Liquid dispensing system
Assignee360 Yield Center, LLC
InventorDan Muff
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A liquid dispensing system that includes a carrier having a storage tank disposed thereon for storing a liquid product. A boom is coupled to the carrier and includes a distribution hose through which the liquid product flows from the storage tank and into a number of liquid placement apparatuses. Each liquid placement apparatus includes a drop assembly coupled to the boom and extending downward. A base assembly is coupled to the lower end of the drop assembly and a hose assembly extends from the distribution hose to the base assembly. A lower hose assembly is protected within the base assembly and includes a pair of dribble hoses extruding from the base assembly. The liquid product is delivered proximate to the ground surface through the dribble hoses.
Claims20
In a field with crops growing in adjacently spaced crop rows, a liquid dispensing apparatus for applying a liquid product in a moisture zone of the adjacently spaced crop rows of the field, the liquid dispensing apparatus comprising:
- a plurality of drop assemblies supported by and spaced laterally along a boom structure, the boom structure disposed at a height above a soil surface and extending laterally in a direction transverse to a direction of travel and transverse to the adjacently spaced crop rows, whereby each of the plurality of drop assemblies is positioned between two of the adjacently spaced crop rows, each of the plurality of drop assemblies comprising:
- a drop member extending downwardly from the boom structure toward the soil surface between the two adjacently spaced crop rows;
- rigid throughways supported from a lower portion of the drop member, the rigid throughways diverging laterally outward with respect to the drop member and extending longitudinally rearward with respect to the direction of travel;
- a flexible dribble hose associated with each of the rigid throughways;
- whereby, liquid product from a liquid product source is communicated to the flexible dribble hose and the liquid product is dribbled from an outlet end of the flexible dribble hose onto the soil surface in the moisture zone of a laterally adjacent one of the two adjacently spaced crop rows.
A method of applying liquid product to a moisture zone of adjacently spaced crop rows growing in a field, the method comprising:
- supporting and spacing a plurality of drop members along a boom structure disposed above a soil surface and oriented transverse to a direction of travel such that each drop member is positioned between two of the adjacently spaced crop rows growing in the field, a lower end of each of the plurality of drop members having rigid throughways disposed in an outwardly and rearwardly diverging direction with respect to the drop member and to the direction of travel, a flexible dribble hose associated with each of the rigid throughways;
- communicating liquid product from a liquid product supply to each of the drop members, the rigid throughways of each of the drop members directing the liquid product in the outwardly and rearwardly diverging direction, the flexible dribble hose associated with each of the throughways of each of the drop members delivering the liquid product onto the soil in the moisture zone of the two rows of the adjacently spaced crop rows growing in the field between which each of the drop members is positioned.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.