-based aquaculture ponds. The long-term goal is to promote the digitalization of the entire industry chain through IoT integration (such as blockchain traceability and AI-based water quality control). In the early stages of recirculating aquaculture, traditional methods relied on manual insertion and removal of drainage and sewage pipes at the bottom of the pond, or on water pumps and electric valves. This resulted in high labor costs, high energy consumption, and high failure rates, leading to a waste of human resources in practical applications. Furthermore, the operation was difficult to control, easily causing damage to drainage and sewage pipes, accidental drying of the aquaculture pond, and production accidents, failing to meet the development needs of industrialized farming. Driven by the pain points and demands of the aquaculture industry, large-scale aquaculture requires precise control, and high-density aquaculture demands dynamic balance of water quality (dissolved oxygen, ammonia nitrogen, etc.). Traditional methods struggle to respond promptly to water quality fluctuations, affecting fish growth rates and survival rates, posing significant risks and difficulties to aquaculture. To better control the needs of automatic water intake and drainage and centralized factory management, it is of great practical significance to develop an automatic water intake and drainage device for recirculating aquaculture systems that is universal, quantifiable, easy to operate, precisely adjustable, overflow-proof, energy-free, and based on purely physical principles. Utility Model Content
[0003] The purpose of this invention is to provide an automatic water inlet and drainage device for a recirculating aquaculture system, in order to solve the problems existing in the prior art, and to achieve convenient and simple operation, energy-free, quantifiable semi-automatic control of water inlet and drainage volume, which can be combined with Internet of Things technology to achieve flexible configuration and management.
[0004] To achieve the above objectives, this utility model provides the following solution:
[0005] An automatic water inlet and outlet device for a recirculating aquaculture system includes:
[0006] A siphon drainage pipe having a curved section, wherein the inlet end of the siphon drainage pipe is connected to the aquaculture pond and the outlet end extends to the sewage discharge chamber;
[0007] The water level indicator pipe has a vertical pipe section connected to the aquaculture pond, and the top of the vertical pipe section is connected to the atmosphere, so that the water level inside the pipe is synchronized with the aquaculture pond in real time.
[0008] The air pipe has one end connected to the top of the curved pipe section and the other end inserted into the top of the vertical pipe section, and is used to control the start and stop of the siphon drainage.
[0009] The depth to which the air pipe is inserted into the vertical pipe section is adjustable, which is used to control the flow rate of the siphon drainage.
[0010] In one exemplary embodiment, the top height of the curved pipe section is level with the highest design water level of the aquaculture pond.
[0011] In one exemplary embodiment, the depth to which the trachea is inserted into the vertical pipe section corresponds to the minimum design water level of the aquaculture pond.
[0012] In one exemplary embodiment, the siphon drain pipe further includes a horizontal pipe section for connecting the aquaculture pond and the curved pipe section.
[0013] In an exemplary embodiment, the water level indicator pipe includes only the vertical pipe section, and the vertical pipe section is connected to the horizontal pipe section of the siphon drainage pipe.
[0014] In one exemplary embodiment, the water level indicator pipe further includes a transition pipe section for connecting the aquaculture pond and the vertical pipe section.
[0015] In an exemplary embodiment, the upper part of the vertical pipe section is made of a transparent material and is provided with water level markings.
[0016] In one exemplary embodiment, a lifting mechanism for adjusting the tracheal insertion depth is also included.
[0017] In one exemplary embodiment, the lifting mechanism is a guide rail slider structure, the guide rail is fixedly installed, the slider is slidably connected to the guide rail, and the air pipe is fixedly connected to the slider through a first connector.
[0018] In an exemplary embodiment, the lifting mechanism is a lead screw and nut mechanism, including a bracket. The bracket includes a vertical guide rod and a horizontal fixed rod. The lead screw is rotatably mounted on the horizontal fixed rod and is connected to a rotary drive mechanism. The nut is threadedly connected to the lead screw. The nut is fixedly connected to a sliding block slidably mounted on the vertical guide rod via a second connector. The air pipe is fixedly connected to the nut via a third connector.
