Patent Application
20230338972
The field relates to rotor sprinklers, and more particularly, to rotor sprinklers with both full-circle and part-circle operation.
Pop-up irrigation sprinklers are typically buried in the ground and include a stationary housing and a riser that extends from the housing during an irrigation cycle and retracts into the housing between irrigation cycles. During an irrigation cycle, pressurized water causes the riser to elevate through an open upper end of the housing and rise above the ground level to distribute water to surrounding terrain. When the irrigation cycle is completed, the pressurized water supply is shut off and a spring retracts the riser back into the stationary housing.
A rotary irrigation sprinkler commonly includes a rotatable nozzle turret mounted at the upper end of the riser assembly. The turret includes one or more spray nozzles for distributing water and is rotated through an adjustable arcuate water distribution pattern. Rotor sprinklers commonly include a water-driven motor to transfer energy of the incoming water into a source of power to rotate the turret. One common motor uses a water-driven turbine and a gear reduction system to convert the high-speed rotation of the turbine into relatively low speed turret rotation. During normal operation, the turret rotates to distribute water outwardly over surrounding terrain in an arcuate pattern.
Rotary sprinklers may also employ an arc adjustment mechanism to change the relative arcuate distance between two stops that define the limits of rotation for the turret. One stop is commonly fixed with respect to the turret, while another stop can be selectively moved arcuately relative to the turret to increase or decrease the desired arc of coverage. The motor may employ a trip lever that engages the stops and shifts the direction of rotation to oscillate the turret in opposite rotary directions to distribute water over the designated arc defined by the stops.
There are also rotor sprinklers where one can select either part-circle rotation of the turret or full-circle rotation of the turret. In the full-circle rotation, the turret does not oscillate between the stops but rotates continuously in one direction (either clockwise or counterclockwise).
There is a desire to have a rotor sprinkler that operates in both part-circle mode and full-circle mode and that provides improved cycle performance when in the full-circle mode.
As shown in
As described in more detail below, the selector assembly 24 initiates full-circle operation by shifting a trip lever 74, which is used to reverse the direction of rotation of the turret 18, to an operational position that allows the arc setting assembly 22 to bypass the trip lever 74 during full-circle operation and, preferably, to bypass the trip lever 74 completely without any engagement therewith during full-circle operation. When the sprinkler 10 is changed from part-circle operation to full-circle operation, the turret 18 normally rotates continuously in the direction that the turret 18 was last moving in during part-circle operation. For example, if the turret 18 was rotating in the clockwise direction when the selector assembly 24 was shifted from part-circle operation to full-circle operation, the nozzle 18 will continue to rotate in the clockwise direction in full-circle operation. The sprinkler 10, however, includes a feature that ensures that full-circle operation of the turret 18 will be in a preferred rotational direction. For example, if the turret 18 is rotating clockwise when the sprinkler 10 is shifted from part-circle operation to full-circle operation, this feature will quickly change the full-circle operation from the clockwise direction to a counter-clockwise direction. With the sprinkler 10, the counter-clockwise direction is preferred for full-circle operation because the components used for this direction are more durable, as explained further below. Alternatively, the design of the sprinkler could render the clockwise direction to be preferred, so the feature would be positioned to make the opposite shift in direction (i.e., counter-clockwise to clockwise).
In general, the riser assembly 16 travels cyclically between a spring-retracted position where the riser assembly 16 is retracted into the housing 12 (
The housing 12 generally provides a protective covering for the riser assembly 16 and serves as a conduit for incoming water under pressure. The housing 12 preferably has the general shape of a cylindrical tube and is preferably made of a sturdy lightweight injection molded plastic or similar material. The housing 12 has a lower end 28 with an inlet 30 that may be coupled to a water supply pipe.
The riser assembly 16 is non-rotatable and includes an elongated hollow tube or stem 31. The stem 31 includes a lower end 32 and an upper end 34. The turret 18 is rotatably mounted on the upper end 34 of the stem 31. The turret 18 includes a housing 36 that rotates relative to the stem 31 to water a predetermined pattern, which is adjustable from part-circle operation, reversing rotation between a set angle of coverage, to full-circle operation, non-reversing rotation.
