Irrigation system outlet protection device

Abstract

Title: Protection Device for an Irrigation System Terminal The protection device (100) comprises an enclosure consisting of a dome (1) with a recess (2), covering the terminal (B) and forming a peripheral ramp surface (11) around and above the terminal (B) and a ground bearing surface (3). The dome (1) has an open apex (12) with a reduced cross-section to allow access to the terminal (B) while permitting the passage of a vehicle wheel. The enclosure (1, 2, 3) resists the load of the wheel passing over the ramp surface (11) and the open apex (12). The ground bearing surface (3) is large enough to reduce the pressure generated by the wheel load to prevent the protection device (100) from sinking into the ground. Figure 2

Description

Title of the invention: Device for protecting an irrigation system outlet FIELD OF INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to a device for protecting an agricultural irrigation system terminal composed of buried pipes, connected on the surface to terminals raised in the ground and receiving distribution heads for connecting irrigation equipment such as irrigation reels or irrigation booms, mobile, for example, around a pivot. STATE OF THE ART

[0002] Farms are often equipped with irrigation systems with a network of pipes, for example, buried to carry water to distribution heads also called "hydrants", installed on the pipe to connect a reel or a sprinkler boom.

[0003] The connection between the buried pipeline and the distribution head is, in general, made up of a tee, consisting of a vertical pipe ending with the connection device to the distribution head and opening at the bottom into a sleeve itself connected on both sides to a pipe of the pipeline.

[0004] The head of the vertical pipe, also called the hydrant, protrudes or is flush with the ground surface to allow access for the installation of the distribution head used to connect the irrigation equipment. This distribution head receives a hydrant depending on the irrigation requirements or the installation of the irrigation equipment in a particular part of the area to be irrigated.

[0005] However, the portion of the tee that protrudes above ground level due to the connection requirements is exposed to accidental impacts from agricultural vehicles such as tractors or farm machinery, which may run over the tee, catch on it, partially tear it off, and in any case, cause damage requiring intervention on the water supply system. This necessitates excavating a section of the pipeline to replace the damaged part and possibly other sections of the pipeline.

[0006] In addition, this raised marker can also damage the passing vehicle, for example, its tires or deform a towed part, for example, a skid or a wheel supporting the boom of a sprayer, an agricultural sprayer or others.

[0007] The only protection for these terminals consists of marking them with beacons. However, this solution, which is ineffective and even dangerous over time, is rarely used because it is risky, since the marking elements can disappear.

[0008] PURPOSE OF THE INVENTION

[0009] The present invention aims to develop a protection device to prevent an irrigation installation terminal from being damaged or destroyed by the accidental passage of an agricultural vehicle, or to prevent this terminal from damaging the wheel of a passing vehicle or the vehicle's equipment.

[0010] DESCRIPTION AND ADVANTAGES OF THE INVENTION

[0011] To this end, the invention relates to a device for protecting a terminal of a an agricultural irrigation system consisting of buried pipes, connected on the surface to ground-raised posts and receiving distribution heads for connecting irrigation equipment, this protection device being characterized in that it comprises an envelope consisting of a dome with a recess, intended to cap the ground-raised post, constituting a peripheral ramp surface around and above the post and a ground support surface, the dome having an open top of reduced section to access the post while allowing the passage of a vehicle wheel arriving on the ramp surface, the envelope resisting the load of the wheel passing over the ramp surface and the open top, the ground support surface being a surface sufficient to reduce the pressure generated by the load of a wheel to prevent the protection device from sinking into the ground.

[0012] The protection device according to the invention makes it possible to effectively protect the terminals of agricultural irrigation systems to prevent damage to them or to damage to vehicles by their accidental passage over the terminal.

[0013] This bollard of limited height does not obstruct the accidental passage of a vehicle wheel nor risk damaging the vehicle wheel; it resists the vehicle load and does not sink into the ground so that it retains its function of protecting the bollard.

[0014] According to another advantageous characteristic, the envelope is a tauric envelope generated by a right-angled triangular section whose hypotenuse generates the ramp surface 11.

[0015] This shape is advantageous from a functional point of view both for its use and for its manufacture.

[0016] This tauric envelope may have rotational symmetry around an axis or have an overall elliptical or polygonal shape.

