IT202200024174A1 - ROLLER COASTER TRACK CONTROL DEVICE - Google Patents

Description

DESCRIPTION

of the Industrial Invention of the title:

ROLLER COASTER TRACK CONTROL DEVICE

DESCRIPTION TEXT

Technical scope of application

The invention is aimed at the sector of equipment for checking the structural integrity of attractions in amusement parks, funfairs, fairs, etc.

More specifically, the invention relates to a control device for roller coaster tracks and similar attractions.

In the following description, the term "roller coaster" will refer to attractions in amusement parks, funfairs, fairs, etc., consisting of suspended tracks, defining climbs, descents, curves and particular evolutions, high-speed routes by wagons or seats to which users are secured.

Pre-existing technique

The control operations carried out periodically on roller coasters and similar attractions include detecting the possible presence of discontinuities in the metal structures of the related tracks in order to ascertain the approach of possible collapses and consequently prevent the reaching of possible critical conditions.

These control operations currently present numerous and important problems, since:

? being carried out directly at altitude, often at considerable heights, they require the intervention of personnel operating with the aid of mountaineering equipment such as ropes, harnesses, etc.; ? being carried out manually and/or visually, they require the presence of daylight and the complete shutdown of the inspected attractions, with serious economic damage for the owners;

? being performed manually and/or visually, they require long implementation times.

Presentation of the invention

The purpose of the invention is to overcome the above-mentioned problems, typical of the current methods of carrying out checks on roller coaster tracks and similar attractions, through the creation of an apparatus comprising a radio-guided carriage, equipped with automatic means of instrumental and visual analysis, capable of travelling on roller coaster tracks and similar attractions to detect discontinuities in the metal structures and transmit the relevant information to a remote control panel (console).

The object of the invention is achieved with a roller coaster track control apparatus according to independent main claim 1.

Further features of the invention are reported in the dependent claims.

The invention produces numerous and important advantages, since: ? through a radio-guided trolley equipped with automatic means of instrumental and visual analysis, it allows to detect the presence of signs of wear and/or possible differentiated failures of roller coaster tracks and similar attractions and, consequently, to prevent them from reaching possible critical conditions; ? through said trolley, it allows to reduce the times for carrying out the checks and, consequently, to increase the frequency of carrying out the checks themselves;

? through the said trolley, it allows to eliminate the risks due to interventions at height by the personnel in charge of the controls;

? through the visual analysis means of said trolley, it allows for checks to be carried out on the attractions during their normal night-time inactivity, eliminating the loss of earnings to the detriment of the relevant owners due to the stoppage of the attractions being checked;

? via a remote control console of the said trolley, it allows you to view and evaluate in real time the progress of the controls being implemented;

? via the remote control console of the trolley, it allows the evaluation of the outcome of checks being carried out compared to the outcomes of checks carried out previously.

Brief description of the drawings

Further features and advantages of the invention will become more evident from the more detailed description set out below, with the aid of the drawings which show a preferred method of execution, illustrated by way of example and not by way of limitation, in which:

? Figs. 1-2 show opposite side views of a roller coaster track control apparatus, according to the invention, in use;

? Figs. 3-4 show front and top views of the apparatus in use;

? Fig. 5 shows, in block diagram, the operating logic of the device.

Detailed description of the invention

In the following description, reference will be made, for example, to roller coaster tracks of the type having the structural form of a truss beam, the cross-section of which is composed of an inverted triangle, the base vertices of which comprise circular structures constituting the tubular rails of the track and the apical vertex of which comprises a circular structure constituting the tubular support for reinforcing the track itself.

With reference to the details of figures 1-2-3-4, a roller coaster track B control apparatus, according to the invention, substantially comprises:

? a trolley 1 equipped with means 2, 3, 4 and 5?, 5?? of reversible constraint to roller coaster B tracks and movement on the same tracks;

? volumetric measuring means 6, suitable for detecting discontinuities in the structure of the said tracks B;

? video recording means 7, suitable for displaying discontinuities on the surface of said tracks B;

? means (not illustrated) for locating the position of discontinuities detected in the structure and/or on the surface of said tracks B by said volumetric measuring means 6 and/or by said video recording means 7;

? means (not illustrated) for marking the position of discontinuities detected in the structure and/or on the surface of said tracks B by said volumetric measuring means 6 and/or by said video recording means 7;

? means 8 for receiving control signals from a remote console 20;

? means 9 for transmitting to a remote console 20 the instrumental and visual feedback provided by said volumetric measuring means 6, by said video recording means 7 and by said localisation means (not illustrated);

? an electronic control unit 10 for the coordinated control and management of the above components;

? 11 electric batteries, rechargeable or replaceable, to power the above components.

