US3687372A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Apparatus for irrigating land
Assignee: Individual
•
Filing: 1971-06-17
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Granted: 1972-08-29
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Expires: 1991-06-17
Abstract
Abstract The invention provides irrigating apparatus comprising a selfpropelled wheeled carriage which is connected to a fixed hydrant by a hose through which water is supplied to spray means, on the carriage, which is also provided with a turntable or reel for winding and unwinding the hose. The carriage is adapted to travel outwards from the hydrant in a substantially radial path during which the hose is paid out and laid on the ground behind it. Means are provided for reversing the carriage as it is moving outwards whereby it then returns to the hydrant along the line of the hose which is progressively rewound on the carriage. Reversal of the carriage as it travels outwards is effected either by its contact with an obstacle in its path or by the operation of means on the carriage which sense its distance from the hydrant. When the carriage returns to and engages the hydrant, it is angularly displaced, after which its motion is again reversed so that it moves outwardly again in a travel path which is angularly displaced from its previous path. These operations may be repeated until the entire area surrounding the hydrant is irrigated and may continue indefinitely until the water is turned off. The extent of the angular displacement of the carriage, when it returns to the hydrant, may be determined by associated escapement means, or otherwise, and such angular displacements are not necessarily uniform but may depend on the shape of the area to be watered. Provision is made for progressively reducing the speed of the carriage as it moves outwardly and or inwardly so that the ground is uniformly watered. The carriage is driven inwardly and outwardly by a suitable motor thereon. A hydraulic motor is preferably used for this purpose in which case the discharge from the motor is directed to said spray means. The carriage preferably has a horizontal turntable for winding and unwinding the hose, two laterally spaced driven transport wheels to which motion is transmitted through reversing and differential gearing, and an elongated substantially counterbalanced inward extension. This extension is provided with hose guide means and with means engageable with the hydrant to cause the carriage to be angularly displaced and to effect operation of the reversing mechanism. The center of gravity of the carriage is preferably disposed at a low level and between the said transport wheels.
Inventors
- 👤 Neville Peter Badcock
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-03 09:56
CPC Classifications
A; A01; A01G; A01G25/00; A01G25/09; A01G25/095
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 20
Claim 1
Independent Claim
176 words
Irrigating apparatus comprising a carriage adapted to be driven outwardly over the ground in an approximately radial path from a fixed hydrant and then to return thereto along substantially the same path, said carriage comprising a frame, at least one driven transport wheel, a driving motor therefor, spray means arranged to discharge, onto the ground, water supplied thereto from the hydrant through a flexible hose, rotary winding and unwinding means from which the hose is progressively paid out and laid on the ground as the carriage moves outwardly, and which progressively rewinds the hose as the carriage moves inwardly, means operable to reverse the direction of movement of the carriage, means operable, as the carriage is moving outwardly to actuate said reversing means whereby the carriage is caused to return inwardly, means engageable with the hydrant when the carriage returns thereto, thereby to cause the carriage to be displaced angularly about the hydrant and means subsequently operable to again actuate said reversing means, whereby the carriage commences a further outward movement in a different travel path.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
176 words
Irrigating apparatus comprising a carriage adapted to be driven outwardly over the ground in an approximately radial path from a fixed hydrant and then to return thereto along substantially the same path, said carriage comprising a frame, at least one driven transport wheel, a driving motor therefor, spray means arranged to discharge, onto the ground, water supplied thereto from the hydrant through a flexible hose, rotary winding and unwinding means from which the hose is progressively paid out and laid on the ground as the carriage moves outwardly, and which progressively rewinds the hose as the carriage moves inwardly, means operable to reverse the direction of movement of the carriage, means operable, as the carriage is moving outwardly to actuate said reversing means whereby the carriage is caused to return inwardly, means engageable with the hydrant when the carriage returns thereto, thereby to cause the carriage to be displaced angularly about the hydrant and means subsequently operable to again actuate said reversing means, whereby the carriage commences a further outward movement in a different travel path.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
46 words
Irrigating apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said means operable to actuate said reversing means as the carriage is moving outwards, comprises displaceable bumper means arranged at the outward end of the carriage so as to be displaceable by an obstruction in its path of movement.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
37 words
Irrigating apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said means operable to actuate said reversing means, as the carriage is moving outwards, comprises means responsive to the movement of the carriage to a predetermined distance from the hydrant.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
69 words
Irrigating apparatus according to claim 1 including the said fixed hydrant, a swivel outlet on the hydrant to which the adjacent end of the hose is connected, and means on the inner end portion of the carriage adapted to engage the swivel outlet whereby the latter is constrained to move in unison with the carriage as the latter is angularly displaced about the hydrant into said different travel path.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
28 words
Irrigating apparatus according to claim 4 including escapement means operable as the carriage is being angularly displaced about the hydrant to determine the extent of such angular displacement.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
104 words
Irrigating apparatus according to claim 4 including a telescopically retractible member on the inner end portion of the carriage, resilient means normally maintaining said retractible member in its fully projected position, and abutment means on the hydrant for engagement by said retractible member as the carriage closely approaches the limit of its inward movement whereby, during the further inward movement of the carriage, said retractible member is progressively displaced, and wherein said means operable to actuate said reversing means to cause the carriage to commence a further outward movement, is operable by said retractible member when the latter is displaced to a predetermined position.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
70 words
Irrigating apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said driven transport wheel is steerable thereby to enable the carriage to be driven angularly about the hydrant into said different travel path, and including steering means operable to impart steering movements to said wheel, and wherein said steering means is operable by said means engageable with the hydrant when the carriage returns thereto, thereby to cause the carriage to be angularly displaced.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
42 words
