Elongated Exit Pool Dripper for Irrigation Hose Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
The challenge lies in designing discrete flat drippers for integral drip irrigation hoses that are small in dimension, require minimal adjustment and orientation, efficiently filter water, maintain a large minimal flow passage for pressure reduction, and feature a self-closing water exit outlet to prevent clogging, while accommodating various hose diameters and ensuring accurate alignment of the water exit with the dripper's pool.
Innovation Solution
The solution involves a discrete, flat dripper with an elongated exit pool and circumferential flow passage, integrated within the hose, which eliminates the need for orientation adjustments and includes filtering and pressure reduction means, allowing for a self-closing water exit outlet in a thin slit configuration, and is adaptable to different hose diameters.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of substance
If the dripper dimensions are reduced to save material costs and enable speedy feeding, then material cost and feeding speed improve, but the surface area of the water exit pool decreases making accurate alignment difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The water exit pool is transformed from a conventional circular or square shape to an elongated rectangular shape that extends in one dimension (lengthwise along the hose). This dimensional change allows the pool to maintain adequate surface area for alignment while fitting within reduced overall dripper dimensions, resolving the contradiction between size reduction and alignment precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The elongated pool concentrates the water exit surface area in a specific local region (along the length of the dripper body) rather than distributing it uniformly. This local concentration of quality enables accurate alignment with the hose wall opening while keeping the overall dripper size small for cost efficiency.
2Ease of manufacture
If the dripper is designed with symmetric configuration to reduce sorting operations, then ease of manufacture improves, but the ability to form accurate water outlet opening alignment deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
While the overall dripper body maintains symmetric configuration for ease of manufacture, the water exit pool is designed with asymmetric elongation in a specific direction (lengthwise). This controlled asymmetry in the pool geometry provides directional alignment capability with the hose wall opening, resolving the contradiction between symmetric ease of manufacture and asymmetric alignment precision.
3Reliability
If the minimal flow passage is enlarged to prevent clogging, then reliability improves, but the dripper dimensions increase contradicting material savings goals
Solution Approach 1:
The flow passage is designed to extend lengthwise along the elongated pool, utilizing the extended dimension rather than increasing width or height. This allows adequate flow passage area for clogging prevention while maintaining compact cross-sectional dimensions that keep material usage low.
4Reliability
If a self-closing water exit outlet is implemented to prevent clogging from external contaminants, then reliability improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The water exit outlet incorporates a self-closing mechanism that automatically closes when water flow stops or pressure drops, preventing external contaminants from entering. This self-service feature provides reliable contaminant prevention without requiring external control systems or complex actuation mechanisms.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This design reduces material costs, ensures efficient water filtration and pressure reduction, maintains a wide flow passage to prevent clogging, and facilitates accurate alignment of the water exit with the pool, while providing self-closing properties to prevent external contaminants from entering the hose.
Implementation Method 1
The circumferential flow passage comprises filtering means for filtering water entering the dripper
Implementation Method 2
a water pressure reducing means formed with a labyrinth flow passage
Data Source
AI summary
A discrete flat dripper of the non-pressure regulated type of drippers or of the pressure compensated—flow rate regulated type of drippers, suited for being integrally installed within a hose, that comprises a body component whose configuration is essentially rectangular, wherein on its one side that is suited to being affixed to an internal wall of the hose, formed with an exit pool that it is elongated in its dimensions and substantially extends along the entire length of the body component, and with a flow passage circumferentially surrounding a substantial part of the elongated exit pool, and an integral dripper line wherein there are integrated at least one of such discrete flat dripper.