AU656336B2 - A double articulated water harvester for tram-line irrigation - Google Patents

Description

4 )-7 S656 3 6p/oo/ol Form PATENTS ACT 1952 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION

(ORIGINAL)

FOR OFFICE USE Shot Title: Int. Cl: Application Number: Lodged: no

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Complete Specification-Lodged: Accepted: S" Lapsed: o Published: 0 0 600 =o Priority: 000 o oo A o on o pelated Art: e^Cl ,1 C* fo .o Name of Applicant: o Address of Applicant: *400 o 0 TO BE COMPLETED BY APPLICANT JACK LAMSON HOWELL COOK HIGHWAY

CRAIGLIE

PORT DOUGLAS QLD 4871 0 Atoual Inventor: JACK LAMSON HOWELL ao a Address for Service: COOK HIGHWAY 6RAIGLIE PORT DOUGLAS QLD 4871.

Complete Specification for the invention entitled: A DOUBLE ARTICULATED WATER HARVESTER FOR TRAM-LINE

IRRIGATION.

The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me:-* SNote: The description is to be typed in double spacing, pica type face, in an area not exceeding 250 mm in depth and 160 mm in width, on tough white paper of good quality and it is to be inserted inside this form,

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i 14599/78- L Printed by C. J. TIqiPSOIN, CommonwealGthGnma. (1) This invention relates to a- double articulated water harvester for tram-line irrigation.

Tram-line irrigation is a inovative method to irrigate land by using large diameter main pipes with thin walls construction and profiled in close proximity to irrigatable arears. The materials for constructing these mains pipes carbe excruded polyethylene or a choice of metals and methods of anti corrosive protection. The modular mains will be twenty to thirty metres in length and adiameter of 350mm. The mains pipes will be laid adjacent and parallel to a tram line (railway line).Each mains pipe is coupled into a 2.4 metre line pipe 450mm diameter as a modular junction pipe. The junction pipes are fitted with a ten inch BSP flanged outlet pipe placed centrally so as to rise verticaly and outwardly so to discharge over the top of the tram-line. The outlet flow of irrigation 6 0 water is controledby a ten inch BSP quarter turn buterfly flow valve which is electronicaly controled in a cyclic mode by infera red beams to open when three tram-line wagons with a tram length of 36 metres total, 9or supporting a continuous line of fluming which collects the the discharged .a waterfrom the particular open valve above the train. The collected water 9** is accumulated in to a pump-well on the centre wagon. The collected water is distributed either by a on-board pump to travelling irrigators or in a stationary mode) coupling to grids of set irrigationor to remote head drains ponds and the like. The collected water transfered from the static mains can be gravitated directly from the pump-well to nite head drains, surface irrigation or ponds. A self leveling longutudial pipe teed into the pump-welland travelling with the centre wagon is provided with several transverse outlets spaced to the row centres of the particular crop to be irrigated Thewagons stop and discharge to t 4 4 94 i •the particular drill Telemetry sensor command can move the wagons to t t i irrigate a new section automatically. The modular junctioi pipes are set 30 at intervals along the main so that there will always be a flow valve discharging verticaly above the collecting flumes attached to three wagons arranged as a three- pack train. More than one valve may discharge at once.

The aim of this invention is to provide a centre water harvesting wagon of the three-pack train,with alow centre of gravity in relatiouship to the tram rails. This is attained by a axial flow column pump, drive shaft and engine crank-shaft in one continuous horizontal line,the central plane of support to be in close proximity to the horizontil top of the rails plane.

