Abstract:
A protective shield for protecting a sprinkler head is disclosed. The protective shield may have a body that defines an outer perimeter that engages the ground when installed. The outer body has a carved upper surface from the outer perimeter that proceeds upward until it reaches a ridge. This permits the lawnmower or other object to be lifted above and over the sprinkler head to protect the sprinkler head. The protective shield may be cut during installation to fit different sized sprinkler heads and also to fit adjacent to a straight pavement or a corner of the pavement. The shield also prevents overgrowth of grass that might prevent proper functioning of a pop op mechanism or sprinkler head water spray.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefits of U.S. Pat. App. Ser. No. 61/685,474, filed on Mar. 19, 2012, the entire contests of which is expressly incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     STATEMENT RE: FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH/DEVELOPMENT  
       [0002]    Not Applicable 
       BACKGROUND  
       [0003]    The present invention relates to a device for preventing the growth of grass around a sprinkler head. 
         [0004]    A plurality of sprinkler heads are installed in a field at regular interval to automatically water a lawn. Unfortunately, over a period of time, the sprinkler heads are covered with grass so that spotting the sprinkler head is difficult when mowing the lawn. As a result, the lawnmower may hit the sprinkler head and damage either the pop-up mechanism or the sprinkler head. As a result the homeowner or maintenance personnel must take time to replace the damaged sprinkler head. Also, the owner must incur a cost to replace the damaged sprinkler head. Another problem with grass growing over a sprinkler head is that the overgrown grass may prevent the head from popping up during operational use. If the sprinkler head is a non pop up sprinkler head, then the overgrown grass will block the water spray. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY  
       [0005]    The protective shield described herein addresses the needs discussed above, discussed below and those that are known in the art. 
         [0006]    The protective shield has an outer perimeter that engages the ground when installed. An upper surface of the protective shield is curved upward from the outer perimeter to an upper ridge. The lawnmower rides over the protective shield because the upper surface lifts the lawnmower above and over the sprinkler head which is installed at the center of the protective shield. The upper end of the sprinkler head is below the upper ridge of the upper surface. After the upper ridge, the upper surface curves downward and provides an enlarged volume to receive the sprinkler head therein. An inner peripheral portion of the protection shield defines an inner diameter and an inner opening. The inner peripheral portion may be cut at predefined markings to enlarge the inner opening to fit sprinkler heads of different sizes. Moreover, the body of the protective shield may be cut so that the protective shield may abut a sidewalk or a corner of a pavement. 
         [0007]    The benefit of the protective shield is that grass does not grow over the sprinkler head so that the sprinkler head is easy to spot while mowing the lawn. Also, since the sprinkler head is not covered with grass, overgrown grass does not interfere with the pop up mechanism and the water spray from the sprinkler head is not blocked. 
         [0008]    More particularly, a protective shield for a sprinkler is disclosed. The shield may comprise a body having an upper surface. An outer perimeter of the upper surface may be disposed at ground level. An inner perimeter of the upper surface may be disposed below ground level. The upper surface of the shield may have a donut configuration. 
         [0009]    The upper surface of the body has a curved configuration from the outer perimeter of the body to the inner perimeter of the body to form a donut configuration. The upper surface of the body may have a curved configuration from the outer perimeter of the body to an apex of the upper surface and also may have a cylindrical receiving volume at an interior of the shield. 
         [0010]    The body of the shield may be fabricated from a rigid material that can be cut with a pair of scissors. The body may be fabricated from plastic. 
         [0011]    The underside of the body may have a plurality of strengthening members. 
         [0012]    An inner peripheral portion of the body may be cut to size to fit larger diameter sized bodies of sprinklers. 
         [0013]    An underside surface of the inner peripheral portion may have one or more ring markings for assisting a person in cutting the inner peripheral portion to open up the central opening to fit different sized bodies of sprinklers. The ring markings may be grooves. 
