Leak Stopping Sprinkler Heads This invention relates to the field of water conservation and more specifically to lawn irrigation sprinkler heads designed

It is an objective of the present invention to provide lawn irrigation sprinkler heads that include a self-sealing feature should the head become damaged or destroyed. It is a objective to provide such sprinkler heads that function to prevent leaks without human interaction. End Quote

Save on Water. Water shortage is real and it is a serious problem.

Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA (1888PressRelease) April 20, 2010 - An increasing number of homes with lawns are irrigated with automatic sprinkler systems. These systems consist of a series of subterranean pipes attached to a water source through shutoff valves. The valves are usually connected to an electric timer. A series of sprinkler heads are attached to the pipes and serve to irrigate the lawn and gardens. As the sprinklers are controlled automatically by the electric timer, the sprinkler heads may be broken off or damaged at any time. If the sprinkler system is activated by the timer after the head is broken and no one is around to observe, the sprinkler system can send hundreds of gallons of water out of the broken head before the break is noticed and the system shut down.

As a further problem, damage may result to the lawn in hot weather if the system is not run at all while waiting for repair of the broken head. In order to prevent the waste of large quantities of water and to prevent damage to lawns and gardens due to lack of watering, a system is needed that will shut of damaged or missing sprinkler heads while allowing other sprinkler heads attached to the system to remain in operation. A number of devices have been developed to address these problems. While some of the objectives of the present invention are disclosed in the prior art, none of the inventions found include all of the requirements identified.

It is an objective of the present invention to provide lawn irrigation sprinkler heads that include a self-sealing feature should the head become damaged or destroyed. It is a further objective to provide such sprinkler heads that function to prevent leaks without human interaction. It is a still further objective of the invention to provide sprinkler heads that will permit other sprinkler heads on a circuit to function with the loss of one or more heads on a circuit. It is yet a further objective to provide self-sealing sprinkler heads that are reliable and relatively maintenance free. Finally, it is an objective of the present invention to provide such sprinkler heads that are durable, inexpensive and easily installed.

Summary of the Invention
The present invention addresses all of the deficiencies of prior art leak stopping sprinkler head inventions and satisfies all of the objectives described above.

(1) A leak stopping sprinkler head, providing all of the desired features can be constructed from the following components. A cylindrical hollow body is provided. The hollow body has an upper portion and a lower portion. The lower portion is fluidly connected to a valve body. The upper portion has a spraying nozzle at a top end. The upper portion has a first predetermined internal diameter and the lower portion has a second, larger predetermined internal diameter. The valve body includes an upper connection, a valve seat fluidly connected to the upper connection and a lower connection. The lower connection is fluidly connected to a water supply line.

A hollow regular spheroid is provided. The spheroid has a diameter larger than the first predetermined internal diameter and smaller than the second predetermined diameter, an attachment point on an outer surface and a series of perforations. The perforations permit water to pass through the spheroid. A rigid connecting rod is provided. The connecting rod has a first end and a second end and is attached at the first end to the attachment point. A sealing disk is provided. The sealing disk has a diameter larger than the valve seat and a central connecting point on an upper surface. The connecting point is hingedly attached to the second end of the connecting rod. The connecting rod is located inside of the hollow body and the valve body and is sized to hold the sealing disk away from the valve seat when the hollow spheroid is restrained from upward movement by the first predetermined diameter within the cylindrical hollow body. Any of removal or destruction of the cylindrical hollow body permits the hollow spheroid to be urged upwardly by pressure of water flowing upwardly in the hollow body, the spheroid pulls the rigid connecting rod and the sealing disk upwardly, causing the sealing disk to seat against the valve seat, thereby terminating the flow of water upwardly through the hollow body. The sealing disk is held against the valve seat by water pressure from the water supply line.

(2) In a variant of the invention, the sealing disk includes a resilient upper surface. The resilient upper surface provides an improved seal to the bottom end of the sprinkler riser pipe.

(3) In another variant, the regular spheroid is a sphere.

(4) In still another variant, the sealing disk further includes a central aperture. The aperture penetrates the disk and is sized and shaped to produce a sound when water flows through the aperture under pressure from the supply line. The sound alerts a user to a broken or missing sprinkler head.

(5) In yet another variant, a leak stopping sprinkler head, includes a hollow cylindrical casing. The casing has a top surface, a central aperture penetrating the top surface, a surrounding vertical wall and a threaded attachment at a lower end of the vertical wall. The threaded attachment connects the casing to a water supply line. A sprinkler pipe is provided. The pipe has an upper end, a lower end and has a spray nozzle located at the upper end. The pipe is sized to fit slidably through the central aperture.

A sealing flange is provided. The flange is located about an outer circumference of the sprinkler pipe at a height to limit upward travel of the sprinkler pipe to a first predetermined distance through the central aperture as water pressure from the water supply line urges the sprinkler pipe upwards. The flange bears against an underside of the top surface of the casing. A self-closing spring operated valve is provided. The valve is held in an open position by the sprinkler pipe located through it. The valve controls the flow of water from the water supply line into the casing and the sprinkler pipe. The valve moves to a closed position if the sprinkler pipe moves upwardly beyond the first predetermined distance due to breakage or removal of either or both of the casing and the sprinkler pipe, thereby terminating the flow of water from the water supply line.

(6) In a further variant the valve further includes a sphere. The sphere is pivotally mounted in a spherical seat. The seat is in fluid connection with the water supply line and the casing. The sphere has a passage through it. The passage is sized to fit slidably about the sprinkler pipe. An elastic member is provided. The member urges the sphere to rotate to a closing position in the spherical seat, thereby terminating the flow of water from the water supply line. The sprinkler pipe is located through the passage upon mounting of the sprinkler head, thereby holding the valve in an open position. The valve moves to the closing position upon removal of the sprinkler pipe from the passage due to either breakage or removal of either or both of the casing or the sprinkler pipe.

(7) In a final variant of the invention, the valve further includes a circular seat. The seat is sized to fit slidably about the sprinkler pipe and is in fluid connection with the water supply line and the casing. A valve door is provided. The valve door is hingedly mounted and sealably located adjacent the seat. A closing spring is provided. The spring urges the valve door toward the seat. The sprinkler pipe is located through the valve door upon mounting of the sprinkler head, thereby holding the valve door in an open position. The valve moves to a closed position upon removal of the sprinkler pipe from the valve door due to either or both of breakage or removal of either the casing or the sprinkler pipe.

An appreciation of the other aims and objectives of the present invention and an understanding of it may be achieved by referring to the accompanying drawings and the detailed description of a preferred embodiment.

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