BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a left side elevational view of a bowling pin distributing mechanism constructed in accordance with prior art.
FIG. 2 is a left side elevational view of the mechanism illustrated in FIG. 1 and showing the mechanism as modified by the addition of the distribution indexing device of the present invention to it.
FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the mechanism illustrated in FIG. 2 and showing other components of a pin-setting machine in which the distributing mechanism and the distribution indexing device is used.
FIG. 4 is an enlarged top, front and left side elevational view of that portion of the mechanism and device shown in FIG. 2.
FIG. 5 is a further enlarged and exploded top, front and left side perspective view of the drive structure for the distribution indexing device of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Referring now to the drawings in detail wherein like numbers represent like elements throughout, FIG. 1 illustrates a side elevational view of a bowling pin distributing mechanism, generally identified 10, that is constructed in accordance with the prior art. The distributing mechanism 10 shown is essentially the same in construction and operation as element D shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,526,401, which is described in substantially greater detail starting at Col. 3, Line 64 to Col. 7, Line 47 thereof and which is incorporated herein by reference, but with element numbers as assigned herein. For brevity, the essential elements and function of the distributing mechanism 10 will be presented here for purposes of understanding the relation between component parts that remain the same in the preferred embodiment of this invention, as well as those that are replaced by it.
As shown, the distributing mechanism 10 includes a boom 12 having a proximal portion 16 and a distal portion 14. The proximal portion 16 of the distributing mechanism 10 is that part of the boom 12 at which pins P, shown in phantom view, are received one by one from the pin elevating conveyor 6. See FIG. 3. Each pin P is transported longitudinally along the boom 12 by means of a continuously-moving and endless belt 18. Moving from the point of initial placement of the pin P onto the belt 18, guide means are provided to ensure that the pin P does not roll sideways off of the belt, the pins P, being circular in cross-section. Specifically, a pin guide 32 and, a pair of opposing pin guide plates 34 are provided at the proximal portion 16 of the boom 12 and a pair of opposing guide rails 36 are provided at the distal portion 14 of the boom 12. The guide rails 36 are longitudinally movable, together with other structure,. in relative position to the other guide means 34, 36 as will be seem further in this detailed description.
At the distal portion 14 of the boom 12, each pin P engages a pair of parallel-disposed trip arms 22 which are provided for the purpose of gently lowering the pin P into a pocket 8 of a pin magazine 4, all of which is contained within a frame 2. Again, see FIG. 3. The trip arms 22 are spring-loaded such that the normal position of the arms 22 is as shown in FIG. 1. As a pin P is advanced forwardly and outwardly between the trip, arms 22, the weight of the pin P overcomes the pre-loaded spring force and the arms 22 are allowed to rotate slightly downwardly, thereby lowering the pin P into a desired pocket 8. This action is mechanical and occurs with the re-setting of each pin P into a respective pocket 8 until the pin magazine 4 is fully loaded. with the ten pins P that are required to begin a new frame.
The trip arms 22 of the distributing mechanism 10 are attached to a trip arm lever 24, the arm lever 24 being rotatable about a front connecting member 25 and also having an upwardly-extending and pivotally-mounted extension member 27. The front connecting member 25 is secured to one end of a pair of longitudinally-extending and parallel support rods 20. A boom carriage 15 is also provided, the carriage 15 being capable of travel along the support rods 20 to extend and retract the distal end 14 of the boom 12 as required for proper pocket 8 indexing. It will also be seen that the extension member 27 of the arm lever 24 is secured to one end of a longitudinally-extending connecting rod 26. As each of the trip arms 22 moves downwardly under the weight of a pin P, the extension member 27 is rotated forwardly, thereby pulling the connecting rod 26 with it.
Moving towards the proximal portion 16 of the boom 12, it will be seen that the connecting rod 26 is also connected, at its other end, to a trip lever 28. Thus, as each of the trip arms 22 moves downwardly under the weight of a pin P, the extension member 27 is rotated forwardly, thereby pulling the connecting rod 26 with it and thereby pulling the trip lever 28 forwardly as well.
Also disposed at the proximal portion 16 of the boom 12 is a circular indexing gear 42 having gear teeth 41 defined within its outer perimeter. The indexing, gear 42 is that part of the distributing mechanism 10 that is responsible for coordinating the side-to-side and inward-outward movement of the boom 12 for desired delivery of pins P to the pockets 8 of the pin-setting magazine 4. This movement is purely mechanical in nature and is brought about by means of two cams 44, each preferably formed integrally with the indexing gear 42, one cam 44 being formed on each face of the gear 42. These cams 44 can be considered as pin delivery program cams because they effect the delivery of pins P to pockets 8 of the magazine 4 as described above.
In the model AMF 82/70 and the model 82/90 pin-setting machines, a 115 volt AC drive motor 7 is provided and is secured to a portion of the machine frame 2, as is shown in FIG. 3. The drive motor 7 is disposed transversely relative to the boom 12 and includes a drive shaft 9. The drive motor 7 is provided for two primary purposes. First, the drive motor 7 insures the movement of the continuously-driven belt 18 along which pins P are delivered as described above. Second, it allows for the actuation of a friction-driven, mechanical clutch 46 and for the rotation of a pinion gear 48. See FIG. 1. As previously alluded to, the mechanical clutch 46 and the pinion gear 48 are also actuated when the trip arms 22 are rotated downwardly, which results in movement of the connecting rod 26, actuation of the trip lever 28, and movement of the trip rod 29 along the boom 12. When the mechanical clutch 46 is actuated by a bowling pin P being lowered off of the distal boom end 14, this causes the pinion gear 48,to engage the teeth 41 of the indexing gear 42 and move the cams 44 as previously mentioned. That is, the friction-drive clutch 46 is used to index the boom 12 of the distributing mechanism 10 from one location to another throughout the ten pin distribution cycle.
