Abstract:
The present invention relates to an automatic water inlet switching device for an oscillating sprinkler that has a sprinkle control unit having a blade equipped gear transmission set housed therein, working together with a water inlet switching device having an operation unit and a movable swinging seat. The bottom of the movable swinging seat is provided with two water stop ends in opposite to two outlet holes defined on a coupling unit with a concaved bounded space placed at the center thereof. An action stick of the operation unit is operable inside the bounded space so that in the water inlet switching operation the swinging angle of the action stick is limited within the bounded space and the action stick will move against the push end thereof so as to produce a built-up force to instantaneously spring away the movable swinging seat no matter what the water pressure is high or low in operation.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention relates to an automatic water inlet switching device for an oscillating sprinkler. An actuation stick of the operation unit is operable inside a bounded space so that in the water inlet switching operation the bending angle of the actuation stick is limited within the bounded space and the actuation stick will move against one of the push faces thereof so as to produce a built-up force to instantaneously spring away the movable swinging seat to pivot to one side no matter what the water pressure is high or low in operation. 
   In general, the common water sprinkler for garden use is equipped with a switching device for varying the direction of water flow as shown in  FIG. 1  of a European patent EP0826427A2. It has a coupling unit  10  provided with a couple of water outlet ports  11  that are controllably engaged with a control unit  14  which is controlled by a spring  12  and a control stick  13  so as to make the sprinkler operated by way of the water pressure. In operation, when the control stick  13  is driven by an operation device to swing to and come into contact with one side of the stop groove of a restraint unit, the control stick  13  will be forcedly biased to the other direction, and the spring  12  under the influence of the biased control stick  13  will drive the flat board of the control unit  14  to switch to the other side to cover up the other water outlet  11  to change the direction of the flow. So, the control stick  13  must be exerted by a force with a torsion force gradually built up on the spring  12  to make the control unit  14  switched smoothly. However, if the spring  12  is not limited by a bounded space, the torsion produced by the spring  12  can not be concentrated and be dispersed easily, resulting in the torsion of the spring  12  less than the suction force at the sealed end of the control unit  14  when the water pressure is high. This will cause the outlet port  11  unable to be sealed, and the spring  12  will remain so deformed in bending in abutment against the control unit  14  for a long period of time as well. The spring  12  will suffer from fatigue as a result of that reason, making the operation life thereof shortened. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   Therefore, the primary object of the present invention is to provide an automatic water inlet switching device for an oscillating sprinkler wherein the water inlet switching device limits the actuation stick of an operation unit to move in a bounded space and relatively form a biased angle within that bounded space of a movable swinging seat so that the bending energy of the actuation stick can be concentrated to produce an instantaneous force on one of the push faces of the bounded space, allowing to effectively drive the movable swinging seat switched to another position for changing the direction of inflow water regardless of the level of water pressure in operation. 
   The second object of the present invention is to provide an automatic water inlet switching device for an oscillating sprinkler. In particular, after the movable swinging seat is pivoted to another position, the bent actuation stick in abutment against one of the push faces in the bounded space of the movable swinging seat can surely provide a maximum force against the movable swinging seat so that one of the water outlet ports can be effectively sealed and the other outlet ports wide open to make the operation in the best mode. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective diagram showing the structure of the prior art cited in the European patent application EPO 826427A2; 
       FIG. 2  is a sectional diagram of the present invention; 
       FIG. 3  is a perspective diagram of the disassembly of the first embodiment of the water inlet switching device of the present invention; 
       FIG. 4  is a sectional diagram showing the assembly of the water inlet switching device of the present invention; 
       FIG. 5  is a sectional diagram showing the water incoming state of the water inlet switching device of the present invention; 
       FIG. 6  is a perspective diagram showing the application of the present invention onto a vertical-type oscillating sprinkler; 
       FIG. 7  is a diagram showing the second embodiment of the water inlet switching device of the present invention; 
       FIG. 8  is a sectional diagram showing the operation mode of the second embodiment of the water inlet switching device of the present invention; 
       FIG. 9  is a diagram showing the operation of the water inlet switching device of  FIG. 8  with the actuation stick confined in a bounded space to gradually build up energy of torsion and pushing against the high and low push faces; 
       FIG. 10  is a diagram showing the water inlet switching device of  FIG. 9  having completed the water switching operation; 
       FIG. 11  is a diagram showing the third embodiment of the water inlet switching device of the present invention and demonstrating the operation of the water inlet switching device with the actuation stick confined in a bounded space to gradually build up energy of torsion and pushing against the high and low push faces; 
       FIG. 12  is a diagram showing the water inlet switching device of  FIG. 11  having completed the water switching operation; 
       FIG. 13  is a diagram showing the fourth embodiment of the present invention; 
       FIG. 14  is a diagram showing the fifth embodiment of the present invention. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
   Referring to  FIG. 2 , a sectional diagram of the present invention, the oscillating sprinkler, which can be made to position in a horizontal manner or vertical manner as shown in  FIG. 6 , is comprised of a water inlet connector  20 , a restraint connector  30 , a moving mount  40 , a coupling unit  50 , a water outlet connector  60  and a gear set  70 . 
