Reactive ride simulator apparatus and method

• US 5,865,624 A
• Filed: 11/09/1995
• Issued: 02/02/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 11/09/1995
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Rockstar Consortium US LP (Rockstar Consortium Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Comerica Bank & Trust (Comerica Incorporated)
• Inventors: Hayashigawa, Larry
• Primary Examiner(s): Cheng, Joe H.
• Application Number:
  US08/555,525
• Time in Patent Office: 1,181 Days
• Field of Search: 434/29, 434/30, 434/45, 434/60-61, 434/71, 434/307 R, 434/308, 434/365, 463/6, 463/35-40, 348/39, 348/114-118, 472/60, 472/136, 364/423.099, 364/424.33, 364/578, 244/3.14, 244/190, 701/1, 701/2, 701/48, 701/49, 701/67
• US Class Current: 434/66
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 9/04 for teaching control of land vehicles

Abstract

A reactive ride simulator includes package of sensors along with a telemetry radio transmitter and/or a recorder. This package is carried at a movable remote site, such as aboard an actual vehicle. A radio receiver, or a player for the recorded data from the remote site, is interfaced with a decoder providing a electronic signals which include a replication of the sights, sounds, and motions experienced at the remote site. A motion base is used to provide the accelerations necessary to replicate the G-forces experienced at the remote site, while a cabin on this motion base is associated with audio/visual presentation devices so that a passenger on the reactive ride simulator also receives the audio/visual sensations of being present at the remote site. As a result, the passenger on the reactive ride simulator receives a sensory experience of being at the remote site, or of riding on the actual vehicle, while actually moving only slightly on the motion base.

Claims

1. A reactive ride simulator for providing to a passive passenger in the ride simulator a sensory experience of riding on a movable remote site in motion and under the active control of another person while in fact the passive passenger moves only a short distance aboard the ride simulator, said reactive ride simulator comprising;

means for collecting from the remote site in motion and at a place away from said remote site at least a portion of the G-forces actually experienced there while said remote site is under the active control of said another person;

a motion base carrying the passive passenger and reacting to said means for collecting by responsively moving the passive passenger to replicate said G-forces;

whereby, said ride simulator reacts to those G-forces actually experienced at the remote site in motion to replicate these G-forces for the passive passenger.

2. The reactive ride simulator of claim 1 wherein said means for collecting includes a multi-axis accelerometer carried at the remote site.

3. The reactive ride simulator of claim 2 wherein said multi-axis accelerometer includes three linear accelerometers arranged along mutually orthogonal axes in order to respond respectively to forward, lateral, and vertical linear accelerations/decelerations experienced by the remote site, and three angular rate acceleration sensors respectively arranged to respond to pitch, roll, and yaw of the remote site.

4. The reactive ride simulator of claim 1 wherein said means for collecting includes a multi-channel recorder recording those G-forces experienced aboard the remote site while actually in motion.

5. The reactive ride simulator of claim 1 wherein said means for collecting includes a telemetry package, said telemetry package carried aboard the remote site in motion, said telemetry package including an analog-to-digital converter receiving signals indicative of those G-forces experienced aboard the remote site and responsively providing digitized versions of said G-force signals, a multiplexer receiving said digitized versions of said G-force signals and responsively providing a multiplexed serial version of said G-force signals, and a radio data transmitter receiving said multiplexed serial version of said G-force signals and broadcasting a radio wave version of these G-force signals.

6. The reactive ride simulator of claim 5 wherein said means for collecting includes a radio data receiver receiving said radio wave version of said G-force signals and responsively providing an electrical version of said multiplexed serial version of said G-force signals, a de-multiplexer receiving said electrical version of said multiplexed serial version of said G-force signals and responsively providing plural digital versions of said G-force signals, and an digital-to-analog converter receiving a digital G-force signal from said de-multiplexer and responsively providing an analog G-force signal to said motion base for causing said motion base to reacting by responsively moving the passive passenger to replicate said G-force.

7. The reactive ride simulator of claim 1 wherein said ride simulator further includes means for collecting from the remote site in motion at least a portion of those sights and sounds actually experienced at the remote site while in motion and under the active control of said another person;

a cabin for receiving a passive human passenger aboard said ride simulator, and said cabin being provided with associated audio/visual means interfacing with said means for collecting for replicating those sights and sounds actually experienced at the remote site under the active control of said another person, so that the passive passenger aboard said ride simulator is exposed to a sensory experience of being aboard the remote site in motion and under control of said another person.

8. The reactive ride simulator of claim 1 wherein said remote site includes a vehicle under the active control of said another person.

