AMUSEMENT RIDE COMPRISING AND/OR FOR VEHICLES

Abstract

An amusement ride or course for vehicles with their own driving and control options, on a carriageway. The amusement ride having at least one zone, in which at least one participating vehicle driving autonomously on the carriageway is guided, by means of retaining and/or guide means, along a pre-defined route in a pre-defined route section designed as an attraction. The vehicle having retaining means or leading means for a corresponding reversible connection to the guide means and/or retaining means of the installation, by which retaining—and/or leading means the vehicle is guided and/or retained through the zone, and the retaining means and/or guide means on the vehicle correspondingly interlocked with and released from the retaining—and/or guide means of the installation during a movement-or—journey of the vehicle in the zone.

Description

The invention relates to amusement rides or an amusement ride comprising and/or for vehicles, in particular, amusement rides with vehicles, which can be autonomously controlled and driven at least in zones by the visitors of the of the amusement ride and which are designed with at least one attraction route or an attraction area.

In particular, the invention relates to amusement rides in which the vehicles are not permanently moved thereby being guided on rails, as is known from trains, rail vehicles or in special roller coasters. The amusement ride according to the invention is designed as a single attraction or as courses, a race track, or similar.

Amusement rides, in particular, for recreation, are adequately well known and range from simple rail vehicles or trains, which are used for transporting visitors, to various embodiments for passing through parks or corresponding areas, all the way to high-speed rail vehicles or roller coasters with increasingly more spectacular route sections. Amusement rides or courses with the option for the visitors to drive vehicles themselves and thus also to drive for or organize races, competitions or similar against each other are also known. Here, suitable vehicles, such as in the case of a bumper car area for example, are independently controlled by the visitors and moved over a limited area. Another variant in which the vehicles can be moved by the visitors themselves include different embodiments of go-kart courses or racetracks, which are designed as indoor or outdoor variants, and which allow for a greater feeling and pleasure to be perceived from one's driving.

In the case of race courses, race tracks or go-kart courses, in particular, the needs for the routes and for the vehicles have sharply increased, particular in terms of their performance and speed. The visitors and drivers of the vehicles in the amusement rides particularly want an attractive and spectacular route or opportunities for the corresponding tournaments with the other visitors of the amusement ride. For this purpose, corresponding spectacular routes or attractions, such as those known in particular from rail-guided amusement rides, would be desirable, wherein the safety of the amusement ride must not be neglected.

The object of the present invention is to create an amusement ride in which vehicles can be controlled, accelerated and braked by the visitors by themselves to the furthest extent possible and which is designed with at least one area with an attraction route, as these are known from rail-bound amusement rides, such as roller coasters or similar.

This task is achieved by means of the features of Patent Claim 1. Advantageous embodiments and further embodiments are specified in the dependent claims.

According to the invention, an amusement ride, course, race track, or similar is, in particular, for vehicles with their own driving and control options, on a carriageway and/or route, the amusement ride, course, race track or similar installation having at least one zone, in which at least one participating vehicle driving in a controlled manner on the carriageway and/or route is guided, by retaining means and/or guide means, along a pre-defined route in a pre-defined route section designed as an attraction, and the vehicle having retaining means and/or leading means for a corresponding reversible connection to the guide means and/or retaining means of the installation, by which retaining and/or leading means the vehicle is guided and/or retained through the zone, and the retaining means and/or guide means on the vehicle are correspondingly interlocked with and released from the retaining and/or guide means of the installation during the movement and/or journey of the vehicle in said zone on the installation.

The amusement ride is either designed as a complete recreational and/or sports, in particular, motorsport area and/or go-kart track or go-kart course or in a variant as a pure attraction route with just the attraction area. Here, different embodiments according to the invention are possible, such as extensions and/or additions of various tracks such as race tracks or, for example, go-kart courses indoors as well as outdoors, race tracks such as for the DTM, Formula 1 or other classes or any other track or course, which drive with corresponding vehicles or adapted vehicles, which can even be temporarily adapted for this, through spectacular attraction routes. The race tracks or courses can continue to be unrestrictedly used for conventional events and can be used in parallel as partial routes for vehicles, which additionally drive through spectacular attraction routes in designated zones. and are used for professional races as well as for use by interested individuals or visitors. The entire route section and/or only the zone with the attraction route section can be integrated into an existing course or a race track in an integrable and stationary manner, or can be built as an extension for this or can be designed as temporary installation to be built or dismantled at any time. In the case of the pure attraction route, it can also be used temporarily as an amusement ride at events for folk festivals or in amusement parks or as an addition to existing race tracks and/or go-kart courses or other places.

According to the specification, the use of the amusement ride according to the invention can be used as a single attraction with the corresponding attraction route or the attraction route or one or a plurality of attractions can be used in existing facilities which can be integrated individually or in parallel with a plurality of such attraction routes, thereby also making it possible to host competitions with several participants driving in parallel. Preferably, the attraction route is designed with an upstream acceleration route integrated into this, before and/or in which the vehicle is threaded into the retaining and/or guide means of the track. The passage through a plurality of consecutively arranged attraction routes is also provided for in a variant, wherein it is possible to arrange the attractions directly one after the other and the vehicle passes through these after a single driving in and threading directly one after the other, or the vehicle moves out of each attraction separately and threads into the subsequent attraction route again accordingly.

