US2639941A - Self-elevating sprinkler head and system - Google Patents

Description

y 6, 1953 w. B. G LYNN 2,639,941

SELF-ELEVATING SPRINKLER HEAD AND SYSTEM Filed Oct. 2. 1950 INVENTOR. W LLIAM BG'LYMM.

maxim Patented May 26, 1953 SELF-ELEVATING SPRINKLER HEAD AND SYSTEM William B. Glynn, Menlo Park, Calif. Application October 2, 1950, Serial No. 187,928

4 Claims.

My present invention relates to lawn sprinkler systems and more particularly to in improved sprinkler head for multiple outlet systems of the type in which spray producing nozzles assume an elevated position with respect to the surrounding lawn when in operation.

The main object of my invention is to provide an improved lawn sprinkler head and system of the type in which water is supplied to a plurality of spaced sprinkler heads having nozzles that are adapted to assume an elevated position when in operation.

Another object of the invention is to provide a sprinkler head of the elevating type with novel means that will operate to utilize the water pressure as a nozzle elevating means without detrimentally interfering with the spray producing characteristics of the sprinkler head.

Another object of the inventionis to provide a sprinkler system of the type having a plurailty of sprinkler heads with interchangeable flow controlling means which, when properly installed, will provide a substantially uniform elevating force and spray discharge from each of the several sprinkler heads of the system.

A further object of the invention is to provide a lawn sprinkler head that is simple and economical of construction, easy to install and adjust and which has no complicated parts which will deteriorate or get out of order.

' One important feature of the present invention is the fact that the sprinkler head hereinafter described is composed of two shells. which are in threaded engagement with each other. The outer shell is threaded directly onto the end of the water riser pipe. The inner shell and all the other parts of the device may be removed for repair merely by unscrewing the inner shell from the outer shell and withdrawing the same. Thus it is unnecessary to disturb the lawn or other vegetation in which the sprinkler head is installed when repair or adjustment of the device is required, whereas in sprinkler heads previously employed extensive excavation of the premises has been necessitated whenever repairs are made.

Another feature of the instant invention'is the fact that the inner shell has a'smooth cylindrical bore of extended length and a piston through which the water passes is fitted Within said bore in such manner that the piston is elevated to spray position by sliding within the bore of the inner shell. The length of stroke of the piston is fixed so that the piston is at all times in contact with the bore of the inner shell. Thus the entry of dirt or other material inside the ,mechanism is prevented;

- erative position,

Still a further feature of the invention resides in the construction of the piston which has been mentioned. Said piston has a smooth, hollow, internal cylindrical bore and may be separated into two parts. Within the hollow portion is a solid plug having on its external cylindrical surface at least two helical threads which fit snugly against the internal cylindrical bore of the piston. Thus the plug when once located inside the hollow piston remains in adjusted position spaced a predetermined distance from top and bottom of the piston. Further, by reason of the tight fit of the threads of the plug against the smooth internal bore of the piston, the water which passes through the piston is compelled to follow the spiral passageways defined by the threads on the plug, which passageways produce a definite spray pattern for the sprinkler head. It should also be pointed out that each thread on the plug makes at least one complete turn, which imparts a spinning motion to the stream of water and insures that the water emitted falls in a wide and complete circle. By variation of the depth and width and number of grooves on the plug the spray characteristics may be controlled so that either a heavy rain type spray or a light fog may be produced by proper selection of plugs.

It will further become apparent that the sprinkler head hereinafter described is a self-cleaning and does not require a screen or strainer. This feature is of importance when the water used may contain foreign substances, such as, for example, when the drainage from a swimming pool is employed.

Volume controls are not'necessary in carrying out the teaching of the present invention for such control may be accomplished by changing the plugs and selection of those plugs having the characteristics producing the volume and type of spray desired.

- With these and other objects in View as will appear hereinafter, my invention consists of certain novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts and portions as will be hereinafter described in detail and particularly set forth in the appended claims.

Reference is now made to the accompanying drawing wherein there is shown by way of illustration and not by limitation a preferred embodiment of the invention and in which Figure l is a diagrammatic view showing a system of the type such as is contemplated by the invention,' 7

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view of my improved sprinkler head with the parts in an inop- Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2, showing the parts in their operative position,

Figures 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 comprise an exploded view showing the movable parts of my improved sprinkler head,

Fig. 9 is an end view of plug used in the sprinkler head,

Fig. 10 is aside elevation thereof. 7

Figure 11- shows a further adaptation of the invention.

