Patent ID: 7114665
Filing Date: 2006-10-03
Classification: B05B

Abstract:
1. An in-ground sprinkler head protective guard for preventing a lawn mower and the like from damaging an in-ground sprinkler head and for further preventing undesirable grass and weeds from growing along the in-ground sprinkler head and obstructing a discharge path of water flowing out from the in-ground sprinkler head, said in-ground sprinkler head protective guard comprising: an inner casing having a hollow cylindrical shape and a smooth outer surface, said inner casing further having axially opposed and vertically aligned top and bottom openings in fluid communication with said inner surface; a tubular and cylindrical first coupling directly conjoined to said inner casing and concentrically aligned within said bottom opening, said coupling having a threaded inner surface extending downwardly from said inner casing and terminating at a predetermined location subjacent to a bottom surface of said inner casing; a second coupling having axially offset lower and upper end portions provided with a threaded outer surface, said upper end portion being threadably and directly mated with said first coupling such that said lower end portion becomes registered orthogonal to a vertical plane and protrudes outwardly from said inner casing, said lower end portion being threadably mateable to an external water supply line; an outer casing having a cylindrical shape and smooth inner surface slidably and telescopically engageable directly with said outer surface of said inner casing, said outer casing having a centralized axial bore formed therein such that said bore becomes concentrically situated about said first coupling when said outer casing is positioned about said inner casing, said outer casing further having a top lip monolithically formed therewith and radially protruding outwardly from said inner surface, said top lip being flanged outwardly and including a pair of rectilinear creases oppositely formed therein and extending tangential to a perimeter of said outer casing bore, each of said creases defining a line of weakness for allowing a user to snap off a portion of said top lip when positioning said outer casing adjacent to a flat surface; and means for locking said inner and outer casings together such that said outer casing is prohibited from disengaging said inner casing until at least one of said outer and inner casing is rotated approximately one quadrant along a rotational path so that said outer casing can be vertically lifted away from said inner casing.