Abstract: A pop-up guard or shield for use with a pop-up sprinkler mounted in a casing buried in the ground to protect against the entry of dirt, sand, weeds, and the like into the casing during sprinkler operation. The guard includes a spring biased sleeve which pops up together with the sprinkler during sprinkler extension to the operative position, and is retracted into the casing during movement of the sprinkler to the inoperative position.

Abstract: A marble race game includes a number of different, interconnected marble race toys so that a marble passes from the exit of one to the entrance of another, downstream race toy. All the toys keep the marble moving fast enough along their paths to be visually appealing and yet increase the time it takes to course the toy paths compared with conventional marble race toys. Several different marble race toys are used, including a funnel toy, a zig-zag toy, a J-loop toy, a paddle wheel toy, a serpentine toy and a pin deflect toy.

Abstract: An improved rotary drive sprinkler is provided for driving a sprinkler spray head in a rotary stepping motion to deliver irrigation water over a prescribed terrain area. The rotary sprinkler comprises a pop-up stem assembly carrying the spray head and movable within a sprinkler housing between a normal retracted position and an elevated spraying position when water under pressure is supplied to the sprinkler housing. During operation, the water flowing through the sprinkler housing powers a piston drive assembly including a spring-loaded drive piston which is alternately subjected to a predetermined pressure differential and normalized pressure to displace the piston in a reciprocating manner. The drive piston is coupled to a motion converter assembly for converting the reciprocal motion of the drive piston to an oscillatory rotary motion which is coupled in turn via a reversible one-way clutch assembly to the pop-up stem assembly.

Abstract: A planocentric gear drive has an eccentrically floating driving gear for simultaneously engaging a stator gear and a rotatable output gear to rotate the output gear through relatively small angular increments. The stator and output gears have different numbers of teeth and are mounted coaxially for engaging the driving gear on a common axial line of contact wherein the stator and output gear teeth are in local axial alignment at the line of contact. The driving gear is attracted into meshing engagement with the stator and output gears by a circumferentially arranged plurality of electromagnets energizable in sequence to rotate the driving gear eccentrically in steps about the stator and output gears. During this eccentric rotation, the common axial line of contact revolves in steps about the stator and output gears, with the output gear rotating through small angular increments to permit the stator and output gear teeth to remain in axial alignment at the revolving line of contact.

Abstract: A linear to rotary motion transmission device comprises a reciprocal rack having a plurality of ratchet teeth engageable with flexible pawls of a rotary pinion. Reciprocation of the rack in one direction causes driving engagement between the pawls and the teeth for rotatably driving the pinion, and reciprocation of the rack in an opposite direction causes the flexible pawls to slide over the ratchet teeth in non-driving engagement.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for enhancing the distribution of water from an irrigation sprinkler is provided and includes a nozzle disposed at the end of a discharge tube on the sprinkler, which nozzle includes a frusto-pyramidal passage leading to a polygonal nozzle outlet, thereby generating a substantial secondary flow within the nozzle which provides the desired controlled fall-out of water over the entire range of the stream ejected by the sprinkler.

Abstract: For use in a sprinkler system, a method and device for enhancing the distribution of water from an impact or reaction drive sprinkler comprising a nozzle which separates the flow of water through the sprinkler into two distinct and separate streams, and directs the separate streams such that they intersect at a point downstream of the nozzle to break the stream into small droplets for enhanced distribution when water is supplied to the sprinkler at relatively low pressures.

Abstract: An oscillating wave type lawn sprinkler having a spray tube that is angularly oscillated about its axis by a spray tube linkage assembly that is driven by a water-actuated motor. The linkage assembly is coupled to the spray tube by a releasable coupling that disengages whenever the spray tube is subjected to an external force which exceeds a predetermined magnitude, thereby permitting the spray tube to angularly deflect out of its normal alignment. Normal alignment of the spray tube is restored by manually rotating the spray tube until the coupling is again engaged.