Irrigating apparatus according to claim 4, including an elongated, substantially counterbalanced, inward extension on the carriage, and wherein said means on the carriage for engaging the swivel outlet comprises hose guide means on the free inner end portion of the said extension.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
103 words
Irrigating apparatus according to claim 1 having two driven transport wheels, arranged co-axially in spaced relationship and non-steerably mounted on the frame, differential gearing for transmitting motion to said wheels from the motor, an elongated, substantially counterbalanced inward extension on the carriage, means pivotally connecting the outward end of the extension to the frame about a vertical axis which is laterally offset relatively to both of said wheels, and steering means operable to cause said frame to move angularly with respect to said extension, and wherein said steering means is operable by said means engageable with the hydrant when the carriage returns thereto.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
209 words
Irrigating apparatus according to claim 4 having two driven transport wheels arranged co-axially in spaced relationship and non-steerably mounted on the frame, differential gearing for transmitting motion to said wheels from the motor, an elongated substantially counterbalanced, inward extension rigidly connected to the frame, and wherein said swivel outlet on the hydrant comprises an elongated arm which is angularly displaced relatively to and ahead of the travel path, for the time being, of the carriage, said outlet arm having a free outer end portion arranged at an angle to the inward portion thereof whereby said outer end portion is disposed in alignment with said travel path for engagement by the free inner end portion of said inward extension on the frame, escapement means interconnecting said swivel outlet arm to the fixed body of the hydrant thereby to limit the angular movement of the outlet arm at each actuation thereof, and wherein when the carriage returns to the hydrant, the axis of said driven wheels is disposed substantially radially with respect to the hydrant, whereby during the continued inward movement of the carriage, the latter, together with the swivel outlet arm, is moved angularly about the pivotal axis of the outlet arm to the extent permitted by said escapement means.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
31 words
Irrigating apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said rotary winding and unwinding means for the hose is a horizontal turntable on which the hose is wound as a single-layer spiral coil.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
199 words
Irrigating apparatus according to claim 4 including escapement means on the hydrant, said escapement means being adapted to limit the angular displacement of the carriage and of the swivel outlet about the hydrant when the carriage returns thereto, a small scale template of the area to be irrigated, means rotatively supporting the template on the carriage, means operable, when the carriage returns to the hydrant, to turn the template through the same angle as that through which the carriage is angularly displaced, whereby the template is maintained at a constant orientation relatively to the area to be irrigated, a movable abutment member operatively associated with the template, means operable to move said abutment member at a speed proportional to the carriage speed whereby the abutment member at all times occupies, relatively to the template, a position which corresponds to the position of the carriage in the area being watered, and wherein said member abuts against the template when the carriage has moved outwardly to a predetermined limiting distance from the hydrant for the direction in which it is then moving, and means operable, consequent upon such engagement of the abutment member with the template, to actuate said reversing means.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
57 words
Irrigating apparatus according to claim 1 including variable speed means operable to progressively increase the speed of movement of the carriage as it is returning to the hydrant whereby the discharged water is substantially uniformly distributed on the ground, and means responsive to the distance of the carriage from the hydrant for controlling saiD variable speed means.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
39 words
Irrigating apparatus according to claim 13, wherein said means responsive to the distance of the carriage from the hydrant is also operable as the carriage is moving outwardly thereby to cause its speed of movement to be progressively reduced.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
58 words
Irrigating apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said driving motor is a hydraulic motor and including means whereby water, supplied to the carriage through the hose, is directed to the motor before it passes to said spray means, and wherein said reversing means comprises reverse gearing through which motion is transmitted from the motor to propel the carriage.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
95 words
Irrigating apparatus according to claim 15 including means forming a by-pass passage which communicates at one end with the inlet to the motor and which communicates at the other end thereof, with the discharge from the motor, a valve in the by-pass passage to regulate the amount of water which by-passes the motor, thereby to control the speed of the latter, and means responsive to the distance of the carriage from the hydrant to regulate the by-pass valve so as progressively to reduce the speed of the carriage as it moves outwardly and vice versa.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
95 words
Irrigating apparatus according to claim 1 including an elongated inward extension connected to the frame, hose engaging means on the free inner portion of said extension, said hose engaging means being adapted to maintain the hose under tension as it is laid on the ground while the carriage is moving outwards, and also to guide the carriage along the hose as the carriage is moving inwards, and wherein the center of gravity of the carriage is disposed at a low level and close to said transport wheel whereby the said elongated extension is substantially counterbalanced.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
118 words
Irrigating apparatus according to claim 17, having two driven transport wheels arranged co-axially in laterally spaced relationship, said transport wheels being non-steerably mounted on the frame, differential gearing through which motion is transmitted to said wheels from the driving motor, and means pivotally connecting said extension to the frame about a vertical axis which is offset laterally relatively to both of said wheels, whereby the frame may move angularly with respect to the extension to cause the carriage to move angularly about the hydrant, and steering means connecting said frame to the extension to impart relative angular movements thereto, and wherein said steering means is controlled by said means engageable with the hydrant when the carriage returns thereto.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
76 words
Irrigating apparatus according to claim 17 wherein said inward extension is rigidly connected to the frame and including, two driven transport wheels arranged in laterally spaced relationship, means pivotally mounting said wheels on the frame whereby steering movements may be imparted thereto, differential gearing through which motion is transmitted to the wheels from the driving motor, and steering means operable to impart steering movements to said wheels when the carriage returns to and engages the hydrant.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1975-08-29 | 1976-02-28 | 1976-08-29 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1979-08-29 | 1980-02-28 | 1980-08-29 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1983-08-29 | 1984-02-28 | 1984-08-29 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |