Restraint system for an amusement park attraction
AssigneeUniversal City Studios LLC
InventorRachel Sarah Wilcox
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A ride vehicle for an attraction of an amusement park includes a ride seat, a pivot adapter configured to rotate relative to the ride seat, a gear of the pivot adapter comprising a first set of teeth, a passenger restraint piece coupled to the pivot adapter and configured to rotate with the pivot adapter between a closed and an open position, and a cap having a second set of teeth. The cap is configured to be positioned to engage the gear of the pivot adapter such that the second set of teeth of the cap engages with the first set of teeth of the gear, and engagement between the second set of teeth and the first set of teeth substantially blocks movement of the pivot adapter relative to the ride seat in a rotational direction.
Claims20
A ride vehicle for an attraction of an amusement park, the ride vehicle comprising:
- a ride seat;
- a pivot adapter configured to rotate relative to the ride seat about a rotational axis;
- a gear of the pivot adapter, the gear being configured to rotate about the rotational axis, the gear comprising a first set of teeth, and the rotational axis extending through the pivot adapter and the gear;
- a passenger restraint piece coupled to the pivot adapter and configured to rotate with the pivot adapter about the rotational axis between a closed position and an open position;
- a cap comprising a second set of teeth, wherein the cap is configured to engage with the gear of the pivot adapter via relative movement between the cap and the gear of the pivot adapter along the rotational axis such that the second set of teeth of the cap engages with the first set of teeth of the gear, and wherein engagement between the second set of teeth and the first set of teeth substantially blocks movement of the pivot adapter relative to the ride seat in a rotational direction about the rotational axis.
A restraint system for a ride vehicle of an amusement park, the restraint system comprising:
- a gear rotatably coupled to a pivot of the restraint system, wherein the gear comprises a first set of teeth, and the gear is configured to rotate about a rotational axis extending through the pivot and the gear;
- a cap comprising a second set of teeth;
- and
- an actuator configured to move the cap along the rotational axis relative to the gear, wherein the actuator is configured to move the cap along the rotational axis to engage the second set of teeth of the cap with the first set of teeth of the gear, wherein the actuator is configured to move the cap along the rotational axis to disengage the second set of teeth with the first set of teeth, and wherein the cap is coupled to the ride vehicle such that engagement between the second set of teeth and the first set of teeth substantially blocks rotation of the gear relative to the pivot in a rotational direction about the rotational axis.
A ride vehicle for an attraction of an amusement park, the ride vehicle comprising:
- a pivot;
- a pivot adapter comprising a gear rotatably coupled to the pivot, wherein the gear comprises a first set of teeth, and the pivot adapter and the gear are configured to rotate about a rotational axis extending through the pivot adapter and the gear;
- a restraint piece coupled to the pivot adapter, wherein the restraint piece is configured to rotate about the rotational axis between an open position and a closed position via rotation of the gear about the pivot;
- and
- a restraint control assembly, comprising:
- a cap comprising a second set of teeth;
- and
- an actuator configured to move the cap along the rotational axis relative to the gear;
- wherein the restraint control assembly is adjustable between a first configuration and a second configuration, wherein the second set of teeth of the cap is engaged with the first set of teeth of the gear in the first configuration to substantially block movement of the restraint piece from the closed position to the open position, and wherein the second set of teeth is disengaged with the first set of teeth in the second configuration to enable the restraint piece to move between the open position and the closed position.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.