TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to an amusement ride. More particularly, though not exclusively, it relates to a novel hub arrangement for an amusement ride. The invention also relates to a method of operating an amusement ride which includes the novel hub arrangement. In particular, though not exclusively, the invention relates to an amusement ride of the kind comprising a support column on which is mounted a hub having attached thereto an arm arrangement including a plurality of arms each for carrying a respective rider-accommodating means at a remote end thereof, the hub including a bearing for permitting rotation of the arm arrangement, and thus the rider-accommodating means, about a rotation axis.

BACKGROUND AND PRIOR ART

Amusement rides of the above-defined general type are well-known in the field of fairgrounds, amusement parks and leisure attractions. They generally feature rider-carrying seats or cars at the ends of the respective arms, which rotate about the central support column axis, under operation of appropriate drive means, to provide the amusement experience or thrill that the riders desire. In more recent times, with the advent of the need for ever more thrilling rides to satisfy ever more adventurous and thrill-demanding riders, amusement rides have necessarily had to evolve so as to incorporate ever more complex mechanics that deliver ever more unusual and thrilling movements of the rider-carrying seats or cars.

In the context of the above-defined general type of ride, one such known amusement ride that has enjoyed considerable success, which was designed back in the 1980s, is called the “SUPER TROOPER”. The ride’s operational mechanism includes a hub arrangement atop the main support column which incorporates a tilting mechanism, which is actuatable independently of the rotational drive means that rotates the seat/car-carrying arm arrangement about the central hub, the tilting mechanism being actuatable as or when desired during each ride period to tilt the entire arm arrangement, while it is rotating, relative to the support column so that it tilts further towards or away from the ground. This reversible tilting, while the rider-carrying arm arrangement is itself rotating about the central hub, provides a novel and thrill-inducing feeling to the riders as a result of their rotating path being tipped on one side. Another known amusement ride, known by the name “FREAK-OUT”, from the Dutch company KMG, provides combined rotating and tilting motion in a similar manner.

However, existing amusement ride designs such as these can only go so far in providing new and original rider movements, and both the above-mentioned known rides only go so far as to tilt the rotating seat/car-carrying arm arrangement in one reversible down-up direction while the arms themselves rotate about the hub. Rider demands for ever more thrilling ride experiences are therefore difficult to satisfy. Moreover, with recent years seeing ever more stringent considerations of health and safety, as well as mechanical limitations on what is possible in the design of new ways of providing novel rider movements, it has become increasingly difficult to devise new amusement rides that deliver new rider experiences that ride fans crave and the fairground and leisure industry wish to deliver.

This is made all the more difficult, especially in mechanical engineering terms, in view of the frequent need for amusement rides to be portable, so they can be readily transported, e.g. on a trailer or other vehicle, from place to place for installation and operation as or where they may be required, such as in the case of temporary or travelling fairgrounds, temporary amusement attractions or specific leisure events.

It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to address and ameliorate these shortcomings and limitations in the known art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, in a first aspect of the present invention there is provided an amusement ride comprising:

a support column defining a column axis; and

a hub arrangement mounted on the support column and including a hub having attached thereto an arm arrangement comprising a plurality of arms each carrying or for carrying a respective rider-accommodating means at a remote end thereof, the hub including a bearing for permitting rotation of the arm arrangement about a rotation axis;

wherein the hub arrangement comprises a tilting mechanism constructed and arranged for tilting the rotation axis of the arm arrangement relative to the column axis in at least one tilt plane substantially coincident with or containing the column axis;

and wherein the hub or hub arrangement is moveable relative to at least a portion of the support column in a direction substantially coincident with or substantially parallel to the column axis. In a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a hub arrangement for an amusement ride, the ride comprising a support column defining a column axis and the said hub arrangement mounted on the support column,

wherein the hub arrangement comprises:

a hub having attached thereto an arm arrangement comprising a plurality of arms each carrying or for carrying a respective rider-accommodating means at a remote end thereof, the hub including a bearing for permitting rotation of the arm arrangement about a rotation axis; and

a tilting mechanism constructed and arranged such that, when the hub arrangement is incorporated into the ride, the tilting mechanism is operable to tilt the rotation axis of the arm arrangement relative to the column axis in at least one tilt plane substantially coincident with or containing the column axis;

and wherein, when the hub arrangement is incorporated into the ride, the hub or hub arrangement is moveable relative to at least a portion of the support column in a direction substantially coincident with or substantially parallel to the column axis.

