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] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 169797 | 11/1875 | Forrester | Rotary swing/Improvement in rotary swings [Epicycloidal Diversion] |
| 336696 | 3/1886 | Campi | Vertical rotary swing |
| 489238 | 1/1893 | Somers | Roundabout [ferris wheel] |
| 506828 | 10/1893 | Murrey | Observation wheel |
| 512429 | 1/1894 | Wyand | Observation roundabout |
| 535362 | 3/1895 | DeVore | Vertical rotary swing |
| 544866 | 8/1895 | Schnitzler | Roundabout and observatory [ferris wheel and tower] |
| 583121 | 5/1897 | Pattee | Amusement wheel |
| 669621 | 3/1901 | Conderman | Pleasure wheel [portable ferris wheel] |
| 678670 | 7/1901 | Kling | Railroad ferris wheel [multiple] |
| 741964 | 10/1903 | Harlan | Amusement wheel |
| 774209 | 11/1904 | Stubbs | Pleasure wheel |
| 793183 | 6/1905 | De Vore | Means for furnishing amusement and diversion [ferris wheel] |
| 796772 | 8/1905 | Sullivan | Swinging seat for use in amusement wheels |
| 816435 | 3/1906 | Connelly | Amusement apparatus |
| 809937 | 1/1906 | Friede/ Carter | Amusement apparatus |
| 832965 | 10/1906 | Gottlieb | Amusement device [truck-mounted ferris wheel] |
| 841783 | 1/1907 | Jones/ American Novel Machine | Amusement apparatus |
| 852248 | 4/1907 | Watson | Amusement device |
| 852308 | 4/1907 | Watson | Amusement device |
| 853155 | 5/1907 | Boardman | Amusement apparatus |
| 855132 | 5/1907 | Pulman & Leatherland | Amusement device |
| 858768 | 7/1907 | Thomas/ National Concessions | Amusement apparatus |
| 867187 | 9/1907 | Chubbuck | Pleasure swing [Wheel Swing] |
| 871722 | 11/1907 | Millican | Amusement device |
| 881095 | 3/1908 | Chubbock | Pleasure Wheel |
| 899286 | 9/1908 | Biavati | Car for observation wheels |
| 900820 | 10/1908 | Becker | Amusement-riding device |
| 928716 | 7/1909 | Valentine | Wheel coaster |
| 935239 | 9/1909 | Schmidt | Amusement device [ferris wheel variant] |
| 941209 | 11/1909 | Sullivan | Vertical roundabout |
| 1050567 | 1/1913 | Saunders | Rotary passenger carrier [ferris wheel] |
| 1057919 | 4/1913 | Biavati | Observation car |
| 1149513 | 8/1915 | Hermann | Amusement apparatus |
| 1262687 | 4/1918 | H. L. Miller/ Parker | Portable amusement device |
| 1354436 | 9/1920 | Hermann/ Eccentric Ferris Wheel | Amusement apparatus [Wonder Wheel] |
| 1379454 | 5/1921 | Lindamood | Amusement device |
| 1384750 | 7/1921 | Gernsback | Submersible amusement device |
| 1418999 | 6/1922 | Wilson | Amusement device |
| 1510355 | 9/1924 | Tymkow | Mechanical roundabout |
| 1539094 | 5/1925 | Miller | Amusement structure |
| 1555488 | 9/1925 | Siebert | Ferris wheel |
| 1568424 | 1/1926 | Smith | Ferris wheel [Tobboggan Slide Ferris Wheel] |
| 1599014 | 9/1926 | Hunter | Amusement device [passenger-powered ferris wheel] |
| 1599075 | 9/1926 | Burris | Amusement wheel |
| 1605198 | 11/1926 | Ashcroft | Amusement apparatus |
| 1718167 | 7/1929 | McLaughlin | Amusement apparatus [multiple ferris wheels on one axis] |
| 1737032 | 11/1929 | Sellner | Amusement ride [Swooper] |
| 1867996 | 7/1932 | Baer | Portable ferris wheel |
| 1911915 | 5/1933 | McLaughlin | Amusement apparatus |
| 2082287 | 6/1937 | Hermann | Amusement device |
| 2109539 | 3/1938 | Kornsweet | Amusement device |
| 2201993 | 5/1940 | Dyke | Amusement ride [ferris wheel with illusion] |
| 2203971 | 6/1940 | Shepherd | Amusement device |
| 2229966 | 1/1941 | Eyerly | Amusement machine |
| 2249076 | 7/1941 | Courtney/ Velare & Courtney | Amusement apparatus [Sky Wheel] |
| 2384237 | 9/1945 | Clark | Amusement machine |
| 2397857 | 4/1946 | Hall | Amusement device |
| 2403593 | 7/1946 | Franklin | Amusement device [passenger powered] |
| 2423283 | 7/1947 | Austin | Amusement device |
| 2576477 | 11/1951 | Powell | Ferris wheel |
| 2590934 | 4/1952 | Catlett | Portable ferris wheel |
