Description
Closed watercraft for transporting people in amusement parks, and associated travel path.
Technical Field
The present invention relates to a closed watercraft for transporting people in amusement parks, and its associated travel path.
■ Background Art
There is an increasingly widespread trend all over the world towards the creation of amusement parks or parks based on particular themes, which provide both a source of recreation for the whole family as well as an opportunity to broaden one's knowledge. 0 In these parks it frequently happens that one comes across transportation means for visitors which allow them to move along fixed travel paths from one point to another in the park or within an individual amusement area. Small boats, small-scale trams, carriages and overhead railways based on space-age themes are now commonplace for persons skilled in the art. 5 Despite the fact the technologies used have become increasingly sophisticated, as yet no-one has devised in parks of this type amusements where the visitors are able to move along an aquatic path in closed watercraft. Reconciling the safety of the visitors with the possibility of experiencing more or less intense emotions while moving on water pushed by the current alone and J nevertheless remaining in dr> conditions poses difficulties of a technical nature which hitherto are unsolved
Disclosure of the invention
The object of the present invention is therefore that of overcoming these difficulties.
The invention, as characterized by the claims, solves the problem of allowing visitors in an amusement park to be transported on water in closed motorless craft.
One of the advantages obtained by means of the present invention consists essentially in the fact that the visitors do not get wet during the journey. Moreover the structure of the watercraft is such that, although remaining in a closed area, its occupants are able to see outside along the entire travel path. The invention is explained in more detail below with the aid of the drawings which illustrate a purely exemplary and non-limiting embodiment, in which.
- Figure 1 shows an overall perspective view of the invention;
- Figure 2 shows the watercraft;
- Figure 3 shows a perspective view of the bottom part of the inside of the watercraft;
- Figure 4 shows the watercraft along the section IV-IV according to Figure 2;
- Figures 5, 6 and 7 show the stations along the travel path and the associated constructional details;
- Figures 8,9,10, 1 1 show an alternative solution concerning several constructional details.
As can be seen from the figures, the present invention relates to a closed watercraft for transporting people in attraction parks, and its associated travel path.
The watercraft { 1 ) comprises a curved at least partially transparent surface (2), seats (3) provided with safety devices (4) for its inhabitants and a ballast (5) positioned in the bottom part of the watercraft (1) designed to ensure the stability thereof, during the displacements. In a preferred embodiment, as shown in the figures, a ribbing (6) is fixed to the
outside of the transparent surface portion (2) so as to prevent the latter from knocking against the edges of the channel inside which the watercraft (1 ) moves. Depending on the load to be supported, the ribbing (6) may be fixed in various ways to the transparent surface (2): the figures show a fixing system obtained by means of through-screws (30) which fasten the ribbing (6) to the transparent surface (2) in a joining zone of the latter. The design of the ribbing (6) may also have varying configurations: the preferred one has a triangular mesh (8) inside which it is particularly simple to form a hatch (34) via which the passengers are able to get in and out Underneath the seats (3) an air chamber (7) of toroidal shape ensures an air reservoir as well as a floating reservoir, for example in the case of water entering. Inside the watercraft (1 ) there is nevertheless a device (9) for extracting the water. Each seat (3) is provided with an independent cushioning device (10) for preventing excessively brusque impacts during rising and falling movements.
The safety devices (4) used, whether they be rigid or flexible, comprise a locking mechanism (31 ) synchronized with the hatch (34) of the watercraft (1 ) so that it is impossible to free oneself or move inside the cabin when the watercraft ( 1 ) is in movement. The path along which the watercraft moves comprises a channel (1 1 ) with curved walls which is at least partially open and inside which a pump (13) generates a current which allows the watercraft ( 1 ) to move, without the need for motors nor sloping of the channel (1 1 ). In order to ensure that the forward movement of the watercraft (1 ) is not made too difficult by unpredictable factors, the travel path has arranged along it concentrated thrusting means which, for example, could consist in pressurised water jets (12) supplied by the same pump (13) referred to above. At the start of the travel path there is located a station ( 14) for departure and
arrival of the watercraft (1 ) with parking bays (15) for the watercraft (1 ) when they are at a standstill. Said station is provided with means (16, 17) for directing the watercraft (1) into a predetermined bay (15). As can be seen in Figure 5, these means comprise a movable barring device (16) acting on the watercraft (1) so as to prevent its forward movement, and a mechanism (17) performing an alternating movement and having a portion (17a) of its active surface shaped so as to match the watercraft (1). The mechanism (17) moves between two end positions, in both of which it does not obstruct the channel ( 1 1 ), so as not to interfere with the other passing watercraft (1 ). When a watercraft ( 1 ) reaches the end of its travel, it finds the barring device ( 16) lowered and knocks against it with its surface (2); this activates the mechanism (17) which, moving forwards, intercepts the watercraft (1) with the shaped portion (17a) of its surface and pushes it into the corresponding bay (15), also shaped so as to match the watercraft (1). Once the desired position has been reached, a device (18) for raising the watercraft (1 ) enters into operation so as to reduce the floating thrust and avoid oscillations. It comprises a sensor (19), which could equally well signal the presence of the watercraft (1 ) or the end of travel of the mechanism ( 17), activation of which enables operation of a ring (20) which, moving vertically upwards, raises the watercraft (1 ) and allows change-over of the occupants. As shown in figure 1 1 , roller wheels (40) may be advantageously mounted on the ring (20), with their axes arranged radially with respect to the ring (20), so as to be able to rotate the watercraft (1 ) on itself until its hatch (34) is positioned in the most convenient manner for allowing people to get in and out. The mechanism ( 17) starts operating again in the opposite direction until the watercraft (1) is again inside the channel (1 ), the barring device (16) is raised and the watercraft ( 1 ) resumes its travel path. The presence of pressurised water jets (12) of the same type as those described above is advisable in this zone in
order to overcome the inertia of the watercraft (1 ) which reaches the channel (1) practically at a standstill.
