US 11,937,558 B2
Irrigation water amount measurement apparatus, irrigation water amount measurement method, and computer-readable recording medium
Kousuke Ishida, Tokyo (JP)
Assigned to NEC CORPORATION, Tokyo (JP)
Appl. No. 16/981,056
Filed by NEC Corporation, Tokyo (JP)
PCT Filed Mar. 15, 2019, PCT No. PCT/JP2019/010973
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Sep. 15, 2020,
PCT Pub. No. WO2019/181808, PCT Pub. Date Sep. 26, 2019.
Claims priority of application No. 2018-054495 (JP), filed on Mar. 22, 2018.
Prior Publication US 2021/0045300 A1, Feb. 18, 2021
Int. Cl. A01G 25/16 (2006.01); A01C 23/04 (2006.01); A01G 25/02 (2006.01)
CPC A01G 25/165 (2013.01) [A01C 23/042 (2013.01); A01G 25/02 (2013.01); A01G 25/167 (2013.01)] 6 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An irrigation water amount measurement apparatus for measuring a supply amount of irrigation water in an agricultural field in which a drip irrigation system is installed, the apparatus comprising:
a processor;
a memory storing instructions executable by the processor to:
obtain sensor data for specifying soil moisture contents in respective sections resulting from dividing the agricultural field into a plurality of pieces, from moisture sensors installed in the respective sections;
measure the supply amount of irrigation water supplied from the drip irrigation system, in the agricultural field, during a period from start to end of irrigation;
specify, for each of the sections, a period of time during which irrigation water was supplied to the section, based on a change state of the soil moisture content of the section specified by the sensor data; and
calculate, for each of the sections, the supply amount of irrigation water supplied to the section, based on a period of time specified for the section, the period from start to end of irrigation in the agricultural field, and the measured supply amount,
wherein, for each of the sections, the period of time during which irrigation water was supplied to the section is specified as a period from a time when the soil moisture content started to rise in the section until a time when a moisture content started to rise in a different section, and
wherein the supply amount of irrigation water is measured:
based on a number of times a pulse signal was obtained from a pulse-transmitting flow meter installed downstream of a water source of the drip irrigation system and that outputs the pulse signal every time a set amount of fluid flows, or
based on image data obtained from an imaging flow meter installed downstream of the water source of the drip irrigation system in time series.