US 5,605,105 A · Method and apparatus for placing dry or liquid materials into the soil subsurface without tillage tools

Abstract

In order to place dry granular materials into the subsurface of the soil without mechanical tillage, minute charges of the material are carried by high pressure jets of liquid, such as water, down into the ground from a series of side-by-side nozzles that simultaneously fire the jets toward the ground at regular intervals as the nozzles advance along a path of travel. Instead of passing through the water pump and the sensitive jet-producing nozzles, the granular materials remain separated from the water until the jets have issued from their nozzles and are passing through a ceramic mixing chamber in which a venturi is located. During the short pauses between successive blasts from the nozzles, material is continuously fed into a collecting chamber for each nozzle to form a small charge. As the water blast takes place, the charge is automatically drawn into the venturi and carried out of the machine by the high pressure jet. A metering conveyor continuously delivers material to the collecting chambers at a speed that can be correlated with the speed with which the nozzles are moved along the application path, and the firings of the nozzles are likewise coordinated with the distance traversed by the nozzles along the path so that the concentration of materials applied per unit of area can be very precisely controlled. An onboard computer controls firing of the nozzles in relation to speed, distance and desired application rate, as well as other variables, and an optional embodiment provides a similar degree of control and precision for liquid additive materials.

Claims33

Dependent claims

In turf maintenance apparatus, the improvement comprising:

an injection head for directing periodic jets of liquid and additive into the ground as the apparatus is moving along a path of travel;
a liquid supply system for supplying pressurized liquid to the injection head;
an additive supply system for introducing additive to the liquid within the injection head;
and
a control system for causing said jets to discharge from the injection head at spaced intervals along said path of travel of the apparatus,
said control system including a controller, a distance sensor operable to provide ground traversing distance information to the controller, and a valve operable by the controller to admit successive bursts of pressurized liquid into the injection head as a function of the distance information provided to the controller by said sensor,
said additive supply system including a dispenser for the additive and a mechanism for metering the additive from the dispenser at a predetermined rate,
said metering mechanism being operable to deliver additive to the nozzle at a variable rate of delivery,
said controller being operably coupled with said metering mechanism for driving the metering mechanism at a rate that varies as a function of distance traversed by the apparatus.

6 more elements

In turf maintenance apparatus, the improvement comprising:

an injection head for directing periodic jets of liquid and additive into the ground as the apparatus is moving along a path of travel;
a liquid supply system for supplying pressurized liquid to the injection head;
an additive supply system for introducing additive to the liquid within the injection head;
and
a control system for causing said jets to discharge from the injection head at spaced intervals along said path of travel of the apparatus,
said control system including a controller, a distance sensor operable to provide ground traversing distance information to the controller, and a valve operable by the controller to admit successive bursts of pressurized liquid into the injection head as a function of the distance information provided to the controller by said sensor,
said controller including means for selectively adjusting the distance interval between successive operations of the valve,
said additive supply system including a dispenser for granular additive material, mechanism for metering the granular additive material from the dispenser at a predetermined rate, and a collecting chamber disposed to receive granular additive material from the metering mechanism and to accumulate successive charges thereof,
said injection head communicating with said collecting chamber and having means for drawing the accumulated charge of granular material into the liquid jet during each discharge from the injection head,
said metering mechanism being operable to deliver granular material to the collecting chamber at a variable rate of delivery,
said controller being operably coupled with said metering mechanism for driving the metering mechanism at a rate that varies in relation to distance traversed by the apparatus,
said dispenser having a discharge orifice,
said metering mechanism including a conveyor disposed to gravitationally receive granular material from the orifice and to transport the received granular material away from the orifice when the conveyor is operating, and to prevent gravitational discharge from the orifice when the conveyor is stopped.

10 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Method and apparatus for placing dry or liquid materials into the soil subsurface without tillage tools

Life of this patent

Method and apparatus for placing dry or liquid materials into the soil subsurface without tillage tools

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims33