Oscillating amusement ride
AssigneeAntonio Zamperla S.p.A.
InventorsAntonio ZAMPERLA, Timothy Robert JACOBI
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An amusement ride comprises a pair of swinging arms, each supporting a support element that includes a plurality of seats to accommodate riders. The arms may share a rotation axis and are rotatable with respect to one another. The arms may each be coupled to a rotatable vertical tower. The support elements at the ends of the respective arms each oscillate by swinging about a pivot axis, due to the swinging motion of the arms. A control system controls the swinging of the arms such that the supporting elements oscillate at a resonance frequency.
Claims20
An amusement ride (1) comprising:
- a central column (2) having a longitudinal axis (A1) and comprising a base structure (2a);
- at least one arm (3a, 3b), rotatably coupled to said central column (2) at respective arm rotation axes (A2′, A2″) that each intersect said longitudinal axis (A1);
- a first actuation element (70) for swinging each said at least one arm (3a, 3b) through at least a portion of a circular arc (P1);
- at least one supporting element (6a, 6b) adapted to support at least one seat(S) for at least one rider, each said supporting element (6a, 6b) being rotatably coupled to a respective arm of said at least one arm (3a, 3b) at a rotation axis (A3′, A3″) spaced from and parallel to the at least one arm rotation axis (A2′, A2″);
- and
- a logic control unit (100) configured to control said first actuation element (70) for swinging said at least one arm (3a, 3b),
- wherein said logic control unit (100) is configured to control each said first actuation element (70) for swinging said at least one arm (3a, 3b) with a predetermined frequency value (ωF) so that said swinging of said at least one arm (3a, 3b) generates an oscillatory movement of said at least one supporting element (6a, 6b) through at least a portion of a circular arc (P2) whereby said oscillatory movement of said at least one supporting element (6a, 6b) occurs in resonance condition.
A method of operation of an amusement ride (1), said method comprising:
- providing an amusement ride with at least one swingable arm (3a, 3b) having an associated supporting element (6a, 6b) disposed on an end thereof, each said supporting element (6a, 6b) having at least one seat(S) for accommodating a rider;
- and
- operating a first actuation element (70) to swing said at least one arm (3a, 3b) through at least a portion of a circular arc (P1), with a predetermined frequency value (ωF) so that said swinging of said at least one arm (3a, 3b) generates an oscillatory movement of said at least one supporting element (6a, 6b) through at least a portion of a circular arc (P2) to produce an oscillatory movement of said at least one supporting element (6a, 6b) in resonance condition.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.