EP4355093A1

EP4355093A1 - Blower head for providing a wide-angular airstream and drone or device for dispensing biological material

Info

Publication number: EP4355093A1
Application number: EP22733067.7A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Niels Lennart OHLSEN
Original assignee: Syddansk Universitet
Current assignee: Syddansk Universitet
Priority date: 2021-06-14
Filing date: 2022-06-13
Publication date: 2024-04-24
Also published as: WO2022263367A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a blower head (13) for providing a wide-angular airstream. It comprises an inner chamber (17), an inlet (18) for entry of a flow of air into the inner chamber (17), and an outlet (15) for exit of air from the inner chamber (17). The inlet is configured to be in fluid communication with a blower (14) for providing the flow of air when in use. The outlet is in the form of an elongated aperture (15) facing away from the blower head. The inner chamber is dimensioned and shaped so that air flowing through the inner chamber changes direction by hitting inner walls (19) of the inner chamber in a manner resulting in a wide-angular airstream exiting the outlet. The invention further relates to a drone (1) or a device (25) and a method for dispensing biological material (11), such as beneficial animals, by using the blower head to apply an airstream to the biological material being dispensed.

Description

BLOWER HEAD FOR PROVIDING A WIDE-ANGULAR AIRSTREAM AND DRONE OR DEVICE FOR DISPENSING BIOLOGICAL MATERIAL

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the dispensing of biological material from a drone, such as for dispensing larvae or insects onto an agricultural area by letting the drone pass over the agricultural area while performing the dispensing. The biological material is blown away from the dispenser and the rotor blades of the drone by use of a blower. In particular, the invention relates to a blower head for mounting on such a blower and with which it is possible to obtain a well-defined, wide-angular airstream exiting the outlet of the blower head. Hereby a gentle handling and thereby a low mortality rate of the biological material can be obtained. The invention further relates to a device, such as a hand-held device, comprisning a blower head and for use in the dispensing of biological material.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The use of pesticides to manage pest problems is a common practice around the world. However, studies have shown that traces of pesticides used around 1930 can still be found in drinking water reservoirs contaminating the fresh water supply and potentially endangering the safety of the consumers. A known substitute for herbicides and insecticides is the dispensing of natural predators, relative to the pest, e.g. mites that eat the eggs of harmful insects, ladybugs that feed on soft-bodied harmful larvae, or bees that pollinate the crops and thereby increase the yield of a field.

One of the current problems with the dispensing of living insects or larvae is the dispensing rate and the mortality rate. Dispensing insects or larvae by hand is a gentle but labor-intensive method, and mechanical dispensing is difficult to accomplish without harming or killing the living insects or larvae. Hence, an improved method of pest control within agriculture would be advantageous. In particular, a more eco-friendly and non-toxic method, preferably with none or at least low long-term impact on the environment, would be advantageous. It would be advantageous if dispensing of biological material could be performed with a method which is so gentle to the biological material being dispensed that a low mortality rate could be ensured.

Over the last years, attempts have been made to dispense living insects or larvae by use of a dispensing mechanism mounted on a drone passing over the surface with plants to be treated. However, a current problem with the dispensing of living insects or larvae by drone is that the dispensing is typically performed in a manner where they exit the outlet of the dispenser and drop down by gravity. A blower may be used to blow them away from the outlet. Wind may blow them a bit sideways, but apart from that, they are spread in one direction and not spread sideways. This may be fine when they are to be spread over plants arranged in rows, but when a more broad area is to be covered, the drone has to fly over the area several times, before a sufficient coverage is obtained.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a blower head configured to be used on a drone for dispensing biological material, wherein the application of said blower head on a blower results in a more gentle handling of the biological material and a higher degree of evenness of the spreading of said biological material than is possible with prior art.

When the blower head is used for dispensing live beneficial animals, it is an object of the present invention to provide a blower head with which the mortality rate of the beneficial animals is lower than with prior art.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a blower head which when used on a blower can provide a wide-angular and even spreading of biological material being dispensed under the action of the airstream exiting the blower head.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an alternative to the prior art. In particular, it may be seen as an object of the present invention to provide a blower head that solves the above mentioned problems of the prior art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The above described object and several other objects are intended to be obtained in a first aspect of the invention by providing a blower head for providing a wide- angular airstream, the blower head comprising:

- an inner chamber,

- an inlet for entry of a flow of air into the inner chamber, the inlet being configured to be in fluid communication with a blower for providing the flow of air when in use, and

- an outlet for exit of air from the inner chamber, wherein the outlet is in the form of an elongated aperture facing away from the blower head, and extending over an angle of between 20 and 180 degrees, such as between 30 and 180 degrees, such as 60 to 180 degrees, such as 60 to 120 degrees, and wherein the inner chamber and the aperture are dimensioned and shaped so that air flowing through the inner chamber changes direction by hitting inner walls of the inner chamber in a manner resulting in a wide-angular airstream exiting the outlet.

