Claims
- 1. An apparatus for controlling pests by controlled dispensing of pest specific fluids selected to predictably alter the physiology or behavior of agricultural pests, comprising:an electronically actuated dispenser having a fluid reservoir and an ejection device with an orifice in fluid communication with the fluid reservoir wherein said dispenser is configured to eject a series of micro-droplets of reservoir fluid of selected uniform diameter less than about 500 microns; the reservoir being a sealed reservoir except for a path of fluid communication to the ejection device; a pest specific volatile fluid within said reservoir, the fluid being selected to predictably alter the physiology or behavior of pests; a control unit including drive electronics operably connected to the ejection device to actuate the dispenser during select time intervals in such a manner as to produce a succession of individual micro-droplets of said selected uniform diameter which are ejected from the orifice at a rate sufficient to release a desired amount of the volatile fluid at a uniform rate during the selected time intervals, in order to control pests; and a shutter operated by signals from the control unit wherein said orifice is covered by the shutter when the dispenser is not operating.
- 2. The apparatus of claim 1 further including a wick mounted with the dispenser such that fluid dispensed from the orifice is directed onto said wick where it spreads by natural action over an area for rapid vaporization into the air.
- 3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the electronically actuated dispenser comprises a dispenser having an ejection device selected from the group consisting of piezoelectric, magnetorestrictive, inductive, thermal and fast solenoid valve dispensing devices.
- 4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the control unit includes drive electronics configured to dispense fluid uniformly from said ejection device by operating said device at a rate selected to be less than about 4000 micro-droplets per second during the selected time intervals.
- 5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said ejection device is a piezoelectric ejection device with said control unit drive electronics selected to operate in drop on demand mode.
- 6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the control unit includes drive electronics configured to dispense fluid uniformly from said ejection device by operating said device at a rate selected to be less than about 25,000 micro-droplets per second during the selected time intervals.
- 7. An apparatus for controlling pests by controlled dispensing of pest specific fluids selected to predictably alter the physiology or behavior of agricultural pests, comprising:an electronically actuated dispenser having a fluid reservoir and an ejection device with an orifice in fluid communication with the fluid reservoir, wherein said dispenser is configured to eject a series of micro-droplets of reservoir fluid of selected uniform diameter; the reservoir being a sealed reservoir except for a path of fluid communication to the ejection device; a pest specific volatile fluid within said reservoir, the fluid being selected to predictably alter the physiology or behavior of pests; the dispenser including at least one sensor adapted to create a signal indicative of an environmental condition parameter and an electrical circuit having a power supply connected to said sensor and a control unit; the control unit including drive electronics operably connected to the ejection device to actuate the dispenser during selected time intervals in such a manner as to produce a succession of individual micro-droplets of said selected uniform diameter which are ejected from the orifice at a rate sufficient to release a desired amount of the volatile fluid at a uniform rate during the selected time intervals, in order to control pests; and the control unit includes a digital computing device programmed to use the signal from the at least one environmental condition parameter sensor to operate the dispenser in a manner that varies in response to the signal received from the at least one sensor.
- 8. The apparatus of claim 7 further including a radio receiver operably connected in the circuit with the power supply and the digital computing device of the control unit wherein said digital computing device is programmed to receive signals from the at least one sensor and the receiver and to use said signals in a manner that uses the signal indicative of an environmental condition parameter or the signal from the receiver or both to operate the dispenser.
- 9. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein said radio receiver is a two way radio which in combination with said digital computing device is capable of being interrogated by radio frequency signals at a distance to provide signals representative of the input from the at least one sensor and the dispenser operating condition whereby said dispenser can be operated by communication signals from a remote transmitter.
- 10. An apparatus for altering pest behavior by controlled dispensing of small quantities of pest specific fluid comprising:an electrically controlled dispenser equipped with a signal processor and power source operatively connected to an electronic drive circuit coupled to an electrically activated ejection head having a micro-dispensing tube in fluid communication with a reservoir containing pest specific volatile fluid selected to produce altered behavior in the specific pest; an electrical signal generator at a location isolated from said dispenser which is adapted to operate said dispenser to eject a succession of individual micro-droplets of the pest specific volatile fluid from the ejection head in an amount and rate sufficient to alter pest behavior; and said dispenser being operable in response to electrical signals generated by said electrical signal generator at said location isolated from said dispenser to eject a succession of individual micro-droplets of said pest specific fluid from the ejection head in an amount and rate sufficient to alter pest behavior.
