Patent Application
20170014846
The present invention relates generally to apparatus for providing irrigation, and, more particularly, to guards for preventing impact damage to sprinkler heads.
Pop-up sprinkler heads (or spray heads) are the most widely used type of irrigation head in residential and small commercial in-ground sprinkler systems. A pop-up sprinkler head is typically buried in the ground so its nozzle is about flush or slightly higher than the soil level when not in use. When water pressure is applied, a riser portion of the sprinkler head extends upward from its body so that the nozzle is placed above the soil level. When the water pressure is relieved, the riser and nozzle retract back into the body in response to a spring. There are a variety of nozzle designs to fit the contours of the landscape. For example, there are nozzles capable of providing a full arc, a half-circle, or a quarter circle of coverage.
Unfortunately, it is common for pop-up sprinkler heads to become damaged or displaced. A homeowner or gardener may, for example, run over a sprinkler head when mowing. Typically, such damage requires that the sprinkler head be unburied and a new sprinkler head be buried in its place. These types of repairs are both burdensome and expensive. At the same time, they frequently damage the grass in the region of the repair. There is, as a result, a need for apparatus capable of protecting sprinkler heads from this kind of impact damage.
Embodiments of the present invention address the above-identified needs by providing apparatus for protecting sprinkler heads from impact damage.
Aspects of the invention are directed to an apparatus comprising an inner frame, an outer frame, and a plurality of wall members. The outer frame encircles the inner frame with a space therebetween. The plurality of wall members occupy the space, each wall member defining a respective lower wall member edge and a respective upper wall member edge. The inner frame, the outer frame, and the plurality of wall members combine to partition the space into a plurality of compartments. A top of the inner frame is higher than a top of the outer frame, and the plurality of wall members define a ramp between the top of the outer frame and the top of the inner frame.
Additional aspects of the invention are directed to an apparatus comprising a sprinkler head and a sprinkler guard, both partially buried in a portion of ground. The sprinkler guard comprises an inner frame, an outer frame, and a plurality of wall members. The inner frame encircles a portion of the sprinkler head. The outer frame encircles the inner frame with a space therebetween. The plurality of wall members occupy the space, each wall member defining a respective lower wall member edge and a respective upper wall member edge. The inner frame, the outer frame, and the plurality of wall members combine to partition the space into a plurality of compartments. A top of the inner frame is higher than a top of the outer frame, and the plurality of wall members define a ramp between the top of the outer frame and the top of the inner frame.
These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings where:
The present invention will be described with reference to illustrative embodiments. For this reason, numerous modifications can be made to these embodiments and the results will still come within the scope of the invention. No limitations with respect to the specific embodiments described herein are intended or should be inferred.
As used in the present specification and the appended claims, the term “substantially” means within reasonable manufacturing tolerances commonly used in the art.
The sprinkler guard 100 comprises an inner frame 105 and an outer frame 110, with the outer frame 110 encircling the inner frame 105 so as to define an annular space 115 between the frames 105, 110. In the present illustrative embodiment, both of the frames 105, 110 are substantially cylindrical. A plurality of wall members 120 occupy the space 115 between the frames 105, 110, with each wall member 120 defining a respective upper wall member edge 125 and a respective lower wall member edge 130. In some places, single wall members 120 span all the way between the inner and outer frames 105, 110, while, in other places, three shorter wall members 120 merge to form Y-shapes that span between the inner and outer frames 105, 110. In so doing, the wall members 120 combine with the inner and outer frames 105, 110 to partition the space 115 into a plurality of compartments 135. Floor plates 140 also occupy the space 115 between the inner and outer frames 105, 110. Each of the four floor plates 140 occupies a respective one of the twelve compartments 135, leaving eight of the compartments 135 open. Each of the floor plates 140 defines a set of openings 145 therein. Lastly, the sprinkler guard 100 further includes a lip 150 that extends from the outer frame 110 at an oblique angle.
