WO2018050142A1 - Applicator - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to an applicator, especially an electrocution brush, the applicator being rotationally mounted and the brush having conductive and non-conductive bristles.

Description

 applicator

In the weakening and destruction of plants by electric current, it is of utmost importance that the electrical energy as goal-directed (low loss) with low contact resistance (maximum energy transfer in plant organs, in particular root) and comprehensively all target areas / plants is introduced spatially reaching , This is only inadequately made possible by the applicators available so far and their controlled use in many fields of application, which go far beyond the pure agricultural sector and also into the application to traffic areas, nature reserves, etc.

[02] The invention relates to the technical field of mechanical-electrical devices for the targeted and energetically advantageous transfer of electrical energy to plants and solid substrates to improve the effect on plants and other Organsimen and inventively use novel equipment combinations and materials. More particularly, it relates to the combination of controlled and in various ways by actuators movable applicators, which selectively detect the contact surfaces and prepare in an integral step, the maximum contact of the target object with the current and implement. The current used can be either uniform or pulsed DC and AC with any curve of current and voltage used in the high voltage range of 0.5 kV at frequencies of 500 Hz and more up to the three-digit KHz.

[03] The aim of all methods of combating harmful organisms is to achieve them as comprehensively as possible (without omissions), with as few operations as possible as long-term as possible and as effective as possible on all vital parts of the organism and with as little side effect as possible by damaging crops, beneficial organisms in general. Soil / subsoil and other environmental conditions.

[04] The most commonly used method of destroying plants is their destruction by chemical agents with plant toxic properties. These are sprayed onto the plants from a universally applicable spraying device from above, the side or from spraying systems which penetrate the stock and reach them so far through the atomization, gravity and targeted air currents that an almost complete killing is possible. The pesticides often act not only on the directly reached parts, but by transport in the organism. The chemical substance mixtures, however, lead to residues

CONFIRMATION COPY in plants, soil and food or are entered into waters and remote ecosystems due to runoff and runaway or become increasingly ineffective due to plant resistance. For these reasons, there are a variety of application restrictions to complete prohibitions on the use of certain areas (eg traffic areas) or cultivation systems (contract farming, certified cultivation systems, organic farming).

[05] Also known are purely mechanical weed treatment devices with brushes or hoes, but which have a number of systemic disadvantages:

1. Brushing methods can be used only with very small weeds, sufficiently dry and loose crumb structure of the soil and require frequent repetition and have a high weather dependence.

 2. In siccation applications of brushes and impactors, the leaves are destroyed, which either results in damage to the fruits (oilseed rape, grain), or the roots and shoot centers can lead to unwanted re-expulsion (potatoes).

 3. When using brushes on hard floors, the near-surface growth centers of plants can only be effectively damaged if at the same time there is a risk of abrasion and damage to the substrate itself.

 4. Any soil-working method (hoeing, harrowing, plowing) will transport new seeds to the surface and encourage the re-growth of weeds while increasing soil erosion risk, which can also destabilize soil structures. The soil structure is generally significantly damaged by soil displacement, but this is essential for the destruction of near-surface roots.

 5. Depending on the exact machining task, a large number of special tools are required.

[06] Applicators are known from the literature and practice, which relate their geometrical selectivity of mechanical spacers and strip-like arrangements. The applicators resting on the floor are known devices with very different individual widths, which are pressed by gravity or spring pressure on the target objects or the ground and accordingly adapt to the thickness of the biomass layer or the soil profile. This can spring steel loops, sheet elements or z. B. pulled over the ground chains or plates. [07] Most of the applicators have in common that they slide at least one-dimensionally over objects and thereby can adapt only very slightly different profile structures of different sizes and thus make the use of equipment flexible. In addition, the target objects are not actively prepared for the reduction of contact resistance and the intensity and location of the contact can only be changed by mostly complex mechanical changes to the device and not actively controlled.

[08] In old patents for weeds on fields, a rotor / stator system with plates moving around a roller is described, which is intended to injure the plant stem surface and thereby reduce the need for high currents and voltages by reducing the resistance. The electrically conductive component has been the stator in this case. A more detailed description of the target plants and applications is omitted as well as a more detailed description of how the rotating plates should injure the plant surface without adding up very quickly.

[09] Another attempt to reduce the contact resistance is the use of electrically conductive liquids as a contact agent, but when applied by spraying (jet of energy in the spray jet) or by moistened cushions considerable problems in the transmission of energy in the first and the pollution and encrustation in the second case. For these reasons, no such systems are known in practice. In any liquid application that also wets the soil or the whole plant, there is also a high likelihood that energy will drain through the liquid film and the internal structures of the stems and roots will be much less damaged.

