US3595481A - Fogger attachment for internal combustion engines - Google Patents

Abstract

A fogging attachment for an internal combustion engine in which a container of vaporizable insecticide solution may be coupled through two conduits to the muffler of the engine by a fitting which has a cylindrical stem adapted to extend through a cylindrical opening in the wall of the muffler and to be secured to the muffler by a deformable sleeve which is deformed to engage the inner wall of the sleeve, said stem having a cylindrical opening divided by a divider plate into two semicylindrical openings, each of which communicates with one of the two conduits.

Description

United States Patent Primary ExaminerLloyd L. King Assistant Examiner-John J. Love Attorneys-Frederick E. Lange, John J. Held, Jr. and Eugene L. Johnson ABSTRACT: A fogging attachment for an internal combustion engine in which a container of vaporizable insecticide solution may be coupled through two conduits to the muffler of the engine by a fitting which has a cylindrical stem adapted to extend through a cylindrical opening in the wall of the muffler and to be secured to the mufiler by a deformable sleeve which is deformed to engage the inner wall of the sleeve, said stem having a cylindrical opening divided by a divider plate into two semicylindrical openings, each of which communicates with one of the two conduits.

FOGG ER ATTACHMENT FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Various arrangements have been proposed for generating an insecticide fog in connection with the operation of an inter nal combustion engine. A common application is that in connection with lawn mowers where the lawn mower in the normal course of its mowing operation covers the entire yard. By having the internal combustion engine of the mower used to produce an insecticide fog, it is possible in connection with the mowing operation to destroy many of the objectionable in sects such as mosquitoes. The conventional way of doing this is to have a container of insecticide with a connection between the container and the muffler of the internal combustion en-- gine, the connection allowing the insecticide to flow at a controlled rate into the hot muffler. The insecticide is in solution with a volatile medium and upon the solution of the insecticide and the volatile medium hitting the hot muffler, the solution is volatilized and blown out through the muffler in a fog which will travel for a substantial distance and settle over the adjoining vegetation. In order to insure continued flow of the insecticide it is necessary to have some means for introducing gas into the container to replace the insecticide that is being drawn; otherwise, a vacuum if formed in the can of the insecticide and the flow of the insecticide will cease. One method that has been employed for this purpose is to provide a second conduit from the muffler to the top of the container, this permitting the flow of gas from the muffler to the container. This involves the use of two conduits and hence a relatively complicated connection to the muffler. For this reason, it has been proposed in the past to provide a special muffler with the necessary connections for two conduits, this muffler being used to replace the existing muffler on the internal combustion engine. Since these mufflers come in a wide variety of sizes and are often located in relatively inaccessible positions, it has been necessary to provide a considerable variety of mufflers in order to make them adaptable to various appliances driven by internal combustion engines. Often, the substitution of the special muffler for the one originally provided is extremely difficult because of the location of the muffler and the fact that rust quickly forms on such mufflers in use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is concerned with a fogger attachment for internal combustion engines in which it is possible to readily connect a plurality of conduits from a container of insecticide to an already existing muffler without removing the muffler and with aminimum amount of tools.

In may device, I employ a fitting having a circular stem designed to be inserted through a single circular hole in a muf fler, the stem being divided into two semicylindrical passages each of which is in communication with one of the conduits leading to and from the container of insecticide. The fitting is connected to the muffler by the use of a surrounding sleeve of deformable metal which is threadedly connected to the stem of the fitting and which upon relative rotation of the sleeve and stem on the outer side of the muffler, when the unit is inserted through an opening in the muffler, causes deformation of the sleeve to engage the inner wall of the muffler and retain the fitting in position. The stem and sleeve are each preferably provided with a bolt head which bolt heads are adapted to engage each other and which facilitate relative rotation of the sleeve and the stem. The head of the stem is provided with two closely spaced cylindrical openings into which two cylindrical pipes connected to the conduit are inserted and the stem has a single cylindrical passage with a divider plate extending centrally through it and disposed at its inner end between the inner ends of the two pipes in communication with the interior passages of the two pipes. The divider plate is preferably wedged between the inner ends of the pipes so as to form two separate conduits through the stem. The divider plate has an effective width slightly in excess of the inner diameter of the single cylindrical passage so that the divider plate tightly engages the walls of the cylindrical passage and acts to divide the same into the semicylindrical passages.

