Roller coaster with pheumatic conforming seats and prone passenger arrangement to enhance the thrill of the ride

• US 5,218,910 A
• Filed: 04/15/1992
• Issued: 06/15/1993
• Est. Priority Date: 05/29/1990
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Ethan J. Mesmer, Matthew S. Gray, Milton E. Parrish
• Original Assignee: Ethan J. Mesmer, Matthew S. Gray, Milton E. Parrish
• Inventors: Mesmer, Ethan J., Gray, Matthew S., Parrish, Milton E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Oberleitner, Robert J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): MORANO IV, SAMUEL J
• Application Number:
  US07/868,999
• Time in Patent Office: 426 Days
• Field of Search: 104/53, 104/56, 104/57, 104/63, 104/64, 104/76, 104/121, 104/241, 105/344, 105/345, 105/346, 105/147, 296/63, 297/456, 297/457, 297/284 R, 297/DIG. 3
• US Class Current: 104/63
• CPC Class Codes: A63G 7/00 Up-and-down hill tracks; Switchbacks

Abstract

A roller coaster has cars with passenger supports to hold the passengers in a substantially horizontal position within the car during the ride in seats which can be rigidly molded for each new individual passenger to conform to the unique body contours of the passenger, wherein the cars have multiple vertically-tiered levels of passenger support and are supported from above and below on the track, to provide an increased speed and thrill capability for the ride.

Claims

1. A roller coaster comprising:

an endless track, said track having a torturous section including at least one of a vertical helical section, a substantially vertical straight section, a horizontal helical section and a loop section to excite and thrill a rider;

at least one car; and

means for supporting the car on the track so that said car can move through said torturous section, said car comprising;

a chassis;

body support means mounted on said chassis for supporting a human body, said body support means including body conforming means comprising;

an airtight pliable bag;

a quantity of beads contained inside said bag;

means for allowing air into the bag to allow the beads to move freely around each other and conform to the contours of the body of a passenger sitting in said body conforming means;

means for evacuating air from the bag to inhibit motion of the beads int he bas and freeze the bag into a rigid pre-evacuation passenger contour which substantially matches the body contour of said passenger and aids in securing said passenger in the car so that when the car moves through said torturous section at high speeds, the passenger in the body conforming means is not thrown around the car and enjoys the ride,

2. The roller coaster of claim 1, the body support means further including:

a lower torso support section substantially parallel to the plane of the track at the point of connection of the car to the track for maintaining the passenger'"'"'s legs and torso below the waist essentially parallel with the track; and

an upper torso support section elevated at an angle up to approximately 45°

above the plane of said track for maintaining the passenger'"'"'s torso above the waist above the plane of said track

whereby when a passenger is secured in said body conforming means to ride the roller coaster, said passenger is maintained in a substantially prone position to increase the thrill of the ride through said torturous section.

3. A roller coaster comprising:

an endless track, said track having a torturous section including at least one of a vertical helical section, a substantially vertical straight section, a horizontal helical section and a loop section to excite and thrill a rider, and said endless track further comprising;

a lower rail means to support the car from below, and an upper rail means to support the car from above;

at least one car; and

means for supporting the car on the track so that said car can move through said torturous section, said means for supporting the car on the track comprising;

car lower support means formed within the bottom of the car and slidably connected to the lower rail means to support and guide the car along the lower rail; and

car upper support means connected to and projecting vertically upward from the car to the upper rail means, said upper support means including a post connected to said car at its lower end and slidably connected to the upper rail means at the post upper end so that when the car moves through said tortuous section, the post follows the upper rail means and rotates the car around the lower rail means.

4. The roller coaster of claim 3, the car upper support means further including rolling means connected to the upper end of the post which contact said upper rail means so the post can slide along the rail means;

the car lower support means including a channel formed in the bottom of the car parallel with the lower rail means and rolling means connected in the channel which contact said lower rail means so that the car can slide along the lower rail means.

5. The roller coaster of claim 4, the rolling means being wheel-shaped rollers.

6. The roller coaster of claim 4, the upper rail means comprising:

two parallel spaced rails,

the upper end of said post including a U-shaped receptacle which partially surrounds said two parallel rails;

the upper rolling means mounted in said receptacle to engage said parallel rails to support and guide the car along the parallel rails.

