Gear drive sprinkler

• US 6,732,950 B2
• Filed: 01/15/2002
• Issued: 05/11/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 01/16/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rain Bird Corporation
• Original Assignee: Rain Bird Corporation
• Inventors: Prucinsky, Matthew S., Lawyer, Jerry D., Lemme, Charles D., McAfee, Michael A., Nations, Derek M., Steimle, David E., Ingham, John W. Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): Mancene, Gene
• Assistant Examiner(s): Bui, Thach H.
• Application Number:
  US10/053,532
• Publication Number:
  US 20020092924A1
• Time in Patent Office: 847 Days
• Field of Search: 239/200, 239/203-206, 239/237, 239/240, 239/228, 239/570, 239/571, 239/575, 239/580
• US Class Current: 239/205
• CPC Class Codes: B05B 15/74 driven by the discharged fluid
• CPC Class Codes: B05B 3/0436 by reversing the direction of rotation of the rotor itself

Abstract

An improved gear drive sprinkler has a pop-up spray head adapted for adjustable part-circle or full circle operation to deliver irrigation water over a selected terrain area. The sprinkler includes a pop-up riser; a gear drive transmission mounted within the riser includes a water-driven turbine for rotatably driving a speed reduction gear train, which in turn rotatably drives the spray head. A reverse assembly includes an upper trip unit defining an individually adjustable pair of end trip stops, and a lower shift mechanism including a shiftable director plate having first and second sets of angularly oriented jet nozzles for respective alignment with turbine jet ports for respectively driving the water-driven turbine and the gear train in a forward-drive or a reverse-drive direction. The upper trip is coupled to the director plate by an elongated trip rod which shifts the director plate between forward-drive and reverse drive positions. An adjustment cam can be manipulated to disable at least one of the end trip stops to permit spray head rotation through continuous full circle revolutions.

Claims

1. An irrigation sprinkler for controlled distribution of irrigation water over surrounding terrain, comprising:

a sprinkler housing adapted for connection to a supply of irrigation water under pressure;

a spray head rotatably carried by said housing, and including nozzle means for projecting at least one stream of irrigation water outwardly from said housing;

a water driven gear drive transmission for rotatably driving said spray head to sweep said at least one stream of irrigation water over the surrounding terrain; and

a reverse assembly including a shift mechanism movable between forward and reverse drive positions for respectively shifting said gear drive transmission between forward and reverse drive rotational directions for correspondingly reversing the direction of rotatable driving of said spray head;

said reverse assembly further including a trip unit having a pair of end trip stops rotatable with said spray head and defining the opposite end limits of a predetermined part-circle path of reversible spray head rotation, and clutch means for engagement by said end trip stops respectively at said opposite end limits of part-circle spray head rotation and for responding thereto to displace said shift mechanism between said forward and reverse drive positions;

said clutch means being disengageable upon forced over-rotation of said spray head beyond one of said opposite end limits of part-circle spray head rotation to uncouple said end trip stops from said shift mechanism, said clutch means being re-engageable upon return rotation of said spray head to a position between said opposite end limits of part-circle rotation.

2. The irrigation sprinkler of claim 1 wherein each of said end trip stops is adjustable relative to said spray head for individually and selectively setting the positions of said opposite end limits of part-circle spray head rotation.

3. The irrigation sprinkler of claim 1 further including means for selectively disabling at least one of said end trip stops to permit continuous full circle spray head rotation.

4. The irrigation sprinkler of claim 1 further including a pop-up riser having said spray head mounted thereon, said pop-up riser being mounted within said sprinkler housing for movement between a normal spring-loaded position retracted substantially within said housing and an elevated spraying position with said spray head elevated above said sprinkler housing in response to connection of said housing to the supply of irrigation water under pressure.

5. The irrigation sprinkler of claim 1 wherein said water driven gear drive transmission comprises a water driven turbine, and a speed reduction transmission coupled between said turbine and said spray head.

6. The irrigation sprinkler of claim 5 wherein said turbine is rotatably carried by a turbine housing, and further wherein said speed reduction transmission comprises a plurality of speed reduction gears carried within a gear box housing and including a main drive gear driven by said turbine and an output gear rotatably driving said spray head, said gear box housing being rotatable relative to said turbine housing upon manually forced rotation of said spray head.