The use of known from these documents electrically acting devices for plant destruction is often associated with disadvantages in practice. Large plants can cover small plants in a plane growth and prevent their flow through. Hard, dry, heavily hairy, waxy leaves or the bark of branches and branches provide a high contact resistance between the applicator and the plant, so that large amounts of energy are lost in the shoot, although mainly the roots or low growth points should be destroyed or greatly weakened. Non-conductive parts of plants (branches) or remnants of stubble plants (stubble on fields) can make access to the target plants impossible through the use of overhead applicators on purely electrical devices. The often very irregular surface of the areas to be processed also reduces the contact surface and thus the accessibility and contact time with the Zielobjek- Thus, the herbicidal activity of the known devices is often not always sufficient, or with sufficient herbicidal activity unwanted damage to crops are observed or the energy consumption is economically and ecologically unacceptably high and the operating speed too low for a functionally acceptable use of the device in the most diverse applications.

Especially in applications for very selective and gentle treatment of plants (siccation in oilseed rape, cereals and potatoes) but also on and at the edge of traffic areas and in nature conservation areas, additional requirements are also important if necessary, by protecting the surrounding soil (erosion , Mixing), the protection of crops, the damage to human artifacts (water pipes, historical pavement, etc.) or due to the necessary movement speeds of the host vehicle (rail traffic, road traffic, sowing operations, etc.). Of particular importance is also the controllable and thus broad and flexible use of the equipment without modifications in order to make these cost-effective and practical. The problems known from the prior art are achieved with a device having the features of patent claim 1. Advantageous developments are the subject of the dependent claims. Further ideas of the invention, which are also essential to the invention individually, emerge from the description and the figures.

According to the invention proposed rotation or disc brushes with different types of bristles or bristle combinations rotate depending on the application with and without touching the soil surface but where the target object are the plants, always with contact of the target plants. Due to the type of bristles (length flexibility, type) basic properties can be roughly determined. By flexible parameterization of the overall device (driving speed, rotational speed, direction of rotation, distance to plants and soil), the abrasion, exposure time and access width necessary for sufficient destruction of the plants or other organisms can be set. This makes the device very flexible. A sensor-controlled shutdown of the current can further reduce energy consumption. It should be noted in all effects descriptions that in addition to plants also all adhering to the plant organs organisms can be targets of killing or weakening nen and also z. B. the slaughter of snails in the topsoil even primary impact target can be without plant contact. Novelty is accordingly the high versatility of each of the patented embodiments, which has the goal to come close to the very high flexibility of spray applications. Particular attention is paid to the brush materials described in the patent as embodiments of the invention. For this purpose, various elements are proposed which can be used cumulatively or alternatively:

 The first element A) preferably contains a device for treating surfaces with undesired organisms (preferably but not exclusively plants, but also unwanted other organisms (eg snails or nematodes)) with electrical energy consisting of transversely controlled and controlled by actuators / or rotary movements displaceable applicators for high-voltage, pulsed or continuous direct or alternating current with different selected frequency and wave packets, sensory or mechanical control elements, linear power transmission elements, with mechanical translational and / or abrasive properties, the wholly or partially electrically controllable applicator elements rigid or flexible, preferably approximately linear control, sensor and mobility components not discussed here in detail, wherein at least one of the applicators also sequentially links to a direct mechanical component (B) ft or can be fully integrated but does not have to.

[015] The second element B) preferably consists of at least one translational actuator mechanically controlled or sensor-controlled height adjustment and optionally side alignment of the applicator above the ground, consisting of: pneumatic cylinder, hydraulic cylinder, electric actuator with axis and / or mechanical actuator ( Feather)

The third element C) preferably has at least one controllable rotary / rotary actuator (the earth may also be a brush applicator) which rotates the respective applicator about a fixed or adjustable horizontal, vertical or oblique axis off: electric motor, hydraulic motor or other rotary drives; Alternatively, an approximately planar brush arrangement, which can optionally be offset by lateral movement in several linear axes in circular or elliptical movements.

[017] The fourth element D) preferably serves to transmit to the target objects preferably with linear transmission units of the stream (bristles) and the abrasive effects (see FIG.

[018] The elements that transmit the current can: preferably but not exclusively be mounted radially or obliquely on the rotating applicator and be one of the basic brush shapes shown in Figure 2,

have a high conductivity due to material or additive, which can be achieved as follows: metal wires, narrow metal strips (preferably steel), metal braids, nylon or other polymers filled with carbon and / or metal fibers, polymers with metallic additives especially CuS as single rods or as braided or otherwise connected units, braided or otherwise consolidated mixed filaments of plastic and metal threads,

due to processing have an electrical conductivity that may be inhomogeneously distributed, plastic-coated / potted metal wires or Metallflechtseine with contacts at the bottom, metal fiber-filled polymer fibers at which protrude laterally by abrasion of the softer plastic metal fibers, porous sponge or fabric-like materials that their conductivity by water obtained with salt content, hollow fibers or fiber bundles which obtain their conductivity and contact capacity at the lower end by water pushed through,

have stiffness / flexibility controllable by rotational speed and flexural strength,

