Irrigation system and method

• US 9,532,514 B2
• Filed: 09/14/2015
• Issued: 01/03/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 03/11/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Hamann, Hendrik F., Klein, Levente I., Rodriguez, Sergio A. Bermudez, Schappert, Michael A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hall, Arthur O
• Assistant Examiner(s): Barrera, Juan C
• Application Number:
  US14/853,436
• Publication Number:
  US 20160000023A1
• Time in Patent Office: 477 Days
• Field of Search: 239/67, 239/68, 239/69, 239/70, 239/542, 239/563, 239200-210
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A01G 25/02 Watering arrangements located above the soil which make use of perforated pipe-lines or pipe-lines with dispensing fittings, e.g. for drip irrigation
• CPC Class Codes: A01G 25/16 Control of watering
• CPC Class Codes: A01G 25/162 Sequential operation
• CPC Class Codes: B05B 12/04 for sequential operation or multiple outlets

Abstract

An irrigation system is provided and includes a main irrigation line, one or more lateral driplines, each lateral dripline being divided into zones and including a plurality of emitters at each zone and a plurality of controllable valves disposed along each of the one or more lateral driplines at zone borders. Each one of the plurality of controllable valves is actuatable to activate corresponding emitters in the associated zone in a zone by zone cycle and each one of the plurality of emitters is replaceable to vary an amount of deliverable fluid by the zone by zone cycle.

Claims

1. An irrigation system, comprising:

a main irrigation line;

lateral driplines extending transversely from the main irrigation line and respectively supplied with water from the main irrigation line,

the lateral driplines being respectively divided into multiple zones along respective lengths thereof and including emitters at each of the multiple zones; and

controllable valves disposed remotely from the emitters along each respective length of each lateral dripline at zone borders between the multiple zones with the emitters at each multiple zone being non-inclusively between sequential controllable valves,

the controllable valves being actuatable to activate corresponding emitters in the associated zone.

2. The irrigation system according to claim 1, wherein the controllable valves comprise solenoid valves.

3. The irrigation system according to claim 1, further comprising a control station configured to selectively actuate each controllable valve.

4. The irrigation system according to claim 1, wherein multiple lateral driplines are associated with same zones.

5. The irrigation system according to claim 1, wherein each emitter has a same emission rate.

6. The irrigation system according to claim 1, wherein the emitters in zones remote from a main irrigation line have higher emission rates than emitters in zones proximate to the main irrigation line.

7. The irrigation system according to claim 6, wherein the emitters in the zones remote from the main irrigation line are activated for a shorter time than the emitters in the zones proximate to the main irrigation line.