Ride attraction
AssigneeUniversal City Studios LLC
InventorsCraig K. Barr, Peter N. Alexander
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A ride attraction has a stationary domed projection screen and a stationary projector, a plurality of motion bases with each supporting a viewer platform or vehicle. An elevator is provided for lifting the vehicle out of a staging room to a viewing position. The motion bases are mutually arranged with respect to each other such that a passenger in any vehicle can view substantially the entire screen but not any other vehicle within the theatre. Actuators beneath each vehicle move the vehicle in three dimensions in coordination with the projected motion picture.
Claims12
A ride attraction comprising:
- a projection screen;
- a stationary projector for projecting motion pictures on said screen;
- a plurality of motion bases, each motion base supporting a viewer platform;
- means for elevating each motion viewer vehicle out of a staging room to a viewing position, said motion bases mutually arranged with respect to each other such that a viewer on any motion base can view the screen but not any other viewer platform;
- and
- means for moving each viewer vehicle on its respective motion base in coordination with the motion pictures.
A ride attraction comprising
- a plurality of ride units arranged on at least two tiers within a ride attraction structure;
- a domed viewing screen;
- a stationary projector;
- each ride unit comprising a staging room having an entrance, floor, walls, and an at least partially openable ceiling, a pit disposed underneath the floor, a lift disposed in the pit and joined to a motion base supporting a vehicle, said lift actuatable to elevate the motion base from a loading position wherein the vehicle is substantially aligned with the floor, to a viewing position wherein said vehicle is disposed above and outside of said staging room, said motion base having means for moving the vehicle in coordination with motion pictures projected on the screen;
- said ride units arranged within said structure such that with the vehicles in their viewing positions, substantially the entire screen is within a line of sight of each vehicle and no vehicle is within a line-of-sight of any other vehicle.
A method for operating a ride attraction comprising the steps of:
- seating viewers in a plurality of vehicles on ride units arranged such that no viewer can see any other ride unit;
- projecting a motion picture onto a screen facing said ride units;
- moving the vehicles in coordination with the projected motion picture such that a viewer's perception of pitch, roll and yaw movement of the motion picture is substantially matched by pitch, roll and yaw movement of said vehicle.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.