FALL ATTRACTION FOR FAIRGROUNDS

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a fall attraction Fall attraction for theme parks, comprising a seating carrier, a rail track for guiding said seating carrier, said rail track being mounted on at least one tower or mast, at least one vertical or sloping fall section over which the seating carrier can execute a free fall, a first substantially horizontal part connected to said fall section by a first band, an upwardly extending part connected to said substantially horizontal part by a second band, breaking means to bring the seating carrier to a stop in said substantially horizontal part, means for transporting the seating carrier to the uppermost section of the rail track.

[0002] A fall attraction of this type is described in US-A 3,885,503.

[0003] Equipment in theme parks and fairgrounds in which people are brought into situations which suggest a lethal risk are becoming increasingly popular. The known fall attraction has an initial braking path at the lowermost part of the free fall section and a second, essentially horizontal, braking path that adjoins an essentially vertical section. The two breaking paths will lead to a situation in which the seating carrier, after having carried out a free fall, will be brought to a hold at a point in the lower horizontal section.

[0004] The aim of the invention is to construct a fall attraction as indicated in the preamble in such a way that the attractive sensation is increased whilst, at the same time, safety is improved.

[0005] According to the invention, the fall attraction is to this end characterised in that at least part of the braking means is formed by said upwardly extending part in which the seating carrier - after having carried out the free fall and having passed said substantially horizontal part - will always move upwards for increasing the attractive sensation, and from which the seating carrier falls back to said substantially horizontal part.

[0006] It is important that the seating carrier which has been subjected to a falling motion is braked making use of gravity, in that after the fall said seating carrier is brought via a bend into a path in which the seating carrier moves upwards. Braking can be intensified or controlled by other means.

[0007] The rail track can form a closed loop or can be a finite, non-closed path. A closed loop will usually be preferred.

[0008] In order to increase the amusement value, the seating carrier can be rotatably connected about at least one hinge pin to a vehicle that is movable over or along the rail.

[0009] The various hinging movements about a vertical and/or horizontal axis of rotation could be controlled by hydraulic, mechanical or pneumatic facilities. However, free rocking and swinging movements about the hinge pins are not precluded. Apart from hydraulic cylinders, one or more auxiliary rails could also be used in order to control or to cause the hinging movements of the seating carrier. In that case, for example, rollers or other guide elements are mounted on the seating carrier, which rollers or guide elements are able to interact with the auxiliary rails in certain parts of the movement path.

[0010] In order to transport the seating carrier up to the top section of the rail track use can be made of various facilities, such as a cable or chain in loop form which has one or more dogs, a drive unit added to the seating carrier or a magnetisable suspension track.

[0011] The seating carrier can comprise one, two or more floors of seats.

[0012] The invention will now be explained in more detail with reference to the diagrammatic figures.

[0013] Fig. 1 shows a side view of a fall attraction according to the invention.

[0014] Fig. 2 shows a side view of the a fall attraction at an angle of 90° with respect to the side view in Fig. 1.

[0015] Fig. 3 shows a side view of part of an alternative embodiment.

[0016] The theme park or fairground attraction shown in Figures 1 and 2 comprises a vertical mast 1, on which a rail track 2 is mounted, said rail track 2 consisting of two closed rail loops 3 and 4 which are some distance apart and joined to one another. In the case of a mobile embodiment, the mast 1 is supported by a number of support legs 5. In the case of a permanent installation the support leg can be replaced by guy wires and the tower bears on a plate which is anchored into the ground by anchors.

[0017] A vehicle 6 is provided with wheels, rollers, sliders or magnetisable elements, such that the vehicle is able to move over the rail track.

[0018] An open or closed gondola 7, which in the illustrative embodiment shown has two floors on which a row of seats is mounted, is suspended from the vehicle 6. The vehicle 6 and the gondola 7 together form a seating carrier.

[0019] The rail track 2 extends in the vertical plane (and can also be at a slight slope) and has two sections 8, 9, extending obliquely from top to bottom, two horizontal sections 10, 11 and bend sections which join the said sections to one another.

[0020] The vehicle 6 with gondola 7 can be brought to the top over a sloping section 8 or 9 by means of a displacement mechanism. In the illustrative embodiment shown said displacement mechanism is a cable or chain loop 12 which is driven by rollers or sprockets and which is provided with one or more dogs 13 in order to be able to engage behind the vehicle 6.

[0021] The people in the gondola 7 should be able to be given the opportunity to enjoy the view in the uppermost section of the rail track, but after some time the gondola is brought to the top edge of section 8 and the hook linkage is broken, as a result of which the seating carrier 6, 7 hurtles downwards in free fall. In the lowermost section of the rail track the vehicle shoots upwards, via the bend sections between sections 8 and 11, the straight section 11 and the bend sections between the sections 11 and 9, into the sloping section 9, slows down, falls back and, if no additional braking facilities are provided, comes to a stop after moving backwards and forwards a few times, suspended from the horizontal section 11. It is not precluded that the fall is somewhat retarded and controlled by means of brakes.

[0022] The sections 8, 9 can also have a greater or lesser slope or be set up vertically and the bend sections between the sections 8 and 11 and between the sections 11 and 9 can have a much greater radius of curvature, with even the horizontal section 11 being dispensed with and replaced by bend sections merging into one another.

[0023] Instead of the cable or chain loop 12 with dog 13, it is also possible to make use of a drive unit integrated in said seating carrier and/or track as the drive element for raising the seating carrier 6, 7, which integrated drive unit could also provide some braking, or a magnetic track as is used for modem trains.

[0024] The gondola 7 is connected to said vehicle via a horizontal hinge pin 14 and the lower section of the vehicle 7 could also be connected via a vertical hinge pin to the upper section thereof. The rotation of the gondola about the said pins could be controlled with the aid of hydraulic cylinders, motors or other drive means, which are not shown.

[0025] In the case of the embodiment according to Fig. 3, the rail track 2 is not in the shape of a loop but is open-ended and, moreover, the vehicle 6 with gondola 7 runs on the inside of the essentially L-shaped track. The fall path is vertical and the braking path is much broader. The mast has been omitted from the drawing for convenience.

[0026] It will be clear that numerous modifications, alternatives and supplements are possible within the framework of the invention. The essential feature is a rail track having a fall section and a braking section, in which latter section the falling seating carrier, which may or may not be controlled, is slowed down, inter alia by an ascending movement.

Claims

1. Fall attraction for theme parks, comprising a seating carrier (7), a rail track (2) for guiding said seating carrier (7), said rail track (2) being mounted on at least one tower or mast, at least one vertical or sloping fall section (8) over which the seating carrier (7) can execute a free fall, a first substantially horizontal part (11) connected to said fall section (8) by a first bend, an upwardly extending part connected to said substantially horizontal part (11) by a second bend, braking means to bring the seating carrier to a stop in said substantially horizontal part (11), and means (12, 13) for transporting the seating carrier (7) to the uppermost section of the rail track (2),
characterised in that at least part of the braking means is formed by said upwardly extending part (9) in which the seating carrier (7) - after having carried out the free fall and having passed said substantially horizontal part (11) - will always move upwards for increasing the attractive sensation, and from which the seating carrier (2) falls back to said substantially horizontal part (11).

2. Fall attraction according to Claim 1, characterised in that the rail track (2) forms a closed loop.

3. Fall attraction according to Claim 1, characterised in that the rail track (2) forms a finite, non-closed path.

4. Fall attraction according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the seating carrier (7) is rotatably connected about at least one hinge pin to a vehicle that is movable over or along the rail.

5. Fall attraction according to Claim 4, characterised in that one or more auxiliary rails are added which are able to force the seating carrier into certain hinged positions.

6. Fall attraction according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the means for raising the seating carrier consist of a cable or chain (12) in loop form with a dog.

7. Fall attraction according to one of Claims 1 to 5, characterised in that the means for raising the seating carrier form a magnetisable suspension track.

8. Fall attraction according to one of Claims 1 to 5, characterised in that the means for raising the seating carrier consist of a drive unit added to the seating carrier.

9. Fall attraction according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the seating carrier (7) comprises two or more floors of seats.

Ansprüche

1. Fallattraktion für Freizeit- bzw. Themenparks, umfassend
einen Sitzträger (7),
eine Schiene bzw. Gleis (2) um den Sitzträger (7) zu führen, wobei das Gleis (2) an zumindest einem Turm oder Mast befestigt bzw. angebracht ist,
zumindest einen vertikalen oder geneigten Fallabschnitt (8), über welchem der Sitzträger (7) einen freien Fall bzw. Freifall ausführen kann,
einen ersten im wesentlichen horizontalen Teil (11), welcher mit dem Fallabschnitt (8) über eine erste Biegung bzw. Kurve verbunden ist,
einen sich nach oben erstreckenden Teil, welcher mit dem im wesentlichen horizontalen Teil (11) über eine zweite Biegung bzw. Kurve verbunden ist,
Bremsmittel um den Sitzträger in dem im wesentlichen horizontalen Teil (11) zu einem Halt zu bringen und
Mittel (12, 13) um den Sitzträger (7) zu dem obersten Abschnitt des Gleises (2) zu transportieren,
   dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß
zumindest ein Teil des Bremsmittels durch den sich nach oben erstreckenden Teil (9) gebildet ist, in welchem der Sitzträger (7) - nach Durchführen des Freifalls und Passieren des im wesentlichen horizontalen Teils (11) - sich immer nach oben bewegen wird, um die attraktive Sensation bzw. das attraktive Empfinden zu erhöhen und von welchem der Sitzträger (7) zu dem im wesentlichen horizontalen Teil (11) zurückfällt.

2. Fallattraktion nach Anspruch 1, dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß das Gleis (2) eine geschlossene Schleife bildet.

3. Fallattraktion nach Anspruch 1, dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß das Gleis (2) einen endlichen, nicht geschlossenen Pfad bzw. Weg bildet.

4. Fallattraktion nach einem der vorhergehenden Ansprüche, dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß der Sitzträger (7) um zumindest einen Scharnierstift bzw. Drehstift bzw. Drehzapfen rotierbar an einem Fahrzeug befestigt ist, welches über oder entlang der Schiene bzw. dem Gleis bewegbar ist.

5. Fallattraktion nach Anspruch 4, dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß eine oder mehrere zusätzliche Schienen hinzugefügt sind, welche den Sitzträger in bestimmte drehbare bzw. schwenkbare bzw. klappbare Positionen zwingen.

6. Fallattraktion nach einem der vorhergehenden Ansprüche, dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß das Mittel zum Heben bzw. Anheben des Sitzträgers aus einem Kabel oder einer Kette (12) in Schleifenform mit einem Anschlag bzw. einer Klaue bzw. einer Sperrklinke besteht.

7. Fallattraktion nach einem der Ansprüche 1 bis 5, dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß das Mittel zum Heben des Sitzträgers ein magnetisierbares Lager bzw. ein magnetisierbares Aufhängungs- bzw. Stützgleis bildet.

8. Fallattraktion nach einem der Ansprüche 1 bis 5, dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß das Mittel zum Heben des Sitzträgers aus einer dem Sitzträger hinzugefügten Antriebseinheit besteht.

9. Fallattraktion nach einem der vorhergehenden Ansprüche, dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß der Sitzträger (7) zwei oder mehr Sitzebenen umfaßt.

Revendications

1. Attraction du type chute libre pour parcs à thème, comportant une nacelle (7), un rail (2) pour le guidage de ladite nacelle (7), ledit rail (2) étant monté sur au moins une tour ou un mât, au moins une section de chute libre verticale ou inclinée (8) sur laquelle la nacelle (7) peut exécuter une chute libre, une première partie sensiblement horizontale (11) reliée à ladite section de chute libre (8) par une première courbe, une partie s'étendant vers le haut reliée à ladite partie sensiblement horizontale (11) par une deuxième courbe, des moyens de freinage destinés à amener la nacelle à s'arrêter dans ladite partie sensiblement horizontale (11), et des moyens (12, 13) destinés à transporter la nacelle (7) vers la section la plus haute du rail (2),
caractérisée en ce qu'au moins une partie des moyens de freinage est formée par ladite partie s'étendant vers le haut (9) dans laquelle la nacelle (7), après avoir réalisé la chute libre et avoir passé la partie sensiblement horizontale (11), se déplace toujours vers le haut afin d'augmenter la sensation d'attraction, et de laquelle la nacelle (2) retombe vers ladite partie sensiblement horizontale (11).

2. Attraction du type chute libre selon la revendication 1, caractérisée en ce que le rail (2) forme une boucle fermée.

3. Attraction du type chute libre selon la revendication 1, caractérisée en ce que le rail (2) forme un passage fini non fermé.

4. Attraction du type chute libre selon l'une des revendications précédentes, caractérisée en ce que la nacelle (7) est reliée de façon rotative autour d'au moins un axe d'articulation à un véhicule qui est mobile sur ou le long du rail.

5. Attraction du type chute libre selon la revendication 4, caractérisée en ce qu'un ou plusieurs rails auxiliaires sont ajoutés et sont capables de forcer la nacelle dans certaines positions articulées.

6. Attraction du type chute libre selon l'une des revendications précédentes, caractérisée en ce que les moyens destinés à élever la nacelle sont constitués d'un câble ou d'une chaîne (12) en forme de boucle avec une butée.

7. Attraction du type chute libre selon l'une des revendications 1 à 5, caractérisée en ce que les moyens destinés à élever la nacelle forment une piste de suspension magnétique.

8. Attraction du type chute libre selon l'une des revendications 1 à 5, caractérisée en ce que les moyens destinés à élever la nacelle sont constitués d'une unité d'entraînement ajoutée à la nacelle.

9. Attraction du type chute libre selon l'une des revendications précédentes, caractérisée en ce que la nacelle (7) comporte deux niveaux de sièges ou plus.

Drawing