WO1982003799A1

WO1982003799A1 - Spraying

Info

Publication number: WO1982003799A1
Application number: PCT/AU1982/000054
Authority: WO
Inventors: Mischa David Lew
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1981-04-28
Filing date: 1982-04-08
Publication date: 1982-11-11
Anticipated expiration: 1983-10-28

Abstract

Tete de pulverisation permettant l'extirpation des mauvaises herbes autour d'une plante cultivee, par une pulverisation de desherbant. La tete de pulverisation possede un manche (11) pourvu d'une detente (13). La detente (13) actionne a son tour une soupape de fermeture (non illustree) dans une buse de decharge (19). Un ecran (21) entoure la bus de decharge (19) et, lors de l'utilisation, protege le feuillage ou la plante a cote de la buse (19) du contact avec le desherbant. L'ecran (21) est place au-dessus des mauvaises herbes a extirper et il est possible d'effectuer une application delimitee de maniere efficace. Un procede d'extirpation des mauvaises herbes grace a l'utilisation de la tete de pulverisation est aussi decrit.Spray head allowing the weed removal around a cultivated plant, by spraying weedkiller. The spray head has a handle (11) provided with a detent (13). The detent (13) in turn actuates a shut-off valve (not shown) in a discharge nozzle (19). A screen (21) surrounds the discharge bus (19) and, during use, protects the foliage or the plant next to the nozzle (19) from contact with the weedkiller. The screen (21) is placed above the weeds to be removed and it is possible to carry out a delimited application in an efficient manner. A method of weed eradication using the spray head is also described.

Description

SPRAYING Background of the Invention

This invention relates to spraying and relates particularly but not exclusively to spraying of weeds in nursery applications in order to kill weeds surrounding seedlings, potted plants, or like living horticultural produce. Description of Prior Art

In nursery situations there is a real need to control the growth of weeds around seedlings and/or potted plants or shrubs. Weeds have an adverse effect on the plants themselves and detract significantly from the appear¬ ance of the plants at sale time. Accordingly- there is a need to kill any such weeds in order to:

(a) promote unimpaired growth of the plant, and

(b) make the plants and its pot or container attractive to purchasers.

Weeds are at the present time removed from seed¬ lings and/or potted plants or shrubs by manually pulling them from the containers or cutting them from the containers with sharp knives.

These operations are extremely time consuming, inefficient in that the inevitable soil disturbance adversely effects plant growth by promoting further weed seed germination and is dangerous in that root damage often occurs from the use of weeding knives.

The task of manual weeding is distasteful to nursery staff because it involves long periods of back bending and stooping in awkward positions between and over potted plants. Statement of the Invention

The present invention has been devised to provide in one aspect a means and in -mother aspect a method which provide much quicker weed control, more effectively and with no soil or root disturbance and with no back bending and/or

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stopping required.

Therefore in accordance with a first broad aspect of the present invention there may be provided an improved spraying head for spraying weedicides around seedlings, plants, shrubs or like horticultural produce, hereinafter called produce comprising, a spray head nozzle, and a shield means surrounding said nozzle operative to, in use, prevent spray emitted from said nozzle from contacting green produce at the side of said nozzle except for produce such as weeds which may be directly in front of said nozzle in the spraying direction.

Preferably there is provided: a) a container for carrying weedicide, b) conduit means extending from said container to the spray head, said spray head including a manually operable stop valve at said nozzle.

In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention, there may be provided, a method of eradicating weeds from produce comprising filling said spray apparatus with weedicide, pressurising said container in order to allow said weedicide to be discharged under pressure from said nozzle on operation of said manually operable stop valve, placing said nozzle and said shield adjacent said produce and over any weeds, operating said manually releasable stop valve means to allow weedicide to be emitted from said nozzle, closing said manually controllable stop valve means and subsequently removing said nozzle and shield from said produce. Brief Description of Drawings

In order that the invention can be more clearly ascertained, preferred embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:-

Figure 1, is a view of the preferred spray according to the invention,

Figure 2, is a detail part cross-sectional view of the spray nozzle and the shield of the spray. ' Figure 3, is a close-up view showing application of the weedicide to a plant in a pot, and

Figure 4, is a perspective view showing how the spray is used for applying weedicide in a nursery applic¬ ation where many hundreds of plants are potted and arranged in rows.

