Fluid sprinkling – spraying – and diffusing – Weather control – Snowmaking
Patent
1997-07-24
1998-10-20
Morris, Lesley D.
Fluid sprinkling, spraying, and diffusing
Weather control
Snowmaking
239423, F25C 304
Patent
active
058234276
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to the art of fluid sprinkling and more particularly to the manufacture of snow. Specifically, the present invention relates to snow making towers for manufacturing snow on ski slopes.
The present invention pertains to improvements over the inventions of Herman K. Dupre disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,822,825, issued Jul. 9, 1974, U.S. Pat. No. 3,952,949, issued Apr. 27, 1976 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,004,151, issued Apr. 2, 1991.
These former inventions for artificially producing snow consist of method and apparatus for making snow through the use of snow towers wherein water is supplied under pressure to a point of discharge well above ground level and adjacent the top end of the tower where it is discharged through a first water nozzle into the ambient freezing atmosphere in the form of a spray. The spray is preferably a high velocity spray of discrete water particles, sometimes referred to as a fine water spray.
Air is also supplied independently under pressure to a second point of discharge at the top of the snow tower and there discharged through an orifice to form a jet of air which is directed into the throat of the aforementioned water spray thereby forming a plume of atomized or nucleated water. This atomized water forms seed crystals in a freezing atmosphere, and through the dwell time of the long fall from the top of the tower to the ground, forms snow.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,004,151 illustrates the same principals but further increases the efficiency of the water tower in colder subfreezing ambient conditions. This is accomplished by adding additional water discharge nozzles at the top of the tower which further discharge water spray into the plume already created by the previously described discharge of an air jet directed into the throat of the sprayed water.
While this prior art system is extremely efficient, it is always desirable to make larger quantities of excellent quality snow over the same period of time, and to make quality snow at higher ambient temperatures with greater efficiency and lower cost.
It is a principal object of the present invention to provide apparatus for making snow even at higher marginal subfreezing temperatures, and to do so at excellent efficiency rates at a lower cost.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In the method and apparatus for making snow of the present invention, air and water under pressure are combined in a common elongated pipe or conduit and discharged at the upper end from a common nozzle to form a plume of atomized water, or alternatively, a first elongated water conduit, generally a very tall aluminum pipe, having upper and lower ends is provided and adapted for mounting on a ground support. A water discharge nozzle is provided adjacent the upper end of this water conduit for discharge of water alone under pressure in the form of a jet stream.
In this alternate version, a separate air conduit is also provided and additionally adapted for mounting on the same support for coextending with the water conduit. Accordingly, the water and air conduit may run side by side, or the air conduit, which is also made of aluminum, preferably coextends within the water conduit in order to prevent freezing of moisture in the air line by keeping the same warm with the outer jacket of insulating water, as taught in the aforementioned Herman K. Dupre patents. The air line may be coaxially mounted in the water line, or the tower pipe may be extruded with separated segments for water and air.
An air discharge nozzle or orifice is provided adjacent the upper end of the air conduit and it is positioned adjacent the first water discharge nozzle to discharge air into the throat of the water spray thereby forming a plume of atomized water by external interaction of air and water under pressure to produce snow in subfreezing conditions.
Typically, at subfreezing conditions between 25.degree.-30.degree. F., prior art snow making guns require at least 12 to 20 cfm of air with 1 gallon of water per minute in order to function, and then
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Dupre Herman K.
Santry Charles N.
Morris Lesley D.
Snow Economics, Inc.
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