TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to a knuckle joint for an amusement ride. More particularly, though not exclusively, it relates to a novel knuckle joint for attaching a rider-accommodating car or seat to an arm of an amusement ride. The invention also relates to a method of operating an amusement ride in which one or more rider-accommodating cars or seats is/are attached to a respective arm of the ride via a respective said knuckle joint. In particular, though not exclusively, the invention relates to amusement rides 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 carrying a respective rider-accommodating car or seat at a remote end thereof, the hub including a bearing for permitting rotation of the arm arrangement, and thus the rider- accommodating cars or seats, about a rotation axis, which ride may or may not include a tilting or pivoting mechanism for altering the tilt or pitch of the rotation axis of the arm arrangement during its rotation.

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 cars or seats at the remote 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 cars or seats.

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 incorporates a tilting mechanism, which is actuatable independently of the rotational drive means that rotates the car/seat- carrying arm arrangement about its central hub atop the main support column, 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.

Existing amusement ride designs - including the above-named ones as well as others - have generally relied on a fairly primitive manner of attachment of the cars or seats to the respective rotatable arms, in which a connection joint uniting each car/seat with the end of its respective arm allows the car/seat to independently pivot in a pivot axis. Thus, as the arms rotate, the cars/seats are able to swing in a pivoted manner radially outwardly under centrifugal force as the ride arm arrangement rotates and picks up speed (or radially inwardly as the ride slows down), thereby contributing to the overall thrill-inducing rider experience as the ride arms rotate.

However, despite some rides such as those named above including an arm arrangement tilting mechanism for providing enhanced variations in the rider experience, the use hitherto of such known car/seat connection joints that provide at best only limited, single-axis, pivoting, inevitably mechanically limit the range of rider movements and car/seat paths of travel that are possible in a given ride. Thus, such known amusement rides can only go so far in providing new and original rider movements. 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 a knuckle joint for attaching a rider-accommodating car or seat to an arm of an amusement ride, the 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 a respective one of a plurality of said rider-accommodating cars or seats at a remote end thereof, the hub including a bearing for permitting rotation of the arm arrangement about a rotation axis;

wherein the knuckle joint comprises:

a first joint member for attachment to a remote end of a respective arm of the arm arrangement via first pivot means defining a first pivot axis, and

a second joint member connected or connectable to a respective car or seat of the ride and for attachment to the first joint member via second pivot means defining a second pivot axis,

wherein the first and second pivot axes are non-parallel to one another.

In a second aspect of the present invention there is provided an arm arrangement for 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 the said arm arrangement, and the hub including a bearing for permitting rotation of the arm arrangement about a rotation axis;

wherein the said arm arrangement comprises:

a plurality of arms each carrying a respective one of a plurality of rider- accommodating cars or seats at a remote end thereof,

and wherein at least one respective said car or seat is attached to its respective arm via a knuckle joint according to the first aspect of the invention or any embodiment thereof.

Within the scope of the present invention, and definable as such as a third aspect thereof, there is further provided, in combination, an arm for an arm arrangement for an amusement ride as defined above according to the second aspect, and a rider-accommodating car or seat carried at a remote end of said arm, wherein the said car or seat is attached to the said arm via a knuckle joint according to the first aspect of the invention or any embodiment thereof. In a fourth 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 a respective one of a plurality of rider-accommodating cars or seats at a remote end thereof, the hub including a bearing for permitting rotation of the arm arrangement about a rotation axis;

wherein at least one respective said car or seat is attached to its respective arm via a knuckle joint according to the first aspect of the invention or any embodiment thereof.

In a fifth 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;

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 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 at least one respective said car or seat is attached to its respective arm via a knuckle joint according to the first aspect of the invention or any embodiment thereof;

wherein the method comprises:

operating the ride to rotate the arm arrangement about its rotation axis; and as the arm arrangement rotates about its rotation axis, allowing the said respective car or seat connected to the second joint member of the knuckle joint to pivot relative to its respective arm by virtue of either or both of:

(i) the first joint member of the knuckle joint pivoting relative to the remote end of the respective arm about the said first pivot axis, and/or

(ii) the said respective car or seat connected to the second joint member of the knuckle joint pivoting relative to the first joint member about the said second pivot axis.

In accordance with the essence of the present invention, therefore, the constructional arrangement of the knuckle joint may be such that it permits dual or two-fold pivoting, independently about two distinct and non-parallel pivot axes, of the or each respective car or seat relative to the respective remote end of the arm to which it is attached via the joint.

