Systems and methods for a combustion special effect

Abstract

A special effect system may include fog generation equipment configured to generate fog, a show element comprising one or more compartments, and a controller communicatively coupled to the fog generation equipment. The fog generation equipment may include one or more positive pressure sources and one or more negative pressure sources. The controller may perform operations comprising applying negative pressure from the one or more negative pressure sources to the one or more compartments for a period of time, permitting the fog to enter the one or more compartments after the period of negative pressure, and applying a positive pressure from the one or more positive pressure sources to cause the fog to exit the one or more compartments to trigger a combustion effect.

1 . A special effect system, comprising:
 fog generation equipment configured to generate fog and comprising:
 one or more positive pressure sources; and 
 one or more negative pressure sources; 
   a show element comprising one or more compartments; and   a controller communicatively coupled to the fog generation equipment, wherein the controller is configured to perform operations comprising:
 applying negative pressure from the one or more negative pressure sources to the one or more compartments for a period of time; 
 permitting the fog from the fog generation equipment to enter the one or more compartments after the period of negative pressure; and 
 applying a positive pressure from the one or more positive pressure sources to cause the fog to exit the one or more compartments to trigger a combustion effect. 
   
     
     
         2 . The special effect system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more compartments comprises a center compartment configured for a primary combustion effect and a body compartment configured for a secondary combustion effect. 
     
     
         3 . The special effect system of  claim 2 , wherein the center compartment comprises one or more outlets configured to release the fog for the primary combustion effect and the body compartment comprises additional outlets configured to release fog for the secondary combustion effect. 
     
     
         4 . The special effect system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more positive pressure sources comprises one or more blowers, one or more compressed air supplies, one or more fans. 
     
     
         5 . The special effect system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more compartments comprises one or more outlets configured to release the fog during the combustion effect. 
     
     
         6 . The special effect system of  claim 5 , wherein the outlets comprise a covering comprising of a perforated material. 
     
     
         7 . The special effect system of  claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to perform operations comprising:
 receiving a deactivation signal; and   instructing a negative pressure damper of a plurality of dampers to open to apply the negative pressure from the one or more negative pressure sources to the one or more compartments for the period of time.   
     
     
         8 . The special effect system of  claim 7 , wherein the controller is configured to perform operations comprising:
 receiving an activation signal;   instructing the negative pressure damper of the plurality of dampers to close after the period of time; and   instructing a positive pressure damper of the plurality dampers to open to permit the fog to enter the one or more compartments.   
     
     
         9 . The special effect system of  claim 1 , wherein the fog generation equipment comprises one or more vacuum generation devices configured to apply the negative pressure to the one or more compartments. 
     
     
         10 . The special effect system of  claim 9 , comprising a negative pressure damper of a plurality of dampers coupled to the one or more vacuum generation devices, wherein the controller is configured to perform operations comprising instructing the negative pressure damper of the plurality of dampers to open to apply the negative pressure from the one or more vacuum generation devices to the one or more compartments. 
     
     
         11 . The special effect system of  claim 1 , wherein the fog generation equipment is configured to generate the fog. 
     
     
         12 . A special effect method, the method comprising:
 instructing, via a controller, a fog generation machine to generate fog;   instructing, via the controller, to apply a negative pressure for a period of time from one or more vacuum blowers to one or more compartments to empty the one or more compartments;   allowing the fog from the fog generation machine to fill the one or more compartments after the period of time; and   instructing, via the controller, to apply a positive pressure from one or more compressed air supplies to the one or more compartments to generate a combustion effect.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , comprising, instructing, via the controller, a negative pressure damper to open for the negative pressure to be applied to the one or more compartments. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , comprising:
 instructing, via the controller, the negative pressure damper to close in response to receiving an activation signal; and   instructing, via the controller, a positive pressure damper to open to allow the fog from the fog generation machine to enter the one or more compartments.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the fog is configured to travel through one or more fluid conduits before entering the one or more compartments. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 14 , comprising:
 instructing, via the controller, the positive pressure damper to close in response to receiving a deactivation signal; and   instructing, via the controller, the negative pressure damper to open to apply the negative pressure for the period of time.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , comprising:
 filling a first compartment of the one or more compartments with the fog from the fog generation machine;   applying, via the controller, the positive pressure from one or more blowers to the first compartment to generate a first combustion effect;   filling a second compartment of the one or more compartments with the fog from the fog generation machine; and   applying, via the controller, the positive pressure from the one or more blowers to the second compartment to generate a second combustion effect, wherein the second combustion effect is visually smaller than the first combustion effect.   
     
     
         18 . An attraction system, comprising:
 a show element comprising a compartment configured to store and release fog;   one or more dampers configured to open or close to control air flow to and from the compartment;   a vehicle configured to move along a path proximate to the show element; and   a controller communicatively coupled to the show element and the vehicle, wherein the controller is configured to:
 determine a location of the vehicle; and 
 instruct an application of a positive pressure to release stored fog from the compartment based on the location of the vehicle. 
   
     
     
         19 . The attraction system of  claim 18 , comprising a fog generation machine configured to generate fog, and wherein the one or more dampers are configured to open to allow the fog to be stored within the compartment. 
     
     
         20 . The attraction system of  claim 18 , comprising one or more blowers activated by the controller to apply the positive pressure.