Inflatable surfing apparatus and method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016354700-A1
Application number	US-201615238094-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Aug 16, 2016
Priority date	Oct 30, 2013
Publication date	Dec 8, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

A water or other amusement attraction that includes an inflatable portion or material. A cavity of the attraction is located underneath an upper surface, the upper surface configured to support a flow of water and at least one rider thereon. A volume of water is configured to be disposed within the cavity, the upper surface floating upon the volume of water while connected to at least one side wall, floor, and/or nozzle structure. A pump and nozzle assembly, positioned outside of the cavity, communicates with the water within the cavity for flowing a portion of the water over the upper surface. A drainage portion, adjacent to the upper surface, drains the flowing water back into the cavity for recirculation. Support components, such as a plurality of beams or an inflatable grid structure help maintain stability for the attraction.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . An amusement attraction comprising:
a base having an inflatable portion and defining a cavity therein, the cavity configured to hold a volume of fluid; and a riding surface connected with the base and extending over at least a portion of the cavity for floating upon the volume of fluid in the cavity.

2 . The amusement attraction of claim 1 wherein the fluid is water.

3 . The amusement attraction of claim 1 wherein the base includes at least one inflatable protrusion for increasing stability.

4 . The amusement attraction of claim 1 further comprising at least one beam disposed within the cavity of the base, the at least one beam connected with the riding surface for stabilizing the riding surface.

5 . The amusement attraction of claim 4 further comprising an inflatable pad connected between the riding surface and the at least one beam.

6 . The amusement attraction of claim 1 further comprising:
a first attachment mechanism connected with the base;
a second attachment mechanism connected with the base; and
a first stabilizing element disposed at least partially within the cavity and connected between the first attachment mechanism and the second attachment mechanism.

7 . The amusement attraction of claim 6 wherein the first stabilizing element is made of a rigid material.

8 . The amusement attraction of claim 6 further comprising:
a third attachment mechanism connected with the base;
a fourth attachment mechanism connected with the base; and
a second stabilizing element disposed at least partially within the cavity and connected between the third attachment mechanism and the fourth attachment mechanism, the second stabilizing element perpendicular to the first stabilizing element.

9 . A surfing attraction comprising:
a base defining a reservoir therein, the reservoir configured to hold a volume of water; a riding surface extending over at least a portion of the reservoir so that at least a portion of the riding surface floats upon the volume of water in the reservoir; a drainage surface connected with the base and configured to drain water into the reservoir; and a water-directing element for emitting a flow of water onto the riding surface.

10 . The surfing attraction of claim 9 further comprising an inflatable pad disposed between the reservoir and the riding surface, at least a part of the inflatable pad configured to float upon the volume of water in the reservoir and.

11 . The surfing attraction of claim 10 wherein the inflatable pad has a greater thickness at a first end of the inflatable pad than at a second end of the inflatable pad.

12 . The surfing attraction of claim 10 wherein the inflatable pad is configured to apply a force upon the riding surface to form a shape of riding surface.

13 . The surfing attraction of claim 12 wherein the shape of the riding surface is changed by selectively inflating portions of the inflatable pad.

14 . The surfing attraction of claim 10 further comprising a column disposed within the reservoir and configured to support the inflatable pad.

15 . The surfing attraction of claim 9 wherein the water-directing element is a nozzle.

16 . The surfing attraction of claim 9 further comprising a pump tube connected with the water-directing element and configured to flow water from the reservoir to the water-directing element, the pump tube positioned at least partially within the reservoir.

17 . The surfing attraction of claim 9 further comprising an auxiliary drainage surface positioned adjacent to the water-directing element, the auxiliary drainage surface configured to drain water into the reservoir.

18 . A water attraction comprising:
an inflatable base defining a cavity therein for holding a volume of water; a riding surface connected with the base for floating upon at least a portion of the volume of water in the cavity; and a water-directing element for receiving water from the volume of water in the cavity and flow the received water onto the riding surface.

19 . The water attraction of claim 18 wherein the water-directing element is a nozzle.

20 . The water attraction of claim 18 further comprising a drainage portion disposed at an upstream end of the riding surface from the water-directing element for draining water after it has flowed onto the riding surface into the cavity.

Assignees

• Whitewater West Ind Ltd

Inventors

• Vicente Oriol

Classifications

• B63B34/70

  Arrangements on vessels specially adapted for generating waves for surfing, wakeboarding or the like, e.g. ballast tanks · CPC title

• A63G21/18

  Water-chutes · CPC title

• A63G31/007 Primary

  involving water · CPC title

• B63B2035/855

  Operations & Transport · mapped topic