ES2389821T3 - Material handling system and method - Google Patents

Abstract

A multi-track multi- vehicle coaster simulates a popular theme of a competition, struggle or conflict taken from history or fiction. The vehicles optionally interact with each other and with the ride scenery in many different ways and vehicle velocity is altered at different points in the ride using multiple motors and brakes. An interactive queue is provided and allows people in the queue to interact with people on the ride. Energy recycling and computer ride control are also disclosed.

Description

Material handling system and method

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the attraction system, and in particular, roller coasters.

As the terms "roller coaster", "roller coaster attraction", "roller coaster vehicle", and "roller coaster attraction" are used herein will have their usual meaning in the art; that is to say, an attraction in which a vehicle destined to be mounted by one or more people is propelled at a height and then moves by gravity on a track or track without propulsion by means of a typical stepped and tortuous up and down route around a circuit It will be understood that the terms include, but are not limited to attractions in which the vehicle can be propelled by chain lifts, induction motors, hydraulic or pneumatic launchers, tire drives, or other equivalent means more than once during the circuit at more than one height.

STATE OF THE TECHNIQUE

Roller coasters have enjoyed immense popularity worldwide for a hundred years. These attractions often consist of a vehicle that transports a passenger, or a collection of vehicles joined together, that cross along a system of tracks or tracks. Historically, the track system is typically composed of a pair of parallel rails that exhibit steep ascending and descending gradients in elevation, and sharp turns left and right. In addition to providing the passenger with an attractive panoramic view from elevated positions, the main objective of the roller coaster attraction was to thrill or suspend the passenger through the road at the fastest possible speed while maintaining an acceptable degree of safety. . The emotion experienced by the passenger is thus presented through sensations of rapid acceleration, carried out by rapid changes in the direction of horizontal and vertical movement.

Innovations in roller coaster design have sought to improve and intensify the excitement and suspense of passengers by substantially increasing the speed of movement along the track system, and therefore, the resulting acceleration forces experienced by the passenger. The innovations were greatly facilitated by technological advances in materials engineering, a direct result of which has allowed the construction of stronger and lighter passenger track and vehicle systems. However, coupled with the ever-increasing passenger vehicle speeds is the ever increasing risk of a catastrophic attraction failure. As a result, other innovations have sought to improve and intensify the emotion of passengers by incorporating increasingly complex geometries in the track system itself. Some common path geometries that have evolved in this way are the curl or “looping”, the corkscrew or corkscrew, the cant propeller and the zero gravity force rotation.

In parallel with the geometries of the track system described above, there are also innovations in passenger car configurations to improve and enhance passenger emotion. These innovations are typically derived from the conventional roller coaster in which the passenger's vehicle no longer assumes the standard railroad car configuration. For example, Achrekar (US Patent No. 4,170,943) describes a suspended passenger vehicle configuration whereby individual passenger units are rotated and moved in multiple planes when the carriage assembly advances along a Möbius strip , or a half section of a helical track. A more recent start of the conventional passenger vehicle configuration is described in Bolliger et al. (U.S. Patent No. 5,272,984). The invention described in the Bolliger patent allows passengers to be suspended from a bogie that moves along a horizontal track system, so that the head of a seated passenger is closer to the bogie - and therefore to the track lanes - of what the passenger's body and arms are. This configuration results in a passenger vehicle that is designed so that each passenger is suspended with their legs in the air without a wall or floor around it.

The “Carreras” roller coasters typically have two loops or curls of endless tracks side by side, with the tracks parallel to each other. In this way, a roller coaster train on the first track can “run” with a roller coaster train on the second track. This well-known "career" feature provides added excitement and excitement for passengers. Generally, roller coaster trains and roller coaster tracks are made to be as close as possible, to provide a more competitive "race." If a train or track on a roller coaster is consistently faster than the other, the routes of

races will increasingly separate more and more, as they progress on the track, and the feeling of career gets will lose Roller coasters are similar to racing roller coasters but trains move in generally opposite directions. At one or more points of the implementation of the tracks, the trains approach facing each other. Roller coasters of duel or confrontation also require the two trains to be somewhat synchronized

In the operation of the vehicles of a racing roller coaster, each vehicle is towed on its track or thrown to high points side by side. Roller coaster vehicles are then released simultaneously. As vehicles are simply propelled by gravity, vehicles will adapt evenly only if variables related to speed (such as net vehicle load, bearing efficiency of vehicle wheels, vehicle wheel concentricity, wind resistance, wheel resistance road vehicle, etc.) are comparable. If the combinations of these variables are comparable, then the racing vehicles will correspond evenly, and will travel at the same speed on their tracks. Without However, these combinations of variables will result more often than not than a train of vehicles of a roller coaster is significantly faster than the other, thereby undesirably reducing the Advantages of racing vehicles. Therefore, some of the excitement and emotions intended in the design Race vehicles are often lost due to these types of variables. The adjustment brakes can be used to decelerate the train faster, but nothing can be done to accelerate the slower train.

