WO2000021682A1

WO2000021682A1 - Knapsack type sprayer having a receptacle worn as a tabard

Info

Publication number: WO2000021682A1
Application number: PCT/GB1999/003165
Authority: WO
Inventors: Humphrey Richard Ian Cannon
Original assignee: Armillatox Limited
Priority date: 1998-10-08
Filing date: 1999-10-08
Publication date: 2000-04-20
Also published as: GB9821837D0; AU6479299A

Abstract

A portable sprayer comprises a receptacle (10) defining front and rear reservoirs (13, 14) connected by shoulder strap means (12a, 12b). The rear reservoir (14) is connected to the front reservoir (13) by a conduit (16, 17) between the lowermost part of the rear reservoir (14) and a point in the front reservoir below the said lowermost point, but higher than an outlet (24) from the front reservoir which is connected to a spray nozzle (26). This enables the rear reservoir to drain into the front reservoir. Inlets (22, 23) are provided for liquid and pressurising gas to propel the spray. The receptacle (10) may be worn as a tabard, or as a jacket.

Description

KNAPSACK TYPE SPRAYER HAVING A RECEPTACLE WORN AS A TABARD

This invention relates to a portable sprayer.

Conventional portable sprayers of the type commonly used to spray

plants are generally provided in one of two forms. One known form of

sprayer is a compression sprayer wherein a rigid container is filled with a

fluid such as an insecticide, a fungicide, a fertilizer or the like and a separate

compressor is provided which is capable of pumping the fluid out of the

container and on to an area the user intends to spray.

This form of sprayer is impractical to use over large areas or areas

that are remote from each other as it is heavy and cumbersome to

transport.

Another known form of sprayer is a knapsack sprayer which has a

rigid container provided with straps to allow a user to carry the container

on his back. The sprayer also incorporates a spray lance and a lever

connected to a manually operable pump, both the lance and lever are

attached to the container.

In use the container is filled with a liquid to be sprayed and the user

subsequently inserts his arms through the straps so to locate the container

adjacent to his back. To spray the liquid held in the container, the user

manually pumps the lever connected to the pump with one hand and this

creates an increase in the pressure above the head of the liquid. The increase in pressure forces the liquid along the lance and out of the nozzle

which is directionally controlled by the users other hand.

This form of sprayer is undesirable as the container is uncomfortable

to carry and requires significant exertion by the user when operating the

manual pump in order to spray the liquid held in the container.

Moreover, in order to refill the container with liquid the user must

firstly remove the container from his back, such a process is inconvenient

when the user must spray a large quantity of liquid as the container will

require repeated removal from the back of the user.

A further problem with the above examples of prior art is that they

generally require both hands of the user to be in use in order to operate the

sprayer correctly one hand to operate the pump and one hand to direct the

nozzle. It is an undesirable quality to have both hands engaged in activity

when trying to access hard-to-reach areas.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a sprayer that is

practical and convenient to use while being easily transportable and cheap

to manufacture.

According to the present invention there is provided a portable

sprayer comprising a receptacle adapted to be worn over the shoulders of

the user, having an outlet for discharge of a fluid from the receptacle,

characterised in that the receptacle comprises two parts, one of which is provided with said outlet, the outlet being located in use at a lower level

than a conduit connecting the two parts so that fluid may drain from said

other part to said one part, the receptacle also having means to enable the

sprayer to be worn over the user's shoulders with one said part and the

other part abutting the user's front and back.

Preferably the receptacle consists of a least one fluid reservoir. A

plurality of fluid reservoirs may be in communication with each other. When

a plurality of fluid reservoirs are present, the communication means between

the reservoirs enables the fluid to pass freely from reservoir to reservoir so

that the levels of fluid in each reservoir are kept in equilibrium. When more

than one reservoir is present it is preferable for one reservoir to be larger

than the other(s) .

The receptacle can be made from any suitable flexible material that

is impervious to fluids which may be non organic and/or organic in

composition and which may be harmful and/or toxic if such fluids should

come into contact with a users skin or are inhaled. The receptacle may

have a multi layer construction.

Advantageously, the receptacle is adapted to be worn in the manner

of a jacket.

It is desirable for the receptacle to be capable of being inflated up to

30 psi. Preferably the receptacle is capable of being inflated up to at least 20 psi. Inflation of the receptacle will aid in the expulsion of the contents

held therein.

