Backpack with sprayer

• US 7,175,104 B2
• Filed: 11/19/2004
• Issued: 02/13/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 11/21/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Woodlands Specialists, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Woodlands Specialists, Inc.
• Inventors: Allen, Leigh B. IV
• Primary Examiner(s): HWU, DAVIS D
• Application Number:
  US10/992,895
• Publication Number:
  US 20050121462A1
• Time in Patent Office: 816 Days
• Field of Search: 239/71, 239/72, 239/73, 239/74, 239 67- 70, 239/152, 239/153, 239/154, 239/146, 239/170, 222/175, 222/333, 222/385, 222/382
• US Class Current: 239/71
• CPC Class Codes: A01M 7/0046 Hand-operated sprayers apparatus to be carried on or by a person B05B9/08
• CPC Class Codes: A01M 7/0089 Regulating or controlling systems the delivery being related to the movement of a vehicle B05B9/06
• CPC Class Codes: A45F 3/10 Pack-frames carried on the body
• CPC Class Codes: B05B 12/00 Arrangements for controlling delivery; Arrangements for controlling the spray area
• CPC Class Codes: B05B 9/085 with a liquid pump

Abstract

An apparatus for spraying chemicals in a forestry environment includes a back pack supported reservoir for containing such chemicals and a variable speed pump for urging the chemicals from the reservoir through a rearwardly oriented spraying unit. Positional and delivery rate monitoring equipment may also be incorporated in the design.

Claims

1. An apparatus for application for chemicals, comprising, a harness including a frame to be worn by a pedestrian worker, a reservoir for chemicals supported by said frame and harness, an outlet for dispensing chemicals from said reservoir as a spray directed rearwardly from the harness and said worker as said worker traverses a set course, and a data logger supported on said harness and recording the workers course and the amount of chemical dispersed.

2. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said data logger comprises a programmable circuit including a memory having an input from at least one sensor associated with said reservoir indicating the level of chemicals in said reservoir.

3. The apparatus as defined in claim 2 further comprising an electronic position sensor supported on said harness and having a data output to said programmable circuit indicating the geographic position of said harness at a given time.

4. The apparatus as defined in claim 3 wherein said programmable circuit includes a removable memory in which said chemical level and said geographic position data may be stored.

5. The apparatus as defined in claim 4 wherein said programmable circuit includes a program to compute the speed of said pedestrian worker and provides an output to a human sensible display for the worker to view.

6. The apparatus as defined in claim 4 wherein said programmable circuit includes a program to compute the speed of said pedestrian worker and the rate of dispersion of said chemicals from said reservoir such that the workers speed or the rate of dispersion can be adjusted to optimize the amount of chemical dispersed per foot of travel of said worker.

7. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said outlet for said chemicals from said reservoir is detachable and adjustable to accommodate a worker of different heights.

8. An apparatus as defined in claim 1 further comprising global positioning system unit affixed to said harness and having a data output including latitude and longitude of said harness at a particular time, and

a data logger including a programmable logic circuit and a memory a for iteratively recording the position of said worker and the time the worker was at said position.

9. An apparatus as defined in claim 8 wherein said reservoir is connected to a pump for urging said chemical through said outlet.

10. An apparatus as defined in claim 9 wherein said pump is a variable speed pump.

11. An apparatus as defined in claim 9 wherein said pump is adjustable in accordance with the recorded position of a worker and a desired rate of flow of said chemical based on said position.

12. An apparatus as defined in claim 10 wherein said data logger is programmable to calculate the worker'"'"'s speed from said iterative recordings of position and to determine the pump rate required to yield a desired application of chemical relative to the worker'"'"'s speed.

13. An apparatus as defined in claim 10 wherein said data logger memory is accessible to retrieve data on said workers position at selected times, pump rate at said selected times, chemical level in said reservoir at said selected times, and further comprising a human readable display of said data and worker speed and chemical application values computed therefrom.

14. Apparatus as defined in claim 13 wherein said human readable display is capable of displaying data from multiple memories form multiple data loggers.

15. Apparatus as defined in claim 8 wherein said global positioning system is Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) enhanced, differentially-corrected Global Position Satellite system and is connected to said data logger to enable said data logger to record whether the WAAS was operable at any selected time during use of the apparatus.