U.S. patent application number 13/352769 was filed with the patent office on 2012-05-10 for hydro-thermo irrigation mat.
Invention is credited to Sylvain HELIE, RICHARD THEORET.
Application Number | 20120111972 13/352769 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 38091835 |
Filed Date | 2012-05-10 |
United States Patent
Application |
20120111972 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
THEORET; RICHARD ; et
al. |
May 10, 2012 |
HYDRO-THERMO IRRIGATION MAT
Abstract
A hydro-thermo irrigation mat (10) is comprised of a base sheet
(11), a water-permeable root-shielding top sheet (12), and a
capillary mat (15) of absorbent material therebetween. One or more
flat pliable drip tapes (18) are loosely disposed in spaced-apart
relationship between the top sheet (12) and the capillary mat (15).
Hot water convection tubes (25) are disposed co-axially with the
drip tapes (18) but between the base sheet (11) and the capillary
mat (15). The drip tapes (18) are connected to a water supply line
(22) and the hot water convection tubes (25) are secured to a hot
water supply line (28). Water within the mat is heated and
distributes heat from the hot water convection tubes (25)
substantially throughout the mat.
Inventors: |
THEORET; RICHARD; (Laval,
CA) ; HELIE; Sylvain; (St-Isidore, CA) |
Family ID: |
38091835 |
Appl. No.: |
13/352769 |
Filed: |
January 18, 2012 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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12094870 |
Dec 9, 2008 |
8132739 |
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PCT/CA2006/001949 |
Nov 29, 2006 |
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13352769 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
239/201 |
Current CPC
Class: |
Y02A 40/25 20180101;
Y02A 40/268 20180101; A01G 9/247 20130101; Y02A 40/27 20180101;
A01G 9/245 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
239/201 |
International
Class: |
A01G 25/06 20060101
A01G025/06 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Nov 29, 2005 |
CA |
2,528,416 |
Claims
1. A hydro-thermo irrigation mat comprising a base sheet, a
water-permeable root-shielding top sheet, a capillary mat of
absorbent material having capillary properties to permit water
dispersion therein and held captive between said base sheet and top
sheet, one or more flat pliable drip tapes loosely disposed in
spaced-apart relationship between said top sheet and said capillary
mat, said drip tapes being hollow flat tubes of perforated plastics
material and extending between opposed ends of said irrigation mat,
and hot water convection tubes disposed between said base sheet and
said capillary mat for heating said mat, said hot water convection
tubes being disposed co-axially with said drip tapes; said base
sheet and top sheet being secured together along overlapped edge
portions thereof by securement means.
2. A hydro-thermo irrigation mat as claimed in claim 1 wherein said
hot water connection tubes are hollow, flat tubes of flexible
plastics material.
3. A hydro-thermo irrigation mat as claimed in claim 2 wherein said
mat with said drip tapes and hot water connection tubes are pliable
to permit same to be rolled to form a shipping bundle.
4. A hydro-thermo irrigation mat as claimed in claim 1 wherein said
root shielding top sheet is provided with perforations dimensioned
to allow the passage of water from said mat to an outer surface of
said top sheet.
5. A hydro-thermo irrigation mat as claimed in claim 4 wherein said
perforations are one of holes or slits defining openings in the
range of about 10 to 50 microns.
6. A hydro-thermo irrigation mat as claimed in claim 1 wherein said
securement means is a heat seal interconnecting said base sheet to
said top sheet.
7. A hydro-thermo irrigation mat as claimed in claim 1 wherein
there is provided two or more of said flat pliable drip tapes, said
hot water connection tubes being disposed between adjacent drip
tapes, said drip tapes being connected at one end to a water
distribution pipe and being seated at an opposed end.
8. A hydro-thermo irrigation mat as claimed in claim 7 wherein said
hot water connection tubes being adjacent drip tapes being
connected at one end to a hot water supply pipe and at an opposed
end to a return pipe, said hot water supply pipe and said return
pipe being connected to a hot water heater tank.
9. A hydro-thermo irrigation mat as claimed in claim 8 wherein said
water connection tubes between adjacent drip tapes define a first
section connected to said hot water supply pipe and extending
across the mat and looped outside said mat to form a return section
across the mat and connected to said return pipe.
10. A hydro-thermo irrigation mat as claimed in claim 7 wherein
said top sheet of said irrigation mat defines a substantially
stable top surface to support potted plants having permeable
bottoms whereby to irrigate and heat said potted plants.
11. A hydro-thermo irrigation mat as claimed in claim 7 wherein
said drip tapes and connecting tubes are connected to a valve
whereby to control the supply of water thereto.
12. A method of irrigating potted plants supported on a mat as
claimed in claim 1 and simultaneously providing heat to said potted
plants by said mat.
