US3463401A

US3463401A - Automatic sprinkling device

Info

Publication number: US3463401A
Application number: US608182A
Authority: US
Inventors: Henri Cobigo
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1966-01-11
Filing date: 1967-01-09
Publication date: 1969-08-26
Anticipated expiration: 1986-08-26

Description

Aug. 26, 1969 H. COBIGO AUTOMATIC SPRINKLING DEVICE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 9, 1967 APPLICANT Henri Cobigo Nolte and Nolte ATTORNEYS Aug. 26, 1969 H. COBIGO AUTOMATIC SPRINKLING DEVICE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 m a Jan. 9, 1967 H Aug. 26, 1969 H. COBIGO Y 3,

AUTOMATIC SPRINKLING DEVICE Filed Jan. 9, 1967 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 O w-l ng oo 32 33 INVENTQR HENRI COBIGO ATTORNEYS United States Patent US. Cl. 239-231 12 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to an automatic sprinkler comprising a sprinkling nozzle carried by a body member pivoted on a fixed support member and formed with an internal cavity of revolution in which water is made to whirl and thus to drive into rotation a ball enclosed within said cavity. The rotating ball periodically impedes the flow of water, and imparts to the body member an oscillatory motion around its support. A rotary motion may be additionally imparted to said body member, either by the reaction of the water jet, or by transforming said oscillatory motion. The sprinkler may further incorporate means for periodic reversal of said rotary motion, and means for parting and deflecting the water jet.

The present invention relates generally to automatic sprinkling devices, and more particularly to an automatic sprinkler of the type comprising a ball or body of revolution enclosed within an internal cavity of a body member, said ball being driven into rotation by water whirling in said cavity, and thereby periodically obturating water inlet and outlet formed in the wall of said cavity, so that the range of the jet of water is periodically altered, thus enhancing water dispersion.

An essential object of this invention resides in improving water dispersion by using centrifugal force derived from the rotation of said ball to impart to said body member an oscillatory motion around a substantially vertical axis.

Another object of this invention is to improve water dispersion furthermore by adding to said oscillatory motion a rotary motion around said axis, said rotary motion being either imparted to said body member by the reaction of the Water jet, or merely derived from said oscillatory motion.

A further object of this invention is to provide in an automatic sprinkler of the aforesaid type, means for periodical reversal of said rotary motion.

A still further object of this invention is to provide an automatic sprinkler of the aforesaid type with means for dividing and periodically deflecting the water jet, thereby further improving Water dispersion.

Still another object of this invention is to provide an automatic sprinkler of the type concerned, which is rugged in its design and which operates under steadily satisfactory conditions by the most adverse circumstances.

These and other objects are fulfilled by an automatic sprinkler made in accordance with the present invention, which comprises a body member formed with an internal cavity having a wall of revolution about a substantially vertical axis, an injection orifice formed in said wall for introducing pressurized water into said cavity at an angle such as to cause said water to whirl therein before issuing therefrom through an exhaust orifice formed in said wall and connected to said sprinkling nozzle carried by said body member; and a ball enclosed within said cavity and driven into rotation by the water whirling therein thereby periodically obturating at least partially said injection and exhaust orifices, and said body member is operatively mounted on a fixed support member for rotation around a second, substantially vertical axis horizontally spaced from said first axis, so that said rotating ball imparts to said body member an oscillatory motion around said second axis.

According to another aspect of this invention, duct means operatively extend through said body and support members to communicate said injection orifice with a fitting provided on said support member for connection with an external pressurized water supply.

According to still another aspect of the invention, said sprinkling nozzle is situated in a plane passing aside of said second axis, whereby said body member is furthermore driven into a continuous rotary motion.

Advantageously, said sprinkling nozzle is angularly movable on said body member between first and second planes passing on opposite sides of said second axis, and stop means are provided for shifting said injection nozzle from one of said planes to the other as the angular displacement of said body member around said second axis reaches a predetermined value.

According to an alternative embodiment of the invention, a one-way clutch is provided between said body member and support member for converting said oscillatory motion into a jerky rotary motion around said second axis.

Advantageously, said one-way clutch is of a commutable type, and stop means are provided for reversing the direction of action of said clutch as the angular displacement of said body member around said second axis reaches a predetermined value.

According to a further aspect of this invention, means are provided for deflection of the jet of water, which comprise a substantially vertically extending, thin blade disposed in front of said sprinkling nozzle, said blade being carried by said body member by means of resiliently deformable arms weighted with deadheads.

