US 10,477,784 B1Granted

Irrigation system

OwnerChristopher Guy Williamsinventor

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Abstract

A land irrigation system to irrigate farmland. The system includes a water delivery pipe assembly having a plurality of drive motors mounted thereto. The water delivery pipe assembly is configured for one or the other or both of linear-move irrigator travel and center pivot irrigator travel. The water delivery pipe assembly is further configured to stagger the operation of select ones of the drive motors wherein when one or more of the selected drive motors are in operation one or more of the selected drive motors are not in operation. Staggering the operation of select ones of the drive motors can serve to reduce the carbon footprint as well as size footprint of the power supply that powers the drive motors whether that supply be a diesel generator or a water motor driven generator or an inverted battery power supply or a fuel cell or other.

Claims17

Dependent claims

An irrigation system comprising:

a water delivery pipe assembly comprising a plurality of delivery pipes and a plurality of drive motors, the water delivery pipe assembly configured to maintain a longitudinal alignment of the delivery pipes with respect to each other for at least one of:
center pivot irrigator travel and linear-move irrigator travel and the water delivery pipe assembly further configured wherein the plurality of drive motors comprises a plurality of sets of two of the drive motors and during the maintaining of the longitudinal alignment of the delivery pipes, for each set of two motors, when one motor in the set of two is in operation or is operational the other motor in the set of two is not in operation or is not operational;
and
wherein the water delivery pipe assembly is defined by a first end and a distal second end;
the plurality of drive motors are distributed along the water delivery pipe assembly between the first and second ends thereof:
and wherein one of the sets of two comprises a first drive motor of the plurality of drive motors located proximate to the first end and a second motor of the plurality of drive motors located proximate to the opposite second end.

3 more elements

A method for irrigating cropland comprising:

providing a water delivery pipe assembly comprising a plurality of delivery pipes and a plurality of drive motors;
configuring the water delivery pipe assembly to maintain a longitudinal alignment of the delivery pipes with respect to each other for at least one of:
center pivot irrigator travel and linear-move irrigator travel;
and
configuring the water delivery pipe assembly wherein the plurality of drive motors comprises a plurality of sets of two of the drive motors and during the maintaining of the longitudinal alignment of the delivery pipes with respect to each other, for each set of two motors, when one motor in the set of two motors is in operation or is operational the other drive motor in the set of two motors is not in operation or is not operational;
and
wherein the water delivery pipe assembly is defined by a first end and a distal second end and the plurality of drive motors are distributed along the water delivery pipe assembly between the first and second ends thereof and the method further comprises locating a first drive motor proximate to the first end and locating a second motor proximate to the second end as one of the plurality of sets of two drive motors.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 15/086,570Filed 31 Mar 2016 · continuation in part
Priority: 15 Mar 2013
Granted: 19 Nov 2019
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification2 codes

A01G 25/092
Watering arrangements making use of movable installations on wheels or the like: movable around a pivot centre
A01G
Horticulture

Family

Application61/852,349Us provisional application · filed 15 Mar 2013
Application14/210,488Parent of this continuation-in-part · filed 14 Mar 2014
US 9,301,459 B1Parent of this continuation-in-part · filed 5 Apr 2016
US 10,477,784 B1This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.

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