Figure 5, is a perspective view of a particularly preferred construction of a spraying nozzle and extension arm or conduit.

Figure 6, is a perspective view of a swingable spraying nozzle. Description of Preferred Embodiments

Referring firstly to Figure 1, there is shown a container 1 for containing weedicide. The container 1 has a screw top 3 with a manually operable pump means 5 therein. Such container 1 and pump means 5 are known in the horticultural fields for use when spraying pesticides and the like sprays over plants. A typical container 1 and pump means 5 is that made by Hills Industries Limited, 944-956 South Road, Edwardstown, South Australia, Australia ^■ Only the handle has been shown of the pump means 5. Several depressions of the handle 5 cause the pump to pressurise the contents of the container 1 and to cause it to be expelled under pressure through a conduit 7 which connects with a manually operable stop valve means and spray nozzle shown generally by numeral 9. The manually operable stop valve means and nozzle is a commercial item manufactured by Spraying Systems Co, of North Avenue, Sch ale Road, Wheaton Illinois 60187 United States of America which comprises a handle 11 with a trigger 13 and a stop valve operating rod 15 which passes through a further conduit 17 and connects with a spray nozzle 19 at the remote end of the further conduit 17. This operates a stop valve at a nozzle 19 thereat. Thus, when the container 1 is pressurised and the trigger 13 operated to open the valve at the nozzle 19, then the contents of the container 1 can be'sprayed from the nozzle 19. When the trigger 13 is released the stop valve means, being at the nozzle 19, closes the nozzle 19 and also inhibits dripping of liquids therefrom. The nozzle 19 has a sheild 21 fitted thereon. The shield 21 is made of a suitable material such as a plastics material, as of polyethylene tubing and has a stepped portion 23 which frictionally engages over the fastening means 25 of the nozzle 19. Thus, the shield 21 is held at the remote end of the device shown generally by numeral 9 simply by a frictional fit. The diameter of the open end of the shield 21 is such that it corresponds with the diameter of the spray discharge (as determined by the spray angle « see Figure 2) . The position of the shield 21 is adjusted by sliding the shield 21 over the fastening means 25 of the nozzle 19 so that the spray can be emitted from the discharge end of the shield 21 without impinging on the inside walls thereof. Thus, in use, when the apparatus is operated, -substantially all of the weedicide will be expelled from the shield 21 thereby inhibiting droplets of weedicide from collecting therein and dripping therefrom as the unit is moved from plant to plant. The reason the shield 21 is frictionally held to the fastening means 25 such that it can slide along the length thereof is to enable adjustment to be made to the position of the free end, relative to the spray of weedicide emitted from the nozzle 19 to, in turn, enable the spray discharge diameter to correspond approximately to the diameter of the free end. This enables adjustment to take into account variations of pressure which may be experienced by different degrees of pressurisation of the chamber 1 consequent on either excessive pumping of the pumping means 5 and/or subsequent depletion of the weedicide therein.

Figure 3 shows the device 9 in use around a plant 25 in a pot 27. It can be seen that the shield 21 is used for pushing leaves of a plant 25 aside so that the nozzle 19 can be appropriately positioned above any weeds in the pot 27. Preferably the free end of the shield 21 is engaged on the top of the soil in the pot 27 so as to minimize any radial dispersion of weedicide from the free end of the sheild 21. Thus, it can be seen that after operation of the device 9, the shield 21 also serves to prevent the leaves of the plant from contacting with the nozzle 19 and contacting any weedicide which may be thereon.

Figure 4 shows diagrammatically how an operator uses the device 9 to apply weedicide to plants in pots many rows distant from the operator. It can be seen in this situation that the further conduit 17 of the apparatus 9, is rather lengthy, thus permitting the operator to have the necessary reach to the plants in the furthest row of pots. It should also be appreciated that the shield 21 acts to prevent the foliage of any of the plants from contacting with.the nozzle and from accidently having weedicide applied thereto.

