US1013817A - Bowling-alley ball-returnway. - Google Patents

Description

P. J. RIDDBLL.

BOWLINGL ALLEY BALL RETURNWAY.

APPLICATION EILBD APR. 21, 1910,

Lm. 31,8%?, Patented Jan. 2, 1912,

' terminal 'llldlE TATE@ PATEN lfltl.

PARIS J. RIDDELL, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIG-NOR TO THE BRUNSWICK-BALKE- COLLENDER COMPANY OF NEW YORK, OF NEW YORK, N. .Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

BOWLING-ALLEY BALL-RETURNWAY.

amasar.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed April 21, 1910.

Patented Jan. 2, i912. Serial No. 556,8()5.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Pains J. RmnnLL, a citizen of the United States, residing, in the city of New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, (whose postotlice address is Care of The Brunswick- Balke-Collender Company, Z9-3l Test Thirty-second street, New York city, New York,) have invented a new and useful Improvement in Bowling-Alley Ball-Returnways, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, forming a part thereof.

My invention relates to bowling alley ball returmvays; and is an improvement on that genus of returnways which has come to be known, to the manufacturers of bowling alleys, and to alley keepers, as the loop-the-loop-returnwayg which is made the subject of U. S. Letters Patent No. 630,728, granted to Mclntire and Holden on the Sth day of August, 1899; and is manufactured and sold under said patent. ln thisl type of returnway, as now. made and sold under said patent, by The Brunswick-Balke-Collender b., its owner, it has been found that, when the players end portions of the ball-tracks; or rails-il e. the up "ardly curved portions of the rails, the

forward end of which overhang the rearmost portion of the terminal rails, are shaped and proportioned so that the larger balls (say from eight and six tenths diameter to live and a half inches inclusive) .travel up on and are properly discharged, always therefrom onto the terminah the smaller balls from five inches in diameter down to the smallest size used, inclusive) do not any of them always travel up on these curved rails, and land properly on the and that the smallest, of this smaller series. never roll home onto the terminal. And, as it is desirable to have this e'cnus of returnway capable of always properly returning, from the pit-end of the alley onto the terminal, all of the smaller series of balls: so that one and the same loop-the-loop return may be .utilized when the `ame of duck-pin, for instance, is to be played. as well as when the alley is used for playing,Y the game of ten-pins with the larger series of the whole set of balls with which an alley may be equipped- I have .devised and successfully put into practical operation, in conjunction with a loop-the-loopreturn,- a supplemental device: which may be easily attached to, or combined with the players end portion of the returnway, when the game of duck-pins is to be played, that will insure the rolling upwardly and forwardly (from its over-- hanging part) onto the rear end of the terminal of all of the balls ot' the series used for such game; and which, when the alley is to be used for playing ten-pins can be easily and quickly detached, or removed, from the returnway, to permit the use thereon of all the balls of the larger series. And my. invention may be said to consist in a device readily attachable to and detachable from the usual loop-the-loop genus or type of returnway, by the alley keeper, or attendant, and with out the use of any tools-to either attach it to or detach it from the. returnway-which, when assembled with the returnway, will insure the proper homing, onto the rear end of the terminal, of all the balls of the smaller series.

To enable those skilled in the art to make and use such an attachment, for a loop-theloop returnway, l will now proceed to more fully describe my invention, by reference to the accompanyingr drawing, which `forms part of this specitication; and illus- 'trates an attachment device adapted to carry into eifect my said invention.

ln the drawings `lfigzjure l is of a portion of a a side view loop-the-loop returnway, showing* only the players end of the return, with one ot' my attachment devices combined therewith, as represented by the dotted lines in this view. Fig. 2 is a top view of the same. but with the attachment device drawn in full linesw-the same as the parts of the yvloop-the-loop return itself. Fig. 3 is a vert-ical section taken .in a plane indicated by the dotted line 3--3 at Fig. l. And Fig'. 4 is a side view of the attachment device detached from the rcturnway; or in a condition of disuso.

Qin the several figures the same part, wherever it is shown, will be found bearing the same refer-ence letter.

