US2483976A - Method for straightening bowling alleys - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 4, i949. c. o. HUGHES l METHOD 'FOR STRAIGHTENING BOWLING ALLEYS Fiied Aug.- 3o, 1946 glneniur 3L/'Aa if O; Huw/Es.

Patented Oct. 4, 17949 UNITED STATES PATENT oFFfl-cs METHOD FOR ySTRAIGiH'HiNINGr BOWLING Y -ALLEYS v Charles 0. Hughes, Baltimore, Md.

Application August 30, 1946,V Serial No. .694,124

or more of the disadvantages and limitations of the prior art.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved method of reconstruction and repair of bowling alley iloors that will be economical and relatively expeditious to employ.

For a better understanding of thisinvention,

and other objects thereof, reference is made to the appended drawings and `following description. wherein a particular form of the invention outlined by way of example, while the scope of the invention lis emphasized .in fthe claims.

Referring to the drawings:

Figure l is .apartial plan view of a bowling alley-embodying this invention,

Figure 2 is fa sectional view taken-along line 2--2 of :Figure 1,

Figure 3 is a sectional view similar to Figure .2 showing narrow templet `strips fitted to the 'contour oi the surface 4of the bowlingfalley,

Figure 4 is a sectional View taken `along .fline l-i of Figure l, showing the clamp positioned `in the alley oor at the .start of the raising operation, and

Figure 5 shows the bowling alley floor raised and supported on the narrow `templet strip.

.Similar reference characters refer lto Vsimilar parts throughout the drawings.

When the race of .the Vfloor ci :a Ybowling alley` becomes worn its contour is that of :a concave gulley lil! which is usually termed a belly groove. In eliminating this gulley |52, the usual method is to tear up the boards that compose the Yconventional maple looring L3 by cutting the same completely through about 3 inches behind' the foul line, yfollowed by the .removal 'of the ap-V proach. The removal .of the originallooring is a somewhat tedious job and 'generally nui-ns such flooring for bowling purposes. with new ilo'oring `requires 4considerabl'e nare and material. This .requires mitering of. the .ilooring A replacement 3 claims. (c1. 273-51) 'Whose underside is ilat.

. 2 and lappingor" the joint followed by sanding land general finishing with the application of shellac or other suitable coating to complete the Work.

The :labor of tearing out of the original iiooring together, the iinancial loss during repairs, with the replacement costs of new .material make zsuoh projects very expensive, and raises the lquestion as to whether it is profitable or desirable to do itJ before a decision can Abe made determining whether todo or avoid the Work.

In the new method detailed in this `speclication, the original iiooring i3 of the alleyisfnot cut. However the -outer yedge boarding lo `on one side of a gutter 3 is lifted up out of the way for about eight inches in width or about four boards to provide access underneath the alley proper. Then .a series of narrow gulley members of Wood I4 are shaved off on one face i5 to conform 'accurately with the face of the gulley i2. These gulley members are termed wedges and their lengths are approximately the same as the Width of ythe alley. The opposite face or" the Wedge is straight. rIhe alley is drilled with holes Ait located :between levelling strips I8 and along the lcenter line of the-alley. The alley iiooring is normally supported on levelling strips l running transversely under the alley and leaving spaces at intervals underneath. These spaces are accessible to .after the gutter boarding iii is removed. The operator removes the strips of wood Iii from the gulley and for the time being lays them aside. He then applies a through clamp consisting of channels t9 which are `long enough to span .the alley. These channels are spaced and arranged in pairs held together at their ends by plates il forming a central space through which a bolt 2| passes and threads into a rounded levelling knob 22 The bolt is provided with a ball-bearing washer 23 which is held against upward movement by a pin 24 inserted in the bolt 2i. The bolt is fitted with a ratchet handle 2E to rotate the bolt 2| on a roller bearing l25 which eases the friction between the roller bear-ing 25 and the washer 235. The bolt passes through the hold it in the alley floor, as indicated in Figure 4. The knob 22 is then screwed on the end of the bolt and drawn upwardly against the underside of the Valley flooring. This causes it to lbelly upwardly so the fiat underside of the alley is forced upwardly and bends the floor sufficiently to reverse .the position of the gulley from the `top to the bottom as shown in Figure 5. After which the curved Aface of the wedge vstrip l' is fitted into the Areversed igulley and made to contact the underside .of the floor- 3 ing with the straight side of the wedge strip I 4 placed on the upper face of the levelling strip I8. The bolt is reversed, to unscrew it and during its rotation it allows the alley flooring to rest closely on the wedge strip IG, and as a result the former belly groove will be transferred to the under surface, and the bowling face of the alley will assume approximately a straight surface. The holes IS are then plugged. The flooring I8 is then replaced and the alley is made ready for use.

