Apparatus and method for applying variable doses of irrigation and agrochemicals
First Claim
1. An apparatus for application of treating liquids to a desired portion of a field to be treated with the liquids, the apparatus comprising:
- a plurality of irrigation units including a plurality of nozzles arranged into a plurality of nozzle sections, each section independently applying an adjustable amount of liquid over a section of the field, according to an application map;
motor means for moving the irrigation units over the ground, liquid delivering means connected to the nozzles, a main control panel, and control means for controlling the operation of the nozzles in order to prevent the nozzles of a nozzle section from applying liquid over a field section overlapping an immediate field section that received an immediate last application of liquid, the control means comprising;
i) a computer unit in the main control panel for inputting data and for operating the control means, ii) an independent control module in each of the irrigation units, the module being connected to a plurality of sensors for detecting several parameters of the unit, and connected to valves for delivering signal orders for controllably operating the nozzles, and iii) an interface module in the main control panel and connected to each of the independent control modules and to the computer unit for providing an interface communication between the independent control modules and the computer unit, wherein the independent control modules are operable to record information from the several sensors, provide information to the computer unit only upon request from the computer unit, and receive order signals from the computer unit to operate the nozzles, the independent control modules of the units being connected to each other by two conductors, the two conductors connecting all the independent control modules are also connected to the interface module, the two conductors carrying the data from the several sensors via the independent control modules to the computer via the interface module, and the order signals from the computer unit via the interface module to the nozzles via the independent control modules.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Apparatus and method for application of treating liquids to a field, the apparatus comprising a plurality of irrigation units including nozzles for applying an adjustable amount of liquid over the field, motor devices for moving the irrigation unit over the ground, a system for delivering the liquid to the nozzles and a control circuit for controlling the operation of the nozzles in order to apply varying doses in several nozzle sections of the irrigation unit, the control circuit comprising a computer unit for receiving inputted data and for operating the control circuit, an independent control module in each irrigation unit, a plurality of sensors for detecting several parameters of the unit and an interface module connecting the independent control modules to each other and to the computer unit.
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Citations
18 Claims
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1. An apparatus for application of treating liquids to a desired portion of a field to be treated with the liquids, the apparatus comprising:
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a plurality of irrigation units including a plurality of nozzles arranged into a plurality of nozzle sections, each section independently applying an adjustable amount of liquid over a section of the field, according to an application map;
motor means for moving the irrigation units over the ground, liquid delivering means connected to the nozzles, a main control panel, and control means for controlling the operation of the nozzles in order to prevent the nozzles of a nozzle section from applying liquid over a field section overlapping an immediate field section that received an immediate last application of liquid, the control means comprising;
i) a computer unit in the main control panel for inputting data and for operating the control means, ii) an independent control module in each of the irrigation units, the module being connected to a plurality of sensors for detecting several parameters of the unit, and connected to valves for delivering signal orders for controllably operating the nozzles, and iii) an interface module in the main control panel and connected to each of the independent control modules and to the computer unit for providing an interface communication between the independent control modules and the computer unit, wherein the independent control modules are operable to record information from the several sensors, provide information to the computer unit only upon request from the computer unit, and receive order signals from the computer unit to operate the nozzles, the independent control modules of the units being connected to each other by two conductors, the two conductors connecting all the independent control modules are also connected to the interface module, the two conductors carrying the data from the several sensors via the independent control modules to the computer via the interface module, and the order signals from the computer unit via the interface module to the nozzles via the independent control modules. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
wherein;
P1 is the position of a central point of the nozzle section at a predetermined time, P2 is the position of the central point of the same nozzle section at a time immediately subsequent to said predetermined time, and a is the angle defined between the vector P2−
P1 and a line perpendicular to a line defined by the nozzles of the nozzle section.
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8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the liquid is elected from the group consisting of water, chemicals and combinations thereof.
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9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the independent control module comprises a microcontroller including respective input ports connected to said sensors, the sensors comprising pressure sensors, flow sensors, tension sensors, the microcontroller also including an input port connected to 10-line digital encoder support, an expanding connection slot, a RS485 communication port, and an exit port connected to controllers for operating the nozzles.
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10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the computer unit includes a simulator for predicting movements for a time period ahead of the real movements, the simulator receiving present information of the real conditions in order to adjust the operation of the nozzle with time enough to accomplish with any new requirement.
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11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the two conductors are conductor wires.
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12. A method for applying a treating liquid to a desired portion of a field by means of a pulverization apparatus comprising at least one irrigation unit including a plurality of nozzles arranged into a plurality of nozzle sections, motor means for moving the irrigation unit over the ground, liquid delivering means connected to the nozzles, a main control panel, and control means for controlling the operation of the nozzles, the control means including a computer unit in the main control panel, an independent control module in the at least one irrigation unit, connected to a plurality of sensors and to the nozzles, and an interface module in the main control panel and connected to the independent control module and to the computer unit, the method comprising the steps of:
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inputting data relating to a desired application map and operating conditions of the apparatus into the computer unit, moving the apparatus and operating the nozzles according to said data, acquiring and storing into the independent control module data relating to position parameters of the apparatus over the field, requesting said information relating to said position parameters stored in the independent control unit, inputting into the computer unit via the interface module said information relating to said position parameter of the apparatus, calculating a distance parameter by comparing said information with an immediate former information relating to a previous position parameter until reaching a threshold distance parameter, when reaching the threshold distance parameter, sending to the independent control module an order signal for actuating the nozzles, wherein the position parameter is selected from the group consisting of the movement of the nozzle sections over the field and the global position of the nozzle sections, and wherein the order signal is sent by the computer unit to actuate the nozzles of each nozzle section once the corresponding nozzle section has moved along a length accumulated according to the formula P=(P2−
P1). cos(a).wherein;
P1 is the position of a central point of the nozzle section at a predetermined time, P2 is the position of the central point of the nozzle section at a time immediately subsequent to said predetermined time, and a is the angle defined between the vector defined by the positions P2 and P1 and a line perpendicular to a line defined by the nozzles of the nozzle section, whereby the nozzles of the nozzle sections are prevented from applying liquid over a field section overlapping an immediate field section that received an immediate previous application of liquid. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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Specification