JPH0227176B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a passenger support device for supporting passengers while standing in a jet coaster, somersault coaster, or other amusement vehicle that moves on a track or in the air, installed in an amusement park or the like.

Recently, the present applicant has developed an amusement vehicle tentatively named a standing loop coaster, which has already been put into practical use. This vehicle literally maintains the position of the passengers standing on the main body of the vehicle, and then travels through a steep descent, turns, and somersaults on the track, and is similar to conventional jet coasters and somersault coasters in which the passengers are seated in a seated position. Compared to a coaster that runs while held in place, the passenger's center of gravity is higher, which increases the sense of instability, and the line of sight is also higher, which greatly amplifies the feeling of weightlessness, making it an extremely enjoyable coaster.

By the way, it goes without saying that this type of stand-in group coaster needs to ensure the safety of passengers while traveling more than ever before, and is equipped with a body safety holding mechanism to hold passengers in a standing position. However, because passengers on this type of coaster maintain a standing position, rapid changes in gravity G occur during sudden descents, sudden accelerations, turns, somersaults, etc., and these changes in gravity cause damage to the passengers' legs,
There is concern that it will put a heavy burden on joints, especially the knees.

The present invention was made based on the above circumstances, and its purpose is to provide a passenger support device for an amusement ride that has a buffering function to prevent undue stress from being applied to the legs of passengers due to changes in gravity. This is what we are trying to provide.

In other words, the present invention provides a vehicle body that moves on a track, a pillar installed upright on the vehicle body, an elevating body attached to the pillar so as to be movable up and down, and a vehicle body provided on the elevating body. A body safety holding mechanism is provided between the elevating body and the vehicle body, the body safety holding mechanism having a body holding device for supporting the shoulder area of a passenger by passing both the left and right arms of the passenger while riding the vehicle in an upright position, respectively. A locking mechanism that adjusts and locks the vertical position of the elevating body supporting the body safety presser mechanism according to the height of a passenger standing on the vehicle, and the elevating body and the body safety presser. The present invention is characterized by comprising a shock absorbing device provided between the body safety holding mechanism and having a shock absorbing function against vertical loads applied to the body safety holding mechanism.

According to the present invention, the shock absorbing device provided between the elevating body and the body safety restraint mechanism acts as a buffer against the vertical load applied to the body safety restraint mechanism, so that the feet of the passenger in a standing position are protected. will not place an unreasonable burden on you.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below based on the drawings. Although the amusement vehicle in this embodiment will be described with reference to a stand-in group coaster, the same principle may apply to other amusement vehicles.

First, to explain the outline with reference to FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a track, and the track 1 is provided with a bogie, that is, a vehicle body 3, which runs via a plurality of wheels 2. A passenger support device 4 is provided on each of these vehicle bodies 3 so that the passenger can ride in a standing position.

The configuration of the passenger support device 4 will be explained in detail based on the drawings from FIG. 2 onwards. A step 5 is provided on the floor of the vehicle body 3 on which passengers can ride while standing up, and a vertical gate-shaped support 6 is erected on this step 5. The left and right side frames of the support column 6 are made of U-shaped steel, and form guide rails 7a and 7b extending in the vertical direction. An elevating body 8 is supported on the pillar 6. The elevating body 8 includes an upper beam 9, a lower beam 10, and a rod 1 spanning between these upper and lower beams.
1, and the guide rails 7a and 7a are provided at both ends of the upper beam 9 and the lower beam 10, respectively.
The roller 12 is guided by the rollers 7b. Therefore, the elevating body 8 is supported by the support column 6 so as to be able to move up and down. A lock cylinder 13 for height adjustment is spanned between the lower beam 10 and the step 5 or the vehicle body 3. This cylinder 13 is a hydraulic cylinder, and by changing the amount of protrusion of its rod, the height of the elevating body 8 can be changed, and by locking the change in hydraulic pressure, the elevating body 8 whose height has been adjusted can be adjusted. Fix it in that position.