material-related special abrasive properties have: fraying ends or laterally interrupted individual fibers of Metallflechtseilen, edges of wires and narrow metal strips, polymer fiber laterally protruding metal fillings, Mischfilamente with laterally protruding metal components (see Figure 1) due to application, the abrasive properties to some extent at certain points and the durably preserved during use, which would be there: greater abrasion of plastics repeatedly exposes metal fibers / threads on the surface, bending-resistant metal fibers of adequate thinness against breaking, braided plastic ropes or single fibers can have a sufficient number of revolutions and alignment sufficiently abrasive,

have additional features to minimize fissure sparks and minimize their effects, which include: quick switching of pulses, adding water to the brushes or spraying directly into the demolition zones, rounding metal tips by combining harder metals at the edge,

have specific covers to ensure safety and radio interference suppression, which would include: metal-reinforced fiber as a puncture protection and day shield, grid areas for safe control that can be cleaned by pressurized water,

 9. lead to specific mechanisms to prevent unwanted current drainage, which would be: shut down if no plant nearby (sensors) but ground contact, turn on after interpretation of current history patterns, specific shutdown of applicator brush segments,

 10. As combinations of different linear transmission units (bristle types) in a rotating body to optimize the effect of abrasion and current transmission include:

 - As a combination of shorter conductive bristles with longer nonconductive and softer bristles for the combination of cleaning and electrocution applications in a brush as a function of the penetration depth and the current control (see Figure 3).

The fifth element E) preferably has one or more transmission modules of the electrical energy on the brush body or individual bristle packets, consisting of

1. sliding contact of the bristles on an electrical contact and / or

 2. Encapsulated sliding contact on the brush axis for transmission to the entire brush or parts thereof. Where, according to the invention, either the high voltage to be delivered by the brush (<1000 V) is already transferred to the rotary unit or the transformer sits in the rotating part of the brush and thus on the sliding contacts only the easier and safer to conduct and transfer normal voltage (approx. 100-250 V). For the latter case, further control signals can optionally be transmitted by wireless communication with a noise-insensitive data interface (eg transmitter as in tire pressure monitoring).

[020] With the possible property of interrupting the stream already spark-free, especially in ground-contacting systems, as long as there is still contact between the bristle and the ground (rotational segment contacts) or after contact.

FIG. 4 shows an embodiment in which only the brush segments lying below are under current, while the upper ones are always switched off, preferably before the contact with the plants breaks off.

[022] The sixth element F) consists of one or more application units for water for self-cleaning of the systems in regular intervals without electricity at maximum free rotation or even for cleaning surfaces and objects after switching off the elec- trkutionsströme.

[023] The seventh element G) consists of one or more controls and sensors: control unit of all actuators and the power supply for parameterizing the mode of operation for the corresponding field of application, for adjusting the abrasion strength, contact time, contact surface size and / or surface protection (parameter / Influence on):

1. Rotation speed / influence on contact time, contact surface, abrasion strength

 2nd direction of rotation

 3. Driving speed of the carrier vehicle

 4. Height of brush above ground

 5. Immersion depth in the target plants

[024] The brush size serves as an aid for the parameterization of contact duration, penetration depths and achievable stiffnesses by number of revolutions, travel speed, height above ground, immersion depth etc.

[025] All applicators can receive information relating to the electrical and physical parameterization spatially assigned in their electrical effect parameters and their geometric arrangement relative to the ground or to the plants via the control unit influencing information from traveling sensors, read-out operating parameters (current flow etc.) or from other data sources and implement.

[026] The eighth item H) concerns the options for various mounting locations: front, side, under, behind the transfer vehicle.

[027] All elements and options can be combined as desired.

[028] Application Examples for the Presentation of the Particular Advantages: [029] Roadside Treatment: Through the use of a rotatable brushing unit, areas can be killed off directly at the roadside. Partial electrification of the brush only makes sense especially at the roadside. The rest of the brush will only sweep garbage out of the treatment area. Around the posts and signs, the entire brush can be energized and these areas can be quickly and long-term liberated from growth, as it can not afford a standard mowing with standard equipment.

[030] Open space treatment (gravel, pavement, asphalt): The bristles can be sufficiently soft and the hardness and clearing force can be adjusted dynamically by the speed of rotation, so that the ground surface is not damaged.

Treatment roadside markings: The posts on the roadside are made of plastic and are only around with complex accessory at the bottom around plants to free. In order for the lessening compared to the normal mowing is sufficient, it makes sense not only to shorten the grass in front of and behind the post but kill it. If two counter-rotating brushes (roller brushes or disc brushes) with sufficiently soft nylon bristles are used as the longest bristles, the post can be gently cleaned with little added water, and if the brush descends almost to the ground contact, either soft conductive bristles can directly energize the plants or shorter metal bristles now come in contact with the plants and make contact, thereby removing the plants for the long term for the benefit of traffic safety and at the same time cleaning the posts (see Figure 5).

