Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 03080262 2020-04-24
Amusement ride comprising and/or for vehicles
Description
The invention relates to amusement rides or an amusement ride comprising
and/or for
vehicles, in particular, amusement rides with vehicles, which can be
autonomously
.. controlled and driven at least in zones by the visitors of the of the
amusement ride and which
are designed with at least one attraction route or an attraction area.
In particular, the invention relates to amusement rides in which the vehicles
are not
permanently moved thereby being guided on rails, as is known from trains, rail
vehicles or in
special roller coasters. The amusement ride according to the invention is
designed as a single
attraction or as courses, a race track, or similar.
Amusement rides, in particular, for recreation, are adequately well known and
range from
simple rail vehicles or trains, which are used for transporting visitors, to
various
embodiments for passing through parks or corresponding areas, all the way to
high-speed
rail vehicles or roller coasters with increasingly more spectacular route
sections. Amusement
rides or courses with the option for the visitors to drive vehicles themselves
and thus also to
drive for or organize races, competitions or similar against each other are
also known. Here,
suitable vehicles, such as in the case of a bumper car area for example, are
independently
controlled by the visitors and moved over a limited area. Another variant in
which the
vehicles can be moved by the visitors themselves include different embodiments
of go-kart
courses or racetracks, which are designed as indoor or outdoor variants, and
which allow for
a greater feeling and pleasure to be perceived from one's driving.
In the case of race courses, race tracks or go-kart courses, in particular,
the needs for the
routes and for the vehicles have sharply increased, particular in terms of
their performance
and speed. The visitors and drivers of the vehicles in the amusement rides
particularly want
an attractive and spectacular route or opportunities for the corresponding
tournaments with
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the other visitors of the amusement ride. For this purpose, corresponding
spectacular routes
or attractions, such as those known in particular from rail-guided amusement
rides, would be
desirable, wherein the safety of the amusement ride must not be neglected.
The object of the present invention is to create an amusement ride in which
vehicles can be
controlled, accelerated and braked by the visitors by themselves to the
furthest extent
possible and which is designed with at least one area with an attraction
route, as these are
known from rail-bound amusement rides, such as roller coasters or similar.
This task is achieved by means of the features of Patent Claim 1. Advantageous
embodiments and further embodiments are specified in the dependent claims.
According to the invention, an amusement ride, course, race track, or similar
is, in particular,
for vehicles with their own driving and control options, on a carriageway
and/or route, the
amusement ride, course, race track or similar installation having at least one
zone, in which
.. at least one participating vehicle driving in a controlled manner on the
carriageway and/or
route is guided, by retaining means and/or guide means, along a pre-defined
route in a pre-
defined route section designed as an attraction, and the vehicle having
retaining means
and/or leading means for a corresponding reversible connection to the guide
means and/or
retaining means of the installation, by which retaining and/or leading means
the vehicle is
.. guided and/or retained through the zone, and the retaining means and/or
guide means on the
vehicle are correspondingly interlocked with and released from the retaining
and/or guide
means of the installation during the movement and/or journey of the vehicle in
said zone on
the installation.
The amusement ride is either designed as a complete recreational and/or
sports, in particular,
motorsport area and/or go-kart track or go-kart course or in a variant as a
pure attraction
route with just the attraction area. Here, different embodiments according to
the invention
are possible, such as extensions and/or additions of various tracks such as
race tracks or, for
example, go-kart courses indoors as well as outdoors, race tracks such as for
the DTM,
Formula 1 or other classes or any other track or course, which drive with
corresponding
vehicles or adapted vehicles, which can even be temporarily adapted for this,
through
spectacular attraction routes. The race tracks or courses can continue to be
unrestrictedly
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used for conventional events and can be used in parallel as partial routes for
vehicles, which
additionally drive through spectacular attraction routes in designated zones.
and are used for
professional races as well as for use by interested individuals or visitors.
The entire route
section and/or only the zone with the attraction route section can be
integrated into an
existing course or a race track in an integrable and stationary manner, or can
be built as an
extension for this or can be designed as temporary installation to be built or
dismantled at
any time. In the case of the pure attraction route, it can also be used
temporarily as an
amusement ride at events for folk festivals or in amusement parks or as an
addition to
existing race tracks and/or go-kart courses or other places.
3.0 According to the specification, the use of the amusement ride according
to the invention can
be used as a single attraction with the corresponding attraction route or the
attraction route or
one or a plurality of attractions can be used in existing facilities which can
be integrated
individually or in parallel with a plurality of such attraction routes,
thereby also making it
possible to host competitions with several participants driving in parallel.
Preferably, the
attraction route is designed with an upstream acceleration route integrated
into this, before
and/or in which the vehicle is threaded into the retaining and/or guide means
of the track.
The passage through a plurality of consecutively arranged attraction routes is
also provided
for in a variant, wherein it is possible to arrange the attractions directly
one after the other
and the vehicle passes through these after a single driving in and threading
directly one after
the other, or the vehicle moves out of each attraction separately and threads
into the
subsequent attraction route again accordingly.