The route section in the zone, which is designed as an attraction, is preferably designed in such a way that the vehicles from a carriageway or a track on which they can be moved freely enter the zone and the vehicles are threaded on and/or into the attraction route. The attraction route can have different embodiments and/or route sections, such as a looping, a screw or spiral guidance or an extreme steep face guidance and/or other upside-down guidance or upside-down ride. As a particularly attractive embodiment, in accordance with a further embodiment of the invention, a corresponding go-kart course operated with electric go-karts could be designed in a mall. Here, for example, attractions could be built in such a way that the go-karts drive partly along the walls or across the ceiling, visible to all mall visitors. It would be conceivable here, according to another variant, that there are two or a plurality of areas in the mall where the race tracks and attractions are located; these could be arranged also on different levels accordingly. During the race, the go-karts would always get from one part of the race track, for example on the walls or the ceiling along to the other area of the race track. Thus, such a race could become an attraction for all mall visitors. Such an embodiment is of course also possible and feasible in amusement parks or all other installations.

The attraction route is preferably designed in such a way that the vehicles are driven into the attraction route by the drivers and, in this case, retaining means and/or leading means, which are attached to the vehicle are threaded correspondingly into the retaining and/or guide means of the attraction route. This corresponding, reversible connection means that the vehicle can run a rollover in a looping track, a screw or spiral route or an extremely steep face without running the risk of falling down or being thrown off the track. According to the invention, both the route itself and the vehicles used can be equipped with a plurality of stops and/or guide means and/or leading means.

In one embodiment, the area of the attraction route is designed for this as a pure slab or as a chute-shaped carriageway or as a lateral lane on which the vehicles are moved and wherein the slab or the chute or the lanes is designed to be at least somewhat wider than the track width of the vehicles. Above the slab or the chute or strip, along the attraction route parallel and/or integrated to the driving route, a boundary is arranged as a retaining and/or guide means, to which the retaining means and/or leading means of the vehicle correspond and guide the vehicle in a motion through the attraction route without it falling out of the attraction route or falling off during a rollover.

The retaining and/or guide means of the attraction route are either designed as means that are parallel to the route, on which the wheels of the vehicles are guided, or can be integrated into the driving route and/or arranged along it. As means designed to be parallel to the route, these are pipes, slabs, rails or similar constructions, which correspond to the retaining means and/or leading means on the vehicles. These retaining and/or guide means of the route form, for example, in the case of a looping, a parallel looping in diameter to the actual attraction route and are arranged either only laterally or along the entire width of the route or as rails parallel to the route or integrated in this. The retaining and/or leading means on the vehicles are arranged accordingly sideways on the vehicles or in the roof area or in the substructure of the vehicles, for which these are preferably equipped with at least a stable frame and/or roll bar.

In a version with on the vehicles arranged retaining means and/or leading means in the roof area or preferably on or on a roll cage or roll bars, these retaining and/or leading means correspond to correspondingly distanced retaining and/or guide means of the attraction route parallel to the route during the journey through the attraction route. In one embodiment, at least two, preferably rotatably mounted rolling elements with a groove are arranged on the roof area or a rollover device of the vehicle, which correspondingly thread in as a retaining and/or guide means section designed as pipes or a rail parallel to the route and support the vehicle on the roof area accordingly during rollover. In an alternative embodiment, at least one rotatable roller is arranged on the roof area of the vehicle and the retaining and/or guide means along the attraction route is designed as a slab or support strips parallel to the route on which the rollers are attached and which support and hold the vehicle during rollover in the looping.

In a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, the vehicle is equipped with at least two, sideways, right and left mounted on the vehicle retaining means and/or leading means, which are correspondingly designed with the attraction route. For this purpose, the attraction route is designed in a preferred embodiment as two, vertically positioned U-profiles or one with this corresponding constructional design, which are arranged parallel to each other in a distance, having at least the track width of the vehicle, and depicting and/or describing the route section. The vehicle drives with its wheels into the two erected U-profiles arranged in parallel wherein the wheels rest on the corresponding lower limb arranged in this way. The width of the installed U-profile is greater than the diameter of the wheels of the vehicle, whereby the vehicle rests only on the limb lying below in the entry area of the erected U-profile and could fall off this course during a rollover. In order to prevent this, at least one retaining and/or leading means must be arranged on each side of the vehicle, one on the left and one on the right side of the vehicle respectively, which are arranged in their position in such a way that these rest on the upper limb of the respective vertically erected U-profile forming the route, thereby having an effect on the guidance of the vehicle in the U-profile rails. This retaining and/or leading means, respectively arranged on the vehicle on the right and left side, allows the vehicle to move safely through the attraction route, such as through a looping for example, and is securely held against falling out or down out of the attraction route in the case of an upside-down position. The retaining and/or leading means respectively arranged on the side of the vehicle on the right and left, preferably in the centre with reference to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle, are preferably designed as cylindrical retaining bolts or wheels/tires, which are designed to be rotatable in particular and, in one variant, are also additionally propelled. Preferably, these retaining bolts do not protrude beyond the outer edges of the wheels of the vehicle and have a ring band on the side facing the vehicle, which forms the lateral boundary to the limb of the vertically erected U-profile and thus, the vehicle keeps the vehicle in the lane and guides it during its ride through the attraction route. The embodiments of the corresponding retaining and/or guide means at the attraction route and the retaining and/or leading means is preferably always designed to be as low-friction as possible, which is carried out by the use of suitable glide-enabling plastics and/or the use of suitable bearings and/or rollers and/or other means that prevent the unintentional braking effect. The corresponding gliding means can also be arranged both on the vehicle and alternatively, on the route, wherein the preferred arrangement on the vehicles takes place, which allows for worn or defective gliding means, for example, to be changed quickly and simply allowed without temporarily blocking the entire route for all participating vehicles.