7. The irrigation sprinkler of claim 5 wherein said shift mechanism comprises a deflector plate mounted generally at an upstream side of said water driven turbine, said deflector plate having at least one set of first and second oppositely angled jet nozzles formed therein for respective passage of at least a portion of the irrigation water under pressure into driving communication with said water turbine, said deflector plate being movable between said forward drive position with said first jet nozzle oriented for water passage to drive said water turbine in a forward drive direction, and said reverse drive position with said second jet nozzle oriented for water passage to drive said water turbine in a reverse drive direction.

8. The irrigation sprinkler of claim 7 further including a pressure regulator unit mounted generally at an upstream side of said deflector plate, said pressure regulator unit including at least one turbine drive jet port for passage of at least a portion of the irrigation water under pressure through said deflector plate jet nozzles into driving communication with said water turbine, and a bypass valve normally spring-loaded to a position closing a bypass port and responsive to a predetermined water pressure for movement to an open position to open said bypass port to permit bypass flow of a portion of the irrigation water under pressure around said deflector plate and said water turbine.

9. The irrigation sprinkler of claim 8 wherein said bypass port has a generally multi-legged configuration.

10. The irrigation sprinkler of claim 8 further including inlet filter means mounted generally at an upstream side of said flow regulator unit.

11. The irrigation sprinkler of claim 10 wherein said inlet filter means comprises a perforate wall filter basket having internal, generally diametrically extending support ribs.

12. The irrigation sprinkler of claim 5 further including at least one centrifugal brake arm rotatably carried with said water turbine, said brake arm including means for radially outward displacement by centrifugal force upon rotational driving of said turbine at a predetermined maximum rotational speed to frictionally engage an adjacent nonrotating structure and thereby limit the rotational speed of said turbine.

13. The irrigation sprinkler of claim 1 wherein said trip unit comprises a pair of adjustment rings rotatably mounted in stacked relation within said spray head and respectively carrying said pair of end trip stops.

14. The irrigation sprinkler of claim 13 further including means accessible from the exterior of said spray head for individually adjusting the rotatable positions of said adjustment rings relative to each other to correspondingly and individually adjust the relative positions of said end trip stops.

15. The irrigation sprinkler of claim 13 wherein said adjustment rings each include an externally formed set of gear teeth, and further including a pair of cog wheels meshed respectively with said pair of adjustment rings, said pair of cog wheels being carried on a respective pair of adjustment posts rotatably carried by said spray head and having upper ends thereof accessible from the exterior of said spray head.

16. The irrigation sprinkler of claim 15 wherein said upper exposed ends of said adjustment posts have screwdriver slots formed therein.

17. The irrigation sprinkler of claim 13 wherein said adjustment rings each include a radially inwardly extending stop key forming said end trip stop thereon.

18. The irrigation sprinkler of claim 17 wherein said clutch means is mounted within said spray head in a position generally within said adjustment rings and includes a radially outwardly extending drive tab for engagement by said stop keys respectively at said opposite end limits of part-circle spray head rotation.

19. The irrigation sprinkler of claim 18 wherein said clutch means comprises a trip core having said drive tab thereon, a clutch insert, and spring means for normally retaining said clutch insert in driven engagement with said trip core, and further including a drive rod rotatably connected between said clutch insert and said shift mechanism for shifting said gear drive transmission between said forward and reverse drive positions, said clutch insert being springably disengageable from said trip core upon forced over-rotation of said spray head beyond one of said opposite end limits of part-circle spray head rotation to uncouple said trip unit from said shift mechanism, and said clutch insert being springably re-engageable with said trip core upon return rotation of said spray head to a position between said opposite end limits of part-circle rotation.

20. The irrigation sprinkler of claim 19 wherein said trip rod extends generally coaxially through said water driven gear drive transmission.

21. The irrigation sprinkler of claim 19 wherein said trip rod comprises a metal shaft.

22. The irrigation sprinkler of claim 19 wherein said trip core comprises a radially outwardly extending clutch flange defining a recessed seat formed with ramped side margins, and wherein said clutch insert comprises a clutch plate having a size and shape to overlie and engage said clutch flange, said clutch plate having a lug thereon for seated reception into said recessed seat formed in said clutch flange.