In Figure l of the drawings there is shown a simple sprinkler system having. a. water supply pipe Ill of the type such as is buried below thesurface of a lawn. This water supply pipe is provided with a valve H for controlling the flow of Water to the system. Along the main water supply pipe Ill there are a number of nipples l2 that form vertically extending connections for individual sprinkler heads 13. In this arrangement, four of the sprinkler heads l3 are shown as arranged. in a straight line along the water supply pipe l0, but it will be understood that in any complete system the water supply pipe Ill may have laterally extendingbranches which fan out over a wide area and along these lateral connections there may be one or more additional sprinkler heads. 13. In such a system, as is well understood in the art, the number of sprinkler outlets in any one system will be limited by the available water supply and where the water pressure is low the number of sprinkler heads will be also correspondingly limited. Under these conditions the volume of water flowing through the individual sprinkler headswill also limit the number which may be used upon any particular watersupply main. If the sprinkler heads are each. designed to distribute a uniform quantity of water at a definite pressure it will be readily seen that the sprinkler heads at the more distant points of thesource of supply willbe subjected to a lowered Water pressure and asa consequence unless some means is provided to equalize the flow of water through the sprinkler heads and thereby also maintain a substantially uniform pressure along the water supply pipe, the sprinklers at the more distant points will be incapable of providing a spray comparable with the spray outlets positioned more closely with respect to theval've II. This conditionalso presents a problem which is more serious when the sprinkler heads are of. the self elevating type as the operation of sucha sprinkler head not only requires sufllcient water to produce a satisfactory spray but there must also be present a pressure of water at the sprinkler head which will be sufiicient to elevate the spray nozzle. These diiilcultie'sqare overcome in accordance with my invention an d as will be now desicribedinmore detail, by the provision of a novel flow, controlling means which may. beinterchangeably employed with a plurality of identical sprinkler head outlets to maintain a substantially. uniform operating pressure along the water main that will insure elevation o'f the nozzles and at the sa metime pass sufficient water to produce uniform patterns oispray at each of the sprinkler heads,

As shown in Figures 2 and 3 of the drawing the sprinkler head B of my invention in its preferred form consists of a cup-like housing. [4 that is open atfitsbo'ttom and top and threaded for mounting upon the extending end of a length of pipe such as one of the nipples l2 referred to above. This housing I4 has an outwardly extending flange l5.'with notches ior a spanner wrench by which it may be conveniently turned upon the nipple I2. At its upper end the housing I4 is threaded internally to receive a cylinder forming member [6 that has a reduced central opening I! at its inner end. At its outer end this cylinder forming member 16 is also provided with oppositely disposed notches l8 for the accommodation of a spanner wrench so that it can be installed and" removed in its entirety without disconnecting the housing M from the nipple l2. Operatively mounted within the cylinder forming member Hi there is a hollow piston forming member having an upper part l9 with a spray orifice 20 and a lower part 2| that has a threaded central opening into which a downwardly extending tubular piston 22 is threaded. The tubular piston rod 22 has an outwardly extending flange or annular shoulder 23 that serves to limit its. upward movement, as shown in Figure 3, when the sprinkler head is in operation. The members l9 and 2! of the hollow pistonmember are threaded together as a unit and disposed within these piston. forming members there is a flow controlling means in the form of a spiral plug 24. In' this particular arrangement the spiral plug 25 is shown as having substantially two complete turns of a spiral. When water is admitted to this particular sprinkler head the spiral plug 24 will serve to create a back pressure that will insure a full elevation of the nozzle and at the same time establish a swirl in the water Which will produce a satisfactory spray at a given water pressure.

As illustrated, in Figures 4 to 3 inclusive of the drawing, the movable parts of my improved sprinkler head can be conveniently disassembled for interchange of the spiral plug 24-with other spiral plugs, such as will be hereinafter described, and where replacement or repair of any of the parts is required these may be carried out by simply turning the cylinder formin member [5 out of the housing M, after which the piston forming members I 9, and, 2| may be separated to permit the removal of the spiral plug 24 and the insertion of a spiral plug having other water flow andspray producing characteristics. Likewise, the tubular pistonforming member 22 may be detached from the part! Iof the piston by the application of a wrench applied to flattened faces 25 provided thereby.