[0019] The present invention achieves the following technical advantages over the prior art:
[0020] 1. By setting up a siphon drainage pipe with a curved section, gravity drainage is automatically triggered when the water level in the aquaculture pond exceeds the top of the curved section, utilizing the siphon physical effect to achieve zero-energy drainage start-up and maintenance.
[0021] 2. The design of connecting the vertical section of the water level indicator pipe to the aquaculture pond and the atmosphere ensures that the internal water level is synchronized with the aquaculture pond in real time and accurately, providing a benchmark for water level control and eliminating measurement errors.
[0022] 3. By connecting the top of the curved pipe section with the top of the vertical pipe section through the air pipe, air is automatically introduced to break the siphon negative pressure when the water level in the aquaculture pond drops to the height of the bottom of the air pipe, thus completing the purely physical drainage start and stop control and eliminating the need for manual intervention.
[0023] 4. By using a structural design that allows for adjustable insertion depth of the air pipe within a vertical pipe section, the water seal resistance at the bottom of the air pipe can be directly altered during drainage, enabling linear and precise adjustment of the drainage flow rate (insertion depth is negatively correlated with flow rate). Ultimately, this achieves the core technological advantages of no external power or complex sensors, fully automatic water level control, and continuously adjustable flow rate. Attached Figure Description
[0024] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this utility model or the prior art, the drawings used in the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of this utility model. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.
[0025] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the automatic water inlet and outlet device of a recirculating aquaculture system disclosed in a specific embodiment of the present invention.
[0026] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the automatic water inlet and outlet device of a recirculating aquaculture system disclosed in another specific embodiment of the present invention.
[0027] Figure 3 for Figure 2 Schematic diagram of the structure of the Zhongyu toilet;
[0028] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of a structure for adjusting the insertion depth of the trachea through a lifting mechanism, as disclosed in a specific embodiment of the present utility model. The lifting mechanism is shown in a side sectional view.
[0029] Figure 5 for Figure 4 The front view of the lifting mechanism in the middle;
[0030] Among them, 1. Siphon drainage pipe; 11. Curved pipe section; 12. Horizontal pipe section; 2. Aquaculture pond; 3. Water level indicator pipe; 31. Vertical pipe section; 4. Air pipe; 5. Lifting mechanism; 51. Vertical guide rod; 52. Horizontal fixing rod; 53. Screw; 54. Rotary drive mechanism; 55. Nut; 56. Second connecting piece; 57. Sliding block; 58. Third connecting piece; 6. Water storage tank; 7. Fish toilet; 71. First water outlet; 72. Second water outlet. Detailed Implementation
[0031] The technical solutions of the present utility model will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Those skilled in the art can easily understand other advantages and effects of the present utility model from the content disclosed in this specification. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present utility model, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present utility model, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the protection scope of the present utility model.
[0032] The purpose of this invention is to provide an automatic water inlet and outlet device for a recirculating aquaculture system, in order to solve the problems existing in the prior art, and to achieve convenient and simple operation, energy-free, quantifiable semi-automatic control of water inlet and outlet volume, which can be combined with Internet of Things technology to achieve flexible configuration and management.
[0033] To make the above-mentioned objectives, features and advantages of this utility model more apparent and understandable, the utility model will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.