The means to aid transportation may be provided in the form of

straps and/or other suitable fitments that allow a user to secure the sprayer

to his person. Preferably the sprayer is equipped with shoulder straps so

that the sprayer can be placed over the users head so that at least a part

of the fluid reservoir is located adjacent to the front of the user. It is

desirable for the portion of fluid reservoir located adjacent to the front of

the user to be the larger portion of the fluid reservoir. When the user is

wearing the sprayer it is preferable for the lower extremity of the larger

portion of the fluid reservoir to be lower in relation to the ground than any

other portion of the fluid reservoir.

The receptacle may be provided in the form of a tabard with a neck-

hole for the wearer, and may be comprised of two impervious sheets

welded to each other about the edges and the neck-hole in a generally

rectangular configuration.

Alternatively the receptacle may comprise two separate front and rear

reservoirs connected by shoulder straps and a communicating tube, or be

similar to a life-jacket with arm holes provided through a wrap-around

reservoir. Preferably the receptacle has at least two ports. Separate ports

can be used for the insertion and removal of separate fluids. Ideally one port can be used for the insertion of a liquid and a separate port can be

used for the insertion of a gas.

When the user is wearing the sprayer the ports may be present on

the portion of the receptacle that is to be located adjacent to the front of

the user. This results in a much more convenient arrangement than has

been available prior to the present invention as this arrangement allows a

user to refill the fluid reservoirs of the receptacle without having to remove

the sprayer from his person.

The ports can be attached to a substantially upper portion of the

receptacle thereby allowing a majority of the receptacle to be filled with a

liquid before over-spill can occur. Preferably the port to be used for the

insertion and removal of liquids is attached to the receptacle in a

substantially lower position relative to the port used for the insertion and

removal of gases. In use the gas can be added to the receptacle after the

addition of the liquid so as to be present above the head of the liquid and

thus aid the expulsion thereof.

An additional port for the insertion and removal of gases may be

attached to each separate portion of receptacle at substantially upper

position thereon . It is also envisaged that the substantially upper portions

of the separate fluid reservoirs may be in communication to ensure that

gases may pass freely above the head of any liquid that may be additionally present in the fluid reservoir.

The port used for the insertion and removal of gas may be a Schrader

valve. The port used for the insertion and removal of liquid may be movable

between three positions, a first open and upwards position for filling, a

second open and downwards position for discharge of residual fluids and

a third closed position.

The means to allow directional expulsion of any fluids contained

within the receptacle may be attached to the lower extremity of the largest

fluid reservoir. Said means may comprise a hose. Said hose can be

connected to the fluid reservoir at one end and may have a spray nozzle

connected to the other end. The hose can be made from any suitable

flexible, resilient or rigid material that is impervious to the fluids that may

be contained within the receptacle.

The sprayer may be provided with a separate air compressor which

is attached so as to be engaged with the receptacle in order to provide a

constant supply of compressed air to the receptacle.

The invention will now be described further by way of example only

and with reference preferred embodiments illustrated in the accompanying

drawings in which:-

Fig. 1 is a plan of a first embodiment of sprayer of the present

invention; Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the first embodiment of sprayer as

worn;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of sprayer

according to the present invention;

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the embodiment of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a third embodiment of sprayer

according to the present invention;

Fig. 6 is a side view of the sprayer of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a front elevation of the sprayer of Figs. 5 and 6; and

Fig. 8 is a view of a secateurs attachment which may replace the

spray nozzle for occasional use.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, a first embodiment of sprayer according

to the invention comprises a generally rectangular sheet 10, comprising two

superposed impermeable webs which are sealed together with wide seams

around the edges 1 1 of the sheet, and around a neck-hole 1 2 provided

towards the centre of the sheet. The webs define between them a volume

which can be inflated with a gas, or filled with a liquid. The sheet 10 is

suitable to be worn by a user in the manner of a tabard with the user's head

protruding through the neck hole 1 2, and the sheet providing front and rear

panels 13, 14 connected by shoulder strap portions 1 2a, 1 2b respectively.

The volumes within the panels 13, 14 are in communication over the user's shoulder, to maintain the same air pressure in the upper part of each panel

above a liquid level 1 5 in the lower parts of the panels. The lower parts of

the panels are in communication to maintain a common liquid level 1 5 in the

panels, by means of a hose section 1 6 at the bottom of the rear panel, 1 4,

which can be clip connected to a further hose section 17 at the bottom of

the front panel 1 3, as shown in Fig. 2.

