US3574336A

US3574336A - Lawn sprinkling apparatus

Info

Publication number: US3574336A
Authority: US
Inventors: Peter C Epple
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1968-12-26
Filing date: 1968-12-26
Publication date: 1971-04-13
Anticipated expiration: 1988-04-13

Abstract

A remotely-controlled lawn water sprinkler which is designed to provide an infinite spray pattern adjustment from a safe distance outside the spray pattern and which permits the sprinkling of areas of lawn with defined boundaries such as rectangular areas, the device utilizing a fluidic control switch for shifting the spray from one portion of an area to another and utilizing also a multiple passage hose for facilitating the control.

Description

- PATENTEDAPRISIHYI 3,574 336 sum 1 or 3 I v INVENTOR P172}? C 1 1 I By MMsMLFM A T TORNEVS PA-TENTED m 1 3 I97| SHEET 3 BF 3 FIG.2O

. l I I l l I l l l I l I l I ATTORNEYS LAWN SPRINKLING APPARATUS This invention relates to lawn sprinkling apparatus designed to sprinkle selected areas of a lawn particularly those with a rectangular shape to confine the sprinkling to the lawn itself and avoid the waste of water which results when a sprinkler has to cover a portion of a walk or drive in order to reach the entire lawn area.

There have been numerous attempts to provide pattern type spray devices using mechanical systems for shifting the water nozzle. The present device is intended to provide an accurately controlled unit for sprinkling defined areas, the unit being controllable remotely from the area being sprinkled so that the operator does not have to get into the wet area to adjust the system.

It is an object of the invention to provide an extremely simple sprinkling device which is accurately controllable to limit the deposit of water to defined areas, the control being remote and the fluctuation from the sprinkler from one direction to another being accomplished by the use of a fluidic switch.

It is a further object to provide a device which has no mechanical moving parts and which is thus not subject to wear or the need for lubrication.

the position without the necessity of a central position within the area.

Other objects and features of the invention will be apparent in the following description and claims wherein the principles of operation are set forth and the best mode contemplated is described.

Drawings accompany the invention and the various views thereof may be briefly described as:

FIG. 1, a view of water faucet, hose and control, and sprinkler.

FIG. 2, a sectional view of the hose illustrating the multiple passages.

FIG. 3, a view of a pattern area to be sprinkled in a particular lawn showing the sprinkler position centrally thereof.

FIG. 4, a side elevation of an assembled sprinkler head showing the hose inlet.

FIG. 5, a plan view of a sprinkler head.

FIG. 6, a sectional view of a sprinkler head taken on line 6-6 of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7, a plan view of the main housing of the sprinkler head.

FIG. 8, a sectional view of the main housing of the sprinkler head taken on line 8-8 of FIG. 7.

FIG. 9, a plan view of the top nozzle plate of the sprinkler.

FIG. 10, a sectional view of the nozzle plate on line 10-10 of FIG. 9.

FIG. 11, a plan view of a switch plate forming a part of the sprinkler head.

FIG. 12, a plan view of a separator plate forming a part of the sprinkler head.

FIG. 13, a diagrammatic view showing the flow path in the controller and sprinkler head.

FIG. 14, a view of a sprinkler head base housing utilizing a modified control.

FIG. 15, a plan view of the modified base.

FIG. 16, a sectional view on line 16-16 of FIG. 15.

FIG. 17, a planview of a modified separator plate required 'for the modified base.

FIG. 18, a cross-sectional view of a special hose utilizcd for the modified system.

FIG. 19, a diagrammatic view showing the full path in the REFERRING TO THE DRAWINGS In FIG. 1, a standard faucet 30 is shown, this being the type that is fastened to the outside of a home or other building having a tum-on knob 32 and a discharge pipe 34 to which is attached a standard hose 36. This hose leads to a controller 38 in the form of a metallic housing having a hose connection fixture 40 at one end and a second hose connection fixture 42 at the other end. This controller has a main passage 44 in the body which divides into two

passages

46 and 48 each of which is tapered to a restricted portion controlled by

respective needle valves

50 and 52 having

serrated knobs

54 and 56 to permit control of the valves from the outside of the housing.

