EP3538234B1 - Amusement ride, particularly a roller coaster - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an amusement ride, in particular a roller coaster.

Rides are an integral part of folk festivals or amusement parks. Roller coasters, in particular, which have closed guideways with elevations, depressions and loops, through which a number of vehicles sometimes travel at very high speed, enjoy particular popularity.

The attractiveness of rides and roller coasters in particular also depends, among other things, on the surprising movements the vehicles can make when driving through the guideway. However, if a person has already ridden a ride several times, the surprise effect wears off. After a certain operating time, the ride concerned has to be converted or a completely new ride purchased in order to provide new surprise effects and thus maintain its attractiveness. However, this results in high investment costs, which are particularly difficult or impossible to bear for smaller amusement parks, so that they run the risk of losing economic access to larger amusement parks.

DE 102 45 147 A1 teaches a vehicle for an amusement ride having a platform with a chassis. The platform is configured to accommodate various people receiving arrangements.

WO 2007/050545 A2 discloses a roller coaster having a plurality of guideways between which vehicles can switch.

The object of an embodiment of the present invention is therefore to provide an amusement ride, and in particular a roller coaster, which makes it possible to maintain and / or increase the attractiveness over a longer operating time with relatively low investment costs.

This object is achieved with the features specified in claim 1. Advantageous embodiments are the subject of the subclaims.

One embodiment of the invention relates to an amusement ride, in particular a roller coaster, comprising a guideway, a number of first vehicles movable along the guideway with a first person receiving arrangement, a number of second vehicles movable along the guideway with a second person receiving arrangement, which differs from the first person receiving arrangement distinguishes between a coupling device with which the first vehicles and / or the second vehicles can be coupled into the guideway, and a launch section with which the first and second vehicles coupled into the guideway can be accelerated.

A roller coaster track defines a closed route so that the vehicles return to the starting point after a certain travel time. The vehicles have roll-off devices which interact with the guideway in such a way that the vehicles always remain connected to the guideway even at high speeds, tight bends and loops. In addition, there are also rides that do not have a closed route, but rather have a U-shaped guideway when viewed from the side, and in which the vehicles move pendulously between the two legs of the guideway.

A person receiving arrangement should be understood to mean all components that are necessary for positioning and securing people in the vehicle, for example seats and safety brackets.

A coupling device is to be understood as a device with which a vehicle can be removed from the guideway and fed back to it. In the simplest case, the coupling device can have a switch or be formed by a switch via which the vehicle can be moved from the guide track to a secondary track, which is particularly useful when people get on and off. But for repairs, too, it is advisable to remove the vehicle in question from the guideway and to smuggle it back in again after the repair has been completed. In both cases, the vehicle in question does not obstruct the guideway, so that driving can continue.

The vehicles themselves usually do not have their own drive device, but are dragged, for example by means of a cable pull, to a height at which their potential energy is sufficient to be able to drive the rest of the route without further active acceleration. In roller coasters of this type, the course of the guideways is specified to the extent that the highest point of the guideway follows directly after the start.

In the present case, the amusement ride and in particular the roller coaster has a launch section, which is to be understood as an acceleration section which represents part of the guideway and within which the vehicles are accelerated by means of a drive device to a speed at which the kinetic energy of the vehicles is sufficient to be able to drive either the entire route or at least until the next launch section without additional active acceleration. Active acceleration is to be understood as an acceleration by means of a drive device will. The acceleration of vehicles when driving down slopes as a result of the downhill force acting on the vehicles should not count as active acceleration.

Since the aim is to keep the launch section relatively short, the vehicles have to be accelerated very strongly, which, however, certainly contributes to the attractiveness of the relevant ride and in particular the relevant roller coaster. In order to be able to provide these strong accelerations, modern rides have a linear induction motor or a linear synchronous motor in the launch section, which work similarly to a rotating electric motor, but with the difference that the electromagnets are not arranged in a circle around the rotor, but along the launch section . The vehicle has a sword which interacts with the electromagnets.

