US2759292A

US2759292A - Fogger

Info

Publication number: US2759292A
Application number: US382106A
Authority: US
Inventors: Stiles R Whipple; Joseph R Lake
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1953-09-24
Filing date: 1953-09-24
Publication date: 1956-08-21
Anticipated expiration: 1973-08-21

Description

1956 s. R. WHIPPLE ET AL 2,759,292

FOGGER Filed Sept. 24, 1953 ST/LES R. WH/PPLE JOSEPH R. LAKE Z1471. WWW

ATTY

IN VEN TORS:

United States Patent FOGGER Stiles R. Whipple, Downers Grove, and Joseph R. Lake, Clarendon Hills, 111.

Application September 24, 1953, Serial No. 382,106

1 Claim. (Cl. 43-129) This invention relates in general to a fogger which is more particularly described as a fog producing device used with an internal combustion engine as applied to a vehicle such as a tractor or a lawn mower.

The object of the invention is to utilize heat of an engine exhaust to vaporize a liquid producing a fog which is dispersed from the mufiler of an engine for the purpose of destroying insects such as mosquitoes, chiggers and gnats and the like.

An important feature of the invention is to provide pressure in a liquid containing tank in connection with a dispersing system including the exhaust or the muffier of an engine to which it is applied.

It has heretofore been proposed as for example, in Patent No. 2,655,406, October 13, 1953, C. W. Loy and M. H. Mullis to provide a liquid which may be vaporized by connection to the exhaust of an internal combustion engine, but due to the fact that most engines of this kind which are connected to vehicles such as tractors and lawn mowers produce a slight back pressure in the exhaust, particularly when a sound producing mufiler is attached thereto, the liquid is not properly fed from its container, it is not properly vaporized and the dispersion of the vapor from the end of the muffler is either dependent upon the speed of the engine or it is vaporized spasmodically or irregularly and not as a continuous fog.

The present invention overcomes this objection by placing the liquid under pressure, by controlling the feed of the liquid to a limited amount, and by limiting the heating or vaporization of the liquid as it is applied to the heated exhaust gases.

An important object of the invention is to provide a liquid feeder adapted to be used in connection with the exhaust of an internal combustion engine in which the liquid to be vaporized is placed under pressure to overcome back pressure in the exhaust.

A further object of the invention is to provide a fogger attachment for an internal combustion engine having a liquid to be vaporized which is placed under pressure with the liquid discharged accurately controlled as it is fed to the engine exhaust.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a fogger attachment for an internal combustion engine in which the heating effect of the engine exhaust is limited to a short piped connection close to the exhaust.

Still a further object of the invention is to provide a fogger attachment for an internal combustion engine which is used with a tractor vehicle having means for placing the liquid to be vaporized under pressure to overcome the back pressure of the exhaust and to produce a fine spray discharged from the mufiier in the form of a continuous fog.

Other objects of the invention will appear in the specification and will be apparent from the accompanying drawings in which,

Fig. 1 is a perspective View of a mower having a fogger 2,759,292 Patented Aug. 21, 1956 attachment in accordance with this invention in connection therewith.

Fig. 2 is a view of the fogger attachment as shown which is applied to the exhaust of an internal combustion engine; and

Fig. 3 is an enlarged view partly in section showing a terminal fitting for the fogger connected between the engine and a muffler therefor.

In Vaporizers as heretofore employed, one of the objects appears to be that the feeding of the liquid to be vaporized is often dependent upon the speed of the engine. When the engine runs slowly, the back pressure from the muffier is low and is not sufiicient to force the liquid from the mufller connection, and the liquid is evidently vaporized in droplets so that the actual discharge of the vapor is fitful and spasmodic, and when the engine is more rapidly operated, the back pressure in the muffier is increased and the vaporization of the liquid is used spasmodic with perhaps greater intervals between the fitful vapor discharges, but resulting in larger discharges when they do appear.

The present invention overcomes these objections by placing the liquid to be vaporized under pressure, and in feeding the liquid through a needle valve which may be finely adjusted so that the liquid from the supply receptacle may be fed evenly and smoothly at all times resulting in a continuous vaporization from the muffler which appears in a continuous fog so that it may be accurately directed and applied to any area over which the vehicle passes.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, the invention is illustrated as applied to a lawn mower although it may be also applied to tractors and other vehicles which have an internal combustion engine and are movable over an area where it is desired to destroy or immunize the insects.

In the vehicle shown, an internal combustion engine 10 is mounted upon a suitable frame having wheels 12 for moving it over the ground, and with blades 14 for cutting the grass. The blades are rotated by the engine in a well known manner and the vehicle may also be propelled by the engine or by a handle 16 extending upwardly from the frame and having hand grips 18 extending oppositely at the upper end of the handle.

