Autonomous Irrigation via Porous Ceramic Wall
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current watering systems for agricultural or horticultural soils often water areas at predefined times and durations, leading to inefficiencies such as watering during rain events or failing to water during droughts, as they lack autonomous control based on actual soil moisture levels.
Innovation Solution
An autonomous watering control device using a porous ceramic wall to correlate the soil's moisture content with a control tank's liquid level, allowing for adaptive watering schedules and adjustable intervals, featuring a magnetically controlled valve and a siphon for efficient liquid discharge, enabling watering only when necessary and stopping when sufficient moisture is reached.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a timer-based autonomous irrigation system is used to automate watering schedules, then the ease of operation is improved, but the reliability of watering decisions deteriorates because the system cannot adapt to actual soil moisture conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The system incorporates a feedback mechanism where the actual soil moisture level (measured in the control sample) is continuously monitored and compared with the desired moisture level. This feedback loop allows the timer to adjust watering decisions dynamically, resolving the contradiction by maintaining automation while improving reliability through real-time adaptation to actual soil conditions.
2Device complexity
If predefined watering durations are used to simplify control, then the device complexity is reduced, but the loss of time increases because the system cannot stop watering early when soil moisture is sufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses feedback from soil moisture sensors to monitor the actual moisture level during the predefined watering duration. When the desired moisture level is reached, the system automatically stops watering early, preventing water waste and time loss while maintaining the simplicity of the predefined duration approach.
Solution Approach 2:
The control sample acts as a self-service indicator, automatically reflecting the soil's moisture status without requiring external monitoring. This allows the system to autonomously determine when to stop watering, reducing both device complexity and time loss.
3Measurement precision
If a control sample is introduced to accurately represent soil moisture conditions, then the measurement precision is improved, but the device complexity increases due to additional components
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses a simplified control sample (a small container with substrate) that replicates the moisture absorption and evaporation characteristics of the actual soil. This copying approach provides accurate moisture measurement feedback while keeping the device complexity low, as the control sample is a simple, passive component rather than a complex sensing system.
4Measurement precision
If the control tank volume is increased to better represent soil water reserves, then the measurement precision is improved, but the volume of substance required increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system changes the parameter of control tank volume to an optimized size that is sufficient to represent soil moisture dynamics but minimized to reduce water consumption. The precision is maintained through the use of a porous wall for efficient water transfer and a float mechanism for accurate level detection, allowing a smaller tank volume to achieve the same measurement precision.
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
The device ensures water is applied only when needed, reducing waste and maintaining optimal soil moisture, promoting efficient and autonomous irrigation, even in varying weather conditions, and can be adapted for different soil types and watering requirements.
Implementation Method 1
a porous ceramic wall (36), able to be in contact with the medium to be watered, or with a sample of the medium to be watered, and separating the control tank (34, 116) from said medium to be watered, the ceramic being structured to drain a watering liquid between the medium to be watered and the control tank (34, 116)
Implementation Method 2
The means for discharging the sprinkling liquid from the control tank comprise a siphon (122). The siphon (122) comprises a material capable of draining the sprinkling liquid by capillarity
Implementation Method 3
The magnetically controlled valve comprises a ferromagnetic needle movable by axial translation in a case, a magnet fixed to a float
Data Source
Figure 1
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Figure 4
AI summary
The invention relates to an autonomous device (30, 114, 214) for spraying a medium to be sprayed, comprising: a control tank (34, 116); a valve (32, 118) that can switch from a closed position to an open position and vice versa, according to the filling level of the control tank (34, 116); and a porous ceramic wall (36, 120, 220) that can be in contact with the medium to be sprayed and separates the control tank (34, 116) from said medium to be sprayed, the ceramic being structured so as to drain a spray liquid between the medium to be sprayed and the control tank (34, 116). The invention also relates to an autonomous device for controlling the spraying.