Moving pivot sprinkler irrigation system

Claim 2

In a moving pivot sprinkler irrigation system, a sprinkler arm comprising a pipe with a plurality of sprinkler heads spaced therealong, individual self-propelled tractor means supporting said sprinkler arm at intervals along its length and adapted to translate the same over a field area to be irrigated, means to supply said pipe with water, a reference line disposed in a closed loop to establish a course of movement for the sprinkler arm, means to guide and maintain said sprinkler arm both angularly and laterally, relative to said reference line, and said last named means including means to actuate said tractor means to correct the orientation of said sprinkler arm relative to said reference line when said arm deviates beyond a predetermined tolerance limit of angular or lateral displacement.

Claim 3

The construction of claim 1 in which said last named means includes means to slow the translation of said arm at a selected portion thereof to alter the angular and lateral orientation of the arm relative to said reference line.

Claim 4

The construction of claim 1 in which said last named means includes means to stop the translation of a selected portion of said arm to alter the angular orientation of the arm and its overall distance from said reference line.

Claim 5

The construction of claim 1 in which said last named means includes means responsive to deviations of said arm from straightness to maintain said arm straight within predetermined tolerance limits, and means responsive to angular and lateral deviations of said arm to control the relative speeds of certain of said tractors to correct the angular and lateral orientation of the arm within predetermined tolerance limits.

Claim 6

The construction of claim 1 in which said arm extends outwardly from said reference line and follows the closed loop thereof in translation, said water supply means comprises an open ditch extending longitudinally of a field, a pump disposed to move along with the inner end of said sprinkler arm with water intake means submerged within the water in said ditch to supply water continuously to said pipe from said reservoir, and side walls for said ditch providing a track on each side thereof constituting said reference line, a dolly supporting said water intake means disposed to ride along said track, and said guide means comprises means connecting said sprinkler arm and dolly to monitor relative positions of the same at all times.

Claim 7

The construction of claim 5 in which said ditch has sections of different elevations with dams therebetween, and means responsive to movement of said arm along said track in the region of a dam to lift said water intake over each dam as said sprinkler arm passes the same.

Claim 8

The construction of claim 6 in which said sprinkler arm is Provided with two separate water intakes spaced relative to each other longitudinally of said ditch, and said lift means comprises means to successively lift and resubmerge said intakes as each traverses a dam to thereby maintain a supply of water to said pump at all times.

Claim 9

The construction of claim 7 and means on each water intake to close the same when raised out of the water.

Claim 10

The construction of claim 6 including means to supply water to the uppermost section of said ditch to a given height therein, and means to flow water from each section to the next successive lower section and to control the level of water in the latter.

Claim 11

The construction of claim 1 in which the closed loop of said reference line comprises a series of substantially straight courses with curved courses joining the same, said sprinkler arm extends outwardly from said reference line substantially perpendicular to the latter when traversing said straight courses and substantially radial to the center point for said curved courses when traversing the same, two sets of sprinkler heads provided on the sprinkler arm, and means responsive to the translation of said sprinkler arm to supply water to one set only during traverse of said straight courses by said sprinkler arm and to supply water to said second set only during traverse of said curved courses by said sprinkler arm.

Claim 12

The construction of claim 10 in which the speed of movement for a selected point near the center of said sprinkler arm remains substantially constant throughout the movement of said arm in traverse of both said straight and curved courses, one of said sets of sprinkler heads on said arm being constructed to provide a substantially constant rate of sprinkling per foot of said pipe outwardly from said selected point of constant speed and to provide a diminishing rate of sprinkling per foot of said pipe inwardly from said selected point corresponding to the need for uniform sprinkling of the area traversed by said inward position of said arm in said curved courses having regard to the lower ground speed for that portion of the arms during such traverse, a second of said sets of sprinkler heads disposed in the region inwardly of said selected point of constant speed to complement said first set of sprinkler heads in this region to provide a uniform rate of sprinkling for the area traversed inwardly of said selected point of constant speed along said straight courses, and a third set of sprinkler heads disposed in the region outwardly of said selected point of constant speed constructed to provide an additional and increasing rate of sprinkling per foot of said pipe outwardly from said selected point corresponding to the need for uniform sprinkling of the area traversed by said outward portion of said arm in said curved courses having regard to the higher ground speed for that portion of the arm during such traverse.

Claim 13

The construction of claim 11 in which said reference line constitutes a track, and said last named means comprises a dolly moved along said track in response to translation of said sprinkler arm, and interengaging means on said track and dolly responsive to the movement of said dolly along said track to select the alternate operation of said second and third sets of sprinkler heads.

Claim 14

The construction of claim 1 in which the closed loop of said reference line comprises a series of substantially straight courses with curved courses joining the same, said sprinkler arm extends outwardly from said reference line substantially perpendicular to the latter when traversing said straight courses and substantially radial to the center point for said curved courses when traversing the same, a plurality of sets of sprinkler heads provided for said sprinkler arm, and means responsive to the translation of said sprinkler arm along said reference line to selectively determine the supply of water to said sets from said pipe to obtain a substantially uniform application of water to the area of ground traversed by saiD arm throughout both said straight and curved courses.

Claim 15

The construction of claim 1 in which said reference line constitutes a track, and said last named means comprises a dolly moved along said track in response to translation of said sprinkler arm therealong, and monitoring means carried by said dolly for controlling the movement of said sprinkler arm.

Claim 16

The construction of claim 14 in which said dolly comprises a frame supported on said track, a platform mounted on said frame to turn relative thereto on a vertical axis, means securing said platform in fixed horizontal angular orientation relative to said sprinkler arm, and said monitoring means for responsive to relative turning movement between said platform and frame to institute correctional actuation of said tractor means to maintain the orientation of said sprinkler arm relative to said reference line within predetermined tolerance limits.

Claim 17

The construction of claim 14 in which said monitoring means comprises means sensing relative lateral movement between said sprinkler arm and said dolly, and means responsive to said sensing means to institute correctional actuation of said tractor means to maintain the later position of said sprinkler arm relative to said dolly and reference line.