Patent ID: 8561925

Claim:
A lateral move irrigation system comprising: a main section having a first end and a second end and comprising: a plurality of main towers configured to travel across a field in a lateral direction, and a plurality of main support structures spanning from the first end to the second end of the main section, wherein each of the main support structures is attached to at least one of the main towers; a first end section comprising: a first pivotable support structure pivotally attached to one of the main support structures at the first end of the main section, and a second pivotable support structure pivotally attached to the first pivotable support structure; a second end section comprising: a third pivotable support structure pivotally attached to one of the main support structures at the second end of the main section, and a fourth pivotable support structure pivotally attached to the third support structure; a fluid delivery system comprising one or more conduits attached to or extending through at least a portion of the support structures and configured to output water from orifices formed therein; a first sensing device connected at or proximate to the first end and configured to sense its geographic coordinates or one or more field boundaries; a second sensing device connected at or proximate to the second end section and configured to sense its geographic coordinates or one or more field boundaries; and a control system configured to: pivot the first and second pivotable support structures in response to signals received from the first sensing device at one or more locations of a field that are not passable by the irrigation system when at least one of the first and second pivotable support structures are laterally aligned with the main support structures to thereby decrease an effective length of the irrigation system to permit passage of at least a portion of the irrigation system, and pivot the third and fourth pivotable support structures in response to signals received from the second sensing device at one or more locations of the field that are not passable by the irrigation system when at least one of the third and fourth pivotable support structures are laterally aligned with the main support structures to thereby decrease an effective length of the irrigation system to permit passage of at least a portion of the irrigation system.