In a third aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of operating an amusement ride, the ride comprising:

a support column defining a column axis; and

a hub arrangement mounted on the support column and including a hub having attached thereto an arm arrangement comprising a plurality of arms each carrying or for carrying a respective rider-accommodating means at a remote end thereof, the hub including a bearing for permitting rotation of the arm arrangement about a rotation axis;

wherein the hub arrangement comprises a tilting mechanism constructed and arranged for tilting the rotation axis of the arm arrangement relative to the column axis in at least one tilt plane substantially coincident with or containing the column axis;

and wherein the hub or hub arrangement is moveable relative to at least a portion of the support column in a direction substantially coincident with or substantially parallel to the column axis;

wherein the method comprises:

operating the ride to rotate the arm arrangement about its rotation axis; and actuating the tilting mechanism to tilt the rotation axis of the arm arrangement relative to the column axis in the at least one tilt plane substantially coincident with or containing the column axis; and

moving the hub or hub arrangement relative to the support column, or portion thereof, in the said direction substantially coincident with or substantially parallel to the column axis. In many embodiments of the above-defined operational method, the movement of the hub or hub arrangement, relative to the support column, or portion thereof, in the said direction substantially coincident with or substantially parallel to the column axis, may be effected during the said rotation of the arm arrangement about its rotation axis.

In accordance with the essence of preferred embodiments of the present invention, therefore, the constructional arrangement of the hub arrangement may be such that not only can the tilting mechanism independently tilt or pivot the rotation axis of the arm arrangement relative to the column axis in the at least one tilt or pivot plane, but the hub or hub arrangement itself can be independently moved, especially by translational movement, relative to the support column or a portion thereof in a direction substantially coincident with or substantially parallel to the column axis, wherein the said tilting/pivoting and translational movements may be effectable either separately or sequentially from one another or substantially simultaneously with one another.

Expressed slightly differently, in embodiments of the invention as defined in any of the above- defined first, second or third aspects, the tilting mechanism may alternatively (or even additionally) be defined as being constructed and arranged for tilting or pivoting the rotation axis of the arm arrangement relative to the column axis about at least one tilt or pivot axis intersecting the column axis.

In many practical embodiments of the preceding alternatively defined embodiments, the at least one tilt or pivot axis may be substantially perpendicular to the column axis.

In some embodiments of the invention in its various aspects the tilting mechanism may be constructed and arranged such that it enables the rotation axis of the rotatable arm arrangement to be tilted or pivoted relative to the column axis in a selected one of a plurality of tilt or pivot planes substantially coincident with or substantially parallel to the column axis and angularly spaced apart from one another about the column axis (or about a selected one of a plurality of tilt or pivot axes intersecting the column axis and angularly spaced apart from one another about the column axis). In this manner, during any given tilting or pivoting movement, the rotation axis of the rotatable arm arrangement may be tiltable or pivotable in one (especially only one) given selected tilt or pivot plane (or about a given selected tilt or pivot axis), but it may if desired, during another tilting or pivoting movement, be tiltable or pivotable in another (especially only one other) given selected tilt or pivot plane (or about a given selected tilt or pivot axis) that is angularly spaced apart about the column axis from the first mentioned tilt or pivot plane (or tilt or pivot axis).

