Patent ID: 8640972

Claim:
A sprayer for applying a liquid spray solution to a ground or turf surface, which comprises: (a) a frame that is movable over the ground or turf surface; (b) a tank carried by the frame for holding the liquid spray solution, the tank having a substantially elliptical lateral cross section that can be subdivided into a pair of upper quadrants and a pair of lower quadrants by an xy coordinate system that is centered on a longitudinal centerline of the tank; (c) a spray system carried by the frame for withdrawing the liquid spray solution from the tank and for spraying the liquid spray solution downwardly onto the ground or turf surface through a plurality of downwardly facing spray nozzles; (d) an agitation system carried by the frame for withdrawing the liquid spray solution from the tank and for recirculating the liquid spray solution back into the tank for keeping the liquid spray solution in solution, the agitation system comprising a plurality of agitation nozzles that are mounted on one side of the tank, that are spaced apart along a length of the tank, and that are oriented to direct the spray solution inwardly into the tank, and wherein the agitation nozzles are located within one of the lower quadrants of the tank lateral cross section; and (e) wherein the agitation nozzles are mounted at a height above a floor of the tank and eject the spray solution therefrom in a direction that is angled downwardly relative to the floor of the tank, and wherein the height of the nozzles above the floor of the tank and the downwardly angled direction of the spray solution emitted by the nozzles are chosen such that the spray solution emitted by the agitation nozzles intersects the floor of the tank at a location that does not extend beyond the longitudinal midline of the tank to promote a rolling action of the spray solution in the substantially elliptical shape of the tank.