By "aperture" is meant an opening, i.e. a through-going hole, through which the air can exit from the inner chamber. The aperture could also be referred to as orifice or opening.

By "wide-angular" is meant that the airstream spreads away from the outlet in a fan-shaped manner. Hereby it is obtained that when the blower head is used for the dispensing of biological material as will be described below, the biological material will be spread over a larger area than would be the case, if the outlet were e.g. in the form of a circular opening. Such an opening would result in a narrow airstream, such as an airstream being in one or substantially one direction. Instead of "wide-angular", the airstream could also be referred to as "spread" or "wide-spread". The angle could be defined as the angle between imaginary lines between the outermost rays of air exiting the outlet. When the blower head is used for the dispensing of biological material by drone, the aperture having an angle of 180 degrees would result in the biological material being spread over the whole of the region behind the moving drone. This would ensure a coverage over as large an area as possible for a given type of biological material. The biological material would of course fall down due to gravity, and a given flight pattern should be chosen to make sure that a given surface area on the ground is covered as intended.

The design of a blower head according to the invention therefore makes it possible to obtain a well-defined airstream exiting the outlet. By "well-defined" is meant that it is possible to provide some parameters that objectively describe the airstream. An example of such a parameter is the angle of the airstream as will be further explained in the following. Another example could be the thickness, i.e. the vertical extension, of the airstream at a given distance from the outlet.

The invention was primarily developed for use in relation to dispensing of beneficial animals by a drone. For this purpose, air is considered an advantageous medium for the spreading. However, the blower head itself would also work for other types of gasses. Thus, any mentioning of "air" could be replaced by "gas".

What is called "beneficial animals" in the following, could also be referred to as "beneficial species" or "beneficial organisms". In agriculture, horticulture and forestry, beneficial animals are organisms that decimate pests, but also have other valuable, yield-increasing or stabilising functions. Today, they are also used in intensive crop cultivation as a cost-efficient and environmentally friendly solution for sustainable production. Biological crop protection is part of an integrated approach in which the potential of microorganisms and insects for the reduction of chemical pest control agents is systematically used. In organic farming, chemical pesticides cannot be used, and therefore the targeted use of beneficial organisms has a long tradition there. If the naturally occurring beneficial insect populations are not sufficient, farmers can use numerous beneficial insects to treat crops. Examples of "beneficial animals" are insects, larvae, or mites that eat the eggs of harmful insects, ladybugs that feed on soft-bodied harmful larvae, or bees that pollinate the crops.

Furthermore, the invention can also be applied in other kinds of devices, such as in hand-held devices, rail guided devices, or motorized ground devices such as tractors or mobile robots.

The shape, dimensions and orientation of the aperture is preferably designed such that a normal along the aperture defines desired directions of the airstream exiting the outlet. By "normal" is meant a vector extending at a right angle to an imaginary surface forming the aperture. This will be illustrated in figure 5.

In some embodiments of the invention, the aperture is in the form of a circular segment in a plane of extension of the aperture. By "circular segment" is preferably meant a portion of a circular disk, where one edge is a circular arc and another edge is a chord, i.e. a straight line joining two points on a circle. Another way to describe a circular segment is that it is the shape obtained by cutting off a part of a circle from the rest of the circle, wherein the cut is a straight line between two points on the circle. Thus, such an aperture can be obtained by arranging the outlet in a part of the blower head having a circular cross-section.