In another embodiment, the drive device of the launch section can have hydraulic motors, a hydraulic fluid being conveyed into storage containers via pumps. Nitrogen is strongly compressed in further pressure vessels, so that the necessary energy can be stored relatively slowly and evenly. When starting, the compressed gas pushes the hydraulic oil out of the reservoir through lines onto the hydraulic motors arranged in a circle. The vehicles or caddies that can be coupled to the vehicle are attracted by a steel cable and thus accelerated.

In another embodiment, a pneumatic cylinder, through which the steel cable also runs, runs next to the launch section. A slide in the pneumatic cylinder is attached to the steel cable opposite the caddy. Due to a sudden increase in pressure on one side of the slide it is moved in the opposite direction and thus drives the train.

An essential core of the present invention is that at least two vehicles are used which have two different person receiving arrangements, different driving experiences can be provided in the same ride and in particular on the same roller coaster. This is based on the knowledge that driving through the same guideway is perceived differently by the people traveling with them if they are positioned and secured in different ways on the vehicle and they have a different orientation to the guideway. This results in the advantage for the operator of the ride and in particular the roller coaster that at least two different driving experiences can be provided on the same roller coaster, which would otherwise only be possible with one or more complete additional roller coasters. It is also possible to retrofit existing roller coasters with comparatively low investment costs. For this purpose, a new vehicle with a newly designed passenger accommodation arrangement, which provides a driving experience not yet offered, can replace an old vehicle. A new roller coaster is not necessary. With the aid of the coupling device, the first vehicle and the second vehicle can be coupled into the guideway in a simple manner without the need for a large amount of time. On the contrary, people can get into the decoupled vehicles and leave them while the coupled vehicles drive through the guideway. A fully loaded vehicle is already ready when the coupled vehicle ends its journey. The throughput of people can thereby be increased and the ride or roller coaster can be operated more economically.

In the event that the amusement ride has a first and a second vehicle that have two different people-receiving arrangements, a person must drive the amusement ride at least twice in order to be able to experience both driving experiences at least once. This increases the attractiveness of the ride and makes it more economical to operate.

According to a further embodiment, the first person receiving arrangement is designed in a row and the second person receiving arrangement is circular. A row-shaped person accommodation arrangement is to be understood as a person accommodation arrangement in which the people are accommodated in rows one behind the other in the vehicles, as is customary, for example, in aircraft and in large areas of trains. In the case of a circularly designed person accommodation arrangement, the persons are accommodated in the vehicles in such a way that they are oriented either approximately towards a common center, away from the center or tangentially to the center. Alternatively, the person receiving arrangement can also be oval, elliptical or polygonal.

Due to the different design of the person receiving arrangements, different driving experiences can be provided on the same roller coaster in a technically simple manner and thus with low investment costs. There is no need to build one or more new roller coasters.

A further embodiment provides that the second person accommodation arrangement has at least one degree of freedom more or a different degree of freedom with regard to mobility than the first person accommodation arrangement or vice versa. The The second person receiving arrangement can, for example, be designed to be rotatable, pivotable or tiltable, while the first person receiving arrangement does not have this mobility. Alternatively, the degree of freedom can be the same for both person receiving arrangements, but refer to a different spatial axis. For example, the first person receiving arrangement can be rotatable about an axis of rotation running perpendicular to the first vehicle, while the second person receiving arrangement can be rotated about an axis of rotation running parallel to the second vehicle. Again, a further driving experience on the same guideway is realized with comparatively low investment costs.

In a further developed embodiment, the second person receiving arrangement can have a number of rotatably mounted plates or disks. In the case of the circularly designed people receiving arrangement, it is advisable to provide rotatably mounted plates with which the people can be rotated about an axis of rotation while driving. This makes it possible to provide a further driving experience that is not offered on the other vehicle, which in turn increases the attractiveness of the roller coaster.

