SPLITTER DEVICE OF OR FOR A BELAY SYSTEM OF OR FOR AN AMUSEMENT FACILITY, BELAY SYSTEM INCLUDING SUCH A SPLITTER DEVICE AND AMUSEMENT FACILITY BEING EQUIPPED WITH SUCH A BELAY SYSTEM

Abstract

A splitter device for a belay system of an amusement facility on which a belay trolley can be moved and that forms a first free end, a second free end and a third free end arranged angularly to each other in a reference plain, includes a mounting body, a shifting body and a guiding section fastened to the shifting body. The shifting body is rotatably mounted on the mounting body around a rotation axis between a first rotational position and a second rotational position, wherein the rotation axis is running perpendicular to the reference plain. The guiding section connects in the first rotational position a first pair of the three free ends and in the second rotational position a second pair of the three free ends. The splitter device includes a position presetting unit for setting the first rotational position and the second rotational position.

Claims

1. A splitter device of or for a belay system of or for an amusement facility, the belay system comprising a rail-like guiding track on which at least one belay trolley can be moved and which forms at least a first free end, a second free end and a third free end arranged angularly to each other in a reference plain, wherein the splitter device comprises a mounting body, a shifting body rotatably mounted on the mounting body around a rotation axis at least between a first rotational position and a second rotational position, wherein the rotation axis is running perpendicular to the reference plain, and a guiding section fastened to the shifting body connecting in the first rotational position a first pair of the three free ends, and in the second rotational position a second pair of the three free ends, wherein the splitter device comprises a position presetting unit for setting the first rotational position and the second rotational position.

2. The splitter device according to claim 1, wherein the guiding section comprises positioning means for positioning the belay trolley on the guiding system.

3. The splitter device according to claim 1, wherein the splitter device comprises a retaining unit for retaining the belay trolley on the guiding section when the shifting body is moved between the first rotational position and the second rotational position.

4. The splitter device according to claim 1, wherein the shifting body comprises a shaft that is rotatably mounted on the mounting body by a turning- and fastening unit, and the position presetting unit comprises a setting element which interacts with the shaft for setting the first rotational position and the second rotational position.

5. The splitter device according to claim 4, wherein a cam disk is mounted on the shaft and the setting element comprises a preload unit for preloading the setting element against the cam disk.

6. The splitter device according to claim 1, wherein the position presetting unit comprises a magnet unit.

7. The splitter device according to claim 1, wherein the splitter device comprises a gripping section by which a user can manually rotate the shifting body between the first rotational position and the second rotational position.

8. The splitter device according to claim 1, wherein the splitter device comprises a drive unit for rotating the shifting body between the first rotational position and the second rotational position.

9. The splitter device according to claim 1, wherein at least one blocking member is provided on the guiding section which is movable between a blocking position in which the movement of the belay trolley along the guiding section is blocked and a release position in which the movement of the belay trolley along the guiding section is released.

10. The splitter device according to claim 1, wherein the splitter device comprises a locking element by which the rotation of the shifting body around the rotation axis can be locked and released.

11. A belay system of or for an amusement facility, comprising a rail-like guiding track on which at least one belay trolley can be moved and which forms at least a first free end, a second free end and a third free end arranged angularly to each other in a reference plain, and a splitter device according to claim 1.

12. The belay system according to claim 11, wherein the belay system comprises a positioning detection unit for detecting the position of the belay trolley on the guiding track.

13. An amusement facility, comprising a belay system according to claim 11.

14. The amusement facility according to claim 13, wherein the amusement facility comprises a number of floors, wherein at least one belay system is arranged on each floor.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0061] FIG. 1A shows a principle top sectional view and FIG. 1B a principal side sectional view of an amusement facility 10 according to the prior art. The amusement facility 10 has a tower-like structure which may comprise beams, struts 12 and the like such that a scaffold is formed. The amusement facility 10 has at least one floor 14 elevated by a certain distance from the ground. Typically, the amusement facility 10 comprises at least one floor 14 that is accessible by stairways 16, escalators and/or elevators or the like. A panoramic roof 18 which includes a viewing platform is typically arranged above the highest floor 14. The amusement facility 10 shown in FIG. 1 comprises in total three floors 14. On the first floor 14 and on the second floor 14, an obstacle course 20 is arranged which may comprise rope ladders 21, rope loops and the like such that no continuous and stable path is formed. Beyond that, particular obstacles 22 like car tires, climbing walls (not shown) and the like may also be provided to further aggravate the walk along the obstacle course 20. For the sake of conciseness, only some obstacles 22 are shown. However, the number of obstacles 22 can be freely chosen.