[0017] According to another feature, the vertices of the hypotenuse of the right triangle section are truncated perpendicularly to the other two sides of the triangle formed. perpendicular to the other two sides of the triangle to form a truncated edge between the ramp surface and the ground support surface or between the ramp surface and the edge of the reservation in the open vertex.

[0018] The truncated vertices of the section of the right triangle which generates the shape of the protective device is advantageous because it does not have any sharp edge which would in itself be either dangerous or fragile.

[0019] According to another feature, the bearing surface of the protective device is structured to reinforce its grip on the ground. This grip is important to prevent the device from moving from its initial position and hindering access to the irrigation outlet, or even preventing such access.

[0020] According to another advantageous feature, the ramp surface is structured to prevent a wheel from slipping when passing over the ramp. This prevents the driver from being surprised if they pass over the protective device.

[0021] This protective device is advantageously made of molded concrete, particularly reinforced concrete. For handling the device, it includes anchor points equipped with retractable anchors on the surface of the ramp, but accessible to lifting equipment such as a lifting lug through which a sling is passed, for the various anchor points. These anchor points are advantageously evenly distributed across the ramp surface. There are advantageously three of them. Brief description of the drawings

[0022] The present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to embodiments of the protection device for an agricultural irrigation system terminal, shown in the accompanying drawings in which:

[0023] [Fig. 1] Vertical cross-sectional view of a terminal of the irrigation network equipped with a protective device,

[0024] [Fig.2] Perspective view of the terminal equipped with the protection device.

[0025] DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENT METHODS OF THE INVENTION

[0026] Fig. 1 is a vertical section of a terminal B of the irrigation network, equipped with a protection device 100 according to the invention.

[0027] The buried irrigation network consists of a buried pipe C supplying terminals B protruding from the ground S to receive a distributor used to connect an irrigation reel or an irrigation boom.

[0028] Terminal B is connected to the non-buried end of a vertical pipe CV of a tee T whose sleeve M is connected to the pipes Ci of the pipeline C. Terminals B protruding from the ground S will be protected by protective devices 100 according to the invention.

[0029] The device 100 is an envelope composed of a dome 1 with a reservation 2 covering the terminal B and a ground support surface 3.

[0030] The enclosure consisting of the peripheral ramp 11 with open top 12 and the ground support surface 3 is designed to resist the load constituted by the weight of a wheel of an agricultural vehicle such as a tractor or an agricultural machine, a boom wheel of an agricultural machine (such as a spreading machine) or even a machine skid which would accidentally pass over the protective device 100 at the location of the terminal B.

[0031] The casing of the device 100 is designed to resist the effect of the load so that neither the wheel nor the skid or other part of the vehicle passing over the device 100 touches the terminal B or pushes the device 100 into the ground under the effect of the pressure exerted by the bearing surface 3 on the ground S.

[0032] The support surface 3 is attached to the surface S of the ground so that the horizontal thrust exerted by the wheel or part of the vehicle on the ramp surface 11 or the hooking on the passage over the opening of the top 12 does not move the device 100 relative to the terminal B.

[0033] According to the embodiment of the device 100, the dome 1 with its reservation 2 and its ground support surface 3 is a toric volume generated by a triangle TR rotating around the vertical axis Z also defining the installation position of the device 100 on the terminal B.

[0034] Triangle TR is a right triangle whose two vertices TRI, TR2 at the ends of the hypotenuse are truncated to avoid sharp edges between:

[0035] - the ramp surface 11 and the ground support surface 3, or

[0036] - the ramp surface 11 and the top 12 at the edge of the reservation 2.

[0037] These truncated vertices prevent the generation of sharp, brittle, and cutting edges. The two other sides of triangle TR respectively generate the cylindrical surface 21 delimiting the reservation 2 and the ground support surface 3.

[0038] The open top 12 of the device 100 is thus constituted by a horizontal ring 121 around the opening of the reservation 2 and providing a support surface for the wheel or the skate accidentally passing over the top 12, thus reducing the grip of the wheel (by its tire) which necessarily deforms when passing over the opening of the reservation 2.

[0039] The hypotenuse generating the ramp surface 11 is straight, thus generating a frustoconical ramp surface. The hypotenuse could also be curved or discontinuous, alternating straight segments to create gripping effects or to reinforce the rigidity of the structure or to promote its molding.

[0040] The device 100 is preferably symmetrical in rotation with respect to the axis ZZ of the terminal B since the latter must, a priori, be protected for a wheel passing coming from any direction.

