EP1830937B1

EP1830937B1 - Fairground attraction having one or more people carriers suspended from a rotary arm and kept level during rotation

Info

Publication number: EP1830937B1
Application number: EP05825948A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Hette Knijpstra
Original assignee: KIG Heerenveen BV
Current assignee: KIG Heerenveen BV
Priority date: 2004-12-22
Filing date: 2005-12-22
Publication date: 2009-08-19
Anticipated expiration: 2025-12-22
Also published as: WO2006068477A1; DE602005016153D1; EP1830937A1; ATE439897T1; NL1027850C1

Abstract

The invention relates to a fairground attraction comprising a frame, an arm mounted in the frame for rotation about a main axis running at an angle to the horizontal, at least one people carrier suspended movably close to an outer end of the arm, and means for driving the arm rotatingly around the main axis, and levelling means co-acting with the at least one people carrier for the purpose of holding the arm substantially horizontal during a rotating movement thereof. The at least one people carrier can be suspended from the arm for rotation about an auxiliary axis, and the levelling means can be adapted to synchronize a rotation movement of the at least one people carrier about the auxiliary axis with the rotation movement of the arm about the main axis.

Description

The invention relates to a fairground attraction comprising a frame, an arm mounted in the frame for rotation about a main axis running at an angle to the horizontal, at least one people carrier suspended movably close to an outer end of the arm, and means for driving the arm rotatingly around the main axis. Such a fairground attraction is known and is marketed by applicant under the name "Inferno".
This known attraction comprises a frame in the form of a mast, on which an arm is mounted for rotation about a first axis lying at an angle of 45' to the horizon. At one end of the arm two gondolas or people carriers are suspended on either side of a second rotation axis which makes an angle of 45' to the longitudinal axis of the arm. These gondolas can further be rotated about their own longitudinal axis. The gondolas are each formed by a base on which a number of seats are arranged. The seats in both gondolas are directed toward the second rotation axis so that the passengers in the attraction face toward each other. Due to the oblique position of the first and second axis the plane in which the gondolas rotate about the second axis can vary from horizontal - when the gondolas are situated at the lowest point of their path around the second axis - to vertical - when the gondolas are at the highest point of the path. In combination with the rotation about the longitudinal axis of the gondolas, this produces a sensational experience, which by now however is very widely known. Document DE-A1-3234325 shows a fairground attraction comprising all the technical features set out in the preamble of claim 1. In particular, this document discloses a fairground attraction having a forwardly tilted mast on which an arm is mounted for rotation about a horizontal axis. From one end of the arm a people carrier is suspended. This prior art fairground attraction also includes a levelling mechanism, which mechanically connects the mechanism driving the rotating arm with a mechanism driving the people carrier around a second horizontal axis.
There therefore exists a continuing need for new fairground attractions which are more spectacular than the existing ones. In the case of mobile attractions for travelling fairs these increasingly spectacular movements must moreover be achieved with relatively compact installations which can be erected and dismantled rapidly and easily.
According to the invention this is achieved in a fairground attraction according to claim 1.
The at least one people carrier is suspended from the arm for rotation about an auxiliary axis, and the levelling means are preferably adapted to synchronize a rotation movement of the at least one people carrier about the auxiliary axis with the rotation movement of the arm about the main axis. By causing the people carrier(s) and the arm to rotate synchronously - but in opposing directions - the horizontal position of the people carrier(s) is maintained in simple manner.
For an optimally synchronized movement of the people carrier(s) it is recommended that the at least one people carrier is driven rotatably around the auxiliary axis by secondary drive means, and the levelling means comprise a coupling between the arm driving means and the secondary drive means. By coupling the drive of the arm directly to that of the people carrier(s), this/these latter automatically follows/follow the movement of the arm.
