DISPLACEMENT OF DRIP IRRIGATION LINES

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to the field of irrigation systems. More particularly, the present invention relates to a mobile apparatus for transferring flexible irrigation pipes from one location to another.

Background of the invention

Various methods have been used for irrigation corps, such as drip irrigating system which involves the use of small diameter plastic tubing having holes therein for trickling water out to row crops.

It is known in the art of irrigation to distribute water to fields of crops or the like through irrigating systems by laying sections of drip irrigation pipe between the rows of the crops. As a general rule, this is accomplished by laying a main pipeline across the field carrying water therethrough. A series of irrigation pipe extensions are arranged in end to end connection off of the main pipeline to distribute the water over a selected area of the field. Such pipes arrangement usually remains permanent in the treated field until the end of the irrigation season. Thus each field section requires its own irrigation pipes, which turns to be very expensive when needing to irrigate a relatively large field of crops, as more pipes and other irrigation equipments are required. In order to save costs, it would be desired to constantly relocate a set of drip irrigation pipes from one location to another on the same field (or even to other fields) during the entire irrigation season. Such a solution will dramatically reduce the costs of the irrigation equipments, as only a minimal set of drip irrigation pipes can be used to irrigate the an entire field. However, in the prior art, there is no an effective solution for constantly/repetitively relocating the irrigation pipes between different crops. Thus if someone wants to use a minimal sets of pipes to irrigate an entire field of crops, then he will need to manually grasps the pipe extension, unlocking it from its connection to the main pipeline, then walking across the field and locking it to a connection at a second location along the main pipeline and than to repeat such an action during the entire irrigation season. Moreover, in addition to the manual labor required, the pipe section may be relatively cumbersome. Thus, in addition to being laborious and time-consuming, the manual relocation of such pipe sections is fatiguing, especially if they must be transferred over a field covering a large area or if the crops in the field have attained a substantial size.

There thus exists a need for carrying out the transfer of such a pipe section from one location to another in an effective manner. It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for transferring pipes of a drip irrigation pipeline from one location thereon to another.

It is another object of the present invention to provide such pipe transfer apparatus which is capable of maintaining the orientation of the pipe while it is being transferred from the first location to the second.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide mobile means for carrying out the foregoing pipes which can be readily moved along the field traversed by the pipeline.

It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide an economical and efficient means for quickly transferring pipe extensions along an irrigation pipeline from one location to another.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the description proceeds.

Summary of the Invention

The present invention relates to an apparatus for allowing the displacement of one or more flexible irrigation pipes between parallel rows of crops, comprises: a) a longitudinally frame having top and bottom surfaces for continuously accommodating portions of said pipes while transferring each of said pipes from a current row to a target row; and b) one or more pairs of front pipe guiding members located at one side of said frame spaced along its length and corresponding number of pairs of rear pipe guiding members asymmetrically located at the opposite side of said frame and spaced along its length, wherein said front and rear pipe guiding members are located on the surface of said frame (e.g., on the top surface or on the bottom surface of the frame), said pipe guiding members are used for routing each pipe treaded between each pair of said rear pipe guiding members and each corresponding pair of said front pipe guiding members respectively from said current row to the said target row.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the longitudinally frame is in form of a rod, which is twisted in such away that the front pipe guiding members are positioned ahead of the rear pipe guiding members along a horizontal plane.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the front and rear pipe guiding members are rotatable elements having a cylindrical form. Alternatively, the front and rear pipe guiding members are pulley like elements.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the longitudinally frame further comprises carrying elements for allowing hanging said longitudinally frame on a user body. Optionally, the carrying elements may further comprises telescoping elements for elevating said longitudinally frame above relatively high crops.

According to an embodiment of the invention, apparatus for allowing the displacement of one or more flexible irrigation pipes between parallel rows of crops further comprises mobile support unit or platform for carrying the longitudinally frame. Optionally, the mobile support unit is motorized or self propelled.

Brief Description of the Drawings

In the drawings:

- Fig. 1A schematically illustrates, a top view, of an mobile apparatus for deployment and displacement of drip irrigation pipe lines, according to an embodiment of the invention;

- Fig. IB schematically illustrates, a side view, of the apparatus of Fig.

