Boat ride for amusement park
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A vehicle system comprising:
- walls forming a vehicle pathway including an elongated channel with a wall thereof which has an open slot narrower than the channel and extending along the top of the channel;
a vehicle having a body lying above said slot, at least one support member coupled to said body and extending through said slot into said channel, and paddle means lying in said channel and attached to said support for receiving forces from water moving along the channel; and
means positioned along said channel for pumping and directing the flow of the water along the channel.
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Abstract
A boat ride system for an amusement park, which includes a main channel and an auxiliary channel extending under the main channel and isolated from it except along a narrow slot. A boat for carrying people includes a hull floating in the main channel, a pair of paddles lying in the auxiliary channel, and a pair of supports extending through the slot and connecting the paddles to the hull. Pumps are utilized to pump water along the auxiliary channel so that the moving water pushes the paddles and therefore moves the hull along the main channel.
108 Citations
16 Claims
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1. A vehicle system comprising:
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walls forming a vehicle pathway including an elongated channel with a wall thereof which has an open slot narrower than the channel and extending along the top of the channel; a vehicle having a body lying above said slot, at least one support member coupled to said body and extending through said slot into said channel, and paddle means lying in said channel and attached to said support for receiving forces from water moving along the channel; and means positioned along said channel for pumping and directing the flow of the water along the channel. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A boat ride apparatus comprising:
walls forming an elongated main channel for holding water to carry a boat, said walls also forming an auxiliary water-holding channel extending parallel to said main channel and substantially isolated from it except along a slot that connects said channels, said slot being narrower than said auxiliary channel to minimize the interaction of waters in the two channels; and
means for directing the flow and moving the water so that the water moves at least along the bottom of said auxiliary channel while allowing water to move at a slower speed along said main channel, whereby to enable propulsion of a boat along said main channel by a paddle or the like that extend from the boat into the auxiliary channel.- View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11)
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12. A compact amusement ride comprising:
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a boatway including a portion curved at a small radius of curvature, said boatway including a shallow main channel and an auxiliary channel lying beneath the main channel and including a separating wall at the top of said auxiliary channel separating said channels, said separating wall including a slot; a boat having a hull floating in said main channel, two members having upper ends coupled to the hull and extending through said slot, said members spaced from one another along the length of said guideway and each member having bearing means thereon for engaging the walls of said slot, and at least one paddle means coupled to one of said members and lying in said auxiliary channel; and
means positioned along said auxiliary channel for moving water generally along the length direction of said auxiliary channel. - View Dependent Claims (13)
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14. Boat ride apparatus comprising:
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means defining a bottom wall and side walls for holding water, and defining an auxiliary channel extending under said bottom wall, said bottom wall having a slot extending over said auxiliary channel in a direction along the length of the channel; water completely filling said auxiliary channel and lying over said bottom wall at a depth less than the height of said side walls; a boat having a hull floating in the water above said bottom wall, a pair of members spaced from one another along the length of said slot and having upper ends mounted on said hull and lower portions extending through said slot into said auxiliary channel, and at least one paddle means lying in said auxiliary channel and mounted on one of said members; and pump means for moving water generally along the length direction of said auxiliary channel. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16)
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Specification