Amusement ride employing a suspended tensioned static cable

Abstract

A recreational ride employs a suspended tensioned static cable that allows the user to gravitationally ride, harnessed to a rolling trolley attached to the cable, from an upper platform to a lower platform. The trolley includes a brake assembly that is attached to a brake arm through a bolted connection, which greatly reduces the cost and complexity of the brake assembly and reduces the chances of operator error when mounting the trolley on the cable. The brake assembly includes two adjacent, separate, aligned brake pads fabricated of different materials, a forward pad being a non-metallic material and a rearward pad being a metallic material. A wheel assembly portion of the trolley includes a sheave plate, bolted to a brake arm, that is permitted to pivot about its point of attachment to the brake arm to thereby eliminate fatigue forces on the wheel assembly.

1 . A trolley for use with an amusement ride of the type having upper and lower earth-mounted cable support structures positioned such that the upper cable support structure is at a higher terrain elevation than the lower cable support structure, at least one static tensioned riding cable connected between the upper and lower cable support structures, the trolley being adapted for removable rolling engagement with the riding cable, the trolley being further adapted to support a harnessed rider suspended therefrom, the trolley comprising: 
 a brake arm having a brake assembly mounted at a rearward end thereof, said brake assembly comprising longitudinally-aligned, adjacently-positioned front and rear brake pads, each of said brake pads having an upwardly-facing slot formed in a top surface thereof, the slots being axially aligned for receiving said riding cable, said front brake pad comprising a non-metallic material and said rear brake pad comprising a metallic material;    a cable wheel assembly connected to said brake arm so as to extend upwardly therefrom, said cable wheel assembly comprising a cable wheel adapted for rolling engagement with said riding cable, said cable wheel assembly comprising a sheave plate having a generally U-shaped inverted configuration, said cable wheel being mounted for rotation within said sheave plate and proximate a top end thereof, a first downwardly extending leg of said sheave plate being attached to said brake arm such that said sheave plate is free to pivot with respect to said brake arm at a point of attachment therebetween, a second leg of said sheave plate extending downwardly in parallel relationship to said first leg and being shorter in length than said first leg to form an opening for receiving said riding cable for engagement with said cable wheel.    
   
   
       2 . A trolley as in  claim 1 , wherein said front brake pad comprises a non-metallic material.  
   
   
       3 . A trolley as in  claim 2 , wherein said non-metallic material comprises nylon material.  
   
   
       4 . A trolley as in  claim 2 , wherein said non-metallic material comprises UHMW material.  
   
   
       5 . A trolley as in  claim 1 , wherein said rear brake pad comprises aluminum.  
   
   
       6 . A trolley as in  claim 1 , wherein said brake assembly further comprises a pair of heat shield plates mounted so as to substantially cover an outer surface of each of said front and rear brake pads.  
   
   
       7 . A trolley as in  claim 1 , wherein said brake arm further comprises a replaceable bumper mounted atop a forward end of said brake arm.  
   
   
       8 . A trolley as in  claim 7 , wherein said bumper comprises a hard rubber material.  
   
   
       9 . A trolley as in  claim 7 , wherein said bumper comprises a polymeric material.  
   
   
       10 . A trolley as in  claim 1 , further comprising a back-up chain connected to said brake arm and an attachment device for loosely coupling said back-up chain to said riding cable.  
   
   
       11 . An amusement ride comprising: 
 upper and lower earth-mounted cable support structures positioned such that said upper cable support structure is higher in elevation than said lower cable support structure;    at least one static tension riding cable connected between said upper and lower cable support structures;    a trolley adapted for removable rolling engagement with said riding cable, the trolley being further adapted to support a harnessed rider suspended therefrom, the trolley comprising a brake arm having a brake assembly mounted at a rearward end thereof, said brake assembly comprising longitudinally-aligned, adjacently-positioned front and rear brake pads, each of said brake pads having an upwardly-facing slot formed in a top surface thereof, the slots being axially aligned for receiving said riding cable, said front brake pad comprising a non-metallic material and said rear brake pad comprising a metallic material, said trolley further comprising a cable wheel assembly connected to said brake arm so as to extend upwardly therefrom, said cable wheel assembly comprising a cable wheel adapted for rolling engagement with said riding cable, said cable wheel assembly comprising a sheave plate having a generally U-shaped inverted configuration, said cable wheel being mounted for rotation within said sheave plate and proximate a top end thereof, a first downwardly extending leg of said sheave plate being attached to said brake arm such that said sheave plate is free to pivot with respect to said brake arm at a point of attachment therebetween, a second leg of said sheave plate extending downwardly in parallel relationship to said first leg and being shorter in length than said first leg to form an opening for receiving said riding cable for engagement with said cable wheel, a terminus of said second leg of said sheave plate being formed as an inwardly-turned hook, said cable wheel assembly further comprising a spring gate connected to said brake arm, said spring gate being arranged for releasable engagement with said hook; and    a terminal brake acceptor having a cable clamp member positioned over said riding cable proximate a terminal end thereof and having an inverted, generally V-shaped shroud member depending from said cable clamp member, said shroud member being adjustably coupled to said cable clamp member, said shroud member including a stop member positioned therein for dampening deceleration forces imposed on said trolley as it enters said terminal brake acceptor at the end of a ride.    
   
   
       12 . An amusement ride as in  claim 11 , wherein said stop member comprises a plastic material.  
   
   
       13 . An amusement ride as in  claim 11 , wherein said stop member comprises UHMW material.  
   
   
       14 . A trolley as in  claim 1 , wherein said sheave plate is spring-biased at said point of attachment to said brake arm to urge said sheave arm to a quiescent position that is generally perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of said brake arm.  
   
   
       15 . A trolley as in  claim 1 , wherein: 
 a terminus of said second leg of said sheave plate is formed as an inwardly-turned hook; and    said cable wheel assembly further comprises a spring gate connected to said brake arm, said spring gate being arranged for releasable engagement with said hook.