US3244373A

US3244373A - Turbine driven sprinkler

Info

Publication number: US3244373A
Application number: US439119A
Authority: US
Inventors: James M Hait
Original assignee: FMC Corp
Current assignee: FMC Corp
Priority date: 1963-04-10
Filing date: 1965-02-08
Publication date: 1966-04-05
Anticipated expiration: 1983-04-05

Description

April 1966 J. M. HAIT 3,244,373

TURBINE DRIVEN SPRINKLER Original Filed April 10, 1963 INVENTOR JAMES M. HAIT BY M ATTORNEY Unit ed States Patent 3,244,373 TURBINE DRIVEN SPRINKLE James'M. Hait, San Jose, Calif., assignor to FMC Corporation, San Jose, Calif., a corporation of Delaware Original application Apr. 10, 1963, Ser. No. 271,965. Divided and this application Feb. 8, 1965, Ser. No.

) Claims. (Cl. 239233) ;tially circular area;

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved mechanism for causing a sprinkler head to move in an arcuate path while discharging liquid.

, Another object is to provide a turbine powered mechaf nisii'l for movingasprinkler head along an arcuate path.

. Another object is to provide an efficient means for causj ling'a sprinkler-head to oscillate back and forth through a 'gpr'e'determined angular range of movement. I v Other and further features and objects Wlll become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a vertical section taken centrally through a sprinkler constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention, the liquid supply conduit with which the sprinkler is associated being shown partly in elevation.

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary elevation showing a developed view of a guide track used in the sprinkler of FIG. 1.

In FIGURES 1 and 2 an oscillating sprinkler head 100 is illustrated which includes a nozzle 101 of flexibly resilient material such as rubber. This nozzle is identical to nozzle 40 shown in FIG. 1 of copending application Serial No. 271,965 and is adapted to be mounted in the lower hub 102 of a guide ring 103 in the same manner as nozzle 40 is mounted. The hub 102 is externally threaded for engagement in a tapped tubular projection 104 on a liquid supply conduit 106. The guide ring 103 has a generally cylindrical upper end 107 in which a recess 108 is formed. A toothed track 110 comprising :a rack is formed around the outer edge of the recess 108 and includes upper and lower

parallel track portions

114 and 115 and

end portions

116 and 117. An oval guide groove is formed at the inner end of recess 108 in the form of two spaced

grooves

118 and 119 that are separated by a tongue 120 and are connected at their adjacent ends by

curved grooves

121 and 122.

The upper end of nozzle 101 is rotatably retained as by ball bearings 124 in the end of a carrier 125 in which a shaft 126 of a turbine wheel 127 is rotatably journalled. A gear 130, which is formed integrally with shaft 126 or keyed thereto, has teeth formed on its periphery that are inclined at a particular angle relative to the axis of the gear and are designed to mesh with the inclined teeth of the rack formed by the track 110. A central guide pin 131 of the gear 130 is disposed in the oval guide groove. When the turbine wheel 127 is rotated by the jet of water in the manner described in application Serial No. 271,965, the gear will roll along the track 110, causing the nozzle to move around the guide ring 103. During movement in one direction, the guide pin 131 of the turbine shaft will be disposed in the upper groove 118 and the outer end of the nozzle will be in a raised position. When the end of the upper groove 118 is reached, the pin 131 will be directed into the lower groove and, accordingly, the nozzle will be lowered as it moves in an opposite direction around the guide track. This arrangement provides a positive driving engagement between the turbine wheel and the guide ring 103 and, due to the two elevations of the nozzle, makes possible a relatively uniform distribution of the water.

Since the length of the guide track determines the angular sweep of the nozzle, it will be evident that, by providing guide rings having tracks of different lengths, the angular sweep of the nozzle may be changed at will by substituting one guide track for another. For example, guide tracks designed to give a 90, a a 270", or any other desirable angularmovement of the nozzle may be provided.

It will be apparent from the foregoing description that the present invention provides a particularly eflicient apparatus for distributing water over a portion of a circular area. It should be understood that there may be variations in the various structural members dis-closed and in the materials from which they are made without departing from the teachings of the invention. It will be evident that thenozzle must always be made of a material that can 'be flexed laterally from a vertical position and that will tend to return toward that position. Further, the drive on the turbine wheel and the part which it engages must be provided with positively engaging parts, such as teeth, so that rotation of the drive will cause movement of theupper end of the nozzle in an arcuate path. Since the impact of the jet of water on the turbine wheel will cause various loads on the turbine wheel shaft, including radial and axial thrust loads, any suitable hearing members may be used in association with the shaft to promote efficient rotation of the shaft.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. A sprinkler head comprising a support base mounted in fixed position, means defining a rack on said base, a flexible conduit having an inlet end arranged to be connected to a source of liquid under pressure and a dis charge end for emitting a jet of liquid, a turbine Wheel having a shaft projecting therefrom, turbine wheel mounting means carried by the discharge end of said flexible conduit and rotatably receiving said shaft for projection of the distal end portion thereof to a location adjacent said rack, and a gear secured to the distal end portion of said shaft and disposed in meshing engagement with said rack, said turbine wheel having peripheral vanes arranged to be sequentially moved into the path of the jet of liquid discharge from said conduit whereby said turbine wheel is rotated and said gear moves along said fixed rack carrying said turbine wheel mounting means and the attached discharge end of said conduit therewith.

