ES1285864U - Anti-pest device for fruit trees and the like (Machine-translation by Google Translate, not legally binding) - Google Patents

Abstract

Anti-pest device for fruit trees and the like, characterized in that it is constituted from a rectangular sheet (1) of electrical insulating material, on whose upper and inner edge a band (3) of foam or deformable adaptation material is established to the contour of the bark of the tree, sheet that in an operational situation adopts a cone-like configuration around the trunk (2) by means of inclined overlapping of its lateral edges, and that has an elastic band (4) for fixing and stabilizing the device on said trunk (2), with the particularity that diagonally to the sheet (1), and on its internal face, at least one pair of parallel conductive wires (5-5') are arranged, separated from each other a distance of According to the size of the body of the insect to be exterminated, conducting wires (5-5') arranged in an open circuit and subjected to an electrical potential difference between 4000 and 15000 volts through u n small power supply circuit (6) properly insulated. (Machine-translation by Google Translate, not legally binding)

Description

DESCRIPTION

Anti-pest device for fruit trees and the like

Technical sector

The present invention relates to a device that has been specially designed to be implanted in all types of trees and woody plants, such as fruit trees, ornamental trees, without ruling out any other type of trees, in order to prevent them from being affected. by crawling insect pests.

The object of the invention is to provide a device that, in addition to determining a physical barrier for insects that try to access the treetop through its trunk, includes means for their extermination in a totally ecological way, without affecting the normal growth of said tree, and without significant reduction of the insectivorous population.

It is also an object of the invention that the device adapts completely automatically to the growth of the plant, and consequently of the trunk, without damaging it and without having to be manipulated for its adaptation.

The invention is preferably situated in the field of agriculture, without ruling out the protection of any type of tree susceptible to being infested with crawling insects.

Background of the invention

In the field of practical application of the invention, the symbiotic relationship between ants and aphids is known, such that the aphids or aphids excrete a sticky substance (molasses) on which the ants feed, at the same time that they protect the aphid from their predators, for example ladybugs.

Unfortunately for the host plant, the honeydew stimulates mold growth. Aphids also suck sap from plants, which stunts their growth. Some aphids can transmit a virus that can have a devastating impact on crops.

Trying to avoid this problem, in the case of fruit trees, pesticide products are applied to their leaves and branches that, although they satisfactorily fulfill the function for which they have been planned, present a multiple and varied problem, in which it is worth highlighting the following aspects:

• They are potentially toxic products for human beings, and can cause harmful effects to health, such as cancer, as well as affect the reproductive, immune and nervous systems.

• They are products that are difficult to degrade, which is why they pose a problem from an environmental point of view.

• It is necessary to apply a large volume of product for it to be effective against pests, which in large fruit tree farms entails a very significant economic cost.

Trying to avoid this problem, and with regard to preventing the access of crawling insects to the treetops, some solutions are known as physical barriers in the tree trunks, such as whitewashing, which negatively affects to the pH of the soil in the presence of rain, as well as the implantation of annular barriers that, although they make it difficult for ants or insects to access the upper part of the tree, these physical barriers are by no means insurmountable by said insects, in addition to preventing the growth of the trunk in the area of application, which causes malformations in the trunk that negatively affect the growth of the tree and consequently its productivity.

Document US 4471561A describes an insect exterminating device in which a flat base sheet of electrical insulating material participates, intended to completely surround a structure on which the insects to be exterminated travel, with a direct current battery. low voltage, a pulse circuit connected to the battery to produce low voltage pulses, a transformer circuit connected to said pulse circuit to convert said low voltage pulses into high voltage pulses, and a pair of elongated electrical contacts connected to said transformer circuit that extend along the entire length of the sheet, so that the contacts are separated from each other so that the electrical circuit is open, and is closed by the insect itself that tries to cross the base sheet.

The problem with this device is that it does not adapt correctly to trunks in which the bark has large reliefs and irregularities, since it is a simple sheet of insulating material, which cannot in any way fit closely to the contour of the tree when it presents a very irregular relief, as happens in a great variety of trees or woody plants.

This supposes that between the irregularities or projections and depressions of the bark, passages are formed for the insects so that they can avoid the barrier that constitutes the sheet of insulating material.

In parallel, document FR 2576748 discloses a system comprising a rectangular sheet of electrical insulating material assisted by a foam band to adapt to the geometry of the trunk, sheet in which parallel and zigzag conductor wires connected to A battery.

