Patent Application
20100193603
1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the invention generally relate to an improvement on sprinkler head structure. In particular, aspects of the invention relate to a multi-chambered interior of the sprinkler head to alleviate damages thereto due to debris contained in water.
2. Background of the Invention
In one previously known technology, a common sprinkler includes an inlet pipe having water flowing into the interior of the sprinkler before the water exits from the nozzle of the sprinkler. After an extended use, debris of various sizes in the water enters the sprinkler without any filtering, and cause damages to the gears inside the interior of the sprinkler. Consequently, the operation of the sprinkler is interfered and the usage life of the sprinkler is reduced.
Similarly, other kinds of sprinkler describe a divided interior, but during operations, each gear may easily damaged when friction among the gears increases when the lubrication and cooling from the water decreases. As such, the temperature between the gear chamber and the control chamber will be different and the water pressure may concentrate in the control chamber. This phenomenon further leads to a lack of balance between the water pressure and temperature in the gear chamber. Also, in these existing designs, a driving pinion is exposed on the outside of the gear chamber and a blade rim meet with the driving pinion to cause a connected movement between one another. Consequently, the driving pinion and the blade rim are not enclosed completely inside the gear chamber. As such, they are easily affected negatively by external forces and the gears' operations will also be negatively affected. Also, because the driving pinion and the blade rim are exposed outside of the gear chamber, when the water flows from the control chamber to the gear chamber, the water will escape from the location where the driving pinion and the blade rim meet. As such, the gear chamber in these types of sprinklers must be completely separate from the water distribution system to prevent water seepage situation. This further prevents the gear chamber get proper lubrication and cooling from the water. In addition, even if lubricant were added in the gear chamber, the lubricant will still slowly leak from the blade in the un-enclosed gear chamber. Thus, eventually, the lubricant will be lost and the purpose of lubrication of the gear chamber using the lubricant will be lost as well.
Aspects of the invention overcome deficiencies of prior technologies by providing an interconnected channel within the sprinkler head. Aspects of the invention provide an improved sprinkler that uses a movable piece which includes a gear chamber and a control chamber. A set of dividers or dividing plates or blades (an upper blade and a lower blade) separates the gear chamber and the control chamber. The separation forms or results a water filtering space to direct water to flow from the control chamber and prevent water with debris to enter the gear chamber. As such, the water from the control chamber can be filtered in the water filtering space, filtering out water with debris, before it enters the gear chamber. Thus, aspects of the invention not only provide lubrication and cooling from water to the gear set during its operations, but also protect the gear set by preventing an accumulation of debris. Aspects of the invention also ensure the smooth operations of the gear set and maintain a balanced water temperature and pressure between the gear chamber and the control chamber and achieve an optimal balance of the temperature and pressure.
Alternative aspects of the invention provide a gear set that is completely or substantially completely enclosed within the interior of the gear chamber of movable piece and can mesh with the blade of the main gear and the stationary gear of the inlet pipe. Such design ensures the complete protection of the gear chamber, prevents external interferences and prevents unexpected seepage of water from the gear chamber, and maintains the optimal usage condition of the sprinkler.
According to another aspect, an improved sprinkler includes a water switching device to change a water flow direction to control a blade and a direction of a gear set to oscillate a movable set. The sprinkler includes a set of an upper divider and a lower divider positioned within an interior of the movable set and dividing the interior of the movable set into a water control chamber and a gear chamber. The water control chamber includes a water switching device therein, and the gear chamber includes a gear set therein. The movable set includes a bottom end, and the bottom end of the movable set includes a connecting pipe with a stationary gear section. The stationary gear section meets with a gear within the gear set. The gear set is substantially or completely enclosed in the gear chamber, and the water flowing inside the connecting pipe is accessible to the control chamber only to direct water to the control chamber. The upper divider and the lower divider comprise a set of matching ribs and receiving grooves that form a water filtering space to enable the water from the control chamber to flow through the filtering space before seeping through the gear chamber while filtering out larger particles in the water and assisting in cooling and lubrication of the gear set. In another aspect, the As such, aspects of the invention further prevent frictional damages between gears in the gear set and to maintain the water pressure and temperature differences between water in the control chamber and the gear chamber.
This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.
