Abstract:
A water discharging amusement device incorporates a housing defining an interior chamber, an inlet conduit dimensioned and arranged to receive water from a source of pressurized water and to direct received pressured water into the interior chamber, a rotatable nozzle assembly dimensioned and arranged to spin while receiving pressurized water from the interior chamber and to eject a substantially spiral stream of water as it spins, and a drive assembly disposed within the chamber and dimensioned and arranged to convert linear forces imparted by pressurized water arriving via the inlet into rotary forces for rotating the rotatable nozzle.

Description:
REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/143,353, entitled PORTABLE WATER DISCHARGING AMUSEMENT DEVICE AND RELATED METHODS, filed on Jun. 2, 2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,475,832, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/136,693, entitled WATER GUN AMUSEMENT DEVICES AND METHODS OF USING THE SAME, filed on May 23, 2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,458,485. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to water discharging devices and, more particularly, to systems adapted to discharge water in a pattern suitable for children to jump into or through during play. 
     DISCUSSION OF THE BACKGROUND ART 
     Water play toys have long been a source of great amusement and recreation value. In summer months in particular, toys which combine action and the use of water have provided diversion and a source of cooling at the same time. It has frequently been a favorite pastime of children to play using lawn sprinklers and the like by turning the sprinklers on and running through them. Even simply turning on a garden hose and squirting play companions has been popular attesting to the fascination that children have for water and water play. 
     In U.S. Pat. No. 5,297,979 issued to the inventor herein, Alan Amron, on Mar. 29, 1994, there is disclosed a water sprinkler having a housing that is formed into the shape of a dolphin and that includes a plurality of rotating sprinkler heads for providing a spray of water when the device is connected to a typical garden hose. A water-turbine powered mechanism within the housing generates bubbles which are released through an opening at the top of the housing so that children can jump and play within a spray of water having bubbles interspersed therein. 
     A reaction type of water sprinkling toy is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,700,172. Water communicated by a hose to a housing is conducted through a plurality of internal tubes to spray nozzles opening downwardly from the housing. The force of water emitted by the nozzles causes the housing to lift and hover over the surface on which it is placed at rest. As the term implies, the toy of the U.S. Pat. No. 3,700,172 is one which is caused to rise in reaction to the forces encountered as water passes through the outlet nozzles. Other water reaction toys are also known, including that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,079,727 and known as the Water Wiggle. The action/reaction principle is also graphically illustrated by a hose having a constricted outlet which writhes like a snake when a source of water pressure is connected to the hose. 
     Other toys that generate a spray of water for play purposes are disclosed by Janszen, U.S. Pat. No. 4,573,679 and by Stanley, U.S. Pat. No. 4,205,785. Despite the variety of existing water discharging amusement devices, a continuing need exists for amusement devices which are especially suitable for children&#39;s play, which are especially attractive to children, which are easy to use, which does not use excessive amounts of water—especially in areas where water conservation is encouraged, and which is inexpensive and effective in distributing a pleasant and satisfying shower of water. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The aforementioned needs are addressed, and an advance is made in the art, by water discharging amusement devices that incorporate a housing defining an interior chamber, an inlet conduit dimensioned and arranged to receive water from a source of pressurized water and to direct received pressured water into the interior chamber, a rotatable nozzle assembly dimensioned and arranged to spin while receiving pressurized water from the interior chamber and to eject a substantially spiral stream of water as it spins, and a drive assembly disposed within the chamber and dimensioned and arranged to convert linear forces imparted by pressurized water arriving via the inlet into rotary forces for rotating the rotatable nozzle. 
     In accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the invention, the drive assembly is disposed proximate said inlet and comprises a turbine including a rotatable disk having a plurality of vanes defined thereon. The inlet conduit may include a first portion defining a first bore having a first diameter dimensioned for threaded engagement with a garden hose and a second portion defining a second bore having a second diameter substantially smaller than the first diameter, the second portion operating as a capillary tube to limit a rate at which water enters the interior chamber and impinges upon the vanes of the turbine. 
     Depending upon the orientation and position of the discharge opening of the nozzle assembly relative to the orientation and position of the inlet, it may be necessary to incorporate additional elements in the drive assembly. For example, if the axis of nozzle rotation is transverse to an axis defined by the inlet flow path, the drive assembly may further include a driven gear wherein the periphery of the driven gear and the turbine may be defined with corresponding teeth. In accordance with such an implementation, the driven gear includes a shaft dimensioned and arranged to extend through a bore in a sidewall of the housing and to freely rotate within that bore. The shaft is coupled to the rotatable nozzle assembly for rotation therewith and defines a discharge conduit extending therethrough for establishing fluid communication between the interior chamber and the discharge opening of the rotatable nozzle assembly. 