The problem presented by both document FR 2576748 and document US 4471561A is that these devices do not adapt to the growth of the tree, so they must be manipulated periodically, in order to prevent the trunk of the tree from strangling during its growth.

This problem is intensified when the device is implanted in farms with hundreds of trees, where it is necessary to readjust all the devices associated with each of the trees one by one, which entails a very significant loss of time.

Finally, another problem presented by other devices of this type on the market is associated with storage and distribution logistics, since when it comes to exploiting a large number of trees, the volumetric occupation of each device matters, so that many Most of these devices are not stackable or storable, adopting a flattened laminar arrangement, with the consequent space limitations that this may entail.

Explanation of the invention

The anti-pest device that is recommended fully solves the aforementioned problems, based on a simple but effective solution, preventing access and exterminating any crawling insect that tries to climb the trunk or branch of the tree on which implanted, all in an ecological, economical way and adapting to the growth of said trunk.

To do this, and more specifically, the device of the invention is constituted from a rectangular sheet of electrical insulating material, such as an acetate sheet, whose upper edge includes a strip of flexible foam on its inner face, which is suitable for the physiognomy of the bark of the trunk on which the device is applied, a sheet that is wound on said trunk so that it adopts a conical configuration so that said sheet is finished off with an elastic band in correspondence with one of its upper ends, which allows the upper edge of the acetate sheet to be wrapped externally, forming a kind of cone, against the trunk itself, tying the tape on itself, and thus preventing the passage of insects through its interior.

In this way, by forming a conical surface through the inclined overlapping of the two lateral edges of the sheet, the whole can be deformed and extended, adapting to the growth of the tree, contrary to what would happen with a sheet whose development generates a perfect cone, in which a growing opening would be defined in correspondence with one of its generators, which is prevented by the rectangular shape of the sheet.

In any case, and in accordance with the essence of the invention, a circuit based on pairs of parallel conducting wires, for example copper wires, arranged with a small separation is fixed on the diagonal of the inner face of the non-conductive sheet. each other, according to the size of the body of the insect to be exterminated, so that these conductive wires are arranged in an open circuit and they are subjected to a high difference in electrical potential through a small circuit duly insulated and arranged in correspondence with the upper end of the assembly, so that said circuit establishes a sufficient voltage to electrocute the crawling insect in question, which will close the electrical circuit with its own body. More specifically, said voltage will be between 4,000 and 15,000 volts, with the circuit working in ranges between 0.3 and 6 joules.

The circuit will work both day and night, for which it will incorporate a rechargeable battery through a photovoltaic solar panel, which can be attached to a tree branch through a telescopic arm with its corresponding clamp or fixing means.

From this structure, the operation is as follows:

The device defines an essentially frusto-conical barrier that causes insects that ascend from the ground up the tree trunk to first encounter the edge or foam-based barrier that surrounds the tree trunk in correspondence with the upper end of the sheet arranged in the form of a cone, which forces them to continue downwards on the inner face of said non-conductive sheet.

The arrangement of the pairs of threads on the diagonal of the sheet, together with the conical shape that said sheet is forced to adopt, means that the insects in their movement always find themselves with a pair of parallel conductive threads that, in order to continue advancing towards the upper part of the tree have to cross transversally, at which point the insect will rest on both conducting wires, closing the electrical circuit and therefore acting as a fuse, dying instantly electrocuted and falling by gravity, leaving the circuit open again waiting for another insect to try to cross through the barrier defined by the pairs of conducting wires.

As the conductive wires are arranged on the inner face of the non-conductive sheet, and said sheet is insulated by foam on the inside and rubber on the outside, the circuit will be duly insulated from the rain, ensuring its operation in any weather condition, both day and night. night, adapting to the growth of the trunk of the tree on which it is implanted.

The device thus described is completely ecological, contrary to the pesticides commonly used for the same purpose, much cheaper not only in the long term but also in the medium term, resistant, durable and totally autonomous.

Brief description of the drawings

To complement the description that is going to be made below and in order to help a better understanding of the characteristics of the invention, according to a preferred example of its practical embodiment, a set of plans is attached as an integral part of said description. where, by way of illustration and not limitation, the following has been represented:

Figure 1.- Shows a plan view of the development of the sheet that participates in an anti-plague device for fruit trees and the like made in accordance with the object of the present invention.

Figure 2.- Shows a perspective view of the device of the invention duly implanted on the corresponding fruit tree.

Preferred embodiment of the invention

In view of the figures outlined, it can be seen how the device of the invention is constituted from a rectangular sheet (1) of electrical insulating material, such as a transparent acetate sheet.

