SPRAY HEAD

Abstract: An agricultural spray with spray liquid injected (27) into an air blast produced by a fan (24) which is mounted on a pivot (29) and oscillated by a motor (35) driving a crank arm (30).

Description: "SPRAY HEAD" TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION THIS INVENTION relates to agricultural equipment, and more particularly to spray heads which might be employed in orchards for the spraying of foliage. BACKGROUND ART Various forms of sprays are known whereby chemical doses may be applied to the foliage of plants and in orchards it is known to mount sprays off tractors whereby spraying may take place as the tractor drives past rows of trees. This form of spraying is effective to contact the outer foliage but may not treat the whole of the tree. It is preferable to spray from below into the canopy of the tree in some circumstances and this type of spraying can achieve a more efficient distribution of chemicals. To be effective, the spray head needs be advanced beneath the tree and an extendible boom structure is preferable to give sufficient reach from a support vehicle travelling besides the trees to be treated. One form of prior spray applicator uses an air blast produced by a fan to project a spray of liquid onto a tree. This device is mounted on tractor, or other like vehicle, upon a pivotal mechanism which allows the direction of the spray to be adjusted. A disadvantage of this type of equipment is that much of the spray can be uselessly deflected off the foliage so as to not provide a complete coverage and to cause a waste of valuable liquids. OUTLINE OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a spray device which may be mounted on a boom and extended beneath a tree to distribute chemicals into the foliage of the tree with the aid of an air blast. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a spray device having a directional capability so as to enable selective spraying over a wide arc to achieve a degree of control over where the chemicals being sprayed are distributed. Other objects and advantages of the present invention will hereinafter become apparent. The invention achieves its objects by the provision of an agricultural spray apparatus for use in the application of liquids onto the foliage of trees and shrubs having a fan means for establishing a blast of air, a shroud means about said fan means to establish a more directional air blast, mounting means to pivotally support the fan means and its shroud means, liquid injection means to inject liquid into said air blast,, characterised in that a drive means is provided to oscillate the fan means on the mounting means. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In order that the invention may be more readily understood and put into practical effect, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment thereof and wherein:- Figs. 1 to 3 show a boom arrangement upon which the spray head may be mounted; Fig. 4 is a front view of a spray head according to the present invention; and Fig. 5 is a side view of the spray head of Fig. 1. METHOD OF PERFORMANCE In Fig. 1, item 10 is a boom carrier bracket by which the boom assembly may be mounted to a tractor or other like vehicle. Supported on the boom carrier bracket 10, on a shaft passing therethrough, is a pinion 11 which may be a chain type sprocket. The pinion 11 engages with a rack 12 which is a roller chain when a chain sprocket pinion is employed. Also supported on the boom carrier bracket 10 are boom support means 16 which may be freely rotatable wheels on roller bearings on axles 17. The boom 15 may be a hollow length of channelling in which boom support means 16 is located to support the channel section thereupon. The boom and support means 16 is more clearly seen in Fig. 2. Where a roller chain is employed as the rack 12, it may be supported upon the boom and connected at its ends so as to be held in place by suitable connectors 19 which may be through bolts which also serve to prevent the boom support means 16 from running out of the boom at the ends thereof. The connector 19 may provide an end stop means for the boom's travel. Fig. 2 is a view of the boom assembly as shown in Fig. 1, from another angle, being the section indicated in Fig. 1 with like integers similarly numbered. The pinion 11 is shown mounted on the output shaft of a suitable source of motive power 13 which may be an hydraulic motor. Also employed in relation to the pinion 11 as an optional feature is a torque limiter assembly 14 as is further described below. Boom carrier bracket 10 supports at its lower extremitites, boom carrier means 16 on axles 17 retained thereto by retaining clip 18. The boom 15 encompasses the boom support means to be supported thereby. Fig. 3 shows one possible application of the boom as a rear mounted extendible arm by which a work head may be supported off to the side of a tractor or other like support vehicle. Boom bracket 10 is supported off the back of the tractor and rack 12, and pinion 11, enable movement of the boom 15 from a retracted position shown dotted, behind the tractor, and an extended position projected out to the side of the tractor. The air blast spray of Figs. 4 and 5 has a fan 24 which may be driven by an hydraulic motor 23 supported in a frame 22 with a hemispherical rear housing 21 with openings such as 33 to admit air. The fan 24 is provided with a forwardly projected shroud 37 filled at its front with a mesh 25 and surrounded with a fluid supply line 26 having spray heads 27 directing atomised fluids into the air blast of the fan 24 to provide a spray. The spray is mounted on swivel points to be turned by a motor 35 connected to an eccentric point 31 on driven plate 32 through arm 30 to lever arm 28 to turn the spray on axis 29. Pressurised oil is provided to operate the fan, and a selectively operable line provides the means by which the angle of the spray is controlled. Mounting of the spray head on a boom on frame 34 enables the spray head to be placed beneath a tree to blast chemicals upwardly into the foliage from inside the canopy of leaves. The swivel action enables the spray to be directed as desired. The front mesh and rear housing protects the blades against damage should the spray head be run into the tree branches. In Fig. 5 fan 24 is mounted to a shaft 38 and retained thereto by nut 44. Shaft 38 turns in bearings 39 and 40 held in body 41 and retained therein by a circlip 42. Body 41 provides for the mounting of hydraulic motor 23 which is bolted coaxially with shaft 38 by bolts such as 43. The apparatus of Fig. 5 is constructed with a bowl shaped rear portion 21, having cutouts such as 33, therein to allow for