JP4296997B2 - Drug release method and apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for releasing a drug such as an insect pheromone that disrupts a pest communication disruptor or an attractant, and more particularly to a drug release method and an improved drug release method that can efficiently release the drug. It relates to the device.

  In farms, instead of using pesticides, pest control methods that reduce the occurrence of pests by releasing attractants such as insect pheromones in the air, causing disruption of communication by causing pests to disrupt communication and reducing the number of eggs laid. It has been known. For example, it is known that a large number of insect pheromone dispensers are installed at predetermined intervals in a farm facility to naturally dissipate insect pheromones. Insect pheromone dispensers are known in which sex pheromones are enclosed in plastic tubes, which are hung on the branches of growing plants or the framework of greenhouses, and the sex pheromones are naturally placed in the air through the tubes. It is made to dissipate (patent document 1). However, in this dispenser, insect pheromones are continuously released even during the day when insects do not mate, and the amount of radiation is higher during daytime when the temperature is high, so there is a lot of wasteful release of the drug. Further, sex pheromones having a double bond are liable to cause ultraviolet deterioration and oxidation, so that it is necessary to add a stabilizer, which increases the cost. Furthermore, when there are pests that are not expected due to the effects of nearby orchards, it is impossible to immediately respond to such unexpected pests.

Therefore, use of a drug diffusion device that forcibly releases a volatile drug by a heater or a fan (Patent Documents 2, 3, and 4), and a spray-type drug diffusion device by remote control (Patent Document) 5) Or, it is possible to disperse the medicine using a droplet discharge head similar to the ink jet head used in the ink jet printer (Patent Document 6).
JP-A-8-322447 Japanese Utility Model Publication No.58-110288 Utility Model Registration No. 30211119 JP-A-9-74969 US Pat. No. 6,182,904 US Pat. No. 6,339,897

  Here, such a forced or on-demand medicine diffusion device is generally attached to a support column set up in a field facility or the like, and a medicine such as an evaporating dish or a mesh-like material is used according to a required time zone. The drug is diffused to the outside by being dropped or discharged onto the surface of the radiation member. However, the amount of drugs such as insect pheromones that can be released is extremely small, and the diffusibility and developability are poor. For this reason, a very small amount of drug droplets dropped or discharged onto the surface of the evaporating dish or mesh-like material volatilizes and diffuses in the air in the state of being dropped or discharged on those surfaces. Since the contact area with air is small if it is in the form of dots, the radiation efficiency is extremely poor. In addition, when the wind is strong, the medicine dropped on the surface of the evaporating dish or mesh material may be blown off by the wind and fall to the ground. In this case, the medicine cannot be diffused over the entire spray area.

  In view of these points, an object of the present invention is to propose a drug diffusion method and apparatus capable of quickly expanding a discharged or dripped drug and efficiently diffusing the drug.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the method of releasing a drug according to the present invention includes a rotary drum installed at a place where a volatile drug such as an insect pheromone is released, and a blade edge of the blade is pressed against an outer peripheral surface of the rotary drum, The medicine is supplied to a linear contact position between the outer peripheral surface and the blade edge, the medicine is spread linearly by capillary force along the blade edge, and the rotating drum is centered in a state where the blade is fixed. Rotating about the axis, spreading the drug spread linearly along the cutting edge in a planar shape along the outer peripheral surface, and expanding the drug spread in a planar shape along the outer peripheral surface in the air It is characterized by being evaporated.

  As described above, in the method of the present invention, the medicine is linearly expanded along the outer peripheral surface of the rotating drum, and then the medicine expanded linearly by the blade is forcibly formed into a planar shape along the outer peripheral surface. To expand. Therefore, a minute amount of medicine can be rapidly spread in a planar shape along the outer peripheral surface of the rotating drum. Even if the medicine expands in a planar shape and has an increased contact area with air, even if it is of a type that has a low saturated vapor pressure and is difficult to evaporate, it will quickly evaporate into the air. Therefore, according to the method of the present invention, it is possible to efficiently dissipate drugs having a low saturated water vapor pressure, such as insect pheromones.

