Claims:We Claim
1. An apparatus for spraying fluids comprising:
a solar panel, charge controller, fluid tank, DC pump, battery, frame, AC mains input;
DC pump being driven by electric energy from the converted solar energy by the solar panel or by the charged battery or combination of the solar panel and battery.
2. The invention as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the charge controller has inputs from solar panel, battery and AC mains.
3. The invention as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the charge controller charges the battery primarily from the output of solar panel and in absence of solar power output, charges the battery from AC mains.
4. The invention as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the charge controller activates the DC pump by supplying converted electric energy from solar panel or from the charged battery or in a combination of solar panel and charged battery.
5. The invention as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the frame has a hook and plurality of eyes with the each eye marked for corresponding position of the sun in the sky. , Description:BACKGROUND:
Farmers are pillars of Indian Economy. Nearly 70% of population of Indian population is directly or indirectly depending on the farming. Crop protection is very crucial for the production of farm produce. The crop protection is carried out by sparying of pesticides, herbicides and weedicides. The spraying of the crop protection liquids is an important acitivity in the crop lifecycle.

The Solar power multi-powered Knapsack sprayer is a replacement of the traditional power sprayer, Pneumatic power sprayer cum Duster. (Petrol Operated) which runs on 35CC engine fuelled by Conventional (i.e Petrol) giving the same output in terms of pressure and discharge rate of fluid (Pesticide or insecticide).

Presently, Pneumatic Duster cum Power Sprayer is primarily used to spread pesticides/weedicides. These sprayers use fossil fuels for energy generation. The cost of fossil fuels fluctuates and is usually high. The present power sprayers use about 2.5 litres of petrol to cultivate one hectare of land with pesticides. The high cost of operation of such sprayers is further compounded by the fact that Petrol Stations are not easily and readily available where the farms are located. Use of Fossil fuels cause adverse effect on the health of Farmers as well as on environment due to carbon emission. Solar Energy is clean, does not cause pollution thus saving the environment from Carbon emission.

One invention of solar powered sprayers is disclosed in CN203140208U. The said invention utilizes the principle of converting solar energy into electric energy to charge the batteries. The invention has a solar panel fixed firmly to the pesticide container. The invention suffers from its inablility to adjust the direction of the solar panel to obtain perpendicularity with the sun’s rays.
Another invention disclosed in CN200970566Y overcomes the drawback of the fixed solar panel. This invention uses a ball and U shaped Strut to adjust to the direction of the Sun’s rays. Although the invention allows for the adjustment of the solar panel towards the sun’s rays, the adjustment is based on the general direction and not on the basis of accurate intensity measurements. Furthermore, the adjustment is manual and for every major interval of time, the direction of the panel has to be adjusted to collect the maximum of the direct beam of sunlight.

FIELD OF INVENTION:
The invention relates to the field of sprayer, more particularly in the agricultural field.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION:
The invention utilizes the solar panels to convert the solar energy to DC electric power. The DC power generated drives the DC pumps directly and simultaneously charges the rechargable batteries. In the event of low sunlight or cloudy weather, the rechargeable battery can also be charged from AC mains. The DC pump is driven by electric power generated by the solar panel or the charged rechargable batteries or by a combination of energy supplied by the solar panel and charged battery. DC pump is used to spray the agriculatural liquids.
The invention utilizes a graded scale marked to orient the solar panel in the most perpendicular direction of the sun’s ray in accordance to the time of the day.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS:
The present invention can be more readily understood in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which
Fig[1] illustrates the exploded view of the apparatus according to the invention
Fig [2] illustrates the perspective view of the apparatus according to the invention
Fig[3] illustrates the block diagram of Solar Powered Multi-purpose Knapsack Sprayer

