초록 ▼

A liquid dispensing apparatus for applying liquid products to row crops. The liquid dispensing apparatus includes a plurality of drop assemblies supported by and laterally spaced along a boom structure. Each of the drop assemblies includes dribble hoses for dribbling a liquid product onto the soil i

A liquid dispensing apparatus for applying liquid products to row crops. The liquid dispensing apparatus includes a plurality of drop assemblies supported by and laterally spaced along a boom structure. Each of the drop assemblies includes dribble hoses for dribbling a liquid product onto the soil in a rhizosphere of adjacent crop rows. The drop assemblies may include a spray assembly for spraying the row crops. The dribble hoses may be supported by a base unit with positionable support brackets.

대표청구항 ▼

1. A liquid dispensing apparatus for applying liquid products to crop rows as the apparatus travels in a forward direction of travel parallel with the crop rows, the liquid dispensing apparatus comprising: a boom structure supported at a height above a soil surface and extending laterally in a direc

1. A liquid dispensing apparatus for applying liquid products to crop rows as the apparatus travels in a forward direction of travel parallel with the crop rows, the liquid dispensing apparatus comprising: a boom structure supported at a height above a soil surface and extending laterally in a direction transverse to the forward direction of travel;a plurality of drop assemblies supported by and laterally spaced along the boom structure, each of the plurality of drop assemblies comprising: a vertical support structure extending below the boom structure and between adjacent crop rows;a dribble assembly supported at a lower end of the vertical support structure, the dribble assembly having positionable brackets, wherein the positionable brackets are positionable between an outward direction and a rearward direction, wherein in the outward direction the positionable brackets extend in an outward direction transverse the forward direction of travel, and wherein in the rearward direction the positionable brackets extend rearwardly with respect to the forward direction of travel, each positionable bracket supporting a flexible dribble tube in communication with a liquid product source, each of the flexible dribble tubes having an outlet end through which the liquid product dribbles onto the soil in a rhizosphere of the adjacent crop rows as the dribble assembly advances in the forward direction of travel. 2. The liquid dispensing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the drop assembly further includes a spray assembly. 3. The liquid dispensing apparatus of claim 2, wherein the spray assembly comprises a manifold body with a plurality of spray nozzles, each spray nozzle capable of spraying liquid product. 4. The liquid dispensing apparatus of claim 3, wherein the manifold body is pivotally adjustable about a horizontal axis with respect to the vertical support structure. 5. The liquid dispensing apparatus of claim 3, wherein the manifold body is pivotally adjustable about a vertical axis with respect to the vertical support structure. 6. The liquid dispensing apparatus of claim 3, wherein the manifold body is pivotally adjustable about a horizontal axis and vertical axis with respect to the vertical support structure. 7. The liquid dispensing apparatus of claim 3, wherein each of the plurality of spray nozzles are adjustably positionable with respect to the manifold body. 8. The liquid dispensing apparatus of claim 7 wherein the spray nozzles are manually adjustably positionable. 9. The liquid dispensing apparatus of claim 7 wherein the spray nozzles are remotely adjustably positionable. 10. The liquid dispensing apparatus of claim 7 wherein the spray nozzles are automatically adjustably positionable. 11. The liquid dispensing apparatus of claim 3, wherein certain of the plurality of spray nozzles are adjustably positionable to spray in an upward direction so as to spray an underside of the row crop. 12. The liquid dispensing apparatus of claim 3, wherein the plurality of spray nozzles are selectively actuated to spray. 13. The liquid dispensing apparatus of claim 3, wherein the manifold body comprises a plurality of body segments with each body segment supporting one of the plurality of spray nozzles. 14. The liquid dispensing apparatus of claim 3 wherein the spray nozzles are adjustably positionable in response to collected field data selected from a group consisting essentially of: seed type, weather conditions, insect infestation, plant maturity, canopy temperature, carbon dioxide (CO2), sunlight exposure, plant population, plant stand, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), the presence predefined organic matter, the absence of predefined organic matter, crop moisture, soil slope, soil type, soil pH, soil mineralization, soil moisture and soil moisture holding capacity. 15. The liquid dispensing apparatus of claim 14 further comprising sensors disposed to sense field data, the sensors selected from a group consisting essentially of: multi-spectral cameras, hyper-spectral cameras, video cameras capable of characterizing NDVI, infrared sensors, laser sensors, thermal sensors, visible wavelength imaging sensors, ultrasonic sensors, capacitive sensors, photoelectric sensors, luminescence sensors, contrast sensors, color sensors, laser distance sensors, CO2 sensors and GPS. 16. The liquid dispensing apparatus of claim 15 wherein the liquid product is selectively sprayed in response to the field data. 17. The liquid dispensing apparatus of claim 15 wherein a flow rate of the liquid product is varied in response to the field data. 18. The liquid dispensing apparatus of claim 15 wherein a spray pattern of the spray nozzles is adjusted in response to the field data. 19. The liquid dispensing apparatus of claim 15 wherein a position of the spray nozzle is adjusted in response to the field data. 20. The liquid dispensing apparatus of claim 2, further comprising a plurality of conventional spray nozzles spaced along the boom and positioned so as to vertically align with the row crops such that the spray nozzles are capable of spraying liquid product onto the top of the row crops. 21. The liquid dispensing apparatus of claim 2, wherein a first liquid product is communicated to the dribble assembly and a second liquid product is communicated to the spray assembly. 22. The liquid dispensing apparatus of claim 20, wherein a first liquid product is communicated to the dribble assembly, a second liquid product is communicated to the spray assembly and a third liquid product is communicated to the conventional spray nozzles. 23. A liquid dispensing apparatus for applying liquid products to crop rows as the apparatus travels in a forward direction of travel parallel with the crop rows, the liquid dispensing apparatus comprising: a boom structure supported at a height above a soil surface and extending laterally in a direction transverse to the forward direction of travel;a plurality of drop assemblies supported by and laterally spaced along the boom structure, each of the plurality of drop assemblies comprising: a base unit disposed below the boom structure and between adjacent crop rows, the base unit having positionable brackets, wherein the positionable brackets are positionable between an outward direction and a rearward direction, wherein in the outward direction the positionable brackets extend in an outward direction transverse the forward direction of travel, and wherein in the rearward direction the positionable brackets extend rearwardly with respect to the forward direction of travel, each positionable bracket supporting a flexible dribble tube in communication with a liquid product source, each of the flexible dribble tubes having an outlet end through which the liquid product dribbles onto the soil in a rhizosphere of the adjacent crop rows as the base unit advances in the forward direction of travel. 24. The liquid dispensing apparatus of claim 1, wherein a hood is attached proximate the outlet end of the flexible dribble tubes providing added mass to the flexible dribble tubes. 25. The liquid dispensing apparatus of claim 23, wherein a hood is attached proximate the outlet end of the flexible dribble tubes providing added mass to the flexible dribble tubes. 26. The liquid dispensing apparatus of claim 24, wherein the hood is conical in shape. 27. The liquid dispensing apparatus of claim 25, wherein the hood is conical in shape.