EP-4735141-A1 - SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR INHIBITING MOVEMENT OF SHOTGUN GATE VIA COMPUTER IMPLEMENTED PROCESS

Abstract

Aspects of the disclosure relate to methods, apparatus, and systems for controlling movement of a shotgun gate 114, 116 in a ride system 100. A system is configured to identify one or more ride vehicles 104, 106, 118 stopped at a platform 110, the platform 110 including one or more shotgun gates 114, 116 respectively corresponding to one or more rows 124, 126, 134, 136, 144, 146 of the one or more ride vehicles 104, 106, 118, determine which row(s) 124, 126, 134, 136, 144, 146 of the one or more rows is in-service or out-of-service based on an identity of the one or more ride vehicles 104, 106, 118, instruct to remain closed at least one shotgun gate 114, 116 of the one or more shotgun gates 114, 116 corresponding to at least one row 124, 126, 134, 136, 144, 146 of the one or more rows 124, 126, 134, 136, 144, 146 determined to be out-of-service, and instruct to open any other shotgun gate 114, 116 of the one or more shotgun gates 114, 116 corresponding to at least one other row 124, 126, 134, 136, 144, 146 of the one or more rows 124, 126, 134, 136, 144, 146 determined to be in-service.

Inventors

• BEATRICE, Michael Anthony
• HABIAK, Gregory Paul
• MAJDALI, DAVID GERARD

Assignees

• Universal City Studios LLC

Dates

Publication Date

20260506

Application Date

20240627

Claims (20)

