Amusement game devices, such as pinball machines, are well known in the art. By way of example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,797,600, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, illustrates and describes an amusement game device of the type having a cabinet which houses a playfield where the playfield includes various types of targets that are intended to be interacted with by a ball to achieve one or more game objectives. For storing the balls that are to be used during game play, the cabinet is typically provided with a main ball trough and a ball is launched out of the main ball trough by a solenoid into a ball launching alley or chute to a ball launching position where the ball will be in front of a ball launching device. As still further illustrated and described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,797,600, when the ball is placed into the ball launching position adjacent to the ball launching device, the ball rests in a machined groove in the playfield, which is generally referred to in the art as a “shooter groove.” The shooter groove centers the ball in a position to allow the ball launching device to impart a force onto the ball that is sufficient to put the ball into play upon the playfield, i.e., a force that is sufficient to cause the ball to be exited from the ball launching alley.
In operation, the shooter grove is intended to guide the ball smoothly as it moves thru the ball launching alley and onto the playfield. However, it has been seen that repeated launches of the ball can result in the shooter groove becoming damaged. Specifically, it has been seen that the protective hardcoat that is typically provided to the surface of the playfield becomes damaged at the point(s) where the ball impacts the edges of the shooter groove as the ball is being directed towards the playfield. When the protective hardcoat is damaged in this manner, the integrity of the playfield surface is compromised and a costly repair of the damaged area and/or a replacement of the entire playfield are the only known solutions to correct this problem.
To address at least the above described problem, the following describes an amusement game having a game cabinet, an inclined playfield mounted within the game cabinet, where the playfield defines a game play area having one or more elements to be interacted with by a ball and a ball launching alley from which the ball is moved onto the game play area, and a ball launching device having a ball striking element for launching the ball from the ball launching alley onto the game play area of the playfield. A ball launching guide assembly is disposed within the ball launching alley and is arranged to provide a separation between the ball and a surface of the ball launching alley of the playfield in an area of the ball launching alley that is at least positioned adjacent to ball striking component of the ball launching device.
Preferably, the ball launching guide assembly comprises a pair of spaced apart rails that are releasably mounted to the playfield in the ball launching alley and which extend a distance from an area adjacent to the ball striking component of the ball launching device towards the game play area of the playfield.
Still further, the ends of the spaced apart rails opposite the ball launching device preferably diverge to provide a funnel for returning the ball, when launched with a force insufficient to place the ball onto the game play area, to a ball launching position adjacent to the ball striking component of the ball launching device.
A better understanding of the objects, advantages, features, properties and relationships of the subject ball launching guide will be obtained from the following detailed description and accompanying drawings which set forth illustrative embodiments which are indicative of the various ways in which the principles of the ball launching guide assembly may be employed.
For a better understanding of the ball launching guide assembly described hereinafter reference may be had to the following drawings in which:
With reference to the figures, an amusement game device, in the exemplary form of a pinball machine 10 is now described. It is to be appreciated, however, that this exemplary form for the amusement game device 10 is not intended to be limiting. Rather, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciated that the assembly described hereinafter can be utilized in any type of amusement game device of the commercial and non-commercial type in which it is desired to launch a ball, particularly a steel ball, onto a playfield.
In keeping with the example of an amusement game device 10 of the pinball machine type, the amusement game device 10 illustrated in
For protecting the playfield 14 during ball launching events initiated by the ball launching device, the ball launching alley 34 is provided with a ball launching guide assembly 60 as shown in
To ensure that the ball 20 does not get caught up on the ends of the rails 62A and 62B in the case where the ball 20 rolls back down the ball launching alley 34 after being launched by the ball launching device with a force that is merely sufficient for the ball 20 to be moved beyond the ends of the ball launching assembly 60, the ends of the rails 62A and 62B are arranged to diverge away from each other as shown in
To removeably attach the rails 62A and 62B to the playfield 14, it is contemplated that the rails 62A and 62B can be press fit or friction fit into holes 64 that are formed in the playfield 14 as shown in
In some circumstances, the rails 62A and 62B may also be provided with a coating or be constructed from a material to prevent metal on metal rubbing between the rails 62A and 62B and the ball as desired.
While a specific embodiment of the ball guide assembly has been described in detail, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various modifications and alternatives to those details could be developed in light of the overall teachings of the disclosure. For example, the ball guide assembly may be constructed using one or more formed plates that are positioned on the playfield in the ball launching alley to achieve the same results described herein. Accordingly, the particular arrangement disclosed is meant to be illustrative only and not limiting as to the scope of the invention which is to be given the full breadth of the appended claims and any equivalents thereof.
Number | Date | Country | |
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62479593 | Mar 2017 | US |