Guard rail posts: Even with electrically conductive metal posts, the brushes can be worked completely analogously from the side after the brush spacing has been adjusted, since here too the shorter metal bristles do not touch the piles (if necessary, additional scrapers are useful as positioning aids) only the longer plastic bristles with the direction of rotation turning away from below transport the plants to the metal bristles. Should it come to touch this is uncritical, since the guardrails are extremely well grounded by the direct ramming of the posts in the ground and can not build potentials.

[033] Aufstellpfosten of solar systems, gas pipelines can be treated analogously. [034] No-till surface preparation: No-till areas may be extremely heterogeneous and uneven, depending on the crop. Thus, in grassland mulch with irregular accumulation, especially snails can hide. In stubble fields, the small weeds and sprouted grains between the stubble are hard to contact except with brush systems. Rest straw can cover entire areas. A brush system with a large brush and relatively soft, up to the tip conductive bristles and all-round conduction and Abrasionspotential here can prevent growth of any size with sufficient grounding on a second broom roller that, without shifting soil relevant to the surface. Due to the double roller contact time, it is possible to drive sufficiently fast for the directly following sowing. If deeper weeds are to be controlled, the brush spacing can be increased in the first step or the blades of the no-till machine behind the tractor can be used as soil. The drawing in FIG. 6 shows the expected energy profile and an arrangement.

[035] Inter-row treatment: In the inter-row treatment, the brush segments of the main axis are moved further apart or individual autonomous brush applicators are used for each area. In all cases, the crops are protected by non-electrically conductive side scrapers or hoods over the applicators. [036] Modular brush replacement: When the brush circuits are mounted on a modular central axis, the builder can easily replace either the individual brush sections or this axle unit itself. Accordingly, he can assemble an axis of often very long bristle brush elements, the bristles are in any case larger than the maximum plant height and also have the corresponding row spacing. At the edge of the elements can be inserted for better protection of crops rigid (gravity) or co-rotating isolator circuits, which can serve as a static spacer from the ground (slightly below bristle length) (see Figure 7).

[037] Alternatively, disc brushes can be used as movable single applicators, which can be moved on the central attachment with quick-release clamps and whose brush head is easily replaceable.Worm control: Double brushes for flat root / snails: The primary snail control in the topsoil is done with the same brushes as No-till surface treatment, with peak conductivity and minimized encrustation in the foreground. Therefore, relatively smooth plastic bristles with sufficient conductivity are preferred, which are lowered from large brush wheels to ground contact. Low rotation speeds reduce the breakdown of soil structure. Where necessary, the bristles can be optionally cleaned by water impact and occasional lifting and high rotational speeds (turning at the field end).

[038] Sikkation potatoes: Large rolls with abrasion properties filled with long bristles are dipped into the green leaf mass at high speed in a double row until they are turned about 10 cm above the dam crown so fast that most of the leaves are torn off. It may be useful to adjust the roller brushes to different heights and speeds. The underground storage organs (potatoes) are spared, the aboveground organs weakened so much that they dry with high evaporation and lead to a good shell strength. The degree of defoliation and energy required for this can be parameterized depending on grade and maturity.

[039] Sikkation rapeseed / cereals: When siccation of culinary crops on the one hand special care must be taken, so that the seeds are not damaged or lost. At the same time, the electrodes must penetrate the stock at least to the uppermost sheet layer. For this purpose, a rather loosely populated roller (brush ring distance 2-20 cm) with long relatively stiff brushes (50-150 cm) slowly in the direction of travel, so that the bristles penetrate deeply and make contact, but not destroy the fruits. The bending by gravity minimizes the friction with the fruits and their premature rupture (see Figure 8).

[040] The bristles are stiffer in systems with high penetration depth in the near-axis region than in the tip region, which reduces the friction even further. The conductive electrodes dive quite vertically due to gravity and are also quite vertically pulled out of the plant tangle (usually rapeseed). The brush tips rotate approximately and adjustably at the same speed as the entire vehicle moves forward. By adjusting the rotational speed and immersion depth, the friction and thus the current transfer can be optimized. This stiffening can be specific to each fiber (reinforced base or larger diameter) as well as being implemented by an additional holding system (sheath-tube-like). This can be a good substitute for more elaborate and bulkier reel systems (see below).

[041] The flexible brushes allow a space-saving folding of the overall construction, as one is also used to spray rods with a large working width.

The contact can be made even more gently when working instead of a brush with a reel (see separate section).

Unterstocksäuberung under rows of trees and bushes of all kinds: When using brush systems in the lower floor area, the plants are killed there to the trunks, but the trees or vines take especially in slightly longer protruding, non-conductive plastic bristles no harm, many not even with conductive bristles , Watering hoses and posts are not damaged, but weeds are safely removed all around [044] Bush / Tree Fighting: The brushes rotate counterclockwise through the bushes, always in such a way that they do not stick to branches that are too big. In the process leaves and branches are injured and a considerable part of the leaves are also torn off during the current treatment. The clearly weakened bushes lose their vitality and die. When used against thicker trees, the bark of the trees is damaged with very hard plate or cylinder brushes, so that electricity can penetrate in considerable quantities and, despite minor mechanical damage, weakens the tree just as effectively as ringing.