[0062] For preventing users who are walking down the obstacle course 20 from falling down, the amusement facility 10 is provided with belay system 24. The belay system 24 is equipped with a rail-like guiding track 26 along which one or more belay trolleys 27 can be moved. The obstacle course 20 follows the course of the guiding track 26. The obstacles 22 and the rope ladders 21 are secured on the guiding track 26 such that the obstacle course 20 is located below the guiding track 26.

[0063] A user takes on a harness which can be connected to the belay trolley 27 by means of a lanyard and a carabiner (not shown). When the user is walking down the obstacle course 20, he pulls the belay trolley 27 in front of him and along the guiding track 26. In case he falls, he is retained by the harness connected to the belay trolley 27 via the lanyard and rope.

[0064] As in particular evident from FIG. 1A the guiding track 26 is coherent in itself which means that there is only one obstacle course 20 a user can walk down. The guiding track 26 runs in loops.

[0065] The obstacle course 20 can be accessed and left by a plurality of access points 28. If the user wants to sidestep some of the obstacles 22, he must reach one of the access points 28, leave the obstacle course 20 and access the same via another access point 28 (see dashed line in FIG. 1A). Depending on the design, the user may have to disconnect his harness from the lanyard when leaving the obstacle course 20 and reconnect the harness when accessing the obstacle course 20 again which is time consuming and bears the risk of an improper connection between the harness and the lanyard.

[0066] FIG. 2 shows a first embodiment of an amusement facility 301 according to the present invention. The principle design of the amusement facility 301 of the first embodiment is to a large extend similar to the one of the prior art so only the relevant differences are described in the following.

[0067] Within each guiding track 26 of each floor 14 a plurality of splitter devices 32 is arranged. Next to the usual obstacle course 20 and the respective guiding track 26, two neighboring splitter devices 32 are connected to each other by an abbreviation track 29. As will be explained in greater detail later, the user may decide whether to continue the obstacle course 20 or if he wants to abbreviate and leave out parts of the obstacle course 20. With reference to FIG. 2, he may activate a first splitter device 32.sub.A and follow the abbreviation track 29 to the second splitter device 32.sub.B and then continue the obstacle course 20. By doing so, the user can omit segments of the obstacle course 20 or repeat segments without having to disconnect his harness from the lanyard and reconnect as described for the amusement facility 30.sub.1 according to the prior art.

[0068] FIG. 3 shows a second embodiment of an amusement facility 302 according to the present invention which differs from the first embodiment of the amusement facility 30.sub.1 mainly in that the guiding track 26 is formed by a plurality of coherent sub-sections 33. The sub-sections 33 have a simple shape, in this case a circular and a rectangular shape which may be easier to manufacture compared to the loop-shaped course of the coherent guiding track 26 of FIG. 2.

[0069] Also in the second embodiment, the guiding tracks 26 are connected to each other at their crossings by the splitter device 32. Thus, the user can move the belay trolley 27 from one guiding track 26 to another one and thus from one segment of the obstacle course 20 to another one. In contrast to the first embodiment of the amusement facility 30.sub.1 the splitter devices 32 of the second embodiment of the amusement facility 302 are located outside the floor 14. For illustrative purposes, the obstacles 22 are not explicitly shown in FIG. 3.

[0070] In FIGS. 4A and 4B a first embodiment of the splitter device 32.sub.1 is shown by means of principle drawings. The splitter device 32.sub.1 comprises a mounting body 34 by which the splitter device 32.sub.1 is fastened the structure of the amusement facility 30 in a way not further shown. A shifting body 36 is mounted on the mounting body 34 such that it is rotatable around a rotation axis R. A guiding section 37 is fastened to the shifting body 36 and is rotatable together with the shifting body 36. The mounting body 34 may also be considered as a stator and the shifting body 36 as a rotor.