In many practical embodiments of the invention in its various aspects the tilting mechanism may be constructed and arranged such that it is operable reversibly, so that the action or linear direction of tilting or pivoting of the rotation axis of the arm arrangement is reversible. In this manner, the amusement ride incorporating the tilting mechanism may be operated so as to tilt or pivot the rotation axis of the arm arrangement in a first selected direction while the arms are rotating, e.g. during a first stage of a ride provided to the riders, but it may subsequently be operated so as to tilt or pivot the rotation axis of the arm arrangement in an opposite direction, especially a linearly opposite direction, to the first selected direction, again while the arms are still rotating, e.g. during a second stage of a ride provided to the riders. In typical practical scenarios the first ride stage may be that stage in the overall ride sequence immediately after the riders have been installed in their respective seats or cars carried on the respective remote ends of the arms, and the second ride stage may be that stage in the overall ride sequence when the arm arrangement is returned to its initial starting configuration in which the riders, having completed the overall ride sequence, can then exit their respective seats or cars.

For achieving the above tilting or pivoting movements’ capabilities, in embodiments of the invention in its various aspects the tilting mechanism may comprise at least one tilting or pivoting means, the tilting or pivoting means being arranged and operable to act on the hub of the hub arrangement so as to tilt or pivot the rotation axis of the arm arrangement in the given tilt or pivot plane (or about the given tilt or pivot axis) (or the selected given one thereof).

In some such embodiments the at least one tilting or pivoting means may comprise a pair of tilting or pivoting devices which are connected to, and act on, the hub of the hub arrangement, e.g. configured appropriately on opposed sides thereof, in a combined yet oppositely- directed push-pull manner so as to tilt or pivot the rotation axis of the arm arrangement in the appropriate desired tilting or pivoting direction. Each of the tilting or pivoting devices may be operable reversibly, especially so as to act in reversible respective tilting or pivoting directions.

In some such embodiments the hub may include a base or support platform, on which base or support platform the bearing carrying the rotatable arm arrangement is mounted, and to which base or support platform are connected, preferably on opposite sides thereof, and with which operatively engage, the respective tilting or pivoting devices. In some example embodiments each of the tilting or pivoting devices may comprise a fluid- operated hydraulic piston-in-cylinder-type device, especially one which is operable in a reversible manner to provide the above-mentioned reversible respective tilting or pivoting capability of each said tilting or pivoting device.

Practical examples of suitable hydraulic cylinder devices for use as the tilting or pivoting devices of the tilting (or pivoting) mechanism of embodiments of the invention are widely available in the art and already widely used in existing amusement rides, such as those cited hereinabove. In typical such embodiments the relevant power and control means used to control the operation of the respective hydraulic cylinder devices of the tilting (or pivoting) mechanism may be independent of, and/or especially may be actuatable independently of, the powering and control means used to effect and control the rotation of the arm arrangement about the hub. They may furthermore be independent of, and/or especially may be actuatable independently of, the powering and control means used to effect and control the movement of the overall hub or hub arrangement relative to the support column in the said direction coincident with or parallel to the column axis. At least some component(s) of the power and control means used to control the operation of the respective hydraulic cylinder devices of the tilting (or pivoting) mechanism, e.g. at least the hydraulic fluid supply hoses or conduits, may if desired or convenient be located within the support column.

In some embodiments of the invention in its various aspects the hub or hub arrangement may be moveable relative to the support column or a portion thereof, especially by translational movement, in the said direction substantially coincident with or substantially parallel to the column axis, by virtue of the support column comprising a lower column portion via which the overall support column is mountable on a chassis or base of the ride, and an upper column portion which carries the hub arrangement, wherein the upper and lower column portions are displaceable relative to each other, especially relative to each other in the said direction substantially coincident with or substantially parallel to the column axis. Thus, in some such embodiments the hub arrangement may be moveable, in the said direction substantially coincident with or substantially parallel to the column axis, relative to the lower column portion only of the overall support column.

In some practical such embodiments, the upper and lower column portions may be mounted telescopically, one within the other, and are mutually moveable relative to each other by virtue of their resulting telescopic relative movement. In some such embodiments the upper column portion may be mounted telescopically within the lower column portion. That telescopic relative movement is preferably reversible, so that the upper and lower column portions may be mutual moveable either towards each other (i.e. with one located increasingly further inside or within the other) or away from one another (i.e. with one located decreasingly inside or within, i.e. increasingly outside, one another).