[0034] Please refer to Figures 1 to 3 This embodiment provides an automatic water inlet and outlet device for a recirculating aquaculture system, including a siphon drain pipe 1, a water level indicator pipe 3, and an air pipe 4. The siphon pipe is a curved pipe used to create a siphon effect in liquid flow; in this embodiment, it is used for drainage, hence the name siphon drain pipe. The siphon drain pipe 1 has a curved section 11. Its inlet end connects to the aquaculture tank 2, and its outlet end extends to the wastewater discharge chamber. The water level indicator pipe 3 has a vertical section 31 connected to the aquaculture tank 2. The top of the vertical section 31 is open to the atmosphere, allowing its internal water level to be synchronized with that of the aquaculture tank 2 in real time. One end of the air pipe 4 connects to the top of the curved section 11, and the other end is inserted into the top of the vertical section 31 to control the start and stop of the siphon drainage. The depth of the air pipe 4 inserted into the vertical section 31 is adjustable to control the flow rate of the siphon drainage.
[0035] Specifically, the top height of the curved pipe section 11 is level with the highest design water level of the aquaculture pond 2, such as... Figure 1As shown, the height of point B at the top of the bend in the curved section 11 is level with the highest design water level ① of the aquaculture pond 2. The height of point A at the bottom wall of the bend in the curved section 11 is the initial drainage water level ② of the aquaculture pond 2.
[0036] The depth to which the trachea 4 is inserted into the vertical pipe section 31 corresponds to the minimum design water level ③ of the aquaculture pond 2.
[0037] In this embodiment, the siphon drainage pipe 1 also includes a horizontal pipe section 12, which is used to connect the aquaculture pond 2 and the curved pipe section 11.
[0038] As a preferred embodiment, please refer to Figure 1 The water level indicator pipe 3 only includes a vertical pipe section 31, and the vertical pipe section 31 is connected to the horizontal pipe section 12 of the siphon drainage pipe 1.
[0039] As another preferred embodiment, the water level indicator pipe 3 also includes a transition pipe section for directly connecting the aquaculture pond 2 and the vertical pipe section 31, without being integrated with the horizontal pipe section 12 of the siphon drainage pipe 1.
[0040] For details, please refer to Figure 2 The bottom of the aquaculture pond 2 is designed with a conical structure and is connected to a fish toilet 7 for collecting uneaten feed and excrement from the farmed fish. Please refer to [reference needed]. Figure 3 The fish toilet 7 is equipped with two water outlets: a first water outlet 71 connected to the horizontal pipe section 12 of the siphon drain pipe 1, and a second water outlet 72 connected to the transition pipe section of the water level indicator pipe 3.
[0041] The upper part of the vertical pipe section 31 is made of transparent material and has water level markings.
[0042] To verify the actual effectiveness of this embodiment, system testing was conducted through on-site inspection and the construction of a breeding base. An experiment was also performed on the design of an automatic water inlet and outlet system for breeding pond 2. Please refer to... Figure 1 :
[0043] In the first stage, water in the reservoir 6 begins to flow into the aquaculture pond 2. When the water level in the aquaculture pond 2 rises to the drainage start level ②, the water in the siphon drain pipe 1 also reaches position A at the same time, and the water begins to be discharged outward at a flow rate of V2.
[0044] Phase 2: Water from the reservoir 6 continuously flows into the aquaculture pond 2 at a flow rate of V1. When V1 > V2, the water level in the aquaculture pond 2 continues to rise to the highest designed water level ①. At the same time, the water level in the siphon drain pipe 1 reaches position B, forming a full pipe water level that discharges the air from the siphon drain pipe 1, triggering the siphon and starting to drain a large amount of water.
[0045] Phase 3: The depth to which the air pipe 4 is inserted into the vertical pipe section 31 corresponds to the lowest design water level ③ of the aquaculture pond 2. That is, the drainage volume is controlled by the insertion depth of the air pipe 4. If it is necessary to drain 10 cm of water, the lowest design water level ③ should be 10 cm lower than the highest design water level ①.
[0046] The air pipe 4 is inserted into the vertical pipe section 31 to the level of the lowest design water level ③. When the siphon drain pipe 1 drains water, the water level in the aquaculture pond 2 drops from the highest design water level ① past the drainage start water level ② to the lowest design water level ③. Simultaneously, the water level in the vertical pipe section 31 drops, and air enters the air pipe 4, disrupting the low-pressure environment in the siphon drain pipe 1. The siphon is broken, and the siphon drain pipe 1 automatically stops draining. When the water level in the siphon drain pipe 1 drops from B to A, the drainage stops.