In an alternative embodiment, the attraction route can also be designed with a slab arranged between the two vertically erected U-profiles, in which the vehicle drives, which emphasises the impression of a carriageway. Also, the attraction route can be designed with a slab descriptive of the route section as a carriageway and two lateral rails, slabs or strips or pipes parallel to the carriageway, wherein the wheels thereby rest on or abut the carriageway slab and the retaining and/or leading means correspond to the lateral rails, slabs or strips running parallel to the carriageway slab.

In a further, particularly preferred embodiment, the attraction route is designed with at least two lateral lanes for the wheels of the vehicle and also has a parallel rail, a profile or similar over it following the route section. The retaining means and/or leading means on the vehicle are located on the left and right, on the longitudinal axis, respectively between the front and rear wheels of the vehicle and protrude beyond the track width of the vehicle. The retaining and/or leading means preferably designed as rotatably mounted roller elements thus protrude beyond the track width of the vehicle and are limited between the carriageway or the left and right lane and the rail, profile or similar construction following the course of the route section arranged parallel to it, whereby the vehicle is securely kept from falling out or down using the retaining and/or leading means when riding upside-down. The mentioned retaining and/or leading means designed as rollers are preferably arranged on stable, lateral slabs of the vehicle towering over the track width of the vehicle. These slabs additionally ensure a central positioning and guidance of the vehicle between the rail, profile or constructions arranged parallel to the carriageway or lane following the route section. Furthermore, these slabs are preferably slightly angled at their ends, which leads to an easy and controlled entry of the vehicles into the attraction route and threading of the retaining and/or leading means on the vehicle into the retaining and/or guide means of the route. Preferably, the lateral slabs are covered with interchangeable sliding materials; alternatively, however, it would also be possible to equip the retaining and/or guide means of the attraction route with sliding materials.

In a further variant, the carriageway of the attraction route, which consists at least of lateral lanes, is formed on its sides with a recess, which roughly has the width of the front wheels of the vehicle and into which the front wheels are guided, thereby stabilizing the track stabilizing during the journey through the attraction route. In contrast, the rear wheels of the vehicle, which are usually somewhat wider, run on the remaining, non-recessed strips of the carriageway and provide the necessary propulsion of the vehicle.

According to a further variant, the retaining and/or leading means on the vehicle are designed as cylindrical means arranged on two other axles or other suspensions and/or fasteners cushioned in a deviating way on the vehicle, thereby being directly arranged above the wheels of the vehicle, such as wheels, tyres, rollers, rollers or similar. These are pressed onto the four wheels when entering the acceleration route and or attraction route, and that being only during the journey through the attraction. By pushing these upper retaining and leading wheels/tyres onto the wheels of the vehicle, they are automatically propelled at the same speed as the drive wheels of the vehicle. With this solution, the vehicles not only experience an increased grip, as the drive takes place not only on the carriageway, but also on the retaining and/or guide means of the attraction route. On the one hand, the looping is therefore possible without any problems and even further journeys upside-down can be implemented. The vehicle is therefore able to transfer a further power transmission via the drive wheels to the retaining and/or leading means formed as wheels and/or tyres, by means of which the propulsion takes place and thus, a power transmission is possible without compromises, in particular, if the rotatable retaining and/or leading cylinders are coated or rubberized, which further minimizes the driving noise.

Since the successful passage of the vehicles through an attraction route, such as a looping in the unfavourable case can be influenced by strong and or uncontrolled steering movements, in particular, just before the rollover phase and/or the entry into a steep section, the vehicle, in a further preferred embodiment, is equipped with at least one rolling element at its front, preferably middle, lower area, which runs with a preferably middle-arranged guide attachment along the attraction route, like a looping. In one version, a guide strip, equipped as a stable attachment or rail element, is arranged approximately in the middle of the route, thereby following the route section. Upon entry of the vehicle, the rolling element now joins this guide like the guide strip, whereby the guide strip along the route section is designed in such a way that at least one of the front wheels of the vehicle is slightly lifted at least in sections during the journey and only completely re-enters the carriageway upon exiting the attraction route. This minimizes the influence of uncontrolled and/or incorrect steering movements, which, in such a case, can lead to increased friction or unintentional blocking and thus an insufficient speed for the passage through the looping. In an alternative embodiment, the central guide attachment can also be designed as a chute and, if necessary, coupled with the steering.

In addition, the additional front-mounted roller accommodates loads that arise particularly when driving in and out in attractions, such as a looping.