Other features and advantages of the automatic sprinkler of the present invention will appear more clearly from the following description of an illustrative embodiment thereof shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a sectional view of an automatic sprinkler according to this invention;

FIGURE 2 is a plan view of the sprinkler, the cover of Which is omitted;

FIGURE 3 is an explanatory sketch illustrating the op eration of the sprinkler;

FIGURE 4 is a part-sectional view showing a modification of the sprinkler cover;

FIGURE 4a'is a part-sectional view of the sprinkler cover with stop means;

FIGURE 5 and FIGURE 6 are respectively a sectional view and a plan view of the sprinkler equipped with a device for water jet deflection;

FIGURE 7 is an explanatory sketch illustrating the operation of the sprinkler as shown in FIGURES 5 and 6;

FIGURE 8 is a part-sectional view showing at a larger scale the device for jet deflection; and

FIGURE 9 illustrates an embodiment of a reversible one-way clutch.

The automatic sprinkler shown on FIGURES 1 and 2 is made up by a fixed support member 1 provided at its lower end with a tapped fitting for connection to an external supply of water under pressure, and by a two-part body member 2-5 rotatably mounted on said support member and carrying a water jet nozzle 6.

The aforesaid body member comprises a lower part 2 provided with a tubular extension received in a bore formed in support member 1 and retained therein by a circlip or like stop member, thus allowing for free rotation of body member 2 around a vertical axis ed. The lower end of said tubular extension opens into the tapped fitting of support member 1, an O-ring or like seal securing water tightness of the assembly.

The aforesaid body member also comprises an upper part or cover 5 mounted on lower part 2, a gasket 7 sealing off the assembly of said parts; the upper end of the tubular extension of lower part 2 is thus hermetically closed, leaving only communication with a water inlet passage 8 opening into an internal cavity E defined in said body member between lower and

upper parts

2 and 5 thereof.

As shown, said cavity E is of revolution around a substantially vertical axis xy laterally spaced from the aforesaid rotary axis cd. Water inlet passage 8 opening obliquely into cavity E, the water injected thereinto through said passage is caused to whirl around axis xy before issuing through an exhaust orifice formed in the wall of cavity E at a location substantially diametrically opposite to passage 8; said exhaust orifice 10 communicates with a sprinkling nozzle 6 carried by cover 5 and through which water is ejected obliquely, following the initial direction ab.

A body of revolution, preferably and as shown a ball 4, is freely enclosed within cavity E; said ball is driven into rotation by the whirling water, so that centrifugal force causes said ball to roll along the wall of cavity E; ball 4 thus alternately obturates at least partially the water injection and exhaust orifices at each revolution, thereby periodically altering the initial pressure and hence the elongation of the water jet emitted through nozzle 6.

Besides, and according to an essential aspect of this invention, the rotating ball 4 imparts to body member 25 an oscillatory motion around its pivotal axis ed, as it will be explained herebelow with reference to FIGURE 3. The rotating ball 4 exerts on the wall of cavity E a force F having a substantially constant intensity and a substantially radial direction with respect to the axis xy of said cavity. When considered with respect to axis ca, around which body member 2-5 is pivoted, said force F develops a periodically varying momentum, which is equal to the product of the intensity of force F by the distance from pivotal axis cd to an imaginary straight line carrying said force.

Accordingly, said momentum is equal to zero whenever the center of the ball is located in a plane including both axis xy and cd, since the corresponding centrifugal forces F F are purely radial with respect to the axis cd and thus may be entirely compensated by the reaction of the pivotal connection provided between the body member and support member. On the contrary, said momentum reaches opposite maximal values whenever the centrifugal forces F F, as shown are perpendicular to the aforesaid plane. As a consequence, an oscillatory motion around axis cd is imparted to body member 2-5, the amplitude of said motion depending on various parameters, such as the actual speed of the ball, the radius of its absolute trajectory, the ratio of the mass of the ball to that of the body member, the frictional drag of the pivotal connection, etc. Additionally, it is to be noted that whereas the initial direction ab of the water jet does not intersect the pivotal axis ed, as shown in FIGURES 2 and 3the jet reaction R exerts on body member 25 a corresponding momentum, and thus imparts to the same a steady rotary motion around axis ed. Now, the torques exerted on body member 2-5 by the jet of water and by the rotation of ball 4 respectively are alternately additive and subtractive for each revolution of said ball; thus, body member 2-5 performs around axis cd alternate angular displacements F F of reverse directions and unequal amplitudes, which result into an effective angular displacement r for each revolution of ball 4.

Thus, body member 2-5 and accordingly the jet of water are made to revolve around axis cd in a jerky manner.

