Patent Application
20070188605
The present invention relates to an agricultural irrigation system, and, more particularly, to a data gathering system associated with the agricultural irrigation system.
Irrigation of agricultural land dates prior to historical records. Some ancient systems simply extended the natural flooding cycles of local rivers, while other systems directed streams into furrows throughout a field to direct moisture to the plants therein. Trickle or drip irrigation is utilized in particularly arid climates to direct small amounts of water to plants to reduce evaporation of the water.
When high pressure delivery systems became available spray irrigation became popular because the water could be projected to great distances by the pressure created by a drive system. The spray irrigation may additionally utilize machinery that relocates the spray nozzles throughout different portions of the field in a controlled manner. A center-pivot system that traverses a field in a circle includes a transportation system that is driven either electrically or by the water pressure itself. The center-pivot system has a series of nozzles along the length of the irrigation system. Typically a center-pivot system has a number of metal frames or transports that hold a water tube above the canopy of the plants with the frames moving in a circular manner about the pivot. The amount of water applied to any particular area of the field is determined by the rate of travel of the system and the amount of water being delivered to the system. It is not unusual for a center-pivot system to be on the order of 1300 feet long and to irrigate a 130 acre circular area.
Irrigation is one of the major uses of water throughout the world. In the United States it is estimated that an average of 137 billion gallons of water were utilized for irrigation on a daily basis in the year 2000. As the number of acres that are irrigated grows so does the use of water. Water is crucial to the growth of plants and the appropriate application of the water is critical for an efficient use of the irrigation system.
Typically, farmers will examine various aspects of the growing crop to determine the effectiveness of the irrigation system and the need for any maintenance of the irrigation system on at least a daily basis. If the farmer has multiple systems in operation a problem with the system or an attack upon the plants by insects, disease, animals or moisture problems may go undetected for a substantial length of time. The delay in detection may lead to further damage to the crop.
What is needed in the art is an information system that can efficiently gather information about the irrigation system and the condition of the agricultural crop.
The invention comprises, in one form thereof, a data gathering device associated with an agricultural irrigation system, including at least one camera movably connected to the irrigation system.
The invention comprises, in another form thereof, an irrigation system including at least one transport structure, at least one water delivery tube and a data gathering device. The at least one transport structure is movable in the agricultural field. The at least one water delivery tube is associated with the at least one transport structure and the at least one water delivery tube defines a general direction. The data gathering device is movable in the general direction and the data gathering device includes at least one camera.
Referring now to the drawings, and more specifically to
Pivot apparatus 14 provides a central point about which irrigation system 10 rotates in a circular manner. Pivot apparatus 14 additionally has a swivelable pipe system for the delivery of water to water delivery pipes 16. Water travels through delivery pipe 16 in a pressurized manner to nozzles 18 for the expulsion of the water therethrough onto the field below. Nozzles 18 may project the water some distance or basically direct it down upon the crop canopy. Pipe support system 20 typically includes rigid structures attached to pipe 16, which are then further supported by cables that traverse the length of each pipe 16 and may be attached to transport structures 12.
Now, additionally referring to
Additionally, associated with camera 24 may be a shield 36 to prevent water from getting upon the optics of camera 24. A communication device 38 transmits data from camera 24 to a data storage device 40 in the form of a computer 40 having its own communication device 42 associated therewith. In the embodiment shown, communication devices 38 and 42 are illustrated as wireless transceivers also known as radio frequency receiver/transmitters.
Now, additionally referring to
Camera 24 may be rotatably movable, as illustrated by arrows 44, from an otherwise fixed position. Water delivery pipes 16 form a basically longitudinal direction 46 which is substantially parallel to track 26 or cable 28 along which camera 24 travels. The traveling of camera 24 along directions 46 while transport sections 12 move in a direction 48, which is substantially perpendicular to directions 46, provide an opportunity for camera 24 to gather data from the crops in the field and irrigation system 10 itself. As camera 24 traverses track 26, or cable 28, data is gathered in the form of visual information, which may be pictures in the visible or invisible spectrums. The data is communicated by way of communication device 38 to communication device 42 and is stored in computer 40. Camera 24 traverses track 26 or cable 28 on a predetermined or programmed manner in order to efficiently record data relative to irrigation system 10 as well as the crops in the field. Computer 40 may analyze the information received from camera 24 and provide conclusions, summaries and/or warnings to an operator relative to conditions in the field or of irrigation system 10. The movement of camera 24 and transport structures 12 allow information from the field to produce stereographic images which will provide information relative to the height of the plant canopy.
Observation system 22 provides valuable information relative to nozzle operation, robotic operations, monitoring of the soil conditions, crop health, staging of the crop, insect identification, disease identification, information relative to scheduled scans of the crop, production of crop images, varied amounts of information specific to directed targets in the field, atmospheric information, infrared canopy scanning, information relative to pollination of the crop, information relative to stomata closure and other items critical to the growing of plants.
Observation system 22 has been described as including camera 24, which can be understood to be a variety of sensors associated with imaging and other non-contact data gathering apparatuses. Multiple cameras 24 may be associated with a single track 26 or cable 28 with cameras 24 gathering information over predetermined lengths of track 26 or cable 28. The data thus gathered is then communicated to computer 40. Computer 40 processes images by way of algorithms contained therein, which may instruct observation system 22 to be at a selected position at a selected time or at a predetermined position of irrigation system 10. Additionally, information processed by computer 40 may be used to communicate instructions to control the speed of transports 12 and the water delivery rate of irrigation system 10.
Having described the preferred embodiment, it will become apparent that various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the accompanying claims.
The entire right, title and interest in and to this application and all subject matter disclosed and/or claimed therein, including any and all divisions, continuations, reissues, etc., thereof are, effective as of the date of execution of this application, assigned, transferred, sold and set over by the applicant(s) named herein to Deere & Company, a Delaware corporation having offices at Moline, Ill. 61265, U.S.A., together with all rights to file, and to claim priorities in connection with, corresponding patent applications in any and all foreign countries in the name of Deere & Company or otherwise.
