NL1007900C2 - Soil treatment trailer for sports field - Google Patents

Abstract

As the machine rolls over the surface of the grass, a crank mechanism (23) lowers a number of injection needles (5), pushing them into the ground. When each pin has reached the required depth, a cam (10) on the crankshaft operates a plunger pump (8). The pump forces a measured quantity of fluid down a flexible pipe (13) to the needle and out of a hole (9) near the point of the needle.

Description

T-13

DEVICE FOR INJECTING A FLUID INTO THE SOIL

The invention relates to a device for injecting a fluid, in particular a liquid, into the soil.

Such devices are known, for example, for injecting manure. So-called turf fertilizers are known which make incisions in the soil surface into which the manure is injected. Due to the small injection depth and the damage to the crop growing on the soil, in particular grass, this method is not suitable for high-quality grass pitches such as sports fields and golf courses.

For these high-quality lawns, use is made of high-pressure injection, whereby liquid is sprayed vertically into the ground under high pressure from nozzles that are kept a small distance above the ground. Due to the high pressure, the liquid will penetrate into the ground over a certain depth.

The drawback of this technique is that the penetration depth cannot be accurately determined. The effective penetration depth will vary depending on the local compaction of the soil. Some liquid will also remain on the surface, which is usually not desirable.

The object of the invention is now to provide a device of the type described in the preamble, in which liquid can be injected very accurately into the soil, without seriously damaging the surface.

This object is achieved in the device according to the invention as characterized in claim 1. The pins are inserted into the soil at a precisely determined depth so that the fluid is also introduced into the soil at this precisely determined depth. P1007900 2 performing the tilt movement breaks the ground, allowing the injected liquid to spread well while providing good access to air in the soil. The pins only damage the bottom surface minimally. This device is therefore particularly suitable for use with high-quality grass pitches such as sports fields and golf courses.

An additional advantage of the device according to the invention is that the liquid is introduced parallel to the surface at the desired depth. This makes it possible to reach the plant roots optimally.

Each pin can have a number of openings distributed along its length and its circumference, so that the liquid is injected into the soil at different depths at the same time and the injection intensity can be adapted to the circumstances. The measure of claim 2 is preferably applied, so that a maximum depth is attainable.

According to a favorable further development, the measure as set out in claim 3 is applied. The injection depth can thus be adjusted.

It is noted that it is known per se from European patent 0 037 595 to aerate soil by means of pegs to be inserted into the ground which perform a tilting movement in their low position.

A favorable further development of the invention is characterized in claim 4. With the aid of the control means it is possible to accurately determine at what height the fluid is injected into the ground.

A suitable embodiment is characterized in claim 5.

The invention is further elucidated in the following description with reference to the annexed figures.

: fcrtOCTSO '.: 3

Figure 1 shows a partial perspective view of a device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 2 shows a partial schematic side view according to arrow II in figure 1.

The device shown in figure 1 comprises a frame 1 on which a partially visible crankshaft 2 is mounted. This crankshaft 2 can be rotated 10 with the aid of a drive 3.

Furthermore, guide means 4 are connected to the frame 1 for movably guiding a number of pins 5 between a high position above the bottom and a low position, wherein the pins 5 are inserted in the bottom.

The frame 1 rests on the bottom with the aid of a support roller 6. The working depth can be adjusted with this support roller 6. The frame 1 can form part of a self-propelled wagon or be attached to a vehicle, such as an agricultural tractor.

The guide means comprise an arm system associated with each crank of the crankshaft 2, which is moved up and down by a connecting rod 24 connected to the respective crank 23.

As shown in more detail in Figure 2, each of these linkage assemblies comprises a support arm 22 hingedly connected at 30 to a support arm support 28 mounted on the rod 26.

At the left-hand end of the supporting arm 22 in figure 2, a pin carrier 15, which carries two pins 5, is hingedly connected. A steering arm 25 is mounted under the carrying arm 22, which is also hingedly connected to the pin carrier 15 and is hingedly connected at its right-hand end in figure 2 at 31 to a steering arm support 29, which is mounted on the steering arm mounting adjustable in frame 1 27. A spring is incorporated in the control arm 25, which permits the pry movement of the pin 5 as a result of the advancement of the device.