A structurally simple attraction which can be manufactured at low cost is herein obtained when the secondary drive means are passive and the coupling is a mechanical transmission. The drive of the arm can thus also be used to bring about rotation of the people carrier(s). In order to obtain a robust embodiment, the mechanical transmission preferably comprises a number of gear wheels connected between the arm driving means and the secondary drive means. When the arm is relatively long and a great distance must be bridged between the main axis and the auxiliary axis, the mechanical transmission can comprise at least one rotatable power take-off connected between the arm driving means and the secondary drive means, and right-angled transmissions arranged on the ends of the power take-off.
In addition, it is also readily possible to envisage the secondary drive means comprising a motor and the coupling comprising a master/slave control. A lighter construction with fewer moving parts is thus obtained.
In order to hold the people carrier(s) level under all circumstances the coupling is preferably given a redundant form. A malfunction in the coupling does not therefore necessarily result in dangerous situations.
The at least one people carrier is suspended from a spacer which is mounted in the arm for rotation about the auxiliary axis. This creates sufficient free space for movements of the people carrier(s).
The at least one people carrier is mounted in the spacer for rotation about its longitudinal axis, whereby a rocking movement of the people carrier(s) becomes possible. In order to bound and control the rocking movement the attraction is provided in a preferred embodiment with means co-acting with the at least one people carrier for braking its rotating movement relative to the spacer. In addition to or instead of this, means co-acting with the at least one people carrier can be present for driving thereof rotatingly about its longitudinal axis. Such drive means, for instance in the form of a controllable electric motor or hydraulic motor, can initiate or intensify the rocking movement of the people carrier.
The arm driving means preferably comprise at least one electric motor. Such a drive is relatively compact, powerful and reliable, while no hydraulic pipe system requiring frequent maintenance is necessary for this purpose.
In order to simplify boarding and disembarking of the passengers the attraction can be provided with at least one stage which is connected to the frame close to the underside thereof and which is pivotable between a relatively low-lying inoperative position and a higher boarding and disembarking position.
In a preferred embodiment the frame is arranged on a mobile chassis. The fairground attraction can thus be easily transported by road. In this case the spacer is preferably connected releasably to the arm so that, by detaching the spacer with the people carrier(s) and rotating the arm to a horizontal position, the fairground attraction acquires a relatively low and narrow profile, which is important when passing through tunnels and viaducts. It is further recommended that the at least one stage can be pivoted to a transporting position standing against the frame and can be further folded up in this transporting position, whereby it can be transported on the same chassis without first having to be disassembled.
Finally, in order to be able to make the attraction ready for transport in rapid and simple manner, the chassis preferably has means for loading thereon the spacers with the at least one people carrier.
The invention is now elucidated on the basis of an embodiment, wherein reference is made to the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the fairground attraction according to the invention at rest,
Fig. 2, 3 and 4 show respectively a front view, a top view and a side view of the attraction of fig. 1,
Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the fairground attraction in use, wherein the people carriers occupy their highest position.
Fig. 6 is a side view of the attraction of fig. 5,
Fig. 7 is a schematic representation of a mechanical transmission for use in the fairground attraction according to the invention,
Fig. 8 shows a schematic representation of an alternative transmission,
Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the fairground attraction in its folded transporting position, and
Fig. 10 and 11 show respectively a top view and a side view of the attraction in its transporting position.

