US2290596A - Bowling alley surfacing and leveling machine - Google Patents

Description

July 21, 1942. J.HN. KIRCHNER BOWLING ALLEY SURFACING AND LEVELING MACHINE Filed March 211 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVEI\ ITOR Justus Allan-finer.

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ATTORNEY 2 Sheets-Sht 2 twig s a mu INVENTQR Jusluslwarclmeh ATTORNEY Ju y 21, .1942- J. N. KIRCHNER BOWLING ALLEY SURFACING AND. LEVELING MACHINE Filed March 21, 1940 Patented July 21, 1942 UNiTED STTES FTENT OFIQEZ BOWLING ALLEY SURFACING AND LEVEL- ING MACHINE Appiication March 21, 1940, Serial No. 325,170

6 Claims.

This invention relates to floor surfacing machines, and more particularly to an improved sanding machine for resurfacing a bowling alley.

One object of the present invention is to provide means for moving a rotary sanding cylinder accurately in a horizontal plane parallel to the alley over its entire area so that the completed surface thereof will be perfectly level and smooth both in lengthwise and crosswise directions.

Another object is to provide a machine of the above nature having tracks to adjustably support the rotary sanding cylinder in the concave gutters at each side of the alley so that said tracks may be leveled for the entire length of the alley.

A still further object is to provide an improved drum sanding machine for a bowling alley which will be relatively inexpensive to manufacture, simple in construction, compact, and very efficient and durable in use.

With these and other objects in View, which will appear as the description proceeds, there have been illustrated in the accompanying drawings two forms in which the invention may be conveniently embodied in practice.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a transverse sectional view of the improved surfacing machine installed upon a bowling alley.

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the same showing only a portion of the bowling alley, and showing in dotted lines the position of the sanding drum.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 33 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a plan view looking downwardly in the direction of the arrows 4-4 of Fig. 3, and showing the joint between a pair of track rails.

Fig. 5 is a plan view similar to Fig. 4, showing a portion of the track rail intermediate the ends thereof.

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken on the line 6-4: of Fig. 1.

Fig. 7 is a view on an enlarged scale of a modified form of mechanism for vertically adjusting the sides of the carriage.

In the common method of resurfacing a bowling alley by a drum sanding machine, it is impossible for the operator to push the machine down and across the alley at a uniform rate of speed, and hence, ridges or depressions are often cut into the wooden alley due to the fact that the entire Weight of the sander rests directly upon the surface of the alley.

contend with the fact that usually 50% of the wood in a bowling alley is hard maple and the balance is soft pine. Since the sander will cut the soft pine more rapidly than the hard maple, the former will be cut deeper than the latter unless the operator can adjust his walking speed to compensate for the difference in cutting speeds, which is practically impossible. Moreover, in the latest construction of alleys, the outer board on each side adjacent the gutters is constructed of hard maple the entire length of the alley, causing the intermediate part of the alley therebetween to become dished.

By means of the present invention, the above and other disadvantages have been overcome and a fool proof apparatus for and method of resurfacing a bowling alley have been devised which will sand the alley surface almost to an In addition to this handicap, the operator must exact horizontal level regardless of how badly the alley may be warped, grooved, depressed, worn, or settled.

Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference numerals designate like parts throughout the several views, the numeral Ill denotes a surfacing means, preferably a rotatable cylinder having its peripheral surface ll covered with fine sand or the like. The sanding cylinder or drum it) may be rapidly rotated by any suitable means, such as a motor (not shown), which may be mounted on a rectangular frame l2 in which the sanding cylinder I0 is journaled. The frame l2 rests upon a transverse carriage l3 having a pair of hollow rectangular end portions l4 and i5 which are provided at their outer ends with two pairs of opposing upper and lower bearing blocks It, i1 and I9, 20, supporting a pair of transversely extending shafts i8 and 2|, respectively.

The upper bearing blocks I0 and I9 are each adapted to be engaged by the lower end of a pair of hand screws 22, 22, which are threaded through a pair of bosses 23, 23 provided on an upper cross member 24 of each of the end portions I l and I5. The lower bearing blocks l1 and 20 are each constantly urged upwardly against the respective shafts l8 and 2| by a coiled compression spring 25, 25, which reacts between the respective block ll or 20, and a lower cross member 26, 25, of the end portions M and I5. Each pair of blocks I5, I1, and I9, 20 is retained in place lengthwise with respect to the frame I2, 13 by an inwardly disposed stationary vertical partition 2? and a vertical plate 28 removably secured on the outer end of the frame I3 by screws 29 (see Fig. 6).