U.S. Patent No. 6,170,402 to Rude et al. Describes a dueling roller coaster attraction or races that have tracks that approach or cross one over another in positions close to the fault. A system controller controls the launch timing of a roller coaster vehicle on each track to get better a consistent simultaneous arrival of roller coaster vehicles in positions close to the fault, to provide increased emotions and excitement to passengers. The control system determines the weight of the vehicle loaded by extracting current on vehicle engines on the side of the road. System control generates a vehicle performance parameter, based on the vehicle speed that has passed over the track, to compensate for roller coaster and rolling resistance factors. The information of Vehicle weight and performance parameters are used to determine which vehicle to launch first place, and the amount of delay between the launch of the vehicle on the first track and the launch of the vehicle on the second way, to better achieve simultaneous arrival in one or more positions.

Although the Rude et al. Patent describes an interesting way of synchronizing two trains in two ways in which a Train is faster than the other, its goals or objectives are somewhat limited. In other words, the trains are controlled only in one of the two modes, that is, by delaying its launch time or by altering its launch speed.

U.S. Patent No. 6,170,402 (de Rude) describes a single roller coaster attraction, with multiple tracks, multiple integrated vehicles for multiple users, the attraction comprising a plurality of each roller coaster with ascending and descending and tortuous paths around respective circuits, a vehicle being mounted on each roller coaster track, whose vehicles are driven by the force of the gravity along much of the respective roller coaster track.

The invention provides an attraction as defined in claim 1. Preferred embodiments of the invention are defined in the subsidiary claims.

Certain embodiments of the invention have the following characteristics: the individual speed of each of the multiple vehicles can be controlled (sometimes controlled by more than a way);. The appearance of the individual vehicle and the interaction of multiple vehicles can be designed according to a popular theme of struggle; track implementations may be arranged to simulate maneuvers of a vehicle in flight; individual vehicles can pass very close to each other in opposite directions; individual vehicles can be equipped with lasers and laser sensors, so vehicles can “Shoot” each other and count an “impact” if the shot is correctly directed; vehicles may include warning presentation screens; optical illusions or multimedia special effects such as holographic projections can be used (either in a scenario surrounding the vehicles or on the vehicles themselves); camouflaged roads can be provided (so that the tracks cannot be distinguished from the surrounding environment, even when the tracks run through several different environments); multiple loading and unloading stations may have been planned; Vehicles can be routed back to different loading and unloading stations by using ways of change;

means in which passengers waiting in line to board the attraction can interact with passengers can be provided.

In the roller coaster attraction according to the invention, the tracks are generally arranged such that the respective vehicles enter an area and visually face each other. In order to coordinate the placement of each vehicle at the point or points of confrontation, different controls can be applied including altering the launch speed, altering the launching time, braking in the middle of the race, and accelerating in the middle of the race. In one embodiment, there is one vehicle per track and the vehicles are launched approximately simultaneously. Depending on the theme and size, the vehicle can be a single passenger vehicle or a multi-passenger vehicle.

Roller coaster attraction vehicles can simulate those used in popular fiction or nonfiction fights, such as Star Wars space vehicles, Harry Potter vehicles (broomsticks), First World air battles World War, air fighting against King Kong, etc. The tracks may be arranged outward so that the movement of the vehicle is choreographed to mimic competition scenes or simulated matches.

The vehicles are preferably controlled with linear induction motors (LIM) and eddy or parasitic current brakes (LECB) that are activated by a computer control that receives input from sensors along the tracks. The vehicles are also preferably supplied with shoulder protections (OTSR) to protect passengers during the maneuvering and rolling maneuvers. The vehicles are preferably designed to have an upper body and a lower frame. The lower frame includes wheels, brake fins, and all other hidden equipment necessary to make the vehicle work. The upper body is designed to hide the lower frame and can be provided with hinged doors down on both sides (or a single door in the case of a single occupant of the vehicle). An exemplary embodiment is based on the first Star Wars movie in which the "TIE" fighters and the "X-wing" fighters battle each other and while the "X-wing" fighters attempt to destroy the " Star of death". In this embodiment, a portion of the attraction implies that the X-wing fighters face the Death Star (stage). According to one aspect of the invention in this embodiment, the tail for the attraction is channeled through windows in which passengers battle with the Death Star. In addition, people in the queue are provided with opportunities to trigger the Death Star weapons and shoot the X-wing fighters. In this illustrative embodiment, at least one unmanned fighter appears in a part of the attraction and interacts with another manned or unmanned fighter. LIM motors can be propelled by a combination of batteries and energy without batteries and the batteries can be at least partially recharged by the LECB brakes.

Preferred features of the invention are described below in the following detailed description in which reference has been made to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a track and stage implementation of a roller coaster attraction that illustrates some aspects of the present invention;

Figs. 1A -1D are enlarged portions of fig. one;

Fig. 2 is a simplified schematic block diagram of a control system for operating the roller coaster attraction of fig. one;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view illustrating the interior of the stage with a tail of the interactive attraction;

Fig. 4 is a plan view illustrating the interaction with the stage and the interaction between passengers and passengers in the queue;

Fig. 5 is a schematic perspective view of an X-wing vehicle on a track;

Fig. 6 is a partially cut schematic rear view of the vehicle of fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a partially cut schematic front view of the vehicle of fig. 5;

Fig. 8 is a broken schematic side elevation view of the vehicle of fig. 5;

Fig. 9 is a broken schematic interior view facing forward in the vehicle of fig. 5;

Fig. 10 illustrates how the trajectory of a flying vehicle is simulated by the design of the track; Fig. 11 illustrates how two or more vehicles are made to fly in a seemingly very close proximity;

