Irrigation Sprinkler

Abstract

A part-circle sprinkler incorporates a generally cylindrical housing and a popup nozzle head which rotates on a vertical axis in a step-by-step manner in response to successive impacts produced by weight members carried by an impeller. A stream of water is directed against the impeller by a deflector mechanism which is actuated by adjustable fingers rotatable with the nozzle head to reverse the direction of rotation of the impeller and the nozzle head. A sheet metal cover is mounted on the nozzle head and engages the housing when the head is retracted.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In a part-circle popup sprinkler such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,263,930 issued to the assignee of the present invention, a nozzle member is rotatable within a nonrotating popup sleeve which has an arcuate slot corresponding to the desired angular coverage of the sprinkler. The sleeve limits the flow rate of water through the sprinkler so that the sprinkler is primarily suited for use in the irrigation of small areas such as home lawns. When a part-circle sprinkler having a high flow rate is required, for example, to irrigate a large area such as the fairway of a golf course, it has usually been necessary to employ a sprinkler of the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,408,009 which employs an oscillating impact arm and a toggle-actuated reversing mechanism.

When the latter type of sprinkler is installed as a popup unit, the sprinkler is mounted within an inverted bell-shaped housing having an upper portion which is sufficiently large to enclose the entire sprinkler head including the impact arm when the head is retracted. It is desirable to minimize the size of the housing which encloses a popup sprinkler head to facilitate installation of the housing within the ground and also to minimize the cost of the housing. In addition, a small diameter housing and its correspondingly small diameter cover are desirable from the standpoint of reducing the chances of damaging the housing and cover when they are subjected to a substantial load such as the weight of a vehicle traveling over the ground.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to an improved popup sprinkler of the general type disclosed in the above-mentioned U.S. Pat. No. 3,263,930 and which provides an improved mechanism for reversing the popup sprinkler head so that the sprinkler can be used to provide a high flow rate of water over a part-circular area. In addition, the reversing mechanism is adapted to be installed within a compact housing which simplifies installation of the housing within the ground. The reversing mechanism of the invention also provides the feature of quick actuation for producing a uniform distribution of water over the part-circular area.

In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, a sprinkler incorporates a housing having a generally cylindrical configuration and which defines a chamber separated into upper and lower portions by an annular fitting. A nozzle head is positioned within the upper portion of the housing chamber and is supported for both vertical and rotary movement by a nozzle stem which is axially slidable within a sleeve rotatably supported by the fitting. An impeller is positioned within the lower portion of the housing and is supported by the sleeve for rotation on the rotatable axis of the nozzle head. The impeller carries a pair of diametrically arranged spoollike weight members which produce successive impacts on an arm secured to the sleeve to effect step-by-step rotation of the nozzle head.

A passageway is defined within the lower portion of the housing and directs a flow of water from the water inlet to a control member rotatably supported by the fitting. The control member directs a stream of water downwardly adjacent a pivotable deflector vane which is positioned directly above the impeller. The control member is rotated by a pair of fingers adjustably mounted on the sleeve and is effective to pivot the deflector vane quickly thereby changing the angle of impingement of the water stream against the impeller for reversing the direction of rotation of the impeller and thereby reverse the direction of rotation of the nozzle head.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an axial section of a popup, part-circle sprinkler constructed in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a section taken generally on the line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary elevational view of the sprinkler housing shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a view of the annular fitting taken generally on the line 4-4 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a portion of the fitting shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a section of the sprinkler housing taken generally on the line 6-6 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a section taken generally on the line 7-7 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a section taken generally on the line 8-8 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary section showing a modification of the sprinkler assembly; and

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary section showing another modification of the sprinkler assembly.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The sprinkler shown in FIG. 1 includes a generally cylindrical housing 15 defining a chamber 16 having a top opening formed by an annular frustoconical seat 18. The lower end portion of the housing 15 includes an eccentric boss 19 defining a threaded inlet 20 which receives a conelike filter 21 and is adapted to be connected to a water supply conduit 22. A generally vertically extending projection 23 (FIG. 3) is formed as an integral part of the housing 15 and defines a passage 24 which connects the inlet 20 to the chamber 16 through a circular port 25. The inlet 20 and the chamber 16 are also connected by a small diameter port 26 located concentric with the boss 19. A flow-speed control screw 28 is threaded into the housing 15 on a slightly inclined axis, and the lower end portion of the screw 28 is adapted to extend into the passage 24 to control the flow rate of water through the passage.

An annular fitting 30 is positioned within the chamber 16 and forms a partition separating the chamber 16 into an upper portion 16a and a lower portion 16b. An O-ring forms a seal between the fitting 30 and the surrounding inner surface of the housing 15, and a slot 33 is formed within a depending skirt portion 34 of the fitting 30 for receiving a pin 36 projecting inwardly from the housing 15 for orienting the fitting 30 within the housing. A "C" retainer 37 secures the fitting in place.