In a further, alternative embodiment of the amusement ride according to the invention, the attraction route is equipped with retaining and/or guide means on or directly in the carriageway, preferably approximately in the centre of the carriageway, into which retaining and/or leading means, which are arranged at the substructure of the vehicle, correspondingly engage and hold and guide the vehicle through the attraction route. The retaining and/or guide means are arranged, for example, as parallel-guided pipes or rails or T- or double U-profiles at approximately the middle of the carriageway at a suitable distance above the carriageway and have the corresponding carriageway progression. In the area of the beginning of the acceleration route in front of the attraction route, these means are expanded, for example, in a swallowtail-shaped or funnel-shaped manner. The vehicle with at least one retaining means and/or leading means arranged on its substructure travels on the carriageway and the retaining and/or leading means on the substructure of the vehicle threads easily into the expanded area of, for example, the two parallel-guided pipes. For this purpose, a mushroom-shaped supporting means or rollers or other suitable means are arranged on the substructure, for example, which have a larger diameter in the head area, which is facing the carriageway, than the distance of the two parallel pipes just above the carriageway. This mushroom-shaped holder threads securely and easily into the acceleration area and/or the attraction route upon entry of the vehicle. The pipes themselves and/or the holder is also preferably equipped and/or padded with suitable sliding materials, in particular, plastics. Such a retaining and/or guide device can also be designed, for example, as a rail and/or monorail and the retaining and/or leading means can be designed on the substructure of the vehicle as a corresponding means of grasping and/or rolling or sliding means for the corresponding rails or alternative profiles in order to implement the function of the corresponding interlocking of means arranged on the substructure of the vehicle having retaining and/or guide means in or just above the route.

The route designed as an attraction, such as a looping, a screw or spiral route or a steep face and/or upside-down route is preferably equipped with a threading area and/or an acceleration route and can be accessed from a normal driving route, carriageway, course or race track, which takes place, if necessary, using appropriate locks for a controlled entry into the zones with attraction routes. The access to the attraction routes in at least one zone is preferably in an area in which the carriageway is narrowed in an approximately funnel-shaped manner and the vehicle interacts with its retaining means and/or leading means in the transition area to the attraction route corresponding to its retaining means and/or guide means of the attraction route, thereby stabilizing the vehicle in the lane on the one hand, and keeping the vehicle from falling out or falling down in a supporting manner, thereby keeping it in the attraction respectively. In the preferred embodiment, an acceleration route is arranged after this threading area, in which the corresponding means on the vehicle and the attraction route interact and/or correspondingly interlock, on which acceleration route the vehicle can accelerate in order to be able to achieve sufficient speed to be able to securely and easily pass through the attraction route. The corresponding threading of the retaining and/or leading means arranged on the vehicles in and/or on the retaining and/or guide means of the attraction route is thereby carried out automatically upon the entry of the vehicles into the attraction route by means of suitable start-up devices. The flawless, secure threading of the vehicle into and/or onto the attraction route is preferably detected by means of suitable sensors and the route is subsequently released or, if necessary, blocked or the vehicle stopped using brake devices designated for this purpose. In this case, it is always ensured by the interacting retaining and/or guide means on the route and the retaining means and/or leading means on the vehicle that the vehicle, due to for example incorrect control, cannot leave the attraction route, nor that the vehicle falls down out of the attraction route, for example, at too low speed when riding upside-down. In this case, the vehicle would be held by its retaining means and/or leading means at the retaining and/or guide means of the route and, at insufficient speed, would simply roll backwards out of the area of the attraction route, such as a looping for example. In the case of the described insufficient speed for the complete passage of the looping or a screw, spiral or other route, the attraction route can be equipped with sensor technology designed for this purpose and an adapted propulsion device attacking in the vehicle guidance and/or to the retaining means and/or leading means of the vehicle. On the one hand, this would allow the amusement ride to be controlled externally in such a way that each driver in his/her vehicle will safely drive through the area of the attraction route completely or only those vehicles that are accelerated that stop at the transition point of turning upside-down in order to prevent the driver from hanging upside-down for too long.

In a further variant, the vehicles are equipped with extensive sensors and/or control devices and/or control electronics, which make it possible to control the driving of the vehicles remotely. This externally operated control system can affect any vehicle powered by internal combustion engines and/or electrically propelled vehicles and accelerate or brake the vehicles. In particular, when designing the amusement ride with electric vehicles, these can be designed as an alternative to equipping with their own energy sources with appropriately designed pantographs on the vehicles and connecting means on the driving track. A quick shutdown of the power supply and the associated drive power would thus be possible from the outside at any time. In this case, the driving of the vehicles during the journey could be completely controlled and completely ensured that each vehicle actually drives through the looping, the spiral or any attraction route and really drives through at a sufficient level of speed. The steering and/or braking and/or acceleration function could also be completely taken over to ensure that there are no interruptions of the passage due to incorrect control of the driver, for example, in case of anxiety or panic. On the one hand, this can increase the safety of the entire amusement ride, but also increase efficiency, since every vehicle will pass through the attraction route as planned; no downtime and backlogging are to be expected. On the other hand, the challenge of finding the speed required for the complete passage of the attraction route by the driver himself can significantly increase the attractiveness of the amusement ride.

The vehicles can be, adapted to the driving distance, in particular the attraction route of any vehicle with internal combustion engines and/or vehicles designed as electric vehicles.

In the following, the invention will also be explained in detail with regard to other features and advantages based on the description of exemplary embodiments and taking the enclosed drawings into account.

The figures show:

FIG. 1 a view of a vehicle on a zone of a course or race track with entry into an attraction route.

FIG. 2 a view of a vehicle after threading into the attraction route on the acceleration route.

FIG. 3 a view of a vehicle after threading in the acceleration section of the attraction route.

