Claims
- 1. An automatic pinsetter for use in retrieving magnetically responsive bowling pins from a pit area adjacent a rear end of a bowling alley and for arranging and depositing the same on the bowling alley; said pinsetter comprising a pin discharge station, an elevator mechanism operable to retrieve bowling pins from the pit area and to transport the same upwardly to said pin discharge station, a pin delivery station, a transfer mechanism operable to receive bowling pins discharged from said elevator mechanism and to transfer the pins to said pin delivery station, a vertically movable pinsetting mechanism positioned above and operable to accept the pins at said pin delivery station and to deposit the same on the bowling alley, said pinsetting mechanism including magnetic means for selectively magnetically holding and releasing the magnetically responsive pins whereby to remove the same from said transfer mechanism and thereafter to deposit the same on the bowling alley.
- 2. An automatic pinsetter as set forth in claim 1, including individual pin retrieval means operatively associated with said elevator mechanism to pick up bowling pins individually from said pit area.
- 3. An automatic pinsetter as set forth in claim 1, wherein said bowling pins are magnetically responsive at upper end portions, wherein said pin retrieval means includes magnetic means and wherein said pins are picked up by said magnetic means in upright attitude and are thereafter maintained in upright attitude by said elevator mechanism, said transfer mechanism, and said pinsetter mechanism.
- 4. An automatic pinsetter as set forth in claim 1, wherein said elevator mechanism comprises an endless conveyor extending generally vertically from the pit area to said pin discharge station, the latter being located above and in spaced relationship with the bowling alley, and wherein said pin retrieval means comprises a plurality of magnets carried by the conveyor and spaced apart therealong, each of said magnets serving to pick-up a magnetically responsive bowling pin at said pit area in passage therethrough.
- 5. An automatic pinsetter as set forth in claim 4, wherein ten (10) bowling pins are accommodated by the pinsetter, and wherein from five (5) to nine (9) magnets are provided in substantially equally spaced relationship along said conveyor.
- 6. An automatic pinsetter as set forth in claim 4, wherein said bowling pins are magnetically responsive at upper end portions and are carried in depending upright attitude by said pin retrieval magnets, and wherein at least one gate is provided at said pin discharge station and is operable to discharge pins from said conveyor to said transfer mechanism.
- 7. An automatic pinsetter as set forth in claim 6, wherein said transfer mechanism includes an indexible rotary table having a plurality of upwardly open cradles for receiving and holding bowling pins in upright attitude, and said gate and table being operable in timed relationship whereby to deposit a bowling pin in each of said cradles.
- 8. An automatic pinsetter as set forth in claim 7, wherein said conveyor extends generally horizontally and linearly for a substantial distance at said discharge station, and wherein at least two horizontally spaced apart gates are provided at said discharge station adjacent the linear path of movement of said conveyor, said gates being operable selectively and in timed relationship with rotary indexing movement of said table to deposit a bowling pin in each of said cradles, at least two of said cradles being located at different radial distances from the center of the table.
- 9. An automatic pinsetter as set forth in claim 7, wherein a means is provided for moving said rotary indexible table between said pin discharge station and said transfer mechanism delivery station, the latter being spaced above and in vertical alignment with the desired location of a bowling array on the bowling alley.
- 10. An automatic pinsetter as set forth in claim 1, wherein said bowling pins are magnetically responsive at upper end portions, and wherein said pinsetting mechanism includes a plurality of magnets in a substantially co-planar horizontal arrangement corresponding with a desired bowling array on the bowling alley therebeneath.
- 11. An automatic pinsetter as set forth in claim 1, wherein said pinsetting mechanism has an intermediate position above said transfer mechanism at its delivery station for the pick-up of bowling pins therefrom, said pinsetting mechanism being movable upwardly in a pin pick-up operation and, on withdrawal of said mechanism substantially horizontally from its delivery station, said pinsetting mechanism being further movable vertically downwardly for deposit of the pins on the bowling alley.
