US3581994A

US3581994A - Deflection shield for lawn sprinkler

Info

Publication number: US3581994A
Application number: US800925A
Authority: US
Inventors: Edwin M Heiberger
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: HUNTER-MELNOR Inc
Priority date: 1969-02-20
Filing date: 1969-02-20
Publication date: 1971-06-01
Anticipated expiration: 1988-06-01

Abstract

A water sprinkler deflection shield fabricated from sheet metal has an integral appendage formed from the same metal sheet, which extends into contact with the body of the sprinkler and is secured thereto for mounting the deflection shield in place. The shield serves to intercept jets of water which would otherwise be deflected by the impulse arm of the sprinkler toward an area outside the arc of sprinkler rotation. An adjustable, spring-held diffusion screw is threaded through the shield, and serves to fragment the errant jets of water.

Description

Umted States Patent [72] Inventor Edwin M. Heiberger 2,816,798 12/1957 Royer 239/230 806 Marilyn Ave., Baldwin, N.Y. 11510 3,070,314 12/1962 Warren 239/230 fil- N0 2 3553 FOREIGN PATENTS r e e Patented June 1,19." 604,762 5/1960 Italy 239/233 Primary Examiner-M. Henson Wood, Jr. Assistant Examiner-Michael Y. Mar 541 DEFLECTION SHIELD FOR LAWN SPRINKLER ArwmeyEdward R y 6 Claims, 5 Drawing Figs.

[52] US. Cl 239/230, ST A water sprinlder d fl ti shield f b i t d 239/233 from sheet metal has an integral appendage formed from the [51] Int. Cl B05b 3/02 same metal sheet which extends into Contact with the body f 1 Field Search 239/230, the sprinkler and is secured thereto for mounting the deflec- 23 233 tion shield in place. The shield serves to intercept jets of water [56] References Cited which would otherwise be deflected by the impulse arm of the sprinkler toward an area outside the arc of sprinkler rotation. UNITED STATES PATENTS An adjustable, spring-held diffusion screw is threaded through 2,256,737 9/1941 Englehart 239/230 the shield, and serves to fragment the errantjets of water.

PATENTEB JUN Han 3,581,994

SHEET 1 [IF 2 F G. l

INVENTOR. EDWIN M. HEIBERGER AT TORNE Y for this purpose.

DEFLECTION SHIELD FOR LAWN SPRINKLER This invention relates generally to lawn sprinklers, and particularly concerns an improved deflection shield for lawn sprinklers of the pulsating type.

In the lawn sprinkler art it is conventional for the sprinkler to rotate automatically for distributing water over an arcuate area of grass. The energy for rotating the sprinkler is normally provided by the stream of water itself as it passes through the sprinkler device. In the pulsating or impulse type of lawn sprinkler, the'water is sprayed in interrupted jets, and the sprinkler head is turned by the periodic action of the waterjets upon a swinging impulse bar. Sprinklers of this type are normally provided with a mechanism for setting desired limits to the arc of sprinkler head rotation, so that the water will not be sprayed upon buildings, paved areas and the like. During operation of the sprinkler, the swinging impulse bar periodically intercepts the jet of water and is imparted with a swinging force thereby, in such .a manner that the impulse bar strikes the body of the sprinkler head with an impact which turns the sprinkler head through an incremental movement between the set limits.

One of the problems with this type of sprinkler resides in the fact that when the emergingjet ofwater impinges upon the impulse arm, it is deflected by the arm toward an area which is outside the desired water distribution limits. As a result, water may be sprayed against buildings, walks, automobiles and the like. This not only causes considerable inconvenience, but also results in waste of water, which in some parts of the country has become a precious resource.

Attempts have been made to eliminate this errant secondary spray by fabricating the impulse bar in tubular form or so shaping the bar that it directs the secondary spray into the desired sprinkling zone. Such devices require costly tooling and machining which increases the manufacturing cost of the sprinkler device.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an incrementally driven pulsating type lawn sprinkler incorporating improved means for preventing or minimizing the normally inherent secondary spray outside the desired spraying zone.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a lawn sprinkler of the character described in which the errant sccon dary spray is eliminated by means of a deflection shield which is constantly positioned to divert said secondary spray into the desired spraying area.