23. The irrigation sprinkler of claim 19 further including means for selectively disengaging said clutch insert from said trip core for disabling said end trip stops to permit continuous full circle spray head rotation.

24. The irrigation sprinkler of claim 23 wherein said means for selectively disengaging said clutch insert from said trip core comprises a spider cam mounted on said spray head and movable between a first position retracted from said clutch insert to permit part-circle spray rotation between said opposite end limits defined by the positions of said end trip stops, and a second position engaging and displacing said clutch insert to a position disengaged from said trip core to permit full circle spray head rotation.

25. The irrigation sprinkler of claim 24 wherein said spider cam comprises a generally cylindrical boss rotatably mounted on said spray head, and a plurality of flexible spider legs radiating outwardly from said boss and each including a cam pin engageable with a cam track formed on said spray head for movement of said cam pins upon rotation of said boss between said first position retracted from said clutch insert and said second position engaged with said clutch insert.

26. The irrigation sprinkler of claim 25 wherein said boss has an upper end exposed to the exterior of said spray head, said boss upper end having a screwdriver slot formed therein.

27. The irrigation sprinkler of claim 13 further including first and second trip springs mounted respectively within said pair of adjustment rings and extending generally circumferentially therein in opposite directions and each terminating in an enlarged spring bead defining one of said pair of end trip stops, and further wherein said clutch means comprises a trip core mounted generally within said adjustment rings and defining first and second cam tracks engageable respectively by said first and second trip springs, said first and second cam tracks being formed generally as opposite mirror images each to include an angularly oriented cam flat engageable upon spray head rotation by said spring bead of the associated one of said first and second trip springs to rotatably displace said trip core, and further including a drive rod rotatably connected between said trip core and said shift mechanism for shifting said gear drive transmission between said forward and reverse drive positions, said trip springs being springably disengageable from said trip core upon forced over-rotation of said spray head beyond one of said opposite end limits of part-circle spray head rotation to uncouple said trip unit from said shift mechanism, and said trip springs being springably re-engageable with said trip core upon return rotation of said spray head to a position between said opposite end limits of part-circle rotation.

28. The irrigation sprinkler of claim 27 wherein said trip rod extends generally coaxially through said water driven gear drive transmission.

29. The irrigation sprinkler of claim 27 wherein said trip rod comprises a metal shaft.

30. The irrigation sprinkler of claim 27 further including means for selectively disengaging at least one of said trip springs from said trip core to permit continuous full circle spray head rotation.

31. The irrigation sprinkler of claim 30 wherein said means for selectively disengaging at least one of said trip springs from said trip core comprises a control disk coupled to one of said trip springs and movably carried between a normal part-circle position with said one trip spring engaged with said trip core and a full-circle position with said one trip spring retracted from engagement with said trip core, a spider cam mounted on said spray head and movable between a first position retracted from control disk to permit part-circle spray rotation between said opposite end limits defined by the positions of said end trip stops, and a second position engaging and displacing said control disk to said full-circle position to disengage said one trip spring from said trip core to permit full circle spray head rotation.

32. The irrigation sprinkler of claim 31 wherein said spider cam comprises a generally cylindrical boss rotatably mounted on said spray head, and a plurality of flexible spider legs radiating outwardly from said boss and each including a cam pin engageable with a cam track formed on said spray head for movement of said cam pins upon rotation of said boss between said first position retracted from said control disk and said second position engaged with said control disk.

33. The irrigation sprinkler of claim 32 wherein said boss has an upper end exposed to the exterior of said spray head, said boss upper end having a screwdriver slot formed therein.

34. The irrigation sprinkler of claim 1 wherein said sprinkler housing has a pair of water inlets formed therein with one of said water inlets being connected to the supply of irrigation water under pressure, and further including an internally threaded adapter sleeve mounted within the other of said water inlets, and an externally threaded plug seal member threadably installed into said adapter sleeve, said adapter sleeve further including a pliant seal lip formed generally at a leading end thereof for pressure activated sealing engagement with a leading end of said plug seal member when water under pressure is supplied into said sprinkler housing.

