US1941269A - Rotary sprinkler - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 26, 1933. G. D. PHILLIPS 1894314269 ROTARY SPRINKLER Filed May 26, 1950 g worn! or 62076 i P/ZZZZW,

duouyarg q Patented Dec. 26, 1933 l 1,941,269 7 ROTABY'SPRINKLEB- George D. Phillips, Les Angeles, Calif; Application May 26', 1930. Serial No. 455,804"

10 Claims.

This invention relates to rotary sprinklers such as are used for spraying lawns, golf courses or the like with water. Sprinkler systems for this purpose usually include an automatic water control valve which is mounted to reciprocate, and is controlled in doing so either automatically by the water or by a clock control mechanism.

Rotary sprinklers when employed for sprinklinglarge areas, such as large lawns or golf courses, are usually connected in gangs to a supply pipe. If all of the sprinklers were in operation at once, it would require a supply; pipe of a very large size to supply the water required and maintain pressure sufficient to give the -jets of water the desired range. For this reason, such sprinklers are usually operated intermit-. tently. In this way, while one set of sprinklers may be operating under a sufficient water pressure giving them ample range another set will be at rest.

v The general object of this invention is to provide simple means for utilizing this reciprocatcating movement to effect the rotation of the sprinkler.

As usually constructed the rotary sprinkler head carries a nozzle from whichthe water stream is delivered in an upwardly. inclined direction so as to, give the stream considerable range as the nozzle rotates on a vertical axis. With a nozzle of thisfconstruction there is a tendency for the water to maintain itself in a solid stream, most of the water being delivered in a relatively narrow zone at a considerable distance from the nozzle, depending upon the range of the nozzle operating underthe hydrostatic head existing at the nozzle. The objection to this is that the water is not fairly distributed over the sprayed area. One-of the .objectsof this invention is to overcome this difiiculty and to provide a rotary nozzle of simple construction which will operate to deliverrthe water in a spray which will be distributed with substantial uniformity over a considerable area;

also to provide a nozzle construction having special features operating to transform the solid stream into a spray. I

In the construction of the apparatus, a water valve is utilized which-is necessarily at a slight distance from the rotary nozzle andeonsequnt- 1y, when this valve becomes open, a-small amount of time elapses before the -water. reaches the nozzle. One'of the objects of this invention is to provide means for effecting a retarding in the moment of rotation of the sprinklerhead.

Further objects of the invention will appear hereinafter; I f 1 V The invention consists in the novel partsand combinations of parts to be described hereinafter, all ofwhichcontribute to produce an efficient rotarysprinkler... I 1 .1

A preferred embodiment of the invention is described in the following specification, while the broad scope of the invention is pointed out ,in the appended claims.

In the drawingq, I I 'Figure l is a vertical section through the sprinkler head and illustrating parts of'the ap paratus for rotating it.

Figure 21s a horizont of Figure- 1, looking upwardly, and -illustrating portionsof the water valve and the associated parts. 1 4

Figure 3 is a vertical section through theltip of the main nozzle and particularly illustrating the means fortransforming the issuing stream into a spray.

1 section on the line 2-2 Figure 4 ,is a longitudinal section through a water guide or sleeve for the nozzle, illustrating a modification of the means for transforming theissuing stream into a spray.

Figure 5 is a bottom plan of'the water guide or liner illustrated in Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a-vertical section through thetip of an auxiliary nozzle which constitutes a part-of the invention. e Referring more-particularly to the parts and especiallyto Figuresrl, and 2, 1 represents a sprinkler head which is preferably constructed as a double nozzle having a main nozzle 2 with atip 3 through which the spraying stream is delivered in an inclined direction; as indicated.

by the dotted lines at. j This nozzle receives its water through a-branch 5 from the lower end 6 of the nozzle which is mounted for rotation on a vertical axis aswill presently appear. The complete nozzle preferably includes a secondary or auxiliary nozzle 7 which branches oiT from the base of the nozzle and extends upwardly :to. a'point .near the tipfl, at which point it is provided with a tip Shaving a laterally disposed mouth 9 thatdelivers a spray inan inclined di rection'as indicated by the dotted lines10.' The nozzles are so related that the stream or spray 10 will spray the surface of the ground nearthe' nozzle, whilethe main nozzle B sprays the ground in a zone at a greater distance from the nozzle. g The tips 3 and 8 preferably project through openings in a cover plate 11 disposed over a vertical cylindrical casing 12 that is set just below the ground level 13, with the cover plate 11 about flush with the ground. This cover fits over the nozzletips andoscillates with them.

' The nozzle is constructed so as to enable water 16 that passes upwardly through a bearing 17 in the head 15, with its upper end secured to the lower end'of the nozzle 1.

