Abstract:
A reversible, adjustable arc sprinkler head includes a sprinkler body incorporating a fixed nozzle; a spray plate mounted for rotation in one or the other of two opposite directions about a first axis arranged coaxially with a stream emitted from the nozzle, and for back and forth tilting motion about a second axis perpendicular to the first axis, the spray plate having a pair of substantially parallel grooves for selectively receiving the stream, depending on a direction of tilt of the spray plate; and a shift lever formed with an aperture sized to receive the stream. The shift lever is mounted at one end for rotation about a third axis parallel to the first axis, and is enabled to shift the stream from one of the pair of grooves to the other of the pair of grooves to thereby reverse the direction of rotation of the spray plate.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD  
         [0001]    This invention relates to a reversible, adjustable arc sprinkler head.  
         BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    Typical reversible, adjustable arc sprinklers employ various mechanisms to reverse the direction of rotation of the sprinkler head including, for example, mechanical trippers and magnets. See U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,805,838; 4,763,839 and 4,540,125. There remains a need, however, for a reversible, adjustable arc sprinkler of simple and reliable construction.  
           [0003]    The present invention provides a reversible, adjustable arc sprinkler head that is driven by the flow of water from a fixed nozzle. In the exemplary embodiment, the sprinkler head is of the type in which a fixed nozzle is mounted within a sprinkler body, and a rotatable spray plate is supported by a cap releasably secured to the body, in axially spaced relation to the nozzle. The spray plate is mounted in a cage that is, in turn, mounted on a shaft for rotation about a first vertical axis through the sprinkler body. The spray plate is also mounted within the cage for tilting movement about a second, horizontal axis, perpendicular to the first axis. The spray plate is formed with a pair of parallel water distribution grooves that are shaped to redirect a vertical stream emitted from the nozzle into a generally radially outwardly directed stream. A center barrier between the two distribution grooves is centered relative to the nozzle, such that when the spray plate tilts in one of two opposite directions, it will receive the stream in one or the other of the two distribution grooves. The spray plate is caused to rotate on the shaft about the first axis in a direction dependent upon which groove receives the stream, which, in turn, is dependent upon the direction of tilt of the spray plate about the second axis.  
           [0004]    The distribution grooves have generally vertically oriented inlets and generally horizontally oriented outlets, and the grooves may be covered by a correspondingly shaped “shield” that confines the stream in the respective grooves.  
           [0005]    The spray plate cage, as noted above, is secured to one end of a rotatable shaft, and the other end of the shaft may be secured within a viscous retarder “motor” of the type described in commonly owned U.S. Pat. Nos. Re. 33, 823; 5,058,806; and 5,288,022, for controlling the speed of rotation of the spray plate. The cage also supports a horizontally extending shift lever for free rotation about a third axis that is parallel to the first vertical axis. The shift lever is formed with a generally round-shaped aperture that is arranged so that the stream emitted from the nozzle passes through the aperture, upstream of the spray plate grooves. The shift lever is pivotable between a pair of tabs on the spray plate cage and, as explained in greater detail below, serves to deflect the stream sufficiently to cause the spray plate to tilt and thus allow the stream to move from one to the other of the two grooves and thereby reverse the rotation direction of the spray plate.  
           [0006]    A generally cylindrically shaped stop assembly is also secured to the sprinkler cap, above the nozzle and surrounding at least a portion of the spray plate cage and the shift lever. The stop assembly includes a first ring component having a first receiving stop formed in an interior surface thereof. A second ring component of the stop assembly is mounted on the first ring component and includes a second reversing stop that is rotationally adjustable relative to the first stop, it being understood that the arcuate distance between the stops (and through which the outer end of the shift lever travels) determines the arc through which the spray plate rotates. Specifically, the shift lever rotates with the stop assembly about the first axis until it contacts one of the reversing stops. Then while the spray plate continues to rotate, the shift lever is forced to rotate about the third axis, moving from is center position and engaging the stream thus shifting the stream away from the spray plate center barrier. This then causes the spray plate to tilt, resulting in a reversal of the direction of rotation of the spray plate.  
           [0007]    In its broader aspects, therefore, the invention relates to a reversible, adjustable arc sprinkler head comprising a sprinkler body incorporating a fixed nozzle; a spray plate mounted for rotation in one or the other of two opposite directions about a first axis arranged coaxially with a stream emitted from the nozzle, and for back and forth tilting motion about a second axis perpendicular to the first axis, the spray plate having a pair of substantially parallel grooves for selectively receiving the stream, depending on a direction of tilt of the spray plate; and a shift lever formed with an aperture sized to receive the stream, the shift lever mounted at one end for rotation about a third axis parallel to the first axis, the shift lever enabled to shift the stream from one of the pair of grooves to the other of the pair of grooves to thereby reverse the direction of rotation of the spray plate.  
