Guided boat with external discrete yaw control

Number: 11986743
Published: 2024-05-21
Filed: 2020-10-29
Assignee: Disney Enterprises, Inc.
Inventors: Laffin; Kristopher M.
CPC: A63G3/00; A63G21/18
Verdict: Low Hardware
Source: Google Patents · FreePatentsOnline

The keeper's note

Ride boat guidance/yaw-control hardware (granted).

Abstract

A water ride system configured to provide passengers of boats new and exciting experiences via enhanced storytelling opportunities. The water ride system is designed to allow ride designers to provide 2-dimensional guiding of the boat traveling in a flume in a direction of travel (DOT) coinciding with the direction of water flowing in the flume. The water ride system uses a combination of a guideway (or track) within the flume and a new guide bogie. The guide bogie has a square body and four corner-mounted guide wheels, and the bogie is mounted on the bottom of the boat so as to ride within the guideway to provide guided boats with various headings. Specifically, the boats can be oriented in many different directions rather than having a single fixed orientation, such as with a front of the boat facing in the DOT, as was the case with traditional water rides.

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 in amusement parks, theme parks, and water parks, and, more particularly, to a water ride (or water ride system) adapted to provide two-dimensional (2D) guidance of a passenger boat within a flume as it travels under the forces of flowing water 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 boat or raft experience. While water rides are some of the most popular park rides, visitors to these parks are continuing to expect more variety and differing entertainment from these rides. (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 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 soaked with wa

