US 4,624,193 AGranted

Method and apparatus for the jet injection of agricultural liquids into the soil

AssigneeJohn Blue Company

InventorDouglas Johnston

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Abstract

An improved method and apparatus for the jet injection of agricultural liquids into the soil includes a series of jet nozzles, one for each plant row, spaced along the usual tool bar carried by a tractor which normally tows a nurse tank containing the liquid. A pump having an adjustable delivery rate is driven at a rate proportional to ground speed of the tractor, normally by the power take-off of the tractor, to deliver liquid from the nurse tank under substantially constant high pressure. A timing distributor, also driven by the power take-off, connects the high pressure liquid, i.e. the pump output, successively to the nozzles so that the entire output of the pump is concentrated through one nozzle at a time, for a very brief interval, to inject a high velocity slug of liquid which will penetrate the soil to an agronomically satisfactory depth. The timing is such that one slug is injected for each nozzle during a predetermined distance of travel, e.g., 12 inches, to provide a series of equally spaced injections along each plant row.

Claims18

Dependent claims

The method of applying an agricultural liquid into the soil, without appreciable disturbance thereof, from a moving vehicle, the steps comprising:

providing a positive displacement, adjustable-delivery-rate pump movable with the vehicle for receiving agricultural liquid from a supply thereof and continuously and substantially without interruption delivering it under a predetermined range of high pressure;
distributing at its delivered pressure and rate the delivered liquid sequentially to multiple nozzles movable with the vehicle and spaced generally uniformly transversely of the direction of vehicle movement to form closely adjacent the soil generally downward directed successive jets of the liquid and form generally parallel uniformly spaced rows of injections of the liquid in the soil, each injection being of substantially the same predetermined quantity of liquid and each jet having sufficient velocity and sufficiently small cross-sectional area to inject the liquid into the soil to an agronomically effective depth therein without appreciable disturbance thereof;
timing the distribution of the liquid sequentially to the nozzles at a frequency proportional to the ground speed of the vehicle so that the injections are spaced apart on centers in the rows the same predetermined distance;
and
adjusting the delivery rate of the pump to obtain a selected substantially constant rate of application of the liquid to the soil.

2 more elements

Apparatus for applying an agricultural liquid into the soil, without appreciable disturbance thereof, from a moving vehicle comprising:

a positive-displacement adjustable-delivery-rate pump movable with the vehicle for receiving agriculatural liquid form a supply thereof and continuously and substantially without interruption delivering the liquid under a predetermined range of high pressures;
multiple jet-forming generally-downward-directed nozzles movable with the vehicle closely adjacent the soil and spaced generally uniformly transversely of the direction of vehicle movement;
means for distributing the liquid delivered by said pump sequentially to said nozzles at the liquid's delivered pressure and rate to form generally-downward-directed successive jets of the liquid to form rows of injections of the liquid in the soil, each injection being of substantially the same quantity of the liquid and each jet having sufficient velocity and sufficiently small cross-sectional area to inject the liquid into the soil to an agronomically effective depth without appreciable disturbance thereof;
and
means for operating said distributing means to achieve a successive injection frequency proportional to gound speed so that the injections are spaced the same predetermined distance apart on centers in the rows, whereby a selected substantially constant rate of application of the liquid to the soil can be had by adjustment of the delivery rate of said pump.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.