The route section in the zone, which is designed as an attraction, is
preferably designed in
such a way that the vehicles from a carriageway or a track on which they can
be moved
freely enter the zone and the vehicles are threaded on and/or into the
attraction route. The
attraction route can have different embodiments and/or route sections, such as
a looping, a
screw or spiral guidance or an extreme steep face guidance and/or other upside-
down
guidance or upside-down ride. As a particularly attractive embodiment, in
accordance with a
further embodiment of the invention, a corresponding go-kart course operated
with electric
go-karts could be designed in a mall. Here, for example, attractions could be
built in such a
way that the go-karts drive partly along the walls or across the ceiling,
visible to all mall
visitors. It would be conceivable here, according to another variant, that
there are two or a
plurality of areas in the mall where the race tracks and attractions are
located; these could be
arranged also on different levels accordingly. During the race, the go-karts
would always get
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from one part of the race track, for example on the walls or the ceiling along
to the other area
of the race track. Thus, such a race could become an attraction for all mall
visitors. Such an
embodiment is of course also possible and feasible in amusement parks or all
other
installations.
The attraction route is preferably designed in such a way that the vehicles
are driven into the
attraction route by the drivers and, in this case, retaining means and/or
leading means, which
are attached to the vehicle are threaded correspondingly into the retaining
and/or guide
means of the attraction route. This corresponding, reversible connection means
that the
vehicle can run a rollover in a looping track, a screw or spiral route or an
extremely steep
face without running the risk of falling down or being thrown off the track.
According to the
invention, both the route itself and the vehicles used can be equipped with a
plurality of
stops and/or guide means and/or leading means.
In one embodiment, the area of the attraction route is designed for this as a
pure slab or as a
chute-shaped carriageway or as a lateral lane on which the vehicles are moved
and wherein
the slab or the chute or the lanes is designed to be at least somewhat wider
than the track
width of the vehicles. Above the slab or the chute or strip, along the
attraction route parallel
and/or integrated to the driving route, a boundary is arranged as a retaining
and/or guide
means, to which the retaining means and/or leading means of the vehicle
correspond and
guide the vehicle in a motion through the attraction route without it falling
out of the
attraction route or falling off during a rollover.
The retaining and/or guide means of the attraction route are either designed
as means that are
parallel to the route, on which the wheels of the vehicles are guided, or can
be integrated into
the driving route and/or arranged along it. As means designed to be parallel
to the route,
these are pipes, slabs, rails or similar constructions, which correspond to
the retaining means
and/or leading means on the vehicles. These retaining and/or guide means of
the route form,
for example, in the case of a looping, a parallel looping in diameter to the
actual attraction
route and are arranged either only laterally or along the entire width of the
route or as rails
parallel to the route or integrated in this. The retaining and/or leading
means on the vehicles
are arranged accordingly sideways on the vehicles or in the roof area or in
the substructure of
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the vehicles, for which these are preferably equipped with at least a stable
frame and/or roll
bar.
In a version with on the vehicles arranged retaining means and/or leading
means in the roof
area or preferably on or on a roll cage or roll bars, these retaining and/or
leading means
correspond to correspondingly distanced retaining and/or guide means of the
attraction route
parallel to the route during the journey through the attraction route. In one
embodiment, at
least two, preferably rotatably mounted rolling elements with a groove are
arranged on the
roof area or a rollover device of the vehicle, which correspondingly thread in
as a retaining
and/or guide means section designed as pipes or a rail parallel to the route
and support the
vehicle on the roof area accordingly during rollover. In an alternative
embodiment, at least
one rotatable roller is arranged on the roof area of the vehicle and the
retaining and/or guide
means along the attraction route is designed as a slab or support strips
parallel to the route on
which the rollers are attached and which support and hold the vehicle during
rollover in the
looping.
