Abstract:
A roller coaster includes a plurality of ride vehicles that ride along a track. Each vehicle provides seating for at least one passenger. The track is elevated off the ground and includes a variety of hills, curves, loops, rolls, drops, inversions and the like. The vehicles are totally enclosed and preferably designed to represent a space capsule. Sight line controls and a yaw mechanism are used at the load platform to prevent passengers from seeing the other ride vehicles. In addition, the track at the load platform is angled upwards to allow for easy access to the ride vehicles. Portals in the cabin are designed to control sight lines to focus the passengers&#39; attention on show elements that are placed along the track. An on-board audio system enhances the realism of the ride experience. Adjustable restraint systems are provided in each vehicle to keep the passengers in their seats and inside the vehicle during the ride.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to amusement rides. 
     Amusement rides, and specifically roller coasters, are very popular at theme and amusement parks around the world. Many amusement rides today have a “theme” which may be related to a motion picture, comic book character, mythical figure, cartoon, etc. A typical roller coaster consists of a number of ride vehicles that are attached to one another and ride along an elevated track. The track usually includes a number of hills, rolls, loops, spirals, inversions, drops and the like. Since most roller coasters are purchased “off the shelf” from a ride vendor, the ride vehicles are mostly standard open-air vehicles with a number of passenger seating positions and safety restraints. The amount of theming applied to roller coasters tends to be minimal, usually limited to the color of the vehicles, the color of the track and some themed elements along the queue line. With a standard, open-air roller coaster vehicle, it is nearly impossible to fully integrate the ride vehicle into the theme of the ride. In addition, when passengers are loading into the ride vehicles, they can generally see other passengers loading into other ride vehicles and they can also see the other ride vehicles during the ride. This detracts from the theme of the ride and diminishes some of the fantasy for the passengers. 
     Therefore, there is a need for a roller coaster with improved ride vehicles. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In a first aspect of the invention, a roller coaster or similar ride has enclosed vehicles. Sight line controls may be used to focus the attention of the passengers on specific show elements and to prevent the passengers from seeing other vehicles during the loading procedure. The passengers perceive that they are entering an individual vehicle, when they are actually entering a vehicle in a train of vehicles. The excitement of the ride is therefore enhanced. 
     In a second separate aspect of the invention, the ride vehicles have the ability to turn or yaw at an angle to the direction of travel. Passengers enter through the front of the vehicle which is turned to face the loading platform. This helps to prevent the passengers from seeing other ride vehicles during loading. The yaw capability may also be used to allow the passengers to view different show elements during the ride. 
     In a third separate aspect of the invention, portals in the cabin control sight lines to focus the passengers&#39; attention on show elements which are located along the track. 
     In a fourth separate aspect of the invention, the track alongside the loading platform is rolled towards the platform. This positions the vehicles in a temporarily upright position to ease loading and unloading. 
     In a fifth separate aspect of the invention, a restraint system has a flexible element which supports itself, to allow quick and simple loading and unloading of passengers, while also accommodating varying sizes of passengers. 
     In a sixth aspect of the invention, two or more of the separate aspects described above may be combined in an amusement ride. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     In the drawings, wherein the same reference character denotes the same element, throughout all of the views: 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a track layout of the roller coaster of the present invention; 
     FIG. 2A is a plan view of the load platform of the present invention; 
     FIG. 2B is a side view showing an angled track at the load platform shown in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is a plan view of ride vehicles at the load platform of FIGS. 2A and 2B; 
     FIG. 4 is a front view of the yaw mechanism of the vehicles shown in FIG. 3; 
     FIG. 5 is a side view of the vehicles; 
     FIG. 6A is a perspective view of the cabin of a single vehicle of the strain of vehicles shown in FIGS. 2A and 3 with the doors closed; 
     FIG. 6B is a perspective view thereof with the doors open and showing various interior cabin features; 