Extending from the cylinder of the engine is a mufiier 20 usually directly connected thereto by a short nipple 22. In connecting the fogger to the engine, a short pipe 24 is connected to one end of an angle coupling 26 and the other end of the coupling is connected to one end of the nipple 22, the muffler being disposed at the other end of the nipple. Connected through the side of the pipe 24 is a fitting 28 preferably threaded therein and made liquid-tight by a surrounding fillet 30 of solder. Connected to the outer end of this fitting by a pipe coupler 32 is a short length of pipe 34 usually of copper, brass, aluminum or other metal which may be readily bent in at least one complete turn 36 close to the coupling 32 and to the muffler pipe 24.

To the outer end of the pipe 34, a flexible hose 38 is connected which may extend more or less loosely from the engine upwardly along the handle 16 which is sometimes raised and lowered for guiding the vehicle and also for controlling the coupling of the engine to the vehicle propelling mechanism.

A closed receptacle 40 has a pipe fitting 42 at one end including a needle valve 44 controlled by a rotatable handle 46 for accurately varying the position of the needle so that a minute quantity of the liquid may be discharged from the receptacle. At the outer side of the needle valve is a stem 48 extending into the adjacent end of the flexible hose 38 so that liquid from the container 3 may be accurately fed through the turn 36 in the pipe 34 to the exhaust pipe.

This receptacle 40 may be supported in any position upon the vehicle and may be attached to the handle 16 for guiding and controlling the vehicle. To secure the receptacle to the handle, a flat strip 50 is centrally attached to the center of the receptacle with extremities 52 projecting therefrom and spaced from the receptacle so that fastening clamps 54 extending around the handle 16 may also overlap and engage the ends 52 or" the plate for adjustably clamping the receptacle at any place along the handle. Similar attaching means may be provided for attaching the receptacle upon any suitable projecting portion of the vehicle.

At the upper projecting end of the receptacle 40 in position on the handle, a hollow threaded boss 56 extends from the receptacle into which a fitting 58 for the pressure pump 60 is inserted. This pump is a well known type having a check valve 62 at its inner end and an internal plunger operated by an outwardly projecting stem 64 with a finger engaging knob 66 at the outer end. By pressing the stem 64 downwardly several times, air pressure is applied to the inside of the receptacle 40 and this pressure is conveyed to a liquid insecticide 68 inside of the receptacle. The insecticide may be a solution of any suitable material such as DDT, Chloradine, Lindane, or any other mixture which is suitably vaporized by the heat of the engine exhaust to produce a fog.

It is found that only a slight pressure is needed in the receptacle 40 and a few operations of the pump plunger are sufficient to accomplish the desired result. In the case of a handle mower as shown in Fig. 1, the location of the pump at the upper end of the receptacle places it close to the hand grips 18 so that whenever necessary, one hand may be applied to the plunger without disturbing the control of the vehicle by means of the handle and without stopping the vehicle. Thus the fogging operation may be controlled and continuous. For some other application of the receptacle to a different vehicle, it may be desired to have the pump located at a different angle in the receptacle 40. Thus this fogger may be applied to any vehicle and moved by it to any location where it is desired to dispense an insecticide.

While the invention has been described in some detail, it should be regarded as an illustration or an example rather than as a limitation or restriction of the invention, since various changes in the construction, combination, and arrangement of the parts may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

We claim:

In a power mower fogger for discharging vaporized liquid and destroying insects, the combination with a movable wheeled vehicle having an upwardly extending guiding handle which may be raised and lowered to control the mower operation and having hand grips at the upper end, of an internal combustion engine carried by the vehicle for propelling it and operating the mower, having an exhaust pipe therefrom connected to a mufiier for the engine, a receptacle for a liquid vaporized by exhaust from the engine and carried by the handle adjacent said hand grips, a pressure applying pump extending into the receptacle at the upper end with an operating stem projecting therefrom adjacent the hand grips for manual operation independent of the movement and control of the vehicle by the handle, a pipe connection between the receptacle and the interior of the exhaust pipe, the pipe connection including a flexible portion to permit the handle to be raised and lowered relative to the engine and also including a heat reducing loop adjacent the exhaust pipe for reducing the transfer of heat through the pipe connection to the receptacle, and a valve in the pipe connection adjacent the receptacle to accurately control the liquid fed from the receptacle, the pump placing the receptacle under pressure" for discharging liquid from the receptacle through the pipe connection into the exhaust pipe at a pressure exceeding that of the exhaust to prevent back pressure from the exhaust into the receptacle and to insure vaporization of the liquid through the engine exhaust mulfier.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 596,799 Andrews Jan. 4, 1898 814,131 Harris Mar. 6, 1906 1,374,519 Olson Apr. 12, 1921 1,497,428 Braun et al. June 10, 1924 1,614,015 Neuls Jan. 11, 1927 2,422,024 Levey et al. June 10, 1947 2,655,406 Loy et al. Oct. 13, 1953