A special hose 60 is fastened at the fixture 42, this hose having two

parallel passages

62 and 64 separated by a web in the middle portion. This hose has a screw connector 66 at the other end which connects it to the main body portion 70 of the sprinkler head. This body portion may be referred to at times as a capacitor housing. I

The sprinkler head is completed by three additional plates on the top of the capacitor housing 70, these being a separator plate 72 shown in FIG. 12, a switch plate 74 shown in FIG. 11, and a nozzle plate 76 shown in FIGS. 9 and 10.

The relationship of the passages in the various elements of the nozzle head can be readily seen from the plan views of the plates shown in FIGS. 7, 9, l1 and 12. It is thought that the construction and operation can be bestdescribed by detailing the passages in the various elements and by following the flow throughthe nozzle head from the supply hose to the nozzle openings. The capacitor housing 70, has four

cylindrical chambers

80, 82, 84 and 86 circumferentially spaced in each quadrant of the head and two

openings

88 and 90 in the sidewall of the capacitor housing which lead radially to two

openings

92 and 94 on either side of center. These

openings

92 and 94 cooperate with similarly located and spaced

openings

92A and 94A in separator plate 72 (FIG. 12) and openings 92B and 948 in switch plate 74 (FIG. 11).

It will be noted also that the elements shown in FIGS. 9, 11 and 12 each carry a series of four holes positioned in a rectangular pattern. These holes can be designated 101A, 102A, 103A and 104A in plate 72 (FIG. 12), 101B, 1028, 1038 and 1043 in switch plate 74 (FIG. 11), and 101C, 102C, 103C and 104C in the nozzle plate 76 (FIG. 9). These holes in the plate of FIG. 9 are threaded to carry the stem of a

needle valve

106, 107, 108 and 109 as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, these needle valves projecting down through the

openings

1018, 1028, 103B and 104B in plate 74 and to the

openings

101A, 102A, 103A and 104A in plate 72 in FIG. 12.

It will be noted in viewing FIGS. 4 and 5 that the

screws

106, 107, 108 and 109 intersect the

recesses

80, 82, 84 and 86 in the capacitor housing 70. A second series of holes in a rectangular pattern in separator plate 72 are designated as 111A, 112A, 113A and 114A. These holes are located to register with the ends of certain passages in FIG. 11 and these holes also overlie a portion of the

chambers

80, 82, 84 and 86 in the main housing.

In FIG. 11, the hole 111A registers with the outer end of an angled passage 121B; the hole 112A registers with the outer end of a passage 122B;the hole 113A registers with the outer end of a passage 123B; and the hole 114A registers with the lower end of the right arm of a V-shaped passage 1248. These passages in FIG. 11, namely, 121B, 122B, 1238 and 1248 also relate to openings in the nozzle plate 76 as follows:

The lower end of the left-hand leg of passage 124B registers with an opening 131C in plate 76'; the inner end of passage 1228 in FIG. 11 registers with a passage 132C in plate 76; the inner end of passage 123B registers with an opening 133C; and the lower end of passage 121B registers with an opening 134C. As shown in FIG. 10, these passages 131C, 132C, 133C and 134C each angle upwardly to the bottom of an inverted conical opening 135 to form nozzle outlets 136, I37, 138 and 139 as shown in FIG. 5.

It will be recognized that the plates shown in FIGS. 5, 9, 11 and 12 are held together by Allen head screws 140. Passages not yet defined are the fluidic control switch passages shown in FIG. 11. Each of these passages originates at openings 92B and 94B and extends radially outward the upper passage from 923 diverging into an arm 141 on the right and an arm 142 on the left, these arms swinging circumferentially to terminate at the ends which overlie the

respective chambers

82 and 80 of the base capacitor housing 70. The lower passage 92B diverges into two

arms

143 and 144 which swing circumferentially in opposite directions and terminate at

chambers

84 and 86 of the capacitor housing. These terminal ends coincide with

openings

151, 152, 153 and 154 in the separator plate 72 which completes the access from the diverging arms to the chamber.

Thus, it will be seen that overlying the chamber 80 and in registry therewith are the

holes

101A, 111A and 151 of plate 72; overlying chamber 82 are the openings in plate 72, namely, 102A, 112A and 152; overlying the chamber 84 and in registry therewith are

openings

103A, 113A and 153 in plate 72; and overlying the chamber 86 and in registry therewith are

openings

104A, 114A and 154 in plate 72.

As shown in FIG. 6,it will be seen that

chambers

80, 82, 84 and 86 contain a small pneumatic container 160. This can be in the form of a partially inflated balloon or a small elastic container which is filled with air. The purpose of this will be apparent in the following description of the operation.

