ALEXANDRIA, Va., June 4 -- United States Patent no. 12,318,705, issued on June 3.
"System for modeling animated artificial water surfaces" was invented by John R. Van Rosendale (Bellingham, Wash.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "Methods and systems are described for an animated artificial water surface. A sheet of material having a glossy surface includes a three-dimensional pattern of waves extending along horizontal dimensions of the sheet. The waves have a scale-model height profile. A drive may be coupled to the sheet. The drive may be operable to move at least a portion of the sheet continuously and at a constant speed in one direction relative to the horizontal dimensions of the sheet whe...