JPH0136387B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

The present invention relates to a track system for entertainment vehicles such as roller coasters that are installed in amusement parks and carry passengers on two left and right rails. This invention relates to a track device for an entertainment vehicle called a loop coaster or the like. Pleasure vehicle track systems of the type described above generally include:
A pair of left and right rails, on which the wheels of a vehicle run, are arranged at a constant interval from each other to form a circular (closed loop) running path, and in the middle of the running path there is not only an up-down course but also a substantially horizontal axis. By incorporating a spiral or loop-shaped turning course along the circumference of a virtual cylinder or virtual coasting cylinder, the vehicle carrying passengers can make sudden descents, sudden turns, and somersaults, providing thrilling and varied operation. It has become very popular because of its practice. By the way, such track systems for recreational vehicles have already been developed in Japan as well as in foreign countries such as the United States.
Various proposals have been made and put into practical use, as shown in Japanese Patent Publication No. 150435 and Japanese Patent Publication No. 13192/1982. A turning course that turns around a cylinder or a virtual coasting cylinder in a spiral or loop shape is such that the vehicle always runs inside the circumferential surface of the virtual coasting cylinder or virtual coasting cylinder. For example, in the case of the above-mentioned spiral turning course, the left and right rails are twisted so as to face inside the circumference of the virtual cylinder or the virtual coaster cylinder, and the vehicle is erected (upright) from the entrance located at the lowest point. ), it gradually twists (rolls) inward to the circumferential surface, turns completely upside down at the highest point, and then twists further and assumes an upright posture again at the exit from the next lowest point. and then leave. Further, the loop-shaped turning course is a kind of deformation of the above-mentioned spiral course, and the advance angle is only small, and in this case as well, the vehicle passes inside the virtual cylinder or the circumferential surface of the virtual cylinder. That is, the conventional turning course is a so-called somersault course in which the vehicle is completely turned upside down at the highest point. Therefore, in conventional turning courses where such somersaults are performed, safety bands are installed on the vehicle to prevent passengers from falling, but the centrifugal force exerted on the vehicle during the somersault is overcome by gravity and always keeps the vehicle tightly attached to the rails. A necessary condition is to have a running speed that allows the vehicle to move. For this reason, the vehicle somersaults through the turning course at a fairly high speed, and for the passengers it is a thrill, but it feels like a momentary event, and what's more, the vehicle always runs inside the rails. The problem was that it was relatively monotonous, and I couldn't fully enjoy the varied thrills of slow and fast. In addition, as mentioned above, in conventional turning courses, the vehicle is turned upside down near the top point (the top of the mountain) and is forced to run at a considerable high speed.
It is impossible to create a course that connects directly to a straight course on the ground using the vicinity of the highest point as an entrance or exit. For this reason, the area near the lowest point (trough) where the vehicle is in an upright position is used as an entrance and exit to connect to other courses, but in this case, at the entrance or output at that trough, the vehicle will steeply descend even faster. Therefore, it is necessary to avoid sudden changes in the twisting rotational acceleration from giving a strong shock to the vehicle and passengers, and for this reason, the twisting rotational acceleration between the turning course and other courses must be avoided. It was necessary to intervene with a preliminary relaxation course to soften the changes in
For example, in the case of a clockwise spiral turning course, a right-hand curve is advantageous for the steep descent approach course before the lowest point entrance due to the site area and the arrangement of the turning course, and in this case, the left and right rails are centrifugal. It is necessary to maintain power and balance by canting downward to the right. Therefore, a vehicle that descends rapidly on an approach course is first twisted to the right, then twisted back to the left once to stand upright near the lowest point entrance, and then twisted back to the right again into a right-hand spiral turning course. There is a problem in that sudden changes in twist rotational acceleration occur as the vehicle approaches the vehicle at a rapid rate, causing passengers to experience unpleasant jolts due to the sudden strong shock. Therefore, in order to prevent this and allow vehicles to enter and exit smoothly, it is necessary to create a course that not only provides a relaxation course as described above, but also strictly restricts the direction in which each course connects, which increases the site area. A large number of them are required, and it is difficult to arrange them in narrow premises such as amusement