A fairground attraction 1 comprises a frame 2, which here takes the form of a mast. At its top 4 this mast 2 carries a turntable 5 which defines a main axis R₁. When fairground attraction 1 is in operation this main axis R₁ encloses an angle α with the horizontal. In the shown embodiment this angle α amounts to about 20'.
Suspended from mast 2 via turntable 5 is an arm 6 which is rotatable about main axis R₁. About half-way along this arm 6 is rotatably connected to mast 2, and has a free end 7 to which a counterweight 8 is fixed and an opposite end 9 from which two people carriers 10 are suspended.
Each people carrier 10 is formed by a beam 11 which functions as backrest and on which a number of seats 12 are mounted which are separated from each other by armrests 13. A number of head rests 14 are also mounted on beam 11. Seat parts 12, armrests 13 and head rests 14 together define seats for passengers. People carriers 10 are here not provided with footboards, so that the legs of the passengers thus hang freely. This heightens the sensation. Mounted on the ends of the two people carriers 10 directed toward each other are guards 15 which protect the legs of the passengers in the inner seats against contact with arm 6. Guards 15 are here manufactured from a transparent material, for instance plastic, so as not to obstruct the view of the passengers. For reasons which will be elucidated below, guards 15 are relatively long.
People carriers 10 are not suspended directly from end 9 of arm 6 but from a spacer 16 lying roughly - perpendicularly of arm 6. Hereby created between arm 6 and people carriers 10 is space required for the possible movements of people carriers 10. This spacer 16 can be rotated about an auxiliary axis R₂, which roughly coincides with its own longitudinal axis mounted in the outer end 9 of arm 6. This is important in being able to hold people carriers 10 horizontal during a rotation of arm 6 about main axis R₁.
Each people carrier 10 is suspended with an end from spacer 16 for rotation about its longitudinal axis
For this purpose the free end of spacer 16 is embodied as a housing 3 in which both people carriers 10 are accommodated rotatably by means of bearings 17. Because people carriers 10 are both suspended from spacer 16 in cantilevered manner, bearings 17 and housing 3 must be able to absorb great forces and moments.
In order to prevent uncontrolled movements of people carriers 10, and particularly to prevent them turning full circle, means can be present for damping and/or bounding the rotation movements. The loads on the construction can hereby be limited so that attraction 1 can be given a lighter construction as a whole. Greater speeds of movement are hereby also permissible, thereby further enhancing the sensation.
Attraction 1 further comprises means for rotatingly driving arm 6. The arm driving means here comprise an electric motor 36 and a reducing gear which is connected thereto and which is built into a housing 18 in head 4 of mast 2. This reducing gear is in turn connected to turntable 5 for driving of arm 6.
According to the invention the attraction 1 further comprises levelling means whereby people carriers 10 are held horizontal as arm 6 rotates. These levelling means are here adapted to synchronize the rotation movement of spacer 16 with people carriers 10 thereon around auxiliary axis R₂ on the one hand and the rotation movement of arm 6 around main axis R₁ on the other.
In the shown embodiment drive means are also provided for the rotation movement of spacer 16 with people carriers 10, designated hereinbelow as secondary drive means. The levelling means herein form a coupling between the arm driving means and the secondary drive means. In the shown embodiment the secondary drive means are passive and comprise a gear wheel 35 which engages in turntable 34 with which spacer 16 is bearing-mounted on arm 6. The coupling is here a mechanical transmission, whereby the secondary drive is driven directly by the main drive for arm 6. This mechanical transmission here comprises a first gear wheel 30 which engages in turntable 5 of the mounting of arm 6 on mast 2. This gear wheel 30 is connected via two relatively small intermediate wheels 31 to an intermediate gear wheel 32, which is in turn connected via two subsequent intermediate wheels 33 to gear wheel 35 of the secondary drive means. The dual embodiment of intermediate wheels 31, 32 provides for redundancy, so that the failure of one or more teeth on one of the gear wheels 30, 32, 35 will not result in immediate loss of the mechanical connection. The chance that teeth will fail simultaneously in both segments of a gear wheel engaging in the intermediate wheels is after all practically negligible.
When the transmission must bridge a greater distance, in the case of a relatively long arm, it is possible to choose, instead of a gear transmission, a transmission on the basis of a power take-off 34, for instance a cardan shaft, which is connected by means of right-angled transmissions 27 to the first gear wheel 30 on the one hand and the gear wheel 35 of the secondary drive means on the other. With a view to the desired redundancy, two such power take-offs 34 are once again shown here.
