Apparatus and method for propelling a rolling hockey ball

A hockey ball propulsion apparatus, comprising:

• a ball feed tube holding hockey balls;
• a gate confronting said feed tube and blocking and releasing the hockey balls;
• a ball holder attached to said gate and stopping balls not adjacent to said gate from rolling to said gate from said feed tube when said gate is open;
• a pair of solenoids attached to said gate and raising and lowering said gate;
• a propulsion tube confronting said gate and rolling released hockey balls;
• a propulsion guideway including two rails receiving rolling balls from said propulsion tube;
• an ejection direction guideway coupled to the propulsion guideway;
• a stepper motor and cable coupled to said ejection guideway;
• a rotating motor;
• a wheel attached to said motor and having a circumferential rubber rolling surface, the rolling surface pressing the released hockey balls against the two rails and rolling the balls along the two rails of the propulsion guideway onto a hockey ball surface;
• a ball detector coupled to said feed tube and detecting whether balls exist in said feed tube;
• a speed control unit connected to said motor and controlling a speed of motor rotation;
• an AC power supply input;
• an AC to DC power converter connected to said AC power supply input;
• a battery connected to said converter;
• a power supply switch connected to said motor, said battery, said converter and said speed control unit;
• a remote control unit providing remotely controllable commands;
• and
• a control unit connected to said solenoids, said battery, said converter, said detector, said speed control unit, said remote control unit and said stepper motor, and controlling ball release, ball release direction, and motor speed responsive to said commands, and detecting and indicating a low battery condition and an out-of-balls condition.