Net and Deformable Material for Safe Guest Free Fall
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current attractions and entertainment facilities lack a safe and repeatable 'free fall' experience for guests, which is essential for providing an immersive and thrilling experience while ensuring guest safety.
Innovation Solution
A safe falling ride apparatus comprising a facility assembly with a trap door, a net assembly, linear motion mechanisms, rails, a control assembly, and a deformable material, allowing guests to experience a controlled free fall and absorption of falling energy, maintaining the thrill while ensuring safety through a controlled descent and energy dissipation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a free fall experience is provided using conventional methods, then the thrill and immersion are improved, but guest safety and repeatability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
A net assembly is introduced as an intermediary between the guest and the ground during the free fall experience. The net catches the guest after the trap door opens, allowing the guest to experience authentic free fall while the net provides safety. The net is then repositioned by linear actuators for the next guest, making the experience repeatable without compromising safety.
Solution Approach 2:
The deformable material positioned below the net provides beforehand cushioning for the guest. When the net descends with the guest, the deformable material absorbs the impact energy, ensuring guest safety while maintaining the authenticity of the free fall experience.
2Reliability
If a controlled descent mechanism is added to ensure safety, then guest safety is improved, but the authenticity of the free fall experience deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The net assembly is designed to be dynamic, transitioning from a stationary position to being propelled downward by linear actuators after catching the guest. This dynamic movement allows the net to follow the guest's descent naturally, maintaining the authenticity of the free fall experience while providing controlled safety through the actuator-driven repositioning and deformable material cushioning.
3Reliability
If deformable material is used to absorb impact energy, then guest safety is improved, but the complexity of the apparatus deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The deformable material changes its physical parameters (density, rigidity) during the impact event to absorb energy effectively. This parameter change allows the material to provide safety without requiring complex mechanical structures, as the material's inherent properties handle the energy absorption during guest descent.
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 apparatus provides an authentic and repeatable 'free fall' experience, accommodating multiple guests with enhanced safety features, immersive sensory experiences, and customizable audio and visual effects, creating an engaging and immersive environment.
Implementation Method 1
The guest and net keep descending into the deformable material, and with the deformable material absorbing falling energy, their energy is dissipated and their speed decreased
Implementation Method 2
one or more linear motion mechanisms such as linear actuators connected to the net frame
Implementation Method 3
The trap door is opened and the guest free falls a distance until reaching the net
Data Source
AI summary
A safe falling ride apparatus may include a rigid floor with a trap door, a net in a net frame, one or more linear actuators connected to the net frame, one or more rails on which the net frame travels up or down as driven by the actuators, a control assembly, and a deformable material. At the start of a ride event, a guest is positioned on the trap door. The trap door is opened and the guest free falls until reaching the net, which catches the guest and begins a controlled descent as determined by the actuators, until the guest and the net reach the deformable material. The guest and net keep descending into the deformable material as their energy is dissipated and their speed decreased, until the guest reaches the ride end floor. The control assembly detects when the guest has left the ride, and repositions the equipment to the start position for the next guest.