FIG. 4 a frontal view of the vehicle from FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 a lateral view on a threaded vehicle in the acceleration section with roller elements on rails of the installation as a retaining and/or leading means.

FIG. 6 a lateral view of a variation of a vehicle with bumpers and slide elements for the amusement ride.

FIG. 7 a perspective view of a variation of a vehicle for the amusement ride.

FIG. 8 a perspective view of a variation of a vehicle for the amusement ride after entering the attraction route.

FIG. 9 a frontal view of a vehicle as it passes through the attraction route.

FIG. 10 a perspective rear view of a vehicle entering the attraction route in another variant of the route.

FIG. 11 a frontal view of the vehicle in the situation of FIG. 10.

FIG. 12 a perspective view of a vehicle passing through an attraction route in another variant with bumper.

FIG. 13 a frontal view of the vehicle as it passes through the attraction route, in accordance with FIG. 12.

FIG. 14 a frontal view of a vehicle with four retaining means and/or leading means on the vehicle as it passes through a designated attraction route.

FIG. 15 a lateral view of the vehicle passing through in accordance with FIG. 14.

FIG. 16 a lateral view on another variant with four retaining means and/or leading means on the vehicle that can be penetrated on the wheels when passing through a designated attraction route.

FIG. 17 a frontal view of the vehicle passing through in accordance with FIG. 16.

FIG. 18 a perspective view of a variant with retaining means on the axles or wheels of the vehicle in a suitable route.

FIG. 19 a top view of the vehicle during travel in accordance with FIG. 18.

FIG. 20 a schematic view of a looping as an attraction route with a vehicle travelling in it and a vehicle waiting at the threading point.

FIG. 21 a top view of the situation in accordance with FIG. 20.

FIG. 22 a view of a vehicle at the upside-down point when passing through the attraction route.

FIG. 23 a view of a vehicle from the front with alternative guide and/or retaining means.

FIG. 24 a view of a vehicle from the front with alternative guide and/or retaining means in accordance with FIG. 23 with alternative additional guidance.

FIG. 25 a lateral view of an embodiment of the vehicle and section of the route in accordance with FIG. 23.

FIG. 26 a lateral view of an embodiment of the vehicle and section of the route in accordance with FIG. 24.

FIG. 27 a lateral view of a vehicle alone.

In the FIG. 1 to FIG. 5, an embodiment of a possible part of an amusement ride, course, race track or similar is shown, in which vehicles 3, here represented as go-karts, enter a transition 1 into an attraction area or into an attraction route 2. The vehicles come from an area (not shown), in which they can be moved like on a conventional go-kart course, via the access area 1 to the attraction route 2 and/or the acceleration route of the attraction route, towards which the carriageway increasingly narrows in a funnel-shaped manner and the vehicle travels through the attraction route on the actual, limited carriageway. In this variant of the amusement ride according to the invention, pipes 6 or a slab 7 or rails or strips or similar constructions are arranged over the carriageway in parallel to the carriageway of the attraction route, which run in parallel at a defined distance to the carriageway of the attraction route. In accordance with this variant, the vehicle 3 is equipped with a roll bar or roll cage 5 at the top side of which retaining means and/or leading means 4 are arranged, which, in accordance with these embodiments, correspondingly interact with retaining and/or guide means 6, 7 of the attraction route 2 after they thread between the zone 1 and the attraction route 2 in the transition area and/or engage into one another or lean onto one another. In FIG. 2 to FIG. 4, this is achieved by means of rolling elements 4, which are attached on the roll cage of the vehicle and are located in the entry area into the attraction route at the parallel to the carriageway slab 7 or are arranged quite narrowly separated from this. When passing through the attraction route, which is designed, for example, as a looping 16, these rolling elements prevent a falling down of the vehicle moving upside-down in the case of a vehicle speed that is too slow in the case of a lack of contact pressure on the carriageway. In this case, the rolling elements 4 come into contact with the parallel, inner slab in the looping and the vehicle passes through a part of the looping on the roller elements 4 along the parallel, inner slab 7 until the looping ultimately passes through, and the vehicle continues on its wheels 10 on the route 2 and exits from the attraction route and/or is threaded by the parallel slab ends at the exit point. In a variant of this embodiment in the FIG. 1 and FIG. 5, a version with rolling elements 4 is shown, which have a centre groove and/or recess in the shape of a coil. This retaining means and/or leading means 4 designed in this way, also being arranged on the roll bar and/or roll cage 5 of the vehicle, are threaded into pipes running parallel to the attraction route upon driving in from the zone 1 into the attraction route 2 during the journey. Even with this variant, after acceleration on the first designated section of the attraction route, a safe passage through a looping and/or screw and/or spiral or similar is possible. In this variant, the vehicle is also optimally kept on the track during the journey without the driver's intervention, which, in the case of the variant with the resting rolling elements in accordance with FIG. 2 to FIG. 4. can be supported with sliding slabs arranged laterally on the wheel ends.

