Trackless Ride Vehicle Routing to Prevent Loading Backlogs
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional amusement park ride vehicles are limited by their need to follow tracks or wires, leading to serial procession and potential backlogs at loading/unloading areas, which reduces ride throughput and maintains intervals, especially when delays occur.
Innovation Solution
A method and system for dispatching trackless vehicles along predefined intersecting paths, using a controller to manage the navigation of ride vehicles, allowing them to bypass stalled vehicles and maintain continuous operation by assigning paths and profiles dynamically, ensuring efficient passenger loading and unloading.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If ride vehicles are constrained to travel on tracks or follow wires, then vehicles can maintain fixed paths and electrical power can be supplied, but vehicles must proceed serially one after another and cannot bypass stalled vehicles, leading to backlogs at loading/unloading areas
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the physical constraint infrastructure (tracks and wires) that forced serial vehicle movement. By extracting these constraints, vehicles gain freedom to navigate independently through the ride area, allowing them to bypass stalled vehicles and preventing backlogs at loading/unloading areas, thereby improving ride throughput
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical constraint system (tracks and wires) with an electronic navigation system. Vehicles use onboard computers and wireless communication to receive routing instructions and navigate autonomously, substituting mechanical guidance with electronic control to enable flexible path selection and independent vehicle operation
2Reliability
If vehicles proceed serially along a closed loop, then loading and unloading areas can be managed, but delays at any point cause backups that reduce ride throughput and violate time intervals
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic routing where vehicles can be assigned different paths based on real-time conditions. When a vehicle experiences delays or stalls, the control system dynamically reroutes other vehicles through alternative paths, allowing the system to adapt to changing conditions and maintain time intervals without reducing overall throughput
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a central control system as an intermediary that manages vehicle routing and coordinates vehicle movements. This mediator receives data from vehicles, determines optimal paths, and issues routing instructions to maintain time intervals and prevent backlogs, enabling reliable operation even when individual vehicles experience delays
3Adaptability or versatility
If wired paths are used to guide trackless vehicles, then vehicles can eliminate tracks, but wired paths cannot cross each other and cannot be easily moved to reconfigure paths
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the physical wire infrastructure with wireless communication technology. Vehicles receive routing instructions wirelessly from the control system, eliminating the need for embedded wires in the floor. This substitution enables easy path reconfiguration without physical modifications, as new routes can be programmed and transmitted wirelessly to vehicles
Solution Approach 2:
The wireless communication system serves multiple functions: it transmits routing instructions, receives vehicle status data, and enables dynamic path reconfiguration. This universal communication infrastructure replaces the specialized wire guidance system, providing greater flexibility and adaptability for different ride configurations and operations
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3A~3B
AI summary
Method and system of determining if a predetermined amount of time has passed since dispatch of a first one of the plurality of trackless vehicles onto one of a predefined plurality of intersecting paths. If the predetermined amount of time has passed, determining if a second one of the plurality of trackless vehicles was available for dispatch onto the predefined path or another predefined path. If the second trackless vehicle was available for dispatch, dispatching the second trackless vehicle, and if the second trackless vehicle was not available for dispatch, dispatching a third one of the trackless vehicles onto the predefined path or another predefined path. The predetermined amount of time may be calculated based on a time interval on which the trackless vehicles are dispatched onto the predefined plurality of paths.