Bumper cars or dodgems are the generic names for a type of flat amusement ride consisting of multiple small electrically powered cars which draw power from the floor or ceiling, and which are turned on and off remotely by an operator. They are also known as bumping cars, dodging cars and dashing cars. The first patent for them was filed in 1921.[1]
Bumper cars
Ride statistics
Vehicle type
Electricity-powered cars
Riders per vehicle
1-2
Bumper cars in Kerava, Finland, powered by pole-mounted contact shoes that supply power from a conductive ceiling
The metal floor is usually set up as a rectangular or oval track, and graphite is sprinkled on the floor to decrease friction.[2] A rubberbumper surrounds each vehicle, and drivers either ram or dodge each other as they travel. The controls are usually an accelerator and a steering wheel. The cars can be made to go backwards by turning the steering wheel far enough in either direction, necessary in the frequent pile-ups that occur.
The cars are commonly powered by one of three methods. The oldest and most common method, the Over Head System (OHS), uses a conductive floor and ceiling with opposing power polarities. Contacts under the vehicle touch the floor while a pole-mounted contact shoe touches the ceiling, forming a complete circuit.
A newer method, the Floor Pick-Up (FPU) system, uses alternating strips of metal across the floor separated by insulating spacers, and no ceiling grid.[3] The strips carry the supply current, and the cars are large enough so that the vehicle covers at least two strips at all times. An array of brushes under each car makes random contact with the strips, and the voltage polarity on each contact is arranged to always provide a correct and complete circuit to operate the vehicle.
A third method is used on Quantum-class cruise ships, where bumper cars run on electric batteries. This avoids the conductive floor/ceiling of the traditional bumper car setup, allowing the SeaPlex venue to be convertible from a bumper-car ride to a multipurpose gym (basketball court). The disadvantage is that these ships' bumper cars take several hours to recharge.
A ride in a bumper car, short video clip
Bumpingedit
Although the idea of the ride is to bump other cars, safety-conscious (or at least litigation-conscious) owners sometimes put up signs reading "This way around" and "No (head on) bumping".[4][5] Depending on the level of enforcement by operators, these rules are often ignored by bumper car riders, especially younger children and teenagers.[6]
Historyedit
In the early 1920s, a patent was granted to Max Stoehrer and his son Harold for an "Amusement Apparatus" which became the basis for their Dodgem cars. They deliberately equipped their device with "novel instrumentalities to render their manipulation and control difficult and uncertain by the occupant-operator.” They asserted that “in the hands of an unskilled operator," a "plurality of independently manipulated... cars" would “follow a promiscuous, irregular, and undefined path over the floor or other area, to not only produce various sensations during the travel of the vehicle but to collide with other cars as well as with portions of the platform provided for that purpose."[7]
During their heyday, from the late 1920s to 1950s, two major US bumper cars brands were Dodgem by the Stoehrer and the Lusse Brothers' Auto-Skooter by Joseph and Robert 'Ray' Lusse.[8][9] Lusse Brothers built the first fiberglass body in 1959, in part due to the survival of Chevrolet Corvette bodies over the previous six years. After getting permission from Chevrolet, then subsequently buying the actual Corvette chevrons from local Philadelphia dealers, those were attached to the nose of their product for 1959. In the mid-1960s, Disneyland introduced hovercraft-based bumper cars called Flying Saucers, which worked on the same principle as an air hockey game; however, the ride was a mechanical failure and closed after a few years.
Notable examplesedit
The largest operating bumper car floor currently operating in the United States is at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Illinois. Called the Rue Le Dodge (renamed Rue Le Morgue during Fright Fest in the fall), it is 51 feet 9 inches (15.77 m) by 124 feet 9 inches (38.02 m) or a total of 6,455 square feet (599.7 m2). A replica of the ride was built at California's Great America in Santa Clara; in 2005, however, a concrete island was added to the middle of the floor to promote one-way traffic, reducing the floor area.[10]Six Flags Great Adventure's Autobahn is the largest bumper car floor, but it has not operated since 2008.