Further objects and features of'the invention will be apparent from a consideration of the accompanying specification claims and drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a lawn mower showing my improved fogger attachment secured thereto;

FIG. 2 is an elevational view, with portions broken away, of my improved fogger attachment, the attachment being shown as secured to a muffler ofa mower, the muffler being shown in section;

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view'through the fitting used to attach the two conduits to the muffler, this fitting being shown in the form which it assumes prior to being applied to the muffler;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line 4-4 of FIG. 3 in the direction of the arrows adjacent that line;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the underside of the fitting of FIG. 3; and I FIG. 6 is an elevational view, partly in section, of the lower somewhat larger scale than in FIG. 2.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to FIG. I, there is shown in perspective a typical application for the fogger attachment of the present invention. Thenumeral 10 indicates the operative part of a power mower driven by a four-cycle internal combustion engine having amuffler 11. Secured to the carriage of themower 10 is the handle bar consisting of twotubular rods 12 and 13 which are pivotally secured at their bottom to the carriage of the mower and which are bent outwardly at their upper ends and provided withhandle grip members 14 and 15. Thetubular rods 12 and 13 are preferably secured together near their upper ends in any suitable manner.

A can of a volatile solution of insecticide is indicated by thereference numeral 17 and is detachably secured to atubular rod 13 of the handle bar by asuitable holder 16. This holder is clamped onto thetubular rod 13 and has two resilient gripping arms in which thecan 17 is firmly held. The can has afitting 18 on its lower end to which twoconduits 19 and 20 are connected, these conduits being connected to afitting 21 which extends into themuffler 11. Theconduit 20 is provided for supplying insecticide solution to the interior of the muffler and theconduit 19 for permitting air pressure to enter thecan 17 to replace the liquid which is drawn fromcan 17. In devices of this type, the insecticide which is in solution in a suitable volatile material such as mineral seal oil, passes at a controlled rate into themuffler 11 where it is vaporized, due to the extremely high temperature within the muffler, to generate adense fog 22 of insecticide. It will be readily apparent that in applications such as this, it is necessary that thefitting 21 be capable of connecting the twoconduits 19 and 20 to the interior of the muffler.

Referring now to FIG. 2, thefitting 18 connected to the lower end ofcan 17, thefitting 21 and the connecting conduit are shown in more detail. A portion of thecan 17, thetubular rod 13 and thecan holder 16 are broken away in FIG. 2. Also, portions of thefitting 18 are broken away and shown in section to better show the construction of the fitting. It will be noted that thefitting 18 has twopipes 25 and 26.Pipe 25 extends through and is secured in a fluidtight manner to ahousing 27 which is, in turn, connected by ascrew thimble member 29 to the threaded lower end of the can. Thisscrew thimble member 29 is secured to the same threaded opening as that to which the closure member of the canis secured prior to use of thecan 17. Thepipe 25 extends upwardly through the fitting l8 and is designed to extend for substantially the full length of the can as shown in dotted lines. At its upper end, it has secured thereto arubber valve member 32 which has a slit therethrough at its upper end. The two portions separated by the slit are designed to spread apart to permit the passage of gas outwardly but to prevent the passage ofliquid into thepipe 25. Thus, therubber valve member 32 acts as a check valve permitting gas to leavepipe 25 but preventing liquid from on tering the pipe. Thepipe 26 is secured in a fluidtight manner to thehousing 27. Liquid leaving thecan 17 passes down around thepipe 25 and longitudinally through thehousing 27 to thepipe 26. The passage of fluid is controlled by a valve having avalve stem 33 which has a valve member adapted to seat against avalve seat 34. The valve stem is adjusted by means of aknurled knob 35 secured to thestem 33. Thestem 33 is preferably secured by screw-threaded connections to thehousing 27 so that rotation ofknob 35 adjusts the longitudinal position ofstem 33. Flow of liquid from thecan 17 of insecticide can thus be interrupted or permitted depending upon the position ofknob 35.

