Quantizer and dispenser of plant-growers' materials

摘要

A pipe shaped wand connected to a vacuum pump has at least one port, each port being covered by an air filter and having one end of a quantizing tube attached thereto. When the distal end of the quantizing tube end is held in a bed of fertilizer, insecticide or seed particles, and a vacuum is created, and air is withdrawn from the bed of fertilizer through the quantizing tube to fill the quantizing tube with and to hold the particles until the quantizer-dispenser is moved over a plug tray and the vacuum released to dispense the held quantity of particles into the tray. For automatic operation, a reservoir of particles is connected via a hose to the interior of the quantizing tube and a conventional check valve is connected to the distal end of the quantizing tube so that without moving the quantizer-dispenser each of a series of plug trays may be sequentially moved under the check valve, at which time a vacuum is created to close the check valve. The vacuum fills the quantizing tube(s) and when the vacuum is released, the check valve opens to dispense the held particles. The conventional check valve may be replaced by a length of flexible tube in which case the quantizer-dispenser is moved to bend the flexible tube against a table top to close it before a vacuum is created, and is then moved over a pot where dispensing occurs when the vacuum is released.