EP0137780B1 - Terminal de chargement pour parc d'attractions - Google Patents

Terminal de chargement pour parc d'attractions Download PDF

Info

Publication number
EP0137780B1
EP0137780B1 EP83901849A EP83901849A EP0137780B1 EP 0137780 B1 EP0137780 B1 EP 0137780B1 EP 83901849 A EP83901849 A EP 83901849A EP 83901849 A EP83901849 A EP 83901849A EP 0137780 B1 EP0137780 B1 EP 0137780B1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
platform
conveyor
terminal
arcuate
contact portion
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired
Application number
EP83901849A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
Other versions
EP0137780A4 (fr
EP0137780A1 (fr
Inventor
Robert Spieldiener
Reinhold Spieldiener
Alfons Saiko
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
INTAMIN AG TE BERKELEY, CALIFORNIE, VER. ST. V. AM
Original Assignee
INTAMIN Inc
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by INTAMIN Inc filed Critical INTAMIN Inc
Priority to AT83901849T priority Critical patent/ATE36680T1/de
Publication of EP0137780A1 publication Critical patent/EP0137780A1/fr
Publication of EP0137780A4 publication Critical patent/EP0137780A4/fr
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP0137780B1 publication Critical patent/EP0137780B1/fr
Expired legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
    • A63G—MERRY-GO-ROUNDS; SWINGS; ROCKING-HORSES; CHUTES; SWITCHBACKS; SIMILAR DEVICES FOR PUBLIC AMUSEMENT
    • A63G3/00—Water roundabouts, e.g. freely floating

