GB2328166A

GB2328166A - Irrigation nozzle

Info

Publication number: GB2328166A
Application number: GB9717290A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Ernest Joscelyn Clerk
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1997-08-14
Filing date: 1997-08-14
Publication date: 1999-02-17
Also published as: GB9717290D0

Abstract

An irrigator comprises a head 1 attached via a neck 6 to a source of water such as vertical pipe 5. The head 1 has a flat fan shape and a series of holes 4 in the curved nozzle plate 2. The head and neck may be driven hydraulically to rotate about pipe 5 to distribute the water, which emerges in a flat fan-shaped spray in a plane perpendicular to the ground. The arrangement provides a uniform distribution throughout a circular area.

Description

An irrigation Device This invention relates to an irrigation device for the even distribution of water over a wide area of land e.g. gardens, agricultural fields and plantations.

Conventionally fields such as cane fields and other plantations, are irrigated by flooding the fields from irrigation canals. This system of irrigation wastes water because, in order to irrigate plants further from the canal, too much water is supplied to the areas which are close to the canal, resulting in excess flooding of the land. Alternatively, land is irrigated by fan type nozzles which deliver water in a horizontal fan-like dispersion, at low pressure, from a series of bore holes in a face plate. This low pressure spray is usually delivered by a hand held nozzle or by placing the nozzle in a fixed position so as to provide a horizontal spray for watering lawns and gardens. The disadvantage of a horizontal fan-like spray 'is that the angle of emission (i.e. the launch angle) of the water from the bore holes of the nozzle are substantially the same and therefore the water is not evenly distributed over the area to be irrigated, since the majority of the water falls at the outer range.

According to the invention, there is provided a rotating irrigation device for supplying water equally to all areas being irrigated. The nozzle of the device is of the fan type and is provided with a linear row of bore holes in a curved face plate which are in a plane which is substantially perpendicular to the surface being irrigated. The row of bore holes comprises an upper portion of holes and a lower portion of holes, the lower portion of bore holes are those holes which have a cylindrical bore having a longitudinal axis at an angle of less than 45" to the surface being irrigated, while in the upper portion the holes have a cylindrical bore having a longitudinal axis at an angle of 45" or more to the surfce being irrigated. It is known that the trajectory of the water being issued from the bore holes is dependent on the angle of the longitudinal axis of the cylindrical bore to the surface being irrigated. The trajectory angle can be controlled by the angle that the cylindrical bores are positioned in the face plate, or by the angle of the face plate to the surface being irrigated. The angle of the face plate can be altered by altering the angle of the neck pipe relative to the surface being irrigated. It is known that if the water is issued from a height which is equal to the height of the surface being irrigated, the trajectory angle which would give the maximum range is 45" However, when the water is issued at a height which is greater than the height of the surface being irrigated, the maximum range has a trajectory angle of less than 45" The face plate may have bore holes which have substantially the same radius or alternatively, the face plate could have less bore holes in some portions of the plate but the bore holes may have a larger radius so as to issue the same amount of water to a given area. The bore holes may not be in line, but could be staggered or have some other geometric pattern. The face plate may be a flat plate and the bore holes may be bored at an angle to the plate, so that water issuing from the holes is directed to different areas of the land being irrigated.

In another embodiment of the invention, the nozzle head and neck pipe unit are capable of rotation about the longitudinal axis (N)'of the neck pipe.

In another embodiment of the invention the nozzle head and neck pipe are an integral unit.

In another embodiment of the invention, the irrigation device comprises at least two units, namely a nozzle head and a neck pipe. Said neck pipe has a lower portion, a middle portion and an end portion. The lower portion has at its end a means for attaching to a main water supply, the middle portion is bent away from the lower portion and the end portion is further bent away from the middle portion and has a means for attaching to a nozzle head. The bend creates a recoil in the nozzle when water is issued though the bore holes. The recoil is due to the fact that the force of the water being issued through the bore holes exerts an equal and opposite force to the nozzle, the nozzle recoils and rotates around the longitudinal axis (N) in the opposite direction to the water that is issued. The speed of rotation depends on the angle of the pipe to the tangent of the circle of the rotation (see Figure 4).

In a further embodiment of the invention, the irrigation system has more than one nozzle head which furcates from the neck pipe.

In another embodiment of the invention, the face plate is substantially flat and the upper neck pipe portion is bent out of the plane containing the longitudinal axis (N) of the main water supply pipe so that the upper neck portion has a longitudinal axis (M). This bend in the neck pipe portion causes the water to be issued in a fan-like trajectory.

In another embodiment of the invention, the face plate of the nozzle head is curved along a plane containing the longitudinal axis (M) and the upper neck pipe portion is bent as described above.

The invention will be more clearly understood from the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a nozzle head; Figure 2 is a view, in cross section, of a nozzle head; Figure 3 is a perspective view of a nozzle head, neck pipe and mains pipe.

Figure 4 is a plan view of the nozzle head and neck pipe in Figure 3.

As seen clearly with reference to Figure 1, the nozzle head 1 comprises a face plate 2 and means for attachment 3. The face plate 2 is curved and contains a row of bore holes 4.

Figure 2 shows, in cross section, a nozzle head 1 comprising a face plate 2 and a means for attachment 3. The face plate 2 contains a row of bore holes 4.