According to an improved embodiment of the sprinkler shown on FIGURE 4, the sprinkling nozzle 6 is pivotally mounted on cover 5, in order to allow for passing of the initial direction ab of the water jet from one side to the other of pivotal axis cd, thereby inverting the sense of the above-mentioned rotary motion. In this occurrence, the sprinkler is advantageously provided with stop means rigid with support member 1 and adapted to effectuate automatic commutation of the initial direction of the water jet, so that only a rated sector is watered.

According to an alternative embodiment of the sprinkler of this invention, the oscillatory motion imparted to body member 2-5 by the rotating ball 4 may be directly transformed into a jerky rotary motion by a oneway clutch or like mechanism operatively arranged between support member 1 and body member 2-5.

As previously contemplated, the sense of this rotary motion may be periodically reversed by using a doubleaction one-way clutch device associated with stop means operatively disposed on support member 1, so that only a rated sector is watered. The automatic sprinkler of this invention made in accordance with any embodiment thereof as described hereinabove, performs a uniform watering of at will either a complete annular zone or only a rated sector of the same, by virtue of the high dispersion of the water jet which is due to the intricate law of displacement imparted to said jet, and to the variation in its range resulting from periodic obturation of water inlet and outlet orifices by ball 4.

FIG. 4a is'a view similar to FIG. 4, showing one of two angularly spaced stop means 20 rigid with support member 1, said stop means cooperating with a spigot 21 carried by the sprinkling nozzle 6 and extending into an annular groove 22 of the body member 5. Said groove extends over a predetermined angular length about the axis of nozzle 6, which is thereby urged by the reaction of the water jet into either of two stable positions relative to body member 5. Upon engagement of the spigot 21 with one stop means 20, the jerky motion of body member 5 deriving from the steady rotation of ball 4 causes shifting of nozzle 6 to its opposite position relative to body member 5, which is thus driven into the opposite direction.

In order to further improve water dispersion, and according to another aspect of this invention, the sprinkler may be equipped with a device for parting and deflecting the water jet, as illustrated on FIGURES 5 to 8.

As shown on FIGURES 5 and 6, an automatic sprinkler of the type described hereabove with reference to FIGURES 1-3 is provided with a thin blade 9 made of a resiliently deformable and preferably noncorrodible material, such as a stainless steel blade, disposed in front of the sprinkling nozzle in a substantially vertical plane, so as to part the water jet. Said blade 9 is cut from a blank in the form of a yoke, the legs of which are secured at their free ends to nozzle 6 by screws, bolts, rivets or like fasteners 11, at least one of said legs carrying at its opposite end headheads 10 attached thereto by rivets 12. At rest, blade 9 divides the water jet into two equal parts; as soon as body member 2-5 starts oscillating, inertia of deadheads causes blade 9 to follow with delay the oscillatory motion of nozzle 6, thereby periodically unbalancing the ratio of the parted flows and alternately deflecting them at a

maximum angle

5, 5;. Thus, two distinct regions are simultaneously water, which difier in their respective areas and in their angular and radial locations.

FIG. 9 illustrates a possible embodiment of a reversible one-way clutch to be interposed between the fixed support member 1 and the revolving body member 2.

Body member 1 is provided with a peripheral portion 30 of a hexagonal contour, which is surrounded by an annular skirt 31 depending from body member 2; six rollers 32 are interposed between said skirt and each hat of a body member 1 respectively said rollers being disposed in a common cage 33.

If permanent revolution of body member 2 in one determined direction is desired, a simple solution consists in urging resiliently cage 33 into the opposite peripheral direction, thereby causing rollers 32 to be wedged between support member 1 and body member 2 or to be disengaged, depending as body member 2 tends to rotate in said opposite direction or in said determined direction.

If alternate revolution of body member 2 in both directions is desired, a simple solution consists in urging cage 33 through the intermediary of a bistable swinging lever carried by support member 1 and actuated by body member 2.

Alternately, the skirt 31 could be formed with a hexagonal internal contour, so that the swinging lever could be mounted on body member 2 and actuated by angularly spaced stop means on support member 1, as recited in the claims.

It will be well understood that various modifications and changes may be brought by those skilled in the art to the automatic sprinkler as shown and described.

What I claim is:

1. An automatic sprinkler comprising a body member rotatably mounted on a fixed support member for rotation about a first, substantially vertical axis; said body member being formed with an internal cavity having a wall of revolution about a second axis parallel to and laterally spaced from said first axis; said cavity being communicated with inlet duct means extending through said body member and operatively connected to an external supply of pressurized water, and with outlet duct means connected to a sprinkling nozzle carried by said body member; said inlet duct means comprising an end section terminating at an inlet orifice formed in said wall of said cavity and opening into said cavity at an angle with respect to the radial plane thereof intersecting said inlet orifice; said outlet duct means ending at an outlet orifice formed in said wall of said cavity at a location out of alignment with said end section of said inlet duct means, so that water injected through said inlet orifice into said cavity is caused to whirl therein before escaping through said outlet orifice; the water whirling in said cavity driving into rotation a ball freely enclosed therein, so that centrifugal force causes said ball to roll along said wall, and thereby alternately to obturate at least partially said inlet and outlet orifices, and to exert on said body member an alternating momentum imparting to the same an oscillatory motion around said first axis.

