Amusement Slide Tunnel Lighting Using UV Reactive Elements
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Solution Overview
Problem
Many amusement slides have dark or totally dark covered portions that can cause anxiety in users, leading to muscle strains and sprains as they tense up while navigating through these sections.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating a lighting effect that uses invisible light, such as ultraviolet or infrared, which is converted to visible light by reactive elements within the tunnel, providing users with visual cues about upcoming changes in the slide's direction without them being aware of the invisible light's presence, and utilizing solar panels or batteries for power to reduce electrical infrastructure needs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If the slide is covered to create a dark environment, then the thrill is enhanced, but user anxiety increases leading to injuries
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by creating different lighting conditions in different zones of the tunnel. Reactive elements are strategically placed only in specific locations (such as before direction changes) rather than uniformly throughout, providing illumination exactly where needed for safety while preserving darkness in other areas to maintain thrill.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses reactive elements as intermediaries that convert invisible ultraviolet light into visible light only where needed. These reactive elements act as mediators between the UV lighting system and the user, providing visual information about upcoming conditions without requiring continuous visible illumination throughout the entire tunnel.
2Illumination intensity
If conventional electrical lighting is used in the tunnel, then visibility is improved, but the thrill and anxiety enhancement is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs ultraviolet light (invisible to humans) combined with reactive elements that emit visible light only when activated. This creates a form of color/light change where the tunnel appears dark to users but contains invisible UV illumination that triggers visible responses from reactive elements at critical points, providing visibility information without the psychological impact of continuous visible lighting.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces conventional visible electrical lighting with an ultraviolet-based system using reactive elements. This substitution eliminates the need for traditional lighting infrastructure within the tunnel while achieving the same informational function through a different physical mechanism that does not compromise the user experience.
3Use of energy by moving object
If electrical lines are installed within the tunnel for lighting, then power supply is ensured, but installation complexity and water insulation requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the electrical lighting components from the tunnel interior and relocates them to the exterior. UV lights are mounted outside the tunnel with reactive elements applied to the interior surface, allowing electrical connections to be made externally where water protection is simpler and installation is more accessible, while still achieving internal illumination effects.
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 solution reduces user anxiety by providing visible warnings of upcoming changes in the slide's direction, potentially reducing injuries and simplifying electrical installation and maintenance by using solar power and reducing the need for conventional electrical grids.
Implementation Method 1
a lighting device for producing invisible light (e.g., ultraviolet light, 'black light,' or infrared light)
Implementation Method 2
A hole extends between the exterior and interior surface of the tunnel such that light can pass through the hole and into the interior space
Implementation Method 3
reactive device that responds to invisible light by producing visible light, typically through the mechanisms of fluorescence or phosphorescence
Implementation Method 4
reactive device that responds to invisible light by producing visible light, typically through the mechanisms of fluorescence or phosphorescence
Implementation Method 5
at least a portion of the electricity needed to drive the lighting device is provided by a solar device that is capable of receiving sunlight and, in response to the received sunlight, producing an electrical current
Data Source
AI summary
The invention is directed to a slide with at least a portion of the slide being covered so as to define a tunnel in which a user of the slide is likely to having difficulty seeing where the slide is taking them and a lighting effect that uses invisible light (e.g., ultraviolet light, black light, or infrared light) and an element that, in response to invisible light, produces visible light in the tunnel that is capable of being seen by a user that is passing through the tunnel. Also provided is a method for retrofitting an existing amusement slide that has a tunnel without such a lighting effect or that has a tunnel with inadequate or undesirable lighting effect.