Patent Application
20200222790
The present invention relates to string bowling pins and specifically to a bushing that may be used at the top of the pin where the string comes out of the pin. Additionally, the opening at the top of the pin where the string comes out of the pin is radiused to improve string wear during use.
String pinspotter bowling systems are in wide use as an alternative to free-falling pin bowling systems. In these string pinspotter systems, each pin has a string connected at the top of its head to a bowling pinspotter housing and mechanism. The pins are reset each time during use by drawing the pins back into a housing rack after a bowler delivers a ball down the alley and knocks over one or more of the pins. The pins are then lowered back into their positions to be ready for the next bowl. Inevitably, these pins and specifically their strings can become tangled during use, There are known system routines of raising and lowering the pins that can usually untangle the strings to keep play moving. However, occasionally, there can be and are tangles that can require human intervention to untangle the involved strings and pins.
In some string pinspotter bowling systems, in order to reduce the number of potential string tangles, bushings have been fixed to the top of the head of the pin and are rigidly attached to the pin. The string is anchored inside the pin and then extends out of the pin and through the bushing at the top of the pin. During play, however, these bushings that are rigidly attached to the pin can knock over adjacent pins that would have been otherwise unaffected by the bowling pin action in a free-fall system. There can also be wear issues with the fixed bushing and the string extending out of the fixed bushing. The location on the string that just exits the bushing can become frayed and over time break at that point. Finally, the aesthetics of a bowling pin can also be negatively affected by having a bushing rigidly mounted in and extending out of the top of the bowling pin.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to overcome the foregoing challenges in existing string bowling systems. The use of a floating bushing around the string at the top of the pin improves detangling and wear challenges with respect to the pin and string. Additionally, a radiused edge around the circumference of the opening at the top of the pin reduces wear of the string.
In one example, a string bowling pin and bushing combination comprises a bowling pin with a hole inside the pin that includes an opening at the top of the head of the pin, wherein the opening has a first diameter at the top of the pin, and a string attached to the bowling pin inside the hole and extending outwardly through the hole and out of the opening from the top of the pin. A bushing comprises a hollow tube having a base portion and a collar portion, wherein the bushing is mounted around the string and is slidable along and rotatable around the length of the string, and the bushing is not fixed to the pin. The base portion may have a second diameter that is greater than the first diameter of the opening at the top of the pin. A clip may further be fixed to the string above the bushing whereby longitudinal movement of the bushing is restrained. The hole opening diameter defines an edge, and the edge has a vertical cross-section along an axis of the height of the pin, and the edge may be radiused in the vertical cross-section. The radiused edge may have a circular curve in the vertical cross-section, or alternatively, the edge may have a chamfered slope in the vertical cross-section. The string bowling pin may further comprise a cannulated plug adapted to fit into the hole, wherein the plug has a channel therethrough adapted to receive the string and allow the string to pass through, and a top of the plug that defines the hole opening from which the string extends out of the pin. The plug may be formed of metal, or alternatively be formed of plastic. The base portion of the bushing may be circular. Alternatively, the base portion of the bushing comprises fins, and the fins define a diameter greater than the first diameter of the opening.
In another example, a string bowling pin comprises a bowling pin with a hole inside the pin that includes an opening at the top of the pin, wherein the opening has a first diameter at the top of the pin, and a string attached to the bowling pin in the hole and extending outwardly through the hole and out the opening from the top of the pin. The opening diameter defines an edge, and the edge has a vertical cross-section along an axis of the height of the pin, and the edge is radiused in cross-section. The radiused edge may have a circular curve in the vertical cross-section, or alternatively, the radiused edge may have a chamfered slope in the vertical cross-section. The string bowling pin may further comprise a cannulated plug adapted to fit into the hole, wherein the plug has a channel therethrough adapted to receive the string and allow the string to pass through it, and a top of the plug that defines the hole opening from which the string extends. The plug may be formed of metal, or alternatively, the plug may be formed of plastic.
The string bowling pin described herein incorporates one or more improvements that extend the time between maintenance and repair events that might otherwise be required at the place where the string leads from the top of the pin. A free-floating bushing at the top of the pin improves the longevity of the string and pin connection. Additionally, a radiused opening at the top of the pin improves the longevity of the string and pin connection. Or, the combination of a free-floating bushing and a radiused opening improves the longevity of the string and pin connection. The improved bushing and radiused opening at the top of the pin, each separately and also together, also make the pin less likely to tangle with other strings and pins during use. The features of the new string pin are discussed in more detail in the following.
A conventional free-falling bowling pin has a familiar fat middle body section and a head section that are supported by a round and flat base that sits on the pin deck section of the bowling alley. The head is the top of the pin and includes a relatively thin neck and small bulbous portion at the top as compared with the fat, larger middle portion of the pin. In a string bowling system, the top of the head of a pin has a hole in it with an opening at the top of the head. The string is fed through the hole and fixed to the head inside the hole. The string leads out of the opening and is attached to a string pinspotter system for use.
