AUTONOMOUS REACH ENVELOPE INSPECTION SYSTEM FOR AMUSEMENT PARK RIDES

Number: 20240230905
Published: 2024-07-11
Filed: 2023-01-10
Assignee: Disney Enterprises, Inc.
Inventors: Siemer; Francis Michael et al.
CPC: B64C39/024; B64U20/80; G01S17/86; G01S17/88; G05D1/0202; G05D1/0219; G05D1/6484
Verdict: High Hardware
Source: Google Patents · FreePatentsOnline

The keeper's note

Autonomous drone/robot ride-inspection hardware.

Abstract

A system for autonomously inspecting intrusions into a reach envelope of a vehicle traveling along a ride path of a park ride. The system includes a test vehicle that travels along the ride path at test speeds. The system includes a reach envelope inspection assembly including a housing supported by the test vehicle. The reach envelope inspection assembly includes a distance measurement assembly in the housing operable to measure distances between the distance measurement assembly and surfaces of the physical environment. The inspection assembly includes a processor executing code to provide an examination program that compares the plurality of distances to one or more predefined reach envelopes to determine whether an intrusion into any of the one or more predefined reach envelopes exists along the ride path. The test vehicle is a ride vehicle for the park ride or an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) operated to follow the ride path.

Background

BACKGROUND 1. Field of the Description

The present description relates, in general, to methods and systems for use performing safety inspections, and, more particularly, to methods and systems for use in confirming, in amusement park rides and other environments where safety envelopes are of concern, that one or more predefined reach envelopes are present such as about a ride vehicle as it moves along a ride path (e.g., moves along a length of track or along a defined path for a trackless attraction). 2. Relevant Background

With any amusement park ride, safety is one of the most important design parameters. Particularly, amusement park rides that involve a passenger vehicle rolling along a track, or along a ride path for a trackless attraction such as a water ride or a dark ride, are designed to maintain a safety envelope about the vehicle along the entire length of the track. For example, safety standards set by a park operator or industry groups may define a reach envelope for rides that define the amount of space that is free of obstacles (e.g., set or theme elements) about the vehicle. This space or volume is often labeled a “reach envelope” (or passenger reach clearance envelope) and may be thought of as defining a distance from a typical passenger position that should be free of any object that may be contacted or “reached” by a passenger as the vehicle carrying the passenger passes along the ride path. Further, the reach or safety envelope may be defined

Claims

1. A system for autonomously inspecting intrusions of a physical environment into a reach envelope of a vehicle traveling along a ride path of a park ride, comprising: a test vehicle configured to travel along the ride path at one or more test speeds; and a reach envelope inspection assembly including a housing supported by the test vehicle, wherein the reach envelope inspection assembly further comprises a distance measurement assembly in the housing operable to measure a plurality of distances between the distance measurement assembly and surfaces of the physical environment when the test vehicle is moved along the ride path at the one or more test speeds, wherein the reach envelope inspection assembly also comprises a processor executing code to provide an examination program that compares the plurality of distances to one or more predefined reach envelopes to determine whether an intrusion into any of the one or more predefined reach envelopes exists along the ride path, and wherein the test vehicle comprises a ride vehicle for the park ride or an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) operated to follow the ride path. || 13. A system for autonomously inspecting intrusions of a physical environment into a reach envelope of a vehicle traveling along a path, comprising: a housing mounted onto a chassis of the vehicle; a distance measurement assembly positioned in the housing operable with a distance sensor operable to measure a plurality of distances between the distance sensor and surfaces of the physical environment when the vehicle is moved along the path; a processor executing code to provide an examination program that compares the plurality of distances to one or more predefined reach envelopes to determine whether an intrusion into any of the one or more predefined reach envelopes exists along the path, wherein the examination program is configured to provide inspection results indicating whether the one or more predefined reach envelopes are free of any intrusions based on the comparing of the plurality of distances to the one or more predefined reach envelopes. || 18. A method for inspecting physical intrusions into reach envelopes, comprising: moving a ride vehicle, supporting a reach envelope inspection assembly, along a length of a ride path of a ride at speeds associated with passenger-based operations of the ride; during the moving of the ride vehicle, operating a distance measurement assembly of the reach envelope assembly to perform a scan to determine distances to objects adjacent the ride vehicle; and at a plurality of locations along the length of the ride path, comparing the determined distances of the objects with a reach envelope definition associated with each of the plurality of locations to determine whether any of the objects have an intruding portion within an envelope defined by the reach envelope definition.