EP0120824A2

EP0120824A2 - Slide support structure

Info

Publication number: EP0120824A2
Application number: EP84850057A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Erik Albertsson
Original assignee: AP Aqua Rutsch AB
Current assignee: AP AQUA RUTSCH AB
Priority date: 1983-02-25
Filing date: 1984-02-22
Publication date: 1984-10-03
Also published as: EP0120824A3; ES530021A0; SE8301077D0; SE443516B; ES8501633A1; SE8301077L

Abstract

A movable slide support structure for supporting a slide (1), e.g. of the water slide kind. The support structure comprises a frame (13), which is supported by at leasttwo shallow floating pontoons (32-43).

Description

The invention relates to a movable slide support structure, especially for supporting a slide of the water slide kind, i.e. a groove--shaped slide, intended for entertainment purposes, with a relatively slight downward inclination, and water being flushed down the slide so as to decrease the friction of the riders, who will enter into a body of water at the end of the slide, preferably into a relatively shallow pool enabling even those who cannot swim or children to use the slide without any great risk.
Such water slides have lately been installed in a number of places and have become very popular. Normally, the slides are located in amusement parks, adjacent to large swimming-pools or at beaches. Naturally, for this purpose, it is necessary to obtain permits for use of ground and building a stationary construction and to carry out substantial planning and construction work in order to erect the support structure for the slide. Thus, much work and large costs are involved in each construction. Usually, the necessary permits and planning work require a long period of time.
Consequently, the object of the present invention is to provide a slide support structure, which does not require any permanent ground permit or a stationary construction, but can be easily displaced and enables the provision of a self-supporting unit, which is easily movable from place to place, in particular to different beaches and similar locations along coasts, lakes and waterways.
According to the invention, this object is achieved in that the support structure comprises a unitary frame which is supported by at least two shallow floating pontoons.
Hereby, the slide support structure forms a shallow floating water craft which may be temporarily located adjacent to a beach without any encroachment to the natural environment and may be easily transported by sea from place to place, i.e. by towing or propulsion by its own power.
In order to accomplish good stability, it is preferable that the floating pontoons or corresponding floating elements are dimensioned and distributed in such a way that the major part of the buoyancy is provided adjacent to the outer contour of the frame, whereby deeply located keel weights or the like are not needed, and the the craft can be kept steady, in spite of relatively low total weight in relation to the dimensions thereof. To achieve the desired amusement effect, the slide should change its direction at several points, implying a relatively spread out structure, i.e. the outer contour of the slide occupies a relatively large area, even though the space is utilized as much as possible even vertically.
In a particularly suitable embodiment, the support structure comprises a few support pillars with side arms, and at least certain floating pontoons or corresponding floating elements are disposed close to these support pillars, so that the frame is load-relieved to a certain extent in that a part of the weight of the support structure and the slide supported thereby is directly carried by the floating pontoons located underneath the support pillars. Consequently the frame can be made more slender and lighter than would be possible otherwise.
To enable distant transport of the support structure, e.g. from the place of manufacture to the location of use, the frame may preferably consist of a plurality of frame members or units e.g. of galvanized steel, which can be assembled by means of releasable screw fasteners. Moreover, the floating pontoons may consist of easy to handle units, which can be secured to the frame members likewise by means of screw fasteners. By such an arrangement, the support structure (and the slide sections) can be packed and transported in relatively small units and be mounted at the location of use by means of simple hand tools. For this purpose, neither special equipment, such as welding apparatus or the like, nor specially trained personal are required.
To further stabilize the support structure in use, at least two separate support rods can be advanced downwardly from the frame to a larger depth than the floating pontoons. Preferably, the support structure is provided with four or six such support rods, which are brought down to firm abutment against the bottom below the support structure, so that the latter practically does not move under the influence of a varying load (slide riders or moderate waves on the water surface). The support rods should be pressed against the bottom with a certain force which is preferably achieved by simple mechanical means, such as jacks or the like. The support rods should be relatively long, i.e. at least 3 m, and are therefore preferably adapted to be releasably coupled to the force amplification device in question.
Since the slide and the associated support structure and other equipment may have a non-uniform or timely varying weight distribution, it is advantageous if at least some of the floating pontoons are provided with a ballast space, i.e. for water, enabling the -support structure to be balanced to a desired, normally horizontal position. The floating pontoons may also contain other equipment, such as a pump unit for water flushing, an electric generator unit for power supply, propelling machinery, tools etc., or serve as space for the personnel.
A preferred embodiment of the inventive floating slide support structure will be described in detail below with reference to the appended drawings.

