CA2313068A1 - Weed wiper - Google Patents
Weed wiper Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- CA2313068A1 CA2313068A1 CA 2313068 CA2313068A CA2313068A1 CA 2313068 A1 CA2313068 A1 CA 2313068A1 CA 2313068 CA2313068 CA 2313068 CA 2313068 A CA2313068 A CA 2313068A CA 2313068 A1 CA2313068 A1 CA 2313068A1
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- liquid chemical
- conduit
- wiper
- porous conduit
- porous
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Abandoned
Links
- 241000196324 Embryophyta Species 0.000 title claims description 43
- 239000007788 liquid Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 83
- 239000000126 substance Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 69
- 230000002745 absorbent Effects 0.000 claims abstract description 8
- 239000002250 absorbent Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 8
- 239000004744 fabric Substances 0.000 claims description 13
- 239000000463 material Substances 0.000 claims description 12
- 239000007921 spray Substances 0.000 claims description 12
- 239000006261 foam material Substances 0.000 claims description 10
- 238000005299 abrasion Methods 0.000 claims description 3
- 239000004009 herbicide Substances 0.000 description 19
- 230000002363 herbicidal effect Effects 0.000 description 13
- 244000038559 crop plants Species 0.000 description 4
- 238000010586 diagram Methods 0.000 description 2
- 239000006260 foam Substances 0.000 description 2
- 238000012986 modification Methods 0.000 description 2
- 230000004048 modification Effects 0.000 description 2
- 230000001105 regulatory effect Effects 0.000 description 2
- 230000000717 retained effect Effects 0.000 description 2
- 238000005507 spraying Methods 0.000 description 2
- 239000005562 Glyphosate Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000010276 construction Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000010304 firing Methods 0.000 description 1
- XDDAORKBJWWYJS-UHFFFAOYSA-N glyphosate Chemical compound OC(=O)CNCP(O)(O)=O XDDAORKBJWWYJS-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- 229940097068 glyphosate Drugs 0.000 description 1
- 230000005484 gravity Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000002262 irrigation Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000003973 irrigation Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000002245 particle Substances 0.000 description 1
- 239000000575 pesticide Substances 0.000 description 1
- 229920003023 plastic Polymers 0.000 description 1
- 239000004033 plastic Substances 0.000 description 1
- XLYOFNOQVPJJNP-UHFFFAOYSA-N water Substances O XLYOFNOQVPJJNP-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
Classifications
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A01—AGRICULTURE; FORESTRY; ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; HUNTING; TRAPPING; FISHING
- A01M—CATCHING, TRAPPING OR SCARING OF ANIMALS; APPARATUS FOR THE DESTRUCTION OF NOXIOUS ANIMALS OR NOXIOUS PLANTS
- A01M21/00—Apparatus for the destruction of unwanted vegetation, e.g. weeds
- A01M21/04—Apparatus for destruction by steam, chemicals, burning, or electricity
- A01M21/043—Apparatus for destruction by steam, chemicals, burning, or electricity by chemicals
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A01—AGRICULTURE; FORESTRY; ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; HUNTING; TRAPPING; FISHING
- A01C—PLANTING; SOWING; FERTILISING
- A01C23/00—Distributing devices specially adapted for liquid manure or other fertilising liquid, including ammonia, e.g. transport tanks or sprinkling wagons
- A01C23/04—Distributing under pressure; Distributing mud; Adaptation of watering systems for fertilising-liquids
Landscapes
- Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
- Environmental Sciences (AREA)
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Toxicology (AREA)
- General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
- Insects & Arthropods (AREA)
- Pest Control & Pesticides (AREA)
- Wood Science & Technology (AREA)
- Zoology (AREA)
- Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
- Water Supply & Treatment (AREA)
- Soil Sciences (AREA)
- Catching Or Destruction (AREA)
Abstract
An apparatus for applying agricultural liquid chemical to plants by contact comprises a liquid chemical reservoir and a porous conduit extending lateral to the direction of travel of the apparatus and located at a vertical height above the ground. The conduit wall is operative to allow liquid chemical under pressure in an interior of the porous conduit to pass through the conduit wall. An absorbent wiper covers the porous conduit and absorbs liquid chemical and becomes wet such that contact with the wiper results in transfer of liquid chemical onto a plant. A pump draws liquid chemical from the reservoir and delivers same under pressure to the porous conduit. A control adjusts the liquid chemical pressure in the porous conduit from zero to a flow pressure. The apparatus may be manufactured as a kit for attachment to a conventional sprayer.
