Ball trough for pinball games
AssigneeWilliams Electronics Games, Inc.
InventorsBrian Eddy, Carl Biagi
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The ball trough is of a unitary construction such that it is mounted directly to the underside of the playfield as a single piece. The ball trough consists of a generally U-shaped channel that is mounted to the underside of the playfield and extends between the drain hole and the shooter lane. The bottom surface of the channel is inclined relative to the horizontal such that a ball entering at the drain hole will roll under the force of gravity toward the shooter lane. When activated, the solenoid plunger will kick the ball located adjacent the shooter lane up through an aperture in the playfield and into the shooter lane. A series of optical switches are mounted on the channel and arranged such that each switch will detect the presence or absence of the ball in the queue.
Claims9
A pinball game having an inclined playfield supporting a rolling ball, a plurality of play features, a shooter lane for putting a ball in play and a drain hole allowing the ball to exit the playfield, comprising:
- a ball trough comprising:
- a) a channel fixed to the playfield and having a first end adjacent the drain hole and a second end adjacent the shooter lane, said channel having a surface for supporting a row of balls thereon and positioned to cause the balls to roll from the first end to the second end by force of gravity;
- b) kicker means mounted proximate to said second end for kicking one of the balls out of the channel onto the playfield;
- c) means for guiding the kicked ball from the channel to the shooter lane;
- and
- d) means for detecting the presence or absence of said balls in said channel comprising a plurality of switches arranged along the length of the channel, each one of said plurality of switches positioned to sense one of said balls in the row.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.