In a further developed embodiment, the first person reception arrangement can have a number of seats for seated reception of persons and the second person reception arrangement a number of personal security pillars for standing persons or vice versa. While it is common for most roller coasters to take a seated person, standing up is an exception. However, whether the roller coaster is driven through standing or sitting is of considerable importance for the particular driving experience. The respective driving experiences give way thus very clearly from each other, without major technical changes and consequently major investments in the roller coaster being necessary.

According to a further developed embodiment, the first person receiving arrangement has a number of seats for seated reception of people and the second person reception arrangement has a number of seats for seated reception of people, the seats of the first person reception arrangement having a different orientation than the seats of the second person reception arrangement. For example, some of the seats may face the front end of the vehicle in question, while the remaining seats may face the rear end, which is not the case in the other vehicle. Aligning some or all of the seats towards the lateral ends of the vehicle in question is also conceivable, which is not the case in the other vehicle. Again, the respective driving experiences differ significantly from each other without major technical changes and consequently major investments in the ride being necessary.

In a further embodiment, the coupled first and second vehicles can be braked by means of the launch section. In the event that the launch section has a linear induction motor or a linear synchronous motor, the launch section can be used both for acceleration and for braking, so that a separate braking mechanism is not necessary. This keeps the investment costs low.

Another embodiment is characterized in that the launch section extends over a front end and a rear end of the coupling device. The definition the front end and the rear end should be based on the direction of travel of the vehicles usually used. As a result, the vehicles are accelerated over the front end of the coupling device. Because the launch section also extends over the rear end of the coupling device, it is possible to brake and stop the vehicles before they reach the coupling device. On the one hand, this can be advantageous for safety reasons, on the other hand, delays in the operational sequence can be compensated for, for which the braked vehicle can wait in front of the coupling device until it is released.

Because the launch section extends both over the front and the rear end of the coupling device, the distance available for both acceleration and braking is lengthened. This makes it possible, for example, to initially move a vehicle slowly backwards over the rear end of the coupling device in order to then accelerate the vehicle in question over a correspondingly longer distance in the direction of travel. This can be particularly useful if the vehicle in question is particularly heavy. The same applies to the deceleration, so that a vehicle is braked by driving through the front end of the coupling device and, after it has come to a standstill on the launching section, is slowly driven backwards into the coupling device. This makes it possible to reduce the forces acting on people during acceleration and deceleration.

A further developed embodiment is characterized in that the roller coaster comprises detection means with which it can be detected whether a first vehicle or a second vehicle Vehicle is coupled into the guideway. Only when it has been ensured that a vehicle is coupled into the guideway can the launch section be activated. Depending on whether a first vehicle or a second vehicle is coupled into the guideway, it may be desirable or even necessary to accelerate the vehicle in question more or less. Depending on the design of the people receiving arrangement, the forces acting on the people may have to be limited, which can be achieved in particular by driving through the guide track at a lower speed. In addition, the differently configured people receiving arrangements can lead to a different weight of the respective vehicles, which can or must also be taken into account during acceleration. With the aid of the detection means, it is possible to clearly determine which vehicle is currently coupled into the guideway. The detection means can be connected to a control unit on which the acceleration profile provided for the respective vehicle is stored, so that it is ensured that the provided acceleration profile is always used.

Figur 1

eine Ausführungsform eines erfindungsgemäßen, als Achterbahn ausgestalteten Fahrgeschäfts anhand einer prinzipiellen Draufsicht,

Figur 2a)

ein erstes Fahrzeug anhand einer prinzipiellen Draufsicht,

Figur 2b)

das in Figur 2a) dargestellte erste Fahrzeug mit einem ersten Ausführungsbeispiel einer ersten Personenaufnahmeanordnung,

Figur 2c)

das in Figur 2a) dargestellte erste Fahrzeug mit einem zweiten Ausführungsbeispiel der ersten Personenaufnahmeanordnung, jeweils anhand einer prinzipiellen Seitenansicht, und

Figur 2d)

ein zweites Fahrzeug anhand einer prinzipiellen Draufsicht.

