Nelson Irrigation Corporation

Michael R Townsend

Craig B Nelson

Reid A Nelson

Riley D Greenwood

Chad Daniel Leinweber

Robert L Rupar

Patrick T Barry

A gooseneck pipe includes a first pipe half having a first radiused centerline curve, and a second pipe half fixed to the first pipe half and having a second radiused centerline curve. The first and second pipe halves define a flow path. Cross-sectional diameters of the first and second pipe halves vary along the flow path. The varying diameters of the first and second pipe halves serve to mitigate pressure losses due in part to Dean vortices or secondary flow patterns in the flow path when a fluid is turned in the gooseneck pipe.

Center pivot irrigation gooseneck with varying cross-sectional diameters

A stream redirecting device for a sprinkler includes a shell-shaped body having a generally semi-circular shape in plan, with opposite inlet and outlet side edges. The body extends outwardly and upwardly from a base at a lower end and then upwardly and inwardly to a distal, arcuate edge at an upper end. An inside surface of the shell-shaped body is formed with a plurality of grooves between the inlet side edge and the outlet side edge, extending in a generally radial direction with entry ends adjacent the base and exit ends at the distal, arcuate edge. The grooves are formed with circumferential exit angles that vary substantially uniformly in opposite directions from a center one of the plurality of grooves to first and last of the plurality of grooves at the opposite inlet and outlet side edges, respectively.

Stream deflector

A sprinkler assembly includes a housing having an open side; a sprinkler body supported at one end of the housing and adapted to receive a nozzle. A nozzle magazine is attached to the housing along the open side and holds plural nozzles selectively alignable with said sprinkler body. An actuator is arranged to move a selected one of the plural nozzles from the nozzle magazine into the sprinkler body.

Automatic nozzle changer

A rotary pinch valve includes a valve body having an inlet and an outlet; the valve body supporting a pinch tube and a pair of pivotally mounted pinch arms, the pinch tube forming part of an axial flowpath from said inlet to said outlet. A valve actuator dial is received on the valve body and formed with a pair of internal cam lobes engageable, respectively, with cam follower surfaces on each of the pair of pivotally mounted pinch arms upon rotation of the valve actuator dial to pivot the pair of pinch arms from an open position out of engagement with the pinch tube to a closed position where the pinch arms engage and close the pinch tube to thereby shut off flow through the valve body.

Rotary pinch valve

A method of controlling rotation of a water distribution plate supported on a shaft and adapted to rotate about an axis defined by the shaft by reason of impingement of a stream emitted from a nozzle on grooves formed in the plate, the method includes: (a) slowing the rotation of the water distribution plate intermittently so as to create intervals of relatively slow and relatively fast rotation and thereby correspondingly increase and decrease, respectively, a radius of throw of the stream or improve the uniformity of water distribution; and (b) continually changing circumferential locations of the intervals about the axis.

Sprinkler with viscous hesitator and related method

A rotary sprinkler includes: a shaft having a cam, the cam having a plurality of radially outwardly projecting cam lobes; a rotatable water distribution plate adapted to be impinged upon by a stream emitted from a nozzle causing at least the water distribution plate to rotate; a hesitator assembly including a stationary housing having a sealed chamber at least partially filled with a viscous fluid, with at least the cam and the cam lobes located within the chamber; a rotor ring located within the chamber in substantially surrounding relationship to the cam, the rotor ring loosely located within the chamber for rotation and translation, the rotor ring provided with at least two hesitator lobes projecting radially inwardly and movable laterally into and out of a path of rotation of the cam lobes, and a first plurality of radially outwardly projecting teeth selectively engageable with a second greater plurality of teeth provided on an inner wall of the housing; and wherein rotation of water distribution plate is slowed during intervals when one of the cam lobes engages and pushes past a respective one of the hesitator lobes, the cam lobe exerting both rotation and translation forces on the rotor ring, with one of the first plurality of teeth on the rotor engaging one of the second plurality of teeth on the housing wall.

Sprinkler with geared viscous hesitator and related method

A dual-mode sprinkler includes a nozzle arranged to supply a stream to a rotatable water-distribution plate. The sprinkler can be adjusted between free-spinning and retarded or braked rotation, enabling multi-use applications for the sprinkler.

Dual-mode sprinkler head

A sprinkler device incorporates a rotatable shaft having a cam, the cam having a radially outwardly projecting shaft lobe. A water distribution plate is supported on one end of the shaft and is adapted to be impinged upon by a stream emitted from a nozzle causing the water distribution plate and the shaft to rotate. A hesitator assembly is supported on an opposite end of the shaft, the assembly including a stationary housing having a sealed chamber at least partially filled with a viscous fluid. The shaft passes through the chamber, with the cam and shaft lobe located within said chamber. A rotor ring is located within the chamber in surrounding relationship to the cam, and the rotor ring has two or more inwardly projecting hesitator lobes movable into and out of a path of rotation of the shaft lobe, such that rotation of the shaft and water distribution plate is slowed during intervals when the shaft lobe engages and pushes past the one or more hesitator lobes.

Sprinkler with viscous hesitator

A reversible, adjustable arc sprinkler head comprising a sprinkler body incorporating a fixed nozzle; a spray plate mounted on one end of a support cage for rotation with the support cage in one or the other of two opposite directions about a first axis arranged coaxially with a stream emitted from the nozzle, and for back and forth tilting motion about a second axis perpendicular to the first axis, an opposite end of the support cage secured to a sleeve rotatably mounted in the sprinkler body, the spray plate having a pair of substantially parallel grooves for selectively receiving the stream, wherein the direction of rotation of the spray plate about the first axis is determined by the tilting motion of the spray plate about the second axis; and a shift lever formed with an aperture sized to receive the stream, the shift lever mounted at one end on the sleeve for rotation about a third axis parallel to the first axis, the shift lever enabled to shift the stream from one of the pair of grooves to the other of the pair of grooves to thereby reverse the direction of rotation of the spray plate.

Reversible adjustable arc sprinkler

A reversible, adjustable arc sprinkler head includes a sprinkler body incorporating a fixed nozzle; a spray plate mounted for rotation in one or the other of two opposite directions about a first axis arranged coaxially with a stream emitted from the nozzle, and for back and forth tilting motion about a second axis perpendicular to the first axis, the spray plate having a pair of substantially parallel grooves for selectively receiving the stream, depending on a direction of tilt of the spray plate; and a shift lever formed with an aperture sized to receive the stream. The shift lever is mounted at one end for rotation about a third axis parallel to the first axis, and is enabled to shift the stream from one of the pair of grooves to the other of the pair of grooves to thereby reverse the direction of rotation of the spray plate.

A pop-up sprinkler assembly includes a cylindrical housing having a cap on an upper end thereof, the cap having an opening, a lower end of the cylindrical housing having an internal thread for attachment to a source of pressurized water. A stem is mounted in the cylindrical housing with a spring radially between the stem and the cylindrical housing for normally biasing the stem to a retracted position within the cylindrical housing. The stem is extendable through the opening in the first cap to an extended position when water under pressure is supplied to the cylindrical housing. The stem has a threaded upper end to which an alternative sprinkler head is attached. An adapter housing is received over the cap and secured to the cylindrical housing, the sprinkler housing having an open upper end, the adapter housing having a diameter sufficient to receive the alternative sprinkler head when the stem is in the retracted position. A cover is secured to an upper end of the sprinkler head and adapted to close the open upper end of the adapter housing when the stem is in the retracted position. A conversion kit for adapting the otherwise incompatible sprinkler head to the pop-up assembly is also provided.

Growing community of inventors

Waitsburg, WA, United States of America

Michael R Townsend