The aperture may have a varying opening size in a direction perpendicular to the airstream; i.e. in the direction shown as vertical in figure 6. Hereby a corresponding variation in the amount of air being blown in different directions can be obtained. In some embodiments of the invention, the opening size is larger at end regions of the aperture than at a central region of the aperture. When such embodiments are used for the dispensing of biological material from a drone, the fact that more air is blown out of the blower head at the end regions of the aperture means that the biological material being carried by this part of the airstream is spread over a longer distance than the biological material being spread from the central region. Hereby it easier to ensure a more even spreading of the biological material over a large area on the ground. Furthermore, it makes a single pass of the drone more effective and thereby saves time as well as biological material for a given task. In some embodiments of the invention, the blower head further comprises a protrusion which, when the blower head is in use, is arranged above the outlet and facing upwards, the protrusion having an outer surface which is inclined with respect to vertical, when the blower head is in use. Hereby it is obtained that when the blower head is used for the spreading of material being dispensed from above the blower head, this material hits and slides along the protrusion before being influenced by the airstream. In relation to the dispensing of beneficial animals by drone, such a design of the blower head provides a gentle handling of the typically vulnerable animals whereby a low mortality rate can be ensured.

In embodiments having a protrusion as just described, the protrusion may be shaped as a cone or as a truncated cone. Furthermore, the outlet may be provided in a wall of the protrusion. An example of such a design will be described in relation to the figures. Such a shape of the protrusion makes the created vector field of the airstream start in essentially a point. When the blower head is used for spreading biological material from a dispenser unit as will be described below, this allows for even distribution from even a narrow dispenser unit outlet. In some embodiments of the invention, the inlet is configured to be mounted directly to the blower, such as by press fit or by a threaded connection. In other embodiments, the blower head is integrally made with the blower.

In a second aspect, the invention relates to a drone for dispensing biological material, such as beneficial animals, the drone comprising:

- a drone body,

- propulsion means for providing the propulsion of the drone during use,

- a container for storage of biological material to be dispensed,

- a dispenser unit for dispensing the biological material, - a blower, and

- a blower head as described above, the blower head being mounted to the blower, wherein the blower head is arranged below the dispenser unit so that biological material leaving the dispenser unit during dispensing falls towards the outlet of the blower head and is spread over an area by the wide-angular airstream exiting the outlet.

The container may be detachably mounted, so that an empty container can easily be replaced by another one which has been filled e.g. at another location.

In some embodiments of the invention, the blower and the blower head may be arranged at a distance from rotor blades of the drone which ensures that the biological material being dispensed does not hit the rotor blades. This will be particularly advantageous when the biological material is beneficial animals that could become injured or killed by impact with the rotor blades. Thus, such an arrangement will ensure that the mortality rate of the animals is kept low. Furthermore, it is easier to control the spreading, such as to ensure an even spreading, by avoiding any significant influence from the airflow caused by the rotating blades.

In some embodiments of the drone, there is a plurality of dispenser units and a corresponding number of blower heads, and the blower supplies air to all of the blower heads. By such embodiments, dispensing of the biological material will take place from separated locations on the drone, whereby it may be possible to spread over a larger area on the ground by each pass of the drone. This enables a more efficient work process.

An alternative of the second aspect of the invention relates to a device for dispensing biological material, such as beneficial animals, the device comprising:

- a container for storage of biological material to be dispensed,

- a dispenser unit for dispensing the biological material,

- a blower, and

- a blower head according to the first aspect of the invention, the blower head being mounted to the blower, wherein the blower head is arranged below the dispenser unit so that biological material leaving the dispenser unit during dispensing falls towards the outlet of the blower head and is spread over an area by the wide-angular airstream exiting the outlet. Such a device may be selected from a hand-held device, a rail-guided device, or a motorized ground device, such as a tractor or a mobile robot.

In a third aspect, the invention relates to a method of dispensing biological material by use of a drone as described above, the method comprising the following steps:

- filling the biological material into the container,

- transporting the drone to a dispensing area where the dispensing is to take place, and

- letting the drone fly over the dispensing area while performing the dispensing.

The step of filling the biological material into the container may be performed before or after the container is mounted to the drone body.

In some embodiments, the biological material is beneficial animals. This is the method for which the invention was developed, but a blower head as described above may also be used for other applications where it is advantageous to obtain a well-defined wide-angular airstream.

An alternative of the third aspect of the invention relates to a method of dispensing biological material, such as live beneficial animals, by use of a device as described above, the method comprising the following steps:

- filling the biological material into the container,

- transporting the device to a dispensing area where the dispensing is to take place, and

- moving the device over the dispensing area while performing the dispensing.

