Choreographed ride systems and methods

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11517828-B2
Application number	US-201916513475-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 16, 2019
Priority date	Jun 19, 2019
Publication date	Dec 6, 2022
Grant date	Dec 6, 2022

Abstract

A ride vehicle includes a riding assembly configured to carry a rider, a base configured to couple to the riding assembly, and a control system configured to control the coordination of movements of the ride vehicle with movements of separate ride vehicles. The base includes a surface movement system configured to move the ride vehicle along a surface, a vertical movement system configured to move the riding assembly vertically relative to the base, and a roll system configured to move the riding assembly angularly relative to the base.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A ride vehicle, comprising:
a riding assembly configured to carry a rider;
a pole extending through the riding assembly, wherein the riding assembly is coupled to the pole;
a base configured to couple to the pole and to the riding assembly via the pole, wherein the pole extends from the base, and wherein the base comprises a surface movement system configured to move the ride vehicle along a surface, a vertical movement system configured to move the riding assembly vertically via the pole and relative to the base, and a roll system configured to move the riding assembly angularly via angular rotation of the pole relative to the base; and
a control system configured to control the coordination of movements of the ride vehicle with movements of separate ride vehicles.

2. The ride vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the control system is configured to instruct the surface movement system to maneuver the ride vehicle with respect to the separate ride vehicles based on a common choreographed routine that includes transitioning the ride vehicle between a ride path and a rider boarding area.

3. The ride vehicle of claim 2 , wherein the common choreographed routine includes a respective choreographed ride path for each ride vehicle of the ride vehicle and the separate ride vehicles.

4. The ride vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the control system is configured to continuously control adjustment of a course of the ride vehicle based on positioning feedback for at least a subset of the separate ride vehicles.

5. The ride vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the surface movement system is configured to turn the ride vehicle, spin the ride vehicle, and move the ride vehicle linearly.

6. The ride vehicle of claim 1 , comprising a surface position sensor configured to output a signal indicative of a surface position of the ride vehicle along the surface.

7. The ride vehicle of claim 6 , wherein the control system is configured to determine a relative position of the ride vehicle, with respect to one or more of the separate ride vehicles, based on the signal indicative of the surface position and data received by the control system regarding the one or more of the separate ride vehicles.

8. The ride vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the vertical movement system comprises a vertical position sensor configured to output a signal indicative of a vertical position of the riding assembly and the control system is configured to coordinate actuation of the vertical movement system based on the vertical position and data received by the control system regarding vertical positioning of one or more of the separate ride vehicles.

9. The ride vehicle of claim 1 , wherein a portion of the pole is exposed above the riding assembly.

10. A ride vehicle, comprising:
a riding assembly configured to carry a rider;
a base configured to couple to the riding assembly, wherein the base comprises a surface movement system configured to move the ride vehicle along a surface and a riding assembly movement system configured to move the riding assembly with respect to the base; and
a ride vehicle control system configured to:
receive a signal indicative of a position of the ride vehicle from a sensor;
receive a data set comprising a weight of the ride vehicle and a size of the ride vehicle;
determine that a distance between the position of the ride vehicle and a corresponding position along a ride path exceeds a threshold distance;
determine one or more adjustments to the position of the ride vehicle based on the position, the data set, and the distance in response to determining that the distance exceeds the threshold distance; and
output a signal to the surface movement system indicative of instructions to adjust the position of the ride vehicle in response to determining that the distance exceeds the threshold distance.

11. The ride vehicle of claim 10 , wherein the ride vehicle control system is configured to:
receive an indication of an obstacle positioned along the ride path; and
output an additional signal to the surface movement system to adjust the position of the ride vehicle based on the obstacle along the ride path.

12. The ride vehicle of claim 10 , wherein the ride vehicle control system is configured to determine whether the distance between the position of the ride vehicle and the corresponding position along the ride path exceeds the threshold distance at periodic intervals during operation of the ride vehicle.

13. The ride vehicle of claim 10 , wherein the ride vehicle control system is configured to instruct the surface movement system and the riding assembly movement system to coordinate maneuvers with corresponding systems on separate ride vehicles based on a choreographed routine.

14. The ride vehicle of claim 10 , wherein the ride vehicle control system is configured to determine the threshold distance based on the ride path a type of the ride vehicle an additional weight of the rider, one or more rider inputs indicative of a desired experience, or a combination thereof.

15. The ride vehicle of claim 10 , wherein the ride vehicle control system is configured to continuously control the adjustments of the position of the ride vehicle based on positioning feedback of at least one separate ride vehicle.

16. The ride vehicle of claim 10 , wherein the ride vehicle control system is configured to receive data indicative of the ride path, the threshold distance, or both, from a ride control system.

17. A ride system, comprising:
a plurality of trackless ride vehicles configured to traverse a surface, wherein each of the plurality of trackless ride vehicles comprises a respective riding assembly configured to move vertically and angularly relative to a base of a respective trackless ride vehicle of the plurality of trackless ride vehicles, and wherein the base of the respective trackless ride vehicle is configured to traverse the surface; and
a ride control system configured to:
send a common choreographed routine to the plurality of trackless ride vehicles, wherein the common choreographed routine comprises choreographed movement of:
the respective riding assembly of each respective trackless ride vehicle of the plurality of trackless ride vehicles vertically and angularly relative to the base of the respective trackless ride vehicle; and
the base of each respective trackless ride vehicle of the plurality of trackless ride vehicles along the surface;

detect respective positions of each respective trackless ride vehicle of the plurality of trackless ride vehicles relative to one another and relative to one or more choreographed ride paths of the common choreographed routine within a ride area; and
send a plurality of commands to the plurality of trackless ride vehicles to control movement of the plurality of trackless ride vehicles based on the respective positions of the plurality of trackless ride vehicles relative to one another and relative to the one or more choreographed ride paths.

18. The ride system of claim 17 , wherein the ride control system is configured to:
determine that a distance between the respective positions of the plurality of trackless ride vehicles is less than a threshold distance; and
send a signal to at least one ride vehicle of the plurality of trackless ride vehicles to adjust at least one position of the at least one ride vehicle within the ride area in response to determining that the distance is less than the threshold distance.

19. The ride system of claim 18 , wherein the ride control system is configur

Assignees

• Universal City Studios Llc

Inventors

• Larberg Maclean Lara
• Mason William Dale
• Vance Eric Alan

Classifications

• A63G25/00 Primary

  Autocar-like self-drivers; Runways therefor · CPC title

• A63G1/30

  with seats moving up-and-down, e.g. figure-seats · CPC title

• A63G31/02 Primary

  with moving substructures · CPC title

• A63G1/24 Primary

  with seats performing movements in a horizontal plane, other than circular movements · CPC title

• A63G1/00 Primary

  Roundabouts · CPC title