Control of herbaceous weeds: brushes smash small leaves and shoots and thus create a very large contact surface for electrical treatment. Un-grass / rushes: The brush roller rotates above the Nutzgrasebene against the direction of travel, thus brushing higher grasses or rushes (the higher the longer) with high distribution between the applicator bristles. The roughness of the bristle surface injures the blade and leaf surfaces and lowers the contact resistance of selective plant destruction (see Figure 9). Thistle control and other prickly / bristly plants in meadows and fields: Due to the spines on leaves and branches thistles are particularly difficult to contact effectively. The brushes over the crop cover the higher thistles and provide direct, low-resistance contact until the root networks are sufficiently damaged.

[049] Possible embodiments of the abovementioned bristles / transmission devices

• Metal-filled nylon fibers

 • Electrically conductive plastic bristles

 • Wire ropes roughened

 • Wire a side-roughened

 • Nylon ropes with sides and final split (and metal thread insert

Use of reel systems for gentle electrocution: In the case of electrocution shortly before maturity, the goal is to weaken the green aboveground plant parts to such an extent that they dry off quickly and evenly. This is particularly important in rapeseed, since otherwise large masses of still green hydrous biomass can considerably reduce the threshing success. At the same time still green, not threshable pods dry, so the grains can be harvested at all. A high harvestability with low dependence on weather conditions with high yield is a crucial economic goal of any agriculture.

[051] The state of the art is the use of herbicides, but because of the residue problem in the product and the environment, the political will especially to minimize the use of total herbicides such as glyphosate and the desire for more organic farming is increasingly difficult to use.

[052] Special attention must be paid to the following aspects:

 1. Even at the time of Sikkationsbehandlung significant portions of the pods can be dried to the extent that they burst prematurely under mechanical stress and the seeds are lost.

 2. Rape plants are generally branched and tend to entangle on the field.

 3. Additional driving lanes, which go beyond those which are absolutely necessary for spray applications, reduce the yield of oilseed rape particularly strongly, since the felting and overrunning causes very wide damage (loss of semen).

[053] Invention goal:

 1. Sikkationsverfahren for aboveground Pflanzenabtötung / dehydration without chemical substances / herbicides

 2. Method, which works with the same working width as spray inserts

 3. Method, which minimizes mechanical stress on the pods, which are usually located in the upper third of the plants

 4. Use of equipment that can be converted to siccation in the grain with the least possible effort.

 5. Use of the entanglement structure and the still abundant highly water-containing leaf material for the transmission of electricity in the herb layer.

 6. Sufficiently long contact areas to maximize travel speed

 7. Use of the generally fairly homogeneous stocking density on the fields

 8. Easy installation and transportability of the entire device on the road

[054] A basic element of the device according to the invention for the electrocution of sensitive field crops for the purpose of electrocution (in particular rapeseed, but also other crops such as cereals, cotton etc.) is a reel with large working width and the following characteristics:

 1. The working width is between 4 and 40 m.

 2. The reel diameter is at least 50 cm, preferably 1-2 m. In some cases, it may be useful to use several reels directly behind each other (possibly also as 2 poles).

 3. Electric power for electro-kution is between 3 and 120 kW, when high voltage is applied between 1 KV and 30 kV and when using pulsed direct current or high-frequency alternating current (1000- 30000 Hz).

 4. The reel is operated electrically in one or more circuits.

 5. Soil is either soil in the lanes or, alternatively, the reel may be in parts as a phase and in parts as a soil if flow through and destruction of the root area is not appropriate for individual crops and crop densities.

 6. The reel is made of lightweight materials (steel, composites, aluminum, fiber reinforced plastics, carbon fiber components).

 7. The rotary reel elements have at least 4 corner units, up to 12 corners can be reached

 8. Depending on the version, the reel contains either a central axis as a static pressure element or at least some pressure and tension elements in the outer area.

 9. The reel is completely or at least in the outer elements cantilevered.

 10. The corners are connected to electrically conductive, static-tensioned static elements or wires (see Figures 10 and 11).

 11. The reel consists either of individual modules which can be connected with quick-release fasteners, which are disassembled piece by piece for transport (each part can be handled by one person), or they can be pushed together for transport and rotated on the trailer to such an extent that they do not overlap can participate in road traffic.

 12. The entire system is either attached directly to the tractor or installed on a separate trailer. When installing on a separate trailer, possibly with an extendable axle, it is possible to transport the unit underlaid.

13. The reel is driven by an electric motor or multiple motors in the central area and rotates at the outer edge at about the speed of movement of the towing vehicle with the upper side in the direction of travel. 14. It is the whole reel or at least the drooping electrodes under power, and depending on the design part of the electrodes can also be used as earth.

