Patent Publication Number: US-2022226740-A1

Title: Amusement Device for Fairs, Amusement Parks or the Like

Description:
The invention relates to an amusement device for fairs, amusement parks or the like having a substantially circular planar base on which is disposed a star-shaped drive unit rotatably mounted on a support bearing of the base, and on each arm of the drive unit is disposed a passenger gondola. 
     Such an amusement device can already be found in U.S. Pat. No. 1,745,719 from 1930, where a star-shaped drive unit is described, which carries gondolas at the respective ends of its arms, which rotate along a concentric path on the base and thereby perform a rotation of their own. However, the amusement effect involved is limited and relatively monotonous. 
     Nowadays operators of amusement devices at fairs are increasingly striving to make the motion of passenger gondolas as random or variable as possible, with unpredictable and interactive motion sequences in particular leading to enhanced amusement experiences. On the other hand, the audience to be addressed is of different ages and interests, so that devices for young people have to be designed differently than devices for small children and people who are not so interested in extreme effects or strong acceleration forces. 
     The invention is essentially aimed at the second-mentioned public, which, however, also expects that surprising elements can be experienced and that interactivity with the device is possible. 
     The invention is therefore based on the object of specifying an amusement device for fairs, amusement parks or the like, which offers a great amusement experience for the addressed public, which can be set up in a small space, is easy to control and allows a variable sequence of movements. 
     This object is accomplished by the invention indicated in claim  1 . More advanced embodiments of the invention are stated in subclaims. 
     Based on the features of U.S. Pat. No. 1,745,719 disclosed in the preamble of claim  1 , the invention provides that one or more of the passenger gondolas arranged on the arms are displaceable in the radial direction of the base by means of respective pushing devices arranged displaceably in the longitudinal direction of the arms. For radial displacement, the respective passenger gondola is coupled to the respective pushing device, wherein the pushing devices follow a predetermined guide track during rotating of the drive unit on a driving platform, so that the passenger gondolas follow a circulation path on the base which corresponds to the course of the guide track. 
     In a first embodiment, the passenger gondolas travel on the travel platform preferably on two wheels, wherein a third support point is formed by coupling with the pushing device, which rotates below the travel platform and is connected to the passenger gondola via a driver. The driver is guided by and follows a gap-shaped guide track formed in the ride platform as the drive unit orbits. Alternatively, the guide track may be formed by a track on the base which the pushing device follows as it orbits on the base. 
     In a second embodiment, the passenger gondolas float in a water basin and are likewise moved by arms of a drive unit. 
     The circulation path of the gondolas on the base depends on the selected course of the guide track. In a simple embodiment, the guide track runs concentrically to the base. In more advanced embodiments it is circular, oval, triangular or irregular, whereby the star-shaped drive unit for the passenger gondolas is preferably mounted eccentrically on the base. The guide track thereby defines the circulation path of the gondolas on the base. The mutual distance of the passenger gondolas during circulation on the base changes if the bearing of the drive unit is arranged eccentrically to the guide track. As a result, the length of the virtual circular chords between two passenger gondolas varies more the further the bearing of the drive unit is spaced from the center of the base and the guide track is concentric with the center of the base. Furthermore the distance between two successive passenger gondolas increases when the pushing devices for the passenger gondolas on the arms are far from the center of the drive unit, while the length of the virtual circle chords decreases when the pushing devices are close to the center of the drive unit. Thus the passenger gondolas can be accelerated and decelerated during their orbit on the base. 
     Preferably, the passenger gondolas are coupled to the respective pushing device in a rotatable or free-running manner. By means of a control device, e.g. in the form of a steering wheel, the passengers can thus swivel or rotate the passenger gondolas relative to the pushing device. 
     For coupling the passenger gondolas with the respective pushing devices, the pushing devices are provided with preferably rod-shaped vertically directed drivers which reach through a rail-shaped guide gap and thus follow the course of the guide track. An upper end of the drivers can carry the steering wheel which can be operated by the passengers. 
     Instead of a static guide track, in a more advanced embodiment the invention provides for controlling the displacement of the pushing devices by means of pneumatic, hydraulic, chain, rack and pinion or electric drive. In this way, almost any pattern of movement of the passenger gondolas can be performed during the rotation of the drive unit. However, this requires that the arms of the drive unit are either located on the upper side of the ride platform or that the ride platform rotates with the drive unit, in which case the drivers are guided through gaps in the ride platform that run parallel to the arms. 
     The invention is not limited to passenger gondolas that ride on a ride platform. Rather, the invention is also advantageously applicable to an amusement device which is designed as a water basin in which the passenger gondolas are floatable. In this case, no fixed driving platform is required. The guide track can be formed by underwater rails. However, the pushing devices can also be actuated by the aforementioned active drives, in which case no statically formed guide track is required. 
     When active drives are used to move the pushing devices, the passenger gondolas can be moved to the rim of the water basin at the beginning of a ride or at its end to allow passengers to board and disembark without having to raise an underwater platform to allow passengers to board or disembark from passenger gondolas that are not at the rim of the basin. 
     In a further embodiment of the invention the arms of the drive unit may also be vertically pivotable in such a way that the outer ends of the arms are movable in a vertical direction by bearing on a vertically profiled path, so as to allow the passenger gondolas to follow an upward and downward path. 
     Instead of a single passenger gondola on an arm, two or more passenger gondolas may be associated with an arm by using a gondola frame to which the passenger gondolas are attached, the gondola frame being coupled to the pushing device. 
     The gondola frame is preferably pivotally or rotatably connected to the pushing device, so that the passengers can experience a rotational movement about the axis connecting the gondola frame to the pushing device during the ride. The rotation is preferably performed by means of a push rod arranged between a joint on the drive unit, for example an arm, and a joint on the gondola frame. 
     Furthermore, the individual passenger gondolas may also be rotatable relative to the gondola frame. 
     The gondolas of the gondola frame may further be slidably formed on the gondola frame by being coupled to displacement devices which run over the gondola frame, the diplacement devices being connected to arms of a drive unit which is rotatably arranged on the pushing device. 
     It may also be provided that the passenger gondolas are pivotable about a horizontal axis, so as to give passengers in a water basin the illusion of being in an actual boat, although there is a mechanical connection between the passenger gondola, pushing device and arm. 
     The invention is explained in more detail below with reference to examples of embodiments. 
    