Secured to the twopipes 25 and 26 are the twoconduits 19 and 20, these being in the form of flexible hoses of a suitable material designed to resist the relatively high temperatures adjacent the muffler and not to be attacked by the oil in which the insecticide is dissolved. Such materials are well known in the art and need not be specifically described here. The lower ends ofhoses 19 and are secured to twopipes 39 and 40 forming a part of the fitting 21. Thefitting 21 is secured to thecylindrical housing 41 of themuffler 11. Thismuffler 11 is connected to theexhaust pipe 42 by a suitable threadedconnection 43 between the exhaust pipe and thehousing 41 ofmuffler 11. Thepipe 42 communicates with thetubular bafflc member 44 which has a number of perforations therethrough indicated by thereference numeral 45. Exhaust gas entering thetubular baffle 44 is forced to pass out through theopenings 45 into the outer portion of thehousing 41 from which the exhaust gas passes out into the atmosphere through a large number ofsmall openings 46 in the end of the muffler. The effect of thebaffle 44 and the outer housing is to reduce the effect of the noise of the explosions taking place within the cylinder or cylinders of the internal combustion engine. It will be readily apparent that thetubular baffle 44 becomes extremely hot due to the high temperature of the exhaust gas. Any insecticide allowed to fall on thistubular baffle 44 is immediately vaporized and is forced out with the exhaust gas through theopenings 46. Due to the pressures created by vaporization of the gas the the large number offine openings 46, the result is that a very dense and fine fog results. This fog can be propelled a substantial distance due to the pressures built up within the muffler along with the pressure of the exhaust gas entering the muffler through theexhaust conduit 42.

It will be readily apparent that it is impossible to employ conventional means for securing the conduits l9 and 20 to themuffler 11. In the first place, it is virtually impossible to gain access to the interior of the muffler. This is because themuffler housing 41 is permanently secured to theba'ffle tube 44. After mufflers of this type have been in use for a very short period of time they acquire a coating of rust due to the high temperatures involved and the problem of securing any pipe to such a muffler is much greater than would be the case if the muffler were smooth and free of such rust. It is furthermore desirable that only one fitting be employed for securing the two conduits l9 and 20 to the muffler. These mufflers are often located in inaccessible points and it is often difficult to find a spot on the muffler which is accessible for the drilling of even one hole. It is for this reasonthat in many prior types of muffler attachments, a replacement muffler with the necessary fittings has been provided. As pointed out above, the drawback to this is that in order to enable these mufflers to be applied to a wide variety of mowers and other internal combustion engine operated appliances with which they are to be employed, it is necessary to provide a considerable variety of mufflers. Furthermore, the replacement of a muffler in some inaccessible location such as the underside of the motor is often very difficult, particularly when themuffler has already become rusted and is readily removable.

With my present invention, it is possible to secure theconduits 19 and 20 to a muffler such asmuffler 11 with a minimum of effort and through a single opening in the muffler. The fitting 21 will now be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 3, 4 and 5.

Referring to FIG. 3, the fitting 21 generally comprises aninner stem member 50 to which thepipes 39 and 40 are secured and an outerdeformable sleeve member 51. which extends through the opening in the muffler l1 and is deformed to grip the interior wall of the muffler housing 417 Thestem member 50 has an enlarged hexagonalbolt head portion 52 into which are drilled twocylindrical apertures 53 and 54. The twopipes 39 and 40 are pressed into theseapertures 53 and 54 and secured thereto in a fluidtight manner in any suitable manner such as being brazed therein.