^Burton, Anthony (2000). Traction Engines Two Centuries of Steam Power. Silverdale Books. pp. 105–106. ISBN1856055337.
^"The overall introduction and safe tips of bumper cars". funfairrides (in Chinese). 17 April 2015. Retrieved 2020-09-25.
^"How does this Electric Floor work?". physicsforums.com. 29 December 2010. Retrieved 2014-08-31.
^Dolan, Maura (January 1, 2013). "Ruling over bumper-car injury supports amusement park". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 8 December 2013.
^. Santa's Village Jefferson, New Hampshire. 2013. Archived from the original on 12 December 2013. Retrieved 8 December 2013.
^. Premium Amusement Park & Funfair Ground Rides. 2016-03-04. Archived from the original on 2020-08-08. Retrieved 2020-09-25.
^Pursell, Carroll (2015). From Playgrounds to PlayStation: The Interaction of Technology and Play. Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 65–66. ISBN9781421416502. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
^(Multiple authors). "Legend/History". Lusse Auto Scooter Bumper Car Web Site. Lusse Auto Scooters, LLC. Retrieved 6 September 2014. Includes many details about Dodgem as well.
^Stanton, Jeffrey (1997). "Coney Island: Independent Rides". Coney Island History Site. Westland. Retrieved 6 September 2014.
^"California Supreme Court rejects lawsuit against Great America over bumper car rides". The Mercury News. 2012-12-31. Retrieved 2021-11-24.
External linksedit
Bumping Down Memory Lane: The Lusse Legacy
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bumper cars.
January 01, 1970
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Dodgems redirects here For the abstract game see Dodgem For the structure on the front and rear ends of a car see Bumper car This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Bumper cars news newspapers books scholar JSTOR June 2014 Learn how and when to remove this message This article cites Wikipedia or sources that take information from Wikipedia in a circular manner Please help improve this article by repairing any insufficient attribution if necessary and adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced or poorly sourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Bumper cars news newspapers books scholar JSTOR November 2019 Learn how and when to remove this message Learn how and when to remove this message Bumper cars or dodgems are the generic names for a type of flat amusement ride consisting of multiple small electrically powered cars which draw power from the floor or ceiling and which are turned on and off remotely by an operator They are also known as bumping cars dodging cars and dashing cars The first patent for them was filed in 1921 1 Bumper carsRide statisticsVehicle typeElectricity powered carsRiders per vehicle1 2 Bumper cars in Kerava Finland powered by pole mounted contact shoes that supply power from a conductive ceiling Contents 1 Design 1 1 Power source 2 Bumping 3 History 4 Notable examples 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksDesign editThe metal floor is usually set up as a rectangular or oval track and graphite is sprinkled on the floor to decrease friction 2 A rubber bumper surrounds each vehicle and drivers either ram or dodge each other as they travel The controls are usually an accelerator and a steering wheel The cars can be made to go backwards by turning the steering wheel far enough in either direction necessary in the frequent pile ups that occur Power source edit nbsp Bumper cars at a state fair in Raleigh North Carolina 1940 The cars are commonly powered by one of three methods The oldest and most common method the Over Head System OHS uses a conductive floor and ceiling with opposing power polarities Contacts under the vehicle touch the floor while a pole mounted contact shoe touches the ceiling forming a complete circuit A newer method the Floor Pick Up FPU system uses alternating strips of metal across the floor separated by insulating spacers and no ceiling grid 3 The strips carry the supply current and the cars are large enough so that the vehicle covers at least two strips at all times An array of brushes under each car makes random contact with the strips and the voltage polarity on each contact is arranged to always provide a correct and complete circuit to operate the vehicle A third method is used on Quantum class cruise ships where bumper cars run on electric batteries This avoids