Spray Head For An Agricultural Sprayer

Abstract

A spray head for an agricultural sprayer, the spray head including a fan with a central axis, the spray head also including dual liquid manifolds coaxial about the fan's central axis, each manifold having a plurality of spray nozzles positioned to be capable of spraying liquid into air exiting the fan, and each manifold having a liquid inlet and a liquid outlet so as to permit individual control of liquid through each manifold.

Claims

1. A spray head for an agricultural sprayer, the spray head including a fan with a central axis, the spray head also including dual liquid manifolds coaxial about the fan's central axis, each manifold having a plurality of spray nozzles positioned to be capable of spraying liquid into air exiting the fan, and each manifold having a liquid inlet and a liquid outlet so as to permit individual control of liquid through each manifold.

2. A spray head according to claim 1, wherein the manifolds are in the same radial plane.

3. A spray head according to claim 1, wherein the manifolds are behind the fan.

4. A spray head according to claim 1, wherein the manifolds are in front of the fan.

5. A spray head according to claim 1, wherein the manifolds are at or near the periphery of the fan.

6. A spray head according to claim 1, wherein the manifolds are within the periphery of the fan.

7. A spray head according to claim 1, including a housing for mounting the fan and the manifolds thereto.

8. A spray head according to claim 1, wherein individual control of the manifolds is provided for each one manifold separate to the other.

9. A spray head according to claim 1, wherein the spray nozzles of one manifold are of a different flowrate and/or spray pattern as the other manifold.

10. A spray head according to claim 1, wherein the manifolds are annular.

11. A spray head according to claim 1, wherein the manifolds are part-annular.

12. A spray head according to claim 1, wherein the spray head includes one or more additional manifolds.

13. A spray head according to claim 1, wherein the spray head includes one or more additional manifolds, each additional manifold also having a plurality of spray nozzles positioned to be capable of spraying liquid into air exiting the fan, and each additional manifold also having a liquid inlet and a liquid outlet so as to permit individual control of liquid through each manifold separate to each other manifold.

14. A system of spray heads, the system including at least two of the spray heads of claim 1, each spray head in fluid communication with each other spray head, the system including two incoming liquid pathways that supply liquid to inner manifolds and outer manifolds of the spray heads via a single line servicing the spray heads consecutively.

15. A system according to claim 14, wherein liquid not exiting through spray nozzles then exits the spray heads via separate lines, each equipped with its own valves to allow draining of each of the manifolds either consecutively or concurrently.

16. A system according to claim 14, wherein liquid not exiting through spray nozzles then exits the spray heads via a single line servicing the spray heads consecutively, to be recirculated back to a source tank.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0030] A preferred embodiment of a spray head, and several preferred embodiments of spray head systems, in accordance with the present invention will now be described in relation to the accompanying drawings. However, it must be appreciated that the following description is not to limit the generality of the above description.

[0031] In the drawings:

[0032] FIGS. 1a and 1b are perspective views from the front of a spray head in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, with FIG. 1a being the spray head without a housing (for ease of illustration) and FIG. 1b showing the spray head of FIG. 1a with a housing;

[0033] FIGS. 2a and 2b are perspective views from the rear of the spray head of FIGS. 1a and 1b, with FIG. 2a again being the spray head without a housing and FIG. 2b showing the spray head of FIG. 2a with a housing;

[0034] FIG. 3 is a perspective schematic view from the front of just the dual manifolds of the of spray head of FIGS. 1a and 1b;

[0035] FIG. 4 is a schematic drawing of a system for connecting multiple of the spray heads of the present invention; and

[0036] FIGS. 5a and 5b are schematic drawings of two further systems for connecting multiple of the spray heads of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0037] Illustrated in FIGS. 1a and 2a are front and rear views respectively of a spray head 10 in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The spray head 10 includes a fan 12 with a central axis A and dual liquid manifolds 14, 16 coaxial about the central axis A of the fan 12. Each manifold 14, 16 has a plurality of spray nozzles 20 positioned to be capable of spraying liquid into air exiting the fan 12 at the front thereof, and each manifold 14, 16 also has a liquid inlet 14i, 16i and a liquid outlet 14o, 16o (see FIG. 2a) so as to permit individual control of liquid through each manifold 14, 16 as generally described above and as will be described below in relation to the systems of FIGS. 4, 5a and 5b.

[0038] As is illustrated in FIGS. 1b and 2b, again being views from the front and the rear respectively, the spray head 10 includes a housing 24 (in the form of a cowling) for mounting the fan 12 and the manifolds 14, 16 thereto, the housing 24 being annular such that the fan 12 is mounted centrally within the housing 24 via mounting arms 26 (see FIG. 2b), with the trailing edges 28 of the fan 12 extending no further than the open front of the housing 24 (where air exits the fan 12), and the leading edges 30 of the fan 12 extending no further than the open rear of the housing 24 (where air enters the fan 12).

