HK1109751A - Amusement ride - Google Patents

Description

Amusement ride

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims benefit equivalent to U.S. provisional patent application 60/566,057 filed on.4/27 of 2004, the entire contents of which are hereby expressly incorporated by reference.

Technical Field

The present invention relates generally to amusement rides and, more particularly, to a ride that rotates about a central device and bounces up and down as it rotates.

Background

With the development of the entertainment industry, various riders for children and adults have been designed and developed. Among the many occupants, the historically more widespread one is the carousel, in which the occupants can carry one or more passengers and rotate about a central upright. Passenger seating was initially designed to emulate a carriage or passenger car, but the turntables have been later modified to include seating designed to emulate modern vehicles such as automobiles. Among the more common vehicle designs, beach cars are popular with children.

A major limitation of a typical carousel ride is the monotonicity of the movement of its passengers. The passenger only rotates around the central device at a constant speed and does rigid transverse and longitudinal movements. The lack of variability has later made the typical carousel ride somewhat less attractive than other rides introduced into amusement parks.

Disclosure of Invention

In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, an amusement ride includes: a hub configured to rotate about a central axis; a plurality of carriages circumferentially positioned around the central unit and pivotally connected thereto by respective suspension arms, the carriages rotating about a central axis in accordance with rotation of the central unit; and a device for periodically oscillating each carriage substantially in a vertical direction when the carriages rotate around the central axis.

The amusement ride may include a device for buffering the periodic oscillations of the carriages.

The amusement ride may include a plurality of suspension arms by which the carriages are pivotally connected to the central unit. The amusement ride may further include: a plurality of lower arms pivotally connected to the central unit, each lower arm being disposed below a corresponding pivot shaft; a bellows is disposed between each respective pair of the cantilevered arms and the lower arm.

The amusement ride can include a plurality of bumpers, each bumper being mounted adjacent to and below a respective one of the bellows.

A bumper may be used to prevent downward pivoting of the respective cantilever arm.

Each bellows may expand and/or contract as the cantilever and lower arm, respectively, rotate relative to each other.

The means for oscillating the carriages in a generally vertical direction may comprise a ramp having a portion with an abrupt tip-to-tail incline.

The apparatus for oscillating the carriages in a vertical direction includes a ramp having an upwardly inclined portion with an end tail in a generally vertical direction.

The seat can be shaped for a motor vehicle such as a beach buggy.

In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, an amusement ride includes: a central unit rotating about a central axis; a plurality of carriages circumferentially positioned around the central unit and pivotally connected thereto by respective pivot members, the carriages rotating about a central axis in accordance with rotation of the central unit; and means for periodically oscillating each of the carriages in a generally vertical direction as the carriages rotate about the central axis.

In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, a method of operating an amusement ride having a plurality of carriages comprises: rotating the carriages on the central unit around a central shaft; moving the carriages upwardly in at least one first predetermined circumferential position as the carriages rotate; after the moving up step, during the rotating step, abruptly dropping the carriage at a second predetermined circumferential position; after the falling step, the carriages are caused to bounce elastically during the moving step.

The method may include damping oscillatory motion of the carriages.

The carriages may be pivotally connected to the central unit by a cantilever arm which may cooperate with a bellows to dampen the pivoting motion of the cantilever arm.

The cantilever arm may be attached to a roller that periodically engages the upper ramp during the rotating step.

The method may include resiliently resisting downward movement of the carriages at a lower limit point.

Drawings

Figure 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of an amusement ride according to the present invention.

Figure 2 is an elevational view of an embodiment of an amusement ride.

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the amusement ride shown in figure 2.

Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view of a center unit of an embodiment of an amusement ride according to the present invention.

Detailed Description

Those of ordinary skill in the art will understand the present invention upon reading the following description in conjunction with reference to fig. 1-4. In the several figures, each reference numeral designates a like or similar element.

Reference is now made to fig. 1, which is a perspective view of an embodiment of an amusement ride 1 in accordance with the present invention. As shown, a plurality of carriages such as 5a, 5b and 5c are connected to the central unit 10 by respective shafts or arms 7a, 7b and 7c, and the shafts or arms 7a, 7b and 7c are pivotally connected to the central unit 10 radially outwardly. The seat can be made into the shape of a mini-car or a light carriage. The portable carriage may be sized so that both the front and rear seating areas may be used for two adults or children within a set age range. As shown in the top view of the embodiment of the amusement ride 1 in fig. 3, the ride 1 may comprise a total of six carriages 5a, 5b, 5c, 5d, 5e, 5f, each of which is pivotally connected to the central unit 10 by a respective pivot shaft 7a, 7b, 7c, 7d, 7e, 7 f. The carriages 5a, 5b, 5c, 5d, 5e, 5f are circumferentially evenly spaced apart, forming a hexagon around the central unit 10. It should be understood that the carriages and spindles may be any number and that the carriages may take any desired shape, such as motor vehicles, boats, canoes, rafts, buses, trains, bicycles, motorcycles, tricycles, horses or other animals, sleds, handrails, skateboards, roller skates, airplanes, hang gliders, roundabouts, space shuttles, rockets, and the like.