In the operation of the unit which has two flow controls upstream in the remote control housing with a special twochannel hose, the so-called oscillator unit which has been above described in detail incorporates two independent oscillators, each of which includes a bistable fluidic switch, two fluidic capacitors, that is, cavities within the oscillator housing containing an air-filled rubber balloon or possibly a spring-loaded, flexible diaphragm and a network of channels, plus a summing junction of the four output nozzles. Water which has passed the flow control valve, that is, valve 46 and valve 48 is channeled through one of the passages in the hose to the supply port of a corresponding bistable switch through, for example,

ports

92 or 94 and 928 or 94B.

Here most of the available energy is converted to velocity and the high velocity jet leaving the entrance port attaches initially by chance to one wall in the interaction region of the switch. For example, in FIG. 11, this region may be between the ports 103B and 104B in the lower switch area and the fluid then exits through the corresponding output leg into the capacitor, for example, leg 143 and capacitor 84. From this capacitor chamber 84 the flow will pass through the opening 113A in plate 72, the passage 1233 in plate 74, and the port 133C in plate 76, thus going up to the nozzle opening 138.

The flow at this point, due to transition from the upstream diameter down to the construction diameter, depends on the pressure difierential across the nozzle. Without the capacitor, the pressure would build up very rapidly since the medium, namely, water, is practically incompressible. Actually as the pressure increases, the rubber cushion element 160 inside the capacitor is beginning to contract. With higher pressure, more balloon contraction will result but a time delay is essential here since the increasing space inside the capacitor has to be filled with water.

Also, due to the increasing pressure differential across the nozzle, more and more volume of flow will be passed, leaving less excess flow for the additional pressure build up. From this,

it will be apparent that the pressure build up with respect to housing. The needles 106, 107', 108 and we permit control in each of the control arms to shift the switch point up or down with respect to the energy potential available, and these needles can also be used for tuning the circuits.

It will be apparent also that while the second side of the oscillator is charging up, the first side is discharging its stored energy, preparing itself for renewed charging after switching has again occurred. It will be appreciated that while there is oscillation between

chambers

84 and 86 on the one side of the unit, there will also be oscillation between chambers and 82 on the other side of the element. Thus, two nozzles will always be discharging at the same time.

The working oscillator produces at both of its output noz zles a changing flow within established limits but out of phase by half a period. The flow passed by the upstream valve is the controlling factor with respect to the amplitude of the created waveform, that is, the maximum momentum appearing at the nozzle. Oscillation will occur down to a very small volume flow since the flow in the control arm of the switch necessary for switching is almost directly proportional to the amount of flow passing the switch.

It will be recognized, of course, that each pair of oscillators is fed by a separate channel in the hose and controlled by its

own control valve

46 or 48 upstream remote from the sprinkler head. The nozzle arrangement shown best in FIGS. 9 and 10 is important at what might be referred to as the summing junction with respect to the ground as well as to each other. All four nozzle passages are angled somewhat upward from the ground plane and are located in such a way that the two from the same oscillator circuit oppose each other in a plane 96? from the other two oscillator nozzles. Thus,

passages

1218 and 122B from

oscillator chambers

80 and 82 control the nozzle ports 132C and 134C and the

nozzle outlets

137 and 139. The

chamber

84 and 86 discharge two passages 1238 and 1248 leading to nozzle ports 131C and 133C and

nozzle openings

136 and 138. This is accomplished by reason of the V-shaped passage 1248 which crosses the centerline of the unit and the passage 121B which crosses the centerline.

All four jets intersect at a common point and it is the momentum differential which determines the angle and direction of the resulting water stream. The end result is a jet of water oscillating in two planes apart and covering a rectangular pattern. Maximum coverage can be obtained by full flow to both oscillators. On the other hand, limiting the flow to one of the oscillators means loss of momentum at the nozzles and results in a reduced oscillation in the corresponding plane. The covered pattern, therefore, becomes narrower in one direction while remaining constant in the other direction. Adjusting the flow upstream, therefore, results in achange of the spray pattern ranging from a line in two planes through all combinations to a full square pattern with the sprinkler always located at the center. In FIG. 13, a diagrammatic presentation of the unit is shown.