- 11. An apparatus for controlling pests by controlled dispensing of pest specific fluids selected to predictably alter the physiology or behavior of agricultural pests, comprising:an electronically actuated dispenser having a plurality of ejection devices each having a fluid reservoir and an orifice in fluid communication with its fluid reservoir, wherein said plurality of ejection devices are configured to eject a series of micro-droplets of reservoir fluid of selected uniform diameter less than about 500 microns and at least two of said reservoirs have a different pest specific volatile fluid, said fluids being selected to predictably alter the physiology or behavior of different pests; a control unit for the electronically actuated dispenser having drive electronics for each ejection device capable of operating one or more of said ejection devices independently from the other ejection devices during selected time intervals in such a manner as to produce a succession of individual micro-droplets of said selected uniform diameter which are ejected from the orifices of ejection devices connected to said at least two of said reservoirs at a rate sufficient to release the desired amount of the volatile fluid at a uniform rate during the selected time intervals, to control the physiology or behavior of more than one kind of agricultural pest.
- 12. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the control unit can be programmed to operate more than one ejection device simultaneously, to enable operating to control different pests simultaneously, or to multiply the concentration if fluid from reservoirs containing like volatile fluids is simultaneously ejected.
- 13. An apparatus for controlling pests by controlled dispensing of pest specific fluids selected to predictably alter the physiology or behavior of agricultural pests, comprising:a plurality of spaced apart electronically actuated dispensers each having a fluid reservoir for pest specific volatile fluid and an ejection device with an orifice in fluid communication with the fluid reservoir, wherein said dispensers are configured to eject a series of micro-droplets of reservoir fluid of a diameter of a selected size which is less than about 500 microns; each dispenser including a control unit having drive electronics with a source of power operably connected to each ejection device to actuate the dispenser during a selected time interval in such manner as to produce a succession of individual micro-droplets of the selected size which are ejected from the orifice of each dispenser at a rate sufficient to release a desired amount of the volatile fluid during the selected time interval; a master control station communicating with each of the plurality of dispensers programmed to operate the plurality of dispensers through the control units by means of a programmed computer which can operate the dispensers according to a schedule from a distance.
- 14. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein the plurality of electronically actuated spaced apart dispensers communicate with the master control station through a wiring system.
- 15. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein the control unit of each dispenser has an electromagnetically activated receiver through which its drive electronics can be controlled from a transmitting station operably connected with said master control station and provided with a narrow-cast or broad-cast transmitter communicating with the receiver of each control unit whereby the dispensers can be operated according to said schedule.
- 16. The apparatus of claim 15 further including an environmental monitoring station in communication with said master control station, capable of monitoring an environmental condition parameter and communicating a signal representative of the state of said parameter to the programmed computer in said control station whereby the state of an environmental condition parameter can be taken into account in operating the dispensers.
- 17. The apparatus of claim 16 wherein the environmental monitoring station is capable of monitoring the status of an environmental condition parameter selected from a group comprising humidity, wind speed, wind direction and temperature, and communicating a signal representative of one or more of said parameters to the master control station.
- 18. The apparatus of claim 16 further including a communication satellite and communication equipment whereby the satellite interrogates and receives data from the environmental monitoring station, transmits the data received from the environmental monitoring station to the master control station and receives commands therefrom which are retransmitted to the plurality of dispensers.
- 19. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein said each dispenser includes a radio receiver, at least one sensor to create a signal indicative of an environmental condition parameter and a power supply operably connected to said receiver, and said control unit includes a digital computing device programmed to use the signal from the at least one sensor to operate its dispenser in response to data as represented by the signal received from the at least one sensor.
- 20. The apparatus of claim 19 further including said each radio receiver being operably connected in a circuit to the power supply and the digital computing device of the control unit and capable of receiving operating signals from a transmitter in operable communication with said control station, the digital computing device being programmed to receive signals from the at least one sensor and the receiver and to use said signals in a manner that uses the signal indicative of an environmental condition parameter or a signal from the master control station or both to operate the dispenser.
- 21. The apparatus of claim 20 wherein said radio receiver is a two way radio which in combination with said digital computing device is capable of being interrogated by radio frequency signals at a distance by providing signals representative of the input from the at least one sensor and the dispenser operating condition whereby said dispenser can be operated by communication signals sent from a remote transmitter.