The first, second and third aspects of the present invention may each be combined with any of the other aspects. These and other aspects of the invention will be apparent from and elucidated with reference to the embodiments described hereinafter. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The blower head according to the invention as well as a dispensing of biological material by use of such a blower head will now be described in more detail with regard to the accompanying figures. The figures show one way of implementing the present invention and is not to be construed as being limiting to other possible embodiments falling within the scope of the attached claim set.

Figure 1 schematically shows a three-dimensional side view an embodiment of a drone according to the present invention.

Figure 2 is a top view of the drone in figure 1.

Figure 3 schematically shows an embodiment of a blower head connected to a blower and arranged below a dispensing unit of a drone, such as the drone in figure 1.

Figure 4 schematically shows a blower head having a section cut-off to reveal the inner chamber.

Figure 5 schematically shows the wide-angular airstream spread from the aperture of a blower head.

Figure 6 schematically shows a front view of the blower head in figure 5.

Figure 7 schematically shows another embodiment of a drone having two dispensing units and having two corresponding blower heads connected to one centrally arranged blower.

Figure 8 schematically shows an embodiment of the invention in the form of a hand-held device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF AN EMBODIMENT

A blower head according to the present invention has been developed in relation to the technical field of dispensing biological material by use of a drone. However, as mentioned above, it can also be used for other ways of dispensing. When dispensing live beneficial animals, it is desired to ensure a gentle handling of the live beneficial animals so that the mortality rate thereof can be kept as low as possible.

Figure 1 schematically shows an example of a drone 1 for dispensing biological material, such as live beneficial animals. The drone 1 has a drone body 2 which in the embodiment of figure 1 is in the form of four arms arranged in the shape of a cross. Each of the arms is provided with a leg 3 on which the drone 1 can stand when landed. The legs 3 can also be considered as a part of the drone body 2. At an outer end region of each arm, a rotor blade 4 is arranged. The rotor blades 4 together with at least one driving motor (not shown) and at least one battery (not shown) form the propulsion means for providing the propulsion of the drone 1 during use. The drone 1 has a container 5 for storage of biological material to be dispensed. In the embodiment in figure 1, the container 5 is mounted centrally at or close to the centre of gravity of the drone 1, and the drone 1 has a guide 6 for transferring the biological material from the container 5 to the dispenser unit 7. However, other arrangements of the container 5 and how the material to be dispensed is transferred to the dispenser unit 7 are also covered. The dispenser unit 7 may e.g. be arranged adjacent to the container 5.

The design of the dispenser unit 7 may differ from what is shown in figure 1. In the illustrated embodiment in figure 1, the guide 6 is arranged inclined with respect to vertical so that the transfer of the biological material can take place at least partially due to gravity. The drone 1 is further provided with a blower 14 and a blower head 13 arranged at or near the dispenser unit 7 in order to blow the biological material 11 exiting the dispenser unit 7 away from the dispenser unit 7 and away from the drone 1.

Figure 2 schematically shows a top view of the drone 1 in figure 1. In this embodiment, the guide 6 and dispensing unit 7 are shown as arranged midway between two arms of the drone body 2. Hereby the influence, such as collision, on dispensed biological material 11 from the rotating blades 4 can be kept to a minimum ensuring the desired gentle and controlled dispensing. Figure 2 also illustrates the biological material 11 being blown away from the dispensing unit 7 in a wide-angular airstream.

Figure 3 schematically shows an embodiment of the invention with the dispenser unit 7, a blower 14 and a blower head 13. The blower head 13 is arranged below the dispenser unit 7 so that biological material leaving the dispenser unit outlet 8 during dispensing falls towards the outlet 15 of the blower head 13 and is spread over an area by the wide-angular airstream exiting the outlet 15 of the blower head 13 as shown in figure 2. In the embodiment of the blower head 13 shown in the figures, the blower head 13 has a bottom plate 16 which may be removable e.g. for cleaning of the interior of the blower head 13.

An exemplary embodiment of a blower head 13 for providing the wide-angular airstream will now be described in more details with reference to figure 4. The blower head 13 comprises an inner chamber 17, an inlet 18 for entry of a flow of air into the inner chamber 17, and an outlet 15 for exit of air from the inner chamber 17. Figure 4 schematically shows a blower head having a section cut-off to reveal the inner chamber. The inlet 18 is configured to be in fluid communication with a blower 14 for providing the flow of air when in use as shown in figure 3. The outlet 15 is in the form of an elongated aperture 15 facing away from the blower head 13. Since the outlet is in the form of the aperture, these are the same features and therefore the same reference number is used.