In some such embodiments the upper and lower column portions may be telescopically movable relative to each other under the operation and control of e.g. hydraulic actuation means, which act directly or indirectly on the upper column portion carrying the hub arrangement, or on the hub arrangement itself, so as to move the hub arrangement, or the hub itself, in the required direction substantially coincident with or parallel to the column axis, as or when required. In those embodiments where the e.g. hydraulic actuation means act on the hub arrangement directly, which is mounted on the upper column portion, the actuation means may act on, e.g. by virtue of being connected to, the base or support platform which forms part of the hub and carries the arm arrangement. Alternatively the hydraulic actuation means may act on the upper column portion, which carries the hub arrangement. The e.g. hydraulic actuation means may comprise one or more, especially a pair of, fluid-operated hydraulic piston-in-cylinder-type devices, such as of any suitable known type, and especially ones which are operable in a reversible manner to provide the above-mentioned reversible telescopic movement of the upper and lower column portions relative to each other.

In some such embodiments, the pair of hydraulic piston-in-cylinder-type devices forming the actuation means may conveniently be located laterally to the exterior of the support column, especially because of the typically limited space available within the support column. However, in other alternative embodiment designs it may be possible for the hydraulic actuation means to be located at least partly inside the support column. In embodiments where the pair of hydraulic piston-in-cylinder-type devices forming the actuation means are located externally of the support column, they may conveniently be arranged orthogonally relative to the pair of hydraulic cylinder devices used as the tilting or pivoting devices of the tilting (or pivoting) mechanism.

In many embodiments of the invention in its various aspects the rotation of the arm arrangement about the hub may be effected and controlled by any suitable drive means, e.g. an electric or other powered motor or engine, optionally in combination with a suitable gearing arrangement, examples of both of which are widely available in the art and already widely used in existing amusement rides, such as those cited hereinabove.

In practical such embodiments at least some components of the overall power supply and control system used to effect and control the rotational motion of the arm arrangement may usefully be located at least partly within the support column.

In many embodiments of the invention the tilting or pivoting movement of the rotational axis of the rotating arm arrangement caused by the actuation of the tilting mechanism may typically be at least such that a general plane of the arm arrangement tilts or pivots from a generally substantially horizontal position (in which horizontal position the riders about to partake of the ride may board it and accommodate themselves in their respective seats or cars) into a tilted or pivoted position - in a tilting direction within the given tilt or pivot plane (or about the given tilt or pivot axis) - in which the arm arrangement is tipped or pitched into a non-horizontal position, especially a tipped or pitched position in which the rotation axis of the arm arrangement is pitched or tipped towards the ground. This tipping or pitching movement may typically occur during a first stage of the ride’s operation. In many such embodiments the preferred reversible action of the tilting mechanism may then enable it to be actuated during a second stage of the ride’s operation so as to tilt or pivot the rotation axis of the arm arrangement back in the reverse direction from the above-mentioned nonhorizontal tipped or pitched position back to the aforementioned horizontal position. Once the latter position has been reached, if desired the tilting/pivoting sequence may be repeated any number of times, or alternatively the ride’s operational sequence may be considered to be terminated, upon which the drive to the rotation of the arm arrangement may be switched off or disconnected, thereby allowing the rotating arms to come to a halt, and the riders allowed to exit their respective seats or cars to signify the end of the ride experience.

In the operation of the amusement ride of the invention, the e.g. translational movement of the hub or hub arrangement relative to the support column or portion thereof, in the direction substantially coincident with or substantially parallel to the column axis, may be effected at any desired stage of the ride’s overall operation. Typically, however, the said translational movement of the hub or hub arrangement may be effected, in either of or sequentially both of its reversible translational directions, at least during (i.e. contemporaneously with) or immediately after, or possibly immediately before, a first stage in the ride’s operation in which the tilting mechanism is operated to effect the tilting or pivoting of the rotation axis of the arm arrangement in a first tilting/pivoting direction, e.g. towards the ground.

