Did You Know...
...that several people are credited with the invention of the flush toilet? Most people have heard of Thomas Crapper (1837-1910), the sanitary engineer who invented the valve-and-siphon arrangement that made the modern toilet possible. Another claimant to "the throne" was British inventor Alexander Cumming who patented a toilet in 1775. Then there's a nameless Minoan (a native of ancient Crete) who lived 4,000 years ago who supposedly was ahead of his time and created the first flush toilet!
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7883035 | Mobile drip system A mobile drip irrigation system that includes a supply pipe connected at one end to a liquid source and extending therefrom. At least one tower supports the supply pipe above the ground, and includes a driver for moving the tower and supply pipe in a desired directi... | 02/08/2011 |
| 7866580 | Tower support system for irrigation system A swing arm support system for automated irrigation systems has a support hub and a means to attach and operate two wheels to opposite sides of the support hub. The support hub provides greater ground flotation to prevent the forming of ruts in a field and traction ... | 01/11/2011 |
| 7546963 | Centre pivot irrigators Connecting apparatus for use with centre pivot irrigation equipment that includes a boom supported on ground wheels and made up of one or more pipes arranged to rotate about a water supply pipe to which the boom is connected. The apparatus is provided with a U-shape... | 06/16/2009 |
| 7461798 | Collector ring for a center pivot irrigation machine A collector ring for use with a center pivot irrigation system which permits the mounting of a communication device above the span structure. The collector ring also includes a monitoring device which senses the angle or rotation of the span structure with respect t... | 12/09/2008 |
| 7438243 | Tie-down anchor for a self-propelled irrigation system A tie-down anchor for a self-propelled irrigation machine comprising an anchor embedded in the ground adjacent one or more of the drive units on the irrigation machine with the anchors being connected to the main frame of the drive unit by means of a chain and chain... | 10/21/2008 |
| 7384008 | Laser alignment system for a mechanized irrigation system A laser alignment system is provided for a mechanized irrigation system with the laser alignment system being operatively connected to the drive tower motors of the irrigation system to maintain the spans of the irrigation system in alignment. ... | 06/10/2008 |
| 7337982 | Irrigation device An irrigation device having a plurality of spans emanating from a common vertically oriented source of supply. ... | 03/04/2008 |
| 7325558 | Landfill site covering system The present invention provides a landfill site covering system. The system comprises a plurality of freely mobile support members (2) with a cable array (20 22, 24) secured to the support members (2) to form a supporting framework. Covering mate... | 02/05/2008 |
| 7311275 | Wheel assembly for irrigation system Mobile towers of an irrigation system have drive wheel assemblies that propel the towers along the ground. At least certain of the wheel assemblies may comprise dual wheels that share a common axis of rotation but are separately driven by their own drive motor. By d... | 12/25/2007 |
| 7309035 | Irrigation system joint A flow-through joint in an irrigation machine between the main pipeline section and a swing span, such as a corner span, permits a limited amount of generally linear displacement of the swing span within the joint for speed control or other purposes. A turret that r... | 12/18/2007 |
| 7229032 | Irrigation drive unit A drive unit for a self-propelled irrigation system including an elongated pipeline supported upon a plurality of spaced-apart drive units. Each of the drive units includes a generally transversely extending base beam having first and second ends. A first drive asse... | 06/12/2007 |
| 7156328 | System and method for determining a pivot center and radius based on a least squares approach A system and method for determining the center and radius based on a least squares approach is disclosed. In one embodiment, a farmer drives through a given arc of a circular field in question and periodically takes position measurements. In another embodiment, a Le... | 01/02/2007 |
| 7152811 | Hydraulic boom stabilization device A boom assembly includes a frame, a boom, a boom stabilization cylinder, and a feedback cylinder. The boom is rotatably mounted to the frame to rotate about a first axis. The boom stabilization cylinder is coupled to the boom to resist rotational deflection of the b... | 12/26/2006 |
