Patent Publication Number: US-7913932-B2

Title: Sprinkler having a multifunctional protective hood

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a gardening tool and, more particularly, to a sprinkler that sprays sterilizing fluid outward. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     A conventional sprinkler  30  in accordance with the prior art shown in  FIG. 6  comprises a receiving barrel  31 , a boosting unit  32  and a spraying unit  33 . The receiving barrel  31  has a top provided with a mouth  311 . The mouth  311  of the receiving barrel  31  has an outer wall provided with a threaded locking portion  312 . The boosting unit  32  is detachably mounted on the mouth  311  of the receiving barrel  31  and has an upper end provided with a threaded locking section  321  screwed into the locking portion  312  of the mouth  311 . The spraying unit  33  has a first end connected with the receiving barrel  31  and a second end provided with a nozzle head  331 . The nozzle head  331  of the spraying unit  33  is ratable relative to the spraying unit  33  to adjust the output modes (straight water beams or atomized water) of the nozzle head  331 . In operation, a fluid, such as pesticide and the like, is filled through the mouth  311  into the receiving barrel  31 . Then, the boosting unit  32  is mounted on the mouth  311  of the receiving barrel  31  to pressurize the fluid so that the fluid is compressed to pass through the spraying unit  33  and is injected outwardly from the nozzle head  331  of the spraying unit  33 . 
     However, when the fluid directly contacts with the locking portion  312  of the mouth  311  during the filling process of the fluid, the undissolved powders contained in the fluid are attached to the locking portion  312  of the mouth  311  so that the locking section  321  of the boosting unit  32  is not combined with the locking portion  312  of the mouth  311  exactly and closely, thereby affecting operation of the boosting unit  22  and easily causing a leakage between the locking section  321  of the boosting unit  32  and the locking portion  312  of the mouth  311 . In addition, the powders contained in the fluid easily blocks or chokes the boosting unit  32  or the nozzle head  331  of the spraying unit  33 , thereby causing inconvenience in operation of the boosting unit  32  or the nozzle head  331  of the spraying unit  33 . Further, the injected fluid from the nozzle head  331  of the spraying unit  33  easily flows backward to contact the user&#39;s body, thereby causing danger to the user. Further, the user needs to rotate the nozzle head  331  of the spraying unit  33  so as to adjust the output modes of the nozzle head  331  of the spraying unit  33  so that the user will directly touch the fluid that may be toxic, thereby causing danger to the user. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a sprinkler, comprising a protective hood having a side provided with a protruding plug. The plug of the protective hood has an end face provided with a protruding mounting post. The mounting post of the protective hood has an inner portion provided with a mounting recess. The mounting post of the protective hood has an end portion provided with a spraying hole. The spraying hole of the mounting post is connected to the mounting recess. The end face of the plug has a periphery provided with a plurality of filtering holes. The protective hood has an inner portion provided with a chamber. The mounting post of the protective hood extends into the chamber. 
     The sprinkler further comprises a receiving barrel having a top provided with a mouth which has an outer wall provided with a threaded locking portion, a boosting unit detachably mounted on the mouth of the receiving barrel and locked by the locking portion of the mouth, and a spraying unit having a first end connected with the receiving barrel and a second end provided with a nozzle head. The protective hood is detachably mounted on the nozzle head of the spraying unit or detachably mounted on the mouth of the receiving barrel. The plug of the protective hood is detachably inserted into the mouth of the receiving barrel when the protective hood is mounted on the mouth of the receiving barrel. The mounting post of the protective hood is detachably mounted on the nozzle head of the spraying unit when the protective hood is mounted on the nozzle head of the spraying unit. 
     The primary objective of the present invention is to provide a sprinkler having a multifunctional protective hood. 
     Another objective of the present invention is to provide a sprinkler, wherein the protective hood can be mounted on the nozzle head of the spraying unit to protect the user and can be mounted on the mouth of the receiving barrel to protect the locking portion of the receiving barrel, the boosting unit and the nozzle head of the spraying unit. 
     A further objective of the present invention is to provide a sprinkler, wherein the protective hood separates the locking portion of the receiving barrel from the fluid during the filling process of the fluid to prevent undissolved powders contained in the fluid from being attached to the locking portion of the receiving barrel so that the boosting unit is combined with the locking portion of the receiving barrel exactly and closely so as to facilitate operation of the boosting unit. 
     A further objective of the present invention is to provide a sprinkler, wherein the protective hood is placed on the mouth of the receiving barrel so that the fluid can flow into the receiving barrel easily and quickly, thereby facilitating a user filling the fluid. 