Figure 6 shows a station (21) for displacing the watercraft (1 ) out of the water from one point to another along the travel path. In said figure it is possible to distinguish an element (22) for stopping the travel of the watercraft (1), consisting in the example shown of a wall (22) which allows the passage of the water, at least one member (23) for supporting the watercraft ( 1 ) during the raising movement, consisting of a fork (23) with curved teeth, and a mechanism (24) designed to rotate and raise at the same time the member (23) supporting the watercraft (1 ) This mechanism comprises a pivot (25) rotating about its own axis and a vertically sliding chain (26) fixed to the forks (23). The number of the latter depends on the speed with which the watercraft (1 ) move: a preferable solution is the one shown, where, while one fork (23) moves upwards, the other one moves downwards, but also the use of a single fork (23) or of more than two would be easy to manage and would not depart from the scope of the present protection.
Finally Figure 7 shows a station (27) for descent of the watercraft (1 ). It comprises a basin (28) with an opening (29) of dimensions such as to allow the passage of the watercraft (1), the free falling movement of which, however, is controlled by a collar (32) sliding mside the opening (29). Said collar is movable between a position where its end projects from the opening (29), preventing the watercraft (1 ) from falling, and a position where it does not interfere with it, allowing the watercraft ( 1 ) to fall below Since large masses of water fall together with the watercraft (1 ), it is advantageous for the movement of the collar (32) to be synchronized with that of a movable wall (33), which prevents the entry of the water into the basin (28) when the collar (32) is not engaged with the opening (29). In this way, when a watercraft ( 1 ) reaches the basin (28), it finds the collar (32) engaged with the opening (29) and, being
unable to fall, describes a spiral trajectory as far as the edge thereof. In order to avoid waiting a long time before the basin (28) is filled again, the movable wall (33) is lowered immediately before the collar (32) frees the opening (29), hence the watercraft ( 1 ) falls together with the water, the collar (32) engages with the opening (29) again and the movable wall (33) is raised, allowing the water to flow out freely and a new cycle to start.
Figures 8 to 10 show an alternative solution to that of Figure 7. The basin (28) is constructed in the form of a volute so that the watercraft (1 ) travels along a spiral trajectory until it arrives in the vicinity of the opening (29). The latter is partially bordered by a fixed wall (41 ) against which there is mounted a rotating device (36) in the form of a truncated cone or truncated cylinder without its bases, on the surface of which an entrance (37) with the same dimensions as the watercraft (1 ) is formed.
While the opening is still obstructed by a cover (35) movable horizontally, above it the rotating device (36) brings the entrance (37) opposite the watercraft (1 ), thereby allowing it to reach its falling position. A further rotation of this rotating device (36), from this point onwards, prevents any further water from flowing into the falling zone. Gradual opening of the cover (35) first of all allows most of the water and then the watercraft (1 ) to fall. The cover (35) in the example shown is in fact divided up into three segments (35a, 35b, 35c) with an angular opening of 120 '', each of which is moved by a pair of cylinders (38,39).
The cover (35) is able to pass from a closed position, in which the cylinders (38,39) are completely extracted and which is maintained until the watercraft (1) reaches the falling position, to an intermediate position, in which only the shortest cylinder (38) is retracted and most of the water is able to flow out before the watercraft ( 1 ) falls, and then to an open position, in which both the cylinders (38,39) are completely retracted and allow the watercraft (1 ) to fall.
The invention thus conceived may be subject to numerous modifications and variations, all of which falling within the scope of the inventive idea. Moreover, all the details may be replaced by technically equivalent elements, hi practice obviously modifications and/or improvements are possible, provided that they fall within the scope of the following claims.