In a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, the vehicle is
equipped with at least
two, sideways, right and left mounted on the vehicle retaining means and/or
leading means,
which are correspondingly designed with the attraction route. For this
purpose, the attraction
route is designed in a preferred embodiment as two, vertically positioned U-
profiles or one
with this corresponding constructional design, which are arranged parallel to
each other in a
distance, having at least the track width of the vehicle, and depicting and/or
describing the
route section. The vehicle drives with its wheels into the two erected U-
profiles arranged in
parallel wherein the wheels rest on the corresponding lower limb arranged in
this way. The
width of the installed U-profile is greater than the diameter of the wheels of
the vehicle,
whereby the vehicle rests only on the limb lying below in the entry area of
the erected U-
profile and could fall off this course during a rollover. In order to prevent
this, at least one
retaining and/or leading means must be arranged on each side of the vehicle,
one on the left
and one on the right side of the vehicle respectively, which are arranged in
their position in
such a way that these rest on the upper limb of the respective vertically
erected U-profile
forming the route, thereby having an effect on the guidance of the vehicle in
the U-profile
rails. This retaining and/ or leading means, respectively arranged on the
vehicle on the right
and left side, allows the vehicle to move safely through the attraction route,
such as through
a looping for example, and is securely held against falling out or down out of
the attraction
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route in the case of an upside-down position. The retaining and/or leading
means
respectively arranged on the side of the vehicle on the right and left,
preferably in the centre
with reference to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle, are preferably
designed as cylindrical
retaining bolts or wheels/tires, which are designed to be rotatable in
particular and, in one
variant, are also additionally propelled. Preferably, these retaining bolts do
not protrude
beyond the outer edges of the wheels of the vehicle and have a ring band on
the side facing
the vehicle, which forms the lateral boundary to the limb of the vertically
erected U-profile
and thus, the vehicle keeps the vehicle in the lane and guides it during its
ride through the
attraction route. The embodiments of the corresponding retaining and/or guide
means at the
attraction route and the retaining and/or leading means is preferably always
designed to be as
low-friction as possible, which is carried out by the use of suitable glide-
enabling plastics
and/or the use of suitable bearings and/or rollers and/or other means that
prevent the
unintentional braking effect. The corresponding gliding means can also be
arranged both on
the vehicle and alternatively, on the route, wherein the preferred arrangement
on the vehicles
takes place, which allows for worn or defective gliding means, for example, to
be changed
quickly and simply allowed without temporarily blocking the entire route for
all
participating vehicles.
In an alternative embodiment, the attraction route can also be designed with a
slab arranged
between the two vertically erected U-profiles, in which the vehicle drives,
which emphasises
the impression of a carriageway. Also, the attraction route can be designed
with a slab
descriptive of the route section as a carriageway and two lateral rails, slabs
or strips or pipes
parallel to the carriageway, wherein the wheels thereby rest on or abut the
carriageway slab
and the retaining and/or leading means correspond to the lateral rails, slabs
or strips running
parallel to the carriageway slab.
In a further, particularly preferred embodiment, the attraction route is
designed with at least
two lateral lanes for the wheels of the vehicle and also has a parallel rail,
a profile or similar
over it following the route section. The retaining means and/or leading means
on the vehicle
are located on the left and right, on the longitudinal axis, respectively
between the front and
rear wheels of the vehicle and protrude beyond the track width of the vehicle.
The retaining
and/or leading means preferably designed as rotatably mounted roller elements
thus protrude
beyond the track width of the vehicle and are limited between the carriageway
or the left and
right lane and the rail, profile or similar construction following the course
of the route
section arranged parallel to it, whereby the vehicle is securely kept from
falling out or down
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using the retaining and/or leading means when riding upside-down. The
mentioned retaining
and/or leading means designed as rollers are preferably arranged on stable,
lateral slabs of
the vehicle towering over the track width of the vehicle. These slabs
additionally ensure a
central positioning and guidance of the vehicle between the rail, profile or
constructions
arranged parallel to the carriageway or lane following the route section.
Furthermore, these
slabs are preferably slightly angled at their ends, which leads to an easy and
controlled entry
of the vehicles into the attraction route and threading of the retaining
and/or leading means
on the vehicle into the retaining and/or guide means of the route. Preferably,
the lateral slabs
are covered with interchangeable sliding materials; alternatively, however, it
would also be
possible to equip the retaining and/or guide means of the attraction route
with sliding
materials.
In a further variant, the carriageway of the attraction route, which consists
at least of lateral
lanes, is formed on its sides with a recess, which roughly has the width of
the front wheels of
the vehicle and into which the front wheels are guided, thereby stabilizing
the track
stabilizing during the journey through the attraction route. In contrast, the
rear wheels of the
vehicle, which are usually somewhat wider, run on the remaining, non-recessed
strips of the
carriageway and provide the necessary propulsion of the vehicle.
According to a further variant, the retaining and/or leading means on the
vehicle are
designed as cylindrical means arranged on two other axles or other suspensions
and/or
fasteners cushioned in a deviating way on the vehicle, thereby being directly
arranged above
the wheels of the vehicle, such as wheels, tyres, rollers, rollers or similar.
These are pressed
onto the four wheels when entering the acceleration route and or attraction
route, and that
being only during the journey through the attraction. By pushing these upper
retaining and
leading wheels/tyres onto the wheels of the vehicle, they are automatically
propelled at the
same speed as the drive wheels of the vehicle. With this solution, the
vehicles not only
experience an increased grip, as the drive takes place not only on the
carriageway, but also
on the retaining and/or guide means of the attraction route. On the one hand,
the looping is
therefore possible without any problems and even further journeys upside-down
can be
implemented. The vehicle is therefore able to transfer a further power
transmission via the
drive wheels to the retaining and/or leading means formed as wheels and/or
tyres, by means
of which the propulsion takes place and thus, a power transmission is possible
without
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compromises, in particular, if the rotatable retaining and/or leading
cylinders are coated or
rubberized, which further minimizes the driving noise.