Still anotherobject of the invention is the provision of a lawn sprinkler of the character described in which the deflection shield is formed with an integral mounting appendage which can be mounted on the spray head of the sprinkler without requiring screws or other separate mounting devices, and in which the deflection shield and mounting appendage may be formed as a single stamping at a low manufacturing cost. Y

A further object of the invention is the provision of a lawn sprinkler of the character described in which the mounting appendage of the deflection shield is so formed that it also serves as the element for receiving the impact of the impulsing member, thereby eliminating the necessity of providing separate costly elements which are conventionally provided In accordance with the invention there is provided in a water sprinkler of theimpulse type a deflection shield comprising a flat plate fabricated of sheet material, and an integral mounting appendage for said plate. The mounting appendage comprises a flat strip having a mounting opening at its free end sized to be clamped by the sprinkler head nozzle against the body of the sprinkler head. The mounting appendage in mounted position is adapted to hold the deflection shield in a downwardly inclined attitude in a position to intercept errant jets of water which are deflected by the impulse arm of the sprinkler. A diffusion element, preferably in the form of a screw, is mounted on the deflection shield in position to intercept and diffuse said errantjets of water.

Additional objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent during thecourse of the following specification when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a lawn sprinkler made in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged section taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1 and showing the sprinkler head parts in position to produce a full stroke of the impulse bar for clockwise rotation of the sprinkler head;

FIG. 3 is a partial section similar to that of FIG. 2, but showing the sprinkler head parts in' their opposite position to produce a partial stroke of the impulse bar and counterclockwise rotation of the sprinkler head;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the lawn sprinkler, as viewed from the side opposite to that of FIG. I; and

FIG. 5 is a bottom plan view of the lawn sprinkler.

Referring in detail to the drawings, there is shown a water sprinkler 10 of the impulse type which comprises a stationary base portion 12 upon which a sprinkler head 14 is rotatably mounted in the conventional manner.

The base member 12 is made in the form of a hollow metal tube which is formed with external threading 16 sized to engage with cooperating threading on a water outlet fixture (not shown) embedded in or resting upon the lawn. The base member 12 is also formed with an integral hexagonal surface 18 which permits a wrench or other tool to be used for coupling the base member to the water outlet fixture.

The sprinkler head 14 includes a hollow body 20 from which depends a tubular stem 22 constituting the water conduit. The tubular stem 22 extends through the interior of base member 12 to mount the sprinkler head 14 rotatably on said base member. Below the base member 12, the stem 22 is formed with an enlarged circular flange 24 which prevents the stem from being withdrawn from the base member and also serves as the water inlet for the sprinkler head. An annular gasket 26 for water sealing surrounds the stem 22 between the flange 24 and the base member 12.

The tubular stem or water conduit 22 communicates through the hollow body 20 with an inclined outlet bore 28 (FIG. 2) having internal threading 30 which receives the ex ternal threading 32 of an outlet nozzle 34. It will be appreciated that when the sprinkler base portion 12 is screwed into the aforementioned water outlet fixture, and the water is turned on, the water enters flange portion 24 and travels through hollow body 20 to outlet bore 28, being emitted as a high-pressure stream from nozzle 34.

The sprinkler head 14 also includes an offset boss 36 formed integrally with and extending above the hollow body 20. Formed integrally with the boss 36 is one leg 38 ofa bridge member 40, the other leg 42 of which is integral with the body 20in the region thereof adjacent the nozzle 34.

The incremental rotation of the sprinkler head 14 is accomplished in the usual manner by repeated actuation of a weighted impulse bar 44 which is pivotally mounted upon a vertical pin 46. The pin 46 in turn is supported between the sprinkler head body 20 and the bridge member 40 which is spaced above and extends over the top of the sprinkler body. A light coil spring 48 encircles the pin 46, one end of said spring 48 being anchored on the bridge member 40 and the other end of said spring being connected to the impulse bar 44, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4.

