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AssigneeAMF Bowling, Inc.
InventorsSean Anderson, Larry Gooss, Bill Riley, Winston Sanders, Yakov Shmerelzon, Michael Stephens
Estimating the term…
A bowling alley return mechanism includes a horizontal ball return disposed between two adjacent lanes, a pair of side walls which define a chamber and a ball door or opening in one of the side walls. A generally crescent-shaped concave pivotally mounted cradle is disposed within the chamber and adjacent to the opening for receiving a bowling ball thereon. The mechanism also includes an optical sensor which is responsive to a portion of the bowling ball when the bowling ball is on the cradle. A bell crank and linkage rotates the cradle in response to a signal from the sensor. The mechanism also includes an exit door and a releasable locking assembly of the pin and groove type which prevents any flying pins from passing through the exit door. The locking assembly is responsive to an upper portion of a bowling ball when the ball is moved by the cradle to unlock the exit door and allow the ball to pass therethrough and into the horizontal ball return for propulsion to the opposite end of the alley. In addition the mechanism includes an oscillating paddle for removing pins from the chamber and for preventing more than one ball from entering the chamber at the same time.
A bowling ball return mechanism for use with a pin spotter comprising a pair of side walls defining a chamber and a cradle disposed within said chamber for receiving a bowling ball thereon, means defining an opening in one of said sidewalls adjacent to said cradle for allowing a bowling ball to pass therethrough and into contact with said cradle and a sensor for sensing that a bowling ball is in contact with said cradle, means for moving said cradle in response to the sensing by said sensor, exit door means for preventing pins from being delivered to a ball return and a releasable locking assembly means for maintaining said exit door means in a closed position until released by contact with the ball in response to movement of said cradle.
A bowling ball return mechanism comprising a horizontal ball return having a ball entrance area, a ball exit area and means for propelling a ball along the length of a bowling alley disposed between said entrance and exit areas, said mechanism also including a pair of side walls defining a chamber and a concave cradle disposed within said chamber for receiving a bowling ball thereon, means defining an opening in one of said side walls for allowing a bowling ball to pass therethrough and into contact with said cradle and a sensor for indicating that a bowling ball is in contact with said cradle, means for moving said cradle in response to an indication by said sensor, exit door means for preventing pins from being delivered to a ball return and a releasable locking member for maintaining said exit door means in a closed position until released by movement of the ball in response to movement of said cradle so that the ball passes through said door means and into said entrance area for propulsion along the length of a bowling alley.
A bowling ball return mechanism comprising a horizontal ball return having a ball entrance area, a ball exit area and means for propelling a ball along the length of a bowling alley disposed between said entrance and exit areas, said mechanism including a first pair of side walls defining a chamber therebetween, a concave cradle disposed within said chamber at a lower portion thereof and means defining an opening in one of said side walls for allowing a bowling ball to pass therethrough and onto said cradle, means including a sensor for producing a signal responsive to the geometric shape and size of a bowling ball when a bowling ball is in contact with said cradle, means for moving said cradle in response to a signal from said sensor to thereby deliver the ball to said entrance area for propulsion along the length of a bowling alley.
A bowling ball return mechanism comprising a horizontal ball return having a ball entrance area, a ball exit area and means for propelling a ball along the length of a bowling alley disposed between said entrance and exit areas, said mechanism including a first pair of side walls defining a chamber therebetween, a pivotally mounted concave cradle disposed on a pivot within said chamber adjacent to and above said ball entrance area, and means defining an opening in one of said side walls adjacent to said cradle for allowing a bowling ball to pass therethrough and onto said cradle, means including a sensor for producing a signal when a bowling ball is in contact with said cradle, track means extending downwardly to said ball entrance area for receiving a bowling ball from said cradle and delivering the bowling ball into said entrance area and means for rotating said cradle about said pivot in response to a signal from said sensor to thereby deliver a bowling ball to said entrance area for propelling it along the length of a bowling alley.
A bowling ball return mechanism comprising a horizontal ball return having a ball entrance area, a ball exit area and means disposed between said ball entrance and ball exit areas for projecting a bowling ball along the length of a bowling alley, said mechanism including means comprising a first pair of side walls for defining a chamber adjacent to said ball entrance area and said chamber having a first side wall with an opening of sufficient size to allow a bowling ball to pass therethrough, a crescent-shaped cradle adjacent to said opening for receiving a bowling ball thereon with a portion of one side of the bowling ball against said cradle, a sensor responsive to the size and shape of a bowling ball when the ball is supported by said cradle for producing a signal that a bowling ball is in contact with said cradle, means for moving said cradle in response to a signal from said sensor to move the ball toward said entrance area, exit door means for preventing pins from being delivered to said horizontal ball return adjacent to and between an opposite side of the bowling ball and said ball entrance area, and a releasable locking member for maintaining said exit door means in a closed position, means for releasing said locking member in response to contact by the bowling ball as the bowling ball is moved toward said entrance area so that the ball passes through the exit door means, into the entrance area of the horizontal ball return and is propelled thereby along the length of a bowling alley.
A bowling ball return mechanism for returning spent bowling balls from two adjacent lanes at one end of a bowling alley to the opposite end thereof comprising a horizontal ball return disposed between the adjacent lanes and having an entrance area, an exit area, and means disposed between said ball entrance area and said ball exit areas for propelling a bowling ball along the length of the bowling alley said mechanism including means defining a chamber between the lanes and adjacent to said ball entrance area, and said chamber having first and second sidewalls each of which defines an opening of sufficient size to allow a bowling ball to pass therethrough, a concave cradle adjacent to said openings for receiving a bowling ball from either of the lanes thereon with a bottom portion and a portion of one side of the bowling ball against said cradle, a sensor responsive to the size and shape of the bowling ball when the bowling ball is supported by said cradle for producing a signal that a bowling ball is supported by said cradle, means for moving said cradle in response to a signal from said sensor to move the ball toward said entrance area, exit door means for preventing pins from being delivered to said horizontal ball return adjacent to and between an opposite side of the bowling ball and said ball entrance area, and a releasable locking means for maintaining said exit door means in a closed position, means for releasing said locking means in response to contact by the bowling ball as the ball is moved toward said entrance area so that the ball passes through the exit door means, into the entrance area of the horizontal ball return and is propelled thereby along the length of a bowling alley, and said mechanism further including oscillating paddle means between said first and second side walls for preventing more than a single bowling ball from entering said chamber at any given time.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.