         [0014]    An outer peripheral portion of the body may be cut to abut the shield against a paved corner or sidewalk. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
         [0015]    These and other features and advantages of the various embodiments disclosed herein will be better understood with respect to the following description and drawings, in which like numbers refer to like parts throughout, and in which: 
           [0016]      FIG. 1  is a top perspective view of a first embodiment of a protective shield; 
           [0017]      FIG. 2  is a bottom perspective view of the first embodiment of the protective shield shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0018]      FIG. 2A  is a bottom perspective view of the first embodiment of the protective shield with the body cut at two places to fit a corner of the pavement; 
           [0019]      FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view of the protective shield shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0020]      FIG. 4  is a top perspective view of a second embodiment of the protective shield; 
           [0021]      FIG. 5  is a bottom perspective view of the second embodiment of the protective shield shown in  FIG. 4 ; 
           [0022]      FIG. 5A  is a bottom perspective view of the second embodiment of the protective shield with the body cut at two places to fit the corner of the pavement; and 
           [0023]      FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional view of the protective shield shown in  FIG. 4 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0024]    Referring now to the drawings, a protective shield  10   a, b  for a sprinkler  12  is shown. The protective shield  10   a, b  extends radially outward. An outer perimeter  14  of the shield is disposed at ground level  16  when the protective shield  10   a, b  and the sprinkler  12  are installed. The protective shield  10   a, b  covers a patch of dirt around the sprinkler  12  so that such patch of dirt does not have any sunlight and receives minimal water from the sprinkler  12  to protect grass from growing over the sprinkler  12 . An inner perimeter  18  of the protective shield  10   a,b  has an inner diameter  20  (see  FIGS. 2 and 5 ) slightly greater than an outer diameter  22  (see  FIGS. 3 and 6 ) of a body  15   a, b  of the sprinkler  12  so that the protective shield  10   a, b  may receive the sprinkler  12  and be installed as shown in the drawings. 
         [0025]    Referring now to  FIG. 1 , a first embodiment of the protective shield  10   a  is shown. The protective shield  10   a  has a general one-half donut configuration. In particular, an upper surface  24  of the body  26  has a curved configuration which is better shown in  FIG. 3  which is a cross-sectional configuration of the protective shield shown in  FIG. 1 . The curved upper surface  24  extends from the outer perimeter  14  and extends to the inner perimeter  18 . Upon installation of the protective shield  10   a,  the outer perimeter  14  engages the ground about which the sprinkler  12  is installed. The outer perimeter  14  is disposed at ground level during installation. The carved upper surface  24  proceeds above ground level  16  until the curved upper surface  24  reaches an apex or maximum height  28 . In  FIGS. 3 and 6 , the apex  28  is shown as being a flat surface. However, it is also contemplated that the apex  28  may be a single edge of the curved upper surface  24 . The curved upper surface  24  continues downward until the curved upper surface  24  reaches the inner perimeter  18 . 
         [0026]    The inner perimeter  18  is defined by an inner peripheral portion  45  (see  FIG. 2 ) which can be cut at various markings  46  to enlarge the inner hole through which a body  15   a  of the sprinkler  12  is received. The markings  46  may be indentations or steps formed during the plastic injection molding process. The markings  46  could also be printed indicia formed about the circumference of the conically tapered inner peripheral portion  45 . A plurality of markings  46  are shown in  FIG. 5  which can be used as guides by the installer to customize the size of the inner opening  48 . 
         [0027]    Referring now to  FIG. 2 , an underside of the body  26  may have a plurality of stiffening members  30 . The stiffening members  30  may extend from the outer perimeter  14  toward a center of the protective shield  10   a.  Preferably, the stiffening members  30  do not extend below ground level  16  when the protective shield  10   a  is installed. However, it is also contemplated that the stiffening members  30  may additionally have spikes or other protuberances that engage or pierce the ground  32  to prevent or mitigate rotational movement in the direction of arrow  36  of the protective shield  10   a  about central axis  34 . 
         [0028]    The underside of the body  26  may additionally have four stiffening members  30   a,    30   b,    30   c  and  30   d  that form a square configuration about the inner perimeter  18 . When a sprinkler  12  is installed near a sidewalk or a corner of a pavement, the outer peripheral portion of the body  26  may be cut outside of any one of the stiffening members  30   a,    30   b,    30   c,    30   d  so that the bottom edge of such stiffening member  30   a,    30   b,    30   c,    30   d  engages the ground  32  instead of the outer perimeter  14  at that location.  FIG. 2A  illustrates the protective shield  10   a  when two sides of the body  26  are cut so that the protective shield can be aligned to the corner of a pavement. In this regard, the bottom edges  36  of the stiffening members  30   b  and  30   c  engage the ground  32  and prevent water from watering the grass underneath the protective shield  10   a.    