(2) According to the present invention there is provided a double articulated water harvester for tram-line irrigation comprising a skeletal chassis, embodying a first and a second load bearing beam of equal length and each beam running parallel to each other on the same plane,as the sides of the chassis, a first and a second load bearing round bar is intregated into each endof the parallel beams as a end cross member allso as a round bar provided to couple and articulate on a first and a second turn-table means provided on doublesi- bogie means located beneath each end of the chassis,a first and a second rectangular pump-well with a open top, the length to be equal to the width seperating the parallel beams and the width of the pump-well is set to a weight of water criteria, the height is set to allow a optium depth of water above the pump body,the first pump-well is intregated to the chassis by suspending the pump-well vertically between the parallel beamswith a distance from the round bar cross member and the closest side of the pump-well to be sufficient to 9 00 allow the particular bogie supporting the chassis to articulate freely beneath the chassis and clear of that section of the pump-well below o the chassis,the pump-well will be suspended between the sides of the chassis so that the bottom of the pump-wellwill be parallel to the 20 tram-rail means and as close as possible with the chassis riding horizontally on bogie means,at this position the pump-well is secured to the chassis,similarly the second pump-well is intregated within the chassisat the opposite end ,a first and a second syphon pipe is provided to connect into each pump-well, as close to each end and bottom as possible,gravitationaloutlets are provided centrally on the first and 4 second syphon pipe, provided is a water-pumpassembly, extension drive shaft,column pipe, discharge flange, thrust block engine crank shaft extension, engine-bed to be intregated into the skeletal chassis in one continuous line-drive on a horizontal planeon a centre line bisecting 30 the chassisfrom a central outlet provided at the bottom of the first .,tii pump-well, plural load bearing cross membersriding on top plane the chassis support the pump engine assembly to the centre line below the chassis with releasable fixing to the chassis, the pump engine line assembly is to be arranged for the outlet flange from the column pipe is to be positioned on the intersection of both centre lines of the chassis, a vertical discharge pipe is provided with a low teed outlet abovethe chassis then rising vertically to couple to irrigation means, 0 a a 00 o*p *0 o *@0 0 0 eO 0 S0* o 0 0 Vff (3) allso provided is a flat rectangular roof with the top surface corrugated so that the corrugations run length wise, the width is to be the width of the chassis and the length to be longer than the distance between the inside top edge of the first pump-well and the inside top edge of the second pump well, a hinge joint is provided on the top inside edge of the first pump-well, the flat corrugated roof at one end is hinged at this position so that can be raised at the opposite end to set a required pitchtowards the hinged end, any water falling over the roof will flow into the first pump well.

A specific embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:- Figure 1-A shows a schematic plan of a six metre section of a double articulated water harvester twelve metres in length, this' section ,.rminates on atransverse centre line which bisects a vertical discharge pie and two gravity flow pipeoutlets discharging from each of the syphon pipes.

Figure 2-B shows a schematic side elevation of the six metre section as figure 1-A, the syphon pipes are not showen so as to high-light the central horizontal water pump turbine assembly and pipe column which lay on the longitudinal centre of the water harvester.

Figure 3-A shows a schematic plan of the ajoining six metre section of the water harvester. When the transverse centre line which bisects the vertical pump discharge pipe and the gravity outlet pipes over-lap by placing Figure 1-A and Figure 3-A end by end a schematic plan of the twelve metre water harvester is obtained.

Figure 4-B shows a schematic side elevation of the second six metre section. The major part of the syphon pipes and front load bearing beam arenot showen so as to hi-light the horizontal pump column pipe, thrust block, pump drive shaft and engine crank shaft in one direct allinment.

Similarly as Figure I-A joins to Figure 3-A end to end Figures 2-B joins end to end of Figure 4-Bto show a schematic side elevation of a twelve metre water harvester.

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a a p a p Refering to the drawing the double articulated water harvester for tram-line irrigation comprises a rectangular skeletal chassis of two load bearing beams as the sides and two round cross members as the ends 1-1 and 2-2. Two rectangular pump wells 3-3are suspended down through the side beams 1-1 each well is positioned one metre back from each end,so that when the chassis is riding over a tram-line bogie at each end each suspended pump-well 3-3 will be fixed to the the top plane of the side beams when the bottom of each well is about 75mm above the tram-line rail height 17. Two syphon pipes 4-4 connect into the bottom of each pump-well thereby providing a connection between each well to maintain a water level between each pump-well, the diameter of each pipe is 273mm The weight of each full pipe will allzo provide a stabalising effect to the chassis and associated inferastructure. Gravity fed flow valves are provided centrally on each syphon pipe 5 5to supply irrigation water on both sides of the chassis, a turbine pump assembly 6 ,extended drive shaft for the turbine pump 7, column pipe for the flow and drive shaft 8, vertical outlet from thecolumn pipe to irrigation pressurised practices 9, a thrust block and termination of the column pipe a direct drive coupling to aline with the drive engine crank shaft 11, 20 a engine bed 12,are suspended centrally through the chassisby attachment to load bearing cross members across the top plane of the chassis, these are not showen. The turbine pump is coupled directly into a pump-well by flanges on the bottom of the well and turbine assembly to allow one continuous horizontal drive from the engine crank shaft to the turbines and a low plane similar to that of the bottom of the pump-wells, syphon pipes and top of tram rails 17.This low profiled on- board pump with a central line drive bisects the double articulated water harvastewith a low centre of gravity and the optium height of water above the pump impellers is easily attained by the water harvester from overhead The vertical outlet 13 passes through a cross over outlet 14 A water collecting corrugated flat roof 15 set to the width of the chassics and a length greater than the distance between the two insides of the pump-wellsand the corrugations running lengthwise is hinged 16 on the top edge of the inside of the pump-well, a adjustable support cross bracket can rise the roof from a horizontal plane to a selected pitch 18. This allows all waterfalling down from discharging flow valves to the top plane of the roof to gravitate into the pump-well serviced by the on-board pump.

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