Extended range sprinkler head

Claim 2

A fixed-position sprinkler head comprising a hollow body, the interior of which is connected to a source of water under pressure; at least one set of nozzle orifices provided in the walls of said body, each of said nozzle orifices being shaped and arranged to throw a jet stream of water upwardly and outwardly at a first angle to the horizontal; each of said nozzle orifices having generally parallel side walls and a roof surface inclined upwardly at an angle to the horizontal substantially the same as said first angle; and means disposed in the path of said jet stream to intercept a small portion of the latter and direct it downwardly, so that said small portion leaves said sprinkler head at a flatter angle than said jet stream and is broken up by said means into droplets, thereby providing uniform precipitation coverage from the sprinkler head out to the area covered by said jet streams said means comprising a downwardly facing impact surface which is impacted by a small portion of said jet stream at one side of the nozzle orifice.

Claim 3

A fixed-position sprinkler head comprising a hollow body, the interior of which is connected to a source of water under pressure; at least one set of nozzle orifices provided in the walls of said body, each of said nozzle orifices being shaped and arranged to throw a jet stream of water upwardly and outwardly at a first angle to the horizontal; each of said nozzle orifices having generally parallel side walls and a roof surface inclined upwardly at an angle to the horizontal substantially the same as said first angle; and means disposed in the path of said jet stream to intercept a small portion of the latter and direct it downwardly, so that said small portion leaves said sprinkler head at a flatter angle than said jet stream and is broken up by said means into droplets, thereby providing uniform precipitation coverage from the sprinkler head out to the area covered by said jet streams said means comprising a downwardly facing impact surface which is impacted by a small portion of said jet stream at one side of the nozzle orifice.

Claim 4

A fixed-position sprinkler head comprising a hollow body, the interior of which is connected to a source of water under pressure; at least one set of nozzle orifices provided in the walls of said body, each of said nozzle orifices being shaped and arranged to throw a jet stream of water upwardly and outwardly at a first angle to the horizontal; each of said nozzle orifices having generally parallel side walls and a roof surface inclined upwardly at an angle to the horizontal substantially the same as said first angle; and means disposed in the path of said jet stream to intercept a small portion of the latter and direct it downwardly, so that said small portion leaves said sprinkler head at a flatter angle than said jet stream and is broken up by said means into droplets, thereby providing uniform precipitation coverage from the sprinkler head out to the area covered by said jet streams said means comprising a downwardly facing impact surface which is impacted by a small portion of said jet stream at one side of the nozzle orifice.

Claim 5

A sprinkler head as in claim 1, wherein said impact surface is disposed at an angle to the horizontal slightly less than said first angle.

Claim 6

A sprinkler head as in claim 1, wherein each of said nozzles has generally parallel side walls and a roof surface inclined upwardly at an angle to the horizontal substantially the same as said first angle; and said means comprising a downwardly facing deflector shelf extending circumferentially around said body at a level just below the roof of the nozzle orifice at the exit end of the latter, said deflector shelf being inclined to the horizontal at an angle slightly less than the roof angle of the nozzle orifice; the water issuing from each nozzle orifice below said deflector shelf tending to fan out laterally and impinge against the shelf, thereby breaking up the water into droplets which leave the sprinkler head at a flatter angle than the main jet stream, so as to provide uniform precipitation coverage from the sprinkler head out to the area covered by the main jet streams.

Claim 7

A sprinkler head as in claim 1, which further includes means in the nozzle orifice for producing a limited amount of turbulence in the water passing through it, whereby the stream of water issuing from the orifice has a tendency to fan out and thereby strike said impact surface.

Claim 8

A sprinkler head as in claim 1, which further includes a second set of nozzle orifices that are inclined at a second angle to the horizontal, such that the initial trajectory angle of the jet streams issuing therefrom causes the streams to carry for a greater distance than the streams issuing from said one set of nozzles, said second set of nozzle orifices being shaped and arranged to produce coherent, non-turbulent jet streams which carry for a considerable distance without breaking up.

Claim 9

A sprinkler head as in claim 5, wherein each of the nozzle orifices in said second set has generally parallel sides and a roof surface inclined upwardly at second angle to the horizontal, said orifices each having a smoothly rounded entry and a relatively large length-to-width ratio.

Claim 10

A sprinkler head as in claim 3, which further includes a second set of nozzle orifices that are inclined at a second angle to the horizontal which is slightly greater than said first angle, each of the nozzle orifices in said second set having generally parallel side walls and a roof surface inclined upwardly at said second angel, said orifices each having a smoothly rounded entry and a relatively large length-to-width ratio, so that said second set of nozzles produces coherent, non-turbulent jet streams that carry for a considerable distance without breaking up, whereas said first-named set of nozzle orifices produces somewhat more turbulent and less coherent jet streams that carry for an intermediate distance, while the portions of said last-mentioned jet streams that impact said deflector shelf produce a broken-up spray that covers the area close in to the sprinkler head.

Claim 11

A sprinkler head as in claim 7, wherein said body consists of a tubular member, a nozzle ring, and a cap superimposed on one another and joined together by fastening means, said cap having a conically tapered bottom surface which mates with a correspondingly tapered top surface on said nozzle ring, said mating surfaces being inclined upwardly from the horizontal at said second angle for long range streams of water, said top surface of said nozzle ring having a plurality of angularly spaced, radially extending, narrow slots formed therein which constitute said second set of nozzle orifices, said slots being formed with a smoothly rounded bottom surface at the entry end, and said slots having a large length-to-width ratio, said nozzle ring having a plurality of angularly spaced, radially extending slots formed in its bottom surface, which constitute said first-named set of nozzle orifices, the bottoms of said first-named orifices being formed by at least one sharp corner extending transverse to the direction of water flow, so that water flowing through the slots is thrown into turbulence prior to leaving the exit end of the slot.