[0041] This centered positioning of the device 100 relative to terminal B is the most natural, but in some cases, it may be more advantageous to offset this installation position of the device 100 because the lowest point of a wheel passing over the truncated apex 12 of the dome is that of a wheel passing through the middle of the apex. The offset can be made on the side of the terminal that does not require direct access.

[0042] Rotational symmetry can also be adapted to specific cases in which the protective device must be at a particular location on the terminal. The shape of the protective device can then be truncated.

[0043] The ground support surface 3, although shown to be flat, can be structured to increase its horizontal grip on the ground S.

[0044] According to one embodiment, the protective device 100 is a concrete part, in particular a reinforced concrete part. For example:

[0045] - the diameter of the bearing surface 3 is on the order of 100-140 cm and in particular of 120 cm,

[0046] - its height is 20-40 cm and in particular 30 cm.

[0047] - the diameter of the opening of the reservation is 30-45 cm and in particular 40 cm,

[0048] - the weight in concrete is 300-450 kg, in particular 400 kg.

[0049] To facilitate the passage of a drive wheel that comes into contact with the ramp surface 11 and prevent it from slipping on muddy or clayey surfaces, etc., which would increase the horizontal thrust exerted on the device 100, the ramp surface 11 can be ribbed or structured to prevent it from slipping. The horizontal grip of the device 100 can also be increased by pins driven into the ground through holes in the body of the device 100 once installed.

[0050] According to variants not shown, the peripheral surface 100 is circular and made up of facets.

[0051] The device 100 preferably includes, for handling purposes, three anchor points 4 equally distributed at 120° within the ramp surface 11. Each anchor point 4 consists of an anchor 41 integrated into a cavity 111 opening into the ramp surface 11 without protruding beyond it. For handling and positioning, the anchor points are connected to a lifting handle through which a sling is passed.

[0052] NOMENCLATURE OF MAIN ELEMENTS

[0053] 100 Protective device

[0054] 1 Dome

[0055] 11 Peripheral ramp surface

[0056] 111 Cavity

[0057] 12 Open apex / top of device 100

[0058] 121 Horizontal ring of the open apex

[0059] 2 Reservation

[0060] 21 Reservation wall

[0061] 3 Ground support surface

[0062] 4 Anchor point

[0063] 41 Anchor

[0064] C Pipeline

[0065] Ci Conduite

[0066] B Terminal

[0067] T Té

[0068] C Vertical conduit

[0069] M Sleeve

[0070] S Soil surface

Claims

Demands

1. A terminal protection device for an agricultural irrigation system composed of buried pipes (Ci), connected on the surface to distribution terminals (B) raised above ground level and receiving distribution heads for connecting irrigation equipment, the protection device characterized in that it comprises: - an enclosure composed of a dome (1) with a recess (2), intended to cover the terminal (B) raised above ground level (S), constituting a peripheral ramp surface (11) around and above the terminal (B), and - a ground support surface (3), * the dome (1) having an open apex (12) of reduced cross-section to access the terminal (B) while allowing the passage of a vehicle wheel arriving on the ramp surface (11), * the enclosure (1, 2, 3) is designed to resist the load of the wheel passing over the ramp surface (11) and the open apex (12),* The ground contact area (3) is sufficient to reduce the pressure generated by the load of a wheel to prevent the protective device (100) from sinking into the ground (S).

2. Protective device (100) according to claim 1, characterized in that the envelope is a toroidal envelope generated by a section of a right triangle (TR) whose hypotenuse generates the ramp surface (11).

3. Protective device (100) according to claim 2, characterized in that the vertices (TRI, TR2) of the hypotenuse of the right triangle section (TR) are truncated perpendicularly to the other two sides of the triangle to form a truncated edge between the ramp surface (11) and the ground support surface (3) or between the ramp surface (11) and the edge of the reservation (2) in the open vertex (12).

4. Protective device (100) according to claim 1, characterized in that the bearing surface (3) is structured to reinforce its grip on the ground (S).

5. Protective device (100) according to claim 1, characterized in that the ramp surface (11) is structured to prevent slippage of a wheel passing over the ramp surface (11).

6. Protective device (100) according to claim 1, characterized in that it is made of concrete, in particular molded reinforced concrete.

7. Protective device (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that it comprises anchor points (4) opening into the ramp surface (11) in the form of a cavity (111) each equipped with an anchor (41).

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