Flying Corner Ride Vehicle Track Capture Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing flying corner amusement park rides face challenges due to expensive and difficult fabrication of large, deep tracks, safety concerns like tipping and pinch points, which limit their adoption in most parks.
Innovation Solution
A track and vehicle assembly with a shallower arcuate channel and a vehicle body featuring a guide slot and arms that capture the track, allowing transverse movement while preventing tipping and eliminating pinch points through upstop contact surfaces.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a deep channel track is used to prevent vehicle escape, then safety is improved, but fabrication cost and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of preventing vehicle escape through deep channel walls, the patent inverts the approach by having the vehicle body actively capture the track through guide slots and arms. The track is held within the vehicle structure rather than the vehicle being contained within deep track walls, achieving safety while allowing shallower, easier-to-fabricate tracks
Solution Approach 2:
The vehicle body is divided into functional segments including guide slots, arms with upstop contact surfaces, and sidewalls that collectively capture the track. This segmentation allows each component to perform a specific safety function while simplifying overall fabrication compared to a single deep channel structure
2Reliability
If a large vehicle size is used to minimize pinch points, then safety is improved, but ride intimacy and thrill are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
Rather than uniformly increasing vehicle size, the patent applies safety features locally at critical points where pinch points occur. Guide slots and arms are positioned specifically at locations where the vehicle contacts the track, providing targeted protection without adding unnecessary vehicle bulk that would reduce ride intimacy
3Reliability
If physical restraints are added to prevent tipping, then safety is improved, but the flying corner experience is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces arms with upstop contact surfaces as intermediary elements between the vehicle and track. These arms act as controlled restraints that prevent tipping by contacting the underside of the track when the vehicle lifts off, while still allowing the desired transverse movement and banking experience through their strategic positioning and controlled engagement
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle for use in an amusement park ride to provide a flying corners effect. The vehicle includes a body and a guide slot or groove on the body. The guide slot is shaped for receiving and at least partially capturing or enclosing the track. The guide slot is defined in part by opposing first and second sidewalls that extend along a portion of the body. The guide slot is larger in width than the track such that the vehicle is able to move transversely or side-to-side a predefined distance such as in banked curves. Guides are provided on the sidewalls of the slot. The guides may be spaced apart from the edges when the vehicle is centered on the track and provide guidance after an amount of unrestrained lateral or transverse travel. Arms extend outward from the body to capture the track and prevent the vehicle from tipping.