More generally, however, in practising various embodiments of the invention, the two distinct components of movement inherent in the ride’s overall operation - namely the tilting/pivoting of the rotation axis of the arm arrangement (in either direction thereof) and the translational movement of the hub or hub arrangement (in either direction thereof) - may be effected in any relative order or combination or even partially simultaneously or contemporaneously with each other. Different combinations or orders or sequences of such distinct components of movement of the overall ride may therefore be designed to create various novel and unusual overall movements or paths of motion through space of the various rider-accommodating seats or cars, thereby creating or contributing to novel rider experiences which are unique to the ride of the present invention.

Within the scope of this specification it is envisaged that the various aspects, embodiments, examples, features and alternatives, and in particular the individual constructional or operational features thereof, set out in the preceding paragraphs, in the claims and/or in the following description and accompanying drawings, may be taken independently or in any combination of any number of same. For example, individual feature(s) described in connection with one particular embodiment is/are applicable to all embodiments, including in any combination with one or more other individual feature(s), unless expressly stated otherwise or such features are incompatible.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

One or more embodiments of the present invention in its various aspects will now be described in detail, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a schematic perspective view of an amusement ride according to one embodiment of the invention, which incorporates an embodiment of the novel tilting and translating mechanism that effects the various movements of the arm arrangement and the hub that carries it, showing the ride in its operative state in which its tilting mechanism has been actuated to tilt the rotating arm arrangement in one of its tipped or pitched directions, and prior to actuation of the translating mechanism which raises (or lowers) the overall hub arrangement;

FIGURE 2 is a schematic perspective view, from the same direction as the view of FIG. 1 , of a lower portion of the amusement ride of FIG. 1 , with certain parts omitted for clarity, showing in further detail the physical arrangement and orientation of certain ones of the hydraulic cylinders of the novel tilting and translating mechanism;

FIGURE 3 is a schematic perspective view of the amusement ride of FIG. 1 , shown from a different, angularly shifted, viewing direction from that of FIGS. 1 and 2, showing more clearly the physical arrangement and orientation of the various hydraulic cylinders of the novel tilting and translating mechanism;

FIGURE 4 is a schematic representation, shown in plan, of the configurational arrangement of the various hydraulic cylinders of the tilting mechanism and the translating mechanism disposed around the central support column of the ride; and

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged partial perspective view from below of (primarily) the tilting mechanism of the embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENT(S)

Referring firstly to FIG. 1 , this illustrates in schematic example form an amusement ride which includes the novel tilting and translating mechanism of the invention, showing the ride in its operative state in which its tilting mechanism has been actuated to tilt or pivot the rotating arm arrangement in one of its up-down tipping/pitching directions, and prior to any vertical translating movement of the overall hub arrangement (which carries the rotating arm arrangement). The ride 1 is built around a central, substantially vertical support column 50, 52 (see FIG. 5), which is made up of a main lower column portion 50 and an upper column portion 52, the upper column portion 52 being telescopically mounted within the main lower column portion 50 and carrying a hub arrangement 60 thereon. The overall support column 50, 52 defines a column axis C and provides the main supporting structure for stably and safely carrying the main moving parts of the ride 1.

The central support column 50, 52 is securely and rigidly mounted fast to a base frame or chassis structure 10, which may if desired or necessary be anchored to the ground using suitable anchoring means (not shown) or alternatively may be mounted on a trailer or other vehicle used to transport the ride 1 from place to place. The base frame or chassis structure 10 supports the central support column 50, 52 with the aid of outriggers 18A, 18B mounted on opposite sides of the column 50, 52. Furthermore, the base frame or chassis structure 10 includes, arranged orthogonally to the outriggers 18A, 18B, a pair of platform elements 16A, 16B, optionally with a raised mounting platform 14 to one side of the base frame structure 10, for enabling riders to access and thereby mount or dismount the seats or cars 40.

Carried on or atop the upper column portion 52 is a hub arrangement 60 which has attached thereto an arm arrangement 20 comprising a plurality of elongate arms 30 each with a respective rider-accommodating seat or car 40 carried on a remote end thereof. Suitable means of attachment for connecting/attaching each arm 30 into the hub arrangement 60, as well as the manner of mounting each seat or car 40 on the end of its respective arm 30, may be in accordance with any suitable known mechanical arrangements therefor used in known amusement rides, as persons skilled in the art will be readily cognisant of, or they may be specially and newly designed for this purpose. The hub arrangement 60 includes a bearing, e.g. based on an array or series of rolling elements (not shown), for permitting rotation of the arm arrangement 20 about a rotation axis A under the operation of powered drive means, e.g. an electric or other motor, optionally via a suitable gearing arrangement - all of which mechanical components may be in accordance with known amusement rides of the type the invention is concerned with.

