Fairground ride

Abstract

Provided herein is a fairground ride, such as a ghost train or dark ride attraction, having a vehicle including a chassis and a passenger seat for passengers. The vehicle further includes a hexapod drive set on the chassis and a rotary table connected to the hexapod drive, whereby the passenger seat is swivel-mounted on the rotary table.

Claims

1. A fairground ride having a vehicle, wherein said vehicle comprises: a chassis; a passenger seat for passengers; a hexapod drive set on the chassis; and a rotary table connected to the hexapod drive about a rotary axis; wherein the passenger seat is swivel mounted to the rotary table such that the passenger seat can swivel about the passenger seat's pitch axis which is independent from said rotary axis.

2. The fairground ride according to claim 1, wherein the chassis is path bound.

3. The fairground ride according to claim 2, wherein the chassis is rail bound.

4. The fairground ride according to claim 1, wherein the passenger seat has a backrest, and the hexapod drive is configured to allow the backrest to be brought into a tilt position with a tilt angle of the backrest to the horizontal less than 20°.

5. The fairground ride according to claim 4, wherein the hexapod drive is configured to allow the backrest to be brought into a tilt position with a tilt angle of the backrest to the horizontal less than 15°.

6. The fairground ride according to claim 1, wherein the hexapod drive has six telescopic drives mounted on respective base points on one platform with one central point of a best-fit circle through all base points, and a vertical projection of the passenger seat rotary axis on a level through the best-fit circle is at a distance from the central point which is at least half of a radius of the best-fit circle.

7. The fairground ride according to claim 6, wherein the vertical projection of the passenger seat rotary axis on a level through the best-fit circle is at a distance from the central point which is at least two-thirds of the radius of the best-fit circle.

8. The fairground ride according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle has a minimum clearance outline, the fairground ride further comprises scenes, and all scenes are arranged outside of the minimum clearance outline.

9. The fairground ride according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle is configured to move along a given trajectory, the fairground ride at least has a first scene in the form of a fixed screen on an initial point along the trajectory, and the fairground ride has a control device configured to automatically move the vehicle along the trajectory and to automatically project images on the first fixed screen, wherein the projection is synchronised with the movement of the vehicle.

10. The fairground ride according to claim 9, wherein the trajectory follows at least one rail, so that the vehicle can move along the trajectory by moving on the rail.

11. A fairground ride having a vehicle, wherein said vehicle comprises: a chassis; a passenger seat for passengers; a hexapod drive set on the chassis; a rotary table connected to the hexapod drive, wherein the passenger seat is swivel mounted to the rotary table; and an image playback surface which can be brought into an active position in which the image playback surface is in a field of view of the passengers in the passenger seat, and can be brought into an inactive position in which the image playback surface is out of the field of view of the passengers in the passenger seat.

12. A fairground ride having a vehicle, wherein said vehicle comprises: a chassis; a passenger seat for passengers; a hexapod drive set on the chassis; a rotary table connected to the hexapod drive, wherein the passenger seat is swivel mounted to the rotary table; and an image playback surface which can be brought into an active position in which the image playback surface is in a field of view of the passengers in the passenger seat, and can be brought into an inactive position in which the image playback surface is out of the field of view of the passengers in the passenger seat, wherein the image playback surface is curved.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The foregoing and other objects, aspects and advantages will be better understood from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments of the invention with reference to the drawings, in which:

(2) FIG. 1 is a fairground ride according to the invention in a start position,

(3) FIG. 2a is a fairground ride according to FIG. 1, with the vehicle in a second position,

(4) FIG. 2b is a top view of the platform of the hexapod drive, and

(5) FIG. 3 is the vehicle in accordance with FIGS. 1 and 2a-b in which the image playback surface is in the inactive position.

(6) FIG. 4 is a flow chart of a method that ensures that the vehicle is not capable of a movement which could result in a collision with a scene.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(7) Before exemplary embodiments of the present invention are described in greater detail, it is to be understood that this invention is not limited to particular embodiments described, as such may, of course, vary. It is also to be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only, and is not intended to be limiting, since the scope of the present invention will be limited only by the appended claims.

(8) FIG. 1 shows fairground ride 10 that has vehicle 12 and a first backdrop or scene 14 in the form of a fixed screen. Vehicle 12 has a chassis 16 designed to be self-propelled and located on rail 18. In other words, chassis 16 is designed so that it follows rail 18 without the rail 18 acting as a mechanical guide.

(9) Alternatively, vehicle 12 can be guided by or on exactly one rail whereby the rail carries the load resulting from the driving force and any tilting moments.

(10) Vehicle 12 has a hexapod drive 20, on which is mounted a rotary table 22. Rotary table 22 is attached to passenger seat 24, in which the passengers can sit.

(11) FIG. 1 shows that vehicle 12 also has an image playback surface 26, which could also be generally described as a projection surface. In FIG. 1, image playback area 26 is shown in its active position in which passengers can view the image playback surface 26. FIG. 3 shows image playback surface 26 in its inactive position. In the present embodiment, image playback surface 26 is swivel-mounted relative to passenger seat 24.

(12) In FIG. 1, projector 28 is schematically drawn by means of which an image can be projected onto image playback surface 26 which can be designed as a curved screen. Of course it is also possible that the vehicle has a screen as an alternative to or in addition to image playback surface 26.

(13) FIG. 2a shows vehicle 12 in a different position at which passenger seat 24 is raised. In FIG. 2a, image playback surface 26 is not shown. Passenger seat 24 has a plurality of seats, of which seat 30.1 is shown schematically. Seat 30.1 has a back rest 32, which forms a tilt angle α with the horizontal H, which is smaller than α=20° in the position as shown in FIG. 2a. A schematically-drawn passenger 34 then almost lies on his/her back.

(14) Hexapod drive 20 has six telescopic drives of 36.1, 36.2, 36.3, 36.4, 36.5, and 36.6, which are attached by respective base points 38.i (i=1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) to platform 40. In FIG. 2b, platform 40 is shown schematically from above. It can be seen that base points 38.i are situated in best-fit circle K, which has a center point M.

(15) Passenger seat 24 is swivel-mounted to pivot or rotate around a passenger seat rotary axis D.sub.24. A distance of the passenger seat rotary axis D.sub.24 from middle-point M is, in the shown embodiment, greater than radius R of the best-fit circle K. This represents a preferred embodiment of the invention.

(16) FIG. 3 shows that rotary table 22 has a rotary table-rotary axis D.sub.22, which, in this embodiment, runs through center point M (see FIG. 2b) of the best-fit circle K. The rotary table rotary axis D.sub.22 also runs vertically to a plane through best-fit circle K. Passengers 34 can view a second scene in the form of fixed screen 14.2.

(17) In FIG. 3, image playback surface 26 is shown in its inactive position. It is outside the field of view S of passenger 34. The field of vision shows the area of β.sub.1=60° above the horizontal and β.sub.2=70° below the horizontal. This particularly applies if the passengers are in a normal seating position. If passenger seat 24 tilts back, this angle specification does not refer to the horizontal, but to a level which has been tilted at the same angle as passenger seat 24.

(18) Image playback surface 26 can, in the present embodiment, be tilted into the active position shown in FIG. 1 whereby the rotary axis, around which the tilting takes place, runs parallel to the passenger seat rotary axis D.sub.24.

(19) The following describes how a procedure according to the invention is carried out for the use of the fairground ride according to the invention. First, vehicle 12 is brought into a position in which passengers 34 can climb into passenger seat 24, in particular, passengers 34 can take a seat in passenger seat 24. Then vehicle 12 drives to a first scene 14, which could be a fixed screen. There, after vehicle 12 has arrived, an image is presented, which passengers 34 can view. Toward the end of the projected image, the image playback surface 26 turns into the field of vision of the passengers and projector 28 projects an image onto this image playback surface 26. This image can be designed in such a way that passengers 34 hardly notice the image playback surface 26 swivel.

(20) As soon as image playback surface 26 is fully within the field of vision of the passengers, vehicle 12 moves to the next scene 14.2 (FIG. 3). In this movement, the hexapod drive, together with the rotary table, can simulate a motion, which is matched to the image which is projected onto image playback surface 26. The passengers will then have the illusion of being immersed in the scene shown in the projected image.

(21) As soon as the vehicle has arrived before the next scene, image playback surface 26 is folded away. The second scene is a fixed screen and another image can be shown on this. The specified process steps will be executed by control device 42 which controls the components involved in fairground ride 10, in particular, the vehicle 12.

(22) FIG. 4 is a flow chart of a method that ensures that the vehicle is not capable of a movement which could result in a collision with a scene. In a first step, the path the vehicle is supposed to take is determined. The rail 18 is or will be mounted according to this path. The vehicle's clearance zone or minimum clearance outline will also be determined. This may be done by superimposing a sufficient number of outlines of the vehicle in various positions, e.g. based on the vehicle's CAD data. In a following step, the reachable space will be calculated. The reachable space is comprised of all those points that could potentially be reached by the vehicle and/or any passenger. If, for example, the vehicle's minimum clearance outline is a circle, the reachable space is hose-shaped or snake-shaped and stretches along the vehicle's path. All scenes will be arranged or placed outside the reachable space.

(23) In order to confirm the vehicle's minimum clearance that has been found in this way, a test ride may be performed. During the test ride, at least some places of the seats of the vehicle are taken by dummies. While travelling along its path, the vehicle may perform additional movements that simulate movements that would occur in case one, two or more of the drives of the vehicle failed. In this way it can be proven that the passengers are safe even if one, two or more, e.g. all, of the drives of the vehicle fail.

(24) While the invention has been described in terms of its preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. Accordingly, the present invention should not be limited to the embodiments as described above, but should further include all modifications and equivalents thereof within the spirit and scope of the description provided herein.