Description
F&K 698-02-02 WEED WIPER
This invention is in the field of agricultural equipment, and in particular such equipment for applying liquid herbicides.
BACKGROUND
In agriculture, liquid chemical solutions, such as herbicides and pesticides, are typically applied to growing crops by spraying on the crop. For herbicides, this requires that the herbicide be selective such that the crop is not injured, but the weeds are killed. Such selective herbicides are generally more expensive than non-selective herbicides, such as glyphosate, which. kill most plants including most weeds and most crops. Also when spraying, any herbicide that contacts crop plants instead of weeds is wasted at best, and often as well damages the crop somewhat.
To overcome these problems, it is also known to use a rope wick applicator to apply a non-selective herbicide only to the weed~~, with no crop contact. The absorbent rope wick is F&K 698-02-02 soaked with herbicide and passes above the crop plants, coming into contact with weeds that are taller than the crop. During contact with the wet rope wick, herbicide is wiped off the wick by the weed. Thus herbicide is applied only to the talla_r weeds, and not on the crop. Much less herbicide is used as well, since herbicide is only applied to the weeds, not the crop. Stronger chemical solutions are generally used, requ=firing less water to apply a given amount of chemical..
Commonly, presently known applicators work by a wick action.
One or both ends. of a section of absorbent rope wick are located in a reservoir of liquid herbicide. The rope wick draws liquid herbicide from the reservoir and becomes wet with the liquid such that when the rope wick comes in contact with a weed, liquid herbicide is wiped onto the weed. Typically short. sections of rope wick are positioned along a hollow pipe which acts as the reservoir for the liquid herbicide. The pipe reservoir extends along the full width of coverage of the applicator, and different sections generally must be filled separately in wider applicators. Liquid capacity is limited by the size of the pipe.
With present wick applicators, some time is required for the wicks to become wetted once liquid chemical is poured into the F&K 698-02-02 reservoir. In order to increase the rate of flow of herbicide through the rope wick, as may be required where weeds are thick and liquid is being drawn off the wick more quickly, it is necessary to stop the applicator and to rotate the pipe reservoir so that. the wicks are lower and gravity aids the wick action in drawing liquid into the wick. No other control is generally provided, and rotating the pipe provides only a limited range of rates. It may be necessary to slow the rate of travel where high rates are required.
Examples of rope wick applicators are disclosed in United States Patent Number 4,219,964 to Dale, and in United States Patent Number 4,328,640 to Revelle.
STJ1~~ARY OF THE INVENTION
It i:~ an object of the present invention to provide a weed wiping apparatus f:or wiping liquid chemical solutions, such as herbicides, onto plants where the amount of liquid available for wiping onto the plants can be conveniently varied by varying the pressure of a pressurized liquid supply.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide F&K 698-02-02 such an apparatus which can be mounted as a kit on conventional agricultural sprayers, thereby providing an economical weed wiping apparatus with a large liquid chemical reservoir.
The invention in one aspect provides an apparatus adapted for movement along the ground in a direction of travel for applying agricultural liquid chemical to plants by contact.
The apparatus comprises a liquid chemical reservoir and a porous conduit extending lateral to the direction of travel of the apparatus and located at a vertical height above the ground. The porous conduit includes a conduit wall operative to allow liquid chemical under pressure in an interior of the porous conduit to pass through the conduit wall to an exterior of the porous conduit. An absorbent wiper covers the exterior of the porous conduit such that liquid chemical passing through the conduit wall is absorbed by the wiper and the wiper becomes wet such that contact of the wiper with a plant results in transfer of liquid chemical onto the plant. A pump is operatively connected to the reservoir to draw liquid chemical therefrom and deliver same at a pressure to an interior of the porous conduit and through the conduit wall of the porous conduit to an exterior thereof to be absorbed by the wiper. A control is operable to adjust the liquid F&K 698-02-02 chemical pressure in the interior of t:he porous conduit from zero to a flow pressure.
The porous hose used is conventional soaker hose that is used for garden irrigation purposes. The amount of liquid passing through the wall of the hose increases generally as the pressure inside the hose increases. When the pressure inside the hose is zero, the hose retains the liquid, although liquid may drip very sT_owly through the wall of the hose over a period of time. For practical purposes, the liquid is retained so that 'very little drip occurs when the apparatus is idle.
