1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an amusement ride. More specifically, the invention relates to a mobile or stationary amusement ride utilizing frame or reference and relative motion to provide the rider with an enhanced experience of motion.
2) Description of Related Art
In the United States, it has been estimated that over 500 million guests visit carnivals, fairs, amusement parks and festivals each year. It is estimated that over half of these guests participate on amusement rides. These rides are offered by carnival organizers and vendors that can purchase or rent the rides. Rides that involve motion such as bumper cars, carousels, roller coasters, free falls, ferris wheels, and the like, can have prices that exceed $150,000. In many cases, these costs are prohibitive to the operator or vendor. However, the rides that involve motion can be the most popular rides and therefore the one with the largest revenues. Additionally, the motion rides can be a draw for guests resulting in increased attendance to the carnival, fair, or festival.
One undesirable effect of these larger motion rides is that over time, the popularity of the ride declines, especially in amusement parks. As such, the revenue curve of the ride will decrease over time. As the rides are typically constructed from metal with very specific designs and construction (e.g. ferris wheel), the ability to refresh the ride is either impossible or very limited.
Additionally, the carnivals, fairs, and festivals are schedule for limited periods of time. The vendors and operators travel from location to location, based upon the schedule and booking, to transport and operate various rides to multiple locations throughout the year. The rides need to be able to be transported in one embodiment using the typical highway and interstate road systems. Traditionally, this requires that the rides be erected which can take up to two days. One vendor has stated that it requires 75 full time employees and an additional 20-30 local employees to erect all rides in a carnival. During this set-up (and take-down) time, revenues are not being generated.
By way of background, the present invention utilizes the effect of relative motion and the rider's frame of reference to provide for a physical experience to the user. Relative motion is the calculation of the motion of an object with regard to some other moving object. It is just that, motion relative to another object. Relative motion is a concept, and its calculation occurs with relative velocity, relative speed, or relative acceleration. The other object is part of the rider's frame of reference. The frame of reference is an abstract coordinate system and the set of physical reference points that uniquely fix (locate and orient) the coordinate system and standardize measurements. It involves the relationship between a moving observer and the phenomenon or phenomena under observation (i.e. observational frame of reference). When an individual believes that the frame of reference is stationary, the observation of motion to the individual results in the user believing that the object in motion is the object moving. However, when the individual believes that the frame of references is stationary and in fact it is not, the individual perceives that the individual is moving when in fact the individual is not.
For example, when a driver of a stopped vehicle is focused on an adjacent vehicle, such as at an intersection, the adjacent stopped vehicle can be the frame of reference. If the adjacent vehicle begins to move forward, the driver, expecting the adjacent vehicle to be stationary, can believe that the driver's stopped vehicle is in fact moving forward. This occurs when the driver expects the frame of reference to have a static state when in fact it does not.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a cost effective ride that provides the rider with the experience of enhanced motion.
It is another object of the present invention to project the rider's experience to potential riders.
It is another object of the present invention to provide for an amusement ride where the rider's experience can be modified to allow the rider to continue to experience the “first time” feeling.
It is another object of the present invention to provide for an amusement ride with minimal set-up time.
It is another object of the present invention to provide for an amusement ride that is transportable on highway and road systems.