Patent Application
20160029551
The invention pertains to hydro-seeding and more specifically a hydroseeding system that is economical, efficient and portable.
Hydroseeding (or hydraulic mulch seeding, hydro-mulching, hydraseeding) is a planting process that uses a slurry of seed, fertilizer and mulch. The slurry is transported in a housing, either truck-mounted or trailer-mounted and sprayed over prepared ground in a uniform layer. Alternatively, helicopters and aircraft can be used where larger areas must be covered, such as, for example, burned wilderness areas after a fire. Hydroseeding is an alternative to the traditional process of broadcasting or sowing dry seed and promotes quick germination and inhibits soil erosion. Hydroseeding is used to seed grass on commercial sites (highways/motorways etc.), golf courses, lawns and areas too large, inaccessible or unsuitable for conventional methods. Starting a lawn by hydroseeding is considerably cheaper than laying sod/turf and quicker than using dry seed. It is also used to spread mixtures of wildflower and tree/shrub seeds or turf grasses for erosion control. Hydroseeding typically has similar costs to dry seeding techniques that combine seed with straw mulch. Further, the hydroseeding slurry is weed free whereas straw mulch can contain weeds. Also, hydroseeding is typically less than ¼ the cost of laying sod.
Disadvantageously, there has never been a portable hydroseeder due to the pressure required to eject the mulch. As described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,717,285, hydroseeding is currently done by hiring a contractor that has a truck with separate housings for the water and dry ingredients (mulch, seed, color etc.) and an agitator pump to mix the water and the dry ingredients to produce a slurry that can then be spread over a large area. U.S. Pat. No. 4,913,356 describes a portable seeding device that uses suction, using the venturi effect, to lift a mixture of water and seed from a jar. The constriction required to lift the seed and water out of the jar using the venturi effect is insufficient to allow any mulch to be added to the jar. Additionally, the amount of seed and mulch required to cover at least a one square foot area would make the jar extremely large and unwieldy.
Therefore, there is a need for a hydroseeder that is economical, efficient and portable that overcomes the problems in the prior art.
The problems in the prior art have been successfully overcome by the present invention, which is directed to a portable hydroseeding system and method. The system comprises a portable housing means for containing a slurry, a propellant means connected to the housing and an outlet control means for distributing the slurry. The propellant means can be a standard garden hose water connection, a carbon dioxide connection, an inflatable lining, a mechanical plunger, a piston, a low pressure air connection, and a high pressure air connection. Preferably, the propellant connection is a standard garden hose.
The housing further comprises an upper housing portion and a lower housing portion, an inlet control valve connected to the propellant, a pressure gauge connected to the upper housing portion, a jet nozzle internally connected to the upper housing portion for spraying the pressurized water into the housing, a lower housing portion attachable to the upper housing portion for containing a mixture of dry ingredients to form a slurry, an exit control valve for controlling the discharge of slurry from the combined upper housing portion and the lower housing portion, and an applicator nozzle connected to the lower housing portion for distributing the slurry over an area. In one embodiment, a removable threaded agitator lid is connected to the inlet control valve of the housing. An output port is connected to the housing and an outlet control valve is connected to the output port to regulate the distribution of the slurry. In another embodiment, the outlet control valve further comprises a slurry supply hose for ease of use while distributing the slurry. In another embodiment, a second outlet control valve attached to the output port is provided for further control of the pressure in the housing.
The housing, one or more than one water hose attachments, inlet control valve, threaded agitator lid, output port, and second outlet control valve can be constructed from wood, plastic, aluminum, steel, fiberglass, carbon fiber, polyethylene, resin, vinyl, and glass, but preferably from stainless steel.
In one embodiment, the lid further comprises an upper water jet housing, a plurality of upper water jets, a water shaft, a paddle agitator, and optionally a plurality of lower water jets connected to the tank. Optionally, the threaded agitator lid can further comprise a mixing shaft for external agitation.
There is provided a method for using the portable hydroseeding system comprising the steps of: a) removing thatch or dead vegetation from one or more than one areas to be seeded; b) loosening soil for the one or more than one areas to be seeded; c) placing the hydroseeder proximate to one of the one or more than one areas to be seeded; d) connecting the hydroseeder to a propellant source; e) opening the hydroseeder; f) adding dry ingredients to the hydroseeder; g) closing the hydroseeder; h) opening the inlet valve starting a flow of propellant to create a slurry; i) opening the outlet control valve; j) applying the slurry to the loosened earth until the housing becomes empty or the slurry is free of seed; and k) repeating steps c through j until all areas are seeded.