    
     
       The figures show the following: 
         FIG. 1  a top view of an amusement device of a first embodiment of the invention, in which the guide track is circular, 
         FIG. 2  a sectional view of the representation of  FIG. 1 , 
         FIG. 3  a top view of a vehicle, 
         FIG. 4  a perspective view of an amusement device of a second embodiment of the invention, 
         FIG. 5  a top view of an amusement device of the second embodiment of the invention in a loading position, 
         FIG. 6  a top view of an amusement device of the second embodiment of the invention in an operating position, 
         FIG. 7  a view of a gondola frame, and 
         FIG. 8  a view of a gondola drive. 
     
    
    
     The amusement device according to the invention is a circularly shaped device which is substantially in the form of a revolving ride. Passenger gondolas in the form of vehicles move on a platform or boats in a basin along a course which is substantially circular in its basic shape. 
     In the first embodiment shown in  FIG. 1 , a number of vehicles  6 , each provided with two seats  12 , are shown travelling in a circle on a platform  2  extending above and parallel to the base  1 . Between the base  1  and the platform  2  there is a drive unit  3 , which is rotatably mounted eccentrically from the base centre  4  in a support bearing  5 . The drive unit  3  has a of radially directed arms  8  extending below the platform  2  from the support bearing  5  to near the outer rim of the base  1 . On each arm  8  of the drive unit  3 , a pushing device  15  ( FIG. 2 ) is slidably arranged in the longitudinal direction of the arms. Each pushing device  15  is provided with a rod-shaped vertically directed driver  9 . All the drivers  9  of the pushing devices  15  arranged on the arms project through a guide gap  7  formed in the platform  2 . The pushing devices  15  are coupled above the platform  2  to the individual vehicles  6  via the drivers  9 . 
     In this case, the guide track is formed by two rails fixed to the platform at a distance from each other, forming a gap  7 , so that the respective drivers  9  can follow the course of the gap  7  of the guide track. Although the guide gap  7  shown in  FIG. 1  is circular in shape, other shapes of the guide section, such as oval, triangular or irregular, are preferred. Alternatively, the guide track shown in  FIG. 2  is formed by a running rail  14  formed on the base  1 , on which runs a running wheel  16  connected to the pushing device  15 , which follows the running rail  14  as the drive unit  3  rotates. In this case, the guide track extending in the platform  2  is only a guide gap  7  through which the drivers  9  coupled to the vehicles run. 
     The vehicles  6  coupled to the drivers  9  have two rear wheels  13 , while the front part of each of the vehicles rests on the drivers  9 . The drivers  9  also have a vertical extension to which a steering wheel  11  is attached. This allows passengers seated in the vehicles  6  to svivel the vehicle laterally by a pivot angle  10  of, for example, 70° via a rotation of the steering wheel  11  relative to the vehicle while it is moving. 
     In the sectional view of  FIG. 1  shown in  FIG. 2 , it is shown that the drive unit  3  is mounted in a support bearing  5  on the base  1 . The support bearing  5  is located between the base  1  and the platform  2  and forms the axis of rotation of the drive unit  3 . This can be motor-driven on the support bearing  5 . In an alternative embodiment, the ends of the arms  8  can be attached to an annular support rail  20  ( FIG. 4 ), via which the rotation of the drive unit  3  is effected by means of a friction wheel drive  21  ( FIGS. 5, 6 ). In this case the support bearing  5  is a free running bearing. 
     On each of the radially directed arms  8  a pushing device  15  is displaceably arranged. Depending on the design of the arms  8 , the pushing device  15  is in particular a free-running sleeve, sliding rails coupled to the arms or a sliding carriage. The pushing devices  15  are substantially free to move in the longitudinal direction of the arms. The arms  8 , which may also have a curved shape, in particular as a crescent, may be U-sections, beams or frameworks. 
     The drivers  9  attached to the pushing devices  15  project through guide gaps  7  and are coupled to the vehicles  6  above the platform. When the drive unit  3  rotates, the drivers  9  therefore follow the course of the guide gap  7 , and thus the vehicles travel on the platform according to the course of the guide gap. 
     To support the pushing devices  15  and the arms  8 , running wheels  16  are formed, which either engage in the running rail  14  and thereby form the guide track, or are merely support wheels to relieve the weight of the arms. 
     Passengers can enter and exit platform  2  via entrances and exits  30 . 
       FIG. 3  shows a top view of a vehicle  6  with two seats  12  and wheels  13 . Facing the seats  12  is a steering wheel  11  which is arcuate in shape and is fixedly coupled to the driver  9 . The passengers can thus turn the vehicle sideways up to a predetermined pivot angle  10  by operating the steering wheel  11 . 
     The operation of the amusement device is as follows: After the passengers have been admitted to the platform, have entered the vehicles and have been secured, the amusement device is set in motion by the drive unit  3  being set in rotation. The individual vehicles  6  follow the gap-shaped guide track  7  or the running rail  14  formed as a support bearing, by means of the drivers  9 . If the guide track were concentric about a support bearing  5  arranged centrally on the base, the running path of the vehicles would also be concentric about the support bearing. However, if the support bearing  5  is arranged eccentrically with respect to the base center  4  of the base  1  while the guide track is formed centrically with respect to the base center  4 , the pushing devices  15  will move on the respective arms  8  in accordance with the distance between the base center  4  and the support bearing  5  due to the guidance of the drivers on the guide track during the circulation of the drive unit. The circulation path of the vehicles continues to be circular when the guide section is circular, but the distance between successive vehicles changes continuously due to the distance between the support of the driving device and the base center because of shortened or lengthened chordal distances between the respective pushing devices on the arms. Further, if the guide track is not circular in shape but oval, triangular or freeform, the vehicles may follow a path of travel that is unpredictable to passengers and may cover a large area of the platform. If, in addition, the possible swivelling of the vehicles is taken into account and the drive unit is rotated with sufficient speed, strong acceleration and deceleration effects result, which guarantee a great potential for amusement. 
