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DisneyGranted patentRobots & automationInterest 4/10

Disney patents method to predict how objects fly off moving rides

This patent describes a computer method for calculating the path an object will take if it is released from a moving machine. It works by creating a physics model of the machine, breaking its movement into small time steps, and simulating the release at each step to map the object's flight.

Why it mattersWhile likely used for safety testing in theme park ride design, the technique is a standard engineering approach for predicting motion in dynamic systems.

In the filing’s own words

A method for determining a trajectory of an object includes: determining, via a processing element, the object of the moving device; generating, via the processing element, a physics model of a moving device including the object; receiving, via the processing element, a motion profile of the moving device; discretizing, via the processing element, the motion profile in time into a plurality of time steps; simulating, via the processing element, a release of the object at each of the plurality of time steps; determining, via the processing element, a trajectory of the object as a result of the release.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. A method for determining a trajectory comprising: generating, via a processing element, a physics model of a moving device; determining, via the processing element, an object initially coupled to the moving device; determining, via the processing element, a motion profile of the moving device; discretizing, via the processing element, the motion profile in time into a plurality of time steps; simulating, via the processing element, a release of the object from the moving device at each of the plurality of time steps; and determining, via the processing element, a trajectory of the object as a result of the release.

Facts

Company
Disney (DISNEY ENTERPRISES, INC.)
Official title
Automated parallelized trajectory analysis
Patent number
US12766720B2
Application number
18985482
Filed
Dec 18, 2024
Granted
Oct 20, 2026
Inventors
6
Claims
20

Classified under

B25J 9/1664 Operations & transport
Read the full filing (official PDF) ↗ Open in the Patent Tracker

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Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.