Formed in front of fairground attraction 1 is a stage 28 which is screened by fences 29 and which serves for boarding and disembarking of the passengers. In order to simplify boarding and disembarking a part 37 of stage 28 is displaceable from a low-lying inoperative position, in which stage part 37 lies sufficiently far outside the path of people carriers 10, to a higher boarding and disembarking position. Podium 28 is herein formed by a fixed part 38, which is already placed some distance above the ground and which can be reached on either side via steps 39, and the part 37 displaceable in the height. In the shown embodiment this stage part 37 rests on two supporting arms 40, which are pivotally connected by means of hinges 41 to a mobile chassis 19 on which mast 2 is placed.
During operation of attraction 1 the supporting arms 40, and therefore stage part 37, are folded down so that the movements of rotating arm 6 and people carriers 10 are not impeded. When arm 6 and people carriers 10 have been brought to a halt in the shown lowest position, supporting arms 40 and movable part 37 of stage 28 are folded upward again by drive elements (not shown here) to the shown boarding and disembarking position. In this position the guards 15 rest on stage part 37 so as to stabilize people carriers 10.
As stated, mast 2 stands on a mobile chassis 19 in the shown embodiment. This chassis 19 here takes the form of a trailer, and has a part 20 supporting the mast 2 as well as a swan-neck 21 with which chassis 19 is placed on a tractive vehicle 22. Chassis 19 here has three axles 23.
In order to place frame 2 on ground in stable manner during use of the fairground attraction, it is provided with two pairs of jacking arms 24 which are mounted on frame 2 at one end and which each rest on a jack 25 with their free end. With a view to the transport of fairground attraction 1 by road, the jacking arms 24 take a collapsible form. In the shown embodiment the front jacking arms 24 pivot rearward while the rear jacking arms 24 can be pivoted forward, so that all four arms 24 lie along chassis 19.
With a view to transport, spacer 16 is releasably connected to arm 6. Spacer 16 with people carriers 10 suspended therefrom can thus be laid on chassis 19 next to mast 2. For this purpose the chassis 19 can be further provided with movable loading means (not shown here), for instance in the form of transversely slidable, driven carriages onto which people carriers 10 can be laid.
For transport purposes the supporting arms 40 of movable part 37 of stage 28 can be pivoted further upward into a practically vertical transporting position. Supporting arms 40 here take a divided form, with a hinge 26 about halfway along, so that stage part 37 can be folded up even further in the transporting position.
The operation of fairground attraction 1 is now as follows. Once passengers have boarded while people carriers 10 are in the boarding and disembarking position (fig. 1-4), stage part 37 is pivoted downward, whereafter motor 36 is started. Arm 6 is hereby set into rotation around main axis R₁. Via the transmission the rotation movement of arm 6 is converted into a rotation of spacer 16 synchronous therewith in opposite direction about auxiliary axis R_2' whereby people carriers 10 are held level.
In the first instance the direction of rotation of motor 36 can be periodically reversed so that arm 6 execute a rocking movement, the travel distances of which become increasingly large. Once people carriers 10 have reached the topmost position (fig. 5, 6), the motor can continue to rotate in the same direction, whereby a continuous rotation movement is obtained. This can also be reversed again at any point on the path of people carriers 10. If the torque of the motor is sufficiently high to rotate the arm 6 with people carriers 10 thereon directly to the topmost position, the above described rocking movement can of course be dispensed with.
Since main axis R₁ is at an angle α to the horizontal, arm 6 moves in an inclined plane so that the movements of people carriers 10 comprise three components, viz. a lateral movement, a movement from front to rear and an up and downward movement. A great sensation of speed is hereby already achieved at relatively low rotation speeds in the order of ten to thirty revolutions per minute, preferably fifteen to twenty-five, and more specifically twenty-two revolutions per minute. Owing to these low required rotation speeds a motor of relatively low power can suffice, whereby the costs of fairground attraction 1 remain limited, while the construction can also take a relatively light form.
As a result of the rotation of arm 6 about main axis R₁ the people carriers 10, which are after all mounted rotatably in spacer 16, will begin to execute a rocking movement around their longitudinal axis. This rocking movement can be bounded or damped by the braking means. In addition, the braking means can be used to initiate or intensify the rocking movement by temporarily fixing people carriers 10 in a determined position and then releasing them.
Using relatively simple means the fairground attraction 1 according to the invention thus provides a special sensation of movement, speed and freedom.
Although the device is elucidated above with reference to an embodiment, it will be apparent that it is not limited thereto. The secondary drive could for instance be active, thus comprise a separate motor. This could then be connected in a master/slave control to motor 36 of the arm drive. Arm 6 and spacer 16 could also each be driven by a hydraulic motor, wherein the coupling could be formed by a joint hydraulic circuit for power supply to the motors. The form and dimensions of mast 2, arm 6 and people carriers 10 could further be varied, while in addition frame 2 could of course also take a fixed form if attraction 1 were used in an amusement park.
The scope of the invention is therefore defined solely by the following claims.