     In the second embodiment of the invention illustrated in  FIGS. 4-8 , the amusement device is formed with boats  19  floating in a basin  18 . Here, the bottom of the water basin forms the base  1  of the device. In this case, passengers can enter the boats  19  at the rim of the basin after passing through the ticket booth  17 , as shown in  FIG. 5 , and leave the boats  19  again at the rim of the basin after the end of a ride. 
     In this case, a drive unit  31  substantially corresponding to the drive unit  3  is provided, by means of which the passenger gondolas formed as boats  19  are moved. 
       FIG. 4  shows a perspective view of such a device. The water basin  18  contains the drive unit  31 , which is centrally mounted in a pivot bearing  28  and carries three radially outwardly pointing arms  32 , each of which consists of two parallel tubes. The ends of the arms  32  are connected to a circumferential support rail  20 , on the side of which friction wheel drives  21  arranged on the circumference of the basin  18  press, the support rail  20  being additionally supported by free-running support wheels  26 . The arms  32  are further supported by support rollers on an annular support rail  22  arranged at the bottom of the basin. Alternatively, also in this case the drive of the drive unit  31  may be provided by a central drive instead of the drive by friction wheels. 
     In this embodiment two boats  19  each are arranged on a triangular-shaped gondola frame  23 , which in turn is attached to the respective pushing device  24 , which is slidably arranged on the arms  32 . In this case, the pushing devices  24  are preferably controlled by pneumatic actuators or alternatively by hydraulic, rack and pinion, chain, cable or electric actuators, whereas the control may be programmed. It is also possible to manually control the displacement of the pushing devices, so that any travel paths can be realized. For a simple operation of the amusement device, predetermined profiles of the movement sequence can be set up for the program-controlled operation, which can control the displacement of the pushing devices in a location-dependent and/or time-dependent manner. A mechanically designed guide via a driver running in a guide track in accordance with the first embodiment is not required in this case. However, even if the amusement device is designed as a water basin, a fixed guide section can be used which is located on the bottom of the water basin. 
       FIG. 5  shows a top view of the device in a position where passengers can enter or leave the boats. Here, all boats  19  are at the rim of the basin  18  so that passengers can enter or leave the boats dry. This position of the boats is achieved by the respective pushing devices  24  having moved the boats to the rim of the basin, and drive rollers  33  having aligned the boats with the rim of the basin. 
       FIG. 6  shows the device in a position in which the boats  19  move in the water according to the control by the pushing devices. Since the boats are each arranged in pairs on gondola frames  23  and the gondola frames  23 , in addition to being moved on the arms  32  via the pushing devices  24 , can also be pivoted or rotated over a large angle in accordance with the travel path  25  by means of rotary actuators  27  located on the pushing devices  24 , there are innumerable patterns of movement of the boats in the water. 
     The rotation resp. pivoting of the gondola frames is effected by the boats being attached, as shown in  FIG. 7 , to sleeve-shaped displacement devices  39  and  40  which run, on the one hand, on arms  37  and  38  connected to the rotary device  27  and, on the other hand, on a circumferential rail  29  of the gondola frame  23 . When the rotary drive  27  is actuated, the displacement devices  39  and  40  and the boats attached thereto thus move along the rail  29  of the gondola frame  23 . 
     The gondola frame  23  itself can be rotated or pivoted relative to the arm  32  in a simple manner by inserting a push rod  35  between a joint  34  on the gondola frame and a joint  36  on the arm  32 , as shown in  FIGS. 5 and 6 . There it is shown that in the condition in which a pushing device  24  has guided a gondola frame  23  to the rim of the basin, the push rod is substantially parallel to the arm  32 , whereas in the condition of  FIG. 6  the push rod has pivoted the gondola frame by a certain angle. 
     It may also be provided that the boats can perform minor vertical movements by the support rails  20  having a vertical profiling, the arms  32  being vertically pivotable in the bearing  28 . If the profiling is stepped, the boats can in this way cause a sudden strong displacement of water with splashing effects. 
     Finally, the boats  19  may be rotatable about a vertical axis relative to the gondola frame. This can be controlled by the passengers themselves via a steering wheel, if the passenger gondolas are designed such that the passengers sit opposite each other in the gondolas. 
     In a further embodiment of the second example, it may also be provided that the boats are pivotable to some extent about one or two horizontal axes to achieve the appearance of actual free floating boats moving freely in the water. 
     