Underpinning the new amusement ride 1 and providing it with its characteristic new and original rider movements and thus rider experience, is the novel tilting and translating mechanism, which is shown in mid-operation in the in-use tilted configuration of the arm arrangement 30 of the ride 1 in FIG. 1. The mechanics of the new tilting and translating mechanism are shown in greater and clearer detail in FIGS. 2, 3, 4 and, especially, 5.

As can be seen in those other FIGS collectively, the tilting mechanism comprises a first pair of hydraulic piston-in-cylinder devices, jacks or rams 62A, 62B. Each hydraulic cylinder device, jack or ram of the pair 62A, 62B is actuatable reversibly and in tandem with the other of the pair, but in mutually opposite directions in a complementary push-pull manner, so that simultaneous actuation of both cylinder devices, jacks or rams in the pair 62A, 62B causes them to act in opposition directions on the hub arrangement 60 (or the arm arrangement 20 thereof) to tilt or pivot the rotation axis A of the arm arrangement 20 in a desired“down” or “up” direction within a tilt or pivot plane TP (whose position is shown in FIG. 4).

As shown in FIG. 5, the hub arrangement 60 includes a base or support platform 70, on which base or support platform 70 the bearing carrying the rotatable arm arrangement 20 is mounted and the arm arrangement 20 is rotatable about its rotation axis A by the drive motor. To the underside of the base or support platform 70 are attached - via respective appropriately positioned brackets or attachment plates or flanges 72A, 72B - respective ones of the tilting/pivoting cylinder devices, jacks or rams 62A, 62B, such that the latter are operatively connected to and operatively engage with the hub base or support platform 70 at a respective location thereon such as to act on the base or support platform 70 to tilt or pivot it in the desired direction within the tilt/pivot plane TP upon actuation thereof.

Of course, any suitable mechanical arrangement(s) for the attachment or connection of the respective hydraulic cylinder devices, jacks or rams 62A, 62B to the relevant mounting locations on the underside of the hub base or support platform 70 may be possible, as alternatives to the specific example use of brackets or attachment plates or flanges 72A, 72B, etc as illustrated in FIG. 5. Each of the hydraulic cylinder devices, jacks or rams 62A, 62B is powered and controlled so as to be appropriately actuatable - as or when required and in the required direction of movement of its respective piston element - by respective hydraulic fluid pump means (such as indicated as 110 in FIG. 1) under overall control of a suitable ride control unit (not shown), which at least partially may be housed beneath the base frame or chassis structure 10 or possibly to one side of the ride, in accordance with known arrangements for the operation and control of known amusement rides.

Each of the hydraulic cylinder devices, jacks or rams 62A, 62B is actuatable reversibly, so that the overall tilting or pivoting mechanism by which the rotating arm arrangement 20 is tiltable or pivotable is actuatable in a reversible manner, so that the rotating arm arrangement 20 can be tilted or pivoted in either“down” or“up” direction within its defined tilt/pivot plane TP during a respective stage in the ride’s overall operation with the riders on board.

As can be seen more clearly in FIG. 5, the translating mechanism, by which the hub arrangement 60 itself is moveable substantially vertically, as represented by the direction shown by arrow S - i.e. substantially coincident with or parallel to the central column axis C - in a translational manner relative to the lower support column portion 50 and the base frame or chassis 10 of the ride 1 , comprises a second pair of hydraulic piston-in-cylinder devices, jacks or rams 64A, 64B. Conveniently, the second pair of hydraulic piston-in-cylinder devices, jacks or rams 64A, 64B are arranged orthogonally relative to the first pair 62A, 62B thereof, as shown in FIG. 4. Each hydraulic cylinder device, jack or ram of the second pair 64A, 64B is actuatable reversibly and in tandem with the other of the pair, but this time always in the same direction as the other of the pair, so that simultaneous actuation of both cylinder devices, jacks or rams in the pair 64A, 64B causes them to act in the same direction on the hub arrangement 60 so as to displace it vertically - up or down as desired, as represented by arrow S (in FIG. 5) - especially while the rotation axis A of the arm arrangement 20 is being tilted or pivoted by the tilting mechanism described above, and whilst the arms 30 of the arm arrangement 20 are themselves rotating about the rotation axis A.