If it is desired to locate the sprinkler head in an offcenter position with respect to an area to be covered or to compensate for pattern distortion due to a wind influence, it is necessary to bias the final water stream oscillations by creating some imbalance in the oscillator. This can be achieved by altering remotely either the resistance or the capacitance in one or the other side of the oscillator circuit. This changes the rate of pressure buildup or the switching point and most important the volume flow rate.

One approach to reaching this objective is the adding of extra flow to an oscillator circuit in such a way as to oppose or help the normal flow and thereby effectively change the impedance of the circuit. The point in the circuit to which the additional flow is introduced is also important. For example, if flow is added near and toward the control port of the switch, the switching point would be lowered and if the flow is added in a direction opposing the normal control flow, this would raise the switching point.

In FIGS. 14 to 19, a modified circuit has been shown in which extra flow can be added to any or all of the four nozzles of an oscillator circuit otherwise identical to the one previously described, This control, however, is obtained, not by adjusting the flow into the bistable switch, but by creating a flow differential at opposing nozzles through flow added near one or the other. Such manipulations result in the desired bias of the final water stream and the possible reduction of the spray pattern at one side or the other to achieve an unsymmetrical pattern with respect to the sprinkler location.

This upstream control unit utilizes a control hose between the remote control unit and the sprinkler head as shown in cross section in FIG. 18 wherein the hose 180 has an additional main opening 182 and four

supplemental openings

184, 186, 188 and 190 spaced around the outer periphery. This hose cooperates in a suitable connector with a sprinkler head base 192 shown in FIG. 14 which has central opening 193 and circumferentially spaced

small openings

194, 196, 198 and 200. These openings pass inwardly to the central portion of the modified sprinkler head base 192 and terminate at the upper face of the head in a rectangular pattern of

ports

204, 206, 208 and 210. The base otherwise has the

same chambers

80, 82, 84 and 86 and has a central opening 212 which is elongate in shape to embrace both of the

openings

92A and 94A of a modified separator plate 213 shown in FIG. 17. This plate 213 is identical with the plate shown in FIG. 12 except that it has four additional openings centrally in a rectangular pattern, namely,

openings

214, 216, 218 and 220. The switch plate used with this embodiment is the same as that shown in FIG. 11 and the nozzle plate is the same as that shown in FIG. 9.

The

passages

184, 186, 188 and 190 are controlled by remote control valves similar to those shown in FIG. 1, shown diagrammatically at 224, 226, 228 and 230 in FIG. 19. Thus, the

additional ports

214, 216, 218 and 220 controlled by the

valves

224, 226, 228 and 230 can add flow to the output nozzles in whatever particular design is established by the operator, it being understood that the large size opening 212 supplies both oscillators which will function in the same way as previously described apart from the fact that there is no separate control of the two sets of oscillators.

With the modified assembly one or a pair of nozzles may be supplemented materially by the flow from the supplemental supply ports and the pattern can receive an infinite variation depending on the control of the remote valves. The supplemental flow can be used at other portions of the circuit as, for example, the control legs of the fluidic switch to accomplish the flow variation desired.

Another design of a circuit which will permit offcenter sprinkler location is shown diagrammatically in FIG. 20. Here the supply hose 300 leads to an assembly within a housing 302 from which a hose 304 having four

passages

306, 307, 308, 309 leads to a nozzle head 310 having four

outlets

312, 313, 314, 315. The housing 302 divides flow from an inlet 320 to passages 322 and 324 controlled respectively by

manual valves

326 and 328 and each leading to a

bistable fluidic switch

330, 332, having

control arm passages

334, 336 and 338, 340, respectively. These control arm passages each have a

needle valve

342, 344, 346 and 348 and each leads to a passage in the respective

plural line hose

306, 307, 308, 309. These passages in the plural line hose are formed of a flexible material which will expand under pressure to form a capacitor to influence a control arm in the respective fluidic switches.

The necessary oscillations are created in this system in the control unit upstream and remote from the nozzle itself. From FIG. 20 it can be seen that the flow into the control unit is divided there ahead of the two fluidic switches. The flow entering a particular switch is converted to a high velocity jet and leaves through one or the other output leg, entering the flexible hose on the way to the respective nozzle in the sprinkler head. This special hose, capable of increasing in size now functions as energy storing capacitor and buffer, preventing possible shock loading as the jet hits upon the stationary column of water. Pressure will, however, build up rapidly causing increased flow towards the nozzle until switching occurs due to the sidetracked energy appearing at a control arm passage. Again, as the other side now is charging up, discharge occurs at the first leg of the oscillator. Control over the device may be obtained either by flow control into the fluidic switch or by flow control in the four control channels. In the former instance, the sprinkler would require centering the spray area, while in the latter instance an offcenter location could be used. All valves may be simple needle point screws, designed to limit the channel opening for reduced flow.