It should be appreciated that all the weedicides discussed herein are green growth killers. The solutions of weedicide herein are particularly advantageous as the weedicide is completely harmless to soil and/or plants provided the green leaves and/or green stems or trunks of the plants are not contacted by the spray.

A preferable weedicide is made up from a solution of Reglone (registered trade mark) and/or Gramoxone (registered trade mark) and/or Tryquat (registered trade mark) and Agral 60 (.registered trade mark) . The Reglone (registered trade mark) , Gramoxone (registered trade mark) and Tryquat (registered trade mark) are the active weed¬ icides whilst Agral 60 (registered trade mark) is a wetting agent for use with weedicides. Reglone (registered trade mark) is preferable for use in controlling broad leaf weeds whilst Tryquat (registered trade mark) is particularly useful for controlling annual grass and/or broad leaf weeds, whilst Gramoxone (registered trade mark) is particularly useful for controlling grass weeds. Reglone, Gramoxone, Tryquat and Agral 60 are registered trade marks of I.C.I. Australia Ltd, of 1 Nicholson Street, Melbourne, Victoria, ustralia._^are all known weedicides.. In the application herein, it is important that the weeds be killed almost instantly - within several hours - so that optimum yield times can be achieved for weeding an area in a nursery. In this context if concentrations as previously used were adopted, then the weeds would take several days to die. This is intolerable as many thousands of plants have to be deweeded and accordingly, it is of importance that groups of such plants be treated quickly by an operator and then if any weeds remain, then the operator can re-apply the weedicide specifically to those. With this in mind it is possible for an operator to quickly move throughout a number of plants with the device 9 and then return to kill only the weeds around those plants that have not been killed previously. This can^" all occur within at least one day, whereas, by using the con¬ centrations and proportions already known, the weeds are not killed quickly. Further, it is extremely disadvantageous in a nursery environment to have weeds growing with the plants and on view for several days as this can detract from the sale of the plants. Thus, it is important that the weeds be killed quickly and as soon as possible after their emergence in the containers.

A particularly preferred concentration of weedicide for placing in the container 1 comprises an approximate three litre total mixture made up of three litres of water, five millilitres of Reglone or Tryquat or Gramoxone (registered trade marks) and 2 mills of Agral 60 (registered trade mark) . It will be appreciated that several mod¬ ifications may be made to the embodiments herein. For example, the weedicide constituents can be varied somewhat from the approximate mixing proportions given. Such is still to be considered within the scope of the invention. It will also be appreciated that the spray nozzle 19 and the shield 21 may be mounted for swinging movement on the end of the further conduit 17 and be controllable by a control lever at the handle 11. Thus, when reaching across several rows of pots, as shown in Figure 4, the nozzle 19 and the shield 21 can be tilted to a suitable angle to effect discharge of the weedicide directly over weeds in each of the pots.

It will also, be appreciated that the further conduit 17 can be made of any suitable length. Typical lengths used so far have been in the range of 20 centimeters to 90 centimeters. A typical diameter of the discharge end of the shield 21 is 29 millimeters. A typical length of the shield 21 is approximately 22 millimeters. Desirably, the free end of the shield 21 is 20 millimetres from the discharge end of the nozzle 19.

A particularly preferred construction of spraying nozzle 19 and extension conduit 17 is shown in Figure 5. In this embodiment the conduit 17 is approximately 17 cm in length and has a flaired coupling 31 at one end for enabling screw clamping by nut 33 to the device 9. Inter¬ mediate the ends of the conduit 17 is disc like member 35. The member 35 is held to the conduit 17 by the central boss portion 37 being silver soldered thereto. The outer cir¬ cumferential surface of the disc like member 35 is screw threaded and the shield 21 is internally screw threaded at its rear end. This enables the shield 21 to be held over the nozzle 19 and the position of the open end of the shield to be adjusted relative to the nozzle 19. Thus by rotating the shield 21 - clockwise or anticlockwise - the threaded engagement with the disc member 35 will cause it to extend or retract from the nozzle. Thus precise positioning of the open end of the shield 21 relative to the nozzle 17 can be made.

