This page contains the second division of rotating rides, those in which the path of motion is approximately a circle in a vertical plane. Playground-scale rides (including most occupant-propelled rides) are largely excluded. Some rides were identified with the aid of
Norman Anderson, Ferris Wheels: An Illustrated History. (Bowling Green: Bowling Green State University Popular Press, 1992).
This highly-recommended book contains a list of ferris wheel-related patents and shows pages of figures from more than 100 patents.
Other rotating and swinging rides are on the following pages:
Carousels, himalaya rides, etc.
Other flat rides (including unidentified rides)
Miscellaneous rides are on the other rides page or the other amusement devices page.
| patent number | issue date | inventor/ assignee | patent title [comment] | google link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 169797 | 11/1875 | Forrester | Rotary swing/Improvement in rotary swings [Epicycloidal Diversion] | 169797 |
| 336696 | 3/1886 | Campi | Vertical rotary swing | 336696 |
| 489238 | 1/1893 | Somers | Roundabout [ferris wheel] | 489238 |
| 506828 | 10/1893 | Murrey | Observation wheel | 506828 |
| 512429 | 1/1894 | Wyand | Observation roundabout | 512429 |
| 535362 | 3/1895 | DeVore | Vertical rotary swing | 535362 |
| 544866 | 8/1895 | Schnitzler | Roundabout and observatory [ferris wheel and tower] | 544866 |
| 583121 | 5/1897 | Pattee | Amusement wheel | |
| 669621 | 3/1901 | Conderman | Pleasure wheel [portable ferris wheel] | 669621 |
| 678670 | 7/1901 | Kling | Railroad ferris wheel [multiple] | 678670 |
| 741964 | 10/1903 | Harlan | Amusement wheel | 741964 |
| 774209 | 11/1904 | Stubbs | Pleasure wheel | 774209 |
| 793183 | 6/1905 | De Vore | Means for furnishing amusement and diversion [ferris wheel] | 793183 |
| 796772 | 8/1905 | Sullivan | Swinging seat for use in amusement wheels | 796772 |
| 816435 | 3/1906 | Connelly | Amusement apparatus | 816435 |
| 809937 | 1/1906 | Friede/ Carter | Amusement apparatus | 809937 |
| 832965 | 10/1906 | Gottlieb | Amusement device [truck-mounted ferris wheel] | 832965 |
| 841783 | 1/1907 | Jones/ American Novel Machine | Amusement apparatus | 841783 |
| 852248 | 4/1907 | Watson | Amusement device | 852248 |
| 852308 | 4/1907 | Watson | Amusement device | 852308 |
| 853155 | 5/1907 | Boardman | Amusement apparatus | 853155 |
| 855132 | 5/1907 | Pulman & Leatherland | Amusement device | 855132 |
| 858768 | 7/1907 | Thomas/ National Concessions | Amusement apparatus | 858768 |
| 867187 | 9/1907 | Chubbuck | Pleasure swing [Wheel Swing] | 867187 |
| 871722 | 11/1907 | Millican | Amusement device | 871722 |
| 881095 | 3/1908 | Chubbock | Pleasure Wheel | 881095 |
| 899286 | 9/1908 | Biavati | Car for observation wheels | 899286 |
| 900820 | 10/1908 | Becker | Amusement-riding device | 900820 |
| 928716 | 7/1909 | Valentine | Wheel coaster | 928716 |
| 935239 | 9/1909 | Schmidt | Amusement device [ferris wheel variant] | 935239 |
| 941209 | 11/1909 | Sullivan | Vertical roundabout | 941209 |
| 1050567 | 1/1913 | Saunders | Rotary passenger carrier [ferris wheel] | 1050567 |
| 1057919 | 4/1913 | Biavati | Observation car | 1057919 |
| 1149513 | 8/1915 | Hermann | Amusement apparatus | 1149513 |
| 1262687 | 4/1918 | H. L. Miller/ Parker | Portable amusement device | 1262687 |
| 1354436 | 9/1920 | Hermann/ Eccentric Ferris Wheel | Amusement apparatus [Wonder Wheel] | 1354436 |
| 1379454 | 5/1921 | Lindamood | Amusement device | 1379454 |
| 1384750 | 7/1921 | Gernsback | Submersible amusement device | 1384750 |
| 1418999 | 6/1922 | Wilson | Amusement device | 1418999 |
| 1510355 | 9/1924 | Tymkow | Mechanical roundabout | 1510355 |
| 1539094 | 5/1925 | Miller | Amusement structure | 1539094 |
| 1555488 | 9/1925 | Siebert | Ferris wheel | 1555488 |
| 1568424 | 1/1926 | Smith | Ferris wheel [Tobboggan Slide Ferris Wheel] | 1568424 |
| 1599014 | 9/1926 | Hunter | Amusement device [passenger-powered ferris wheel] | 1599014 |
| 1599075 | 9/1926 | Burris | Amusement wheel | 1599075 |
| 1605198 | 11/1926 | Ashcroft | Amusement apparatus | 1605198 |
| 1718167 | 7/1929 | McLaughlin | Amusement apparatus [multiple ferris wheels on one axis] | 1718167 |
| 1737032 | 11/1929 | Sellner | Amusement ride [Swooper] | 1737032 |
| 1867996 | 7/1932 | Baer | Portable ferris wheel | 1867996 |
| 1911915 | 5/1933 | McLaughlin | Amusement apparatus | 1911915 |
