Amusement Attraction in a Pre-Constructed Container

Abstract

Amusement attractions are entertaining and sometimes challenging games that are designed to excite patrons. Attractions may be constructed inside portable, pre-constructed containers designed to be moved over short or long distances. Portability allows attractions to be constructed off-site, moved between a plurality of sites, or moved into different locations at a single site.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This patent application claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/257,908 entitled “Amusement Attraction in a Pre-Constructed Container” by Ted Ziemkowski, et al., the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference for all they disclose and teach.

BACKGROUND

Amusement attractions are entertaining and sometimes challenging games that bring out competitive and excited emotions from patrons. Haunted houses, laser tag games, and various arcade games and simulators are typical examples.

A successful attraction may appeal to potential patrons by being relatively easy to understand while offering a challenge to patrons. Lights, sounds, and other effects may be used to interest a potential patron and draw the patron to the attraction.

From the operator's standpoint, a successful attraction may also be portable, durable, easy to operate, and reliable. Portability may be an important factor for operators who wish to move attractions over long distances, or rearrange them within an amusement facility.

SUMMARY

Many types of amusement attractions can be constructed in customized configurations in order to meet the needs of the operator. An attraction may be made portable by constructing it within a pre-constructed container of a suitable size. Pre-constructed containers may include shipping containers, trailers, or any other type of container that is designed to be moved using wheels, lift points, or fork pockets. Attractions constructed within pre-constructed containers may be designed for regular movement or installation at a site.

Portable attractions that are housed within pre-constructed, portable containers may have a number of advantages for some operators. For example, portable attractions in pre-constructed containers can be constructed off-site and delivered to a destination, thereby minimizing construction activity at the destination. Portable attractions can also be used as modules and moved around to different amusement facilities or rearranged within a facility to provide a different experience for patrons.

This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.

DRAWINGS AND BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS

In the drawings,

FIG. 1 is a diagram of an embodiment showing a laser maze attraction constructed in a pre-constructed portable container.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of an embodiment showing an amusement attraction comprising a plurality of linked portable containers.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of an embodiment showing a stacked amusement attraction comprising a plurality of levels of linked portable containers.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Many types of amusement attractions may be constructed within pre-constructed containers. In one embodiment, the type of attraction housed within a pre-constructed container may be a laser maze where several lasers are oriented across a pathway and patrons may attempt to pass through the maze without breaking beams. Other embodiments may include attractions such as haunted houses, laser tag games, or other arcade-style games or simulators.

Pre-constructed containers may include shipping containers, trailers, or any other type of container that is designed to be moved using wheels, lift points, or fork pockets. Attractions constructed within pre-constructed containers may be designed for permanent or semi-permanent installation at a site or for frequent movement.

One common form of a pre-constructed container may be an intermodal shipping container. Several standard sized intermodal shipping containers are used for transporting goods and materials by ship, rail, and truck. Intermodal shipping containers may have twistlock fittings at each of the eight corners of the container for lifting the container and for locking the container in place.

An attraction constructed inside of a pre-constructed container may be incorporated into or used in conjunction with other attractions, such as embodiments that may include a haunted house, maze, puzzle solution, or other game component. In some embodiments, a plurality of attractions may be used in conjunction with one another to form a larger attraction.

Attractions constructed within pre-constructed, portable containers may be moved around or joined together in a modular fashion to create new attractions or to provide different experiences for patrons.

Pre-constructed containers may be designed for indoor or outdoor use. In some embodiments, the pre-constructed container may be designed for use within a larger building, such as a warehouse, mall, or hangar.

Specific embodiments of the subject matter are used to illustrate specific inventive aspects. The embodiments are by way of example only, and are susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms. The appended claims are intended to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the claims.

Throughout this specification, like reference numbers signify the same elements throughout the description of the figures.

The subject matter may be embodied as an amusement attraction. In the context of this document, an amusement attraction is any entertaining or challenging game that is intended to bring out competitive or excited emotions from patrons.

FIG. 1 is a diagram of an embodiment 100 showing a laser maze attraction constructed within a pre-constructed shipping container. A laser maze attraction may have a series of laser beams that are oriented across a path which a patron attempts to follow without breaking the laser beams.

Embodiment 100 may represent an attraction 102 that may have patron interaction areas manufactured within a conventional intermodal shipping container 104.

The intermodal shipping container 104 may be a prismatic rectangular shape. In a conventional, standardized container, the container may be nominally 8 feet wide by 10 feet tall, and may be 20, 40, 48, or 53 feet deep. Such sizes may reflect the exterior dimensions of a conventional intermodal shipping container. Other intermodal shipping containers may have other standardized dimensions.

In many embodiments, an intermodal shipping container may have twistlock connectors 106 mounted at each of the corners. The twistlock connectors 106 may be used to lock multiple containers together when shipping, as well as to engage the containers for lifting and transport. Many intermodal shipping containers may also have fork tubes 118 for moving the container.

The intermodal container 104 may include doors 108 and 110 mounted on an end of the container 104. The doors 108 and 110 as illustrated may be conventional doors for an intermodal shipping container.

A patron entrance 112 may be a way that a patron may enter the patron interaction area 116. The patron entrance 112 is illustrated as being through the end of the intermodal shipping container, although other embodiments may have patron entrances located in the sides, top, or bottom of the container.

A display 114 may be mounted on the outside of the container. In many embodiments, the display 114 may be a computer monitor, signage, or other type of display.

The patron interaction area 116 may contain various sensors, buttons, and interactive components. In many embodiments, the various interactive components may be fixedly mounted within the container 104 such that the components may survive transport. In some such embodiments, the components may be mounted in the operable positions so that no adjustment or changes may be made when the attraction 102 is transported from one location to another. In other embodiments, the various interactive components may be secured in one position or location for transport, then installed in an operational position or location once the attraction 102 is positioned for operation.