Figure 6 shows one preferred spray nozzle 19 which can be swung to desired angles so that the shield and nozzle can be appropriately positioned over weeds. This construction is particularly advantagous when spraying across several rows of plants. In this construction the nozzle 19 has a rear part 41 which can be screw fastened to the device 9 or to an extension conduit 17. The rear part 41 terminates in a swivel coupling 43 which in turn connects with the nozzle 19. The rear part of the nozzle 19 has a disc like member 47 thereon. This disc like member 47 is circumferentially screw threaded and screw threadably receives a shield 21 in a manner similar to that shown for the embodiment in Figure 5. Thus the shield 21 can be adjusted relative to the nozzle 19 in the same manner as described for the construction of Figure 5. The angle of the nozzle 19 relative to the device 9 or conduit 17 can be suitably chosen by swinging the shield 21 and nozzle 19 in the direction shown by arrow A. A screw means 49 is provided at the swivel joint 43 to tighten the swivel joint 43 to provide a desired degree of resistance to swinging and a leak free joint. The construction of the swivel joint 43 per-se is known in plumbing fitting arts.

Instead of the shield 21 being a solid shield having a continuous shield surface it may be made of open construction in the form of a wire frame which simply holds the nozzle 19 spaced a predetermined distance from any foliage or the like which may touch the shield.

These and further modifications may be made to the invention as would be apparent to persons skilled in the art of producing spray heads and/or controlling weeds and all such modifications are deemed to be within the scope thereof, the nature of which is to be determined from the foregoing description.

Claims

1. An improved spray head for spraying weed¬ icides around seedlings, plants, shrubs or like horticultural produce, hereinafter called produce comprising, a spray head nozzle, and a shield means surround¬ ing said nozzle operative to, in use, prevent spray emitted from said nozzle from contacting green produce at the side of said nozzle except for produce such as weeds which may be directly in front of said nozzle in the spraying direction.

2. An improved spray head as claimed in claim 1 wherein said shield means is adjustably held relative to said nozzle whereby the position of the forwardmost end of said shield means can be retracted or extended relative to said nozzle whereby to permit said forwardmost end to be brought as close as possible to said nozzle without allowing spray emitted from said nozzle to normally impinge thereon.

3. An improved spray head as claimed in claim 2 wherein said spraying head includes a manually operable stop valve means at said nozzle.

4. An improved spray head as claimed in claim 3 wherein said spraying head has a handle for gripping by an operator and a manually operable means at said handle for operating said stop valve means.

5. An improved spray head as claimed in any one of the preceding claims including a container for carrying spraying medium and conduit means extending therefrom and operatively connecting with said spray head so that said medium can be passed from said container, through said conduit means to said spray head.

6. An improved spray head as claimed in claim 5 wherein said container has a pressure creating means connected therewith whereby said medium in said container can be pressurized whereby to permit it to pass to said spray head under pressure.

7. An improved spray head as claimed in any one of claims 4 to 6 wherein said nozzle is situated at the end of a further conduit which extends between said handle and said nozzle.

8. An improved head spray as claimed in any one of claims 4 to 7 wherein said nozzle is swingably mounted relative to said handle, whereby it can be swung to a desired position to effect discharge of said medium in a desired direction relative to said handle.

9. A method of eradicating weeds from produce by using the spray head of any one of claims 5 to 8 comprising filling said spray container with weedicide, pressurising said container in order to allow said weedicide to be discharged under pressure from said nozzle on operation of said manually operable stop valve, placing said nozzle and said shield adjacent said produce and over any weeds, operating said manually releasable stop valve means to allow weedicide to be emitted from said nozzle, closing said manually controllable stop valve means and sub¬ sequently removing said nozzle and shield from said produce.