   The water inlet port  21  of the water inlet connector  20  is in communication with the regulating hole  221  of a control valve  22  which can regulate the volume of the incoming water. At one side of the restraint connector  30  is disposed a restraint hole  31  to adjust the maximum angle of the swinging operation of the sprinkler. The coupling unit  50  is placed between the moving mount  40  and the water outlet connector  60 . 
   One side of the gear set  70  is engaged with one side of the coupling unit  50  and is housed in the moving mount  40 . The front gear  701  of the gear set  70  is in mesh with a fixed gear  71  and the rear gear  702  is meshed with a driving gear  721  equipped with blades  72 . The blades  72  and the driving gear  721  are respectively positioned at the two sides of the center of the coupling unit  50 . 
   As shown in  FIGS. 3 ,  4 , at the other side of the coupling unit  50  are disposed two neighboring outlet ports  51 ,  51 ′ each having a slant facet  511 ,  511 ′ orienting to the left and right respectively; and a water inlet switching device equipped with a movable swing seat  52 ′ and an operation unit  53 ′ operated in cooperation with the coupling unit  50 . 
   Moreover, on each of the opposite sides of the two neighboring outlet ports  51 ,  51 ′ is disposed a vertical board  54  having a vertically defined restraint groove  541  thereon. The bottom of the restraint groove  541  is terminated in a U-shaped pivot stop  5411  so that the movable swinging seat  52 ′, having an extended rotation protrusion  521 ′ disposed at the center of each side of the bottom thereof, can be guided all the way down along the restraint grooves  541  of the vertical boards  54  and located in place by way of the U-shaped pivot stop  5411  between the two outlet ports  51 ,  51 ′. Thus, the movable swinging seat  52 ′ can be pivotal side to side along the rotation protrusions  521 ′. At each end of the movable swinging seat  52 ′ is disposed a flat water stop end  522 ′ which are selectively engaged with the outlet ports  51 ,  51 ′ for sealing purpose. At the top of the movable swinging seat  52 ′ is provided with a bounded space  523 ′ having push ends  524 ′ formed at the top thereof. 
   The operation unit  53 ′ made of plastics consists of an upper drive rod  531 ′ and a lower actuation stick  532 ′ that are integrally made with a taper section  533 ′ disposed therebetween. The actuation stick  532 ′ is designed in the form a flat plate. The upper drive rod  531 ′ is led through a pivot hole  41  of the moving mount  40  and the restraint hole  31  of the restraint connector  30 . 
   At one side of the pivot hole  41  is disposed a ring seat  42  for the fixing of a sealing ring  421  which is in tight abutment against the bulged taper section  533 ′ to affect the sealing. To the bottom of the taper section  531 ′ are attached a pair of vertical reinforced roots  534 ′ in abutment against the top of the vertical boards  54  so as to make the tip end  5321 ′ of the actuation stick  532 ′ extend into flexible engagement with the push ends  524 ′ of the bounded space of the movable swinging seat  52 ′ and further cooperate with the restraint hole  31  of the restraint connector  30 . Thus, one of the water stop ends  522 ′ of the movable swinging seat  52 ′ is forced into selective engagement with the oblique facet  511  of the outlet port  51 , leaving the other water outlet port  51 ′ in an open state to allow water to flow in to drive the blades  72  and the driving gear  721  to rotate in the direction of the incoming flow. Thereby, the gear set  70 , the moving mount  40 , the coupling unit  50  and the water outlet connector  60  are made to move in synchronism in the same direction along the fixed gear  71 , rendering the sprinkler unit to swing back and forth in response to the direction of rotation of the water outlet connector  60 . 