Claims

1. 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 boat with a hull, wherein the boat travels with the flowing water in a direction of travel (DOT) coinciding with a direction of flow of the flowing water; only one guide bogie included on a lower surface of the hull of the boat, wherein a body of the guide bogie that pivotally supports a plurality of guide wheels is at least partially submerged in the flowing water; and a guideway provided on an upper surface of the bottom wall of the flume, the guideway including a pair of spaced-apart contact surfaces, wherein the guide wheels at least periodically contact and roll upon the contact surfaces of the guideway when the body of the guide bogie is received within the guideway while the boat travels along a ride path defined by the guideway in the DOT, and wherein the body has four sides with equal lengths to define a square cross sectional shape of the body. || 11. A water ride system, comprising: a flume for receiving and containing flowing water; within the flume, a boat with a body; only one guide bogie included on a lower surface of the body of the boat, wherein the guide bogie includes a body with a square cross sectional shape and guidewheels pivotally mounted on or near each corner of the body; and a guideway provided on an upper surface of the bottom wall of the flume, the guideway including a pair of spaced-apart contact surfaces, wherein the guide wheels at least periodically contact and roll upon the contact surfaces of the guideway when the body of the guide bogie is received within the guideway while the boat travels along a ride path defined by the guideway. || 21. 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 boat with a hull, wherein the boat travels with the flowing water in a direction of travel (DOT) coinciding with a direction of flow of the flowing water; only one guide bogie included on a lower surface of the hull of the boat, wherein a body of the guide bogie that pivotally supports a plurality of guide wheels is at least partially submerged in the flowing water; and a guideway provided on an upper surface of the bottom wall of the flume, the guideway including a pair of spaced-apart contact surfaces, wherein the guide wheels at least periodically contact and roll upon the contact surfaces of the guideway when the body of the guide bogie is received within the guideway while the boat travels along a ride path defined by the guideway in the DOT, and wherein the body of the guide bogie is rigidly coupled to the hull and is limited from rotation by the contact surfaces and an orientation of the hull is retained in the guideway, and wherein the flume includes a first section in which the orientation of the hull is a first one of forwards, backwards, left sideways, and right sideways and a second section in which the orientation of the hull is a second one of forwards, backwards, left sideways, and right sideways. || 28. 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 boat with a hull, wherein the boat travels with the flowing water in a direction of travel (DOT) coinciding with a direction of flow of the flowing water; a guide bogie included on a lower surface of the hull of the boat, wherein a body of the guide bogie that pivotally supports a plurality of guide wheels is at least partially submerged in the flowing water, and wherein the body has four sides with equal lengths to define a square cross sectional shape of the body; a guideway provided on an upper surface of the bottom wall of the flume, the guideway including a pair of spaced-apart contact surfaces and a secondary guideway, wherein the guide wheels at least periodically contact and roll upon the contact surfaces of the guideway when the body of the guide bogie is received within the guideway while the boat travels along a ride path defined by the guideway in the DOT; and a boat rotation assembly rotating the body of the guide bogie 90 degrees within the secondary guideway to change an orientation of the hull from a first orientation upstream of the secondary guideway to a second orientation downstream of the secondary guideway, wherein the boat rotation assembly includes a guide member spaced apart from one of the contact surfaces defining a wheel passageway between the guide member and the one of the contact surfaces, wherein the wheel passageway is sized to receive a leading one of the guide wheels of the guide bogie, and wherein the wheel passageway defines a travel path for the received leading one of the guide wheels with a bend causing the body of the bogie to rotate under a momentum of the boat and the flow of the moving water to travel in the DOT in the flume. || 29. 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 boat with a hull, wherein the boat travels with the flowing water in a direction of travel (DOT) coinciding with a direction of flow of the flowing water; a guide bogie included on a lower surface of the hull of the boat, wherein a body of the guide bogie that pivotally supports a plurality of guide wheels is at least partially submerged in the flowing water, and wherein the body has four sides with equal lengths to define a square cross sectional shape of the body; a guideway provided on an upper surface of the bottom wall of the flume, the guideway including a pair of spaced-apart contact surfaces and a secondary guideway, wherein the guide wheels at least periodically contact and roll upon the contact surfaces of the guideway when the body of the guide bogie is received within the guideway while the boat travels along a ride path defined by the guideway in the DOT; and a boat rotation assembly rotating the body of the guide bogie 90 degrees within the secondary guideway to change an orientation of the hull from a first orientation upstream of the secondary guideway to a second orientation downstream of the secondary guideway, wherein the boat rotation assembly includes an arm rotatable by an actuator from a first position to position a surface of the arm into the secondary guideway into a path of a leading one of the guide wheels, whereby the leading one of the guide wheels is halted or slowed causing the body of the guide bogie to rotate in the secondary guideway, to a second position to move the surface of the arm out of the path of the leading one of the guide wheels, whereby the leading one of the guide wheels is released to move in the DOT. || 30. A water ride system, comprising: a flume for receiving and containing flowing water; within the flume, a boat with a body; a guide bogie included on a lower surface of the body of the boat, wherein the guide bogie includes a body with a square cross sectional shape and guidewheels pivotally mounted on or near each corner of the body; a guideway provided on an upper surface of