In a second aspect, the invention provides a weed wiper kit for attachment to a conventional agricultural ground sprayer.
The conventional sprayer comprises a liquid chemical reservoir, a pump operatively connected to the reservoir to draw liquid chemical from the reservoir and deliver same from a pump output at a pressure to a spray boom. The spray boom extends substantially perpendicular to a direction of travel of the sprayer and is located at a vertical height above the ground. A control is operative to turn the pump on and off.
The kit comprises a porous conduit deta.chably mountable below the spray boom so as to extend substantially along a length of F&K 698-02-02 the boom. The full length of the boom may be conveniently used to provide a wide wiper allowing for fewer passes to cover a field. The porous conduit and absorbent wiper are conveniently attached by straps, brackets or the like to the spray boom. Fittings are attached to the sprayer to direct liquid chemical f=rom the pump output to the interior of the porous conduit instead of to the conventional spray boom. The controls on a conventional sprayer are not normally able to reduce the volume of liquid delivered by the pump to the low levels desired for the porous hose, with the result that the pressure in the porous hose can not be properly regulated thereby. A further control may be required to adjust the liquid chemical pressure in the interior of the porous conduit from zero to a flow pressure.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRATnIINGS
Whiles the invention is claimed in the concluding portions hereof, preferred embodiments are provided in the accompanying detailed description which may be best understood in conjunction with t:he accompanying diagrams where like parts in each of the several diagrams are labeled with like numbers, and where:
F&K 698-02-02 Fig. 1 is a front view of an embodiment of the invention;
Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view along II - II' in Fig.
1;
Fig. 3 is a schematic top view of the embodiment of Fig.
1;
Fig. 4 is a.n enlarged cross section of a weed wiping assembly.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENTS:
Fig. 1 illustrates an apparatus 1 of the invention for applying agricultural liquid chemical to plants by contact.
The apparatus 1 is adapted for movement along the ground in a direction of travel T. In the illustrated embodiment the apparatus 1 is attached to a conventional agricultural ground sprayer 2 comprising a liquid chemical reservoir 3, a pump 4 operatively connected to the reservoir 3 to draw liquid chemical 5 from the reservoir 3 and deliver same from a pump output 6 at a pressure to a spray boom 7 extending F&K 698-02-02 substantially perpendicular to the direction of travel T of the :prayer 1 and located at a vertical height HB above the ground 8. The pump 4 is conventianally operated by hydraulic pressure or a power-take-off shaft from a towing tractor, and includes a conven.tiona:l control to turn the pump on and off.
The illustrated c=mbodiment is a tow behind sprayer however self--propelled sprayers are also well known and the invention could be practiced on these as well.
The apparatus 1 comprises a weed wiping assembly 9 extending lateral to the direction of travel T of the apparatus 1 and located at a vertical height H4~1 above the ground, below the spray boom 7. 'The weed wiping assembly 9 is attached by straps 21 and bucl~:les 22 to the spray boom 7. The weed wiping assembly 9 comprises a porous conduit 10 including a conduit wall 10w operative to allow liquid chemical 5 under pressure in the interior of the porous conduit 10 to pass through the conduit wall 10w to the exterior of the porous conduit 10.
The action of the porous conduit 10 is illustrated in Fig. 4.
The porous conduit 10 used in the illustrated embodiment is a conventional garden soaker hose available from Colorlite Plastics Canada of Mississauga, Ontario as the "IrrigatorSoakerTM". The passage of liquid chemical 5 through F&K 698-02-02 the conduit wall 10 is generally proportional to the pressure of the liquid chemical 5 inside the porous conduit 10, in that the greater the pressure, the greater the flow through the conduit wall 10w. When the pressure of the liquid chemical drop: to zero, the flow substantially stops, and the conduit wall 10w is operative to substantia=Lly retain the liquid chemical 5 inside the porous conduit 5. The liquid chemical 5 may leak out over an extended period of time however for the purposes of the apparatus 1 the flow is essentially stopped.
An absorbent wiper 11 covers the exterior of the porous conduit 10 such 'that liquid chemical 5 passing through the conduit wall 10 is absorbed by the wiper 11 and the wiper 11 becomes wet such that contact of an exterior of the wiper 11 with a plant, su~~h as the weed 12, results in transfer of liquid chemical 5 onto the weed 12, as illustrated in Fig. 2.