During a string pinspotter use, the pins are knocked over by a bowling ball launched by a player. All of the pins are then drawn by their strings back into the table portion of the string pinspotter machine for replacement during each cycle of player use. The strings are therefore subject to considerable stress and abuse during play. To reduce tangles with other pins and strings, it was previously discovered that a fixed bushing attached to the top of the pin and around the string was reasonably effective in reducing the number of tangles during use. The bushing was rigidly connected to the top by a friction fit or a plug or some similar mechanical means. While these fixed bushings reduced tangles some, there was also an issue of wear at the point where the string came out of the bushing. Just like in the example of no bushing and a narrow opening at the top of the pin. The string could fray or break.
In one example of a string pin described herein, a free-floating bushing is placed around the string and is able to move in a linear way up and down the string. The free-floating bushing is also able to rotate or spin freely around the string. The base of the bushing may have, but is not limited to, a diameter that is larger than the circular diameter defined by opening of the hole in the top of the head of the pin. By gravity, the bushing may slide up and down along the line of the string or rotate around the string and will typically rest on the top of the pin without being attached to the pin. The remainder of the bushing may taper or otherwise may be relatively more thin than the base portion of the bushing in this example of the larger diameter base.
The design geometry of a free-floating bushing may vary. In one example, the base portion of the bushing has a diameter greater than the opening. This diameter may be the result of a circular ring base portion. The base portion may be a round collar and thin tubular remaining portion of the bushing. The bushing may be conical in shape with the larger round base and a gradual thinning of the bushing to a thin top. Alternatively, the base portion may have a fin geometry where one or more fins have a larger diameter than the opening, while the main tubular portion of the bushing is relatively thin. In another example, the diameter of the base of the bushing can be the same as or less than the diameter of the pin top opening. In either example, the bushing is not fixed to the pin, but rather it is free-floating on the string.
Aesthetically, the bushing is usually desired to be thin and unobtrusive visually so that string bowling looks to a user similar to regular free-fall bowling. The bushing may be a darker color or lighter color or clear or translucent. This color may depend on alley lighting that makes the bushing relatively invisible to a lane player. Alternatively, the bushing color may be highlighted to create a desired visual display.
The bushing is formed of a plastic or metal or composite material. The bushing may be a coated material, or it may be a coextruded plastic. In general, the bushing material will be a generally rigid material, but in one example, it is soft enough that it does not scratch the adjacent pins as they are knocked over in use. In one example, the material is a polyethylene plastic material. Also, the material is preferably smooth enough on its tubular inside diameter that it will slide easily up and down and rotate around a string.
The dimensions of a bushing desired herein may vary. Its vertical height may be from about 1-10 cm, or in another example about 5-8 cm. These size ranges are for bushings used in the popular ten pin bowling games. The bushings may be smaller if smaller pins are used, for instance in duck pin bowling. The height of the bushings may be varied depending on the size of the pin in a given game. The bushing is a tubular piece having a hollow central channel that the string passes through. The inside diameter of the bushing that defines the hollow channel will be larger than the string outside diameter. Typical string bowling strings have an outside diameter of about 3 to 6 mm, or alternatively about 4 to 5 mm. The inside diameter of a bushing will vary depending on the size of the string used, but will be at least about one mm greater than the string.
In conventional string pins, the hole at the top of the pin is drilled substantially in a vertical line in the top of the pin. Therefore, the edge at the opening at the top of a conventional hole is essentially a 90 degree or perpendicular edge. The constant rub and twist of the string against this hole edge can lead to fraying and potential breakage of the string.
The pin described in one alternative herein employs an opening diameter edge that is radiused in cross section to soften the edge and reduce wear and fraying. The string is allowed to move more smoothly and wear less during play. For the purposes of the present invention, a radiused cross section edge means a curved edge or a sloped and straight edge and any combination of curve and straight that is a diverging direction from an otherwise straight hole perpendicular edge. If curved, the cross-sectional geometry may be circular, parabolic or just any non-straight curve. If chamfered, the straight slope of the cross section of the edge can be about 10 to 75 degrees from vertical, or about 15 to 45 degrees.
The free-floating bushing described herein may be favorably deployed with the radiused opening. For example, the opening diameter of a prior art, 90-degree edge cross section may be about 6-7 mm when using a string of about 3-6 mm in diameter. With a radiused edge, the diameter of the edge opening when using a 3-6 mm string can be about 10-20 min in diameter. This widening of the opening enables the smooth movement of the string over the edge.
Turning now to the drawings,
There are at least three different examples of the pin and bushing described herein. First, a string pin will benefit from a radiused edge alone at the opening at the top of a pin. The radiused opening will allow the string to rub more smoothly and easily over the edge to reduce string fraying and breakage. Next, as shown in
Other embodiments of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification. It is intended that the specification and figures be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope and spirit of the invention being indicated by the claims.
