US 2009/0288339 A1Published application

Unattended plant watering system

OwnerJohn Huiinventor

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Abstract

An apparatus is provided for unattended watering of plants over an extended period of time utilizing a watering system that regulates a partial vacuum to control the discharge of water to the roots of the plants. A water reservoir is provided having an encapsulated interior cavity and an exterior exposed to ambient air, and having upper and lower ends. The reservoir is located above the root level of a plant to be watered. At least one drain opening is defined in the lower end of the reservoir. The upper end of the reservoir is closed and is provided with an adjustable valve, preferably a pinch valve, and an air conduit, preferably a flexible tube, that passes through the valve and extends between the interior and the exterior of the reservoir. The valve thereby interacts with the conduit to partially obstruct air flow through it, so as to maintain a partial vacuum in the upper end of the reservoir as water drains from the lower end of the reservoir.

Claims3

Dependent claims

A method of controlled watering over an extended period of time of a live plant having roots growing in soil comprising:

planting said plant in said soil,
providing said plant with a watering apparatus including a reservoir having an encapsulated interior cavity and an exterior exposed to ambient air and wherein said reservoir has upper and lower ends, wherein said upper end of said water reservoir is closed and is provided with an adjustable valve therein and an air conduit passing through said valve and extending between said interior and said exterior of said reservoir and said lower end of said reservoir is provided with at least one drain opening,
positioning said reservoir so that said lower end of said reservoir is elevated above the lower extremities of said roots of said plant,
filling said reservoir at least partially with water,
adjusting said valve to create a partial vacuum in said upper end of said reservoir as water flows out of said drain opening, thereby limiting the flow of water out of said drain opening to thereby ensure a supply of water to said plant roots for at least a predetermined duration of time.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.