     Water discharging devices constructed in accordance with the present invention may be realized in a variety of configurations. For example, in sprinkler embodiments, the housing may be configured as a base dimensioned and arranged to support the rotatable nozzle assembly in a substantially vertical orientation. This results in an upwardly directed spiral stream of water which is attractive and interesting to children during play. Other possible configurations include hand-held, hose end nozzles, wherein the device further includes a valve selectively operable between a first position permitting flow of water from the discharge opening of the rotary nozzle assembly and a second position preventing flow of water from the discharge opening. The hand held nozzle configurations of the present invention further include a hand operated trigger dimensioned and arranged to manipulate the valve into either of the first position and the second position. 
     Amusement devices constructed in accordance with the aforementioned illustrative sprinkler embodiments may include two or more rotatable nozzle assemblies, each being adapted to rotate about a correspondingly different axis of rotation. As will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art, such an arrangement may be readily achieved using the disk member of the turbine to drive a plurality of driven gear members, with each gear member defining a separate discharge conduit as described above. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The various features and advantages of the present invention would be better understood by reference to the detailed description which follows, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a side elevation view depicting a water discharging amusement device constructed in accordance with an illustrative water sprinkler embodiment of the present invention, the device being equipped with a nozzle assembly adapted to rotate automatically, as water is discharged, to produce an upwardly directed helix of water; 
         FIG. 2  is an exploded view depicting the internal construction of the exemplary embodiment of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3A  is an isometric perspective view depicting a water discharging amusement device constructed in accordance with an illustrative hand-held, hose-end nozzle embodiment of the present invention, the device being equipped with a nozzle assembly adapted to rotate automatically, as water is discharged, to produce, for example, a laterally directed helix of water; 
         FIG. 3B  is a frontal perspective view of the embodiment depicted in  FIG. 3A   
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view depicting an exemplary rotating nozzle assembly utilized in the embodiment of  FIG. 3A ; 
         FIG. 5  is a broken apart, perspective view depicting the internal construction of an exemplary, rotating nozzle assembly for use in realizing the illustrative embodiment of  FIG. 3A ; 
         FIG. 6  is a cross sectional view of the exemplary rotating nozzle assembly of  FIGS. 5 and 5 , taken across the plane IV-IV depicted in  FIG. 4 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The accompanying Figures and this description depict and describe embodiments of a water sprinkler amusement device in accordance with the present invention, and features and components thereof. The present invention also encompasses a method of making and using embodiments of the amusement device. As used herein, the phrases or terms “water discharging device,” “sprinkler,” “water discharging amusement device” and the like are intended to encompass a structure or structures configured to automatically project, throw, squirt, launch or shoot water upwardly or laterally into the air so that it falls down upon a child during play, and which can be operated when attached to the end of a garden hose. It should also be noted that any references herein to front and back, right and left, top and bottom and upper and lower are intended for convenience of description, not to limit the present invention or its components to any one positional or spatial orientation. 
     With regard to fastening, mounting, attaching or connecting components of the present invention to form the water discharging amusement device as a whole, unless specifically described otherwise, such are intended to encompass conventional fasteners such as screws, nut and bolt connectors, threaded connectors, snap rings, detent arrangements, clamps such as screw clamps and the like, rivets, toggles, pins and the like. Components may also be connected by adhesives, glues, welding, ultrasonic welding, and friction fitting or deformation, if appropriate, and appropriate liquid and/or airtight seals or sealing devices may be used. Unless specifically otherwise disclosed or taught, materials for making components of the present invention may be selected from appropriate materials such as metal, metallic alloys, natural and man-made fibers, vinyls, plastics and the like, and appropriate manufacturing or production methods including casting, pressing, extruding, molding and machining may be used. 
     Turning now to the drawings, in which like elements are denoted by like reference numerals throughout the several views, a first illustrative embodiment of a water discharging amusement device  10  in accordance with the present invention is depicted in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . The embodiment of  FIGS. 1 and 2  include an elongated housing or body  12  having defined therein an interior chamber indicated generally at  14 . In the illustrative embodiment, housing  12  has an animal shape having a plurality of downwardly depending legs  13  dimensioned and arranged for stable placement of housing  12  on a lawn or other suitable surface (not shown). An inlet conduit  15  has a first end  15   a  dimensioned and arranged for threaded engagement with the end of a garden hose H and a second end  15   b  which enters chamber  14 . A bore extending through conduit  15  has a first portion  16   a  having a first interior diameter conforming, more or less, to the diameter of the interior bore of the garden hose. In the exemplary embodiment of  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the bore has a second portion  16   b  ( FIG. 2 ) having a second diameter which is selected so as to function as a capillary tube. Illustratively, portion  16   b  may be on the order of about 0.062 inches in diameter. This arrangement has been found to limit the rate of water flow, over an expected range of municipal water pressures, to a level that preserves the spiral appearance of the discharge pattern. In that regard, it should also be noted that the inventor herein has observed that an advantageous arrangement is achieved when the diameter of portion  16   b  is less than the diameter of the orifice through which water is ejected by the device. When using a capillary tube section diameter of 0.062 inches, for example, advantageous results have been achieved with a nozzle orifice diameter of 0.074 inches. 
