Amusement ride with gondolas mounted on a support and having rows of seats mounted by Cardan suspension

Abstract

The invention relates to an amusement ride having a base (1) to which is fastened at least one pivotable or rotatable support (2) for holding rows of seats (4) mounted in gondolas (3, 8) on the support, the gondolas (3, 8) being movable on the support (2) at least in the vertical direction in relation to the base, and the rows of seats (4) being rotatable or pivotable in the gondolas (3, 8) in at least two planes which are perpendicular to each other. According to the invention, the support (2) contains at least two gondolas (3, 8) which are formed by frames (5, 6, 7) which interlock in a Cardan suspension, as a result of which the rows of seats (4) are mounted by Cardan suspension in the gondolas (3, 8) and are movable in three planes which are perpendicular to one another. While one of the gondolas (8) can be loaded and unloaded in its starting position, other gondolas (3) fastened to the support can be operated in a predefined movement program.

Claims

1. An amusement ride comprising a base (1) to which is fastened at least one pivotable or rotatable support (2) holding rows of seats (4) mounted in at least one gondola (3, 8), wherein the at least one gondola (3, 8) is movable on the at least one support (2) with respect to the base, at least in a vertical direction, wherein the rows of seats (4) in the at least one gondola (3, 8) are rotatable or pivotable in at least two mutually perpendicular planes, wherein the at least one support (2) is formed by two parallel arms (17, 18) with the at least one gondola (3, 8) arranged between the parallel arms and supported by frames (5, 6, 7) which interlock in a Cardan suspension, such that the rows of seats (4) in the at least one gondola (3, 8) are mounted by Cardan suspension and are movable in three mutually perpendicular planes, wherein the at least one support (2) is an arcuate motor-driven support beam which is curved relative to the base and comprises upwardly swept ends, has said two parallel arms, and is mounted on the base in a central region (9) thereof, and is configured with the at least one gondola (3, 8) on one of the support beam's upwardly swept ends, and wherein the at least one gondola (3, 8) can be loaded and unloaded in its starting position.

2. The amusement ride according to claim 1, wherein two supports (21-23) arranged parallel to one another are fastened to the base by parallel arms, each of which is configured with a gondola (19, 20) of the at least one gondola between the parallel arms on upwardly swept ends, wherein a middle arm (22) is part of both supports.

3. The amusement ride according to claim 2, wherein an inert mass (24) whose weight substantially corresponds to that of a loaded gondola is supported at an opposite end of the support, opposite said one end with the one gondola.

4. The amusement ride according to claim 2, wherein the frames (5, 6, 7) which interlock in a gimbal-like manner are rectangular, oval or circular, wherein an outer frame (7) is rotatably mounted on the arms (21, 23) of the two supports, the rows of seats are mounted on an inner frame (5), and an intermediate frame (6) interconnects the outer frame to the inner frame in a gimbal-like manner.

5. The amusement ride according to claim 1, wherein an inert mass (24) whose weight substantially corresponds to that of a loaded gondola is supported at an opposite end of the support, opposite said one end with the one gondola.

6. The amusement ride according to claim 5, wherein the frames (5, 6, 7) which interlock in a gimbal-like manner are rectangular, oval or circular, wherein an outer frame (7) is rotatably mounted on the arms (17, 18) of the at least one support (2), the rows of seats are mounted on an inner frame (5), and an intermediate frame (6) interconnects the outer frame to the inner frame in a gimbal-like manner.

7. The amusement ride according to claim 1, wherein the frames (5, 6, 7) which interlock in a Cardan suspension are rectangular, oval or circular, wherein an outer frame (7) is rotatably mounted on the parallel arms (17, 18) of the at least one support (2), the rows of seats are mounted on an inner frame (5), and an intermediate frame (6) interconnects the outer frame to the inner frame in a gimbal-like manner.

8. The amusement ride according to claim 7, wherein the inner frame (5) includes two opposed legs (15, 16), with two rows of seats fastened back to back on one leg (15) of the inner frame (5).

9. The amusement ride according to claim 8, wherein the opposed legs (15, 16) are swingable in rotation about an axis of rotation (13) on the inner frame (5).

10. The amusement ride according to claim 7, wherein the rows of seats are fastened to legs (15, 16) of the inner frame (5), the legs being opposite one another on the inner frame (5).

11. The amusement ride according to claim 10, wherein the legs (15, 16) are swingable in rotation about an axis of rotation on the inner frame (5).

12. The amusement ride according to claim 1, wherein two gondolas are positioned on the support, one at each end of the support, so that while one of the two gondolas on the support is loaded and unloaded in its starting position, the other gondola can be operated in a predefined movement program.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The invention will be explained in more detail below with reference to several embodiments, wherein:

(2) FIGS. 1-3 show an amusement ride with an arcuate support,

(3) FIGS. 4-6 show an amusement ride with two parallel supports,

(4) FIGS. 7, 8 show an amusement ride with two oppositely oriented supports,

(5) FIGS. 9-11 show arrangements with gondolas on a revolving wheel,

(6) FIGS. 12, 13 show arrangements with a hubless wheel, and

(7) FIGS. 14-17 show arrangements with gondolas that can be moved up and down along a tower.

(8) FIGS. 1-3 show an embodiment of the invention in which an arcuate support 2 is held by its central region in a bearing 9 on a platform-like base 1. The base 1 contains a loading and unloading area 10 in which the passengers can enter or exit the gondola 8 arranged at the end of the support 2. A further gondola 3 is arranged on the opposite end of the support 2. This can be entered or exited accordingly in a further loading and unloading area on the base 1. Although the support 2 is shown with an arcuate shape, it may also be obtuse or even rectilinear. An arcuate or angled shape is preferred to obtain great heights at one end when the opposite end is lowered.

(9) The bearing 9 is located on the base 1 on a raised frame 11, such that the ends of the arcuate support 2 can each be pivoted sufficiently far down to enable entering or exiting the gondolas 3 or 8.

(10) The gondolas 3 and 8 are arranged on the support 2 on the ends thereof, and consist of three nested frames, which are mounted perpendicularly to each other. The outer frame 7 is mounted in a bearing 12. The intermediate frame 6 is mounted with its bearing axis perpendicular to the bearing axis 12 in the outer frame 7. Inside the intermediate frame 6, the inner frame 5 is mounted via the bearing 13 with respect to the intermediate frame 6. The arrangement of the bearings 12, 13, 14 of the interlocked frames 5, 6, 7 results in a cardanic mount, such that the inner frame 5 is movable in mutually perpendicular planes. The movement is preferably motorized according to a preselected control program.

(11) The inner frame 5 has, on the free leg 15, two parallel rows of seats 4, wherein the individual seats of the rows of seats are fastened to both sides of the leg. The opposite leg 16 of the inner frame 5 may have a counterweight. However, the leg 16 can also accommodate rows of seats if the loading and unloading of the rows of seats on the platform can be suitably ensured. For this purpose, the legs 15 and 16 should be rotatable relative to the inner frame 5, so that each of the rows of seats can be kept in an upright position during loading and unloading.

(12) The gondolas formed by the frames 5, 6, 7 are preferably rectangular in shape, but they can also be any other shape—such as oval or circular.

(13) For loading and unloading a gondola, the support 2 is lowered at one end far enough that the leg of the inner frame which carries the rows of seats can be lowered to the base 1. After the rows of seats are loaded, the corresponding end of the support 2 can be raised again while the opposite end of the support is lowered. The gondolas can thereby be moved up and down synchronously in the manner of a seesaw swing.

(14) FIG. 2 shows the amusement ride of FIG. 1 in a plan view. The figure shows that the support 2 is formed by two parallel arms 17 and 18, with the outer frames 7 of the two gondolas 3 and 8 accommodated between them. The outer frames 7 are rotatable in a vertical plane about the bearing 12. The intermediate frame 6 is rotatably supported on the outer frame 7 via the bearing 14. The inner frame 5 is mounted in the intermediate frame 6 via the bearing 13.

(15) FIG. 3 shows the arrangement in FIG. 1 in front view, with the arms 17 and 18 and a raised gondola 3, as well as a lowered gondola 8. The gondola 3 is in its highest position, while the gondola 8 on the other side of the amusement ride is in the loading and unloading position.

(16) FIGS. 4-6 show a second embodiment of the invention, in which two gondolas 19 and 20 are arranged parallel to each other. The gondolas are suspended via three arms 21, 22, 23. As such, the lifting movement of the gondolas 19 and 20 takes place synchronously. However, the movement sequences of the gondolas 19 and 20 can be either synchronous or different from each other.

(17) FIG. 5 also shows the bottom position of the two gondolas 19 and 20 for loading and unloading.

(18) FIG. 5 shows a side view of the embodiment, which shows that the gondolas are fastened to the support 2 on the end thereof. The opposite end of the support 2 has counterweights 24 in order to establish a weight symmetry on the support 2.

(19) In this embodiment, the loading and unloading of the two parallel gondolas 19 and 20 takes place at the same time; in the first embodiment, the gondolas 3 and 8 are alternately loaded and unloaded.

(20) A further embodiment of the invention is shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, in which two gondolas 25 and 26 are fastened to supports 27 and 28. The gondolas 25 and 26 in this embodiment are operated independently of each other; however, synchronous operation is also possible. Also in this embodiment, the supports 27 and 28 each have a gondola at one end, while the other end of the support contains balancing weights.

(21) FIG. 7 shows a side view of the embodiment in which the gondolas 25 and 26 are each shown in two positions. FIG. 8 shows a corresponding view in plan view.

(22) FIGS. 9-11 show a fourth embodiment of the invention, in which a support 34 is fixed to a central axis of rotation 29 and is rotatable about the central axis of rotation 29 in the manner of a Ferris wheel. The gondolas 30 and 31 are located at the peripheral ends of the support 34. The central axis of rotation 29 is located at the top of a support frame 33 which is arranged on the base 1. In this embodiment as well, the gondolas and/or rows of seats are mounted by Cardan suspension.

(23) FIG. 9 shows an embodiment with a support 34 having two gondolas 30 and 31. FIG. 10 shows a three-armed support, with a gondola 30, 31, 32 at each end of the arms of the support, wherein the gondola 32 is in the loading and unloading position. FIG. 11 shows a four-armed support with four gondolas. A greater number of gondolas on an accordingly greater number of arms can be realized accordingly. For a two-armed support, one of the gondolas can also be replaced by a counterweight.

(24) FIGS. 12 and 13 show an embodiment with a plurality of gondolas supported on a carrying wheel 35, which is supported by drive rolls 36 and 37 as an open wheel without a central axis of rotation. In this case as well, the number of gondolas can be kept variable.

(25) FIGS. 14-17 show an arrangement of gondolas fastened to a ring 38 that can be moved up and down vertically along a tower 39. Here as well, the gondolas have a cardanic design, such that each gondola can perform multifunctional movements. The ring 38 may accommodate two, three, four or more gondolas. In addition to a vertical lifting movement, the ring can also be rotated relative to the tower in a horizontal plane.

(26) In the figures, the gondolas are shown as an open frame arrangement. However, the gondolas may also be given a closed design if the outer frame forms a housing in which the intermediate frames and the inner frames are accommodated. The inner frame may also form a housing in which the rows of seats or individual seats can be accommodated in a different arrangement. The housings have doors and are made with or without windows. In this case, the housings can also be provided with projection surfaces on which visual representations are displayed, which can further increase the amusement effect for the passengers.

REFERENCE NUMBERS

(27) TABLE-US-00001 1. base 2. support 3. gondola 4. row of seats 5. inner frame 6. intermediate frame 7. outer frame 8. gondola 9. bearing 10. loading and unloading area 11. frame 12. bearing 13. bearing 14. bearing 15. leg 16. leg 17. arm 18. arm 19. gondola 20. gondola 21. arm 22. arm 23. arm 24. inert mass 25. gondola 26. gondola 27. support 28. support 29. central axis of rotation 30. gondola 31. gondola 32. gondola 33. support frame 34. support 35. carrying wheel 36. drive roll, arm 37. drive roll, arm 38. ring 39. tower