Abstract:
The invention relates to an automatic watering device which is self-contained, free standing, portable and easy to install. The automatic water device has at least one reservoir, at least one float, at least one conduit, and at least one base spike and enables the automatic watering device to dispense liquid at a regulated and constant rate by the principle of capillary action or wicking.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention is directed to an automatic watering device, such as a device for watering plants, flowers, vegetables, and the like. The automatic watering device is capable of dispensing liquid at a regulated and constant rate by capillary action or wicking. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     It is often desirable for plants to be watered by automatic self-watering devices that are able to dispense liquid (e.g., water) at a regulated and constant rate over a period of time. This applies to a variety of situations, including that the owner may be too busy to water the plants regularly or that the plants need to be left unattended for an extended period of time, such as when the owner is away from his home or office. 
     Conventional self-watering devices apply the principle of capillary action or wicking and typically consist of a watering wick, one end of which is immersed in a container filled with liquid and the other end of which is exposed to the area to be watered (i.e., the soil or growing medium). However, as liquid is drawn to the growing medium, the liquid level in the container drops and the wicking height, which is the height that the liquid needs to be lifted up against gravity, increases. As the wicking height progressively increases, the efficiency of the capillary action steadily becomes less efficient, the flow rate diminishes, and wicking eventually ceases. This is a major drawback and presents a limitation in the application of the liquid wick in a self-watering device. 
     Further, most of these conventional self-watering devices utilize wicking systems that incorporate the wicks within the bodies of the pots containing the plants and the growing media. Such self-watering planters or pots are disadvantaged by the fact that, should the wicks need to be replaced due to clogging or the device need to be serviced, the plants and the growing media may have to be disturbed or even excavated. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The claimed automatic watering device overcomes these drawbacks by incorporating a float in the watering device to which a wick is coupled. The float is designed to move freely in tandem with the liquid level in a reservoir, thereby enabling the wick to maintain steady constant height above the liquid level. The wicking height is thus maintained at a constant level throughout the cycle of watering, which allows the watering device to discharge the liquid at a regulated constant rate and to dispense the full capacity of the liquid in the reservoir. Moreover, the replacement of the wick in the watering device is easy and convenient without requiring the use of any tools. 
     The invention is directed to an automatic watering device for watering plants having at least one reservoir having a body having a top portion and a bottom portion, an exit neck coupled to the bottom portion of the body of the reservoir, at least one base spike coupled to the exit neck, at least one float housed within the body of the reservoir and having at least one wick assembly, and at least one conduit having two opposing ends, one end coupled to the at least one float and the opposing end coupled to the exit neck. The automatic watering device utilizes capillary action to water the plants. 
     In another embodiment, the invention is directed to an automatic watering device for watering plants having a reservoir, a plurality of floats housed within the reservoir, a plurality of wick assemblies, each of which is housed within each of the plurality of floats, a plurality of base spikes, and a plurality of conduits each having two opposing ends, one end of each conduit being coupled to one of the plurality of floats and the opposing end of each conduit being coupled to one of the plurality of base spikes. The automatic watering device utilizes capillary action to water a plurality of separate and discrete plants. 
     The invention is further directed to a method of watering plants, the method achieved by providing an automatic watering device which has at least one reservoir having a body having a top portion and a bottom portion, an exit neck coupled to the bottom portion of the body of the reservoir, at least one base spike coupled to the exit neck, at least one float housed within the body of the reservoir, at least one wick assembly having a wick, the wick assembly housed within the float, and at least one conduit having two opposing ends, one end coupled to the at least one float and the opposing end coupled to the exit neck. The reservoir is then filled with liquid, such that liquid is conveyed through the wick assembly via capillary action and is expelled through the base spike into a growing medium to water the plants. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS OF DRAWINGS 
       A more complete appreciation of the invention and many of the attendant advantages thereof will be readily obtained as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, 
         FIG. 1  is a front plan view of an automatic watering device according to an embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 2 . is a cross-sectional front view of the automatic watering device illustrated in  FIG. 1  according to an embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional front view of the automatic watering device illustrated in  FIG. 1 , with the reservoir filled with water in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view of a hollow float in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view of a buoyant float without a chamber in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; and 
         FIG. 6  is a cross-section front view of an automatic watering device having a plurality of floats in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1-3 , the automatic watering device  100  of the invention generally includes at least one reservoir  1 , at least one base spike  2 , at least one float  6 , and at least one conduit  7 . As shown in these Figures, the automatic watering device  100  includes one reservoir  1 , one base spike  2 , one float  6 , and one conduit  7 . 