  Here, it is desirable that the rotating drum is disposed in an inclined manner so that the drug is dropped onto a portion on the upper end side of the linear contact position. The drug dropped on the upper end portion of the linear contact position quickly expands linearly along the blade edge by the action of capillary force and gravity. Therefore, it becomes possible to diffuse a medicine more efficiently. In addition, when the rotating drum is disposed at an inclination, it is easier to drop the medicine from above to the line contact position between the outer peripheral surface and the blade edge as compared with the case where the rotating drum is disposed vertically.

  Next, the supply of the medicine and the rotation of the rotating drum may be generally managed by time. For example, a drug such as an insect pheromone needs to be released in accordance with the activity time zone of the pest to be controlled, so that the effect of releasing the drug can be enhanced by releasing it in accordance with the activity time zone.

  In addition, it is desirable to detect environmental conditions such as the temperature and wind speed of the diffusion place, and to control the diffusion conditions such as the supply amount of the medicine and the rotation speed of the rotating drum based on the detection result. For example, when the temperature is low or when there is no wind, compared to when the temperature is high or when the wind is strong, the drug diffusion efficiency is reduced, and the drug diffusion density at the diffusion site is reduced. Therefore, in such a case, it is desirable to increase the diffusion efficiency by dropping a larger amount of the drug or increasing the rotation speed so that the diffusion density of the drug does not decrease.

  On the other hand, the present invention is a drug diffusing device suitable for diffusing a drug by the above method, and supports a rotating drum having a circular outer peripheral surface and the rotating drum so as to be rotatable about its central axis. A supporting member, a blade arranged along the circular outer peripheral surface in the width direction thereof, the blade edge being pressed against the circular outer peripheral surface in a line contact state, and a line between the blade edge and the circular outer peripheral surface It is characterized by having a medicine supply section for dropping the medicine to the contact position, a rotation drive mechanism for the rotary drum, and a control section for controlling the drive of the medicine supply section and the rotation drive mechanism.

  Here, the medicine supply unit may include a medicine storage part in which the medicine is stored, and a pump that discharges the medicine from the medicine storage part. In this case, if the medicine reservoir is a medicine cartridge detachably attached to the apparatus main body, the medicine replenishment operation can be easily performed.

  Further, it is preferable that the control unit includes a timer and performs the control operation so that the medicine is dropped at a predetermined time, and then the rotary drum is driven to rotate for a predetermined time. Furthermore, it is preferable that the control unit controls a supply amount of the medicine and / or a rotation speed of the rotary drum based on a sensor for detecting temperature and / or wind speed and the detected temperature and / or wind speed.

  In the medicine diffusion method and apparatus of the present invention, the blade tip of the blade is pressed against the outer peripheral surface of the rotating drum so as to be in linear contact, and the medicine is supplied to this linear contact position, whereby the medicine is linearly generated by capillary force. Then, by rotating the rotating drum, the linearly spread medicine is forcibly spread in a plane along the outer peripheral surface of the drum by the blade edge of the blade.

  Therefore, according to the present invention, a drug such as an insect pheromone that has high viscosity and is difficult to evaporate can be spread thinly and widely, so that the drug can be efficiently diffused.

  Hereinafter, an example of a drug diffusion device to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to the drawings.

(overall structure)
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the drug diffusing apparatus of this example, FIG. 2 is a side view when seen from the direction of arrow II in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a position indicated by the line III-III in FIG. It is sectional drawing at the time of cut | disconnecting. Referring to these drawings, the drug diffusion device 1 has a rotating drum 2, and an elongated rectangular rubber extending on a circular outer peripheral surface 2 a of the rotating drum 2 in a direction parallel to the rotation center axis 3. The cutting edge 4a of the blade 4 is pressed in a line contact state. The rotary drum 2 and the rubber blade 4 are supported by a support plate 5.