The inner chamber 17 is dimensioned and shaped so that air flowing through the inner chamber 17 changes direction by hitting inner walls 19 of the inner chamber 17 in a manner resulting in a wide-angular airstream exiting the outlet 15.

In the figures, the inner chamber 17 is shown as being located in a part of the blower head 13 extending in another direction than the inlet 18, the inlet being shown in the form of a pipe. By such a design, the air changes from a substantially vertical to a substantially horizontal direction when the blower head 13 is in use. However, other designs of the blower head 13 are also covered by the scope of protection as long as they fall under the wording of claim 1. Furthermore, the parts of the blower head 13 comprising the inlet 18 and the inner chamber 17, respectively, may be manufactured as one unit or by two parts that are to be assembled to provide the blower head 13.

The shape, dimensions and orientation of the aperture 15 are designed such that a normal along the aperture defines desired directions of the airstream exiting the outlet 15; this is shown schematically in figure 5. The illustrated aperture 15 is in the form of a circular segment in a plane of extension of the aperture. The aperture extends over an angle of between 20 and 180 degrees, such as 30 and 180 degrees, such as 60 to 180 degrees, such as 60 to 120 degrees. Which shape and angle to choose for a given application can e.g. be determined by a combination of computer simulations and experiments.

Figure 6 shows an embodiment of a blower head 13 in which the aperture 15 has a varying opening size in a direction perpendicular to the airstream. The opening size is larger at end regions 15e of the aperture than at a central region 15c of the aperture 15. As mentioned above, the fact that more air is blown out of the blower head 13 at the end regions 15e of the aperture means that the biological material being carried by this part of the airstream is spread over a longer distance than the biological material being spread from the central region 15c. Hereby it easier to ensure a more even spreading of the biological material over a large area on the ground.

In the illustrated embodiments, the blower head 13 has a protrusion 20 which, when the blower head 13 is in use, is arranged above the outlet 15 and facing upwards. The protrusion 20 is shaped as a truncated cone and has an outer surface 21 which is inclined with respect to vertical. As seen, the outlet 15 is provided in a wall of the protrusion 20. Hereby it is obtained that when the blower head 13 is used for the spreading of biological material being dispensed from above the blower head 13 as shown in figure 3, this biological material hits and slides along the protrusion 20 before being influenced by the airstream. In relation to the dispensing of beneficial animals by drone, such a design of the blower head 13 provides a gentle handling of the typically vulnerable animals whereby a low mortality rate can be ensured. In some instances, such contact is not permissible at all and the blower head is positioned rearward of the dispenser unit outlet 8.

In the embodiment shown in the figures, the inlet 18 of the blower head 13 is configured to be mounted directly to the blower 14, such as by press fit or by a threaded connection. However, the scope of protection also covers embodiments, wherein the blower head 13 is integrally made with the blower 14. This could look as in figure 3 just without the connection between the blower 14 and the blower head 13.

Figure 7 schematically shows another embodiment of a drone 1 having two containers 5, two dispensing units 7 and having two corresponding blower heads 13 connected to one centrally arranged blower 14 via two tubes 23 and a plenum 24. In the illustrated embodiment, the drone 1 has the two containers 5 arranged at a cross-bar 22 mounted to the drone body 2. It would also be possible to have one centrally arranged container 5 from which the biological material to be dispensed is transferred to the two dispensing units, e.g. via two guide resembling the one in figure 1.

Figure 8 schematically shows an embodiment of the invention in the form of a hand-held device 25 to be used for the dispensing of biological material. The illustrated device comprises a blower head 13 as described above and two handles 26 for carrying the device during use. The remaining elements of the device 25 are not shown in the figure, but their designs may resemble those in the above figures and just be dimensioned and shaped to be arranged inside an outer housing of the device.

Although the present invention has been described in connection with the specified embodiments, it should not be construed as being in any way limited to the presented examples. The scope of the present invention is set out by the accompanying claim set. In the context of the claims, the terms "comprising" or "comprises" do not exclude other possible elements or steps. Also, the mentioning of references such as "a" or "an" etc. should not be construed as excluding a plurality. The use of reference signs in the claims with respect to elements indicated in the figures shall also not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention. Furthermore, individual features mentioned in different claims, may possibly be advantageously combined, and the mentioning of these features in different claims does not exclude that a combination of features is not possible and advantageous.