           [0008]    In another aspect, the invention relates to a reversible, adjustable arc sprinkler head comprising a sprinkler body incorporating a nozzle having a discharge orifice; a cap releasably mounted on the body; a spray plate mounted in a cage for tilting motion relative to the cage about a horizontal axis; the cage and spray plate mounted in the cap for rotation relative to the sprinkler body about one vertical axis perpendicular to said horizontal axis, the spray plate having formed therein a pair of substantially parallel grooves adapted to be sequentially aligned with the nozzle for receiving a stream from the nozzle, the pair of grooves separated by a center barrier and configured to cause rotation of the cage and spray plate in one of two opposite directions, depending on which groove is engaged with the stream; a shift lever extending substantially horizontally and mounted on the cage for confined pivotal rotation about another vertical axis, parallel to the one vertical axis, the shift lever having an inner portion with an aperture therein through which a stream emitted from the nozzle may pass; and a stop assembly secured in the cap and including a first annular ring formed with a fixed reversing stop, and a second annular ring mounted on the first annular ring for rotation relative to the first annular ring, the second annular ring having a movable reversing stop adjustable relative to the fixed reversing stop; and wherein the shift lever is arranged to rotate with the cage and spray plate about the one vertical axis between the fixed reversing stop and the movable reversing stop, and to rotate about another vertical axis after engagement with one of the fixed reversing stop and movable reversing stop. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0009]    [0009]FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a sprinkler head, with parts removed for clarity;  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 2 is a plan view of the sprinkler head shown in FIG. 1;  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 3 is an exploded elevation, illustrating a spray plate assembly and a stop assembly for attachment to the cap shown in FIG. 4;  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 4 is a side elevation of a cap component for the sprinkler head shown in FIG. 1;  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the spray plate assembly including a retarder motor, spray plate and spray plate cage in assembled relationship;  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the spray plate and spray plate cage for use with the sprinkler head shown in FIG. 1;  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 7 is an inverted perspective view of the stop assembly shown in FIG. 3;  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 8 is a bottom plan view of the cap shown in FIG. 4;  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 9 is a side elevation, partly in section, of a shift lever component, taken from the spray plate cage as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5;  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 10 is a partial front elevation, partly broken away, illustrating how a stream of water impinges on the spray plate on start-up;  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 11 is an elevation similar to FIG. 10, but illustrating the stream entering one of two grooves on the spray plate after start-up;  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 12 is a bottom perspective view of the spray plate, spray plate cage and stop assembly in accordance with the invention;  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 13 is a front elevation, similar to FIGS. 10 and 11, but illustrating the manner in which the shift lever acts to shift the stream from one groove to the other;  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 14 is a front elevation similar to FIGS. 10, 11 and  13 , but illustrating the stream fully shifted into the other of the two grooves; and  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 15 is a front elevation of an assembled sprinkler head in accordance with the invention.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0024]    With reference to FIG. 1, a sprinkler head  10  is illustrated in part, showing a sprinkler body  12  including an inlet  14  and a nozzle  16  that is arranged to emit a single stream coaxial with the longitudinal axis of the sprinkler head. The sprinkler body  12  is provided with a pair of upstanding struts or supports  18  and  20  that extend upwardly from respective radially outwardly extending base portion  19  and  21 . The struts  18 ,  20  are adapted to mount a cap  22  (see FIGS. 4, 8 and  15 ) that supports a rotatable spray plate assembly  24  and a stop assembly  126  (FIG. 3). The inlet  14  is adapted to be secured to a water supply component such as a fixed riser or the like. An integral nut  26  can be utilized to thread the sprinkler head onto the water supply component.  
         [0025]    The struts  18 ,  20  terminate at an annular ring  28  provided with a plurality of radially outwardly directed tabs  30  by which the cap  22  can be secured in a known fashion, e.g., in a press and twist configuration.  
