Street Sprinkler.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 3'st Aug., 1894-Accepted, 27th Oct., 1894
COMPLETE DI MOITIATIO
Street Sprinkler.
I, HENRY CLAY POLLMAN, Gentleman, residing at No. 1400 Bremen Avenue,
in the City of St. Louis, State of Missouri, U.S.A., do hereby declare the nature
of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
My invention relates. to that class of street sprinklers which deposit a com-
paratively thin solid sheet of water upon the surface to be sprinkled, and consists
in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts, hereinafter
specified and designated in the claims.
The object of my invention is to provide an improved street sprinkler of the
class mentioned, which shall use less water in sprinkling the same surface than
sprinklers heretofore constructed; which shall deposit a thin solid sheet of water
in a vertical plane with such force that said sheet will penetrate beneath the surface
of the dirt, and, consequently, the result will be more effective and lasting; which
shall be very simple and readily controlled during operation; and which shall
deposit a vertical thin sheet of water over a comparatively great width of the
street.
Referring to the drawings:
Figure 1 is a side elevation of a street sprinkler, embodying my invention.
Fig. 2 is a detail side elevation of the sprinkler-casing detached.
Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the parts shown in Fig. 2.
Fig. 4 is a sectional side elevation on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3, looking in the
direction indicated by the arrow.
Fig. 5 is a sectional end elevation on the line 5-5 of Fig. 2.
Fig. 6 is a top plan view of the parts shown at the right hand of Fig. 2.
indicates the usual tank mounted upon wheels and provided with a discharge
pipe 2, any common form of valve 3 and controlling-rod 4, whereby passage of the
water from the tank to said valve may be controlled. Of course any suitable form
of foot-lever 5 may be applied to the controlling-rod 4 at a point convenient to the
driver's seat 6. I have here shown a controlling-rod 4 adapted to be rocked in
suitable bearings, and provided with a crank at its rear end, which is connected
to the upper end of the valve-stem 8 by means of a suitable link 9, so that when
said controlling-rod is rocked the controlling-valve will be opened or closed.
10 indicates the sprinkler-casing, which is preferably mounted in a horizontal
position directly beneath the valve-casing 3 and detachably connected thereto by
means of a threaded integral connection 11, which projects a distance upon the
upper side of said sprinkler-casing, whereby the same may be attached and detached
from said valve by revoluble movement. However, any common form of connection
between the valve-casing and the sprinkler-casing may be employed.
Located on the interior of the threaded connection 11 is a spider 12 having a
central vertical passage 13 for guiding the lower end of the valve-stem 8.
In practice I usually make use of two of the sprinkler-casings and valves and
their connections located one at either side of the sprinkling cart or wagon so as to
direct one or more solid sheets of water laterally at each side of said cart or wagon,
but as the construction of parts upon one side thereof is a duplicate of that upon
the opposite side, I will limit my description to one sprinkler-casing, valve and the
suitable connections.
The front end of the sprinkler-casing 10 is preferably closed by an integral
head 14, while the rear end thereof is normally closed by a removable cap or
plug 15 detachably connected to said rear end by means of screw-threads, and

page_text: provided on its rear face with an angular nut or projection 16 to be engaged by a
suitable wrench for removing or replacing said cap or plug.
An important portion of my invention is the forming and location of the discharge
slots in the sprinkler-casing. I preferably make use of two slots 17 and 18 in each
sprinkler-casing, each of which is made comparatively wide at one end and which
taper continuously to their opposite ends, which are comparatively much narrower.
Both ends of said slots are preferably in horizontal alignment.
The slots extend preferably slightly more than one-half the circumference of
said sprinkler-casing and are located with their wider ends outward next adjacent
the rear wheels of the cart or wagon, and they are formed in the lower half of the
said sprinkler-casing so as to direct a solid stream of water downwardly and
outwardly, with the thicker portion of said stream extending outwardly to a
considerable distance beyond the sprinkling apparatus.
The slots 17 and 18 preferably have their inner walls tapered, chamfered, or
made to converge from the interior of said sprinkler-casing outward, so that each slot
forms a sort of restricted opening, and I have found that such construction acts as
a nozzle and directs the stream of water with considerably more force than it would
if said slots were formed with parallel walls only. One of the slots is preferably
formed near the front end of the sprinkler-casing, and the other one near the rear
end thereof.
The front slot 17 is to be controlled solely by the common valve 3 and its
connections, but the rear slot 18 I prefer to control by means of a novel mechanism,
which I will now proceed to describe in detail.
19 indicates a cut-off valve in the form of a split ring having two parallel lugs or
projections 20 adjacent its ends with a space between said lugs and ends and loosely
mounted to slide upon the outer surface of said sprinkler-casing to cover and
uncover the rear discharge slot. 18, whereby the discharge of water from the said
slot may be controlled independently of the common valve 3 and its connections, so
that when said valve 3 is open, water may be simultaneously discharged from both
slots, or the slot 18 may be closed by means of the cut-off ring 19, while the
discharge of water from the other slot continues. I prefer to mount the cut-off
ring 19, so that it will have a slight simultaneous axial and longitudinal movement
upon said sprinkler-casing.
The ring 19 is provided with a diagonal slot 21 which is engaged by a pin or
projection 22 projecting from the outer surface of said sprinkler-casing adjacent
the rear end thereof, so that when said ring is moved axially in either direction, it
will be simultaneously moved longitudinally upon said casing in a corresponding
direction so as to cover or uncover the slot 18. (See Figs. 2, 4 and 6.)
The ring 19 is normally clamped securely around the sprinkler-casing by means
of a spring 23 encircling a bolt 24, which latter loosely engages aligned perforations
in the lugs or ears 20 of said ring. One end of the spring 23 bears upon one of
the lugs or ears 20, while the opposite end thereof is in contact with the head of
the bolt 24.
A nut 25 is threaded upon the opposite end of said bolt, for the purpose of
adjusting said spring.
Loosely mounted on the bolt 24 between the perforated lugs or ears 20 is an
arm 26, the free end of this arm being connected to a crank 27 on the rear end of
an operating-rod 28 by means of a link 29. The operating-rod 28 is similar in
construction to that of the controlling-rod 4 and need not be further described.
The operation is as follows:
When it is desired to discharge water from the slots 17 and 18, the controlling-
rod 4 is used to open the valve 3 and if the cut-off ring 19 be located in the position
in which it is shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 4, water will be discharged simultaneously
from both slots.
4
5
When it is desired to cut off the supply of water from both slots, the valve 3 is 5
closed by manipulating the controlling-rod 4 in the usual manner.
When it is desired to discharge water from the slot 17 only, the operating-rod 28