Since the successful passage of the vehicles through an attraction route, such
as a looping in
the unfavourable case can be influenced by strong and or uncontrolled steering
movements,
in particular, just before the rollover phase and/or the entry into a steep
section, the vehicle,
in a further preferred embodiment, is equipped with at least one rolling
element at its front,
preferably middle, lower area, which runs with a preferably middle-arranged
guide
attachment along the attraction route, like a looping. In one version, a guide
strip, equipped
as a stable attachment or rail element, is arranged approximately in the
middle of the route,
thereby following the route section. Upon entry of the vehicle, the rolling
element now joins
this guide like the guide strip, whereby the guide strip along the route
section is designed in
such a way that at least one of the front wheels of the vehicle is slightly
lifted at least in
sections during the journey and only completely re-enters the carriageway upon
exiting the
attraction route. This minimizes the influence of uncontrolled and/or
incorrect steering
movements, which, in such a case, can lead to increased friction or
unintentional blocking
and thus an insufficient speed for the passage through the looping. In an
alternative
embodiment, the central guide attachment can also be designed as a chute and,
if necessary,
coupled with the steering.
In addition, the additional front-mounted roller accommodates loads that arise
particularly
when driving in and out in attractions, such as a looping.
In a further, alternative embodiment of the amusement ride according to the
invention, the
attraction route is equipped with retaining and/or guide means on or directly
in the
carriageway, preferably approximately in the centre of the carriageway, into
which retaining
and/or leading means, which are arranged at the substructure of the vehicle,
correspondingly
engage and hold and guide the vehicle through the attraction route. The
retaining and/or
guide means are arranged, for example, as parallel-guided pipes or rails or T-
or double U-
profiles at approximately the middle of the carriageway at a suitable distance
above the
carriageway and have the corresponding carriageway progression. In the area of
the
beginning of the acceleration route in front of the attraction route, these
means are expanded,
for example, in a swallowtail-shaped or funnel-shaped manner. The vehicle with
at least one
retaining means and/or leading means arranged on its substructure travels on
the carriageway
and the retaining and/or leading means on the substructure of the vehicle
threads easily into
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the expanded area of, for example, the two parallel-guided pipes. For this
purpose, a
mushroom-shaped supporting means or rollers or other suitable means are
arranged on the
substructure, for example, which have a larger diameter in the head area,
which is facing the
carriageway, than the distance of the two parallel pipes just above the
carriageway. This
mushroom-shaped holder threads securely and easily into the acceleration area
and/or the
attraction route upon entry of the vehicle. The pipes themselves and/or the
holder is also
preferably equipped and/or padded with suitable sliding materials, in
particular, plastics.
Such a retaining and/or guide device can also be designed, for example, as a
rail and/or
monorail and the retaining and/or leading means can be designed on the
substructure of the
vehicle as a corresponding means of grasping and/or rolling or sliding means
for the
corresponding rails or alternative profiles in order to implement the function
of the
corresponding interlocking of means arranged on the substructure of the
vehicle having
retaining and/or guide means in or just above the route.
The route designed as an attraction, such as a looping, a screw or spiral
route or a steep face
and/or upside-down route is preferably equipped with a threading area and/or
an acceleration
route and can be accessed from a normal driving route, carriageway, course or
race track,
which takes place, if necessary, using appropriate locks for a controlled
entry into the zones
with attraction routes. The access to the attraction routes in at least one
zone is preferably in
an area in which the carriageway is narrowed in an approximately funnel-shaped
manner and
the vehicle interacts with its retaining means and/or leading means in the
transition area to
the attraction route corresponding to its retaining means and/or guide means
of the attraction
route, thereby stabilizing the vehicle in the lane on the one hand, and
keeping the vehicle
from falling out or falling down in a supporting manner, thereby keeping it in
the attraction
respectively. In the preferred embodiment, an acceleration route is arranged
after this
threading area, in which the corresponding means on the vehicle and the
attraction route
interact and/or correspondingly interlock, on which acceleration route the
vehicle can
accelerate in order to be able to achieve sufficient speed to be able to
securely and easily
pass through the attraction route. The corresponding threading of the
retaining and/or leading
means arranged on the vehicles in and/or on the retaining and/or guide means
of the
attraction route is thereby carried out automatically upon the entry of the
vehicles into the
attraction route by means of suitable start-up devices. The flawless, secure
threading of the
vehicle into and/or onto the attraction route is preferably detected by means
of suitable
sensors and the route is subsequently released or, if necessary, blocked or
the vehicle
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stopped using brake devices designated for this purpose. In this case, it is
always ensured by
the interacting retaining and/or guide means on the route and the retaining
means and/or
leading means on the vehicle that the vehicle, due to for example incorrect
control, cannot
leave the attraction route, nor that the vehicle falls down out of the
attraction route, for
example, at too low speed when riding upside-down. In this case, the vehicle
would be held
by its retaining means and /or leading means at the retaining and/or guide
means of the route
and, at insufficient speed, would simply roll backwards out of the area of the
attraction route,
such as a looping for example. In the case of the described insufficient speed
for the
complete passage of the looping or a screw, spiral or other route, the
attraction route can be
equipped with sensor technology designed for this purpose and an adapted
propulsion device
attacking in the vehicle guidance and/or to the retaining means and/or leading
means of the
vehicle. On the one hand, this would allow the amusement ride to be controlled
externally in
such a way that each driver in his/her vehicle will safely drive through the
area of the
attraction route completely or only those vehicles that are accelerated that
stop at the
transition point of turning upside-down in order to prevent the driver from
hanging upside-
down for too long.
