CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61 /761 ,352 filed February 6, 2013 entitled FRICTION REDUCING

WATERSLIDE SECTION.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of Invention

The present invention relates to waterslides in general and in particular to a method and apparatus for reducing the friction of a vehicle within a waterslide.

2. Description of Related Art

Water slides are a common and popular recreational activity. Water slides commonly are comprise a track formed of a tubular or contoured track with a flow of water traveling from the top to the bottom to convey a rider.

Conventional waterslides rely completely on gravity and the flowing water to convey the rider to the bottom of the slide. Such conventional waterslides use only potential energy gained from climbing a tower to move the vehicle down the slide. Using only potential energy creates the disadvantages of not being able to start motion on a flat section (launching) and not being able to climb to a height greater than the proceeding drop.

An alternative method of propelling a rider along the waterslide involves located the rider within a vehicle or raft, and propelling the vehicle along the waterslide through the use of linear induction motors as are known in the art.

Such linear induction motors rely upon a metal plate located within the vehicle which is acted upon by successive magnetic coils located within the track.

Disadvantageously, such linear induction motors may be prone to drawing the vehicle downward towards the track under the influence of the magnetic coils which will produce friction between the vehicle and the track thereby impeding movement. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to a first embodiment of the present invention there is disclosed an apparatus for transporting a rider comprising a vehicle having a bottom sliding surface and an interior sized to receive at least one rider, a track having a path sized to receive the vehicle therein, at least one sliding section disposed along the track and at least one roller section disposed along the track.

The roller section may include a drive for propelling the vehicle along the track. The drive may comprise a linear induction drive. The vehicle may include a metal plate along the bottom thereof. The metal plate may be embedded within the vehicle.

The roller section may include a plurality of rollers disposed therealong to support the vehicle. The rollers may be unidirectionally aligned to rotate about an axis perpendicular to a desired motion of the vehicle. The rollers may be pivotally mounted to the roller section so as to be unidirectional. The rollers may be located within cavities along a top surface of the roller section. The rollers may be located on top of a top surface of the roller section. The track may be substantially impermeable.

According to a further embodiment of the present invention there is disclosed a method for transporting a rider comprising providing a track having a path sized to receive a vehicle therein, locating the vehicle having a bottom sliding surface and an interior sized to receive at least one rider within the track, conveying the vehicle along at least one sliding section disposed along the track and conveying the vehicle along at least one roller section disposed along the track. Other aspects and features of the present invention will become apparent to those ordinarily skilled in the art upon review of the following description of specific embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying figures. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In drawings which illustrate embodiments of the invention wherein similar characters of reference denote corresponding parts in each view,

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a waterslide according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of a rolling section of the waterslide of Figure

1 .

Figure 3 is a detailed perspective view of the rolling section of Figure 2. Figure 4 is a side view of the rolling section of Figure 2 with the vehicle therein.

Figure 5 is a cross sectional view of one of the rollers located within the rolling section of Figure 2.

Figure 6 is a perspective view of a sliding section of the waterslide of

Figure 1 .

Figure 7 is a side view of the sliding section of Figure 6 with the vehicle therein.

Figure 8 is a perspective view of a rolling section of the waterslide of Figure

1 according to a further embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to Figure 1 , a waterslide according to a first embodiment of the invention is shown generally at 10. The water slide 1 0 comprises an elongate track 12 having a beginning 14 and an end 16. The track 12 may optionally include one or more downhill portions 18 and one or more uphill portions 20. Although both downhill and uphill portions are illustrated in Figure 1 , it will be appreciated that any combination of uphill, downhill, level and turning portions may be combined for the desired ride. As illustrated in Figure 1 , the track 12 includes at least one vehicle 50 operable to be received within the track and propelled therealong as will be more fully described below. As illustrated, the track 12 may be formed of a plurality of sections comprising sliding sections and roller sections, 22 and 70, respectively, which will be further described below. Turning now to Figure 2, a roller section 22 of the track is illustrated. The track comprises a bottom running surface 24, and first and second side walls, 26 and 28, respectively. The bottom running surface 24 includes a plurality of rollers 30 for supporting the vehicle 50 within the track while the first and second side walls 26 and 28 contain the vehicle to remain within the track 12. Although the track is illustrated in Figure 2 as having a substantially rectangular cross-section, it will be appreciated that other cross-sections may also be utilized, such as, by way of non-limiting example, circular, oval or irregular. It will furthermore be appreciated that for non-rectangular cross- sections the bottom surface and side walls may be blended together so as to not form distinct corners therebetween as illustrated in Figure 2.