35. The irrigation sprinkler of claim 4 wherein said spray head is rotatably mounted on said pop-up riser, and further wherein said sprinkler housing has an internal vertically elongated rib formed therein, said pop-up riser having a flange thereon with a gap formed therein for sliding reception of said internal housing rib upon movement of said riser between said retracted and elevated positions, whereby said rib slidably guides said pop-up riser between said retracted and elevated positions substantially without rotation with respect to said sprinkler housing, said internal housing rib further defining a gap therein formed generally at a mid-height location to permit rotation of said riser relative to said housing at a mid-height position with said riser flange aligned with said rib gap so that said housing rib engages said riser flange to support said riser at said mid-height position.

36. The irrigation sprinkler of claim 35 wherein said riser flange defines a shallow step adjacent said riser flange gap to limit riser rotation at said mid-height position to a relatively short part-circle stroke.

37. An irrigation sprinkler for controlled distribution of irrigation water over surrounding terrain, comprising:

a sprinkler housing adapted for connection to a supply of irrigation water under pressure;

a spray head rotatably carried by said housing, and including nozzle means for projecting at least one stream of irrigation water outwardly from said housing;

a water driven gear drive transmission for rotatably driving said spray head to sweep said at least one stream of irrigation water over the surrounding terrain;

a reverse assembly including a shift mechanism movable between forward and reverse drive positions for respectively shifting said gear drive transmission between forward and reverse drive rotational directions for correspondingly reversing the direction of rotatable driving of said spray head;

said reverse assembly further including a trip unit having a pair of end trip stops rotatable with said spray head and defining the opposite end limits of a predetermined part-circle path of reversible spray head rotation, each of said end trip stops being adjustable relative to said spray head for individually and selectively setting the positions of said opposite end limits of part-circle spray head rotation; and

further including means for selectively disabling at least one of said end trip stops to permit continuous full circle spray head rotation.

38. The irrigation sprinkler of claim 37 further including clutch means for engagement by said end trip stops respectively at said opposite end limits of part-circle spray head rotation and for responding thereto to displace said shift mechanism between said forward and reverse drive positions, said clutch means being disengageable upon forced over-rotation of said spray head beyond one of said opposite end limits of part-circle spray head rotation to uncouple said end trip stops from said shift mechanism, said clutch means being re-engageable upon return rotation of said spray head to a position between said opposite end limits of part-circle rotation.

39. The irrigation sprinkler of claim 37 further including a pop-up riser having said spray head mounted thereon, said pop-up riser being mounted within said sprinkler housing for movement between a normal spring-loaded position retracted substantially within said housing and an elevated spraying position with said spray head elevated above said sprinkler housing in response to connection of said housing to the supply of irrigation water under pressure.

40. The irrigation sprinkler of claim 37 wherein said water driven gear drive transmission comprises a water driven turbine, and a speed reduction transmission coupled between said turbine and said spray head.

41. The irrigation sprinkler of claim 40 wherein said turbine is rotatably carried by a turbine housing, and further wherein said speed reduction transmission comprises a plurality of speed reduction gears carried within a gear box housing and including a main drive gear driven by said turbine and an output gear rotatably driving said spray head, said gear box housing being rotatable relative to said turbine housing upon manually forced rotation of said spray head.

42. The irrigation sprinkler of claim 40 wherein said shift mechanism comprises a deflector plate mounted generally at an upstream side of said water driven turbine, said deflector plate having at least one set of first and second oppositely angled jet nozzles formed therein for respective passage of at least a portion of the irrigation water under pressure into driving communication with said water turbine, said deflector plate being movable between said forward drive position with said first jet nozzle oriented for water passage to drive said water turbine in a forward drive direction, and said reverse drive position with said second jet nozzle oriented for water passage to drive said water turbine in a reverse drive direction.

43. The irrigation sprinkler of claim 38 wherein said trip unit comprises a pair of adjustment rings rotatably mounted in stacked relation within said spray head and respectively carrying said pair of end trip stops.

44. The irrigation sprinkler of claim 43 wherein said adjustment rings each include an externally formed set of gear teeth, and further including a pair of cog wheels meshed respectively with said pair of adjustment rings, said pair of cog wheels being carried on a respective pair of adjustment posts rotatably carried by said spray head and having upper ends thereof accessible from the exterior of said spray head, said exposed upper ends of said adjustment posts having screwdriver slots formed therein.

45. The irrigation sprinkler of claim 44 wherein said adjustment rings each include a radially inwardly extending stop key forming said end trip stop thereon.

