Ice building machine
OwnerPaul Kuhninventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An ice building machine for spraying a fluid comprising water to form ice is described. The machine comprises: a chassis; a power generating source connected with the chassis; a control module electrically connected with the power generating source; and a fluid spray system coupled with the chassis and arranged to spray a fluid under control of the control module and powered by the power generating source, the fluid spray system arranged to access the fluid from below a lower surface of the ice building machine.
Claims19
An ice building machine for spraying a fluid comprising water to form ice, comprising:
- a chassis;
- a power generating source connected with the chassis;
- a locomotion device connected with the chassis and configured to move the machine;
- a control module electrically connected with the power generating source, the control module comprising an input/output device, wherein the control module is configured to automatically control movement of the machine along a predetermined path over a solid surface and alter movement from the predetermined path in a predetermined manner to avoid an anomaly in the solid surface detected through the input/output device, wherein the anomaly is at least one of open water, thin ice, deep snow, or a pressure ridge in the solid surface;
- and
- a fluid spray system coupled with the chassis and arranged to spray the fluid under control of the control module and powered by the power generating source, the fluid spray system arranged to access the fluid from below a lower surface of the ice building machine;
- wherein the control module is further configured to automatically control the fluid spray system based on at least one spray parameter and an ambient temperature.
A method of building ice structures through the use of an unmanned ice building machine, comprising:
- moving the ice building machine to a predetermined location, the moving comprising automatically controlling movement of the machine along a predetermined path over a solid surface and altering movement from the predetermined path in a predetermined manner to avoid an anomaly, the anomaly being at least one of open water, thin ice, deep snow, or a pressure ridge in the solid surface;
- accessing a fluid source by the ice building machine;
- and
- spraying the accessed fluid toward a predetermined surface to form a desired ice structure, the spraying being automatically controlled based on at least one spray parameter and an ambient temperature.
An ice building machine for spraying a fluid comprising water to form ice, comprising:
- a chassis;
- a power generating source connected with the chassis;
- a locomotion device connected with the chassis and configured to move the machine;
- a control module electrically connected with the power generating source, the control module comprising an input/output device, wherein the control module is configured to automatically control movement of the machine along a predetermined path over a solid surface and alter movement from the predetermined path in a predetermined manner to avoid an anomaly in the solid surface detected through the input/output device, wherein altering movement in the predetermined manner comprises at least one of travelling over ice built in response to detection of the anomaly or maneuvering around open water;
- and
- a fluid spray system coupled with the chassis and arranged to spray the fluid under control of the control module and powered by the power generating source, the fluid spray system arranged to access the fluid from below a lower surface of the ice building machine;
- wherein the control module is further configured to automatically control the fluid spray system based on at least one spray parameter and an ambient temperature.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.