In many embodiments of the knuckle joint of the invention the overall constructional arrangement thereof may be such that the first and second pivot axes are non-parallel to one another by virtue of their being oriented relative to one another at an orientation angle of greater than 0° but less than 90°, or alternatively greater than 0° but less than 180° (depending on which side of the relevant intersection one defines the aforementioned angle).

In many such embodiments the orientation angle may be substantially 90°, or - and in other words - the first and second pivot axes may be oriented substantially orthogonally relative to one another.

However, in other embodiments, an orientation angle of the first and second pivot axes, relative to one another, may be selected so as to be other than substantially 90° (i.e. other than substantially a right-angle), in which case the first and second pivot axes may be oriented substantially non-orthogonally relative to one another.

In many embodiments of the knuckle joint of the invention the overall constructional arrangement thereof may be such that the first and second pivot axes are displaced or spaced apart relative to one another in a direction substantially parallel to a general longitudinal axis of the arm, or of the remote end portion of the arm, to which the knuckle joint is attached via its first joint member. Typically this displacement or spacing may for example be the result of the inherent size and/or shape of the respective first and second joint members or other components of the joint, taking into account any relative spacings between them for allowing the necessary relative pivoting motions about the first and second pivot axes.

In some embodiments of the ride or arm aspects of the invention, each of the arms of the arm arrangement may include a remote end portion to which is attached a respective knuckle joint for attaching the respective car/seat thereto. In many such embodiments the end portion of the or each arm may be configured such that the general longitudinal axis of the end portion is angled at an oblique angle relative to the general longitudinal axis of the main body of the arm, and/or the end portion is of a sufficient length, so that the pivoting motion of the seat/car as a result of the relative pivoting of the parts of the knuckle joint about its first and second pivot axes is unhindered by the remote end portion of the arm, i.e. so that the car/seat is prevented from hitting or contacting the remote end portion of the arm during its overall pivoting motion during operation of the ride.

In some embodiments of the knuckle joint of the invention, the first pivot means may comprise a first pivot rod, pin or axle which defines the first pivot axis, and the second pivot means may comprise a second pivot rod, pin or axle which defines the second pivot axis.

In many practical embodiments of the invention the relevant pivoting motion or motions about each of, or both of, the first and the second pivot axes may be substantially free and unhindered. That/those substantially free and unhindered pivoting motion(s) may especially be the result of, or may even be dictated by, the various competing forces acting on the respective car/seat(s) as a result of: the rotation of the arm arrangement about the hub (such as the centrifugal force generated thereby), any tilting of the overall arm arrangement that may be present (if a tilting mechanism is incorporated in the ride and is actuated), and gravity. These combined pivoting degrees of freedom about both the first and the second pivot axes of the knuckle joint may thus contribute to an overall enhanced degree of original, exciting, possibly even random, rider-thrilling motion of the respective car/seat as the arm arrangement of the ride rotates about the hub during its operation.

In some embodiments of the knuckle joint of the invention the second joint member may include connection means for connecting it to its respective car or seat. In some such embodiments the or each respective connection means may comprise a connecting arm, especially an elongate connecting arm. If desired or necessary, the or each connecting arm may include an angled or crooked portion intermediate its ends, or it may even be arcuate in shape.

In some practical example embodiments of the ride or arm aspects of the invention, each of the cars or seats may be provided with a hood which is mounted relative to the car or seat so as to be positioned above the rider(s) to be accommodated therein. For the purpose of so mounting the respective hood, it may be mounted on the connecting arm or other connecting means via which the second joint member of the knuckle joint is connected to its respective car/seat assembly. Alternatively the respective hood may be mounted on a part of the second joint member directly, if that is more appropriate or mechanically more expedient.

In many such embodiments which incorporate a hood above the respective car or seat, the hood’s manner of mounting may be such that the hood is substantially fixed and/or non- rotatable and/or non-pivotable relative to the car or seat itself, as the car or seat itself pivots relative to its respective arm via its respective knuckle joint. In this manner, as the arm arrangement of the ride rotates about the hub and the cars/seats pivot relative to their respective arms, each respective hood maintains a substantially fixed position relative to the rider(s) accommodated in the respective car/seat therebeneath. In putting embodiments of the knuckle joint of the invention into practical effect, any suitable material may be used to form the first and second joint members, e.g. a suitable strong metal or metal alloy, or alternatively a suitably strong plastics-based composite material. Specific practical examples of suitable metals, alloys or composites (e.g. steel or a suitable alloy of two or more suitable metals, e.g. at least Al) are readily available in the art.