| 7150419 | Trailer front mounted sprayers The sprayer trailer has a trailer frame with a font end and a rear end. A pair of wheels are connected to the trailer frame. A hitch assembly includes a rear mast with a lower end connected to the trailer frame and a front mast with a front mast top end connected to... | 12/19/2006 |
| RE39188 | Irrigation method Large crop areas are irrigated, for instance by pivot irrigation, by being sprayed with water into which a substantially stable dispersion in a liquid of water soluble polymer particles has been metered at a predetermined low rate. ... | 07/18/2006 |
| 7073735 | Boom breakaway system Foldable boom inner wings are attached to a boom center frame through a rocker attached to a breakaway hydraulic cylinder pressurized to full stroke and connected to an accumulator. When a wing impacts an object, the impact load is transmitted through the fold cylin... | 07/11/2006 |
| 7066414 | Method and means for reducing stress in a pivot irrigation pipeline A method and means for reducing stress in a pivot irrigation pipeline by permitting the pipeline to be separated from the center pivot structure while maintaining the pipeline in alignment with the center pivot structure. The alignment assembly of this invention fac... | 06/27/2006 |
| 7051952 | Irrigation system The invention relates to an irrigation system particularly for plant cultures comprising an irrigation arm which can be pivoted in a horizontal angle region around an essentially vertical axis, a water jet exiting from the front thereof. According to the invention, ... | 05/30/2006 |
| 7007871 | Mobile irrigation machine with underground water application An irrigation assembly has a main pipeline supported at intervals by mobile towers, a plurality of drop tube assemblies at spaced intervals along the pipeline and a collector positioned to receive water from the drop tube assembly. A plurality of targets are positio... | 03/07/2006 |
| 6938842 | Flow control for irrigation machines This invention relates to a fluid flow control method that enables a self-propelled irrigation machine to apply varying amounts of fluid as might be required to suitably treat the surface area affected by each of the individual fluid application devices thereon. The... | 09/06/2005 |
| 6938834 | Irrigation system peripheral communications using valve control wires An irrigation system controller communicates with peripheral sensors using control valve wires as the medium over which to send and receive electronic signals. Various types of sensors such as soil moisture, temperature, etc., can be interfaced to this system. A sen... | 09/06/2005 |
| 6932277 | Sprinkler valve wiring apparatus and method A sprinkler valve wiring apparatus and method are provided. An irrigation system has a plurality of valves designed to be electrically activated by a control unit. Valve wires extend from the valves to a junction unit. Control unit wires extend from the control unit... | 08/23/2005 |
| 6928339 | GPS-based control system and method for controlling mechanized irrigation systems A GPS-based control system for irrigation systems includes a power supply, a nonvolatile memory for storing a first set of coordinates corresponding to a reference position for the irrigation system, circuitry for receiving GPS data and using the data to generate a ... | 08/09/2005 |
| 6923390 | Swing arm guidance system A guidance system for controlling the steering of a swing arm on a center pivot irrigation system is provided through the use of two satellite signal receiving antennas associated with a drive tower for the swing arm. The signal receiving antennas are mounted from t... | 08/02/2005 |
| 6902351 | Method and means for reducing stress in a pivot irrigation pipeline A method and means for reducing stress in a pivot irrigation pipeline by permitting the pipeline to be separated from the center pivot structure while maintaining the pipeline in alignment with the center pivot structure. The alignment assembly of this invention fac... | 06/07/2005 |
| 6820822 | No leak seal system for irrigation wheel-drive gearbox A gearbox for a drive line irrigation system in which the input and output shafts of the gearbox are sealed with a compressed and sintered silicon and carbide face seal. The face seal is contained within the gearbox and compressed between a gearbox end cap and a sha... | 11/23/2004 |
