Suspended coaster rail apparatus and method

Abstract

An improved amusement ride provides minimal requirement on supporting structures by suspending a rail system from suspension cables. Individual riders sit in a harness suspended from a trolley traveling along the suspended rail. The rail may turn in substantially any direction and the trolley coasts along it. Parallel rails may be suspended for a race-like format. The suspension cables may be arranged along a hillside, relying on the grade of the hill for elevation change, or may be arranged as a lattice of supporting infrastructure with an arrangement of the coaster rail there below.

1 . A method of operating a coaster, the method comprising:
 providing a plurality of towers, each tower of the plurality of towers having a base end, a terminal end positioned above the base end and defining an axial direction, and a radial direction orthogonal to the axial direction;   providing an offset for each of the towers, comprising a structure having a suspension location spaced radially away from the each tower;   providing a rail comprising a solid, substantially continuous track extending from a starting point to an ending point;   suspending the rail from and below each of the suspension locations;   spacing the rail radially away from the each tower by the offset;   securing a trolley to the rail to run therealong supported by the rail against the acceleration of gravity;   securing a harness suspended from the trolley, the harness sized to support a rider below the trolley and to resist contact with any tower of the plurality of towers by the rider;   loading a rider into the harness; and   releasing the trolley from proximate the starting point to descend under the influence of gravity to proximate the ending point.   
   
   
       2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the rail comprises an operational portion characterized by the starting point, the ending point, and a slope monotonically descending from the starting point to the ending point with respect to the direction of travel of the trolley. 
   
   
       3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the rail comprises a lift portion connecting the ending point to the starting point and monotonically rising from the ending point to the starting point. 
   
   
       4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the rail is a tube. 
   
   
       5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein at least one tower of the plurality is placed on a hill. 
   
   
       6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the lift portion has an upwardly inclined slope in the direction of motion of the trolley. 
   
   
       7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the trolley further comprises a brake controlling descending by resisting the acceleration of gravity. 
   
   
       8 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising providing cables extending between the towers and supporting the rail therebelow. 
   
   
       9 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising providing risers extending vertically and spacing the rail below the suspension points. 
   
   
       10 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising;
 providing a serpentine configuration for the rail, the rail curving back and forth with respect to the radial directions of the towers; and   turning by the trolley through a series of turns about the towers during the descending.   
   
   
       11 . A method comprising:
 providing a plurality of towers, each tower of the plurality of towers having a base end, a terminal end positioned above the base end and defining an axial direction, and a radial direction orthogonal to the axial direction;   providing a suspension arm extending from the each tower to a suspension location spaced radially away therefrom;   suspending a rail, comprising a substantially continuous track, from the suspension locations;   securing a trolley to the rail to run therealong, supported by the rail against the acceleration of gravity, and supporting a rider; and   descending by the trolley along the rail from proximate a starting point at a first elevation to an ending point at a second elevation.   
   
   
       12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the rail comprises:
 an operational portion characterized by the starting point, the ending point, and a slope descending from the starting point to the ending point; and   a lift portion connecting the ending point to the starting point and rising therebetween.   
   
   
       14 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the rail comprises a tube, and the trolley further comprises a brake controlling descending by resisting the acceleration of gravity. 
   
   
       15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the suspension arms further comprise cables extending between the towers and supporting the rail therebelow, and the method further comprises providing risers extending between the rail and the suspension locations. 
   
   
       16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the risers extend substantially exclusively vertically. 
   
   
       17 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprising:
 providing the rail in a serpentine configuration curving back and forth with respect to the radial directions of the towers; and   turning by the trolley through a series of turns between the towers during descending.   
   
   
       18 . A method comprising:
 securing a rider in a seating assembly suspended from a trolley riding on a rail;   releasing the trolley to move downward along the slope of the rail;   descending by the rider and trolley under the influence of gravity from a starting point to an ending point along the rail; and   traveling by the trolley along a serpentine course comprising a plurality of turns curving back and forth between towers suspending the rail therebelow.   
   
   
       19 . The method of  18 , wherein a system of towers supports suspension cables disposed as catenaries between the towers and suspending the rail below the cables. 
   
   
       20 . The method of  claim 19 , further comprising rolling by the trolley along the rail, in a direction at least transverse to the cables, along the serpentine course defined by the rail thereabove, in response to gravity, the incline of the rail and a brake on the trolley controlling the speed of descent of the trolley, and the serpentine course changing the direction of travel of the trolley through all angles between zero and substantially one hundred eighty degrees.