- Number
- 9744930
- Published
- 2017-08-29
- Filed
- 2015-08-13
- Assignee
- Disney Enterprises, Inc.
- Inventors
- Howard; Derek Lee
- CPC
- B60R21/02
- Verdict
- High Hardware
- Source
- Google Patents · FreePatentsOnline
The keeper's note
An amusement park ride vehicle with a passenger restraint system providing lateral leg containment for rider safety.
Abstract
A vehicle for use in an amusement park ride with upright passenger seating. The vehicle includes a vehicle body and a seat assembly includinga seat pan provided in the vehicle body between a front end and a rear end of the vehiclebody. The vehicle further includes a passenger restraint system with: (a) a lap bar assembly; (b) a lap bar mount pivotally supporting the lap bar assembly within the vehicle bodyto pivot about a lap bar rotation axis passing between the seat pan and the front end of the vehicle body; (c) a side leg shield; and (d) a shield articulating assembly concurrently pivoting the side leg shield about a shield rotation axis from an open to a closed position with a pivoting of the lap bar assembly about the lap bar rotation axis from a disengage to an engaged position.
Background
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS(1) FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a ride vehicle for use in an amusement park ride (e.g., a train type ride with interconnected or linked sets of such vehicles) with a passenger restraint system of the present description;(2) FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of a ride vehicle with a passenger restraint system of the present description, with the lap bar assembly shown in theengaged or down (or locked) position;(3) FIG. 3 is a side view of the ride vehicle of FIG. 2 with the lap bar assembly shown in the disengaged or up (or unlocked) position;(4) FIG. 4 is a side view of the ride vehicle of FIGS. 2 and 3 with the lap bar assembly shown inthe engaged or down (or locked) position;(5) FIG. 5 is a front view of the ride vehicle of FIGS. 2-4 with the lap bar assembly shown in the engaged or down (or locked) position;(6) FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the ride vehicle of FIGS. 2-5 similar to that of FIG. 2 but with a ride passenger seated in the vehicle seat and with his movement constrained by the engaged passenger restraint system including the lowered lap bar assembly with its front and side leg shields;(7) FIG. 7 illustrates a side view of a tandem ride vehicle with an embodiment of a passenger restraint system as described herein and including a lap bar assembly shown to be in the engaged or down (or locked) position;(8) FIG. 8 is a plan (or top) view of the ride vehicle of FIG. 7 showing a rotation axle or shaft used to pivotall
Claims
1. A vehicle for use in an amusement park ride withupright passenger seating, comprising: a vehicle body; a seat pan provided in the vehiclebody between a front end and a rear end of the vehicle body; a lap bar assembly; a lap bar mount pivotally supporting the lap bar assembly within the vehicle body wherein the lap bar pivots about a lap bar rotation axis passing between the seat pan and the front end ofthe vehicle body; a side leg shield; and a shield articulating assembly concurrently pivoting the side leg shield about a shield rotation axis from an open to a closed position with a pivoting of the lap bar assembly about the lap bar rotation axis from a disengaged toan engaged position, wherein the lap bar assembly includes a cross bar and a lap bar arm extending from a first end that is coupled to the cross bar to a second end, opposite the first end, that is coupled to the lap bar mount, wherein the side leg shield extends outward from and is pivotally supported by the lap bar arm, and wherein the shield rotation axis extends through the lap bar arm and is transverse to the cross bar.
8. A vehicle for usein an amusement park ride with upright passenger seating, comprising: a vehicle body; a seat pan provided in the vehicle body between a front end and a rear end of the vehicle body; a lap bar assembly; a lap bar mount pivotally supporting the lap bar assembly within the vehicle body, wherein the lap bar pivots about a lap bar rotation axis passing between the seat pan and the front end of the vehicle body; a side leg shield; and a shield articulating assembly concurrently pivoting the side leg shield about a shield rotation axis froman open to a closed position with a pivoting of the lap bar assembly about the lap bar rotation axis from a disengaged to an engaged position, wherein the lap bar rotation axis isin a first plane and wherein the shield rotation axis is in a second plane that is orthogonal to the first plane.
9. A vehicle for use in an amusement park ride with upright, straddle-type passenger seating, comprising: a vehicle body; a seat pan mounted on the vehiclebody between a front end and a rear end of the vehicle body; a lap bar assembly; a lap bar mount pivotally supporting the lap bar assembly within the vehicle body to pivot about alap bar rotation axis passing through the vehicle body; a side leg shield; a shield articulating assembly concurrently pivoting the side leg shield about a shield rotation axis from a first position to a second position with a pivoting of the lap bar assembly about thelap bar rotation axis from a first position to a second position; and a support element rigidly coupled to the side leg shield and pivotally supported by the lap bar assembly to rotate about the lap bar rotation axis with the pivoting of the lap bar assembly, wherein the shield rotation axis extends through support element, and wherein the shield rotation axis is transverse to a plane containing the lap bar rotation axis.
14. A vehicle for use in an amusement park ride with upright passenger seating, comprising: a vehicle body; a seat assembly including a seat pan provided in the vehicle body between a front end and a rear end of the vehicle body, wherein the vehicle body comprises a center pedestal portion extending a longitudinal axis of the vehicle body, wherein a passenger seated on the seat pan straddles the center pedestal portion with a left leg on a left side of the center pedestal portion and a right leg on a right side of the center pedestal portion, and wherein the vehicle body is floorless such that feet of the seated passenger are not supported by a floor in the vehicle body; and a passenger restraint system comprising: a lap bar comprising a cross bar and an arm extending out from an end of the cross bar, a leg shield pivotally coupled with and pivotally supported by the arm of the lap bar, and a shield articulating assembly mechanically joining the lap bar and the leg shield, wherein the leg shield isarticulated from a closed position to an open position by movement of the lap bar from a first position to a second position, wherein the leg shield includes a body and an elongated support member rigidly coupled with the body and supported for pivoting within the arm or rotating upon an external surface of the arm and wherein the leg shield is articulated by pivoting about a rotation axis coinciding with a longitudinal axis of the elongated support member.