  The support plate 5 includes end plate portions 6 and 7 that are bent at a right angle forward from the upper and lower ends, and on the front side of the support plate 5, between the end plate portions 6 and 7, the rotation center axis of the rotary drum 2. 3 is stretched over the support plate 5 in a rotatable state. Further, cut-and-raised pieces 8 and 9 cut and raised at a right angle to the rear are formed on the upper and lower end portions on one side of the support plate 5. A blade holding plate 11 is stretched between the cut and raised pieces 8 and 9 in a direction parallel to the rotation center shaft 3, and the rear end portion of the rubber blade 3 is supported by the blade holding plate 11. A spring hook 11 a is formed at an intermediate position in the length direction of the blade holding plate 11, and a coil spring 13 is stretched between the spring hook 11 and the spring hook 12 formed on the support plate 5. Due to the spring force of the coil spring 13, the cutting edge 4a of the rubber blade 4 is pressed against the circular outer peripheral surface 2a of the rotary drum 2 so as to form a linear contact state.

  As can be seen from FIG. 3, the rubber blade 4 of this example is a blade having a constant thickness, and the blade edge angle is set to 90 degrees, for example. The contact angle θ of the blade edge 4a with respect to the circular outer peripheral surface 2a of the rotary drum 2 is set to about 80 degrees, for example. It is possible to use an acute angle as the blade edge angle, and it is also possible to make the contact angle steeper than 80 degrees. In any case, it is desirable that the blade edge 4a is pressed against the circular outer peripheral surface 2a in a line contact state.

  The support plate 5 is supported in an inclined state by a U-shaped support stand 15 as a whole. For example, it is supported in a posture inclined about 30 degrees forward with respect to the vertical direction. Therefore, the rotary drum 2 attached in parallel to the support plate 5 is also held in a posture inclined forward by 30 degrees. The inclination angle of the rotating drum 2 may be an angle other than 30 degrees. It is also possible to have a vertical posture. In some cases, it can be held in a horizontal position. When held horizontally, the drug is efficiently spread in a linear shape by dropping the drug droplets at a plurality of positions at the line contact position between the circular outer peripheral surface 2a of the rotating drum 2 and the blade edge 4a of the gob mu rade 4. Can be made.

  Next, a drive motor 21 is attached to the upper end portion of the back surface of the support plate 5, and the rotation of the drive motor 21 causes the pinion 22, the composite gear 23, and the large-diameter gear 24 attached to the end of the rotary drum 2. Via the rotary drum 2. As a rotational drive mechanism of the rotary drum 2, a belt-pulley type transmission mechanism can be adopted instead of such a gear transmission mechanism.

  A medicine cartridge mounting portion 25 is formed at a lower position of the drive motor 21 on the back surface of the support plate 5. A flat rectangular parallelepiped medicine cartridge 26 can be attached to the medicine cartridge mounting portion 25 in a detachable state from the side. A drug pump 40 is mounted on the surface of the mounting plate 27 forming the drug cartridge mounting part 25. A drug dropping nozzle 29 is attached to the upper end plate portion 6 of the support plate 5 so as to be positioned immediately above the contact position between the circular outer peripheral surface 2 a of the rotating drum 2 and the blade edge 4 a of the rubber blade 4. A drug supply tube 30 connects between the drug dropping nozzle 29 and the discharge port 40 b of the drug pump 40. A drug supply tube 31 is connected to the suction port 40 a of the drug pump 40, and the other end of the drug supply tube 31 is a drug extraction port (not shown) of the drug cartridge 26 mounted on the cartridge mounting unit 25. ).

  A control unit 32 is attached to the lower side of the medicine pump 40. The control unit 32 controls the driving of the drug pump 40 and the drive motor 21. The control unit 32 can be configured around a microcomputer, has a timer function, and drives and controls the drug pump 40 and the drive motor 21 according to a predetermined processing routine.

  FIG. 4 is a front view showing the drug pump 40 of the present example and a cross-sectional view taken along the line bb. The basic configuration of the drug pump 40 of this example is the same as that of a general tube pump, and a semicircular inner peripheral side surface 43 is formed on the back surface of a plastic case 42 laminated on the surface of a metal chassis 41. A flexible tube 44 is disposed along the semicircular inner peripheral side surface 43. The tube 44 can be formed of a fluorine-based rubber having excellent chemical resistance, such as VAITON (trade name). The tube 44 is crushed toward the inner circumferential side 43 by a roller 45 that revolves around the center of the inner circumferential side 43, and the crushing position moves in the circumferential direction. The roller 45 is pushed out in the revolving direction. The revolving motion of the roller 45 is performed by a drive motor 50 attached to the chassis 41.

