Billiard table ball separator
AssigneeMontana Billiard Supply
InventorAlfred E. Sargent
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A billiard table having a playing surface, a plurality of pockets associated with the playing surface, ball collecting mechanism below the playing surface for transferring balls entering the pockets into a common channel, cue ball separating mechanism including a light emitter disposed along one edge of the common channel, a light sensor disposed along the edge of the common channel closely adjacent to and at a point in the ball path beyond the light emitter for distinguishing between the intensity of light reflected from a cue ball and the remaining billiard balls, an electrical deflecting device in the common channel at a point in the ball path beyond the light sensor, and electrical circuitry connecting the light emitter, the light sensor and the electrical deflecting device.
Claims10
A billiard table having a playing surface for use with a set of conventional billiard balls, a plurality of pockets associated with said playing surface, ball collecting means below said playing surface for transferring balls entering said pockets into a common channel, cue ball separating means including light emitting means disposed along one edge of said common channel, light sensing means disposed along said edge of said common channel closely adjacent to and at a point in the ball path beyond said light emitting means, said light sensing means being capable of distinguishing the intensity of light reflected from a cue ball from the intensity of light reflected from any other ball of the set electrical deflecting means along said common channel at a point in the ball path beyond said light sensing means, electrical circuitry connecting said light emitting means, said light sensing means and said electrical deflecting means;
- said circuitry including an electrical power source, ball contacting switch means disposed along said common channel at a point in the ball path prior to said light emitting means, latching means for maintaining said light emitting means in an energized state, timing means controlling the time interval in which said latching means energizes said light emitting means, control means responsive to each pulse from said ball contacting switch means associated with said timing means to ensure a full operating interval of said latching means for each ball if additional balls contact said switch means prior to the completion of a prior interval, adjusting means to selectively establish a threshold level of the output voltage from said light sensing means, analog comparing means for comparing the output voltage from said light sensing means with a reference voltage, means for amplifying pulses transmitted from said analog comparing means to electrical deflecting means, whereby when the output voltage exceeds said reference voltage, pulses from said analog comparing means energize said deflecting means and remove only said cue ball from said common channel.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.