The spring 458 resiliently biases the pivoted impulse bar 44 in the clockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 2, so that the bar 44 normally engages stop means in a manner to be described hereinafter.

The impulse bar 44 comprises a pair of

arms

50 and 52 located on opposite sides of the vertical mounting pin 46. The arm 50 is an actuating arm and has a hollow interior defined by

opposed vanes

54 and 56 which are offset from each other, as shown in FIG. 2. The opposite arm 52 is solid and weighted, and has a striker lug 58 depending therefrom, as best seen in FIG. 4.

The impulse bar 44 is normally held by tension of spring 48 in a position in which the hollow interior of its actuating arm 50 is located forwardly of and in alignment with the outlet nozzle 34. Water under pressure passing through the tubular stem 22 emerges in a high-pressure jet from the outlet nozzle 34, passes through the hollow interior of the actuating arm 50 and strikes the vane 56 as indicated by the arrows 60 in FIG. 2. The outer end of vane 56 is so inclined that the force of the water jet impinging thereon causes the impulse bar 44 to be rotated in a counterclockwise direction as indicated by the arrow 62 in FIG. 2 until the impulse bar reaches the brokenline position shown.

The broken-line position of the impulse bar 44 in FIG. 2 represents the end of the counterclockwise travel of said impulse member and is determined by the coil spring 48 which has become fully compressed. The tension of the compressed coil spring 48 now reverses the direction of movement of the impulse member and causes the weighted member to swing rapidly in a clockwise direction until it reaches the full-line position of FIG. 2 and strikes a fixed portion of the body with a sharp blow. This blow causes the entire sprinkler head 14 to turn through a short angular increment in a clockwise direction about the stationary base 12 so that the direction of the water jet is changed. At the same time, the actuating arm 50 has passed through the jet and is again in the full-line position of FIG. 2 wherein it receives the jet through its hollow interior, and the impingement of the jet on the vane 56 causes the impulse bar 44 to again swing in the direction of arrow 62 and compress spring 48. This cycle is repeated continuously in rapid succession with the nozzle turned progressively around the axis ofthe base 12 in a series of short steps. As a result, the water spray is turned continuously in a stepped fashion around the sprinkler and the waterjets are in the nature of interrupted pulses caused by the actuating arm 50 cutting successively through the jet.

If no further means were added, the nozzle would travel continuously in a clockwise direction describing complete circles so that the spray would cover a complete circular area around the sprinkler 10. It is customary, however, for the sprinkler to include adjustable stop means to limit the spray area to a selected segment of a circle, and for this purpose, means are provided to cause the spray head to reciprocate in opposite directions, that is, to reverse its direction of turning movement each time it engages the stop means. Such stop means and reversing means are shown in the drawings and will now be described.

A pivot pin 64 is secured to and depends from the boss 36 of the sprinkler body 20. Pivotally mounted upon the pin 64 is a chock 66 which can assume either one of two alternative angular positions to determine the direction of rotation of the sprinkler head 14 relative to the base member 12. Chock 66 comprises a pair of

arms

68 and 70 set at an oblique angle to each other. The arm 68 is formed with an upstanding lug 72 which is located to serve as a stop for the swinging movement of the impulse bar 44. In the inoperative position of the chock '66 illustrated in FIG. 2, the chock 66 has been pivoted to its clockwise limit, wherein the arm 70 abuts against the sprinkler body 20. In this position a clearance space is provided between the lug 72 and the sprinkler body 20, through which can pass the depending striker lug 58 on the weighted arm 52 of the impulse bar 44. The chock can also be pivoted to the operative position shown in FIG. 3, wherein the arm 68 abuts against the sprinkler body 20 and the lug 72 is located in the path ofswinging movement ofthe depending striker lug 58.

Pivoting movement of the chock 66 between its operative and inoperative positions is controlled by a yoke-shaped regulator member 74 which is pivotally mounted on pin 64 beneath the chock 66. The regulator member 74 is independently turnable upon pin 64, but is connected to chock 66 in a toggle relationship by means of an overcenter coil spring 76, one end of which is inserted into anopening 78 in member 74 and the other end of which is inserted in opening 80 in chock 66. The regulator member 74 and chock 66 are thus linked together for mutually opposite rotation about their common pivot pin 64.

