Selectable, Anti-Leak, Nozzle-Holder

The present invention relates to a spraying device designed to be fitted onto collapsible and non-collapsible spreaders mounted on agricultural machines such as sprayers.

Spreaders mounted on wheeled agricultural sprayers are generally composed of a feed line supplying a series of nozzles designed to spread, by spraying a liquid which may be a fertilizer, a pesticide, a fungicide, or other fluids such as insecticides. These nozzles are usually of such a type, that those appropriate for use with respect to one product or crop are inappropriate for, and therefore cannot be used with respect to another product or crop. Because of this lack of interchangeability of uses, all the nozzles must be frequently replaced and the operation by which this is done is time consuming. In addition this situation compels the operator to have available a large number of nozzles of different calibers or types requiring a substantial financial outlay and seriously complicating equipment storage.

To solve this problem it is here proposed that the well-known principle of cock valves or gate valves of the selector type be used. In this case it is sufficient to equip each arm of the valve or nozzle holder with a given type of nozzle for the product to be spread, supplied by the feed line, to be distributed by any one of the nozzles selected. This manually controlled selection, enabling dispensers of various types to be supplied with liquid at constant pressure, is also well known, for example in domestic plumbing where the selector enables a changeover to be made from the bathtub faucet to the shower spray head by a simple manual action; the dispensers, of different types, remain unchanged but are simply activated and inactivated.

The invention thus consists of applying this known principle of a selector valve in a novel manner to spreaders such that one may choose the nozzle type to be used for the type of jet desired according to the nature of the crop to be treated, without changing the nozzle in question. To facilitate selection of the type of nozzle necessary, control may advantageously be effected from the driver's seat such that the operator need not descend from the vehicle to manipulate each nozzle-holder individually.

With this concept, and according to a preferred embodiment, this spraying device for spreaders is designed to be mounted on agricultural vehicles, in particular sprayers, and is characterized by including the nozzle-holder of the present invention which is composed of an annular body with several arms, each of which is equipped with a spray nozzle, said annular body having an axial opening for receiving a plug which provided with a single axial passageway communicating with a radial duct, said duct being capable of being brought selectively opposite any one radial passageway of said annular body each of which is aligned with one of the nozzles, and said plug being supplied by a feed line.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the nozzle-holder body is able to rotate with respect to the plug, which is fixed, such that the desired nozzle type is selected by angular displacement of said annular body.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the nozzle-holder is romote-controlled from the seat of the vehicle on which the device is mounted.

One object of the present invention is to provide a nozzle holder, to be used on a vehicular mounted spraying device, which conveys a plurality of nozzles.

Another object of this invention is to provide a nozzle holder, to be used on a vehicularly mounted spraying device, which may be oriented so that different nozzles may be selected for spraying.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a nozzle holder in which the selection of the nozzle to be used for spraying may be made by romote means.

A further object of this invention is to provide in a spraying device to be mounted on a vehicle a nozzle holder having an anti-flame device to prevent leakage of the fluid.

A spraying device constructed according to this invention is shown as a non-limitative example in the figures attached.

FIG. 1 is a plane view of an embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 2 is a view from the left of FIG. 1, and

FIG. 3 is an axial section of FIG. 1.

The spraying device is composed of a nozzle-holder 1 which is in the form of an annular body having several arms symmetrically distributed on the annular body which is circular in shape. In the present embodiment, the arms are four in number and are disposed symmetrically 90.degree. apart, and each arm has nozzle 2. These nozzles can be of four different types or two different types arranged respectively in succession or in alternating pairs. For example, they may in particular use two turbulent nozzles and two slotted nozzles.