the bottom wall of the flume, the guideway including a pair of spaced-apart contact surfaces and a secondary guideway, wherein the guide wheels at least periodically contact and roll upon the contact surfaces of the guideway when the body of the guide bogie is received within the guideway while the boat travels along a ride path defined by the guideway; and a boat rotation assembly rotating the body of the guide bogie 90 degrees within the secondary guideway to change an orientation of the hull from a first orientation upstream of the secondary guideway to a second orientation downstream of the secondary guideway, wherein the boat rotation assembly includes a guide member spaced apart from one of the contact surfaces defining a wheel passageway between the guide member and the one of the contact surfaces, wherein the wheel passageway is sized to receive a leading one of the guide wheels of the guide bogie, and wherein the wheel passageway defines a travel path for the received leading one of the guide wheels with a bend causing the body of the bogie to rotate under a momentum of the boat to travel in the flume. || 31. A water ride system, comprising: a flume for receiving and containing flowing water; within the flume, a boat with a body; a guide bogie included on a lower surface of the body of the boat, wherein the guide bogie includes a body with a square cross sectional shape and guidewheels pivotally mounted on or near each corner of the body; a guideway provided on an upper surface of the bottom wall of the flume, the guideway including a pair of spaced-apart contact surfaces and a secondary guideway, wherein the guide wheels at least periodically contact and roll upon the contact surfaces of the guideway when the body of the guide bogie is received within the guideway while the boat travels along a ride path defined by the guideway; and a boat rotation assembly rotating the body of the guide bogie 90 degrees within the secondary guideway to change an orientation of the hull from a first orientation upstream of the secondary guideway to a second orientation downstream of the secondary guideway, wherein the boat rotation assembly includes an arm rotatable by an actuator from a first position to position a surface of the arm into the secondary guideway into a path of a leading one of the guide wheels, whereby the leading one of the guide wheels is halted or slowed causing the body of the guide bogie is rotated in the secondary guideway, to a second position to move the surface of the arm out of the path of the leading one of the guide wheels, whereby the leading one of the guide wheels is released. || 32. 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 boat with a hull, wherein the boat travels with the flowing water in a direction of travel (DOT) coinciding with a direction of flow of the flowing water, and wherein the flume includes a first section in which the orientation of the hull is a first one of forwards, backwards, left sideways, and right sideways, and a second section in which the orientation of the hull is a second one of forwards, backwards, left sideways, and right sideways; a guide bogie included on a lower surface of the hull of the boat, wherein a body of the guide bogie that pivotally supports a plurality of guide wheels is at least partially submerged in the flowing water; a guideway provided on an upper surface of the bottom wall of the flume, the guideway including a pair of spaced-apart contact surfaces and a secondary guideway, wherein the guide wheels at least periodically contact and roll upon the contact surfaces of the guideway when the body of the guide bogie is received within the guideway while the boat travels along a ride path defined by the guideway in the DOT, and wherein the body of the guide bogie is rigidly coupled to the hull and is limited from rotation by the contact surfaces and an orientation of the hull is retained in the guideway; a boat rotation assembly rotating the body of the guide bogie 90 degrees within the secondary guideway to change the orientation of the hull from a first orientation upstream of the secondary guideway to a second orientation downstream of the secondary guideway, wherein the boat rotation assembly includes a guide member spaced apart from one of the contact surfaces defining a wheel passageway between the guide member and the one of the contact surfaces, wherein the wheel passageway is sized to receive a leading one of the guide wheels of the guide bogie, and wherein the wheel passageway defines a travel path for the received leading one of the guide wheels with a bend causing the body of the bogie to rotate under a momentum of the boat to travel in the DOT in the flume. || 33. 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 boat with a hull, wherein the boat travels with the flowing water in a direction of travel (DOT) coinciding with a direction of flow of the flowing water, and wherein the flume includes a first section in which the orientation of the hull is a first one of forwards, backwards, left sideways, and right sideways, and a second section in which the orientation of the hull is a second one of forwards, backwards, left sideways, and right sideways; a guide bogie included on a lower surface of the hull of the boat, wherein a body of the guide bogie that pivotally supports a plurality of guide wheels is at least partially submerged in the flowing water; a guideway provided on an upper surface of the bottom wall of the flume, the guideway including a pair of spaced-apart contact surfaces and a secondary guideway, wherein the guide wheels at least periodically contact and roll upon the contact surfaces of the guideway when the body of the guide bogie is received within the guideway while the boat travels along a ride path defined by the guideway in the DOT, and wherein the body of the guide bogie is rigidly coupled to the hull and is limited from rotation by the contact surfaces and an orientation of the hull is retained in the guideway; a boat rotation assembly rotating the body of the guide bogie 90 degrees within the secondary guideway to change the orientation of the hull from a first orientation upstream of the secondary guideway to a second orientation downstream of the secondary guideway, wherein the boat rotation assembly includes an arm rotatable by an actuator from a first position to position a surface of the arm into the secondary guideway into a path of a leading one of the guide wheels, whereby the leading one of the guide wheels is halted or slowed causing the body of the guide bogie is rotated in the secondary guideway, to a second position to move the surface of the arm out of the path of the leading one of the guide wheels, whereby the leading one of the guide wheels is released to move in the DOT.