The yoke-shaped regulator member 74 has a pair of spaced

arms

82 and 84 located to engage the sprinkler head body 20 alternately, so as to limit the pivoting movement of the regulator member 74. Also mounted on the regulator member 74 is a bracket 86 formed of spring wire and having spaced

side arms

88 and 90, the free ends of which are bent perpendicularly inward and received respectively in vertically spaced

apertures

92 and 94 in the regulator member 74, as shown in FIGS. 1, 4 and 5. The forward ends of the arms 88 and terminate in a depending U-shaped leg 96.

The depending leg 96 cooperates with a pair of adjustable limit-determining elements in the nature of arcuate spring clips 98 and 100 which frietionally embrace the upper portion of the stationary base 12 and have respective, radially projecting bent ends 102a, 102b, and 10411, 104!) serving as stop members. The

clips

98 and 100 may be selectively turned relative to one another on the stationary base 12 to vary the spacing between the stop members 102a, 102!) and 104a, 104b, thereby adjusting the degree of angular travel of the spray head.

In the adjusted position of the spring clips 98 and I00 shown in the drawings and best seen in FIG. 5, the

stop members

102a and 104 are spaced apart angularly by such a distance as to permit reciprocating travel of the sprinkler head nozzle 34 through an angle of approximately 90. The cycle of operation thereupon proceeds in the following manner:

With the parts ofthe reversing mechanism set in the manner shown in FIGS. I and 2, the arm 82 of the regulator member 74 abuts the sprinkler head body 20, and the overcenter spring 76 urges the chock 66 to its inoperative position in which its arm 70 engages the body 20 and the arm 68 is spaced from the body 20. In this spaced position of arm 70, the upstanding lug 72 thereon is located outside of the path of movement of the depending striker lug 58 carried by the impulse bar 44. The impulse bar 44 can therefore turn freely through its full swinging movement as previously described. Thus, when the jet of water emitted from the nozzle 34 passes that the the hollow interior of the actuating arm 50 and engages the vane 56, the impulse bar 44 is rotated in a counterclockwise direction for a full stroke, that is until its initial kinetic energy is dissipated by the tightening of the coil spring 48. In this full stroke, the striker lug 58 passes by the outwardly spaced upstanding lug 72, in the manner indicated in FIG. 2. At the end of the outward stroke, the impulse bar 44 comes to a halt and is returned to its starting position with considerable force by the tensioned coil spring 48, so that the bar 44 strikes a fixed portion of the sprinkler head body 20 with sufficient impact to turn the entire sprinkler head in a clockwise direction through a short increment of travel.

These full outward strokes and return strokes are repeated successively until the sprinkler head 14 has turned clockwise to such a position that the depending leg 96 of spring bracket 86 strikes the stop member l04b. Such engagement causes the leg 96 to turn the connected regulator member 74 to the position shown in FIG. 3, in which the arm 80 engages the sprinkler head body 20. The toggle action of the overcenter spring 76 then snaps the chock 66 to its operative position in which its arm 68 abuts the body 20 and the upstanding lug 72 is located in the path of movement of the striker lug 58.

With the chock 66 in its operative position, a reverse movement of the sprinkler head 14 now occurs. Thus, when the jet of water passing through the interior or the actuating arm 50 engages vane 56 to propel the impulse bar in a counterclockwise direction, the impulse bar completes only a partial stroke, determined by the striker lug 58 engaging the upstanding lug 72 which is now in its path. This engagement takes place with an impact of sufficient force to turn the entire sprinkler head in a counterclockwise direction and the spring 48 then returns the impulse bar 44 to its original starting position in alignment with nozzle 34. Because of the partial outward stroke, the coil spring 48 is not greatly tensioned and the impulse bar 44 is not returned with enough force to move the sprinkler head in a counterclockwise direction to any appreciable extent. Thus, the sprinkler head is stepped clockwise in short increments caused by'the impact of the striker lug 58 against the upstanding lug 72. This clockwise movement is continued until the depending leg 96 of spring bracket 86 strikes the stop member 102a and turns the chock :66 to its inoperative position, whereby the full-stroke cycle is repeated and the sprinkler head again reverses its direction of travel. In this manner, the sprinkler head turns repeatedly back and forth between the stop members 102a and 1104b until the sprinkling operation is concluded and the water shut off.