In a further variant, the vehicles are equipped with extensive sensors and/or
control devices
and/or control electronics, which make it possible to control the driving of
the vehicles
remotely. This externally operated control system can affect any vehicle
powered by internal
combustion engines and/or electrically propelled vehicles and accelerate or
brake the
vehicles. In particular, when designing the amusement ride with electric
vehicles, these can
be designed as an alternative to equipping with their own energy sources with
appropriately
designed pantographs on the vehicles and connecting means on the driving
track. A quick
shutdown of the power supply and the associated drive power would thus be
possible from
the outside at any time. In this case, the driving of the vehicles during the
journey could be
completely controlled and completely ensured that each vehicle actually drives
through the
looping, the spiral or any attraction route and really drives through at a
sufficient level of
speed. The steering and/or braking and/or acceleration function could also be
completely
taken over to ensure that there are no interruptions of the passage due to
incorrect control of
the driver, for example, in case of anxiety or panic. On the one hand, this
can increase the
safety of the entire amusement ride, but also increase efficiency, since every
vehicle will
pass through the attraction route as planned; no downtime and backlogging are
to be
expected. On the other hand, the challenge of finding the speed required for
the complete
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passage of the attraction route by the driver himself can significantly
increase the
attractiveness of the amusement ride.
The vehicles can be, adapted to the driving distance, in particular the
attraction route of any
vehicle with internal combustion engines and/or vehicles designed as electric
vehicles.
In the following, the invention will also be explained in detail with regard
to other features
and advantages based on the description of exemplary embodiments and taking
the enclosed
drawings into account.
The figures show:
Fig. 1 a view of a vehicle on a zone of a course or race track with entry into
an attraction
route.
Fig. 2 a view of a vehicle after threading into the attraction route on the
acceleration route.
Fig. 3 a view of a vehicle after threading in the acceleration section of the
attraction route.
Fig. 4 a frontal view of the vehicle from Fig. 3.
Fig. 5 a lateral view on a threaded vehicle in the acceleration section with
roller elements
on rails of the installation as a retaining and /or leading means.
Fig. 6 a lateral view of a variation of a vehicle with bumpers and slide
elements for the
amusement ride.
Fig. 7 a perspective view of a variation of a vehicle for the amusement ride.
Fig. 8 a perspective view of a variation of a vehicle for the amusement ride
after entering
the attraction route.
Fig. 9 a frontal view of a vehicle as it passes through the attraction route.
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Fig. 10 a perspective rear view of a vehicle entering the attraction route in
another variant
of the route.
Fig. 11 a frontal view of the vehicle in the situation of Fig. 10.
Fig. 12 a perspective view of a vehicle passing through an attraction route in
another
variant with bumper.
Fig. 13 a frontal view of the vehicle as it passes through the attraction
route, in accordance
3.0 with Fig. 12.
Fig. 14 a frontal view of a vehicle with four retaining means and/or leading
means on the
vehicle as it passes through a designated attraction route.
Fig. 15 a lateral view of the vehicle passing through in accordance with Fig.
14.
Fig. 16 a lateral view on another variant with four retaining means and/or
leading means on
the vehicle that can be penetrated on the wheels when passing through a
designated
attraction route.
Fig. 17 a frontal view of the vehicle passing through in accordance with Fig.
16.
Fig. 18 a perspective view of a variant with retaining means on the axles or
wheels of the
vehicle in a suitable route.
Fig. 19 a top view of the vehicle during travel in accordance with Fig. 18.
Fig. 20 a schematic view of a looping as an attraction route with a vehicle
travelling in it
and a vehicle waiting at the threading point.
FIG 21 a top view of the situation in accordance with Fig. 20.
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Fig. 22 a view of a vehicle at the upside-down point when passing through the
attraction
route.
Fig. 23 a view of a vehicle from the front with alternative guide and/or
retaining means.
Fig. 24 a view of a vehicle from the front with alternative guide and/or
retaining means in
accordance with Fig. 23 with alternative additional guidance.
Fig. 25 a lateral view of an embodiment of the vehicle and section of the
route in
accordance with Fig. 23.