  The tube 44 is arranged in a U shape along the semicircular inner circumferential side surface 43 on the back surface side of the case 42, and one end thereof is connected to the medicine suction port 40 a attached to the case 42, and the other The end is connected to the medicine discharge port 40b which is also attached to the case 42. A check valve 48 for preventing the medicine from flowing back from the discharge side is built in the medicine discharge port 40b. The check valve 48 of this example uses a duckbill valve, and is made of, for example, fluorosilicone rubber.

  In the drug pump 40 having this configuration, the roller 45 stands by at a rotation angle position that is out of the tube 44. When the drive motor 50 is driven by the control unit 32, the roller 45 rotates from the drug suction port 40a toward the drug discharge port 40b as indicated by an arrow, and revolves while crushing the tube 44 in a predetermined rotation angle range. To do. As a result, the medicine in the tube 44 is pushed out toward the medicine discharge port 40b and discharged through the check valve 48 incorporated therein. The timing at which the drive motor 50 is stopped is set to the rotational angle position where the roller 45 is removed from the tube 44, and the state where the tube 44 is crushed and waits for the next drive is avoided.

  In the drug pump 40 of this example, in the non-driven state, the roller 45 is held at the rotation angle position where the roller 44 is removed. If the tube 44 is left for a long time while being crushed, the tube remains stuck in a state of being crushed due to a drug remaining inside, and there is a possibility that the circular cross section cannot be restored. In this example, such sticking can be avoided.

  Further, when the tube 44 is not crushed and the back pressure acting on the medicine discharge port 40b is higher than the back pressure acting on the medicine supply port 40a, the medicine remaining in the tube 44 may flow backward. . However, in this example, since the check valve 48 is built in the medicine discharge port 40b, the medicine does not flow backward even if such a pressure state occurs. Therefore, the medicine is eliminated from the tube 44, and it is possible to reliably prevent the occurrence of an empty ejection state in which no medicine is ejected in the initial state of the next medicine ejection operation. As a result, it is possible to always discharge a predetermined amount of medicine. This is extremely effective when a drug having a very small amount of radiation such as an insect pheromone is diffused.

  Note that a pump other than a tube pump can be used as the drug pump 40. For example, a gear pump or a piston pump can be used.

(Dissipation operation)
FIG. 5 is a schematic flowchart showing an operation example of the drug diffusion device 1 of this example performed under the control of the control unit 32. If it demonstrates according to this flowchart, the chemical | drug | medicine dispersion | distribution apparatus 1 will perform the spreading | diffusion operation | movement of a chemical | medical agent at a fixed time, for example twice a day based on the timer function incorporated in the control unit 32. When it is detected by the timer function that the predetermined time has come (step ST1), the drug pump 40 is driven by the control unit 32 for a certain time, and a certain amount of the drug is sucked from the drug cartridge 26. Then, it is supplied to the medicine dropping nozzle 29 (step ST2).

  The medicine supplied to the medicine dripping nozzle 29 is applied to the upper end portion of the line contact position 10 (see FIG. 3) between the circular outer peripheral surface 2a of the rotary drum 2 and the blade edge 4a of the rubber blade 4 located directly below the nozzle 29. It is dripped. The drug dripped onto the upper end portion of these line contact positions 10 rapidly expands linearly downward along the cutting edge 4a by the action of capillary force and gravity. After allowing sufficient time for the dropped drug to spread along the blade edge 4a to the lower end portion thereof (step ST3), the control unit 32 drives the drive motor 21 to move the rotary drum 2 to a predetermined level. The center axis line 3a (center line of the rotation center axis 3) is rotated a predetermined number of times at the speed (step ST4). Since the rubber blade 4 is in a fixed position, the drug spread linearly along the contact position between the circular outer peripheral surface 2a of the rotating drum 2 and the blade edge 4a of the rubber blade 4 is rotated along with the rotation of the rotating drum 2. The cutting edge 4a of the rubber blade 4 is forcibly expanded into a planar shape along the circular outer peripheral surface 2a.