1. 1. A ride system comprising: one or more ride vehicles including one or more seat rows; a passenger loading platform including one or more shotgun gates respectively corresponding to the one or more seat rows; a ride vehicle identifier configured to identify the one or more ride vehicles stopped at the passenger loading platform; and a controller communicatively coupled to the one or more shotgun gates and the ride vehicle identifier, the controller configured to: determine which seat row or rows of the one or more seat rows is in-service; determine which seat row or rows of the one or more seat rows is out-of- service; instruct to remain closed at least one shotgun gate of the one or more shotgun gates corresponding to at least one seat row of the one or more seat rows determined to be out-of-service; and instruct to open any other shotgun gate of the one or more shotgun gates corresponding to at least one other seat row of the one or more seat rows determined to be in-service.
2. 2. The ride system of claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to: receive data corresponding to an identity of the one or more ride vehicles prior to the one or more ride vehicles stopping at the passenger loading platform, wherein the data indicates which seat row or rows of the one or more seat rows is in-service or which seat row or rows of the one or more seat rows is out-of-service.
3. 3. The ride system of claim 2, further comprising: an interface device communicatively coupled to the controller, wherein the controller is configured to receive the data corresponding to the identity of the one or more ride vehicles via the interface device; and wherein the interface device is configured to receive the data corresponding to the identity of the one or more ride vehicles from a ride system operator or technician.
4. 4. The ride system of claim 2, wherein the controller configured to determine which seat row or rows of the one or more seat rows is in-service or out-of-service is configured to at least: read the received data corresponding to the identity of the one or more ride vehicles; receive data indicative of an out-of-service triggering event from an on-board controller of the one or more ride vehicles; receive the data indicative of the out-of-service triggering event from a seat row controller of the one or more ride vehicles; or receive the data indicative of the out-of-service triggering event from a seat sensor system of the one or more ride vehicles.
5. 5. The ride system of claim 1, wherein the ride vehicle identifier comprises a radio frequency identification (RFID) reader configured to identify the one or more ride vehicles, wherein the RFID reader is configured to: read an RFID tag mounted to the one or more ride vehicles.
6. 6. The ride system of claim 1, wherein the controller configured to instruct to remain closed the one or more shotgun gates is configured to at least: refrain from sending a signal to open the one or more shotgun gates; block a signal for opening the one or more shotgun gates from being sent; or send a signal to close the one or more shotgun gates.
7. 7. The ride system of claim 1, wherein the ride vehicle identifier comprises at least a radio frequency identification (RFID) reader, a barcode reader, a QR code reader, a camera, a light sensor, a color sensor, or a ride vehicle counter.
8. 8. A method of controlling movement of a shotgun gate in a ride system, the method comprising: identifying one or more ride vehicles stopped at a passenger loading platform, the one or more ride vehicles including one or more seat rows and the passenger loading platform including one or more shotgun gates respectively corresponding to the one or more seat rows; determining which seat row or rows of the one or more seat rows is in-service; determining which seat row or rows of the one or more seat rows is out-of-service; instructing to remain closed at least one shotgun gate of the one or more shotgun gates corresponding to at least one seat row of the one or more seat rows determined to be out-of- service; and instructing to open any other shotgun gate of the one or more shotgun gates corresponding to at least one other seat row of the one or more seat rows determined to be in-service.
9. 9. The method of claim 8, further comprising: receiving data corresponding to an identity of the one or more ride vehicles prior to the one or more ride vehicles stopping at the passenger loading platform, wherein the data corresponding to the identity of the one or more ride vehicles indicates which seat row or rows of the one or more seat rows is in-service or which seat row or rows of the one or more seat rows is out-of-service.
10. 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the data corresponding to the identity of the one or more ride vehicles is received via an interface device configured to receive the data corresponding to the identity from a ride system operator or technician.
11. 11. The method of claim 9, wherein the determining which seat row or rows of the one or more seat rows is in-service or out-of-service comprises at least: reading the received data corresponding to the identity of the one or more ride vehicles; receiving data indicative of an out-of-service triggering event from an on-board controller of the one or more ride vehicles; receiving the data indicative of the out-of-service triggering event from a seat row controller of the one or more ride vehicles; or receiving the data indicative of the out-of-service triggering event from a seat sensor system of the one or more ride vehicles.
12. 12. The method of claim 8, wherein the identifying the one or more ride vehicles comprises: identifying a unique identification attribute of the one or more ride vehicles.
13. 13. The method of claim 8, wherein the instructing to remain closed the one or more shotgun gates comprises at least: refraining from sending a signal to open the one or more shotgun gates; blocking a signal for opening the one or more shotgun gates from being sent; or sending a signal to close the one or more shotgun gates.
14. 14. The method of claim 8, wherein the identifying the one or more ride vehicles comprises identifying via at least a radio frequency identification (RFID) reader, a barcode reader, a QR code reader, a light sensor, a color sensor, a camera, or a ride vehicle counter.
15. 15. An apparatus for controlling movement of a shotgun gate in a ride system, the apparatus comprising: at least one processor, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: identify one or more ride vehicles stopped at a passenger loading platform, the one or more ride vehicles including one or more seat rows and the passenger loading platform including one or more shotgun gates respectively corresponding to the one or more seat rows; determine which seat row or rows of the one or more seat rows is in-service; determine which seat row or rows of the one or more seat rows is out-of- service; instruct to remain closed at least one shotgun gate of the one or more shotgun gates corresponding to at least one seat row of the one or more seat rows determined to be out-of-service; and instruct to open any other shotgun gate of the one or more shotgun gates corresponding to at least one other seat row of the one or more seat rows determined to be in-service.
16. 16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: receive data corresponding to an identity of the one or more ride vehicles prior to the one or more ride vehicles stopping at the passenger loading platform, wherein the data indicates which seat row or rows of the one or more seat rows is in-service or which seat row or rows of the one or more seat rows is out-of-service.
17. 17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the at least one processor is configured to receive the data corresponding to the identity of the one or more ride vehicles via an interface device configured to receive the data corresponding to the identity of the one or more ride vehicles from a ride system operator or technician.
18. 18. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the at least one processor configured to determine which seat row or rows of the one or more seat rows is in-service or out-of-service is configured to at least: read the received data corresponding to the identity of the one or more ride vehicles; receive data indicative of an out-of-service triggering event from an on-board controller of the one or more ride vehicles; receive the data indicative of the out-of-service triggering event from a seat row controller of the one or more ride vehicles; or receive the data indicative of the out-of-service triggering event from a seat sensor system of the one or more ride vehicles.
19. 19. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the at least one processor is configured to identify the one or more ride vehicles via a ride vehicle identifier configured to identify a unique identification attribute of the one or more ride vehicles.
20. 20. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the at least one processor configured to instruct to remain closed the one or more shotgun gates is configured to at least: refrain from sending a signal to open the one or more shotgun gates; block a signal for opening the one or more shotgun gates from being sent; or send a signal to close the one or more shotgun gates.