The central unit 10 comprises an electric motor and rotates about its central axis. As the central unit 10 rotates and the carriages 5a, 5b, 5c travel in a circumferential path about a central axis in a generally horizontal plane, each carriage periodically encounters one or more structures or devices described in more detail below that cause the carriages to rotate upwardly. When the seat is loaded with passengers, the weight of the passengers counteracts the upward momentum and movement of the seat, so that the seat begins to pivot downward after the upward movement reaches an upper limit. This downward pivoting movement is in turn limited by the additional cushioning structure, and the seat can be sprung and bounced in a semi-resilient manner. With this impulse, the carriages will spring back to their upward path. This motion is repeated cyclically so that the carriages oscillate between the upper limit and the stop configuration. Such oscillatory motion may be damped to control the speed and balance of the oscillation. In this oscillation, the passenger experiences not only a horizontal rotational movement but also a vertical heave jump.

Fig. 2 schematically illustrates such vertical movement. In fig. 2, one of the carriages 5a is shown substantially below the horizontal plane a 'a "and the other carriage 5d is shown substantially above the plane a' a". Thus, each carriage pivots up or down independently when rotating about the central axis at the same speed, so that each carriage can be in a different phase of oscillation relative to the other carriages at any given time.

Figure 4 illustrates in more detail an embodiment of an amusement ride according to the present invention, and more particularly a mechanism for producing vertical oscillatory motion of the carriages. The central unit 10 is placed on and screwed to the platform 35. The central unit 10 includes or is connected to a source of energy, such as a power source, and a motor mechanism for rotating the unit relative to the platform 35 about the vertical central axis 11. The movement of the platform 35 supporting the ride between sites may be altered by the wheels 30. Once the desired location is selected, the telescoping legs such as 22a, 22d, positioned below the platform 35, are extended to secure the ride 1 in position on the ground and to adjust the horizontal position of the ride 1. Each carriage is pivotally connected by a pivot shaft, e.g., 7a, 7d, to a plate clip 17a, 17d rigidly attached to the outer surface of the central unit 10. In addition, lower arms 8a, 8d extending radially below the shafts 7a, 7d are also screwed to the plate clips 17a, 17 d. A roller 16a, 16d is rotatably secured to the distal end of each lower arm 8a, 8 d. Horizontal support plates 18a, 18d are disposed on the upper portions of the rollers 16a, 16d and fixed to the upper surfaces of the lower arms 8a, 8 d. On top of each support plate 18a, 18d, a damper 14a, 14d and a bellows 12a, 12d are fixedly arranged, respectively, and the bellows 12a, 12d may also be fixedly attached to the lower surface of the rotary shaft 7a, 7d or may abut against or impact the lower surface of the rotary shaft 7a, 7d during the oscillating movement. Each roller 16a, 16d engages at least one vertical movement inducing device 20 arranged along the periphery of the platform 35. The device 20, when engaged with the roller, exerts an upward force on the roller, such as 16a, which is transmitted to the lower arm 8a and subsequently from the bellows 12a to the shaft 7 a. In the illustrated embodiment, the device 20 is embodied as an upwardly inclined table. The lower arms 8a, 8d may be provided with additional impact-preventing elements 42a, 42 d. The bellows 12a, 12d may be hydraulic, pneumatic, or the like and may be selectively expanded or contracted for loading or unloading and adjustment by an operator or rider or the like while riding. An air extractor system, a compressor system, and/or an accumulator system may be provided to expand or contract the bellows 12a, 12 d. The bellows 12a, 12d may be in a contracted state when carrying a passenger, and the bellows 12a, 12d may expand immediately before the ride begins to operate. Then, when the ride is finished, the bellows 12a, 12d may be retracted again for unloading and subsequent loading. Sensors such as bump sensors, magnetic sensors, switches, etc. may be provided to prevent the ride from stopping on the ramp as the ride cycle approaches the end.