As illustrated in Figures 2 and 6, a vehicle for use in the track is shown generally at 50. The vehicle 50 comprises an outer wall 52 which may be formed of an inflatable body as is commonly known in the art. The vehicle 50 includes a bottom panel 54 which provides a surface for an occupants to sit on within the outer wall. As illustrated in Figure 4 the bottom panel 58 may include a plate 56 therein. The plate 56 may be formed of any conductive material, such as, by way of non-limiting example, aluminum, steel, stainless steel or the like. It will also be appreciated that the plate may be formed of a continuous uniform member or may optionally be formed of a plurality of members, windings or coils. The bottom surface 24 of the roller section 22 includes a plurality of rollers 30 located therealong. As illustrated in Figures 2 and 3, the rollers 30 may be located within cavities 32 disposed in the bottom surface 24. Optionally, the rollers may be located above the bottom surface within pods 36 as illustrated in Figure 8. The rollers 30 may be unidirectional so as to rotate about a pin 40 as illustrated in Figure 5 such that the roller has an axis of rotation about the pin 40 perpendicular to the path of travel of the vehicle 50. As illustrated in Figure 8, the roller 30 may also comprise a sphere contained within the cavity 32 in either the pod 36 or the bottom surface so as to be operable to rotate in any direction thereby permitting movement of the vehicle 50 in any direction. It will be appreciated that the cavities 32 are sealed to prevent the escape of water from the track 1 2. Turning now to Figure 4, the rollers 30 space the bottom 54 of the vehicle above the bottom surface 24 of the track by a spacing distance generally indicated at 42. The spacing distance is selected to permit water to flow therepast while maintaining the plate 56 in proximity to the linear induction drive as will be discussed below. In practice it has been found that a spacing distance of between 0.075 and 1 inches (2 and 25 mm) has been useful.

The roller section 22 may optionally include a linear induction drive as illustrated in Figure 4 wherein a plurality of electromagnets 60 are located within or below the bottom surface 24 of the track. The electromagnets 60 act on and propel the plate 56 in the vehicle 50 in a desired direction according to commonly known methods. As illustrated in Figure 4, the use of rollers below the vehicle while the electromagnets are operating on the vehicle prevent the vehicle from being drawn downward under influence of the electromagnets to frictionally engage with the bottom surface 24 of the track thereby impeding movement of the vehicle.

Turning now to Figure 6, a sliding section 70 of the track is illustrated. The track comprises a bottom running surface 72, and first and second side walls, 74 and 76, respectively. The bottom running surface 72 may be substantially flat or unobstructed to permit water and the vehicle to slidably translate thereover. It will be appreciated that the sliding section 70 will have a cross section corresponding to the roller section 22 so as to accommodate vehicles 50 of a common size therethrough. As illustrated in Figure 7 the bottom surface 72 of the sliding section 70 is shaped to permit water to flow therepast so as to provide a cushion of water, generally indicated at 78 to flow between the bottom surface 72 of the track and the bottom 54 of the vehicle in a direction generally indicated at 80. ln operation, the waterslide 10 may be formed of a plurality of roller and sliding sections to form an elongate path of travel for the waterslide. It will be appreciated that the sliding sections may be located on downhill portions of the path while the roller sections with linear induction motors may be provided at uphill portions or at other locations where the vehicle 50 is required to be propelled. A continuous flow of water may be provided along the waterslide 10 to carry the vehicle along the sliding sections 70 according to known methods. While specific embodiments of the invention have been described and illustrated, such embodiments should be considered illustrative of the invention only and not as limiting the invention as construed in accordance with the accompanying claims.