the flow of air therethrough. The peripheral edge of the bowl shaped rear portion is provided with a flange 46 with its application thereto by bolting as at 45. The housing 37 providing the shroud means is connected to flange 46 by interconnection of flange 47 to 46 by any suitable means therefor. The. fluid supply line 26 may be a circular tube extending around the periphery of the housing 37 and might be fixed thereto by brackets such as at 49. The supply tube may be provided with a T-piece connector leading to a line 48 through which pressurised fluid can be fed to nozzles such as 27 placed around the periphery of the housing 37 so as to direct sprays of liquid into the air blast of the fan 24. The above described apparatus serves to better apply liquids to trees and shrubs because the effect of the oscillation is to cause a disturbed movement of the foliage of the trees or shrubs. This results in a greater degree of penetration into the canopy of the tree or shrub with less deflection caused than is the case with fixed sprays where branches will bend to a stable position under the air pressure whereat the spray is deflected usually in a relatively fixed manner such that a lot of the spray is lost to the atmosphere. With the oscillating head, the point of greatest pressure of the spray blast on the tree shifts continuously such that branches wave about and allow greater penetration of the canopy with less deflection. While the above has been given by way of illustrative example, many modifications and variations as would be apparent to persons skilled in the art may be made thereto without departing from the broad scope and ambit of the invention as herein set forth and claimed in the following claims.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. An agricultural spray apparatus for use in the. application of liquids onto the foliage of trees and shrubs having a fan means (24) for establishing a blast of air, a shroud means (37) about said fan means (24) to establish a more directional air blast, mounting means (34) to pivotally support the fan means (24) and its shroud means (37), liquid injection means (27, 26, 48) to inject liquid into said air blast, characterised in that a drive means (35) is provided to oscillate the fan means (24) on the mounting means (34) . 2. An agricultural spray apparatus as claimed in Claim 1 wherein said liquid injection means comprises a plurality of nozzles (27) mounted around the forward edge of the shroud means (37) operative to spray liquid into the air blast of the fan means. 3. An agricultural spray apparatus as claimed in Claim 2 wherein the plurality of nozzles (27) are fed by a circular supply line (26) mounted around the forward edge of the shroud means, the circular supply line being connected to a source of pressurised liquid (48) . 4. An agricultural spray apparatus as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the drive means (35) is reciprocatively connected to a lever arm (28) mounted to the fan means (24) and shroud means (37) by an elongated connecting link (30). 5. An agricultural spray apparatus as claimed in Claim 4 wherein the drive means (35) is an hydraulic motor turning a drive plate (32) to which the connecting link (30) is eccentrically mounted. 6. An agricultural spray apparatus as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the shroud means (37) comprises a cylindrical jacket closely spaced about the fan means (24) , the cylindrical jacket (37) being provided with mesh screens (25, 49) fore and aft of the fan means (24). 7. An agricultural spray apparatus as claimed in Claim 6 wherein the fan means (24) has a plurality of blades, the blade tips being closely spaced to the shroud means (37) to reduce energy losses through tip vortex generation. 8. An agricultural spray apparatus as claimed in Claim 6 wherein the fan means (24) is mounted on a shaft (38) coaxially with the shroud means (37) upon a concentric bearing means (39, 40) and an hydraulic motor (23) is mounted coaxially with and connected to said shaft (38). 9. An agricultural spray apparatus for use in the application of liquids onto the foliage of trees and shrubs having a fan means (24) for establishing a blast of air, a shroud means (37) about said fan means (24) to establish a more directional air blast, mounting means (34) to pivotally support the fan means (24) and its shroud means (37) , liquid injection means (27) to inject liquid into said air blast, characterised in that a drive means (35) is provided to oscillate the fan means (24) on the mounting means (34), the liquid injection means comprises a plurality of nozzles (27) around the forward edge of the shroud means, the plurality of nozzles (27) being fed by a circular supply line (26) mounted around the forward edge of the shroud means (37) , the circular supply line (26) being connected to a source of pressurised liquid (48) and the drive means (35) is reciprocatively connected to a lever arm (28) mounted to the fan means (24) and shroud means (37) by an elongated connecting link (30) . 10. An agricultural spray apparatus as claimed in Claim 9 wherein the drive means (35) is an hydraulic motor turning a drive plate (32) to which the connecting link (30) is eccentrically mounted. 11. An agricultural spray apparatus as claimed in Claim 9 wherein the shroud means (37) comprises a cylindrical jacket closely spaced about the fan means, the cylindrical jacket (37) being provided with mesh screens (25, 49) fore and aft of the fan means. 12. An agricultural spray apparatus as claimed in Claim 11 wherein the fan means (24) is mounted on a shaft (38) coaxially withtiie shroud means (37) upon a concentric bearing means (39, 40) and an hydraulic motor (23) is mounted coaxially with and connected to said shaft (38). 13. An agricultural spray apparatus for use in the application of liquids onto the foliage of trees and shrubs having a fan means (24) for establishing a blast of air, a shroud means (37) about said fan means to establish a more directional air blast, mounting means (34) to pivotally support the fan means (24) , and its shroud means (37), liquid injection means (27) to inject liquid into said air blast, characterised in that a drive means (35) is provided to oscillate the fan means on the mounting means, the fan means (24) comprises a plurality of blades, the shroud means (37) is a cylindrical jacket closely spaced from the blade tips and the cylindrical jacket (37) is provided with mesh screens (25, 49) fore and aft of the fan means.

Inventors: STEVENS ALEC MARTIN, STEVENS, ALEC, MARTIN
Applicants: STEVENS ALEC MARTIN, STEVENS, ALEC, MARTIN
Application year: 1985
Main classification: A01M7
IPC codes: A01M7, B05B3