Controlled injection of dry material into a liquid system

A device for dispensing precise amounts of dry particulate matter directly into a liquid carrier stream, the device comprising:

• a bin for holding a quantity of particulate matter;
• a conduit for transporting a stream of liquid carrier;
• a meter connected to the bin for controllably releasing a desired amount of the particulate matter from the bin into the conduit while disallowing entry of the liquid carrier to the bin;
• and
• a portable structure upon which the bin, conduit and meter are mounted for transportation with particulate matter in the bin;
• wherein the conduit is adapted to apply a sub-atmospheric pressure to the released particulate matter, in the presence of an operative liquid carrier flow, to motivate the released matter into the conduit;
• the device further comprising
• a check valve disposed between the conduit and the meter, the check valve adapted to be normally closed and to open when the sub-atmospheric pressure falls below a predetermined threshold, thereby applying the sub-atmospheric pressure to a downstream side of the meter;
• and
• a pressure switch responsive to said sub-atmospheric pressure, for enabling operation of the meter only in the presence of a desired amount of vacuum, the pressure switch disposed between the check valve and the meter.

A method of distributing agricultural chemicals in particulate form, to be mixed with a liquid carrier before use, the method comprising the steps of:

• providing multiple devices each comprising:
• a bin for holding a quantity of particulate matter;
• a conduit for transporting a stream of liquid carrier;
• a meter connected to the bin for controllably releasing a desired amount of the particulate matter from the bin into the conduit while disallowing entry of the liquid carrier to the bin, the meter including
• a rotor constrained to rotate within a housing to release particulate matter from the bin into the conduit, and
• an electric drive motor coupled to the rotor for rotation;
• a rotor rotation sensor;
• a controller adapted to automatically stop releasing the particulate matter when a desired amount of particulate matter has been released from the bin, the controller adapted to monitor a signal from the rotation sensor, determine, based upon said signal, when a desired amount of particulate material has been released, and then to stop applying power to the drive motor;
• and
• a portable structure upon which the bin, conduit and meter are mounted for transportation with particulate matter in the bin;
• distributing at least one of the devices, with quantities of agricultural chemicals, to individual end users for dispensing the agricultural chemicals into liquid carrier streams at remote locations;
• and then
• accepting the devices as returned from the end users, after the end users have dispensed some of the distributed chemicals.

A device for dispensing precise amounts of dry particulate matter directly into a liquid carrier stream, the device comprising:

• a bin for holding a quantity of particulate matter;
• a conduit for transporting a stream of liquid carrier;
• a meter connected to the bin for controllably releasing a desired amount of the particulate matter from the bin into the conduit while disallowing entry of the liquid carrier to the bin;
• an electronic programmable controller adapted to operate the meter to release a desired volume of particulate matter, in accordance with operator input, wherein the controller is adapted to receive an operator input representing a desired weight of matter to be released and, based upon at least this input and a stored particulate matter density value, calculate a corresponding volume of matter to be released;
• and
• a portable structure upon which the bin, conduit and meter are mounted for transportation with particulate matter in the bin.

A method of dispensing precise amounts of dry particulate matter directly into a liquid carrier stream, comprising the steps of:

• providing a device comprising:
• a bin for holding a quantity of particulate matter;
• a conduit for transporting a stream of liquid carrier;
• a meter connected to the bin for controllably releasing a desired amount of the particulate matter from the bin into the conduit while disallowing entry of the liquid carrier to the bin;
• an electronic controller for controlling the meter of the device;
• and
• a portable structure upon which the bin, conduit and meter are mounted for transportation with particulate matter in the bin;
• connecting the conduit of the device, the bin of which contains particulate matter, to a source of liquid carrier;
• entering a value into the controller representing the density of the particulate matter to be released;
• entering a value into the controller representing a desired amount of particulate matter to be released;
• and then
• motivating a flow of the liquid carrier through the conduit, thereby dispensing a desired amount of the particulate matter from the bin of the device into the flow of liquid carrier.