It will thus be seen that such modifications show an extremely simple sprinkler head with no moving parts, the nozzles being designed to create a fairly large spray pattern which is relatively close to the ground to minimize the influence of the wind. The dimensions of channels, orifices, and nozzles may be varied at will and may be of such a size that they are not affected by small particles in the water supply. If the water supply comes from a source which is not filtered, it might be necessary to provide a filter in the control unit ahead of the flow control valves to remove large particles.

lclaim:

1. A sprinkler head for sprinkling a controlled area in a defined pattern which comprises a housing having an inlet for a liquid supply and having a plurality of spray outlets formed on one surface thereof arranged in pairs, each outlet of each pair being directed toward the other outlet of said pair in a converging pattern, and passages in said housing between said inlet and said outlets for directing liquid under pressure to some of said outlets in varying degree to the other of said outlets to create a predetermined spray pattern by reason of the interference of the jets from said respective pairs of outlets.

2. A sprinkler head for sprinkling a controlled area in a defined pattern which comprises a housing having an inlet for a water supply and having a plurality of spray outlets formed on one surface thereof arranged in pairs, each outlet of each pair being directed toward the other outlet of said pair in a converging pattern, and passages in said housing between said inlet and said outlets for directing liquid under pressure to some of said outlets in varying degree to the other of said outlets to create a predetermined spray pattern by reason of the interference of the jets from said respective pairs of outlets, and passage means in said housing responsive to varying pressure therein to shift flow from one passage to another for a predetermined time.

3. A sprinkler head for sprinkling a controlled area in a defined pattern which comprises a housing having an inlet for a liquid supply and having a plurality of outlets formed on one surface thereof, a plurality of distribution passages leading from said inlet to said outlets, and a fluidic valve configuration having two control arm passages formed in said housing to direct flow selectively to one of said outlets as distinguished from another, said housing having a plurality of capacitor chambers formed therein, each connected to a control arm passage of said fluidic valve, said chambers serving selectively to accumulate pressure from a source at said inlet to shift said fluidic valve operation and influence flow.

4. A sprinkler head as defined in claim 3 in which a resilient means is interposed in each capacitor chamber to bias pressure liquid in said chamber.

5. A sprinkler head and remote control for sprinkling a controlled area in a defined pattern which comprises:

a. a supply hose for liquid under pressure having a plurality of independent passages therein:

b. valve means connected to said supply hose for controlling each of said passages independently of the other; and

c. a sprinkler head comprising:

1. a main body having an inlet for said supply hose and having formed thereon a plurality of capacitor chambers:

2. means in each of said chambers to resiliently resist the introduction of liquid under pressure:

3. a separator plate overlying said body housing passages therethrough to communicate with said chambers:

4. a switch plate overlying said separator plate having formed therein fluidic valve passage configurations with control arms and outlet arms in communication with said chambers, and having distribution passages leading from said chambers: and

5. a nozzle plate overlying said switch plate, said nozzle plate having formed therein noule passages leading from a first surface overlying said switch plate to nozzle openings in an exposed surface, said nozzle passages communicating respectively with distribution passages in said switch plate,

wherein liquid under pressure in said supply hose is directed selectively to said nozzle openings in progressively increasing and decreasing quantities to sprinkle a controllable defined area.

6. A sprinkler head as defined in claim in which said means in each of said chambers comprises a pneumatic compressible capsule occupying a portion of each said chamber.

7. A sprinkler head as defined in claim 5, in which the main body has four capacitor chambers, the switch plate has two fluid valve passage configurations, and the nozzle plate has four nozzle outlet passages and four nozzle openings, two of said openings being opposed to each other, and the other two being opposed to each other wherein flow from one of a pair of opposed openings can control the direction of the flow of the other nozzle of said pair.

