Not applicable
Not applicable
Not applicable
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a self-contained pressure sprayer, and more particularly to a rolling sprayer assembly that includes a wheel driven pumping mechanism and a fluid-driven motor for pumping a chemical concentrate and a diluting fluid.
2. Description of the Background of the Invention
Pressure sprayers with wheel-driven pumping mechanisms have been used to spray mixtures of fluids. In one type of wheel-driven sprayer, an axle that extends between two wheels includes a cam disposed thereon. Rotational movement of the axle imparts similar rotational movement to the cam. The rotational motion of the cam is utilized to operate a pressure pump attached thereto. The pressure pump pumps pressurized liquid from a storage tank into an accumulator tank. A relief valve is provided on the accumulator tank to relieve excessive buildup of pressure within the accumulator tank. The liquid is sprayed from the accumulator tank through the use of a spray wand.
In a different wheel driven sprayer, the sprayer includes two wheels connected by an axle. Rotational movement of the axle is translated into motion for actuating several pumps. The several pumps receive fluid from a tank and pump the pressurized fluid into a pressure tank. A discharge pipe is connected to the pressure tank by way of a two-way valve that allows the discharge of pressurized fluid from the sprayer through a nozzle pipe line or an agitating nozzle.
Pressurized sprayers with self-cleaning systems have also been used. In one example, a sprayer includes a chemical concentrate tank used to store a mixture of a first pressurized chemical concentrate. During a cleaning cycle a line not used in a spraying operation of the first chemical concentrate is used to inject pressurized water into the chemical concentrate tank. Thus, the chemical concentrate tank is purged of any residual amount of the first chemical concentrate so that the chemical concentrate tank can be used for a second, different chemical concentrate.
According to one embodiment of the present invention a pressure sprayer comprises an accumulator vessel adapted to hold a pressurized fluid therein and a connector adapted to connect with a container holding a chemical concentrate. A motor is in fluid communication with the accumulator vessel and the container when so connected. The motor is adapted to be driven by the pressurized fluid and to pump the pressurized fluid and the chemical concentrate. A chamber is adapted to receive the chemical concentrate and the pressurized fluid from the motor to form a chemical solution. A nozzle is in fluid communication with the chamber.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, a pressure sprayer comprises a housing having a first piston, a second piston, and a mixture controller disposed therein. The first piston is adapted to be driven by a first fluid under pressure. The second piston is adapted to pump a quantity of a second fluid. A mixture controller is also provided that operatively couples the first and second pistons to control the quantity of the second fluid pumped by the second piston.
In a different embodiment of the present invention, a pressure sprayer comprises a housing supported by at least one wheel. Further, a tank is provided for holding a fluid and an accumulator vessel for holding a pressurized fluid. A pump is provided for pressurizing and advancing the fluid from the tank to the accumulator vessel in response to movement of the at least one wheel. A container is configured to hold a chemical concentrate. A fluid motor is in fluid communication with the accumulator vessel and the container. The fluid motor is adapted to be driven by the pressurized fluid from the accumulator vessel and to pump the chemical concentrate from the container to a static mixer. The static mixer is adapted to mix the chemical concentrate with the pressurized fluid to form a chemical solution. A nozzle is also provided that is adapted to spray the chemical solution.
Mobile spraying assemblies such as the one described herein are utilized to hold and discharge fluids under pressure. Typically, the fluid discharged will be a mixture or solution having desirable characteristics for commercial or private applications. For example, a person could use a mobile spraying assembly to dispense a fertilizer or cleaning solution, or an herbicide, fungicide, insecticide, or other pesticide or surface treatment product onto the ground, a plant, or other surface. Indeed, any type of fluid with or without particles suspended therein may be dispensed from a mobile spraying assembly described herein.