The sheet, described as 'generally rectangular' is in fact slightly

parallelogram shaped, with the shorter sides 1 8, 1 9 at a slight angle to the

orthogonal to the longer sides 20, 21 , so that the right hand corner of the

front side 18 is lower than the left hand corner by a distance h, which may

be in the order of a few centimetres only sufficient to create a drainage-

assisting incline to the front bottom edge 1 8. Conversely the left corner of

the rear bottom edge 1 9 is lower than the right corner of the edge 1 9 by

the same distance h. The neck hole 1 2 is set slightly off centre of the sheet

1 0 so that the left corner of the rear panel 1 4 is at the same level as, or

slightly above the left corner of the front panel, so that all liquid from the

rear panel will drain to the front panel through the connected hoses 1 6, 17

as level 15 is lowered. The connection enables the level 1 5 to be equalised

on both panels of the sheet 10.

The sheet 10 is also provided with a Schrader air valve 22 on the

right hand edge 20, and a pressure control 23 on the left hand edge 21 , which are positioned to be operable by the users hands, and above the

usual maximum level 1 5 of liquid in the panels. The valve 22 can be used

to introduce air under pressure into the shoulder part of the sheet 10, by for

example means of a pump. The control valve 23 may be used to vent

pressurised air until the pressure in the reservoir is correctly adjusted.

Hose 16 extends along the inclined lower front edge 1 8, and has one

or more apertures 18 for communicating with the interior space of the panel

1 3, and emerges as a sprayer connection pipe 24 which has a snap-in

connector 25 to which a sprayer nozzle 26 may be connected. To fill the

reservoir, the connector 25 is connected to a feeding hose connection from

a storage container, from which liquid is fed under air or other appropriate

gas pressure.

The liquid may be an insecticide, herbicide, fungicide, or nutrient

solution as required.

The second embodiment of portable sprayer 100 shown in Figs. 3

and 4 has a fluid retaining receptacle that consists of a front reservoir 1 1 2

which is in communication with a rear reservoir 1 1 4 via a flexible conduit

1 1 6. The upper extremities of each reservoir 1 1 2, 1 1 4 are attached to

each other by shoulder straps 1 18. The front reservoir 1 12 is larger than

the rear reservoir 1 1 4, thus allowing the lower extremity of the front

reservoir 1 12 to be in a lower position relative to the ground than the lower extremity of the rear reservoir 1 14 (as shown by Fig. 4) . The receptacle is

adapted to be worn in the manner of a jacket.

Fluids which may be carried within the sprayer 1 10 include liquid

compositions 1 20 such as an insecticide, a fungicide, a fertilizer or the like.

Such compositions 1 20 are commonly toxic or harmful if they should come

into contact with the skin or are inhaled. Accordingly the reservoirs 1 1 2,

1 14 and the conduit 1 16 are made from a material which is not only flexible

but is also impervious to such compositions 1 20, so that no leakage of any

fluid from the sprayer 1 10 can occur.

A user will normally wear the sprayer 1 10 with the straps 1 1 8 over

either shoulder. Once the user is wearing the sprayer 1 10, the liquid 1 20

may be added into the front reservoir 1 1 2 through inlet port 122. The liquid

1 20 can freely pass through conduit 1 1 6 into the rear reservoir 1 1 4. Once

a sufficient quantity of liquid 1 20 has been added to the reservoirs 1 1 2,

1 1 4 the port 1 22 is sealed in a closed position and a quantity of

compressed air is added to the front reservoir 1 1 2 through a Schrader valve

1 24. The valve 1 24 is attached to the front reservoir 1 1 2 above the port

1 22 so that after liquid 1 20 has been inserted the compressed air will be

located above the head of liquid 1 20.

Although not shown in the drawings, there could also be additional

ports and valves on the rear reservoir 1 1 4. ln operation the user must aim nozzle 26 or 1 28 at an area to be

sprayed. The nozzle 1 28 is connected to one end of a hose in Fig 3. 1 26,

while the other end of the hose 1 26 is connected to the lower extremity of

the front reservoir 1 2.

To expel the liquid 20 from the sprayer 1 0 the user must open a tap

(not shown) on the hose 26 which permits the liquid 20 to pass from the

reservoirs 12, 1 4 along the hose 26 and out of the nozzle 28. The liquid 20

is forced out of the sprayer 10 by the combined forces of the compressed

air present above the head of the liquid 20, and gravity. Gravity aids the

expulsion of the liquid 20 as the lower extremity of the front reservoir 1 2

is lower than any other part of the reservoir.

