Patent Publication Number: US-2023143480-A1

Title: Tree injection assembly and method

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     Not Applicable 
    
    
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
     Not Applicable 
    
    
     THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT 
     Not Applicable 
     INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC OR AS A TEXT FILE VIA THE OFFICE ELECTRONIC FILING METHOD. 
     Not Applicable 
     STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES BY THE INVENTOR OR JOINT INVENTOR 
     Not Applicable 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Field of the Invention 
     The disclosure relates to tree injection device and more particularly pertains to a new tree injection device for injecting liquids into a tree. Such liquids typically include insecticides, fungicides, growth regulators, nutrients, fertilizers and the like. The liquid is injected through a borehole formed in a tree to deliver the liquid to the sapwood of a tree trunk. 
     Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 And 1.98 
     The prior art relates to tree injection devices that have comprised either direct, pressurized injection such as with an injection gun, or by way of gravity feeders wherein a container of liquid is suspended above and fluidly coupled to a borehole. Each of these methods have their downsides. Utilizing pumps or injection guns to directly inject the fluid into a tree involves costly equipment as well as prevents the ability to deliver a dosage of liquid over an extended period such as between a few hours and up to three days. Gravity type delivery systems require additional work to secure the container above the borehole and flow can be impeded by the tree sealing the borehole and back-pressure from the sapwood. Thus a need exists to overcome the tree’s resistance to receiving the liquid in an inexpensive manner while allowing for the elongation of dosage delivery times. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a conduit that has a first end and a second end. The conduit is configured to allow liquid to flow into the first end and outwardly of the second end. An injection nozzle is fluidly coupled to the second end and tip is extendable into a tree to allow liquid from the conduit to flow through the injection nozzle and into the tree. A chamber is fluidly coupled to the first end of the conduit. The chamber has a perimeter wall bounding an interior of the chamber and an opening in the perimeter wall is fluidly coupled to the first end. The chamber is comprised of resiliently elastic material. The chamber is inflated with liquid when the liquid is pressurized externally of the chamber and delivered into the chamber through the conduit. The perimeter wall of the chamber exerts pressure on the liquid such that the liquid is ejected into the first end and outwardly of the second end of the conduit. 
     In another embodiment of the disclosure, a method of injecting liquid into a borehole of a tree includes fluidly coupling a source of pressurized liquid to a chamber. The chamber is comprised of a resiliently elastic perimeter wall and the chamber is inflated with a predetermined amount of the pressurized liquid. After being the chamber is inflated with the pressurized liquid, the perimeter wall exerts pressure on the pressurized liquid to retain it in a pressurized condition. An injection nozzle, fluidly coupled to the chamber with a conduit, is inserted into a borehole formed in a tree. The chamber is allowed to deflate to force the liquid into the tree through the borehole. 
     There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto. 
     The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein: 
         FIG.  1    is a rear and side isometric view of a tree injection assembly and method according to an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG.  2    is a side isometric view of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG.  3    is a side and top isometric view of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG.  4    is a broken cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the disclosure taken along line 4-4 of  FIG.  1   . 
         FIG.  5    is a cross-sectional view of a chamber of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG.  6    is an isometric in-use view of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG.  7    is a side in-use view of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to  FIGS.  1  through  7    thereof, a new tree injection device embodying the principles and concepts of an embodiment of the disclosure and generally designated by the reference numeral  10  will be described. 
     As best illustrated in  FIGS.  1  through  7   , the tree injection assembly  10  and method generally comprises a conduit  12  that has a first end  14  and a second end  16 . The conduit  12  is configured to allow liquid to flow into the first end  14  and outwardly of the second end  16 . The conduit  12  will typically comprise a flexible hose and may include plastic and elastomeric materials. Conventional irrigation tubing may be utilized due to its affordability and suitability for use with the method taught herein. The length of the conduit  12  is not material to the functionality of the method  10  but will typically be between about 12 inches and 3 feet in length. As can be seen in the Figures, the conduit  12  may have a break  18  therein for reasons that will be explained below. 
