Back to results
US 4,302,004 AGranted
Mobile amusement ride
AssigneeEli Bridge Company
InventorsWilliam C. Deem, Robert Esposito, Laurence L. Littler, Robert S. Sullivan
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Loading patent…
Loading patent…
AssigneeEli Bridge Company
InventorsWilliam C. Deem, Robert Esposito, Laurence L. Littler, Robert S. Sullivan
Estimating the term…
A self-contained amusement ride designed for use on a mobile unit can be folded into a compact assembly for highway transport. During operation of the ride, an angularly off-set undercarriage allows the front portion of the mobile unit to support the entire weight of the ride on the ground with essentially no weight on the rear wheels. A pivoted kingpin plate allows transport with adequate ground clearance and a retractable landing gear on the front end of the mobile unit provides for raising and lowering the mobile unit for connection and disconnection from a prime mover. Hydraulically assisted lockable supports tie the main sweep arms to the mobile unit during transit. Pins with integral sliding hammers are provided to perform certain locking and pinning functions during assembly and disassembly of the ride. A single cylinder operates to pivot the top part of the main mast into and out of its support position and simultaneously raise and lower the lighting units on counterbalanced and spring biased linkages between the main mast and the unit masts. The ride incorporates three radially oriented units that rotate in one direction around the main mast, each radial unit carries four balanced seats that rotate in the opposite direction, around their unit masts. The folding, unfolding and locking of the seat sweeps is assisted by geometrically oriented and linked tie rods. The ride includes its own hydraulic operating circuit and set-up circuit.
In an amusement ride the combination of
In an amusement ride the combination of
An amusement ride including
An amusement ride comprising:
In an amusement ride the combination of;
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.
Drawings are temporarily unavailable. Open the PDF at USPTO
No related US applications are recorded in the indexed filing history.
Term ended 26 Feb 1999 (estimated)
USPTO file history isn’t available for this patent, so only indexed dates are shown.
Various forms of rotating amusement rides are known in the art. Generally these units are comprised of a multitude of separate parts that are bolted, clamped or otherwise fastened together piece-by-piece in assembly and then labriously unbolted and unclamped for storage in a truck or trailer for transport to the next location. This often envolves the use of unskilled manual labor and inevitably consumes considerable time. The various components and fasteners are designed for strength, reliability and ease of assembly, with safety of the passengers as the primary consideration. Some parts can be nested or folded and generally the components are oriented on the trailer in order of their sequence of use during the assembly. In spite of this, considerable amounts of time are consumed in the loading and unloading, inspection of the multitudinous fasteners and proper adjustment during operation, particularly as the size and complexity of the ride increase.
The instant assignee is the owner of U.S. Pat. No. 3,552, 747 which is directed to a mobile ferris wheel that folds up to a compact size on its own mobile bed and is readily and safely unfolded upon its pivotally-mounted mast to become a complete ferris wheel. The unit involves but one rotating part which is driven by a cable. The various spokes are bolted to the hub, but most of the remaining parts fold to a compact size without disassembly. Aside from the general idea of foldability the problems solved by and the laborsaving features incorporated in the instant invention have no relationship to the disclosure of said patent.
The instant invention provides a series of built-in labor-saving and safety features making it possible for two men to quickly and easily erect the amusement ride for operation from its own mobile bed or just as easily re-fold it for moving to the next location. The heaviest pieces to be handled are the seats and six of the twelve seats remain attached to their seat sweeps and unit poles at all times and do not need to be handled. All of the work in preparing the mobile unit on its location, erecting the main mast and lighing is accomplished by a self-contained hydraulic system. The amusement ride of this invention is only about 21 ft. high and operates in a 60 ft. by 60 ft. area. It has 12 seats providing a seating capacity of 24 to 36 passengers per trip. All lights, either fluorescent or incandescent, remain electrically and mechanically connected at all times, and those lighting panels which must be folded down for transit do so automatically when the top of the main mast is folded.
An illustrative embodiment of the invention is shown in the drawings wherein:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the amusement ride in the unfolded condition and ready for operation.
FIG. 2 is a partially diagramatic side view of the ride in its transport position.
Referring to FIG. 1 the foldable amusement ride of this invention is shown set up in its operating position, same being designated in its entirety by the reference numeral 10. The moving parts of the ride 10 are supported from the main mast 12, which as will be described, holds the three upper unit sweeps 14, 16 and 18, and the lower unit sweeps 20, 22 and 24 in radially and circumferentially spaced positions. Each of these pairs of upper and lower unit sweeps e.g. 14-20, and 18-24, extend coplanar in radial relationship, at 120.degree. spacing, from the main mast 12 and each pair has a unit mast 26, 28 and 30 rigidly and rotatably affixed in a vertical position between their extended ends. The radially extended upright unit masts 26, 28 and 30 provide a vertical rotational axis for the associated two-passenger seats 32 of which there are twelve. The three sets of four seats, may rotate in either direction and, to illustrate, may be rotated counter-clockwise, as viewed from above the unit 10, while the main mast 12 is rotated clockwise.
The foregoing assembly, including the masts, the fan light assemblies 34, 36 and 38, the top light panels 40, 42 and 44, the unit light panels 46, 48 and 50, is supported on the mobile unit 52 by means of the bed 54, and the pair of rear wheels 56. The ground location 58 for the ride 10 is generally level and is normally surrounded by a fence comprising a series of separable fence units, the legs of which are supported in the base members, none of which are illustrated since they do not form a part of the invention and same is supplied for required crowd control and safety, which requirement could be satisfied with any type of enclosure for the location 58.
FIG. 2 shows the right side of the ride 10 with its mobile unit 52 attached to a prime mover 60. During transport the rear of the bed 54 is supported by the rear wheels 56 and the kingpin plate 62 at the front end which is locked to the fifth wheel (not illustrated) of the prime mover. The bed 54 is thus carried at an angle during transit and proper road clearance is provided by the angularly off-set portion 64 in the bottom of the bed and extending forward of the rear wheels. Provision is made for the storage of the fence units as at 66 in a rack 68 above three of the seats 32 arranged in tandem along the front end of the bed 54.