[0071] The guiding track 26 runs within a reference plain P or parallel thereto which is running within the drawing plain of FIGS. 4A and 4B. The guiding track 26 forms four free ends 38.sub.1, 38.sub.2, 38.sub.3 and 38.sub.4 that are equally angularly arranged to each other inside the reference plain P and arranged adjacent to the splitter device 32.sub.1. In the first embodiment, two neighboring free ends 38 form an angle of 90 with reference to the rotation axis R. The rotation axis R runs perpendicular to the reference plain P.

[0072] As mentioned earlier, a user walking down the obstacle course 20 pulls the belay trolley 27 along the guiding track 26. In the first embodiment of the splitter device 32.sub.1, the guiding section 37 is straight. In FIG. 4A the guiding section 37 is in a first rotational position in which the guiding section 37 is flush with the first and the second free end 38.sub.1, 38.sub.2 of the guiding track 26. As shown in FIG. 4A, the belay trolley 27 is moved from the left to the right as indicated by the arrow A1. When approaching the splitter device 32.sub.1, the belay trolley 27 is moved via the first free end 38.sub.1 onto the guiding section 37. The guiding section 37 comprises positioning means 40 which are in this case embodied as a bracket or the like which is interacting with the belay trolley 27 such that the further movement of the belay trolley 27 is aggravated. Thereby the user gets feedback that the belay trolley 27 has entered the guiding section 37. The shifting body 36 can now be rotated around the rotation axis R as indicated by the arrow A2, in this case counterclockwise. However, a clockwise rotation may also be possible. In this case the shifting body 36 and thus the guiding section 37 are rotated by 90. The rotation is executed by a drive unit 41, however, a manual rotation is also possible.

[0073] After the rotation by 90 the guiding section 37 is in a second rotational position in which it connects the third end 38.sub.3 and the fourth end 38.sub.4 of the guiding track 26. The user can now continue walking down the respective segment of the obstacle course 20 as indicated by the arrow A3 (see FIG. 4B).

[0074] It is noted that the splitter device 32.sub.1 comprises two blocking members 42 that are arranged at or near the endings of the guiding section 37. The blocking member 42 is movable between a blocking position in which the movement of the belay trolley 27 along the guiding section 37 is blocked and a release position in which the movement of the belay trolley 27 along the guiding section 37 is released. In FIG. 4A both blocking members 42 are in the release position. The user could thus go straight on along the obstacle course 20 from the left to the right if the splitter device 32.sub.1 is not rotated. However, in FIG. 4B the lower blocking member 42 is in a blocking position and the upper blocking member 42 is in the release position. As a result, the belay trolley 27 can only be moved as indicated by the arrow A3 in FIG. 4B but not in the opposite direction. Users approaching the splitter device 32.sub.1 from below (with reference to FIG. 4B) are forced to wait until the lower blocking member 42 is set into the release position. The users walking down the obstacle course 20 can be routed to avoid congestions.

[0075] Beyond that, the splitter device 32.sub.1 of the first embodiment comprises a locking element 44 by which the rotation of the shifting body 36 around the rotation axis R can be locked and released. In FIG. 4A the rotation is released while in FIG. 4B the rotation is locked by the locking element 44. Users approaching the splitter device 32.sub.1 from the left (with reference to FIG. 4B) are forced to wait until the locking element 44 is releasing the rotation of the shifting body 36. The locking element 44 may also be used for routing the users along the obstacle course 20.

[0076] It should be noted that the blocking members 42 and the locking elements 44 are optional. The basic function of the splitter device 32.sub.1, e.g., to enable the user to omit parts of the obstacle course, is also given without the blocking members 42 and the locking elements 44.

