Lawn sprinkler nozzle provided with means to adjust spray angle thereof

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6820825
  • Patent Number
    6,820,825
  • Date Filed
    Friday, October 3, 2003
    22 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, November 23, 2004
    20 years ago
  • Inventors
  • Examiners
    • Nguyen; Dinh Q.
    Agents
    • Kamrath; Alan D.
    • Nikolai & Mersereau, P.A.
Abstract
A lawn sprinkler comprises a connection pipe, and a spray angle adjustment structure mounted at one end of the connection pipe and formed of a circular distribution member, an adjustment member and a control member. The control member is actuated to turn by the adjustment member such that one or more of a series of arcuate rims of the control member block one or more of a series of arcuate through holes of the circular distribution member, thereby resulting in the sprinkling of water in various patterns.
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 lawn sprinkler nozzle, and more particularly to a lawn sprinkler nozzle comprising a spray-angle adjustment structure.




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




The conventional lawn sprinkler nozzle is generally provided with a structure enabling the nozzle to spray in various patterns at a fixed angle. Such conventional lawn sprinkler nozzle as described above is therefore limited in function in that it is incapable of cost-effective irrigation in terms of water consumption.




BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




The primary objective of the present invention is to provide a lawn sprinkler nozzle capable of various spray-angle adjustments.




In keeping with the principle of the present invention, the foregoing objective of the present invention is attained by a lawn sprinkler comprising a connection pipe and a spray-angle adjustment structure mounted at one end of the connection pipe which is connected at the other end to a water supply source. The spray-angle adjustment structure comprises a circular distribution member, a control member, and an adjustment member. The circular distribution member is fixedly fastened in the one end of the connection pipe and is provided with a series of arcuate through holes which are concentric and different in distance from the circular center of the circular distribution member. The circular distribution member is located between the control member and the adjustment member. The control member is located beneath the circular distribution member and is provided with a series of arcuate rims. The control member is actuated by the adjustment member to turn in such a way that a specific arcuate through hole of the circular distribution member is blocked by a specific arcuate rim of the control member, thereby resulting in a specific spray angle.




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 the preferred embodiment of the present invention.





FIG. 2

shows an exploded view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention.





FIG. 3

shows a longitudinal sectional view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention in combination.





FIG. 4

is a sectional schematic view showing that the corresponding arcuate rims and arcuate through holes of the preferred embodiment of the present invention are arrangement correspondingly.





FIG. 5

shows a schematic view of a 360-degree spray pattern which is attained as a result of the arrangement as shown in FIG.


4


.





FIG. 6

shows a sectional schematic view of an arrangement of the arcuate rims and the arcuate through holes in the wake of a 90-degree rotation of the adjustment member of the present invention.





FIG. 7

shows a schematic view of a 90-degree spray pattern which is attained as a result of the arrangement as shown in FIG.


6


.





FIG. 8

shows a sectional schematic view of an arrangement of the arcuate rims and the arcuate through holes in the wake of a 180-degree rotation of the adjustment member of the present invention.





FIG. 9

shows a schematic view of a 180-degree spray pattern which is attained as a result of the arrangement as shown in FIG.


8


.





FIG. 10

shows a sectional schematic view of an arrangement of the arcuate rims and the arcuate through holes in the wake of a 270-degree rotation of the adjustment member of the present invention.





FIG. 11

shows a schematic view of a 270-degree spray pattern which is attained as a result of the arrangement as shown in FIG.


10


.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION




As shown in

FIGS. 1-3

, a pop-up sprinkler


05


embodied in the present invention comprises a connection pipe


10


, and a spray-angle adjustment structure comprising a circular distribution member


20


, an adjustment member


30


, and a control member


40


.




The spray-angle adjustment structure is mounted at a top end


12


of the connection pipe


10


which is connected at a bottom end to a water source.




The connection pipe


10


is provided in the top end


12


with an output port


11


having a shoulder


13


extending along the inner wall of the output port


11


.




The circular distribution member


20


is fixedly located in the output port


11


such that the circular distribution member


20


is supported by the shoulder


13


. The circular distribution member


20


is provided with a center through hole


21


and four arcuate through holes A


1


, A


2


, A


3


, and A


4


, which are concentric and different in distance from the center of the center through hole


21


. The first arcuate through hole A


1


is located in a first quadrant


01


(0°-90°). The second arcuate through hole A


2


is located in a second quadrant


02


(90°-180°). The third arcuate through hole A


3


is located in a third quadrant


03


(180°-270°). The fourth arcuate through hole A


4


is located in a fourth quadrant


04


(270°-360°), as shown in FIG.