     A further objective of the present invention is to provide a sprinkler, wherein the filtering holes of the protective hood can filter the powders contained in the fluid to prevent the boosting unit and the nozzle head of the spraying unit from being blocked or choked, thereby greatly facilitating operation of the boosting unit and the nozzle head of the spraying unit. 
     A further objective of the present invention is to provide a sprinkler, wherein the protective hood separates the user from the spraying hole of the mounting post to prevent the injected fluid from flowing backward to contact the user&#39;s body so as to protect the user during the spraying process of the fluid. 
     A further objective of the present invention is to provide a sprinkler, wherein the protective hood is locked onto the nozzle head of the spraying unit so that the nozzle head of the spraying unit can be rotated by the protective hood to adjust the output modes of the nozzle head, and the user needs not to rotate the nozzle head of the spraying unit so as to prevent the user directly touching the fluid. 
     Further benefits and advantages of the present invention will become apparent after a careful reading of the detailed description with appropriate reference to the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S) 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a sprinkler in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a partially perspective cross-sectional view of a protective hood of the sprinkler as shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is a partially exploded perspective view of the sprinkler as shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 4  is a partially exploded perspective view of the sprinkler as shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 5  is a schematic operational view of the sprinkler as shown in  FIG. 1  in use. 
         FIG. 6  is a partially exploded perspective view of a conventional sprinkler in accordance with the prior art. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring to the drawings and initially to  FIGS. 1-4 , a sprinkler  20  in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises a receiving barrel  21 , a boosting unit  22 , a spraying unit  23  and a protective hood  10 . 
     The receiving barrel  21  has a top provided with a mouth  211 . The mouth  211  of the receiving barrel  21  has an outer wall provided with a threaded locking portion  212 . 
     The boosting unit  22  is detachably mounted on the mouth  211  of the receiving barrel  21  and locked by the locking portion  212  of the mouth  211 . 
     The spraying unit  23  has a first end connected with the receiving barrel  21  and a second end provided with a nozzle head  24 . The nozzle head  24  of the spraying unit  23  is ratable relative to the spraying unit  23  to adjust the output modes (straight water beams or atomized water) of the nozzle head  24 . The nozzle head  24  of the spraying unit  23  has a peripheral wall provided with a plurality of limit ribs  241 . Each of the limit ribs  241  of the nozzle head  24  has an elongate shape and extends in a longitudinal direction of the nozzle head  24 . 
     The protective hood  10  is detachably mounted on the nozzle head  24  of the spraying unit  23  or detachably mounted on the mouth  211  of the receiving barrel  21 . The protective hood  10  has a size greater than that of the nozzle head  24  of the spraying unit  23  and that of the mouth  211  of the receiving barrel  21 . 
     The protective hood  10  has a funnel shape and has an inner portion provided with a chamber  16 . The chamber  16  of the protective hood  10  has a tapered shape. The protective hood  10  has a side provided with a protruding plug  15  that is detachably inserted into the mouth  211  of the receiving barrel  21 . The plug  15  of the protective hood  10  is a hollow body and has an end face provided with a protruding mounting post  12  detachably mounted on the nozzle head  24  of the spraying unit  23 . 
     The mounting post  12  of the protective hood  10  is located at a central portion of the plug  15  and has an inner portion provided with a mounting recess  120  detachably mounted on the nozzle head  24  of the spraying unit  23 . The mounting post  12  of the protective hood  10  extends into the chamber  16  and has an end portion provided with a spraying hole  13  connected between the chamber  16  and the nozzle head  24  of the spraying unit  23 . The spraying hole  13  of the mounting post  12  is located at a central portion of the mounting post  12  and is connected to the mounting recess  120 . The mounting post  12  of the protective hood  10  has a peripheral wall provided with a plurality of limit slots  14  detachably locked onto the limit ribs  241  of the nozzle head  24  so that the protective hood  10  is detachably locked onto the nozzle head  24  of the spraying unit  23 , and the nozzle head  24  of the spraying unit  23  is rotatable in concert with the protective hood  10 . Each of the limit slots  14  of the mounting post  12  has an elongate shape and extends in a longitudinal direction of the mounting post  12 . The end face of the plug  15  has a periphery provided with a plurality of filtering holes  11  each connected between the chamber  16  and the mouth  211  of the receiving barrel  21 . 
     In operation, referring to  FIG. 5  with reference to  FIGS. 1-4 , a fluid, such as pesticide and the like, is filled through the mouth  211  into the receiving barrel  21 . Then, the boosting unit  22  is mounted on the mouth  211  of the receiving barrel  21  and locked by the locking portion  212  of the mouth  211  to pressurize the fluid so that the fluid is compressed to pass through the spraying unit  23  and is injected outwardly from the nozzle head  24  of the spraying unit  23 . 