     FIG. 7A is a plan view of the cabin; 
     FIG. 7B is a side view thereof; 
     FIG. 7C is a front view thereof; 
     FIG. 8A is a perspective view of the cabin interior; 
     FIG. 8B is an exploded perspective view thereof; 
     FIG. 9A is a perspective view of the safety restraint of the present invention in use on a small child, with the restraint in its lowest position; 
     FIG. 9B is a partial section view of the shoulder pad of the restraint shown in FIG. 9A; 
     FIG. 10 is a front view thereof; 
     FIG. 11 is a side view thereof; 
     FIG. 12A is a side view of the linear actuator used in the safety restraint shown in FIGS. 9A-11; 
     FIG. 12B is a front view thereof; 
     FIG. 12C is a plan view thereof, 
     FIG. 13A is a front schematic view of the passive locking system used in the adjustable safety restraint shown in FIGS. 9A-11; and 
     FIGS. 13B,  13 C,  13 D and  13 E are side schematic views showing alternate positions of the safety restraint. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring now to FIGS. 1,  2 A and  2 B, a roller coaster or similar ride  2  has a track  4  and vehicles  8  that travel along the track  4 . In the preferred embodiment, the theme of the ride  2  is space travel and the track  4  is elevated and includes numerous hills, curves, loops, rolls, inversions and drops. The track  4  may include sections providing negative “g” forces. The vehicles  8  are advantageously fully enclosed, three-car trains  7  that hold four passengers per car. The track  4 , and the entire ride  2 , may be enclosed in a building  3  to make a “dark ride”. As shown in FIG. 6, the vehicles  8  may be designed to resemble space capsules. Passengers enter the vehicles  8  from a load platform  6 . The vehicles  8  roll on the track  4  in a roller coaster-like way, as described, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,433,153 and 5,218,910, incorporated herein by reference. 
     Referring now to FIG. 2B, FIG.  3  and FIG. 4, loading occurs with the vehicles  8  yawed (via yaw mechanism  20 ) about 90 degrees from the direction of travel, so that the passengers enter through the front  9  of the vehicle  8 . The yaw mechanism  20  allows the vehicle  8  to rotate about its vertical axis. The yaw mechanism  20  is preferably capable of rotating each vehicle 175 degrees clockwise and 180 degrees counterclockwise. The yaw mechanism  20  can be operated by electrical, mechanical or hydraulic means and can be operated independently of movement of the vehicles along the track. A bogey assembly  11  engages the track  4  on three sides: top, bottom and outside. The track  4  is preferably formed with two spaced apart tubular rails  13 , which are engaged by the bogey assembly  1 . 
     As shown in FIG. 2B, at the load platform  6 , the track  4  is inclined at an upward roll angle θ (preferably about 15°) towards the load platform  6 . This allows for easier loading and unloading of the vehicles  8  as the seats are upright and the floor is horizontal during loading. Due to the roll angle of the track at the loading platform, during loading, the normally reclined seats are substantially upright. As the ride begins, and the vehicles move over the nominally flat track, the seats and vehicle roll back to a reclining position. Steps  14  in the vehicles  8  permit the passengers to more easily move into the seats. 
     As shown in FIG. 3, static sets  10  blend with the similarly themed vehicles. The static sets  10  are located between each vehicle  8  and prevent the passengers from seeing other passengers that are queuing up to enter vehicles  8  beside them. A  19  may be provided at each individual vehicle loading position  13 . 
     Referring to FIGS. 3,  6 B and  8 A, each vehicle  8  has a set of integral doors  12 , one on either side of the vehicle  8 . The doors  12  pivot opened and closed about a vertical axis. Referring momentarily to FIGS. 8A and 8B, the cabin is formed with a floor  90 , a central septum wall  92 , a core assembly  94  and the left and right side doors  12 . The doors close against the septum wall  92 , in a clamshell configuration. In some of the vehicles  8 , the doors  12  open wider to assist the loading of physically disabled passengers from their wheelchairs to the vehicle  8 . When the doors  12  are open, they blend with the static sets  10  to further control the sight lines of the passengers at the load platform  6 . The load orientation (that is, the position of the vehicles  8  with respect to the load platform  6 ) and the static sets  10  help satisfy the creative intent that the vehicles  8  are individual vehicles rather than cars in a roller coaster train. Of course, static sets can also be incorporated into the unload platform  17 . A partition or door  15 , as shown in FIG. 2A, prevents passengers from entering the loading positions  13  until the train is in position to receive passengers. 
     Referring now to FIG.  5  and FIG. 6, portals  18  in the vehicles  8  control sight lines to focus the passengers&#39; attention on the show elements along the track  4 . Since the vehicles  8  are enclosed, the only view that the passengers&#39; have outside of the vehicle is through the portals  18 . The yaw mechanism  20  rotates the vehicles  8  throughout the ride according to a pre-determined program. This yaw movement allows the passengers&#39; to view the show elements through the portals  18  and enhances the visual experience of the ride. The scenic design of the ride is also simplified since the passengers field of view is limited, i.e., only the viewable areas of the building containing the ride need to be thematically built out. The portals  18  in the embodiment shown are at the top and front of the doors  12 . 
     Referring now to FIGS. 7A,  7 B,  7 C and  8 A, the interior cabin  30  of the vehicle  8  is also preferably themed to represent a space capsule. On-board audio, lighting and special effects are included to enhance the realism of the experience. The audio system includes two upward facing speakers  22 A located under the front two cabin seats  24 , two speakers  22 B located on the inside panel of both doors  12  and four transducers  22 C, one located under each of the four cabin seats  24 . The transducers  22 C are bass speakers or woofers that will not only provide audio, and also vibrate the seats  24  during the ride to simulate the feel of riding in a space capsule. Power is supplied to the vehicles by a buss bar or other similar method, such as a self-contained battery that is recharged at the station or induction power technology. 
     Referring to FIGS. 9B,  11  and  13 C, a safety restraint  26  on each seat  24  has a pair of belts  28  having a shoulder section  29  and a hip section  30 . The back end of  31  of each shoulder section  29  of the belt  28  is attached to a retractor  35  behind the back  25  of the seat  24 . Each shoulder section  29  of the belt  28  extends upwardly and forwardly through a longitudinal slot  37  in a shoulder pad  34 , so that the shoulder section  29  of the belt  28  can slide through the shoulder pad  34 . A buckle  42  is slidably attached over each belt  28 . Each buckle  42  buckles onto a double latch  44  positioned at the front end of the seat  24 , between the passengers legs. Alternatively, a separate latch  44  may be provided for each buckle  44 . The sliding buckle  42  is similar to the continuous shoulder belt/buckle/lap belt used in automobiles. The shoulder section  29  is continuous with the hip section  30  of the belt  28 . The apex at the buckle geometrically (but not physically) separates or defines the shoulder and hip sections. The left and right side shoulder pads  34  join together at a Y joint section  40  behind the passenger. The Y-joint section  40  extends through a shoulder pad slot  41  in the seat back and is attached to a movable armature  54  which is part of the retractor  35 . 
     The shoulder pads  34  have padding material  36  surrounding a flat spring  38 . The flat spring  38  urges the shoulder pads  34  and shoulder sections  29  of the belts  28  upwardly, with sufficient force to hold them up and open, as shown in FIG.  10 . 
     Referring to FIGS. 11,  12 A- 12 C, and  13 A, the retractor  35  includes an electric motor  50  linked to a worm drive linear actuator  52 . The lower end of the worm drive is attached to and drives an armature  54 . The back ends  31  of the belts  28  extend through belt slots  45  in the seat back  25 , around a passive tensioner  60 , around a dynamic pulley  62  rotatably mounted on the armature  54 , over a fixed pulley  64  on the seat back  25 , and then to a fixed anchor point  66 . 
     The passive tensioner  60  has a cam wheel  70  which clamps the belts  28  against a fixed idler  72 . A cam release  74  on the armature  54  releases the cam wheel  70  when the armature is in the full up position, i.e., when the safety restraint  26  is released. 
     In use, as passengers enter the vehicles, the armature  54  of the retractor  32  and the safety restraints  26  are in full up position, as shown in FIG.  10 . The flat springs  38 , which may be steel or a composite spring material, make the safety restraint  26  self supporting, in the form of “rabbit ears”. While the spring  38  is sufficiently rigid to hold up and support the safety restraint  26  it is also sufficiently flexible to allow it to conform to varying passenger sizes and shapes. As the safety restraint  26  is self supporting via the springs  38 , the safety restraint  26 , and specifically, the belts  28  are held up and off of the seat  24 , preventing the passengers from sitting on the belts. The buckles, having slided down on the belts  28  are against a buckle stop on belt  28 , near the seat bottom. As the restraint  26  is held up and open, passengers can easily slip their arms through the shoulder belts  28 . The upright or suspended restraint  26  also provides passengers with a good visual understanding of the operation of the restraint. This allows the passengers to quickly and simply position themselves within the restraint. 
     After a passenger is seated in the seat  24 , the passenger takes each of the buckles  42  and attaches the buckles  42  to the latches  44 , similar to the lap/shoulder belt in an automobile. The belts  28  are then positioned around the passenger, but are not yet tightened. A switch  75  at the latches  44  senses that the latches  44  are latched and that the belts are then ready to be tightened. The motor  50  is then turned on driving the worm drive  52  to cause the armature  54  to move downwardly. As this occurs, the belts  28  (preferably made of an automotive seat belt type of material), are withdrawn into the seat back, thereby tightening both the left and right side shoulder belts  28  and lap belts  30 . The shoulder pads move down with the armature  54  onto the passengers shoulders and torso. The armature  54  continues to move down until a preset tension is reached on the shoulder belts  28 . The motor  50  then turns off. As the shoulder pads are flexible, they by themselves, do not secure the passenger into the seat. The shoulder pads cushion the belts  28 , while the belts securely restrain the passenger. While the restraint  26  could work without the shoulder pads, the shoulder pads make restraint more comfortable to use; help to appropriately position belts around the passenger; and hold the belts up off of the seat during loading and unloading. 
     As an alternative to the switch  75  initiated system described above, the ride operator can press a button at a control station to tighten the belts after inspecting the latches. In another alternative, the belts may be tightened automatically when the cabin doors close. Belt tightening may also be initiated by other events as well. 
     The worm drive  52  is self locking, so that regardless of the force exerted on the belts  28  during the ride, the armature  54  cannot be moved upwardly to loosen the belts, until the worm drive  52  is positively driven in reverse by the motor  50 . Consequently, the belts  28  are secured in a tightened condition, even during failure conditions of the retractor  32 . The cam wheel  72  locking the belts  28  against the fixed idler  72  provides a secondary brake or lock on the belts, to prevent inadvertent loosening. 
     As shown in FIGS.  9 A and  13 B-E, the armature  54  will travel downwardly further on the seat back to appropriately tension the belts on a small child, than for an adult. 
     As the shoulder section  29  of the belts  28  extending through the shoulder pads  34  is continuous with the hip section  30  (i.e., they are made from a single length of belt material) when the retractor  32  retracts the shoulder sections and the hip sections of the belts  28  are simultaneously appropriately tightened, to provide a 5 point restraint (with the two adjoining latch points  44  considered as a single point). The hip sections  30  help to prevent lateral movement of the passenger. FIG. 9A shows the restraint in its lowest position, to restrain a small child. As shown in FIG. 11, with an adult, the passengers shoulders are above the belt slots  45 , and the belts  28  extend upwardly out of the slots (rather than downwardly as shown in FIG.  9 A). Consequently, with an adult, the shoulder sections  29  of the belts  28  are pulling down on the passengers shoulders. With a small child, as shown in FIG. 9A, the shoulder sections are pulling up and back. 
     With the belts tightened, the vehicle can be rapidly braked or accelerated, or even inverted, with the passenger remaining safely secured into the seat. An interlock prevents the passenger from releasing the buckles  42  from the latches  44  during the ride. 
     After the ride, to unload, the interlock is released and the passengers unbuckle the buckles  42 . Sensing their release, the switch energizes the motor  50  in reverse. This lifts the armature to its original full up position, thereby loosening the belts  28  and raising the shoulder pads. A cam release driver  76  on the armature releases the cam wheel  70  as the armature moves up, to disengage the passive tensioner  60 . The passengers then stand and walk out of the vehicle, with the restraint ready to promptly and safely accommodate the next passenger. 
     As the vehicles are fully enclosed, the ride can provide sensations to the riders not available in conventional open vehicle roller coasters. As described, sight lines can be advantageously controlled. In addition, the enclosed vehicle, or enclosed cabin can better simulate various events, such as traveling in an aircraft, space ship, submarine, etc. Hence the real acceleration or “g” forces associated with such types of vehicles are created by the movement of the vehicle along the track, as with conventional roller coasters. However, because the cabin is enclosed, in contrast to conventional coasters having open cabins, the ride experience is improved. 
     The invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms. Preferred specific examples have been shown in the drawings and are described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the invention is not limited to the particular forms or methods disclosed. For example, the ride vehicle could be designed to represent any type of vehicle, not just a space capsule. Thus, the invention is intended to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the claims.