A.. A. are the rails constituting the usual ball-track, (the slayers end portion thereof) on which the balls are sent home, or roll home, from the ptit-end of the alley; and that are curved upwardly and forwardly, forming a segmental track as usual, and as shown at A and A2, so as to discharge thev horned balls onto the rear end portion of the terminal or ball receiving rack C;

'after the peculiar fashion of a loop-the- .the subject matter of my invention, and

which I have shown attached to the returnway, at Figs. 1 and 2 (it being shown in dotted lines at Fig. 1' and in full lines at Fig. 2) is-as I have so far made and used it-composed of a single piece of stuit (wood) of a thickness such as to fill in or easily fit in the space between the adjacent vertical sides, or surfaces, of the two track rails A. Af., as clearly shown at Figs. 2 and 3, in the relative position to said rail, in side View, shown by the dotted lines at Fig. 1. And the configuration of this device or part 'D is such (see Figs. l and 1) that, when' it is assembled with the returnway as shown, the rearmost part al of its edge (sec Figs. 1 and 4) will titto and bear againstthe nevvel post, or standard B; while, at two points, in its lower or bottom edge, it will rest on and be sustained by the alley floor, as clearly shown. rIbis will be best seen at Fig. 1 and at Fig. de, in which last named figure, I have shown the l'loor line by a dotted line .fry. And I have here also illustrated how the rear-most ,edge part d of the attachment comes to a bearing against the newel post, by a vertical dotted line B. B. The device D has its ball-bearing edge or surface (Z made angularly dishing, as clearly shown, forming a supplemental trackto insure the proper retention on it and guidance ot the balls which roll thereon as they travel homeward on this attachmentdevice; rolling lirst- (as they leave the ball track A. A.) onto its lowermost forward portion, thence onto the curved, ascending part D, and finally, by their impetus, traveling in Vcontact with the terminaloverhanging part, until, on reaching nearly (or quite) the forward extremity of the part D2 they pass therefrom downwardly (by gravity) onto the rearmost receivingends C of the terminal )Vlience they roll gently forward (in about the same manner as do the larger balls used in the absence of the attachn'ient device) on said terminal.

n. is a block, or cleat. fastened to the floor,

at the proper point, and located intermediately of the ball track rails A. A., which engages the' shoulder or ynotched out part otth'e lower edge of the device D; as best seen at Figs. l and 4. And to assemble the attachment device with the returnway, it is simply inserted, rearwardly and downwardly, in between the track-rails A. A. until the rearmost vertical part d of its edge is fo'rc'ed.

into contact with the newel post B; and the shoulder at Z2 (see F ig. l) engages ,snugly` with the cleator i'loor block a', 1n which position it will be retained securely enough for use. Of course, to remove the device it is only necessary to first lift up its forward end from or away from the floor until the shoulder at d2 shall be clear 'oit' the cleat a, and then pull the device out from, be tween the track-rails in a direction'the reverse of that in which it was put in to assemble it with the returnway.

l have found that, in actual practice, (having used the device in connection with a-looptheloop returnway of the usual standard manufacture) my invention is most satisfactorily opera-tive Ifor the purpose designed. And it will be understood, oi course, .that in practicing it, the attachment device need not `necessarily be made of wood, and precisely of the form shown; and that other means than that I have herein shown, for effect-ing its securement in place for use,

while at the same time permitting its ready' detachment. from the returnway may be' adopted wit-hout departing from the sp' it or substance of my invention.

`What l claim as new and desire to secure' type of ball returnway,-which has a re-- ceiving rack and a segmental track overhanging said rack, said attachment comprising a member provided with a supplemental ball track having an inclined portion, and a curved portion of greater curvature than the segmental portion of the main track, to overhang the said receiving'rack, and adapted to be held in position to home the'snlaller series ot' alley balls.

In witness whereof Ihave hereunto set my hand this 28th day o't'- March, 1910.-

' PARISH. RDDELL. In the presence oilCmvAnn F. Enviar, J. N. li/icln'rmn.

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