In FIG. 6, a particularly preferred embodiment of a vehicle 3 is shown, in which the retaining means and/or leading means 4 are designed as cylindrical, preferably rotatably mounted and/or, in accordance with one variant, also propelled bolt elements or wheels or tyres, which are arranged approximately in the centre with relation to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle, each being stable on the left and right side, if necessary, equipped with a spring-loaded bearing and/or a pressing device. As can be easily recognized in FIG. 7 easily, these retaining means and/or leading means 4 arranged on the vehicle are arranged above the wheels 10 of the vehicle. In this embodiment of the vehicle, the versions of the route of the attraction route 2 in accordance with FIG. 8 to FIG. 13. In the FIG. 8 to FIG. 10, a variant is shown, in which strip elements, rails or profiles 11 are arranged in parallel over the route of the attraction route 2 on the right and the left respectively, which follow the route of the route section of the attraction route accordingly and are designed to be at a defined parallel distance. Thereby, the retaining means and/or leading means 4 arranged on the vehicle 3 is/are arranged on the vehicle in a position above the wheels 10, wherein the distance between the carriageway 2 and the underside of the parallel-guided profile elements 11 is designed to be adapted to one other, so that the vehicle is well guided in this intermediate space, meaning the wheels, at a sufficiently high speed of the vehicle, stay in contact with the track when passing through the attraction route, for example, a looping and the retaining means and/or leading means 4 designed as bolt elements or cylindrical turning parts or tyres/wheels support this travel accordingly.

In one variant, these just barely do not come into contact with the guide profile 11 with their orbital surface, however, in the preferred variant, these are spring-mounted and are slightly pushed down during threading in order to ensure good guidance or a hold during the journey through the attraction. In a further preferred variant, these retaining means and/or leading means designed as bolt elements or cylindrical turning parts are also propelled, which is preferably done by direct coupling with the drive wheels and/or at the drive axle accordingly running in the opposing direction.

In the event of insufficient speed and the falling of the vehicle from the carriageway or chute, the retaining means and/or leading means 4 on the vehicle come into contact with the parallel retaining means and/or guide means 11 following the route and the vehicle passes through the remaining route on these retaining means and/or leading means 4 on the vehicle 3 that are designed as bolt elements or rotary cylinders or wheels/tyres. In addition, according to one variant, the retaining means and/or leading means on the vehicle that are designed as bolt elements or rotary cylinders or wheels/tyres are designed with a ring band 9 on the side facing the vehicle respectively, whereby the vehicle is better kept in the land after its threading and continuing to follow of the journey through the attraction route as is shown in FIG. 10. In the embodiment in accordance with FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, the vehicle is equipped with suitable gliding means and/or sliding surfaces 14, preferably at outer edges of the vehicle and/or a bumper or a bumper frame in order be held and guided in the lane in an optimized manner. These gliding means and/or sliding surfaces can also be designed in variants as rollers, rollers or other bearings and are intended, in particular, for routes with lateral boundaries.

In another preferred embodiment in accordance with FIG. 11 to FIG. 13, the attraction route is designed as two vertically positioned U-profiles 12, which are arranged parallel to each other at a distance comprising at least the track width of the vehicle, and map and/or describe the course of the route. The vehicle drives with its wheels 10 into the two parallel erected U-profiles 12 arranged in parallel, wherein the wheels rest on the corresponding lower limb 13 arranged in this way. The width of the installed U-profile is significantly larger than the diameter of the wheels of the vehicle, whereby the vehicle only rests on the underlying limb in the entry area of the erected U-profile and could fall off this course in the case of a rollover. The retaining means and/or leading means 4 arranged on the vehicle 3 is arranged on the vehicle in a position above the wheels 10, wherein the distance between the lower leg 13 and the upper leg of the U-profile 12 to each other determines the height of the retaining means and/or leading means arranged on the vehicle, which is/are designed accordingly so that the vehicle is well guided in this intermediate space, meaning the wheels, at a sufficiently high speed of the vehicle during the journey of the attraction route, for example a looping, keep in contact with the carriageway, flush with the first lower limb of the vertically erected U-profile and engage the retaining means and/or leading means 4 designed as bolt elements or cylindrical turning parts or wheels/tyres accordingly. The lateral guidance of the vehicle in the lane is supported by the ring band 9 at the retaining and/or leading means 4, as well as the sliding means attached to the vehicle and/or sliding surfaces 14.

Another variant can be seen in FIG. 16 and FIG. 17, in which four instead of two retaining and/or leading means 4 are used on the vehicle 3, which again supports the lane of the vehicle, especially during the upside-down travel. In addition, it is possible to simply propel the retaining and/or leading means by pushing the retaining and/or leading means to the drive wheels, thereby supporting upside-down travel; this, in particular, if these retaining and/or leading means are coated or rubberized or designed as wheels or tyres. According to another alternative embodiment in accordance with FIG. 14 and FIG. 15, four retaining and/or leading means 4 are used, which are designed as coil-like means and are arranged on the vehicle in such a way that these engage into or onto a pipe construction parallel to the line. These coil-like retaining and/or leading means are fixed to the vehicle with a suitable pressure device and allow a very stable and secure passage of the vehicle through the attraction route. A further variant is shown in the FIG. 18 and FIG. 19, in which outwardly protruding retaining and/or leading means 4 are arranged on the axle or on the wheels 10 of the vehicles, which protrude beyond the track width of the vehicle and which correspondingly engage into corresponding retaining and/or guide means 12 of the route 2. With this variant, it is, in particular, possible to create adapter devices for wheels, by means of which the required retaining and/or leading means can be attached to each vehicle and thus even journeys through the attraction routes with one's own vehicle are possible. The vehicle itself is precisely held in the lane by appropriate means and cover slabs 18 additionally protect the wheels and/or tyres attached to the vehicle from damage in the event of contact of the wheels with the road limits during the journey.