A cover plate 40 is secured to the top end 30 of the fluid tank 24. In the present embodiment the cover plate 40 is removably secured to the fluid tank 24 by corresponding screw threads adjacent the top end 30 of the fluid tank 24 and an interior of the cover plate 40. An elongate structure 42 extends upwardly, for example, away from the fluid tank 24, from the cover plate 40. A lower portion 44 of the elongate structure 42 includes a switch 46. The switch 46 is toggled by a user to vary the rate at which a chemical concentrate, or other fluid, is dispensed from the spraying device 20 during an in use condition. A medial portion 48 of the elongate structure includes a container housing 50 that is integrally attached to, and protrudes from, the elongate structure 42. On an opposing side of the medial portion 48, a member 52 protrudes from the elongate structure 42. The member 52 includes a recess 54 for receipt of a spraying wand 56 or other spraying means. Two hooks 58a, 58b, are disposed on the elongate structure 42 adjacent a distal portion 60 thereof. Further, a handle 62 is disposed on the distal portion 60 of the elongate structure 42 that is adapted to be gripped by a user's hand. In one embodiment, the elongate structure 42 is adjustable so that varying heights may be imparted to the handle 52 based upon the height of the user.
The container housing 50 is generally cylindrical in shape and includes a sidewall 64 and a top end 66 adjacent the distal portion 60 of the elongate structure 42. The container housing 50 includes an axial length that extends in a similar direction as an axial length of the elongate structure 42. The container housing 50 is adapted to receive a container 68 such as the one shown in
With reference again to
With respect to
The pump gear 106 is fixedly attached to a portion of the axle 102 within the interior of the housing 28.
The pump gear 106 is adapted to functionally interrelate with a pump 122 disposed within the housing 28, that is, the pump gear 106 drives the pump 122 to pressurize a fluid, such as water or a solution containing a surfactant or other material intended to improve the performance of the chemical concentrate to be dispensed by the sprayer. The pump 122 may be any type of positive displacement pump. However, it is envisioned that any other pump known to those skilled in the art may also be used with the present embodiments. The pump 122 includes an arm 124 with opposing fingers 126a, 126b on a distal end 128 thereof. The fingers 126a, 126b are sized to fit within the hexagonal grooves 120a, 120b, respectively. During operation of the spraying device 20 a user pushes the device 20 over a surface by imparting rotational motion to the wheels 100a, 100b. The rotational movement of the wheels 100a, 100b is translated into rotational movement of the axle 102 and the pump gear 106. When the pump gear 106 is rotated the fingers 126a, 126b are forced to follow the path defined by the hexagonal grooves 120a, 120b. However, unlike the axle 102 that is not displaced about an X axis 130, a Y axis 132, or a Z axis 134 with respect to a center of the pump gear 106 during rotation thereof, the hexagonal grooves 120a, 120b are displaced about the Z axis 134 during rotation of the pump gear 106. Therefore, as the pump gear 106 is rotated about the axle 102, the rotational movement of the pump gear 106 is translated into linear motion of the fingers 126a, 126b within the hexagonal grooves 120a, 120b. The hexagonal grooves 120a, 120b cause the fingers 126a, 126b to be alternatively raised and lowered about the Z axis 134. The linear motion of the fingers 126a, 126b is similarly translated through the arm 124 and to the pump 122. The alternating motion of the arm 124 about the Z axis 134 imparts alternating pressure differentials between two chambers (not shown) of the pump 122.
In a different embodiment the pump gear 106 is provided with a differing shape but still includes the hexagonal grooves 120a, 120b. In yet another embodiment, the grooves 120a, 120b are imparted with another geometric shape such as an octagon or a triangle that similarly will allow for the rotational movement of the pump gear 106 to be translated into linear motion of the arm 124. In still another embodiment, a cam may be disposed on the axle 102 in contact with an appendage that depends from the pump 122 to translate rotational movement of the pump gear 106 into linear motion. Further, the pump gear 106 may be positioned anywhere along the axle 102 insofar as the functional relationship between the pump gear 106 and the pump 122 is maintained.
Referring to
In other embodiments, the accumulator vessel 142 may be pressurized in ways other than a wheel driven pump such as the pump 122 shown herein. For example, the accumulator vessel 142 may be adapted to be pressurized by a pressurized air and/or water system such as a garden hose pressurized from a municipal water supply. Illustratively, a user attaches the garden hose (not shown) to an adaptor 147 that comprises a connector and a one way check valve to fill the accumulator vessel 142 with the pressurized water to pressurize the accumulator vessel 142. In another embodiment, an amount of water is added to an opening in the accumulator vessel and is then seated by, for example, securely closing a cap or lid disposed on the accumulator vessel to provide an air-tight seal. In this embodiment, the accumulator vessel 142 is then pressurized through the adaptor 147 by a pressurized air or gas source such as from, for example, a remote air compressor, an air pump such as a foot or hand pump, or a compressed CO2 cylinder connected with the accumulator vessel. A pressure gauge or other pressure indicator (not shown) may be provided in any of the embodiments described herein to indicate that sufficient pressure is present in the accumulator vessel 142 to drive the various components of the spraying device 20.