2. A sprinkler head comprising a fixed support base having a central apertured hub and an arcuate guide portion disposed above said hub and formed on an arc of a circle with the axis of said hub as center, a flexible conduit having an inlet end mounted in said hub and adapted to receive liquid under pressure and a discharge end for emitting a jet of liquid, means defining a continuous rack in the arcuate guide portion of said base and including an upper run, a lower run and curved connecting runs, a continuous guide groove in said arcuate guide portion adjacent said continuous rack, a carrier rotatably mounting the discharge end of said conduit, and a turbine wheel having a drive shaft rotatably journalled in said carrier, a gear secured to said shaft and disposed in meshing engagement with said rack, a pin on said shaft disposed in said guide groove, said turbine wheel having peripheral vanes movable successively into the path of the jet of liquid discharged from said conduit, whereby the jet of liquid causes rotation of said turbine wheel shaft and the movement of said gear along said rack, traversing consecutively said upper run, a curved connecting run, the lower run and the other connecting run to carry said carrier and the discharge end of said conduit along an oscillating path during rotation of said turbine wheel.

3. A sprinkler head comprising a fixed support member, a flexible conduit of normally straight configuration adapted to resiliently resist lateral flexing and having an inlet end mounted in fixed position in said support member and in flow communication with the source of liquid under pressure, the discharge end of said conduit being arranged to emit a jet of the liquid, a turbine wheel mounted adjacent the discharge end of said conduit and having vanes disposed in the path of the jet issuing from said conduit to rotate said turbine wheel, a pin operatively connected between said fixed support member and the discharge end of said conduit in guiding relation with said support member for guiding the discharge end of said conduit relatively thereto along a path defined by said support member, engagement of said pin with said support member being effective to hold the discharge end portion of said conduit in a tensioned condition bent away from said normal straight configuration, and the resiliency of said conduit being effective to maintain said guiding relation, and drive means powered by said turbine wheel and including a turbine wheel shaft, said drive means being rotatable wit-h said turbine wheel in driving relation between said fixed support member and the discharge end of said conduit for moving said discharge end of the conduit along said path.

4. The sprinkler head according to claim 3 and Wherein said fixed support member includes a fixed guide and track, said inlet end of said conduit being fixed in substantially vertical position against lateral movement in spaced relation to said guide and track, said turbine Wheel 'being operatively connected to said discharge end of said conduit whereby said drive means powered by said turbine wheel is in driving engagement with said track and said pin is in guiding relation with said guide, said pin and said drive means in cooperation with said guide and track effecting movement of said discharge end of said conduit about said fixed inlet end of said conduit to distribute the liquid emitted as a jet.

5. The sprinkler head according to claim 3 and wherein said support member comprises fixed arcuate guide means and a track in spaced relation thereto, said track extending at least part way around said conduit in radially spaced relation thereto below the discharge end of said conduit, and said turbine wheel With the associated turbine wheel shaft and said pin and said drive means are carried by the discharge end of said conduit with said pin and said drive means being in operative engagement with said arcuate guide means and said track respectively.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,056,847 3/1913 Sprowl 239-234 1,297,818 3/1919 Fawkes 239-234 2,535,469 12/1950 Wanke 239-234 2,963,228 12/1960 Hait 239-236 3,095,148 6/1963 Smith r. 239-236 M. HENSON WOOD, ]R., Primary Examiner.

D. L. MOSELEY, Assistant Examiner.

Claims

1. A SPRINKLER HEAD COMPRISING A SUPPORT BASE MOUNTED IN FIXED POSITION, MEANS DEFINING A RACK ON SAID BASE, A FLEXIBLE CONDUIT HAVING AN INLET END ARRANGED TO BE CONNECTED TO A SOURCE OF LIQUID UNDER PRESSURE AND A DISCHARGE END FOR EMITTING JET OF LIQUID, A TURBINE WHEEL HAVING A SHAFT PROJECTING THEREFROM, TURBINE WHEEL MOUNTING MEANS CARRIED BY THE DISCHARGE END OF SAID FLEXIBLE CONDUIT AND ROTATABLY RECEIVING SAID SHAFT FOR PROJECTION OF THE DISTAL END PORTION THEREOF TO A LOCATION ADJACENT SAID RACK, AND A GEAR SECURED TO THE DISTAL END PORTION OF SAID SHAFT AND DISPOSED IN MESHING ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID RACK, SAID TURBINE WHEEL HAVING PERIPHERAL VANES ARRANGED TO BE SEQUENTIALLY MOVED INTO THE PATH OF THE JET OF LIQUID DISCHARGE FROM SAID CONDUIT WHEREBY SAID TURBINE WHEEL IS ROTATED AND SAID GEAR MOVES ALONG SAID FIXED RACK CARRYING SAID TURBINE WHEEL MOUNTING MEANS AND THE ATTACHED DISCHARGE END OF SAID CONDUIT THEREWITH.