9. A real-time reactive ride simulator for providing to a passive passenger in the reactive ride simulator a sensory experience of being at a movable remote site contemporaneously in motion and under the active control of another person, while in fact the passive passenger moves only a short distance aboard the reactive ride simulator, said reactive ride simulator comprising;

first means for collecting from the remote site, while the remote site is actually in motion and under the active control of said another person, at least a portion of those sights and sounds actually available to be experienced at the remote site;

second means for contemporaneously collecting from the remote site, also while the latter is actually in motion and under the active control of said another person, at least a portion of the G-forces actually experienced at the remote site;

a cabin for receiving the passive passenger and being provided with associated audio/visual means interfacing with said first means for collecting for replicating those sights and sounds actually available at the remote site in motion, so that the passive passenger aboard said reactive ride simulator is exposed to a visual and auditory sensory experience of being aboard the vehicle while it is in motion and under the active control of said another person;

a motion base carrying said cabin and having means for interfacing with said second means for collecting said G-forces, and for responsively manipulating said cabin to replicate said G-forces, so that the passive passenger is exposed to a sensory experience of the motion of the remote site;

whereby, said reactive simulator reacts to those G-forces actually experienced by the remote site in motion substantially in real-time while under the active control of the said another person to replicate these G-forces for the passive passenger in conjunction with the contemporaneous replication of the sights and sounds available to be experienced at the remote site.

10. The reactive ride simulator of claim 9 further including a telemetry means for transmitting both said sights and sounds from said first collection means, as well as said G-forces from said second collection means, away from the remote site to a receiver not moving with the remote site.

11. The reactive ride simulator of claim 10 wherein said telemetry means includes a radio data transmitter aboard the remote site, and a radio data receiver.

12. A reactive ride simulator for providing to a passive passenger in the ride simulator a sensory experience of actually being at a remote site in motion and under the active control consisting of another person, an automation, and a natural event, as aboard a vehicle, animal, or other conveyance in operation or;

while in fact the passive passenger moves only a short distance aboard the reactive ride simulator, said reactive ride simulator comprising;

first means for collecting from the remote site and at a location away from the remote site at least a portion of those sights and sounds actually available to be experienced at the remote site while the latter is actually in motion and under the active control of a controller selected from the group consisting of another person, an automation, and the laws of nature,

second means for collecting from the remote site and at a location away from the remote site, also while the latter is actually in motion while under the active control of said controller, at least a portion of the G-forces actually experienced at the remote site;

a cabin for receiving a passive human passenger, said cabin being associated with audio/visual means interfacing with said first means for collecting for replicating those sights and sounds actually available for experience at the remote site in motion, so that the passive passenger aboard said ride simulator is exposed to an audio/visual sensory experience of being at the remote site;

a motion base carrying said cabin and having means for interfacing with said second means for collecting said G-forces, and for responsively manipulating said cabin to replicate said G-forces, so that the passive passenger is exposed to a sensory experience of the motion of the remote site;

whereby, said reactive ride simulator reacts to those G-forces actually experienced at the remote site in motion and while under the active control of said controller to replicate these G-forces for the passive passenger in conjunction with the replication of the sights and sounds available to be experienced at the remote site.

13. A reactive ride simulation method of providing to a passive human passenger a sensory experience of being at a remote site in motion and under the active control consisting of another person, an automation, and a natural event, while the passive passenger in fact moves only a short distance aboard a reactive ride simulator within a confined area, said method comprising steps of:

collecting at a place away from the remote site and from the remote site in motion while under the active control of a controller selected from the group consisting of another person, an automation, and the laws of nature at least a portion of the G-forces actually experienced there; and

providing a motion base carrying the passive passenger, and causing said motion base to react to said G-forces collected from said remote site by responsively moving the passive passenger to replicate said G-forces.

14. A reactive ride simulation method of providing to a passive human passenger a real-time sensory experience of being at a movable remote site while the latter is actually in motion and under the active control of another person, while the passive passenger in fact moves only a short distance on a reactive ride simulator within a limited area, said method comprising steps of:

providing first means for substantially real-time collection from the remote site, while the latter is actually in motion and under the active control of said another person, at least a portion of those sights and sounds actually available to be experienced at the remote site;

providing second means for substantially real-time contemporaneous collection from the remote site, also while the latter is actually in motion and also under the active control of said another person, at least a portion of the G-forces actually experienced at the remote site;

providing a cabin for receiving the passive passenger and being associated with audio/visual means interfacing with said first means for collection for replicating those sights and sounds actually available to be experienced at the remote site, and exposing the passive passenger aboard said ride simulator to an audio/visual sensory experience of being at the remote site in motion;

providing a motion base having means for interfacing with said second means for collecting said G-forces, and using said motion base to carry said cabin and to responsively manipulate said cabin to replicate said G-forces, and exposing the passive passenger to a sensory experience of the motion at the remote site;

whereby, the passive passenger experiences a replica of the sights, sounds, and G-forces available to be experienced at the remote site in substantially real-time while the remote site is in motion and under active control of another person.