Amusement ride employing a suspended tensioned static cable

Abstract

A recreational ride employs a suspended tensioned static cable that allows the user to gravitationally ride, harnessed to a rolling trolley attached to the cable, from an upper platform to a lower platform. The trolley includes a brake assembly that is attached to a brake arm through a bolted connection, which greatly reduces the cost and complexity of the brake assembly and reduces the chances of operator error when mounting the trolley on the cable. The brake assembly includes two adjacent, separate, aligned brake pads fabricated of different materials, a forward pad being a non-metallic material and a rearward pad being a metallic material. A wheel assembly portion of the trolley includes a sheave plate, bolted to a brake arm, that is permitted to pivot about its point of attachment to the brake arm to thereby eliminate fatigue forces on the wheel assembly.

Description

REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT [0001] This application is related to and incorporates by reference the subject matter of U.S. Pat. No. 6,622,634 issued Sept. 23, 2003, to the present inventor.BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0002] This invention relates generally to suspended cable systems employed for a variety of purposes and, more particularly, to a recreational or amusement ride employing a suspended tensioned static cable system and a trolley or rolling device coupled thereto for gravitationally carrying a user along a span of the cable system between two cable support structures. [0003] Suspended cable ride systems of various types are known in the prior art. The ride system described in the above-referenced patent employs a trolley, carrying a rider, that is adapted to travel along a cable suspended between upper and lower support structures. The trolley described in this reference includes a brake assembly that can be moved between an unlocked position that permits the ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0004] It would therefore be advantageous to provide an improved trolley in accordance with the present invention, for use in suspended cable ride systems, and a terminal brake acceptor having a shroud member that is adjustable to accommodate parameters unique to each ride installation and having a stop for preventing damage to the nose of the trolley as it decelerates at the end of each ride. The trolley of the present invention includes a brake assembly that is attached to a brake arm through a bolted connection. This structural arrangement greatly reduces the cost and complexity of the brake assembly and also reduces the chances of operator error when mounting the trolley on the cable. The brake assembly includes two separate, aligned brake pads fabricated of different materials, a forward one of the pads being a non-metallic material and a rearward one being a metallic material to provide more reliable braking in high moisture environments. Thus, the operator is no longer required to rotate the single, bulky brake pad of the prior art trolley into its locked position at the beginning of each ride. A wheel assembly portion of the trolley of the present invention includes a sheave plate, bolted to a brake arm, that is permitted to pivot about its point of connection to the brake arm to thereby eliminate fatigue forces on the wheel assembly. A spring gate provided on the trolley of the present invention prevents separation of the trolley from the cable during a ride in the event of mechanical failure of the trolley itself BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Problems solved by technology

It employs a single brake pad fabricated of a homogenous material that exhibits reduced braking effectiveness in the high moisture mountainous environments in which such ride systems are typically located.

Furthermore, the trolley employed in this prior art ride system utilizes a cable wheel assembly that is fixed in position and is therefore susceptible to structural fatigue failure.

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