The wedges are relatively cheap, as they are easy to make and apply. Their placement enables the original alley floor woodwork to be reused without removal, and the system may be used on the same flooring many times to keep the face of the alley straight.

The amount of finishing required for bringing the raised original surfaces into service is relatively small, compared with that required if the gulley had to be eliminated and replaced by an entirely new floor which would have to be sanded to bring it back to proper level of the alley. Thirty hours are required for the conventional way of refinishing an alley whereas the method outlined in this invention requires only four hours. It also saves considerably in the amount of the material required.

This method of raising or jacking up the flooring of a bowling alley has been found t be practical and effective. The apparent limited size of the knob 22 as compared with the width of the alley in the drawings, has been found not to render it inoperative. The flooring of the alley, as conventionally made, permits the boards or pieces that are interlocked in it, having sufficient flexibility under the jack-like action of the bolt 2l and knob 22, to move together like an integral member until they are brought to a halt by the fiat underside of the channels I9. The curved upper surface of the knob distributes the stresses over the underside of the alley so the timber pieces I3 can adjust themselves individually to the movement when they are being jacked upwardly. When the individual boards contact the channels they are stopped and made to align themselves in a straight upper line surface. The tongue and grooves of the boards suffer some distortion during the process but not enough to be materially harmful to the alley, and even if the flooring should be injured silghtly and not produce an alley as perfect as the original one, the fact that the wedge strips Ill support the flooring, keeps it in a practical condition that meets the requirements of the game. In actual service, the

gulley formed from hard usage is not usually as great as that shown in the drawings, so the stresses involved are not as great as the observer might first think. But there is a gulley and this has to be overcome or the game played on the particular alley will be erratic and objectionable. By the method described, the boards forming the alley floor can be raised and adjusted to present a straight upper surface and have been found in actual instances to conform as described in this application and to be satisfactory to use. Sometimes some of the boards may have their upper edges slightly out of alignment when the jacking up has been completed. In such a case, the operator overcomes any ridges existing by planing and/or sanding them oil?. The holes I6 required for the insertion and use of the bolts 26 are plugged up after the work of jacking up and raising followed by the fitting and shoring. This is of course done before the nal nish is put on the flooring.

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While but one general form of the invention is shown in the drawings and described in the specification, it is not desired to limit this application for patent to this particular form or in any other way otherwise than limited by the scope of the claims, as it is appreciated that other forms of construction could be made that would use the same principles and come within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, Vwhat is claimed is:

1. A method for the repair of a gulleyed alley of a bowling structure having the boards of its flooring positioned on spaced levelling strips transversely arranged thereunder to support it in a predetermined plane and having its upper surface level, including the removal of structure at the sides of the flooring to attain access to the said strips and the underside of said boards, shaping gulley members to conform on one side to the worn side of the bowling alley, then making a series of spaced holes along the approximate middle line of the alley, then placing clamp bolts through said holes with levelling knob members screwable thereon for engagement of a predetermined area on the underside of said flooring, then placing cross members over the face of the flooring so as to span across same transversely, then placing washer elements on the bolts restricted from moving beyond a predetermined point thereon and arranged to brace against said cross members until the screwing of the bolts will clamp the ooring between said cross members and the levelling knob members and bring its boards up to the level of the bottom surface of said cross-members to eliminate the gulley, and the underside of the boards made to conform with the gulley contour in reverse, then positioning said gulley members against the gulley contour formed on the underside of the ooring to support the boards when said gulley members are placed on the levelling strips, and then finishing off said upper surface of said boards until the surface is accurately aligned for use for bowling.

2. A method for the repair of a gulleyed alley of a bowling structure having the boards of its flooring positioned on spaced levelling strips transversely arranged thereunder to support it in a predetermined plane and having its upper surface level, including the removal of structure at the sides of the flooring to attain access to the said strips and the underside of said boards, shaping gulley members to conform on one side to the worn side of the bowling alley, then making a series of spaced holes along the approximate middle line of the alley, then placing clamp bolts through said holes with levelling knob members screwable thereon for engagement of a predetermined area on the underside of said flooring, then placing cross members over the face of the flooring so as to span across same transversely, then placing washer elements on the bolts restricted from moving beyond a predetermined point thereon and arranged to brace against said cross members until the screwing of the bolts will clamp the flooring between said cross members and the levelling knob members and bring its boards up to the level of the bottom surface of said cross-members to eliminate the gulley, and the underside of the boards made to conform with the gulley contour in reverse, then positloning said gulley members against the gulley contour formed on the underside of the flooring to support the boards when said gulley members alley consisting in placing a movable abutment below the oor of the alley, in providing a connection to the abutment extending through and above the alley floor, in extending crosswise of the alley oor a rest for the connection, and in using this rest to exert a pulling force on the abutment through the connection to raise the licor to its original horizontal position.

CHARLES O. HUGHES.

No references cited.

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