US 9,849,890 B2Granted

Multidirectional transport system

AssigneeMain Attractions, LLC

InventorGordon Thomas Quattlebaum

Life of this patent

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Abstract

A transport system includes a main cable, a track assembly, and a conveyance assembly, wherein the track assembly is suspended from the main cable to allow unimpeded translational movement of the conveyance assembly along the track assembly. In another aspect according to the present invention, the track assembly has a track changing assembly that includes a track changing section rotatably coupled to a primary track section for selective alignment of the track changing section to any one of a plurality of exit track sections. A method of conveyance along a suspended track includes suspending a main cable between natural or artificial support structures, suspending a track assembly from the main cable, and mounting a conveyance assembly on the suspended track assembly to provide unimpeded translational movement of the conveyance assembly along the track assembly.

Claims16

Dependent claims

A conveyance assembly for movement along a rail in a longitudinal direction, comprising:

a frame including:
at least one undercarriage support partially surrounding a bottom surface of the rail;
a first side wheel mounting plate supported by the frame above a center of the rail, the first side wheel mounting plate rotatably mounting at least one first side wheel on an inner surface of the first side wheel mounting plate;
and
a second side wheel mounting plate supported by the frame above the center of the rail at an angle to the first side wheel mounting plate, the second side wheel mounting plate rotatably mounting at least one second side wheel on an inner surface of the second side wheel mounting plate, wherein the at least one first side wheel and the at least one second side wheel contact a top surface of the rail and provide a clearance between the frame and the rail;
and
a bracket rotatably mounted to the frame on an axis perpendicular to the longitudinal direction.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 15/217,427Filed 22 Jul 2016 · continuation
Priority: 19 Mar 2010
Published: US 2016/0325760 A110 Nov 2016
Granted: 26 Dec 2017
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification12 codes

B61B 3/00
Elevated railway systems with suspended vehicles
A63G 21/20
Chutes; Helter-skelters: slideways with movably suspended cars, or with cars moving on ropes, or the like
B61B 3/02
Elevated railway systems with suspended vehicles: with self-propelled vehicles
B61B 7/06
Rope railway systems with suspended flexible tracks: with self-propelled vehicles

Family

Application61/315,619Us provisional application · filed 19 Mar 2010
PCT/US2011/029177Parent of this continuation · filed 21 Mar 2011
Application14/303,503Parent of this continuation · filed 12 Jun 2014
US 8,863,668 B2Parent of this continuation · filed 21 Oct 2014
Application14/830,487Parent of this continuation · filed 19 Aug 2015
US 9,139,206 B2Parent of this continuation · filed 22 Sep 2015
US 2016/0325760 A1Pre-grant publication · published 10 Nov 2016
US 9,441,329 B2Parent of this continuation
Application13/580,569Parent of this continuation
US 2013/0042784 A1Published application
US 2014/0290524 A1Published application
US 2015/0354146 A1Published application
US 9,849,890 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.