In operation the user may refill the reservoirs 1 2, 14 with liquid 20

and compressed air without having to take off the sprayer 10.

A further embodiment is illustrated in Figs. 5, 6 and 7 which show a

reservoir 1 30 which has an integral front 1 31 , rear 1 32 and side portions

1 33 adapted for wearing in the manner of a life-jacket. In this embodiment

part of the side portion 133a is also capable of acting as one of the straps,

along with a strap 1 34 as seen in the previous embodiment.

This embodiment allows compressed air to be inserted into the

reservoir 1 30 through only one valve and be above the head of all of the

liquid 120 present in said reservoir 1 30, this feature also results in the strap of the reservoir being padded. The front part has an inlet valve 1 35 and an

air valve 1 36 similar to 1 22, 1 24 of Figs. 3 and 4 above.

It is to be understood that the invention is not to be restricted to the

above mentioned embodiments and many variations and modifications are

possible, for example.

Communication means may be present between the top portions of

the reservoirs to allow free movement of compressed air between said

reservoirs.

The reservoir may have a front and rear portion integral with two side

portions, the side portions both being capable of acting as straps.

Another further envisaged embodiment is where the reservoir is filled

only with compressed air. The nozzle may be removed from the end of the

hose and replaced as in Fig. 8 with a piston-operated secateurs mechanism

1 40. The compressed air is substantially supplied to the secateurs

mechanism to provide a compressed air powered secateurs cutting device.

It is of course to be understood that the invention is not intended to

be restricted to the details of the above embodiment which are described

by way of example only.

Claims

1 . A portable sprayer comprising a receptacle adapted to be worn over

the shoulders of the user, having an outlet for discharge of a fluid

from the receptacle, characterised in that the receptacle comprises

two parts ( 1 3, 1 4), one of which is provided with said outlet (24),

the outlet (24) being located in use at a lower level than a conduit

( 1 6, 1 7) connecting the two parts ( 1 3, 1 4) so that fluid may drain

from said other part to said one part, the receptacle also having

means to enable the sprayer to be worn over the user's shoulders

with one said part (13) and the other part (14) abutting the user's

front and back.

2. A portable sprayer according to claim 1 wherein said parts ( 1 3, 1 4)

comprise a front reservoir and a rear reservoir respectively, the front

reservoir ( 13) having said outlet (24) provided to one side of the base

of the front reservoir ( 1 3), the conduit ( 1 6, 17) entering the other

side of the base at a level above said outlet (24), but below the level

of the lowest part of the rear reservoir ( 14) from which said conduit

exits.

3. A portable sprayer according to claim 2 wherein said front reservoir

( 1 3) and rear reservoir ( 14) are connected by shoulder strap means

( 12a, 12b) which can be supported by the user's shoulders.

4. A portable sprayer according to any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein

said receptacle is in the form of a sheet (10) comprising two

superposed impermeable webs which are sealed together with seams

around the edges (11) and a neck hole (12) towards the centre of

the sheet, the webs defining a volume therebetween, said reservoirs

(13, 14) being provided to each side of the neck hole (12), and

connected by parts (12a, 12b) to each side of the neck hole (12)

which define said shoulder strap means.

5. A portable sprayer according to any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein a

front reservoir (112) and a rear reservoir (114) are provided,

connected by shoulder straps (118) at their upper side, and by a

conduit (116) extending from the lowest part of rear reservoir (114)

to enter the front reservoir (112) below said lowest part of the rear

reservoir but above an outlet (126) with attached spray nozzle (128).

6. A portable sprayer according to any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein

said receptacle comprises a front part 131 defining a front reservoir,

and a rear part (132) defining a rear reservoir, and a side part (133)

on one side interconnecting said reservoirs for fluid flow

therebetween, shoulder strap means being defined by a part (133a)

of said side part (133), and a shoulder strap (134).

7. A portable sprayer according to any preceding claim having an inlet valve for a liquid for spraying, and an air inlet valve for air or other

gas under pressure to maintain an overpressure within said receptacle

to propel the liquid from the receptacle during spraying.

8. A portable sprayer according to any preceding claim wherein a

sprayer nozzle connected to said outlet (24) can be replaced by a

secateurs attachment with an operating cylinder adapted to be

operated by pressurised air from the receptacle.