Claims
- 1. An apparatus for making snow comprising:
- a housing having an inlet end and a discharge end,
- fan means disposed in said housing for generating a substantially unidirectional high-volume primary airflow stream exiting at said discharge end,
- a shroud surrounding said housing discharge end, thereby forming an annular gap between said shroud and said housing, said shroud controlling the introduction of a secondary airflow stream through said annular gap which surrounds said primary airflow stream,
- water injection means located around the periphery of said shroud for injecting water across said secondary airflow stream and into said primary airflow stream; and nucleation means for injecting a high velocity water spray into said primary airflow stream.
- 2. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said shroud is generally cylindrical and has an outwardly radially flared inlet end.
- 3. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said shroud is connected to said housing by a plurality of radially extending mounting rods.
- 4. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said shroud is located within the plane of said housing discharge end.
- 5. An apparatus for making artificial snow comprising:
- a housing having an inlet end and a discharge end;
- fan means disposed within said housing for generating a substantially unidirectional high-volume primary airflow stream;
- a shroud surrounding said housing discharge end thereby forming an annular gap between said shroud and said housing, said shroud controlling the introduction of a secondary airflow stream through said annular gap which surrounds said primary airflow stream,
- first water injection means located around the periphery of said shroud for injecting a high-velocity water spray across said secondary airflow stream and into said primary airflow stream at an obtuse angle relative to the direction of said primary airflow stream from a location substantially above said primary airflow stream;
- second water injection means located around the periphery of said shroud for injecting a high-velocity water spray across said secondary airflow stream and into said primary airflow stream at an obtuse angle relative to the direction of said primary airflow stream from a location substantially below said primary airflow stream; and
- nucleation means for injecting a high-velocity spray comprising a mixture of water and compressed air into said primary airflow stream from a location approximately midway between said first and second water injection means.
- 6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein said nucleation means includes a pair of seeder nozzles centered approximately between said first and second water injection means.
- 7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said pair of seeder nozzles are disposed in a horizontal plane at approximately a 90 degree included angle centered relative to the direction of said primary airflow stream.
- 8. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein said nucleation means includes an expansion chamber for mixing said compressed air and water.
- 9. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein said expansion chamber contains a venturi-type constricted middle section.
- 10. The apparatus of claim 5 further including an annular-shaped water manifold circumferentially located about said shroud for receiving an external supply of water, and wherein said first water injection means comprises a plurality of water nozzles connected to said water manifold and disposed substantially within the upper quadrant of said manifold centered about the vertical axis thereof and said second water injection means comprises a plurality of water nozzles connected to said water manifold and disposed substantially within the lower quadrant of said manifold centered about the vertical axis thereof.
- 11. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein said shroud is generally cylindrical and has an outwardly flared inlet end.
- 12. An apparatus for generating artificial snow comprising in combination:
- an axial fan disposed within a cylindrically-shaped housing having an inlet end and a discharge end, for generating a substantially unidirectional high-volume primary airflow stream;
- a shroud surrounding said housing discharge end thereby forming an annular gap between said shroud and said housing, said shroud controlling the introduction of a secondary airflow stream through said annular gap which surrounds said primary airflow stream,
- an annular water manifold circumferentially located about said shroud and having connected thereto an external supply of water;
- a first plurality of water nozzles connected to said water manifold substantially within the upper quadrant of said manifold centered about the vertical axis thereof and disposed so as to inject a high-velocity water spray across said secondary airflow stream and into said primary airflow stream at an obtuse angle relative to the direction of said primary airflow stream;
- a second plurality of water nozzles connected to said water manifold substantially within the lower quadrant of said manifold centered about the vertical axis thereof and disposed so as to inject a high-velocity water spray across said secondary airflow stream and into said primary airflow stream at an obtuse angle relative to the direction of said primary airflow stream;
- at least one seeder nozzle for injecting a high-velocity spray into said primary airflow stream from a location at approximately the center of said housing, said seeder nozzle being supplied by a mixture of water and compressed air supplied through a venturi-type expansion chamber connected to said seeder nozzle.
- 13. The apparatus of claim 12 further including a pair of seeder nozzles disposed in a horizontal plane and positioned at a 90 degree included angle centered relative to the direction of said primary airflow stream.
- 14. An apparatus according to claim 12 wherein said shroud is generally cylindrical and has an outwardly radially flared inlet end.
- 15. An apparatus according to claim 12 wherein said shroud is located within the plane of said housing discharge end.
- 16. A mwethod of making artificial snow including the steps of:
- generating a substantially unidirectional high-volume primary airflow stream;
- generating and controlling a secondary airflow stream surrounding said primary airflow stream;
- injecting a high-velocity water spray across said secondary airflow stream and into said primary airflow stream from a location substantially above said primary airflow stream; and
- injecting a high-velocity water spray across said secondary airflow stream and into said primary airflow stream from a location substantially below said primary airflow stream; and
- injecting into said primary airflow stream a high-velocity spray comprising a mixture of water and compressed air from a location approximately in the center of said primary airflow stream.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS housing
This application is a continuation-in-part of copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 473,071 filed Apr. 18, 1983, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,493,457.
US Referenced Citations (14)
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
2376384 |
Jul 1978 |
FRX |
Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
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Parent |
473071 |
Apr 1983 |
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