Abstract
A cone valve assembly including an upper valve member with a conical top portion and a stepped and spiraled top surface and a lower valve member including a central opening with a stepped and spiraled valve surface surrounding the central opening. The upper valve member is mounted in the lower valve member such that the lower valve member is rotatable and axially movable relative to the upper valve member. Rotation of the lower valve member allows for the adjustment of an arcuate slot opening that provides a conically shaped discharge stream of water from the cone valve nozzle assembly directly onto the rotating distributor to provide the desired arc of sprinkler coverage.
Claims
1-10. (canceled)
11. A sprinkler head nozzle assembly comprising: a nozzle housing including an inlet for pressurized water and an outlet downstream of the inlet; a rotating arc adjustment ring mounted on the nozzle housing such that rotation of the arc adjustment ring extends and reduces an arcuate exit opening to set an arc of coverage of the sprinkler head nozzle assembly; a rotating range adjustment ring mounted on the housing upstream of the arc adjustment ring such that rotation of the range adjustment ring increases and decreases a downstream flow area to control flow of water to the arcuate exit opening; and the valve assembly further comprising: an upper valve element including a top portion with a conical stepped and spiraled underside valve surface; and a lower valve member including a central opening and an upper stepped and spiraled top valve surface surrounding the central opening, the upper valve member mounted in the lower valve member such that the lower valve member is movable relative to the upper valve member such that interaction between the upper stepped and spiraled underside valve surface of the upper valve member and the lower stepped and spiraled top valve surface of the lower valve member defines the arcuate exit opening to provide a conically shaped water discharge stream over a desired arc of coverage when water flows through the valve assembly.
12. The sprinkler head nozzle assembly of claim 11, wherein the arc adjustment ring has a snap retention lug for attachment to the nozzle housing to allow rotation relative to the nozzle housing while being retained.
13. The sprinkler head nozzle assembly of claim 12, wherein the nozzle housing has an arc set ring retention slot adjacent to the arc adjustment ring snap retention lug.
14. The sprinkler head nozzle assembly of claim 13, wherein rotation of the arc adjustment ring changes a length of the arcuate exit opening.
15. The sprinkler head nozzle assembly of claim 11, wherein the range adjustment ring includes an upstream adjustable area opening in the nozzle housing flow path to the nozzle assembly.
16. The sprinkler head nozzle assembly of claim 15, wherein rotation of the range adjustment ring changes a size of the upstream adjustable area opening to control flow into the nozzle housing flow path.
17. The sprinkler head nozzle assembly of claim 15, wherein rotation of the range adjustment ring in a first direction increases a size of the upstream adjustable area opening to increase flow into the nozzle housing flow path.
18. The sprinkler head assembly of claim 15, wherein rotation of the range adjustment ring in a second direction, opposite the first direction, decreases a size of the upstream adjustable area opening to decrease flow into the nozzle housing flow path.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] FIG. 1 shows a cross-sectional elevation view of a nozzle housing of a rotary stream sprinkler including a cone valve assembly in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure with the cone valve assembly open on one side and closed on the other side and the rotating distributor mounted on its shaft at its non-operating, retracted position above the adjustable arc cone valve assembly.
[0013] FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional view of the nozzle housing of the rotary stream sprinkler of FIG. 1 with the arc settable stepped and spiral cone valve assembly in the fully shut off position, but with the rotating distributor positioned in its operating position in the nozzle housing so that the discharge water angle is shown where it would strike the rotating distributor including a lower valve member as illustrated in FIG. 3 described below.
[0014] FIG. 2A shows a cross-sectional view of the nozzle housing of the rotary stream sprinkler of FIG. 1 with the arc settable stepped and spiral cone valve assembly in the fully shut off position, but with the rotating distributor positioned in its operating position in the nozzle housing so that the discharge water angle is shown where it would strike the rotating distributor including a lower valve member as illustrated in FIG. 3A described below
[0015] FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of the lower valve member with upstream flow restriction fingers.
[0016] FIG. 3A shows the same perspective view of the lower valve member without the upstream flow restriction fingers.