In Figure 11 hang on the reel 6 contact electrodes in the left figure, only the ground is used as earth and in the right figure of the 6 contact electrodes every second is additionally used as an applicator as earth. This leads to more energy flow in the leaves.

 15. Figure 12 shows that of the wires at a distance of 5 - 50 cm depending on the culture of different stiff and shaped contact electrodes hang - in any case, but conductive units down, which are suitable sufficiently deep penetrate into the biomass.

16. The 10 - 150 cm long contact electrodes penetrate by gravity due to the lowering pulse in the plant layer.

 17. If necessary, nozzles for water distribution are available to improve contact.

18. These contact electrodes may have the following materials and embodiments:

• Straight electrodes made of weight-minimized conductive metal

 Round wires, V- or U-shaped bent metal strips (see FIG.

 • Rigid conductive plastics

 • The basic shape of the electrode is straight

 • Molds that minimize the movement in the upper area when planting in the herb layer (pod conservation) and maximize in the lower area and the necessary force for Eindringoptimierung small and possibly increase when pulling through higher resistance, the contact area and duration. This means a bend against the direction of travel (to the rear)

 • For loose holdings to maximize touch, a two- or three-dimensionally corrugated shape (see Figure 14).

 • If it makes sense, with very high biomass development, a tip / blade to penetrate leaves (tear-off sparks do not play a role in the high water content) at the lower end of the contact electrodes (see Figure 15).

[056] According to the invention, all electrocution processes of plants using reel systems are to be protected. [057] The invention also relates to static applicators. [058] According to the state of the art, the metal contacts serve to transmit current to the plant parts which come into contact with the metal parts.

[059] The following applicators are known from patents and devices:

 1. hanging metal strip

 2. hanging chains

 3. metal strip resting on the floor

 4. Chains resting on the floor

Common to all said applicators is that they

 1. adapt only very well to profiled surfaces and thus produce only a small contact surface.

 2. Different elements for contacting and praising have, which increases the applicators, complicates and prone to interference

 3. To be strongly adapted to different applications.

In a side view, the invention proposes circular and teardrop-shaped applicators in various orientations, depending on the field of application (cf., FIG. 16). They represent an inventive and significant improvement because:

 1. The bias leads by the curvature to a good contact pressure without further spring elements.

 2. The individual elements can be made narrow because of their simplicity (no further spring elements) and accordingly adapt to the background contour

3. The massive sparking points have been replaced by pointed ends as tear-off edges by rounding

[062] The invention can be further improved according to the invention in that:

 1. The individual applicator elements (round or drop-shaped) can be mounted in total storage. Depending on the setting and weight, the bearing can increase or decrease the contact pressure, which may be advantageous in particular for gentle siccation applications (see FIG. 17, in which the bearing point is indicated as a rectangle).

2. The individual applicator elements may be partially or completely closed in order to prevent entanglement and tearing of plant parts (siccation of culinary fruits such as rapeseed and cereals). The closing elements, which fill the circular area shown in FIG. 17 or the oval area, can be designed to be conductive to increase the contact time with narrow passing plants (rushes, stiff grasses). Here metals but also electrically conductive composite materials (sandwich) or z. B light conductive plastics (eg carbon fiber-containing plastics) are used.

 3. The side edges of the applicator elements can by rounding the emergence of

Reduce sparks even further. This profiling can increase the stability of the elements to such an extent that closure is no longer necessary since the stability has been increased or a movable support is required so that the rigidity does not become too great (see FIG. [063] In order to minimize tear-off sparks in accordance with the patent, the side edges of the individual metal applicator elements are rounded off depending on the thickness of the material, bent upwards or even rounded solid or hollow. The conductive applicators can also be applied or incorporated on a curved, comprehensive carrier profile, which is isolated at the highly curved Abrisskanten and thus the Abreißfunkenbildung by eliminating sharp edges even more difficult. Preferred materials for these support profiles can, for. Example, a carbon fiber composite material or filled resins, which may still be somewhat conductive and abrasionsfest, but not contribute to the formation of sparks (see Figure 19) .The points 1 to 4 for the design of the applicators are essential to the invention without the features described above , [064] Earth Applicators: Since the exposure of the soil with strong electric fields to the destruction of subterranean plant parts (especially storage roots, rhizomes, tubers, etc.) may be particularly important, an introduction of the current through the rung is not possible or useful in all cases , In such cases, it may be useful to initiate the stream preferably vertically or horizontally targeted with a predefined depth profile in the ground and not only use near-surface ground electrodes to ground the current introduced by plants current flow.

For the sustainable destruction of subterranean plant structures, there are the methods described below, all of which involve considerable problems.

1. Excavation of plant parts: This method is very labor intensive and expensive. It destroys the entire soil structure and stratification and is therefore not feasible in many areas. 2. Ringing: When ringing, 90% of the bark is cut or sawn off trees or large bushes, and one or two years later, when the tree is fully or almost fully absorbed, precipitation occurs. This requires dangerous work with chainsaws (two-person teams prescribed), is time-consuming, lasts for several years and is hardly applicable to bushes.