The stem 31 is preferably made of a lightweight molded plastic or similar material. The lower end 32 includes a radially projecting annular flange 38. The flange 38 preferably includes a plurality of circumferentially spaced grooves 40 that cooperate with internal ribs 42 of the housing 12 to prevent the stem 31 from rotating relative to the housing 12 when it is extended to the elevated position. A coil spring 44 for retracting the riser assembly 16 back into the housing 12 is disposed in the housing 12 about an outside surface of the stem 31.
Internal to the stem 31, the riser assembly 16 includes a drive mechanism or motor 46, such as a gear-drive assembly having a water-driven turbine 48 that rotates a gear train 50 for turning the turret 18. The gear train 50 may be coupled to a shiftable transmission 52 mounted on a trip plate 54. The transmission 52 preferably has a drive gear 56 rotated via an output of the drive mechanism 46. In this example of the shiftable transmission 52, the drive gear 56 is coupled to opposite terminal gears 58, 59 that rotate in opposite directions. The shiftable transmission 52 is shiftable to engage one of the opposite terminal gears 58 with a ring gear 60 (
The arc setting assembly 22 allows manual adjustment of the arcuate sweep settings of the turret 18. Referring to
With reference to
With reference to
By one approach, the trip lever 74 may be mounted on the support plate 72 in a first operational position for part-circle operation where at least a portion 78 of the lever 74 is positioned within the path 70 of the stops 62, 64 so that the trip lever 74 can be engaged alternatively by both the first and second stops 62, 64 to effect shifting of the shiftable transmission 52. When the trip lever 74 is toggled by engagement with one of the first and second stops 62, 64, the trip lever 74 causes a corresponding shifting of the trip plate 76 in the same general direction. Because the trip plate 76 is mounted to the shiftable transmission 52, movement of the trip plate 76 causes the shiftable transmission 52 to toggle between engagements of the terminal gears 58, 59 with the ring gear 60.
In this first operational position of the trip lever 74, at least the portion 78 of the trip lever 74 (and in some cases, the entire trip lever itself) generally extends in a first operational plane X1, which is preferably generally transverse to the housing longitudinal axis 14 as generally illustrated in
One example of a suitable gear-drive mechanism, shiftable transmission, and arc setting assembly can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,383,600 and 7,850,094, which are incorporated herein by reference in its entirety and provides further details of these sub-assemblies. It will be appreciated however, that other assemblies, components, and mechanisms that drive, shift, and/or adjust the nozzle turret rotation may also be used to operate the sprinkler 10 in part-circle operation.
To shift between part-circle and full-circle operation, the sprinkler 10 includes the selector assembly 24 that shifts the turret 18 into full-circle operation. To select full-circle operation, the selector assembly 24 preferably does not require adjustment or shifting of the arc setting assembly 22 (including the arc stops 62, 64) and preferably also does not require adjustment or shifting of the shiftable transmission 52 or the drive mechanism 46. As a result, when the sprinkler 10 is shifted back to part-circle operation, the arc set points generally do not need to be reset. By one approach, the selector assembly 24 is coupled to the trip lever 74 to effect such shifting but, at the same time, is also decoupled from the drive mechanism 46.
Turning to
More specifically, when the trip lever 74 (or at least the lever portion 78) is positioned in the second operational position, the trip lever is preferably shifted to a second operational plane X2, which is preferably axially spaced a distance D1 from the first plane X1 and the arc path A. In this second plane X2, the trip lever 74 (or at least the lever portion 78) is positioned axially below the upper surface of the support plate 72 and below the first and second stops 62, 64. As a result, the trip lever 74 or the lever portion 78 is positioned below the path A (i.e., received in the well 80) so that the first and second stops 62, 64 traverse along the path A during normal sprinkler operation and do not contact or otherwise engage the trip lever 74 (or at least lever portion 78). In this setting, the trip lever 70 is not toggled, and the shiftable trans-mission 52 is not shifted so the turret 18 continues to rotate in a single direction.
