U.S. Patents for Ferris Wheels

Links on the left provide access to roller coaster-related patents on the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) server. This content is provided by the USPTO. Links on the right provide access via Google Patents, which may provide easier image viewing as well as serving patent pdfs. For more information, return to the patent home page.

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

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.

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also on this page

patent applications

Ferris Wheels and Variants

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
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
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] 6634952
6994629 2/2006    Bussink   Attraction [Giant Motion Track (hubless ferris wheel)]6994629

Patent Applications

application number publication date    inventor/ assignee   patent 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]
2003/0162596 8/2003    Kroon & Kroon   Ferris wheel [now patent 6634952]
2005/0113178 5/2005    Bussink   Attraction [patent 6994629]
2007/0238536 10/2007    Smits   Ferris wheel

Last revised 1-May-2008

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