Abstract:
A water nozzle includes an outer cylindrical body and a laminator cylinder, axially movable over an exterior of the cylindrical body. A notched deflector is axially positioned inside the cylindrical body, the deflector being provided with a series of notches peripherally positioned over a lateral cylindrical face of a head of the deflector.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO A RELATED APPLICATION 
     The invention described and claimed hereinbelow is also described in Spanish Patent Application U201230073, filed on Jan. 24, 2012. This Spanish Patent Application, subject matter of which is incorporated herein by reference, provides the basis for a claim of priority of invention under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d). 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a water nozzle, attachable to the end of a fire hose, monitors and/or the like, characterized in that it is provided with a notched deflector to deflect the water stream and the immediate lamination or direction of the multiple water streams through the laminator cylinder of the nozzle, the essential characteristics of the invention being described below. 
     The water stream that comes through the nozzle, also known in the state of the art as spout, attached to the end of a hose or a monitor, generally in a fire station, is aimed not only at extinguishing the fire by pumping a stream of water or fog directly over the fire or its surroundings in cooling and/or protection activities, but also at creating, on a certain moment and at the will of the specialized staff using the nozzle, a protective screen for the staff itself, formed by water fog that will come out of the nozzle and that will be created thanks to the characteristics of the internal components of the aforementioned nozzle. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The object of the invention is to provide the nozzle with a basic element, such as the deflector, located at the front and inside the nozzle, which is provided with a number of notches made in its inner peripheral edge with pre-established slopes and dimensions to allow deflecting the water stream in multiple streams which are immediately laminated or dissected by the laminator cylinder located in the outer upper part of the nozzle. 
     The necessary and needed fog, when operating in areas exposed to considerable high temperatures and to prevent injuries to the operating specialists, is created by a process derived from the special and characteristic placement of the deflector and laminator cylinder that the nozzle features. 
     As the different streams, resulting from the deflection of the main stream, intersect when going through the deflector, and as the laminator cylinder is manually moved backwards, the creation of fog starts when the aforementioned notches of the deflector emerge outside the laminator cylinder, from this moment the compact stream is gradually combed until it disappears and there is a full cone of water, formed by thin water drops, with a fog angle of approximately 30°. 
     As the laminator keeps moving backwards, the fog cone, still of a notable thickness, starts spreading until it forms a protective screen. 
     Currently, the deflectors used in water stream nozzles have conventional systems of rotating or fixed teeth, which protrude over the upper face of the deflector, with which a cone of fine water drops, driven at a lower speed than the drops constituting the curie formed by the deflector of the nozzle object of the present invention, is obtained. 
     The speed of the fine water drops is higher since they result from the different water streams originally formed and its formation is not established by the impact against external projections or teeth. 
     Essentially, the nozzle according to the present invention has a deflector without external teeth or projections, either fixed or rotating, being substituted by a set of peripheral notches already mentioned above. This novelty embodiment considerably reduces maintenance as well as the risk of damage to the external teeth or projections, since it doesn&#39;t have any. 
     The especial arrangement of the peripheral notches allows providing the water drops with a higher exit speed, therefore generating a more efficient fog both in the quality of the water drop and the density of the water cone. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       In order to complement the description of the water nozzle object of this invention, a set of drawings is attached, where, with an illustrative, non-limiting character, the novelty part of the nozzle, with its notched deflector and its laminator cylinder, has been represented. In the drawings, 
         FIG. 1  is a representation, in a dihedral projection, of the notched deflector, with a semi-sectioned elevational view and a plan view; and 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view on a smaller scale of the nozzle, partially sectioned in its outer part to show the arrangement of the notched deflector and the laminator cylinder, being this in its initial stream position. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     According to the figures, the fluid/water nozzle essentially consists of an outer cylindrical body  1  over which a laminator cylinder  2  with an upper base  2   a  slightly troncoconical and innerly sloped, is moved along a center axis A. 
     The notched deflector  3  is axially positioned inside the body  1 , all its head  4 , with a flat and horizontal upper face, remaining next to the upper mouth or aperture of the laminator cylinder  2 , while its cylindrical tail  5  is surrounded by an inner cylinder  6 . The deflector head  4  is at one axial end of the inner cylinder  6 . 
     An essential characteristic of the notched deflector  3  is that it is provided, on the lateral cylindrical radially outwardly facing face/surface of its head  4 , with a peripheral series of notches  7 , in a variable number and angle “a” depending on the type of nozzle or the desired water drop size. The notches  7  depicted do not extend over the full axial extent of the radially outwardly facing face/surface of the head. 
     The guided axial movement of the laminator cylinder  2  downwards, allows the head  4  of the notched deflector  3  to protrude more or less, depending on the preference, above the upper base  2   a  of the laminator cylinder  2 , the aforementioned notches  7  remaining sufficiently and necessarily exposed so that the lamination of the water stream and the resulting formation of fog, occurs. 
     The notches  7  each has an axial extent X and a radial depth D, radially inwardly of the lateral cylindrical face of the head  4 , that varies linearly along its axial extent A. The radial depth D increases in an axial direction from the discharge end E 1  toward the second end. A circumferential dimension CD of each notch  7  also changes along its axial extent A. 
     It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together, may also find a useful application in other types of constructions differing from the types described above. 
     While the invention has been illustrated and described as a water nozzle with a notched deflector, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention. 
     The laminator cylinder  2  has a radially inwardly facing surface  10  that extends around the axis A and a first axially facing surface identified as the upper base  2   a  at a first axial end  12 . 
     The inner cylinder  6  extends around a fluid flow space  14  and has an axially facing second surface  16  at one axial end  18  thereof. 
     The deflector head  4  has a third surface  20  facing axially oppositely to the first and second surfaces  12 , 16 . 
     The laminator cylinder  2 , inner cylinder  6 , and deflector  3  are configured to be placed in a plurality of different positions by changing the relative axial position of the: (a) laminator cylinder  2 ; and (b) the inner cylinder  6  and deflector  3  to place the fluid nozzle selectively in different states. In one such state, fluid from a supply  22  moves in a path indicated by the arrows  24 : (a) in one axial direction through the fluid flow space  14 ; (b) radially between the second and third axially facing surfaces  16 , 20 ; and (c) in the one axial direction in a space at all times maintained between the radially inwardly facing surface  10  and the radially outwardly facing surface  26  on the head  4  and through the notches  7  for expulsion in a first pattern at the discharge end  28  axially opposite a second end  30  of the fluid nozzle. 
     By changing the relationship of the above-described components, the pattern of the expelled fluid can be changed. 
     As seen in  FIG. 1 , the laminator cylinder  2  has an annular edge  32  where the surfaces  10 , 2   a  meet. The notches  7  and annular edge  32  are in different axial relationships in the different states for the fluid nozzle. In one state the notches  7  do not axially overlap the edge  32 . Different expulsion patterns are generated by changing where the edge  32  axially coincides with the notches  7 . Each of the notches  7  has a central axis CA, as viewed in  FIG. 1 , that is aligned with the fluid nozzle axis A. 
     Both of the axially facing surfaces  16 , 20  are at an angle to a plane orthogonal to the axis A. 
     Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention. 
     What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended claims.