NETWORKED CHEMICAL DISPERSION SYSTEM

• US 20120046790A1
• Filed: 08/20/2010
• Published: 02/23/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 08/20/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Deere & Company
• Original Assignee: Deere & Company
• Inventors: Anderson, Noel Wayne
• Granted Patent: US 9,357,759 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/266
• CPC Class Codes: A01M 1/2022 Poisoning or narcotising insects by vaporising an insecticide
• CPC Class Codes: A61L 2209/11 Apparatus for controlling air treatment
• CPC Class Codes: A61L 2209/111 Sensor means, e.g. motion, brightness, scent, contaminant sensors
• CPC Class Codes: A61L 2209/13 Dispensing or storing means for active compounds

Abstract

The illustrative embodiments provide a chemical dispersion system comprising a number of chemical dispersion nodes, a chemical dispersion manager, and a processor unit. The processor unit executes the chemical dispersion manager to identify a pest problem and generate a chemical dispersion plan for execution by the number of chemical dispersion nodes.

Claims

1. A chemical dispersion system, the system comprising:

a number of chemical dispersion nodes;

a chemical dispersion manager; and

a processor unit, wherein the processor unit executes the chemical dispersion manager responsive to a pest problem to generate a chemical dispersion plan for execution by the number of chemical dispersion nodes.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the number of chemical dispersion nodes further comprise:

a processor unit;

a number of sensors; and

a cartridge.

3. The system of claim 2 further comprising:

a power source having an energy harvester and energy storage.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein the cartridge further comprises:

a disperser; and

a reservoir having a chemical for dispersion by the disperser.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the disperser is selected from at least one of a hose, nozzle, pump, sprayer, tubing, wiper, cloth, roller, laser, electromagnetic wave generator, light emitter, sound generator, electrical pulse generator, mister, fogger, duster, atomizer, gas stream, mechanical finger, and heating element.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor unit is located at a remote location from the number of chemical dispersion nodes.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor unit further executes the chemical dispersion manager to accesses a number of databases and retrieve information about an area with the pest problem.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor unit further executes the chemical dispersion manager to transmit the chemical dispersion plan to the number of chemical dispersion nodes.

9. A method for networked chemical dispersion, the method comprising:

receiving a user selection of an area for chemical treatment;

identifying information associated with the area and the user selection;

generating a chemical dispersion plan using the information identified; and

transmitting the chemical dispersion plan to a number of chemical dispersion nodes.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the number of chemical dispersion nodes execute the chemical dispersion plan using a disperser.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the disperser is selected from at least one of a hose, nozzle, pump, sprayer, tubing, wiper, cloth, roller, laser, electromagnetic wave generator, light emitter, sound generator, electrical pulse generator, mister, fogger, duster, atomizer, gas stream, mechanical finger, and heating element.

12. An apparatus for chemical dispersion, the apparatus comprising:

a processor unit configured to receive chemical dispersion plans;

a number of sensors;

a power source configured to provide power to the processor unit and the number of sensors; and

a cartridge configured to execute the chemical dispersion plans responsive to a trigger from the processor unit.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the cartridge further comprises:

a reservoir having at least one chemical; and

a disperser configured to disperse the at least one chemical from the reservoir into an operating environment around the apparatus.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the disperser is selected from at least one of a hose, nozzle, pump, sprayer, tubing, wiper, cloth, roller, laser, electromagnetic wave generator, light emitter, sound generator, electrical pulse generator, mister, fogger, duster, atomizer, gas stream, mechanical finger, and heating element.

15. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the power source further comprises:

an energy harvester; and

an energy storage device.

16. A method for executing a chemical dispersion plan, the method comprising:

receiving, by a processor unit, a chemical dispersion plan from a remote location using a communications unit;

identifying an amount of a chemical to disperse using the chemical dispersion plan;

identifying a time for dispersion of the chemical using the chemical dispersion plan; and

triggering a cartridge to disperse the amount identified of the chemical at the time identified.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the processor unit, the communications unit, and the cartridge are part of a chemical dispersion node.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the chemical is selected from at least one of DEET, citronella, essential oils, scents, fragrances, picaridin, nepetelactone, permethrin, neem oil, and herbicides.

19. The method of claim 16 further comprising:

identfying a dispensed amount of the chemical in an operating environment.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the chemical is dispensed by a number of chemical dispersion nodes other than a chemical dispersion node identifying the dispensed amount of the chemical, and wherein the chemical dispersion node identifying the dispensed amount transmits the dispensed amount identified to the remote location.