1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to area foggers. More particularly, the area fogger is a kit that is usable with a 2- or 4-stroke engine and produces a particulate insecticide fog in an outdoor setting.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various fog-producing devices utilizing the exhaust from internal combustion engines are known.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,835,533, issued to Baker on May 20, 1958, teaches an atomizing distributor mounted on an exhaust. The device includes a nozzle placed in the exhaust pipe that atomizes an insecticide liquid. U.S. Pat. No. 2,901,182, issued to Cragg et al. on Aug. 25, 1959, teaches an engine operated insecticide sprayer.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,017,121, issued to Carlson on Jan. 16, 1962, teaches a material applying attachment for power mowers. The material is fed into the exhaust using an inserted tube. U.S. Pat. No. 3,140,574, issued to Brown, Jr. on Jul. 14, 1964, teaches a spraying and mowing apparatus. The sprayed fluid appears to be fed directly through a tube from a tank.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,332,221, issued to McCain on Jul. 25, 1967, teaches a lawn mower including a liquid spraying attachment containing an insecticide, herbicide or fertilizer, the attachment dispensing and distributing the liquid in the area of the rotating blades. A tank containing the liquid is mounted on the handle of the mower. U.S. Pat. No. 3,338,524, issued to Rhein et al. on Aug. 29, 1967, teaches a lawnmower with a handle-mounted, liquid-containing tank, which feeds the liquid through a tube to the muffler to be distributed to the surroundings.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,595,481, issued to Enblom, also teaches a fogger attached to a lawnmower that includes a handle-mounted, insecticide-holding tank and which dispenses the insecticide in the muffler. The fogger includes an air tube that brings pressurized air/exhaust from the muffler to the tank to provide the necessary pressure in the tank to produce a fog that leaves the muffler. U.S. Pat. No. 3,722,820, issued to Klint, Jr. on Mar. 27, 1973, U.S. Pat. No. 4,269,353 issued to Ivandick et al. on May 26, 1981, U.S. Pat. No. 5,195,308 issued to Grote et al. on Mar. 23, 1993, U.S. Pat. No. 5,222,666 issued to Gnutel on Jun. 29, 1993, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,497,088 issued to Holley on Dec. 24, 2002, respectively, and UK Patent No. 2238698 A, all teach similar lawnmower-attached liquid spray and fog distributing devices having various arrangements that permit the liquid to mix with the engine exhaust.
However, none teach the use of a heat-distributor that contains a heat distributing particulate material for ensuring rapid conversion of a liquid chemical into microscopic droplets which mix with exhaust to form fog.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus an area fogger solving the aforementioned problems is desired.
The area fogger of the present invention is attached to an exhaust muffler of a 2-stroke or 4-stroke internal combustion engine, e.g., a lawnmower, and produces a fog that permeates an area from a liquid chemical, e.g., a pesticide solution, that is supplied to it.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide an area fogger that is attachable to the exhaust manifold of an internal combustion engine.
It is another object of the invention to provide an area fogger for atomizing and dispensing a liquid pesticide over a wide area.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a kit for retrofitting an internal combustion engine with an area fogger for dispensing a liquid pesticide.
Still another object of the invention is to provide an area fogger in which the heat from the exhaust manifold of an internal combustion engine is used to convert the liquid chemical into a fog that is dispersed by the exhaust into the surrounding area.
It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.
These and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.
Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings.
The present invention is an area fogger that uses the exhaust gases and the exhaust heat produced by a 2- or 4-stroke internal combustion engine to convert a liquid chemical into a fog. More particularly, the fogger includes a unique heat distributor that is at least partially placed in the exhaust system, e.g., a muffler housing, and which distributes heat from the exhaust to the liquid chemical to form a fog. The heat distributor contains particulate material that conducts and distributes the heat to the liquid, thereby improving fog formation and effectiveness over existing systems.
The heat distributor 70 is attached to the muffler with a mounting bracket 50.
When the fogger is used, the main body 90 of the heat distributor, in this case a cylindrical tube, is at least partially inserted into the muffler through the opening 56 of the mount 50. Setscrew 52 is tightened to fix the main body of the heat distributor 90 in place.
Details of the heat distributor 70 are shown in
A preferred liquid chemical is an insecticide solution containing an active ingredient, such as a pyrethrin, malathion, resmethrin or permethrin, in a carrier, such as kerosene or other hydrocarbon liquid. An example of a prepared commercially available fogger insecticide product is F100 fogger insecticide made by Burgess.
The liquid chemical then flows into liquid distributor tube 84 and exits this tube 84 through holes 76. Liquid distributor tube 84 is surrounded by heat distributing particulate material 80. An example of a suitable heat distributing particulate material is called “ceramic proppant”, typically used in the oil industry in well drilling activities. The ceramic proppant is a porous ceramic particulate material that conducts heat from the exhaust gases in the muffler to the liquid chemical that flows through the heat distributor.
The liquid passing through the particulate bed 80 is converted into a thick fog, then passes through a mesh screen 86 and past a restriction, e.g., dam 92 and exits the heat distributor in the outlet 94 (shown in detail in
The preferred size of liquid droplets in the fog is less than 20 microns.
During use of the area fogger, the engine is initially “warmed up” to bring the heat distributor 70 to operating temperature. In some situations, the heat distributor can become sufficiently hot to glow with a reddish color. This intense concentration of heat, along with the use of the heat distributing particulate material, ensures the rapid conversion of the liquid chemical into microscopic fog droplets.
It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
2835533 | Baker | May 1958 | A |
2901182 | Cragg et al. | Aug 1959 | A |
3017121 | Carlson | Jan 1962 | A |
3140574 | Brown, Jr. | Jul 1964 | A |
3332221 | McCain | Jul 1967 | A |
3338524 | Rhein et al. | Aug 1967 | A |
3595481 | Enblom | Jul 1971 | A |
3722820 | Klint, Jr. | Mar 1973 | A |
4153047 | Dumbeck | May 1979 | A |
4269353 | Ivandick et al. | May 1981 | A |
5062355 | Greiwe | Nov 1991 | A |
5117482 | Hauber | May 1992 | A |
5195308 | Grote et al. | Mar 1993 | A |
5222666 | Gnutel | Jun 1993 | A |
6263958 | Fleishman | Jul 2001 | B1 |
6497088 | Holley | Dec 2002 | B1 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
2 238 698 | Jun 1991 | GB |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20040217194 A1 | Nov 2004 | US |