WO2006010905A1

WO2006010905A1 - Water propulsion unit for an amusement ride

Info

Publication number: WO2006010905A1
Application number: PCT/GB2005/002883
Authority: WO
Inventors: Douglas Murphy; David Wyllie
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2004-07-28
Filing date: 2005-07-25
Publication date: 2006-02-02
Anticipated expiration: 2007-01-28
Also published as: GB0416807D0

Abstract

A self-contained water propulsion unit for an amusement ride having a housing (12), a motor (18). The housing (12) has a first compartment (14) and a second compartment (16). The motor (18) is mounted in the first compartment (14) and is adapted to drive a propulsion means (20) mounted in the second compartment (16). The first compartment (14) is sealed against the ingress of water and the propulsion means (20) propels water through the second compartment (16).

Description

Water Propulsion Unit for an Amusement Ride

The present invention relates to a propulsion unit for propelling water around an amusement ride.

Conventional methods for propelling water around an amusement ride typically consist of one or more pumping stations, where water is sucked in at one point of the ride, pressurised and then ejected back into the river at a second point to increase the flow rate of the water. These systems are often expensive and complex requiring a large amount of pipework to be installed between the first and second points of the ride and the pumping station. Often these pipes are installed beneath the floor of the water ride which is problematic if access is required to these pipes for maintenance or improvements etc.

Furthermore, these conventional systems eject the pressurised water back into the ride as jets of water. These jets of water are limited in their capability of increasing the flow rate of the water in the ride, and therefore a large number of these jets are required to obtain a useful flow rate of water in the ride. Increasing the number of jets required to propel the water around the ride increases the power consumption and running costs of the system.

Other systems exist for propelling fluids along pipework. For example, by submerging a motor and an impeller in a pipe. However, these systems are totally impractical for use in the system under consideration here. Firstly, the impeller is directly located in the flow path of the fluid, and secondly, the motor is submerged in the fluid. Both of these pose health and safety problems which would prevent this type of system being utilised in the present case.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a water propulsion unit for an amusement ride which obviates or mitigates one or more of the disadvantages referred to above.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a water propulsion unit for an amusement ride comprising: a housing, said housing having a first compartment and a second compartment; a motor mounted in said first compartment; and a propulsion means mounted in said second compartment, said motor being adapted to drive said propulsion means, wherein said first compartment is sealed against the ingress of water and said propulsion means propels water through said second compartment.

Preferably the second compartment has means for directing the flow of water therethrough.

Preferably the means for directing the flow of water is a substantially concave inner surface in the second compartment.

Preferably the second compartment has a water inlet and outlet.

Preferably the water outlet has a guide means for directing the flow of water.

Preferably the water inlet has a guide means for directing the flow of water.

Preferably the guide means comprises guide fins.

Preferably the water inlet has a larger circumference than the water outlet.

Preferably the motor is an electric motor. Alternatively, the motor is a combustion engine.

Preferably the propulsion means is an impeller. Preferably the water propulsion unit is adapted to be mounted adjacent the main flow of water in an amusement ride.

Preferably the motor has a rotation shaft which is parallel to a rotation shaft of the impeller.

Preferably the motor has a rotation shaft which is perpendicular to a rotation shaft of the impeller.

A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:-

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a water propulsion unit for an amusement ride in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is an partial side view of the water propulsion unit of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a partial perspective view of the side wall of a water ride;

Fig. 4 is a schematic plan view of a water ride; and

Fig. 5 is an alternative configuration of the water propulsion unit of Fig. 1.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, a water propulsion unit for an amusement ride 10 comprises a housing 12 which is substantially cuboid in shape. The housing 12 is made up of a first compartment 14 and a second compartment 16.

The first compartment 14 is a sealed unit which prevents the ingress of water. The first compartment 14 houses an electric motor 18.

The second compartment 16 is larger in size than the first compartment 14 and houses propulsion means (impeller) 20. The second compartment 16 has a water inlet 22 and a water outlet 24. The water inlet 22 has a larger circumference than the water outlet 24.

The electric motor 18 drives the impeller 20 by means of a rotation shaft 26 which passes between the first compartment 14 and the second compartment 16. The rotation shaft 26 is sealed between the first compartment 14 and the second compartment 16 by seals 28 and 30 respectively. The rotation shaft 26 has supports (not shown) to support the rotation shaft 26 in the second compartment 16.

The second compartment 16 has means for directing the flow of water therethrough (concave inner surface) 32 (best seen in Fig. 2) . The concave of the inner surface 32 aids the flow of the water driven through the second compartment 16 by the impeller 20. The inner surface 32 is substantially curved. However, it should be appreciated that the inner surface 32 could be contoured in any shape which is suitable for aiding the flow of water through the second compartment 16.

The water inlet 22 and water outlet 24 also include guide means for directing the flow of water therethrough (guide fins) (not shown) . The guide fins are mounted such that they protrude into the second compartment 16. The water inlet 22 and water outlet 24 also includes gratings (not shown) to allow only water to pass into the second compartment 16.