Referring now to
Extending upwardly from the longitudinal plate 84 is a mount 96 in the form of an integral tubular extension defining a hollow bore 98, which is positioned to couple the trip lever 74 to the upper components of the selector assembly 24. As with the trip lever described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,383,600 and 7,850,094, when the trip lever 74 is configured in the first operational position, the trip lever 74 can be toggled back and forth via engagement with one of the first and stops 62, 64 between upright stop posts 100, 102 (
As best shown in
The well 80 also forms an internal cavity of a sufficient size so that the trip lever extension 92 and the end portion 78 of the trip lever 74 may be received in the well 80 when the turret 18 is rotating in the counter-clockwise direction during a shift to full-circle operation (
As mentioned above, the shiftable transmission 52 includes the drive gear 56 and the opposite terminal gears 58, 59. With reference to
Rotating in the counter-clockwise direction provides increased rotational life of the sprinkler 10 in full-circle operation by eliminating early failure of the idler gear 122 and idler gear post 123. When operating in the counter-clockwise direction, the idler gear 122 spins freely with no loading. Conversely, when operating in the clockwise direction, forces acting on the idler gear 122 pull the idler gear 122 toward the axis 14, which loads the idler post 123. Further, always operating in the counter-clockwise direction when in full-circle operation adds consistency of rotation.
Referring to
Turning now to
More specifically, the actuator 130 is preferably in the form of a jack screw 144 having external threading 146 on at least a lower portion 148. A top of the jack screw 144 may include a slot 150 or other profile 150 configured to receive a screwdriver or other tool to turn the jack screw 144 to shift the trip lever 74 from the first operational position to the second operational position. An upper portion 152 of the jack screw 144 is mounted for rotation in the cap 132, such as received in a cylindrical coupling 154 configured to permit the jack screw 144 to rotate but, preferably, retain the jack screw 144 in its axial position so that turning of the jack screw 144 does not shift it axially.
The cross-linkage 142 includes a nut portion 156 extending from a plate 158 that interfaces with the upper end 140 of the connecting rod 128. The nut portion 156 defines a passage 160 having internal threading 162 mating with the external threading 146 of the jack screw 144 so that, when the jack screw 144 is turned by a user, the mated internal and external threading 162, 146, respectively, imparts motion along the longitudinal axis 14 to the cross-linkage 142. Thus, the cross-linkage 142 pushes the connecting rod 128 and results in a corresponding motion of the connecting rod 128 along the longitudinal axis 14. Such axial motion of the connecting rod 128 shifts the trip lever 74 into the well 80 from the first operational position to the second operational position.
For example, to shift the sprinkler 10 to full-circle operation, a user turns the jack screw 144 to push the connecting rod 128 along the longitudinal axis 14 to shift the trip lever extension 92 into the well 80. To shift the sprinkler 10 back to part-circle operation, the user turns the jack screw 144 in the opposite direction to allow the cross-linkage 142 and the connecting rod 128 to move in an opposite direction along the longitudinal axis 14. As a result, the trip lever extension 92 moves out of the well. Preferably, the selector assembly 24 also includes a biasing member 164 that biases the trip lever 74 and the connecting shaft 128 to the part-circle position as the cross-linkage 142 is allowed to move by the actuator 130.
The biasing member 164 of the selector assembly 24 assists in shifting the trip lever 74 out of the well 80 as the user turns the jack screw 144. The biasing member 164 may be in the form of a coil spring positioned to provide a biasing force to a bottom of the base plate 84 to urge the trip lever 74 out of the well 80. A centering post 166 maintains and guides the biasing member 164. The biasing member 164, such as the coil spring, spirals around the centering post 166 to align the coil spring on the bottom of the plate 84. When the trip lever 74 (or at least a portion thereof) is shifted to the second operational position into the well 80 for full-circle operation, the selector assembly 24 provides a downward force to counter-bias or compress the biasing member 164 as needed for the trip lever extension 92 to be moved into the well 80. Conversely, when the selector assembly 24 allows the cross-linkage 142 to move away from the well 80, the biasing member 164 urges the trip lever 74 along the longitudinal axis 14 away from the well 80 to shift the trip lever 74 out of the well 80. In this exemplary configuration, the biasing member 164 urges or permits the trip lever 74 to default to the part-circle operational position (assuming the actuator 130 and cross-linkage 142 have not shifted the trip lever 74 to the full-circle operational position).
It will be understood that various changes in the details, materials, and arrangements of parts and components which have been herein described and illustrated to explain the nature of the sprinkler may be made by those skilled in the art within the principle and scope of the sprinkler as expressed in the appended claims. Furthermore, while various features have been described with regard to a particular embodiment, it will be appreciated that features described for one embodiment may also be incorporated with the other described embodiments.