     As best seen in  FIG. 2 , it will be seen that water entering chamber  14  via capillary tube section  16   b  impinges upon the vanes  18  of turbine  20 . Essentially, the purpose of turbine  20  is to convert the linear forces imparted by water entering via capillary tube section  16   b  into rotary forces suitable for rotating a rotatable nozzle assembly indicated generally at reference numeral  24 . To that end, the peripheral surface of a disk section  26  of turbine  20  defines a series of teeth  28  adapted to engage with corresponding teeth  30  on the peripheral surface of a driven gear assembly  32  that is secured to rotatable nozzle assembly  24 . Accordingly, as turbine  20  rotates, driven gear assembly  32  and nozzle assembly  24  also rotate. To allow water to flow from within chamber  14  to the discharge opening  34  of nozzle assembly  24 , driven gear assembly includes a shaft  36  that defines an axial discharge conduit  38 . This arrangement permits water to pass from chamber  14  directly to the nozzle assembly  24 . 
     With continuing reference to  FIG. 2 , it will be seen that nozzle assembly  24  comprises a cap member  40  which is secured to the distal end  42  of shaft  36 . Within cap member  40  is a discharge tube  44  having a spherical inlet end  46  which is pivotably received within cap member  40  and adapted for pivotable movement therewithin. Such an arrangement permits the divergence of the spiral water stream P ( FIG. 1 ) ejected by nozzle assembly  24  to be quickly and easily adjusted by the user. Specifically, pivoting nozzle end  34  of discharge tube  44  outwardly (i.e., so as to diverge away from the axis of rotation of assembly  24 ) produces a “tornado” effect in which the layers of water in path P expand outwardly as they rise vertically. The greater the angle of divergence, relative to a vertical axis of rotation, the wider the diameter achieved by each layer of water in the spiral path P. Even greater divergence may be achieved by offsetting the discharge path relative to the axis of rotation. It should be noted that although only one nozzle assembly is depicted in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , it will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art that additional nozzle assemblies, as nozzle assembly  24 , may be readily incorporated into the device  10 . 
     Turning now to  FIGS. 3A-7 , there is shown a hand-held, hose-end nozzle device  100  constructed in accordance with a second illustrative embodiment of the invention. With initial reference to  FIGS. 3A and 3B , it will be seen that device  100  comprises a conventional hose end adaptor assembly indicated generally at  110  having a body or housing  102  that includes a handle section  104  and a barrel portion  106 . The conventional hose adaptor assembly  110  employed in the illustrative embodiment of  FIGS. 3A and 3B  is substantially as shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,303,868, issued to Kroll on Apr. 19, 1994 and entitled Hose Nozzle, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated herein by reference. It should, however, be emphasized that any conventional hose adaptor assembly operative to receive water via a source of municipally pressurized water by way of a hose attachment will suit the purporses of the present invention. Indeed, many conventional hose end nozzle assemblies incorporate not only a threaded inlet or proximal end, but also a threaded discharge or distal end. The latter configurations are especially suited for kit forms of the invention, in which a rotatable nozzle assembly is realized as an adaptor dimensioned and arranged for threaded engagement onto the distal end of a conventional hose end nozzle, rather than as an integrated assembly. In any event, and with continued reference to  FIGS. 3A and 3B , water is introduced via an inlet opening  108  dimensioned and arranged for threaded engagement with the end of a conventional garden hose H. Depression of a conventional spring biased trigger, as trigger  110 , opens a conventional, normally closed valve (not shown), thereby allowing water through an internal conduit  112  ( FIG. 4 ) that passes through the handle toward a distal end  114  of barrel portion  106 . 