This nozzle holder body 1 is rotatably mounted on a fixed plug 3, which has a single axial passageway 4 communicating with a radial duct 5 which can be brought selectively opposite any one of nozzles 2, as shown in FIG. 3. Well known devices, such as ball ratchets or catches (not shown) are used to permit snap-locking of the nozzle-holder in the four positions corresponding to the alignment of radial duct 5 of the plug with duct 6 of each of the nozzles. The nozzle-holder 1 is deliberately rotatably mounted, in contradistinction to the known selector valve wherein the known selector valve wherein the channel is fixed and the plug rotatably displaceable, such that maneuvers, particularly nozzle selection, are facilitated. In addition this assemblage permits the set of nozzle-holders of the spraying device to be remote-controlled from the driver's seat. In fact, it is sufficient to interlock the nozzle-holders of the spraying device such that the operator does not have to alight to maneuver each nozzle-holder individually. This remote control can be of the pneumatic, hydraulic, mechanical, or electrical type. According to the embodiment shown in the Figures selective maneuvering of the nozzle-holders of the spreader can be achieved by an electric motor coupled to a gear 7 mounted on the nozzle-holder, said coupling being of known geared or belt type. The nozzle-holder is situated in a vertical plane such that during rotation it does not snag plant stems, which would be the case if the nozzle-holder were situated in a horizontal plane. In addition, this vertical nozzle-holder arrangement and the rotation thereof considerably simplifies the construction of the spraying device since the radial duct 5 points downward and the operating nozzle 2 is the one pointing toward the ground (FIG. 3). Hence, this direct communication between the plug and the operating nozzle substantially reduces problems of watertightness and thus enables costly devices such as check valves, springs, cams, joints, etc. to be eliminated. In addition, this very great simplification in the nozzle-holder design also eliminates assembly difficulties and facilitates servicing the device.

It is however possible, while keeping the nozzle-holders vertical, to direct radial duct 5 of the plug 3 upward such that the operating nozzle is the upward-directed nozzle, in this way "mirror" nozzles can be used.

According to a preferred embodiment, the nozzle-holder can be combined with an anti-drip device as described in French Pat. No. 71,32,554 patented by the present applicant. This device is composed of a flexible diaphragm 8 which divides a dispensing chamber 9 into two parts. This chamber is formed of a body 10 associated with the nozzle-holder, closed at its upper part by a lid 11 which compresses the peripheral edge 12 of the diaphragm, held in place by metal screws 13. Part 9.sub.1 of distribution chamber 9 situated downstream of diaphragm 8 is in direct communication with feed pipes 14 connected to the feed line supplying the nozzles with the product to be spread. Part 9.sub.2 of this same distribution chamber, situated upstream of the diaphragm, is connected to the source of fluid, penetrating via axial passageway 15. This fluid source, which may be pneumatic or hydraulic, can obviously be replaced by any other pressure means. Diaphragm 8 is situated opposite axial passageway 4 of the plug and also opposite the connecting passageway of duct 14 such that, under the force of the pressure means blown into part 9.sub.2 of the distribution chamber, it bears both on mouth 4.sub.1 of this passageway and on the connecting passageway of duct 14 such that it stoppers them tightly. Since this anti-drip device is activated only when the feed is interrupted in ducts 14, the pressure means introduced into 9.sub.2 of the dispensing chamber can be a low-pressure means.

The anti-drip device is situated upstream of the nozzle-holder such that diaphragm 8 prevents the remainder of the stagnant product from flowing into the feed line or feed pipes 14. Hence, a single diaphragm ensures watertightness of all the nozzles on one nozzle-holder.

With a view to simplifying the operator's task, the anti-drip devices will, of course, be controlled from the driver's seat; here again this control can be mechanical or electrical without thereby altering the invention.

In addition the diaphragm can be replaced by any other stoppering device, for example an axially displaceable piston provided with an end gasket and applied in a watertight manner either to inlet passageway 4.sub.1 of the axial passageway of the plug or to the connecting passageway of feed pipes 14.

The concept of this nozzle-holder and remote control thereof, both in nozzle selection and in activation or de-activation of the anti-drip devices from the driver's seat, permit operation under ideal automation conditions since the operator can adapt said spraying device to the various types of crop to be treated without getting down from his seat.

The invention is not, of course, limited to the embodiment described hereinabove, other design variations of which may be made without thereby departing from the scope of the invention.