   As the sprinkler unit swings to a limiting position as shown in  FIG. 5 , the drive rod  531 ′ of the operation unit  53 ′ comes into contact against one side of the restraint hole  31  of the restraint connector  30 , and the continuous movement of the gear set  70  will make the drive rod  531 ′ limited by the restraint hole  31  drive in linkage the actuation stick  532 ′ to bias in an angle within the bounded space  523 ′ of the movable swinging seat  52 ′ and abut against the push end  524 ′. Thus, the biased angle of the end  5321 ′ of the actuation stick  532 ′ and the swinging angle of the push ends  524 ′ combine to produce an instantaneous force so as to make the movable swinging seat  52 ′ pivot to the other side, causing the water stop end  522 ′ to come into sealing engagement with the oblique facet  511 ′ of the outlet port  51 ′. In the meantime, the other water inlet port  51  is accordingly turned into an open state so as to switch the direction of the inflowing water, resulting in the change of the swinging direction of the sprinkling unit. Regardless of the level of the water pressure being high or low, the switching of the direction of the water inflow can be easily carried out as a result of the actuation stick  532 ′ limited in the bounded space  523 ′ producing a relative biased angle with respect to the movable swinging seat  52 ′ to offer an instantaneous push against the push end  524 ′. 
   Referring to  FIGS. 7 ,  8 , the second embodiment of the present invention, the movable swinging seat  52  is provided with a central rotation protrusion  521  at each side of the bottom thereof that can be guided downwardly along the restraint groove  541  defined between the two vertical boards  54  and abut against the pivot stop  5411  respectively so as to position the movable swinging seat  52  between the two outlet ports  51 ,  51 ′ of the coupling unit  50 . Thus, the rotation protrusions  521  of the movable swinging seat  52  can rotate back and forth between the pivot stops  5411  and the outlet ports  51 ,  51 ′. Moreover, there are two flat water stop ends  522  at the bottom of the movable swinging seat  52  in selective registration with the two water outlet ports  51 ,  51 ′. There is a narrow bounded space  523  and a wide operation space  524  defined at the top of the movable swinging seat  52  with a low push face  525  and a high push face  526  defined on each of two opposite sides thereof respectively. 
   The operation unit  53  made of plastics integrally includes a drive rod  531  and an actuation stick  532  which is made in a flat and flexible plate and a bulged taper section  533  is disposed therebetween. The drive rod  531  is led through the pivot hole  41  of the moving mount  40  and the restraint hole  31  of the restraint connector  30 . At one side of the pivot hole  41  is disposed a ring seat  42  for the fixing of a sealing ring  421  which is in pressing contact with the taper section  533  to effect sealing purpose. At each side of the bottom of the taper section  533  is attached a reinforcement root  534  that is also engaged with the upper end of each of the two vertical boards  54 . Thereby, the actuation stick  532  is housed in the operation space  524  of the movable swinging seat  52  with its end  5321  in pressing abutment against the low push face  525  in the bounded space  523  and further in cooperation with the restraint hole  31  of the restraint connector  30  to urge one of the water stop end  522  of the movable swinging seat  52  into sealing engagement with the oblique facet  511  of the water outlet port  51 . At the same time, the other outlet port  51 ′ is left open to allow water to flow in to drive the blades  72  and the driving gear  721  to move in the direction of the inflow water and offer hydraulic power to the gear set  70 , the moving mount  40 , the coupling unit  50  and the water outlet connector  60  to move in synchronism all together with respect to the fixed gear  71 , allowing the sprinkler unit to swing back and forth in line with the movement of the water outlet connector  60 . 
