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US 12,643,052 B2Granted
Choreographed ride systems and methods
AssigneeUniversal City Studios LLC
InventorsLara Larberg MacLean, William Dale Mason, Eric Alan Vance, Justin Michael Schwartz, Ross Alan Osterman
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A ride vehicle includes a riding assembly configured to carry a rider, a base configured to couple to the riding assembly, and a control system configured to control the coordination of movements of the ride vehicle with movements of separate ride vehicles. The base includes a surface movement system configured to move the ride vehicle along a surface, a vertical movement system configured to move the riding assembly vertically relative to the base, and a roll system configured to move the riding assembly angularly relative to the base.
Claims20
A ride system, comprising:
- a first ride vehicle comprising a first riding assembly configured to move vertically and angularly relative to a first base of the respective ride vehicle, wherein the first base is configured to traverse a surface;
- a second ride vehicle comprising a second riding assembly configured to move vertically and angularly relative to a second base of the second ride vehicle, wherein the second base is configured to traverse the surface;
- and
- a ride control system configured to control one or more first operations of the first ride vehicle relative to one or more second operations of the second ride vehicle, wherein the ride control system is configured to:
- receive a first input indicative of an amount of vertical movement of the first riding assembly and an amount of angular movement of the first riding assembly with respect to the first ride vehicle from a first user;
- receive a second input indicative of a choreography of the first ride vehicle relative to the second ride vehicle from the first user;
- determine a ride path for the first ride vehicle based on the first input and the second input, wherein the ride path comprises a horizontal movement path of the first ride vehicle with respect to the choreography, a vertical movement path for the first riding assembly, and an angular movement path for the first riding assembly;
- and
- output a signal to the first ride vehicle indicative of instructions to cause the first ride vehicle to move according to the ride path.
6 more elements
A ride vehicle, comprising:
- a base configured to traverse a ride area;
- a riding assembly configured to move vertically and angularly relative to the base;
- and
- a ride vehicle control system configured to control one or more operations of the ride vehicle relative to one or more additional operations of an additional ride vehicle, wherein the ride vehicle control system is configured to:
- receive a first input indicative of an amount of a vertical movement of the riding assembly and an amount of angular movement of the riding assembly with respect to the ride vehicle from a first user;
- receive a second input indicative of a choreography of the ride vehicle relative to the additional ride vehicle from the first user;
- determine a ride path for the ride vehicle based on the first input and the second input, wherein the ride path comprises a horizontal movement path of the ride vehicle with respect to the choreography, a vertical movement path for the riding assembly, and an angular movement path for the riding assembly;
- and
- cause the ride vehicle to move according to the ride path.
6 more elements
A method, comprising:
- receiving a first input indicative of an amount of a vertical movement of a ride assembly and an amount of angular movement of the ride assembly with respect to a first ride vehicle from a first user;
- receiving a second input indicative of a choreography of the first ride vehicle relative to a second ride vehicle from the first user;
- determining a ride path for the first ride vehicle based on the first input and the second input, wherein the ride path comprises a horizontal movement path of the first ride vehicle with respect to the choreography, a vertical movement path for the ride assembly coupled, and an angular movement path for the ride assembly;
- and
- sending one or more instructions to a ride control system configured to cause the first ride vehicle to move according to the ride path.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.