8. A sprinkler head for sprinkling a controlled area in a defined pattern which comprises:

a. a housing having an inlet for a liquid supply and a plurality of pairs of opposed outlets in a top surface thereof, each outlet of each pair being the termination of an outlet passage which angles upwardly toward the other outlet of said pair:

b. a plurality of pairs of chambers formed in said housing, each chamber of each pair being respectively in communication with one of said outlet passages:

c. hydraulic switch means in said housing to direct liquid under pressure selectively from said inlet to one chamber of each of said pairs of chambers: and

d. means in said chambers and means in said switch means responsive to pressure accumulation in a particular chamber of a pair of chambers to switch flow from said particular chamber to the other of said chambers of said pair of chambers:

wherein flow from said outlets occurs in response to the introduction of liquid under pressure in said chambers.

9. A sprinkler head as defined in claim 8 in which means is provided in each chamber to provide resilient resistance to pressure build up in each chamber and to create an accumulator effect to cause emission of accumulated pressure in said chamber.

10. A sprinkler head as defined in claim 8 in which said switch means comprises a fluidic switch configuration having an input leg connected to said supply inlet, a pair of outlet areas respectively connected to each of a pair of chambers, and a pair of control ports between said leg and said arms also each respectively connected to each of said pair of chambers.

11. A sprinkler head as defined in claim 8 which separate passages are formed at said inlet leading to respective switch means in said head, a hose connection to each of said inlet passages, and a control valve in each hose connection remote from said head to effect control of liquid under pressure to each said inlet passage.

12. A sprinkler head as defined in claim 8 in which said head is provided with a plurality of supplemental passages leading from a plurality of secondary inlets to points in the flow pattern to affect the output of said respective outlet passages, and means for controlling individual supply of liquid under pressure to each of said supplemental passages to effect control of thedirection of liquid emitting from said respective outlets.

13. A sprinkler head as defined in claim 12 in which a single hose having a main supply passage and a plurality of individual passages is connected to said housing to register with the inlet and the respective secondary inlets, and said means for controlling the individual supply of liquid to said supplemental passages comprises manually operable valves positioned in said hose remote from said head.

14. A sprinkler system for sprinkling a controlled area in a defined pattern which comprises:

a. a housing having openings for a liquid supply and a plurality of outlets for directing a flow of liquid for a sprinkling effect:

b. means forming a plurality of pairs of expansiblecontractable chambers, each chamber being respectively in communication with one of said outlet passages:

c. means to conduct a supply of liquid under pressure,

(1. hydraulic switch means to direct said supply of liquid under pressure selectively to one chamber of each of said pairs of chambers: and

e. means in said switch means responsive to pressure accumulation in a particular chamber of a pair of chambers to switch flow from said particular chamber-to the other of said chamber of said pair of chambers:

wherein flow from said outlets occurs in response to the introduction of liquid under pressure in said chamber.

15. A sprinkler system for sprinkling a controlled area in a defined pattern which comprises:

a. a housing having a plurality of inlets for water supply and a plurality of pairs of opposed outlets in a top surface thereof, each outlet of each pair being the termination of an outlet passage connected to an inlet:

b. a hose connected at one end to each of said inlet passages made from flexible material responsive to pressure accumulation:

c. fluidic switch means each having an input passage, control ports, and a pair of output legs at the other end of said hose to direct liquid under pressure selectively from the inlet to one or the other of two hoses leading to said opposed outlets in said sprinkler head wherein flow from said outlets occurs in response to the introduction of liquid under pressure in said hoses which serve as pressure accumulators;

d. a control unit having control passages leading from each output leg of a fluidic switch to a control port of a fluidic switch: and

e. a valve in each said control passages to limit the flow to said control port.

16. A control unit as defined in claim 15 in which a valve is interposed in each input passage leading to the fluidic switches to limit the flow individually to each of said fluidic switches.

17. A sprinkler system for sprinkling a defined area which comprises:

a. a plurality of fluidic oscillators each comprising a fluidic switch and two fluidic capacitors each arranged that flow leaving the switch passes through one of said capacitors:

b. means for feeding the accumulated pressure in a capacitor back to a control port of a switch:

c. a summing junction consisting of means forming a plurality of pairs of opposing nozzles arranged in such a manner, that each pair is connected to the outputs of one of said fluidic oscillators, the flow in each nozzle affecting the direction and angle of the flow out of the other nozzles: and

(1. flow control valves to control flow into each said fluidic oscillators for altering the spray pattern.

18. A sprinkling system as defined in claim 17 in which controllable valves are provided in the means for feeding accumulated pressure back to a control port for biasing the oscillations of said oscillators.