The above-identified elements combine to form a unique three-dimensional shape that aids the sprinkler guard 100 in performing its function. With the sprinkler guard 100 oriented as shown in
In these views, the sprinkler head 200 is of the common pop-variety and includes a body 205, a riser 210, and a nozzle 215. Without applied water pressure, as shown in
When positioning the sprinkler guard 100 to protect the sprinkler head 200, the sprinkler guard 100 is preferably positioned such that the top of the sprinkler head 200 is surrounded by the inner frame 105 with the sprinkler guard 100 partially buried in the soil 305 so that the top of the outer frame 110 is about level with the top of the soil 305. Burying the sprinkler guard 100 in this manner places soil 305 and grass 310 within the many compartments 135 of the sprinkler guard 100, including in those compartments 135 where the floor plates 140 are provided. At the same time, such placement places the top of the inner frame 105 above the top of the sprinkler head 200 when the sprinkler head 200 is deactivated and not receiving pressurized water. When water pressure is applied, the riser 210 lifts the nozzle 215 above the top of the inner frame 105, allowing the nozzle 215 to provide water coverage unimpeded.
To achieve this kind of placement, a user being instructed as how to install the sprinkler guard 100 onto the existing sprinkler head 200 may be instructed to initially dig up a circular region around the sprinkler head 200 of a diameter about equal to the diameter of the sprinkler guard 100 to a depth about equal to the height of the outer frame 110. The user may then be instructed to place the sprinkler guard 100 into this recessed region so that the inner frame 105 surrounds the protruding portion of the sprinkler head 200 and the sprinkler guard 100 is resting on the surrounding soil 305 with the tops of the frames 105, 110 being about horizontal. The user may then be instructed to fill the compartments 135 of the sprinkler guard 100 with soil 305 to about the top of the outer frame 110, including those compartments 135 comprising floor plates 140. Finally, the user may be instructed to plant grass 310 in this soil 305.
Installed in this manner, it is anticipated that the roots 315 from any grass 310 growing in the compartments 135 of the sprinkler guard 100 will rapidly grow into the soil 305 to a depth below the sprinkler guard 100, as shown in
Advantageously, when properly installed, the sprinkler guard 100 will display excellent lateral stability (i.e., resistance to lateral movement) and excellent vertical stability (i.e., resistance to vertical movement). Lateral stability is enhanced by the soil 305 and the grass 310 that occupy the compartments 135 in combination with the roots 315 that extend below the sprinkler guard 100 into the underlying soil 305. The roots 315 help to anchor the soil 305 and the grass 310, and, in so doing, help to anchor the sprinkler guard 100. Vertical stability is enhanced by the floor plates 140 as well as the lip 150. These elements are simultaneously supported by the underlying soil 305 while being pressed downward by the weight of the overlying soil 305, strongly inhibiting vertical motion. Thus, once properly installed, the sprinkler guard 100 is unlikely to move.
As indicated above, a purpose of the sprinkler guard 100 is to protect its sprinkler head 200 from unintended impact damage such as that caused by a wheel running over the sprinkler head 200.
Once understood from the description provided herein, the sprinkler guard 100 may be formed from conventional materials utilizing conventional manufacturing techniques. The sprinkler guard 100 may, for example, be formed of plastic manufactured via injection molding. Alternatively, the sprinkler guard 100 may be formed of metal and cast. Nevertheless, other equally suitable materials and/or manufacturing techniques may be utilized, and the results will still come within the scope of the invention.
It should again be emphasized that the above-described embodiment of the invention is intended to be illustrative only. Other embodiments can use different types and arrangements of elements for implementing the described functionality. These numerous alternative embodiments within the scope of the appended claims will be apparent to one skilled in the art.
Lastly,
Thus, embodiments falling within the scope of the invention may comprise wall members with upper wall member edges that form linear ramps between their outer and inner frames, or wall members with upper wall member edges that form curved ramps between these frames. It is even further contemplated that alternative embodiments may comprise wall members that define ramps that are both partially linear and partially curved, or ramps that have two or more linear sections with differing slopes. A ramp formed by the wall members, moreover, may also include level sections between the inner and outer frames, as desired.
All the features disclosed herein may be replaced by alternative features serving the same, equivalent, or similar purposes, unless expressly stated otherwise. Thus, unless expressly stated otherwise, each feature disclosed is one example only of a generic series of equivalent or similar features.