13. A method as claimed in claim 12 wherein water within said
absorbent material provides the step of distributing heat from said
hot water convection tubes throughout said mat.
14. The use of the hydro-thermo irrigation mat as claimed in claim
1 to heat and irrigate potted plants inside a greenhouse during
cold weather conditions.
Description
RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 12/094,870 filed Dec. 9, 2008, which is a
National Phase Entry of International Patent Application No.
PCT/CA2006/001949 filed Nov. 29, 2006, which claims priority on
Canadian Patent Application No. 2,528,416, filed Nov. 29, 2005.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] The present invention relates to a hydro-thermo irrigation
mat and particularly, but not exclusively, for heating and watering
potted plants in nurseries during cold weather conditions.
BACKGROUND ART
[0003] Irrigation mats are known and an example of these is
described in PCT application WO2004/056172 filed on Dec. 23, 2002
and relating to an irrigation mat for the irrigation of potted
plants. This mat was designed primarily to absorb and retain water
which is sprinkled over the mat by overhead sprinklers. U.S. Pat.
No. 5,839,659 discloses a capillary root zone irrigation system
utilizing an irrigation mat wherein water is supplied into the mat
by rigid polyethylene pipes which are perforated. These types of
mats are cumbersome and need to be assembled on site and are very
expensive.
[0004] In our pending application Ser. No. 2,498,077 there is
described an irrigation mat which includes drip tapes incorporated
therein and wherein the mat and the drip tapes can be rolled into a
bundle for shipping and storage.
[0005] In order to save energy in heating plants in greenhouses
there is on the market a floor mesh in which tubes are connected
thereto and which are then connected to a hot water supply whereby
hot water is directed in these tubes. The tubes are disposed on a
support table onto which are placed potted plants whereby to heat
the plants directly. Accordingly it is not necessary to heat the
entire greenhouse to provide heat to the plants and this translates
into energy savings. This system is known as a root zone heating
system. However, when heating potted plants the heat normally dries
up the plants particularly in small cells for growing propagation
plugs and accordingly it is necessary to periodically water the
plants. Also, the heat is not evenly distributed on the contact
surface of the pot. Also, these tubes being exposed directly onto a
support table or on potted plants are subject to puncture and
therefore malfunction. If one of the tubes in the assembly becomes
punctured then the entire assembly is rendered inoperative and this
requires for an entire arrangement of plants to be removed from the
table to remove the heating tubes and then to position new tubes
and reposition the plants on the table. This is time consuming and
expensive. Because the tubes are exposed to ambient air, a lot of
the heat is lost into the space. This system is not totally
efficient.
DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION
[0006] It is a feature of the present invention to provide a
hydro-thermo irrigation mat which substantially overcomes the
above-mentioned disadvantages of the prior art.
[0007] According to the above feature, from a broad aspect, the
present invention provides a hydro-thermal irrigation mat which
comprises a base sheet, a water-permeable root-shielding top sheet
and a capillary mat of absorbent material having capillary
properties to permit water dispersion therein and held captive
between said base sheet and top sheet. One or more flat pliable
drip tapes are loosely disposed in spaced-apart relationship
between the top sheet and the capillary mat. The drip tapes are
hollow flat tubes of perforated plastics material and extend
between opposed ends of the irrigation mat. Hot water convection
tubes are also disposed between the base sheet and the capillary
mat for heating the mat. The hot water convection tubes are
disposed co-axially with the drip tapes. The base sheet and the top
sheet are secured together along overlapped edge portions thereof
by securement means.
[0008] According to a further broad aspect of the present invention
there is provided a method of irrigating potted plants supported on
a mat as described above and simultaneously providing heat to the
potted plants by the mat.
[0009] According to a further feature of the present invention
there is provided the use of the hydro-thermal irrigation as
defined herein above to heat and irrigate potted plants inside a
greenhouse during cold weather conditions.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be
described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
[0011] FIG. 1 is plan view of the hydro-thermo irrigation mat of
the present invention;
[0012] FIG. 2 is cross section view of the hydro-thermo irrigation
mat; and
[0013] FIG. 3 is an end view showing a hydro-thermo irrigation mat
in a rolled form.
MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
[0014] Referring now to the drawings and more particularly to FIG.
1 there is shown generally at 10 the hydro-thermo irrigation mat of
the present invention. With further reference to FIG. 2 there is
shown the construction of the irrigation mat and as herein shown it
is comprised of a base sheet 11 which is an impermeable base sheet
but may alternatively have holes or slits therein in an amount
small enough to allow a very slow seepage of water from the mat to
a ground surface when supported thereon. These slits or holes are
not large enough to allow good contact with the underneath soil.
The mat also comprises a water permeable top sheet 12 provided with
perforations 13 to permit the passage of water to the top surface
14 of the top sheet 12.
