Abstract:
A fogging grove sprayer has a nozzle enclosing housing having at least one outlet therefrom and encloses a plurality of air sheer nozzles using compressed air to atomize a spray solution which is dispensed into the housing. Each air sheer nozzle has a liquid under pressure and high pressure air to generate a fog in the housing. A high velocity, high volume fan forces air into the housing and disperses the spray from the nozzles in the housing out the housing outlets. A method of spraying a grove with fogging spray uses the apparatus to spray a chemical fog onto tree foliage

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention relates to a grove sprayer and especially to a grove sprayer using air sheer nozzles using compressed air to atomize a spray solution to create a fog-like dispersal of liquid chemicals into a containment housing which chemical fog is dispersed into the atmosphere with a high velocity, high volume fan to obtain improved coverage of tree foliage. 
         [0002]    The application of treatment chemicals, such as insecticides, fungicides and the like, to trees planted in a grove has been widely practiced for protection of the trees. Insects and fungi tend to congregate on the leaves of the trees, especially on the underside of the leaves. To get better coverage of chemical spray on the foliage, fans or blowers are used which direct an open stream of air at high velocity across spray nozzles dispersing liquid chemicals into the tree foliage. The air stream rustles the leaves for a more uniform coverage of the leaves of the trees with the treatment of chemicals. 
         [0003]    In the past, there have been a wide variety of agricultural sprayers which generally are drawn by tractors, trucks or the like for spraying of liquid chemicals. Generally, prior art sprayers have large propellers or a number of propellers which create an air flow which carries the chemicals to the foliage. This type of prior art sprayer uses large amounts of chemical spray and does not always provide full or uniform coverage of the tree foliage. In addition, these sprayers generally spray at random while the trees vary in size, shape and distance between trees, requiring larger amounts of chemical sprays which increases the costs of spraying the trees while wasting chemicals and dispensing excess chemicals into the environment. 
         [0004]    The present invention is directed towards reducing the amount of spray while obtaining better coverage of the foliage of trees in a grove. This is accomplished by producing a fog of very fine chemical spray using air sheer nozzles into high velocity, high volume air from a separate blower driving the fogged spray into the foliage. 
         [0005]    In one prior U.S. Pat. No. 5,522,544 to Gal, an orchard or grove sprayer has a rigid tubular member housing nozzles for discharging chemicals into flexible upper and lower sleeves secured to a rigid member. The upper sleeve has air discharged thereinto from a blower which lets the air escape through openings in the flexible sleeves along with chemicals in the sleeves. The Lenhardt U.S. Pat. No. 4,347,978 is an agricultural sprayer for use in orange groves or orchards which utilizes a high velocity, high volume axial flow fan to direct air through a plenum chamber where the air is divided to flow towards opposed lateral openings at the sides of the sprayer. It also has an oscillator for directing the flow of air. 
         [0006]    A combination aerosol generator and thermal fogger is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,032,407 to Conner. This patent has a thermal fogger for dispensing a mosquito killing insecticide which is generated with an engine exhaust and has a separate aerosol nozzle for dispensing the insecticide. A flow selector valve determines which discharge device receives the insecticide. 
         [0007]    The present invention combines air sheer nozzles to produce a fog within a rigid housing and has a high volume fan or blower supplying turbulence to the inside of the housing to further direct the fog created therein through outlets and onto tree foliage for a more even distribution of the chemicals being sprayed and a more even coverage of the foliage while using a smaller amount of chemicals. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0008]    A fogging grove sprayer has a nozzle enclosing housing having at least one outlet therefrom for enclosing a plurality of air sheer nozzles for dispersing a fogged liquid in the housing and towards the outlets from the housing. The sprayer has a liquid supply tank for supplying an insecticide or the like and a liquid pump connected to the supply tank and to each of the plurality of nozzles for supplying a liquid from the supply tank to each of the plurality of nozzles in the nozzle enclosing housing. An air compressor is connected to each of the nozzles for supplying compressed air to each of the nozzles for atomizing the liquid into a fog as it is dispersed from the plurality of nozzles. Each nozzle receives a liquid under pressure which is then sheered with a vortex of compressed air to form the fog spray within the housing. A high volume fan, which may be an axial fan or a centrifugal blower, is connected to the housing to force air into the housing for dispersing the atomized liquid in the housing out the outlets therefrom to widely disperse a fogged liquid into tree foliage. Six or twelve or any number of air sheer nozzles can be utilized, each being connected to a compressed air plenum having air compressed by an air compressor. The plenum may be an arcuate shaped plenum within a housing. 
