Patent Application
20170368433
Embodiments of the invention relate generally to indoor ball games, ping pong ball feeder mechanisms, and, more particularly to games involving catching a ball, and placing it back into an apparatus that automatically launches it back into the air.
There are a multitude of indoor ball games including billiards, ping pong, and ball tossing games typically involving throwing a ball into a hoop, hole, or at a target. There are also many variations of games using a ping pong ball including games like beer pong, where balls are bounced into a cup. There are also several types of mechanisms that automatically shoot or launch a ball into the air using a ping pong ball. These mechanisms typically involve launching the ball using a pair of spinning wheels, or by striking the ball with a spring loaded mechanism. The ping pong ball feeders on the market are manufactured for use as an apparatus to practice the game of ping pong. The mechanisms typically attach to a ping pong table and feed balls to a player so they can practice their shots using a ping pong paddle.
The embodiments of the invention provide a game that automatically launches balls one by one upwards into the air in in a random fountain like pattern. One or more player(s) then catch the balls in mid air, or retrieves them on the ground. The player(s) then places the ball back into their designated reservoir where they are fed back into the invention to be launched again.
The reservoirs provide a clear indication of how many balls are in the reservoir. This may be accomplished by using clear tubes with inside diameters slightly larger than the ball diameter so that the balls form a sleeve of balls whose length (or number of balls) is easily distinguished during play.
The invention may run on an adjustable timer switch (e.g. 1-15 minutes). In the two player game, each player places balls into their designated reservoir and the game begins with multiple balls in each reservoir. The feed mechanism of the invention alternates between reservoirs when feeding balls into the ball striking mechanism. When the timer switch expires, and the motorized feeder stops, the winner is the player with the most balls in their reservoir. To prevent collisions when catching and retrieving balls, the reservoir tubes act as a fence between players, each player must stay on their side during play.
In the single player game, a deflector may be attached attached to the invention to ensure balls are launched on the side towards the single player. Only one reservoir is used and when the game ends, the score is the number of balls left in the reservoir.
The invention uses a geared electric motor to turn a drive shaft with one or more cam drivers that actuate a spring loaded striker to propel the balls into the air. In one embodiment, the invention may use rotating disks and apertures to feed in balls from the tubular reservoirs.
The above summary is not intended to describe each embodiment or every implementation of the invention. Rather, a more complete understanding of the invention will become apparent and appreciated by reference to the following Detailed Description of exemplary embodiments and claims in view of the accompanying figures of the drawing.
The invention will be further described with reference to the figures of the drawing, wherein:
The figures are rendered primarily for clarity and are not necessarily drawn to scale. Moreover, various structure/components, including but not limited to fasteners, electrical components (wiring, cables, etc.), and the like, may be removed from some or all of the views where inclusion of such structure/components is not necessary to understand the various exemplary embodiments of the invention.
In the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments of the invention, reference is made to the accompanying figures of the drawing which form a part hereof, and in which are shown, by way of illustration, specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced.
It is understood that individual parts may be assembled by several different means including, but not limited to, screws, bolts, adhesives, pins, retaining rings, press fits etc. without departing from the scope of the invention.
For simplicity, the wiring between electrical components and the motor drives has been eliminated. It is understood that all of the electrical components are connected by some form of wiring.
It is up to the players to decide how many initial balls start in each reservoir, and the game may be handicapped by adjusting the number of balls (e.g., a poor performing player may start with more balls in their reservoir).
The ball feed assemblies (12a, 12b) are comprised of a funnel 20 a clear tube 22, and a housing connector 24. The funnel 20 and housing connector 24 may be comprised of injection molded parts and fastened to the clear tube using a press fit or an adhesive. They may also be molded out a clear material (e.g. polystyrene or acrylic) so that the balls 16 may be seen inside them. The clear tube 22 may be made of an extruded plastic material such as polystyrene.
The clear tube 22 acts as a reservoir for a plurality of balls 16 that may be ping pong balls or other lightweight plastic balls with a rigid outer shell. The inner diameter of the clear tube 22 may be slightly larger than the outer diameter of the balls 16 so that they form a string or sleeve of balls where each player may easily see how many are in each reservoir during play. The clear tube 22 may also be angled from horizontal (e.g., 45 to 70 degrees) so that the balls 16 are gravity fed into the housing assembly 14. The clear tubes 22 may also have graduations, and/or numbers (not shown) to aid in assessing the number of balls in each reservoir.
The housing assembly 14 consists in part of the upper housing 34 and the lower housing 36 which may be fastened together using screws (shown later). The housings may be injection molded parts. The housing assembly 14 may also contain a timer switch 38, which may be a spring loaded device that when turned to the desired run time (e.g., 1 to 15 minutes), the invention will feed and launch balls 16 into the air for the desired time. When the time elapses, the invention will turn itself off and the game is over. The timer switch 38 may also provide an audible sound such as a bell when time elapses and the game ends. The housing assembly 14 may also contain an adjustable speed controller (not shown) to control the speed of the motor feeding the balls.
The striker pin 48 protrudes upwards from a hole in the upper housing 34. A raised ring 50 surrounds the hole which provides a means of producing random ball flight trajectories. As the ball 16 enters the striker cup 44, it rotates around the striker cup 44 and raised ring 50 such that the center of the ball 16 is never in line with the axis of the striker pin 48. The striker pin 48 always strikes the ball off center creating a random fountain like trajectory patterns.
The upper housing 34 and lower housing 36 may be fastened together using screws 60 that pilot through holes 62 in the lower housing 36 into threaded holes (not shown) in the upper housing 34. Other variations of attachment may include self tapping screws, adhesives, sonic welding, threaded inserts, etc.
The timer switch 38 may be attached the lower housing by a threaded D shaft 88 protruding from the timer housing 84 and a nut 86. The nut 86 also captivates the face plate 88 which has time increment markings (e.g. 1-15 minutes). The knob 90 may then be press fit onto the threaded D shaft to complete the assembly.
The striker 74 slides up and down on two posts (68a and 68b) which are captivated by bosses 78 in the lower housing and upper housing (not shown). In order to prevent binding, the clearance between the first striker hole 72 and post 68a may be less than the second hole 70 and post 68b, or, the second hole may be slotted. Two compression springs 76 form a slip fit over the outside diameters of the posts (68a and 68b) and provide an upward force against the striker 74.