Description

SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR INHIBITING MOVEMENT OF SHOTGUN GATE VIA COMPUTER IMPLEMENTED PROCESS TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The technology discussed below relates generally to gate systems, and more particularly, to inhibiting movement of a shotgun gate. INTRODUCTION [0002] Theme park ride attractions may use gate systems to control crowd flow and access to such attractions. Some gate systems may employ actuators (e.g., hydraulic actuators, magnetic actuators, electric actuators) as power sources to generate a force to open and close the gates. Typically, for some ride attractions (e.g., roller coasters) where a ride vehicle includes one or more rows of seats, a shotgun gate system may be used to control how passengers enter the rows. In the shotgun gate system, gates respectively corresponding to the rows are actuated to open and/or close at the same time. However, problems may arise due to an individual gate not being able to open or close independent of the other gates. [0003] For example, when one or more seats of an individual row on a ride vehicle is out-of- service but the rest of the seat rows are otherwise in-service to the passengers, a ride operator and/or technician (e.g., ride technician) may implement a procedure to prevent passengers from sitting in an out-of-service seat of an out-of-service row. The procedure may include the ride operator and/or technician locking (e.g., strapping down) in a closed position a restraint system of the out-of-service seat and/or placing a physical barrier on the restraint system to prevent the restraint system from opening, and therefore, prevent a passenger from sitting in the out-of-service seat. The procedure may further include the ride operator and/or technician monitoring the passengers as they board the ride vehicle and preventing a passenger from entering the out-of-service row and/or sitting in the out-of-service seat. However, because the shotgun gate system operates in a way that all gates are actuated to open at the same time, a gate corresponding to the out-of-service row will always open and may prompt a passenger to enter the out-of-service row. If the ride operator and/or technician does not notice the passenger enter the out-of-service row, the passenger may unlock the restraint system from the closed position (and/or remove the physical barrier on the restraint system) and sit in the out-of-service seat. [0004] Accordingly, what is needed is a system and method for controlling a shotgun gate that prevents a passenger from accessing an out-of-service row of a ride vehicle. The present disclosure is directed to controlling a ride system to open and close an individual gate (e.g., gate corresponding to an out-of-service row of a ride vehicle) independent of other gates in the system. BRIEF SUMMARY OF SOME EXAMPLES [0005] The following presents a summary of one or more aspects of the present disclosure, in order to provide a basic understanding of such aspects. This summary is not an extensive overview of all contemplated features of the disclosure, and is intended neither to identify key or critical elements of all aspects of the disclosure nor to delineate the scope of any or all aspects of the disclosure. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of one or more aspects of the disclosure in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later. [0006] Aspects of the disclosure relate to methods, apparatus, and systems for controlling movement of a shotgun gate in a ride system. A ride system may include one or more ride vehicles including one or more seat rows, a passenger loading platform including one or more shotgun gates respectively corresponding to the one or more seat rows, a ride vehicle identifier configured to identify the one or more ride vehicles stopped at the passenger loading platform, and a controller communicatively coupled to the one or more shotgun gates and the ride vehicle identifier. The controller may be configured to determine which seat row or rows of the one or more seat rows is in-service or out-of-service based on data corresponding to an identity of the one or more ride vehicles. The controller may be configured to instruct to remain closed at least one shotgun gate of the one or more shotgun gates corresponding to at least one seat row of the one or more seat rows determined to be out-of-service if any seat row of the one or more seat rows are determined to be out-of- service. The controller may be configured to instruct to open any other shotgun gate of the one or more shotgun gates corresponding to at least one other seat row of the one or more seat rows determined to be in-service if any seat row of the one or more seat rows are determined to be in-service. The ride system may further include an interface device communicatively coupled to the controller, wherein the interface device is configured to receive the data corresponding to the identity of the one or more ride vehicles f