         [0009]    A method of spraying a grove includes selecting a grove sprayer in accordance with the present apparatus, pumping a liquid from the liquid supply tank to each nozzle for dispersal therefrom into the housing with the air from an air compressor which passes through each nozzle to atomize the liquid. The atomized liquid is then dispersed through the outlet in the housing with air from a high volume fan or blower which disperses the spray out the housing outlet. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0010]    Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the written description and the drawings in which: 
           [0011]      FIG. 1  is a side sectional view of a grove sprayer in accordance with the present invention taken on the line  1 - 1  of  FIG. 2 ; 
           [0012]      FIG. 2  is a sectional view of the grove sprayer housing of  FIG. 1  taken on line  2 - 2  of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0013]      FIG. 3  is a partial sectional view of an alternate embodiment of the housing having the air sheer nozzles mounted through to the housing; 
           [0014]      FIG. 4  is an exploded view of the high volume rotary fan and the air sheer nozzles and the containment housing; 
           [0015]      FIG. 5  is an alternate embodiment of a grove sprayer of the present invention having a squirrel cage blower; 
           [0016]      FIG. 6  is a side sectional view of an air sheer nozzle in accordance with the present invention; and 
           [0017]      FIG. 7  is a top sectional view of the nozzle of  FIG. 6 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0018]    Referring to the drawings of  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a fogging grove sprayer  10  has a containment and diverter box housing  11  having a plurality of air sheer or air assist nozzles  13  which are attached to a compressed air plenum  14 . A high volume fan  15  is contained in an air containment box  16  and is driven by an electric motor  17 , or other power source as desired, driving a belt  18  to rotate the fan blades  20 . The electric motor  17  is connected to an electric power source  21 , as seen in  FIG. 2 . The housing  11  has outlets  22  on both sides thereof and has a ridge  23  for directing the high volume fan  15  air being drawn through the opening  24  directly around the plurality of air sheer nozzles  13 . The nozzles may direct the fogged liquid towards the outlets  22  or directly into the high volume of compressed air. The compressed air plenum  14  is fed compressed air from an air compressor  25  which is driven by an electric motor or other power source. The compressor  25  draws air into the opening  26  which air is compressed and fed through the air pipes  27  to the plenum  14 . The sprayer receives the liquid supply from the chemical solution tanks  28  and  29  through tubes  30 , which tubes are fed through a solution filter  31 . The solution may be an insecticide, a fungicide or any other chemical solution desired. 
         [0019]    The solution is supplied through the pump line  30  to the electric pump  32  which supplies the solution under pressure through the line  33  to each of the air sheer nozzles  13 . The pump  32  can be a diaphragm, centrifugal, or peristaltic pump driven by any power source desired, such as a diesel or gasoline engine. The air sheer nozzles disperse the liquid solution under pressure into the housing  11  using the high pressure air from the air pump  25  passing through the same nozzles to produce a fog or very fine atomized liquid. This is a fogging sprayer at this point. The fog is dispersed in the housing  11  where a high velocity, high volume air blower  20  drives a high volume of air into the housing  11  towards the outlets  22 . The air is diverted by the ridge  13  to produce air turbulence within the housing  11  and fog  34 , as seen in  FIG. 2 . The air from the high volume fan  15  drives the finely atomized fog  34  out the outlets  22 . The fan  15  directs the fogged liquid  34  through the outlet  22  and into tree foliage on either side of the sprayer  10 . The output from the sprayer has sufficient force to disperse the fog throughout the foliage for a superior coverage and coating of the foliage leaves. The foliage coating is evenly done without wasting chemicals with an uneven coating of the foliage. 