The wiper 11 comprises a foam material 13 adjacent to the porous conduit 10,, and further comprises a fabric material 14 covering the foam material 13, with the wiper components sewn together along th.e top edge as illustrated in Fig. 4. The foam material 13 provides ample absorbency to retain a good supply of liquid chemical 5 in the wiper 11, while the fabric material 13 is abrasion resistant material such as carpet or the like.
F&K 698-02-02 Conventional fittings can be used to adapt the apparatus to the conventional sprayer 2 to direct liquid chemical 5 from the pump output 6 to the interior of the porous conduit 10.
In the illustrated embodiment, a diverter valve 15 is operable to selectively direct liquid chemical 5 to the boom 7 or to the :interior of the porous conduit 10 and through the conduit wall 10 to be absorbed by the foam and fabric material 13, 14 of the wiper 11.
The controls on a conventional sprayer 2 are not normally able to reduce the volume of liquid chemical 5 delivered by the pump 4 to the low levels desired for the porous hose 10, with the result that the pressure in the porous hose 10 cannot be properly regulated thereby. A further :liquid chemical control is provided to adjust the pressure of the liquid chemical 5 in the :interior of the porous conduit 10 from zero to a flow pressure. The liquid chemical control can conveniently and economically be a valve 16 which essentially restricts the volume of flow to the porous conduit 10 to approximately the volume desired to pass through the conduit wall to the wiper 11, thereby achieving the pressure control indirectly. It may be advisable to supply a filter before the valve 16 if particles may be present in the liquid that would interfere F&K 698-02-02 with the operation of the valve 16. More elaborate controls that directly controlled the pressure would also be sati:~factory.
In operation the operator adjusts the valve 16 to allow a small volume of flow to the porous conduit 10. The liauid chemical passes through the conduit wall 10w and soaks the foam and fabric material 13, 14. When these are soaked, the operator may begin traveling in a fie:Ld to apply the liquid chemical 5 to tall weeds 12. The height HW of the wiper 11 above the ground 8 is adjusted using the conventional boom height control 17 of the sprayer 2 such that same is above the crop plants 19, but is low enough to contact weeds 12 which are taller than the crop plants 19. The liquid chemical 5 is wiped onto the weed 12 from the fabric material 14 of the wiper 11, and may run down the weed 12 as illustrated in Fig.
This invention is in the field of agricultural equipment, and in particular such equipment for applying liquid herbicides.
BACKGROUND
In agriculture, liquid chemical solutions, such as herbicides and pesticides, are typically applied to growing crops by spraying on the crop. For herbicides, this requires that the herbicide be selective such that the crop is not injured, but the weeds are killed. Such selective herbicides are generally more expensive than non-selective herbicides, such as glyphosate, which. kill most plants including most weeds and most crops. Also when spraying, any herbicide that contacts crop plants instead of weeds is wasted at best, and often as well damages the crop somewhat.
To overcome these problems, it is also known to use a rope wick applicator to apply a non-selective herbicide only to the weed~~, with no crop contact. The absorbent rope wick is F&K 698-02-02 soaked with herbicide and passes above the crop plants, coming into contact with weeds that are taller than the crop. During contact with the wet rope wick, herbicide is wiped off the wick by the weed. Thus herbicide is applied only to the talla_r weeds, and not on the crop. Much less herbicide is used as well, since herbicide is only applied to the weeds, not the crop. Stronger chemical solutions are generally used, requ=firing less water to apply a given amount of chemical..
Commonly, presently known applicators work by a wick action.
One or both ends. of a section of absorbent rope wick are located in a reservoir of liquid herbicide. The rope wick draws liquid herbicide from the reservoir and becomes wet with the liquid such that when the rope wick comes in contact with a weed, liquid herbicide is wiped onto the weed. Typically short. sections of rope wick are positioned along a hollow pipe which acts as the reservoir for the liquid herbicide. The pipe reservoir extends along the full width of coverage of the applicator, and different sections generally must be filled separately in wider applicators. Liquid capacity is limited by the size of the pipe.
With present wick applicators, some time is required for the wicks to become wetted once liquid chemical is poured into the F&K 698-02-02 reservoir. In order to increase the rate of flow of herbicide through the rope wick, as may be required where weeds are thick and liquid is being drawn off the wick more quickly, it is necessary to stop the applicator and to rotate the pipe reservoir so that. the wicks are lower and gravity aids the wick action in drawing liquid into the wick. No other control is generally provided, and rotating the pipe provides only a limited range of rates. It may be necessary to slow the rate of travel where high rates are required.
