Apparatus for Producing Reconfigurable Walls of Water
AssigneeTechnifex, Inc.
InventorsMontgomery C. Lunde, Clement Folckemer
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present invention is directed to an apparatus for producing a water maze from walls of falling water that can be reconfigured to change the maze. In one embodiment, the apparatus is comprised of a plurality of spray bars that are each capable of producing a separate wall of falling water droplets and a plurality of water valves that are each associated with only one spray bar. The water valves can be used to define at least two different paths between the entrance and exit of the maze. The apparatus is also capable of being used to create interesting visual effects by projecting light/images on to multiple screens created by walls of falling water droplets.
Claims36
An apparatus for producing reconfigurable walls of falling water droplets, the apparatus comprising:
- an array of spray bars, each spray bar of the array of spray bars capable of producing a wall of falling water droplets over a distance, the array of spray bars located so that each spray bar can be used to produce a wall of falling water droplets;
- an array of water valves, each water valve in the array of water valves associated with only one spray bar in the array of spray bars, each water valve in the array of water valves capable of being placed in a first state in which water is allowed to flow to the spray bar with which the valve is associated and a second state in which water is prevented from flowing to the spray bar with which the valve is associated, the array of water valves capable of being used to:
- (a) provide water to a first subset of the array of spray bars so that the first subset of spray bars produces walls of falling water droplets that contribute to defining a first maze and (b) provide water to a second subset of the array of spray bars so that the second subset of spray bars produces walls of falling water droplets that contribute to defining a second maze and that is different than the first maze.
An apparatus for producing reconfigurable walls of falling water droplets, the apparatus comprising:
- an array of spray bars, each spray bar of the array of spray bars capable of producing a wall of falling water droplets over a distance, the array of spray bars located so that each spray bar can be used to produce a wall of falling water droplets;
- an array of water valves, each water valve in the array of water valves associated with a spray bar in the array of spray bars, each water valve in the array of water valves capable of being placed in a first state in which water is allowed to flow to the spray bar with which the valve is associated and a second state in which water is prevented from flowing to the spray bar with which the valve is associated, the array of water valves capable of being used to:
- (a) provide water to a first subset of the array of spray bars so that the first subset of spray bars produces walls of falling water droplets that contribute to defining a first maze and (b) provide water to a second subset of the array of spray bars so that the second subset of spray bars produces walls of falling water droplets that contribute to defining a second maze that is different than the first maze;
- at least one of the spray bars of the array of spray bars comprising:
- a tubular member for receiving a stream of water and outputting a plurality of lesser streams of water through a series of holes located along the length of the tubular member;
- an outer member having an inner surface for receiving the plurality of lesser streams of water, causing the lesser streams of water to each spread along the longitudinal extent of the inner surface, and allowing the spread water to drain through a plurality of holes associated with the inner surface such that the water is expelled from the outer member in droplets.
An apparatus for producing reconfigurable walls of falling water droplets, the apparatus comprising:
- an array of spray bars, each spray bar of the array of spray bars capable of producing a wall of falling water droplets over a distance, the array of spray bars located so that each spray bar can be used to produce a wall of falling water droplets;
- an array of water valves, each water valve in the array of water valves associated with a spray bar in the array of spray bars, each water valve in the array of water valves capable of being placed in a first state in which water is allowed to flow to the spray bar with which the valve is associated and a second state in which water is prevented from flowing to the spray bar with which the valve is associated, the array of water valves capable of being used to:
- (a) provide water to a first subset of the array of spray bars so that the first subset of spray bars produces walls of falling water droplets that contributes to defining a first maze and (b) provide water to a second subset of the array of spray bars so that the second subset of spray bars produces walls of falling water droplets that contributes to defining a second maze that is different than the first maze;
- a hanger system for hanging at least the array of spray bars from an overhead support structure.
A modular apparatus for use in building an apparatus for producing reconfigurable walls of falling water droplets, the modular apparatus comprising:
- a first plurality of spray bars;
- a first frame system connecting the first plurality of spray bars to one another and capable of connecting the first plurality of spray bars to a second plurality of spray bars.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.