Abstract:
A centralized control unit directs compressed air towards repellant dispensers in different repellant locations to distribute atomized bird repellant. The control unit can contain a timer module that controls the time, duration, and recurrence of the mist pulses to optimize bird repellant use. Multiple bird repellant storage tanks can be placed in each repellant dispenser, or a single, common bird repellant storage tank can be used to deliver bird repellant to each repellant dispenser.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 12/104,170, filed Apr. 16, 2008. This and all other extrinsic materials discussed herein are incorporated by reference in their entirety. Where a definition or use of a term in an incorporated reference is inconsistent or contrary to the definition of that term provided herein, the definition of that term provided herein applies and the definition of that term in the reference does not apply. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The field of the invention is animal repellant atomizers. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    It is known in the art to use chemical repellants to ward off animals. Methyl anthranilate, for example, is a naturally occurring GRAS (generally recognized as safe) compound that irritates pain receptors in birds and drives them away. 
         [0004]    US 2004/0035879 to Vergote teaches an automated device that atomizes liquid repellants using an air compressor. Vergote, however, is ineffective at distributing a repellant across distances greater than a few meters. If the output of Vergote is increased, the droplets will saturate the air outside the exhaust port, forming larger droplets that will tend to fall to the ground or bind to the surroundings. In order to cover a greater distance, multiple vaporizers must be used. 
         [0005]    US 2007/0141098 and U.S. Pat. No. 7,334,745, both to Crawford, teach a dry bird repellant apparatus that creates a haze using a venturi nozzle, and then blows air into the haze to separate the droplets into a “dry bird repellant.” Since the droplet sizes are smaller than with a Vergote system, the dry bird repellant can travel greater distances. However, as the output tube is lengthened, the dry bird repellant particles will tend to adhere to the sides of the tube during travel, and the concentration of bird repellant particles will substantially decrease at greater distances. Additionally, the Crawford devices can not aim the bird repellant towards birds that have moved to a different location around the output tube. 
         [0006]    US 2005/0224596 to Panopoulos teaches an automatic animal repellant delivery system with an aimable nozzle. However, Panopoulos requires a separate computer system for each aimable nozzle and repellant tank, which can be rather expensive to operate. Additionally, a remote user controlling the nozzle of Panopoulos does not have any information about environmental features, for example whether or not there is an animal in the vicinity that needs to be repelled. 
         [0007]    Thus, there is still a need for an improved repellant vaporizer that can be customized to repel animals in multiple locations depending on environmental features specific to those locations. 
       SUMMARY AND PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0008]    The present invention provides apparatus, systems and methods in which a control device controls an output of repellant dispensers in different repellant locations. The control device could control each repellant dispenser individually or in unison, and preferably has a remote user interface, for example a web site. Control commands could be sent electronically through a hard-wired connection, but are preferably sent wirelessly or through IP over power line to minimize the number of required wires and setup time. 
         [0009]    Each repellant dispenser has a nozzle, preferably a venturi nozzle, that dispenses animal repellant into the repellant location that either kills a certain kind of animal, or deters that animal from loitering in that location. Each nozzle could preferably be aimed in different directions, preferably along multiple axes. The nozzles could be mounted on adjustment mechanisms that aim or move the nozzle up or down, from size to side, rotate along a pivot, or any combination thereof. Preferably each dispenser has a base and a mount that rotates up to 360 degrees to control the nozzle&#39;s direction. 
         [0010]    A preferred animal repellant is one that has methyl anthranilate, but it is contemplated that other insecticides, pesticides, and other animal deterrent compositions could be used. Methyl anthranilate is preferred since it is non-toxic yet has been proven to drive birds away. Since methyl anthranilate is corrosive and tends to plug up or otherwise wear down nozzles, each nozzle is preferably attached to the mount using a spring operated quick-connect that couples the nozzle to the mount. Repellant could be stored in specialized repellant fluid reservoirs with a hose or other fluid passageway that carries repellant fluid from the fluid reservoir to one or more nozzles. When compressed air is blown through the nozzle, some of the fluid repellant is drawn up into the nozzle to atomize into the repellant location. In a preferred embodiment, a low pressure gage pumps air, preferably no more than 15 or 20 psi, into the repellant tank to push liquid repellant through hoses towards the nozzles. A second solenoid valve can be attached to the hose near each nozzle, and attached to the timer. This way, when the timer opens both valves, the released compressed air vaporize the released repellant in a single pulse. 