19. A sprinkling system as defined in claim 17 in which said fluidic capacitors are formed by individual hose connections leading to said nozzles from said fluidic switches.

20. A sprinkling system as defined in claim 17 in which said flow control valves are connected to each said fluidic oscillator by a hose connection wherein said flow control valves are remote from the summing junction.

Claims

5. a nozzle plate overlying said switch plate, said nozzle plate having formed therein nozzle passages leading from a first surface overlying said switch plate to nozzle openings in an exposed surface, said nozzle passages communicating respectively with distribution passages in said switch plate, wherein liquid under pressure in said supply hose is directed selectively to said nozzle openings in progressively increasing and decreasing quantities to sprinkle a controllable defined area.

5. A sprinkler head and remote control for sprinkling a controlled area in a defined pattern which comprises: a. a supply hose for liquid under pressure having a plurality of independent passages therein: b. valve means connected to said supply hose for controlling each of said passages independently of the other; and c. a sprinkler head comprising:

6. A sprinkler head as defined in claim 5 in which said means in each of said chambers comprises a pneumatic compressible capsule occupying a portion of each said chamber.

8. A sprinkler head for sprinkling a controlled area in a defined pattern which comprises: a. a housing having an inlet for a liquid supply and a plurality of pairs of opposed outlets in a top surface thereof, each outlet of each pair being the termination of an outlet passage which angles upwardly toward the other outlet of said pair: b. a plurality of pairs of chambers formed in said housing, each chamber of each pair being respectively in communication with one of said outlet passages: c. hydraulic switch means in said housing to direct liquid under pressure selectively from said inlet to one chamber of each of said pairs of chambers: and d. means in said chambers and means in said switch means responsive to pressure accumulation in a particular chamber of a pair of chambers to switch flow from said particular chamber to the other of said chambers of said pair of chambers: wherein flow from said outlets occurs in response to the introduction oF liquid under pressure in said chambers.

12. A sprinkler head as defined in claim 8 in which said head is provided with a plurality of supplemental passages leading from a plurality of secondary inlets to points in the flow pattern to affect the output of said respective outlet passages, and means for controlling individual supply of liquid under pressure to each of said supplemental passages to effect control of the direction of liquid emitting from said respective outlets.

14. A sprinkler system for sprinkling a controlled area in a defined pattern which comprises: a. a housing having openings for a liquid supply and a plurality of outlets for directing a flow of liquid for a sprinkling effect: b. means forming a plurality of pairs of expansible-contractable chambers, each chamber being respectively in communication with one of said outlet passages: c. means to conduct a supply of liquid under pressure, d. hydraulic switch means to direct said supply of liquid under pressure selectively to one chamber of each of said pairs of chambers: and e. means in said switch means responsive to pressure accumulation in a particular chamber of a pair of chambers to switch flow from said particular chamber to the other of said chamber of said pair of chambers: wherein flow from said outlets occurs in response to the introduction of liquid under pressure in said chamber.

15. A sprinkler system for sprinkling a controlled area in a defined pattern which comprises: a. a housing having a plurality of inlets for water supply and a plurality of pairs of opposed outlets in a top surface thereof, each outlet of each pair being the termination of an outlet passage connected to an inlet: b. a hose connected at one end to each of said inlet passages made from flexible material responsive to pressure accumulation: c. fluidic switch means each having an input passage, control ports, and a pair of output legs at the other end of said hose to direct liquid under pressure selectively from the inlet to one or the other of two hoses leading to said opposed outlets in said sprinkler head wherein flow from said outlets occurs in response to the introduction of liquid under pressure in said hoses which serve as pressure accumulators; d. a control unit having control passages leading from each output leg of a fluidic switch to a control port of a fluidic switch: and e. a valve in each said control passages to limit the flow to said control port.

17. A sprinkler system for sprinkling a defined area which comprises: a. a plurality of fluidic oscillators each comprising a fluidic switch and two fluidic capacitors each arranged that flow leaving the switch passes through one of said capacitors: b. means for feeding the accumulated pressure in a capacitor back to a control port of a switch: c. a summing junction consisting of means forming a plurality of pairs of opposing nozzles arranged in such a manner, that each pair is connected to the outputs of one of said fluidic oscillators, the flow in each nozzle affecting the direction and angle of the flow out of the other nozzles: and d. flow control valves to control flow into each said fluidic oscillators for altering the spray pattern.