In embodiments of the amusement ride aspect of the invention, the overall ride may or may not include a tilting or pivoting mechanism constructed and arranged for tilting or pivoting the rotation axis of the arm arrangement relative to the column axis in one or more tilt or pivot planes or about one or more tilt or pivot axes.

In practical embodiments of the amusement ride aspect of the invention 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.

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 in one of its aspects, which incorporates a plurality of knuckle joints each of an embodiment of the invention in another of its aspects for the purpose of attaching respective ones of the rider-accommodating cars or seats to their respective rotatable arms, this Figure showing the ride in one mode of its overall operative sequence; FIGURE 2 is a close-up perspective view of one of the embodiment knuckle joints incorporated in the ride of FIG. 1 , showing the knuckle joint’s component parts and their respective pivot axes;

FIGURE 3 is a side view of one of the arms of the arm arrangement of the ride of FIG. 1 , showing more clearly the configuration of its remote end portion and the site of attachment thereon of the knuckle joint that is used to attach thereto the respective car or seat;

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of part of the arm arrangement of the ride of FIG. 1 with the respective cars/seats attached to their respective arms, showing the manner of pivoting of the cars/seats via their respective knuckle joints as the arm arrangement rotates about the hub;

FIGURE 5 is a perspective view of one of the car/seat assemblies alone, including its hood and the linking arm that connects the car/seat to its respective knuckle joint, showing the relative configurational arrangement of those various components;

FIGURE 6 is a side view of the car/seat assembly of FIG. 5; and

FIGURE 7 is an enlarged perspective view of part of the arrangement shown in FIG. 4, but from a different viewing angle, showing more clearly the manner in which the car/seat assemblies pivot and swing outwardly during the rotation of the arm arrangement of the ride.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENT(S)

Referring firstly to FIG. 1 , this illustrates in schematic example form an amusement ride 1 which incorporates a plurality of knuckle joints each according to an embodiment of the invention for the purpose of attaching respective ones of the rider-accommodating cars or seats 40 to their respective rotatable arms 30, this Figure showing the ride 1 in a tilted mode of its overall operative sequence. Although this example ride 1 is shown as including such a tilting mechanism, it is to be understood that such a ride, to which any embodiment(s) of the knuckle joint of this invention may be put, may include any form of tilting or pivoting mechanism, or possibly even no tilting/pivoting mechanism at all.

The ride 1 comprises a central, substantially vertical support column 50 which 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 is securely and rigidly mounted fast to a base frame 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 structure 10 may support the central support column 50 with the aid of outriggers 18A, 18B mounted on opposite sides of the column 50. Furthermore, the base frame 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 cars or seats 40.

Carried atop the central support column 50 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 car or seat 40 carried on a remote end 32 portion thereof (as indicated in FIG. 3). Suitable means of attachment for linking each arm 30 to the hub 60 may be in accordance with any suitable known mechanical arrangements therefor used in known amusement rides, as the person skilled in the art will be readily cognisant of. Each car or seat 40 is mounted on the end portion 32 of its respective arm 30 by means of a respective knuckle joint 80 of an embodiment of this invention, as described further below in connection with the remaining FIGS. 2 to 7. The hub 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 the 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.

Of primary importance to the new amusement ride 1 , and its characteristic new and original rider movements and new rider experience that stem from the new pivoting motion(s) of each car or seat 40, is each novel knuckle joint 80, the construction, mechanics and operation of which are shown in FIGS. 2 to 7 and will now be described.

As shown collectively in FIGS. 2 to 7: each knuckle joint 80 comprises a first joint member 92 attached to the remote end portion 32 of a respective arm 30 of the arm arrangement 20 via a first pivot rod, pin or axle R1 which defines a first pivot axis PA1 (as shown in FIG. 2), and a second joint member 94 connected to a respective car or seat 40 of the ride 1 and further attached to the first joint member 92 via a second pivot rod, pin or axle R2 which defines a second pivot axis PA2. The remote end portion 32 of the arm 30 is formed with a yoke or pair of flanged extensions 36 for accommodating and anchoring the first pivot rod, pin or axle R1. Likewise, the first joint member 92 is formed also with its own yoke or pair of flanged extensions for accommodating and anchoring the second pivot rod, pin or axle R2.