         [0026]    The cap  22  (FIG. 4) includes a lower annular ring  32  and an upper annular ring  34  connected by four upstanding struts (three of which are shown at  36 ,  38  and  40 ) on 90° spacing. The upper annular ring  34  is formed with an integral center hub  42  that includes an annular ring  44  on the underside of the hub, and a plurality of upstanding tabs  46  on the upper side of the hub. The hub  42  supports the spray plate assembly  24  shown in exploded view in FIG. 3. The spray plate assembly  24  includes a spray plate  48 , a spray plate cage  50 , and a viscous retarder motor  52 . The viscous retarder motor  52  slows the speed of rotation of the spray plate  48  as described further herein, and may be constructed as disclosed in commonly owned U.S. Pat. Nos. Re. 33,823; 5,058,806 and 5,288,022. The retarder motor  52  is press fit and snapped into place within the hub  42  of the cap  22 , with a lower portion of the motor engaged by annular ring  44  and a middle portion of the motor engaged by the tabs  46 . The latter may be formed with horizontally oriented ribs  51  (FIGS. 4 and 8) on interior surfaces thereof that are engaged in the groove  54  in the motor housing. A motor shaft  56  is received in a bushing  58  on the spray plate cage  50  so that the spray plate cage and spray plate rotate about a first vertical axis A coincident with shaft  56 , and is slowed by the viscous retarder motor  52 . Axis A is also coincident with the longitudinal axis of the sprinkler body, passing through the center of nozzle  16 .  
         [0027]    With reference also to FIGS. 5, 6,  9  and  10 , the spray plate  48  is formed with a pair of side-by-side parallel grooves  60 ,  62  separated by a center wall or barrier  64 . The grooves are generally vertically oriented at an inlet end  66  thereof, but transition to an almost horizontal orientation at an outlet end  68  (see FIG. 6). The spray plate  48  is also formed with a pair of vertically oriented, aligned mounting tabs  70 ,  72  having apertures  74 ,  76 , respectively, by which the spray plate is pivotally mounted on a pair of aligned pins  78 ,  80  on the spray plate cage  50 , for swinging movement about a horizontal axis B defined by the pins  78 ,  80 .  
         [0028]    The inlet end  66  of groove  60  is flared at  84 , and the center barrier  64  is chamfered at  86  so that, on start-up, more of the stream emitted from nozzle  46  will enter groove  60  than 62, causing the spray plate to tilt about axis B, resulting in all of the stream flowing into groove  60 . Because the stream exit point for the groove  60  is offset from the axis of rotation A of the plate, the plate will rotate about axis A to distribute the stream in a part circular pattern. This action will be described in greater detail below.  
         [0029]    A cover or shield  88  (FIG. 6) including side walls  90 ,  92  may be snapped into place over the open faces of the grooves  60 ,  62  to confine the stream to the grooves between the inlet and outlet ends  66 ,  68 .  
         [0030]    The spray plate cage  50  that carries the spray plate  48  includes a top surface  94  and a pair of side walls  96 ,  98  that confine movement of the spray plate  48  on the pins  78 ,  80 . Specifically, the spray plate  48  is free to tilt back and forth between two stop surfaces  100 ,  102  (best seen in FIG. 10) of the side walls  96 ,  98 . Note that the back wall  104  is open in the area above reference number  105 , allowing the tab  72  to be attached to the pin  80 .  
         [0031]    The bushing  58  extending above the top surface  94  includes an aperture  106  that receives the retarder shaft  56  in a friction, spline or other suitable fit.  
         [0032]    A second bushing  110  projecting from a lower bar  110  extending between the side walls  96 ,  98  is formed with a blind bore for receiving a pivot pin  112  formed with an integral head  114  that serves to mount a shift lever  116  via hole  118  for rotation about a second vertical axis C coincident with the pin  112 . An extended lever portion  120  of the shift lever  116  is thus free to move back and forth between a pair of depending tab stops  122 ,  124  at the lower end of the back wall  104 . An aperture  125  in the shift lever interacts with the stream emitted from the nozzle as explained further herein.  