 3. Glyphosate introduction in strains / interfaces: The roots can also be damaged by sawing off the above-ground plane parts and coating the interfaces with glyphosate or other chemical herbicides or injecting pesticides into the stem. However, this requires a lot of manual labor and the use and handling of chemical herbicides. The procedure often has to be repeated for years. The procedure is on bushes and plants with thin sprouts (grasses) hardly to not applicable.

 4. Use of herbicides on the whole plants: Whilst the whole plant dies very quickly in many cases, weaker new outbreaks can continue to occur. Since a lot of herbicide also falls on surrounding plants, the vegetation is widely and kills with residues, which is not legal or acceptable in many areas. If the harmful plants are spatially separable so far that they can be selectively coated with pesticides, then still remain residues and use restrictions exist and the roots can be achieved only by the long way through the shoot.

 5. Use of electrical methods only in the ground is not known for purely underground use.

 6. Subsoiling of soils: Deep loosening plows, which are equipped with a series of narrow deep cutting shares, are known. By using rotary blades in front of each blade and compressors behind it, the change in the soil surface can be minimized.

 7. The use of short flexible cylindrical bodies at the lower end of plowshares to create temporary floor openings for draining or laying out mouse baits is known.

[066] The earth applicators according to the invention described below have the goal to initiate electric current on a well-defined sufficiently large and self-cleaning surface (minimizing the contact resistance) in a predetermined geometry in the soil, so as to damage the respective plant parts to be destroyed maximum. At the same The soil structure should, as far as possible, be influenced as little as possible for environmental reasons and for damage minimization for crops that may be present on the surface or in certain areas. To minimize energy consumption, the resistance of the overall device in the ground is minimized. The formation of such Erdapplikatoren is also essential to the invention independently of the aforementioned features, for example, brush applicators.

[067] Vertical wide or narrow: vertical cutting blades penetrate at a distance of at least 40 cm between 30 and 140 cm deep into the ground. The width of the cutting shares is between 5 and 60 cm. They may be curved or bevelled in the direction of travel for structural reasons and for better root penetration and better soil infeed. In front of each chopper, a rotary cutting blade travels to the floor opening with little ground movement, behind it a solidified person. Every second cutting share is completely insulated and subjected to high voltage. The rotary cutting blades and also the packers are each insulated to avoid faulty currents (see Figure 20).

In this arrangement, the flow flows horizontally in the soil and preferably destroys horizontal root components, since they conduct better than the surrounding soil (see Figure 21).

The general invention, which is also essential to the invention independently of the previously described embodiments, lies in the insulation of cutting bodies at certain height ranges in order to use them as applicators for the electrocution.

[070] In a number of applications, it is necessary to electrically isolate parts of the cutting shares:

 1. In order for a current flow according to the invention to flow as directed as possible through a predetermined ground zone

 2. So that no current leads in unintended (vertical) directions along the mechanically necessary parts of metal cutting blades, resulting in massive

Energy losses due to the high conductivity of the cutting share leads.

 3. So that no current flows through upper soil layers, if the local roots should not be damaged.

[071] The following boundary conditions must be observed:

1. The cutting shares are generally made of conductive steel, as they must be very stable in order to absorb the forces of the deep share. 2. The surface of the blades is generally made of metal, so that it can withstand the high abrasion requirements and impacts from stones, etc.

 4. The outer layer of the crowd is not relevant in itself vertically conductive. It should be noted here the high mechanical load on the cutting share, which makes the use of metal necessary.

For this purpose, according to the invention, an insulating hard layer, preferably of a viscoelastic resin, is applied to the basic structure of the cutting share. Metal strips approximately 1-5 cm wide are then applied to this insulating surface as the current-conducting region and are connected in an insulating manner to the share (dowels) , Pouring, insertion in pass grooves, etc.). This metal layer may consist of thick sheet metal or otherwise deformed fittings. The intermediate areas are then poured out with resin and renewed regularly if necessary. A special design protects the intermediate areas from abrasion and excessive bridging by highly compressed soil.

[073] There are many embodiments of isolation for this. Should there be a material which is inherently non-conductive and sufficiently stable, then this also applies in the context of the overall invention as an embodiment according to the invention of the partially insulated cutting share.

In order to protect the uppermost vegetation layer, according to the invention, the cutting shares can be isolated in the uppermost 50-500 mm by means of a separate metal sheath in order in each case to allow an internal equipotential bonding (compare FIG. [075] If an initiation is provided only at a greater depth, the entire vertical part of the share is isolated (compare FIG.

