- Invention title: Water-Hammer Hydraulophone.
This is a new invention related to the original
hydraulophone invention.
The water-hammer hydraulophone is a percussion instrument making sound
from water, and is played like a xylophone, except the player
makes direct physical contact with water.
-
Summary explanation -- how it works:
The water-hammer hydraulophone consists of a
series of welded stainless steel pipes
which contain water, and which are specially designed to allow the
water to resonate at different pitches.
The instrument can be made out of other materials like bronze or
brass to suit sculptural or artistic needs.
The fully functional working prototype pictured in the above video
has a series of 12 pipes in a row, tuned to a natural musical scale,
notes A, B, C, D, E, F, G, a, b, c, d, and e, but just about any
scale is possible. In other protoypes we have installed valves to
change the scale while playing, or installed a second row of
pipes for all the sharps and flats.
The lowest note (longest pipe) is on the left side,
and the highest note (shortest pipe) is on the right side.
There a very small water pump to simply keep the water level
in all 12 pipes
topped up while the player plays the top surface of the pipes,
in contact with the water to make it resonate.
With hydraulophones (including the waterhammer hydraulophone),
for the first time in human history, water has a "voice".
Listen to the above video to hear what it sounds like.
- Example commercial applications:
There is already a well-established market for
hydraulophones.
There are two licensees of S. Mann's earlier hydraulophone inventions:
- WhiteWater West, world's largest manufacturer of aquatic
play equipment, and their subsidiary, SCS Interactive.
- Crystal Fountains.
The waterhammer hydraulophone is another variation of the
hydraulophone instrument that is designed to appeal to a different
kind of person than the traditional hydraulophone.
Whereas the traditional hydraulophone is basically an underwater
pipe organ, the waterhammer hydraulophone is more like a piano or
guitar in its percussive sound, which appeals to people who like
rhythm and tempo and percussion.
Moreover, the water hammmer hydraulophone has no fine
whistle or fipple mechanisms
which might otherwise become clogged, so it can go longer between
cleaning than the regular hydraulophone.
Thus the "waterhammer" (or simply the "hammer" as it is sometimes
known) brings forward new markets in the space of the hydraulophone
marketplace.
- Links to publications associated with the invention:
Water-hammer hydraulophone.
Related work can be seen with other types of hydraulophones we have invented, here.
- Patent applications filed or issued:
A number of patents are pending, or issued, such as:
Musical instrument based on water-hammer, hydraulophonic, or hydraulidiophonic percussion,
US8017858,
US7,551,161, CA2499784, CA2517501 issued, and numerous others pending.
Due to the high market demand for hydraulophones in general,
a large number of
infringing products began being installed throughout the world.
Patent infringement has been
quickly and successfully defended against:
S. Mann. ats. Waterplay Solutions Corp., Statement of Claim issued in
a United States court.
Infringer complied by ceasing the sale of
infringing products before the matter went to trial in court.
Specifically, with regards to waterhammer hydraulophones,
to the best of our knowledge,
no infingement has yet occurred for the waterhammer variety of
hydraulophones.
- Prototypes constructed: Prototypes have been constructed
but additional work is required regarding high volume manufacture
and other improvements.
-
This invention is jointly developed by S. Mann and Ryan Janzen, who would be equal partners in commercialization efforts. The water-hammer hydraulophone invention can be extended and deepened, if desired, by including a few other developers who are already skilled in the art of working on this instrument.
Additional musical instrument inventions are the
andantephone,
and
hyperacoustic instruments.