parks, where expansion is difficult due to the recent land boom. Even if the site had enough space to arrange things like this, the course would be too long and you wouldn't be able to fully enjoy the thrill. This invention was made in view of the above-mentioned conventional circumstances, and it is an entertainment that makes it possible to create a course that allows vehicles to run in a way that is rich in variety and free of sudden shocks, allowing the vehicle to travel comfortably and fully enjoy the thrill even within a narrow site. Our objective is to provide a track system for vehicles. The track system for a recreational vehicle of the present invention has a pair of left and right rails arranged in parallel with a certain distance from each other so that the center line between the two rails forms a virtual cylinder or virtual coasting cylinder having a substantially horizontal axis. In a track device for an amusement vehicle having a turning course arranged in a spiral or loop shape along the circumference, the spiral or loop-shaped turning course is such that the vehicle is in the correct position at the lowest point of the turning course. The left and right rails are gradually twisted between the lowest point and the highest point so that the vehicle stands upright at the highest point as well as at the highest point, and the vehicle reverses its turning course as before. Rather than doing somersaults, you can run in an upright position, whether it's at the lowest or highest point. In other words, in the track system of the present invention, when the vehicle is upright and passes inside or outside the circumferential surface of a spiral turning course, it receives continuous twisting acceleration and can experience a varied slimming. The vehicle speed at the top point does not need to maintain centrifugal force as in the past, so it can be at a low speed close to zero, which allows for a more relaxed and sufficient ride feel than in the past, where the vehicle passes all at once in an instant. is obtained. Furthermore, since the vehicle speed is slow and the vehicle is in an upright position at the highest point, it is possible to connect directly to other straight courses, etc., using this point as the entrance or exit of the turning course.
In addition, since the left and right rails are twisted in the opposite direction to the conventional way, there is almost no cant between the left and right rails, so even if the lowest point, which is high speed, is used as the entrance or exit and is connected to another train, the vehicle will not experience sudden twisting acceleration. It is possible to make it possible for the vehicle to run while maintaining continuous twisting rotation in the same direction without causing any change,
It has many advantages, such as eliminating the need for conventional relaxation courses, relaxing the constraints on connections between each course, allowing a considerable degree of freedom, and reducing the site area. be. An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, to give an overview of all the courses installed in a closed-loop manner in Fig. 1, 1 and 2 are a pair of round pipes on the left and right, which are installed in parallel at a constant interval throughout the entire course. It is a rail consisting of a number of pillars 3 of different heights, each of which is erected at appropriate intervals along the entire course, and one slightly thicker rail made of a round pipe. A center rail 4 is fixedly provided,
Support arms 5,
The left and right rails 1 and 2 are fixedly supported at the tips of the support arms 5 and 5 on both sides to form the entire course, and the rails 1 and 2 are provided so as to extend forward, backward, left and right so as to straddle the left and right rails 1 and 2. A recreational vehicle 6 having wheels is installed so that it can travel. To describe each of the courses in the above-mentioned course in order of direction in the direction of travel of the vehicle 6, first, a platform 7 is located at a low position not very high above the ground on one side of the platform 7 for passengers to get on and off, and is arranged approximately horizontally along the platform 7. A vehicle stopping track section 8 is constructed, and a vehicle pulling course 10 extends from the tip of the track section 8 in a straight upward slope and lifts the vehicle 6 to the highest point 9 of the course by a mechanical drive means such as a chain conveyor (not shown). A starting course 11 is formed, which curves to the right from the upper end and extends substantially horizontally (slightly downward in the front). Next, the starting course 1
From 1 onwards, the vehicle 6 travels on its own inertial force. First, the vehicle 6 travels counterclockwise along the circumferential surface of an inertia cylinder (imaginary and does not actually exist) with a substantially horizontal axis 12, halfway around it. A steep descent turning course 13 that extends in a spiral shape, a somersault turning course 15 that spirals clockwise along the circumferential surface of an imaginary cylinder having a substantially horizontal axis 14 for 360 degrees around the entire circumference, and a virtual imaginary axis 16 that is substantially horizontal. Upright turning course 17 that corresponds to the present invention and spirals counterclockwise along the circumferential surface of the inertial cylinder for 360 degrees around the entire circumference.
