Manual spray apparatus

A manual, portable spray apparatus is disclosed to enable a worker to spray fields in a remote area where batteries may be difficult to obtain. The apparatus includes a portable chemical liquid storage tank, from which gravity feeds agricultural liquid chemicals to a rotary spray head. The spray head is powered by a small electric motor which receives its electrical current from a portable dynamo. The portable dynamo is rotated by a portable gear train which in turn is functioned by a hand crank. The worker can maintain spraying operations by rotating the crank as he walks and by applying the rotary spray head to the desired areas to be sprayed as the entire apparatus is moved. The dynamo output can be connected to accessory electrical or electronic equipment such as a radio transmitter, a transistor radio or a lamp to thereby achieve maximum utility under all conditions of use.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
This invention relates generally to the field of agricultural liquid spray 
apparatus, and more particularly, is directed to a portable system 
including a manually operated dynamo suitable to function a rotary spray 
head and auxiliary equipment to facilitate the manual application of 
liquid agricultural chemicals in an efficient manner. 
2. Discussion of the Prior Art 
Mechanisms to aid in the application of liquid and granular agricultural 
chemicals to gardens, fields and other surface areas have long been a 
popular subject matter for prior workers in the art. Numerous types of 
mechanical devices have been developed to spread the agricultural 
chemicals and these devices have been both manually and mechanically 
operated. More recently, the apparatus and equipment has tended to be 
quite complicated in nature and expensive in manufacture and operation. 
Most presently available types of spray apparatus have been designed for 
use with various types of vehicles including aircraft and such known 
equipment has proven to be both efficient and effective to relatively 
uniformly apply the desired chemicals. 
Agricultural chemical application equipment has also been particularly 
designed for manual use by an individual and it is in this particular area 
that the present invention finds special utility. For example, in U.S. 
Pat. No. 3,648,935 by the inventor of the present invention, a spray 
apparatus with a rotary movable head has been disclosed. In the apparatus 
described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,648,935, the movable spray head is rotatively 
powered through apparatus including ground contacting wheels so that as 
the apparatus is moved over the ground surface, the wheels generate rotary 
forces sufficient to rotate the rotary spray head. In other applications, 
the rotary spray head has been removed from the ground contacting 
apparatus and has instead been equipped with a small electric motor. Upon 
equipping the small motor with a suitable battery or batteries, a worker 
can walk over the ground surface while spraying and the electric motor 
will provide the rotary energy necessary to turn the spray head for 
agricultural chemical application purposes. 
Such manually carried, battery powered spray apparatus has become quite 
popular in relatively backward or third world countries and has been 
widely distributed by one agricultural chemical manufacturer under the 
trademark "HERBIE". While this device has proved to be highly effective in 
such areas and efficient when in use, it has been found by farm and 
plantation operators in third world countries that the "HERBIE" type 
apparatus is frequently out-of-service and inoperable due to battery run 
down and the lack of a convenient source of supply for replacement 
batteries. In addition to the loss of battery power due to the usual and 
proper use of the apparatus, it has developed that the agricultural farm 
workers in such areas have a tendency to use the batteries for other 
purposes, such as for portable radios and the like. Accordingly, when it 
comes time to work, the spray apparatus frequently cannot function due to 
the lack of suitable battery power. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates generally to manual agricultural chemical 
spray apparatus, and more particularly, is directed to a completely 
self-contained spray system that will enable a farm worker in a third 
world country to manually generate sufficient power for spray head 
rotation as the worker progresses through the fields on foot. 
The manual spray apparatus of the present invention comprises generally a 
rotary spray head which is driven by a small electric motor in known 
manner. A small, manual, light weight dynamo or generator is provided in a 
manner to be comfortably worn by the worker wherein the output from the 
dynamo can be fed directly to the spray head motor to thereby rotate the 
spray head under all conditions of use when the dynamo is operated. 
Additionally, the output of the dynamo is calculated to be sufficient to 
simultaneously feed a transmitter or similar apparatus whereby radio 
signals can be automatically generated at all times when the dynamo is in 
operation. A plantation owner or farm boss can be equipped with a 
compatible radio receiver to receive the radio signals transmitted by each 
manual spray system to thereby readily monitor the operation and output of 
each of the workers in the field. 