[0077] In FIGS. 5A and 5B a second embodiment of the splitter device 32.sub.2 is shown by means of principle drawings. The main structure of the splitter device 32.sub.2 according to the second embodiment is the same as of the first embodiment of the splitter device 32.sub.1 so only the main differences are described in the following. While in the first embodiment, four free ends 38.sub.1 to 38.sub.4 of the guiding track 26 are arranged adjacent to the splitter device 32.sub.1, in the second embodiment of the splitter device 32.sub.2, only three free ends 38.sub.1 to 38.sub.3 are arranged adjacent to the same. The free ends 38.sub.1 to 38.sub.3 form an angle of 120 with reference to the rotation axis R. In the second embodiment of the splitter device 32.sub.2 the guiding section 37 is curved. In the second embodiment, the positioning means 40 are embodied by curvature of the guiding section 37. The radius of the curvature is chosen such that the further movement of the belay trolley 27 is aggravated once the belay trolley 27 is located on the guiding section 37. Thus, the user gets respective feedback and may then rotate the splitter device 32.sub.2 by 120 from the first rotational position (FIG. 5A) into the second rotational position (FIG. 5B), e.g., in a clockwise direction as indicated by the arrow A4 in FIG. 5A.

[0078] Moreover, the splitter device 32.sub.2 according to the second embodiment comprises a position presetting unit 56 for setting the first rotational position and the second rotational position. In the splitter device 32.sub.2 according to the second embodiment the positioning setting unit 56 has a magnet unit 45. The magnet unit comprises at least one pair of magnetically interacting sections 47 which may be magnets or magnetified materials. The splitter device 32.sub.2 according to the second embodiment comprises three pairs of magnetically interacting sections 47. Three outer sections 47 are arranged on the mounting body 34 and three inner sections 47 are arranged on the shifting body. The outer sections 47 and the inner sections 47 may exert an attracting force on each other. The three magnetically interacting sections form an angle of 120 relative to each other with respect to the rotation axis R. When the splitter device 32.sub.2 is in the first rotational position or the second rotational section as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, respectively, the outer sections and the inner sections of the pairs of magnetically interacting sections 47 are arranged closest to each other such that the attracting force they exert on each other is at its maximum. As a result, the first rotational position and the second rotational position are preset.

[0079] While the splitter device 32.sub.1 of the first embodiment is suited for crossings, the splitter device 32.sub.2 of the second embodiment is suited for junctions.

[0080] With reference to FIG. 3, the amusement facility 30.sub.2 according to the second embodiment comprises positioning detection units 46 by which the presence and position of a belay trolley 27 on the guiding track 26 can be detected. The positioning detection units 46 can create a signal that comprises information on which belay trolley 27 is detected and on its position. This signal can be transmitted to a control unit (not shown) which may then activate the blocking member 42 and the locking element 44 to route the traffic along the guiding track 26 to avoid congestions.

[0081] FIGS. 6A to 6C show a third embodiment of the splitter device 32.sub.3 by means of different views.

[0082] As particularly evident from FIG. 6A, the splitter device 32.sub.3 is located at a crossing of the guiding track 26 where the same forms four free ends 38.sub.1 to 38.sub.4 (cf. FIGS. 6B and 6C). The mounting body 34 is fastened to the top of the guiding track 26 adjacent to the four free ends 38, e.g., by welding. The mounting body 34 may be composed of two or more parts that can be connected to each other by bolts or screws. The mounting body 34 forms a housing 48 in which a turning-and fastening unit 50 is arranged by which the shifting body 36 is rotatably fastened to the mounting body 34. The turning-and fastening unit 50 comprises ball bearings 52 which interact with a shaft 51 of the shifting body 36 for enabling the rotation of the shifting body 36 around the rotation axis R.

[0083] As particularly visible in FIG. 6A, a retaining unit 53 is formed by the mounting body 34. The retaining unit 53 prevents a belay trolley 27 that is arranged on the guiding section 37 from leaving the same when the shifting body 36 is rotated between the first rotational position and the second rotational position. In the third embodiment, the retaining unit 53 comprises a plurality of protrusions 54 facing downwards from the housing 48.

