Systems and methods for adjusting a seat pan for a ride vehicle seat
AssigneeUniversal City Studios LLC
InventorsDavid Gerard Majdali, Steven C. Blum
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A ride vehicle system includes a seat configured to support a passenger in a ride vehicle. The seat includes a seat pan, and the seat pan includes a membrane defining an internal volume and an active fluid disposed within the internal volume. Additionally, the ride vehicle system includes a field generator configured to generate an applied field in the active fluid to change a property of the active fluid. The seat pan is configured to deform under a weight of the passenger to form a contour conformed to a shape of the passenger in an absence of the applied field.
Claims20
A ride vehicle system comprising:
- a seat configured to support a passenger in a ride vehicle and comprising a seat pan, wherein the seat pan comprises:
- a membrane defining an internal volume;
- an active fluid disposed within the internal volume;
- and
- a deformable support immersed in the active fluid;
- and
- a field generator configured to generate an applied field in the active fluid to change a property of the active fluid, wherein the seat pan is configured to deform under a weight of the passenger to form a contour conformed to a shape of the passenger in an absence of the applied field.
A ride vehicle system, comprising:
- a ride vehicle;
- a seat comprising a seat pan configured to support a passenger within the ride vehicle, wherein the seat pan is configured to change plasticity based on a voltage applied to the seat pan, and the seat pan comprises a deformable support immersed in a fluid having a voltage-dependent plasticity;
- and
- a control system configured to control the voltage applied to the seat pan.
A ride vehicle system, comprising:
- a field generator configured to generate an electric field or a magnetic field;
- a seat configured to support a passenger in a ride vehicle, the seat comprising a seat pan configured to stiffen in response to exposure to the electric field or the magnetic field and soften in absence of the electric field or the magnetic field, wherein the seat pan comprises a deformable support immersed in a fluid with a viscosity that varies with an intensity of the electric field or the magnetic field;
- and
- control circuitry configured to determine a ride status of the ride vehicle system and instruct the field generator to generate the electric field or the magnetic field based on the ride status of the ride vehicle system.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.