Inflatable Bladder False Floor for Amusement Ride Special Effects
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing amusement ride technologies fail to effectively maintain the illusion of a solid surface when dynamic scenery or special effects are used, as mechanical components are often visible to riders due to the visibility of slot tracks or action doors, disrupting the realism of the experience.
Innovation Solution
A false floor, wall, or ceiling system utilizing inflatable deformable air bladders that cover the space containing mechanical components, allowing a support to move through a seam while deforming around it, thereby hiding the mechanical components and maintaining the illusion of a solid surface.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If fixed slot tracks are used to support scenery movement, then mechanical components can be hidden below the stage, but the slot tracks remain visible and break the illusion of self-powered movement
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the dynamics principle by replacing fixed, rigid slot tracks with flexible air bladders that can dynamically deform and conform to the support post movement. The air bladders inflate and deflate to accommodate the moving scenery while maintaining a seamless surface appearance, transforming the static mechanical structure into a dynamic, adaptive system that preserves the illusion.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses flexible air bladders as thin film structures that can bend and deform to cover the support post and mechanical components. These flexible membranes create a continuous surface that moves with the scenery while hiding the underlying mechanical structure, directly addressing the visibility problem of traditional rigid tracks.
2Reliability
If action doors are used to reveal dynamic scenery, then mechanical components can be concealed, but the opening doors break the illusion that the hiding space does not exist
Solution Approach 1:
The air bladders provide a dynamic solution that eliminates the need for action doors entirely. The flexible surface continuously adapts to the moving scenery, maintaining the illusion of a solid floor without requiring periodic openings or transitions between hidden and revealed states.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts and removes the action door mechanism from the system entirely. By using flexible air bladders that can continuously accommodate movement, the need for separate opening/closing mechanisms is eliminated, simplifying the overall system while maintaining the illusion.
3Reliability
If a solid floor is used to hide mechanical components, then the illusion is maintained, but scenery elements cannot move through the floor
Solution Approach 1:
The air bladders create a dynamic surface that can locally deform to allow scenery movement while maintaining overall structural integrity and visual appearance. The flexible membrane system adapts its shape to accommodate the moving support post while preserving the illusion of a solid floor from the riders' perspective.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by allowing specific regions of the air bladder surface to deform and become more flexible where the support post passes through, while the rest of the surface maintains its rigid, solid appearance. This localized adaptability enables movement functionality without compromising the overall illusion.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system effectively conceals mechanical components from riders, enhancing the realism and overall experience by creating a seamless and solid surface appearance even during movement of scenery elements, using deformable air bladders that can be camouflaged with scenery designs.
Implementation Method 1
two or more inflatable deformable air bladders extending over a hole for hiding mechanical components
Implementation Method 2
The bladders have edges which meet each other thereby defining a seam. The inflatable bladders are shaped to provide the illusion of a solid surface... permitting a support for a scenery element or effect to extend through the seam and to move along the seam, deforming the edges of the bladders around the support
Data Source
AI summary
A pair of opposed inflatable bladders form a false floor, ceiling or wall having a seam through which an object support is propelled, deforming the inflatable bladders around the support, thereby giving the appearance that an object mounted on the support above the bladders is self-propelled above the false floor, ceiling or wall.