DESCRIPTION:
The Solar Powered Multi-purpose Knapsack sprayer uses the solar energy incident on the solar panel to convert it into electrical energy. The solar panel charges the 12V battery. The battery powers the DC Pump to pump the spraying fluid stored in the tank.
The appartus shown in the Fig [1] is the exploded view of the invention. The apparatus comprises of fluid tank [1] to hold the spraying fluid such as pesticide, weedicide etc. A sufficiently long hose pipe (2) is connected to the fluid tank (1). The other end of hose pipe (2) is connected to a lance (3) which has a nozzle (4) and a control valve (5) for controling the flow rate of spraying fluid. A frame (6) is attached to fluid tank (1). A plate (7) bent at 90 degrees is connected to the frame via a hinge (8) capable of rotating about 270 degress about its axis. The rotation of the plate (7) about the axis of hinge (8) is controlled by the hook (9) and eye (10). The eye (10) to hold the hook (9) is a clever arrangement allowing the graduated rotation of the plate (7) and holding plate (7) in a required position. The eye (10) has markings to suggest the required rotation of the plate (7) as per the time of day. A solar panel (11) is securely fastened to the plate (7). Thus the rotation of the plate (7), rotates the solar panel (11) accordingly to make the solar panel (11) sufficiently perpendicular to the solar rays.
The solar panel (11) converts the incident solar energy to electrical energy. The electrical energy is controlled by the charge controller (12).
Fig [3] shows the block diagram of the charge controller (12). The charge controller has inputs from solar panel (11), AC mains (13) and Battery (14). The controller (12) regulates the voltage from the solar panel (11), AC mains (13) and Battery (14) to a steady and uniform voltage of 12V DC. The charge controller (12) has output given to DC pump (15). The charge controller (12) has a switch which allows for the selection of the power source i.e. solar panel (12), battery (14) or a combination of solar panel (11) and battery (14) to drive the DC pump (15). The charge controller (12) also allows for the charging of battery (14) either via solar panel (11) or through the AC mains (13). The principle of operation of the charge controller (12) is as follows: When the solar rays are sufficiently intense, the charge controller (12) selects the switch such that the power output from the solar panel (11) alone drives the DC pump (15). When the solar intensity is low and the power output from the solar panel (11) alone is not sufficient to drive the DC pump (15), the charge controller (11), combines the power output of the solar panel (11) and the charged battery (14) to deliver sufficient and required power to the DC pump (15). When it is dark, and there is no output from the solar panel (11), the charge controller (12) delivers the entire power from the charged battery (14) to the DC pump (15). Thus, the appartus is able to deliver power to the DC pump in high, low or no intensity of solar rays.
The charge controller (12) has features such as Over charge protection for battery (14) from being overcharged. Lower Cut-off for battery (14) is provided to save the battery (14) from getting into deep discharge. As the current variates with Sun light intensity, the charge controller (12) regulated Current and Voltage is provided to save the battery (14) and thus increasing its life. A Dry Run Cut-off is provided to protect the DC pump (15).
A power outlet (16) is provided for connecting external devices. Back rest (17) and a belt (18) is provided for the convenience to carry on the back.

Field Trials and Experiments:
The prototype of the invention was tested in the field and experiments carried out to measure and compare the results with the conventional pesticide sprayer.
Endurance Test as per Cl. No. 5.14 of IS 7593 part – 1 - 1986
Time Pressure Discharge ml/min Solar Radiation Input from Solar Panel Input from Battery Load
Amp Volt Amp Volt Amp Volt
09.00 2.2 Kg 1925 830 1.35 16.8 0.53 12.79 1.81 12.7
10.00 2.2 Kg 1925 917 1.54 16.3 0.36 12.7 1.71 12.4
11.00 2.2 Kg 1900 910 1.51 16.3 0.4 12.1 1.72 12
12.00 2.2 Kg 1910 950 1.61 16 0.31 11.8 1.64 11.6
13.00 2.2 Kg 1910 890 1.6 15.8 0.27 11.6 1.66 11.42
14.00 2.2 Kg 1910 830 1.57 16.1 0.33 11.6 1.64 11.38
15.00 2.2 Kg 1890 818 1.41 16.08 0.37 11.58 1.67 11.4
16.00 2.2 Kg 1870 750 1.22 16.2 0.52 11.4 1.64 11.2
17.00 2.2 Kg 1870 690 1.18 16.3 0.58 11.3 1.68 11.08

1. Readings were taken every hour.
2. The sprayer run for 6 cycles of 8 hours for total of 48 hours.
3. Tested on nozzle with declared capacity of 2000 ml per minute.
4. Test started with fully charged battery.
5. Solar Panel, charge controller provided as per IEC standards.