         [0011]    One or more sources of compressed air could be used to vaporize the repellant fluid. Preferably, the source of compressed air is an air compressor that maintains a minimum psi pressure, preferably at least 50, 100, 150, or 200 psi. The air pressure could be maintained, for example, by a regulator that activates the air compressor whenever the psi pressure drops below a threshold, and deactivates the air compressor when the psi pressure exceeds that threshold. A gage could be attached to an output line from the air compressor to control a pressure output from the tank. Multiple gages with multiple output lines could be used, for example a high-pressure gage and a low-pressure gage can be used to create a high-pressure source and a low-pressure source, respectively. A typical air compressor includes an electric or other motor, and at least one compressed air tank. 
         [0012]    An airtight seal, preferably a solenoid valve, can be placed along the air passage to control how long and how often compressed air blows through a nozzle. The valve can be normally closed, and only opened when replant needs to be atomized so as not to waste repellant or supersaturate the air by constant atomization. When the system is operating to repel birds, the valve is preferably opened in short pulses over a period of time to create a series of atomizing pulses. 
         [0013]    A timer could be connected to a solenoid valve that can designate how long a pulse lasts, the time in between pulses, and when the pulses should occur. For example, a flip-flop timer could designate a given valve to open every 10 minutes for at most 2 seconds, or could designate a series of valves to open for 5 seconds. A scheduling timer attached to the flip-flop timer could designate a phase of operation to be during daylight. Preferably, the timers are controlled by a centralized control device that manages all of the repellant dispensers. 
         [0014]    Special sensors could be used to monitor the health of the system, for example the amount of repellant fluid within a repellant reservoir, or to detect environmental features external to the system. As used herein, an “environmental feature” is an attribute of the repellant location that is external to the repellant dispenser. Contemplated environmental features are speed and direction of the wind, temperature, light, noise, vibration, movement of objects, and humidity. A centralized control device connected to the sensors could create reports over a period of time, or could perform an action based upon a threshold trigger. For example, if the amount of repellant fluid drops below 20%, maintenance staff could be notified, or if an animal is detected in the repellant location, a nozzle could be aimed at the animal and animal repellant could be released from the nozzle. 
         [0015]    A repellant location is the area that is affected by the atomized repellant to repel the desired animal, for example birds. Preferably, the repellant locations do not substantially overlap, so as to cover a maximum area. Each repellant location area of effect can be increased by blowing air through the venturi nozzle at a higher velocity, which not only spreads the fog farther, but also decreases the droplet size. A “fog” is defined herein to mean distributions in which the mean droplet diameter is no more than 20 μm, although preferred fogs have droplet diameters of no more than 10, 8, 5, or even 3 μm. At 5 μm and below methyl anthranilate is non-allergenic. 
         [0016]    Various objects, features, aspects and advantages of the inventive subject matter will become more apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments, along with the accompanying drawings in which like numerals represent like components. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING  
         [0017]      FIG. 1  is a schematic of a control unit coupled with two repellant dispensers. 
           [0018]      FIG. 2  is a schematic of an alternative control unit coupled with two alternative repellant dispensers. 
           [0019]      FIG. 3  is a map showing the locations of a control unit and a plurality of repellant dispensers. 
           [0020]      FIG. 4  is a schematic of the control unit coupled to a plurality of repellant dispensers and controllable via a remote interface. 
           [0021]      FIG. 5  is a plan view of a mount coupled to a repellant dispenser that allows a venture nozzle to be repositioned. 
           [0022]      FIGS. 6A and 6B  are schematic diagrams of repellant dispenser layouts. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0023]    Referring to the drawings to illustrated preferred embodiments, but not for the purpose of limiting the invention,  FIG. 1  illustrates a bird repellant sprinkler system  100  generally includes a control unit  110  and multiple repellant dispensers  150  and  160 . 