Fig. 1 is'a perspective view of a slide carried by a support structure according to the invention;
Fig. 2 is a top view of a frame belonging to the support structure;
Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a section of the frame with a support rod device; and
Fig. 4 shows a part of the support rod device according to Fig. 3 in a larger scale.

In Fig. 1 there is illustrated a slide of a kind previously known per se, namely a chute built in sections, which extends with an approximately constant slope from an upper starting point 2 to alower end point 3 located somewhat above a water surface 4. The slide is of the water slide kind, and water is thus constantly being flushed down the chute from the starting point 2, so that a person may ride down the chute, either sitting or lying with a rather good speed and a relatively low friction against the material of the chute, preferably a plastics material. In a known way, the slide changes its curve direction at some points, in this case at two points 5 and 6, whereby the riding amusement is enhanced. The passengers reach the starting point 2 of the slide by climbing a winding staircase 7 to a starting platform 8. This platform rests on four tubular columns 9, whereas the slide sections are supported by brackets 10 extending radially at different levels from two centrally located support pillars 11,12. As described so far, the slide construction belongs essentially to prior art
However, the slide support structure also comprises a unitary frame 13, which is supported on the water by at least two, in the shown embodiment twelve, shallow floating pontoons 32-43. The whole slide construction therefore floats on the water and can be moved to a desired place for a longer or shorter period of time.
The frame 13 (see also Fig. 2)is essentially planar with a rectangular outer contour (length appr. 11 m, width appr.6 m) and comprises units of box-shaped beams of galvanized steel being mutually interconnected by means of screw fasteners. When mounted, the frame comprises three longitudinal, mutually parallel beam pairs 14a, 14b and 15a, 15b, respectively, and a central beam pair 16a, 16b, as well as two transversal, likewise mutually parallel beam pairs 17a, 17b and 18a, 18b, respectively. The two central support pillars 11 and 12 rest on the intersectional points of the central longitudinal beam pair 16a, 16b and the transversal beam pairs 17a, 17b and 18a, 18b. Furthermore, the frame comprises outer, single beams 19 and 20 at the short sides of the rectangular contour, special transversal beams 21-23 for the support of the columns 9 of the platform 8 (Fig. 1), further transversal beams 24,25 for a support rod device, and a number of shearing stiffening diagonal beams 26-31. The different beams are joined longitudinally and connected at the intersection points by means of screw fasteners in such a way that the different portions of the frame, in certain cases possibly joined by welding into minor units, can be assembled and disassembled by means of ordinary tools.
Along said three beam pairs 14, 15, 16, the floating pontoons 32-43 are arranged in rows, one after the other, namely four port pontoons 32, 33, 34, 35 along the beam pair 14a, 14b with some distance there between, four starboard pontoons 36, 37, 38, 39 under the opposite beam pair 15a, 15b as well as four center pontoons 40, 41, 42, 43 under the central beam pair 16a, 16b.
Each floating pontoon 32-43 is approx. 2.7 m long, approx. 0.9 m wide, approx. 0.6 m high and provided with upper horizontal side flanges, whereby each pontoon can easily be screw fastened to the respective longitudinal beam pair. With a total weight of about 5 tons of the complete slide construction, the draught will be only about 0.2 - 0.3 m (also depending on the shape of the underside of the floating pontoons), and it is therefore possible to get very close to the beach,even in case of shallow beaches.
At least some of the floating pontoons are preferably provided with a ballast space. If the floating pontoons consist of closed, glass fibre reinforced plastic vessels, as preferred, this can easily be achieved by providing the pontoon with a closeable opening for filling water to a desired level. Hereby, the complete slide construction can be adjusted to a desired position, e.g. with the frame 13 in a horizontal plane or obliquely with one side lying more shallow for locating it close to a beach. In one of the pontoons, e.g. the pontoon 36, a pump unit can be arranged, and a feed water hose for the flush water is drawn through one of the tubular columns 9of the platform 8. In addition thereto, the inner spaces of the pontoons can be used for the installation or storage of different kinds of equipment. Of course, one or several pontoons may be made larger and furnished as a cabin. Furthermore, the frame 13 could be provided with one or several working platforms or a continous deck.
As appears from Fig. 2, the frame 13 is provided with six separate support rod devices at the inside of the outer pontoon rows 32-35 and 36-39, respectively. In Figs 3 and 4 such a support rod device is shown in detail. A tubular sleeve 44 serving as a vertical guide is secured by four upper, crosswise arranged beams 45, 46, 47, 48 and four lower beams 49, 50, 51, 52 directed obliquely downwards, which beams 45-52 are welded to the tubular sleeve 44 to form a unit, indluding another upper beam 53, and are screw fastened to the adjacent frame beams.
A tubular support rod 54 being about 3 m long, is displaceably guided in the tubular sleeve 44. The support rod 54 is at its lower end provided with a support plate 55, which is universally pivotable for abument against the bottom of the sea, and is provided with a number of transversal holes 56 along its length.
An ordinary mechanical jack 57 is pivotably journalled on a shaft 58 between two bearing brackets 59., 60 welded to the beams 45, 46. From a folded position (not shown), the jacks can be raised to the shown position, a pin 58' extending from the jack being inserted through one of the holes 56 of the support rod 54.
When the support rod is to be lowered against the bottom of the sea, the jack 57 is firstly held in a folded position, and the support rod 54 is lowered manually until the support plate 55 bears against the bottom. Thereafter, the jack 57 is raised and the pin 58 is fitted into a hole 56 and, normally, the support rod 54 must be lifted somewhat. By means of the crank 59' of the jack 57, the jack can now be made operable so as to work downwards and press the support plate 55 against the bottom of the sea with a relatively great force.
By means of a clamp device 60'an upper, partly slotted portion 61 of the tubular sleeve 61 can be clamped together into a holding frictional engagement with the tubular support rod 54, e.g. to hold the support rod in an upper position or to unload the jack 57. Therefore, only one jack is needed and can be moved between the various support rod devices.
The embodiment of the inventive slide support structure, as described above, can possibly be modified in a number of different ways within the scope of the appended claims. Thus, the framework does not have to be planar, but may form a three dimensionel net-work. In this respect, two or more floating pontoons may constitute a integrated portion of the framework, whether it is two or three dimensional. Likewise, the vertical support rods can be incorporated or entirely replaced by the frame. Moreover, the frame may include sheets or plates which are integrated with the rest of the frame.
As mentioned above, the floating pontoons can be constituted by closed vessels of glass fibre reinforced polyester plastics material. Alternatively, they may consist of simpler, easily replaceable floating bodies, e.g. of foamed plastics material. The material of the pontoons may also be constituted by reinforced concrete, steel or aluminium. It is likewise possible to provide the underside of the pontoons with rollers, runners or the like to facilitate pulling the construction ashore, e.g. for winter storage. The number of floating pontoons can be varied within wide limits. As appears from claim 2, however, the major part of the buoyancy should be located in the vicinity of the outer contour of the frame, so that the stability will be as good as possible.
The slide support structure may be provided with auxiliary devices of various kinds. Apart from the above described support rod devices, which may alternatively be hydraulicly operated, the craft may be provided with an attached, e.g. upwardly foldable pool container adjacent to the end point 3 of the slide, so that the slide assembly can be used even at deep water (floats, bridges or the like can then be disposed adjacent to such a pool container).
Additionally, it is of course possible to provide the frame with connection means for joining several slide support structures to each other, so that a substantially larger slide is supported by the interconnected support structure.
Finally, the slide may be of a different kind than the water slide described above, e.g. of the toboggan slide kind, possibly with several straight slides located side by side on a common support structure according to the invention.
The term "shallow" means in this specification and in the claims that the floating pontoons or corresponding floating bodies should primarily serve as floating elements and should not constitute an ordinary ship vessel with a shape designed to prevent drifting sideways and with a weight distribution providing stability to avoid capsizing. The necessary stability is instead accomplished by a proper distribution of the floating pontoons.

