Patents by Inventor John D. Crooks

John D. Crooks has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Friction clutch for rotor-type sprinkler
    Patent number: 8313043
    Abstract: A sprinkler includes a riser, an impeller mounted in the riser, and a nozzle rotatably mounted at an upper end of the riser. A drive assembly including a reduction gear train couples the impeller and the nozzle. A friction clutch is located in the drive assembly between an output gear of the reduction gear train and an input gear of the reversing mechanism and provides a positive drive connection under a normal load and slips under an excessive load. An alternate embodiment utilizes the friction clutch in a rotor-type sprinkler in which the nozzle rotates continuously through a continuous 360 degree arc.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 19, 2007
    Date of Patent: November 20, 2012
    Assignee: Hunter Industries, Inc.
    Inventors: John D. Crooks, Fred M. Danner
  • Adjustable arc rotor-type sprinkler with selectable uni-directional full circle nozzle rotation
    Patent number: 7861948
    Abstract: A sprinkler includes a drive mechanism mounted in a riser that rotates a nozzle at the top of the riser. The drive mechanism enables a user to select between oscillation of the nozzle through an adjustable arc and uni-directional full circle rotation of the nozzle. The sprinkler includes an automatic arc return feature that enables the nozzle to resume oscillation between a pair of original pre-set arc limits when the nozzle is twisted by a vandal outside of the arc limits.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2006
    Date of Patent: January 4, 2011
    Assignee: Hunter Industries, Inc.
    Inventor: John D. Crooks
  • Adjustable arc rotor-type sprinkler with selectable uni-directional full circle nozzle rotation
    Patent number: 7287711
    Abstract: A sprinkler includes a drive mechanism mounted in a riser that rotates a nozzle at the top of the riser. The drive mechanism enables a user to select between oscillation of the nozzle through an adjustable arc and uni-directional full circle rotation of the nozzle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 27, 2005
    Date of Patent: October 30, 2007
    Assignee: Hunter Industries, Inc. a Delaware corporation
    Inventor: John D. Crooks