Steam effect nozzle for entertainment venue

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12415191-B2
Application number	US-202217721057-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 14, 2022
Priority date	May 21, 2021
Publication date	Sep 16, 2025
Grant date	Sep 16, 2025

Abstract

A steam effect nozzle includes a housing section configured to receive a fluid having a mixture of steam and liquid condensate and baffles disposed in the housing section. The baffles are configured to separate the steam of the fluid from the liquid condensate of the fluid, enable the steam to travel from a first end wall of the housing section to a second end wall of the housing section, and bias the liquid condensate of the fluid toward a sloped lower surface of the housing section, the sloped lower surface sloping downwardly from the second end wall toward the first end wall. The steam effect nozzle also includes a nozzle outlet adjacent to the second end wall of the housing section, where the nozzle outlet is configured to output the steam to an external environment.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A steam effect nozzle, comprising:
a housing section configured to receive a fluid having a mixture of steam and liquid condensate;
a plurality of baffles disposed in the housing section and configured to separate the steam of the fluid from the liquid condensate of the fluid, enable the steam to travel transverse to a gravity vector from a first end wall of the housing section to a second end wall of the housing section, and bias the liquid condensate toward a sloped lower portion of the housing section, the sloped lower portion sloping downwardly relative to the gravity vector from the second end wall toward the first end wall;
a gap between an upper portion of the housing section and a plurality of top surfaces of the plurality of baffles, wherein the upper portion of the housing section opposes the sloped lower portion of the housing section, and the upper portion is positioned above the sloped lower portion relative to the gravity vector; and
a nozzle outlet adjacent to the second end wall of the housing section, wherein the nozzle outlet is configured to output the steam to an external environment.

2. The steam effect nozzle of claim 1 , comprising a condensate outlet section coupled to the housing section, wherein the condensate outlet section is configured to receive the liquid condensate from the sloped lower portion and drain the liquid condensate from the housing section.

3. The steam effect nozzle of claim 1 , comprising a steam outlet section coupled to the second end wall and having the nozzle outlet formed therein, wherein the steam outlet section is configured to receive the steam from the housing section and output the steam through the nozzle outlet and to the external environment.

4. The steam effect nozzle of claim 1 , comprising an inlet section coupled to the first end wall of the housing section, wherein the inlet section is configured to receive the fluid and pass the fluid to the housing section.

5. The steam effect nozzle of claim 1 , wherein a baffle of the plurality of baffles is coupled to the sloped lower portion.

6. The steam effect nozzle of claim 5 , wherein the baffle of the plurality of baffles comprises a passage therethrough and adjacent to the sloped lower portion, and wherein the passage is configured to enable the liquid condensate to flow from a first side of the baffle of the plurality of baffles facing the second end wall, through the passage, and to a second side of the baffle of the plurality of baffles facing the first end wall.

7. The steam effect nozzle of claim 1 , wherein the housing section comprises an asymmetric truncated cone shape or a trapezoidal prism shape.

8. The steam effect nozzle of claim 1 , wherein the sloped lower portion forms an obtuse angle with the second end wall.

9. A steam effect nozzle, comprising:
an inlet section configured to receive a fluid having a mixture of steam and liquid condensate;
a housing section fluidly coupled to the inlet section at a first end wall of the housing section;
a plurality of baffles disposed in the housing section and configured to separate the steam of the fluid from the liquid condensate of the fluid such that the steam travels transverse to a gravity vector from the first end wall of the housing section to a second end wall of the housing section opposing the first end wall of the housing section;
a steam outlet section coupled to or integrated with the housing section at the second end wall of the housing section, wherein the steam outlet section comprises a nozzle outlet formed therein and the nozzle outlet is configured to output the steam to an external environment, wherein a baffle of the plurality of baffles is positioned closest to the steam outlet section, and wherein a top surface of the baffle of the plurality of baffles is positioned underneath a bottom surface of the nozzle outlet relative to the gravity vector; and
a condensate outlet section extending from the housing section adjacent to the first end wall of the housing section, wherein the condensate outlet section is configured to drain the liquid condensate from the housing section.

10. The steam effect nozzle of claim 9 , wherein the housing section comprises a sloped lower portion forming an obtuse angle with the second end wall, and wherein the sloped lower portion slopes downwardly from the second end wall to the condensate outlet section such that the sloped lower portion is configured to gravity feed the condensate toward the condensate outlet section.

11. The steam effect nozzle of claim 10 , wherein the baffle of the plurality of baffles is coupled to the sloped lower portion.

12. The steam effect nozzle of claim 11 , wherein the baffle of the plurality of baffles is disposed closer to the steam outlet section than the condensate outlet section.

13. The steam effect nozzle of claim 11 , comprising a fluid passage formed in the baffle of the plurality of baffles and adjacent to the sloped lower portion, wherein the fluid passage is configured to enable the liquid condensate to flow from a first baffle side of the baffle of the plurality of baffles facing the second end wall, through the fluid passage, and to a second baffle side of the baffle of the plurality of baffles facing the first end wall.

14. The steam effect nozzle of claim 10 , wherein the top surface of the baffle of the plurality of baffles extends perpendicular to the gravity vector.

15. The steam effect nozzle of claim 10 , wherein the bottom surface of the nozzle outlet extends perpendicular to the gravity vector.

Assignees

• Universal City Studios Llc

Inventors

• Erickson Christopher
• Majdali David Gerard

Classifications

• B05B9/002

  incorporating means for heating or cooling, e.g. the material to be sprayed · CPC title

• A63J5/025 Primary

  Devices for making mist or smoke effects, e.g. with liquid air (for camouflage F41H9/06) · CPC title

• A63J5/023

  for making fire and flame simulations (electric stoves simulating flames F24C7/004) · CPC title

• B05B12/085

  responsive to flow or pressure of liquid or other fluent material to be discharged (B05B1/3006, B05B1/323 take precedence; spray pistols designed to control volume of flow with the controlling means being fluid actuated B05B7/1254) · CPC title

• B05B14/00

  Arrangements for collecting, re-using or eliminating excess spraying material (arrangements integral with nozzles B05B1/28) · CPC title