B1007900 4

The drive arm 24 engages the support arm 22 in the manner shown in figure 2 and thus moves it up and down when the crankshaft 2 is rotated.

The connection to the carrying arm 22 and the control arm 25 drives the pin holder 15 such that in the low position of the pin shown in figure 2 it performs a tilting movement. This will pry the soil loose.

The extent to which this occurs depends on the setting of the steering arm mounting 27. By prying off the ground, the fluid injection to be further described can be done more effectively. In the shown embodiment, the injection depth is adjustable in the order of 10-400 mm.

Each pin 5 is provided with a longitudinal channel (not shown in more detail), which opens near the bottom end of the pin into a left-hand opening 9 seen in figure 2. With these openings 9 fluid is supplied; feed means connected via a pressure pipe 13 connecting to said longitudinal seam. This pressure pipe 13 is for each pin or, in the embodiment in which work is carried out with pairs of pins as in figure 1 for each pair of pins, - | connected to a plunger pump 8. The plunger pumps 8 are mounted on a mounting plate 7 concentric with the crankshaft 2. A cam 10 is mounted on the crankshaft 2, which rotates the plunger pumps 8 successively when the crankshaft 2 is rotated. On the suction side, each plunger pump 8 is connected via a pipe 11 to a reservoir 12, so that with every stroke of a plunger pump 8, liquid from the reservoir 12 is forced through the suction pipe 11 into the discharge pipe 13 and therefore out of the opening 9 is squeezed out.

The position of the plunger pumps 8 relative to the cam 10 is adjusted such that the pump 8 is operated when the pin 5 has reached its low position shown in Figure 2. Thus, the liquid is injected into the ground when the pin 5 is inserted furthest into the ground.

::> 11 0079 Π Ί 5

By varying the relative position of the plunger pump 8 and the cam 10, in particular by rotating the mounting plate 7 and / or by changing the cam profile 10, the injection depth and the injection time can be changed.

In Figures 1 and 2, the mounting plate 7 is provided with six plunger pumps 8 cooperating with six pairs of pins 5, only three of which are shown in Figure 1.

It will be clear that the manner in which the pins are driven in the present exemplary embodiment is only one of many possible ways. The control of the fluid supply means by means of a number of separate plunger pumps operated by one cam 10 also forms only one possible embodiment. The control means may also include, for example, electrically operated valves that distribute a fluid flow from a single pump over the pins in such a manner that the injection is at the desired height and duration.

Although the pins 5 are provided with only one opening 9 in the figures, the invention is not limited to this. The number of openings, the number of pins per pin carrier, the pressing pressure of the fluid and the breaking action of the pins determine the extent to which the liquid penetrates into the soil. All these variables can be adjusted to achieve the desired penetration.

p1 007900

Claims (6)

5 1. Device for loosening the bottom and injecting a fluid into the loosened bottom, comprising a carriage movable over the bottom, guiding means connected to the carriage for movably guiding each of a number of pins between a high position above the bottom and a low position in which the pin is inserted in the bottom, wherein the guide means allow the pin in the low position to perform a tilting movement as a result of the movement of the carriage over the bottom, each pin at least one transverse to its longitudinal axis has an opening and a longitudinal channel communicating with this opening, to which fluid supply means of the device are connected. 2. Device according to claim 1, which is dimensioned and adjusted such that fluid is injected into the soil substantially parallel to the bottom surface. The device of claim 1, wherein the opening is disposed near the bottom end of the pin. Device as claimed in any of the foregoing claims, comprising means for adjusting at least the low position in height. 5. Device according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the fluid supply means comprise control means which activate the fluid supply to a pen when it is near its low position. 6. Device according to claim 5, wherein the fluid supply means for each pin comprise a plunger pump 35 which is activated by a cam connected to a drive shaft of the guide means. 1007900