Bearing for impact motor driven sprinkler

Claim 2

A bearing structure for sprinkler motors including a disc at its entrance end and a rotor disposed perpendicular to said disc and having a water passing bore, said bearing structure comprising: a. a socket in said disc having a peripheral bearing surface; b. a water inlet port centered in the bottom of said socket; c. a peripheral journal surface on said rotor dimensioned to mate with and rotate within said bearing surface with said bore in coaxial relation to said inlet port; and d. said bore and said port being of smaller radial dimension than said water passing bore to confine water flow principally to the center of said water passing bore and create a relatively static annular zone of water adjacent the walls of said socket thereby to minimize water flow between said bearing and journal surfaces.

Claim 3

A bearing structure, as defined in claim 1, wherein: a. a thrust spring is disposed in said annular zone tending to reduce further water movement therein.

Claim 4

A bearing structure for sprinkler motors of the impact-type which include a housing defining a motor chamber, a slotted swirl plate at the lower end of the motor chamber, a rotor perpendicular to the swirl plate, and protruding from the housing, the rotor having a bore, impact surfaces, and an impact ring within said motor chamber and surrounding the impact surfaces of said rotor, said bearing structure comprising: a. a socket disposed in the center of said disc to receive the lower end of said rotor and defining a sleeve bearing engaging said lower end for rotation therein; b. an inlet port of smaller diameter than said rotor bore centered in said socket in axially spaced relation to said rotor and coaxial relation to said rotor bore and defining therewith a central zone for the flow of water into said bore; the end of said rotor and the confronting end of said socket surrounding said bore and inlet respectively defining an annular zone in which water tends to remain relatively static while water flows through said central zone thereby to protect said sleeve bearing from particulate matter carried in the water.

Claim 5

A bearing structure for sprinkler motors of the impact-type which include a housing defining a motor chamber, a slotted swirl plate at the lower end of the motor chamber, a rotor perpendicular to the swirl plate, and protruding from the housing, the rotor having a bore, impact surfaces, and an impact ring within said motor chamber and surrounding the impact surfaces of said rotor, said bearing structure comprising: a. a socket disposed in the center of said disc to receive the lower end of said rotor and defining a sleeve bearing engaging said lower end for rotation therein; b. an inlet port of smaller diameter than said rotor bore centered in said socket in axially spaced relation to said rotor and coaxial relation to said rotor bore and defining therewith a central zone for the flow of water into said bore; the end of said rotor and the confronting end of said socket surrounding said bore and inlet respectively defining an annular zone in which water tends to remain relatively static while water flows through said central zone thereby to protect said sleeve bearing from particulate matter carried in the water.

Claim 6

A bearing structure, as defined in claim 3, wherein: a. a coil spring is received in said outer zone and tends to reduce water motor motion therein.