[0015] Between the bottom sheet 11 and the top sheet 12 is disposed
a capillary mat 15 of absorbent material having high capillary
properties whereby to permit circulation of water in all direction
therein. The water as retained by the mat seeps out of the top
sheet through the holes or slits which have openings in a range of
about 10 to 50 microns. The base sheet 11, the top sheet 12 and the
capillary mat 15 are secured together along their longitudinal
edges 16 and 16' by a heat seal 17 or other suitable securing
means. As herein shown the base sheet 11 has a folded over portion
11' which wraps the ends of the capillary mat 15 and it is fused to
the top sheet 12 by the heat seal 17.
[0016] One or more flat pliable drip tapes 18 are disposed between
the top sheet 12 and the capillary mat of absorbent material and
these drip tapes are spaced apart along the length of the mat 10,
as illustrated in FIG. 1. These drip tapes are hollow flat plastic
tubes which are perforated with holes 19 throughout their length.
The drip tapes are provided with plugs 20 at an end thereof and
their opposed ends are provided with valve connectors 21 or
straight pipe connectors which secure to a water distribution pipe
22 and these valve connectors can regulate the amount of water
admitted in these drip tapes. Accordingly, water distribution can
be controlled by these valves or by remotely controlling or
manually controlling the supply of water in the pipe 22 or remotely
controlling the valve 21.
[0017] The drip tapes 18 admit water within the capillary mat and
this water seeps on the top surface 23 of the mat wherein potted
plants 24 are disposed. The potted plants are in pots which have a
perforated bottom wall or the pots are permeable whereby the roots
will draw water from the top of the mat.
[0018] With reference again to FIGS. 1 and 2 it can be seen that
the irrigation mat 10 of the present invention is also provided
with hot water convection tubes 25 disposed between the base sheet
11 and the capillary mat 15. These tubes extend longitudinally
throughout the mat, as illustrated in FIG. 1, and preferably
aligned between the drip tapes 18. These hot water convection tubes
are also fabricated as hollow flexible plastic tubes having a wall
thickness of about 7 mm and as herein shown are connected to a hot
water supply pipe from a hot water heater tank 26. The tubes 25
extend from a hot water supply pipe 28, and forms a first section
extending across the mat 10 and are looped at 31 outside the mat to
make a return path section in the mat to then connect to the return
pipe 29. The hot water dissipates heat into the water of the
capillary mat 15 and provides substantially even heat throughout
the mat. Much of the heat is captured within the mat 10 and there
is less heat loss in the space but direct transfer to the pots and
the plant roots.
[0019] Valves 27 control the flow of hot water from the supply pipe
28 connected to the hot water tank 26 and this water flows back
into the water tank by the return conduit 29. The other ends of the
tubes 25 are connected to the return pipe 29 by suitable connectors
30. Accordingly, these hot water convection tubes supply heat to
the mat and to the water as contained therein which act as a heat
convection medium so that heat is supplied throughout the mat and
not only in the areas where the tubes 25 extend. Because the heat
is distributed throughout the mat, pots can be placed anywhere on
the mat top surface. Also, because of the placement of these tubes
and because of the thickness of the capillary mat 15 the
hydro-thermo irrigation mat has a top surface which is quite stable
and not bumpy as would be the case should the pot be placed
directly on pipes or rigid heating tubes as is the case with the
prior art.
[0020] An important feature of the hydro-thermo irrigation mat is
that it provides both irrigation and heat through a single mat and
it is therefore not necessary to have an overhead sprinkling system
in operation, particularly during cold weather conditions where
potted plants are growing inside a greenhouse. However, when
growing plugs, overhead watering and misting is desired for
propagation of plants.
[0021] The mats also provide good water management as well as an
economical method for heating potted plants. Although in FIG. 1
there is shown a hot water heater connected to a single mat it is
to be understood that the water heater would connect to several
mats disposed in parallel between the supply line 28 and the return
line 29. The supply line and return lines can be provided with
connectors whereby to interconnect to other pipes. These connectors
are designated by reference numeral 35 in FIG. 1. A system of
valves could also control different mats in a system to shut-off
mats or supply more or less heat to other mats.
[0022] FIG. 3 illustrates a further advantage of the mat
constructed in accordance with the present invention wherein the
mat can be rolled together with the drip tapes and heat convection
tubes to form a rolled bundle 34 which is easy to ship and
transport and install. As hereinshown the drip tapes 18 and heat
convection tubes 25 extend out of the ends of the mat for ease of
connection. Accordingly, the mat is pre-assembled with its piping,
i.e. flat tapes.
[0023] It is within the ambit of the present invention to cover any
obvious modifications of the preferred embodiment described herein,
provided such modifications fall within the scope of the appended
claims.
* * * * *