WO2012131529A1

WO2012131529A1 - Irrigator for gardens

Info

Publication number: WO2012131529A1
Application number: PCT/IB2012/051308
Authority: WO
Inventors: Giorgio Gaiti
Original assignee: G.F. S.R.L.
Priority date: 2011-03-30
Filing date: 2012-03-19
Publication date: 2012-10-04
Also published as: ITMO20110068A1

Abstract

An irrigator for a garden, comprising a conduit (2) for passage of a pressurised fluid, an impeller (3) having a rotation axis (S) and arranged on the conduit (2) such as to be set in rotation by the passage of the pressurised fluid transiting in the conduit (2). The irrigator comprises conveyor means (10) arranged downstream of the impeller (3) such as to receive the fluid from the impeller (3) and convey said fluid distancingly from the impeller (3) along the rotation axis (S) of said impeller (3).

Description

I IRRIGATOR FOR GARDENS . DESCRIPTION

The object of the present invention is an irrigator for gardens. In particular, the object of the invention is a pop-up irrigator that is connectable to an underground irrigation system.

There are several known systems and devices for the maintenance of parks and gardens. The underground systems are among the various, most efficient types. These irrigation systems have irrigator devices placed within the turf and connected to the water supply system of a home by means of pipes, which are also installed underground.

Among the various types of underground irrigators on the market, there are known irrigators that utilise hydraulic pressure to produce a small amount of electrical energy useful for supplying small points of use of electricity such as decorative garden lighting elements.

These irrigators have an electric generator therein that is connected to a turbine. The flow of pressurised water coming from the supply system strikes the vanes of the turbine, setting it in rotation. This rotational movement is transferred to the generator, which transforms the motion into electrical current that is immediately expendable .

In terms of construction, irrigators must respect some structural and dimensional restrictions because for example the ends for attachment to the rest of the system are standardised and thus unalterable. There is considerable effort involved in the design thereof, in order to succeed in inserting the turbine and the electric generator inside the body of the irrigator.

A disadvantage of the known irrigators is that, in the case of high flow rates of the incoming water, water backflow may occur at the outlet from the turbine in the chamber containing the turbine itself. This phenomenon slows down the rotation of the turbine further and also overstresses the mechanical parts even to a point resulting in the sudden breakage thereof.

Disadvantageously, in the known irrigators, when passing through the turbine, the flow of water loses much of the pressure energy thereof that is provided by the water supply system and this results in a non-optimal flow of water coming out of the nozzles of the irrigator. In other words, the known irrigators waste a good part of the available hydraulic head, which results in a water jet range that may even be much more reduced with respect to irrigators that are not equipped with a turbine.

The technical task underlying the present invention is to propose an irrigator for gardens that overcomes the drawbacks of the prior art cited hereinabove.

In particular, the aim of the present invention is to make available an irrigator for gardens that has a high yield. In connection with this, an aim of the present invention is to make available an irrigator for gardens that is able to produce electrical current guaranteeing an optimal water jet range.

The defined technical task and the specified aim are substantially achieved by an irrigator for gardens comprising the technical characteristics stated in one or more claims appended hereto.

Further characteristics and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the approximate, and thus non-limiting, description of a preferred, but not exclusive, embodiment of an irrigator for gardens, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side view of the irrigator according to the present invention with one external component omitted to show the internal components more clearly;

Figure 2 is sectional view, on a longitudinal plane, of the irrigator in Figure 1 ;

Figure 3 is a sectional view, on a longitudinal plane, of a construction variant of the irrigator.

With reference to the figures cited, "1" is used to indicate an irrigator for gardens according to the present invention .

The irrigator 1 comprises a conduit 2 for the passage of a pressurised fluid, typically water, to irrigate turf. This conduit 2 has a prevalent development direction R intended to be oriented vertically in an operating configuration of the irrigator 1. In the preferred embodiment, the conduit 2 has a cylindrical shape, with a circular cross-section, in which the prevalent development axis R coincides with the central axis of symmetry of the cylinder itself. The conduit 2 defines at least in part a route for passage P of the fluid.

The conduit 2 has a base end 2a, which is connectable to a pipe of the irrigation system, as well as a head end 2b, from which an irrigation jet can come out.