Thestem member 50 has astem portion 56 which has a central passage of circular cross section. This passage has a diameter suffieiently large that it overlaps with the interiors ofpipes 39 and 40 when secured inpassages 53 and 54. Adivider plate 57 in the form of an elongated strip of very hard material and of an effective width slightly in excess of the interior diameter ofpassage 55 is secured in thepassageway 55 centrally thereof being wedged therein. Thedivider plate 57 may have corrugations to impart some lateral resilience thereto to facilitate forcing it intopassage 55. The upper end of the di viderplate 57 is wedge shaped and the upper end is forced between the lower ends of the twopipes 39 and 40 forming a seal therebetween. The lower end of thedivider plate 57 preferably projects slightly below the lower end ofpassageway 55 to minimize any tendency of the fluids in the two semicylindrical passages from mingling with each other. lt will be apparent that thedivider plate 57 divides thecylindrical passage 55 into semicylindrical passages, one of which communicates withpipe 39 and the other of which communicates withpipe 40. The entire assembly of thestem member 50 is preferably brazed to sealpipes 39 and 40 in thehead portion 52 and to seal thedivider plate 57 to thepipes 39 and 40 and to the interior wall ofpassage 55.

Thesleeve member 51, of relatively soft metal, is threadedly secured at 59 over thestem portion 56 ofstem member 50. At the upper end, thesleeve 51 is provided with ahexagonal bolt head 60. The upper portion of thesleeve 51 is provided with aninner bore 62 which is of substantially larger internal diameter than the outer diameter of the adjacent portion ofstem 56, this bore 62 extending down to the threaded portion thereof engaged with thestem 56. This leaves aportion 63 which is relatively thin as compared with the thickness of the rest of thesleeve member 51.

When it is desired to insert the fitting 21 into a muffler, a hole is drilled through the muffler wall substantially corresponding in diameter to the external diameter of the lower portion ofsleeve member 51. Thecoupling 21 with thepipes 39 and 40 secured thereto is then inserted through this opening. Wrenches are then applied to the bolt heads 52 and of thestem member 50 and thesleeve member 51, respectively. Afibrous gasket 68 of suitable heat-resisting material such as asbestos is first interposed between thebolt head 60 and thewall 41 of the muffler. Wrenches are then applied to the bolt heads 52 and 60 and manipulated so as to drawmembers 50 and 51 toward each other. Since thebolt head 60 ofsleeve member 51 is already in engagement with thebolt head 52 ofstem members 50, it is impossible for these portions of the two members to move together. The result is that a force is applied to the lower portion ofsleeve member 51 tending to draw it upwardly. This results in the weakenedportion 63 ofsleeve member 51 being buckled outwardly to form aridge 65 shown in FIGS. 2 and 6. Thisridge 65 will firmly engage the inner surface ofwall 41, clamping the fitting 21 in position. Thehoses 19 and 20 are then cut to size and forced over the ends ofpipes 25, 39, 26 and 40.

It will be readily apparent from the above that with the fitting 31, it is possible with a single opening through themuffler wall 41 to connect the twopipes 39 and 40 through two separate passages with the interior ofmuffler 11. This single opening through themuffler wall 41 can be drilled at almost any location since regardless of the direction in whichpipes 39 and 40 extend, it is still possible to connect these pipes with thepipes 25 and 26 of fitting 18 due to the resiliency of the hoses l9 and 20. Furthermore, one or the other of thepipes 39 and 40 can be bent after theunit 21 has been secured to muf- Her 11 in order to facilitate the connection of the hoses l9 and thereto. lt is thus possible regardless of the condition or location of themuffler 11 to secure the fogging attachment in cooperative relation with themuffler 11. This, furthermore, is accomplished with a relatively simple fitting requiring a minimum amount of machining.

l claim as my invention:

