1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a drip irrigation emitter, and more particularly to a drip irrigation emitter that is mounted on a water supply tube for irrigating plants at a slow rate.
2. Description of Related Art
The concept of drip irrigation was developed several years ago. Now the drip irrigation is one of the most popular methods for irrigation. The drip irrigation uses a water supply tube and multiple drip irrigation emitters. The water supply tube has a hollow body and multiple through holes. The through holes are formed through an external surface of the hollow body at intervals. The drip irrigation emitters are mounted in the through holes and inserted into the hollow body of the water supply tube.
In use, plants are planted at spaced intervals. The water supply tube is deposited near plants. The drip irrigation emitters mounted on the water supply tube are respectively close to plants. Water in the water supply tube can flow out of the drip irrigation emitters to irrigate plants.
Users plant the plants along a planted line, and an interval between two adjacent plants at a front section of the planted line is not equal to an interval between two adjacent plants at a rear section of the planted line. The interval inaccuracy is generated by users. However, the intervals between the through holes formed on the hollow body are the same, the intervals between the drip irrigation emitters are the same, and the position of each one of the drip irrigation emitters is fixed. Therefore, the positions of the drip irrigation emitters cannot be adjusted and aligned with plants accurately. The irrigation efficiency of the conventional drip irrigation is not good.
To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention tends to provide a drip irrigation emitter to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems.
The main objective of the invention is to provide a drip irrigation emitter that may directly pierce into a water supply tube to adjust to and align with plants accurately for improving the irrigation efficiency.
The drip irrigation emitter has an outer element and a flow-restricting element. The outer element has a base, a first head, a second head, a channel, an inlet and an outlet. The base has a first surface and a second surface. The first surface is defined on the base. The second surface is defined on the base and is opposite to the first surface of the base. The first head is formed on and protrudes from the first surface of the base. The first head has an outer surface, a distal end, a cone surface and multiple engaging protrusions. The cone surface is formed on the outer surface of the first head and is connected to the first surface of the base. The engaging protrusions are formed on the outer surface of the first head at intervals. The second head is formed on and protrudes from the second surface of the base, and has a distal end. The channel is formed through the base, the first head, and the second head. The inlet is formed in the distal end of the first head and is in communication with the channel. The outlet is formed in the distal end of the second head and is in communication with the channel. The flow-restricting element is detachably mounted in the channel via the inlet and the first head of the outer element. The flow-restricting element has a body, a threaded portion, a passageway, a piercing portion and multiple notches. The body has a first end surface formed on the body adjacent to the inlet of the outer element. The threaded portion is helically formed around the body between the two end surfaces of the body. The passageway is helically formed around the body by the threaded portion between the two end surfaces of the body and has a caliber. The piercing portion is mounted on the first end surface of the body and protrudes out of the inlet of the outer element. The notches are formed around the body between the first end surface of the body and the piercing portion and are in communication with the passageway. Each one of the notches has a caliber that is smaller than the caliber of the passageway.
A hollow body of a water supply tube, without through holes formed in an outer surface of the water supply tube, can be pierced by the piercing portion of the drip irrigation emitter directly according to the user's need. The position of the drip irrigation emitter mounted on the water supply tube can be accurately adjusted according to plants for improving the irrigation efficiency. Furthermore, water in the water supply tube flows in the channel via the notches and the passageway, and then flows out of the outlet of the outer element via the channel to irrigate the corresponding plant. The caliber of each one of the notches is smaller than the caliber of the passageway. The notches can stop the impurities in the water supply tube from flowing into the drip irrigation emitter. The notches may prevent the passageway from obstruction by the impurities.
Moreover, the passageway is helical, and this may increase the flowing distance in the drip irrigation emitter. The flow rate of the water in the drip irrigation emitter is slow for saving water. The drip irrigation emitter is efficient at using water resource. The flow-restricting element is detachably mounted in the outer element. The flow-restricting element can be detached from the outer element for cleaning and reuse.
With reference to
The outer element 10 has a base 11, a first head 12, a second head 13, a channel 16, an inlet 17, an outlet 18, and a flange 15. The base 11 has a first surface and a second surface. The second surface of the base 11 is opposite to the first surface of the base 11. The first head 12 is formed on and protrudes from the first surface of the base 11. The first head 12 has an outer surface, a distal end, a cone surface 19, and multiple engaging protrusions 14. The cone surface 19 is formed around the outer surface of the first head 12 and is connected to the first surface of the base 11. The engaging protrusions 14 are formed around the outer surface of the first head 12 at intervals between the cone surface 19 and the distal end of the first head 12. The second head 13 is formed on and protrudes from the second surface of the base 11 and has a distal end.
The channel 16 is formed through the base 11, the first head 12, and the second head 13. The inlet 17 is formed in the distal end of the first head 12 and is in communication with the channel 16. The outlet 18 is formed in the distal end of the second head 13 and is in communication with the channel 16. The flange 15 is annularly formed on the second head 13 around the outlet 18. With reference to
With reference to
The threaded portion 22 is helically formed around the body 21 between the two end surfaces of the body 21. The passageway 23 is helically formed around the body 21 by the threaded portion 22 between the two end surfaces of the body 21 and has a caliber. The piercing portion 25 is mounted on the first end surface of the body 21 and protrudes out of the inlet 17 of the outer element 10. With reference to
With reference to
Water in the water supply tube 30 flows in the channel 16 via the notches 24 and the passageway 23 of the flow-restricting element 20, and then flows out of the outlet 18 of the outer element 10 via the channel 16.
With reference to
With reference to
Furthermore, the drip irrigation emitter can be mounted on a plastic bottle to irrigate a potted plant.
If the passageway 23 is blocked by limescale in the water, the drip irrigation emitter can be detached from the water supply tube 30 by pulling the second head 13 of the outer element 10, and then a tool is inserted into the outer element 10 via the outlet 18. The flow-restricting element 20 is pushed out of the outer element 10 by the tool to clean out limescale retained in the passageway 23. The flow-restricting element 20 is convenient to detach from the outer element 10 and to clean the passageway 23 of the flow-restricting element 20. The flow-restricting element 20 can be re-mounted into the outer element 10 after cleaning.
For positioning the flow-restricting element 20 in the outer element 10, the channel 16 of the outer element 10 may be in a conical shape. A caliber of the inlet 17 is larger than a caliber of the outlet 18. Or the flow-restricting element 20 has a spacing ring formed around the first end surface of the body 21. An outer diameter of the spacing ring is larger than the caliber of the inlet 17, and the spacing ring may limit the position of the flow-restricting element 20. With reference to
Accordingly, the piercing portion 25 of the drip irrigation emitter can directly pierce into the water supply tube 30. The position of the drip irrigation emitter mounted on the water supply tube 30 is easy to adjust by the user according to the positions of plants 40 accurately. The irrigation efficiency of the drip irrigation emitter may be improved. The caliber of each one of the notches 24 is smaller than the caliber of the passageway 23. Then, the notches 24 may prevent the passageway 23 from obstruction by the impurities.
In addition, the passageway 23 is helical, and this may increase the flowing distance in the drip irrigation emitter. The flow rate of water in the drip irrigation emitter is slow for saving water. The drip irrigation emitter is efficient at using water resource. The flow-restricting element 20 is detachably mounted in the outer element 10 and is convenient for cleaning and reuse.