A body safety holding mechanism 15 is provided in the front of the elevating body 8.
is attached so that it can move up and down. The body safety holding mechanism 15 has a back support 16 and a seat 17 as main components. The back support 16 has a rib 16a formed from a piece of pipe material into an oblong shape in the vertical direction;
It is composed of a cushion material 16b made of thick rubber or the like that is coated over the entire length of the outer circumference of the aggregate 16a, and as shown in FIG. ing. Such a back support 16 has an arm 18 extending rearward,
19, these arms 18 and 19 are connected via slide sleeves 20 and 21, respectively.
It is attached to the rod 11 of the above-mentioned elevating body 8 so as to be movable up and down. The seat 17 is in the form of, for example, a bicycle saddle, and allows the passenger to rest only his or her buttocks shallowly on the seat while standing, and is not a seat on which the passenger can sit deeply, like a chair. This seat 17 also has an arm 22 extending rearward, and this arm 22 is connected to the rod 11 via a slide sleeve 23 so as to be movable up and down. A position adjustment hydraulic cylinder 24 is spanned between this arm 22 and the arm 19 of the back support 16. By adjusting the length of this hydraulic cylinder 24, the relative positions of the back support 16 and the seat base 17 in the vertical direction can be adjusted. Furthermore, if you rod the hydraulic cylinder 24 after this adjustment,
The seat 17 is integrally fixed to the back support 16 so that it can move integrally with the rod 11 in the vertical direction.

A pair of left and right body holding tools 25, 25 are attached to the back support 16 and project forward. The pair of left and right body grips 25 and 26 are each made of aggregate 25a formed by bending one pipe into a substantially oval shape, and a cushioning material 25b such as rubber is layered on the outer periphery of the aggregate 25a. The bars 26, 26 are integrally projected. These body support tools 25,
As shown in FIG. 4, arms 25 , which extend rearward, are rotatably supported by bearings 28 , 28 , and thus are supported so as to be openable and closable in the left and right directions. Passenger A holds his arm in body support device 2.
5, 25 and grip the bars 26, 26 with your left and right hands.
When the body restraints 25, 25 are pulled in with both arms and rotated in the closing direction, the body restraints 25, 25 come into contact with passenger A's left and right shoulders and torso, and passenger A It is now possible to squeeze the body of a person. The left and right bearings 28, 28 are supported by support arms 30, 30 extending in the left-right direction from a bracket 29 fixed to the rear side of the back support 16. The aforementioned arms 27, 27 integrally have rear levers 31, 31, and these rear levers 31, 31 are rotatably connected to link levers 32, 32. As shown in FIG. 5, the link levers 32, 32 are connected to a rotating plate 33 rotatably provided on the bracket 29, and this rotating plate 33 is connected to a hydraulic cylinder for a safety lock attached to the bracket 29. It is connected to 34. This safety lock hydraulic cylinder 34 is connected to the body holding tool 15,
25 is rotated to a desired position by the passenger A to hold the body therebetween, and then the passenger A is locked by closing a hydraulic circuit (not shown).

Therefore, a shock absorber 35 is provided between the elevating body 8 and the body safety holding mechanism 15. That is, a support frame 36 is attached to the upper beam 9, and this support frame 36 has a substantially U-shape as shown in FIG. The support frame 36 is located between the slide sleeves 20 and 21, and is passed through the support frame 36 so as to slidably guide the rod 11.
An upper spring 37 is bridged between the upper slide sleeve 20 and the support frame 36, and this upper spring 37 pushes the upper slide sleeve 20 upward. Further, a lower spring 38 is also spanned between the lower slide sleeve 21 and the support frame 36, and this lower spring 3
8 pushes the lower slide sleeve 21 downward. The lower slide sleeve 21 holds a nut 40 via a tube 39, and an adjustment bolt 41 that also serves as a spring receiver and supports the lower end of the lower spring 38 is screwed into the nut 40 so that it can move forward and backward. There is. Therefore, by adjusting the position of this adjustment bolt 41, the initial tension of the upper spring 37 and the lower spring 38 can be changed.

The operation of the embodiment with such a configuration will be explained.

First, while a stand-up group coaster comprising a plurality of connected vehicle bodies 3 enters the platform and is stopped, passengers are boarded one by one at each step 5. Passenger A is seated on stool 1
Passenger A enters the vehicle by straddling the passenger seat 7, and first adjusts the height of the back support 16 while standing, and then adjusts the vertical movement of the back support 16 so that his or her back and the back of the head are in the optimum position. Further, while standing, the passenger holds the seat 17 in his hands and adjusts the seat 17 up and down, so that the seat 17 just touches the bottom of his crotch.
Furthermore, when such adjustment is completed, passenger A passes his arms through the left and right body restraints 25, 25, pulls them inward as if holding the body restraints 25, 25, and brings them into contact with both shoulders and both flanks, Furthermore, grip the grip bars 26, 26 with the fingers of both hands. However,
Once all passengers have boarded the vehicle as described above, the operation staff inspects and confirms this, and then locks the hydraulic circuit. That is, the height adjustment lock cylinder 13 is locked to prevent movement of the elevating body 8, the position adjustment hydraulic cylinder 24 is locked to prevent the seat 17 from moving up and down, and the safety lock hydraulic cylinder 34 is locked. is also locked to prevent the body clamping tools 25, 25 from opening. This results in
All passengers are held in a standing position with their buttocks resting on the seat 17 so as not to fall in either the front, back, left or right directions.