Examples of rope wick applicators are disclosed in United States Patent Number 4,219,964 to Dale, and in United States Patent Number 4,328,640 to Revelle.
STJ1~~ARY OF THE INVENTION
It i:~ an object of the present invention to provide a weed wiping apparatus f:or wiping liquid chemical solutions, such as herbicides, onto plants where the amount of liquid available for wiping onto the plants can be conveniently varied by varying the pressure of a pressurized liquid supply.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide F&K 698-02-02 such an apparatus which can be mounted as a kit on conventional agricultural sprayers, thereby providing an economical weed wiping apparatus with a large liquid chemical reservoir.
The invention in one aspect provides an apparatus adapted for movement along the ground in a direction of travel for applying agricultural liquid chemical to plants by contact.
The apparatus comprises a liquid chemical reservoir and a porous conduit extending lateral to the direction of travel of the apparatus and located at a vertical height above the ground. The porous conduit includes a conduit wall operative to allow liquid chemical under pressure in an interior of the porous conduit to pass through the conduit wall to an exterior of the porous conduit. An absorbent wiper covers the exterior of the porous conduit such that liquid chemical passing through the conduit wall is absorbed by the wiper and the wiper becomes wet such that contact of the wiper with a plant results in transfer of liquid chemical onto the plant. A pump is operatively connected to the reservoir to draw liquid chemical therefrom and deliver same at a pressure to an interior of the porous conduit and through the conduit wall of the porous conduit to an exterior thereof to be absorbed by the wiper. A control is operable to adjust the liquid F&K 698-02-02 chemical pressure in the interior of t:he porous conduit from zero to a flow pressure.
The porous hose used is conventional soaker hose that is used for garden irrigation purposes. The amount of liquid passing through the wall of the hose increases generally as the pressure inside the hose increases. When the pressure inside the hose is zero, the hose retains the liquid, although liquid may drip very sT_owly through the wall of the hose over a period of time. For practical purposes, the liquid is retained so that 'very little drip occurs when the apparatus is idle.
In a second aspect, the invention provides a weed wiper kit for attachment to a conventional agricultural ground sprayer.
The conventional sprayer comprises a liquid chemical reservoir, a pump operatively connected to the reservoir to draw liquid chemical from the reservoir and deliver same from a pump output at a pressure to a spray boom. The spray boom extends substantially perpendicular to a direction of travel of the sprayer and is located at a vertical height above the ground. A control is operative to turn the pump on and off.
The kit comprises a porous conduit deta.chably mountable below the spray boom so as to extend substantially along a length of F&K 698-02-02 the boom. The full length of the boom may be conveniently used to provide a wide wiper allowing for fewer passes to cover a field. The porous conduit and absorbent wiper are conveniently attached by straps, brackets or the like to the spray boom. Fittings are attached to the sprayer to direct liquid chemical f=rom the pump output to the interior of the porous conduit instead of to the conventional spray boom. The controls on a conventional sprayer are not normally able to reduce the volume of liquid delivered by the pump to the low levels desired for the porous hose, with the result that the pressure in the porous hose can not be properly regulated thereby. A further control may be required to adjust the liquid chemical pressure in the interior of the porous conduit from zero to a flow pressure.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRATnIINGS
Whiles the invention is claimed in the concluding portions hereof, preferred embodiments are provided in the accompanying detailed description which may be best understood in conjunction with t:he accompanying diagrams where like parts in each of the several diagrams are labeled with like numbers, and where:
F&K 698-02-02 Fig. 1 is a front view of an embodiment of the invention;
Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view along II - II' in Fig.
1;
Fig. 3 is a schematic top view of the embodiment of Fig.
1;
Fig. 4 is a.n enlarged cross section of a weed wiping assembly.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENTS:
Fig. 1 illustrates an apparatus 1 of the invention for applying agricultural liquid chemical to plants by contact.
The apparatus 1 is adapted for movement along the ground in a direction of travel T. In the illustrated embodiment the apparatus 1 is attached to a conventional agricultural ground sprayer 2 comprising a liquid chemical reservoir 3, a pump 4 operatively connected to the reservoir 3 to draw liquid chemical 5 from the reservoir 3 and deliver same from a pump output 6 at a pressure to a spray boom 7 extending F&K 698-02-02 substantially perpendicular to the direction of travel T of the :prayer 1 and located at a vertical height HB above the ground 8. The pump 4 is conventianally operated by hydraulic pressure or a power-take-off shaft from a towing tractor, and includes a conven.tiona:l control to turn the pump on and off.