Fig. 26 a lateral view of an embodiment of the vehicle and section of the
route in
accordance with Fig. 24.
Fig. 27 a lateral view of a vehicle alone.
In the Fig. 1 to Fig. 5, an embodiment of a possible part of an amusement
ride, course, race
track or similar is shown, in which vehicles 3, here represented as go-karts,
enter a transition
1 into an attraction area or into an attraction route 2. The vehicles come
from an area (not
shown), in which they can be moved like on a conventional go-kart course, via
the access
area 1 to the attraction route 2 and/or the acceleration route of the
attraction route, towards
which the carriageway increasingly narrows in a funnel-shaped manner and the
vehicle
travels through the attraction route on the actual, limited carriageway. In
this variant of the
amusement ride according to the invention, pipes 6 or a slab 7 or rails or
strips or similar
constructions are arranged over the carriageway in parallel to the carriageway
of the
attraction route, which run in parallel at a defined distance to the
carriageway of the
attraction route. In accordance with this variant, the vehicle 3 is equipped
with a roll bar or
roll cage 5 at the top side of which retaining means and/or leading means 4
are arranged,
which, in accordance with these embodiments, correspondingly interact with
retaining
and/or guide means 6, 7 of the attraction route 2 after they thread between
the zone 1 and the
attraction route 2 in the transition area and/or engage into one another or
lean onto one
another. In Fig. 2 to Fig. 4, this is achieved by means of rolling elements 4,
which are
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attached on the roll cage of the vehicle and are located in the entry area
into the attraction
route at the parallel to the carriageway slab 7 or are arranged quite narrowly
separated from
this. When passing through the attraction route, which is designed, for
example, as a looping
16, these rolling elements prevent a falling down of the vehicle moving upside-
down in the
case of a vehicle speed that is too slow in the case of a lack of contact
pressure on the
carriageway. In this case, the rolling elements 4 come into contact with the
parallel, inner
slab in the looping and the vehicle passes through a part of the looping on
the roller elements
4 along the parallel, inner slab 7 until the looping ultimately passes
through, and the vehicle
continues on its wheels 10 on the route 2 and exits from the attraction route
and/or is
threaded by the parallel slab ends at the exit point. In a variant of this
embodiment in the Fig.
1 and Fig. 5, a version with rolling elements 4 is shown, which have a centre
groove and/or
recess in the shape of a coil. This retaining means and/or leading means 4
designed in this
way, also being arranged on the roll bar and/or roll cage 5 of the vehicle,
are threaded into
pipes running parallel to the attraction route upon driving in from the zone 1
into the
attraction route 2 during the journey. Even with this variant, after
acceleration on the first
designated section of the attraction route, a safe passage through a looping
and/or screw
and/or spiral or similar is possible. In this variant, the vehicle is also
optimally kept on the
track during the journey without the driver's intervention, which, in the case
of the variant
with the resting rolling elements in accordance with Fig. 2 to Fig. 4. can be
supported with
sliding slabs arranged laterally on the wheel ends.
In Fig. 6, a particularly preferred embodiment of a vehicle 3 is shown, in
which the retaining
means and/or leading means 4 are designed as cylindrical, preferably rotatably
mounted
and/or, in accordance with one variant, also propelled bolt elements or wheels
or tyres,
which are arranged approximately in the centre with relation to the
longitudinal axis of the
vehicle, each being stable on the left and right side, if necessary, equipped
with a spring-
loaded bearing and/or a pressing device. As can be easily recognized in Fig. 7
easily, these
retaining means and/or leading means 4 arranged on the vehicle are arranged
above the
wheels 10 of the vehicle. In this embodiment of the vehicle, the versions of
the route of the
attraction route 2 in accordance with Fig. 8 to Fig. 13. In the Fig. 8 to Fig.
10, a variant is
shown, in which strip elements, rails or profiles llare arranged in parallel
over the route of
the attraction route 2 on the right and the left respectively, which follow
the route of the
route section of the attraction route accordingly and are designed to be at a
defined parallel
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distance. Thereby, the retaining means and/or leading means 4 arranged on the
vehicle 3
is/are arranged on the vehicle in a position above the wheels 10, wherein the
distance
between the carriageway 2 and the underside of the parallel-guided profile
elements 11 is
designed to be adapted to one other, so that the vehicle is well guided in
this intermediate
space, meaning the wheels, at a sufficiently high speed of the vehicle, stay
in contact with
the track when passing through the attraction route, for example, a looping
and the retaining
means and/or leading means 4 designed as bolt elements or cylindrical turning
parts or
tyres/wheels support this travel accordingly.
In one variant, these just barely do not come into contact with the guide
profile 11 with their
orbital surface, however, in the preferred variant, these are spring-mounted
and are slightly
pushed down during threading in order to ensure good guidance or a hold during
the journey
through the attraction. In a further preferred variant, these retaining means
and/or leading
means designed as bolt elements or cylindrical turning parts are also
propelled, which is
preferably done by direct coupling with the drive wheels and/or at the drive
axle accordingly
running in the opposing direction.
