- Number
- 11202964
- Published
- 2021-12-21
- Filed
- 2020-10-19
- Assignee
- Disney Enterprises, Inc.
- Inventors
- Laffin; Kristopher M.
- CPC
- A63G21/18; A63G21/12; A63G21/04; A63G21/08; A63G3/02
- Verdict
- Low Hardware
- Source
- Google Patents · FreePatentsOnline
The keeper's note
Ride hardware: heading-controlled water-ride rafts.
Abstract
A water ride system with a flume that includes one or more sections in which a raft is unguided (except with flume sidewalls) to provide a dynamic experience with side-to-side movement and rotation. Further, the flume is configured to include one or more controlled or guided sections in which a raft is funneled or directed into a keyed guided portion of the ride path and then later released into one of uncontrolled or unguided sections of the flume. A raft includes a keyed guide assembly, mounted upon a lower surface of the raft body, that includes a pair of spaced apart guide members. In a guiding subsection of the flume, the bottom wall or lower surface of the flume includes a raised portion that includes a guideway or groove for receiving the guide assembly, whereby the raft has it directional and rotational movements guided in the flume.
Background
BACKGROUND 1. Field of the Description (1) The present description relates, in general, to passenger boats such as round rafts and their use in water-based rides (e.g. “raft rides”) in amusement parks, theme parks, and water parks, and, more particularly, to a water ride (or water ride system) adapted to provide sections in which passenger rafts are free to move and rotate within a flume and sections in which the passenger rafts are externally orientable and/or guided to control the raft's heading as they travel along a ride path in a direction of travel (“DOT”). 2. Relevant Background (2) In amusement parks, water parks, resorts, and many other settings, entertainment is provided that involves passengers riding on boats in still and moving water. For example, resorts may provide passenger boats in the form of rafts, kayaks, and paddleboats to their guests to allow them to play in the water. In amusement parks, many rides have been designed and implemented that provide a river rafting experience that may simulate whitewater rafting. (3) In most raft-based rides, passengers enter a non-motorized boat, such as a round raft, in a station. Upon release from the station, water flowing, often but not exclusively under the force of gravity, in a man-made channel or flume moves the passenger boats down the channel and may even cause the boat to flow over rapids and down steep chutes. Excitement and thrill are added to these water rides by introducing the risk that passengers may get
Claims
1. A water ride system, comprising: a flume for receiving and containing flowing water, wherein the flume includes first and second sidewalls spaced apart defining a width of the flume and further includes a bottom wall extending between lower edges of the first and second sidewalls; within the flume, a non-motorized raft with a body with seats for one or more passengers and with a resilient and buoyant bumper extending about a periphery of the body, wherein the raft is propelled by the flowing water in a direction of travel (DOT) coinciding with a direction of flow of the flowing water; and a guide assembly mounted on a lower surface of the body of the raft, wherein the guide assembly is at least partially submerged in the flowing water, wherein the flume includes a first section in which the guide assembly floats above an upper surface of the bottom wall as the raft travels in the DOT with the flowing water such that the guide assembly is free of contact with the flume in the first section, the raft, in the first section, being free to rotate about a central axis and to move side-to-side until the bumper contacts inward surfaces of the first and second sidewalls of the flume, and wherein the flume includes a second section including a groove in a raised portion of the upper surface of the bottom wall or including track guide rails on or toward the bottom wall, the guide assembly being at least partially received within the groove or track guide rails as the raft travels in the DOT with the flowing water in the second section, whereby the raft has side-to-side movement in the flume that is restricted by the groove sidewalls to define a ride path for the raft in the second section defined by the groove or track guide rails. ||
11. A water ride system, comprising: a flume containing flowing water; within the flume, a raft traveling in a direction of travel (DOT) coinciding with a direction of movement of the flowing water in the flume, wherein the raft is non-motorized and is propelled in the flume by the flowing water; and a guide assembly mounted on a lower surface of the raft, wherein the flume includes a first section in which the raft responds to external forces from the flowing water to rotate about a central axis and to have side-to-side movements restrained by contact between portions of the raft, spaced apart from the lower surface and the guide assembly, and sidewalls of the flume, and wherein the flume includes a second section including a slot for receiving at least a portion of the guide assembly when the raft travels in the DOT with the flowing water in the second section, whereby the raft has the side-to-side movements in the flume that are restricted by a configuration of the slot in the second section of the flume and wherein the slot does not extend into the first section of the flume whereby the raft is unguided by the guide assembly in the first section of the flume. ||
18. A water ride system, comprising: a flume for receiving and containing flowing water, wherein the flume includes first and second sidewalls and a bottom wall extending between lower edges of the first and second sidewalls; within the flume, a raft with a body and with a bumper extending about a periphery of the body, wherein the raft is non-motorized and travels in the flume with the flowing water; first and second support members extending outward from the lower surface of the raft wherein the second support member is spaced apart a distance from the first support member; first and second contact members pivotally supported, respectively, upon an end of the first and second support members, wherein the flume includes a first section in which the guide assembly floats above an upper surface of the bottom wall as the raft travels with the flowing water, the raft, in the first section, being free to move side-to-side until the bumper contacts inward surfaces of the first and second sidewalls of the flume while the guide assembly remains spaced apart from the flume in the first section, and wherein the flume includes a second section including a groove in the upper surface of the bottom wall, the first and second contact members being received within the groove as the raft travels with the flowing water in the second section, whereby the raft has side-to-side movement and rotation that is restricted in the second section.