In this way, the stand-in group coaster is started, and the vehicle bodies 3 are caused to run along the track 1. When accelerating suddenly or traveling uphill, the passenger's back and the back of the head are supported by the backrest 16, allowing the passenger to maintain a safe standing position without danger, while the left and right body restraints 25 hold down both shoulders and sides. The upper body is safely supported and protected from the waist down. Furthermore, when the passenger leans forward on a downhill slope at low speed or when braking, the body holding devices 25, 25 prevent the body from leaning forward, and the passenger can push the grip bars 26, 26 with his or her fingers. Also prevents forward leaning.

When descending suddenly down a slope and applying a load G several times the body weight to the passenger's body due to large acceleration, if the passenger is simply standing without any support, the large load will be concentrated directly on the passenger's legs and the human body structure. Although it is very undesirable, the passenger rests his or her buttocks on the seat 17 in a standing position, so the seat 17 supports a large load, and the passenger is forced to pass through the seat with both arms. The body support tools 25 support the load even under the armpits. In addition, since the upper spring 37 of the shock absorber 35 supports the backrest 16 via the upper slide sleeves 20 and 18, the upper spring 37 can withstand a large downward load.
Absorption and relaxation. This reduces the large downward load.

On the other hand, when moving from a steep rise to a sudden descent, a force may be generated that lifts the passenger's body upward in the state shown in Figure 2. , 25 are inserted, preventing the body from lifting up. At this time, the lower spring 38 receives an upward force from the lower slide sleeve 21, and the lower spring 38 absorbs the upward force. Therefore, the impact is alleviated.

Therefore, at any time during the run of the Standain Group Coaster, passengers remain in a standing position, ensuring safety, and passengers can enjoy the thrill and pleasure that cannot be experienced on conventional seated jet coasters. . In addition to this, a body safety holding mechanism 15 consisting of a back support 16 and a seat 17
is supported by the spring 37 and lower spring 38 serving as the shock absorbing device 35 so that it can move up and down in any direction, and the impact is absorbed, so that the passenger receives an unreasonable load on his or her knees, etc. Never.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and can be applied to, for example, other than stand-in group coasters, loop coasters or screw coasters that rotate in the air, or amusement vehicles that float up and down or move up and down while rotating. .

Furthermore, the present invention is applicable to vehicles that run along rails such as various coasters, as well as vehicles that are suspended from wires and move up and down, swings, large seesaws, and revolving arms that can rotate up and down. In short, any vehicle that moves along an orbit can be used, such as a vehicle that has passenger seats at the tip of the vehicle and moves along an orbit as if it were swimming in the air.

Also, as the shock absorber 35, the upper and lower springs 3
In addition to 7 and 38, it is also possible to use a hydraulic cylinder with an accumulator, a pneumatic cylinder, and a combination of these and a spring.

As detailed above, in the present invention, a shock absorber having a shock absorbing function in both the vertical direction is provided between the elevating body and the body safety holding mechanism, so that large fluctuations in gravity can occur for passengers who maintain a standing posture. Even if this occurs, the gravity is alleviated, so passengers are safe without putting any undue strain on their bodies.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show one embodiment of the present invention, in which Fig. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram, Fig. 2 is a side view of main parts, Fig. 3 is a rear view, Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view, and Fig. 5 is a body view. It is an explanatory view showing an opening-and-closing ring mechanism of a clamping tool. 1... Track, 3... Vehicle body, 6... Support, 8
... Lifting body, 13 ... Lock cylinder for height adjustment, 15 ... Body safety presser mechanism, 16 ... Back support, 17 ... Stool, 24 ... Cylinder for position adjustment, 25, 25 ... Body support Tool, 35... shock absorber, 37, 38... spring.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A vehicle body that moves on a track, a pillar installed upright on the vehicle body, an elevating body attached to the pillar so as to be movable up and down, and an elevating body provided on the elevating body and attached to the vehicle body. a body safety holding mechanism having a body holding device that supports the shoulder area of a passenger by passing both the left and right arms of the passenger in a standing position; and a body safety holding mechanism provided between the elevating body and the vehicle main body. a locking mechanism that adjusts and locks the vertical position of the elevating body supporting the body safety holding mechanism according to the height of a passenger standing on the vehicle; and the elevating body and body safety. 1. A passenger support device for an amusement ride, comprising: a shock absorber provided between a body safety press mechanism and having a buffering function against loads in both vertical directions applied to the body safety press mechanism.