Other features will be in part apparent and in part pointed out hereinafter.
Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the drawings.
The following list shows reference characters used through
Referring to
The other side of movable set 30 also includes a gear set 50. The gear set 50 includes a front set of gears 51 and a second set of gears 52. The front set of gears 51 and second set of gears 52 meet a blade 60 of a driving gear 61 and a stationary gear 111 of the connecting pipe 11. As such, the restricting handle 301 of the movable set 30, the switching handle 41, and the water switching device 40 can be correspondingly restricted of the oscillation within the restricting space 21 to a maximum angle and further restrict the switching handle 41 and the water switching device 40 to switch water flowing direction. This changes the rotational direction of the blade 60. This moves the gear set 50 and the second set of gears 52 to follow the rotation direction of the stationary gear 111 to change the rotation direction of the movable set 30 to further control the oscillation's maximum angle.
At the tope of the movable set 30, an embodiment includes an outlet 70 for the water to exit therefrom. The movable set 30 also includes an end box 31 and a cover 32, the end box 31 (please also refer to
At the one end of the lower divider 312 includes a rib 313 that matches to a receiving groove 323 of the upper divider 322, in which the receiving groove 323's dimension (width and depth) is slightly larger than the size of that of the rib 313. As such, the space between the matched rib 313 and the receiving groove 323 forms a space or duct to filter water in a filtering space 35. The filtering space 35 is accessible to a first section 314, which is semi-circular in shape, with the control chamber 33 under one side of the lower divider 312. The water in the filtering space 35 is also accessible to the gear chamber 34. The water in the filtering space 35 is also accessible on the other side connecting to the gear chamber 34, which includes a semi-circle second section 315, having a smaller size than that of the first section 314, which interconnects with the control chamber 33. In one embodiment, as the rib 313 of the lower divider 312 and the receiving groove 323 of the upper divider 322 meet, the lower divider 312 and the upper divider 322 may form a passageway. For example, the size of the rib 313 may fit exactly in the receiving groove 323 such that, as the rib 313 and the receiving groove 323 meet, each of the gear chamber 34 and the control chamber 33 is in a sealed or a substantially sealed chamber. In such an embodiment, the gear chamber 34 and the control chamber 33 each form a separate and independent space from one another. In this example, lubricants may be added to the gear chamber 34 such that the gear set 50 can be lubricated by the lubricants.
Hence, the top side of the first section 314 and the bottom side of the second section 315 extend a small diameter chamber 317 that connects to the control chamber 33 and the second section 315 and thus connected with the connecting pipe 11. Thus, the connecting pipe 11's stationary gear 111 can fit within the first section 314 and the gear chamber 34 and the second set of gears 52 can fit therewith, and the gear set 50 can be completely protected within the gear chamber 34 without subjecting the gear set 50 to external impact.
The connecting pipe 11 and the small diameter chamber 317 also include a restricting o-ring 112 to prevent water leaks. And this enables the connecting pipe 11's interior wall to be blocked by the second section 315 and the o-ring 112 and only be connected with or accessible to the control chamber 33. The water is then conducted to the connecting pipe 11, small diameter chamber 317, and the second section 315 to enter the control chamber 33.
The switching handle 41 has a hole 316 in a corresponding position on the end box 31 and the cover 32. Openings 324 and 324′ are two water outlets on the top and the bottom ends of the control chamber 33. The moving piece 42 will move as it is supported by the switching handle 41 in the middle, and, as it moves, it will alternately cover the opening 324 and block the opening 324′ or vice versa. At one side of the tope of the upper divider 322 near the control chamber 33, a semi-circle space 325 is connected with the gear chamber 34. The center of the exterior of the cover 32 includes an opening 326, and it is connected with the semi-circle space 325 and the gear chamber 34 to provide the driving gear 61 and the front set of the gears 51 of the gear set 50 to meet. The opening 326 is on top of the movable set 30 and is surrounded by the blade 60 which create a collecting space 302 to hold water. The collecting space 302 is connected to the openings 324 and 324′, and the opening 324 includes a blocking member 62 between the blade 60 and the driving gear 61 and thus separating the collecting space 302 from the gear chamber 34. The collecting space 302 includes a first duct 327 and a second duct 327′ that connects to the openings 324 and 324′, respectively. This allows water to flow from the openings 324 or 324′ to the ducts 327 or 327′, respectively, before the water is collected at the collecting space 302.