[076] Vertically insulated flat shares only open at the bottom lead to a layer insulation. [077] Tighten Wire Rope Below for Transmission Upgrade:

 Especially when the power is to be introduced as flat as possible in a flexible but defined depth and the draft resistance must be minimized, the inventive device described below can fulfill these purposes in a novel way. The device consists of:

1. a vertical cutting share whose width is defined only by the necessary stability,

2. can be curved or inclined in the direction of travel for better handling in the ground

3. Depending on the application, conductive or layered insulation

4. if necessary with superior round cutting blade, which can possibly be used as soil, 5. and subsequent consolidator (packer) is provided, which may be used as earth, if necessary,

 6. at the lower end in addition to the non-insulated plow sole or alone one attached to the plow sole, with the plow sole conductively connected steel cable contains.

 7. at least one steel cord, which may also be lowered to achieve length variability by the crowd or at the rear end of the cutting share

 8. The steel cable can be self-cleaning due to its smooth outer skin. This minimizes surface resistance. The steel cord can be provided purely cylindrical, with alternating thicknesses or individual bulges for maximizing contact with the ground (compare FIG. 24).

According to the invention, the combination of the earth applicators with one another and with all other imaginable types of applicator is in particular the further mentioned brushes or static applicators.

Accordingly, the following exemplary embodiments represent only exemplary applications.

[080] Vertically alternating: Use against plants that form horizontally branched networks with a height distribution and, in particular, horizontal storage organs or rhizomes. The cutting shares are alternately grounded and subjected to high voltage (see Figure 25).

[081] Vertically isolated alternating: Use against plants which have horizontally branched networks, in particular at considerable depth, and in particular form horizontal storage organs or rhizomes. The cutting shares are alternately earthed at the bottom and subjected to high voltage. The very concentrated effect takes place in depth with minimal impairment of shallow roots. See Figure 26).

The length of the insulation is variable depending on the surface to be protected (cf Figure 27). [083] Vertically isolated against disc-cutting applicator or packer: use against plants that form mainly vertical networks and in particular perpendicular storage organs (taproots, beets, etc.) or rhizomes. The cutting shares are subjected to high voltage at the bottom and act against an earth on or on the surface, which can be designed as a slice or packer depending on the surface condition. The grounding takes place accordingly shortly below, directly on the earth's surface or by compressed plants (cf. FIG. 28).

[084] Vertically isolated depth applicator against brush applicator: Use against plants that form mainly vertical networks and in particular perpendicular storage organs (taproots, beets, etc.) or rhizomes. The cutting shares are subjected to high voltage at the bottom and act against a soil on or on the surface, which can be designed as a brush depending on the surface finish. The effect takes place over a large area on soil and plant parts, with larger plants being particularly well and longer dissipated and thus more strongly destroyed in shoot and root upper area (see Figure 29). If necessary, the brush applicator can also be placed on the front of the towing vehicle (not shown).

[085] Wire rope applicator alternating deep: Use against plants which have horizontally branched networks, in particular at considerable depth, and in particular form horizontal storage organs or rhizomes. The cutting shares and wire ropes are alternately earthed at the bottom and subjected to high voltage. The very broad distribution of long duration of action takes place in the depth with minimal impairment of shallow roots (see Figure 30).

[086] Wire rope applicator deep against packer or round cutter: Use against plants, which form mainly vertical networks and in particular vertical storage organs (tap roots, beet, etc.) or rhizomes. The cutting blades are subjected to high voltage at the bottom and act against a ground at or near the surface (see Figure 31). [087] Wire rope applicator flat against plants / surfaces Applicator (eg brush): Use against plants that have rooted flat dense networks below the surface and here also form horizontal storage organs or rhizomes. The cutting shares and wire ropes are uniformly grounded at the bottom and insulated at the side as well as the round cutting shares and packers. The surface or blade applicator, which covers the surface completely, possibly even in a double row, is subjected to high voltage. The very broad distribution of long exposure takes place exclusively near the surface with minimal impairment of deep roots (see Figure 32).

In all the methods mentioned here, the detection of small animals such as nematodes and snails is in each case another possible target option in addition to the destruction of the plant parts.

Claims

claims: 1. applicator, in particular brush for Elektrokution, characterized in that it is rotatably mounted. 2. Applicator according to claim 1, characterized in that it is a brush. 3. Applicator according to claim 2, characterized in that the brush has conductive and non-conductive bristles. 4. Applicator according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that a plurality of brushes are arranged spaced on an axis or shaft. 5. Applicator according to one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that bristles of the brush have regions of different flexibility. 6. An applicator according to claim 1, characterized in that it is a reel. 7. An applicator according to claim 6, characterized in that the reel has hanging contact electrodes. 8. An applicator according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that by means of actuators in transversal and / or rotational movements is displaceable. 9. Applicator according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it can be acted upon with high-voltage, pulsed or continuous direct or alternating current with different selected frequency and wave packets. 10. Applicator according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises sensory or mechanical control elements, linear power transmission elements, with mechanically translational and abrasive properties. 11. An applicator according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises fully or partially electrically controllable applicator elements. 12. An applicator according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises rigid or flexible, preferably approximately linear control, sensor and / or mobility components, wherein at least one of a plurality of applicators also is sequentially linked or fully integrated with a direct mechanical component (B).