     An injection nozzle  20  is fluidly coupled to the second end  16 . The injection nozzle  20  is extendable into a borehole  22  of a tree  24  to allow liquid from the conduit  12   to flow through the injection nozzle  20  and into the tree  24 . Typically, the injection nozzle  20  is barbed and is frictionally engageable with a tree to prevent unintended removal from the tree  24 . A barbed nozzle further provides an advantage of creating a sealed juncture to prevent fluid from leaking around the nozzle  20 . A conventional ¼ inch to 3/16 inch barbed reducer may be utilized for the injector tip. If the borehole  22  is filled with a plug, it is also conceivable that the injection nozzle  20  be a needle which is extendable through the plug. 
     A chamber  26  is fluidly coupled to the first end  14  of the conduit  12  for receiving liquid from and delivering liquid into the conduit  12 . The chamber  26  has a perimeter wall  28  bounding an interior  30  of the chamber  26  and an opening  32  in the perimeter wall  28  is fluidly coupled to the first end  14  and this may be achieves, as an example, with a barbed reducer  34 . The chamber  26  is comprised of resiliently elastic material such as natural or synthetic rubber and may be in the form of a cylindrical tube before inflation. When the chamber  26  is inflated with liquid  36  under pressure from an external source through the conduit  12 , the perimeter wall  28  of the chamber  26  will exert force to on the liquid  36  positioned within the chamber  26  such that the liquid  36  is retained under pressure such that it is ejected into the first end  14  and outwardly of the second end  16  of the conduit  12 . For simplicity, the term “pressurized liquid” herein is intended to define liquids that are under pressure greater than standard atmospheric pressure for controlling their direction of flow wherein the flow is also unhindered by gravity. While the chamber  26  is fillable through the conduit, it should be understood that the chamber  26  may include a separate fill aperture for receiving pressurized liquid. 
     A valve  38  is positioned between the first  14  and second  16  ends and is in fluid communication with the conduit  12 . As can be seen in the Figures, the conduit  12  may include the break  18  to allow two sections of the conduit  12  to each engage the valve  38 . However, the valve  38  may alternatively be positioned in the conduit  12 . The valve  38  is positionable in a closed position restricting liquid  36  from flowing through the conduit  12  or in an open position allowing liquid  36  to flow through the conduit  12 . 
     An encapsulating member  40  is positioned around and contains the chamber  26  wherein the encapsulating member  40  has an outer wall  42  extending around the chamber  26 . The outer wall  42  is less elastic than the chamber  26  for the purpose of inhibiting over inflation of the chamber  26 . When the chamber  26  is not fully inflated, as shown in  FIG.  5   , empty space between the chamber  26  and the encapsulating member  40  allows for additional filling of the chamber  26 .  FIG.  1    depicts a cylindrical housing being used as the encapsulating member  40 , though it should be understood that any containment assembly, having sufficient rigidity to prevent over inflation of the chamber  26 , may be utilized. Thus, where the conduit  12  may be comprised of ¼ inch irrigation tube, the encapsulating member  40  may comprise a 1.5 inch irrigation tube having the chamber positioned therein. The encapsulating member  40  will typically include an air opening  44  in the encapsulating member  40  to allow for air passage as the chamber  26  inflates and deflates. 
     In use, a conventional mechanical pump is fluidly coupled to the conduit  12  to inject into the conduit  12  a predetermined amount of a selected liquid  36 . The liquid  36 , being under pressure by the pump, will overcome the back pressure caused by the chamber  26  such that the chamber  26  begins to inflate. Once the predetermined amount of liquid  36  has been delivered, the valve  38  is moved to a closed position to retain the liquid  36 , now under pressure from the chamber  26 , within the chamber  26  and in the conduit between the valve  38  and the chamber  26 . The predetermined amount can vary greatly based on factors such as the dosage concentration and size of the tree receiving the liquid  36  and is typically between 5 ml and 150 ml. Once the chamber  26  has been filled, the injection nozzle  20  is inserted into the borehole  22  a sufficient distance such that the liquid  36  will enter the sapwood of the tree  24 . The valve  38  is then opened to allow the liquid  36  to leave the chamber  26  and enter the tree  24 . 
     Because the liquid  36  is being driven under pressure exerted by the perimeter wall  28  of the chamber  26 , the liquid  36  will continually flow by overcoming back-pressure from liquid  36  buildup in the tree  24  and by preventing the sealing of the borehole  22 . Additionally, unlike gravity fed methods, the liquid holding vessel, in this case the chamber  26 , need not be attached to the tree  24  such that the liquid  36  is positioned above the borehole  22  as the liquid  36  is forced out of the conduit through pressure regardless of the position of the chamber. It should also be understood that because the chamber  26  volume can be adjusted as the tree grows, only a single a borehole  22  need to be drilled per growing seasons whereas pre-loaded devices require multiple drill holes which, over time, can contribute to physical damage to the tree  24 . 
     With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure. 
     Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.