- 22. A method of controlling pests by controlled dispensing of pest specific fluids selected to predictably alter the physiology or behavior of agricultural pests, comprising the steps of:providing an electronically actuated dispenser having an ejection device with an orifice in fluid communication with a fluid reservoir wherein said dispenser is configured to eject a series of uniform micro-droplets of a selected diameter less than about 500 microns; providing a pest specific volatile fluid in the reservoir, the fluid being selected to predictably alter the physiology or behavior of pests; providing a control unit to actuate the dispenser during selected time intervals to produce successive individual micro-droplets of uniform size of the selected diameter; providing a wick; operating the dispenser through the control unit whereby a succession of individual micro-droplets of said selected uniform size are ejected from the orifice at a rate sufficient to release the desired amount of pest specific volatile fluid over the selected time intervals at a uniform rate are deposited onto the wick for efficient volatilization in order to control pests.
- 23. The method of claim 22 wherein the step of providing an electronically actuated dispenser comprises providing an electronically actuated ejection device selected from the group consisting of piezoelectric, magnetorestrictive, inductive, thermal and fast solenoid valve dispensing devices.
- 24. The method of claim 22 wherein the step of providing an electronically actuated dispenser includes the step of providing an electronic drive system that can dispense fluid from the ejection device at rates less than about 4000 micro-droplets per second and the step of operating said dispenser comprises the step of dispensing said micro-droplets at a rate of less than about 4000 micro-droplets per second.
- 25. The method of claim 22 wherein the step of providing an electronically actuated dispenser comprises the step of providing an electronic drive system that can dispense fluid from the ejection device at less than about 25,000 micro-droplets per second and the step of operating said dispenser comprises the step of dispensing said micro-droplets at a rate less than about 25,000 micro-droplets per second.
- 26. A method of controlling pests by controlled dispensing of pest specific fluids selected to predictably alter the physiology or behavior of agricultural pests, comprising the steps of:providing an electronically actuated dispenser having an ejection device with an orifice in fluid communication with a fluid reservoir wherein said dispenser is configured to eject a series of uniform micro-droplets of a selected diameter less than about 500 microns; providing a pest specific volatile fluid in the reservoir, the fluid being selected to predictably alter the physiology or behavior of pests; providing a control unit to actuate the dispenser during selected time intervals to produce successive individual micro-droplets of uniform size of the selected diameter; providing a shutter operated by the control unit to cover and uncover said orifice; uncovering said orifice; operating the dispenser through the control unit whereby a succession of individual micro-droplets of said selected uniform size are ejected from the orifice at a rate sufficient to release the desired amount of the volatile fluid over the selected time intervals at a uniform rate in order to control pests.
- 27. The method of claim 26 wherein the step of uncovering said orifice includes providing a piezoelectric shutter operator and sending an operating signal from the control unit to the shutter operator.
- 28. The method of claim 26 wherein the step of providing an electronically actuated dispenser comprises providing an electronically actuated ejection device selected from the group consisting of piezoelectric, magnetorestrictive, inductive, thermal and fast solenoid valve dispensing devices.
- 29. A method of altering pest behavior by controlled dispensing of small quantities of pest specific fluid comprising the steps of:providing an electrically controlled dispenser equipped with a signal processor and power source operatively connected to an electronic drive circuit coupled to an electrically activated ejection head having a micro dispensing tube in fluid communication with a reservoir containing pest specific fluid selected to produce altered behavior in the specific pests; providing an electrical signal generator at a separate location from said dispenser which is adapted to operate said dispenser to eject a succession of individual micro-droplets of the pest specific fluid from the ejection head in an amount and rate sufficient to alter pest behavior; and operating said dispenser in response to electrical signals generated by said electrical signal generator at the separate location from said dispenser to eject a succession of individual micro-droplets of pest specific fluid from the ejection head in an amount and rate sufficient to alter pest behavior.
- 30. A method of controlling pests by controlled dispensing of pest specific fluids selected to predictably alter the physiology or behavior of agricultural pests, comprising the steps of:providing a plurality of electronically actuated ejection devices and a plurality of reservoirs with each ejection device in fluid communication with one of the reservoirs configured to eject a series of uniform micro-droplets of a selected diameter less than about 500 microns from an orifice; providing different pest specific volatile fluids in at least some of the plurality of reservoirs, the fluids being selected to predictably alter the physiology or behavior of pests; providing a control unit to actuate the ejection devices during selected time intervals to produce successive individual micro-droplets of a uniform size of the selected diameter; operating an ejection device selected from the plurality of ejection devices whereby a succession of individual micro-droplets of said selected uniform size are ejected from the orifice at a rate sufficient to release a desired amount of the volatile fluid over a selected time interval at a uniform rate, in order to control pests.