Fig. 12 is a schematic illustration of the engine battery recharge system;

Fig. 13 is a schematic plan view illustrating the interaction between vehicles that move manned and unmanned;

Fig. 14 is a view similar to fig. 5 of a TIE hunting vehicle according to the illustrated embodiment;

Fig. 15 is a schematic diagram illustrating a first embodiment of a load platform switching system according to the invention;

Fig. 16 is a schematic diagram illustrating a second embodiment of a load platform switching system according to the invention; Y

Fig. 17 is a schematic diagram of the interior workings of a two-way roller coaster switching center.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Returning now to figs. 1 and 1A to 1D, in this example of a roller coaster attraction according to the example there are two charging stations 10 and 12. Three tracks 14, 16, 18 pass through the charging station 10 and three tracks 20 , 22, 24 pass through charging station 12. Preferably the stations are separated from each other so that passengers embarking at station 10 cannot see passengers from station 12 and vice versa. In this example, tracks 14, 16, 18 at station 10 each carry a vehicle that simulates an X-wing fighter from Star Wars. The vehicle is described in more detail below with reference to figs. 5 to 9. Tracks 20, 22, 24 at station 12 each carry a vehicle that replicates a TIE fighter from the WAR OF THE GALAXIES. The stage at the charging stations also simulates the theme of WAR OF THE GALAXIES. In station 10, the stage simulates the “Rebel Base hangar” and the stage in station 12 simulates the “Death Star hangar”.

When the tour begins, the vehicles are “propelled by tires” slowly through the darkened tunnels 26, 28 where themed “animatronics” provide suspense. The vehicles are braked at points 30, 32 before the LIM 34, 36 launchers. The vehicles are contained until the vehicles in front of them reach the MCBR (average vehicle brake travel) as described below. At launch, the brakes are released and the LIMs are activated in a sequence based on the weight of the vehicles as described in more detail below with reference to figs. 2 and 5-9. The TIE vehicles and the X-wing vehicles are each launched by the launchers 34, 36. At launch, the vehicles on tracks 14, 16, 18 are and preferably continue to move parallel to each other and the vehicles in the tracks 20, 22, 24 are and preferably continue to move parallel to each other. In the illustrated embodiment, the launch room (for example the area surrounding the launchers 34, 36) is separated from the rest of the course and has an unpopulated stage that simulates the outer space with distant stars.

After passing each other at high speeds during launch, the vehicles enter curly or “looping” media followed by slingshot means at 38 and 40 moving out of the launching room and to the “main track” through short tunnels. The main track is built to simulate the surface of the Death Star of the WAR OF THE GALAXIES as is evident in fig. 1. The roof of the main track is built to resemble outer space, that is, black with distant flickering stars. The main track includes cannon turrets that move with laser and smoke so that the laser beams can be seen.

The X-wing vehicles enter the track, divided outside the parallel formation and dodge the laser shots from the turrets in area 42. The TIE fighters remain in parallel formation and navigate in narrow passages between towers and turrets. One of the TIE fighters breaks the formation in a nearby corner 46. As described in more detail below, the TIE fighters and the X-wing audio systems reproduce the "chatter" by radio from the death star .

At 48, the X-wing vehicles plummeted in a low curve in a pit 50. In 52, the TIE vehicles plummeted down in a half turn and fall into the pit 50. The vehicles approach each other another one at high speed in the pit and they leave the pit with a twist in the middle of the ridge with a partial turn in line at 54 and 56. The length of the track and its implementation now have the TIE vehicles in front and are chased by the wing vehicles in X and the vehicles have broken the formation. As shown in the figures, the six vehicles have been divided into three pairs, each pair being an X-wing vehicle and a TIE vehicle. A pair that leaves the pit at 56 continues again towards the launching room, plunging between turrets and towers that fire again through area 42 and into an area 58 of the loop system. Another pair that leaves the pit 54 moves away from the launching room towards the main pit 60 competing until the X-wings break in 62 in a half-curl turn while the TIE fighter that was chasing moves around to chase the X-wings. The third pair that also leaves the pit at 54 performs similar maneuvers at 64.

All vehicles converge around area 66 where the brakes are selectively applied by the control system (described in more detail below with reference to Fig. 2) to ensure that all vehicles are synchronized in space-time before entering the loop system 58. Three TIE fighters almost collide with the wall 68 but form a curl upwards and move away just in time. The three X-wings divide and perform a similar maneuver.

After avoiding the collision with the wall 68, the vehicles are divided into two groups of three. A group of two X-wings hunt a TIE fighter that heads towards wall 70 performing curls and evasive maneuvers. The other group of two TIE fighters hunt an X-wing that goes to the wall 72. The X-wing performs a cobra roller, dodges obstacles and firing turrets. TIE fighters maneuver in sharp turns and propellers dodging obstacles and retaining training as much as possible.

Eventually the lonely X wing returns to join the formation with the other X wings at 74 and the TIE fighters meet in parallel formation at 76. The brakes are selectively applied to realign the vehicles. TIE fighters take a longer route to ensure they will be at an established distance behind the X-wing group when they enter the second launch system 78. The second launch system quickly sends vehicles forward and up to the MCBR 80 where all vehicles can be stopped in the event of an emergency. The MCBR positions the vehicles at the top or top of a hill so that they need to be stopped, when they are released to gravity that will propel them through the rest of the route or through the next launch system.