     In one embodiment, the reservoir  1  is preferably a water-tight refillable container having a body  4  having a top portion  12  and a bottom portion  18 , a detachable filling cap  5  coupled to the top portion  12  of the body  4 , and an exit neck  8  coupled to the bottom portion  18  of the body  4 . The body  4  of the reservoir  1  may be formed of any shape and design, including, but not limited to, ornamental shapes such as realistic hollow rocks, tree logs, animals, fictional characters or purely utilitarian shapes such as bottles or cylinders. The reservoir  1  may be constructed of any impermeable or non-pliant materials, including but not limited, to plastics, ceramics, glass or metal. The reservoir  1  may be of any volume suitable for the particular application. Preferably, the reservoir  1  is formed of a water-tight cylindrical shape plastic container. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , the base spike  2  is preferably formed of a hollow conical-shaped component that is coupled to the exit neck  8  of the reservoir  1 . In one embodiment, the base spike  2  is engaged with the exit neck  8  of the reservoir  1  via a threaded arrangement. In another embodiment, the base spike  2  is engaged with the exit neck  8  by a spigot and socket design. The base spike  2  supports the reservoir  1  and engages it firmly with the growing medium  3  (e.g., soil). The base spike  2  preferably has punctures on an external surface thereof (not shown) from which the liquid in the reservoir  1  is released to the growing medium  3 . The base spike  2  is preferably formed of any plastic or non-pliant materials. In one embodiment, the base spike  2  is easily detachable from the reservoir  1 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 2-3 , the float  6  may be any buoyant object that may be attached to and hold a wick assembly  10  (discussed below) firmly in place and maintain the wick  13  (see  FIG. 4 ) at a steady constant height above a liquid level  9  in the reservoir  1  at all times throughout the course of operation of the watering device  100 . The float  6  preferably has an exit port  11  on its bottom surface. As discussed herein, a conduit  7  is coupled to the float  6  at the exit port  11 . The float  6  is designed to move freely inside the body  4  of the reservoir  1 . The float  6  may be formed of any suitable shape and impermeable non-pliant material. In a preferred embodiment, the float  6  is made of a solid mass of buoyant material, either natural or synthetic, such as that depicted in  FIG. 5 . In another preferred embodiment, the float  6  can be formed of any air trapped buoyant hollow body or a floatation device, such as that depicted in  FIG. 4 . In the latter embodiment, the float  6  is formed of a buoyant hollow body that internally incorporates a wick receptacle  14 , the wick assembly  10 , a float chamber  15 , and the exit port  11 . In one embodiment, one float  6  may include a plurality of wick assemblies  10  in one or more wick housings. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 6 , the watering device  100  may include more than one float  6  in a single reservoir  1  each with its own conduit  7  and exit neck  8 . The individual floats  6 ′ may be dispensing liquid at the same or varying rates. In this manner, a single watering device  100  can automatically water a number of plants with the same or different watering rates simultaneously. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 4-5 , the wick assembly  10  generally includes an open-ended U-shaped tubular conduit  17  that houses a wick  13 . The wick  13  may be formed of any suitable natural or synthetic material, such as cotton, fiberglass, or polyester. Other materials capable of performing capillary actions may also be used as the wick  13 , such as micro-capillary tubes. The type of material, the cross sectional area, and the height above the liquid level of the wick  13  will determine the rate of wicking. The wick assembly  10  is preferably nested inside the wick receptacle  14 , which is an open-ended tube allowing one end of the wick assembly  10  to be in contact with the liquid in the body  4  of the reservoir  1 . In this way, the wick assembly  10  is easily accessible and replacement of the wick  13  is easy and convenient without requiring the use of any tools. The wick receptacle  14  may contain more than one wick assembly  10  depending on the required rate of discharge of the watering device  100 . In one embodiment (not shown), the device  100  may include more than one wick receptacle  14  in the float  6 , each containing one or more wick assemblies  10 . The watering device  100  may utilize wick assemblies  10  of different heights, wick sizes, and materials in order to vary the rate of watering easily and conveniently. 
     In operation, the liquid (e.g., water) is filled into the reservoir  1  from the top portion  12  of the body  4  by removing the filling cap  5 . The liquid in the reservoir  1  is then wicked, via the wick assembly  10 , into a float chamber  15  by way of capillary action. The liquid is collected at the base of the float  6  at the exit port  11 . From the exit port  11 , the liquid enters the conduit  7 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 3 , the conduit  7  is formed of hollow flexible coiled tubing, one end  19  of which is connected to the exit port  11 , and the other end  21  of which is connected to the exit neck  8 . The conduit  7  may be made of any flexible and pliable material, such as natural or synthetic polymers. The conduit  7  is not limited to having a flexible coiled tubing shape and may be formed into any shape or design, such as, for example, an accordion structured collapsible tube or any other shape through which the liquid can be transported gravitationally with minimal impediment to the movement of the float(s)  6 . In a preferred embodiment, the conduit  7  is a coiled, flexible tube. The liquid that is collected at the float  6  is channeled gravitationally through the exit port  11 , into the conduit  7  and through the exit neck  8 . From the exit neck  8 , the liquid discharges to the growing medium  3  via the base spike  2 . 
     The watering device  100  is preferably installed adjacent to the plant root system. However, situations may necessitate that the watering device  100  be installed remotely from the plant, such as due to space constraints. By detaching the base spike  2  from the reservoir  1  and inserting it into the growing medium  3  adjacent to the plant, and coupling one end  21  of the conduit  7  (of appropriate length) into the base spike, the plant can be watered with the device located remotely from it, as illustrated in  FIG. 6 . 
     Although this invention has been described in connection with specific forms and embodiments thereof, it will be appreciated that various modifications other than those discussed above may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. For example, equivalent elements may be substituted for those specifically shown and described, certain features may be used independently of other features, and in certain cases, particular locations of elements may be reversed or interposed, all without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as defined in the appended Claims.