| 6726132 | Corner irrigation system including an ultra wide band (UWB) guidance system A self-propelled irrigation machine including an elongated main boom pivoted at one end to a center pivot and supported on a plurality of self-propelled, non-steerable drive units. An extension boom is pivotally secured to the other end of the main boom for irrigati... | 04/27/2004 |
| 6705553 | Apparatus for watering surfaces An apparatus for watering plants has a movable beam carrying several valves for dispersing water. At least some of the valves include a mechanism for sensing water flow and a regulator for adjusting the degree of opening of the valve until the actual flow correspond... | 03/16/2004 |
| 6666384 | Apparatus and method for applying variable doses of irrigation and agrochemicals Apparatus and method for application of treating liquids to a field, the apparatus comprising a plurality of irrigation units including nozzles for applying an adjustable amount of liquid over the field, motor devices for moving the irrigation unit over t... | 12/23/2003 |
| 6663028 | Wheel track closing assembly A wheel track closing assembly is described for use with a drive unit of a mechanized irrigation system. Each of the wheel track closing assemblies includes an elongated rigid arm which is longitudinally and pivotally connected to either the drive wheel o... | 12/16/2003 |
| 6616374 | Tire assembly for mobile irrigation structures The present invention provides a tire assembly for irrigation systems that prevents the formation of ruts caused by repeated travel along a path by tires of a mobile vehicle or structure. The tire assembly includes dual tires with a flexible belt member w... | 09/09/2003 |
| 6427781 | Wheel track scraper for irrigation systems A wheel track scraper is provided for use with a field irrigation system utilizing a support tower having at least a pair of wheels in trailing alignment wherein the support tower wheels displace dirt as they track a repetitive path across a field as the ... | 08/06/2002 |
| 6293475 | Foldable boom for an agricultural sprayer The present disclosure relates to a folding boom for an agricultural sprayer. The boom includes a first piece pivotally connected to a second piece. The folding boom also includes a hydraulic cylinder for hydraulically pivoting the first boom piece relati... | 09/25/2001 |
| 6237863 | Disengageable worm wheel gearbox A sealed worm wheel gearbox is provided having a worm disposed on a driveshaft. The worm engages a bull gear within the gearbox. Eccentric rotatable driveshaft mounts are mounted on opposite sides of the gearbox to support the driveshaft. The driveshaft a... | 05/29/2001 |
| 6138928 | Center pivot suspension distribution system A liquid suspension distribution system is provided which is essentially a conventional center pivot irrigation system, but which has the innermost sprinkler guns sequenced by way of a programmable logic control. The innermost sprinkler guns are sequenced... | 10/31/2000 |
| 6131834 | Self-propelled irrigation system A self-propelled irrigation apparatus has a plurality of spaced wheeled support towers supporting a linear water conduit having a plurality of sprinklers coupled thereto for irrigating an area of ground thereunder. At least one of the support towers has a... | 10/17/2000 |
| 6131833 | Tracked drive tower for a self-propelled irrigation system A drive tower for a self-propelled irrigation system is described which is of the track type. The drive tower includes an elongated frame having opposite ends. A drive pulley is mounted at one end of the frame while a tail pulley is mounted at the other e... | 10/17/2000 |
| 6116527 | Center-pivot irrigation rut prevention device The invention is a device for installation in a conventional center-pivot irrigation system commonly found in agriculture which prevents ruts caused by the movement of the wheels in the drive mechanism of the irrigation system by re-directing the flow of ... | 09/12/2000 |
| 6036121 | Method of varying the speed of a center pivot irrigation system The method of controlling the speed of the last regular drive unit of a center pivot irrigation system having a corner irrigation system pivotally connected thereto is disclosed comprising the steps of: placing a pressure transducer at the downstream side... | 03/14/2000 |
| 6036122 | Corner irrigation system An irrigation system is disclosed which includes a center pivot support having an elongated main water boom pivotally connected thereto which extends outwardly therefrom. An elongated extension boom is pivotally connected at its inner end to the outer end... | 03/14/2000 |