and a somersault turning course 19 spirally extending 360 degrees clockwise along the circumferential surface of the virtual cylinder with the substantially horizontal axis 18, and finally, the turning course 19. A return course 20 is constructed which, after floating moderately to decelerate the vehicle from the tip, extends approximately horizontally (slightly downwards forward), curves to the right, and connects to the rear end of the vehicle stopping track section 8 of the first platform 7. ing. In addition, 21, 2 in the figure
2, 24, 25, 26 are each of the above courses 13 and 1
5, 17, 19, and 20 (entrances from the preceding courses of the vehicle 6), and conversely speaking, they are the exits of each course 11, 13, 17, and 19. In the above-mentioned course, the parts named steep descent turning course 13 and upright turning course 17 are courses corresponding to the present invention, and the other somersault turning course 1
5 and 19 are similar to a conventional somersault course in which the vehicle 6 is passed upside down through the inside of a spiral left and right rail. The above two types of turning courses 13, 17 and 15, 1
9 will be explained in detail, including FIGS. 2 to 5 in addition to FIG. 1 above. First, somersault turning course 1
5 and 19 are substantially the same, and to explain the turning course 15 as a representative, it is an imaginary cylinder 27 centered on the substantially horizontal axis 14 as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3.
(See Figure 2) The lowest point a on one end side of the circumferential surface is the entrance 2
2, from which the left and right rails 1 and 2 connect to the cylinder 27.
It passes b, c, and d along the circumferential surface of the clockwise direction at an advance angle α, makes one rotation in a 360 degree spiral, and reaches the lowest point e at the other end. Although the advance angle α is set to 35 degrees in the drawing, it can be appropriately selected within the range of 30 degrees to 60 degrees. In addition, the left and right rails 1 and 2 arranged spirally at the advance angle α have the center rail 4 in the same direction as the spiral direction.
It is always twisted to the right around the center. In other words, as you ascend from the lowest point a to the intermediate highest point c, the right rail 2 has a lower cant than the left rail 1, and at the intermediate highest point c, they are horizontal to each other and have zero cant, and then descend from there until the other end reaches the lowest point. Up to e, the left rail 1 is twisted so as to have a lower cant than the right rail 2. As a result, the left and right rails 1 and 2 guide the vehicle spirally inside the circumferential surface of the cylinder 27 while always twisting the vehicle to the right. That is, the entrance 22 at the lowest point a
Then, vehicle 6 started from an upright position (same as when driving on completely flat ground), then gradually twisted to the right, rose, tilted to the side, and then twisted further to the right, completely flipping upside down at the highest point c. From there, the vehicle is twisted further to the right, descends, tilts to the side, and then is guided back to the upright position again at the lowest point e at the other end exit. Next, the turning courses 13 and 17 are basically the same, and to begin with the rear turning course 17, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 5, a virtual inertia cylinder 28 (second
From there, the center line between the left and right rails 1 and 2 moves counterclockwise along the circumferential surface of the inertia cylinder 28 at an advance angle α of f,
It passes through g and h, makes one rotation in a 360 degree spiral, and ends at the lowest point i at the other end. The advance angle α is shown in the drawing as
Although the angle is set at 45 degrees, this can also be appropriately selected within the range of 30 degrees to 60 degrees as described above. By the way, in the case of this turning course 17, the left and right rails 1 and 2 are always twisted to the right about the center rail 4, contrary to the counterclockwise spiral direction. That is, at the entrance 24 of the lowest point e, the center line between the left and right rails 1 and 2, both in a horizontal state, rises from there along a counterclockwise spiral to the right side of the center rail 4, that is, the coaster cylinder 28.