[0047] When the cycle restarts after returning to stage 1, water is repeatedly released from reservoir 6 into aquaculture pond 2. When stage 1 is reached again, the siphon restarts. This cycle continues indefinitely.
[0048] After a month and nearly 100 stability tests, the overall operation of this embodiment is smooth and basically meets the expected control effect.
[0049] In this embodiment, a lifting mechanism 5 for adjusting the insertion depth of the trachea 4 is also included.
[0050] In a preferred embodiment, the lifting mechanism 5 is a guide rail slider structure. The guide rail is fixedly mounted on an external support structure, such as a stand, or directly fixed to the outer circumference of the vertical pipe section 31. The slider is slidably connected to the guide rail, and the air pipe 4 is fixedly connected to the slider through a first connector. The slider drives the air pipe 4 to move up and down, adjusting the insertion depth. The guide rail slider structure can adopt a commercially available electric linear guide rail.
[0051] As another preferred embodiment, please refer to Figure 4 and Figure 5 The lifting mechanism 5 is a screw and nut mechanism, including a bracket. The bracket includes a vertical guide rod 51 and a horizontal fixed rod 52. The screw 53 is rotatably mounted on the horizontal fixed rod 52 and is connected to the rotary drive mechanism 54. The nut 55 is threadedly connected to the screw 53. The nut 55 is fixedly connected to the sliding block 57, which is slidably mounted on the vertical guide rod 51, via a second connecting piece 56. The air tube 4 is fixedly connected to the nut 55 via a third connecting piece 58. The rotary drive mechanism 54 drives the screw 53 to rotate. The rotation of the screw 53 drives the nut 55 to move up and down, thereby moving the air tube 4 up and down to adjust the insertion depth.
[0052] In the description of this utility model, it should be understood that the terms "longitudinal," "lateral," "upper," "lower," "front," "rear," "left," "right," "vertical," "horizontal," "top," "bottom," "inner," and "outer," etc., indicating orientations or positional relationships, are based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings and are used only for the convenience of describing this utility model, and do not imply or require that the device or element referred to have a specific orientation or construction method, and therefore should not be construed as a limitation on this utility model. Furthermore, the terms "first," "second," and "third," etc., are only used to distinguish the objects of description and should not be construed as limiting importance or order, and the features defined by such terms may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of those features. Unless otherwise stated, "a plurality of" in the description of this utility model refers to two or more.
[0053] The terms "installation," "connection," and "joining" should be interpreted broadly, unless otherwise explicitly defined, to include, but are not limited to, fixed connections, detachable connections, or integrally formed connections; mechanical or electrical connections; direct connections or indirect connections through an intermediate medium; and internal communication between two components. Those skilled in the art can understand their meaning based on the specific technical solution. The fixed connections involved in this utility model, unless otherwise stated, include both detachable fixed connections (such as bolt and screw connections) and non-detachable fixed connections (such as riveting and welding), and may also include integral structures achieved through an integral forming process (such as casting) (except where integral forming is clearly impossible).
[0054] Unless otherwise stated, the terms used in any of the technical solutions disclosed in this utility model to indicate positional relationships or shapes cover states or shapes that are similar to, close to, or adjacent to them.
[0055] Any component provided by this utility model can be assembled from multiple individual components, or it can be a single component manufactured by a one-piece molding process.
[0056] It should be noted that the structures, proportions, sizes, etc., depicted in the accompanying drawings of this specification are only for the purpose of assisting those skilled in the art in understanding and reading the content disclosed in the specification, and are not intended to limit the conditions under which this utility model can be implemented. Therefore, they have no substantial technical significance. Any modifications to the structure, changes in the proportions, or adjustments to the size, without affecting the effects and objectives that this utility model can produce, should still fall within the scope of the technical content disclosed in this utility model.
