Patent Publication Number: US-6712294-B1

Title: Revolving mechanism of a spray head of a gardening sprinkler

Description:
RELATED U.S. APPLICATIONS 
     Not applicable. 
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
     Not applicable. 
     REFERENCE TO MICROFICHE APPENDIX 
     Not applicable. 
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to a gardening sprinkler, and more particular to a mechanism to work the rotation of the spray head of the gardening sprinkler. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The conventional gardening sprinkler comprises a main body and a spray head which is rotatably fastened with one end of the main body by a mechanism comprising a plurality of locating holes and a locating device. The locating holes are disposed in a pivoting end of the spray head. The locating device is disposed in the one end of the main body and is formed of a retaining hole, a plunger steel ball, and a spring. The plunger steel ball and the spring are disposed in the retaining hole such that the plunger steel ball is urged by the spring, and that the plunger steel ball is partially jutted out of the open end of the retaining hole. The one end of the main body is provided with a projection acting as a pivot on which the spray head turns. As the spray head is turned in relation to the main body, the plunger steel ball moves into one of the locating holes of the pivoting end of the spray head, so as to locate the spray head at a desired angle. However, the spray head can not be securely located at the desired angle by a joint effort of the locating hole and the plunger steel ball, due to the fact that the joint effort fails to provide a locating force strong enough to locate securely the spray head. As a result, the spray head is vulnerable to dislocation by impact of the water pressure or external force. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The primary objective of the present invention is to provide a gardening sprinkler with a revolving mechanism capable of locating securely a spray head of the gardening sprinkler. 
     In keeping with the principle of the present invention, the foregoing objective of the present invention is attained by a revolving mechanism comprising an arcuate rack and an elastic locating piece. The arcuate rack is disposed in a pivoting body which is fastened with a connection end of the spray head. The elastic locating piece is secured to a fastening end of a main body of the gardening sprinkler. As the pivoting body is turned on a projecting of the fastening end of the main body, the elastic locating piece plunges into one of the gullets of the arcuate rack so as to locate securely the spray head at a desired position. 
    
    
     The features and the advantages of the present invention will be more readily understood upon a thoughtful deliberation of the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a gardening sprinkler of the preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 shows an exploded perspective view of the revolving mechanism of the preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of the fastening end of the main body of the preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 4 shows a sectional view of the fastening end of the main body and the pivoting body of the preferred embodiment of the present invention in combination. 
     FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing that the elastic locating piece is located in one of the gullets of the arcuate rack of the pivoting body of the preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing that the elastic locating piece is moving past one of the points of the arcuate rack of the pivoting body of the preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 7 shows a schematic view of the revolving mechanism of the preferred embodiment of the present invention in action. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     As shown in FIGS. 1-4, a gardening sprinkler embodied in the present invention comprises a main body  10 , and a rotary spray head  30 . 
     The main body  10  is provided with a grip  11 , a control lever  12 , and a water duct  13 . The spray head  30  is provided with a number of jet nozzles  31  and is pivotally fastened with one end of the main body  10  by a revolving mechanism such that the jet nozzles  31  are in communication with the water duct  13 . 
     The revolving mechanism comprises a pivoting base  20  and a pivoting body  40 . The pivoting base  20  is extended from the one end of the main body  10  and is provided in a contact face  23  with a projection  22  serving as a pivot, and two retaining pieces  24 . The pivoting body  40  is provided in a contact face  43  with an arcuate rack  44  and is fastened with a connection end of the spray head  30 . The pivoting body  40  is pivotally fastened with the pivoting base  20  such that a pivoting hole  42  of the pivoting body  40  is joined with the projection  22  of the base  20 , with the projection  22  acting as a pivot. The contact face  43  of the pivoting body  40  comes in contact with the contact face  23  of the pivoting base  20 , as shown in FIG.  4 . 
     The pivoting base  20  is provided with an elastic locating body  50 , which is formed of a head  51  and two shoulders  52  extending in opposite directions from the head  51 . The elastic locating body  50  is secured to the contact face  23  of the pivoting base  20  such that the two shoulders  52  of the elastic locating body  50  are securely retained by the two retaining pieces  24  of the pivoting base  20 , and that the head  51  of the elastic locating body  50  is capable of plunging into one of the gullets of the rack  44  of the pivoting body  40 , so as to locate the spray head  30 , as illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 7. As the pivoting body  40  is turned on the projection  22  of the pivoting base  20 , the head  51  of the elastic locating body  50  is caused to move from one gullet to another by moving past the point of one of the teeth of the rack  44 , as illustrated in FIG.  6 . 
     As illustrated in FIG. 7, the spray head  30  is securely located at an angular position in relation to the main body  10  by the head  51  of the elastic locating body  50 , with the head  51  being securely located between two teeth of the arcuate rack  44 . As a result, the spray head  30  is relatively less vulnerable to dislocation even at the time when the spray head  30  is inadvertently impacted by an external force. In addition, the elastic locating body  50  of the present invention is simple in construction and can be easily assembled. It is therefore readily apparent that the revolving mechanism of the present invention has advantages over the counterpart of the prior art. 
     The embodiment of the present invention described above is to be regarded in all respects as being illustrative and nonrestrictive. Accordingly, the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without deviating from the spirit thereof The present invention is therefore to be limited only by the scope of the following claims.