Railways – Amusement – Splasher
Reexamination Certificate
2002-03-07
2003-10-07
Le, Mark T. (Department: 3617)
Railways
Amusement
Splasher
C104S053000, C104S060000, C104S073000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06629501
ABSTRACT:
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
Not applicable
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to amusement watercraft, and in particular to a passenger boat ride in which passenger boats are propelled along a submerged guide channel from a ground level launch or from an inclined launch across or around a watercourse.
Amusement parks and theme parks such as Six Flags Over Texas, Opryland U.S.A., Cedar Point, Carowinds, Busch Gardens, Geauga Lake, Elitch Gardens and many others feature various watercraft rides that are guided safely through natural and man-made waterways. Some watercraft rides that are currently popular include a floating gardens ride, a river rapids ride, a log flume ride and a mill chute ride.
In a typical watercraft ride, a passenger boat is guided along a water channel from a passenger loading station to one or more intermediate stations and back to the passenger loading station. Such boats are usually propelled in part by water currents, gravity or passenger manpower, although some are propelled by motor-driven chains. Generally, variations such as music, sound effects, lighting effects, stage props and costumed characters enhance the entertainment value of the ride.
Some dominant concerns in the operation of such rides include the creation of a sense of fun and excitement while maintaining passenger safety, reliable equipment operation and expedited handling of passengers during loading and off-loading.
Conventional watercraft amusement rides are described in the following patents:
U.S. Pat. No.
Inventor
Title of Invention
357,790
Schaefer
Marine Boat Slide
849,970
Boyton
Amusement Device
3,404,635
Bacon et al
Boat Amusement Ride
3,830,161
Bacon
Flume Boat Ride with
a Double Downchute
4,392,434
Durwald et al
Turbulent Waterway
3,853,067
Bacon
Boat Amusement Ride
with a Spillway
4,299,171
Larson
Demountable Flume
Amusement Ride
4,337,704
Becker
Turbulent-Water Way
4,149,469
Bigler
Log Braking and Sta-
bilizing System for
Log Flume Ride
5,011,134
Langford
Waterslide with Up-
hill Run and Flota-
tion Device Therefor
3,690,265
Horibata
Aquatic Sled and
Shooting Apparatus
Thereof
5,299,964
Hopkins
Amusement Raft Ride
4,836,521
Barber
Whirlpool Amusement
Ride
5,069,443
Shiratori
Water Slider Lane
5,282,772
Ninomiya
Simulator for Shoot-
ing Down the Rapids
4,391,201
Bailey
Aquatic Toboggan
Slide
4,543,886
Spieldiener
Amusement Ride In-
cluding a Rotating
Loading Terminal
3,923,301
Myers
Amusement Water
Slide and Method
3,930,450
Symons
Boat Ride for Amuse-
ment Park
5,213,547
Lochtfeld
Method and Apparatus
for Improved Water
Rides by Water In-
jection and Flume
Design
4,516,943
Spieldiener
Amusement Ride Raft
These patents disclose various watercraft amusement rides in which a passenger boat is propelled through a flume or guided down an inclined launch, and then recovered. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 849,970 discloses an inclined launch in which a pair of passenger boats is winched up dual tracks by sprocket-driven chains, is reversed on a turntable and then permitted to descend the launch by the force of gravity along the inclined tracks into a splash lake. The boats are guided by wheels along the guide tracks during descent.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,830,161 discloses a flume boat ride having dual launch chutes that guide amusement boats through a shallow body of water. A similar boat ride is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,404,635 in which a pair of passenger boats is guided from an elevated passenger loading station along dual tracks into a waterway.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,392,434 discloses an amusement boat ride in which a passenger boat is pulled by a chain drive to a launch station above a turbulent waterway. The passenger boat is then released from the chain drive and travels by gravity on guide wheels that roll along a guide track.
Conventional watercraft rides as exemplified by the patents discussed above broadly disclose the concept of guiding one or more amusement boats from an elevated launch into a waterway.
The operators of amusement parks are constantly striving to provide safe, yet thrilling and entertaining boat rides. Accordingly, there is a continuing interest in providing novel watercraft rides that offer passengers a memorable and exciting ride experience under closely controlled, safe operating conditions.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The amusement boat ride according to a first embodiment of the present invention is a simulated boat race in which pairs of racing boats compete in forward and return heats. Novel combinations of sudden acceleration/deceleration, high velocity travel, reversal of movement, exposure to lighting effects, sound effects, water spray and group competition provide a sense of excitement and fun. The passengers of each boat are subjected to high launch velocity, high speed hydroplaning across a splash lake, and giant water spray rooster tails that, in the spirit of good fun, spray onto passengers of the competing boat as well as onto nearby spectators. The passenger boats are propelled along parallel guide channels from one launch station to the other by linear induction motor that are structurally integrated with the passenger boat undercarriage and the submerged guide channels.
According to an alternative amusement ride of the present invention, pairs of passenger boats are launched from a first pair of inclined launch ramps and are propelled by linear induction motors along guide rails into a shallow splash lake. The passenger boats are then accelerated along the parallel guide channels by the linear induction motors so that the boats hydroplane across the splash lake. The linear induction motors propel the passenger boats partially up a second pair of inclined launch ramps on the opposite end of the splash lake to a predetermined return launch elevation.
Upon reaching the return launch elevation, the direction of thrusting force is reversed and the passenger boats are propelled rapidly down the inclined launch ramps with the passengers facing away from the direction of return travel. The passenger boats are then propelled along the guide channels across the shallow splash lake at hydroplaning speed, followed by coasting at a reduced speed to the passenger loading station.
In each embodiment, the passenger boats are stabilized by centering wheels and guide rollers that travel along submerged rails that run in parallel along the guide channels. In one arrangement, the linear induction motors include stators that are mounted laterally offset from the guide rails and in tandem relation with each other along opposite sides of each guide channel. In another arrangement, the linear induction motor stators are mounted on the rail support structure and vertically offset and centered beneath the undercarriage assembly in tandem relation with each other along the rail guide structure. In this arrangement, a reaction plate is attached to the undercarriage assembly and projects vertically into the stator flux slots.
Each linear induction motor includes a stator having a linear magnetic flux slot for receiving a reaction plate. The passenger boat is attached to an undercarriage assembly that is movably coupled to the guide rails by the centering wheels and rollers. Two reaction plates are attached to the undercarriage assembly and project laterally into the stator flux slots. Each stator, when energized with AC electrical current, produces electromagnetic flux waves that travel longitudinally through each flux slot. The electromagnetic forces imposed on the reaction plates produce linear thrust which drives the undercarriage assembly and passenger boat along the guide rails.
REFERENCES:
patent: 357790 (1887-02-01), Schaefer
patent: 536357 (1895-03-01), Palacio
patent: 536441 (1895-03-01), Morris
patent: 849970 (1907-04-01), Boyton
patent: 1358305 (1920-11-01), Feltman
patent: 1397939 (1921-11-01), Unger
patent: 1448306 (1923-03-01), Lezert
patent: 3003430 (1961-10-01), Hamel
patent: 3404635 (1968-10-01), Bacon et al.
patent: 3577928 (1971-05-01), Victorri
patent: 3690265 (1
Griggs Dennis T.
Le Mark T.
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