[0057] In the embodiments of this application, the same reference numerals are used to denote the same component or part.
[0058] Any adaptive changes made according to actual needs are within the protection scope of this utility model.
[0059] It should be noted that, for those skilled in the art, it is obvious that this utility model is not limited to the details of the above exemplary embodiments, and that it can be implemented in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics of this utility model. Therefore, the embodiments should be considered exemplary and non-limiting in all respects, and the scope of this utility model is defined by the appended claims rather than the foregoing description. Thus, it is intended that all variations falling within the meaning and scope of equivalents of the claims be included within this utility model. No reference numerals in the claims should be construed as limiting the scope of the claims.
Claims
1. An automatic water inlet and outlet device for a recirculating aquaculture system, characterized by, include: A siphon drain pipe (1) has a curved pipe section (11), the inlet end of which is connected to the aquaculture pond (2), and the outlet end extends to the sewage discharge chamber; The water level indicator pipe (3) has a vertical pipe section (31) connected to the aquaculture pond (2), and the top of the vertical pipe section (31) is connected to the atmosphere so that the water level inside it is synchronized with the aquaculture pond (2) in real time. The air pipe (4) is connected at one end to the top of the curved pipe section (11) and inserted at the other end into the top of the vertical pipe section (31) to control the start and stop of the siphon drainage. The depth to which the air pipe (4) is inserted into the vertical pipe section (31) is adjustable, which is used to control the flow rate of the siphon drainage.
2. The automatic water inlet and outlet device for the recirculating aquaculture system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The top height of the curved pipe section (11) is level with the highest design water level of the aquaculture pond (2).
3. The automatic water inlet and outlet device for the recirculating aquaculture system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The depth to which the air pipe (4) is inserted into the vertical pipe section (31) corresponds to the minimum design water level of the aquaculture pond (2).
4. The automatic water inlet and outlet device for the recirculating aquaculture system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The siphon drain pipe (1) also includes a horizontal pipe section (12) for connecting the aquaculture pond (2) and the curved pipe section (11).
5. The automatic water inlet and outlet device for the recirculating aquaculture system according to claim 4, characterized in that: The water level indicator pipe (3) includes only the vertical pipe section (31), and the vertical pipe section (31) is connected to the horizontal pipe section (12) of the siphon drainage pipe (1).
6. The automatic water inlet and outlet device for the recirculating aquaculture system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The water level indicator pipe (3) also includes a transition pipe section for connecting the aquaculture pond (2) and the vertical pipe section (31).
7. The automatic water inlet and outlet device for the recirculating aquaculture system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The upper part of the vertical pipe section (31) is made of transparent material and has water level markings.
8. The automatic water inlet and outlet device for the recirculating aquaculture system according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes a lifting mechanism (5) for adjusting the insertion depth of the trachea (4).
9. The automatic water inlet and outlet device for the recirculating aquaculture system according to claim 8, characterized in that: The lifting mechanism (5) is a guide rail slider structure. The guide rail is fixedly installed, the slider is slidably connected to the guide rail, and the air pipe is fixedly connected to the slider through the first connector.
10. The automatic water inlet and outlet device for the recirculating aquaculture system according to claim 8, characterized in that: The lifting mechanism (5) is a screw and nut mechanism, including a bracket. The bracket includes a vertical guide rod (51) and a horizontal fixed rod (52). The screw (53) is rotatably mounted on the horizontal fixed rod (52) and is connected to the rotary drive mechanism (54). The nut (55) is threadedly connected to the screw (53). The nut (55) is fixedly connected to the sliding block (57) slidably mounted on the vertical guide rod (51) through a second connector (56). The air pipe (4) is fixedly connected to the nut (55) through a third connector (58).