The means of constraint and movement of the trolley 1 comprise: ? two pairs of driving wheels 2, 3, associated with respective electric drive motors 12, arranged at the base of said trolley 1, along a first side, suitable for engaging on diametrically opposite sides a first rail R of a track B travelled by said trolley 1;

? a pair of 4 idle wheels, arranged at the base of said trolley 1, along a second side of the same, suitable for engaging on diametrically opposite sides a second rail R of said track B;

? two pairs of retaining wheels 5?, 5??, arranged at the base of said trolley 1, respectively along said first and second sides of the same, orthogonally to said pairs of driving wheels 2, 3 and to said pair of idle wheels 4, suitable for laterally engaging said rails R of said track B. The pairs of driving wheels 2, 3 have grooved profiles, such as to ensure a stable grip of the rails R of said track B engaged by them, while the pair of idle wheels 4 and the pairs of retaining wheels 5?, 5?? have solid profiles, such as to stabilise the movement of the trolley 1 along said rails R of said track B.

The driving wheel pairs 2, 3, the idle wheel pair 4 and the retaining wheel pairs 5?, 5?? are arranged on adjustable supports 13, such as to ensure stable contact with the said rails R of the said track B.

The driving wheel pairs 2, 3 are preferably made of magnetic materials, such as to strengthen their contact with the said rails R of the said track B.

The volumetric measuring means comprise a probe 6, of the induced current type or of the ultrasonic type, suitable for detecting the presence of discontinuities in the metal structures of the rails R of the track B travelled by the trolley 1.

The video recording means comprise a video camera 7 with night recording capability, of the infrared or light intensification type, capable of detecting the presence of discontinuities on the surface of the rails R of the track B travelled by the trolley 1.

The means for locating the position of any discontinuities detected by the volumetric measuring means 6 and/or by the video recording means 7 comprise an encoder (not illustrated), preferably arranged on one of the drive wheels 2, 3 or alternatively on one of the idle wheels 4 or on one of the retaining wheels 5?, 5??, capable of converting its rotation value into a linear distance value from a predefined starting point.

The means for marking the position of any discontinuities detected by the volumetric measuring means 6 and/or by the video recording means 7 comprise dispensers (not illustrated) of colouring substances, controlled by the electronic control unit 10.

The means 8, 9 for receiving control signals from a remote console 20 and transmitting instrumental and visual feedback to the same are preferably of the radio wave type.

With reference to the details of figure 5, the remote console 20 for controlling the trolley 1 and managing the instrumental and visual feedback provided by it comprises:

? means 21, using radio waves, for receiving instrumental and visual feedback provided by trolley 1;

? electronic equipment 22 for displaying the instrumental and visual feedback provided by trolley 1;

? electronic equipment (not illustrated) for storing the instrumental and visual feedback provided by trolley 1 and for generating summary reports from them;

? a directional bar 23, or joystick, associated with means 24, using radio waves, for transmitting control signals, capable of managing the direction and speed of movement of the trolley 1 on the track B that it travels on;

? 25 electric batteries, rechargeable or replaceable, to power the above components.

With reference to the particulars of fig. 5, a roller coaster B-track control apparatus, according to the invention, may further comprise:

? 26 direction and/or position indicators, arranged on trolley 1;

? indicators 27 of the efficiency level of the electric batteries 11 of the trolley 1, arranged on the remote console 20.

Use and operation of the invention

The trolley 1 is connected to the track B to be tested by placing the drive wheels 2, 3, the idle wheels 4 and the retaining wheels 5?, 5?? on the rails R, so that they are engaged on three fronts, two of which are diametrically opposed and one is orthogonal to them.

The application of the driving wheels 2, 3, the idle wheels 4 and the retaining wheels 5?, 5?? to the rails R of track B is aided by the respective adjustable supports 13, while their contact with the rails R of track B is strengthened by the magnetic materials that make up the structure of the said driving wheels 2, 3.

Using the remote console 20, the volumetric probe 6 and the video camera 7 set up on the trolley 1 are calibrated and the encoder (not illustrated) associated with one of the drive wheels 2, 3 or one of the idle wheels 4 or one of the retaining wheels 5?, 5?? of the trolley 1 itself is reset.

The movement of trolley 1 along track B being tested is then started and managed via the control bar 23, present on the remote console 20.

The interaction between the trolley 1 and the remote console 20 is made possible by respective transmitters 8, 24 and receivers 9, 21 of radio wave signals.

During the movement of trolley 1 on track B:

? the volumetric probe 6 detects the presence of possible discontinuities in the internal structure of said track B; ? the video camera 7 visually documents the surface conditions of the external structure of said track B; ? the encoder (not illustrated) detects on said track B the positions of any discontinuities detected by the volumetric probe 6 and/or by the video camera 7, converting the rotation value of one of the driving wheels 2, 3 or 4 idle wheels or 5?, 5?? of the trolley 1 into a linear distance value with respect to a predefined starting point of the trolley 1 itself; ? the marking device (not illustrated) highlights on said track B the positions of any discontinuities detected by the volumetric probe 6 and/or by the video camera 7, emitting sprays of colouring substances in correspondence therewith.