46. The irrigation sprinkler of claim 45 wherein said clutch means is mounted within said spray head in a position generally within said adjustment rings and includes a radially outwardly extending drive tab for engagement by said stop keys respectively at said opposite end limits of part-circle spray head rotation.

47. The irrigation sprinkler of claim 46 wherein said clutch means comprises a trip core having said drive tab thereon, a clutch insert, and spring means for normally retaining said clutch insert in driven engagement with said trip core, and further including a drive rod rotatably connected between said clutch insert and said shift mechanism for shifting said gear drive transmission between said forward and reverse drive positions, said clutch insert being springably disengageable from said trip core upon forced over-rotation of said spray head beyond one of said opposite end limits of part-circle spray head rotation to uncouple said trip unit from said shift mechanism, and said clutch insert being springably re-engageable with said trip core upon return rotation of said spray head to a position between said opposite end limits of part-circle rotation.

48. The irrigation sprinkler of claim 47 wherein said trip core comprises a radially outwardly extending clutch flange defining a recessed seat formed with ramped side margins, and wherein said clutch insert comprises a clutch plate having a size and shape to overlie and engage said clutch flange, said clutch plate having a lug thereon for seated reception into said recessed seat formed in said clutch flange.

49. The irrigation sprinkler of claim 47 wherein said means for selectively disabling at least one of said end trip stops comprises means for selectively disengaging said clutch insert from said trip core for disabling said end trip stops to permit continuous full circle spray head rotation.

50. The irrigation sprinkler of claim 49 wherein said means for selectively disengaging said clutch insert from said trip core comprises a spider cam mounted on said spray head and movable between a first position retracted from said clutch insert to permit part-circle spray rotation between said opposite end limits defined by the positions of said end trip stops, and a second position engaging and displacing said clutch insert to a position disengaged from said trip core to permit full circle spray head rotation.

51. The irrigation sprinkler of claim 50 wherein said spider cam comprises a generally cylindrical boss rotatably mounted on said spray head, and a plurality of flexible spider legs radiating outwardly from said boss and each including a cam pin engageable with a cam track formed on said spray head for movement of said cam pins upon rotation of said boss between said first position retracted from said clutch insert and said second position engaged with said clutch insert.

52. The irrigation sprinkler of claim 51 wherein said boss has an upper end exposed to the exterior of said spray head, said boss upper end having a screwdriver slot formed therein.

53. The irrigation sprinkler of claim 43 further including first and second trip springs mounted respectively within said pair of adjustment rings and extending generally circumferentially therein in opposite directions and each terminating in an enlarged spring bead defining one of said pair of end trip stops, and further wherein said clutch means comprises a trip core mounted generally within said adjustment rings and defining a first and second cam tracks engageable respectively by said first and second trip springs, said first and second cam tracks being formed generally as opposite mirror images each to include an angularly oriented cam flat engageable upon spray head rotation by said spring bead of the associated one of said first and second trip springs to rotatably displace said trip core, and further including a drive rod rotatably connected between said trip core and said shift mechanism for shifting said gear drive transmission between said forward and reverse drive positions, said trip springs being springably disengageable from said trip core upon forced over-rotation of said spray head beyond one of said opposite end limits of part-circle spray head rotation to uncouple said trip unit from said shift mechanism, and said trip springs being springably re-engageable with said trip core upon return rotation of said spray head to a position between said opposite end limits of part-circle rotation.

54. The irrigation sprinkler of claim 53 wherein said means for selectively disengaging at least one of said trip springs from said trip core comprises a control disk coupled to one of said trip springs and movably carried between a normal part-circle position with said one trip spring engaged with said trip core and a full-circle position with said one trip spring retracted from engagement with said trip core, a spider cam mounted on said spray head and movable between a first position retracted from control disk to permit part-circle spray rotation between said opposite end limits defined by the positions of said end trip stops, and a second position engaging and displacing said control disk to said full-circle position to disengage said one trip spring from said trip core to permit full circle spray head rotation.

55. The irrigation sprinkler of claim 54 wherein said spider cam comprises a generally cylindrical boss rotatably mounted on said spray head, and a plurality of flexible spider legs radiating outwardly from said boss and each including a cam pin engageable with a cam track formed on said spray head for movement of said cam pins upon rotation of said boss between said first position retracted from said control disk and said second position engaged with said control disk.