page_text: is manipulated so as to throw its crank upward which carries with it the link 29
and the outer end of the arm 26. This causes the arm 26 to act as a lever and to
pry apart the adjacent lugs or ears 20, compressing the spring 23 and separating
the ends of the split cut-off ring 19, thereby loosening said ring upon the sprinkler-
casing, so that it may be moved easily and as the upward movement of said arm
continues the said ring is moved axially in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 5. and
the slot 21 in said ring engages the pin 22 projecting from the outer surface of said
casing, and said ring is thereby moved rearwardly in a longitudinal direction upon
said casing until the slot 18 is completely covered by said ring.
When it is desired to simultaneously discharge water from both slots, the
movement of the operating-rod 28 and its parts is reversed; or, in other words, the
arm 26 is returned to its normal position which first again pries apart the lugs or
ears 20, and then as the downward movement continues it moves the ring 19 in a
reverse direction to that indicated by the arrow in Fig. 3, thereby moving the said
ring longitudinally of the said sprinkler-casing and uncovering the slot 18, and
when pressure is removed from the arm 26 by the link 29, the spring 23 causes
said ring to again clamp the sprinkler-casing and be held securely in position.
In Fig. 6 I have shown the ring over the slot 18.
The water from the slots 18 will be discharged in a vertical thin solid sheet
downwardly and outwardly, the greater volume being thrown outward owing to the
wider ends of said slots being at the outside and the force of said sheet will be
amply sufficient to penetrate the body of dirt upon the street and make it so wet
that it will not need another sprinkling for a considerable length of time. Owing
to the narrow portion of the slots being inward, but a small quantity of water will
be discharged directly beneath the tank 1, as very little is needed at that point.
Also by reason of the wider portion of said slots being at the outside of the
sprinkler-casing, the sheet of water will be thrown with such force laterally that it
will cover a comparatively wide area, much wider than it would if said slots were
of the same width throughout their length.
It will be observed that my improved sprinkler deposits the water just where it
is most needed.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:
1. A street sprinkler-casing having a slot therein, and a sliding ring arranged to
control the passage of water through said slot, substantially as herein specified.
2. The combination of a sprinkler-casing having a discharge slot, a ring mounted
on said casing to simultaneously move axially and longitudinally thereof, a suitable
tank and mountings, and means for moving said ring, substantially as herein
specified.
3. A street sprinkler, having a slotted sprinkler-casing, and a clamping ring
mounted on said casing to control the discharge of water from the slot therein, in
combination with a tank and operative mechanism, substantially as herein
specified.
4. A street sprinkler, having a slotted sprinkler-casing, a split ring mounted on
said casing to slide over the slot therein, a clamp for holding said ring in position
upon said casing, means for tightening and loosening said clamp, means for moving
said ring to close and open the slot in said casing, in combination with a tank and
operative mechanism, substantially as herein specified.
5. The combination, in a street sprinkler, of a sprinkler-casing having a discharge
slot, a split ring mounted on said casing, two perforated lugs mounted adjacent the
ends of said split ring but separated a distance, a bolt mounted in the perforations
of said lugs, an arm mounted on said bolt between said lugs, a spring for urging
said lugs toward each other, means for moving said split ring toward and from the
slot in said casing, a tank, and suitable connections, substantially as herein
specified

page_text: 6. A street sprinkler-casing, having two slots therein separated a distance, in
combination with a ring loosely mounted on said casing to cover one of said slots,
means for moving said ring, means for cutting off the supply of water from both
slots simultaneously, a tank and operative connections, substantially as herein
specified.
7. The casing of a street sprinkler provided with a slot which tapers from end to
end, substantially as herein specified.
8. The sprinkler-casing of a street sprinkler provided with a slot which tapers
continuously in straight lines from end to end, substantially as herein specified.
9. A cylindrical sprinkler-casing located in a horizontal plane and provided with
a continuously tapered slot which extends through more than one-half the
circumference of said casing with its widest end at the outside of said casing,
substantially as herein specified.
10. A cylindrical sprinkler-casing located in a horizontal plane and provided
with a continuously tapered slot which extends through more than one-half the
circumference of said casing with its widest end at the outside of said casing, and
the walls of said slot converging from the interior of said casing outward,
substantially as herein specified.
1004
ALLISON BROS.,
Agents for the Applicant.