         [0024]    Control unit  110  has an air compressor  130 , a pressure regulator  134 , a solenoid valve  112 , and a timer  120 . 
         [0025]    Air compressor  130  typically has a motor  132 , a pressure regulator  134 , and a tank  136 . Pressure regulator  134  is maintains a minimum pressure in tank  136  preferably using a pressure gage connected to an electronic circuit, although other suitable means can be used. One method of maintaining an air pressure is to turn the motor on when the air pressure in the tank drops below a certain threshold, and to turn the motor off when the air pressure in the tank rises above a certain threshold. The threshold to turn the air compressor off can be different than the threshold to turn the air compressor on. For example, if a user prefers the pressure threshold to be between 100-150 psi, the motor of the air compressor can turn off when the pressure rises above 150 psi and turn on when the pressure drops below 150 psi. 
         [0026]    It is contemplated that the air pressure in the air tank can be adjusted as needed. Bird repellant can generally be adequately vaporized using a minimum air pressure of 40 psi. However, since the size of vaporized bird repellant particles can be reduced and the fog dispersion can be increased by increasing the air pressure that is pumped to the nozzles, a higher air pressure is preferred, for example at least 100 psi or 150 psi. 
         [0027]    Compressed air is fed to repellant dispensers  150  and  160  through solenoid valve  112 . Solenoid valve  112  can be any suitable size and can be made of any suitable material to create an airtight seal between air line  140  and air lines  142  and  144  when closed. When opened, the pressurized air from air line  140  escapes into air lines  142  and  144  to create an atomizing pulse at repellant dispensers  150  and  160 . Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the solenoid valve can open a mere gap or can open fully to allow the compressed air to escape. 
         [0028]    Timer  120  has a scheduling timer  122  and a flip-flop timer  124  that controls when solenoid valve  112  opens and closes with control wire  128 . Scheduling timer  122  designates when the system is active according to a set schedule, for example a certain time of day for a 24-hour timer, or the times of days on various weekdays for a weekly timer. If a user wanted to set the system to repel birds during business hours, the user could set the system to turn on during the hours of 8 AM-6 PM on weekdays. Or, if the user wants to prevent the birds from “learning” the system schedule, the user can set the scheduling timer to randomize the activation time of the system. In general, it is considered advantageous to release pulses of fog during daylight and twilight hours, and prevent such release during night time hours. Although, in some situations, such as when protecting the rooftop of an evening ballgame, repelling birds during night time hours is preferred. 
         [0029]    Flip-flop timer  124  controls how long the solenoid valve is opened and closed. In the current embodiment, knob  125  controls how long the solenoid valve remains open in seconds, and knob  126  controls how long the solenoid valve remains closed in minutes. For example, if knob  125  was set to 2 and knob  126  was set to 10, the solenoid valve would remain open for 2 seconds, and then would remain closed for 10 minutes before opening again for 2 seconds. While the current embodiment of flip-flop timer  124  was chosen for simplicity, it is appreciated that alternative flip-flop timer configurations are also suitable. 
         [0030]    Repellant dispenser  150  generally comprises a venturi nozzle  152  and a repellant tank  154 . Pressurized air from air line  140  withdraws a small amount of repellant from the repellant tank  154  and shoots it through venturi nozzle  152  to create repellant fog  158 . A tube (not shown) can be inserted into repellant tank  154  to help draw liquid from the bottom of the tank, and a filter (not shown) can be used to prevent larger droplets from escaping. Repellant tank  154  could be made of any suitable material and could hold any liquid, solid, or gas repellant that vaporizes or otherwise atomizes using a venturi nozzle, but preferably holds a liquid form of methyl anthranilate. 
         [0031]    Alarm  156  is attached to repellant tank  154  to detect the amount of repellant left in the tank, and to activate when the level in the tank drops below a certain threshold. Alarm  156  is preferably configured to notify maintenance staff that the volume of repellant is low and the tank needs to be replaced or refilled. Alarm  156  can notify maintenance staff using any suitable method, for example a sonic beep, a blinking light, or an electronic signal sent to a central office. Preferably, alarm  156  could even automatically draw repellant from a central storage unit and automatically refill the tank. Still further, the repellant tank can include a window that allows a user to visually inspect the repellant level. 