The irrigator 1 has an irrigation head 12 positioned at the second end 2b of the conduit 2. More specifically, this irrigation head 12 comprises a body for diffusion 13 of the pressurised fluid defining a final portion of the route for passage P of the fluid itself and located inside the conduit 2 at the head end 2b thereof. The diffusion body 13 comprises a sealing element 25 that is operative between the diffusion body 13 itself and an internal surface 2c of the conduit 2 to prevent loss of fluid by leakage.

The diffusion body 13 also has an exit channel 14 in fluid connection with the conduit 2. The irrigation head 12 further comprises a cover 15 having at least one nozzle 16 for the discharge of the pressurised fluid for the actual irrigation of the turf. This cover 15 and particularly the nozzle 16 are in fluid connection with the exit channel 14 of the diffusion body 13. The cover 15 is also positioned at the head end 2b of the conduit 2 and kept in position by a striker 17 preferably connected to the conduit 2 by threaded means 18.

The irrigator comprises an impeller 3 arranged on the conduit 2 and that is operatively activated by the passage of the pressurised fluid. The impeller 3 has a rotation axis S about which the impeller 3 is set in rotation by the passage of the pressurised fluid transiting in the conduit 2. The rotation axis S of the impeller 3 is parallel to, preferably overlapping, the prevalent development axis R of the conduit 2.

The impeller 3 transforms the hydraulic head of the pressurised fluid into mechanical energy. The impeller 3 typically comprises a plurality of blades 30, substantially radially arranged, which are struck by the fluid with a certain velocity. This velocity, together with the hydraulic pressure of the system, activates the impeller 3. The irrigator 1 further comprises conveyor means 10 arranged downstream of the impeller 3. This conveyor means 10 receives at the inlet the fluid coming from the impeller 3 and conveys the fluid distancingly from the impeller 3. In other words, the conveyor means 10 directs the fluid leaving the impeller 3 away from the latter, taking the rotation axis S of the impeller 3 as the point of reference. For this reason, the conveyor means 10 is arranged over the impeller 3.

The conveyor means 10 comprises at least one fixed conveyor element, preferably a fixed vane 11, arranged along the conduit 2. More specifically, the vane 11 exhibits a helical or helical section development, about the rotation axis S of the impeller 3.

Preferably, the vane 11 has an angular development about the rotation axis S of the impeller 3, thus about the axis R of the conduit 2, comprised between 30° and 120° and preferably equal to about 60°.

Preferably, the vane 11 exhibits a development direction that is in a same direction as a development direction of the blades 30 of the impeller 3. In other words, the blades 30 of the impeller 3 deviate the flow of fluid incoming to the impeller 3, giving a certain direction to the fluid exiting the impeller 3 itself, and this direction is substantially the same direction with which the helical development of the vane 11 begins.

In a preferred embodiment, the conveyor means 10 comprises a plurality of vanes 11 that are angularly distributed about the rotation axis S of the impeller 3. Preferably, the vanes 11 are angularly equidistanced with respect to one another about the axis S of the impeller 3. The vanes 11 are fixed and preferably identical. Preferably the vanes 11 have respective helical developments in the same direction as the development direction of the blades 30 of the impeller 3.

The irrigator 1 further comprises a generator 5 of electrical current connected to the impeller 3 and coaxial thereto such as to transform the mechanical energy developed by the impeller 3 into electrical energy. In other words, the generator 5 is an alternator. This generator 5 supplies electrical energy to decorative garden elements, typically outdoor lighting and lights marking passageways and walkways. The generator 5 is housed in a containing body 6 closed hermetically such as to prevent the fluid from coming into contact with the generator contained therein. In fact, the containing body 6 is located inside the conduit 2 and is thus struck by the flow of the fluid in its passage, as can be seen in the attached figures. For proper functioning of the generator 5, it is necessary that there be no infiltration of fluid in the containing body 6, which for this reason is closed hermetically. In the example of an embodiment shown in Figure 2, the generator 5 is housed entirely inside the containing body 6. In the example of an embodiment shown in Figure 3, the generator 5 comprises a stator 5, housed inside the containing body 6, and a rotor consisting of a plurality of magnets 5M that are solidly constrained to the impeller 3 and arranged on the outside of the containing body 6. In particular, the magnets 5M are solidly constrained to a projecting portion of the impeller 3 that surrounds the stator 5. This makes it possible to reduce the dimensions of the stator 5 and, as a result, of the containing body 6 as well.