Referring now to FIGS. 2, 4 and 5, it will be seen that the distribution indexing device 50, 60 in the preferred embodiment of the present invention is affixed to the distributing mechanism 10. The device includes a drive structure 50 and an electrical contact structure 60, each being mounted to the distributing mechanism 10, but at different points. In the preferred embodiment, the drive structure 50 is generally mounted underneath the boom 12 and in close proximity to the indexing gear 42. The contact structure 60 is mounted to one side of the boom 12 and in close proximity to the connecting rod 26. When the distribution indexing device 50, 60 is secured to the distributing mechanism 10, the need for the clutch 46, the pinion 46, and the trip rod 29 is eliminated and those parts can be disconnected and removed.
The drive structure 50 of the distribution indexing device 50, 60 is mounted to the distributing mechanism 10 by use of a support frame or bracket assembly 56. See FIG. 5. The support frame 56 includes a number of structural elements connected together by fasteners 59. A control box 58 which contains the solid state circuitry (not shown) required for indexing of the distributing mechanism 10 is also secured to the. support frame 56. Electrical connections 52, 53 supply power from the distributing mechanism 10 to the control box 58. The drive structure 50 includes a drive motor (not shown) that is contained within a housing 51. Other electrical connections 55, 57 are provided to connect the control box, and the control circuitry contained therein, to a drive motor 51 and to the contact structure 60, respectively. Connected to the drive motor, but disposed to the outside of the housing 51 is a pinion drive gear 54. In the preferred embodiment, the drive structure 52 is mounted in such a way that the pinion drive gear 54 meshes with the indexing gear 42.
Referring now to the inset illustrated on FIG. 4, it will be seen that the electrical contact structure 60 includes two contacts 64, 66. The first contact 64 is preferably attachable to a stationary component of the distributing mechanism 10, such as the boom carriage 15 by means of a switch housing 62. The switch housing 62 is secured by means of a bolt 61, a fastener 67 and a plate 63. The second contact 66 is configured to be movable along with a moving component of the distributing mechanism 10, such as the connecting rod 26. The control wire 57 is connected to the contacts 64, 66 in such a way that, upon physical contact between those two elements, the control circuit is closed, which initiates one cycle of the drive motor and its pinion gear 54. It is to be understood that the contact structure 60 of the present invention is not limited to the structure shown. Other configurations could be devised without deviating from the scope of the invention. It should also be noted that, in order to achieve desired alignment of the connecting rod 26 relative to the movable contact 66 that front and rear cable risers (not shown) may be connected to the extension member 27 and the trip lever 28, respectively. The cable risers would be flat plate-like members having diagonally opposed openings for receiving fasteners through them and through the members 27, 28 to which the connecting rod 26 is otherwise connected to. This provides an element of fine-tuning of the contact action without other substantial modification to the contact structure 60.
In application, a pin P moves onto and is lowered into the pin magazine 8 by the trip arms 22, the trip arms 22 cause the arm lever extension 27 to move forwardly which also causes the trip lever 28 to move forwardly. During this action, the elevation of the connecting rod 26 is actually raised slightly. It is this movement which is used in the contact structure 60 of the present invention to allow the electrical contacts 64, 66 to move towards one another and make physical contact with one another, thereby closing an electrical circuit of which the contacts 64, 66 are a part. The electric circuitry for the device 50, 60 of the present invention is solid state and is run off of existing plug-ins 52, 53 on the pin-setting machine. This allows the movable contact 66 to engage the stationary contact 66, thus generating an electrical signal to the drive structure 50. Following a short time delay, the drive structure 50 moves the indexing gear 42 a pre-determined amount such that the indexing cams 44 are allowed to function as intended to sequentially move the boom 12 to deliver the pins P into the magazine 4.
Significant to the special utility of the device 50, 60 of the present invention is the fact that it uses solid state circuitry to signal the distributing mechanism 10 to start and stop indexing of the boom 12. Power to run the device 50 is easily accessed and all electrical connections are plug-in type, easy-on terminals 52, 53. As mentioned earlier, the entire mechanical clutch 46 of the original equipment is replaced, thus removing concerns about humidity, heat, grease, worn clutch plates, and seized pinning gears. In the experience of these inventors, once the device 50, 60 is installed and properly adjusted, no maintenance or cleaning is necessary. An additional benefit is the strain on the distributing mechanism 10 is reduced due to the removal of the constant pressure that is otherwise applied to the clutch 46. Another advantage is that the user no longer needs to parallel the distributing mechanism 10. There are no more problems with worn tubes, sloppy rollers, and stop plates. The device 50 takes away the need for the trip rod 29, thus eliminating multiple indexing and providing pin movement from one location to the next that is faster than with the clutch-driven mechanism 10. This quicker pace eliminates pile-ups of pins P by preventing pins P from getting too close to one another during indexing.
Based upon the foregoing, it will be seen that there has been provided a new and useful bowling pin distribution indexing device that allows for the indexing of a distributing mechanism as intended; which also allows for the replacement and elimination of certain mechanical components within the distributing mechanism that are prone to wear and which require constant maintenance; that runs off of the primary electrical power supply provided with the pin-setting machines of current manufacture; that uses a minimal number of parts and elements to accomplish the intended structure; that requires a minimal number of steps to use the structure for its intended purpose; and that is easily adaptable for use with pin-setting machines of current and existing manufacture.
Patent Application
20080064516