In the event of insufficient speed and the falling of the vehicle from the
carriageway or
chute, the retaining means and/or leading means 4 on the vehicle come into
contact with the
parallel retaining means and/or guide means 11 following the route and the
vehicle passes
through the remaining route on these retaining means and/or leading means 4 on
the vehicle
3 that are designed as bolt elements or rotary cylinders or wheels/tyres. In
addition,
according to one variant, the retaining means and/or leading means on the
vehicle that are
designed as bolt elements or rotary cylinders or wheels/tyres are designed
with a ring band 9
on the side facing the vehicle respectively, whereby the vehicle is better
kept in the land after
its threading and continuing to follow of the journey through the attraction
route as is shown
in Fig. 10. In the embodiment in accordance with Fig. 6 and Fig. 7, the
vehicle is equipped
with suitable gliding means and/or sliding surfaces 14, preferably at outer
edges of the
vehicle and/or a bumper or a bumper frame in order be held and guided in the
lane in an
optimized manner. These gliding means and/or sliding surfaces can also be
designed in
variants as rollers, rollers or other bearings and are intended, in
particular, for routes with
lateral boundaries.
In another preferred embodiment in accordance with Fig. 11 to Fig. 13, the
attraction route is
designed as two vertically positioned U-profiles 12, which are arranged
parallel to each other
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at a distance comprising at least the track width of the vehicle, and map
and/or describe the
course of the route. The vehicle drives with its wheels 10 into the two
parallel erected U-
profiles 12 arranged in parallel, wherein the wheels rest on the corresponding
lower limb 13
arranged in this way. The width of the installed U-profile is significantly
larger than the
diameter of the wheels of the vehicle, whereby the vehicle only rests on the
underlying limb
in the entry area of the erected U-profile and could fall off this course in
the case of a
rollover. The retaining means and /or leading means 4 arranged on the vehicle
3 is arranged
on the vehicle in a position above the wheels 10, wherein the distance between
the lower leg
13 and the upper leg of the U-profile 12 to each other determines the height
of the retaining
means and/or leading means arranged on the vehicle, which is/are designed
accordingly so
that the vehicle is well guided in this intermediate space, meaning the
wheels, at a
sufficiently high speed of the vehicle during the journey of the attraction
route, for example a
looping, keep in contact with the carriageway, flush with the first lower limb
of the vertically
erected U-profile and engage the retaining means and/or leading means 4
designed as bolt
elements or cylindrical turning parts or wheels/tyres accordingly. The lateral
guidance of the
vehicle in the lane is supported by the ring band 9 at the retaining and/or
leading means 4, as
well as the sliding means attached to the vehicle and/or sliding surfaces 14.
Another variant can be seen in Fig. 16 and Fig. 17, in which four instead of
two retaining
and/or leading means 4 are used on the vehicle 3, which again supports the
lane of the
vehicle, especially during the upside-down travel. In addition, it is possible
to simply propel
the retaining and/or leading means by pushing the retaining and/or leading
means to the
drive wheels, thereby supporting upside-down travel; this, in particular, if
these retaining
and/or leading means are coated or rubberized or designed as wheels or tyres.
According to another alternative embodiment in accordance with Fig. 14 and
Fig. 15, four
retaining and/or leading means 4 are used, which are designed as coil-like
means and are
arranged on the vehicle in such a way that these engage into or onto a pipe
construction
parallel to the line. These coil-like retaining and/or leading means are fixed
to the vehicle
with a suitable pressure device and allow a very stable and secure passage of
the vehicle
through the attraction route. A further variant is shown in the Fig. 18 and
Fig. 19, in which
outwardly protruding retaining and/or leading means 4 are arranged on the axle
or on the
wheels 10 of the vehicles, which protrude beyond the track width of the
vehicle and which
correspondingly engage into corresponding retaining and/or guide means 12 of
the route 2.
With this variant, it is, in particular, possible to create adapter devices
for wheels, by means
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of which the required retaining and/or leading means can be attached to each
vehicle and
thus even journeys through the attraction routes with one's own vehicle are
possible. The
vehicle itself is precisely held in the lane by appropriate means and cover
slabs 18
additionally protect the wheels and/or tyres attached to the vehicle from
damage in the event
of contact of the wheels with the road limits during the journey.
