Importance

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Abstract

An automatic irrigation system includes a movable irrigation device having a fluid delivery nozzle and a fluid manifold positioned along the mobile irrigation device and adapted to receive irrigation fluid from a supply source. The system includes a detector of moisture present within an agricultural field including an output on which signals representing the detected moisture level are placed. The system also includes an electronic storage device having an addressing and reproduction unit that can selectively address and reproduce a plurality of stored command signals. The system also includes first electronic circuitry coupled to the storage device and including an input for command control signals reproduced from the storage device. The electronic circuitry applies the reproduced command control signal to cause the detector to detect moisture from a plurality of different locations within an agricultural field. A second electronic circuitry compares the detected moisture level at each location within the agricultural field with the reproduced command control signals to ascertain whether the moisture level matches the moisture level indicated by the command control signals. One of the first and the second electronic circuitry produces signals for controlling the fluid nozzle in response to the feedback signal from the detector to impart a desired application of irrigation fluid to the agricultural field. Another embodiment includes a sprinkler for an irrigation system having a fluid nozzle and a fluid flow sensor for detecting fluid flow from the nozzle.

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First Claim