Low precipitation rate rotor-type sprinkler with intermittent stream diffuser

An irrigation sprinkler, comprising:

• a riser;
• a nozzle mounted at the top of the riser for rotation and configured to emit a stream of water;
• a diffuser mechanism that can intermittently interrupt the stream of water to alter a distance the stream of water travels from the sprinkler as the nozzle rotates;
• a gear train reduction mounted in the riser;
• a turbine coupled to an input shaft of the gear train reduction and rotatable by water flowing through the riser;
• a drive assembly coupling the nozzle and the gear train reduction and configured to allow a user to select an arc pattern of coverage in which the nozzle rotates in successive cycles in a clockwise direction and a counter-clockwise direction between a pair of pre-set arc limits;
• and
• the diffuser mechanism being configured to intermittently interrupt the stream of water to intermittently alter a distance the stream of water travels from the sprinkler more than once during both the clockwise direction and counter-clockwise directions of rotation of the nozzle.

A method of irrigating turf or landscaping, comprising the steps of:

• providing a gear-driven irrigation sprinkler with a nozzle that ejects a stream of water;
• rotating the nozzle while the nozzle is ejecting the stream of water in successive alternating cycles in clockwise and counter-clockwise directions between pre-set arc limits;
• and
• intermittently interrupting the stream of water more than one time while the nozzle is being rotated in the clockwise direction to alter a distance the stream of water travels from the sprinkler and intermittently interrupting the stream of water more than one time while the nozzle is being rotated in the counter-clockwise direction to alter a distance the stream of water travels from the sprinkler.

A method of irrigating turf or landscaping, comprising the steps of:

• providing a sprinkler that can be selected to operate in either an oscillating, or a uni-directional continually-rotating fashion with a nozzle that ejects a stream of water;
• rotating the nozzle in the uni-directional continually-rotating fashion while the nozzle is ejecting the stream of water;
• intermittently interrupting the stream of water to intermittently alter a distance the stream of water travels from the sprinkler more than once while the nozzle is being rotated in a uni-directional continually-rotating fashion;
• and
• varying a timing of the stream interruption between each successive full uni-direction revolution of rotation of the nozzle to ensure a substantially uniform water distribution over a circular area of coverage.

An irrigation sprinkler, comprising:

• a riser;
• a nozzle mounted for rotation at an upper end of the riser;
• an arc adjustable reversing mechanism mounted in the riser and coupled to the nozzle, the arc adjustable reversing mechanism including a member that is manually movable to alternately select between a full-circle mode of operation and an oscillating mode of operation;
• a turbine;
• a gear train reduction mounted in the riser and coupling the arc adjustable reversing mechanism and the turbine;
• and
• a diffuser mechanism mounted adjacent the nozzle that can intermittently interrupt the stream of water to intermittently alter a distance the stream of water travels from the sprinkler as the nozzle rotates in a different timing between both successive clockwise and counter-clockwise cycles of rotation of the nozzle to ensure a substantially uniform water distribution over a pre-selected arc pattern of coverage;
• wherein the diffuser mechanism intermittently interrupts the stream of water more than one time during the clockwise cycle of rotation to intermittently alter a distance the stream of water travels from the sprinkler and wherein the diffuser mechanism intermittently interrupts the stream of water more than one time during the counter-clockwise cycle of rotation to intermittently alter a distance the stream of water travels from the sprinkler.