In FIG. 23 to FIG. 27, embodiments are shown in which the retaining and/or leading means 4 are arranged on lateral slabs 18, protruding over the track width of the vehicle, stably connected to the supporting structure of the vehicle. These retaining and/or leading means 4 outwardly protruding in such way, which extend beyond the track width of the vehicle correspondingly engage into the retaining and/or guide means 11, 12 of the route 2. An advantage of this variant is that the additional rollers on the side slabs sit so low that the two U-profiles (which result from the side slabs) can remain very low. This does not give the impression that you cannot drive freely. Furthermore, it is advantageous that the U-profile is designed in such a way that the lateral bumpers of the vehicle also fit into the U-profile, meaning that one does not recognize at first glance that it is a go-kart specially built for the looping passage. Rather, the observer perceives a normal go-kart, with which one can race as usual, but also through loops, screws, etc. The bumper of the vehicle is preferably bent upwards at the front and back to prevent the bumper from sitting on the steel frame of the lanes during when driving through the looping. At the same time, the high bending level of the bumper at the front helps to integrate the additional central wheel in front. In a further embodiment, the bumper is also bent in the middle between the wheels of the vehicle downwards or/and upwards so that a looping passage can be carried out without any problems.

Next is, as can be recognized in FIG. 23 to FIG. 27, the vehicle in its front, lower area equipped with at least one rolling element 4′, which runs with a guide attachment 2′ along the attraction route as a looping, preferably arranged in the middle. In one version, a guide strip, equipped as a stable attachment or rail element, is arranged approximately in the middle of the route, thereby following the route section. Upon entry of the vehicle, the roller element now hits this guide as the guide strip, whereby the guide strip along the route section is slightly ascending, designed in such a way that at least one of the front wheels of the vehicle is raised in sections and only completely reopens onto the carriageway when exiting the attraction route. This minimizes the influence of uncontrolled and/or incorrect steering movements, which, in such a case, can lead to increased friction or unintentional blocking and thus an insufficient speed for the passage through the looping. In an alternative embodiment, the central guide attachment can also be designed as a chute and, if necessary, coupled with the steering. Thereby, when looping, only three out of four wheels are located on the lanes across long routes. At times, only two wheels can rest on the carriageway, in particular, if the leading roller attached to the front of the vehicle is also located on the guide slab or the guide chute under the roller or if, for example, before and after the vertex of a loops significantly changes the geometry of the looping. The two additional rollers 4 are each attached on the side of the go-kart so that the wheel, which is located directly at the lifting wheel of the go-kart, is pressed when being lifted at the top against the guide (in the form of the profile running parallel to the lane, such as a flat iron), thereby stabilizing the go-kart in its entirety. In this respect, the guides, which lie parallel to the carriageway above the rollers, are not located directly on the rollers, but have distance to the rollers. The following applies: The narrower the radius of the carriageway, the greater the distance between the guide slabs above the rollers, since a wheel stands out from the carriageway, the narrower the radius.

In all variants of the attraction routes with lateral boundaries and or profile guides on the sides, the lateral guides for improving the sliding properties are optionally equipped with suitable sliding surfaces or rollers or bearings. On the one hand, this leads to the prevention of excessive braking of the vehicle and prevents the vehicles from being bent in the attraction route and, on the other hand, allows a quieter and lower-noise passage of the attraction routes with the vehicles.

For example, the situation of an attraction route is shown in FIG. 20 to FIG. 22, which is designed as a looping 15, in which a first vehicle is already at the passage through the looping and another is waiting in the threading area in front of the acceleration route to the attraction route. Basically, the embodiment of an amusement ride according to the invention can also comprise only the actual attraction route and this, such as a looping for example, can be driven through in both directions with a vehicle.

For this purpose, there could be turning devices at the beginning and/or end of an attraction route, with which the vehicle can be rotated directly after passing through the attraction route in order to be able to pass through the same attraction immediately after passing through the attraction again in the opposite direction. In this way, attractions could be operated as an amusement ride without the need for a race track for the vehicles. The turning device could be carried out after entry of the vehicle, for example, with stepper motors controlled by sensors. However, such turning devices could also be located at the end of a series of adjacent attractions. The vehicles would then pass through a plurality of attractions before entering the described turning device where they can be turned around.

In a particularly preferred embodiment, in the turning device there are means of power transmission between the drive wheels of the vehicle and the turning mechanism of the turning device, like two rollers for each of the drive wheels of the vehicle respectively, between which the vehicle drives in with its drive wheels at the end of an attraction route in order to turn the vehicle. By moving the drive wheels in this state of the vehicle retracted into a mount, the rollers are propelled, which, in turn, rotate the turning device by means of transmissions or a gearbox so that the vehicle can be moved out of the rollers again after fully rotating and can enter the attraction route in the opposite direction. For this purpose, the rollers under the drive wheels are locked after complete rotation and locking of the turning device.

Having described preferred versions of the invention in relation to the enclosed drawings, it should be noted that the invention is not limited to these exact embodiments and that various modifications and modifications to it by a person skilled in the art can be carried out without deviating from the scope of the invention as defined in the enclosed claims.

