Parallel Hose Trenching and Backfill Layout for Subsurface Tubing
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Solution Overview
Problem
The installation of sub-surface dripline irrigation is labor-intensive and inconsistent, with existing machinery being costly and inefficient, particularly for large areas like athletic fields, due to the need for manual labor and lack of proper machinery to ensure even distribution and adherence to manufacturer specifications.
Innovation Solution
A subsurface tubing installation apparatus comprising a chassis with trenching blade assemblies, reel mounts, hose guides, and trench filler-packers that can dig trenches, lay hose, and pack soil back into the trenches in a single pass, allowing for accurate and efficient installation of multiple strands of hose simultaneously.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If manual labor is used to install sub-surface dripline, then installation can be performed without specialized machinery, but labor intensity and time consumption increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple installation functions (trenching, hose laying, soil refilling, and packing) into a single integrated apparatus that operates in one pass, eliminating the need for multiple separate operations and significantly improving installation productivity
Solution Approach 2:
The apparatus performs multiple functions simultaneously - digging trenches with rotating blades, guiding hose from reels into trenches, refilling excavated soil, and packing soil around the hose - making a single device capable of completing the entire installation process
2Device complexity
If manual installation is used over large areas, then equipment costs are reduced, but consistency and evenness of dripline distribution deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The apparatus divides the installation area into multiple parallel trenches using multiple rotating blade assemblies spaced at predetermined intervals, ensuring consistent spacing and depth while maintaining manufacturing precision across large areas
Solution Approach 2:
The rotating blades are positioned at specific depths and angles to create trenches of consistent dimensions, while the reel mounts and hose guides are configured to lay hose at precise depths and spacing, ensuring uniform dripline placement throughout the installation area
3Productivity
If existing machinery is used for sub-surface dripline installation, then installation speed improves, but equipment cost and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The apparatus is designed to be pulled behind a tractor or other power source, using the pull force to drive the rotating blades through the soil and advance the installation process, eliminating the need for complex self-propulsion systems while maintaining high installation efficiency
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus for installing multiple strands of hose below a surface of terrain is provided. The apparatus comprises a chassis and rotating trenching blade assemblies connected to the chassis. The trenching blade assemblies are configured to dig parallel trenches when the apparatus is pulled along the terrain. Curved hose guides are connected to the chassis in trailing positions behind the trenching blades. Each hose guide receives hose from a hose reel on reel mounts connected to the chassis and deposits the hose into a trench dug by a trenching blade assembly. Trench fillers connected to the chassis trail the hose guides. Each trench filler is aligned with a respective hose guide and comprises a number of blades configured to push soil excavated from a trench back into the trench when the apparatus is pulled along the terrain.