7. A roller coaster comprising:

an endless track,

at least one car,

means for supporting the car on the track,

the car comprising;

a chassis having a plurality of levels vertically spaced from each other, each of the levels including at least one body support means mounted thereon wherein a portion of the body support means on one level overlies a portion of said body support means on another level so that multiple passengers are supported above one another in a tiered manner within a single car chassis wherein one of the body support means on one of said levels is located substantially in the center of the car, and a second one of the body support means on another of said levels is located substantially on the sides of the car, so that the passengers on said another one of said levels can see forward during the ride.

8. The roller coaster of claim 7, the plurality of levels including:

an upper level, the upper level including at least one individual parallel spaced body support means, and

a lower level, the lower level including at least one individual parallel spaced body support means located below and substantially rearward of the upper level body support means.

9. The roller coaster of claim 7, wherein said endless track has a torturous section including at least one of a vertical helical section, a substantially vertical straight section, a horizontal helical section and a loop section to excite and thrill a rider and wherein the body support means includes body conforming means comprising:

an airtight pliable bag,

a quantity of beads contained inside said bag,

means for allowing air into the bag to allow the beads to move freely around each other and conform to the contours of the body of a passenger sitting in said body conforming means,

means for evacuating air from the bag to inhibit motion of the beads in the bag and freeze the bag into a rigid pre-evacuation passenger contour which substantially matches the body contour of said passenger and aids in securing said passenger in the car so that when the car moves through said torturous section, at high speeds, the passenger in the body conforming means is not thrown around the car and enjoys the ride.

10. The roller coaster of claim 9, the body support means further including:

a lower torso support section substantially parallel t the plane of the track at the point of connection of the car to the track for maintaining the passenger'"'"'s legs and torso below the waist essentially parallel with the track; and

an upper torso support section elevated at an angle up to approximately 45°

above the plane of said track for maintaining the passenger'"'"'s torso above the waist above the plane to said track

whereby when a passenger is secured in said body conforming means to ride the roller coaster, said passenger is maintained in a substantially prone position to increase the thrill of the ride through said torturous section.

11. A roller coaster car for placement on an endless roller coaster track having a torturous section including at least one of a vertical helical section, a substantially vertical straight section, a horizontal helical section and a loop section to excite and thrill a rider;

said car comprising;

a chassis;

body support means mounted on said chassis for supporting a human body, said body support means including body conforming means comprising;

an airtight pliable bag;

a quantity of beads contained inside said bag;

means for allowing air into the bag to allow the beads to move freely around each other and conform to the contours of of a passenger sitting in said body conforming means;

means for evacuating air from the bag to inhibit motion of the beads in the bag and freeze the bag into a rigid pre-evacuation passenger contour which substantially matches the body contour of said passenger and aids in securing said passenger in the car so that when the car moves through said torturous sections, at high speeds, the passenger in the body conforming means is not thrown around the car and enjoys the ride.

12. The roller coaster car of claim 11, the body support means further including:

a lower torso support section substantially parallel to the plane of the track at the point of connection of the car to the track for maintaining the passenger'"'"'s legs and torso below the waist essentially parallel with the track; and

an upper torso support section elevated at an angle up to approximately 45°

above the plane of said track for maintaining the passenger'"'"'s torso above the waist above the plane of said track

whereby when a passenger is secured in said body conforming means to ride the roller coaster, said passenger is maintained in a substantially prone position to increase the thrill of the ride through said torturous section.

13. The roller coaster car of claim 11, the chassis having a plurality of levels vertically spaced from each other, each of the levels including at least one body support means mounted thereon wherein a portion of the body support means on one level overlies a portion of said body support means on another level so that multiple passengers are supported above one another in a tiered manner within a single car chassis.

14. The roller coaster car of claim 13, the plurality of levels including:

an upper level, the upper level including one or more individual parallel spaced body support means, and

a lower level, the lower level including one or more individual parallel spaced body support means located below and substantially rearward of the upper level body support means.

15. The roller coaster car of claim 14, wherein the body support means on said upper level are located adjacent to each other substantially in the center of the car, and the body support means on said lower level are located substantially on the sides of said cars so that the passengers on the lower levels can see forward during the ride.