  As a result, a state in which the medicine spreads thinly along the circular outer peripheral surface 2a of the rotary drum 2 is formed. Further, since the cutting edge 4a is held in a line contact state with the circular outer peripheral surface 2a, it can be spread evenly as compared with the case where the blade edge 4a is in contact with the surface. Therefore, the medicine is efficiently diffused or evaporated in the air. Further, by repeatedly rubbing by the blade edge 4a of the rubber blade 4, the medicine is efficiently diffused into the air.

  In addition, a temperature sensor and / or a wind speed sensor can be attached to the medicine diffusion device 1, and the medicine discharge amount of the medicine pump 40 and / or the rotation speed or the number of rotations of the rotary drum 2 can be controlled based on the detection results. . For example, when the temperature of the drug release place is low, the drug release rate is lower than when the temperature is high. Therefore, in this case, it is desirable to increase the drug diffusion efficiency by increasing the rotation speed of the rotary drum 2 or the like.

  Further, in this example, the tilt angle of the rotary drum 2 is fixed, but it is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the tilt angle is supported in a changeable state.

It is a perspective view of a medicine diffusion device to which the present invention is applied. FIG. 2 is a side view of the apparatus of FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the apparatus of FIG. It is the front view and sectional drawing which show the chemical | medical agent pump of the apparatus of FIG. It is a flowchart of the radiation | emission operation | movement of the apparatus of FIG. It is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a state.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Drug diffusion apparatus, 2 Rotating drum, 2a Circular outer peripheral surface, 3 Rotation center axis, 3a Center axis line, 4 Rubber blade, 4a Blade edge, 5 Support plate, 10 Line contact position, 11 Blade holding plate, 13 Coil spring, 15 Support Stand, 21 drive motor, 22 pinion, 23 compound gear, 24 gear, 25 drug cartridge mounting part, 26 drug cartridge, 29 drug dropping nozzle, 30, 31 drug supply tube, 32 control unit, 40 drug pump, 40a suction port, 40b Discharge port

Claims (8)

Install a rotating drum in the place where volatile drugs such as insect pheromones are released,
Press the blade edge of the blade against the outer peripheral surface of the rotating drum,
Supplying the drug to a linear contact position formed between the outer peripheral surface and the cutting edge;
The drug is expanded linearly by capillary force along the blade edge,
Rotating the rotating drum around its central axis with the blade fixed,
Spreading the medicine expanded linearly along the cutting edge in a planar shape along the outer peripheral surface;
A method for releasing a medicine, characterized in that the medicine spread in a planar shape along the outer peripheral surface is evaporated in the air. In claim 1,
The rotating drum is disposed at an inclination,
A method for releasing a medicine, wherein the medicine is dropped onto a portion on the upper end side of the linear contact position. In claim 1 or 2,
The medicine supply method, wherein the supply of the medicine and the rotation of the rotating drum are managed by time. In claim 1, 2 or 3,
Detect environmental conditions such as temperature and wind speed of the dissipating place,
Based on a detection result, a diffusion condition such as a supply amount of the drug and a rotation speed of the rotating drum is controlled. A drug diffusion device used for releasing a drug by the method according to claim 1 or 2,
A rotating drum with a circular outer peripheral surface;
A supporting member that supports the rotating drum in a state of being rotatable around its central axis;
A blade that is arranged along the circular outer circumferential surface in the width direction, and the blade edge is pressed against the circular outer circumferential surface in a line contact state;
A medicine supply section for dropping the medicine on a line contact position between the blade edge and the circular outer peripheral surface;
A rotary drive mechanism of the rotary drum;
A medicine diffusion device comprising: a medicine supply section; and a control section that controls driving of the rotation drive mechanism. In claim 5,
The medicine supply section includes a medicine storage section in which the medicine is stored, and a pump that discharges the medicine from the medicine storage section, and the medicine storage section is detachably attached to the apparatus main body. A drug diffusion device characterized by being: In claim 5 or 6,
The said control part is provided with a timer, dripping the said chemical | drug | medicine at predetermined time, and rotates the said rotating drum for a predetermined time after an appropriate time, The chemical | medical agent diffusion apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. In claim 7,
The control unit controls a supply amount of the drug and / or a rotation speed of the rotating drum based on a sensor for detecting temperature and / or wind speed, and the detected temperature and / or wind speed. Radiation device.

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