In accordance with the teachings of this invention, a "HERBIE" type spray 
head can be affixed at the end of a suitable applicator handle to 
facilitate aiming or placement of the rotary spray head as the worker 
proceeds through the fields. The worker, in known manner will carry a 
liquid chemical containing tank on his back. A gravity outlet is provided 
from the tank to the spray head whereby the liquid agricultural chemical 
will flow by gravity to the spray head for application in a rotary pattern 
in known manner when the spray head is operated. A suitable small dynamo 
or generator with manual handle is equipped with straps for affixing to 
the waist or other portion of the body of the worker. In this manner, the 
worker can easily rotate the dynamo crank or handle with one hand as he 
walks while the spray head itself can be directed by the worker's other 
hand as he progresses through the field to be sprayed. A small radio 
transmitter of known design receives power from the dynamo and 
continuously emits a coded signal to thereby continuously indicate that 
the dynamo crank is being turned and that the worker is progressing 
through the fields. When the worker stops for a rest, the dynamo handle 
will not be turned and consequently the radio signal will be interrupted. 
If desired, other small electrical appliances, for example, lamps could 
also be provided and connected to the dynamo output. In this manner, 
electric lighting facilities can be provided in out of the way areas which 
might not otherwise have electric lighting capability during evening hours 
when the spray equipment would not ordinarily be in use. The lamp or lamps 
could also be utilized to provide sufficient light to permit night 
spraying. 
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved 
manual agricultural spray apparatus of the type set forth. 
It is another object of the present invention to provide a novel manual 
spray apparatus comprising an electric motor powered spray head and a 
small, portable, hand operated dynamo that is capable of supplying 
sufficient electric power to rotate the spray head as a worker proceeds 
through the field. 
It is another object of the present invention to provide a novel, manual 
agricultural spray apparatus comprising a motor operated spray head, a 
hand operated dynamo supplying electric energy for the spray head motor, a 
radio transmitter drawing its energy requirements from the dynamo output 
and a radio receiver to receive the radio signal from the radio 
transmitter. 
It is another object of the present invention to provide a novel manual 
spray apparatus that is rugged in construction, inexpensive in manufacture 
and trouble free when in use. 
Other objects and a fuller understanding of the invention will be had by 
referring to the following detailed description when considered in 
connection with the accompanying drawings wherein like reference 
characters are used to designate similar parts throughout.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION 
Although specific terms are used in the following description for the sake 
of clarity, these terms are intended to refer only to the particular 
structure of the invention selected for illustration in the drawings, and 
are not intended to define or limit the scope of the invention. 
Referring now to the drawings, there is shown in FIG. 1 the manual 
agricultural spray apparatus 10 of the present invention in use by an 
agricultural field worker 12. In well known manner, the spray apparatus 10 
may be of the "HERBIE" type and comprises a rotary spray head 14 which is 
rotatably driven by a directly connected, small electric motor 16. The 
spray head 14 may be affixed at the end of a suitable elongated handle 18 
to permit accurate application of the liquid agricultural chemical (not 
shown) to the ground surface by the worker using one hand, for example, 
his left hand 20. A liquid chemical containing tank or reservoir 22 can be 
carried by the worker 12 in known manner, for example, by securing the 
tank or reservoir 22 upon his back by employing usual straps 24 or other 
known types of reservoir attaching facilities. A flexible conduit 26 
communicates between the bottom of the tank or reservoir 22 and the spray 
head 14 to provide a continuous gravity flow of liquid agricultural 
chemical (not illustrated) for spraying at all times when the spray head 
14 is being rotated by the motor 16. 
As illustrated, a hand operated generator or dynamo 28 is provided as part 
of the spray apparatus and can be conveniently secured to the worker in 
any comfortable, known manner, for example, by employing an adjustable 
belt 30. The generator or dynamo system 28 comprises a simple enclosure or 
gear box 32 having a speed increasing gear train therewithin and a manual 
crank or handle 34 to rotate the gears of the gear train in a controlled 
and deliberate manner. The output of the gear train 66, 67, 68 (FIG. 2) in 
turn is connected to a small output dynamo 36 of size suitable to provide 
sufficient power to energize the electric motor 16 to rotate the spray 
head 14. 