Exemplary embodiments of the invention are explained in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Show it

Figure 1

an embodiment of a ride according to the invention, designed as a roller coaster based on a basic top view

Figure 2a)

a first vehicle based on a basic plan view,

Figure 2b)

this in Figure 2a ) shown first vehicle with a first embodiment of a first person reception arrangement,

Figure 2c)

this in Figure 2a ) shown first vehicle with a second embodiment of the first person accommodation arrangement, each based on a basic side view, and

Figure 2d)

a second vehicle based on a basic plan view.

In Figure 1 is an embodiment of an inventive, designed as a roller coaster 10 ride 10 based on a basic plan view. The roller coaster 10 comprises a guideway 12 which defines a closed travel route and which comprises a number of curves, ascents, descents, loops and other direction-changing areas. A first vehicle 16 and a second vehicle 18 can be coupled into the guide track 12 by means of a coupling device 14. Inside the coupling device 14, the first vehicle 16 is on a first guide track section 20 and the second vehicle 18 is on a second guide track section 22. The first guide track section 20 and the second guide track section 22 can be moved within the coupling device 14 along the directions marked with the arrow P1 thus laterally introduced into the rest of the guideway 12. The first or the second vehicle 18 are then coupled into the guide track 12 when the first guide track section 20 or the second guide track section 22 are flush with the rest of the guide track 12.

Instead of a linear movement, the coupling device 14 can also comprise switches, in particular rotating or drop switches, in order to remove the first and second vehicles 16, 18 from the guideway and to feed them back to it.

In addition, the first vehicle 16 has a first person receiving arrangement 24 and the second vehicle 18 has a second person receiving arrangement 26, which differ from one another. This will be discussed in more detail later.

Furthermore, the roller coaster 10 comprises a launch section 28 which extends both over a front end 30 of the coupling device 14 and over a rear end 32 of the coupling device 14. The definition of the front and rear ends 30, 32 of the coupling device 14 is based on the direction of travel in which the first and second vehicles 18 are usually moved and which is shown with the arrow P2. The launch section 28 serves to accelerate the first vehicle 18 and the second vehicle 20, for which purpose the launch section 28 has a linear induction motor (not shown) or a linear synchronous motor. In the illustrated embodiment of the roller coaster 10, the launch section 28 also serves to brake the first and second vehicle 18s, but this does not necessarily have to be the case.

The roller coaster 10 is operated in the following manner: With the aid of the coupling device 14, either the first vehicle 16 or the second vehicle 18 is coupled into the guideway 12. The vehicle is then accelerated with the aid of the launch section 28 to a speed at which the first vehicle 16 has a sufficiently high kinetic energy to move around the entire guideway 12 without a to be able to drive through further active acceleration. Here, the first vehicle 16, starting from the in Figure 1 The position shown can be accelerated directly over the front end 30 of the coupling device 14 in the direction of travel or initially slowly moved backwards over the rear end 32 of the coupling device 14 and then accelerated over the front end 30 in the direction of travel.

While the accelerated first vehicle 16 is on the guideway 12 and outside of the coupling device 14, the second vehicle 18 can be loaded and unloaded. In other words, the people can get out of the second vehicle 18 after their journey has ended and people waiting who have their journey ahead of them can get into the second vehicle 18.