Regardless of whether the sprinkler head 14 is traveling in the counterclockwise direction or in the clockwise direction, at each cycle of pivoting movement of the impulse bar 44, the actuating arm 50 passes through the stream of water just be fore it arrives at its starting position and again as it begins its outward pivoting movement, propelled by the force of the stream against the vane 56. During these periods of cutting through the waterstream, as well as during the period in which the actuating arm 50 is in alignment with the stream of water, the waterjet emerging from the nozzle 34 is deflected in a new direction, as indicated by the arrows 60 in FIG. 2. Such deflection of the waterjet causes the water to spray momentarily in a direction outside the area limits defined by the stop mem hers, with the result that buildings, walks, automobiles and even people may be sprayed. To prevent this, there is provided, in accordance with the present invention, a deflection shield 78 stamped from a piece of sheet metal stock and mounted in the path of the deflected water spray to prevent this spray from landing outside the desired spray area.

The deflection shield 106 comprises a rectangular metal plate formed with an integral mounting appendage 108- stamped and bent from the same piece of sheet metal. The mounting appendage 108 is of S-shape, having an arm 108a extending angularly from the shield 106, a mounting arm l08b parallel to and spaced from the arm 108a, and an intermediate arm l08c extending perpendicularly between the

arms

108a and 108b and connecting the latter. The'intermediate arm I080 defines a lateral shoulder at the outer end of the mounting arm I08b for a purpose to be presently explained.

As shown'in FIG. 2, the mounting arm 10% has a threaded aperture 110 sized to receive the external threading 32 of outlet nozzle 34. In assembling the sprinkler, the mounting arm 108b 170 is screwed upon the nozzle 34 and the latter is then mounted in the threaded outlet bore 28 of body 20, to clamp the mounting arm 1b securely in mounted position. In this position, the deflection shield 106 is spaced rearwardly of and in alignment with the actuating arm 50 and is inclined downwardly from the vertical. It will thus be observed that the deflection shield is so positioned and angularly oriented that when the jet of water passes through the interior of mounting arm 108b, strikes the vane 56 and is diverted as a spray in the direction of the arrows 60, as shown in FIG. 2, this spray strikes the deflection shield 106, and, owing to the downward slope of the latter, is deflected in a downward direction within the spray area for.which the sprinkler is set.

The effectiveness of the deflection shield 106, in preventing water from being diverted outside the selected spray zone, is increased by the addition of a diffusion element I12 which projects perpendicularly from the shield 106 toward the acmachine screw having a threaded shank 114 which is engaged with a tapped hole I16 in the center of the deflection shield 106. One end of the threaded shank 114 protrudes from the shield 106 toward the actuating arm 50 to accomplish the diffusion action described above. At the opposite end of the threaded shank is the usual head 118 having a kerf 120 to permit simple screwdriver adjustment of the element H2 relative to the shield 106 until optimum diffusion action is achieved. In order to prevent the threaded shank 114 from creeping relative to the deflection shield I06 under the influence of the repeated impacts of the actuating arm 50, a coil spring 122 surrounds the outer end of the threaded shank H4 and is in compression between the screw head H8 and the deflection shield 106 to maintain a tight threaded engagement between the shank 114! and the tapped aperture 116.

The mounting appendage I08 of deflection shield 106 is so constructed that it serves the additional function of serving as the element which receives the impulsing impact of the actuating arm 50 during the full-stroke cycle. For this purpose, the intermediate arm 1108c of appendage 108 forms with arm lltlfia a bight or shoulder which is structurally reinforced for receiving the impact of the impulse bar 44. When the arm I081) is clamped firmly in mounted position by the threaded portion of outlet nozzle 34, the shoulder is positioned precisely in the path of the vane 54 of actuating arm 50 to receive the impact of the latter during the full-stroke cycle when the impulse bar 44 is rotated by the return action of coil spring 48, to produce the incremental counterclockwise movement of the sprinkler head, as previously described.