     As in the case of the embodiment of  FIG. 1 , the embodiment of  FIGS. 3A and 3B  employs a rotating nozzle  124 . While trigger  110  is in the “on” or an “intermediate” depressed position, nozzle assembly  124  rotates and water being discharged through a discharge outlet  126  thereof assumes a spiral trajectory in any direction the user chooses to aim barrel portion  106 . Automatic rotation of nozzle assembly  124  to produce a spiral discharge effect can be achieved in a variety of ways. By way example, discharge outlet  126  of nozzle assembly  124  may be dimensioned and arranged to impart a nozzle reaction force—that is offset relative to the axis of nozzle assembly rotation—as the stream of water is discharged. Even a relatively small angle of inclination of the discharge stream relative to a plane orthogonal to the rotational axis of the nozzle assembly is sufficient to induce rotation of the nozzle assembly. 
     In accordance with an especially preferred embodiment of the present invention, however, the force for spinning nozzle assembly  124  is provided via the pressurized water stream traversing conduit  112 . An exemplary structure adapted to utilize this force is depicted in  FIGS. 4-6  and will now be described in detail. As seen in  FIG. 4 , nozzle assembly  124  comprises a first section  136  and a second section  138  which, when assembled into the configuration shown in  FIGS. 5 and 6 , define an interior cavity  140  ( FIG. 6 ) within which is disposed a flow diverter assembly indicated generally at  142 . 
     With reference to both  FIGS. 4 and 6 , it will be seen that flow diverter assembly  142  has a proximal end  144  dimensioned and arranged to receive and retain the distal end  146  of conduit  112 . Conduit  112  and flow diverter assembly  142  are fastened together in a conventional manner such, for example, as by a suitable adhesive. As such, fluid diverter assembly  142  is not a moving part but, rather, is stationary despite being disposed within interior cavity  140 . Fluid exiting the discharge orifice  128  of conduit  112  enters an inlet  148  defined at the proximal end  144  of flow diverter assembly  142 . The center of first section  136  defines an axial opening through which proximal end  144  is inserted. Locking rings indicated generally at  152  and  154  in  FIG. 6  prevent axial movement of diverter assembly  142  relative to first section  138 . A first bushing indicated generally at  156   a  enables first section to rotate about an axis defined by flow diverter assembly  142 . To prevent water from leaking out of interior cavity  140 , O-rings or other suitable gaskets may be utilized at the interface between the interior surface of bore  136   a  of first section  136  and the exterior surface of diverter assembly  142 . A second bushing, indicated generally at  156   b  is provided to retain and support nozzle assembly  124  at the distal end  114  of device  100  while still allowing it to freely rotate relative thereto. 
     Defined within the interior axial surface  137  of second section  138  are a plurality of vanes  139 . As best seen in  FIG. 4 , water entering inlet opening  148  of flow diverter assembly  142  exits via a pair of exit openings indicated generally at  160  and  162 . As will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art, exit opening  160  and  162  are dimensioned and arranged so as to cause corresponding jets of liquid to impinge upon the surfaces of vanes  139 , thereby initiating rotation of first section  136  and second section  138 . 
     In the illustrative embodiment depicted in  FIG. 3A-6 , it will be seen that water exits the spinning nozzle assembly  124  via a discharge opening  140  at the distal end of pivotably movable nozzle member  134 . As described in connection with the embodiment of  FIGS. 1 and 2  above, such a structure is advantageous in that it gives the user a high degree of flexibility in defining the diameter and/or pitch of the spiral stream which is discharged. Of course, if such flexibility is not a design constraint, then it is of course possible to integrally form a nozzle member directly as part of second section  138 . 
     It is believed that the disclosure set forth above encompasses multiple distinct inventions with independent utility. While each of these inventions has been disclosed in illustrative form, the specific embodiments thereof as disclosed and illustrated herein are not to be considered in a limiting sense as numerous variations are possible. By way of illustration, and as indicated earlier, kit forms of the invention may be realized by coupling diverter assembly within a cylindrical adaptor (not shown) having internal threads at one end for securing to the end of a conventional hose nozzle assembly and suitable structure (e.g., bushings and locking rings) on the other end for retaining first section  136  in a way that permits first section  136  to freely rotate. Such a configuration is advantageous since it allows a rotatable nozzle assembly as assembly  124  to be implemented with a wide variety of conventional hose end nozzle structures, and to be attached and detached as desired. 
     The subject matter of the inventions includes all novel and non-obvious combinations and sub-combinations of the various elements, features, functions and/or properties disclosed herein. Similarly, where the claims recite “a” or “a first” element or the equivalent thereof, such claims should be understood to include incorporation of one or more such elements, neither requiring nor excluding two or more such elements. 
     Inventions embodied in various combinations and sub-combinations of features, functions, elements and/or properties may be claimed in this or a related application. Such claims, whether they are directed to a different invention or directed to the same invention, whether different, broader, narrower or equal in scope to any original claims, are also regarded as included within the subject matter of the inventions of the present disclosure.