       
         
           
               
             
               
                   
               
               
                 Reference symbols 
               
               
                   
               
             
            
               
                   
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                 1 
                 base 
               
               
                 2 
                 platform 
               
               
                 3 
                 drive unit 
               
               
                 4 
                 base center 
               
               
                 5 
                 support bearing 
               
               
                 6 
                 vehicle 
               
               
                 7 
                 guide gap 
               
               
                 8 
                 arms 
               
               
                 9 
                 driver 
               
               
                 10 
                 pivot angle 
               
               
                 11 
                 steering wheel 
               
               
                 12 
                 seats 
               
               
                 13 
                 wheels 
               
               
                 14 
                 running rail 
               
               
                 15 
                 pushing device 
               
               
                 16 
                 wheel 
               
               
                 17 
                 ticket booth 
               
               
                 18 
                 basin 
               
               
                 19 
                 boats 
               
               
                 20 
                 support rail 
               
               
                 21 
                 friction wheel drive 
               
               
                 22 
                 support rail 
               
               
                 23 
                 gondola frame 
               
               
                 24 
                 pushing device 
               
               
                 25 
                 travel path 
               
               
                 26 
                 support wheel 
               
               
                 27 
                 rotary actuator 
               
               
                 28 
                 pivot bearing 
               
               
                 29 
                 rail 
               
               
                 30 
                 entrance and exit 
               
               
                 31 
                 drive unit 
               
               
                 32 
                 arms 
               
               
                 33 
                 drive rollers 
               
               
                 34 
                 joint 
               
               
                 35 
                 push rod 
               
               
                 36 
                 joint 
               
               
                 37 
                 arm 
               
               
                 38 
                 arm 
               
               
                 39 
                 displacement device 
               
               
                 40 
                 displacement device