| 2082287 | 6/1937 | Hermann | Amusement device | 2082287 |
| 2109539 | 3/1938 | Kornsweet | Amusement device | 2109539 |
| 2201993 | 5/1940 | Dyke | Amusement ride [ferris wheel with illusion] | 2201993 |
| 2203971 | 6/1940 | Shepherd | Amusement device | 2203971 |
| 2229966 | 1/1941 | Eyerly | Amusement machine | 2229966 |
| 2249076 | 7/1941 | Courtney/ Velare & Courtney | Amusement apparatus [Sky Wheel] | 2249076 |
| 2384237 | 9/1945 | Clark | Amusement machine | 2384237 |
| 2397857 | 4/1946 | Hall | Amusement device | 2397857 |
| 2403593 | 7/1946 | Franklin | Amusement device [passenger powered] | 2403593 |
| 2423283 | 7/1947 | Austin | Amusement device | 2423283 |
| 2576477 | 11/1951 | Powell | Ferris wheel | 2576477 |
| 2590934 | 4/1952 | Catlett | Portable ferris wheel | 2590934 |
| 2689126 | 9/1954 | Eyerly | Gear-driven control for ferris wheel cars [Rock-O-Plane] | 2689126 |
| 2800328 | 7/1957 | Courtney | Plural horizontal axes roundabout [Sky Wheel improvement] | 2800328 |
| 2828128 | 3/1958 | Castille | Amusement ride device | 2828128 |
| 2847216 | 8/1958 | Courtney | Amusement ride apparatus | 2847216 |
| 2864614 | 12/1958 | Castille | Ferris wheel type amusement ride | 2864614 |
| 2907568 | 10/1959 | Velare & Velare | Portable ferris wheels [Double Sky Wheel or Space Wheel] | 2907568 |
| 2934341 | 4/1960 | Shepherd | Passenger amusement ride | 2934341 |
| 3002753 | 10/1961 | Garbrick | Foldable and portable ferris wheel | 3002753 |
| 3176983 | 4/1965 | Barber | Amusement ride [Raven or Radar] | 3176983 |
| 3222061 | 12/1965 | Eyerly & Johnson/ Eyerly | Portable Amusement ride | 3222061 |
| 3226113 | 12/1965 | Mercer et al | Collapsible wheel structure for rotary amusement devices | 3226113 |
| 3243184 | 3/1966 | Robinson et al | Planetary amusement ride | 3243184 |
| 3321203 | 5/1967 | Hansen | Automatically controlled amusement ride [requiring no attendant] | 3321203 |
| 3456943 | 7/1969 | Brown/ Chance | Amusement ride apparatus and method [Skydiver] | 3456943 |
| 3495823 | 2/1970 | Barber | Amusement ride [Turbo] | 3495823 |
| 3529816 | 9/1970 | Barber | Vehicle, especially for an amusement ride or the like [Turbo] | 3529816 |
| 3552747 | 1/1971 | Deem/ Eli Bridge | Portable folding ferris wheel | 3552747 |
| 3612517 | 10/1971 | Schwarzkopf | Ferris wheel | 3612517 |
| 3707282 | 12/1972 | Robinson | Planetary amusement ride | 3707282 |
| 3837706 | 9/1974 | Suttles/ Eli Bridge | Amusement ride seat and safety guard [hair guard for ferris wheel] | 3837706 |
| 4815728 | 3/1989 | O'Keefe | Amusement ride | 4815728 |
| 4960275 | 10/1990 | Magon | Water immersion amusement apparatus [ferris wheel] | 4960275 |
| 4988089 | 1/1991 | Knijpstra | Fairground attraction | 4988089 |
| 5319897 | 6/1994 | Royer | Amusement park ride | 5319897 |
| D400616 | 11/1998 | Gnezdilov | Panoramic wheel | D400616 |
| 6328658 | 12/2001 | Gnezdilov | Amusement ride [Sky Restaurant] | 6328658 |
| 6402624 | 6/2002 | Larson & Novatny/ Versa | Amusement ride without hubs and spokes [Cyclotron or floorless Super Loops; also floorless coaster and hubless ferris wheel] | 6402624 |
| 6634952 | 10/2003 | Kroon & Kroon/ Cobra Beheer | Ferris wheel [construction for large portable wheel; application 2003/0162596] | 6634952 |
| 6994629 | 2/2006 | Bussink | Attraction [Giant Motion Track (hubless ferris wheel); application 2005/0113178] | 6994629 |
| 7854661 | 12/2010 | Chu |
Giant wheel [application 2010/0004067] | 7854661 |
| 7931539 | 4/2011 | Chen |
Elevating mechanism and Ferris wheel using the same [application 2010/0234119] | 7931539 |
| 7988562 | 8/2011 | Kojiro |
Midair and pseudo-underwater observation apparatus [application 2010/0105491] | 7988562 |
| application number | publication date | inventor/ assignee | document title [comment] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002/0042303 | 4/2002 | Larson & Novatny/ Versa | Amusement ride without hubs and spokes [Cyclotron or floorless Super Loops; also floorless coaster and hubless ferris wheel] |
| 2007/0238536 | 10/2007 | Smits | Ferris wheel |
| 2009/0075740 | 3/2009 | Kojiro | Underwater and midair observation apparatus |
| 2009/0320712 | 12/2009 | McMahon & Maddox | Amusement ride |
| 2011/0207539 | 8/2011 | Bussink et al | Observation wheel type ride |
| 2012/0071251 | 3/2012 | Crawford & Nemeth/ Disney | Free swing ferris wheel |
Last revised 3-April-2012