DE9100603U1 - Ride in the style of an observation tower - Google Patents

Description

Gebr. Heege GmbH
Grubenstrasse 84

D - 5443 Laubach-Leienkaul

Ride in the style of an observation tower

Observation towers are rarely found among the many well-known rides. Very large platforms, some designed as restaurants, are well-known. These are raised to great heights by lifting devices and sometimes rotate, giving passengers a panoramic view.

There are also rides where the cabins are raised up and in some cases rotated, so that they also serve the function of an observation tower. These designs are so expensive that they cannot be used for small and medium-sized leisure facilities and fairgrounds.

Furthermore, towers that have to be climbed or climbed on foot are common, especially in the area of playground facilities.

The object of the invention is to create a ride in the form of an observation tower that can be manufactured with a reasonable amount of effort even for small leisure facilities and that nevertheless offers attractive additional functions that are suitable for the purpose of an observation tower.

To solve this problem, the invention proposes a tower frame with vertical guide rails on which carriages equipped with seats or standing places can be moved up and down independently of one another.

According to the invention, each carriage is assigned a traction device, preferably a cable, with which the travel upwards or downwards can be effected. According to the invention, the upward travel movement should take place as long as a passenger pulls himself up on the traction device. If the traction device is released or a passenger pulls himself down on the traction device, the downward travel is initiated.

According to the invention, the lifting movement can be driven by muscle power or by motor.

To reduce the load on the lifting drive, especially when it is powered by muscle power, it is suggested that each carriage be assigned a counterweight which balances the carriage's own weight and, depending on the lifting drive selected, also the minimum permissible payload, so that only the additional load above this has to be lifted and the frictional resistance overcome.

Experience in leisure facilities for which the ride is intended has shown that only the passengers themselves and authorised operating personnel should be able to influence the ride.

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According to the invention, a magazine is therefore provided in the carriage for the traction device with which the vertical travel is effected, or the traction device is guided from the head of the tower via at least one deflection roller on the carriage and at least one further deflection roller in the head of the tower to a tension weight inside the tower. This ensures that the part of the traction device that can be reached by passers-by moves out of reach with the lifting movement.

According to the invention, the pulley principle can be used as a rope pulley block or as a gear pulley block for the power transmission required in the hoist drive. This increases the required path of the traction device -*~ ratio of the transmission. If no magazine is provided for the traction device in the carriage, it is advisable to store the traction device on the side of the counterweight with the same transmission.

According to the invention, the variant with lifting traction by muscle power can also be equipped with a motor that limits the maximum lowering speed during the downward movement by means of a freewheel.

In the variant with motor drive for the lifting movement, the traction mechanism is only used to switch the desired effect of the motor against the corresponding spring force: traction mechanism pulled = lifting; traction mechanism held = maintaining height; traction mechanism released = lowering.

In a further embodiment of the invention, it is proposed to arrange the tower on a base frame so that it can rotate around its vertical axis. Even a continuously slow rotating drive increases the attraction's attractiveness because it takes into account the nature of an observation tower and allows all users to have a panoramic view.

In many leisure facilities it is desirable to allow passengers to participate actively. The variant with lifting drive using muscle power already meets this requirement. In order to enable even more guests to participate at the same time, the invention proposes giving the rotary movement, which must be kept very slow for safety reasons, a highly geared drive using muscle power secured by freewheeling. According to the invention, a pedal drive, a rowing drive, a drive using a riding movement or combinations of these are proposed for this. Since there is plenty of space available on the circumference of the tower, several drive stations can be arranged on the circumference and the capacity of the facility can thus be increased cost-effectively.

The invention is explained in more detail with reference to four drawings.

Fig 1 a side view of the tower

Fig 2 a section through the tower according to the section line A-B

Fig 3 a schematic representation of the lifting device using a lifting motor

Fig 4 a schematic representation of the manual lifting device based on the pulley principle

The tower scaffold shown as an example in Fig. 1 is equipped with four vertical guide rails (1) that serve as vertical guides for the carriages (2).

According to the invention, each carriage is provided with a traction means (3), preferably a cable, with which the upward or downward travel can be effected.

To drive the movement of the elevator, Fig. 4 shows an example of a lifting mechanism using muscle power based on the pulley principle _. In this design, the traction device (3) is both the operating cable and the hoist cable. The carriage (Z) and counterweight (ω) hang from the pulleys (5) and (6), which are connected to one another by the traction device (3). In this way, the carriage and counterweight travel the same distance and the traction device (3) moves out of the reach of passers-by when the carriage moves upwards.

The drive of the lifting bed is carried out in the example according to Fig. 3 by a motor which drives the deflection rod (7). A lifting chain (8) is connected to the deflection wheel (7) and tightly connects the carriage and the associated counterweight (A) to one another.

The traction device (3) in this example is stretched between the two tension springs (9) and (10) and, with the switch flag (11), actuates the switches (12) for lifting and (13) for lowering. The lifting movement must be limited by means of a limit switch (not shown).

The guide of the traction device (3) shown in Fig. 3 represents the simplest form of the Fiascheczuges car and in the same way causes the traction device {3} to be moved out of the reach of the passers-by.

Claims (1)

Protection claims&iacgr; A ride in the manner of an observation tower , characterized in that it has a tower frame with several vertical guide rails, to which are assigned a number of carriages with seats or standing places, which can be moved up and down individually and independently of one another, corresponding to the number of guide rails, the movement of which is controlled by the passengers by means of a traction device. Amusement ride according to claim 1 , characterized in that each carriage is connected to a counterweight by means of a pulling device via two pulleys. Amusement ride according to claim 1 , characterized in that the traction means used to control the motor-induced lifting movement is connected to the counterweight according to the pulley principle. Amusement ride according to claim 1 , characterized in that the tower frame is arranged rotatably on the ground and can be slowly set in rotation by motor or muscle power.