The lower end of the bushing 16 is formed with two oppositely disposed forks 18 with a socket 19 between them which receives a crosshead 20 formed on the upper end of a driving stem or rock-shaft 21 that extends upwardly into the water chamber from below. If desired, the bearing 22 for this stem may be provided with a stuffing-box 23 to prevent waste of water.

The parts described above are located adjacent to a reciprocating part of the automatic sprinkler apparatus. See Figure 2, in which 24 illustrates a Water valve or plunger that reciprocates slowly in a barrel or cylinder 25. In its movement toward the right, its head 26 will uncover ports 2'7 in its wall and admit water from the water space 28 into a pipe 29 that conducts the water to the water chamber 14. This plunger 24 is connected with suitable means for effecting the rotation of the rock-shaft or stem 21. For this purpose I prefer to employ a rack 30 which is guided to slide longitudinally and with its teeth meshing with a pinion 31 which isrigid on the lower end of the stem 21 (see Figure 1).

I prefer to provide means for connecting the rack with the plunger which operates to retard the moment of rotation of the sprinkler head so as to allow time for the water to pass from the valve to the water chamber 14, fill the same, and supply water under pressure to the nozzle 1. For this purpose I provide a lost motion connection 32 which involves the use of a stem 33 projecting. from the plunger and provided with a longitudinal slot 34 which co-operates with a through bolt 35 carried by a connection or fitting 36 the opposite end of which is connected to the adjacent end of the rack 30. In Figure 2 this bolt 35 is illustrated at the right-hand end of slot 34. In the operation of the apparatus, when the end face 37 of the slot 34 strikes this bolt, the rack will commence to move and will rotate the nozzle 1. v

The nozzle tip 3 is preferably provided with means for transforming the issuing stream into a spray. For this purpose I prefer to provide the tip 3 with a liner or water guide in the form of a ferrule 38 that may be slipped into the tip from its inner side when the same has been re moved. The inner face of this ferrule is provided with irregularities that baiile the water stream and cause it to issue in a spray. For this purpose I prefer to use longitudinally disposed V-shaped'grooves 39 on the inner face of the ferrule which may be deepest at the inner end 40 of theferrule. This ferrule will be covered by a separate application for patent.

These V-shaped grooves 39 are not parallel with the elements of the wall of the ferrule, but preferably are opposed to each other and converge toward the tip (see Figure 3). words, these grooves are located outside of any radial plane passing through the axis of the tubular guide. If desired, instead of having these grooves extend the entire length of the ferrule, the spray-forming means may take the form of deep notches 41 formed in the inner end of the ferrule (see Figures 4 and 5) The tip 8 for the secondary nozzle is a feature of my invention. It consists of a tubular body 42 closed at its upper end by a head 43 in which an inclined mouth 44 is formed operating to deliver the water in an upwardly inclined stream. This mouth is not formed by a transverse slit but In other it is a relatively narrow port milled into one side of the tip. This prevents the stream from issuing in fan shape and increases the range or throw of the stream. The lower end of this tip is threaded to enable it to be detachably secured in the upper end of the branch or nozzle '7.

In order to prevent leakage around the bushing 16 in its bearing 17, I prefer to provide the lower end of the bushing with a collar 16a that is pressed upwardly by the water pressure against a narrow seat 15a projecting down from the under side of the head 15. This seat is preferably of V-shape cross-section so that the motion of the collar will quickly wear it to a good seat. For this purpose the head 15 is preferably made of relatively soft metal, such as brass.

In the operation of the apparatus it should be understood that the plunger 24 reciprocates slowly, preferably by automatic mechanism. As

it moves toward the right, as indicated in Figure 2, the head 26 will uncover the ports 27 and permit water to pass from the Water space 28 at the left of the head into the pipe connection 29 which delivers the water into the water chamber 14. From this pointthe water passes upwardly past the forks 18 and into the rotary nozzle 1, from which it is delivered as indicated by the lines 4 and 10.

The cross-head 20 and the forks 18 should be constructed so that they permit free flow of the water upwardly'through the bushing 16. If it is desired to increase the freedom of flow at this point, the forks may be provided with openings, as indicated in Figure 1.

In the operation of the main nozzle 2, it throws a water spray covering a zone at a considerable distance from the axis of rotation of the nozzle,

while the secondary nozzle 7 covers a zone eX- tending inwardly from the outer zone sprayed by the main nozzle and reaching to the vicinity of the nozzles, and this Way the nozzles co-operate todistribute the water with substantial uniformity over a relatively large area.

It is advantageous to have the two nozzles located with their axes in the same plane so that the main nozzle directs its stream in a path passing over the stream flowing from the secondary nozzle. By doing this, the nozzles can be used when desired to rotate through 180 with all of the zone wet by the streams lying on the same side of a diametrical line.