4


. These four arcuate through holes A


1


, A


2


, A


3


, and A


4


are progressively different in distance from the center of the center through hole


21


of the circular distribution member


20


, with the first arcuate through hole A


1


being the farthest as shown in FIG.


4


.




The adjustment member


30


has a tapered portion


31


and a projection


32


extending from the free end of the tapered portion


31


. The projection


32


is provided in the outer wall with a stop edge


33


and is further provided with a fastening segment


34


which is in turn provided with a threaded hole


35


engageable with the threads


50


of a fastening bolt


51


. The adjustment member


30


is mounted on the circular distribution member


20


such that the projection


32


is put through the center through hole


21


of the circular distribution member


20


.




The control member


40


is provided in the center with a through hole


41


and is further provided with a first arcuate rim B


1


, a second arcuate rim B


2


, a third arcuate rim B


3


, and a fourth arcuate rim B


4


, which are respectively corresponding to the first arcuate through hole A


1


, the second arcuate through hole A


2


, the third arcuate through hole A


3


, and the fourth arcuate through hole A


4


of the circular distribution member


20


. The control member


40


is mounted beneath the circular distribution member


20


such that the control member


40


is linked with the adjustment member


30


by the fastening bolt


51


which is engaged with the threaded hole


35


of the adjustment member


30


. As a result, the control member


40


is actuated to turn by the adjustment member


30


in motion.




As illustrated in

FIGS. 4 and 5

, a 360-degree spray pattern W


1


is resulted from an arrangement in which the four arcuate through holes A


1


-A


4


of the circular distribution member


20


are respectively corresponding in location to the four arcuate rims B


1


-B


4


of the control member


40


.




As illustrated in

FIGS. 6 and 7

, the adjustment member


30


is turned an angle of 90 degrees, thereby resulting in obstruction of the second arcuate through hole A


2


, the third arcuate through hole A


3


and the fourth arcuate through hole A


4


respectively by the first arcuate rim B


1


, the second arcuate rim B


2


, and the third arcuate rim B


3


. In another words, the passage of water is possible only through the first arcuate through hole A


1


which cannot be blocked by the fourth arcuate rim B


4


, as illustrated in FIG.


6


. In light of the 90-degree rotation of the adjustment member


30


, a 90-degree spray pattern W


2


is attained, as shown in FIG.


7


.




As shown in

FIGS. 8 and 9

, the adjustment member


30


is turned an angle of 180 degrees, thereby resulting in a similar rotation of the control member


40


. As a result, the passage of water is allowed only through the first arcuate through hole A


1


and the second arcuate through hole A


2


, as illustrated in FIG.


8


. In light of the 180-degree rotation of the adjustment member


30


, a 180-degree spray pattern W


3


is formed, as shown in FIG.


9


.




When the adjustment member


30


is turned an angle of 270 degrees, as illustrated in

FIGS. 10 and 11

, the fourth arcuate through hole A


4


of the circular distribution member


20


is blocked by the first arcuate rim B


1


of the control member


40


, as shown in FIG.


10


. In another words, the passage of water is allowed by the first arcuate through hole A


1


, the second arcuate through hole A


2


, and the third arcuate through hole A


3


. As a result of the 270-degree rotation of the adjustment member


30


, a 270-degree spray pattern W


4


is formed.




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 claim.



Claims
  • 1. A lawn sprinkler comprising:a connection pipe connected at a bottom end to a water source; and a spray angle adjustment structure mounted at a top end of said connection pipe for sprinkling water in various patterns; wherein said spray angle adjustment structure comprises: a circular distribution member provided with a center through hole and a series of arcuate through holes which are concentric and are progressively different in distance from a center of said center through hole whereby said circular distribution member is fixedly mounted in the top end of the connection pipe; an adjustment member having a tapered portion and a projection extending from said tapered portion whereby said adjustment member is mounted on said circular distribution member in such a manner that said projection of said adjustment member is received in said center through hole of said circular distribution member; and a control member provided with a center hole, and a series of arcuate rims corresponding to said arcuate through holes of said circular distribution member whereby said control member is mounted beneath said circular distribution member such that said control member is fastened with said adjustment member by a fastening bolt which is engaged with a fastening hole of said projection of said adjustment member via said center hole of said control member and said center through hole of said circular distribution member, said control member being actuated to turn by said adjustment member in motion, thereby resulting in obstruction of one or more of said arcuate through holes of said circular distribution member by one or more of said arcuate rims of said control member so as to bring about the sprinkling of water in various patterns by said spray angle adjustment structure.
US Referenced Citations (3)
Number Name Date Kind
4579285 Hunter Apr 1986 A
5642861 Ogi et al. Jul 1997 A
6637672 Cordua Oct 2003 B2