Sprinkler stand
AssigneeHarward Irrigation Systems, Inc.
InventorRandall T. Harward
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A lightweight vertical support stand for a water sprinkler head comprises a central support hub and at least five flexible elongate legs attached to the support hub. The legs are pivotally attached so that they can be positioned in an extended support position or can be gathered in a bundle for moving and storage. The support stands for the water sprinkler heads are used in an agricultural irrigation system in which lateral water conduits are provided at spaced positions across the area to be irrigated. Quick disconnect couplings are provided in the lateral conduits, and the support stands and sprinkler heads are adapted to be quickly engaged with the couplings in the lateral conduits.
Claims15
A vertical support stand for use with a sprinkler head which is of the type that generates reactive lateral forces in response to expelled water, said stand comprising
- a central support hub having a top and a bottom, with an elongate opening extending from said top to said bottom of said support hub;
- a riser conduit extending upwardly from the opening at the top of said support hub, said riser conduit being fixed relative to said support hub;
- coupling means for attaching the sprinkler head to the extending end of said riser conduit;
- at least five, flexible, elongate legs attached to said support hub so as to be substantially equally spaced around the elongate opening in said support hub such that the legs can be positioned in an extended support position in which they extend outwardly in an acute angle from a central axis;
- with each of said legs comprising a flexible rod having sufficient flexibility to cooperatively dissipate the reactive forces generated by said sprinkler head and transferred into said legs, such that the stand is stable during operation;
- and
- means for coupling a conduit to the bottom of said support hub in flow communication with the central, elongate opening in said support hub for supply of a pressurized source of water through the central elongate opening to said riser and an attached sprinkler head.
An agricultural irrigation system comprising
- a header conduit extending across a parcel of land to be irrigated;
- means for providing water under pressure to the header conduit;
- lateral conduits spaced along said header conduit and extending outwardly in a direction away from said header conduit;
- a plurality of quick disconnect couplings spaced along each of said lateral conduits;
- and
- at least one portable sprinkler unit comprising
- a central support hub having a top and a bottom, with a central, elongate opening extending from said top to said bottom of said support hub;
- a riser conduit extending upwardly from the opening at the top of said support hub, said riser conduit being fixed relative to said support hub;
- a sprinkler head coupled to the extending end of said riser conduit, said sprinkler head being of the type that produces a reactive, lateral force on the riser conduit;
- at least five, flexible, elongate legs attached to said support hub so as to be substantially equally spaced around the elongate opening in said support hub such that the legs can be positioned in an extended support position in which they extend outwardly in an acute angle from a central axis which is substantially coaxial with said elongate opening in said support hub, with said legs comprising flexible rods having sufficient flexibility to dissipate the reactive force of said sprinkler head through the legs such that the stand is stable during operation;
- a flexible supply conduit having a first and second end, with the first end attached to the bottom of said support hub in flow communication with the central, elongate opening in said support hub;
- and
- means for releasably coupling the second end of said flexible supply conduit to any of the plurality of quick disconnect couplings on said lateral conduits.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.