[0017] FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of the upper valve member.
[0018] FIG. 5 illustrates a perspective view looking into the top of the cone valve assembly set at approximately 270 degrees to provide a 270 degree segment of outwardly coned cylindrical sheet of water.
[0019] FIG. 6 shows a cross-sectional elevation view of the rotary nozzle sprinkler assembly complete with a pressure actuated lower piston and retraction spring compressed and the rotating distributor extended out of its nozzle housing in its operating position.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS
[0020] U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/348,864 filed Jan. 5, 2009 entitled ARC AND RANGE OF COVERAGE ADJUSTABLE STREAM ROTOR SPRINKLER provides a description of the general configuration and operation of a rotary stream nozzle sprinkler and is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. Some of the problems implicit in the operation of conventional rotary stream sprinklers are discussed above
[0021] The cone valve nozzle assembly 3 of the present disclosure may be configured to be incorporated into the above-referenced stream rotor sprinkler configuration and is preferably provided in nozzle housing assembly 5, which may be attached to the top of a riser assembly 80 in a pop-up type sprinkler, as shown in FIG. 6, for example. The threads 200a of the lower nozzle housing member 200 of nozzle housing assembly 5 may be used to engage corresponding threads on a riser 80 of such a pop-up type sprinkler in a conventional manner. Nozzle housing assembly 5 also includes upper nozzle housing member 100.
[0022] As can be seen in FIG. 1, for example, the cone valve assembly 3 includes upper and lower valve members 31, 30, respectively, and provides water discharge from the nozzle housing 5 at a desired angle B, relative to the central axis A of the nozzle assembly, as shown in FIG. 2, for example, such that water strikes the rotating distributor 7 at a best stream angle as desired, to provide a more efficient sprinkler. The angle B is preferably between about 11 and 17 degrees. Specifically, water flows along the conical outer and inner surfaces of the top portion of the arcuate upper valve member 31 and lower valve member 30 as indicated at 4 in FIG. 2, for example, to discharge water onto the rotating distributor 7 at the desired angle. Providing the nozzle discharge in a cone shape at a desirable angle for striking the rotating stream distributor 7 provides optimum uniformity of the sheet of water striking the distributor, and thus, avoids distortions in the output of the sprinkler.
[0023] As can be seen with reference to FIG. 1, for example, the water flow enters the central volume of the stream nozzle housing 5 via openings shown at 20. As noted above, the nozzle housing is typically mounted on the top of a riser of a pop-up sprinkler that extends from a base when water is supplied. See FIG. 6, for example. The water passes through the upstream flow-throttling member 26, specifically through the opening(s) 24 formed therein, and into an internal volume 22 just upstream of the arcuate adjustable cone nozzle assembly 3. The nozzle assembly 3 is illustrated in a closed position in FIG. 2. The flow slot passage 36 is shown open on the left side of in FIG. 1 and discharges water upwardly and outwardly at the desired or optimum angle for contacting the bottom surface 40 of the distributor 7. The distributor 7 further collects the stream of water into channels 7a of selected widths to distribute selective columns of water radially outward with selected stream channel exit elevation angles to provide the proper and uniform water distribution outwardly around the sprinkler using the nozzle assembly 3.
[0024] It is desirable that the water sheet or stream that is discharged from the valve assembly 3 have a uniform circumference, since as the rotating distributor 7 rotates, different stream channels of different widths interact with the sheet of water. Different distributions of the flow around the circumference may be achieved for selected patterns with the upstream entrance of the water at 50 by the flow reducing fingers 32 (See FIG. 3), if desired.
[0025] The upper valve member 31 and the upper stepped and spiraled underside surface 31a thereof are shown in perspective in FIG. 4 as well as the surface 31b which becomes the fixed end of the adjustable slot 36 as the lower valve member 30 is rotatable clockwise. See FIG. 5, for example.
