IRRIGATION APPARATUS

DISPOSITIF D'IRRIGATION

English Abstract

An irrigator has an annular reservoir, open radially inwardly. A
wall on the inside of the reservoir closes the open inner side and contains a
bed of soil for growing plants. Wicks trickle moisture from the reservoir into
the soil bed. In preferred versions of the irrigator, an impermeable plastic
insert is designed to fit into the centre of a scrap vehicle tire as the
reservoir.
When inserted forcefully into one side of the tire, the tire is locked firmly
onto
the insert on one side to form a reservoir that has an opening between the
opposite side of the tire and an upwardly tapered centre wall of the insert.
When set into the ground, plants may be grown in the centre of the insert with
moisture being fed into the centre growing zone from within the tire by wicks
leading through appropriate slots in the insert wall.

Claims

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CLAIMS:
1. An irrigator apparatus for use with an automobile tire having a hollow,
annular carcass
opening radially inwardly and including two inner beads defining inner edges
of the
carcass, said apparatus comprising:
an annular wall dimensioned to extend through the centre of the annular tire
carcass;
sealing means for sealing the wall to one bead of the carcass; and
water delivery means for delivering a limited flow of water from the interior
of the tire
carcass into the centre of the annular wall.
2. An irrigator apparatus according to Claim 1 wherein the seal means comprise
an
annular flange projecting outwardly from the wall at a bottom end of the wall.
3. An irrigator apparatus according to Claim 2 wherein the seal means further
comprise a
retaining shoulder on the outside of the wall facing towards the annular
flange.
4. An irrigator apparatus according to Claim 3 including a flared face on the
outside of
the wall leading to the retaining shoulder.
5. An irrigator apparatus according to Claim 3 or 4 including an annular,
resilient seal
member around the wall, between the flange and the retaining shoulder.
6. An irrigator apparatus according to Claim 1, 2, 3 or 4 wherein the wall is
tapered from
the annular flange to the apposite top end of the wall.
7. An irrigator apparatus according to Claim 1, 2, 3 or 4 wherein the water
delivery

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means comprise at least one wick extending through the wall.
8. An irrigator apparatus according to Claim 7 wherein the water delivery
means
comprise a plurality of slots through the wall and a plurality of wicks
extending through
respective ones of the slots.
9. An irrigator comprising, in combination: a vehicle tire having a hollow
annular carcass
opening radially inwardly, with two annular beads at the radially-inner
extremities of the
carcass;
an annular wall extending through the centre of the tire; sealing moans
sealing the wall to
one of the tire heads; and water delivery means for delivering a limited flow
of water
from the interior of the tire through the wall.
10. An irrigator according to Claim 9 wherein the seal means comprise an
annular flange
projecting outwardly from a bottom end of the wall and engaging one of the
beads.
11. An irrigator according to Claim 10 wherein the seal means further comprise
an
annular shoulder on the wall confronting the flange, said one of the beads
being captured
between the flange and the shoulder.
12. An irrigator according to Claim 11 wherein the seal means further comprise
an
annular sealing member around the wall, between the shoulder and the flange,
forming a
seal between the bead and the wall.
13. An irrigator according to Claim 9, 10, 11 or 12 wherein the wall is
tapered from the
flange towards the top end of the wall and is spaced from the other of the
tire beads.
14. An irrigator according to Claim 9, 10, 11 or 12 wherein the water delivery
means
comprise at least one slot through the wall, spaced above the flange and a
wick extending

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through the slot from the interior of the tire to the space circumscribed by
the wall.

Description

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IRRIGATION APPARATUS
The present invention relates to irrigation and more particularly to
an irrigating apparatus that is especially suitable for promoting the growth
of
single plants.
Irrigators according to the present invention may be used
conveniently under a wide range of climatic conditions to assist plant growth.
According to the present invention there is provided an irrigator
apparatus comprising;
a hollow, annular reservoir opening radially inwardly;
an annular wall extending through the centre of the annular
reservoir and having a bottom end sealed to the bottom of the reservoir; and
water delivery means for delivering a limited flow of water from
the interior of the reservoir into the centre of the annular wall.
In preferred embodiments of the invention, the reservoir is a
vehicle tire, and the inner wall is an insert that attaches to the tire. The
irrigator may use waste vehicle tires that are readily available at minimum
cost.
This is not only cost effective, but also provides for re-use of some of the
numerous waste tires that continue to accumulate world wide.
Preferably, the wall of the insert is tapered upwardly so that there
is an annular gap between the wall and the upper bead of the tire when the
insert is installed. The seal is preferably a mechanical one, including a
bottom
flange on the wall, a barb near the flange for capturing the tire bead and a
seal
ring between the flange and the barb. The preferred water delivery
mechanism is wicking, using wicks through slots in the wall.
In use, the irrigator is placed with the closed side down. The
internal cavity of the reservoir is closed on the interior by the wall for
storing