1. In an insecticide fogging attachment for an internal combustion engine having an exhaust gas muffler,

a container of a vaporizable insecticide solution, two conduits of circular cross section for extending from said container to the muffler of the internal combustion engine,

a first fitting for coupling said conduits to the bottom of said container, said fitting having means for coupling one of said conduits to the interior of said container with one end of said conduit adjacent the bottom of the container for delivery of insecticide from said container to the muffler and for coupling the other of the conduits to the interior of said container with one end of said conduit adjacent the top of the container for conveying gas from the muffler to the top of said container to replace the insecticide drawn therefrom,

and a second fitting remote from said first fitting for coupling the other ends of said two conduits to the muffler, said fitting having at one end two circular cylindrical passages of substantially the same diameter as the external diameter of said conduits and in which the other ends of said conduits are secured, said second fitting further having at its opposite end a cylindrical stem adapted to extend through a circular opening in said muffler and'to be secured thereto, said stern having two semicylindrical passages in said stem, each of which partially overlies and is connected with a different one of said two cylindrical passages.

2. The fogging attachment ofclaim 1 in which a sleeve of relatively soft metal surrounds and is threadedly engaged with and abuts a shoulder on the stem of said first fitting so that when said first fitting is inserted through a cylindrical opening and said sleeve and stem are relatively rotated, said sleeve is compressed to engage the inner wall of said muffler.

3. The fogging attachment of claim 2 in which both said stern and said sleeve of relatively soft metal have bolt heads which are adapted to engage each other and which facilitate relative rotation of said sleeve and said stem.

4. The fogging attachment ofclaim 1 in which said stem has a single cylindrical passage with a divider plate extending centrally therethrough and being disposed at its inner end between the inner ends of said conduits to form said two semicylindrical passages 5. The fogging attachment ofclaim 4 in which said divider plate has its inner end engaging and wedged between the inner ends of said conduits.

6. The fogging attachment ofclaim 4 in which said divider plate has an effective width slightly in excess of the inner diameter of said single cylindrical passage so that said divider plate tightly engages the wall of said cylindrical passage and acts to divide the same into said semicylindrical passages

Claims (6)

1. In an insecticide fogging attachment for an internal combustion engine having an exhaust gas muffler, a container of a vaporizable insecticide solution, two conduits of circular cross section for extending from said container to the muffler of the internal combustion engine, a first fitting for coupling said conduits to the bottom of said container, said fitting having means for coupling one of said conduits to the interior of said container with one end of said conduit adjacent the bottom of the container for delivery of insecticide from said container to the muffler and for coupling the other of the conduits to the interior of said container with one end of said conduit adjacent the top of the container for conveying gas from the muffler to the top of said container to replace the insecticide drawn therefrom, and a second fitting remote from said first fitting for coupling the other ends of said two conduits to the muffler, said fitting having at one end two circular cylindrical passages of substantially the same diameter as the external diaMeter of said conduits and in which the other ends of said conduits are secured, said second fitting further having at its opposite end a cylindrical stem adapted to extend through a circular opening in said muffler and to be secured thereto, said stem having two semicylindrical passages in said stem, each of which partially overlies and is connected with a different one of said two cylindrical passages.

2. The fogging attachment of claim 1 in which a sleeve of relatively soft metal surrounds and is threadedly engaged with and abuts a shoulder on the stem of said first fitting so that when said first fitting is inserted through a cylindrical opening and said sleeve and stem are relatively rotated, said sleeve is compressed to engage the inner wall of said muffler.

3. The fogging attachment of claim 2 in which both said stem and said sleeve of relatively soft metal have bolt heads which are adapted to engage each other and which facilitate relative rotation of said sleeve and said stem.

4. The fogging attachment of claim 1 in which said stem has a single cylindrical passage with a divider plate extending centrally therethrough and being disposed at its inner end between the inner ends of said conduits to form said two semicylindrical passages.

5. The fogging attachment of claim 4 in which said divider plate has its inner end engaging and wedged between the inner ends of said conduits.

6. The fogging attachment of claim 4 in which said divider plate has an effective width slightly in excess of the inner diameter of said single cylindrical passage so that said divider plate tightly engages the wall of said cylindrical passage and acts to divide the same into said semicylindrical passages.

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