GB2442568A

GB2442568A - A dispensing device with contra-rotating rollers

Info

Publication number: GB2442568A
Application number: GB0718874A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Sean Blaney; Declan Scullion
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2006-09-27
Filing date: 2007-09-27
Publication date: 2008-04-09
Anticipated expiration: 2027-09-27
Also published as: GB2442568B; GB0718874D0; GB0619047D0; IE20070686A1

Abstract

A dispensing device 10 comprises a body 12 adapted to be towed behind a vehicle. The body 12 includes a fluid dispenser 20 comprising nozzles 24 supplied by a fluid reservoir 22. A pair of applicators in form of rollers 26, 28 is fed from the dispenser 22, the applicators, in use, rotating in opposite directions to one another. This action serves to separate clumps of weeds, and is more likely to ensure weed-killer or herbicide is applied to all of the weeds in a clump. A sensor 38 may be provided upstream of the applicators to detect weeds and operate a pump (not shown) to effect dispensing from the nozzles 24.

Description

A Dispensing Device The present invention is concerned with a

dispensing device, and in particular a dispensing device which is adapted to dispense a weed killing solution or the like as the device is drawn along the ground, preferably being towed behind a vehicle such as an all terrain vehicle (ATV), a quad bike or the like.

It is known to provide a weed killing attachment for towing/mounting behind or in front of a vehicle and which includes a roller and a reservoir with nozzles that spray weed killing solution onto the roller. The roller is made to rotate and apply the weed killer to any weeds present. The outer surface of the roller is typically made from some sort of absorbent textile material so that it soaks up the weed killing solution.

However this arrangement suffers from a number of drawbacks. In particular, this type of device will apply the weed killing solution indiscriminately to weeds and grass alike, and can thus be harmful to the grass. Furthermore, when a dense patch of weeds in encountered, the roller will tend to flatten the first weed down on top of the remaining weeds, and thus only this first weed receives a useful coating of the solution. Such devices can thus tend to be overly aggressive in applying the weed killing solution, yet simultaneously may be ineffective against clumps or patches of two or more weeds.

The present invention has been developed with view to mitigating the above-mentioned problems.

The present invention therefore provides a dispensing device comprising a body adapted to be movable over a ground surface; said body including a fluid dispenser in communication with a fluid reservoir; a pair of applicators to which the dispenser feeds, wherein the pair of applicators, in use, rotate in opposite directions to one another.

Preferably, each of the pair of applicators is in contact with one another.

Preferably, the pair of applicators comprises a leading applicator which rotates, in use, in an anti-clockwise direction, when viewed from right hand side and a trailing applicator which rotates in a clockwise direction.

Preferably, at least the trailing applicator comprises an absorbent skin.

Preferably, the pair of applicators, in use, are elevated off the ground to a height greater than the typical height of grass and lower than the typical height of taller weeds.

Preferably, the device comprises at least one rear wheel disposed, in use, downstream of the applicators.

Preferably, the rear wheel drives one of the applicators.

Preferably, the dispenser comprises said reservoir and at least one nozzle directed onto one or both of the applicators.

Preferably, the nozzle is directed onto the trailing applicator.

Preferably, the pair of applicators is height

adjustable.

Preferably, each applicator comprises a roller.

Preferably, the pair of rollers is, in use, substantially horizontally disposed.

Preferable, the device comprises a sensor located, in use, upstream of the applicators, the sensor being adapted to sense the presence of weeds and to actuate the dispenser accordingly.

Preferably, the device comprises a pair of rear wheels spaced apart from one another.

Preferably, each wheel comprises a pneumatic tyre.

Preferably, the device comprises a coupling adjacent a front of the body for connecting the device to a vehicle for towing.

The present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which; Figure 1 illustrates a side view of a preferred embodiment of a dispensing device according to the present invention.

Referring now to Figure 1, there is illustrated a preferred embodiment of a dispensing device, generally indicated as 10, which is adapted to apply a weed killing solution or the like to weeds W as the device is drawn over the weeds W, whether manually or preferably by towing behind a vehicle such as an ATV, a quad bike or the like.

The device 10 comprises a body in the form of a frame 12 mounted on a pair of rear wheels 14, one on either side of the frame 12. The frame 12 may be of any desired width, depending on the intended application.

For domestic applications, the frame 12 could be half a metre in width, whereas for larger scale applications, the frame 12 could be 2 to 3 metres in width or more.

The frame 12 includes a forward facing boom 16 having a coupling 18 secured to the free end thereof. The coupling 18 is of conventional configuration allowing the device 10 to be hitched to a tow bar or the like.