The illustrated c=mbodiment is a tow behind sprayer however self--propelled sprayers are also well known and the invention could be practiced on these as well.
The apparatus 1 comprises a weed wiping assembly 9 extending lateral to the direction of travel T of the apparatus 1 and located at a vertical height H4~1 above the ground, below the spray boom 7. 'The weed wiping assembly 9 is attached by straps 21 and bucl~:les 22 to the spray boom 7. The weed wiping assembly 9 comprises a porous conduit 10 including a conduit wall 10w operative to allow liquid chemical 5 under pressure in the interior of the porous conduit 10 to pass through the conduit wall 10w to the exterior of the porous conduit 10.
The action of the porous conduit 10 is illustrated in Fig. 4.
The porous conduit 10 used in the illustrated embodiment is a conventional garden soaker hose available from Colorlite Plastics Canada of Mississauga, Ontario as the "IrrigatorSoakerTM". The passage of liquid chemical 5 through F&K 698-02-02 the conduit wall 10 is generally proportional to the pressure of the liquid chemical 5 inside the porous conduit 10, in that the greater the pressure, the greater the flow through the conduit wall 10w. When the pressure of the liquid chemical drop: to zero, the flow substantially stops, and the conduit wall 10w is operative to substantia=Lly retain the liquid chemical 5 inside the porous conduit 5. The liquid chemical 5 may leak out over an extended period of time however for the purposes of the apparatus 1 the flow is essentially stopped.
An absorbent wiper 11 covers the exterior of the porous conduit 10 such 'that liquid chemical 5 passing through the conduit wall 10 is absorbed by the wiper 11 and the wiper 11 becomes wet such that contact of an exterior of the wiper 11 with a plant, su~~h as the weed 12, results in transfer of liquid chemical 5 onto the weed 12, as illustrated in Fig. 2.
The wiper 11 comprises a foam material 13 adjacent to the porous conduit 10,, and further comprises a fabric material 14 covering the foam material 13, with the wiper components sewn together along th.e top edge as illustrated in Fig. 4. The foam material 13 provides ample absorbency to retain a good supply of liquid chemical 5 in the wiper 11, while the fabric material 13 is abrasion resistant material such as carpet or the like.
F&K 698-02-02 Conventional fittings can be used to adapt the apparatus to the conventional sprayer 2 to direct liquid chemical 5 from the pump output 6 to the interior of the porous conduit 10.
In the illustrated embodiment, a diverter valve 15 is operable to selectively direct liquid chemical 5 to the boom 7 or to the :interior of the porous conduit 10 and through the conduit wall 10 to be absorbed by the foam and fabric material 13, 14 of the wiper 11.
The controls on a conventional sprayer 2 are not normally able to reduce the volume of liquid chemical 5 delivered by the pump 4 to the low levels desired for the porous hose 10, with the result that the pressure in the porous hose 10 cannot be properly regulated thereby. A further :liquid chemical control is provided to adjust the pressure of the liquid chemical 5 in the :interior of the porous conduit 10 from zero to a flow pressure. The liquid chemical control can conveniently and economically be a valve 16 which essentially restricts the volume of flow to the porous conduit 10 to approximately the volume desired to pass through the conduit wall to the wiper 11, thereby achieving the pressure control indirectly. It may be advisable to supply a filter before the valve 16 if particles may be present in the liquid that would interfere F&K 698-02-02 with the operation of the valve 16. More elaborate controls that directly controlled the pressure would also be sati:~factory.
In operation the operator adjusts the valve 16 to allow a small volume of flow to the porous conduit 10. The liauid chemical passes through the conduit wall 10w and soaks the foam and fabric material 13, 14. When these are soaked, the operator may begin traveling in a fie:Ld to apply the liquid chemical 5 to tall weeds 12. The height HW of the wiper 11 above the ground 8 is adjusted using the conventional boom height control 17 of the sprayer 2 such that same is above the crop plants 19, but is low enough to contact weeds 12 which are taller than the crop plants 19. The liquid chemical 5 is wiped onto the weed 12 from the fabric material 14 of the wiper 11, and may run down the weed 12 as illustrated in Fig.
2. The operator will find the proper flow rate for a given condition by experimentation. A valve 16 with a fine adjustment, and with markings to indicate the degree of opening of the valve is preferred.