         [0029]    Referring now to  FIGS. 4-6 , a second embodiment of the protective shield  10   b  is shown. The protective shield  10   b  is substantially similar to the protective shield  10   a  shown in  FIGS. 1-3 , except that the protective shield  10   b  has an enlarged central volume  40 . The enlarged central volume  40  is designed to fit larger size sprinkler heads  13   b  and yet retain all of the benefits of the embodiment of the protective shield  10   a  shown in  FIGS. 1-3 . Similar to the first embodiment of the protective shield  10   a  shown in  FIGS. 1-3 , the second embodiment of the protective shield  10   b  engages the ground  32  at the outer perimeter  14  of the body  20  of the protective shield  10   b.  The body  26  of the protective shield  10   b  also has an upper surface  24 . The upper surface  24  may be smooth but may also have other configurations (e.g., pitted, roughened). The upper surface is generally curved beginning from the outer perimeter  14 . The upper surface  24  curves upward to an apex  28 . The apex  28  is shown as being a flat surface in  FIG. 6 . However, the apex  28  may alternatively be a single ridge. The upper surface  24  forms a vertical wall  42  having a cylindrical configuration to provide for the enlarged central volume  40  to house an enlarged sprinkler head  13   b.  The vertical wall  42  transitions into a flat footing  44 . The flat footing  44  also transitions into a conically tapered inner peripheral portion  45  which can be cut at various markings  40  to enlarge the inner hole through which a body  15   b  of the sprinkler  12  is received. 
         [0030]    The markings  46  may be indentations or steps formed during the plastic injection molding process. The markings  46  could also be printed indicia formed about the circumference of the conically tapered inner peripheral portion  45 . A plurality of markings  46  are shown in  FIG. 5  which can be used as guides by the installer to customize the size of the inner opening  48 . 
         [0031]    To install the protective shield  10   a, b,  the inner opening  48  is sized to the outer diameter of a body  15   a, b  of the sprinkler  12 . The inner peripheral portion  45  is cut at the lowest marking  46  which permits the sprinkler body  15   a, b  to fit therein. The ground is excavated to fit the sprinkler  12  and (1) the inner peripheral portion  45  of the protective shield  10   a  or (2) the inner peripheral portion  45  and the vertical wall  42  of the protective shield  10   b.  The sprinkler body  15   a, b  is placed in the ground and the protective shield  10   a  or  10   b  is fitted over the sprinkler body  15   a, b.  The sprinkler head  13   a, b  is then mounted to the sprinkler body  15   a, b.  The oversized sprinkler head  13   a, b  keeps the shield  10   a, b  is place (i.e., anchored to the ground) and grass will start to grow over time around the shield  10   a, b  to further prevent the shield from moving. When the protective shield  10   a,    10   b  is properly positioned, the outer perimeter  14  of the shield  10   a, b  engages the ground surrounding the sprinkler  12 . Moreover, the stiffening members  30  may additionally have downwardly protruding spikes or ground engaging members that prevent rotation of the protective shield  10   a,    10   b  about the sprinkler  12 . 
         [0032]    When installed, the top of the sprinkler head  12  resides below the apex  28  of the upper surface  24  so that lawnmowers can ride over the protective shield  10   a,    10   b.  People can visually spot the sprinkler head  13   a, b  and avoid stepping on the sprinkler head  13   a, b.  Also, if a person inadvertently steps on the protective shield  10   a,    10   b,  the sprinkler head  13   a, b  is not damaged since the protective shield  10   a, b  would take the brunt of impact. The outer perimeter  14  engages the ground and lifts the lawnmower over and above the top of the sprinkler head  13   a, b  to protect the sprinkler head  13   a, b  from damage. 
         [0033]    The protective shield  10   a, b  may be fabricated from a plastic material through a plastic injection molding process. The plastic material may be sufficiently soft to permit the installer to cut the inner peripheral portions  45  of the protective shields  10   a, b  or the body  26  adjacent to one of the stiffening members  30   a, b, c, d  with shears or scissors. Alternatively, the plastic material may be harder so that cutting the inner peripheral portion  45  of the protective shields  10   a, b  or the body  26  adjacent to one of the stiffening members  30   a, b, c, d  must be performed with a hack saw or other cutting mechanism. It is also contemplated that the shield  10   a,    10   b  may be fabricated from other types of materials such as metal, aluminum, stainless steel, ceramics and composites. 
         [0034]    The protective shield  10   a, b  disclosed herein may also be utilized in flower beds to prevent overgrowth of weeds and grass that if were allowed to grow over the sprinkler head would hinder proper operation of the sprinkler  12 . 
         [0035]    The above description is given by way of example, and not limitation. Given the above disclosure, one skilled in the art could devise variations that are within the scope and spirit of the invention disclosed herein, including various ways of forming the shield  10   a,    10   b.  Further, the various features of the embodiments disclosed herein can be used alone, or in varying combinations with each other and are not intended to be limited to the specific combination described herein. Thus, the scope of the claims is not to be limited by the illustrated embodiments.