These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims, and accompanying figure where:
The present invention solves the problems with the prior art by providing a hydroseeder that is economically feasible for an individual to own, and is efficient because in one embodiment the hydroseeder only requires a regular garden hose to operate and is portable so that the individual user can use the hydroseeder anywhere at any time without the need to hire a commercial contractor with a massive hydroseeding vehicle as required by the prior art. Additionally, a separate agitating pump is not needed, as the present invention is a portable or hand held hydroseeder which anyone can use to propagate a slurry of seed, fertilizer and mulch using any municipal water source, such as, for example, a garden hose, or other propellants. The portable hydroseeder unit is lightweight, compact, reusable and can be easily stored. The portable hydroseeder described herein has the capabilities of large commercial hydroseeders with compact and portable convenience.
As used in this disclosure, except where the context requires otherwise, the term “comprise” and variations of the term, such as “comprising”, “comprises” and “comprised” are not intended to exclude other additives, components, integers or steps.
The term “slurry” refers to a mixture of water, seed and mulch with other additives, such as, fertilizer, coloring agent and weed killer or pre-made mixtures, such as, for example, Scotts® Patchmaster® products among others.
The term “portable” refers to a device that can be transported from location to location by no more than two persons and preferably only one person.
In the following description, specific details are given to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments. However, it will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that the embodiments can be practiced without these specific details. For example, circuits can be shown in block diagrams in order not to obscure the embodiments in unnecessary detail. In other instances, well-known circuits, structures and techniques can be shown in detail.
Also, it is noted that the embodiments can be described as a process that is depicted as a flowchart, a flow diagram, a structure diagram, or a block diagram. Although a flowchart can describe the operations as a sequential process, many of the operations can be performed in parallel or concurrently. In addition, the order of the operations can be rearranged. A process is terminated when its operations are completed.
As can be seen in
As can be seen in
Once sufficient water has been added, the water and dry ingredients will form the slurry and the housing 208 will be pressurized to the maximum amount from the supplied propellant so that the slurry can be forced out of the output port 210 to be distributed over an area to be seeded using only the pressure in the housing and the water pressure from the water hose 202. An outlet control valve 212 regulates the distribution of the slurry from the housing 208 to the area to be seeded. As can be appreciated, the outlet control valve 212 can be attached to a slurry supply hose 220 for ease of use. Optionally, a second outlet control valve can be attached to the output port 210 for further control of the pressure in the housing 208. It should further be noted that the lid 206, the housing 208 and the other elements that comprise the device can be made of various materials, such as, for example, wood, plastic, aluminum, steel, fiberglass, carbon fiber, polyethylene, resin, vinyl, glass, or any other sufficiently resilient material that can maintain the slurry under pressure. However, stainless steel is preferable due to its non-corrosive properties and ease of cleaning.
As can be appreciated, there are many possible variations. Among the variations contemplated include a cartridge system, where the dry mixture is present with the proper ratio of seed, mulch, fertilizer and other additives and is only used once. Additionally, a cartridge system comprising a premixed slurry and a non-water propellant, such as, for example, carbon dioxide (CO2) or a compressed air canister is also contemplated for a portable system that does not require a water hose connection. The most basic form for a portable hydroseeding system comprises a housing for containing a slurry, a pressurizing propellant connected to the housing and an outlet control mechanism for distributing the slurry.
Referring now to
Although the present invention has been discussed in considerable detail with reference to certain preferred embodiments, other embodiments are possible. Therefore, the scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the description of preferred embodiments contained in this disclosure. All references cited herein are incorporated by reference in their entirety.
The present Application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/01,684, filed on Jan. 28, 2011 which is the United States national phase application of International Patent Application No. PCT/US09/51178, titled “Portable Hydroseeder,” filed Jul. 20, 2009, which claims the benefit of U.S. provisional patent application 61/082,455, filed Jul. 21, 2008, entitled “A spot hydroseeder/fertilizer that a typical homeowner can connect to a garden hose for spot seeding for lawn, slope, ground cover, flower beds, pastures, herb gardens or virtually any seed that one would like to propagate. You may also fertilize any plot of earth by using a granulated or liquid fertilizer,” and from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/208,508, filed Feb. 25, 2009, entitled “A hand held spot hydroseeder that a typical homeowner can connect to a garden hose for spot seeding for a lawn, slope, ground cover, flower beds, pastures, herb gardens or virtually any seed one would like to propagate,” the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