Inasmuch as only small quantities of electrical energy will be required to 
function the motor 16 and the spray head 14, the dynamo 36 can 
conveniently be a previously known and manufactured item, such as a usual 
bicycle generator which has long been designed and employed for use with 
bicycles to energize such low power requirement equipment as a bicycle 
lamp. The output of the bicycle type dynamo 36 should match the power 
input requirements of the spray head motor 16 so that the electrical 
energy supplied will rotate the spray head 14. The generator or dynamo 36 
can be connected to the gear train output in known manner whereby there is 
considerable mechanical advantage between the input provided by the right 
hand 38 of the worker 12 as he rotates the crank or handle 34 while 
walking through the field. The slow rotative speed of the crank 34 as 
turned by the hand 38 of the worker 12 will be increased through the gear 
train to an output speed sufficient to efficiently function the generator 
or dynamo system 28. Accordingly, when the worker 12 proceeds along his 
assigned route, by rotating the crank or handle 34, sufficient quantities 
of energy can be generated at the dynamo 36 to rotate the spray head 14 to 
thereby cause the desired spraying operation to proceed. When the crank is 
not turned, then there will be no output from the dynamo or generator 36 
and the spray head 14 will not be rotated. 
A pair of wires 40, 42 interconnect the generator 36 output with the input 
to the electric motor 16 in known manner and sufficient length of wire is 
provided so as not to interfere with the placement and positioning of the 
spray head 14 as the worker 12 proceeds through the fields. If desired, 
the wires 40, 42 can be affixed either interiorly or exteriorly to the 
spray head elongated handle 18 to protect the wires and to minimize the 
chances of mechanical injury to the wires. 
Referring now to FIG. 2 and additionally considering FIG. 1, it will be 
seen that the output from the dynamo 36 can be utilized to function 
additional types of electrically powered apparatus. In one alternate 
construction, a large lamp 70 could be connected to the dynamo output by 
wires 72, 74 whereby sufficient light could be produced by the lamp 70 to 
illuminate portions of the field to be sprayed to enable the spray 
apparatus 10 to be utilized after dark for nighttime spraying. In the 
embodiment illustrated, a small radio transmitter 44 is powered by the 
dynamo 36 and is connected to the dynamo output through usual electrical 
wires 46, 48 to develop a continuously transmitted radio signal in well 
known manner. Preferably, the signal generated by the transmitter 44 can 
be coded in known manner so that a single, common receiver 50 of known 
construction can pick up and distinguish the coded signals generated by a 
plurality of working transmitters. In this manner, the radio signals of a 
number of transmitters 44 which may be positioned in various parts of a 
plantation or field, depending upon the chore assigned to each of a number 
of workers can be received, discriminated and easily identified. 
The receiver 50 can be of well known suitable design and comprises 
essentially an antenna 52 of known design suitable to receive radio 
signals emitted through the antenna 56 of the transmitter 44. The 
generated radio signals are received in the receiver 50 at a discriminator 
54 of known type wherein the discriminator functions to distinguish 
between the variously coded incoming signals. The discriminator 54 feeds 
the information to a plurality of monitors 58, 60, etc. in known manner. 
In turn, each monitor output can be connected individually to one of a 
plurality of known type indicators or annunicators 62, 64, etc. whereby a 
single foreman or plantation owner can immediately determine when some or 
all of the field workers are no longer generating electricity and so can 
no longer be spraying their assigned fields. While only two monitors 58, 
60 and only two annunciators 62, 64 are illustrated, it will be 
appreciated that any number of similar monitors and annunicators can be 
added in well known manner to accommodate and receive the transmitted 
radio signals generated by any number of field workers. 
If desired, additional power take offs can be provided at the dynamo 36 to 
power other small pieces of electrical apparatus, for example lamps, 
transistor radios, etc. All that would be required would be to attach 
additional wires 72, 74 to the dynamo output and so long as the dynamo was 
designed of sufficient capacity, all of the attached electrical apparatus 
could be simultaneously functioned. Alternately, in remote areas, in the 
evenings after work hours, the spray head motor 16 and the transmitter 44 
could be disconnected from the dynamo outlet and the worker could then 
have a ready source of small electrical current supply to power small 
items such as lights 70, transistor radios and other small electric 
appliances requiring minimum electric input. 
Although the invention has been described with a certain degree of 
particularity, it is understood that the present disclosure has been made 
only by way of example and that numerous changes in the details of 
construction and the combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted 
to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, the 
scope of the invention should not be limited by the foregoing 
specification, but rather, only by the scope of the claims appended 
hereto.