Amusement track ride system with helical spinning section having locking restraints and enhanced passenger view

An amusement track ride system comprising:

• a pair of rails forming a track;
• and
• at least one car traveling along the rails, the car including a chassis, a passenger seat on the chassis, the passenger seat having a seating face and a seat back rest extending from the seating face, and a means for holding a passenger in the passenger seat,
• the holding means including:
• means for retaining the shoulders of the passenger, said shoulder retaining means for holding down the shoulders of the passenger in the passenger seat from above,
• a guide mechanism in the passenger seat, extending upward along at least a portion of the length of the seat back rest for guiding the shoulder retaining means in a substantially linear direction along the direction of the seat back rest,
• the shoulder retaining means including a coupling member operatively connected to the guide mechanism in a slidable engagement,
• means for locking the shoulder retaining means to prevent the retaining means from moving away from the shoulders of the passenger when the retaining means abuts against the shoulders of the passenger,
• means for unlocking the locking means, and
• means for urging the shoulder retainer to move away from the shoulders of the passenger.

An amusement track ride system comprising:

• a pair of rails forming a track;
• and
• at least one car traveling along the rails, the car including a chassis, a passenger seat on the chassis, a plurality of wheel portions operatively connected to the chassis, situated close to the feet of a passenger in the passenger seat, each of the wheel portions engaging one of the rails, and means for holding a passenger in the passenger seat,
• the track including a spinning section wherein the paired rails extend in a helix along an inner surface of an imaginary cylinder having a central axis, the diameter of the imaginary cylinder being set so that an axis of helical rotation of the car traveling in a spin along the rails passes through the car and is substantially in alignment with the central axis of the imaginary cylinder,
• the holding means including:
• means for retaining the shoulders of the passenger, said retaining means for holding down the shoulders of the passenger in the passenger seat from above,
• a guide mechanism in the passenger seat, extending upward along at least a portion of the length of the seat back rest for guiding the shoulder retaining means in a substantially linear direction along the direction of the seat back rest,
• the shoulder retaining means including a coupling member with a retainer portion, said retainer portion of the coupling member operatively connected to the guide mechanism in a slidable engagement, and
• means for locking the shoulder retaining means to prevent the retainer portion of the coupling member from moving away from the shoulders of the passenger when the shoulder retaining means abuts against the shoulders of the passenger.

An amusement track ride system comprising:

• a pair of rails forming a track;
• and
• at least one car traveling along the rails, the car including a chassis, a passenger seat on the chassis, having a seating face and a seat back rest extending from the seating face, and a means on the chassis for holding a passenger in the passenger seat,
• the holding means including:
• a shoulder retainer attached to the seat back rest, for holding down the shoulders of the passenger in the passenger seat from above,
• a guide mechanism in the passenger seat for guiding the shoulder retainer to be movable in the extending direction of the seat back rest,
• means for locking the shoulder retainer to prevent the retainer from moving away from the shoulders of the passenger when the shoulder retainer is guided by the guide mechanism to a position where the shoulder retainer abuts against the shoulders of the passenger, the locking means including a rack, at the seat back rest, the rack extending in the moving direction of the shoulder retainer and having a number of mating teeth arranged side by side in the moving direction, and a plurality of retaining pawls arranged side by side in the moving direction on the shoulder retainer, for engaging the mating teeth, the pitch between the retaining pawls being different from the pitch of the mating teeth,
• means for unlocking the shoulder retainer locked by the locking means, and
• means for urging the shoulder retainer to move away from the shoulders of the passenger.

An amusement track ride system comprising:

• a pair of rails forming a track;
• and
• at least one car traveling along the rails, the car including a chassis, a passenger seat on the chassis, a plurality of wheel portions operatively connected to the chassis, situated close to the feet of a passenger in the passenger seat, each of the wheel portions engaging one of the rails, and means for holding a passenger in the passenger seat,
• the track including a spinning section wherein the paired rails extend in a helix along an inner surface of an imaginary cylinder having a central axis, the diameter of the imaginary cylinder being set so that an axis of helical rotation of the car traveling in a spin along the rails passes through the car and is substantially in alignment with the central axis of the imaginary cylinder,
• the holding means including:
• a shoulder retainer attached to the seat back rest, for holding down the shoulders of the passenger in the passenger seat from above,
• a guide in the passenger seat for guiding the shoulder retainer to be movable in the extending direction of the seat back rest, and
• means for locking the shoulder retainer to prevent the shoulder retainer from moving away from the shoulders of the passenger when the shoulder retainer is guided by the guide mechanism to a position where the retainer abuts against the shoulders of the passenger, the locking means including a rack, which is provided in the seat back rest so as to extend in the moving direction of the shoulder retainer and has a number of mating teeth arranged side by side in the moving direction, and a plurality of retaining pawls arranged side by side in the moving direction on the shoulder retainer, for engaging the mating teeth, the pitch between the retaining pawls being different from the pitch of the mating teeth.

An amusement track ride system comprising:

• a pair of rails forming a track;
• a plurality of cars traveling along the rails, each of the cars including a chassis having an upper side and a lower side, a passenger seat on the upper side of the chassis, and at least one pair of wheel portions oppositely disposed on the lower side of the chassis, each of the wheel portions engaging one of the rails;
• and
• means for coupling said cars;
• the track including a spinning section wherein the paired rails extend in a helix along an inner surface of an imaginary cylinder having a central axis, the diameter of the imaginary cylinder being set so that an axis of helical rotation of the car traveling in a spin along the rails passes through the car and is substantially in alignment with the central axis of the imaginary cylinder, said paired rails extending in a helix at the spinning section being spaced so that an intermediate axis extending halfway between the rails forms a helix centering around the central axis of the imaginary cylinder.

An amusement ride system comprising:

• a. a pair of rails forming a track, the rails separated from each other at a uniform distance, said rails having an axis extending half way between the rails;
• b. a plurality of ring shaped ribs arranged around a central axis, said ribs along said rails at predetermined intervals and surrounding said rails in such a manner as to support said rails, said ribs defining a spinning section of said track, said paired rails extending in a helix at the spinning section, the paired rails being spaced so that the axis extending half way between the rails forms a helix around the central axis;
• and
• c. at least one car traveling along the rails, the car including a chassis, a passenger seat on the chassis, a plurality of wheel portions operatively connected to the chassis, situated close to the feet of a passenger in the passenger seat, each of the wheel portions engaging one of the rails.