Motion simulator theater with suspended seating

#The field of the invention is motion simulation and related theme park, entertainment and educational theaters and presentations. Various motion simulators and motion simulator theaters have been known and used in the past. Many of these are have elements similar to early flight simulators with one or a few participants seated on a motion base and facing a flat screen displaying simulated landscapes or airspace. More recently, motion simulation theaters have been developed with the capacity to hold much larger numbers of participants. Curved screens have also been used in these motion simulation theaters, along with special effects such as moving air and scents, so that the participants perceive a more realistic experience. Still, engineering and creative challenges remain in the design and operation of motion simulation theaters. Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide an improved motion simulation theater.

#A novel motion simulation theater has now been invented which provides for new and different movements, seat positioning, viewing angles, and other advantages. In a first aspect, this new theater may include a lifting apparatus that moves the theater seating via lifting lines. The lifting apparatus can be adapted to move the seating vertically from a boarding position to a viewing position. The lifting lines may be flexible, for example, cables or chains attached to a winch in the lifting apparatus, positioned at a vertical level above the screen. The theater may be designed so that the screen is not viewable from the seats when the seating is in the boarding position. The boarding position may be vertically above or below the viewing position. The screen may be flat, or curved in two or three dimensions. The lifting apparatus may move the seating from the boarding position to the viewing position through a cutout in the screen

#In another aspect, the seats may be attached to a rigid seating frame, with the lifting lines lifting and lowering the seating frame to position the seats as desired in the theater. The seats can be suspended on a seat link pivotally attached to the seating frame. The seating frame may be horizontal when in the boarding position, and then moved into an inclined position in the viewing position, via control of the lifting apparatus.

#In the drawings, the same reference number indicates the same element in each of the views.

#FIG. 1 is a side view of a new motion simulation theater, with the seats in a viewing position.

#FIG. 2 is a side view of the theater shown in FIG. 1, with the seats in a boarding position.

#The terms above and below refer to a vertical elevation or position, relative to gravity. These terms do not refer to horizontal positions, e.g., a first element may be above or below a second element while the first and second elements are entirely laterally or horizontally spaced apart from each other.

#The term line refers to flexible tensile element, such as a cable, or to a winchable element, such as a chain. The term horizontal means perpendicular to the direction of gravity. The term attached means attached directly or indirectly through an intermediate element. The terms participant and viewer mean the person or persons perceiving one or more sensations provided by the theater. The terms program, presentation and media mean prerecorded or stored images displayed in a way perceptible to a viewer, including front or rear projected images, as well as images formed via any type of display (LED, OLED, plasma, hologram, etc.), with or without accompanying sound, scent, physical and/or tactile effects. The term screen also includes these types of displays. The terms half or hemi mean one half, or less than half, of a surface curving in three dimensions.

#Turning now in detail to the drawings, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a motion simulation theater 20 is provided in a building or structure 22 having a screen 54 within a screen room or space 38. A lifting system 26 is supported on or by a ceiling structure 24 of the building 2. As shown in FIG. 1, the lifting system 26 may include one or more electric motors 28, gear drives 30 and winch rollers 32. A seating frame 80 is suspended on lines 34 attached to the lifting system, to allow the seating frame 80 to be moved vertically within the theater 20. Seats 88 are attached to or suspended from the frame 80. The seats 88 may be provided in rows 82. The seats 88 may be attached to the frame 80 at a pivot joint 86 via a rigid seat link or armature 84.