[0039] As can be more clearly be seen in FIG. 3, in this embodiment the manifolds 14, 16 are concentric rings mounted to a correspondingly shaped channel 32 at the rear of the housing 24 so as to be at the rear of the fan 12, in the same radial plane as each other. The concentric rings may extend to form a full circle or may only extend to form a partial circle as can be seen in FIG. 3 where the respective manifolds inlet and outlet (14i, 14o and 16i, 16o) are located close to each other but not directly adjacent to each other. Having said that, it will be appreciated that the manifolds need not be mounted in the same radial plan as each other, but may be mounted one in front of the other.

[0040] In this embodiment, it can be seen that the manifolds 14, 16 are positioned so as to be close to the peripheral extent of the fan, and slightly outside that peripheral extent. Each of the plurality of spray nozzles 20 of each manifold 14, 16 is then located at the free end of a respective riser 21 (see FIG. 3) extending from a manifold 14, 16 towards the front of the housing 24. Each riser 21 is long enough such that its respective spray nozzle 20 is located at the front of the housing 24 and is capable of spraying liquid into air exiting the fan 12. Of course, the use of such risers 21 is not essential, nor is the positioning of the manifolds 14, 16 towards the rear of the housing 24. The manifolds 14, 16 may alternatively be mounted towards the front of the housing 24, or the middle of the housing 24, with spray nozzles 20 mounted directly on the manifolds 14, 16 without the need for risers 21.

[0041] Finally, it will be appreciated that with the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3, individual control of the manifolds 14, 16 may be provided by suitable pumps and either by manually controlled valves or by servo valves (not shown), the servo valves being controlled via one or more electronic rate controllers (also not shown), with liquid lines connected to the inlets/outlets (14i, 14o and 16i, 16o) and attached to a main supply tank or a drainage outlet as desired and as will be described below in relation to some possible spray head systems.

[0042] In relation to the use of spray systems that utilise multiple spray heads of the above described type, a benefit of the spray heads of the present invention is the ability to connect a manifold of one spray head to a manifold of another spray head to create a single liquid pathway through the two spray heads. Multiple spray heads may thus be connected together via the connection of manifolds, allowing for a system of spray heads to be connected in series or in parallel, or for a system of spray heads to have sections of spray heads where each section is connected in series or in parallel.

[0043] FIG. 4 illustrates one such system, where four spray heads (40a to 40d) have been adopted, notionally in two sections, being a left-hand section (40a, 40c) and a right-hand section (40b, 40d). Each spray head (40a to 40d) is illustrated schematically from its rear in FIG. 4, and simply as having an outer manifold (42a to 42d) and an inner manifold (44a to 44d), each having respective liquid inlets (42i, 44i) and liquid outlets (42o, 44o) and a number of spray nozzles 46 therearound.

[0044] This system is able to be interconnected such that liquid path A is from a source tank (not shown) through liquid inlet 44i of inner manifold 44a of spray head 40a, through inner manifold 44a, out of liquid outlet 44o, into liquid inlet 44i of inner manifold 44a of spray head 40c, through inner manifold 44a and out of liquid outlet 44o. Liquid path A may be individually controlled using appropriate upstream valves and controllers (not shown) and may return to the source tank. As can be seen from FIG. 4, four such pathways A, B, C and D may be provided in this dual section system, allowing for a wide degree of variation in fluid flows through spray heads as desired.

[0045] FIGS. 5a and 5b illustrate two further spray head systems, this time only including two spray heads in each, which for clarity have had the reference numerals removed, such that the following description will only be of the liquid paths P and Q (FIG. 5a) and X and Y (FIG. 5b) of the two systems.

[0046] The dual spray head system of FIG. 5a includes two incoming liquid pathways P and Q that supply liquid (either the same liquid or a different liquid) from a source tank (not shown) to the inner manifolds (path P) and the outer manifolds (path Q) of the two spray heads via a single line servicing the spray heads consecutively. Liquid not exiting through the spray nozzles then exits the spray heads via four separate lines (50, 52, 54, 56), each equipped with its own valves (60, 62, 64, 66) to allow, when needed, draining of each of the four manifolds (either consecutively or concurrently, as desired), with or without the flushing of the manifolds.

[0047] In an alternative arrangement, the dual spray head system of FIG. 5b includes two incoming liquid pathways X and Y that supply liquid (again, either the same liquid or a different liquid) to the inner manifolds (path X) and the outer manifolds (path Y) of the two spray heads, again via a single line servicing the spray heads consecutively. Liquid not exiting through the spray nozzles then exits the spray heads via a single line servicing the spray heads consecutively, to be recirculated back to the main tank. Again, some degree of control (valves, etc) can be provided in these lines returning to the source tank for the purposes of flushing, or simply for controlling recirculation.

[0048] Embodiments such as those illustrated in FIGS. 5a and 5b (particularly) and FIG. 4 have been found to avoid undesirably high pumping pressures while still providing for the passage of required volumes of liquid and for desirable spray outcomes, and at the same time permit flexibility of spray and liquid variation for the user, with relatively simple priming, flushing, drainage, recirculation and maintenance options.

[0049] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention described herein is susceptible to variations and modifications other than those specifically described. It is to be understood that the invention includes all such variations and modifications.