A lateral move irrigation system more effectively irrigates a field by minimizing the portions of the field that receive no irrigation. The irrigation system includes a plurality of mobile towers, a plurality of elongated support structures attached to and extending between the towers, and a fluid delivery system. Each mobile tower has wheels and a motor for driving the wheels. A safety circuit stops the motors on all the mobile towers when any of the towers reaches an end-of-run position. Location determining components determine locations of the mobile towers as they traverse a field, and a control system stops or slows any of the towers before they trigger the safety circuit so that lagging mobile tower may catch up before the safety circuit shuts down or reverses all the motors.

A fully automated irrigation system to irrigate regular and irregular shapes of land. The system includes a water delivery pipe assembly configured to travel linearly while irrigating adjacent to a stationary row of water main spaced access valves. The system includes an automated connector configured to supply water from the access valves to the water delivery pipe assembly. The connector includes a swing arm, a compensator, a valve coupler, a lift and a swinger. The swing arm facilitates positioning a coupler body above a next-up access valve and facilitates positioning the delivery pipe assembly. The compensator compensates for distance change between a coupled-to access valve and the delivery pipe assembly when the assembly travels. A coupler body resides at an outer end of the swing arm. The lift raises and lowers the swing arm to couple and uncouple respectively the coupler body along the row of access valves. The lift also holds the swing arm above the ground while the swinger swings the swing arm proximate to the next-up access valve for subsequent coupling the coupler body thereto.

An anchoring device for a self-propelled irrigation system includes a drive assembly that drives a soil auger into the ground to anchor a drive tower of the irrigation system. The soil auger is rotatably driven about a vertical axis and movable vertically relative to the drive tower. The soil auger includes a lower tip, a multi-sided head at an upper end, and a helical screw portion between the lower tip and the upper end. The drive assembly includes a sleeve member with an inner surface that mates with the head of the soil auger and allows the soil auger to slide within the sleeve member while rotating together with the sleeve member. A bit cleaner assembly is arranged to engage the helical screw portion of the soil auger to clean soil from the auger and to cause the auger to move vertically relative to the sleeve member upon rotation.

This invention provides a method for irrigating an area by providing a fluid conduit coiled on a spool. The conduit includes a plurality of sprinkler ports disposed spaced apart along a length axis of the conduit. Each sprinkler port has an affixed connection structure operable to removably connect, removably quick-connect, or quick-deploy a riser, and a portion of that connection structure is disposed inside the hydraulic cross-section of the conduit. The method includes uncoiling a length of the conduit to dispose that uncoiled length of conduit as a line across the area to be irrigated. The uncoiled conduit may then be used to irrigate the area as desired. When finished, the length of conduit may be removed from the irrigation area by again coiling it onto a spool.

In one example, a continuous track transport system for an irrigation system is provided that includes a continuous track and a gear train connected with the continuous track and operable to transmit an input torque to the continuous track so as to effect movement of the continuous track. The gear train includes a drive gear having an interface that is connectible to a motor of an irrigation system chassis, first and second drive wheels connected to the continuous track, each including an interface that is connectible to a corresponding interface of an irrigation system chassis, and first and second driven gears engaged with the drive gear, the first and second driven gears being mounted to respective drive wheels such that each driven gear rotates in unison with the associated drive wheel, and one or more gears of the gear train are plastic.

An irrigation system that includes a carriage may move along a predetermined path in a reciprocal manner. The carriage supports one or more exit ports that are fed plant growth material by a pressurized delivery arrangement. One or more plant stands are configured and arranged to straddle the carriage as it moves along the predetermined path. The one or more plant stands form a chamber into which plant roots may extend, and into which the one or more exit ports are able to discharge their plant growth material. The one or more plant stands may include side panels and a cap to reduce infiltration of light and contaminants, and to enhance the plant root-plant growth material interface and absorption rates. The carriage and/or the plant stand(s) may include friction reducing elements that facilitate transverse movement. The carriage and/or the plant stand(s) may be supported by a modular framework.

An anchoring device for a self-propelled irrigation system includes a drive assembly that drives a soil auger into the ground to anchor a drive tower of the irrigation system. The soil auger is rotatably driven about a vertical axis and movable vertically relative to the drive tower. The soil auger includes a lower tip, a multi-sided head at an upper end, and a helical screw portion between the lower tip and the upper end. The drive assembly includes a sleeve member with an inner surface that mates with the head of the soil auger and allows the soil auger to slide within the sleeve member while rotating together with the sleeve member. A bit cleaner assembly is arranged to engage the helical screw portion of the soil auger to clean soil from the auger and to cause the auger to move vertically relative to the sleeve member upon rotation.

A self-propelled device for irrigating land areas, having a frame, a running gear, a drive device, a water supply that has a supply hose that is at least partially wound on a rotatably mounted hose drum and which is connected to a water inlet at a first end, and to a dispensing line that is rotatably mounted and connected to the water supply at a second end, and having a number of nozzles for irrigating land areas, which are connected to the dispensing line and disposed at a mutual spacing. The device is provided with a rotationally driven dispensing line that is held by a support frame assembly and displaceable in a reciprocating manner between a use position and a transport position.

An alignment unit for use with an irrigation system comprises a housing, an alignment sensor, an alignment controller, and an actuator. The irrigation system may include a plurality of spans, each including a drive tower and a drive unit. The housing may house at least a portion of the alignment unit. The alignment sensor may measure a real-time alignment of the drive tower. The alignment controller may be in communication with the alignment sensor and may be operable to receive the real-time alignment of the drive tower and energize the drive unit based on a first range of real-time alignment values. The actuator may couple with the alignment controller and may reorient at least a portion of the alignment controller in relation to the alignment sensor.

A mobile irrigation system broadly comprising a plurality of irrigation spans each including a mobile tower having a wheel assembly for traversing a field and a motor configured to drive the wheel assembly. The mobile irrigation system also comprises a control system including a plurality of controllers each including a processing element, and a plurality of plastic optical fiber (POF) cables serially communicatively connecting the plurality of controllers to form a local area network LAN on the mobile irrigation system.