[0084] Further, the splitter device 32.sub.3 also comprises a position presetting unit 56. In the third embodiment of the splitter device 32.sub.3, the position presetting unit 56 comprises a setting element 58 that is preloaded into a setting position by a preload unit 60. The preload unit 60 comprises a weight member 62 which is rotatably mounted on the housing 48 by means of a lever mechanism 64. While the weight member 62 is arranged on a radially outer section, the setting element 58 which is embodied as a roller 66 is arranged on a radially inner section of the lever mechanism 64 (see FIGS. 6A and 6B). The roller 66 is in contact with a cam disk 68 which is mounted on the shaft 51 in a torque-proof manner (cf. FIG. 6D). To this end, the cam disk 68 has a rectangular cutout 71 by which the cam disk 68 can be fastened to a complementarily or almost complementarily shaped fastening section of the shaft 51. The cam disk 68 forms four recesses 69 on its circumferential edge, each of which is associated with one of the rotational positions of the shifting body 36. Two neighboring recesses may form an angle of 90 with reference to the rotation axis R. The position presetting unit 56 is arranged such that when the roller 66 is located inside one of the recesses 69 of the cam disk 68, the splitter device 32.sub.3 is in one of the rotational positions in which the guiding section 37 is flush with two of the free ends 38.sub.1 of the guiding track 26. If no turning force is applied, the shifting body 36 is set into one of the rotational positions by the position presetting unit 56.

[0085] As particularly evident from FIGS. 6A and 6C, the splitter device 32.sub.3 comprises two rod-like gripping sections 70 which can be gripped by a user for manually rotating the shifting body 36 around the rotation axis R. On the free rod ends of the gripping sections 70 a lug 74 is fastened thereto such that ropes or the like can be connected to the gripping sections 70 to facilitate the manual rotation of the shifting body 36 around the rotation axis R. As mentioned with reference to the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, a drive unit 41 may be employed for the rotation of the shifting body 36. However, the splitter device 32.sub.1 may be designed such that a manual rotation is possible even if it comprises the drive unit 41. A pure manual rotation only is also possible such that the splitter device 32.sub.1 is void of a drive unit 41.

[0086] In particular in FIG. 6C the belay trolley 27 is visible which is located on the guiding section 37. The belay trolley 27 comprises two pairs of rolls 72 that are arranged in a V-shape manner relative to each other and can roll on the guiding track 26. When the belay trolley 27 is in the position as shown in FIGS. 6A to 6C, the user may continue walking along the obstacle course 20 with a movement directed perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 6C.

[0087] However, when the user wants to take another way, he may grip the gripping sections 70 and turn the shifting body 36 by 90 such that he may continue walking along the obstacle course 20 with a direction to the left or to the right.

[0088] Moreover, in FIG. 6C it is evident that the belay trolley 27 comprises a mounting hole 76 to which a person may connect a harness, e.g., by means of a lanyard or a carabiner (not shown).

[0089] It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes could be made to the embodiments described above without departing from the broad inventive concept thereof. It is understood, therefore, that this invention is not limited to the particular embodiments disclosed, but it is intended to cover modifications within the spirit and scope of the preferred present invention as defined by the appended claims.

Reference List

[0090] 10 amusement facility according to the prior art [0091] 12 beam, strut [0092] 14 floor [0093] 16 stairway [0094] 18 roof [0095] 20 obstacle course [0096] 21 rope ladder [0097] 22 obstacles [0098] 24 belay system [0099] 26 guiding track [0100] 27 belay trolley [0101] 28 access point [0102] 29 abbreviation track [0103] 30 amusement facility [0104] 30.sub.1, 30.sub.2 amusement facility [0105] 32 splitter device [0106] 32.sub.1, 32.sub.2, 32.sub.3 splitter device [0107] 32.sub.A first splitter device [0108] 32.sub.B second splitter device [0109] 33 sub-section [0110] 34 mounting body [0111] 36 shifting body [0112] 37 guiding section [0113] 38 free end [0114] 38.sub.1, 38.sub.2, 38.sub.3, 38.sub.4 free end [0115] 40 positioning means [0116] 41 drive unit [0117] 42 blocking member [0118] 44 locking element [0119] 45 magnet unit [0120] 46 positioning detection unit [0121] 47 pair of magnetically interacting sections [0122] 48 housing [0123] 50 turning-and fastening unit [0124] 51 shaft [0125] 52 ball bearing [0126] 53 retaining unit [0127] 54 protrusion [0128] 56 position presetting unit [0129] 58 setting element [0130] 60 preload unit [0131] 62 weight member [0132] 64 lever mechanism [0133] 66 roller [0134] 68 cam disk [0135] 69 recess [0136] 70 gripping sections [0137] 71 cutout [0138] 72 roll [0139] 74 lug [0140] 76 mounting hole [0141] A1-A4 arrow [0142] P reference plain [0143] R rotation axis