Abstract:
A unique water display involving igniting fire is described. Water is shot into the air and fuel is dispensed in proximity thereto. The fuel is ignited and illuminates the water. The water may encompass some of the fire and fall down around it.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    The application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/802,080, filed Mar. 15, 2013, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention generally relates to water displays, including water displays involving fire. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    Various water displays exist, but there is an ongoing need for unique and innovative displays. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0004]    In an aspect of the invention, unique visual effects are provided involving fire and water. For example, water may be shot upward, followed by a flammable fuel cloud. The fuel cloud may be ignited to create a fire ball which may illuminate the water. The water may also appear to be encompassing the fire ball. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0005]      FIG. 1  is a side view of a water and fire delivery device. 
           [0006]      FIG. 2  is a side view of a water and fire delivery device, a fuel cloud and a water bloom. 
           [0007]      FIG. 3  is a side view of a water bloom and a fire ball. 
           [0008]      FIG. 4  is a side view of a water and fire delivery device. 
           [0009]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view of a water and fire delivery device, a water bloom and a fire ball. 
           [0010]      FIGS. 6-9  are a series of pictures showing an embodiment of the visual effect provided by the current invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0011]    The current invention is now described with reference to the figures. Components appearing in more than one figure bear the same reference numerals. Though the current invention is described with reference to water, fluids or combinations thereof may be used. 
         [0012]    As shown in  FIG. 1 , water and fire delivery device  10  may include water delivery assembly  100 , fuel or fire delivery assembly  200 , and ignition assembly  300 . As shown in  FIG. 2 , water delivery assembly  100  may generally emit water in an upward display  114 . Fuel or fire delivery assembly  200  may provide or dispense flammable fuel  216  beneath or in close proximity to water display  114 . The fuel may be provided or dispensed so as to form a fuel cloud. Ignition assembly  300  may provide ignition means for fuel  216  via igniter  302 . The ignition of fuel cloud  216  while beneath or in close proximity of water display  114  may cause a fire ball  216  to illuminate the water display  114  with fire. In addition, if the water display  114  is bloom shaped, fire ball  216  may appear to be encompassed by the bloom of water display  114 , providing dramatic visual effects. This is depicted in  FIG. 3  and will be described in more detail in later sections. 
         [0013]    Water delivery assembly  100  of system  10  will now be described in detail with reference to  FIG. 4 . As shown in  FIG. 4 , water delivery assembly  100  may include a base  102 , an outer body  104 , an input water pipe  106 , an inner water pipe  108  and an output water nozzle  110 . The base  102  of the water delivery assembly  100  may be anchored or otherwise attached to the bottom floor  112  of a water basin, water fountain or other bottom surface using bolts, screws, clamps or other attachment means. Water may flow into the water delivery assembly  100  through input water pipe  106 . Water may then travel generally upward through the inner water pipe  108  and be emitted through output water nozzle  110 . It is preferred that the water is under adequate pressure as it is emitted out of output water nozzle  110  so that it is launched into the air in the form of a water stream  114 . The preferable characteristics and general shape of the emitted water stream  114  will be discussed in later sections. 
         [0014]    While  FIG. 4  depicts the water delivery assembly  100  as consisting of an input water pipe  106 , an inner water pipe  108  and an output water nozzle  110 , other types of water delivery assemblies  100  that provide an output water stream of preferable shape and characteristics may also be used. 
         [0015]    The fire delivery assembly  200  will now be described with reference to  FIG. 4 . As shown in  FIG. 4 , the fire delivery assembly  200  may include a fuel container  202 , an output fuel pipe  204 , an input valve  206 , an input fuel pipe  208 , a body pipe  210  and an output nozzle  212 . Fuel container  202  may be a tank or other type of container and may contain flammable fuel. It may be preferable that the flammable fuel within fuel container  202  be a pressurized gaseous fuel. Fuel container  202  may be attached to the water delivery assembly  100  using clamps  214  or other attachment means. Fuel container  202  may also not be directly attached to the water delivery assembly  100  and may be free standing or may be attached and supported by another structure. 