     In practice, when the protective hood  10  is mounted on the mouth  211  of the receiving barrel  21 , the plug  15  of the protective hood  10  is inserted into the mouth  211  of the receiving barrel  21  as shown in  FIG. 4  to attach the protective hood  10  to the mouth  211  of the receiving barrel  21  so that the protective hood  10  is placed on the mouth  211  of the receiving barrel  21 . In such a manner, the fluid will flow through the chamber  16  and the filtering holes  11  of the protective hood  10  and through the mouth  211  of the receiving barrel  21  and is filled into the receiving barrel  21 . At this time, the protective hood  10  separates the locking portion  212  of the receiving barrel  21  from the fluid during the filling process of the fluid to prevent undissolved powders contained in the fluid from being attached to the locking portion  212  of the receiving barrel  21  so that the boosting unit  22  is combined with the locking portion  212  of the receiving barrel  21  exactly and closely so as to facilitate operation of the boosting unit  22 . In addition, the protective hood  10  is placed on the mouth  211  of the receiving barrel  21  so that the fluid can flow into the receiving barrel  21  easily and quickly, thereby facilitating a user filling the fluid. Further, the filtering holes  11  of the protective hood  10  can filter the powders contained in the fluid to prevent the boosting unit  22  and the nozzle head  24  of the spraying unit  23  from being blocked or choked, thereby greatly facilitating operation of the boosting unit  22  and the nozzle head  24  of the spraying unit  23 . 
     Alternatively, when the protective hood  10  is mounted on the nozzle head  24  of the spraying unit  23 , the mounting post  12  of the protective hood  10  is mounted on the nozzle head  24  of the spraying unit  23  as shown in  FIG. 3  to attach the protective hood  10  to the nozzle head  24  of the spraying unit  23 . In such a manner, the fluid from the nozzle head  24  of the spraying unit  23  will flow through and is injected outwardly from the spraying hole  13  of the mounting post  12 . At this time, the protective hood  10  separates the user from the spraying hole  13  of the mounting post  12  to prevent the injected fluid from flowing backward to contact the user&#39;s body so as to protect the user during the spraying process of the fluid. In addition, the protective hood  10  is locked onto the nozzle head  24  of the spraying unit  23  so that the nozzle head  24  of the spraying unit  23  can be rotated by the protective hood  10  to adjust the output modes of the nozzle head  24 , and the user needs not to rotate the nozzle head  24  of the spraying unit  23  so as to prevent the user directly touching the fluid. 
     Accordingly, the protective hood  10  can be mounted on the nozzle head  24  of the spraying unit  23  to protect the user and can be mounted on the mouth  211  of the receiving barrel  21  to protect the locking portion  212  of the receiving barrel  21 , the boosting unit  22  and the nozzle head  24  of the spraying unit  23 . In addition, the protective hood  10  separates the locking portion  212  of the receiving barrel  21  from the fluid during the filling process of the fluid to prevent undissolved powders contained in the fluid from being attached to the locking portion  212  of the receiving barrel  21  so that the boosting unit  22  is combined with the locking portion  212  of the receiving barrel  21  exactly and closely so as to facilitate operation of the boosting unit  22 . Further, the protective hood  10  is placed on the mouth  211  of the receiving barrel  21  so that the fluid can flow into the receiving barrel  21  easily and quickly, thereby facilitating a user filling the fluid. Further, the filtering holes  11  of the protective hood  10  can filter the powders contained in the fluid to prevent the boosting unit  22  and the nozzle head  24  of the spraying unit  23  from being blocked or choked, thereby greatly facilitating operation of the boosting unit  22  and the nozzle head  24  of the spraying unit  23 . Further, the protective hood  10  separates the user from the spraying hole  13  of the mounting post  12  to prevent the injected fluid from flowing backward to contact the user&#39;s body so as to protect the user during the spraying process of the fluid. Further, the protective hood  10  is locked onto the nozzle head  24  of the spraying unit  23  so that the nozzle head  24  of the spraying unit  23  can be rotated by the protective hood  10  to adjust the output modes of the nozzle head  24 , and the user needs not to rotate the nozzle head  24  of the spraying unit  23  so as to prevent the user directly touching the fluid. 
     Although the invention has been explained in relation to its preferred embodiment(s) as mentioned above, it is to be understood that many other possible modifications and variations can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. It is, therefore, contemplated that the appended claim or claims will cover such modifications and variations that fall within the true scope of the invention.