1A;

Fig. 2 schematically illustrates an apparatus for deploying and displacement of drip irrigation lines provided with carrying means, according to an embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 3 schematically illustrates a field being irrigated by a pipeline system to which the apparatus of this invention is applicable;

- Fig. 4 schematically illustrates of the apparatus of this invention for carrying out the techniques of this invention associated with the field of Fig. 3; - Fig. 5 schematically illustrates the apparatus for deploying and displacing of drip irrigation lines mounted on a mobile unit, according to an embodiment of the invention; and

- Fig. 6 is schematically illustrates the apparatus of the invention provided with length adjusting mechanism.

Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiments

Referring to the drawings in this case, and particularly to Figs. 1A and IB, it may be seen that the invention which is an irrigation displacement apparatus contemplates and includes a longitudinally frame, generally designated by reference numeral 10, principally comprising one or more pairs of front pipe guiding members 11 and 12 located at one side of frame 10 spaced along its length and corresponding same number of pairs of rear pipe guiding members 21 and 22 asymmetrically located at the opposite side of frame 10 spaced along its length. In this embodiment, the front and rear pipe guiding members 11, 12, 21 and 22 are located on the top surface of frame 10. As will be appreciated by a person skilled in the art, the front and rear pipe guiding members can also be located on the bottom surface of frame 10.

The pipe guiding members 11, 12, 21 and 22 are used for routing each pipe treaded between each pair of the rear pipe guiding members, such as a portion of a pipe treaded between members 21, and each corresponding pair of the front pipe guiding members, such as members 11, respectively. The pipe is routed from the current irrigated row to the target row to be irrigated by that pipe.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the system further comprises carrying elements for allowing hanging the apparatus of the present invention on a user body (e.g., hanging frame 10 on the shoulders of a user). For example, the carrying elements may include pair of vertical elements (e.g., legs 13 and 14), which can be parallel to each other and are connected at their uppermost ends to the underside surface of frame 10 and proximate to the center of frame 10 by any suitable securing means known in the art. Optionally, the lowermost ends of legs 13 and 14 may comprise foam pads 15 and 16 for comfort when optionally carrying the system upon the shoulders of the user. Optionally, hand gripping elements 17 and 18 may further used to aid stabilizing the apparatus while it is carried by the user. According to an embodiment of the invention, the proximate ends of legs 13 and 14 should be substantially perpendicular to the width of the shoulders of the user, and they may also be angled outward from the shoulder line of the user.

The respective dimensions of all of the above-mentioned members of frame 10 are not material so long as the frame rides comfortably on the shoulders of the user with vertical members 13 and 14 disposed several inches from the outside of the user's arms to allow freedom of movement of the torso and arms. However, the length of frame 10 can be about 1.5 meters, in case the width of each typical crop row is about 0.5 meter and the distance between two adjacent rows is also about 0.5. Such length of frame 10 allows the displacement of a pair of irrigation pipes from two adjacent rows to two following adjacent rows. Frame 10 may be manufactured of any suitable material but is better made of light weight materials, such as aluminum or some other light weight metal.

Optionally, the vertical elements may comprise adjustable elements, such as telescoping elements, for elevating frame 10 above relatively high crops. For example, the vertical elements are hollow and telescopically engage tubular shafts by means of set screws or any other conventional means for telescopic engagement so that the overall height of the system can be adjusted according to the height of the crops.

After irrigation at the target rows is accomplished, the foregoing steps are repeated to displace the irrigation pipes to further rows to irrigate the entire field 30.

Referring now to Fig. 3 of the drawing, a field 30 is shown having crops or the like growing thereon. The field 30 is located on land to be irrigated by drip irrigation pipes. A main pipeline 31 is shown traversing field 30. Pipeline 31 is adapted to receive water under pressure from a remote source (not shown). For convenience of illustration, two extension pipe stations, such as drip irrigation pipes 32 and 33, which connected to pipeline 31, are being shown spaced along a crop line 34. A pipe connector 35 is shown branching off of main pipeline 31. This pipe connecter 35 is a conventional fitting, having one end connected through suitable means (not shown) to main pipeline 31 and in fluid communication therewith and is connected to drip irrigation pipes 32 and 33 at the other ends.