56. The irrigation sprinkler of claim 55 wherein said boss has an upper end exposed to the exterior of said spray head, said boss upper end having a screwdriver slot formed therein.

57. In an irrigation sprinkler having a sprinkler housing with at least two water inlets each adapted for connection to a supply of water under pressure, and a spray head including nozzle means for projecting at least one stream of irrigation water over surrounding terrain, the improvement comprising:

an internally threaded adapter sleeve mounted within a selected one of said water inlets; and

an externally threaded plug seal member threadably installed into said adapter sleeve;

said adapter sleeve further including a pliant seal lip formed generally at a leading end thereof for pressure activated sealing engagement with a leading end of said plug seal member when water under pressure is supplied into said sprinkler housing.

58. The irrigation sprinkler of claim 57 wherein said adapter sleeve is adhesively mounted into said selected one of said water inlets.

59. In an irrigation sprinkler having a sprinkler housing adapted for connection to a supply of irrigation water under pressure, a spray head rotatably carried by said sprinkler housing and including nozzle means for projecting at least one stream of irrigation water outwardly from said sprinkler housing, and a water driven turbine mounted within said sprinkler housing for rotatably driving said spray head to sweep said at least one stream of irrigation water over the surrounding terrain, the improvement comprising:

at least one centrifugal brake arm rotatably carried with said water turbine, said brake arm including means for radially outward displacement by centrifugal force upon rotational driving of said turbine at a predetermined maximum rotational speed to frictionally engage an adjacent nonrotating structure and thereby limit the rotational speed of said turbine.

60. The irrigation sprinkler of claim 59 wherein said at least one centrifugal brake arm comprises a pair of centrifugal brake arms mounted in diametrically opposed relation for balanced rotation with said turbine.

61. The irrigation sprinkler of claim 59 wherein said turbine is rotatably mounted within a turbine housing, said at least one centrifugal brake arm being adapted for frictionally engaging said turbine housing upon rotational driving of said turbine at said predetermined maximum rotational speed.

62. In an irrigation sprinkler having a sprinkler housing adapted for connection to a supply of irrigation water under pressure, a spray head rotatably carried by said sprinkler housing and including nozzle means for projecting at least one stream of irrigation water outwardly from said sprinkler housing, and a water driven turbine mounted within said sprinkler housing for rotatably driving said spray head to sweep said at least one stream of irrigation water over the surrounding terrain, the improvement comprising:

a pressure regulator unit mounted generally at an upstream side of said turbine and including at least one turbine drive jet port for passage of at least a portion of the irrigation water under pressure through said jet drive port into driving communication with said water turbine; and

a bypass valve normally spring-loaded to a position closing a bypass port and responsive to a predetermined water pressure for movement to an open position to open said bypass port to permit bypass flow of a portion of the irrigation water under pressure around said jet drive port and said water turbine;

said bypass port having a generally multi-legged configuration.

63. An irrigation sprinkler, comprising:

a sprinkler housing adapted for connection to a supply of irrigation water under pressure;

a spray head rotatably carried by said sprinkler housing and including nozzle means for projecting at least one stream of irrigation water outwardly from said sprinkler housing; and

a pop-up riser having said spray head mounted thereon, said pop-up riser being mounted within said sprinkler housing for movement between a normal spring-loaded position retracted substantially within said housing and an elevated spraying position with said spray head elevated above said sprinkler housing in response to connection of said housing to the supply of irrigation water under pressure;

said sprinkler housing having an internal vertically elongated rib formed therein, and said pop-up riser having a flange thereon with a gap formed therein for sliding reception of said internal housing rib upon movement of said riser between said retracted and elevated positions, whereby said rib slidably guides said pop-up riser between said retracted and elevated positions substantially without rotation with respect to said sprinkler housing;

said internal housing rib further defining a gap therein formed generally at a mid-height location to permit rotation of said riser relative to said housing at a mid-height position with said riser flange aligned with said rib gap so that said housing rib engages said riser flange to support said riser at said mid-height position.

64. The irrigation sprinkler of claim 63 wherein said riser flange defines a shallow step adjacent said riser flange gap to limit riser rotation at said mid-height position to a relatively short part-circle stroke.