Island Wave Pool

Abstract

An island wave pool for a water amusement park is presented. A wave generation apparatus is positioned on an island, the island located within a water-filled swimming pool. The water-filled swimming pool is suitable for water recreation activities, including wading, swimming, and wave riding. A beach recreation area bounds the outer perimeter of the pool. The wave generation apparatus on the central island generates single or multiple continuous waves in the water-filled swimming pool. Wave generation apparatuses are presented, including an island-based caisson wave generator and an island-based plow, channel, and reef wave generator.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]Not ApplicableFEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT[0002]Not ApplicableSEQUENCE LISTING, TABLE, OR COMPUTER PROGRAM[0003]Not applicableBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0004]Water theme parks have become increasingly popular in recent years. Water theme parks generally feature water-based rides and often provide other water-related activities. An attraction that has become popular at many water theme parks is the wave pool. Wave pools are typically man-made bodies of water wherein a wave generator is located at one end of the pool, and a sand beach is located at the other end. A typical wave pool is shown in FIG. 1. As illustrated in FIG. 1, waves created by the wave generator 120 travel across the water-filled pool 130 and break onto the beach area 110. In particular, attempts have been made to create non-breaking waves and spilling, breaking waves using mechanical wave generators that are designed to push large amounts of water back and...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0014]In some embodiments, the floor of the channel is positioned below the pool's static water line. The reef bounds the channel's outer perimeter. The top of the reef is positioned above the channel floor. The top of the reef may be positioned at any height above the channel floor, but preferably is posit

Problems solved by technology

While many different methods have been attempted, one of the shortcomings of conventional wave pools is that swimmers may encounter a hazard at the end of the pool where the mechanical, pneumatic, or hydraulic wave-generating means is located.

In such case, people who want to perform water skimming maneuvers in the shallow area near the beach often have to share the same space with those who simply want to wade, such as children and the elderly, which can disadvantageously increase the risk of accident and create an overcrowded situation in the beach area and within the pool.

Consequently, the beach may become overcrowded without the pool itself reaching capacity, forcing the theme park management to limit park admission, thereby reducing park revenue.

In such circumstances, particularly when wave pools are crowded, there is often little space or opportunity for participants to ride the waves.

In addition to overcrowding, creating waves one at a time by moving water back and forth means most of the energy used to generate a wave's forward momentum is lost as the wave traverses the pool toward the beach.

Because water has a high density (i.e., it is relatively heavy per unit volume compared to, say, air), the repeated generation of forward momentum consumes a substantial amount of energy.

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