In operation the flow of liquid chemical 5 through the conduit wall 10w to the wiper 11 will be substantially constant.
Where weeds 12 are thicker, and more liquid chemical 5 is F&K 698-02-02 being wiped from the fabric material 14, the liquid chemical 5 retained in the foam material 13 is soaked up by the fabric material 14, and the foam material 13 dries up somewhat, as the liquid chemical 5 is being wiped off the wiper 11 faster than the liquid chemical 5 is flowing through the conduit wall 10w. When the weeds 12 thin out, the flow of liquid chemical will exceed the amount being wiped off, and the foam material 14 will be recharged. The operator will adjust the valve 16 and the :flow rate for a given field or condition such that the average rate of wiping is substantially equal to the flow through the conduit wall 10w.
The apparatus could be manufactured as a unit, or could conveniently and economically be manufactured as a kit, containing the required fittings, conveniently including a diverter valve 15, a weed wiping assembly 9, with attached straps and bucklers 21, 22, and a :liquid chemical control such as the valve 16.
The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous changes and modifications will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and F&K 698-02-02 acr_ordingly, all such suitable changes or modifications in structure or operation which may be resorted to are intended to fall within the scope of the claimed invention.
In operation the flow of liquid chemical 5 through the conduit wall 10w to the wiper 11 will be substantially constant.
Where weeds 12 are thicker, and more liquid chemical 5 is F&K 698-02-02 being wiped from the fabric material 14, the liquid chemical 5 retained in the foam material 13 is soaked up by the fabric material 14, and the foam material 13 dries up somewhat, as the liquid chemical 5 is being wiped off the wiper 11 faster than the liquid chemical 5 is flowing through the conduit wall 10w. When the weeds 12 thin out, the flow of liquid chemical will exceed the amount being wiped off, and the foam material 14 will be recharged. The operator will adjust the valve 16 and the :flow rate for a given field or condition such that the average rate of wiping is substantially equal to the flow through the conduit wall 10w.
The apparatus could be manufactured as a unit, or could conveniently and economically be manufactured as a kit, containing the required fittings, conveniently including a diverter valve 15, a weed wiping assembly 9, with attached straps and bucklers 21, 22, and a :liquid chemical control such as the valve 16.
The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous changes and modifications will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and F&K 698-02-02 acr_ordingly, all such suitable changes or modifications in structure or operation which may be resorted to are intended to fall within the scope of the claimed invention.
Claims (13)
1. An apparatus for applying agricultural liquid chemical to plants by contact, said apparatus adapted for movement along the ground in a direction of travel, said apparatus comprising:
a liquid chemical reservoir;
a porous conduit extending lateral to the direction of travel of said apparatus and located at a vertical height above the ground;
wherein said porous conduit includes a conduit wall operative to allow liquid chemical under pressure in an interior of said porous conduit to pass through said conduit wall to an exterior of said porous conduit;
an absorbent wiper covering the exterior of said porous conduit such that liquid chemical passing through said conduit wall is absorbed by said wiper and said wiper becomes wet such that contact of an exterior of said wiper with a plant results in transfer of liquid chemical onto the plant;
a pump operatively connected to said reservoir to draw liquid chemical from said reservoir and deliver same at a pressure to an interior of said porous conduit and through a conduit wall of said porous conduit to an exterior thereof to be absorbed by said wiper;
a control operable to adjust the pressure of the liquid chemical in the interior of said porous conduit from zero to a flow pressure.
a liquid chemical reservoir;
a porous conduit extending lateral to the direction of travel of said apparatus and located at a vertical height above the ground;
wherein said porous conduit includes a conduit wall operative to allow liquid chemical under pressure in an interior of said porous conduit to pass through said conduit wall to an exterior of said porous conduit;
an absorbent wiper covering the exterior of said porous conduit such that liquid chemical passing through said conduit wall is absorbed by said wiper and said wiper becomes wet such that contact of an exterior of said wiper with a plant results in transfer of liquid chemical onto the plant;
a pump operatively connected to said reservoir to draw liquid chemical from said reservoir and deliver same at a pressure to an interior of said porous conduit and through a conduit wall of said porous conduit to an exterior thereof to be absorbed by said wiper;
a control operable to adjust the pressure of the liquid chemical in the interior of said porous conduit from zero to a flow pressure.