Said sheet (1) of acetate includes on what will be its upper and inner edge of application on the trunk (2) of the tree on which it is applied, a band (3) of foam or equivalent deformable material, which allows it to adapt to the contour of the bark of the tree sealing it and therefore preventing the passage of insects through it.

The sheet will be rolled up on the trunk (2) of the tree as shown in figure 2, overlapping its lateral ends at an angle to form a kind of deformable cone, adaptable to the trunk of the tree during its growth, and which is fixed to said trunk by means of an elastic rubber band (4) that will be fixed to one of the upper vertices of the sheet (1) is wound externally on the upper edge of said sheet and is tied on itself.

Returning again to figure 1, diagonally to the sheet (1), and on its internal face, there will be pairs of parallel conductive wires (5-5'), arranged with a small separation between them, according to the size of the body. of the insect to be exterminated, in this case two pairs, based on copper sheets, electrically connected in parallel, and which are connected to a voltage feeder circuit (6) by means of cables or conductors, establishing between each pair of wires (5-5') a potential difference of 100 volts.

Thus, the conductive wires (5-5') will be in an open circuit under normal conditions, until an insect tries to cross them, at which time the insect itself will close the circuit causing its electrocution, being able to observe in figure 2, how the pairs of conductive wires (5-5') adopt an arrangement on the sheet (1) that prevent insects from accessing the lower edge of the sheet to hypothetically go around it and ascend on its upper face, so that in said figure 2 it can be seen how said conductive wires (5-5') intersect forming closed rings around the conical surface, which do not electrically close the circuit because the sheet (1) of electrical insulating material itself is interposed between them.

The power supply circuit (6) will be duly integrated into a sealed casing, with an internal battery that allows the device to function both day and night, a rechargeable battery through a photovoltaic solar panel (7), which can be fixed to a branch of the tree through a telescopic arm (8) with its corresponding clamp (9) or fixing means.

In this way, a means is achieved that prevents the access of any insect that approaches the tree from the ground, whether they are ants, spiders, aphids, etc.

The system's power circuit allows the connection of up to 300 devices in respective trees or branches, through a wired connection system between them through watertight connectors.

Likewise, the system may have means of communication via radio to remotely monitor its operating parameters.

Claims (10)

1. Anti-pest device for fruit trees and the like, characterized in that it is constituted from a rectangular sheet (1) of electrical insulating material, on whose upper and inner edge a band (3) of foam or deformable adaptation material is established to the contour of the bark of the tree, a sheet that in an operational situation adopts a cone-like configuration around the trunk (2) by means of inclined overlapping of its lateral edges, and which has an elastic band (4) for fixing and stabilizing the device on said trunk (2), with the particularity that in a diagonal arrangement to the sheet (1), and on its internal face, at least one pair of parallel conductive wires (5-5') are arranged, separated from each other a distance of According to the size of the body of the insect to be exterminated, conducting wires (5-5') arranged in an open circuit and subjected to an electrical potential difference between 4000 and 15000 volts through u n small power supply circuit (6) properly insulated. 2. Anti-pest device for fruit trees and the like, according to claim 1, characterized in that the power circuit (6) includes an internal battery, rechargeable through a photovoltaic solar panel (7). 3. Anti-pest device for fruit trees and the like, according to claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the photovoltaic solar panel (7) includes a telescopic arm (8) and fixing means to the tree such as a clamp (9). 4. Anti-pest device for fruit trees and the like, according to claim 1, characterized in that the sheet (1) is made of acetate. 5. Anti-pest device for fruit trees and the like, according to claim 1, characterized in that the conducting wires (5-5') are made of copper. 6. Anti-pest device for fruit trees and the like, according to claim 1, characterized in that the conducting wires (5-5') participate in two or more pairs, connected in parallel. 7. Anti-pest device for fruit trees and the like, according to claim 1, characterized in that the power circuit (6) is arranged in correspondence with the upper area of the sheet (1). 8. Anti-pest device for fruit trees and the like, according to claim 1, characterized in that the elastic band (4) emerges from one of the upper vertices of the sheet (1). 9. Anti-pest device for fruit trees and the like, according to claim 1, characterized in that it includes radio communication means for remote monitoring of its operating parameters. 10. Anti-pest device for fruit trees and the like, according to claim 1, characterized in that it is capable of sharing its power circuit with other devices of the same type by means of a wired connection through sealed connectors.