Low-friction recreational slide system

Abstract

A dry lubricant composition for a slide surface of a recreational slide is disclosed. The dry lubricant composition includes a resin, a lubricant, a thermal conductor, and a hardener. The resin may comprise a silicon or PTFE based Epoxy. The dry lubricant composition is configured to be applied to the slide surface to form a dry lubricant coating thereon. The resultant coefficient of friction between the dry lubricant coating and a ride vehicle for use with the slide is within a range of between about 0.03 to about 0.2.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A recreational slide system, comprising:
 a slide including a slide body with a non-wet lubricated slide surface that extends between a top entrance of the slide and a bottom exit of the slide; and   a ride vehicle configured to support a rider down the slide, the ride vehicle including a top surface configured to contact the rider and a mesh layer that forms a bottom surface configured to contact the slide surface;   wherein a coefficient of friction between the mesh layer of the ride vehicle and the non-wet lubricated slide surface is within a range of between about 0.03 to about 0.2.   
     
     
         2 . The recreational slide system of  claim 1 , wherein the coefficient of friction is kinetic coefficient of friction. 
     
     
         3 . The recreational slide system of  claim 1 , wherein the slide surface includes a dry lubricant material. 
     
     
         4 . The recreational slide system of  claim 3 , wherein the dry lubricant material comprises a dry lubricant coating over the slide surface. 
     
     
         5 . The recreational slide system of  claim 4 , wherein the dry lubricant coating includes a thickness that is within a range of between about 1 micron to about 5 micron. 
     
     
         6 . The recreational slide system of  claim 4 , wherein the slide body includes a base wall and a pair of sidewalls and the dry lubricant coating covers a sliding surface of the base wall. 
     
     
         7 . The recreational slide system of  claim 6 , wherein the dry lubricant coating covers at least a portion of the pair of sidewalls. 
     
     
         8 . The recreational slide system of  claim 1 , wherein the dry lubricant material includes a resin, a lubricant, a thermal conductor, and a hardener. 
     
     
         9 . The recreational slide system of  claim 8 , wherein the dry lubricant material applied to the slide surface comprises:
 20% to 30% by weight of the resin;   30% to 50% by weight of the lubricant;   1% to 5% by weight of the thermal conductor; and   20% to 30% by weight of the hardener.   
     
     
         10 . The recreational slide system of  claim 9 , wherein the resin comprises a silicon-based epoxy resin. 
     
     
         11 . The recreational slide system of  claim 9 , wherein the lubricant comprises polytetrafluoroethylene. 
     
     
         12 . The recreational slide system of  claim 9 , wherein the thermal conductor comprises copper. 
     
     
         13 . The recreational slide system of  claim 9 , wherein the hardener comprises an anhydride-based or an amine-based catalyst. 
     
     
         14 . The recreational slide system of  claim 1 , wherein the mesh layer of the ride vehicle comprises a weave of threads formed of monofilament synthetic fibers. 
     
     
         15 . The recreational slide system of  claim 14 , wherein the monofilament synthetic fibers comprise a polyamide monofilament structure. 
     
     
         16 . The recreational slide system of  claim 14 , wherein the weave of threads comprises a plurality of weft threads each having a thread diameter within a range of between 0.1 mm to 0.6 mm and a plurality of warp threads each having a thread diameter within a range of between about 0.1 mm to about 0.6 mm. 
     
     
         17 . The recreational slide system of  claim 14 , wherein the mesh layer includes a plurality of interstitial openings that define an open area of the mesh layer, wherein the open area of the mesh layer is within a range of between about 35% to about 50%.