- 31. The method of claim 30 wherein the step of operating an ejection device comprises the step of selecting more than one ejection device to operate.
- 32. The method of claim 31 wherein the step of selecting more than one ejection device further comprises operating the selected ejection devices during different time intervals.
- 33. A method of controlling pests by controlling dispensing of pest specific fluids selected to predictably alter the physiology or behavior of agricultural pests, comprising the steps of:providing an electronically actuated dispenser having a plurality of ejection devices each with an orifice and a plurality of reservoirs with each ejection device in fluid communication with one of the reservoirs wherein said dispenser is configured to eject a series of uniform micro-droplets of a selected diameter less than about 500 microns from any of the ejection devices; providing different pest specific volatile fluids in some of the plurality of reservoirs, said fluids being selected to predictably alter the physiology or behavior of different pests; providing a control unit to actuate the dispenser during selected time intervals to produce successive individual micro-droplets of a uniform size of the selected diameter from one or more of the ejection devices; operating the dispenser through the control unit whereby a succession of individual micro-droplets of said selected uniform size are ejected from the orifice of a selected ejection device at a rate sufficient to release a desired amount of the volatile fluid over the selected time intervals at a uniform rate, in order to control a particular pest.
- 34. The method of claim 33 wherein at least one of the ejection devices has multiple orifices in fluid communication with one of the reservoirs.
- 35. A method of controlling pests by controlled dispensing of pest specific fluids selected to predictably alter the physiology or behavior of agricultural pests, comprising the steps of:providing a plurality of dispersed electronically actuated dispensers each having an ejection device with an orifice in fluid communication with a fluid reservoir wherein said dispensers are configured to eject a series of uniform micro-droplets of a selected diameter less than about 500 microns, said dispensers being dispersed in a pattern over an area to be protected; providing a pest specific volatile fluid in the reservoirs of the dispensers, the fluid being selected to predictably alter the physiology or behavior of pests; providing a control unit to actuate the dispersed dispensers during selected time intervals to produce successive individual micro-droplets of a uniform size of the selected diameter; operating the plurality of dispensers through the control unit whereby a succession of individual micro-droplets of said selected uniform size are ejected from the orifices at rates sufficient to release a desired amount of the volatile fluid over the selected time intervals at a uniform rate in order to control pests in the area to be protected.
- 36. The method of claim 35 wherein the step of providing a control unit comprises the step of providing a power supply and a timer control operably connected to each dispenser and the step of operating the plurality of dispensers is carried out in response to output signals from the timer.
- 37. The method of claim 35 wherein the step of providing a control unit comprises the step of providing ones of the plurality of dispensers with an electromagnetically activated receiver and driving circuit which operate the dispensers and providing a remote electromagnetic transmitter and the step of operating said dispensers through said control unit comprises the step of operating said dispensers in response to signals received by said receivers from said transmitter.
- 38. The method of claim 37 further including an environmental monitoring station which communicates with the transmitter, capable of monitoring an environmental condition parameter and a digital computing device programmed to evaluate said communications and provide operating data based upon said communications to said transmitter wherein the step of operating said dispensers in response to signals includes the step operating said transmitter in response to communication from the environmental station of the state of said environmental condition parameter.
- 39. The method of claim 38 wherein the environmental condition parameter monitored by the environmental monitoring station is selected from a group comprising humidity, wind speed, wind direction and temperature, wherein the operating data being communicated to said transmitter is adjusted based on the state of one or more of said parameters.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This is a continuation of pending continuation-in-part application Ser. No. 09/110,486 filed Jul. 6, 1998 now abandoned with the same title and inventors and claims priority from provisional application No. 60/051,900 filed on Jul. 8, 1997 for all of which priority is claimed under 35 U.S.C. Section 120 and Section 119(e).
Government Interests
The invention was made with government support under contract 98-33610-5977 awarded by the United States Department of Agriculture. The United States government may have certain rights in this invention.
US Referenced Citations (31)
Foreign Referenced Citations (2)
Number |
Date |
Country |
7063294 |
Jan 1995 |
AU |
WO-9501137 |
Jan 1995 |
WO |
Provisional Applications (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60/051900 |
Jul 1997 |
US |
Continuations (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09/110486 |
Jul 1998 |
US |
Child |
09/801994 |
|
US |