2. An automatic sprinkler according to claim 1, wherein said inlet duct means comprises a first section extending coaxially to said first axis from a fitting provided in said support member for connection to said external supply of pressurized water, said end section extending radially from said first section to said inlet orifice.

3. An automatic sprinkler according to claim 1 wherein said sprinkling nozzle is situated in a plane passing aside of said first axis, whereby said body member is furthermore driven into a continuous rotary motion around said first axis.

4. An automatic sprinkler according to claim 3, wherein said sprinkling nozzle in angularly movable on said body member between first and second planes passing on opposite sides of said first axis, and wherein said support member carries angularly spaced stop means operative for shifting said sprinkling nozzle from one of said planes to the other as the angular displacement of said body member around said first axis reaches a predetermined value.

5. An automatic sprinkler according to claim 1, wherein a one-way clutch is provided between said body member and support member for converting said oscillatory motion into a jerky rotary motion around said first axis.

6. An automatic sprinkler according to claim 5, Wherein said one-way clutch is of a reversible type, and wherein said support member carries angularly spaced stop means operative for reverting the direction of action of said clutch as the angular displacement of said body member around said first axis reaches a predetermined value.

7. An automatic sprinkler comprising a body member rotatably mounted on a fixed support member for rotation about a first, substantially vertical axis; said body member being formed with an internal cavity having a wall of revolution about a second axis parallel to and laterally spaced from said first axis; said cavity being communicated with inlet duct means extending through said body member and operatively connected to an external supply of pressurized water, and with outlet duct means connected to a sprinkling nozzle carried by said body member; said inlet duct means comprising an end section terminating at an inlet orifice formed in said wall of said cavity and opening into said cavity at an angle.

with respect to the radial plane thereof intersecting said inlet orifice; said outlet duct means ending at an outlet orifice formed in said wall of said cavity at a location out of alignment with said end section of said inlet duct means, so that water injected through said inlet orifice into said cavity is caused to whirl therein before escaping therefrom through said outlet orifice; the water whirling in said cavity driving into rotation a ball freely enclosed therein, so that centrifugal force causes said ball to roll along said wall, and thereby alternately to obturate at least partially said inlet and outlet orifices, and to exert on said body member an alternating momentum imparting to the same an oscillatory motion around said first axis; and

wherein means are ,provided for deflection of the jet of Water issuing from said sprinkling nozzle, which com prise a substantially vertically extending, thin blade disposed in front of said sprinkling nozzle, said blade being carried by resiliently deformable arms anchored on said body member and weighted with deadheads.

8. An automatic sprinkler according to claim 7, wherein said inlet duct means comprises a first section extending coaxially to said first axis from a fitting provided in said support member for connection to said external supply of pressurized water, said end section extending radially from said first section to said inlet orifice.

9. An automatic sprinkler according to claim 7, wherein said sprinkling nozzle is situated in a plane passing aside of said first axis, whereby said body member is furthermore driven into a continuous rotary motion around said first axis.

10. An automatic sprinkler according to claim 9, wherein said sprinkling nozzle is angularly movable on said body member between first and second planes passing on opposite sides of said first axis, and wherein said support member carries angularly spaced stop means operative for shifting said sprinkling nozzle from one of said planes to the other as the angular displacement of said body member around said first axis reaches a predetermined value.

11. An automatic sprinkler according to claim 7, References Cited wherein a one-way clutch is provided between said body UNITED STATES PATENTS member and support member for converting said oscilla- 1 742 898 H1930 Buelna X tory motion into a jerky rotary motion around said first 2:0O9:478 7/1935 C0165 QUIZ: 239 241 X axis- 5 2,021,710 11/1935 Wilson 239 231 12. An automatic sprinkler according to claim 11, 3,051,396 8/1962 McElhenie 239-231 X wherein said one-way clutch is of a reversible type, and 3,103,313 9/1963 Raem 239230 wherein said support member carries angularly spaced M HENSON WOOD JR. Primary Examiner stop means operative for reversing the direction of action 10 of said clutch as the angular displacement of said body BERNARD BELKIN Asslstant Examiner member around said first axis reaches a predetermined Us. CL value- 239206, 242