It is twisted toward the outside of the circumferential surface, and becomes horizontal upward at the highest point g. From there, it is further twisted to the right, and the other end descends toward the lowest point i, and at the exit, both become horizontal again. In other words, left and right rail 1,
Even though the center line between the two is arranged spirally along the circumferential surface of the coaster cylinder 28 with the axis 16 being substantially horizontal, the mutual cant between the two is always almost zero, as if it were a simple up-down course. be. As a result, the left and right rails 1 and 2 always twist the vehicle 6 to the right while keeping the vehicle 6 in its normal posture with its left and right inclination substantially horizontal, and guide it up and down along the spiral. That is, the vehicle 6 is at the entrance 24 at the lowest point e.
, it rises from a horizontally erect posture with almost no inclination in the left-right direction, is gradually twisted to the outside of the circumferential surface of the coaster cylinder 28, and at the highest point g comes to the outside (upper side) of the coaster cylinder 28 and becomes horizontal. It assumes an erect posture, and from there it descends with almost no inclination in the left and right directions, gradually twists inside the circumferential surface of the coaster cylinder 28, and returns to the horizontal erect posture as it heads toward the exit at the lowest point i. You will be given driving directions. Also, the turning course 13 in front of you is a substantially horizontal axis 1.
The inlet 2 is located at the highest point on the circumferential surface of the inertia cylinder (not shown) of 2.
1, and is arranged spirally half-circle counterclockwise along the circumferential surface of the coaster cylinder, that is, until the exit indicated by the lowest point a, and the lowest point of the aforementioned turning course 17. This configuration corresponds to a half-turn from g to the lowest point i on the exit side. Here, the tip of the starting course 11 is directly connected to the entrance 21 which is the highest point of the turning course 13, and the lowest point a on the exit side is the next somersault turning course 15.
The rear turning course 17 is directly connected to the somersault turning courses 15, 19 before and after it at the lowest point e, i at both its entrance 24 and exit 25. , each course is successively combined with each other. In this case, since the vehicle 6 is placed in a horizontal and erect position at the connecting portions that are the entrances and exits of each course, the intersection angle β of the mutual helical axes 12, 14, 16, and 18 is determined by the advance angle α of both. By taking the value equal to the sum, it is possible to connect both in a straight line, and in each of the connected turning courses 13, 15, 17, 19, the vehicle 6 is continuously twisted to the right and turned into a cylinder or an inertia cylinder. The vehicle can be run alternately on the inside and outside of the circumferential surface of the vehicle, and there will be no shocks such as sudden twisting back on the way. In addition, the above two types of turning courses 13, 17 and 1
If we look at the difference in the characteristics of Nos. 5 and 19 by expressing them in terms of the twist and rotation angle of the spiral, we can see that in both cases, the center line between both rails advances in the same direction along the virtual axis by the angle of rotation α and the rotation angle θ. If we look at it as a vehicle arranged in a shape, first of all, in the case of the turning courses 15 and 16 where the vehicle 6 somersaults inside the spiral, the twist angle φr corresponding to the rolling of the vehicle 6 is as follows: φr=θsinα...(1 ) On the other hand, in the case of the turning course 17 in which the vehicle 6 passes from the inside of the spiral to the outside upper part in an upright position, the vehicle 6
The twist angle φr′ corresponding to the rolling of Adjust the twist amount to various advance angles α
If we tabulate the calculated values for

[Table] becomes. As you will see, turning course 13.1
7, while the vehicle 6 is traveling along a spiral, it is twisted in the opposite direction to the direction of the spiral to keep the left and right horizontal at all times. Also, θ= in the turning courses 13 and 17
Near 90 degrees, that is, near the intermediate heights indicated by f and h, a lateral centrifugal force is applied to the vehicle 6, and the passengers momentarily receive a force that seems to push them sideways from the vehicle 6, but the somersault turning course Compared to Nos. 15 and 19, the vehicle speed at that point can be set slower, so a very strong centrifugal force is not generated, and although you can feel the thrill, there is no danger. Furthermore, as described above, the center line between the left and right rails 1 and 2 is spirally arranged along the circumferential surface of the coaster cylinder 28 of the substantially horizontal axis 16, and the coaster cylinder 28 is arranged vertically in the vertical direction as shown in FIG. Since the axis 29 is a peripheral surface having a short axis 30 in the horizontal direction, the centrifugal force near the intermediate heights f and h is smaller than that of a simple cylindrical peripheral surface. If it is desired to further reduce the centrifugal force, it is sufficient to add a small amount of cant to the left and right rails 1 and 2 near the intermediate heights f and h. Note that it is not impossible to imagine a course in which the vehicle always faces the outside of the turning course, such as a coasting circle. In the case of such a turning course, the vehicle stands upright at the highest point and is upside down at the lowest point. However, when the vehicle is in an upside-down position at its lowest point, centrifugal force and gravity are both applied to the vehicle and the passengers, so the structure that holds the vehicle from falling must be extremely robust, and the passenger The structure to keep it from falling also becomes more complex.
