The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Oct. 17, 2000
Filed:
Jun. 29, 1998
Douglas Ruthenberg, Spring Hill, FL (US);
Other;
Abstract
An apparatus for creating an illuminated waterfall comprising a waterfall vessel, the vessel including a front wall, a pack wall, side ends with apertures, a top wall and a bottom wall; the vessel further including a plurality of baffles and/or combinations of baffles with apertures therein for converting turbulent flow to a waterfall stream at an exit to the vessel; and means for illuminating the waterfall. The means for illuminating the waterfall includes a clear rod or a side-light emitting fiber optic cable installed longitudinally within the vessel with a fiber optic light source juxtaposed to one end of the clear rod or cable. The clear rod or the cable may be installed within a clear tube as an alternative embodiment. To further enhance the illumination of the waterfall, alternating tangential cuts in the side-light emitting fiber optic cable sheathing or notches in the clear rod are provided to create hot spots and a reflective film is adhesively secured to those surfaces inside the vessel juxtaposed to the cable or clear rod. A mirror is also juxtaposed to the end of the clear rod or cable to direct excess lighting back toward the rod or cable to further enhance the illumination of the waterfall.