Nelson Irrigation Corporation

Loren Vander Griend

Craig B Nelson

Lee A Perkins

A sprinkler nozzle is configured for a sprinkler positioned at a distal end of a center pivot irrigation system. The sprinkler nozzle includes a connection part securable to the sprinkler, and a nozzle opening downstream of the connection part. A nozzle opening downstream of the connection part is part-toroidal shaped and partially blocked or skewed to control water flow to portions of the deflector plate according to a desired wetted area. The part-toroidal shape spans an arc less than 360 degrees. The nozzle enables a custom designed water application to complement the other sprinklers that are on the pivot and can be shaped to also apply water a distance beyond the end of the pivot pipe to match the application rate of the sprinklers along the pivot pipe.

Nozzle and sprinkler for center pivot end

Internet-accessible system and method for customized design and on-site verification of agriculture irrigation systems includes one or more of: 1) sprinkler package configuration software operable on a user's PC or accessible via an Internet website, 2) Internet-accessible proprietary irrigation system registry database and user interface, 3) computer-controlled automated component selection and labeling system for placing barcode or RFID information on components, and 4) portable wireless location-aware communication device operable at or near an irrigation site for accessing the registry database and obtaining sprinkler package configuration information specific to a particular irrigation system based on location and/or a particular irrigation system component detected in proximity to the portable communication device.

Method and apparatus for irrigation system design registration and on-site sprinkler package configuration verification

A method and apparatus provides optimized installation site specifications for sprinkler head position and nozzle size for center pivot and/or linear movement type irrigation systems in which a plurality of sprinkler heads are typically mounted at multiple adjacent lateral positions along a water supply boom/line. A sprinkler head spacing and nozzle size computational apparatus and method is disclosed which employs a sprinkler precipitation depth-profile based modeling technique for determining and optimizing lateral positions and nozzle sizes for sprinkler heads disposed along the length of an irrigation system supply distribution boom/line. A required/desired irrigation application delivery rate/depth is specified by an irrigation system user/designer for one or more discrete segments along the irrigation system distribution boom/line according to specific irrigation needs. An optimized nozzle size and position for each sprinkler head disposed along the boom/line is adaptively determined based on the specified required precipitation delivery depth and summations of individual predicted application depth profiles for an initial sprinkler and successively added sprinklers such that a computed delivery accumulation depth falls within a predefined range of error tolerance for the specified required delivery depth for that segment of the distribution line. An associated computer apparatus executing program instructions for implementing the method generates and displays a graphic indication of required and predicted precipitation depth profiles and computed optimized lateral positions and nozzle sizes for the irrigation system sprinklers.

Method and apparatus for optimization of sprinkler head positions and nozzle sizes in an irrigation system

A rotor plate for a sprinkler includes a water impingement surface bounded by an annular peripheral wall and having a radial center, and adapted to be impinged upon by a stream emitted from a nozzle. The water impingement surface is formed to include at least one radially extending drive channel having an entrance proximate the radial center and an exit in the peripheral wall, the drive channel curving from entrance to exit in a first direction so as to cause the plate to rotate when the stream exits at an offset from the center of rotation; at least one range channel extending substantially radially with little or no curving, from entrance to exit; and at least one brake channel curving from entrance to exit in a second direction opposite the first direction to thereby resist rotation of the plate caused by at least one drive channel.

Growing community of inventors

Walla Walla, WA, United States of America

Loren Vander Griend