In order to permit the sander to be moved longitudinally along the bowling alley, the carriage I3 is provided with four wheels 30 rotatably mounted on each end of each of the shafts I 8 and 2!. Each wheel 39 (Fig. 3) is provided at its periphery with an annular groove 3| having inwardly converging side walls 32 and 33, the outer portion of said wheel 30 being mounted on an outer ball bearing raceway 34 and being secured thereto by a key 35. Inner ball bearing raceways 36 are secured to the respective shafts l8 or 2| as by keys 31, and said inner raceways 36 are held upon the respective shafts [B or 21, as by spring retainer rings 38 snapped into an annular groove 39 provided in the end of the shaft l8, 2| for this purpose.

Cover plates 49 are secured to the outer end surfaces of each wheel 39 by screws 4| to completely protect the ends of the shafts l8 and 2! and the ball races 34 and 36, and each of said cover plates 49 has a grease fitting 42 threaded theneinto in alinement with the space between the ball races 34 and 36. Provision is also made of an annular fiat ring 43 secured to the inner surface of each wheel 35 by screw 44, said ring surrounding the respective shaft l8 or 2!. In addition, a felt grease retaining ring 45 is carried by each ring 43 to engage the periphery of a thrust collar 46 on the shaft ill or 21 adjacent the inner surface of the inner ball race 35. By means of this construction, the balls 47 and ball races 34 and 35 will be efficiently and constantly lubricated by grease inserted through the fitting 42.

The sander carriage mounted on the four Wheels 39 is adapted to roll along a pair of tracks 48 and 49 of inverted T-shaped cross-section, one of which is provided at each side of the frame 13. The tracks 48, 49 are provided with vertically disposed sections 59 thereof, the upper edge of which closely fits; in the groove 3! of the wheel 30 between the beveled walls 32 and 33 provided therein.

.The tracks 48 and 49 are adapted to be supported beyond the opposite side edges of the bowling alley to be surfaced by a plurality of horizontal central clamping gutter plates 52, which in turn are supported by plates 53 and 54 located in the sides of the gutters 55. The outer end of the plate 54 rests upon a shoulder 55 formed between the concavely curved alley gutter 55 and the horizontal alley 5|, while the outer end of the plate 53 rests upon a shoulder 5! formed between the alley gutter 56 and a side board 58.

The side plates 53 and 54 are each secured to the central gutter plate 52 by screws 59 which pass through elongated openings 66 provided in the plates 53 and 54, and screw-thread into the plate 52. By means of this construction, the side gutter plates 53 and 54 may be adjusted with respect to the central plate 52 so as to vary the lateral position of the tracks 48, 49, between the alley 51 and the side board 58, and transversely adjust said rails into parallelism with the edge of the alley 5i and also with respect to each other.

The central gutter plate 52 is supported upon the concavely curved alley gutter 56 by a vertically adjusting screw 5! having a hand wheel 62 thereon by which it may be manually rotated. The screw 61 is threaded into a sleeve 63 which is suitably secured to and extends downwardly from the central plate 52. A look nut 64 is provided on the screw 6| below thesleeve 63 to lock the screw 6| thereto in any desired adjusted position thereon. The screw 6| is provided with a pointed lower end 65 which seats in a conical counterbore 66 formed in a block 61, which block 61 has a convex under surface 69 to correspond with the curvature of the concave gutter 56. By means of this construction it will be evident that rotation of the screw 6| will raise or lower the track supporting plate 52 to vertically adjust the track accurately to the desired level.

The plates 52 are preferably disposed along the respective tracks 48 and 49 at intervals of about 20 inches from center to center for supporting the rails 48 and 49, which may be in sections of any desired lengths to avoid the inconvenience of making the tracks in one piece which would be unwieldy and difficult to transport from place to place. At the jointure between two rails, four clamping, screws 69 may be employed, two on each side of the vertical section 50 of the track (see Fig. 4). At intermediate points of the rail, it may be secured to the gutter plate 52 by means of only two screws 69, one on each side of the vertical section 56 (see Fig. 5).

The screws 69 pass through openings 70 provided in the base ll of the respective track 48 or 49, and thread into the central gutter plate 52 to securely clamp the track rail thereto. In order to be able to adjust the track vertically in respect to the gutter plate 52 for properly leveling it, adjusting screws 12 are provided at each plate 52 adjacent each screw 69. The screws I2 are screw-threaded through the track base 'H and abut against the plate 52, being locked in their adjusted position when the track is leveled by lock nuts 13.

