ChristianG
Well-Known Member
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Disney Develops New "Reclining Seat Rollercoaster Car"
- Thread starter Hedwig's Keeper
- Start date
*cue relaxing wave sounds*
Cosmic Commando
Well-Known Member
Just needs an ottoman.
toolsnspools
Well-Known Member
Maybe this is a new partnership with Dish Network.
Timekeeper
Well-Known Member
Ah, but that's not always the case. Sometimes patents are directly related to specific theme park attractions, and not just small bits of technology that may or may not ever be incorporated into an attraction. If the following image looks like Back to the Future (now Simpsons), that's because it is:
And for anyone who is interested in other (Universal) patents tied directly to existing park attractions, here you go: http://www.thestudiotour.com/ush/attractions/patents.shtml
BalooChicago
Well-Known Member
Finally a ride for identical quadruplets.
Kind of puts your head uncomfortably close to random strangers, uh, lets just say random stranger, doesn't it?
Kind of puts your head uncomfortably close to random strangers, uh, lets just say random stranger, doesn't it?
You guys bring up a good point about the timeline of a new ride. For example, I've seen Disney's "Roller Coaster Vehicle" patent for what looks like the mine train ride and the first date of filing for any patent application related to this invention goes back to June 24, 2010. The first major public (and official) announcements for the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train Ride seem to be around January 2011. This would make sense as you would want to keep your invention secret until you have filed and have gone through some of the initial office actions and contacts with your patent examiner. Once you feel confident that the patent application is moving through smoothly and that you're not going to have to redraft and refile, then you could start making some exciting announcements.
But there's stuff that comes before this as well. Once you have the invention in mind, it takes time to perform a prior art search (looking to see if the technology already exists and is therefore not patentable) and then drafting and filing of the patent application. Depending on the type of invention, the number/quality of patent agents/attorneys you have, and hours put in each day, it might be a 3-6 month process for Disney. But it shows that there is definitely a lot going on before anything gets filed, before they make any announcements, and before those patent applications publish after 18 months (as required by the USPTO unless you request/pay otherwise). At the least, Disney probably has the idea for a ride and its technology about a year before they make any announcement and about 2 years before any patent applications with schematics are made public.
But this time-frame could be longer depending on factors like the kind of technology, the prior art search, the field of industry, the urgency to develop by Disney, and more. But these guys are right, when you see some Disney patent drawings surface, it's probably something that they started toying around with a couple years or more back. In case you haven't seen this patent, which looks like a mine train ride to me, here it is:
http://www.google.com/patents/US832...cGyL-mQ2gXou4GgDQ&sqi=2&pjf=1&ved=0CDYQ6AEwAQ
hiptwinmama
Well-Known Member
Maybe a new track system for Space Mountain.... We can dream can't we
danlb_2000
Premium Member
True, but I am just trying to control people expectations. I thing some people believe that if there is a patent the must be a ride in the works that will use it. When discussing where a patent might be used it's important to the keep the "there are no plans to use it" option on the table.
Yes, even after filing a patent, several things can happen like 1) the patent application could be abandoned, 2) the patent application could be granted a patent and the patent invention is used, 3) the patent application could be granted a patent and the patent invention is not used, 4) the patent application is challenged in litigation, and more... From a quick search of "Disney" patents with the USPTO it can be found that there are currently 530 'Disney' patents,
Searching US Patent Collection...
Results of Search in US Patent Collection db for:
AN/Disney: 530 patents.
Hits 1 through 50 out of 530
If I look at just last year, then it is 115 'Disney' patents (wow just last year makes up more than 20% of all 'Disney' patents ever!),
Searching US Patent Collection...
Results of Search in US Patent Collection db for:
AN/Disney AND ISD/$/$/2012: 115 patents.
Hits 1 through 50 out of 115
It is safe to say that Disney is putting more emphasis in getting patents either by choice or necessity. How many of these 115 patents from 2012 will actually be used? Well, a lot of them seem to be related to digital processing of some kind and this is probably related to NextGen, MyMagic+, FastPass+, etc.
Because when I look at just 'Disney' patents that fall under technology of "Amusement Rides" for 2012, I find only 10 in that group of 115. Yet, this is 10 of 50 'Disney' Amusement Rides patents stretching back for the last 40+ years!
Searching US Patent Collection...
Results of Search in US Patent Collection db for:
AN/Disney AND CCL/472/$: 50 patents.
Hits 1 through 50 out of 50
Whether digital processing or amusement ride technology, Disney is definitely going for more patents.
Timekeeper
Well-Known Member
Agreed.
Also, sometimes the actual "thing" that's being patented and potentially set for use in an attraction isn't always obvious from the face of the patent documents (especially to the layperson). The patent field, like medicine or law, is a highly specialized field. Someone who has a bit of expertise in patents can look at a patent and see numerous potential applications that's not as literal as the illustrations might imply. The layperson will look at the original post, see an illustration of what looks like reclining seats in a Space Mountain ride vehicle, and assume that what they're seeing is actually the intended end product.
ChrisFL
Premium Member
I hate to say it, but when I see any new Disney patents, the LAST place I think they're ever intended for these days would be WDW. The track record just speaks to that.
ShookieJones
We need time for things to happen.
We've been seeing a few of these popping up lately, imagine if these were being used in WDW...If Disney was just pulling a slight of hand...lulling the competition to sleep and they were
about to unleash a barrage of cutting edge Eticket rides that would both wow their fans and crush the competi........
Wha..wait...what am I doing at the computer...Oh not again...
Sorry guys I've been doing this sleep walking thing were I get up from a sound sleep and start posting weird thoughts from the dreamland in my head....
about to unleash a barrage of cutting edge Eticket rides that would both wow their fans and crush the competi........
Wha..wait...what am I doing at the computer...Oh not again...
Sorry guys I've been doing this sleep walking thing were I get up from a sound sleep and start posting weird thoughts from the dreamland in my head....
j/k
Eeyore13
Member
They do look like space mountain cars but they look like DL space mountain car with it being two people wide. With the current track and layout it would be awfully difficult to use the two wide cars in WDW so they would still have to be modified to single line cars.
