Tree Injection Plug With Elastic Check Valve
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current tree injection methods for delivering liquids like insecticides and fertilizers into tree trunks are labor-intensive and time-consuming, especially when treating multiple trees, due to the separate installation of plugs in each borehole.
Innovation Solution
A plug is mounted on the tip of an injector nozzle, allowing it to be introduced and seated within the borehole in a single stroke, functioning as a barrier to prevent backflow and exposure, with an optional check valve using an elastic tube to control pressure and seal the liquid in place.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a separate plug installation step is used in the initial treatment of the tree, then the liquid can be contained in the borehole, but the process becomes labor intensive and time consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the plug and injector into a single integrated unit where the plug is permanently attached to the injector body. This merging eliminates the separate plug installation step while maintaining liquid containment through the integrated design, directly resolving the contradiction between reliability and productivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The integrated plug-injector unit serves multiple functions simultaneously: it acts as both the injection device and the sealing plug. This multi-functionality allows the system to both deliver liquid and contain it within the borehole without requiring separate components, thereby improving treatment speed while maintaining containment reliability.
2Reliability
If the plug is fixedly mounted separately in the borehole, then the liquid is contained, but the installation process becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
By merging the plug and injector into a single integrated unit, the patent reduces the number of installation steps from two (separate plug installation followed by injector insertion) to one (single insertion of integrated unit). This maintains liquid containment reliability while simplifying the installation process and reducing device complexity.
3Ease of operation
If the needle tip projects farther into the borehole than the plug, then liquid can be injected, but there is risk of backflow and exposure
Solution Approach 1:
The integrated design ensures that the injector and plug function as a unified system where the plug provides continuous sealing around the needle. This eliminates the harmful effects of backflow and exposure that occur when the needle extends beyond a separately installed plug, while maintaining ease of liquid injection.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This method simplifies the injection process by allowing the plug to be mounted and seated in a borehole with a single action, reducing labor and time while maintaining effective containment and delivery of the injected liquids, with minimal leakage, and enabling reuse of the plug for subsequent treatments.
Implementation Method 1
an elastic tube that extends around at least a portion of the plug and selectively expands and contracts in response to pressure changes to respectively open and close one or more passageways that extend through the plug
Implementation Method 2
the injector may be pushed toward a borehole in a tree trunk so as to introduce and mount the plug in the borehole using the injector
Data Source
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AI summary
A plug may be releasably mounted on a tip of a nozzle of an injector, and the injector may be pushed toward a borehole in a tree trunk so as to introduce and mount the plug in the borehole using the injector. Then, the injector may be operated to inject liquid into the borehole by way of the plug. Then, the injector may be withdrawn from the tree trunk, and the plug may remain in the borehole, such as for reuse. The plug may at least seek to function as a barrier device for both restricting contact between the borehole and the injector's nozzle, and restricting any backflow of the liquid from the borehole through the plug. The plug may include an elastic tube that functions as a check valve for restricting backflow through the plug.