In a preferred embodiment, the containing body 6 is hermetically connected to the diffusion body 13 by means of a sealing element 26, preferably an elastomeric gasket. The radial dimension of the containing body 6 is such as to define, in cooperation with the conduit 2, a space 22 for the passage of the fluid. The space 22 connects the impeller 3 with the exit channel 14 of the diffusion body 13 and reaches the outside of the containing body 6. Preferably the at least one vane 11 is arranged in the space 22 between the containing body 6 and an internal surface 2c of the conduit 2.

In the embodiment illustrated in Figure 2, the vanes 11 are fixed to the containing body 6. In particular, in a preferred embodiment, the vanes 11 are realised as one piece with the containing body 6. In another unillustrated embodiment, the vanes 11 are realised separately and stably applied to the containing body 6. Preferably, the vanes 11 extend between an external surface of the containing body 6 and the internal surface 2c of the conduit 2 in such a manner as to define an automatic centering of the containing body 6 in the conduit 2.

In the embodiment illustrated in Figure 3, the vanes 11 are solidly constrained to an annular body 110 arranged concentrically to the longitudinal axis R. Between the annular body 110 and the containing body 6 there is defined an annular space within which the magnets 5M of the generator 5 can rotate. The annular body 110 is fixed to the inside of the conduit 2.

The irrigator 1 comprises a support structure 7 located inside the conduit 2. In the embodiment illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, this support structure 7 has a substantially cylindrical shape. In particular, the support structure 7 has a base portion 7a that is preferably cylindrical and operatively positioned at the base end 2a of the conduit 2. This base portion 7a is complementarily shaped to the base end 2a of the conduit 2. The support structure 7 further comprises an intermediate portion 7b, it also being preferably cylindrical and of a smaller diameter Di with respect to a diameter Dc of the conduit 2, such as to define a passage channel 9 of annular shape for the passage of the fluid coming from the water supply system. In the preferred embodiment in which the support structure 7 and the conduit 2 are cylindrical in shape, the passage channel 9 is of a circular crown shape. The support structure 7 further comprises a head portion 7c having at least in part a cylindrical shape complementarily-shaped with the conduit 2. This head portion 7c comprises hydraulic sealing means 27 located at the portion complementarily shaped with the conduit 2.

In the embodiment shown in Figure 3, the support structure 7 has a more limited axial extension. With respect to the embodiment appearing in Figures 1 and 2, it substantially comprises only the head portion 7c.

The support structure 7, and particularly the head portion 7c, defines a housing chamber 4 of the impeller 3. This housing chamber 4 has a fluid inlet opening 4a and a fluid outlet opening 4b. Operatively, the fluid enters from the inlet opening 4a into the housing chamber 4, strikes the impeller 3, setting it in rotation and then flows out from the outlet opening 4b. Thus the housing chamber defines at least in part the route for passage P of the fluid inside the conduit 2. More specifically, the at least one vane 11 is arranged downstream of the housing chamber 4 and develops in a distancing direction from the outlet opening 4b.

Preferably, the inlet opening 4a of the housing chamber 4 of the impeller 3 is realised on a lateral wall of the head portion 7c of the support structure 7. In other words, the inlet opening 4a is facing the internal surface of the conduit 2. In this manner, the impeller 3 receives from the inlet opening 4a a flow in a radial direction that is discharged later in an axial direction through the outlet opening 4b. The configuration cited hereinabove determines operation of the impeller 3 as a turbine.

The support structure 7 comprises deviating means 8 arranged upstream of the inlet opening 4a of the housing chamber 4 with respect to the flow direction of the fluid in the conduit 2 such as to convey the fluid towards the inlet opening 4a of the housing chamber 4.

The deviating means 8 is conformed such as to realise a swirling screw-motion of the fluid along the conduit 2. The deviating means 8 thus realised cooperate with the inlet opening 4a of the housing chamber 4 so as to facilitate the supply of fluid to the impeller 3 in a radial and tangential direction with respect to the impeller 3 itself. Preferably, the deviating means 8 comprises a fixed deviating element 8 that conveys the fluid towards the inlet opening, thereby increasing the components of velocity of the fluid useful for the rotation of the impeller 3 and giving them a precise direction of incidence with the blades 30 of the impeller 3. Preferably, the deviating means 8 is arranged on the head portion 7c of the support structure 7.