In this way the device 10 can be towed behind a vehicle such as a quad bike or tractor or the like. It will however be appreciated that on a smaller scale, for example domestic versions of the device 10, the coupling 18 could be replaced with a basic handle (not shown) allowing the device 10 to be manually towed or pushed.

The device 10 further comprises a dispenser 20 having a reservoir 22for housing a weed killing solution or the like, the dispenser 20 further comprising one or more nozzles 24 which are supplied from the reservoir 22.

In alternative implementations, the reservoir 22 can be external or a vehicle mounted tank. The device 10 preferably comprises a number of the nozzles 24 evenly spaced across the width of the device 10. Located beneath the nozzles 24 are a pair of applicators in the form of a first or leading roller 26 and a second or trailing roller 28, both of which preferably extend across the full width of the frame 12, in a substantially horizontal orientation. The rollers 26, 28 are in contact with one another and thus are counter-rotating. At least the trailing roller 28 is provided with an absorbent skin 30 forming an outer surface thereof. The trailing rotor 28 is preferably driven by the rear wheel 14, e.g. via a drive shaft (not shown) located within a drive housing 32 extending from the rear wheel 14 forwardly to the trailing roller 28. A chain or belt drive could of course be used in place of the drive shaft (not shown). In addition, suitable gearing (not shown) may be employed in order to obtain a desired speed of rotation for the trailing roller 28 and thus the leading roller 26. The drive housing 32 also serves to support the dispenser 20 thereon, and it connected at the end opposite the rear wheel 14 to a mount 34 which extends downwardly from the frame 12. The mount 34 has a number of apertures 36 along the length thereof, to which the free end of the drive housing 32 may be selectively mounted, in order to vary the height at which the rollers 26, 28 are disposed relative to the ground.

The device 10 further comprises a sensor 38 mounted ahead of the leading roller 26, which is also preferably height adjustable, an output of the sensor 38 being connected to a pump (not shown) forming part of the dispenser 20 and which effects the spraying of solution from the nozzles 24. The device 10 also preferably comprises control circuitry (not shown) which may be manually set to alter the length of time that the pump (not shown) is activated following the triggering of same by the sensor 38, as described hereinafter in detail.

In use the device 10 is initially attached to or mounted on a vehicle such as an ATV, for example a tractor, 4x4 or purpose built vehicle, for example, via the coupling 18 and the tow bar (not shown) of said vehicle. An electrical circuit (not shown) of the device 10 is then connected to the electrical supply of the vehicle towing the device 10, in conventional fashion using a heavy duty connector (not shown) or the like. The battery of the vehicle can then be used to supply power to the pump (not shown) and sensor 38 of the device 10.

The rear wheels 14 of the device 10 are preferably provided with pneumatic tyres (not shown) which enable the device 10 to be used on soft ground where rushes are most prevalent.

The device 10 is then towed behind the vehicle, whereby the rear wheels 14 will rotate and consequently drive the trailing roller 28, in a clockwise direction. As the leading roller 26 contacts the trailing roller 28, the leading roller 26 will contra-rotate in an anti-clockwise direction, when viewed from right hand side.

When the device 10 is driven over weeds W, the sensor 38, which would typically be a beam type sensor, will detect the presence of the weeds W, and trigger operation of the pump (not shown) to dispense the weed killing solution from the nozzles 24. The nozzles 24 are orientated to dispense the solution onto the trailing roller 28, which includes the absorbent skin to soak up the weed killing solutions. As the rollers 26, 28 are in contact with one another, the solution will then be transferred onto the leading roller 26.

As the device 10 is drawn over weeds W, both of the rollers 26, 28 contact the weeds W and thus both apply weed killer thereto, doubling the efficacy of the device 10. However, more importantly, the way in which the rollers 26, 28 rotate with respect to one another, and the direction of travel of the device 10, results in the weed killing solution being applied to the weeds W in a novel fashion, which greatly increases the results achieved. In particular, as the leading roller contacts the weed W, the weed W is bent over as illustrated, and passes under the rollers 26, 28 in this position. Due to the anti clockwise rotation of the leading roller 26, it tends to drag or displace the leaves forwardly of same, thereby applying a coating of the weed killing solution to an underside of the leaves of the weed W. The underside of the leaves of most plants are porous, where as the topside has a waxy impermeable layer. Thus by coating the underside of the leaves of the weed W, the device 10 is significantly more effective in killing the weeds W. Furthermore, when two weeds W are located very close together, a conventional single roller system would tend to push one weed on top of the other so that the other weed does not receive much if any weed killer.