When in the collecting space 302, the water pushes the rotation of the blade 60 and the driving gear 61, which in turn push the gear set 50 and the movable set 30 to make rotation of the stationary gear 111 before moving the switching handle 41 and the restricting handle 301. When reaching its maximum angle in the restricting space 21, the switching handle 41 will alternately move in the other direction when it reaches its movement limit. This it will leave the position to block the opening 324, for example, and changes the water flowing direction. At the same time, the switching handle 41 causes changes in the rotational directions of the blade 60, the driving gear 61 and the gear set 50 and thus causes the movable set 30 to oscillate to the other direction.
Also, the surrounding wall of the semi-circle space 325 includes a water outlet space 328 between the collecting space 302, and the sprinkler also includes a pressure release opening 3291, which includes a release cover 329 fitting the space 328. Within the outlet space 328, a rod 3281 is included therein and fits into the release opening 3291. A spring 3282 and a washer 3283 are also used. As the washer 3283 receives force from the spring 3282 and thus closes the release opening 3291, when the water pressure in the control chamber 33 increases, the water will push against the washer 3283 to actuate 3282 to open the release opening 3291 to enable some water to flow to the outlet space 328 through the release opening 3291. The water in the collecting space 302 will exit via the outlet 70 to achieve pressure relieving purpose. At the same time, by separating the gear chamber 34 from the control chamber 33 through the upper divider 322 and the lower divider 312, the connecting pipe 11 is only accessible to the control chamber 33, thus preventing water flowing into the gear chamber 34. Water with debris or sediments might accumulate within the gear chamber 34 under the prior technology, and the workings of the gear set 50 in the gear chamber 34 are negatively affected. Thus, as water flows to the control chamber 33, through the filtering space 35 created by the upper divider 322 and the lower divider 312 that seep into the gear chamber 34, the gear set 50 can be lubricated and cooled by the water, thus reducing damages due to friction between the gears. This further alleviates the water temperature difference and pressure differences in the control chamber 33 and the gear chamber 34. And the larger or more coarse particles of the water debris or sediments are blocked by the filtering space 35 and do not enter the gear chamber 34 to ensure optimal workings of the gear set 50. In another example, the filtering space 35 is able to filter impurities or finer sand such that filtered water or water with less impurities or debris may enter the gear chamber 34.
Also, the width of the receiving groove 323 is approximately larger than that of the rib 313 to form a narrow gap. The depth or height of the receiving groove 323 is greater than that of the rib 313 to form a larger duct. Thus, the debris in the water can flow through the narrower gap of the receiving groove 323 and the rib 313 before the larger duct of the receiving groove 323 and the rib 313 before reaching another narrower gap to enter into the gear chamber 34. This will create multiple filtering stages, which further prevents debris in the water from entering into the gear chamber 34.
Referring now to
In operation, water enters the sprinkler from the water source through the water inlet 10 and the connecting pipe 11. The water next enters the movable set 30, which includes the set of dividers that separates the movable set 30 into the control chamber 33 and the gear chamber 34. The set of dividers thus can filter debris from the water that enters the gear chamber 34. According to one embodiment, this achieves the functions of cooling and lubricating of the gear chamber 34.
Although the invention has been explained in relation to its various embodiment(s) as mentioned above, it is to be understood that many other possible modifications and variations can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. It is, therefore, contemplated that the appended claim or claims will cover such modifications and variations that fall within the true scope of the invention.
Having described the invention in detail, it will be apparent that modifications and variations are possible without departing from the scope of the invention defined in the appended claims.
When introducing elements of the embodiments(s) of the present invention, the articles “a”, “an”, “the” and “said” are intended to mean that there are one or more of the elements. The terms “comprising”, “including” and “having” are intended to be inclusive and mean that there may be additional elements other than the listed elements.
In view of the above, it will be seen that the several objects of the invention are achieved and other advantageous results attained.
As various changes could be made in the above constructions or products without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description and shown in the accompanying drawing[s] shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 098103758 | Feb 2009 | TW | national |