Claims

1. A movable slide support structure, characterized i n that the support structure comprises a unitary frame (13; fig. 2), which is supported by at least two shallow floating pontoons (32-43).

2. Slide support structure as defined in claim 1, characterized in that the floating pontoons (32-43) are dimensioned and distributed in such a way that the major part of the buoyancy is provided adjacent to the outer contour of the frame (13).

3. Slide support structure as defined in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the support structure comprises a few structural pillars (11,12) being carried by the frame and having side arms (10), wherein at least some floating pontoons (41,42) are disposed near the structural pillars.

4. Slide support structure as defined in anyone of claims 1-3, characterized in that the frame (13) consists of a plurality of frame parts (14-25) being interconnectable by means of releasable screw fasteners.

5. Slide support structure as defined in anyone of claims 1-4, characterized in that at least two separate support legs (54) are extendable downwards from the frame to a greater depth than the floating pontoons (32-43).

6. Slide support structure as defined in claim 5, characterized in that each support leg (54) is extendable under force amplification by means of a jack (57) releasebly coupled to the support leg.

7. Slide support structure as defined in anyone of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least some of the floating pontoons have a ballast space.

8. Slide support structure as defined in anyone of the preceding claims, for supporting a slide of the water slide kind, characterized in that a water pump is installed in one of floating pontoons.