In Fig. 23 to Fig. 27, embodiments are shown in which the retaining and/or
leading means 4
are arranged on lateral slabs 18, protruding over the track width of the
vehicle, stably
connected to the supporting structure of the vehicle. These retaining and/or
leading means 4
outwardly protruding in such way, which extend beyond the track width of the
vehicle
correspondingly engage into the retaining and/or guide means 11, 12 of the
route 2. An
advantage of this variant is that the additional rollers on the side slabs sit
so low that the two
U-profiles (which result from the side slabs) can remain very low. This does
not give the
impression that you cannot drive freely. Furthermore, it is advantageous that
the U-profile is
designed in such a way that the lateral bumpers of the vehicle also fit into
the U-profile,
meaning that one does not recognize at first glance that it is a go-kart
specially built for the
looping passage. Rather, the observer perceives a normal go-kart, with which
one can race as
usual, but also through loops, screws, etc. The bumper of the vehicle is
preferably bent
upwards at the front and back to prevent the bumper from sitting on the steel
frame of the
lanes during when driving through the looping. At the same time, the high
bending level of
the bumper at the front helps to integrate the additional central wheel in
front. In a further
embodiment, the bumper is also bent in the middle between the wheels of the
vehicle
downwards or/and upwards so that a looping passage can be carried out without
any
problems.
Next is, as can be recognized in Fig. 23 to Fig. 27, the vehicle in its front,
lower area
equipped with at least one rolling element 4', which runs with a guide
attachment 2' along
the attraction route as a looping, preferably arranged in the middle. In one
version, a guide
strip, equipped as a stable attachment or rail element, is arranged
approximately in the
middle of the route, thereby following the route section. Upon entry of the
vehicle, the roller
element now hits this guide as the guide strip, whereby the guide strip along
the route section
is slightly ascending, designed in such a way that at least one of the front
wheels of the
vehicle is raised in sections and only completely reopens onto the carriageway
when exiting
the attraction route. This minimizes the influence of uncontrolled and/or
incorrect steering
movements, which, in such a case, can lead to increased friction or
unintentional blocking
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and thus an insufficient speed for the passage through the looping. In an
alternative
embodiment, the central guide attachment can also be designed as a chute and,
if necessary,
coupled with the steering. Thereby, when looping, only three out of four
wheels are located
on the lanes across long routes. At times, only two wheels can rest on the
carriageway, in
particular, if the leading roller attached to the front of the vehicle is also
located on the guide
slab or the guide chute under the roller or if, for example, before and after
the vertex of a
loops significantly changes the geometry of the looping. The two additional
rollers 4 are
each attached on the side of the go-kart so that the wheel, which is located
directly at the
lifting wheel of the go-kart, is pressed when being lifted at the top against
the guide (in the
form of the profile running parallel to the lane, such as a flat iron),
thereby stabilizing the go-
kart in its entirety. In this respect, the guides, which lie parallel to the
carriageway above the
rollers, are not located directly on the rollers, but have distance to the
rollers. The following
applies: The narrower the radius of the carriageway, the greater the distance
between the
guide slabs above the rollers, since a wheel stands out from the carriageway,
the narrower
the radius.
In all variants of the attraction routes with lateral boundaries and or
profile guides on the
sides, the lateral guides for improving the sliding properties are optionally
equipped with
suitable sliding surfaces or rollers or bearings. On the one hand, this leads
to the prevention
of excessive braking of the vehicle and prevents the vehicles from being bent
in the
attraction route and, on the other hand, allows a quieter and lower-noise
passage of the
attraction routes with the vehicles.
For example, the situation of an attraction route is shown in Fig. 20 to Fig.
22, which is
designed as a looping 15, in which a first vehicle is already at the passage
through the
looping and another is waiting in the threading area in front of the
acceleration route to the
attraction route. Basically, the embodiment of an amusement ride according to
the invention
can also comprise only the actual attraction route and this, such as a looping
for example,
can be driven through in both directions with a vehicle.
For this purpose, there could be turning devices at the beginning and/or end
of an attraction
route, with which the vehicle can be rotated directly after passing through
the attraction route
in order to be able to pass through the same attraction immediately after
passing through the
attraction again in the opposite direction. In this way, attractions could be
operated as an
amusement ride without the need for a race track for the vehicles. The turning
device could
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be carried out after entry of the vehicle, for example, with stepper motors
controlled by
sensors. However, such turning devices could also be located at the end of a
series of
adjacent attractions. The vehicles would then pass through a plurality of
attractions before
entering the described turning device where they can be turned around.
In a particularly preferred embodiment, in the turning device there are means
of power
transmission between the drive wheels of the vehicle and the turning mechanism
of the
turning device, like two rollers for each of the drive wheels of the vehicle
respectively,
between which the vehicle drives in with its drive wheels at the end of an
attraction route in
order to turn the vehicle. By moving the drive wheels in this state of the
vehicle retracted
into a mount, the rollers are propelled, which, in turn, rotate the turning
device by means of
transmissions or a gearbox so that the vehicle can be moved out of the rollers
again after
fully rotating and can enter the attraction route in the opposite direction.
For this purpose, the
rollers under the drive wheels are locked after complete rotation and locking
of the turning
device.
Having described preferred versions of the invention in relation to the
enclosed drawings, it
should be noted that the invention is not limited to these exact embodiments
and that various
modifications and modifications to it by a person skilled in the art can be
carried out without
deviating from the scope of the invention as defined in the enclosed claims.