The fitting 30 also includes a hub portion which defines a cylindrical bore 38, and a tubular sleeve 40 is rotatable within the bore 38. An annular external radial shoulder 42 is formed on the sleeve 40 and engages a bearing washer 44 located adjacent the lower hub surface of the fitting 30. A vertical slot 46 is formed within the lower portion of the tubular sleeve 40, and the lower end of the sleeve is received within a counterbore formed within a plurality of lugs 47 projecting upwardly from the bottom wall of the housing 15.

A nozzle head 50 (FIG. 1) includes a removable nozzle fitting 52 and is threadably mounted on the upper end portion of a tubular nozzle stem 55 supported for vertical telescopic movement within the sleeve 40. A rectifier vane 56 is positioned within the nozzle stem 55, and a pin 58 projects outwardly from the lower end portion of the stem 55 into the slot 46 to provide common rotation of the nozzle head 50 and the nozzle stem 55 with the sleeve 40.

A circular sheet metal cover 60 includes a downwardly projecting center portion 61 which is mounted on the nozzle head 50 and is secured to a retaining ring 62. The nozzle head 50 is movable between a retracted position within the upper chamber portion 16a where the periphery of the cover 60 engages the seat 16 and a popup or extended position (FIG. 1) where the nozzle member 52 is spaced above the upper end of the housing 15 which is preferably located flush with the ground G. A tension spring 64 surrounds the nozzle stem 55 and has a lower end secured to the sleeve 40. The upper end of the spring 64 is secured to the nozzle head 50 for normally urging the nozzle head 50 and nozzle stem 55 downwardly toward their retracted positions.

An impeller 70 has a cylindrical hub portion 72 which is rotatably mounted on the lower end portion of the sleeve 40 and includes a circular base portion 73 and a plurality of upwardly projecting vanes 74. Four flat surfaces 76 (FIG. 8) are formed on the hub 72 of the impeller 70, and a spring wire retainer 77 is mounted on the flat surfaces 76. The wire retainer 77 includes diametrically extending U-shaped portions 78, and a spoollike weight member 80 is retained by each U-shaped portion 78 of the retainer 77 for free radial movement between the base portion 73 of the impeller 70 and a washer 81 rigidly secured to the lower end portion of the impeller 70. An L-shaped impact arm 85 is rigidly secured to the lower end portion of the sleeve 40 and includes a tip portion 86 which projects upwardly into the path of the weight members 80 as illustrated in FIG. 1.

The fitting 30 includes a second depending skirt portion 88 (FIG. 4) which is located diametrically opposite the skirt portion 34. A radially extending bore 89 is formed within the skirt portion 88 and receives a rotatable cylindrical control member 90 defining a chamber 92 which is aligned with the port 25 within the housing 15. The control member 90 includes a cylindrical hub portion 94 which is received within a bore 96 formed within the fitting 30 concentric with the bore 89. A pin 98 projects upwardly from the control member 90 through a slot 99 within the fitting 30, and the upper end portion of the pin 98 is adapted to be alternately engaged by a pair of wire fingers 100 which are mounted on the upper end portion of the sleeve 40 for circumferential adjustment according to the desired arcuate travel of the nozzle head 50.

The control member 90 also has an axially extending slot 103 which connects the chamber 92 with a passage 104 formed within the skirt portion 88 of the fitting 30. The passage 104 connects with an invested V-shaped cavity 105 defined by a pair of downwardly sloping flat surfaces 106 formed on the lower end of the skirt portion 88 of the fitting 30. A resilient washer 107 forms a watertight seal between the control member 90 and the fitting 30. A generally triangular-shaped deflector vane 110 is pivotally supported within the cavity 105 by a radially extending pin 112 and includes an upper wedge-shaped portion 114 which projects into the passage 104. The deflector vane 110 also has angularly disposed and downwardly sloping flat surfaces 115.

In operation, when water is supplied to the sprinkler through the conduit 20, the primary portion of the water flows upwardly through the passageway 24 and is directed downwardly through the slot 89 into the passage 104 and against the upper portion 114 of the deflector vane 110. As illustrated in FIG. 5, the left flat surface 115 of the deflector vane 110 directs the water stream downwardly at an inclined angle against the vanes 74 of the impeller 70 causing the impeller to rotate in a clockwise direction. The water continues to flow downwardly around the periphery of the impeller, and between the lugs 47 and upwardly within the sleeve 40 and stem 55 for discharge from the nozzle member 52.

As the impeller 70 rotates, the weight members 80 strike the impact arm 85 twice during each revolution and thereby produce rapid step-by-step rotation of the sleeve 40, stem 55 and nozzle head 50. After the nozzle head 50 has advanced clockwise through a predetermined arc as determined by the setting of the fingers 100, one of the fingers engages the pin 98 and rotates the control member 90 several degrees causing the stream of water discharged from the slot 89 to engage the other side of the upper end portion 114 of the deflector vane 110. This causes the deflector vane 110 to pivot quickly to the left side of the passage 104 (FIG. 5) so that the stream of water is directed by the right flat surface 115 against the impeller 70 at an inclined angle thereby producing counterclockwise rotation (FIG. 7) of the impeller and counterclockwise step-by-step rotation of the nozzle head 50. This direction of rotation continues until the other finger 100 engages the pin 98 causing the control member to rotate and the cycle to be repeated.