- 12. An automatic pinsetter as set forth in claim 1, wherein said pinsetting mechanism includes a plurality of small containers associated respectively with and each containing a magnet, wherein said magnets are each provided with float means and said containers are each at least partially liquid filled, said magnets thus being free for limited horizontal and vertical movement in their respective containers, the horizontal movement accommodating pin head seeking operation by the magnets and the vertical movement accommodating downward movement into engagement with the bottom of the container and a resulting pin holding operation of the magnet.
- 13. An automatic pinsetter as set forth in claim 12, wherein each container has a spring biased vertically slidable member associated therewith to initially engage and hold down the head of a pin thus holding the same against tilting and other displacement prior to the magnet descending to a pin holding position in the container, and the slidable member also serving at the urging of its biasing spring to hold the pin down during upward movement of the container and magnet thus positively disengaging the pin from the influence of the magnet.
- 14. A pinsetting mechanism for use in an automatic pinsetter for depositing magnetically responsive bowling pins on a rear end portion of a bowling alley; said mechanism being moveable to and away from a pin discharge position for depositing bowling pins on the alley, and said mechanism including magnetic means for selectively holding and releasing magnetically responsive pins whereby to pick-up the pins and to deposit the same on the bowling alley, wherein said magnetic means includes a plurality of small containers each containing a magnet, wherein said magnets are each provided with float means and said containers are each at least partially liquid filled, said magnets being free for limited horizontal and vertical movement in their respective containers, the horizontal movement accommodating pin head seeking operation of the magnets and the vertical movement accommodating downward movement into engagement with the bottom of the container and resulting pin holding operation of the magnets.
- 15. An automatic pinsetter for retrieving magnetically responsive bowling pins from a pit area adjacent a rear end of a bowling alley and for depositing the same on a rear end portion of the bowling alley; a pin discharge station, an elevator mechanism operable to retrieve bowling pins from the pit area and to transport the same upwardly to said pin discharge station, a pin delivery station; a transfer mechanism operable to receive bowling pins from said elevator mechanism and transfer the pins in generally horizontally forwardly to said pin delivery station, a vertically movable pinsetting mechanism positioned above said pin delivery station and operable to pick-up the pins at said station and to lower and deposit the same on the bowling alley, said pinsetting mechanism including magnetic means for selectively magnetically holding and releasing the magnetically responsive pins whereby to lift the same from said transfer mechanism at said delivery station and thereafter to deposit the same on the bowling alley.
- 16. An automatic pinsetter as set forth in claim 15, wherein said transfer mechanism includes a carrier with a plurality of upwardly open cradles, said cradles being arranged to receive a plurality of bowling pins in upright attitude and to deliver the same to said pin delivery station beneath said pinsetting mechanism.
- 17. An automatic pinsetter as set forth in claim 16, wherein said carrier is expandable and contractible horizontally whereby to arrange its cradles in at least one linear row in a contracted condition and in a bowling array in its expanded condition, and wherein said transfer mechanism also includes a pin handling device operable to receive pins from said elevator and to deliver the same to said cradles in said linear row arrangement with the carrier contracted, said carrier thereafter being expanded to deliver the pins in bowling array to said delivery station beneath the pinsetting mechanism.
- 18. An automatic pinsetter as set forth in claim 17 wherein at least ten (10) magnetically responsive bowling pins are provided with said bowling array including ten (10) pins in a conventional triangular arrangement, wherein ten (10) corresponding cradles are provided on said carrier and arranged selectively in parallel linear rows and in said conventional triangular array, said two (2) linear rows respectively including three (3) and seven (7) cradles.
- 19. An automatic pinsetter as set forth in claim 18, wherein the linear row of three (3) cradles corresponds to the front pin and the usual second row of two laterally spaced pins disposed rearwardly of the front pin in a conventional triangular array, and wherein the linear row of seven (7) cradles corresponds to the usual third row of three (3) laterally spaced pins in the bowling array aligned linearly with the usual fourth row of four (4) laterally spaced pins in the bowling array.
- 20. An automatic pinsetter as set forth in claim 19, wherein said carrier includes a forwardmost horizontally moveable carrier element mounting the forward most cradle, a second carrier element parallel to and movable horizontally with and relative to said forwardmost element and mounting said second row of two (2) spaced cradles, a third carrier element parallel to and movable horizontally with and relative to said first and second elements and mounting said third row of three (3) spaced cradles, and a fourth element parallel to and movable horizontally with and relative to said foregoing elements and mounting said fourth row of four (4) spaced cradles.