During irrigation, water is passed through main pipeline 31 and through extension pipes 32 and 33, and out their respective drip holes to irrigate the crops on each side thereof. The foregoing would be true of the remaining crop lines along pipeline 31 to be discussed further herein below and are only omitted for convenience of illustration. Preferably, one or more anchor elements, such as anchor 36, are used to prevent the movement of pipe 31 during the displacement of pipes 32 and 33 from one row to another.

After the desired irrigation is carried out using the irrigation system which includes pipes 31, 32 and 33, the irrigation system is than needed to move to the dotted line positions 37 and 38 of Fig. 3 in order to irrigate another crops in the filed 30.

All of the foregoing has described a mobile apparatus for carrying a novel operation in order to irrigate a relatively large field of crops by using only minimal set of drip irrigation pipes. Such steps are generally carried out manually by a user which carries the apparatus, or by attaching the apparatus to a vehicle or other mobile unit that is capable of travelling between the crops. The pipe extension sections 31, 32 and 33, may be manually moved from the current crop lines 34 (i.e., current irrigated crop rows) to adjacent and parallel crop lines 39 (i.e., target crop rows to be irrigated).

This is accomplished by threading pipes extension section 32 and 33 from the pipe extension section 31 side via the rear pair of guiding elements and corresponding portion of pipes 32 and 33 via the front pair of guiding elements, then moving pipes 32 and 33 to the connection of the target rows 39 while maintaining the orientation of each pipe section. From this stage, the user starts to walk along the rows (between the previous irrigated rows 34 and the new target rows 39 to be irrigated, until the entire pipes 32 and 33 displace from the previous rows 34 to the target rows 39.

Although such steps may be carried out manually, this is extremely laborious and time consuming. Accordingly, it is a particular feature of this invention to use a mobile unit 40 (Fig. 5) to carry out the displacement of plurality of pipes sections. According to an embodiment of the invention, mobile unit 40 comprises frame 20, plurality of front and rear pipe guiding members (such as front pipe guiding members 41-44 and rear pipe guiding members 51-54) and wheels 45. Unit 40 is adapted to traverse a generally horizontal plane such as field 30. The structure comprising mobile unit 40 will now be described with particular regard to Figs. 5 and 6. Frame 20 is mounted on a boom or other longitudinal device, either connected to a mobile unit 40 at one end or a wheeled unit is connected from both ends of frame 20. In the embodiment shown, this connection is provided by means of mobile unit 40 connected to each end of frame 20 with wheeled unit 45. The mobile unit 40 is adapted or modified to be attached to any suitable motor-driven vehicle such as a tractor, which is capable of carrying out the frame 20 of the present invention. Optionally a suitable motor or motorized means for driving mobile unit 40 may also be used (not shown). Alternatively, the frame 20 can be mounted on any suitable vehicle, such as on the rooftop of a tractor (not shown).

In operation, mobile unit 40 is located between series of adjacent rows and about sufficient height above the crops in the rows (e.g., about 3 meters), thereby preventing damage thereto and clogging thereof which would result by displacing the pipes.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the irrigation displacement apparatus further comprises adjustable mechanism for adjusting the length of it's longitudinally frame. For example, the adjustable mechanism can telescopically change the length of the frame. Alternatively, as shown in Fig. 6, the frame can be constructed from at least two plates 61 and 62 which can be displaced in an opposite direction with respect to one another (as indicated by the two directional arrows in this figure). Such a mechanism can be useful for easily loading the irrigation pipes while the front pipe guiding members 41-42 and the rear pipe guiding members 51-52 are respectively facing each other. Upon completing loading the irrigation pipes the plates are returned to their initial location, where the front and rear guiding members 41-42 and 51- 52 are no longer facing each other, thereby creating a distance between them that is used to transfer the irrigation pipes from one location to another, as described herein above.

It can be seen that the present invention provides an economical and efficient means for quickly transferring pipe extensions along an irrigation pipeline from one location to another. Such a system may be carried out by a single operator and thus is both time and labor-saving. Damage to growing crops is avoided through the use of this apparatus and irrigation may be continued even after crops, such as pineapple or corn, approach full growth when movement of the irrigation pipe by other means is impractical if not impossible.

While some embodiments of the invention have been described by way of illustration, it will be apparent that the invention can be carried into practice with many modifications, variations and adaptations, and with the use of numerous equivalents or alternative solutions that are within the scope of persons skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit of the invention or exceeding the scope of the claims.