Hockey puck launching apparatus

A hockey puck launching apparatus comprising:

• a housing, the housing defining a hopper therein, the hopper being open at a top end of the housing, the hopper defining a pair of chutes in fluid communication with the hopper, each chute of the pair of chutes extending downwardly from the hopper with respect to the housing, each chute of the pair of chutes tapering away from the hopper, the housing defining a pair of outlets in a front end of the housing, each outlet of the pair of outlets being in fluid communication with an associated chute of the pair of chutes, the pair of outlets being positioned proximate to a bottom end of the housing;
• a pair of launching mechanisms mounted in the housing, each launching mechanism comprising:
• a disc positioned under an associated chute of the pair of chutes, the disc being rotatable about a vertical axis with respect to the housing, the disc having gear teeth around a perimeter of the disc;
• and
• a drive mechanism operatively coupled to the disc to rotate the disc, the drive mechanism comprising a motor and a worm gear, the motor being operatively coupled to the worm gear, the worm gear being operatively coupled to the disc via meshing with the gear teeth;
• a pair of guide assemblies mounted in the housing, each guide assembly of the pair of guide assemblies being positioned between an associated launching mechanism of the pair of launching mechanisms and an associated outlet of the pair of outlets of the housing, each guide assembly of the pair of guide assemblies comprising:
• a platform, the platform being positionable among a range of angles with respect to the housing, the platform being positionable to align with an upper surface of the disc of the associated launching mechanism, the platform being positionable to extend from the associated launching mechanism forwardly and upwardly with respect to the housing;
• and
• a guide actuator mounted in the housing, the guide actuator being operatively coupled to the platform to adjust the position of the platform, the guide actuator comprising a guide motor;
• a processor operatively coupled to the pair of launching mechanisms and the guide actuators of the pair of guide assemblies, the processor being mounted in the housing;
• a transceiver operably coupled to the processor, the processor being configured to wirelessly communicate with a remote electronic device via the transceiver;
• a pair of motion sensing modules mounted in the housing and operatively coupled to the processor, each motion sensing module of the pair of motion sensing modules being positioned adjacent to an associated outlet of the pair of outlets of the housing, each motion sensing module of the pair of motion sensing modules being configured to detect motion through the associated outlet, each motion sensing module of the pair of motion sensing modules comprising a plurality of motion sensors distributed laterally with respect to the housing along the associated outlet;
• a power supply mounted in the housing and electrically coupled to the processor, the power supply comprising a battery;
• and
• a lid coupled to the housing, the lid being movable to selectively access the hopper.