         [0032]    Repellant dispenser  160  is identical to repellant dispenser  150 , except repellant dispenser  160  receives pulses of air through air line  144 , and distributes repellant fog  168  to a separate repellant location. It is appreciated that while repellant dispenser  160  is identical to repellant dispenser  150  to reduce complexity of the specification, the repellant dispensers can be different from one another. 
         [0033]    It is also appreciated that while solenoid valve is preferably located in control unit  110  as shown, multiple solenoid valves can be attached to an input of the venturi nozzles  152 , with multiple wires running from timer  120  to control each solenoid valve. In such an embodiment, the solenoid valves could be opened simultaneously, one at a time, or any combination thereof. 
         [0034]      FIG. 2  shows an alternative embodiment of a repellant sprinkler  200  generally including a control unit  210  coupled with repellant dispensers  250 ,  260 . 
         [0035]    In this embodiment, a single repellant tank  220  supplies repellant to multiple repellant dispensers  250 ,  260 . Two air lines  140 ,  230  are used to supply high pressure air to repellant dispensers  250 ,  260  and low pressure air to bird repellant tank  220 , respectively. A high pressure gage  212  is coupled to air line  140  to control a high pressure output to air line  146  while a low pressure gage  214  is coupled to air line  230  to control a low pressure output to air line  236 . Pressure gages  212  and  214  can control the pressure output by constricting and expanding a valve. Preferably, high pressure gage  212  restricts the output pressure into air line  146  to a maximum of 150 psi, and low pressure gage  214  restricts the output pressure into air line  236  to a maximum of 15 psi. A person of ordinary skill in the art can appreciate that a variety of pressures can be used without departing from the scope of the invention. 
         [0036]    The low pressure air from air line  236  applies pressure to the bird repellant (not shown) in bird repellant tank  220  to push the liquid into fog lines  240 ,  242 , and  244  and to repellant dispensers  250 ,  260 . This is an advantageous method of using a single air compressor to deliver both compressed air and bird repellant to repellant dispensers located in remote locations and/or high altitudes. 
         [0037]    Repellant tank  220  has an alarm  222  similar to alarm  156 , which can notify maintenance staff that the volume of repellant is low. Since the current embodiment only has one repellant tank, the maintenance staff does not need to check each repellant dispenser to refill the tank. This is ideal when the repellant dispensers are placed in locations that are difficult to maintain, for example the side of a building or the top of a lamp post. Since some repellants, for example methyl anthranilate, is corrosive to plastic, it is preferred that repellant tank  220  can be made of polypropylene or other suitable materials. 
         [0038]    While control unit  210  is shown as one unit, and is preferably one unit for maintenance purposes, control unit  210  can be divided into multiple units without departing from the scope of the invention. Repellant tank  220  can be maintained separately so as not to damage timer  120  or air compressor  130 . Additionally, timer  120  can be placed on an outside of control unit  210  for ease of accessibility. 
         [0039]    Repellant dispenser  250  receives pressurized air from air lines  142  and pressurized bird repellant in fog line  242  which are both fed into venturi nozzle  254 . Valve  252  and valve  256  are controlled by timer  120 , which opens the valves according to a set schedule. When valve  252  and valve  256  are opened, the pressurized air from air line  142  withdraws a small amount of bird repellant from line  146  and vaporizes it through venturi nozzle  254  to create repellant fog  258 . Preferably, all valves are opened and closed simultaneously, but timer  120  can control each valve individually and independently from one another. 
         [0040]    In  FIG. 3 , a repellant sprinkler system on building  300  repels animals, for example birds, from repellant locations  322  using control unit  310  and repellant dispensers  320 . 
