Water ride with floating section
AssigneeProSlide Technology Inc.
InventorsRichard Douglas Hunter, Raymond Thomas Smegal
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A water ride is disclosed. The water ride has a flume adapted to have riders or ride vehicles travel from an initial location at a first elevation to a terminal location at a second elevation lower than the first elevation. The flume includes at least one sliding section wherein the riders or ride vehicles slide on a sliding surface of the flume and at least one floating section wherein the riders or ride vehicles float in the flume. The floating section is fluidly connected to the first sliding section and includes a plurality of flow-altering elements attached to and protruding from the flume.
Claims27
A water ride comprising a flume adapted to have riders or ride vehicles travel from an initial location at a first elevation to a terminal location at a second elevation lower than the first elevation, wherein water flows from the initial location to the terminal location, the flume comprising:
- at least one sliding section wherein the riders or ride vehicles slide on a sliding surface of the flume;
- and
- at least one floating section wherein the riders or ride vehicles float on a surface of the water in the flume, the floating section being fluidly connected to the first sliding section and comprising a plurality of flow-altering elements attached to and protruding from the flume, wherein the first floating section includes an inlet, wherein the inlet comprises a step, drop down, or concave curvature into the first floating section.
A flume section for a water ride, the flume section comprising:
- an inlet to permit riders or ride vehicles to enter the flume section, wherein, in operation, the flume section provides a flowing body of water for the riders or ride vehicles to float on a surface of the water, wherein a geometry of the flume section defines an expected ride path for the riders or ride vehicles and the one or more flow-altering elements are configured and arranged to define at least one alternate ride path for the riders or ride vehicles that differs from the expected ride path;
- an outlet to permit riders or ride vehicles to exit the flume section;
- and
- a plurality of flow-altering elements operable within the flume section.
A water ride comprising a flume adapted to have riders or ride vehicles travel from an initial location at a first elevation to a terminal location at a second elevation lower than the first elevation, wherein water flows from the initial location to the terminal location, the flume comprising:
- a first sliding section of the flume wherein the riders or ride vehicles slide on a sliding surface of the first sliding section;
- a floating section wherein the riders or ride vehicles float on a surface of the water in the flume, the floating section immediately following the first sliding section and being fluidly connected to the first sliding section;
- and
- a second sliding section of the flume wherein the riders or ride vehicles slide on a sliding surface of the second sliding section, the second sliding section immediately following the floating section and being fluidly connected to the floating section,
- wherein the first sliding section transitions to the floating section at a first transition that comprises a step, drop down, or concave curvature, wherein the floating section transitions to the second sliding section at a second transition, and
- wherein water is injected into the floating section and removed from the floating section to maintain a desired water level in the floating section.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.