Irrigation system for precise water and chemical application

Apparatus for use in low energy precision application irrigation comprising:

• an elevated span section supportably connected to two spaced mobile towers;
• separate water and chemical manifolds positioned along said span section adapted to receive water and chemicals from supply sources;
• at least one flexible drop tube connected to each said separate manifold in a manner to receive liquid from said separate manifold for dispensing water of chemical form said separate manifold;
• first positioning means to position all of said drop tubes for said chemical manifold in unison and independently of other said drop tubes vertically relative to a field without vertically repositioning said chemical manifold;
• and
• separate AC motor drive means for each said tower to propel said apparatus through said field at a selected speed.

An irrigation system comprising:

• a plurality of elongate span sections interconnected with each other end-to-end and supported by a plurality of mobile, wheeled towers;
• a separate AC motor to drive each said tower;
• means for uniformly regulating the speed of said towers in a manner effective to substantially maintain said interconnected span sections in alignment substantially perpendicular to a predetermined path of travel;
• a separate chemical nozzle system and a separate water nozzle system supported by each said span section;
• each said chemical nozzle system and water nozzle system including a manifold positioned along each said span section, at least one flexible drop tube for each said manifold connected at a first end to said manifold in a manner to receive water or chemicals, and a dispensing nozzle connected at the other end of each said flexible drop tube;
• transport means for independently transporting water and liquid chemicals along the length of said interconnected span sections and into said plurality of nozzle systems for separately dispensing water and liquid chemicals;
• horizontal movement means for independent movement of each said separate chemical nozzle system and water nozzle system horizontally along each said span section;
• vertical movement means for moving said nozzles on said drop tubes vertically relative to said field, said nozzles on any one said nozzle system moving in unison and independently of nozzle movement on another said nozzle system;
• and
• means for independently controlling the amounts of chemical and water dispensed.

Apparatus for use in a low energy precision application irrigation system comprising:

• a row of towers in a side-by-side spaced relation mounted on drive wheels adapted to move said towers in unison in the same direction along a field;
• an elevated span member interconnecting and supported by each pair of adjacent towers;
• an AC motor on each tower to drive the drive wheel for said tower;
• a variable frequency controller which communicates with each said tower motor so all said tower motors operate at the same speed;
• a sensor to detect a misalignment of any one tower in said row of towers to the other towers in said row;
• and
• means responsive to said sensor to correct said misalignment by
• (i) stopping the movement of said one tower along said field when said one tower is ahead of said other towers,
• (ii) stopping the movement of adjacent towers along said field when said one tower is behind said other towers,
• until said misalignment is corrected,
• stopping all said tower motors, then restarting all said motors in unison, and acclerating all said motors uniformly to said same speed.

Apparatus for use in low energy precision application irrigation systems comprising:

• a control platform with a plurality of wheels, and first and second alternating current motors, said first and second motors being independently coupled to drive wheels on opposite sides of said platform, the first of said motors being operated at a predetermined substantially constant speed;
• a first AC motor controller operable to control the speed of said second motor;
• means for sensing deviation of said platform from a predetermined path, said sensing means operable to cause said first AC motor controller to vary the speed of said second motor as required to correct said deviation;
• a plurality of interconnected elongate span sections connected at one end to said control platform;
• a plurality of wheeled towers supporting said span sections, each of said towers being provided with a AC motor to drive a wheel of said tower;
• a second AC motor controller operable to control the speed of all the motors of said towers;
• means for sensing misalignment between said control platform and said interconnected span sections operable to cause said second motor controller to control the speed of all said motors of said towers as required to correct misalignment between said control platform and said interconnected span sections;
• said span sections being provided with switches at said tower either to
• (1) stop the motors of adjacent towers when an individual tower falls behind the adjacent span sections and their towers, stopping the motors of all towers after correct alignment is re-established and then accelerating all of said towers at a uniform rate to the speed determined by said second motor controller, as modified by said means for sensing misalignment between said control platform and said interconnected span sections, or
• (2) stop the motor of an individual tower when said tower moves ahead of the adjacent span sections and their towers, stopping the motors of all towers after correct alignment is re-established, and then accelerating all of said towers at a uniform rate to the speed determined by said second motor controller, as modified by said means for sensing misalignment between said control platform and said interconnected span sections;
• a plurality of rotatable chemical manifolds supported from said span section, each span section being provided with at least one rotatable chemical manifold;
• means for transporting a chemical along said span sections and into said rotatable chemical manifolds at a desired pressure;
• a plurality of rotatable water manifolds supported from said span section, each span section being provided with at least one rotatable water manifold;
• means for transporting water along said span sections and into said rotatable water manifolds;
• means for regulating water pressure in said rotatable water manifolds to a level effective in low energy precision application irrigation techniques;
• means for independently positioning said rotatable chemical manifolds and said rotatable water manifolds in a horizontal plane substantially perpendicular to said predetermined path and substantially parallel to said span section;
• said rotatable chemical manifolds and said rotatable water manifolds being provided with a plurality of flexible drop tubes in fluid communication with said rotatable chemical manifolds and said rotatable water manifolds, each of said flexible drop tubes terminating in a nozzle;
• said rotatable chemical manifolds and said rotatable water manifolds being provided with means for storage of said flexible drop tubes when said nozzles are raised by rotation of said rotatable chemical manifolds and said rotatable water manifolds;
• programmable control means for rotating said rotatable chemical manifolds and said rotatable water manifolds independently of each other, thereby separately controlling the timing and amplitude of the oscillations of the chemical application nozzles and the water application nozzles in a plane substantially perpendicular to said span sections and substantially parallel to said motorized towers;
• and
• programmable control means for selectively supplying said liquid chemicals separately to each rotatable chemical manifold at a predetermined time.