With reference to Figs. 3 and 4, the water propulsion unit 10 is a self-contained unit which may simply be inserted into a cut-out portion 34 of a side wall 36 of an amusement water ride 38. As illustrated in Fig. 4, a number of units 10 can be placed at suitable locations around a water ride 38. The water propulsion units 10 are simply connected to an electrical supply to power the electric motor 18.

When the water propulsion unit 10 is operating in a water ride 38, water is taken in the water inlet 22 and propelled by the impeller 20 through the second cavity 16 and out of the water outlet 24 back into the water ride 38. .The impeller 20 increases the flow rate of the water travelling through the water ride 38. The characteristics of the water flow around the ride 38 can be varied by the amount of units 10 used and their positioning around the ride 38. Using an impeller 20 as the propulsion means increases the efficiency which the water can be propelled round the ride 38. Impellers 20 are far better suited to moving large volumes of water than the jets of water currently used in existing apparatus. Typically the water propulsion unit 10 would propel a volume of water which is approximately Im in depth, 4m in width and lkm in length. However, the unit 10 could also be used to propel a much shallower depth of water, e.g. 500mm, or larger volumes of water.

The water propulsion unit 10 therefore obviates or mitigates the disadvantages of previous proposals by firstly, being a self-contained system which requires no external pipework and can be simply added to an existing water ride by inserting it in a side wall for example, and secondly, by using an impeller to propel the water, which increases the efficiency of the system and reduces power consumption and running costs, thirdly, by positioning the unit adjacent the main flow of water, and fourthly, by not using a submerged motor to drive the impeller.

Modifications and improvements could be made to the above without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, as illustrated in Fig. 5, the electric motor 18 could be mounted perpendicular, or otherwise, to the axis of rotation of the impeller 20. In this case the rotation shaft 26 would connect to the impeller 20 by means of a bevel gear etc.

Furthermore, although the water propulsion unit 10 has been described above as having an electric motor 18 to drive the impeller 20, it should be appreciated that the electric motor could be replaced with other means for driving the impeller, e.g. a combustion engine.

Also, although the water propulsion unit 10 has been described above as having one water inlet 22 and one water outlet 24, it should be appreciated that the unit 10 could comprise of any suitable number of inlets and outlets 22, 24.

Furthermore, although the water propulsion unit 10 has been described above as being mountable in a side wall 36 of a water ride 38, it should be appreciated that the unit 10 could easily be mounted elsewhere in the water ride 38, e.g. on the floor of the water ride 38.

Also, although the water propulsion unit 10 has been described above as taking water in the water inlet 22 and propelling it by the impeller 20 through the second cavity 16 and out of the water outlet 24, it should be appreciated that the impeller 20 may be run in the reverse direction, thus taking water in the water outlet 24 and propelling it through the second cavity 16 and out of the water inlet 22. Therefore, when the water propulsion unit 10 is operating in a water ride 38, the direction of the water flowing in the water ride 38 may be reversed by simply changing the direction of rotation of the impeller 20. When the water ride 38 is run in reverse it may also be necessary to reposition the guide fins in order to direct the water through the second cavity 16.

Claims

1. A water propulsion unit for an amusement ride comprising: a housing, said housing having a first compartment and a second compartment; a motor mounted in said first compartment; and a propulsion means mounted in said second compartment, said motor being adapted to drive said propulsion means, wherein said first compartment is sealed against the ingress of water and said propulsion means propels water through said second compartment.

2. A water propulsion unit for an amusement ride as claimed in claim 1, wherein the second compartment has means for directing the flow of water therethrough.

3. A water propulsion unit for an amusement ride as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the means for directing the flow of water is a substantially concave inner surface in the second compartment.

4. A water propulsion unit for an amusement ride as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the second compartment has a water inlet and outlet and the water outlet has a guide means for directing the flow of water.

5. A water propulsion unit for an amusement ride as claimed in claim 4, wherein the water inlet has a guide means for directing the flow of water.

6. A water propulsion unit for an amusement ride as claimed in claim 4 or claim 5, wherein the guide means comprises guide fins.

7. A water propulsion unit for an amusement ride as claimed in any of claims 4 to 6, wherein the water inlet has a larger circumference than the water outlet.

8. A water propulsion unit for an amusement ride as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the motor is an electric motor.

9. A water propulsion unit for an amusement ride as claimed in any of claims 1 to 8, wherein the motor is a combustion engine.

10. A water propulsion unit for an amusement ride as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the propulsion means is an impeller.

11. A water propulsion unit for an amusement ride as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the propulsion unit is adapted to be mounted adjacent the main flow of water in an amusement ride.

12. A water propulsion unit for an amusement ride as claimed in any of claims 8 to 11, wherein the motor has a rotation shaft which is parallel to a rotation shaft of the impeller.

13. A water propulsion unit for an amusement ride as claimed in any of claims 8 to 11, wherein the motor has a rotation shaft which is perpendicular to a rotation shaft of the impeller.