The instrumental information, detected by the volumetric probe 6, the visual information, documented by the video camera 7, and the positional information, processed by the encoder (not illustrated), are transmitted in real time to the remote console 20.

The remote console 20 receives this information in real time and consequently provides for:

? display on a video screen 22 the instrumental findings carried out by the volumetric probe 6 and proceed with their possible archiving in electronic form, via computer systems integrated into it or connected to it;

? display on a video screen 22 the visual feedback obtained from the video camera 7 and proceed with their possible recording in electronic form, using computer equipment integrated into it or connected to it;

? prepare summary reports of the verification carried out and proceed with their possible archiving in electronic form, or their printing in paper form, using IT devices integrated into it or connected to it.

Claims (10)

1. Track control apparatus (B) of roller coasters, characterised in that it comprises: ? an equipped trolley (1), suitable for travelling on the said tracks (B); ? a remote console (20), suitable for exchanging information and commands with the said trolley (1), where said trolley (1) includes: ? means (2, 3, 4, 5?, 5??) of reversible constraint to roller coaster tracks (B) and movement on the same tracks; ? means (6) of volumetric measurement, capable of detecting discontinuities in the structure of the said tracks (B); ? means of (7) video recording, capable of displaying discontinuities on the surface of said tracks (B); ? means of locating the position of discontinuities detected in the structure and/or on the surface of said tracks (B) by said volumetric measuring means (6) and/or by said video recording means (7); ? means (8) for receiving control signals from said remote console (20); ? means (9) for transmitting to said remote console (20) the instrumental and visual feedback provided by said volumetric measuring means (6), by said video recording means (7) and by said localisation means; ? an electronic control unit (10) for the coordinated control and management of the above components; ? electric batteries (11), rechargeable or replaceable, for powering the above components, where said console (20) includes: ? means (21) for receiving instrumental and visual feedback provided by the trolley (1); ? electronic equipment (22) for displaying the instrumental and visual feedback provided by the trolley (1); ? electronic equipment for storing the instrumental and visual feedback provided by the trolley (1) and for generating summary reports from them; ? a directional bar (23), associated with means (24) for transmitting control signals, suitable for managing the direction and speed of movement of the trolley (1) on the said tracks (B); ? electric batteries (25), rechargeable or replaceable, for powering the above-mentioned components. 2. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterised in that said trolley (1) comprises means for marking the position of discontinuities detected in the structure and/or on the surface of said tracks (B) by said volumetric measuring means (6) and/or by said video recording means (7). 3. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterised in that the means for constraining and moving said trolley (1) on said tracks (B) comprise: ? two pairs of driving wheels (2, 3), equipped with electric drive motors (12), arranged at the base of said trolley (1), along a first side of the same, suitable for engaging on diametrically opposite sides a first rail (R) of said tracks (B); ? a pair of idle wheels (4), arranged at the base of the said trolley (1), along a second side of the same, suitable for engaging on diametrically opposite sides a second rail (R) of the said tracks (B); ? two pairs of retaining wheels (5?, 5??), arranged at the base of said trolley (1), respectively along said first and second side of the same, orthogonally to said pairs of driving wheels (2, 3) and to said pair of idle wheels (4), suitable for laterally engaging said rails (R) of said tracks (B). 4. Apparatus according to claim 3, characterised in that it comprises supports (13) for said driving wheels (2, 3), said idle wheels (4) and said retaining wheels (5?, 5??) which allow their positioning on the rails (R) of said tracks (B) to be adjusted. 5. Apparatus according to claim 3, characterised in that the driving wheels (2, 3) have a grooved profile and that the idle wheels (4) and (5?, 5??) for retention have a solid profile. 6. Apparatus according to claim 3, characterised in that the driving wheels (2, 3) comprise magnetic materials which favour their adhesion to the rails (R) of the tracks (B) made of ferrous-based materials. 7. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterised in that the volumetric measuring means comprise a probe (6) of the induced current type or of the ultrasonic type. 8. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterised in that the video recording means comprise a video camera (7) of the infrared type or of the light intensification type. 9. Apparatus according to claim 3, characterised in that the means for locating the position of discontinuity in the structure or on the surface of said tracks (B) comprise an encoder suitable for converting the rotation value of the driving wheels (2, 3) or of the idle wheels (4) or of the wheels (5?, 5??) retaining the trolley (1) into a distance value from a predefined starting point. 10. Apparatus according to claim 2, characterised in that the means for marking the position of discontinuity in the structure and/or on the surface of said tracks (B) comprise dispensers of colouring substances, controlled by the electronic control unit (10).