Claims

Fairground attraction (1) comprising:
- a frame (2);

- an arm (6) mounted in the frame (2) for rotation about a main axis (R₁) ;

- al least one people carrier (10) suspended movably close to an outer end (9) of the arm (6) for rotation about an auxiliary axis (R₂);

- means for driving the arm (6) rotatingly around the main axis (R₁), and

- leveling means co-acting with the at least one people carrier (10) for the purpose of holding it substantially horizontal during a rotating movement of the arm (6) ;
characterized in that:
- the main axis (R₁) runs at an angle (α) to the horizontal ;

- the at least one people carrier (10) is suspended from a spacer (16) which is mounted in the arm (6) for rotation about the auxiliary axis (R₂); and

- the at least one people carrier (10) is mounted in the spacer (16) for rotation about its longitudinal axis
Fairground attraction (1) as claimed in claim 1, characterized by means co-acting with the at least one people carrier (10) for braking its rotating movement relative to the spacer (16).
Fairground attraction (1) as claimed in claim 1 or 2, characterized by means co-acting with the at least one people carrier (10) for driving thereof rotatingly about its longitudinal axis.
Fairground attraction (1) as claimed in any of the foregoing claims, characterized in that the at least one people carrier (10) is formed by a beam (11) which functions as backrest and on which a number of seats (12) are mounted which are separated from each other by armrests (13).
Fairground attraction (1) as claimed in any of the foregoing claims, characterized in that the leveling means are adapted to synchronize a rotation movement of the at least one people carrier (10) about the auxiliary axis (R₂) with the rotation movement of the arm (6) about the main axis (R₁).
Fairground attraction (1) as claimed in claim 5, characterized in that the at least one people carrier (10) is driven rotatably around the auxiliary axis (R₂) by secondary drive means, and the leveling means comprise a coupling between the arm driving means and the secondary drive means.
Fairground attraction (1) as claimed in claim 6, characterized in that the secondary drive means are passive and the coupling is a mechanical transmission.
Fairground attraction (1) as claimed in claim 7, characterized in that the mechanical transmission comprises a number of gear wheels (30-32) connected between the arm driving means and the secondary drive means.
Fairground attraction (1) as claimed in claim 6, characterized in that the mechanical transmission comprises at least one rotatable power take-off (34) connected between the arm driving means and the secondary drive means, and right-angled transmissions (27) arranged on the ends of the power take-off (34).
Fairground attraction (1) as claimed in claim 6, characterized in that the secondary drive means comprise a motor and the coupling comprises a master/slave control.
Fairground attraction (1) as claimed in any of the claims 6-10, characterized in that the coupling is given a redundant form.
Fairground attraction (1) as claimed in any of the foregoing claims, characterized in that the arm driving means comprise at least one electric motor (36).
Fairground attraction (1) as claimed in any of the foregoing claims, characterized by at least one stage (28) which is connected to the frame (2) close to the underside thereof and which is pivotable between a relatively low-lying inoperative position and a higher boarding and disembarking position.
Fairground attraction (1) as claimed in any of the foregoing claims, characterized in that the frame (2) is arranged on a mobile chassis (19).
Fairground attraction (1) as claimed in claim 14, characterized in that the spacer (16) is connected releasably to the arm (6).
Fairground attraction (1) as claimed in claims 13 and 14 or 15, characterized in that the at least one stage (28) can be pivoted to a transporting position standing against the frame (2) and can be further folded up in this transporting position.
Fairground attraction (1) as claimed in claim 15 or 16, characterized in that the chassis (19) has means for loading thereon the spacer (16) with the at least one people carrier (10).