| 2689126 | 9/1954 | Eyerly | Gear-driven control for ferris wheel cars [Rock-O-Plane] |
| 2800328 | 7/1957 | Courtney | Plural horizontal axes roundabout [Sky Wheel improvement] |
| 2828128 | 3/1958 | Castille | Amusement ride device |
| 2847216 | 8/1958 | Courtney | Amusement ride apparatus |
| 2864614 | 12/1958 | Castille | Ferris wheel type amusement ride |
| 2907568 | 10/1959 | Velare & Velare | Portable ferris wheels [Double Sky Wheel or Space Wheel] |
| 2934341 | 4/1960 | Shepherd | Passenger amusement ride |
| 3002753 | 10/1961 | Garbrick | Foldable and portable ferris wheel |
| 3176983 | 4/1965 | Barber | Amusement ride [Raven or Radar] |
| 3222061 | 12/1965 | Eyerly & Johnson/ Eyerly | Portable Amusement ride |
| 3226113 | 12/1965 | Mercer et al | Collapsible wheel structure for rotary amusement devices |
| 3243184 | 3/1966 | Robinson et al | Planetary amusement ride |
| 3321203 | 5/1967 | Hansen | Automatically controlled amusement ride [requiring no attendant] |
| 3456943 | 7/1969 | Brown/ Chance | Amusement ride apparatus and method [Skydiver] |
| 3495823 | 2/1970 | Barber | Amusement ride [Turbo] |
| 3529816 | 9/1970 | Barber | Vehicle, especially for an amusement ride or the like [Turbo] |
| 3552747 | 1/1971 | Deem/ Eli Bridge | Portable folding ferris wheel |
| 3612517 | 10/1971 | Schwarzkopf | Ferris wheel |
| 3707282 | 12/1972 | Robinson | Planetary amusement ride |
| 3837706 | 9/1974 | Suttles/ Eli Bridge | Amusement ride seat and safety guard [hair guard for ferris wheel] |
| 4815728 | 3/1989 | O'Keefe | Amusement ride |
| 4960275 | 10/1990 | Magon | Water immersion amusement apparatus [ferris wheel] |
| 4988089 | 1/1991 | Knijpstra | Fairground attraction |
| 5319897 | 6/1994 | Royer | Amusement park ride |
| D400616 | 11/1998 | Gnezdilov | Panoramic wheel |
| 6328658 | 12/2001 | Gnezdilov | Amusement ride [Sky Restaurant] |
| 6402624 | 6/2002 | Larson & Novatny/ Versa | Amusement ride without hubs and spokes [Cyclotron or floorless Super Loops; also floorless coaster and hubless ferris wheel] |
| 6634952 | 10/2003 | Kroon & Kroon/ Cobra Beheer |
Ferris wheel [construction for large portable wheel] [application 2003/0162596] |
| 6994629 | 2/2006 | Bussink |
Attraction [Giant Motion Track (hubless ferris wheel)] [application 2005/0113178] |
| 7854661 | 12/2010 | Chu |
Giant wheel [application 2010/0004067] |
| 7931539 | 4/2011 | Chen |
Elevating mechanism and Ferris wheel using the same [application 2010/0234119] |
| 7988562 | 8/2011 | Kojiro |
Midair and pseudo-underwater observation apparatus [application 2010/0105491] |
| 8216077 | 7/2012 | Bussink et al |
Observation wheel type ride [application 2011/0207539] |
| 8337317 | 12/2012 | Crawford & Nemeth/ Disney |
Free swing Ferris wheel [application 2012/0071251] |
| 8641541 | 2/2014 | Kitchen |
Narrow base viewing wheel [application 2013/0029773] |
| 8641542 | 2/2014 | Kitchen et al |
Stationary track with gimbaled rider carriages amusement ride [application 2012/0277008] |
| 8683923 | 4/2014 | McMahon & Maddox |
Amusement ride [application 2009/0320712] |
| 8777762 | 7/2014 | Morand et al/ Sigma |
Mobile cabin and subset for the reception and the transport of at least one passenger, and recreational facility using the same [application 2013/0023350] |
| 8807042 | 8/2014 | Vittoz & Desflammes/ Sigma Composite |
Mobile unit and installation for transportation of at least one passenger [application 2012/0260816] |
| 8852006 | 10/2014 | Gnezdilov |
Observation wheel [application 2013/0095936] |
| 9114322 | 8/2015 | Silberman & Mayer |
Bearing system for observation wheels [application 2015/0005082] |
| 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 |
| 2015/0231514 | 8/2014 | Gnezdilov | Ferris wheel, units therefor and device for installing same |
Last revised 25-Aug-2015