It will be understood that the depth and width of thread, and number of threads of plug 24. may be varied to vary the water clearances and resistance to water flow of plug 24. With these differ.- ent forms of spiral plugs and with any suitable number 'all diifering from each other in one manner or another, it will be possiblein any complete sprinkler system to provide substantially uniform spray patterns at all of thesprinkler heads and at the same time maintain apressure condition in the system that will insure a full elevation of each of the sprinkler head nozzles. In practice I have found that, when-the spiral plugs are formed of a non-metallic material such sis-glazed,

porcelain or a plastic there is no possibility oi" corrosion or water-pitting such as might interfere withoperation of thesprinkler head.

In the installed sprinkler-systems there is oftenrequired a sprinkler head which will. produceahalf circle spray pattern. These are generally.

installed at the edge of a lawn and-project. a

conventional form which can be mounted in the spray orifice 20 and there secured by a nut 29. When my improved sprinkler head is employed in this manner the spiral plug will be omitted from the plug accommodating chamber and the restricted outlet of the nozzle 28, together with its configuration will maintain the back pressure required to insure a full elevation of the nozzle when in operation.

While I have, for the sake of clearness and in order to disclose the invention so that the same can be readily understood, described and illustrated specific devices and arrangements, I desire to have it understood that this invention is not limited to the specific means disclosed and all such changes as come within the scope of the appended claims are to be considered as a part of this invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a lawn sprinkler head, the combination of a cup-like housing adapted to be threaded at its bottom to the end of a water supply pipe, a cylinder forming member having an elongated, cylindrical bore threaded into said housing and having an open end flush with the top of said housing, a hollow cylindrical piston having an elongated, cylindrical exterior having a spray orifice at its upper end, the respective diameters of said cylinder forming member and said piston allowing for a sliding movement of said piston with a close fit excluding ingress of foreign matter, a tubular extension carried by said piston and projecting downwardly into said water supply pipe, means at the end of said tubular extension for limiting upward movement of said piston with respect to said cylinder forming member, and a solid, cylindrical insert having a plurality of helical threads on its cylindrical surf-ace of a lesser diameter than the diameter of said cylintier-forming member slidable within said hollow piston having a pitch that will insure a full elevation of said piston with respect to said housing at the prevailing water pressure.

2. In a lawn sprinkler head, the combination of an open top housing adapted to be threaded to the end of a water supply pipe, a cylinder forming member threaded into said housing having an open end flush with the open top of said housing, a hollow piston member having an orifice at its outer end, a tubular extension forming a downwardly extending piston rod that projects into said water supply pipe, means at the lower end of said tubular extension for limiting the upward movement thereof with respect to said cylinder forming member, and an interchangeable solid, cylindrical insert having a plurality of hellcal threads on its cylindrical surface of a lesser diameter than the diameter of said cylinderforming member slidable within said piston member having a pitch that will insure a full elecylinder-forming member, piston member and tubular extension being such that }said piston .inember is in constant engagement with the top of said cylinder-forming member to prevent entrance of foreign matter into said cylinder-forming member.

3. A self-elevating sprinkler head comprising a first cup member having a threaded connection at its lower end for attachment to a water 5 pipe and an enlarged opening at the top, a secand cup member arranged to fit in threaded enggagement within said first cup member with the tops of said first and second cup members substantially even, said second cup member having a restricted aperture at its lower end and a smooth cylindrical bore extending downwardly from its upper end, a hollow piston slidable within the bore of said second cup member, said piston being divided into two separable parts and having a jet aperture at its top and a threaded connection at its bottom and a cylindrical bore therebetween, a tubular member depending from i said piston and having an enlarged external rim at its lower end larger than said restricted aperture at the lower end of said second cup member Number and extending below said second cup member, the lengths of said tubular member, piston and said second cup member being such that said piston is at all times at least partially in engagement with said bore in said second cup member, and a solid plug vertically moveable Within said hollow piston, said plug having at least two helical kler head on each of said riser pipes, each said sprinkler head having the structure defined in claim 3, the depth, width and number of threads of the plugs in the various heads being adjusted to provide substantially uniform spray through- WILLIAM B. GLYNN.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date 1,192,743 Brooks July 25, 1916 1,159,902 Parker Mar. 19, 1918 2,434,767 Hertel Jan. 20, 1948 2,514,346

Snoddy July 4, 1950

Images