         [0033]    Referring now to FIG. 3 and especially FIG. 7, the stop assembly  126  includes an inner annular ring  128  having a first fixed reversing stop  130 . The annular ring  128  is also formed with a pair of diametrically opposed, part annular walls  132 ,  134  that terminate at radially outwardly directed attachment flanges  136 ,  138 . These flanges are formed with grooves  140 ,  142 , respectively, on the lower side thereof (note: in FIG. 7, the stop plate assembly is inverted from its normal orientation shown in FIGS. 3 and 14). The upper sides of the flanges  136 ,  138  are each formed with a pair of opposed wedge elements  144 ,  146  that taper inwardly and are undercut to form seating surfaces  148 ,  150  on each flange for receiving tabs  152 ,  154  on the interior of the cap ring  32  (at the upper end of the ring). Tabs  156 ,  158 ,  160  and  162  (at the lower end of the cap ring  32 ) cooperate with tabs  30  to secure the cap  22  to the annular ring  28  of the sprinkler body, but also assist in locating the stop assembly  126  when attaching it to the cap  22 . Vertical tabs  164 ,  166  also force the assembler to properly locate the stop assembly for interaction with the tabs  152 ,  154 . Squeezing the cap ring  32  at points indicated by arrows D provides the space necessary to seat the stop assembly within the cap, and apertures  168 ,  170  in the flanges  136 ,  183  permit the assembler to verify that the tabs  152 ,  154  are correctly seated.  
         [0034]    The stop assembly  126  also includes an outer ring  172 , telescoped over the inner ring  128 , utilizing a snap fit or other suitable attachment mechanism that allows ring  172  to rotate relative to ring  128 . Outer ring  172  is formed with a second, movable reversing stop  174  that is radially inwardly offset from the ring  172 , such that it rides on the edges  176  of the inner ring. The user is thus able to move reversing stop  174  relative to the fixed reversing stop  130  to obtain a desired arc through which the spray plate will rotate before reversing direction. Ring  172  may be provided with circumferentially spaced ribs  178  (or other suitable surface texture) to facilitate rotation of the ring.  
         [0035]    Before describing the operation of the sprinkler head, reference is made to FIG. 9 where the shift lever  116  is shown in enlarged form. The aperture  126  is adapted to receive a stream S emitted from the nozzle  16 . The inlet to the aperture  126  is tapered as shown at  180  to facilitate entry of the stream as described below. The main portion of the aperture is tapered outwardly in a downward direction, opposed points describing an arc of about 23°. At its widest point, opposed points of the tapered inlet describe a 90° arc.  
         [0036]    With reference now especially to FIGS.  10 - 14 , it will be appreciated that on start-up, the stream S exiting nozzle  16  passes through the aperture  126  in the lever  116 , and the aperture shape creates a venturi effect that causes the lever to “center up” around the stream. The stream initially impinges on the barrier  64  of the spray plate  58 , and the beveled or chamfered edge  86  deflects more water into groove or channel  60 , preventing a “null” or “equalization” of the stream that would otherwise cause the plate not to rotate, i.e., to stall. The force of the stream S entering the spray plate groove  60 , and coming into contact with the side of the center barrier  64  tilts the spray plate  68  in a counterclockwise direction about axis B (FIG. 11), with the spray plate  48  engaged with stop surface  102  on the spray plate cage  50 . The stream passing through the groove  60  is directed it to an offset exit position relative to the axis of rotation A of the spray plate assembly, thus causing the spray plate  48  and cage  50  to rotate about axis A in a first direction (counterclockwise as viewed in FIG. 12).  
         [0037]    Turning to FIG. 12, as the spray plate assembly  24  rotates about axis A, the shift lever  116  rotates with the plate about the same axis, until a remote end of the lever portion  120  comes into contact with fixed reversing stop  130 . This causes the shift lever to stop rotating with spray plate  48  on axis A, and to begin rotation about axis C (pin  114 ). As the spray plate assembly continues to rotate, the shift lever  116  will be forced to enter the stream S (FIG. 3). As the shift lever  116  moves into the stream, it deflects the stream away from the center barrier  64 , allowing the upward force created by the stream being arced outward to the offset exit point of the groove  60  to overcome the force on the center barrier. This causes the spray plate to pivot about axis B (pins  78 ,  80 ) and to tilt in a clockwise direction to the position shown in FIG. 14. Now the stream S shifts to groove  62 . Once the stream enters groove  62 , reversal of the direction of the spray plate  58  occurs. The shift lever  116  will remain in contact with the stream S until the spray plate  68  has shifted (i.e., until the spray plate tilts into engagement with stop  104 , see FIG. 14) and the spray plate assembly has started to rotate in the opposite or reverse direction. As rotation in the opposite direction continues, the shift lever  116  will come off the stop and the venturi effect within aperture  126  will once again center up the shift lever  116  on the stream S. The lever  116  will eventually contact the adjustable reversing stop  174 , and the reversing process will be repeated.  
         [0038]    Rotation of ring  172  relative to ring  128  on the stop assembly  52  will vary the arc of coverage of the stream and thus vary the sprinkling pattern, as desired.  
         [0039]    While the invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the disclosed embodiment, but on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.