         [0041]    Control unit  310  remotely activates repellant dispensers  320  from a central location. Each repellant dispenser  320  is capable of generating a fog of repellant, generally a composition comprising methyl anthranilate, which covers a repellant location  322 . The shape, size, and volume of repellant locations are dependent on environmental considerations, for example the speed and direction of wind or the orientation of the vaporizing nozzle (not shown). While repellant locations may overlap, minimal overlap is preferred so as to maximize the effective area of the repellant. The repellant dispensers  320  can be connected via a wire  312  or remotely. The repellant locations are preferably at least five meters away from each other, and are more preferably at least fifteen or twenty meters away from one another to prevent any overlap whatsoever. 
         [0042]    Separating the repellant dispensers from each other and the control unit by a significant distance reduces the amount of methyl anthranilate residue, which can have a detrimental effect on equipment since methyl anthranilate in its liquid form is relatively caustic. For that same reason, it is preferred that the fog is produced in short vapor pulses to prevent the air from being supersaturated with vaporized repellant, which could coagulate into large droplets that form a residue on the surfaces that contact the droplets. Additionally size of the droplets can be reduced and the fog dispersion can be increased by increasing the air pressure that is pumped to the nozzles. 
         [0043]    Using a single control unit  310  is also advantageous as it significantly reduces the cost of the equipment, since the most expensive components are generally the air compressor and timing mechanisms. Instead of purchasing five air compressors and five timing mechanisms to cover five areas, a single air compressor can be used to deliver fog repellant in five different locations, and a single timer can be used to administer five repellant dispensers. 
         [0044]      FIG. 4  shows an alternative repellant system  400  that generally comprises a control unit  410 , repellant dispensers  450 ,  460 ,  470  and a remote interface  480  for remotely controlling repellant system  400  via the web, or another suitable remote system link. 
         [0045]    Control unit  410  generally comprises a repellant reservoir  420 , air compressor  430 , and electronics  440  that regulate air flow to repellant dispensers  450 ,  460 , and  470  via air lines  432 A,  432 B, and  432 C, respectively. Repellant tank  420  is depicted as having fluid lines  422 A,  422 B, and  422 C that supply repellant dispensers  450 ,  460 ,  470  respectively, with an animal deterrent. Still further, it is contemplated that the deterrent system  400  can use an animal deterrent concentrate, in which case a separate water reservoir and water lines (not shown) are used to mix the concentrate with water to give rise to an animal deterrent of desired strength. 
         [0046]      FIG. 4  depicts control unit  410  housing a single repellant tank  420  and air compressor  430 , but it is contemplated that repellant tank  420  and air compressor  430  can be maintained in separate locations, for example within or adjacent to a repellant dispenser, and also that multiple repellant tanks and air compressors can be utilized separately with each repellant dispenser, without departing from the scope of the invention. 
         [0047]    Repellant dispensers  450 ,  460  and  470  generally comprise dispensing nozzles  452 ,  462  and  472 , and environmental sensors  456 ,  466 , and  476  that detect environmental stimulus external to the system. It is contemplated that sensors  456 ,  466  and  476  could function to detect environmental features, for example ambient light, temperature, noise, vibration, wind direction, wind strength, and motion. Preferably, the motion sensor could be configured to differentiate motion between a human and an animal, for example by using a CCD to recognize an image of a bird, or radar that recognizes a small rodent. In an exemplary embodiment, the sensors monitor the same environmental stimuli over a large area, and report a direction and/or location of environmental stimuli. 
         [0048]    Environmental sensors  456 ,  466 , and  476  could provide information to a control unit or a user interface in repellant dispensers  450 ,  460 , and  470 , respectively, or could provide information to control unit  410  via a feedback loop (not shown). This information could then be used to control system  400  itself. For example, when a sensor reports that temperature has dropped significantly, the control unit could raise the air pressure flowing to the nozzles to compensate for the thinner air. If wind is blowing in a northerly direction, the control unit could aim the nozzle towards the north to prevent repellant from coating the repellant dispenser. If the sensor detects a large group of birds, the nozzle could be aimed towards the birds to spray repellant, and an air pressure could be increased/decreased depending on how far the birds are from the dispenser. Sensor information could also be aggregated into reports that show the system&#39;s efficacy or show trends in animal movement around the sensor that could be used to create optimized schedules. 