The upper remote ends of the respective pistons of the second pair of hydraulic piston-in- cylinder devices, jacks or rams 64A, 64B are attached to respective anchoring brackets 55 (or equivalent anchoring or mounting devices or features) located on either the underside of the hub base or support platform 70 itself or alternatively on an upper end portion of the upper support column portion 52 itself (to which the hub base or support platform 70 itself is attached). Thus, upon actuation of the relevant power and control means for the second pair of hydraulic cylinder devices, jacks or rams 64A, 64B, the entire hub arrangement 60, including the rotating arm arrangement 20 carried atop the upper support column portion 52, is raisable or lowerable, as desired, in a vertical direction - which motion is independent of the tilting/pivoting motion of the rotating arm arrangement 20 itself.

At least some component(s) of the rotation drive means for the arm arrangement 20 and of the overall power and control means used to power and control the operation of the respective hydraulic cylinder devices 62A, 62B of the tilting/pivoting mechanism, e.g. power cable(s) and/or at least the respective hydraulic fluid supply hoses or conduits of the relevant hydraulic systems, may if desired or convenient run or be located within the support column 50, 52.

In one example manner of operation of the new tilting and translation mechanism that underpins the present invention, the ride begins - with the riders having already located themselves in their respective cars or seats 40 - with the arm arrangement 20 being in its horizontal (i.e. non-tilted/pi voted) position, and the arms 30 being drivably rotated about the hub arrangement 60 about rotation axis A. Then, once a desired rotational speed of the arms 30 has been reached, either or both (e.g. simultaneously or sequentially) of the following is/are effected:

(i) actuation of the first pair of hydraulic cylinder devices, jacks or rams 62A, 62B to cause the overall hub arrangement 60, with its rotating arm arrangement 20, to tilt or pivot in the tilt/pivot plane TP in a downward (i.e. towards the ground) direction, and/or

(ii) actuation of the second pair of hydraulic cylinder devices, jacks or rams 64A, 64B to raise the overall hub arrangement 60, with its rotating arm arrangement 20, in a vertical direction parallel to the central column axis C.

Then, as or if desired, respective actuations of either or both of:

(iii) the first pair of hydraulic cylinder devices, jacks or rams 62A, 62B, and/or

(iv) the second pair of hydraulic cylinder devices, jacks or rams 64A, 64B, in their respective reverse directions can be effected to cause the overall hub arrangement 60, with its rotating arm arrangement 20, to move in a respective corresponding but opposite direction.

Accordingly, by applying different combinations or orders or sequences of such distinct tilting/pivoting and translating components of movement of the overall ride, once can create a wide range of novel and unusual overall movements or paths of motion through space of the various rider-accommodating seats or cars 40, thereby creating or contributing to novel rider experiences and thrills which are unique to the ride of the present invention.

Throughout the description and claims of this specification, the words “comprise” and “contain” and linguistic variations of those words, for example“comprising” and“comprises”, mean “including but not limited to”, and are not intended to (and do not) exclude other moieties, additives, components, elements, integers or steps.

Throughout the description and claims of this specification, the singular encompasses the plural unless expressly stated otherwise or the context otherwise requires. In particular, where the indefinite article is used, the specification is to be understood as contemplating plurality as well as singularity, unless expressly stated otherwise or the context requires otherwise.

Throughout the description and claims of this specification, features, components, elements, integers, characteristics, properties, compounds, chemical moieties or groups described in conjunction with a particular aspect, embodiment or example of the invention are to be understood to be applicable to any other aspect, embodiment or example described herein unless incompatible therewith or expressly stated otherwise.