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and collecting water. When the centre of the insert is filled with soil, this
area
may be used for growing plants. The water from the reservoir is trickled into
the growing zone by one or more wicks leading from the reservoir through
slots in the wall and into the growing zone.
For optimal conditions, the irrigator should be set into a shallow
hole in the ground, roughly the height of the tire.
The impermeable reservoir allows for good water storage,
collection and conservation. The wicking system efficiently delivers the
moisture directly to the roots of a plant being grown. In use, the irrigator
effectively suppresses weeds and other competing vegetation and minimizes or
eliminates the need for herbicides. When used at high latitudes, the irrigator
acts as an effective solar collector. This creates a subsurface micro-climate
that provides for optimum root development and an extended growing season.
On the other hand, when used in hot, arid environments, the surface of the
irrigator can be treated to reflect heat. This creates an environment that
again
favors plant growth.
Because of its modular design and, in the preferred embodiments,
its use of readily-available waste vehicle tires as a major component, the
irrigator is readily used almost anywhere to grow most any kind of vegetation
without the need for elaborate machinery, expensive irrigation systems and
costly maintenance.
In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate an exemplary
embodiment of the present invention:
Figure 1 is an isometric view of an assembled irrigator apparatus;
Figure 2 is an isometric view of an insert used in the irrigator;
Figure 3 is a side view of the insert;

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Figure 4 is a top view of the insert; and
Figure 5 is a sectional view along line 5-5 of Figure 4.
Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 illustrates an
irrigator 10 with an annular reservoir based on a vehicle tire 12. The tire
has a
hollow tire carcass 14 that opens radially inwardly and is finished on the two
inner edges by tire beads 16.
The tire is converted into the irrigator 10 by an insert 18 that is
illustrated most particularly in Figures 2 through 5. The insert has an
annular
wall 20 that tapers upwardly from its bottom edge 22 to its top edge 24. At
the bottom edge, the wall has an outer annular flange 26 that slopes upwardly
and outwardly at a slight angle. A rib 28 is formed on the upper surface of
the
flange 26 at a spacing from the wall 20.
Above the flange 26, the wall is formed into a barb 30 that
presents a shoulder 32 facing downwardly to confront the flange 26. As
illustrated most particularly in Figure 5, the shoulder slopes downwardly to
the
outside so that the shoulder and the flange slope towards one another to
capture the tire bead between the two. Above the shoulder 32, the barb has a
tapered face 34 that flares downwardly as a camming surface for stretching a
tire bead as the insert is forced into the tire. To augment the sealing of the
bead to the tire, an annular, resilient seal 36 is placed around the insert,
in the
channel between the flange 26 and the shoulder 32.
Roughly one-quarter of the way down the wall 20 from the top
are four slots 38 spaced around the wall at 90° from one another. The
slots
are used to accommodate wicks 40 leading from the inside of the tire, through
the wall and into the growing zone circumscribed by the wall.

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In use of the apparatus, the insert is forced into the centre of an
appropriately-sized tire so that the bead on one side of the tire engages in
the
channel between the flange 26 and the shoulder 32. The other bead of the
tire is spaced radially outwardly from the upwardly-tapered wall 30. This
complete unit is then set into a shallow hole in the ground, roughly the depth
of the tire. The centre of the irrigator, within the wall 20, is then filled
with
soil, with one or more wicks 40 laid in place under the soil and leading into
the
reservoir within the tire. The vegetation to be grown is then planted in the
soil
fill in the middle of the irrigator and water is poured into the reservoir
formed
by the tire and the insert.
The annular reservoir between the tire and the insert provides for
water storage, collection and conservation. The wicking system efficiently
delivers moisture directly to the roots of a plant being grown. In use, the
irrigator effectively suppresses weed growth. The irrigator may be used in
cold climates and at high latitudes, with the black tire carcass acting as an
effective solar collector. This creates a subsurface micro-climate encouraging
root development over an extended growing season. On the other hand, when
used in hot, arid environments, the surface of the irrigator can be treated to
reflect heat. This creates an environment that again favors plant growth.
While one embodiment of the present invention has been
described in the foregoing, it is to be understood that other embodiments are
possible within the scope of the invention. In addition, various sizes of the
insert may be manufactured designed to fit into tires of different diameters.
The invention is thus to be considered limited solely by the scope of the
appended claims.

Representative Drawing