Adaptive Lap Restraint Tensioning for Mixed-Size Ride Occupants
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing amusement park ride restraint systems are inflexible and cannot accommodate guests with varying physical conditions, such as height, weight, and size, leading to inconsistent and potentially uncomfortable restraints, especially when multiple riders with different characteristics share a multi-rider vehicle.
Innovation Solution
A dynamically adjustable restraint system featuring a lap bar assembly with a pronged structure and a tensioner restraint system, where a strap extends from a tensioner to conform around the rider, with sensors monitoring tension levels to adjust the strap's length and ensure a predefined range of force, accommodating various guest conditions and ride features.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a common restraint device is used for multiple riders with different physical conditions, then device complexity is reduced, but the comfort and safety for individual riders deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The restraint system employs a tensioner mechanism that dynamically adjusts the strap length based on the rider's body dimensions. The tensioner includes a spool assembly with a spring that automatically extends or retracts the strap to provide consistent tension across riders of different sizes, transforming a static restraint into a dynamic, adaptive system
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the physical parameter of strap length to accommodate different rider conditions. The tensioner mechanism varies the extended length of the strap based on the rider's lap position, ensuring that the restraint force remains within a predefined safe range regardless of whether the rider is a child or adult
2Reliability
If the restraint system is made rigid to ensure safety, then reliability improves, but the comfort for riders with different body types deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system incorporates sensors that continuously monitor the tension force applied to each rider. This feedback is sent to a controller that adjusts the tensioner mechanism to maintain force within a predefined safe range, ensuring both reliability and comfort through closed-loop control
Solution Approach 2:
The tensioner mechanism with spring assembly automatically self-adjusts the strap tension based on the rider's body position. The spring provides a biasing force that maintains consistent tension without requiring external intervention, making the system both reliable and adaptive
3Device complexity
If the strap length is fixed to simplify the mechanism, then device complexity is reduced, but the ability to accommodate different rider sizes deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The restraint system employs a tensioner mechanism that dynamically adjusts the strap length based on the rider's body dimensions. The tensioner includes a spool assembly with a spring that automatically extends or retracts the strap to provide consistent tension across riders of different sizes, transforming a static restraint into a dynamic, adaptive system
Solution Approach 2:
The strap system is divided into a fixed portion and an extendable portion managed by the tensioner. This segmentation allows the base mechanism to remain simple while the tensioner module provides the necessary length variability, separating the complexity into a dedicated adjustable component
Data Source
AI summary
A restraint system is used to provide a dynamically adjustable compliance for an occupant in a ride system. The restraint system includes a strap with adjustable extension length to wrap around the occupant. A tension on the strap is measured and used to adjust the length of the strap to provide different restraint levels. The restraint level is associated with the condition of the occupant (e.g., height, weight, age, shape, size), a property of the ride system (e.g., configuration of the ride vehicle), an operating parameter of the ride vehicle (e.g., velocity, acceleration, moving direction), a feature of the environment that the ride vehicle rides in, or any combination thereof.