In practice I prefer to construct the rack and pinion so that the complete travel of the plunger 24 will rotate the nozzles through 180 degrees or more.

It is understood that the embodiment of the invention described herein is only one of the many embodiments this invention may take, and I do not wish to be limited in the practice of the invention, nor in the claims, to the particular embodiment set forth. 1

What I claim is:

1. In a sprinkler, the combination of a rotary sprinkler nozzle, a valve casing having a plunger mounted to reciprocate therein, said casing having ports connected with said nozzle tosupply water thereto and alternately opened and closed by reciprocation of said plunger, means connecting the plunger with the nozzle for rotating the same, and means for effecting the delayed rotation of the nozzle when said plunger starts to move.

2. In a sprinkler, the combination of a rotary sprinkler nozzle, a valve casing having a plunger mounted to reciprocate therein, said casing having ports connected with said nozzle to supply water thereto and alternately Opened and closed by the reciprocation of said plunger, and means connecting the plunger with the nozzle for rotating the same, said last named means including a lost motion connection forretarding the rotation of the nozzle until the valve has passed the ports and admitted the water from the valve to the nozzle.

g 3. In a sprinkler, the combination of a rotary sprinkler nozzle, a valve casing mounted with its axis substantially horizontal, a plunger mounted to reciprocate therein, said casing having ports connected with said nozzle to supply water thereto and alternately opened and closed by the reciprocation of said plunger, said nozzle having a tubular neck on its axis of rotation, a nozzle casing having a chamber independent of the valve casing to which the water is admitted to pass up into the nozzle, a rock shaft extending through the Water chamber and connected with the said neck for rotating the nozzle, and means connecting the plunger with said rock shaft for rocking the same.

4. In a sprinkler, the combination of a rotary sprinkler nozzle, a valve casing having a plunger mounted to reciprocate therein, said casing having portsconnected with said nozzle to supply water thereto and alternately opened and closed by the reciprocation of said plunger, said nozzle having a tubular neck on its axis of rotation, a nozzle casing having a substantially horizontal wall with a chamber below'the same to which the water is admitted to pass up into the nozzle, a rock shaft extending up through the water chamber from below, and means connecting the plunger with said rock shaft for rocking the same, and a bushing extending through said wall, connected above with the lower end of the tubular neck on its axis of rotation, and connected below with the rock shaft, said bushing operating to pass branch nozzle having a relatively small duct located under the path of the stream from the main nozzle for projecting a relatively small stream of water in an upwardly inclined direction, and in substantially the same direction from the axis of rotation as the stream from the main nozzle, said main nozzle operating to sprinkle a with respect to the horizontal line, and a secondary nozzle having means for directing a sprinkler stream in the same general direction from the axis of rotation of the head and at a low angle with respect to the horizontal and located under the path of the stream from the main nozzle, said main nozzle having a tubular guide for the stream with a bore having means on its inner side for affecting the water stream so as to form r a spray delivered in a zone just beyond the range axis, said nozzle having an outlet with its axis disposed at a relatively large angle to the hori-- zontal line, a secondary nozzle extending up to a point near the outlet of the main nozzle with a delivery outlet on its side remote from the main nozzle operating to project a stream in the same general direction from the axis of rotation as the main nozzle and enabling the main nozzle and the secondary nozzle to spray the ground in two concentric zones on the same side of said axis of rotation, and means for rotatingv said nozzles throughout a portion of the circumference of revolution.

8. In a sprinkler, the combination of a rotary sprinkler nozzle, a valve having a member mounted for reciprocation, a substantially horizontal cylinder in which said member reciprocates, said cylinder having a port in its side wall connecting the cylinder with the sprinkler nozzle to supply water thereto, said ports being alternately opened and closed by reciprocation of said valve member,

and means connected with the said-reciprocating member for rotating the rotary nozzle.

sprinkler nozzle, a valve casing mounted with its axis substantially horizontal, a plunger mounted to reciprocate therein, said casing having ports through the side wall thereof, said ports being alternately opened and closed by reciprocation of said plunger, means connecting said ports with said nozzle to supply water thereto, and means connecting the plunger with the nozzle for rotating the same.

10. In a sprinkler, the combination of a rotary sprinkler nozzle, a valve casing mounted with its axis substantially horizontal, a plunger mounted to reciprocate in the valve casing, said casing having ports in the side thereof uncovered by the movement of said plunger to enable said ports to be opened and closed alternately, and a pipe outside of the casing connecting said ports with said nozzle to supply water thereto, arack com I nected with the plunger, and a pinion meshing with the rack and connected with the nozzle for rotating the same.

GEORGE D. PHILLIPS.

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