   Referring to  FIGS. 9 ,  10 , as the sprinkler unit swings to a limiting position, the drive rod  531  of the operation unit  53  comes into contact against one side of the restraint hole  31  of the restraint connector  30 , and the continuous movement of the gear set  70  will make the drive rod  531  limited by the restraint hole  31  to bend to one side and drive in linkage the actuation stick  532  to flexibly bend within the operation space  524  of the movable swinging seat  52 . Accordingly, the end  5321  builds up spring energy due to the bending in the bounded space  523  to generate a force in abutment against the low push face  525  so as to permit the end  5321  to instantaneously push the movable swinging seat  52  to pivot to the other side, making the water stop end  522  engage with the oblique facet  511 ′ of the water outlet port  51 ′. Right after that operation, the actuation stick  532  bounces back to resume its natural status with its elastic force concentrated at the bottom end and applying to the low push face  525  so as to ensure the sealing of water outlet port  51 ′ and the opening of the other water outlet port  51 . This operation permits the switching of the direction of water inflow and varying the swinging direction of the sprinkler unit. 
   Moreover, under a high water pressure, the actuation stick  532  will be bent in a proper curvature to store up energy in the operation space  524  and contact with the low push face  525  and the high push face  526 , making the elastic bending force of the actuation stick  532  larger than the high water pressure applied to the water outlet port  51 ′ and ensuring the instantaneous switching of the direction of water inflow. Thus, regardless of the level of water pressure being high or low, the linkage operation of the operation unit  53  and the actuation stick  532  operating in the operation space  524  and the bounded space  523  can store up energy and with the help of the high and low push face  526 ,  525 , the movable swinging seat  25  can be surely switched to vary the direction of water inflow. 
   As shown in  FIGS. 11 and 12 , the third embodiment of the present invention is illustrated. The operation unit  53 ″ is equipped with at the bottom of the taper  531 ″ an extended engagement post  532 ″ for the mounting of a spring type actuation device  533 ″ which is placed inside the operation space  524 ″ and the bounded space  523 ″ of the movable swinging seat  52 ″. The end of the spring actuation device  533 ″ is in abutment against one of the low push faces  525 ″ of the bounded space  523 ″ so as to make the water outlet port  51 ″ sealed, permitting water to flow out via the other water outlet port  51 . Moreover, by way of the curvature of the flexibly bent spring actuation device  533 ″ and the help of the high and low push faces  526 ″,  525 ″ in the operation space  524 ″ and the bounded space  523 ″, their mutual abutments and interactions allow the spring actuation device  533 ″ to store up bending energy without dispersion so that the sprinkler can be operated normally regardless of the level of the water pressure. After the movable swinging seat  52 ″ is switched to a new position, the spring actuation device  533 ″ resumes its original status and that will help keep its flexibility in normal and its operation life longer. Besides, the elastic force of the resumed spring actuation device  533 ″ can be concentrated at the bottom end  5331 ″, good enough to abut against the low push face  525 ″ to ensure the water outlet port  51 ′ is firmly sealed and in the best operation status. 
   Referring to  FIG. 13 , in the fourth embodiment of the present invention, the operation unit  80  of the water inlet switching device is equipped with a downwardly extended long vertical slot  82  under the bottom of the taper section  81  with the actuation stick  83  just extending at the center of the slot  82  and into the bounded space  523 ′ of the movable swinging seat  52 ′. Thereby the drive rod  84  of the operation unit  80  can be operated in linkage to switch the movable swinging seat  52 ′ for varying the direction of inflow water. Besides, when the water pressure is at high level, the actuation stick is flexibly bent to accumulate energy and one bottom tip end  821  of the vertical slot  82  will come into abutment against the bent actuation stick  83  and produce an auxiliary force to push the movable swinging force  52 ′ to switch the direction of the inflow water regardless of the level of the water pressure. 
   As shown further in  FIG. 14 , in the fifth embodiment of the present invention, the operation unit  80 ′ is provided with a short vertical slot  82 ′ at the bottom of the taper section  81 ′; and at the top of the movable swinging seat  90  is disposed a bounded space  91  with a long actuation stick  92  extends into and abuts against the slot  82 ′ so that as the drive rod  83 ′ is pushed to one side, one corner  821 ′ of the slot  82 ′ will forcedly urge the actuation stick  92  and the movable swinging seat  90  to pivot in an opposite direction of the drive rod  83 ′ for switching the direction of inflow water accordingly.