Ball Injector

An apparatus for loading and dispensing balls, comprising:

• an inner housing, adapted to be removably mounted within an outer housing, the inner housing having a hollow cylindrical body extending longitudinally between a lower guide plate and an upper guide band, a plurality of longitudinal slots located in and extending the length of the cylindrical body and the lower guide plate, wherein the width of the slots is greater than the diameter of the balls;
• a shaft, having a smooth cylindrical outer surface, coaxially, rotatably, and removably mounted in the inner housing, wherein the distance between the outer surface of the shaft and the inner surface of the outer housing is greater than the diameter of the balls when the inner housing is mounted within the outer housing;
• a helical rib, mounted on the outer surface of the shaft, wherein the distance between the rib and the inner surface of the outer housing is less than the diameter of the balls when the inner housing is mounted within the outer housing, so that the balls cannot fall between the rib and the inner surface of the outer housing, and wherein the distance between the outer surface of the shaft and the inner surface of the inner housing is less than the diameter of the balls, so that the balls cannot roll down the rib;
• a device for rotating the shaft and the rib about the longitudinal axis of the shaft while the inner housing stays stationary, to move the balls through the inner housing;
• a drive member detachably connected between an upper end of the shaft and the device for rotating the shaft and the rib, such that the drive member can be removed without removing the shaft;
• and
• the inner housing, and the shaft and the rib being mounted independently from one another such that the shaft can be pulled upwardly from the inner housing.

A method of loading balls into an apparatus for dispensing the balls, the method comprising the steps of:

• (a) providing the apparatus with an outer housing, a cylindrical hollow bodied inner housing having a plurality of longitudinal slots located in and extending along the length of the inner housing, the inner housing being removably mounted within the outer housing, a shaft with a helical rib mounted thereon removably mounted within the inner housing, the shaft being rotatable relative to the inner housing;
• (b) inserting a ball into the upper end of the inner housing;
• and
• (c) rotating the shaft relative to the inner housing, to thereby move the ball downward relative to the inner housing and the outer housing while being captured in one of the plurality of longitudinal slot.