However, with the device 10 of the present invention, the presence of the pair of contra-rotating rollers 26, 28 has the effect of separating the weeds W as the rollers 26, 28 pass over, thereby insuring that both of the weeds W receive a good application of the weed killer. In particular, and as mentioned above, the leading roller 26 will tend to draw the respective weed W forwardly while the trailing roller 28, due to the direction of rotation thereof, will push or displace the other weed W rearwardly, thus separating the weeds W sufficiently to allow the two weeds W to receive a good application of weed killer.

The configuration of the rollers 26, 28 also provide a number of further advantages. For example, due to the direction of rotation of the two rollers 26, 28 the weed killing solution dispensed from the nozzles 24 is carried into the V or valley between the rollers 26, 28. As the two rollers 26, 28 are in tight contact with one another, the amount of the weed killing solution which is allowed to pass between the rollers 26, 28 is controlled and thus an even spread of the solution is applied to the leading roller 26. The trailing roller 28, with its absorbent skin 30, ensures that the leading roller 26 always has the optimum amount of solution to treat the weeds W. In addition, any excess solution is retained in the valley between the rollers 26, 28. This arrangement prevents dripping of the weed killing solution, thus eliminating the transfer of the solution to the grass or ground, which can eventually lead to the contamination of water courses or wildlife. In addition, applying only the optimum amount of weed killing solution to the weeds W ensures that the device 10 minimises the volume of the solution used, thus reducing harm to the environment, and the cost of running the device 10.

It will be understood that the invention is not limited to use in the application of weed killing solution to weeds and may more generally be used in the application of any fluid, especially liquid, to any target object, especially those projecting from a ground surface.

While the preferred embodiment has been illustrated with respect to dispensing devices which are arranged to be towed behind a vehicle, it will be understood that alternative implementations of the invention are possible in which the dispensing device is mounted to the front or the rear of a vehicle by any suitable linkage or coupling mechanism. Alternatively still, the dispensing device may be mounted to a vehicle in any other manner, including being incorporated into the vehicle. The vehicle need not necessarily be a powered vehicle. For example, it may comprise a cart, trolley or other vehicle that may be propelled manually.

Also, the rollers 26, 28 need not been driven from the wheels 14, instead they could be directly driven by the vehicle, for example, a vehicle PTO shaft, or any other driving means, mounted on the vehicle or the body or elsewhere.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described herein, which may be amended or modified without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Claims

Claims: 1. A dispensing device comprising a body adapted to be movable

with respect to a ground surface; said body including a fluid dispenser in communication with a fluid reservoir; first and second applicators to which the dispenser feeds, wherein the applicators, in use, rotate in opposite directions to one another.
2. A dispensing device according to claim 1 wherein said body is adapted to be towed by, or mounted to, a vehicle.
3. A device according to claim 1 wherein each of the applicators is in contact with one another.
4. A device according to claim 1, 2 or 3 wherein the applicators comprise a leading applicator which is rotatable in a first direction such that, in use, its leading surface moves upwardly, and a trailing applicator which is rotatable in a second direction, opposite said first direction.
5. A device according to claim 4 wherein at least the trailing applicator comprises an absorbent skin.
6. A device according to any preceding claim wherein the applicators, in use, are elevated off the ground surface to a height greater than the typical height of grass and lower than the typical height of taller weeds.
7. A device according to any preceding claim further including at least one ground-engaging wheel.
8. A device according to claim 7 wherein said at least one wheel comprises at least one rear wheel disposed, in use, downstream of the applicators.
9. A device according to claim 7 or 8, including means for coupling said at least one wheel to one of said applicators in order to drive said applicator.
10. A device according to any preceding claim wherein the dispenser comprises said reservoir and at least one nozzle directed onto one or both of the applicators.
11. A device according to claim 10 wherein the nozzle is directed onto the trailing applicator.
12. A device according to any preceding claim wherein the applicators are height adjustable.
13. A device according to any preceding claim wherein each applicator comprises a roller.
14. A device according to claim 13 wherein the rollers are, in use, substantially horizontally disposed.
15. A device according to any preceding claim wherein the device comprises a sensor located, in use, upstream of the applicators, the sensor being adapted to sense the presence of weeds, or other target objects, and to operate the dispenser accordingly.
16. A device according to any preceding claim wherein the device comprises a pair of rear wheels spaced apart from one another.
17. A device according to claim 7 wherein the or each wheel comprises a pneumatic tyre.
18. A device according to any preceding claim wherein the device comprises a coupling for connecting the device to a vehicle for towing.
19. A device according to any preceding claim further including means for rotating said applicators.
20. A device substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawing.