Fairground ride passenger unit

Abstract

A passenger restraint device of a fairground ride passenger unit, having a passenger space, includes a position-adjustable restraint element and a lockable hydraulic adjuster which acts on the restraint element. The lockable hydraulic adjuster has a cylinder-piston unit and a hydraulic accumulator. The hydraulic accumulator and the cylinder-piston unit of the hydraulic adjuster form a structural unit with a cylinder of the cylinder-piston unit and a cylinder of the hydraulic accumulator arranged next to and parallel to each other as part of the integrated cylinder assembly. A common closure cover is provided on each end face of the integrated cylinder assembly. Please replace the specification with the attached substitute specification. A marked-up and clean version of the amended specification is submitted herewith.

Claims

1. A fairground ride passenger unit comprising: a passenger space; and a passenger restraint device comprising; a position-adjustable restraint element; and a lockable hydraulic adjuster acting on the position-adjustable restraint element, the lockable hydraulic adjuster having a cylinder-piston unit and a hydraulic accumulator; the hydraulic accumulator and the cylinder-piston unit forming a structural unit defining an integrated cylinder assembly, a cylinder of the cylinder-piston unit and a cylinder of the hydraulic accumulator being arranged next to and parallel to each other, the integrated cylinder assembly having end faces and a common closure cover on each end face.

2. The passenger unit according to claim 1, wherein the integrated cylinder assembly comprises a portion of an extruded double-tube profile.

3. The passenger unit according to claim 1, further comprising a switching plate with a line and valve arrangement hydraulically interconnecting the hydraulic accumulator with the cylinder-piston unit and an electrical switching interface provided on one of the end faces of the integrated cylinder assembly.

4. The passenger unit according to claim 3, wherein the hydraulic accumulator comprises a spring accumulator with a hydraulic space and a spring space, the hydraulic space of the hydraulic accumulator being arranged adjacent to the switching plate and the spring space of the hydraulic accumulator being arranged remote from the switching plate.

5. The passenger unit according to claim 4, wherein the spring space comprises a gas chamber which is filled with a spring gas, a plug closing the gas chamber, the plug inserted into the cylinder of the cylinder-piston unit and having an integrated filling connection for filling the gas chamber with spring gas.

6. The passenger unit according to claim 5, wherein the filling connection has a two-stage sealing.

7. The passenger unit according to claim 3, wherein the cylinder-piston unit comprises a differential cylinder and, in an unlocked floating position, both a piston working space and the piston rod working space of the differential cylinder are pressurized by the hydraulic accumulator via the line and valve arrangement.

8. The passenger unit according to claim 7, wherein the line and valve arrangement comprises a non-return valve which, in a safety position, permits flow from the piston working space of the differential cylinder to the piston rod working space thereof but prevents flow in an opposite direction.

9. The passenger unit according to claim 7, wherein the line and valve arrangement comprises a check valve arrangement which, in a blocking position, locks hydraulic fluid in the differential cylinder when the piston rod of the differential cylinder is extended.

10. The passenger unit according to claim 1, wherein the lockable hydraulic adjuster comprises a piston position sensor assigned to the cylinder-piston unit.

11. The passenger unit according to claim 10, wherein the piston position sensor has a spindle which extends parallel to a cylinder axis of the cylinder-piston unit and which is mounted so as to be axially fixed but rotatable relative to the cylinder of the cylinder-piston unit, the spindle having a threaded portion with a steep thread extending into a cavity of the piston and/or of the piston rod, the spindle interacting with a corresponding spindle nut arranged on the piston or the piston rod respectively.

12. The passenger unit according to claim 11, wherein the spindle is constructed in two parts with a main part having the threaded portion and an end piece connected thereto.

13. The passenger unit according to claim 12, wherein an inner ring of a rolling bearing running under oil is fixed to the spindle in a transition region between main part and end piece.

14. The passenger unit according to claim 13, wherein an outer ring of the roller bearing is disposed in a bearing insert which in turn is inserted into a bore of a bottom part of the cylinder of the cylinder-piston unit, the bearing insert being sealed by means of two sealing rings with respect to the bore of the bottom part accommodating it and with respect to the end piece of the spindle.

15. The passenger unit according to claim 10, wherein the adjuster comprises an electronic evaluation circuit communicating with the piston position sensor.

16. The passenger unit according to claim 10, wherein the adjuster comprises an operating data memory communicating with the piston position sensor.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) In the following, this invention will be explained in more detail using three preferred execution examples illustrated in the drawing. Thereby

(2) FIG. 1 is a basic representation of a fairground ride passenger unit according to the present invention,

(3) FIG. 2 is a detailed cross section of the hydraulic adjuster used on the fairground ride passenger unit,

(4) FIG. 3 is a hydraulic circuit diagram for the hydraulic adjuster shown in FIG. 2,

(5) FIG. 4 is a cross section of a hydraulic adjuster modified from the one shown in FIG. 2,

(6) FIG. 4a is an enlarged section from FIG. 4 showing details of the respective hydraulic adjuster, and

(7) FIG. 5 is a cross section of a hydraulic adjuster modified from the one shown in FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(8) The fairground ride passenger unit partially illustrated only schematically in FIG. 1 comprises a passenger space 1 and a passenger restraint device 2. The passenger space 1 is designed as a seat 5 mounted on a base structure 3 of the fairground ride, namely a seat carrier 4. And the passenger restraint device 2 comprises a position-adjustable restraint element 6 in the form of a restraining bracket 8 pivotably mounted on the base structure 3 of the ride at a joint 7 (cf. arrow A) with a padded pressure plate 9, by means of which a passenger seated on the seat 5 is fixed on the seat 5 at the thighs near the hip.

(9) A lockable hydraulic adjuster 10 acts on the restraining bracket 8. It comprises a cylinder-piston unit 11 and a hydraulic accumulator 12. The hydraulic accumulator 12 is configured as a spring-piston accumulator 13. It comprises a cylinder 14 with a sealingly guided free piston 15, which separates a spring chamber 16 from a hydraulic chamber 17 within the cylinder 14, whereby the spring is configured as a gas spring and the spring chamber 16 is thus configured as a gas chamber 18. The cylinder 19 of the cylinder-piston unit 11, which is configured as a differential cylinder 20, is arranged next to the cylinder 14 of the spring-loaded piston accumulator 13 and parallel to it. The spring-loaded piston accumulator 13 and the cylinder-piston unit 11 form a structural unit in that the cylinder 19 of the cylinder-piston unit 11 and the cylinder 14 of the spring-loaded piston accumulator 13 are part of an integrated cylinder assembly 21. The piston rod 22 of the cylinder-piston unit 11 is hinged to the restraining bracket 8. Opposite the cylinder assembly 21 is hinged to the seat carrier 4.

(10) Details of cylinder assembly 21 are shown in FIG. 2. The cylinder 14 of the spring-loaded piston accumulator 13 is defined by a cylinder tube 23 which comprises a guide bushing for the piston 15 inserted into one of the two tube sections of an extruded double-tube profile and which is clamped between the two closure covers 24 and 25 closing the spring chamber 16 and the hydraulic chamber 17 respectively. These closure covers 24 and 25 also extend over the end faces of cylinder 19 of cylinder-piston unit 11. The cylinder 19 of the cylinder-piston unit 11 is of double-tube design with an outer tube 26 and an inner tube 27, a head part 28 and a bottom part 29, whereby there is an annular space 30 between the inner tube 27 and the outer tube 26, which communicates with the piston rod working space 32 via bores 31 of the inner tube 27. The cylinder 19 of the cylinder-piston unit 11, as well as the cylinder tube 23 of the spring-loaded piston accumulator 13, is clamped between the two closure covers 24 and 25. The unit is clamped by means of tie rods 33.

(11) The closure cover 25 closing the hydraulic chamber 17 of the spring-loaded piston accumulator 13 comprises in addition to the actual end plate 34 a switching plate 35 with an integrated line and valve arrangement that hydraulically connects the hydraulic chamber 17 of the hydraulic accumulator 12 with the cylinder-piston unit 11. The channels 36 of the line and valve arrangement communicate via corresponding transfers 37 with channels 38 provided in the bottom part 29, the bottom part 29 penetrating the switching plate 35, and the channels 38 lead into the piston working chamber 39 or the annular chamber 30 respectively. The switching plate 35 also has an electrical switching interface 40, via which the switching solenoids 41 of the switching valves integrated in the line and valve arrangement (see FIG. 3) can be controlled.

(12) Furthermore, the cylinder assembly 21 has an integrated piston position sensor 42. It comprises a spindle 43 extending parallel to the cylinder axis X and mounted so as to be axially fixed but rotatable relative to the cylinder 19, with a threaded section 44 having a steep thread, which is extending into a cavity 45 of the piston 46 or the piston rod 22. The threaded section 44 interacts with a corresponding spindle nut 47 located on the piston 46 in such a way that a linear movement of the piston 46 along the axis X is converted into a rotation of the spindle 43 about its axis. To monitor this spindle rotation, a transducer 48 is disposed in the cylinder 19, namely in its bottom part 29. The signal provided by the transducer 48, which is configured as a non-contact rotary transducer, is transmitted to an electrical control interface connected to it. This is connected to an (not shown) electronic evaluation circuit which is also housed in the circuit board 35 and which also includes a readable operating data memory.

(13) According to the hydraulic circuit diagram shown in FIG. 3, a switching valve 49 configured as a 2/2-way valve is arranged fluidically between the hydraulic accumulator 12 and the piston rod working space 32. In case the switching solenoid 41 is not energized, the switching valve 49 assumes the safety position illustrated in FIG. 3, in which a non-return valve 50 permits a flow from the piston working space 39 of the differential cylinder 20 to its piston rod working space 32, but prevents it in the opposite direction. In this safety position, the restraining bracket 8 can therefore be moved closer to the seat 5, but not further away from it. The switching valve 49 can be switched to its second position by energizing the switching solenoid 41 assigned to the switching valve 49 and in an emergency also by manual actuation using the lever 51. The second position is an unlocked floating position in which both the piston working chamber 39 and the piston rod working chamber 32 of the differential cylinder 20 are pressurized via the line and valve arrangement from the hydraulic accumulator 12. In this floating position and in absence of external forces a force is applied to the restraining bracket 8 to open it. In the floating position, however, the restraining bracket 8 can be moved manually in the direction of its closed position against the relevant opening force.

(14) The line and valve arrangement also includes a second switching valve 52, also in the form of a 2/2-way valve, which can be actuated by means of an associated switching solenoid 41, which forms a check valve arrangement 53 by means of which hydraulic fluid can be locked in the differential cylinder when the respective switching solenoid is energized, thereby blocking the differential cylinder 20, i.e. fixing the position of the piston rod 22. Due to the resulting fixation of the restraining bracket 8 in its position, especially in its fully open position, the restraining bracket 8 can serve as a boarding aid.

(15) The second exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 4a corresponds to that in FIG. 2 with regard to basic features, so that reference is made to the previous explanations in order to avoid repetitions. However, by implementing several design deviations from the first example shown in FIG. 2 and described above, which are explained below, it is especially designed for applications in which particularly high forces have to be provided in a very compact design.

(16) Here the spindle nut 47 is completely accommodated in the bore of the piston 46 and secured there by means of the serrated ring 54. The spindle 43 has two parts. It comprises a main part 55, on the surface of which—as described above in connection with FIG. 2—a steep thread is formed, and an end piece 56 screwed to the main part 55. As far as the bearing of the spindle 43 is concerned, here the (not shown) inner ring of a roller bearing 57 is fixed to the spindle 43 in the transition region between the main part 55 and the end piece 56, between a first shoulder 58 provided on the main part 55 and a second shoulder 59 provided on the end piece 56. With regard to the precise and clearance-free support of the spindle 43 in the axial direction and in the radial direction, the roller bearing 57 is configured as a double row ball bearing running under oil. Its outer ring (also not shown) is disposed in a bearing insert 60, which in turn is inserted into the bore of the base part 29 and sealed off from it by means of the sealing ring 61. The bearing insert 60 is sealed against the end piece 56 of the spindle 43 by means of the sealing ring 62. The composite of roller bearing 57 and bearing insert 60 is stayed against the washer 64 by means of the serrated ring 63, which in turn is supported by the shoulder 65 of the bore.

(17) In the region of the end piece 56 passing through the washer 64 the rotary part 67 of the sensor (encoder) 48 is fixed with the interposition of a sleeve 66, namely secured by means of grub screws (not shown). The electronic evaluation circuit 68 can also be seen in FIG. 4, and it is disposed in the receptacle space 69 in the switching plate 35. The signal interface 72, configured as contact socket 71, is attached to the cover 70 which closes it. The electronic evaluation circuit 68 is connected via the signal line 73 to the stationary part 74 of the transducer 48.

(18) The spring chamber 16 is sealed at the end with a special seal, gas-tight even against high gas pressures. For this purpose, the seal has a plug 76 inserted into the cylinder tube 23 and sealed against its inner wall by means of sealing rings 75, into which a filling connection 77 serving to fill the spring chamber 16 (or the gas chamber 18) with spring gas is integrated. The closure cover 24, which fixes the plug 76 in the cylinder tube 23, has an opening 78, which provides access to the filling connection 77, so that the plug 76 is only overlaid by the closure cover at the edge. The filling connection 77 is characterized by a two-stage sealing. A check valve 79, for which the insert 81 pressed into the filling nozzle 80 is only partially indicated, forms a primary sealing element 82. And a secondary sealing element 83 is formed by a screw plug 84. The function of the hydraulic adjuster 10 benefits from this particularly reliable sealing, because the precise adjustment of the gas pressure in the spring chamber 16 (and the maintenance of the set gas pressure) is a decisive factor in adapting the hydraulic adjuster to the respective application environment. A filling connection comparable to the gas side is provided on the oil side 85, not shown in FIG. 4.

(19) The third example illustrated in FIG. 5 corresponds to the basic design features of FIGS. 2 and 4, so that reference is made to the previous explanations in order to avoid repetitions. In particular, cylinder assembly 21 in turn comprises an extruded double-tube profile in which the cylinder-piston unit 11 is accommodated in a tubular cavity. The hydraulic accumulator 12 comprises, as a main difference compared to the design example according to FIG. 4, a gas spring cartridge 87, which is prefilled at the factory and tightly sealed by means of a closure 86, which is accommodated in the other tubular cavity of the double-tube profile and realizes the gas spring. This is clamped between the two closure covers 24 and 25 in such a way that the flat seal 88 provides a frontal seal against the sealing cap 25, i.e. its end plate 34, as in the case of the guide bushing of the hydraulic accumulator 12 of the second embodiment example shown in FIG. 4. The connection 89 of the hydraulic chamber 17 made in the respective closure cover 25 is also shown here, as is the stop ring 90 for the piston 15.