Undesirable from a safety standpoint. For this reason, such structures have been avoided and not adopted in the past. On the other hand, in the case of the present invention, since the vehicle stands upright at the highest and lowest points, there is an advantage that the above-mentioned problem is eliminated. As explained above, according to the present invention, the vehicle travels in an upright position on a turning course such as a spiral while receiving twists, so passengers can not only experience a thrill with a variety of changes, but also increase the speed of the vehicle at the highest point. Because the train only needs to operate at a low speed close to zero, passengers can enjoy the long ride at a high altitude, and the passengers can enjoy a leisurely view of the surrounding scenery from the height. and again,
Since the vehicle speed at the highest point can be as low as close to zero, there are advantages such as an increased degree of freedom in course design, such as connecting to other courses from this position.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show one embodiment of the invention.
The figure is a schematic perspective view of the entire track device course, Figure 2 is a plan view of the two types of turning courses connected to each other in Figure 1, and Figure 3 is an arrow seen from direction A in Figure 2. A side view, Figure 4 is a sectional view taken along line B-B in Figure 2, and Figure 5 is a side view.
The figure is a sectional view taken along the line CC in FIG. 1, 2... Left and right rails, 6... Vehicle, 12, 16
...Axis line, 13,17...Turning course, 15,1
9... Another somersault turning course, e, i... lowest point, g... highest point, 21, 24... entrance, 22,
25...Exit, 27...Virtual cylinder, 28...Virtual coasting cylinder, 29...Long axis line, 30... Short axis line.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. In order to run an amusement vehicle such as a roller coaster on wheels, a pair of left and right rails are arranged side by side with a certain distance between them, and the center line between these two rails is approximately horizontal. In a track system for an entertainment vehicle having a turning course arranged in a spiral or loop shape along the circumferential surface of a virtual cylinder or virtual coasting cylinder having an axis, the spiral or loop-shaped turning course is:
The left and right rails are gradually twisted between the lowest point and the highest point so that the vehicle stands upright at the lowest point of the turning course and also stands upright at the highest point. Orbital equipment for recreational vehicles. 2. Claim 1, characterized in that the turning course starts from the lowest point or the highest point of the circumferential surface of a virtual cylinder or virtual coasting cylinder having a substantially horizontal axis and extends one round in the circumferential direction thereof. Orbital equipment for recreational vehicles as described. 3. The turning course starts from the lowest point or the highest point of the circumferential surface of a virtual cylinder or virtual coasting cylinder having a substantially horizontal axis and extends half the circumference thereof. Recreational vehicle track equipment. 4. Claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the turning course is formed along the circumferential surface of a virtual coasting cylinder having a substantially horizontal axis with a long axis in the vertical direction and a short axis in the horizontal direction. A track device for a recreational vehicle according to any of paragraphs.