Claims

1. Blower head (13) for providing a wide-angular airstream, the blower head (13) comprising: - an inner chamber (17),

- an inlet (18) for entry of a flow of air into the inner chamber (17), the inlet (18) being configured to be in fluid communication with a blower (14) for providing the flow of air when in use, and

- an outlet (15) for exit of air from the inner chamber (17), wherein the outlet (15) is in the form of an elongated aperture (15) facing away from the blower head (13) and extending over an angle of between 20 and 180 degrees, such as between 30 and 180 degrees, such as 60 to 180 degrees, such as 60 to 120 degrees, and wherein the inner chamber (17) and the aperture (15) are dimensioned and shaped so that air flowing through the inner chamber (17) changes direction by hitting inner walls (19) of the inner chamber (17) in a manner resulting in a wide- angular airstream exiting the outlet (15).

2. Blower head (13) according to claim 1, wherein the aperture (15) is in the form of a circular segment in a plane of extension of the aperture (15).

3. Blower head (13) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the aperture (15) has a varying opening size in a direction perpendicular to the airstream.

4. Blower head (13) according to claim 3, wherein the opening size is larger at end regions (15e) of the aperture than at a central region (15c) of the aperture (15). 5. Blower head (13) according to any of the preceding claims, further comprising a protrusion (20) which, when the blower head (13) is in use, is arranged above the outlet (15) and facing upwards, the protrusion (20) having an outer surface (21) which is inclined with respect to vertical, when the blower head is in use.

6. Blower head (13) according to claim 5, wherein the protrusion (20) is shaped as a cone or as a truncated cone.

7. Blower head (13) according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the outlet (15) is provided in a wall of the protrusion (20).

8. Blower head (13) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the inlet (18) is configured to be mounted directly to the blower (14), such as by press fit or by a threaded connection.

9. Blower head (13) according to any claims 1 to 7, wherein the blower head (13) is integrally made with the blower (14).

10. Drone (1) for dispensing biological material (11), such as beneficial animals, the drone (1) comprising:

- a drone body (2),

- propulsion means (4) for providing the propulsion of the drone (1) during use,

- a container (5) for storage of biological material (11) to be dispensed,

- a dispenser unit (7) for dispensing the biological material (11),

- a blower (14), and

- a blower head (13) according to any of the preceding claims, the blower head

(13) being mounted to the blower (14), wherein the blower head (13) is arranged below the dispenser unit (7) so that biological material (11) leaving the dispenser unit (7) during dispensing falls towards the outlet (15) of the blower head (13) and is spread over an area by the wide-angular airstream exiting the outlet (15).

11. Drone (1) according to claim 10, wherein the dispenser unit (7), the blower

(14) and the blower head (13) are arranged at a distance from rotor blades (4) of the drone (1) which ensures that the biological material (11) being dispensed does not hit the rotor blades (4).

12. Drone (1) according to claim 10 or 11, wherein there is a plurality of dispenser units (7) and a corresponding number of blower heads (13), and wherein the blower (14) supplies air to all of the blower heads (13). 13. Device (25) for dispensing biological material (11), such as beneficial animals, the device comprising:

- a container (5) for storage of biological material (11) to be dispensed, - a dispenser unit (7) for dispensing the biological material (11),

- a blower (14), and

- a blower head (13) according to any of the preceding claims, the blower head (13) being mounted to the blower (14), wherein the blower head (13) is arranged below the dispenser unit (7) so that biological material (11) leaving the dispenser unit (7) during dispensing falls towards the outlet (15) of the blower head (13) and is spread over an area by the wide-angular airstream exiting the outlet (15).

14. Device (25) according to claim 13, wherein the device is selected from a hand-held device, a rail-guided device, or a motorized ground device, such as a tractor or a mobile robot.

15. Method of dispensing biological material (11), such as live beneficial animals, by use of a drone (1) according to any of claims 10 to 12, the method comprising the following steps:

- filling the biological material (11) into the container (5),

- transporting the drone (1) to a dispensing area where the dispensing is to take place, and

- letting the drone (1) fly over the dispensing area while performing the dispensing.

16. Method of dispensing biological material (11), such as live beneficial animals, by use of a device (25) according to any of claims 13 to 14, the method comprising the following steps: - filling the biological material (11) into the container (5),

- transporting the device (25) to a dispensing area where the dispensing is to take place, and

- moving the device (25) over the dispensing area while performing the dispensing.