As soon as the accelerated first vehicle 16 has passed the guideway and has reached the launch section 28 again, it is braked by the latter. The braking can take place in such a way that the first vehicle 16 is directly in the in Figure 1 The position shown comes to a standstill without having crossed the front end 30 of the coupling device 14. Alternatively, however, the braking can be carried out in such a way that the first vehicle 16 only comes to a stop after crossing the front end 30, but within the launch section 28. It is then then slowly reversed until the first vehicle 16 reaches the in Figure 1 has reached the position shown. The first guideway section 20, and consequently the first vehicle 16, is then based on the in Figure 1 The selected representation is moved to the right within the coupling device 14 and is consequently decoupled from the guide track 12, which is symbolized by the dashed representation is. At the same time or with a slight time delay, the second guide track section 22 with the second vehicle 18 is also moved to the right within the coupling device 14 until the second guide track section 22 is aligned with the rest of the guide track 12. The second vehicle 18 is then moved along the guideway 12 in the same way as has been described for the first vehicle 16.

While the second vehicle 18 is on the guideway 12 and outside the coupling device 14, the people can leave the first vehicle 16 and people waiting can board the first vehicle 16.

Furthermore, the roller coaster 10 comprises detection means 34 with which it can be determined whether one of the vehicles 16, 18 is coupled into the guideway 12 and thus the launch section 28 can be activated. In addition, the detection means 34 can determine whether the first vehicle 18 or the second vehicle 20 is coupled into the guideway 12. The acceleration and braking processes can be adapted to the coupled-in vehicle 18, 20.

In Figure 2a ) a first embodiment of the first vehicle 16 is shown based on a basic plan view. The first vehicle 16 has the first person receiving arrangement 24, which is configured in a row. To accommodate the people, the first person receiving arrangement 24 can have a number of seats 36 or personal security pillars 38, which are in the Figures 2b ) and 2c) are also shown using a basic side view. While the seats 36 are used for seated transport of the people, the people can be transported standing with the personal security pillars 38. The seats 36 and the personal security pillars 38 are rotatably mounted about a first axis of rotation R1 running perpendicular to the guide track 12 so that they can be rotated accordingly while driving.

The personal security pillars 38 each include a stand section 40 on which a person traveling with them must stand. This standing section 40 can include fastening devices, not shown, with which the person traveling can be secured in the area of the legs while driving. The entire standing section 40 can be rotated with the remaining personal security pillars 38 about the first axis of rotation R1 while driving.

Both the seats 36 and the personal security pillars 38 have bow-like securing means 42 with which the people traveling with them can be secured in the area of their upper body while driving.

From the Figures 2b) and 2c ) it can be seen that the first vehicle 16 has a number of rolling devices 44 with which the first vehicle 16 is attached to the guide track 12 and can roll on the guide track 12.

In Figure 2d ) a first exemplary embodiment of a second vehicle 18 with a second person receiving arrangement 26 is also shown on the basis of a basic plan view. In contrast to the first person receiving arrangement 24 of the first vehicle 16, the second person receiving arrangement 26 is circular, so that the seats 36 or the personal security pillars 38 point towards a center point M or away from it. The seats 36 and the personal security pillars 38 can also be oriented tangentially to the center point M. In addition, the second person receiving arrangement comprises 26 a number of disc-shaped plates 46, in this case three plates 46, on each of which four seats 36 or personal security pillars 38 are arranged, which correspond to those in the Figures 2b) and 2c ) are shown. The plates 46 are rotatably mounted about a second axis of rotation R2, which is also perpendicular to the guide track 12, so that the seats 36 or the personal security pillars 38 with the plates 46 can be rotated about the second axis of rotation R2 while driving. In addition, the seats 36 or the personal security pillars 38 can be rotatable about the first axis R1, as in the case of the first person receiving arrangement 24.

Like the first vehicle 16, the second vehicle 18 has the from Figure 2d ) unrecognizable unrolling devices 44 of the same construction, with which the second vehicle 18 is attached to the guide track 12 and can roll on the guide track 12.