When the water flow through the inlet 20 is shut off, the nozzle head 50 retracts into the upper chamber portion 16 a in response to the weight of the head and the downward force exerted by the tension spring 64. A hole 120 is provided within the housing 15 for draining the upper chamber portion 16 a and an inverted cup-shaped shield 122 is mounted on the upper end of fitting 30 to avoid water flow or drainage into the slot 99. Thus if foreign particles such as sand are contained within the water, the particles will not enter the slot 99 and interfere with the movement of the pin 98 within the slot 99.

Referring to FIG. 9 which shows a modification of the sprinkler shown in FIG. 1, instead of using the O-ring 32 to form a seal between the fitting 30 and the housing 15, a fitting 30' includes a peripheral flange 125 which seats on an annular flat shoulder 126 formed within the housing 15' The flange 125 is secured by a series of peripherally spaced screws 127. FIG. 10 shows another modification wherein a fitting 30" has an annular sloping cavity 130 which provides for drainage through an opening 132 within the fitting 30" and an aligned opening 133 within the housing 15". In effect, the cavity 130 eliminates the slot 99 and thereby eliminates the problem of foreign particles being trapped within the slot and interfering with the movement of the pin 98.

From the drawings and the above description, it is apparent that a popup sprinkler constructed in accordance with the present invention provides desirable features and advantages. For example, by changing the direction of rotation of the impeller 70 to produce oscillation of the sprinkler head 50 through a predetermined arc, the weight members 78 are used to produce rapid step-by-step rotation of the sprinkler nozzle head 50 and the conventional oscillating impact arm is eliminated. As a result, the upper portion of the sprinkler housing is substantially smaller in diameter thereby facilitating the installation of the housing within the ground and a significant reduction in the housing cost.

Furthermore, the mechanism for reversing the rotational direction of the impeller provides for step-by-step rotation of the nozzle head 50 at a uniform rate in either direction and assures that the nozzle head 50 quickly reverses. That is, the two weight members 80 produce two impacts on the arm 85 during each revolution of the impeller, and the cooperation between the control member 90 and the deflector vane 110 assures that the impeller will quickly reverse and not stall. Moreover, the sheet metal cover 60 provides a rigid and economical cover for the housing 15, and the use of the spring wire 77 for retaining the spoollike weight members 80 between the impeller 70 and the washer 81 is effective to minimize wear on the arm 85 and weight members.

While the forms of apparatus herein described constitute preferred embodiments of the invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to these precise forms of apparatus, and that changes may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims

What we claim is:

1. A popup irrigation sprinkler comprising a housing, means defining a water inlet for said housing, a nozzle head, means supporting said nozzle head for rotation on a generally vertical axis and for vertical movement between a retracted position within said housing and an elevated position located above said housing, an impeller having an axis of rotation substantially the same as that of said nozzle head, impact means carried by said impeller, means connected to said nozzle head and responsive to engagement by said impact means for effecting step-by-step rotation of said nozzle, means defining a passageway for directing water from said inlet to said nozzle head, means for directing a stream of water from said passageway against said impeller, a sheet metal cover having a uniform wall thickness and including a recessed center portion, and means for securing said center portion of said cover to said nozzle head.

2. A part-circle irrigation sprinkler comprising a housing, means defining a water inlet within the bottom portion of said housing, a nozzle head, means supporting said nozzle head for rotation on a generally vertical axis, an impeller having an axis of rotation substantially the same as that of said nozzle head, impact means carried by said impeller, means connected to said nozzle head and responsive to engagement by said impact means for effecting step-by-step rotation of said nozzle, said housing including means defining a passageway for directing water from said inlet upwardly past said impeller, a control member positioned above said impeller for rotation on an axis generally perpendicular to the axis of said impeller and adapted to direct the water from said passageway downwardly toward said impeller, a deflector vane positioned between said control member and said impeller, means supporting said deflector vane for pivotable movement on an axis generally parallel to the axis of said control member, and means for rotating said control member in response to rotation of said nozzle head through a predetermined arc to effect pivoting of said vane and reversing of the direction of rotation of said impeller and said nozzle head.

3. A sprinkler as defined in claim 2, including an actuator member projecting upwardly from said control member, and adjustable finger means rotatable with said nozzle head and positioned to engage said actuator member to effect rotation of said control member.

4. An irrigation sprinkler comprising a housing, means defining a water inlet for said housing, a nozzle head, means supporting said nozzle head for rotation on a generally vertical axis, an impeller having an axis of rotation substantially the same as that of said nozzle head, at least one cylindrical spoollike impact member having a circumferential groove within its outer surface, a wirelike retaining member mounted on said impeller for rotation therewith and including a radially outwardly projecting U-shaped portion extending within said groove and supporting said impact member for both radial movement and rotation on a generally vertical axis, means connected to said nozzle head and responsive to engagement by said impact member for effecting step-by-step rotation of said nozzle, means defining a passageway for directing water from said inlet to said nozzle head, and means for directing a stream of water from said passageway toward said impeller.

5. A sprinkler as defined in claim 4, including a pair of said impact members, and said retaining member including a pair of diametrically positioned said U-shaped portions.