In sprinkler devices presently available commercially, a relatively expensive separate milled rod is employed as a stop to receive the impulsing impact of the impulse bar. It will be appreciated that the deflector shield I06 and its mounting appendage 108, being made ofa single stamping, is considerably simpler and more economical to manufacture and serves the dual purpose of diverting undesirable secondary spray as well as serving as the impact-receiving member.

While a preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown and described herein, it will be obvious that numerous additions, changes and omissions may be made in such embodiment without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. In a water sprinkler of the pulsating type having a stationary base, a sprinkler head turnably mounted on said base, a water-ejection nozzle member screw mounted on said sprinkler head, and an impulse bar pivoted on said sprinkler head against which the ejected water impinges to impulse said bar for incrementally rotating said sprinkler head, water-deflection means arranged to intercept errantjets of water which are deflected by said impulse oar, said water-deflection means comprising a deflection shield fabricated from sheet material, and a mounting appendage integral with said deflection shield and fabricated from the same sheet material, said appendage having a mounting aperture sized to i receive said nozzle member and to be clamped thereby upon said sprinkler head when said nozzle member is screw mounted on the latter, said mounting appendage and deflection shield being arranged relative to each other in such a manner as to position the deflection shield in the path of the errant jets deflected by said impulse bar and in a downwardly inclined attitude whereby the intercepted errant jets are diverted downwardly in a direction opposite to their original direction.

2. Water-deflection means according to claim 1 in which said impulse bar is spring loaded to produce successive and periodic reciprocating cycles of pivoting movement, each cycle including an initial stroke in response to impingement of the ejected water thereon, and a return stroke under spring load, said mounting appendage in its mounted position being interposed in the path of the return stroke of said impulse bar, whereby to receive an impact therefrom to rotate the sprinkler head incrementally in one direction.

3. Water-deflection means according to claim 2 in which mounting appendage is curved substantially at the point of impact of said impulse bar, whereby to resist damage from such impact.

4. Water-deflection means according to claim l in which a water diffusion element projects perpendicularly from the surscrew member includes a threaded body terminating in an enlarged head, and a coil spring surrounding said threaded body and in compression between said head and said deflection shield to tighten the threaded engagement between said body and said shield, to thereby impede vibratory dislocation of said screw member.

Claims

1. In a water sprinkler of the pulsating type having a stationary base, a sprinkler head turnably mounted on said base, a water-ejection nozzle member screw mounted on said sprinkler head, and an impulse bar pivoted on said sprinkler head against which the ejected water impinges to impulse said bar for incrementally rotating said sprinkler head, water-deflection means arranged to intercept errant jets of water which are deflected by said impulse bar, said water-deflection means comprising a deflection shield fabricated from sheet material, and a mounting appendage integral with said deflection shield and fabricated from the same sheet material, said appendage having a mounting aperture sized to receive said nozzle member and to be clamped thereby upon said sprinkler head when said nozzle member is screw mounted on the latter, said mounting appendage and deflection shield being arranged relative to each other in such a manner as to position the deflection shield in the path of the errant jets deflected by said impulse bar and in a downwardly inclined attitude whereby the intercepted errant jets are diverted downwardly in a direction opposite to their original direction.

4. Water-deflection means according to claim 1 in which a water diffusion element projects perpendicularly from the surface of said deflection shield which intercepts said errant jets, said diffusion element being located in the path of said errant jets, whereby to fragment the jets of water incident thereon.

5. Water-deflection means according to claim 4 in which said water-diffusion element comprises a screw member adjustably threaded through said shield and protruding therefrom.

6. Water-diffusion means according to claim 5 in which said screw member includes a threaded body terminating in an enlarged head, and a coil spring surrounding said threaded body and in compression between said head and said deflection shield to tighten the threaded engagement between said body and said shield, to thereby impede vibratory dislocation of said screw member.