In the modified form shown in Fig. '7, the screw 6la has in its upper end a kerf 61b which is adapted to be engaged by a screw driver (not shown) inserted through an opening 480. in the central vertical part 59 of the rail track 48 (49). In this form, the hand wheel may be omitted.

Operation In operation, when it is desired to use the present invention, a plurality of central gutter plates 52 assembled to the outer plates 53 and 54 will be laid along each of the gutters 56 and the tracks 48 and 49 loosely secured thereto. One track will then be adjusted into parallelism with the side edge of the alley 5|. This track will then be leveled by means of a spirit level 14 and manual adjustment of the screws 6| and 69. After the first track has been leveled and alined as above described, the other track will be likewise leveled and brought into parallelism with the first track.

The carriage l3 will then be placed upon the tracks 48 and 49 with the groove 3! of the wheels 39 embracing the top edge of the vertical sections 59 of said tracks. The sanding cylinder ID will then be placed on and secured to the carriage, and the carriage 13 will be leveledby manipulation of the hand screws 22 and the use of the spirit level 14. The carriage 13 will then be moved slowly along the tracks 48 and 49 from one end of the alley 5i to the other, whereby the upper surface ofsaid alley will be resurfaced and leveled by the sanding drum 10.

It will be understood that it is within the spirit and scope of the present invention to omit the adjustment hand screws 22 on the rear of the carriage l3 if desired.

It will also be understood that instead of securing the outer and inner ball raceways 34 and 36 to the outer portions of the wheels 30 and the shafts I8 or 2| by keys 35 and 31 respectively, said ball raceways may, if desired, be pressed upon said wheel and shafts within the scope of the invention, and thus held in position without the use of keys.

The lock nut 64 on the screw 6| may also in some cases be omitted, if desired, within the scope of the present invention.

While there have been disclosed in this specification two forms in which the invention may be embodied, it is to be understood that these forms are shown for the purpose of illustration only, and that the invention is not to be limited to the specific disclosures, but may be modified and embodied in various other forms without departing from its spirit. In short, the invention includes all the modifications and embodiments coming within the scope of the following claims.

Having thus fully described the invention, what .is claimed as new and for which it is desired to secure Letters Patent, is:

1. In a floor surfacing machine for a bowling alley having a pair of concave gutters, a pair of tracks for supporting a sanding mechanism carriage mounted in said gutters, means to support said tracks, and means to manually adjust the vertical and horizontal positions of said tracks, whereby said tracks may be leveled and brought into parallelism, said track supporting means comprising a central longitudinal plate, and a pair of side plates adjustably secured to said central plate said side plates resting in the sides of said gutter.

2. In a floor surfacing machine for a bowling alley having a pair of concave gutters, a pair of tracks for supporting a sanding mechanism carriage mounted in said gutters, means to support said tracks, and means to manually adjust the vertical and horizontal positions of said tracks, whereby said tracks may be leveled and brought into parallelism, said track supporting means including a central longitudinal plate, a pair of side plates adjustably connected to said central plate and resting in the sides of said gutter and a plurality of depending gutter engaging screws to accurately adjust the level of said tracks.

3. In a surfacing machine for a bowling alley having a pair of concave gutters, a pair of parallel tracks for supporting a sanding mechanism carriage to permit it to travel along said tracks from one end of said alley to the other, means located at spaced intervals along the length of said gutters to support said tracks, each track supporting means including a block having a convex under surface fitting upon said gutter, a vertical block engaging screw and a longitudinal plate connected with said screw and having its sides supported upon the sides of said gutter, and manually operated means for rotating said screw to move said plate up and down for accurately adjusting the level of said tracks.

4. In a surfacing machine for a bowling alley having a pair of gutters adjacent the sides thereof, a plurality of blocks located in said gutters at spaced intervals along the lengths thereof, a plurality of manually rotatable screws having pointed ends fitted in said blocks, a plurality of track-supporting central plates having depending threaded sleeves screwed upon the upper portions of said screws, and a plurality of pairs of side plates secured to said central plates and resting in the sides of said gutters.

5. The invention as defined in claim 4, in which lock nuts are provided on said screws for engaging the ends of said sleeves.

6. The invention as defined in claim 4, in which means are provided to adjust the angular position of said tracks with respect to their respective central plates.

J USTUS N. KIRCHNER.

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