Figure 3 shows the nozzle head 1 connected to a main water supply pipe 5 through a neck pipe 6. The nozzle is similar to that described in Figure 1. The neck pipe 6 has a lower portion 12 whose longitudinal axis (N) coincides with the longitudinal axis of mains pipe 5. The middle portion 13 of the neck pipe is curved along the plane of the paper so that the middle neck portion has the longitudinal axis M. The end portion 14 of neck 6 is curved at 15 out of the plane of the paper and has a longitudinal axis 0.

The neck pipe 6 is connected to the nozzle head 1 and main water supply pipe 5 by attachment means 3 and 7 respectively. The means for attaching the neck pipe 6 to the main water supply pipe 5 comprises a flange 8 around the lower portion 12 of the neck 6, a flange 9 around the inner pipe 5, and a collar 10 to hold down the flange 8 around the rotating outer neck 6. The collar 10 is secured by bolts 11.

Figure 4 is a plan view of Figure 3 which shows the neck pipe 6 connected to a nozzle head 1 and main water supply pipe 5, by attachments 3 and 7 respectfully. The middle neck pipe portion 13 bends into the plane of the paper so that the middle neck portion 13 has a longitudinal axis M. The end neck portion is bent along the plane of the paper so that the nozzle head and the end neck pipe portion 14 have a longitudinal axis 0.

That is to say, the lower neck portion 12 and the middle neck portion 13 are in substantially the same plane and the end portion 14 curves out of this plane at bend 15.

The longitudinal axes M and N are in the same plane.

The invention will be further understood from the following description given by the following example: Example 1 The nozzle rotates so the area of land irrigated is circular. If a radius of 25 metres is considered and the land is divided into annular sections A, B, C, D and a circular section E, each having a radius of 25, 20, 15, 10 and 5 metres respectively, the relative areas are: A = 707 square metres, B = 550 square metres, C = 393 square metres, D = 236 square metres, and E = 78 square metres, wherein the total area is 1964 square metres.

Thus, for an even distribution of water to this area, the following amounts of water are needed: Section A requires 36% of the total irrigation water, Section B requires 28% of the total irrigation water, Section C requires 20% of the total irrigation water, Section D requires 12% of the total irrigation water, and Section E requires 4% of the total irrigation water.

Therefore, if there are 50 bore holes in the face plate and the water issuing from each hole is under the same pressure, the following are the number of holes that are required for each area: Section A = 18 bore holes, Section B = 14 bore holes, Section C = 10 bore holes, Section D = 6 bore holes, and Section E = 2 bore holes.

As the trajectory of water from each bore hole depends on the curvature of the face plate, the face plate is 15 made in a particular curvature, taking into consideration the distances the streams of water will travel and the pull of gravity.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. An irrigation device comprising a hollow head and neck portion, the neck portion being attached to a water supply means, the head portion comprising a face plate containing a row of bore holes, the row of bore holes comprising an upper portion and lower portion of holes arranged such that, in use, a fan-like trajectory of water is .dispersed at an angle less than 900 to the surface being irrigated and in a plane which is substantially perpendicular to the surface being irrigated.

2. A device as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the row of holes are situated on a specially curved face plate so as to direct the water to specific areas of the land being irrigated.

3. A device as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the row of holes are bored at an angle to a flat outer surface of the face plate so as to provide a fan-like trajectory of water, in use.

4. A device as claimed in any of the proceeding claims wherein the hollow neck section is L-shaped such that the portion of the neck interengaged with the head is substantially parallel to the surface being irrigated and the portion attached to the water supply means is substantially perpendicular to the surface being irrigated.

5. A device as claimed in any of the proceeding claims wherein the neck and head portion are an integral unit.

6. A device according to Claim 2, wherein the rotation of the nozzle head and neck pipe is driven by hydro-power.

6. A device as claimed in any of the proceeding claims wherein the nozzle and neck portion rotate in an axis which is perpendicular to the surface being irrigated.

7. A device as claimed in Claim 6 wherein the rotation of the nozzle head and neck pipe is driven by hydro-power.

Amendments to the claims have been ffl.d as folows 1. An irrigation device comprising a hollow head and neck portion, said neck portion being attached to a water supply means, said head portion comprising a face plate containing bore holes, the bore holes being arranged in a row in a plane substantially perpendicular to a surface to be irrigated, the row comprising an upper portion and lower portion of holes arranged such that, in use, a fan-like trajectory of water is dispersed at an angle less than 90" to the surface being irrigated and in a plane which is substantially perpendicular to the surface being irrigated, characterised by the fact that the face plate has a particular curvature in said plane so as to direct the water to specific areas of the land being irrigated.

2. A device according to claim 1, wherein said head and neck portion are arranged so that, in use, they rotate around an axis which is substantially perpendicular to the surface being irrigated.

3. A device according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the density of bore holes per unit length is greatest at that end of the face plate furthest from the ground and decreases on descending the face plate, being smallest at that end of the face plate closest to the ground.

4. A device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the hollow neck section is L-shaped such that the portion of the neck interengaged with the head is substantially parallel to the surface being irrigated and the portion attached to the water supply means is substantially perpendicular to the surface being irrigated.

5. A device according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the neck and head portion are an integral unit.