In other embodiments, a different type of attraction may be constructed within the pre-constructed portable container. For example, laser tag or any of a variety of mazes, simulators, or arcade-style games could be housed within the container.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustration of an embodiment 200 showing an attraction that may be constructed of multiple intermodal shipping containers. Embodiment 200 illustrates an attraction 202 that may be constructed from three intermodal shipping containers 204, 206, and 208.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustration of an embodiment 300 showing a second attraction that may be constructed of multiple intermodal shipping containers. Embodiment 300 illustrates an attraction 302 that may be constructed from three intermodal shipping containers 304, 306, and 308.

Embodiments 200 and 300 illustrate embodiments where multiple shipping containers may be arranged to form a large patron interaction area for an amusement attraction. For example, a serpentine laser maze, laser tag, haunted house, or other attraction may be arranged inside the containers.

The shipping containers may be arranged in various configurations to form a complex attraction. In embodiment 200, the shipping containers are arranged in the shape of a flat “U”. In embodiment 300, the shipping containers are arranged in another type of “U” shaped arrangement, but one in which container 306 may be stacked on top of containers 304 and 308. Other arrangements may also be configured using two, three, four, or more shipping containers.

At the juncture between two shipping containers, a patron passageway may allow patrons or patrons to pass from one container to another. Such passageways may be constructed by cutting a hole in a wall of one of the containers. Such holes may be fitted with a shipping door which may prevent the internal components of the shipping container from weather or damage during shipping.

The patron passageway may be constructed horizontally, so that the patron moves from one container to another through a horizontal passage, such as may be found in FIG. 2. The patron passageway may be constructed vertically, so that the patron moves from one container to another through a vertical passage, such as may be found in FIG. 3.

The embodiments shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate embodiments where the patron entrance and exit are the same. In some embodiments, the patron may enter the attraction at one opening and exit the attraction at another opening. In some cases, the second opening may be an opening in a different container than the entrance.

In many embodiments, an attraction may operate using a computer controller and various electrical and electromechanical sensors that may be located within the patron interaction areas inside the containers. In such embodiments, the junctions between containers in multiple container arrangements may include various connections, such as electrical connections, network and communication connections, pneumatic connections, mechanical actuator connections, or other connections.

Embodiments such as those shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate the use of a plurality of pre-constructed containers to create larger and multi-level attractions.

In some cases, the containers may be configurable to be set up in different orientations. For example, embodiments 200 and 300 show two different “U” shaped configurations. In embodiment 200, the container 206 may be designed with optional patron passageways on various sides of the container 206 so that two or more of the containers may be arranged in a single line. In such an embodiment, container 206 may have two or more optional patron entrances at each end of the container 206, allowing an amusement operator to connect containers 204 and 206 in two or more different configurations.

In embodiments where the containers may be configured in different orientations, one or more of the containers may have removable passageway covers or doors that may be used to cover or conceal a patron passageway that may not be used.

A plurality of attractions may be constructed within the same pre-constructed container in some embodiments. For example, a pre-constructed container may be designed to accommodate games such as a laser maze and laser tag in the same space.

In other embodiments, a pre-constructed container may be partitioned in order to accommodate a plurality of attractions. For example, a laser maze and any of a variety of arcade-type games or simulators could be housed within the same container.

In some embodiments, an attraction may be designed for use with other attractions which may or may not be constructed within a pre-constructed container. For example, a laser maze in a pre-constructed container may be used as part of a haunted house or other game or maze. The number of possible attractions that an attraction in a pre-constructed container can be incorporated into is infinite and may vary with the designer of a game or facility.

Some embodiments may be designed specifically for indoor or outdoor use. For example, more durable exterior materials may be used on a pre-constructed container designed for outdoor use, and more exterior decoration may be used on a pre-constructed container designed for indoor use.

The foregoing description of the subject matter has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the subject matter to the precise form disclosed, and other modifications and variations may be possible in light of the above teachings. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical application. This enables others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention in various embodiments and various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the appended claims be construed to include other alternative embodiments except insofar as limited by the prior art.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a first portable shipping container;

an amusement attraction having a computer controller and a plurality of sensors, said computer controller and said sensors being fixedly mounted inside said first portable shipping container;

a patron entrance into said first portable shipping container; and

a patron interaction area within said first portable shipping container comprising said sensors.

2. The system of claim 1 further comprising:

an external display removably mounted to an exterior portion of said first portable shipping container.

3. The system of claim 2, said external display being a computer monitor.

4. The system of claim 2, said external display comprising signage.

5. The system of claim 1, said first portable shipping container being an intermodal shipping container.

6. The system of claim 1, said first portable shipping container being mounted on a trailer.

7. The system of claim 1, said first portable shipping container comprising fork tubes.

8. The system of claim 1 further comprising:

a second portable shipping container comprising a portion of said patron interaction area; and

a connection to said first portable shipping container.

9. The system of claim 8, said connection comprising a patron passageway between said first portable shipping container and said second portable shipping container.

10. The system of claim 9, said connection comprising an electrical connection between said first portable shipping container and said second portable shipping container.

11. The system of claim 10, said connection being a vertical connection.

12. The system of claim 11, at least a portion of said second portable shipping container being stacked on said first portable shipping container.

13. The system of claim 12 further comprising:

removable shipping doors for said patron passageway.

14. The system of claim 1, said amusement attraction comprising a laser maze attraction.

15. The system of claim 1, said amusement attraction comprising a laser tag attraction.

16. The system of claim 1, said amusement attraction comprising a simulator attraction.