         [0016]    Fuel container  202  may include an output pipe  204  that leads to an input valve  206  that may be opened to allow gaseous fuel to flow out of the fuel container  202  and into the other components of the fire delivery assembly  200 , and that may be closed to disallow gaseous fuel from being released from container  202 . When valve  206  is open, gaseous fuel may flow through input pipe  208  into body pipe  210  and out output nozzle  212 . The dispensed fuel may form the fuel cloud  216  of  FIG. 2 . Once released from output nozzle  212 , gaseous fuel cloud  216  may be ignited by ignition assembly  40  as discussed in later sections. Though reference is made to the dispensed fuel as being a fuel cloud, the fuel may be dispensed in other configurations such as a stream or other configuration. 
         [0017]    Ignition assembly  300  may include an igniter  302  that may be used to ignite gaseous fuel cloud  216  released by fuel output nozzle  212 . Igniter  302  may include a spark generator (not shown) that may emit sparks that may have adequate energy to ignite gaseous fuel cloud  216  that may be in close proximity to the igniter  302 . Or, igniter  302  may include a pilot light (not shown) that may be switched on or off, and when switched on may ignite gaseous fuel cloud  216  that may be in close proximity to the igniter  302 . Igniter  302  may also use other means to ignite gaseous fuel cloud  216 . 
         [0018]    The characteristics of water display  114  that may be emitted from output water nozzle  110  as shown in  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 4  will now be described. As shown in FIG.  2  and as described above, a preferable embodiment of system  10  may include a water display  114  as being in the shape of a bloom. A bloom display  114  as shown in  FIG. 2  may include an upward middle stream  116  and a downward outer umbrella  118 . Middle water stream  116  may be emitted out of the output water nozzle  110  in such a way that as it reaches its peak, it opens up in the form an outward bloom or umbrella  118  while falling downward. One preferred characteristic of this type of bloom display  114  is that it include a generally hollow bottom area  120  beneath and generally inside the umbrella or bloom of water  114 , in which the fuel cloud  216  may collect and be somewhat trapped and contained. 
         [0019]    It is preferred that output fuel nozzle  212  be generally located and pointed in a location that may release and direct the gaseous fuel cloud  216  into the hollow underneath area of the bloom umbrella  118  as described above. 
         [0020]    It is also preferred that igniter  302  be located in a position that it may be in close enough proximity to the fuel cloud  216  that may be trapped in the generally hollow underneath area of the bloom umbrella  116  such that it may ignite the fuel cloud when the igniter  302  is engaged. 
         [0021]    With the fuel cloud  216  generally contained and trapped in the generally hollow lower section of the bloom  114  and with the igniter  302  engaged, fuel cloud  216  may be ignited and fire ball  218  may be formed. In this configuration, output fuel nozzle  212  may continue to release gaseous fuel into the underneath area of the bloom umbrella  116  such that the fire ball  218  does not run out of fuel to be extinguished, but instead, is continually replenished with new gaseous fuel such that it can continue to burn. 
         [0022]    In this configuration, and as shown in  FIG. 5 , fire ball  218  may appear to be somewhat encompassed by the umbrella  118  of water display  114  and may illuminate the water bloom display  114  with fire thus creating dramatic visual effects. 
         [0023]    It should be noted that the current invention is not limited to fire balls per se, but also includes fire as it may appear in any form, e.g., flames, scatter bright spots, etc. To this end, the fuel may be dispensed in configurations other than a cloud, such as a stream, multiple separate bursts of fuel, waves of fuel or other configurations. The water may be shot into the air to correspond to or otherwise engage the configuration of dispensed fuel. In this manner, the water may appear to encompass or otherwise engage the particular configuration of dispensed fuel. 
         [0024]    The various assemblies of system  10  may be controlled by a computer or other controller. For instance, it may be preferable that the output fuel valve  206  be controlled remotely such that it may be switched on, switched off, and may be generally adjusted to adjust the amount of gaseous fuel that may be released by fuel container  202  and thus how much gaseous fuel may be released by output fuel nozzle  212  into the fuel cloud  216  or other configuration of dispensed fuel. By controlling the flow level of gaseous fuel out of the output fuel nozzle, a continuously burning fire ball  218  may be obtained and explosions may be avoided. It may also be preferable that the input water pressure into the water delivery assembly through input water pipe  106  and the setting of output water nozzle  110  be remotely controlled to adjust the size and shape of the umbrella bloom  114 ,  118 , or other water configuration, in order to maximize the visual effect of the system  10 . 
         [0025]    Although certain presently preferred embodiments of the invention have been described herein, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains that variations and modifications of the described embodiments may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention