Abstract:
Herein described are inflatable guide tubes for keeping participants within a sledding or tubing track. The tubes are inflated with blower that supplies enough air and pressure to keep the tubes inflated at the optimum pressure while overcoming air loss from the seams. The inflatable tubes provide a resilient bumper surface that deflects the participants towards the center of the track, should they come into contact with the guide tube. The guide tube is sewn out of a fabric such that it forms an enclosed volume. The shape of the tube is generally cylindrical, but is compliant enough to follow undulating terrain. The tube has an opening that can be secured to the output path of a high pressure air blower. When the blower is turned on, air fills the tube to such a pressure that it provides a durable and resilient bouncy surface.

Description:
PRIORITY OF APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This Continuation in Part application claims priority from pending patent application Ser. No. 14/255,870 filed on Apr. 17, 2014 titled SLEDDING SYSTEM AND APPARATUS. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    This device was invented for use with summer tubing operations at ski areas. It was discovered that summer tubing operations are not easy to construct or maintain. It is also very difficult to design a summer tubing system that can be quickly set up in the spring and disassembled in the fall, allowing a ski area to place their summer tubing operations in an area of the resort most conducive to visitor enjoyment. One of the biggest challenges of summer tubing lanes is keeping the participants within the intended direction of travel. The track is generally covered with a slippery surface, while the surrounding grass or ground is not slippery. The invention allows participants to have freedom of motion side to side while travelling down the mountain as well as rotational freedom. It also gently deflects and redirects their direction of travel without abrupt bumps, ejections, or jumps. Softer and safer makes the entire system more enjoyable for guests and their kids, which is the name of the game in the ski area business. 
         [0003]    Ski areas are always looking for cost-effective ways to make use of their controlled assets to bring in revenue during the summer months. Many ski areas have winter tubing operations and already own special lifts, inner tubes, and have staff trained to operate. Ski areas don&#39;t like laying off employees that they trained because they may not return the following ski season. A summer tubing operation allows the ski area to retain these employees and employ them in a way that is very similar to their winter occupation. 
         [0004]    Since the invention is modular and portable, it could be used as a demonstration or rental tubing or sledding track. Said portable track could be used at fairs, parks, or for summer events at ski areas. The invention could be used at amusement parks, recreational parks, or even for private properties. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0005]    The Neveplast Pantigliate installation uses artificial ski matting for a tubing hill. The operation has numerous lanes separated by plastic tubes. This is an elevated, stand-alone attraction and was designed to be such. The tubes are rigid in nature and do not contain a blower system to fill with fluid such as air. The tubes are smaller in diameter than the cross section of the inner tubes that the participants are using. This installation contains a conveyor lift to get participants to the top of the structure. The guide tubes are permanently attached and are not sold separately and as such are not designed for use on ground-based summer tubing tracks on hills. 
         [0006]    Ski Trax artificial ski matting demonstrated the use of their artificial ski matting for summer tubing operations on YouTube. They set up a single lane on a grassy slope and made use of traffic-style curbs as rigid bumpers. These bumpers do not connect to each other, the track, and do not collapse for efficient storage. They are also relatively heavy. 
         [0007]    Tubby Tubes is a summer tubing operation in the United States. They have numerous individual lanes of summer tubing with bumpers to keep participants within the intended lanes of travel. These rigid bumpers are made of wood and are upholstered with a carpet-style product. 
         [0008]    Neveplast is a ski matting company that makes a modular tubing product called Neveplast Tubby. They have proven commercial success through hundreds of installations around the world. Their product involves sections of premade track that contain triangular bumpers. The flat track section and angled bumper sections contain the Neveplast ski matting. Track sections overlay each other as they go down the hill such that the uphill section overlaps the downhill section. During setup, you simply lay the downhill-most section first and then overlap the next uphill section. After you place the next section, you attach it to the previous section with screws. These sections are modular, premade, and handleable by one or two people, can be stored easily in the winter, and are the primary competitor in this field. The bumpers are permanently attached to the track and contain ski matting that can scuff hands and feet at the participant travels down the track. Neveplast also makes corner sections that have elevated, banked, concave guide walls for aggressive corners. These guide walls allow for complete redirection and guiding of the participant along the intended path of travel. 
         [0009]    The inflatable car bumper patent describes a car bumper that is filled with air. It proves the concept of resilient bumping action with no damage to the rigid structures behind the bumper. The bumper is attached to a moving vehicle, and as such when deployed prior to a collision with a non-movable rigid object offers and attenuation of kinetic energy just prior to forceful contact between moving and non-moving rigid structures thereby minimizing damage to structures. Additionally, the resilient bumping action can redirect the kinetic energy and bounce the car off a rigid structure in an intended safer direction clear of rigid non-movable structures, thereby minimizing overall damage. 
         [0010]    Ungxtreme summer tubing owns a patent on a summer slippery ski surface. They make use of their product in the United States for summer tubing operations. They also manufacture rigid, but long guide bumpers. These bumpers are triangular in section and contain a deflection wall that is steeper than 45 degrees which deflects tubers within the intended path of travel. The triangular rigid guide wall flexes gently to meet the contour of the undulating terrain beneath the track. These guide walls are nailed down to earth or other substrate and do not provide a connection point to the slippery matting. 
         [0011]    The patent application entitled Escape Slide for Aircraft describes an inflatable slide that can also be used as a raft during a water emergency landing. The slide contains inflatable bumpers that are connected to the slide, which is inflated with air. 
         [0012]    These bumpers keep evacuates within the intended direction of travel. This slide is lightweight, conforms to a small volume for quick storage, and can be quickly deployed, which makes it ideal for stowing on an aircraft for use only with emergency operations. This slide is not intended for recreational use. The guard walls are filled at multiple points and cannot be removed from the slide. 
         [0013]    The patent application entitled Toboggan and Snow Tubing Slide describes a tubing track with artificial ski matting with an integrated fluid misting system that allows for decreasing the coefficient of friction. The track contains slippery banked side walls that keep tubers within the track. The banked side walls are supported by and internal structure described as flexible tubes of different diameter which are filed with air or water. These tubes are internal to the track, do not directly come into contact with the inner tubes, and are simply a means to mechanically elevate and support a traditional flat banked guide wall. 
         [0014]    The Snowzilla Mobile Toboggan Lane, which can be found through a Google search, is an inflatable structure that participants can climb approximately 25 feet to the top of and sled down a slippery track, which has inflated side walls. These side walls are permanently attached and integrated to the elevated sub structure such that they share one common blended volume of air through numerous openings between the walls and the structure. These guide walls are vertical with internal baffles that allow for a non-circular cross section. The guide walls act as the actual bumper surface and contain no artificial ski matting that would cause scuffs and burns to participants. These guide walls are intended for use with a large, inflatable structure and as such could not feasibly be used for a ground-based tubing lane that is laid out on a naturally-occurring slope. The guide walls have at least two compartments, stacked vertically, that allow the wall to be taller than a single cavity. This taller nature of the wall allows the wall to act as a guard from participants falling out of the elevated structure. These guide walls are attached by two or more sections of fabric that are in tension because they are part of the outer surface that contains the high pressure air. This tubing track is sold as a singular large unit to be premade and shipped to a flat location for use on level ground. This is a large and heavy unit that can only be moved with many people or with the help of a powered machine. These guide walls are elevated and never touch the ground. 
         [0015]    Yang, patent application publication number 2009/0101040 discloses a guide tube  6  which is fixed tube  6 ; in which a tube car travels through. As stated in paragraph  62  of Yang, “ . . . rail  44  for guiding a guide for rail-changing  52  of a car is laid on the upper part of the inner wall  43 . The car  31  depends on its self-motility and a driving brake  36  to run on the rails, thus ensuring its uniform acceleration and stability.” 
         [0016]    Marcu, U.S. Pat. No. 4,940,368 discloses in the Detailed Description first paragraph, last sentence, “ . . . As it is seen, the system has a blower or the like  2  placed immediately after the area where the containers are introduced, simply pushing, injecting air  10  into the said continuous open ended tubular structure or pipeline  7  having one open end free  8  and at the other end  11  being the said forced introduction device  5  for pushing containers inside of the continuous pipeline.” 
         [0017]    Most of the commercially-successful summers tubing operations contain banked side walls that have artificial ski matting. These walls work great to deflect the participant down the direction of intended travel. The ski matting or carpet on the side walls can cause harmful contact, should a participants arm or other bare skin come into high speed shearing communication with the material. 
         [0018]    Hard bumper surfaces generally cause quick or abrupt changes in direction and can cause undue whiplash action to the participant. These rigid structures have very little compliance and do not offer much kinetic energy absorption upon impact or contact with the traveling participant. Additionally, these banked walls can act as a jump: if a participant gets enough speed at the correct angle across the fall line, they could get ejected out of the tube or could become airborne, landing back in the track, on the bumper wall, or worse, outside the track. In general, banked guard walls help to minimize rug burns because they get the contact point between the tube and the wall (pinch point) farther away from the participant, but at the consequence of deflecting the tube upward when collisions occur. 
         [0019]    Hard guide walls in general are slow to set up and must be carefully aligned so as to not create ledges that could cause harmful contact to a body in motion. Where setup time is critical, hard guide walls are not conducive to portable summer tubing operations. 
         [0020]    Should a person wipe out or crash and tumble during the tubing run, rigid guard walls, especially with corners of small radius, can cause injury. Most rigid guard walls have small radius corners that are desirable from a structural standpoint, but at the consequence of being more dangerous from a participant safety standpoint. 
         [0021]    Ski areas traditionally have a hard time retaining employees from season to season. They usually employ people seasonally where they hire in the fall and lay off in the spring. If they find really good employees, they hate to lose them in the spring, but if there is no work to do, they must lay off. The guide tube concept for summer bumper tubing is a cost-effective way for ski areas to use some of their already owned equipment (lifts, tubes) to keep these employees on year-round. Employee retention can be improved, which in general helps keep the overall costs of a ski area lower. 
         [0022]    Rigid guard walls have numerous structural components of mass and as such are expensive and time consuming to build. Furthermore, because they are rigid and flat and sloped to get the pinch point out of the way of the participants&#39; hands, they also have to be of lower coefficient of friction because a bumping contact would cause undue spinning action. This need to lower the friction usually results in the installation of a carpet or ski matting, which then in turn adds back in the possibility of rug burns to participants. Should the walls be built vertically, they would likely not need be of as low a coefficient of friction, but careful design and construction would be necessary to ensure that now harmful ridges are present. This give and take between designs always causes more expensive solutions to the problem that is simply solved by an inflatable guard bumper of proper design. 
         [0023]    In general, any feature of a participant sport that is viewed as dangerous or not fun would cause the participant to be less likely to pay for the use of the equipment. If the harmful features are removed or minimized, the participant is more likely to have an enjoyable time and as such is more likely to return to the venue and pay money for the use of the equipment. Harsh guard walls are not as commercially-viable as soft, fun ones. 
         [0024]    There is a need for the following: 
         [0025]    As inflated guard tubes for a summer tubing operation at a ski area 
         [0026]    Could be used as portable tubing or sledding track because they are very lightweight and easy to transport and setup 
         [0027]    May be used with straight, cornering, or hilly sections of track 
         [0028]    Could be used in the winter as well for the same purpose 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0029]    One aspect of the present invention is a sledding system, comprising: a guide tube; a blower to displace air into said guide tube; a track disposed between two guide tubes; wherein a riding tube may slide down said track. 
         [0030]    Another aspect is a sledding system, comprising: a guide tube; a blower; two guide tubes disposed leftwardly and rightwardly of a track; a starting deck disposed upwardly from said track; said blower operationally disposed through at least one of either a starting deck hole or a track hole to displace air into one or more guide tubes. 
         [0031]    Another aspect of the present invention is a sledding system and apparatus, comprising: a guide tube; a blower; two guide tubes disposed leftwardly and rightwardly of a track; a starting deck disposed upwardly from said track; said blower operationally disposed through at least one of either a starting deck hole or a track hole to displace air into one or more guide tubes. 
         [0032]    Another aspect of the present invention is a sledding system and apparatus ( 10 ), comprising: a guide tube; a track disposed immediately adjacent to said guide tube. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0033]      FIG. 1  illustrates a side view of an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0034]      FIG. 2  illustrates a top view of an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0035]      FIG. 3 -A illustrates a front view of an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0036]      FIG. 3 -B illustrates a partial side view of an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0037]      FIG. 3 -C illustrates a front or rear view of a guide tube and connection means of an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0038]      FIG. 4  illustrates a front or rear view of a guide tube and connection means of an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0039]      FIG. 5  illustrates a top view of two track portions of an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0040]      FIG. 6  illustrates a side view of an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0041]      FIG. 7  illustrates a front view showing the track with guide tubes and an riding tube on a track on the left; 
           [0042]      FIG. 7A  illustrates one embodiment of guide tube on a track  40 ; 
           [0043]      FIG. 7B  illustrates another embodiment of two guide tubes placed immediately adjacent to each guide tube; and 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     REFERENCE NUMERALS 
       [0000]    
       
           10  present invention 
           20  starting deck 
           30  guide tube 
           40  track 
           50  riding tube 
           60  handle 
           70  blower 
           80  piping 
           90  plug 
           100  connection means 
           110  attachment flap 
           120  center tube 
           130  artificial snow surface 
           140  fill cap with snorkel 
           150  fill snorkel 
           160  starting deck aperture 
           170  fill cap connection means 
           180  support means 
           190  slowing mat 
           200  fill cap 
           210  fluid or air filled end OR uphill end 
           220  downhill overlap 
           230  riding tube seam 
           240  downhill end 
           250  annular rings 
           260  track hole 
           270  starting deck hole 
           280  snorkel strap 
           290  drain hole 
           300  double removable bumper configuration 
           310  piping system 
           320  slow down device 
           330  shell 
           340  needle punctures 
           350  ground or earth surface 
       
     
         [0079]      FIG. 1  is a side view of an embodiment of the present invention  10 , and illustrates a riding tube  50  disposed on a starting deck  20 . The starting deck  20  is oriented substantially horizontally. A handle  60  is secured to the starting deck  20  near the track  40 . The handle  60  may be a pole shaped member that extends upwardly from the starting deck  20  so that the user can use the handle  60  to pull or push themselves at a desired speed and direction down the track  40 . A guide tube  30  may be disposed leftwardly and rightwardly of the track  40 . The guide tube  30  may have a fluid filled end  210 , which may also be referred to as an uphill end  210 . The fluid may be air, gas, or liquid. The guide tube  30  may have a downhill end  240  downstream from the uphill end  210 . A blower  70  may operationally connected to piping  80  to pump fluid, such as a gas or liquid into the guide tube  30 . In one embodiment the gas is air. A blower  70  can me any device or being that can cause or direct fluid displacement. 
         [0080]      FIG. 2  is a top view of an embodiment of the present invention  10 , and illustrates the guide tubes  30  disposed so as to create and separate the tracks  40  or lanes  40 . The starting deck  20  may be disposed at the highest elevation of the system or present invention  10 . A riding tube  50  is illustrated above the leftwardly lane on the starting deck  20 , and a riding tube  50  is illustrated on a track  40  in the rightwardly lane. The blower  70  is disposed leftwardly of the guide tubes  30  and operationally connected to all guide tubes  30  via a piping system  310 . The blower  70  is illustrated as being connected to the piping  80  to displace fluid; such are air in to the guide tubes  30 . The handles  60  may be disposed on the starting deck  20  near the top of the track  40 . 
         [0081]      FIG. 3 -A illustrates a track  40  bounded by a guide tube  30  disposed leftwardly and rightwardly of the track. 
         [0082]      FIG. 3 -B illustrates a guide tube  30  with annular rings  250  disposed near the uphill end  210 , and a fill cap  200  disposed at the lowest, most downstream guide tube  30  downhill end  240 . Any guide tube  30  disposed between the highest or most upstream guide tube  30 , and the lowest, most downstream guide tube  30  would not have a fill cap  200 , so the air could flow and occupy the volume of all guide tubes  30  that are operationally connected to a blower  70 . 
         [0083]      FIG. 3 -C illustrates a guide tube  30  having a connection means  100  extending from the guide tube  30  so that it may connect with a track  40 . In one embodiment the connection means  100  may be an attachment flap  110 . 
         [0084]      FIG. 4  illustrates an embodiment of a guide tube  30  that, when disposed between two tracks  40 , is a center tube  120 . A center tube  120  may have two connection means  100 , one extending leftwardly, the other rightwardly so each connection means  100  may connect to a track  40 . 
         [0085]      FIG. 5  illustrates a track  40  disposed in part over a lower track  40 . For example in  FIG. 5 , the track  40  on the right is disposed above and rightwardly of the track  40  on the left. The downhill overlap  220  is also illustrated. 
         [0086]      FIG. 6  illustrates an embodiment of the present invention  10  with a substantially horizontally oriented starting deck  20  connected to a track  40 . The track  40  may have a track hole  260  so that the blower  70  may be connected to the fill snorkel  150 , and the fill snorkel  150  is connected to the fill cap with snorkel  140  to allow air to flow to the guide tube  30 . 
         [0087]    The track  40  may have one guide tube  30  separating a track  40  from one or two connected guide tubes  30 . When two guide tubes  30  are immediately adjacent or connected, this may be referred to as a double removable bumper configuration  300 . 
         [0088]    In one embodiment, the track  40  may be about forty two (42) inches or greater in width, with two 6 inch to 9 inch diameter circular tubes referred to as guide tubes  30  on the left and right sides of the track  40 . 
         [0089]    The attached guide tubes  30  may attach to the track with staples, hook and loop connections, or other any other attachment means  100 . 
         [0090]    In another embodiment may have guide tubes  30  that may be circular guide tubes  30  having a diameter of about 14-16 inches. 
         [0091]    One embodiment may have a starting deck  20  with pull handles  60  for each lane  40  or track  40 . 
         [0092]    In one embodiment the starting deck  20  may be raised above ground level by disposing the starting deck on a support means  180 . The support means  180  may be a structure such as a set of legs, 2×4s extended lengthwise, or blocks may be used raise the track  40  off of the ground, or a ramp shaped structure  180 . 
         [0093]    Having a raised starting  20  may offer an increased ability to pipe air to one or more tracks  40  or guide tubes  30 , and the ability to hide the blower  70  under the starting deck  20 . 
         [0094]    A raised starting deck  20  also offers a slight increase in slope of the track, giving participants a burst of speed at the top. 
         [0095]    There could be numerous lanes  40  or tracks  40 , side by side. Blower  70  may be positioned under the starting deck or away from the track  40  such that participants cannot hear the blower  70  when it is on. 
         [0096]    The blower  70  may be sized per the number of guide tubes  30 . In one embodiment the blower  70  may have up to 2 hp could be 120 VAC common voltage blower  70 . If an area has higher voltages available, operational costs may go down by choosing larger singular blower to inflate all guide tubes. 
         [0097]    All tubes may be inflated from the top and plugged at bottom, so end of the guide tube  30  contains no hardware. 
         [0098]    Anything hard, like piping to get air into guide tube  30  is mounted sub-flush with the ground surface so that there is nothing hard to collide with. 
         [0099]    Slowing area at bottom either involves long run out of artificial snow surface  130  or slowing mats  190  that have higher coefficient of friction than manufactured snow. 
         [0100]    The track  40  may have manufactured snow disposed thereon, or a similar summer surface for the sliding track  40  or track  40 . 
         [0101]    The Guide tubes  40  may be sized correctly and inflated correctly such that a gentle bump from a participant will deflect passenger back into track  40 , if their collision with the guide tube  40  is fast enough, the guide tube  40  will deflect enough to allow them to escape from the lane without ejecting from the riding tube  40  or substantially jumping up into the air. 
         [0102]    In one embodiment, long guide tubes  40  may span many modular sections of track  40 . 
         [0103]    In one embodiment, the guide tubes  40  may be comprised of closed surface of flexible fabric able to be filled with air, making a rigid, but compliant structure that follows the unevenness of ski runs. 
         [0104]    The guide tubes  40  may have a uniform cross section allows for modular connectivity and which may receive fill cap  200  at the downhill end, or downstream from the air fill end  210 . 
         [0105]    Each guide tube  30  may be open at each end that allow for simple connection and air transfer between sections of guide tube  30 . 
         [0106]    The guide tubes  30  may be attached to the track  40  via a connection means  100 . In one embodiment the connection means may be a staple, in another embodiment, it may be a hook and loop connectors, such as Velcro® disposed on an attachment flap  110  that may extend from the guide tube  30 . 
         [0107]    The connection means  100  may allow for simple tear down, which is important to a ski area that is trying to make use of a ski run for tubing in the summer, but still be able to groom out the snow for skiing in the winter 
         [0108]    As illustrated in  FIG. 5 , the track  40  may have Downhill overlapping point creates no catch points in the fabric structure. In other words, the track  40  may overlay the top of another track  40  so that the participant slides down one track  40  and the next track  40  downstream is below the upper track  40  so the participant or riding tube does not make contact with the edge of the lower track  40 . 
         [0109]    The diameter of the guide tube  30  can be smaller, about the same size, or larger than typical commercial sledding inner tubes that cause the guide tube  30  to act as a bumper to deflect in, get tight, and keep the riding  50  tube in the track  40  because it forces in inward and possibly downward where sloped guard walls will deflect upward and possibly outward, depending on the impact velocity vector. 
         [0110]    The guide tubes  30  with the smaller diameters reduce minimize or can eliminate the contact point with the riding tube  50  seam  230 . The riding tube seam  230  may be located at mid-plane between the top and bottom of the riding tube  50 . The elimination of the contact point between the riding tube  50  and guide tube  30  reduces wear and damage caused to the guide tubes  30 . 
         [0111]    No ski matting is necessary because abrasion resistant fabric is somewhat slippery, compliant and durable, which is also cheaper and simpler. The guide tubes  30  may be comprised of, or have exposed to the participant such abrasion resistant fabric. One suitable abrasion resistant fabric is UV-resistant 18-oz PVC coated polyester. This can be purchased at http://www.topvaluefabrics.com/18oz-VCP.html. 
         [0112]    Length of the attachment flap  110  causes guide tube  30  to be in contact with the ground and the track  40 , thereby limiting unnecessary motion. Tightness of the guide tube  39  is adjustable based on where you connect the guide tube  30  to the attachment flap  110 . For example a shorter installation point means the guide tubes  30  will be tighter. 
         [0113]    In one embodiment, an advantage of the invention  10  is that rather than have a ski matting to reduce the friction during a bumping event, the fabric walls have enough friction to induce a spinning force during a bump. This will make the trip down the lane even more exciting than a trip down a lane with reduced friction walls. 
         [0114]    Alternatively too much spin can be discomforting at the end of a tubing run. So the bumping event can be exciting and the bumping event may cause some spin. 
         [0115]    In one embodiment the guide tubes  30  may be a singular compartment, closed, tubular structure. 
         [0116]    Separate guide tubes can individually be inflated. 
         [0117]    The connection means  100  may be a singular, non-air filled connection point of the guide tube  30  to the track  40 . 
         [0118]    The walls or exterior surface of the guide tubes  30  have no carpet or artificial ski matting. 
         [0119]    The guide tubes  30  modular sections that can easily rolled up and moved by one or two people. 
         [0120]    The guide tubes  30  can touch the ground. 
         [0121]    In one embodiment, a guide tube  30  that is substantially parallel to the ground may have a convex wall, if, for example the guide tube has a circular shaped cross section, which may deflects the tube back into the track. 
         [0122]    Tubular shape of the guide tube  30  may have a larger diameter than the riding tubes  50  thereby causing a downward component of the deflection force. 
         [0123]    The guide tubes  30  may have a resilient, bouncy impact surface. 
         [0124]    In one embodiment the attachment flap may be between about 0.3 and 3 inches long with tube being between 6 and 24 inches in diameter. 
         [0125]    The guide tubes  30  are removably attached to the track  40  via a connection means  100 . 
         [0126]    In one embodiment the guide tubes  30  may be easily brandable by sewing Velcro onto tube such that printed banner can be attached and detached easily. In another embodiment indicia may be printed directly onto vinyl bumper surface prior to sewing or manufacturing. 
         [0127]    In one embodiment the connection means  100  may be an attachment flap  110  that contacts the track  40  underneath, causing Velcro connection to be loaded only in shear. 
         [0128]    In one embodiment the guide tube can be made from one 61″ wide width of fabric. Thus the total circumference of the guide tube  30  plus one or two attachment flaps length doesn&#39;t equal more than 61″ wide. 
         [0129]    As illustrated in  FIG. 4 , in one embodiment there may be a guide tube  30  with two connection means  100 , such as attachment flaps  110  can be used such that two tracks  40  share the same guide tube  40  as one guide wall. 
         [0130]      FIG. 7B  illustrates one embodiment that may have a double removable bumper configuration  30 . This configuration may allow tube to be installed directly over artificial ski surface so that a multiple-tubing lane array can be converted into an open ski slope for skiing or tubing. 
         [0131]    In one embodiment, the guide tubes  30  may be sewn out of fabric and are designed to use the full width of a 61 inch wide roll of fabric, thereby eliminating waste and decreasing production time. The guide tubes  30  may be approximately 100 feet in length, which causes the overall weight to be around 75 pounds. The guide tube  30  can then be easily rolled up and moved around for setup, tear down, or storage. The guide tube  30  is generally the same in cross sectional size and shape from top to bottom, as the participant descends down the track  40 . This makes for easy fabrication while also minimizing protrusions or catching points for participants. 
         [0132]    The accompanying track  40  may have a hook and loop connection, such as Velcro® permanently-installed. This can be installed with staples or adhesive. For more durable applications, a strip of vinyl can first be sewn to the Velcro prior to the secondary attachment method. Also, certain versions of Velcro are available in forms that are stiffer and more durable and are specifically-designed to be installed to rigid surfaces. 
         [0133]    Each guide tube  30  has the same general ends, and air fill end  210 , also called an uphill end  210  and a downhill end  240 . The uphill end  210  may have two annular rings  250  of  2  inch loop and hook connectors, such as Velcro sewn on the outside. 
         [0134]    The Downhill end  240  may have two annular rings  250  of hook and loop connectors, such as Velcro sewn on the inside. This system of annular rings  250  allows the one guide tube  30  to slide into an adjacent guide tube  30  until the annular rings  250  of hook and loop connections match and can be installed upon one another. 
         [0135]    Thus the highest uphill end of the complete tube assembly (composed of two or more guide tubes  30  connected) may be left with the external rings of hook and loop connections. 
         [0136]    As illustrated in  FIG. 6 , these annular rings  250  provide a convenient method for attaching to the fill cap  200 . The fill cap  200  may be a very short piece of guide tube  30  that has a cylindrical snorkel  150  connected in at a 90 degree angle to the guide tube portion  30 . 
         [0137]    The snorkel  150  may be approximately 6 inches in diameter and a couple of feet long. The snorkel  150  can be inserted into a track hole  260  and/or a starting deck hole  270  that takes the fill point to below the starting deck  20 . This snorkel  150  allows for a simplistic layout of the blower piping  80 , while also getting all hard objects below the starting deck  20 . The blower piping  80  is inserted into the snorkel  150 , and then the snorkel  150  is cinched around the blower piping  80 . A snorkel strap  280  is secured around the cinched section of the tube thereby clamping the tube to the, blower  70  or blower piping  80 . 
         [0138]    The downhill end  240  of the complete assembly of guide tubes  30  is left with the internal rings of the hook and loop connections. These internal rings provide a convenient attachment point for a fill cap  200 , which may be a custom capped length of guide tubing  200 . The fill cap  200  may be a plug that may be a sewn fabric that is a cylinder with an end cap sewn in. 
         [0139]    Around the fill cap  200  may be two external bands of hook and loop connections, such as Velcro® (similar to the uphill end of the tube). The fill cap  200  or plug  200  is simply inserted into the downhill end of the tube until the annular rings  250 . The hook and loop connections may be pressed together and the fill cap  200  or plug  200  is held in place such that the air inside the guide tube cannot openly discharge to atmosphere. 
         [0140]    For one piece of track  40 , there is one guide tube  30  disposed leftwardly, and a second guide tube  30  disposed rightwardly of the track  40 . 
         [0141]    As illustrated in  FIG. 4 , for the configuration of two tracks  40  there may be a guide tube  30  having a connection means  100  on each side. 
         [0142]    Whether a guide tube  30  is used for the far left or far right end of an array of tubing lanes determines where the connection means  100  is disposed or is sewn. This location may be critical to the guide tube  30  being able to be installed with the uphill and downhill ends of the guide tubes  30  in the appropriate locations. 
         [0143]    A guide tube  30  could be made to be ambidextrous if hook and loop connections or Velcro is sewn on the top and the bottom sides of the attachment flap  110 , should this situation ever become desirable. 
         [0144]    Finally, a center guide tube  30  would have two attachment flaps sewn in such that two adjacent parallel tubing tracks  40  could share one common guide tube  30 . This configuration is desirable for multiple lanes because the overall cost to have inflatable guide tubes  30  may be lower per lane than a single track  40 . 
         [0145]    The guide tubes  30  will act as a spacing and holding mechanism for the linear pattern of track  40 , which may be panels that are arranged going down the hill. This is very important because the guide tubes  30  themselves can provide a sufficient holding force to keep the track  40  panels in alignment, both across the fall line and down the fall line. 
         [0146]    The blower  70  necessary for this inflatable guide tube  30  is the same as the blowers  70  commonly used for inflatable structures. They typically have between 150 and 1000 cubic feet per minute of air flow at a pressure of between 1 and 15 inches of water column pressure. These blowers  70  are designed to move a large volume air while also having a sufficient amount of static head pressure to affect a stiff and resilient inflated structure. 
         [0147]    Due to the outdoor storage of the guide tubes  30  in the summer months the addition of rain drain holes  290  are included on one embodiment of the present invention  10 . 
         [0148]    Drain holes  20  of approximately ½ inch in diameter may be punched into the hook and loop connections, such as the Velcro flap at approximately 10 foot spacings. 
         [0149]    The drain holes  290  are located immediately adjacent to the Velcro in the direction towards the tube. These drain holes  290  could be made in many different ways including, but not limited to slots or penetrations of different dimension or pattern. 
         [0150]    Storage at night and when the guide tubes  30  are not in use will involve tying down the guide tubes  30 . Additional tie down flaps may be added at numerous locations on the side of the guide tube  30  away from the track  40 . These tie down flaps are made with a loop of nylon webbing or other flap of fabric with a hole or grommet. Users hook this flap with a bungee cord or similar device and hook to the matching flap on the adjacent tube. The guide tubes  30  will then be lying flat and completely on the track  40 , allowing for mowing and resilient to blowing around or flapping in the wind. 
         [0151]    In one embodiment, the current design makes use of  18 oz vinyl material. This material is very durable: if is highly scratch resistant and abrasion resistant. It is also highly UV resistant while also be mold and mildew resistant. These combinations of durability provide a fabric that is suitable for being outdoors in the elements for many years without significant wear. This material is also highly stretch resistant. In order to maintain its shape, the material has to have very low stretch under high tension. It is noted that many types of materials would work for this application. 
         [0152]    The hook and loop connections and thread are also designed for outdoor use. It is highly UV resistant as well as mold and mildew resistant. 
         [0153]    If any adhesives should be necessary for installing hook and loop connections, such as Velcro, patching holes, or during final designed construction, it will be of the permanent, welding type of vinyl adhesive. 
         [0154]    A clear version of reinforced vinyl could feasibly be used for a nighttime tubing operation. If the operator were to install a row of lights, similar to rope lighting, through the guide tube  30 , the guide tube  30  could be lit up at night. This could be highly desirable for a venue that wants to maximize hours of operation and profits. The lights could be bright or dim and could vary in color and intensity. The whole idea of lights would add a significant selling point to the overall proposition of running a summer tubing operation. 
         [0155]    Each section of guide tube  30 , being about 100 feet long, weighs approximately 75 pounds. When rolled up, this weight can be managed by one person during transport and storage. 
         [0156]    Each section of guide tube  30  contains approximately 200 cubic feet of volume when inflated. After deflating and folding or rolling, the total volume is decreased significantly to about 4.5 cubic feet. This reduction in volume makes the invention highly portable and easy and cheap to ship and store. 
         [0157]    In one embodiment the overall shape of the guide tube  30  is tubular. The cross section is circular, but could be rectangular, square, triangular, or otherwise. The guide tube  30  conforms to the track undulations, whether they are up and down or left and right. If pronounced banked corners or rolling hills be desired, the inflatable guide tube may sweep from a circular section to an elevated and enlarged section thereby raising up the track  40  and proving the desired banked corner. The rolling hills and corners could contain not only the inflated guide tubes  30 , but also the supporting mechanism for the track  40 . 
         [0158]    In one embodiment, during use, the blower  70  must be running and the guide tubes  30  fully inflated to the appropriate pressure. The entire guide tube  30  or assembly of guide tubes  30  is enclosed such that the only air escaping from the internal pressurized cavity is minimized to just the needle punctures  340  from the sewing operation or at the loop and hook connections. 
         [0159]    The hook and loop for Velcro attachment flap  110  is fully engaged the entire length of the track  40 . For the invention  10  to work properly and the present invention  10  to be safe, the entire length of the attachment flap  110  is fully attached to the underside of the track  40 . Since the attachment flap  110  is installed around the bottom corner of the track  40 , the hook and loop connections or Velcro is always being loaded in shear, which is the strongest and preferred use of this removable connection method. 
         [0160]    The uphill guide tube  30  refers to the configuration when there are at least two connected guide tubes  30 , and the uphill guide tube  30  is disposed upwardly with respect to other guide tubes  30  and is the highest positioned guide tube  30 . 
         [0161]    The uphill guide tube  30  overlaps downhill tube with two or more annular rings  250  of Velcro, sewn to both tubes such that they match up and hold the sections together with great strength. If one were to pull on the bottom most tube section (or impact the tube during sliding activities), the hook and loop connections or Velcro is being pulled upon with a shear force, the preferred loading of hook and loop connections or Velcro. 
         [0162]    The blower  70  supplies air to the piping system  310 , which may comprise the fill snorkel  150 , fill cap connection means  170 , fill cap with snorkel  140 , and which could contain numerous elbows and tees to split the flow to provide air to more than one or more inflatable guide tube  30 . The piping system  310  supplies air to the fill snorkel  150  of the fill cap  200 , which supplies air to the start of the first section of guide tube  30 . Every uphill guide tube  30  supplies air to its adjacent downhill guide tube  30 . Finally, the fill cap  200  also called the end plug  200  stops air from leaving a guide tube  30 , typically the most downhill guide tube  30 . Throughout the entire inflatable assembly, some air may escape at certain areas such as the needle puncture  340  points from the sewing process. 
         [0163]    One skilled in the art of the applicant&#39;s invention should understand the definition of “sewing process.” One definition of sewing process from the link, http://www.teonline.com/knowledge-centre/sewing-process.html: is “The basic process of sewing involves fastening of fabrics, leather, furs or similar other flexible materials with the help of needle and threads. Sewing is mainly used to manufacture clothing and home furnishings. In fact, sewing is one of the important processes in apparel making. Most of such industrial sewing is done by industrial sewing machines. The cut pieces of a garment are generally tacked, or temporarily stitched at the initial stage. The complex parts of the machine then pierces thread through the layers of the cloth and interlocks the thread.” 
         [0164]    When a riding tube  50  bumps the wall of a guide tube  30  at a normal velocity, the wall deflects, takes some energy out of the tube, converts it into some rotational energy, and deflects the riding tube  50  and passenger back into the track  40 . 
         [0165]    When a passenger and riding tube  50  bumps the guide tube  30  at a high, or escape velocity, the guide tube will likely deflect underneath the riding tube  30  and allows the passenger to escape the track  40  without being ejected from the riding tube  50  or launching into the air. This type of event also slows the riding tube  50  down prior to escape because it takes energy to deflect the guide tube  30  as the participant slides over the riding tube  50 . They could slide for a long time down the riding tube  50  until finally stopping, which is more desirable than jumping or crashing. 
         [0166]    The circular cross section of the inflatable guide tube  30  may have a larger diameter than the riding tube  50  that are being used for tubing activities. In one embodiment the diameter of the guide tube  30  may be approximately 15.25 inches. In another embodiment the circular cross section of the riding tube  50  may be about 7 inches. 
         [0167]    Additionally, the mid plane of the guide tube  30  may be above the mid plane of the riding tube  50 . The mid plane is parallel to the track section and is coincident with the central axis of the cylinder. 
         [0168]    Variations in the design include a guide tube  30  that is smaller in diameter than the riding tube  30  with a mid-plane that is below the mid plane of the riding tube  50 . This variation in geometry, when combined with a higher inflation pressure is better suited for high speed tubing runs. The higher pressure keeps the riding tube  50  in the track  40  better while the smaller diameter increases the chance of a participant&#39;s foot getting jammed into the riding tube  50  during a run. 
         [0169]    The attachment flap  110  is approximately 1.5 inches long between the edge of the track  40  and the connection point to the guide tube  30 . This distance is critical in that if it is too long, the guide tube  30  can move left and right in the wind. If the distance is too short, during inflation, the guide tube will tend to unnecessarily pull itself from the track  40  because it is in collision with the ground and the ski matting on the track  40 . 
         [0170]    A hook and loop connection or Velcro or air tight connection points are necessary to keep air from escaping at a rate that exceeds what the blower  70  can supply. Currently, two rings of 2 inch Velcro are enough, but should a tighter system be desired, and thereby needing a blower of smaller capacity, measures could be taken to seal up the needle puncture  340  holes and the Velcro connection points. Measures could be, but are not limited to adhering a piece of fabric to form a sealed joint, additional rings of hook and loop connections such as Velcro, one or more attachment flaps  110  that create a more enclosed and complex path with more resistance to escaping air, sealed zippers, or magnets. 
         [0171]    A fill cap  200  with a fill snorkel  150  is the preferred way to inflate the guide tube  30 . The fill cap  200  is designed such that it attaches to the uphill end of the track  40  and has a tubular protrusion at an advantageous angle to the guide tube  30 . This guide tube  30  can be inserted through a starting deck hole  270  in the starting deck  20  and attached to the blower  70  or piping system  310 , such that the fill point is hidden away from the users. 
         [0172]    The mating hook and loop connections such as Velcro on the track  40  must be securely adhered or fastened to the track  40  by some permanent means, such as adhesive, staples, nails, screws, or carpet tacks. 
         [0173]    Other embodiments of the present invention may include, but not be limited to the starting deck  20  could be built to be permanent or removable; there could be an overlaid second wear layer along the impact zone of the guide tube  30 ; the guide tubes  30  could contain a slippery bumper layer; the guide tubes  30  could have sectioned parts to make the guide tubes  30  flex and conform to non-straight sections of track  40 ; the guide tubes could be used on rolling hills or banked curves; mWax, or a similar synthetic snow lubricant can be used to speed up riding tubes  50  and could be used on guide tube  30  walls to make slipperier; Non-circular cross sections of the guide tube  30  are possible; the entire guide tubes  30  could be made with drop stitch fabric; track  40  sections could be made from inflatable structure; the guide tubes  30  could be elevated off ground with supporting structure that allows for similar deflection properties; could use ski hill air compressor or water piping system to fill guide tubes  30  for convenience and quietness; could use different removable connection points; could permanently attach bumpers to the guide tubes  30 ; printed or colored fabric for coloring or branding on any of the components; use of translucent fabric with lights behind it to light up for night operations for any of the components; could be used without artificial ski mat as a track or part of the track  40  rather simply slippery fabric or other slippery hard or soft surface; participants could go down track  40  with any sliding device including simply sliding down the track  40  in their clothes; the present invention can be used in the winter with real snow in the track  40 ; guide tubes  30  could be made at a smaller diameter than the riding tubes  50 ;one could feasibly inflate the guide tubes  30  from any point or even from the bottom of the guide tube  30 ; inflatable slow down devices could be easily added to the track  40 , and such devices could be deflated, but should the operator want to bring a tuber to a stop, the device could be inflated. 
         [0174]    When inflated, the device will come into contact with the moving tube from the bottom or from one or both sides. The inflated device will add to the frictional force that opposes the motion, bringing the participant to a stop quicker that when not using such a device. 
         [0175]    The entire piping system  310  and guide tubes  30 . The piping system  310  and guide tubes  30  could be covered under an inflated or structural shell  330 . The participants would actually be traveling down the hill inside of an enclosed structure, keeping them out of the rain or the sun. 
         [0176]    Throughout the use of the tubing track  40 , the need to lubricate the artificial ski surface may be necessary. This could be accomplished through the use of a rolling waxer. This roller would have a cylindrical casting of tubeWax™ or similar lubricant that could be simply rolled down the track, pressing the wax onto the tips of the bristles. 
         [0177]    Additionally, speed up panels could be added into slower sections of track  40  or on tracks  40  that are on too shallow a grade for the riding tubes  50  to make it down the hill. These panels could be pre-wetted with a lubricant such as tubeWax™ or silicone or any similar slippery fluid. The tubers would then pass over the panel and get a layer of lubricant on their tubes, automatically speeding them up. 
         [0178]    The inflatable guide tubes  30  provide a very large and prominent surface area that could very readily be used for branding or on hill advertising. The simplest method would be to build the guide tubes  30  out of printed vinyl fabric. Another method would be to sew Velcro strips on the guide tubes such that at any later date, a banner could be printed and assembled with its own mating Velcro pattern such that it could be quickly attached to the guide tubes  30  using Velcro. 
         [0179]    This track  40  and guide tube  30  system could very easily be adapted for flat land use with some other propulsion system. Examples of such systems are handle tows, cable tows, rope tows, bungee systems, winch systems, etc. 
         [0180]    The entire present invention  10  could be used in the winter when there is or isn&#39;t snow. The track  40  with guide tubes  30  could be used with uphill tow lines. In fact, this would be another prominent use of the design. These particular guide tubes  30  could possibly be much smaller in diameter and could be designed to stop a tube, should it come detached from the tow line. The smaller riding tubes may work very well to keep an uphill tuber on the desired uphill track  40 . 
         [0181]    Finally, the inflatable guide tube  30  could be used for any form of sledding, tobogganing, tubing, skiing, sliding, etc. where a specific track  40  and path of travel is desired.