2. The apparatus of Claim 1 wherein said porous conduit is operative to substantially retain said liquid chemical inside said porous conduit when said pressure is zero.
3. The apparatus of Claim 1 wherein said wiper comprises a foam material adjacent to said porous conduit, and further comprises a fabric material covering said foam material.
4. The apparatus of Claim 3 wherein said fabric material is abrasion resistant.
5. The apparatus of Claim 4 wherein said fabric material is carpet.
6. The apparatus of Claim 1 wherein said vertical height above the ground of said porous conduit is adjustable.
7. A weed wiper kit for attachment to a conventional agricultural ground sprayer, said sprayer comprising a liquid chemical reservoir, a pump operatively connected to said reservoir to draw liquid chemical from said reservoir and deliver same from a pump output at a pressure to a spray boom, said spray boom extending substantially perpendicular to a direction of travel of the sprayer and located at a vertical height above the ground, and a control to turn said pump on and off, said kit comprising:
a porous conduit detachably mountable below said spray boom so as to extend substantially along a length of said boom;
wherein said porous conduit includes a conduit wall operative to allow liquid chemical under pressure in an interior of said porous conduit to pass through said conduit wall to an exterior of said porous conduit;
an absorbent wiper covering the exterior of said porous conduit such that liquid chemical passing through said conduit wall is absorbed by said wiper and said wiper becomes wet such that contact of said wiper with a plant results in transfer of liquid chemical onto the plant;
fittings attachable to said sprayer to direct liquid chemical from said pump output to said interior of the porous conduit;
a control operable to adjust the pressure of the liquid chemical in the interior of said porous conduit from zero to a flow pressure.
a porous conduit detachably mountable below said spray boom so as to extend substantially along a length of said boom;
wherein said porous conduit includes a conduit wall operative to allow liquid chemical under pressure in an interior of said porous conduit to pass through said conduit wall to an exterior of said porous conduit;
an absorbent wiper covering the exterior of said porous conduit such that liquid chemical passing through said conduit wall is absorbed by said wiper and said wiper becomes wet such that contact of said wiper with a plant results in transfer of liquid chemical onto the plant;
fittings attachable to said sprayer to direct liquid chemical from said pump output to said interior of the porous conduit;
a control operable to adjust the pressure of the liquid chemical in the interior of said porous conduit from zero to a flow pressure.
8. The kit of Claim 7 wherein said conduit wall is operative to substantially retain said liquid chemical inside said porous conduit when said pressure is zero.
9. The kit of Claims 7 or 8 wherein said wiper comprises a foam material adjacent to said porous conduit, and further comprises a fabric exterior covering said foam material.
10. The kit of Claim 9 wherein said fabric material is abrasion resistant.
11. The kit of Claim 10 wherein said fabric is carpet.
12. The kit of any of Claims 7 - 11 wherein said fittings include a diverter valve operable to selectively direct liquid chemical to said boom or said porous conduit.
13. The kit of any of Claims 7 - 12 further comprising a plurality of straps attached to said wiper, said straps adapted for attachment to said spray boom.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA 2313068 CA2313068A1 (en) | 2000-06-29 | 2000-06-29 | Weed wiper |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA 2313068 CA2313068A1 (en) | 2000-06-29 | 2000-06-29 | Weed wiper |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA2313068A1 true CA2313068A1 (en) | 2001-12-29 |
Family
ID=4166621
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA 2313068 Abandoned CA2313068A1 (en) | 2000-06-29 | 2000-06-29 | Weed wiper |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CA (1) | CA2313068A1 (en) |
Cited By (2)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WO2002076186A3 (en) * | 2001-03-26 | 2002-12-05 | George Desmond Orr Gibson | A device for dispensing liquids |
| EP2918164A1 (en) | 2014-03-10 | 2015-09-16 | Limagrain Europe | Hybrid Cereal Seed Production |
-
2000
- 2000-06-29 CA CA 2313068 patent/CA2313068A1/en not_active Abandoned
Cited By (3)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WO2002076186A3 (en) * | 2001-03-26 | 2002-12-05 | George Desmond Orr Gibson | A device for dispensing liquids |
| EP2918164A1 (en) | 2014-03-10 | 2015-09-16 | Limagrain Europe | Hybrid Cereal Seed Production |
| US11737404B2 (en) | 2014-03-10 | 2023-08-29 | Limagrain Europe | Hybrid cereal seed production |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| EEER | Examination request | ||
| FZDE | Dead |