Composite tree

a composite tree and tree technology, applied in amusements, applications, manufacturing tools, etc., can solve the problems of limited throughput capacity, long queue line waits, and short duration of traditional downhill water rides

Inactive Publication Date: 2007-02-15
WATER RIDE CONCEPTS
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  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0051] In an embodiment, a method of lodging participants of a water amusement system includes coupling a water amusement ride to one or more trees and positioning one or more lodging units in at least one of the trees. The trees may be composite trees that include a base and living plants coupled to or positioned in the base. In some embodiments, the method may include coupling or positioning sets of branch portions having a first theme to the bases, allowing participants to use the water amusement system while the first sets of branch portions are coupled to or positioned in the bases, removing the first sets of branch portions from the bases, coupling or positioning second sets of branch portions having a second theme to the bases, and allowing participants to use the water amusement system while the second sets of branch portions are coupled to or positioned in the bases.

Problems solved by technology

Generally, traditional downhill water rides are of short duration (normally measured in seconds of ride time) and have limited throughput capacity.
The combination of these two factors quickly leads to a situation in which patrons of the parks typically have long queue line waits of up to two or three hours for a ride that, although exciting, lasts only a few seconds.
Additional problems like hot and sunny weather, wet patrons, and other difficulties may create a poor overall customer feeling of satisfaction or perceived entertainment value in the water park experience.
Additionally, typical downhill water park rides are not designed to transport guests between rides.
These forms of transportation are generally unsuitable for water parks because of high installation and operating costs and poor ambience within the parks.
These types of transportation are often unsuitable for water park guests who, because of the large amount of time spent in the water, are often wet and want to be more active because of the combination of high ambient temperatures in summertime parks and the normal heat loss due to water immersion and evaporative cooling.
Mechanical transportation systems do not fit in well with these types of rides.
For water rides that involve the use of a floatation device (e.g., an inner tube or floating board), the walk back to the start of a ride can be particularly arduous if the rider has to carry the floatation device from the exit of the ride back to the start of the ride.
Floatation devices may be transported from the exit to the entrance of the ride using mechanical transportation devices, but these devices are expensive to purchase and operate.
Using a mechanical transportation device for the floatation device or having the guest walk with the floatation device may reduce guest enjoyment, cause excess wear and tear on the floatation devices, contribute to guest injuries, and make it impossible for some guests to access the rides.
In addition, a park that includes many different non-integrated rides may require guests to use different floatation devices for different rides, which makes it difficult for the park operators to provide the guests with a general purpose floatation device.
Popular rides may be crowded, with guests waiting in queue lines for entry.
This may lead to guest dissatisfaction and general reduction of optimal guest dispersal throughout the park.
The lack of an efficient transportation system between rides accentuates this problem in water parks.
Water parks may close intermittently due to inclement weather.
Water parks may be closed due to uncomfortably low temperatures associated with winter.
Water parks may be closed due to inclement weather such as rain, thunderstorms, and / or any other type of weather conditions that might limit participant enjoyment and / or participant safety.
Reducing the number of days the water park is open may lower the profitability of the water park.
Water parks may encounter problems including issues with transporting people and potential participants to and from locally available temporary accommodations.
Providing temporary accommodations to guests, however leads to additional problems.
When a water park provides guest accommodations, greater amounts of land may be required to build the water park, thereby increasing costs of the water park.
Increasing distances from major metropolitan areas potentially increases time and / or money required of potential guests, consequently reducing potential numbers of guests as well as revenues.
A pump shutdown may have ramifications both for water handling and guest handling throughout the system and may require automated control systems to manage efficiently.

Method used

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Examples

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Embodiment Construction

[0084] It is to be understood the present invention is not limited to particular devices or systems, which may, of course, vary. It is also to be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only, and is not intended to be limiting. As used in this specification and the appended claims, the singular forms “a”, “an”, and “the” include singular and plural referents unless the content clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to “a linker” includes one or more linkers.

Definitions

[0085] Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art.

[0086] The terms “base” or “base element” as used herein generally refers to any element that provides a base for one or more other elements.

[0087] The term “branch” or “branch portion” as used herein generally refers to any extensions from a base, a main stem of a tree, or a lim...

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Abstract

A composite tree may include a base having an artificial trunk portion. Living plants may be coupled to the base. Portions of the living plants may form branches of the composite tree. In some embodiments, the living plants are living trees. The base may include one or more openings. A first portion of at least one of the living plants may be coupled in one of the openings such that a second portion of the living plant extends from the opening to form a branch of the composite tree. A first portion of the living plant may include at least a portion of the root system of the living plant. In some embodiments, a composite tree may include one or more systems forming and/or coupled to the composite tree. Systems may perform various functions (e.g., providing heat and/or nutrients to a living plant).

Description

PRIORITY CLAIM [0001] This patent application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60 / 673,326 entitled “WATER RIDE WITH SYNTHETIC TREE LODGING” filed on Apr. 20, 2005 and U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60 / 713,849 entitled “WATER RIDE WITH COMPOSITE TREE FOR ELEVATED STRUCTURE” filed Sep. 2, 2005, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference.BACKGROUND [0002] 1. Field of the Invention [0003] The present disclosure generally relates to water amusement attractions and rides. More particularly, the disclosure generally relates to a system and method for a water transportation system. Further, the disclosure generally relates to water-powered rides and to a system and method in which participants may be actively involved in a water attraction. Certain embodiments include one or more composite trees that may support one or more elevated structures. [0004] 2. Description of Related Art [0005] The 1980's witnessed a phenomenal growth...

Claims

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Application Information

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Patent Type & Authority Applications(United States)
IPC IPC(8): A47G33/12
CPCA01G9/022A01G23/043A63G21/18A41G1/007A63G3/00A01G27/005B25J5/00
Inventor HENRY, JEFFERY WAYNESCHOOLEY, JOHN TIMOTHY
Owner WATER RIDE CONCEPTS
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