Following the MCBR, the X wings dive into the main pit 60 and begin to intertwine between turrets and obstacles based on the original WAR OF THE GALAXIES film. The TIE fighters remain behind the X-wings but remain above the obstacles. TIE fighters move up and down to avoid obstacles. Moving down, passengers experience negative g forces. When the X-wings are hunted by the TIE fighters, the audio in the vehicles simulates a climate of despair in the X-wing group. A small braking of the X-wing vehicles at point 82 in the pit allows the TIE fighters catch them and the tracks are arranged so that the TIE fighters press down on the X-wings. The fire of the TIE fighter weapons increases when the vehicles approach point 84 in the pit. At this point the turret fire can be increased and / or unmanned TIE fighters can be introduced.

After the X-wings pass point 84, an unmanned vehicle 86 (the "Millennium Falcon") plunges down an invisible path (by camouflage) through the path of the canyons that fire laser fighters TIE in TIE fighters. This is schematically illustrated in fig. 13 where the path of the TIE fighters is shown in a continuous line and the path of the Millennium Falcon is shown in a dashed line. The track is arranged so that the TIE fighters are agitated and twist when they are hit with laser fire. Once all vehicles have passed, the Millennium Falcon returns to its original position. Before leaving the pit at 86, the X-wings deliver proton torpedoes into the "hole or thermal escape opening" of the Death Star. This is simulated with holographic imaging or having objects that slide over invisible wires in a hole in the ground. According to one aspect of the invention, the torpedo aiming is simulated by a warning display screen on vehicles.

The X-wings leave the pit and join in formation in 88 and the TIE fighters leave in cross maneuvers in 90. All vehicles feel an explosion effect, when appropriate, through bass speakers installed in the vehicles. The vehicles continue side by side until they are divided into three groups in 92. Each group performs similar maneuvers including half curls and half ringlets in 92 and dodge obstacles in 94 before regrouping in 96. After regrouping they preferably disappear from view of the another passing opposite sides of a wall 98. The brakes are applied at 100. The drive wheels are applied to the vehicles to drive them forward to the discharge areas 102 and 104 that are preferably separated from each other by a wall. After unloading, the drive wheels propel the vehicles back to the launching stations 10, 12 or through a detour to a maintenance area 106.

The example described above illustrates the following features of the invention: at least 3 tracks, each road having at least one vehicle, vehicles being braked and accelerated in mid-way positions, simulating the interaction between vehicles a combat or fight or popular competition, simulating the design of the tracks the trajectory of a vehicle in flight, the vehicles approaching each other in close proximity in opposite directions, laser shots and photosensors that detect impacts, groups of vehicles that form equipment, warning display screens in vehicles, special effects on board vehicles, and multiple loading and unloading stations.

Returning now to fig. 2, in order to make a choreography with the movement of the vehicles through the main track and coordinate special effects, it is necessary to use a computer control 200. The computer control 200 takes the inputs from a plurality of sensors 202a- 202n of tracks and a plurality of photosensors 204a204n located along the main track. It provides output to a plurality of launch engines 206a206n, a plurality of brakes 208a-208n, and a plurality of special effects devices 210a-210n that are located along the main track. Optionally, it provides output to a plurality of change paths 212a-212n. Preferably, the computer control 200 communicates bi-directionally with each vehicle via a data transceiver system 214.

The track sensors 202a-202n provide information such as the situation of a vehicle (using RFID for example), the speed of the vehicle (optical or inductive sensors for example), and the weight of the vehicle (using stress meters or strain gauges per example). Photosensors 204a-204n provide information on "laser impacts" along the track. The computer controls the LIM launch engines at the right time and at the right speed to keep vehicles in sync with the planned choreography. This control is based on a program that takes into account the time and weight of the vehicle as well as the track sensor input. Similarly, the computer controls the LECB brakes at the right time and with the right amount of damping based on the same parameters. The computer controls the special stage effects based on a program as well as the input from the track sensors and photosensors. The computer uses the data transceiver to shoot audiovisual effects in each vehicle and receive information about each vehicle such as passenger weight and vehicle safety information.

Fig. 3 illustrates an interactive queue according to the invention in the example of fig. 1. Passengers enter corridor 300 of the tail adjacent to the main moat (60 in Fig. 1) and walk through the corridor below the main track. The hall is decorated to resemble the interior of the Death Star of the WAR OF THE GALAXIES and includes "animatronics", presentation screens and other special effects. Parts of the path are motorized to simulate movement in an explosion. These parts are provided with smoke generators, subwoofer speakers and emergency alarm sounds to simulate an explosion on the surface of the Death Star. Corridor 300 intersects around below the main track and in different situations ramps inside a turret 302. Turret 302 is provided with windows 304 in which the people in the queue can observe the main track and see X wings and TIE fighters flying above the surface of the Death Star. The turret 302 is also preferably provided with interactive controls 306 in which laser cannons 308 can be operated by people in the queue to fire at vehicles flying over the Death Star. Separate queues can be provided to load the wings in X and load the TIE fighters or a single tail can be divided in two before reaching the loading stations.

Fig. 4 illustrates how track sensors are used to trigger special effects on stage. Vehicles enter a protected area of the turret at 402 and fire a sensor at 404. The sensors send a signal to the computer control that causes the turrets at 406 to shoot lasers, distribute smoke, and turn to follow the advancing vehicles. along the tracks. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that this particular effect could be achieved without the use of computer control and the 404 sensor could be directly coupled to the turrets in 406.

In 408 another sensor is fired and the turrets in 410 shoot and turn to follow the vehicles. The sensors 412 activate the stationary turrets 414 and 416 and the sensor 418 activates a fast-firing ground cannon 420. A sensor 422 is fired when vehicles leave a tunnel and activates a pair of turrets 424 that shoot in opposite directions and follow vehicles that are divided into opposite sides of the turrets. Sensor 426 activates turret 428 and sensor 430 activates turret 432. Sensor 434 activates turret 436 and the vehicle leaves the protected area at 438.

Figs. 5-9 illustrate a roller coaster vehicle with the X-wings according to the invention. With reference first to fig. 5, the vehicle 500 has a car 502 with four sets of wheels, one of which can be seen. The wheel assemblies each preferably include butt-up wheels 504, side wheels 506 and tractor wheels 508. The wheels are used to be applied to tracks 510 in a manner well known in the art. A vehicle body 512 is mounted on the carriage 502. The body 512 generally includes a passenger compartment 514 (in the illustrated embodiment, the passenger compartment with six passengers), four wings 516, 518, 520, 522, and a extended nose 524. Electronic, hydraulic and / or pneumatic systems are preferably housed in nose 524. The upper wings 516 and 520 are preferably provided with joints (not shown) to allow them to rotate so that they act as ramps as shown by the arrows and allow entry into the passenger compartment 514. Each of the movable wings is preferably provided with footrests, for example 526. A warning display screen (HUD) 528 is preferably provided between the passenger compartment 514 and the nose 524. The launch and braking fins, for example 530 are mounted on both sides of the carriage and are arranged to approximate the lances. LIM adores and LECB brakes, for example 532.

Fig. 6 shows the rear of the vehicle 500 on track 510 at a LIM launch station. Two fins 530a and 530b approach two LIM devices 532a, 532b respectively, on each side of the vehicle. The arrows in fig. 6 illustrate the clearances between the wings and the wall, the floor and the LIM device.

Fig. 7 shows that the vehicle has an anti-winding ratchet 534, an energy coupling roller 536 and over the shoulders protections 538 that fold over the seats 540. The ratchet 534 ensures that the vehicle does not roll on the hills equipped with anti-grooves. curl The power coupling roller 536 is applied to a third rail between the discharge and charging stations so that the batteries on board the vehicle are charged. The dashed lines in fig. 7 also show the stop point where wings 516, 520 descend to board the vehicle.

Fig. 8 shows more details of the passenger compartment 514 of the vehicle 500. It will be appreciated that the seats 540a, 540b, 540c are preferably arranged in a lightweight stadium style so that passengers can see over the heads of the passengers sitting opposite they. This is desirable to allow all passengers to see the warning presentation screen (HUD) 542. The HUD is made of a transparent material that is also capable of presenting images that are projected onto it by the HUD 544 projector in the nose 524 of the vehicle. (Alternatively, HUD uses a transparent LCD technology). The HUD is preferably narrower than the seating area so that passengers can feel the wind during rapid movement. As illustrated, the HUD is supported by a bar 543 that extends from the top of the front seat 540a. The HUD is controlled by an on-board computer but the central computer control (fig. 2) also sends messages to the on-board computer regarding which images are presented in the HUD.

There are three speakers associated with each seat. A 546a-c speaker is in front of the seat occupant. Another speaker 548a-c is located at the rear of the seat. A 550a-c subwoofer is located under the seat. As previously mentioned, the speakers can be used to generate sound effects such as radio talks, and other sounds that can be taken, if desired, from the movie's soundtrack.

In the description of fig. 2 It has been suggested that the weight of the vehicle is determined with the track sensors. Alternatively or in addition, the weight can be determined with 522a-c scales mounted under the 540a-c seats. This also has the advantage of providing information on weight balance.

As illustrated in fig. 8, each seat is provided with a lap protection 554a-c on which a 556a-c laser gun controlled by a passenger is mounted. The gun is mounted so that it can be tilted and swung so that the operator can aim it at other vehicles and objects on the main track. As mentioned before, photodetectors are placed in vehicles and elements of the main track such as cannon or gun turrets. When a passenger fires a laser gun at a photodetector, an impact is recorded and special effects are triggered. These effects may include sound, smoke, and an indication in the HUD. The guns 556a-c are connected to the lap protections 554a-c in such a way that they fold out of the way during the loading and unloading of the vehicle. An R2 robot of the GALAXIES WAR 558 is optionally mounted in the vehicle behind the passenger compartment. It turns and makes noise like the robot of the films of WAR OF THE GALAXIES.

Fig. 9 shows a view of passenger compartment 514 of vehicle 500 when interacting with a TIE fighter

600. As illustrated, HUD 542 illustrates both text and graphics related to interaction with TIE hunting. The TIE fighter has a cluster of LED 602, photosensors 604, and one or more smoke units 606. When a passenger on the X 500 wings fires a 556a laser gun at one of the photosensors 604, the LED cluster 602 shines and Smoke is emitted from the TIE fighter simulating damage. Sound effects also accompany laser firing and "impact." The extent of damage to vehicles is illustrated in the HUD.

Fig. 10 illustrates an X-wing maneuver as seen in the film (A) and how the roller coaster track (B) can be arranged to simulate the same trajectory. Most of the movements of the objects found in the films of WAR OF THE GALAXIES (and others) can be replicated by designing the path in such a way that it corresponds to the movement represented in the film. The configuration of the track (B) corresponds to the images of the original X-wing film circling and plummeting.

Fig. 11 illustrates how the vehicle design can be used to give the illusion that vehicles are closer than they really are. The shape of the X-wing vehicles allows them to "block" each other, with each exterior of the vehicle passing very close to the other. This blocking relationship between them can be made at any point during the journey in which two or more X wings travel in formation. The more often it happens, the closer and more intense the tour will be.

Fig. 12 is a schematic illustration showing how the energy from the LECB (linear eddy current brakes) 700 can be recycled. As illustrated, the LIM 532 launch motors are powered by batteries 702 that are charged by the power of the electrical installation 704. In order to reduce the cost of the installation electricity, the energy generated by the LECB brakes 700 is also used to charge 702 batteries.

Fig. 14 illustrates a roller coaster vehicle 800, a "TIE fighter" 800 according to an embodiment of the invention. Functionally, the vehicle 800 is substantially the same as the vehicle 500 described in figs. 5-9. Visually, the vehicle 800 has a substantially spherical body (or cylindrical with hemispherical ends) 802, two extended arms 804, 806 and a pair of substantially parallel hexagonal "wings" 808, 810. The body 802 contains a plurality of seats 816 (six seats are illustrated) and each seat is provided with an OTSR 818. Two LIM fins 820, 822 extend outwardly from the bottom of the body. A HUD is arranged in the front of the body and an 826 laser gun is provided next to each seat. The upper parts of the wings 808, 810 have articulations 812, 814 that allow one part of each wing to fold down to provide a platform for approaching, moving away with non-slip material 828.

Figs. 15-17 illustrate some details of the changing systems of the charging station. The purpose of these systems is to route vehicles to different charging stations after unloading. The reason for doing this refers to the possibility that one or a few vehicles may be considered by passengers as more desirable than others. In that situation, if the most desirable vehicle or vehicles arrive consistently at the charging station, the queue for that station will be unreasonably long. The change system of the invention randomly or pseudo-randomly assigns desirable vehicles to different charging stations after each route has been unloaded.

Fig. 15 schematically illustrates six roller coaster tracks 902, 904, 906, 908, 910, 912 and a gear rack 914 for substantially simultaneous changes. Each of the tracks is provided with a sensor 902a, 904a, 906a, 908a, 910a, 912a and a brake 902b, 904b, 906b, 908b, 910b, 912b upstream of the gear rack 914. The gear rack includes a increasing number of sequential changes n each of the six pathways. The first path includes first double switch 902c that selectively connects it to the next path 904 and to a path 916 described in more detail below. Track 904 has two switches 904c and 904d that selectively connect it to the next track 906. Switch 904d is a double switch that also selectively couples track 904 to switch 902c on track 902. Track 906 has three switches 906c, 906d , 906e that selectively connect it to the next track 908. Switches 906d and 906e are dual switches that also selectively couple track 906 to switches 904c and 904d on track 904. Track 908 has four switches 908c, 908d, 908e, 908f that selectively connect it to the next track 910. Switches 908d, 908e, 908f are double switches that also selectively couple track 908 to switches 906c, 906d, and 906e on track 906. Track 910 has five switches 910c, 910d, 910e, 910f, and 910g. Switches 910d, 910e, 910f, and 910g are dual switches that also selectively couple track 910 to switches 908c, 908d, 908e, 908f on track 908. Track 912 has six switches 912c, 912d, 912e, 912f, 912g , and 912h. Switch 912c selectively couples track 912 to a loop around track 916 that is coupled to double switch 902c on track 902. Switch 912h is a double switch that selectively couples track 912 with switch 910g on track 910 and with the loop around track 916. The remaining switches are simple switches that couple track 912 with switches on track 910.

The switches operate in two positions, a position in which the vehicle continues straight along the track and a second position in which the vehicle is routed diagonally to the next sequential switch in the adjacent track. This is shown in Fig. 15 by the diagonal dashed lines. For example, if a vehicle moves on track 902 it is changed to track 904, it reaches the second switch on track 904 where it can either continue on track 904 or be switched to track 906. When it reaches the via 906, it reaches the third switch on track 906 where it can continue on track 906 or be changed to track 908. It will be appreciated that in this way vehicles on any track can be changed to any adjacent track in ascending order of tracks. In order to change a vehicle to a track with a lower track number, a loop is planned around track 916 that connects the first and last switches on track 912 with the first switch on track 902. The experts in The technique will appreciate that switch 912c can be removed in some circumstances.

When the vehicles approach the switching network 914, a sensor 902a, 904a, 906a, 908a, 910a, 912a is passed on each track and then braked by the containment brakes 902b, 904b, 906b, 908b, 910b, 912b. Based on the sensor readings, the switches are switched with a lever and the brakes are released. The drive tires on the tracks under the cars move the vehicles forward. Depending on which switches are switched the vehicles can be released simultaneously in which case the switch 912c may be necessary. Otherwise, the controller can determine the order to release the vehicles and the switch 912c is redundant of the switch 912h. After passing through the gearbox, the vehicles are preferably braked at 902d, 904e, 906f, 908g, 910h, 912i before continuing to the station so that they will arrive substantially simultaneously.

After boarding, the vehicles optionally pass through a second switching system that ensures that the vehicles move in the proper track. It will be recalled that (in at least some embodiments) the tracks are arranged for a choreography and the different vehicles need to be on the right tracks for this choreography to reproduce properly.

From the foregoing, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the switching system of fig. 15 could be modified so that there is only one switch per track, ie 902c, 904d, 906e, 908f, 910g, and 912h since the vehicles are changed sequentially instead of simultaneously.

Figs. 16 and 17 illustrate a second embodiment of a change system according to the invention. Fig. 16 illustrates six roller coaster tracks 1002, 1004, 1006, 1008, 1010 and 1012. Each track is provided with a brake 1002a, 1004a, 1006a, 1008a, 1010a and 1012a before entering the 1014 gear rack. All tracks They are provided with two switches each 1002b, 1002c, 1004b, 1004c, 1006b, 1006c, 1008b, 1008c, 1010b, 1010c, 1012c and 1012d. The tracks 1006 and 1008 also share a bidirectional central switch 1016 which is described in more detail below with reference to fig. 17.

Switch 1002b selectively directs a vehicle from track 1002 to track 1004 where it can continue on track 1004 or be directed by switches 1004b, 1006b to track 1006. It can then continue on track 1006 or be changed to track 1008 by bidirectional switch 1016. Once on track 1008, it can be changed by switch 1008c to track 1010. It can continue on track 1010 or be changed by switch 1010c to track 1012. It will be appreciated that the same process It can be used to change a vehicle from track 1012 to track 1002 or any other track.

Returning now to fig. 17, the bidirectional switch 1016 has four sliding plates 1016a, 1016b, 1016c, 1016d, a rotating track segment 1016e, and a pair of track sections 1016f and 1016g. The plates 1016a, 1016b, 1016c, 1016d slide in a section of straight or curved track depending on whether the vehicle on track 1006 is to be changed to track 1008, the vehicle on track 1008 has to be changed to track 1006 , or no change will take place. When a vehicle is to be changed, the plates 1016a and 1019b or the plates 1016c and 1016d are slid to be applied to the curved track segments and the rotating track segment 1016e is rotated accordingly. When no change is to be made, the rotating track segment 1016e is rotated to a position substantially parallel to the tracks 1006, 1008, the sliding plates 1016a, 1016b, 1016c, 1016d are slid to align the straight track segments and 1016f and 1016g track segments complete the couplings.

From the foregoing, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the first embodiment of the switching system may operate faster than the second embodiment, but the second embodiment requires fewer changes.

Several embodiments of a multi-track, multi-vehicle roller coaster have been described and illustrated here. Although particular embodiments of the invention have been described, it is not intended that the invention be limited thereto, since it is intended that the invention be as broad as the technique allows and that the memory be read similarly. Thus, although numerous aspects of the invention have been described with reference to a single path, it will be appreciated that numerous aspects of the invention can be used independently of each other. In addition, although a theme of the WAR OF THE GALAXIES has been described, it will be appreciated that other themes of competition, battle, confrontation or struggle could also be used. Some other popular themes have been mentioned in the summary of the invention. Thus, for example, on the Harry Potter theme, the roller coaster attraction could simulate a "Quiddich" match with each car shaped like a broomstick. Cars could use warning display screens with holographic projections. Thus, for example, for the "Harry Potter" car and the "Draco Malfoy" car, the "Golden Snitch" ("Snitch or third Golden Ball") could be projected on the HUD to make the route as enjoyable similar to the movie. Other cars might have "Bludgers" ("Black Balls") that appear in their HUDs. Other imaging techniques could also be used to make the Golden Snitch and / or the Bludgers seem to fly near the car. On the Quiddich roller coaster, passengers could score goals using laser cannons to shoot at a target, and each team's score can be presented as previously described. Also, the Quiddich roller coaster stage could use a large warehouse that could be themed to resemble an outdoor stadium. The roof could be designed to look like the sky, the ground to look like grass, etc. The road could be camouflaged so that the road near the grass would be green to blend with the stage, and the road near the sky would be blue to blend in with the stage. It should be noted that some issues, including the WAR OF GALAXIES used here as an example (as well as the HARRY POTTER theme) may require a license from the owner of the registered trademark / copyright.

In addition, although the invention has been described as including three roller coaster tracks for each of the two teams, it will be appreciated that two tracks could be used for each of the two themes, or four or more tracks could be used per team. Also, three or more tracks without equipment could be used. In addition, although the invention has been described as having a single car on each track in which a plurality of individuals sits, 5 it will be appreciated that each track could accommodate a train of cars, sitting on each one, one or more individuals. Also, although the invention has been described as having interactive elements such as guns and photodetectors, it will be appreciated that the elements can be used to track the points for each individual, car and / or equipment, and that statistics for the individual, car, and / or team can be presented at the end of the tour and / or during the tour, and a winning team and / or car can be declared. In addition, it will be appreciated that in order to ensure a reasonably equal distribution of passengers on the different tracks, a series of exchange routes can be used between the unloading station and the charging station to allow each car to have its situation changed . The switching or change can be random. A series of routes of change after the charging station would then be used so that cars that appear randomly on different tracks can be rearranged for launch. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that still other modifications could be made to the invention provided without departing from the scope of the invention, as has been

defined by the appended claims.

Claims (14)

one.

 A single roller coaster attraction with multiple tracks, multiple integrated vehicles for multiple users, said attraction comprising a plurality of roller coaster tracks each of which has ascending and descending and tortuous paths around respective circuits, a vehicle being mounted on each of said roller coaster tracks, whose vehicles travel by force of gravity along many of the respective roller coaster tracks, characterized in that said roller coaster tracks are arranged as a first plurality of tracks (14, 16, 18) of the roller coaster, each of which has a respective first vehicle (500) mounted therein, and a second plurality of tracks (20, 22, 26) of the roller coaster; each of which has a second respective vehicle (600) mounted therein said first plurality of tracks being arranged such that the first vehicles move parallel to each other at least in the launching part of the track and said second plurality being of tracks arranged in such a way that the second vehicles move parallel to each other at least in the launching part of the track; in such a way that a group of first vehicles (500) and a group of second vehicles (600) in use can form teams and simulate a competition against each other.

2.

 A roller coaster attraction according to claim 1, further comprising a scenario surrounding at least a portion (10 or 12) of said roller coaster tracks, said roller coaster tracks being arranged to run through the stage, in which preferably said vehicles and / or said scenario simulate virtually a theme of competition, fight or confrontation taken from history, mythology, literature or cinema and that optionally involve flying vehicles with said roller coaster tracks arranged to simulate the trajectory of the flying vehicles.

3.

 A roller coaster attraction according to claim 2, further comprising an interactive tail (fig. 3) arranged below said stage, said stage having at least one window (304), said tail and said window being arranged so that a person in that queue can see through the window (304).

Four.

 A roller coaster attraction according to claim 3, further comprising a laser (308) mounted on said stage and visible through said window (304), said tail having control means (306) for aiming and firing said laser (308 ), said control means (308) being operable by a person of said tail by said window (304), and having at least one of said first and second vehicles (500, 600) a photosensor (604) which is activated by said laser (308).

5.

 A roller coaster attraction according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein at least a portion of at least one of said roller coaster tracks is camouflaged to blend with the stage, with an optionally stage of at least two colors around of said route and including at least said roller coaster track a first portion of a first color chosen to camouflage at least said roller coaster tracks in said scenario and a second portion of a second color different from said first color and also chosen to camouflage at least said roller coaster track in said scenario.

6.

 A roller coaster attraction according to any previous claim, wherein: at least one of said first vehicles is arranged to compete against at least one of said second vehicles using equipment controlled by said user and / or in which at least one of said First and second vehicles are accelerated and braked at some point along the respective roller coaster track whose point is before the end of the respective user travel around the respective circuit.

7.

 A roller coaster attraction according to claim 6, wherein: at least one of said first vehicles

(500) is equipped with a laser (556) operable by a user, and at least one of said second vehicles (600) is equipped with a photosensor (604) that can be activated by said user-operated laser (556), said roller coaster tracks being preferably arranged such that at some point in the course a user in a first vehicle equipped with a laser, it can point the user-operated laser at a photosensor in said second respective vehicle and thereby activate the last photosensor.

8.

 A roller coaster attraction according to claim 7, wherein said photosensor (604) in said second vehicle (600) is coupled to a special effects generator (602, 606), the effects being selected from among audio effects, effects visuals such as smoke, pyrotechnics and lights, and vibratory effects.

9.

 A roller coaster attraction according to any previous claim, wherein said roller coaster tracks are arranged such that at least one of said first vehicles passes in close proximity to at least said second vehicle, the last second vehicle moving in direction opposite of said first vehicle and / or in the same direction to simulate the hunting of said first vehicle by said second vehicle, or vice versa.

10.

 A roller coaster attraction according to any previous claim, wherein at least one of said vehicles has a warning presentation screen (542), optionally presenting said warning presentation screen (542), holographic projections.

eleven.

 A roller coaster attraction according to any previous claim, further comprising a plurality of

5 charging stations (10, 12) and / or a plurality of discharge stations (102, 104), a first switching or switching system (figs. 15-17) located between the discharge stations (102, 104) and the charging stations (10, 12), wherein said first switching system (figs. 15-17), at least sometimes, directs said first vehicle (500) to a different one of said roller coaster tracks and directs said second vehicle (600) to the roller coaster track originally occupied by the first vehicle, and optionally a second switching system 10 located between said charging stations and said unloading stations, wherein said second switching system directs the first and second vehicles to the roller coaster tracks they originally occupied.

12.

 A roller coaster attraction according to any of the previous claims, wherein each of said first vehicles (500) is visually distinguishable from each of said second vehicles (600).

13.

 A roller coaster attraction according to any previous claim, wherein said first vehicles (500)

15 each have members (516, 518, 520, 522) that extend radially, and the roller coaster tracks supporting said first vehicles (500) are horizontally adjacent very close but slightly removed vertically from one another in such a way that said radially extending members overlap along a vertical axis (fig. 11). 14. A roller coaster attraction according to any previous claim, further comprising: a motor (532) 20 linear induction launch powered by a battery (702); and brakes (700) of Eddy currents that are arranged to generate power, at least some of said energy generated by said Eddy current brakes being used to charge said battery.