Bowling pin setting mechanism and scissor arms

In a pin setting apparatus comprising a scissors deck having ten pin openings provided therein with a pair of scissor arms being located adjacent each of the ten pin openings, each said pair of scissor arms having a common pivot located adjacent one of the ten pin openings and said scissor arms being movable over at least a portion of a said adjacent pin opening, a sweeper for sweeping the bowling surface, and a mechanism for controlling various components of said pin setting apparatus, including at least said scissors deck, said scissor arms and said sweeper for resetting bowling pins;

• the improvement wherein at least one of said pair of scissor arms has its common pivot supported by a movable mechanism connected to said scissor deck so that during operation of said mechanism for controlling said pin setting apparatus, said common pivot is movable from a first normal operational position, in which said scissor arms are positioned to clamp and raise a said pin located therebetween during a resetting cycle, to a second position in which said mechanism for controlling said pin setting apparatus insufficiently activates said scissor arms so that said scissor arms insufficiently close during the resetting cycle whereby a said pin located therebetween is not clamped and raised by said scissor arms and is swept away by said sweeper, and a selective mechanism, interacting with said movable common pivot of said at least one of said pair of scissor arms, for one of selectively allowing and preventing said common pivot from moving to the second position during a desired resetting cycle;
• and said movable mechanism comprises an intermediate member which supports said common pivot of said scissor arms and said intermediate member is movable relative to said scissors deck.

A method of modifying a pin setting apparatus comprising a scissors deck having ten pin openings provided therein with a pair of scissor arms being located adjacent each of the ten pin openings, each said pair of scissor arms having a fixed common pivot located adjacent one of the ten pin openings and said scissor arms being movable, about said fix common pivot, over at least a portion of a said adjacent pin opening, a sweeper for sweeping the bowling surface, and a mechanism for controlling various components of said pin setting apparatus, including at least said scissors deck, said scissor arms and said sweeper for resetting bowling pins;

• said method comprising the steps of:
• removing said fixed common pivot for each of said ten pairs of scissor arms;
• replacing each said fixed common pivot with a common pivot supported movably relative to said scissor deck;
• connecting said movable common pivot to said mechanism for controlling said pin setting apparatus so that said common pivot is movable, via said mechanism for controlling said pin setting apparatus, from a first position in which said scissor arms are positioned to clamp and raise a said pin located therebetween during a resetting cycle, and a second position in which said mechanism for controlling said pin setting apparatus insufficiently activates said scissor arms so that said scissor arms insufficiently close during the resetting cycle whereby a said pin located therebetween is not clamped and raised by said scissor arms;
• and
• selectively preventing said common pivot from moving to said second position during a desired resetting cycle so that a desired pin is not clamped and raised by its associated scissor arms.