Multi-Stage Dripping Tube for Irrigation

This invention concerns a dripping tube for irrigation particularly one provided with multi-stage drip stream portions which have a sealed outlet at each end of each drip stream portion, with and one of the sealed outlet being selectably cut open for proper volume of water to drip out for watering seedlings, young plants, etc.

A known conventional irrigation tube shown in FIG. 1 comprises a main tube 10 and a sidewise elongate flat plate 11, and a plurality of zigzag small dripping tubes 12 provided lengthwise on the plate 11. Each small dripping tube 12 has its beginning commucating with the main tube 10 and an outlet at the end for water flowing out of the main tube 10 to be pushed out with a pressure by a pump to water seedlings, young or full-grown various plants.

However, this known conventional irrigation tube is considered to have the following defects.

1. Although each small dripping tube 12 has function of reducing fluid pressure, its effectiveness is limited, so water flowing out of the outlet 13 may be jetted out to drown dead small seedlings because of too much volume of water.

2. The outlet 13 of each dripping tube 12 is located at a definite point and the volume flowing out of every outlet 13 is also the same, which makes it impossible to select different volume of water to water seedlings, plants, etc.

3. The volume of water flowing out of every outlet cannot be increased despite of seedlings and plants having grown larger than before.

A main object of the present invention is to offer a multi-stage dripping tube for irrigation, in which it is possible to select one of a number of sealed outlets to let different volumes of water to drip out for watering seedlings, plants, etc.

The main feature of this invention is a plurality of small dripping tubular passageways formed in a flat elongate plate portion extending sidewise from a main tube. The beginning of each dripping tubular passageway communicates with the main tube, and has a sealed outlet at the end. Each small dripping tubular passageway has a plurality of drip stream portions of a nearly zigzag shape consisting of two horizontal sections, a pressure-failing section and a blocking section so that water flowing from the main tube in the drip stream portions may lose most of its pressure to drip instead of jet out of a chosen and cut-open sealed outlet provided at the end of each drip stream portion, with a proper volume of water needed dripping out.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a known conventional dripping tube for irrigation.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a multi-stage dripping tube for irrigation in the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the multi-stage dripping tube for irrigation, showing how a sidewise elongate flat plate portion is formed.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the multi-stage dripping tube for irrigation in the present invention, showing it used to drip water from one of its outlets.

A multi-stage dripping tube for irrigation in the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, comprises a water main tube 2, and an elongate flat plate 20 extending sidewise from the main tube 2. The flat elongate plate 20 has a plurality of .small dripping tubular passageways 21 of a nearly zigzag shape formed lengthwise in the interior of the the plate 20, and a water inlet 22 is provided at the beginning of each passageway 21 to communicate with the main tube 2. Each small dripping passageway 21 has a plurality of drip stream portions 23, which respectively consist of a pressure-falling section 230 of a smaller diameter than horizontal sections and bent slantingly up, a first horizontal flowing section 231 behind the pressure-falling section 230, a blocking section 232 of a smaller diameter than horizontal sections 231 and bent slantingly up and a second horizontal flowing section 231 behind the blocking section 232. The drip stream portions 23 are continuously connected with one another, having a water outlet 24 projecting downward and sealed at each end of the drip stream portions 23.

For clearer understanding of the small dripping tubular passageways 21, referring to FIG. 3, the elongate flat plate 20 is made of two elongate flat plate portions extending sidewise from the main tube 2 and fused together, and each of the two plate portions are respectively formed with a plurality of protruding-out half dripping passageways to make up the small dripping tubular passageways 21 after the two plate portions are fused together.

When one end of the tube 2 is connected with a water source, water from the source may flow through the main tube 2 to go into each of the small dripping tubular passageways 21 through the inlet 22, with the water pressure reduced by the pressure-falling section 230 of each drip stream portion 23 and flowing through the two horizontal flowing sections 231, 231 of each drip stream portion 23 and then again reduced in its pressure by the blocking section 232 of each drip stream portion 23. Thus the water flowing through each small drippping tubular passageway 21 gradually loses its pressure and its volume also gradually reduces. Then a user selects one of the outlets 24 and cuts it open to let water drip out therethrough, depending on the size of the seedlings or the plants to be watered. Then the water leaving the outlet 24 may flow around the seedlings, the plants, etc, without drowning them with to much volume of water furnished. As the seedlings or the plants are growing larger and larger, the outlet 24 nearest to the water inlet 22 may be selected and cut open to let more water drip therethrough to provide a larger volume than before, this meeting the need of the growing plants, without needing the use of a water pump. In case fertilizer or insecticide is needed to be furnished to the plants, it can be dissolved in water and then flowed through the main tube 2.

It is evident from the description above that this invention has advantages as follows.

1. An outlet of a large or small volume of water in each dripping tubular passageway can be chosen for corresponding to the practical size of seedlings, saplings, young or full-grown plants.

2. A larger outlet can be chosen after seedlings grows larger.

3. Proper volume of water through one of a plurality of outlets can be selectively acquired without the help of a water pump.