Claims

1.-27. (canceled)

28. An amusement ride, for vehicles with their own drive and control capability, on a carriageway route, comprising:

an amusement course having at least one zone (1), in which at least one participating vehicle (3) driving on the carriageway route is guided, by retaining guide means (6, 7, 11, 12, 16), along a pre-defined route (2, 2′) in a pre-defined route section designed as an attraction;

the at least one participating vehicle having retaining leading means (4, 4′) for a corresponding reversible connection to the retaining guide means of the amusement course, by which said retaining leading means the vehicle is guided and retained through the zone; and

the retaining leading means on the at least one vehicle are correspondingly configured to interlock with and release from the retaining guide means of the amusement course during a movement of the at least one vehicle in said zone on the amusement course.

29. The amusement ride, according to claim 28, wherein:

said pre-defined route (2, 2′) further comprises in at least one section (2, 2′) at least one of a looping (15), an upside-down route, a spiral route, and a steep face route, which is configured to be driven through using said at least one participating vehicle and is designed as an attraction.

30. The amusement ride, according to claim 28, wherein:

the amusement ride further consists of: a plurality of successively arranged attraction turning routes for said vehicles that are each arranged at the ends of said amusement ride and a driving back and forth of the vehicles on this at least one attraction route passes at least two of said plurality of successively arranged attraction turning routes.

31. The amusement ride, according to claim 28, further comprising:

at least one zone (1) designed with at least one funnel-shaped access area and an acceleration route (2); and

wherein said retaining leading means (4, 4′) are attached to the vehicle (3) at a thread or an interlock during an entry into the attraction turning route on the acceleration route corresponding to the retaining guide means (6, 7, 11, 12, 16) of the installation of the zone and are released or threaded out in an exit area.

32. The amusement ride, according to claim 28, wherein:

the zone is designed as an attraction route and is equipped with at least one resting area (2, 13) for a plurality of wheels (10) of the vehicle configured as a lane (13).

33. The amusement ride, according to claim 31, wherein:

the retaining guide means are arranged on the attraction route depicting the route;

the retaining guide means are provided in a profile configuration; and said profile configuration including at least one of a U-profile (12), a rail profile, a pipe element profile, a groove profile, or a grasping means profile for the retaining leading means (4) attached to the vehicle configured to securely keep the vehicle along the attraction route.

34. The amusement ride, according to claim 33, further comprising:

pairs of front and rear wheels on said vehicle;

said front wheels having a wheel width;

said carriageway route having opposed recesses having a recess width; and

said recess width configured to receive said wheel width and guide and stabilize said vehicle during a use of said amusement ride along said amusement course.

35. The amusement ride, course, according to claim 34, wherein:

said vehicle further comprising a supporting structure;

said retaining leading means attached to said support structure of said vehicle; and

said retaining leading means attached to the vehicle configured to be at least one of rotatably-mounted, spring-mounted, and cylindrical-mounted means that are fixed to at least one of said supporting structure of the vehicle and said retaining leading means (4, 4′).

36. The amusement ride, according to claim 35, wherein:

at least one of said pair of front wheels and said rear wheels being drive wheels of said vehicle; and

the retaining leading means (4) attached to the vehicle are configured as cylindrical means that are spring-and-rotatably mounted to the vehicle and which are pressed on at least two of said wheels of the vehicle when threading in the acceleration route to the attraction route and can be moved by the drive wheels when travelling through the attraction route.

37. The amusement ride, according to claim 36, wherein:

the at least one retaining leading means (4′) attached to the vehicle is configured to be a rotatably mounted rolling element in a front lower area of the vehicle; and

said rotatably mounted rolling element, upon entering the acceleration route or attraction route, grasps onto a guide along said pre-defined route (2, 2′) and engages in a reversible manner and glides out of this at the exit area.

38. The amusement ride, according to claim 37, wherein:

the rotatably mounted rolling element (4′) is arranged at a middle of said front lower area of the vehicle and, during the entry of the vehicle to said amusement course, engages into the guide along said pre-defined route (2, 2′) through at least the attraction route; and

wherein at least one of said pair of front wheels of the vehicle is raised at least in sections along said pre-defined route.

39. The amusement ride, according to claim 36, wherein:

the at least one retaining leading means (4′) is attached to the vehicle at an underside of the vehicle; and

when said vehicle enters said acceleration route (2) said at least one retaining leading means (4′) engages in a reversible manner into a guide on the carriageway of the attraction route and glides said vehicle out of it in the exit area.

40. The amusement ride, according to claim 35, wherein:

the retaining leading means attached to the vehicle are configured as protruding guide means (4) protruding beyond said pairs of wheels of said vehicle.

41. The amusement ride, according to claim 35, wherein:

the retaining leading means attached to the vehicle are configured as vehicle attached elements;

said vehicle attached elements are configured with an adjustable contact device and at least one rotatable mounting connecting means connecting with the retaining guide means in said attraction turning route.

42. The amusement ride, according to claim 41, wherein:

the vehicle is equipped with one of a roll bar and a roll cage (5);

at a top side of said at least one of said roll bar and a roll cage (5) is at least one retaining guide element; and

said at least one retaining guide element is configured to engage to said guide means (6, 7) along the attraction turning route whereby said vehicle is retained during a journing along said attraction turning route in an inverted position.

43. The amusement ride, according to claim 42, wherein:

the vehicles are electric vehicles.

44. The amusement ride, according to claim 28, wherein:

the vehicles are remotely controlled vehicles configured to be remotely controlled for acceleration effect and braking effect.