[0026] The lower valve member 30 and the lower stepped and spiraled top valve surface 30a surrounding the opening O is shown in perspective in FIG. 3. The lower valve member 30 is held in proper constant axial position by the pitch of its housing thread and cylindrical seal surface 56 during sprinkler operation via mounting threads 55 and seal surface 56. The lower valve member 30 may be selectively moved axially up or down by rotation of the arc adjustment ring 60 to modify the arc of coverage of the sprinkler. Rotation of the arc adjustment ring 60 rotates the lower valve member 30 such that the threads 55 provide for axial movement of the lower valve member to exactly match the pitch of the matching upper and lower stepped and spiraled cone shaped nozzle valve surfaces.
[0027] The axial and rotational movement of the lower valve member 30 causes the circumferential nozzle slot opening 36 to be increased, or decreased, as desired to provide the desired arc of coverage. Water passes through the opening 36 to provide a sheet of nozzle discharge water that strikes the rotating distributor 7, which further directs the water radially outward for circumferential distribution around the sprinkler utilizing the nozzle assembly 3. This allows for modification of the arc of coverage of the sprinkler over any arc from 0 degrees up to 360 degrees. It is noted that generally, an arc of coverage of about 60 degrees is desirable to ensure rotation of the distributor 7.
[0028] The outer arc adjustment ring 60 is snapped into a grove as shown at 60a in FIG. 2 and rotationally connected to the lower valve member 30 via a leg as shown at 60b in FIGS. 5, for example.
[0029] In FIG. 4, the upper valve member 31 is illustrated. The circumference break clearance slot 70 is illustrated at the bottom of support shaft 46. This slot allows the snap edge, or lip, 71 at the bottom of the upper valve member 31 to compress while being inserted into the opening O of the lower valve member 30 and to pop open at the bottom at the desired axial position in the upper nozzle housing 100, to hold the upper valve member at the desired axial position and fixed rotational position. Thus, the upper valve member 31 is fixed rotationally and axially as rotation of the lower valve member 30 is used to control the arc of coverage of the stream of water exiting the valve 3.
[0030] FIG. 5 illustrates a top view of the cone valve assembly 3 set to provide water distribution over an arc of 270 degrees. That is, as illustrated the opening 36 is provided such that the sprinkler using the cone nozzle valve assembly 3 will provide distribution of water over a 270-degree arc around the sprinkler between edge 31b of the upper valve member 31 and edge 30b of the lower valve member 30. As noted above, rotation of the lower valve member 30 causes the circumferential nozzle slot opening 36 to be increased, or decreased, as desired by the user to adjust the arc of coverage.
[0031] FIG. 6 illustrates a rotary nozzle assembly 1 complete with its pressure actuated lower piston 78 and retraction spring 79 compressed and with the rotating distributor 7 extended out of its nozzle housing 5 in its operating position. The distributor 7 includes a viscous brake assembly 91 to limit rotational speed of the distributor. The viscous brake assembly generally includes a chamber in the deflector 7 filled with a viscous fluid. The shaft 90 extends into the chamber through a seal, or seals, and a bearing, or bearings, that allows the deflector 7 to rotate relative to the shaft 90. A stator is fixedly connected to the shaft in the chamber such that the stator remains stationary while the distributor rotates to limit the speed of rotation. In a preferred embodiment, nozzle housing assembly 5 is mounted on top of riser 80 which is preferably movably mounted in a base connected to a water supply. The lower nozzle housing member 200 includes flow-throttling member 26 which may be used to limit flow through the openings 24 as discussed above. Upper nozzle housing member 100 is provided above the lower member 200 with the nozzle assembly 3, including upper and lower valve members 31, 30 mounted therein. The arc set ring 60 is mounted on top of the upper member 100 and is operably connected to the lower valve member 30 to rotate the lower valve member and move the lower valve member axially as noted above. The ring 60 is secured in a slot as indicated at 60a. The center clearance hole 92 in the upper valve member support shaft 46 allows the shaft 90 to pass through the valve assembly 3 to extend the distributor 7 or to allow spring 79 to retract the distributor 7 into the upper nozzle housing member 100.
[0032] Although the present invention has been described in relation to particular embodiments thereof, many other variations and modifications and other uses will become apparent to those skilled in the art.