Definitions

  • This invention relates to a revolving loading platform and in particular to a platform that operates in combination with an endless track conveyor to transport vehicles against the revolving platform for convenient loading.
  • the amusement ride rail system of Bacon described in US-A-3,865,041 which corresponds to the precharacterising part of claim 1, utilizes a rotating platform with a deformable peripheral bumper that frictionally engages the side of a passenger vehicle with wheels that engage a stationary arcuate rail to urge or maintain the vehicle against the platform bumper.
  • the complex rail system of Bacon requires special engagement means on the vehicles which may interfere with the preferred means of the conveyance of the vehicle during the ride sequence.
  • the floating boats of Bacon incongruously include wheels.
  • the loading system proposed by Bacon is not suitable for certain varieties and configurations of vehicles such as circular, free-floating rafts.
  • the amusement ride loading terminal of this invention is primarily devised for use with a circular floating raft.
  • the design of a modern raft ride for an amusement park attempts to duplicate natural settings.
  • the waterway is therefore designed with rapids, twists and turns to simulate a natural river.
  • the raft is free-floating, buoyant and preferably circular to provide all occupants with an equal thrill as the raft freely floats down the water course. In each new run, the raft does not have the same orientation or exact course as in prior runs.
  • a unique loading terminal was devised.
  • the loading terminal is characterised bythefeatures of claim 1.
  • the loading terminal combines a circular revolving passenger platform with an arcuate conveyor, vertically disposed and displaced from the outer edge of the platform.
  • the floatation vehicle or raft floats on a water course to the platform and conveyor where it becomes wedged between them and transported against the platform for a portion of a platform revolution.
  • the outer periphery of the raft is deformable, preferably a pneumatic, annular floatation device.
  • To prevent the circular raft from rolling against the platform the arcuate portion of the conveyor in contact with the raft is operated at a linear speed equal to the equivalent extended diameter of the platform were it at the location of the arcuate contact portion of the conveyor. With respect to the axis of the platform, the platform, raft, and contact portion of the conveyor all have the same angular velocity.
  • Passengers wishing to board a raft first step onto the stationary center of the platform.
  • the passengers therefore steps on a very slow running area with relative safety.
  • the relative speed of the passenger and raft are essentially the same.
  • the raft is steadied by its frictional engagement with the periphery of the platform and contact segment of the conveyor, yet retains sufficient characteristics of an independent floatation vehicle to impress the boarding passenger with the realistic nature of the impending ride.
  • the vehicle has specific or limited boarding avenues.
  • a circular raft has one zone of its periphery dedicated for boarding or egress, this zone must be oriented againstthe revolving platform during the boarding or unloading process.
  • a short, vertically disposed conveyor segment is independently operated at a speed having an angular equivalent different than the revolving platform. In this manner a roll is deliberately applied to the circular raft to cause it to orient the boarding zone against the platform. Once this orientation is achieved, the conveyor segment is operated at the proper speed to maintain the desired raft orientation as it is transported around with the revolving platform.
  • a passenger loading terminal designated generally by the reference numeral 10 is shown.
  • the loading terminal is particularly designed and constructed for continuous loading of amusement park passengers into independent floatation vehicles or rafts 12 for a simulated river raft ride.
  • a raft 12 is engaged by a conventional belt conveyor 18 which carries the raft up an incline 20 and over a barrier wall 22 into an upper level waterway 24 where passengers are unloaded and loaded.
  • Passengers approach the terminal on a walkway 26 and walk over a bridge 28 to a stationary center area 30 around which revolves a concentric platform 32.
  • the platform 32 revolves at a relatively slow rate, particularly at the interface with the center area 30.
  • Passengers can easily step onto the platform and walk to the outer peripheral edge 34 without any loss of balance.
  • the rafts 12 Cooperating with the platform 32 to move the rafts 12 is an arcuate conveyor 36 which is displaced from the outer peripheral edge 34 of the platform 32.
  • the rafts 12 have an outer pneumatic annulus 40 with an outside diameter greater than the displacement distance between the peripheral edge of the platform and an inner arcuate contact portion 42 of the conveyor.
  • the inner arcuate contact portion of the conveyor 36 is operated at a speed equivalent to the extended diameter speed of the platform were it coincident with this portion of the conveyor. In this manner the rafts have the same angular velocity as the platform relative to the rotational axis of the platform and do not roll along the platforms edge 34.
  • the rafts 12 are selectively oriented by a short orientation conveyor 46 at the start of their transport in the upper level waterway 24.
  • the orientation conveyor 46 By operating the orientation conveyor 46 faster or slower than the effective extended diameter velocity of the platform 32, the raft can be included to roll against the peripheral edge of the platform and be oriented as desired.
  • the annular platform 32 has a series of inner and outer tracking wheels 48 for supporting the platform on rail 50 mounted on concentric stationary supports 51.
  • the platform 32 is rotated around the center area 30 by four circumferentially spaced variable speed electrical drive motors 52 with a friction wheel 54 that engages a circular friction plate 56 on the underside of the platform.
  • a number of horizontal guide wheels 55 mounted on the inner edge structure 57 of the rotating platform run against a stationary, circular guide rail 59 embedded in the upper edge of the circular center concrete structure 61 as shown in FIG. 2.
  • the bridge 28 provides an elevated walkway over the platform to allow passengers on the platform to walk or be carried under the bridge without interference.
  • the peripheral edge 34 of the platform 32 has a contact perimeter of vertically mounted wooded slats or continuous steel plates 58 which cooperate with a series of vertically disposal wooden slats 60 on the conveyor 36 to oppositely engage the raft 12 wedged therebetween.
  • the raft 12 is fabricated with an outer pneumatic floatation bladder 64, that encompasses a plastic shell 68.
  • the shell 68 has a plurality of seats 70 for a designated number of passengers, here six.
  • the wooden slats or steel plates on the platform and wood slats on the conveyor provide a suitable contact surface for the pneumatic bladder, compressing the bladder slightly to generate the necessary traction for transport of the raft.
  • the raft is thereby transported by the joint action of both the conveyor and platform.
  • the slats 60 on the arcuate conveyor are mounted to upper and lower drive chains 62 shown in greater detail in FIG. 3.
  • a typical chain support stanchion 72 is shown.
  • a plurality of stanchions 72 are uniformly spaced around the length of the arcuate conveyor for support of curved upper and lower guide channels, 74 and 76, and, the contact portion 78 and return portion 80 of the moving conveyor track 82.
  • the stanchion 72 is constructed with a base plate 84 for mounting the stanchion to the bed of the upper waterway 24.
  • the base plate 84 has a vertical post 88 mounted thereto which supports upper and lower cross brackets 90 and 92 to which the guide channels 74 and 76 are attached.
  • the guide channels are fabricated from sections of elongated curved L-beams, 94 and 96, which are welded together at their ends to provide the continuous arcuate conveyor configuration shown in FIG. 1.
  • the inner and outer L-beams, 94 and 96 are jointly bolted to the cross brackets 90 and 92 by bolts 98.
  • the moving conveyor track 82 is constructed with an upper link chain 100 that is arranged within the upper guide channel 74 and a lower link chain 102, that is arranged within the lower guide channel 76.
  • Chain 102 is transported on a low friction slide bearing 104 attached to the lower guide channel 76 by anchor bolts 106.
  • the upper and lower link chains are interconnected by the vertical wooden slats 60 which are bolted by carriage bolts 108 to angle iron brackets 110 that connect to the journal pins 112 of the link chain rollers 114. In this manner the displacement of the upper and lower link chains 100 and 102 maintained by the slats 60.
  • each end of the conveyor 36 includes a sprocket mechanism 122 to reverse the direction of the moving track 82.
  • One end for example the raft entry end, has a drive motor 142 connected to the sprocket mechanism 122.
  • the sprocket mechanism including the drive motor is shown in FIG. 4.
  • a socket 124 is mounted to the bed 86 of the upper waterway 24.
  • a support post 126 is inserted in the socket and, for the main conveyor, is secured from rotation in the socket by a set screw 128.
  • the support post 126 has two horizontal support arms 130 connected to a journal casing 132 in which a journal 134 is vertically mounted.
  • the journal has a sprocket 136 at each end which engages the upper and lower link chains, 100 and 102. Extending from the journal at the top sprocket is a drive spindle 138 which is keyed to the rotor 140 of the variable speed electric motor 142.
  • the motor 142 is supported on a bracket 144 connected to a top mounting plate 146 on the support post 126 by a shock mount 148.
  • Operation of the drive motor 142 for the conveyor is regulated by conventional control systems to coordinate conveyor speed with the speed of the contact portion 78 of the revolving platform to prevent roll of the rafts along the conveyor and platform.
  • platform rotation speed is increased or reduced according to passenger demand the conveyor speed is accordingly adjusted.
  • engaged vehicles will roll against the platform and reorient themselves for convenient loading or unloading.
  • the orientation is accomplished by a separate mechanism described hereafter.
  • the short orientation conveyor 46 includes a sprocket mechanism 122 at each similar to that shown in FIG. 4. As illustrated in FIG. 5, the orientation conveyor 46 includes a hydraulic or pneumatic activation mechanism 150 mounted at one end to the bed 86 of the upper waterway 24 and at the other end to the conveyor 46 to pivot the conveyor46 about the axis of the support post 152. In this manner the conveyor can be swung across the waterway to shunt selected rafts into a spur waterway 154 for removal from service.
  • the sprocket mechanism 122 at the swinging end is not supported in a socket but includes a support roller at its bottom end (not shown).
  • the support post 152 at the pivotal end is 149a and 149b of an interconnecting support structure 151, is not pinned by a set screw to its support socket, but is free to pivot therein.
  • the orientation conveyor 46 is employed to roll the raft by a differential in the effective angular speed of the conveyor relative to the platform by variations in the speed of a variable speed drive motor 153.
  • the orientation conveyor 46 has a vertically disposed conveying surface 155 with a contact portion 157 displaced from the peripheral edge or circular periphery 34 of the platform.
  • a raft 12 becomes engaged between the orientation conveyor and the platform and is rotated by an effective differential arcuate speed between the contact portion 157 of the conveyor 46 and the periphery 34 of the platform produced by a variable speed drive motor 159.
  • the conveyor 46 is slowed or stopped until a strategically mounted detectable plate 156 is detected adjacent the platform by an elongated bed-mounted, sensor plate 158. When detected the appropriated compatible speed of the orientation conveyor to the platform is resumed, thus maintaining the selected proper positioning of the raft for unloading and loading.

Landscapes

  • Escalators And Moving Walkways (AREA)

Claims (9)

1. Terminus de chargement (10) de trajet de parc d'attractions pour le chargement de passagers de véhicules indépendants (12), comprenant une plate-forme (32) circulaire tournante, à périphérie extérieure circulaire (34) et moyens de guidage incurvés concentriques pour guider et déplacer les véhicules entre la plate-forme et les moyens de guidage, caractérisé par un convoyeur sans fin (36) ayant une surface d'entraînement (60) disposée verticalement, à portion de contact incurvée (42) décalée par rapport, et concentrique, à la périphérie circulaire extérieure (34), dans lequel la dite portion de contact (42) est actionnable à une vitesse, sur la partie incurvée, sensiblement égale à la vitesse, sur la partie incurvée, d'un diamètre d'extension équivalente de la dite plate-forme (32), dans lequel des véhicules (12) sont engagés entre la dite périphérie extérieure (34) de la dite plate-forme circulaire (32) et la dite partie incurvée, par action conjointe de la dite plate-forme (32) et de la portion de contact (42) du dit convoyeur (32), et sont entraînés sur une fraction de tour de la plate-forme (32).
2. Le terminus (10) de la revendication 1, en combinaison avec au moins un véhicule (12) ayant une surface périphérique externe (40) pouvant venir en prise avec le dit convoyeur (36) et la plate-forme (32).
3. Le terminus (10) de la revendication 2 dans lequel la dite surface péripérique externe (40) du dit véhicule (12) est de configuration circulaire.
4. Le terminus (10) de la revendication 3 comprenant, en outre, des moyens de commande (122) pour le fonctionnement à vitesse variable dudit convoyeur (36), dans lequel le dit véhicule circulaire (12) est amené à rouler contre la dite plate-forme (32) par variation de la vitesse dudit convoyeur (36) à partir de la vitesse du diamètre d'extension équivalent de la plate-forme (32) pour l'orientation du dit véhicle (12) sur son axe par rapport à la dite plate-forme (32).
5. Le terminus (10) de la revendication 4 comprenant, en outre, un convoyeur d'orientation séparé (46) ayant une surface (155) d'entraînement disposée verticalement à position de contact (157) décalée par rapport à la périphérie circulaire externe (34) de la dite plate-forme (32), dans lequel un véhicule (12) peut venir en pris avec la portion de contact (157) dudit convoyeur (46) et la périphérie circulaire externe (34) de la dite plate-forme (32) et dans lequel ledit convoyeur d'orientation (46) possède des moyens de commande (159) pour faire fonctionner la position de contact (157) dudit convoyeur (46) à des vitesses variables, et l'orientation dudit véhicule (12) par rapport à la dite plate-forme (32) est réglée à volonté.
6. Le terminus (10) de la revendication 5 dans lequel ledit convoyeur d'orientation (46) comporte une première extrémité à crapaudine (149a) et une seconde extrémité à crapaudine (149b) avec une structure support de liaison (151) pour la course sand fin de la dite surface d'entraînement (155), la dite première extrémité à crapaudine (149a) possédant, en outre, des moyens supports de pivotement (152) pour faire pivoter la seconde extrémité à crapaudine (149b) et la structure support (153) et les amener sur un trajet incliné vers la dite plate-forme (32) afin d'écarter les véhicles (12) de la dite plate-forme (32).
7. Le terminus (10) de la revendication 5 dans lequel la dite structure support (131) possède, reliés à elle, des moyens pour actionner lesdits moyens supports de pivotement.
8. Le terminus (10) de la revendication 1 dans lequel une voie d'eau (24) est disposée entre la dite périphérie circulaire externe (34) de la dite plate-forme (32) et la dite position de contact (42) dudit convoyeur (36).
9. Le terminus (10) de la revendication 8 comprenant, en outre, des moyens de commande (122) pour actionner le dit convoyeur (36) à une vitesse, sur la partie incurvée, égale à celle du diamètre d'extension équivalent de la dite plate-forme (32).
EP83901849A 1983-03-09 1983-03-09 Terminal de chargement pour parc d'attractions Expired EP0137780B1 (fr)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
AT83901849T ATE36680T1 (de) 1983-03-09 1983-03-09 Ladestation fuer vergnuegungsanlage.

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
PCT/US1983/000311 WO1984003477A1 (fr) 1983-03-09 1983-03-09 Terminal de chargement pour parc d'attractions

Publications (3)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0137780A1 EP0137780A1 (fr) 1985-04-24
EP0137780A4 EP0137780A4 (fr) 1987-01-29
EP0137780B1 true EP0137780B1 (fr) 1988-08-24

Family

ID=22174871

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP83901849A Expired EP0137780B1 (fr) 1983-03-09 1983-03-09 Terminal de chargement pour parc d'attractions

Country Status (4)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0137780B1 (fr)
AT (1) ATE36680T1 (fr)
DE (1) DE3377784D1 (fr)
WO (1) WO1984003477A1 (fr)

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE4243812C2 (de) * 1992-12-23 2002-08-08 Hafema Maschb Gmbh Schiffs-Förderanlage

Families Citing this family (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
AT392596B (de) * 1989-03-21 1991-04-25 Waagner Biro Ag Vorrichtung fuer den wechsel von fahrgaesten
US8038541B1 (en) * 2004-02-17 2011-10-18 Jared Freeman Solomon Motion based system

Family Cites Families (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US780268A (en) * 1904-03-30 1905-01-17 Edward Whitehead Curtiss Rapid-transportation system.
US1859267A (en) * 1931-04-07 1932-05-17 Guenther P V Kurz Water amusement device
FR2064137A1 (fr) * 1969-10-04 1971-07-16 Krauss Maffei Ag
US3722657A (en) * 1971-06-01 1973-03-27 Inland Steel Co Rotational and translational motion controlling methods and apparatusfor cylindrical articles and the like
US3865041A (en) * 1973-04-16 1975-02-11 Arrow Dev Co Rotary platform vehicle passenger loading system

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE4243812C2 (de) * 1992-12-23 2002-08-08 Hafema Maschb Gmbh Schiffs-Förderanlage

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
EP0137780A4 (fr) 1987-01-29
DE3377784D1 (en) 1988-09-29
ATE36680T1 (de) 1988-09-15
WO1984003477A1 (fr) 1984-09-13
EP0137780A1 (fr) 1985-04-24

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