AGRICULTURAL SPRAYER HAVING SPRAY SHAPING NOZZLES CONNECTED TO LOW PRESSURE AIR SPRAY

摘要

An atomizing nozzle (40) primarily designed for agricultural spraying has a narrow and controlled droplet size distribution and the ability to shape the spray into a solid cone or fan for evenly applying the spray to the crops. The nozzle (40) is able to operate at low air delivery pressures, in the order of 10 to 30 in. of water column. A central air delivery bore (44) communicates with an air manifold within a boom (12). Near the exit plane (46) of the throat there is provided an inlet conduit (56) connected to the liquid to be sprayed, the conduit (56) being at right angles to the bore axis. An outlet nozzle (58) from the conduit (56) is positioned on the bore axis and has its exit plane (60) upstream of the exit plane (46) of the bore (44) so that atomization of the liquid will take place within the central bore (44) between the two exit planes (46, 60). A pair of shaping nozzles (66) are connected to secondary bores (68) that in turn communicate with the manifold (12). The shaping nozzles (66) are directed orthogonally to the central bore axis and to the inlet conduit (56) and are located downstream of the exit plane (46) of the central bore (44). The jets issuing from the shaping nozzles (66) shape the cone-shaped spray into a generally fan-shaped configuration. Because the shaping jets are always at the same pressure as the atomization air the dispersion of the droplets exiting the nozzle (40) will be consistent and the spray pattern will be constant over the operating pressure range of the apparatus.