- 21. An automatic pinsetter as set forth in claim 20, wherein said carrier elements take the form of elongated parallel slats movable laterally and having their respective cradles offset laterally in opposite directions on alternate slats so as to arrange the cradles of adjacent slats in longitudinal alignment when the slats are moved relative to each other into interengaging relationship.
- 22. An automatic pinsetter s set forth in claim 17 wherein said transfer device includes a bowling pin collator having a linear series of pin holders adapted to discharge a plurality of pins simultaneously to said cradles in the contracted condition of the carrier, and at least one pin discharge device operable selectively to accommodate the passage of bowling pins thereby and to discharge bowling pins to said collator.
- 23. An automatic pinsetter as set forth in claim 22, wherein the transfer mechanism includes a conveyor which extends generally horizontally and linearly for a substantial distance adjacent said collator, and wherein at least two horizontally spaced apart discharge devices are provided adjacent the linear path of movement of said conveyor, said devices being operable selectively to deliver pins to said collator.
- 24. An automatic pinsetter as set forth in claim 23, wherein each of said pin holders has an associated moveable gate for retaining a bowling pin therein, and wherein a means for operating each gate is provided whereby selectively to discharge bowling pins from their holders.
- 25. An automatic pinsetter as set forth in claim 24, wherein said conveyor includes a plurality of magnetic means spaced therealong respectively for holding magnetically responsive bowling pins in upright attitude and in depending relationship therebeneath, and wherein said discharge devices include selectively operable means for dislodging bowling pins from their magnetic means and thereby causing the same to fall into the pin holders of the collator, the latter being disposed generally beneath the discharge devices.
- 26. An automatic pinsetter as set forth in claim 25, wherein means for dislodging the bowling pins from the magnetic means take the form of knife-like members each operable in a severing action adjacent the top of the head of a bowling pin and the bottom of a magnetic means to separate the two and to thereby cause the bowling pin to fall into an adjacent pin holder.
- 27. An automatic pinsetter as set forth in claim 26, wherein a loading station is provided adjacent the path of movement of said conveyor, and wherein an elevator mechanism is provided for lifting bowling pins from a pit at the rear of the bowling alley and for introducing the same to said loading station in an upright attitude, said permanent magnets engaging the heads of the bowling pins at the loading station and holding the same for transport by the conveyor.
- 28. An automatic pinsetter as set forth in claim 22, wherein ten (10) cradles are provided with the cradles arranged in a first row of three cradles and a second row of seven cradles in the contracted condition of the carrier and wherein seven (7) pin holders are provided in the collator for selective discharge of three bowling pins in unison and seven bowling pins in unison to the cradles.
- 29. An automatic pinsetter as set forth in claim 15, wherein said transfer mechanism includes a carrier with a plurality of upwardly open cradles, said cradles being arranged to receive and hold a plurality of bowling pins in upright attitude and to deliver the same to said pin delivery station beneath said pinsetting mechanism, and wherein said transfer mechanism also includes a bowling pin collator arranged to discharge pins to said cradles and associated pin discharge devices for loading bowling pins into the collator, said mechanism also including a conveyor for receiving bowling pins from an elevator mechanism and for delivering the same to the collator at the urging of said discharge devices.
- 30. An automatic pinsetter as set forth in claim 29, wherein the carrier is expandable and contractible horizontally so as to selectively arrange its cradles in linear adjacent rows in a contracted condition and in a conventional triangular bowling array in an expanded condition, wherein the collator includes a linear series of pin holders adapted to discharge a plurality of pins simultaneously to said cradles in the contracted condition of the carrier.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/261,725 filed on Jun. 17, 1994, now abandoned, which is a continuation in part of application Ser. No. 08/079,164, filed on Jun. 18, 1993, now abandoned.
US Referenced Citations (28)
Continuations (1)
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Date |
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261725 |
Jun 1994 |
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Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
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79164 |
Jun 1993 |
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