The first PA1 and second PA2 pivot axes defined by the respective first and second pivot rods, pins or axles R1 , R2, respectively, are non-parallel to one another, and in the illustrated embodiment are orthogonal, i.e. oriented at substantially 90°, relative to each other. Thus, and in accordance with various embodiments of this invention, the constructional arrangement of the knuckle joint 80 is such that it permits dual or two-fold pivoting - independently about the two distinct and orthogonal pivot axes PA1 , PA2 - of the respective car or seat 40 relative to the respective remote end portion 32 of the arm 30 to which it is attached via the knuckle joint 80.

The first and second pivot axes PA1 , PA2 are displaced or spaced apart relative to one another in a direction substantially parallel to the general longitudinal axis of the arm 30, or alternatively to the general longitudinal axis of the remote end portion 32 of the arm 30. This displacement or spacing is in practice simply a result of the inherent size and/or shape of the respective first and second joint members 92, 94 of the joint 80, taking into account their respective mounting yokes or flanged extensions and any relative spacings between them for allowing the necessary relative and free/unhindered pivoting motions about the first and second pivot axes PA1 , PA2.

The end portion 32 of each arm 30 is configured such that the general longitudinal axis of the end portion 32 is angled at an oblique angle relative to the general longitudinal axis of the main body of the arm 30, and/or the end portion 32 is of a sufficient length, such that the pivoting motion of the seat/car 40 as a result of the relative pivoting of the parts 92, 94 of the knuckle joint 80 about its first PA1 and second PA2 pivot axes is unhindered by the remote end portion 32 of the arm 30, i.e. so that the car/seat 40 is prevented from hitting or contacting the remote end portion 32 of the arm 30 during its overall pivoting motion during operation of the ride 1.

The second joint member 94 is connected to the respective car or seat 40 via an elongate connecting arm 102, which includes an angled or crooked portion intermediate its ends. Alternatively the connecting arm 102 may be arcuate in shape.

The various components of each knuckle joint 80 may be formed from any suitable strong metal or metal alloy, or alternatively a suitably strong plastics-based composite material, specific examples of which are widely available in the art. Any suitable form of moulding, casting, extrusion or machining steps (or combination of any thereof) may be used for this manufacturing purpose.

As also shown in FIGS. 2 to 7, each of the cars or seats 40 is provided with a hood 44 which is mounted relative to the respective car or seat 40 so as to be positioned above the rider(s) to be accommodated therein. Each hood 44 may be characteristically shaped or designed to have a particular novel and eye-catching or appealing shape, such as various configurations resembling an arrow-head as illustrated by way of example in FIGS. 2 to 7. Each respective hood 44 is mounted on the respective connecting arm 102 via which the respective second joint member 94 of the respective knuckle joint 80 is connected to its respective car/seat assembly 40. The hood 44’s manner of mounting thereon is such that the hood 44 is substantially fixed and/or non-rotatable and/or non-pivotable relative to the car or seat 40 itself, as the car or seat 40 pivots relative to its respective arm 30 of the ride 1 via its respective knuckle joint 80. In this manner, as the arm arrangement 20 of the ride 1 rotates about the hub 60 and the cars/seats 40 pivot relative to their respective arms 30, each respective hood 44 maintains a substantially fixed position relative to the rider(s) accommodated in the respective car/seat 40 therebeneath.

In practical embodiments of the amusement ride aspect of the invention the rotation of the arm arrangement 20 about the hub 60 may be effected and controlled by any suitable drive means (not shown), 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 each knuckle joint 80, the relevant pivoting motions about each of the first PA1 and the second PA2 pivot axes are substantially free and unhindered and can occur independently of each other. Thus, those substantially free and unhindered pivoting motions may especially be the result of, or may even be dictated by, the various competing forces acting on the respective car/seat 40 as a result of any of: the rotation of the arm arrangement 20 about the hub 60 (such as the centrifugal force generated thereby), any tilting of the overall arm arrangement 20 that may be present (if a tilting mechanism is incorporated in the ride 1 and is actuated), and gravity. These combined pivoting degrees of freedom about both the first PA1 and the second PA2 pivot axes of the respective knuckle joint 80 may thus contribute to an overall enhanced degree of original, exciting, possibly even random, rider-thrilling motion of the respective car/seat 40 as the arm arrangement 20 of the ride 1 rotates about the hub 60 during its operation.

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.