The pressurized fluid in the accumulator vessel 142 is flowable through a third fluid line 148 (
The valve 152 is preferably a four-way valve similar to the one depicted in
Referring again to
The timing for switching between the release of the pressurized fluid from the first and second openings 170, 176 coincides with the position of the power piston 158 within the power cylinder 160. The control of the timing is accomplished by providing a pair of limit switches 178a, 178b as shown in
As noted above, the power piston 158 is operatively attached to the pumping piston 162 by the mixture controller 166. In one embodiment, the mixture controller 166 comprises a fixed linkage.
Similar to the power piston 158 discussed above, reciprocal motion of the pumping piston 162 alternatively increases and decreases the volume on opposing sides of the pumping piston 162 within the pumping cylinder 164. As the pumping piston 162 moves toward the first end 182, the volume expansion within the pumping cylinder 164 adjacent the second end 184 thereof draws a predetermined amount of the fluid from within the container 68 through a first inlet check valve 186 and into a portion of the pumping cylinder 164 adjacent the second end 184. Concurrently, the volume contraction on the opposing side of the pumping cylinder 164 adjacent the first end 182 causes the expulsion of a predetermined amount of the fluid through a first outlet check valve 188. Similarly, when the pumping piston 162 is directed toward the second end 184 of the pumping cylinder 164, fluid from the container 68 is drawn into the pumping cylinder 164 adjacent the first end 182 through a second inlet check valve 190. The volume contraction on the opposing side causes the fluid disposed within the pumping cylinder 164 adjacent the second end 184 thereof to be dispensed through a second outlet check valve 192. Inlet and outlet check valves similar to the first and second inlet check valves 186, 190 and the first and second outlet check valves 188, 192 are manufactured and sold under the product names of, for example, MCV-1AB and MCV-1, respectively, by Clippard Instrument Laboratory, Inc. Thus, by operation of the motor 156 as described, a consistently measured quantity of chemical concentrate is pumped in correlation to a consistent quantity of fluid from the accumulator vessel 142.
Referring now to
The present spraying device 20 may also include a cleaning hose 208. One end of the cleaning hose 208 is connected to the fifth fluid line 198 via a cleaning hose valve 210. The cleaning hose valve 210 is preferably disposed between the outlet 174 and the check valve 200. The other end of the cleaning hose 208 is connectable to the receiving socket within the container housing 50 in a similar manner as the container 68. When the cleaning hose valve 210 is opened the pressurized water from the accumulator vessel 142 flushes out any residual chemical concentrate within the spraying device 20.
The connecting member 180 of the present embodiment allows a predetermined and/or adjustable amount of fluid to be drawn from the container 68 by the pumping piston 162 and mixed with a predetermined amount of pressurized fluid drawn from the accumulator vessel 142 by the power piston 158. To change the ratio of fluids mixed within the mixing chamber 194, the width of one or more of the power piston 158 and the pumping piston 162 may be altered to increase or decrease the corresponding amount of fluid drawn from the accumulator vessel 142 and the container 68. Further, the stroke lengths of the power piston 158 and the pumping piston 162 could be changed or the timing for the limits switches 178a, 178b altered.
In still another embodiment of a connecting member, which is depicted in
The mobile spraying assemblies described herein provides a fluid driven motor for spraying a predetermined and/or adjustable mixture of two or more fluids, such as water and a chemical concentrate. The pressure sprayer may be used to mix and spray any combination of fluids and/or concentrates.
Numerous modifications to the present disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the foregoing description. Accordingly, this description is to be construed as illustrative only and is presented for the purpose of enabling those skilled in the art to make and use the pressurized sprayer of the disclosure and to teach the best mode of carrying out same.
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