Elevated Tower Slurry Delivery System for Tall Crops
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for delivering animal waste slurry as nutrients to crops face issues such as strong odors, potential plant damage, and soil compaction, with limitations in distribution width and adaptability to growing crop heights, especially for taller plants like maize.
Innovation Solution
An apparatus comprising a traveling tower structure with a horizontal span and drop tubes that receive water and nutrients from a hose traveler device, allowing for targeted delivery without soil compaction, with high clearance to avoid plant damage and efficient distribution across field rows.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If slurry is sprayed onto the surface of the soil, then nutrients are delivered to the soil, but strong odor remains and vegetation is coated with harmful slurry
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary delivery system using a traveling tower with drop tubes that convey slurry from an elevated position to the soil. This intermediary structure allows slurry to be delivered without direct contact with vegetation, preventing plant damage while reducing odor exposure through controlled placement.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention transitions from surface-level slurry application to subsurface delivery by using drop tubes that extend from an elevated tower down to the soil. This dimensional change allows nutrients to be placed below the surface where they are less harmful to vegetation and odor is contained.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If slurry is deposited underground near growing crops using a fertilizer knife, then odor and plant damage are reduced, but only a narrow band of fertilizer with high nutrient concentration is delivered
Solution Approach 1:
The traveling tower structure is divided into multiple segments with several drop tubes positioned at different locations along the tower's width. This segmentation allows slurry to be delivered through multiple points simultaneously, creating a wider distribution pattern while maintaining subsurface placement benefits.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention expands from a single-point subsurface delivery (fertilizer knife) to a multi-point three-dimensional delivery system. The elevated tower with multiple drop tubes creates a wider coverage area by distributing slurry through vertical and horizontal spatial arrangement.
3Ease of operation
If a trailing hose slurry injector is used to smoothly apply slurry, then nutrient delivery is improved, but the low clearance to the ground limits use with taller crops and soil compaction occurs from tank transport
Solution Approach 1:
The invention elevates the slurry delivery mechanism to a tall tower structure, creating significant vertical clearance between the delivery system and the ground. This allows the apparatus to pass through fields with tall crops like maize without contact, while slurry is delivered through drop tubes that extend down to the soil.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses hydraulic or pneumatic principles to deliver slurry through the elevated tower structure and drop tubes. The fluid dynamics allow smooth slurry flow through the vertical conduit system without requiring ground-level pumping or trailing hoses.
4Quantity of substance
If a large tank is transported over the soil to deliver slurry, then nutrient delivery capacity is increased, but severe soil compaction occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the large slurry tank from the field environment by positioning it on the periphery or using off-field storage. The slurry is delivered through a pipeline or conduit system connected to the traveling tower, eliminating the need to transport heavy tanks across the field and thus preventing soil compaction.
Solution Approach 2:
A conduit or pipeline system serves as an intermediary between the slurry storage tank and the field application point. This mediator allows slurry to be transferred without direct tank transport across the soil, protecting the soil from compaction while maintaining delivery capacity.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to an apparatus for delivering water and nutrients to crops. The present invention also relates to a system comprising the apparatus of the present invention connected to a hose traveler device. Also disclosed is a method of delivering water and nutrients to the soil using the system of the present invention.