It should be pointed out at this point that vehicles 16, 18, which differ from one another only in the number of seats 36 or personal security pillars 38, have the same passenger reception arrangement 24, 26. In addition, several first and several second vehicles 16, 18 can also be coupled into the guideway 12, with only one vehicle 16, 18 usually being coupled into the guideway 12 at a given time for safety reasons. In particular, when the travel time is relatively short compared to the time to get on and off, several vehicles 16, 18 can be loaded and unloaded while one of the vehicles 16, 18 is coupled into the guideway 12.

If the guideway 12 is sufficiently long and the roller coaster 10 has appropriate safety devices, A plurality of vehicles 16, 18 can also be coupled into the guide track 12 at the same time. In addition, the roller coaster 10 can also comprise further vehicles besides the first and the second vehicle 16, 18 which have person receiving arrangements that differ from the first and the second person receiving arrangements 24, 26.

List of reference symbols

10

Ride, roller coaster

12

Guideway

14th

Coupling device

16

first vehicle

18th

second vehicle

20th

first guideway section

22nd

second guideway section

24

first personal admission order

26th

second person admission arrangement

28

Launch section

30th

front end

32

rear end

34

Detection means

36

Seat

38

Personal security column

40

Booth section

42

Securing means

44

Unwinding device

46

plates

M.

Focus

P1

arrow

P2

arrow

R1

first axis of rotation

R2

second axis of rotation

Claims (10)

1. Amusement ride, in particular, a roller coaster, comprising

   - a single guide track (10),

   - a number of first vehicles (16) that are moveable along the guide track (10) and with a first passenger accommodation arrangement (24),

   - a number of second vehicles (18) that are moveable along the single guide track (10) and with a second passenger accommodation arrangement (26) that differs from the first passenger accommodation arrangement (24),
   characterized in that

   - a coupling device (14) with which the first vehicles (16) and/or the second vehicles (18) can be coupled into the single guide track (10), the first vehicles (16) and the second vehicles (18) with the coupling device (14) can be removed from the guide track (10) and again brought onto it, and

   - a launch section (28) with which the coupled first and second vehicles (16, 18) can be accelerated.
2. Amusement ride in accordance with claim 1,
   characterized in that the first passenger accommodation arrangement (24) is implemented in rows and the second passenger accommodation arrangement (26) is implemented in circles.
3. Amusement ride in accordance with claim 1 or 2,
   characterized in that the second passenger accommodation arrangement comprises at least one more degree of freedom or a different degree of freedom with respect to its movement than the first passenger accommodation arrangement, or vice versa.
4. Amusement ride in accordance with any of the preceding claims,
   characterized in that the second passenger accommodation arrangement (26) comprises a number of rotatably mounted plates (46).
5. Amusement ride in accordance with any of the preceding claims,
   characterized in that the first passenger accommodation arrangement (24) comprises a number of seats (36) for accommodating sitting passengers and the second passenger accommodation arrangement (26) comprises a number of passenger security posts (38) for accommodating standing passengers, or vice versa.
6. Amusement ride in accordance with claim 1,
   characterized in that the first passenger accommodation arrangement (24) comprises a number of seats (36) for accommodating sitting passengers and the second passenger accommodation arrangement (26) comprises a number of seats (36) for accommodating sitting passengers, wherein the seats (36) of the first passenger accommodation arrangement (24) face in a different direction than the seats (36) of the second passenger accommodation arrangement (26).
7. Amusement ride in accordance with any of claims 5 or 6,
   characterized in that the seats (36) and/or the passenger security posts (38) are rotatably mounted.
8. Amusement ride in accordance with any of the preceding claims,
   characterized in that the first and second vehicles (16, 18) can be braked by means of the launch section (28).
9. Amusement ride in accordance with claim 6,
   characterized in that the launch section (28) extends over a front end (30) and a back end (32) of the coupling device (14).
10. Amusement ride in accordance with any of the preceding claims,
    characterized in that the amusement ride (10) comprises detection means (34) by means of which it can be detected whether a first vehicle (16) or a second vehicle (18) is coupled to the guide track (10).

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