More specifically, the deviating means 8 is at least in part defined by a helically-shaped profile of the head portion 7c of the support structure 7, said profile being arranged upstream of the inlet opening 4a.

This deviating means 8 can also be realised preferably with a vane or a rib.

The invention thus described attains the proposed aim and achieves the important advantages indicated.

The irrigator according to the present invention is capable of reaching high yields resulting in an optimal jet range of the fluid. In fact, the conveyor means receives the fluid leaving the impeller and guide it towards the nozzle of the irrigator.

In particular, the conveyor means is arranged in such a manner as to convey the flow leaving the impeller along the same direction taken on by the flow of fluid exiting the impeller itself.

In this manner, the flow axially delivered by the impeller is not obstructed in the conveyor means, but rather, it receives therefrom a guiding action that facilitates the distancing of said fluid from the impeller along the space. Damaging stagnation of fluid and recirculation of fluid on the impeller are thus eliminated, resulting in the improvement of the hydraulic yield of the impeller itself and thus a greater production of current on the part of the generator .

Claims

CLAIMS .

1. An irrigator for a garden, comprising:

a conduit (2) for passage of a pressurised fluid;

an impeller (3) having a rotation axis (S) and arranged on the conduit (2) such as to be set in rotation by the passage of the pressurised fluid transiting in the conduit (2 ) ;

conveyor means (10) arranged downstream of the impeller (3) such as to receive the fluid from the impeller (3) and convey said fluid distancingly from the impeller (3) along the rotation axis (S) of said impeller (3) ;

characterised in that: it comprises a housing chamber (4) of the impeller (3) , having an inlet opening (4a) and an outlet opening (4b); said conveyor means (10) comprises at least one fixed vane (11), which is arranged along the passage conduit (2) downstream of the housing chamber (4) and developing in a distancing direction from the outlet opening (4b) .

2. The irrigator according to claim 1, characterised in that said at least one vane (11) exhibits a helical development .

3. The irrigator according to claim 2, characterised in that the at least one helical vane (11) exhibits a development direction which is in the same direction as a development direction of the blades (30) of the impeller (3) .

4. The irrigator according to claim 1, characterised in that the conveyor means (10) comprises a plurality of vanes (11) that are identical to each other and angularly equidistanced about the rotation axis (S) of the impeller (3) .

5. The irrigator according to claim 1, characterised in that it comprises a generator (5) of electrical current connected to the impeller (3) and coaxial thereto such as to transform the mechanical energy developed by the impeller (3) into electrical energy, said generator (5) being housed in a containing body (6) closed hermetically such as to prevent introduction of fluid and defining, in cooperation with the conduit (2), an annular space (22), said at least one vane (11) being arranged in said space (22) .

6. The irrigator according to claim 1, characterised in that it comprises a generator (5) of electrical current connected to the impeller (3) and coaxial thereto such as to transform the mechanical energy developed by the impeller (3) into electrical energy, said generator (5) comprising a stator (5) housed in a containing body (6) that is hermetically closed such as to prevent introduction of fluid, said containing body (6) defining, in cooperation with the conduit (2), an annular space (22), said at least one vane (11) being arranged in said space (22), said generator (5) further comprising a rotor comprising a plurality of magnets (5M) solidly constrained to the impeller (3) and arranged on the outside of the containing body ( 6) .

7. The irrigator according to claim 1, characterised in that it comprises a support structure (7) at least in part defining the said housing chamber (4) and comprising deviating means (8) arranged upstream of the inlet opening (4a) of the housing chamber (4) with respect to the flow direction of the fluid in the conduit (2) such as to convey the fluid towards the inlet opening (4a) of the housing chamber ( 4 ) .

8. The irrigator according to claim 7, characterised in that the inlet opening (4a) of the housing chamber (4) is facing an internal surface (2c) of the conduit (2) and in that the said deviating means (8) are conformed such as to realise a swirling screw-motion of the fluid along the conduit (2 ) .

9. The irrigator according to claim 7 or 8, characterised in that the deviating means (8) are at least partly defined by a helically-shaped profile of the support structure (7) that is arranged upstream of the inlet opening (4a) .