the conductive floor ceiling of the traditional bumper car setup allowing the SeaPlex venue to be convertible from a bumper car ride to a multipurpose gym basketball court The disadvantage is that these ships bumper cars take several hours to recharge source source source source A ride in a bumper car short video clipBumping editAlthough the idea of the ride is to bump other cars safety conscious or at least litigation conscious owners sometimes put up signs reading This way around and No head on bumping 4 5 Depending on the level of enforcement by operators these rules are often ignored by bumper car riders especially younger children and teenagers 6 History editIn the early 1920s a patent was granted to Max Stoehrer and his son Harold for an Amusement Apparatus which became the basis for their Dodgem cars They deliberately equipped their device with novel instrumentalities to render their manipulation and control difficult and uncertain by the occupant operator They asserted that in the hands of an unskilled operator a plurality of independently manipulated cars would follow a promiscuous irregular and undefined path over the floor or other area to not only produce various sensations during the travel of the vehicle but to collide with other cars as well as with portions of the platform provided for that purpose 7 During their heyday from the late 1920s to 1950s two major US bumper cars brands were Dodgem by the Stoehrer and the Lusse Brothers Auto Skooter by Joseph and Robert Ray Lusse 8 9 Lusse Brothers built the first fiberglass body in 1959 in part due to the survival of Chevrolet Corvette bodies over the previous six years After getting permission from Chevrolet then subsequently buying the actual Corvette chevrons from local Philadelphia dealers those were attached to the nose of their product for 1959 In the mid 1960s Disneyland introduced hovercraft based bumper cars called Flying Saucers which worked on the same principle as an air hockey game however the ride was a mechanical failure and closed after a few years Notable examples editThe largest operating bumper car floor currently operating in the United States is at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee Illinois Called the Rue Le Dodge renamed Rue Le Morgue during Fright Fest in the fall it is 51 feet 9 inches 15 77 m by 124 feet 9 inches 38 02 m or a total of 6 455 square feet 599 7 m2 A replica of the ride was built at California s Great America in Santa Clara in 2005 however a concrete island was added to the middle of the floor to promote one way traffic reducing the floor area 10 Six Flags Great Adventure s Autobahn is the largest bumper car floor but it has not operated since 2008 See also editBumper boats Collector pole Commutator electric Electric vehicle Go kart Witching WavesReferences edit Burton Anthony 2000 Traction Engines Two Centuries of Steam Power Silverdale Books pp 105 106 ISBN 1856055337 The overall introduction and safe tips of bumper cars funfairrides in Chinese 17 April 2015 Retrieved 2020 09 25 How does this Electric Floor work physicsforums com 29 December 2010 Retrieved 2014 08 31 Dolan Maura January 1 2013 Ruling over bumper car injury supports amusement park Los Angeles Times Retrieved 8 December 2013 A Guide To The Rides Santa s Village Jefferson New Hampshire 2013 Archived from the original on 12 December 2013 Retrieved 8 December 2013 Should You Let Your Kids Ride Amusement Park Bumper Cars Premium Amusement Park amp Funfair Ground Rides 2016 03 04 Archived from the original on 2020 08 08 Retrieved 2020 09 25 Pursell Carroll 2015 From Playgrounds to PlayStation The Interaction of Technology and Play Johns Hopkins University Press pp 65 66 ISBN 9781421416502 Retrieved 24 September 2023 Multiple authors Legend History Lusse Auto Scooter Bumper Car Web Site Lusse Auto Scooters LLC Retrieved 6 September 2014 Includes many details about Dodgem as well Stanton Jeffrey 1997 Coney Island Independent Rides Coney Island History Site Westland Retrieved 6 September 2014 California Supreme Court rejects lawsuit against Great America over bumper car rides The Mercury News 2012 12 31 Retrieved 2021 11 24 External links editBumping Down Memory Lane The Lusse Legacy nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bumper cars Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Bumper cars amp oldid 1217639546, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