         [0020]    In operation the grove sprayer  10  pumps a solution from the supply tank  28  and  29  through the lines  30  with the liquid pump  32  which drives the chemical solution under pressure through the line  33  to each sheer nozzle  13 . Simultaneously, the compressor  25  is drawing air through the openings  26 , compressing the air into a line  27  and into the air plenums  14 . This high pressure air in the plenum  14  passes through the nozzle to produce a vortex of fog from each nozzle into the housing  11 . A high velocity, high volume fan or blower  20  drives the fogged spray through the outlets  22  and into tree foliage being treated. The sprayer finely coats the foliage to evenly treat the foliage for insects or fungi or the like. 
         [0021]    Turning to  FIG. 3 , an alternate embodiment is illustrated of a containment or diverter box housing  40  having the blower  15  in the fan containment box  16  and having the plurality of nozzles  13  mounted on the air plenum  14 . Each air assist or air sheer nozzle  13  is coupled to the solution supply line  33 . In this embodiment, the plenum  14  is mounted outside the housing  40  and the air nozzles extend through openings in the housing  40  for dispersing a fogged spray  34  thereinto. The high velocity, high volume fan  15  drives air directly at the nozzles  13  to supply turbulence and to disperse the fog  34 . Fan  15 , in this embodiment, may also be driven by an electric motor  17  through a fan belt  18 . 
         [0022]    In  FIG. 4 , a containment box housing  41  is shown in exploded view with two compressed air plenums  14  exploded therefrom. Each air plenum  14  has a six air sheer nozzle  13  attached thereto. In this case, each air sheer nozzle  13  is mounted to one plenum  14 . Each plenum has an arcuate shape forming a generally oval shape inside the housing  41 . The high volume fan  15  is shown mounted in a housing  16  and has a plurality of fan blades  20 . The fan blades  20  are shown covered by a grill  42  extending over the opening  24 . 
         [0023]    In  FIG. 5 , an alternate embodiment has the fog containment box or housing  43  having the plenums  14  and the plurality of air sheer nozzles  13  therein. The air sheer nozzles  13  are mounted to the compressed air plenum  14 . Each nozzle is connected with the solution feed line  33 . This embodiment has a squirrel cage blower  44  directing air through an opening  45  to drive the atomized solution  34  out openings in the housing  43 . 
         [0024]    Referring to  FIGS. 6 and 7 , the air sheer nozzle  13  is illustrated connected to a liquid injection tube  50  and to a compressed air inlet tube  51 . The liquid injection tube  50  passes through the nozzle  13  to the dispersion outlet  52 . The pressurized air entering the inlet  51  is directed by a divider cone  53  to form a conical passageway  54  passing therearound. The air then passes through a plurality of curved ribs  55  which spirals the high velocity air forming a vortex around the outlet  52 . The air exits the opening  56  in the face plate cover  57  of the nozzle  13 . The arrows  58  illustrate the air exiting the nozzle in a vortex pattern as it sheers the spray exiting the injection tube  50  outlet  52 . The use of the forced air in the air nozzle  13  forming a swirling or vortex pattern as it sheers across the outlet  52  dispersing the spray and atomizes the liquid spray and produces a fogging spray which is then directionally dispersed into the adjacent foliage by the high velocity, high volume fan  15 . 
         [0025]    It should be clear at this time that a fogging-type grove or agricultural sprayer has been provided which combines a fog generating sprayer with a high velocity, volume fan or blower for driving a fogged chemical solution, such as an insecticide or fungicide, into the foliage of a grove tree. A plurality of air sheer nozzles have been utilized to better produce the fog. The number of nozzles can be varied and can be a  12 , as shown in  FIG. 4 , or a single air plenum  14  can have six nozzles. However, the present invention is not to be construed as limited to the forms shown which are to be considered illustrative rather than restrictive.