The operation of the amusement ride will now be described with reference to the above-described structure. As the center unit 10 rotates, the components attached to the center unit rotate circumferentially and the rollers 16a, 16d periodically contact the ramp 20. Upon contact, the rollers 16a, 16d are lifted. The upward movement of the rollers 16a, 16d is first transmitted to the lower arms 8a, 8d, which rotate upward. When the lower arms 8a, 8d rotate, a force is applied to the bellows 12a, 12d and the bellows 12a, 12d begin to compress. Since the bellows 12a, 12d are gradually compressed, the upward movement of the lower arm is temporarily transmitted to the pivot 7a, 7d, which pivot 7a, 7d requires an upward movement that coincides with the movement of the rollers 16a, 16d on the ramp 20. When the rollers 16a, 16d reach the end of the ramp 20 with the abrupt ends, the rollers 16a, 16d fall down, causing the lower arms 8a, 8d to pivot downwards relative to the shafts 7a, 7d, which in turn causes the bellows to expand. After a certain time, the shafts 7a, 7d reach the upper limit position and start moving downward by the weight of the carriage. When the shaft pivots downward relative to the lower arms 8a, 8d (since the lower arms are not depressed by the weight of the occupant), the shaft compresses the bellows 12a, 12d, and the bellows 12a, 12d damp the downward movement of the passenger seat. Along the downward trajectory, the shafts 7a, 7d eventually contact the bumpers 14a, 14d which comprise an elastic material such as rubber which causes the shafts to bounce. Because the shafts 7a, 7d are in contact with the dampers 14a, 14d and the lower arms 8a, 8d are not in contact with the dampers 14a, 14d, the shafts 7a, 7d require an upward movement relative to the lower arms 8a, 8d which pulls the shafts 7a, 7d away from the lower arms 8a, 8d and expands the bellows 12a, 12 b. This oscillation will continue during operation of the ride. The oscillation can be considered to be periodic in the sense that one or more ramps 20 periodically distribute the oscillating motion as each of the carriages 5a, etc. passes the ramp 20. The ramp 20 has an incline in the direction of travel of the carriages 5a, etc., which may have a simple profile, such as a wedge shape, or a more complex profile, such as a wave shape. The end of the upturned portion may be abrupt or gradually varied depending on the desired performance of the ride.

In the manner described above, the differential pivoting of the shafts 7a, 7d relative to the lower arms 8a, 8d (and vice versa) produces cyclic expansion and compression of the bellows 12a, 12 d. In summary, the periodic effect of the ramps, the weight of the carriages and bumpers, and the periodic cushioning effect of the bellows expansion and compression, together, produce a damped oscillatory motion of the carriages so that the passengers experience a smooth, fluctuating "bouncing" motion.

Claims (15)

1. An amusement ride comprising:

a central device configured to rotate about a central axis;

a plurality of carriages circumferentially positioned around the central unit and pivotally connected to the central unit by respective suspension arms, the carriages rotating about a central axis in response to rotation of the central unit;

and a device for periodically oscillating each carriage substantially in a vertical direction when the carriages rotate around the central axis.

2. The amusement ride according to claim 1, further comprising a means for damping periodic oscillations of the carriages.

3. The amusement ride according to claim 1, wherein the amusement ride includes a plurality of suspension arms by which the carriages are pivotally connected to the central unit,

the amusement ride further comprises:

a plurality of lower arms pivotally connected to the central unit, each lower arm being disposed below a respective axle; and

bellows are interposed between the respective pairs of cantilevers and lower arms.

4. The amusement ride according to claim 3, further comprising a plurality of bumpers, each bumper being mounted adjacent to and below a respective one of the bellows.

5. The amusement ride according to claim 4, wherein the bumpers are configured to inhibit downward pivoting of the respective cantilevers.

6. The amusement ride according to claim 3, wherein each bellows is configured to at least one of (a) expand and (b) contract when the suspension arm and the lower arm connected thereto, respectively, are rotated relative to each other.

7. The amusement ride according to claim 1, wherein the means for oscillating the carriages in a generally vertical direction comprises a ramp having a portion with an abrupt tip-to-tail incline.

8. The amusement ride according to claim 1, wherein the means for vertically oscillating the carriages comprises a ramp having an upwardly inclined portion with an end to end in a generally vertical direction.

9. The amusement ride according to claim 1, wherein the carriages are configured as a motor vehicle.

10. An amusement ride comprising:

a center device rotating around a center shaft;

a plurality of carriages circumferentially positioned around the central unit and pivotally connected thereto by respective pivot members, the carriages rotating about a central axis in accordance with rotation of the central unit; and

and a device for periodically oscillating each carriage substantially in a vertical direction when the carriages rotate around the central axis.

11. A method of operating an amusement ride having a plurality of carriages, comprising:

rotating the carriages on the central device around the central shaft;

moving the carriages upwardly at least one first predetermined circumferential position while the carriages are rotating;

after the moving step, abruptly dropping the carriage at a second predetermined circumferential position after the moving step during the rotating step;

after the falling step, the carriages are caused to bounce elastically during the moving step.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising damping oscillatory motion of the carriages.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the carriages are pivotally connected to the central unit by a boom that cooperates with the bellows to dampen the pivotal movement of the boom.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the cantilever is coupled to a roller, the roller periodically engaging the upper ramp during the rotating step.

15. The method of claim 11 further comprising resiliently resisting downward movement of the carriages at a lower limit point.