         [0049]      FIG. 5  depicts a preferred repellant dispenser  500  having a mount  520  (e.g. moveable arm) coupled to a base  510  for controlling the positioning of nozzle  550  in three dimensions. Preferred mount  520  is controlled via motor(s) (not shown) that allow nozzle  550  to be moved up and down (as shown by arrows  522 A and  522 B), side to side (as shown by arrow  522 C), and even rotation of the mount 360 degrees. While mount  520  is shown as a moveable arm that aims the nozzle in a direction via two pivot points, mount  520  could be shaped in any suitable manner to aim nozzle  520 . For example, mount  520  could have more than two pivot points, or could be mounted on a round ball that moves along multiple axis. As shown, nozzle  550  is coupled to mount  520  via a nozzle mount  540  that can be a spring operated quick-connect mechanism, a snap fitting, or other suitable mechanism that allows a user to easily replace nozzle  550  without the use of tools. Quick-connect mechanisms could also be used to couple the mount to the base. 
         [0050]    Nozzle  550  is coupled to air line  562  and bird repellant supply line  564 . Preferably, the nozzle is a venturi nozzle, although other atomizing devices could be used without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, a bubbler could be used that aerates a liquid repellant, or a small amount of heat could be applied to a liquid repellant to evaporate the repellant. 
         [0051]    As shown in  FIG. 4 , remote user interface  480  could be used to remotely manage control unit  410  via a remote connection  482 , including for example an Ethernet connection, Bluetooth, WLAN, and other suitable remote connections. Preferably user interface  480  is a web interface that is accessible via a local intranet or the Internet. 
         [0052]    It is contemplated that user interface  480  allows a user to control and customize various settings of the repellant system remotely, such as: (1) three dimensional positioning of the nozzle direction via the mount shown in  FIG. 5 ; (2) pressure settings that regulate the droplet size depending on certain conditions; (3) alarm settings related to the repellant level which can also include automatic email warnings, text messages, or other suitable notifications to support staff that the repellant level is low; (4) temperature settings that allow a user to set temperature thresholds for increasing or decreasing droplet size; (5) winding settings that allow a user to customize the droplet size according to the wind strength and direction; (6) timer settings that allow a user to control when the repellant system turns on and off, and also the duration and frequency of the repellant bursts from the nozzles; (7) motion settings that allow a user to configure the system to turn on when a bird or other animal is detected. Preferably, a user could use remote interface  480  to operate repellant dispensers  450 ,  460  and  470  in unison, individually, sequentially, in parallel, or in any other suitable manner. Thus, the remote user interface  480  via control unit  410  allows a user to completely customize repellant system to follow a customized schedule or to react to customized thresholds that are unique to a particular environment. 
         [0053]      FIGS. 6A and 6B  generally depict a bird deterrent system  600  having a central control unit  610  and a plurality of repellant dispensers arranged in: (1) a star configuration ( FIG. 6A , numerals  620 A-H), and (2) a circle configuration ( FIG. 6B , numerals  620 I-M).  FIGS. 6A and 6B  depict potential configurations of the repellant dispensers, but it is contemplated that many other suitable physical arrangements of the repellant dispensers are possible, depending on the needs sand wants of the user. 
         [0054]    Thus, specific embodiments and applications of atomizing repellant fog in multiple areas from a central location have been disclosed. It should be apparent, however, to those skilled in the art that many more modifications besides those already described are possible without departing from the inventive concepts herein. The inventive subject matter, therefore, is not to be restricted except in the spirit of the appended claims. Moreover, in interpreting both the specification and the claims, all terms should be interpreted in the broadest possible manner consistent with the context. In particular, the terms “comprises” and “comprising” should be interpreted as referring to elements, components, or steps in a non-exclusive manner, indicating that the referenced elements, components, or steps may be present, or utilized, or combined with other elements, components, or steps that are not expressly referenced. Where the specification claims refers to at least one of something selected from the group consisting of A, B, C . . . and N, the text should be interpreted as requiring only one element from the group, not A plus N, or B plus N, etc.