US2723123A - Bowling pin resetting machine - Google Patents

Description

NOV 8, 1955 E. HEDENsKooG Erm. 2,723,123

BOWLING PIN RESETTING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 29, 1953 Nov. 8, 1955 E. HEDENsKooG ETAL 2,723,123

BOWLING PIN RESETTING MACH-INE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 i??/J Filed Jan. 29, 1953 Nov. 8, 1955 E. HEDENsKooG Erm. 2,723,123

BOWLING PIN RESETTING MACHINE Filed Jan. 29, 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 United States Patent Oliice 2,723,123 Patented Nov. 8, 1955 BOWLING PIN RESETTING MACHINE Ernest Hedenskoog, Donald A. Norberg, and Alvin E.

Johnson, Muskegon, Mich., assiguors, by mesne assignments, to The Murray Corporation of America, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Application January 29, 1953, Serial No. 333,898

12 Claims. (C1. 273-43) This invention relates to automatic pin setting machines for bowling alleys and, more particularly, to the means for removing the remaining upright pins after one ball has been bowled, preparatory to clearing of the deadwood.

If, after bowling of the rst ball, some but not all of the pins are knocked down, it is necessary to remove the pins that were knocked down, knownas deadwood, before the next ball is bowled. The standing pins must be lifted and reset in the same positions which they occupied before the deadwood was cleared. In the bowling of the rst ball, a standing pin may be shifted'from its normal position. Automatic pin setting machines must therefore be capable of clearing the deadwood and leaving the upright pins standing, in their shifted positions regardless of the positions to which the standing e pins may have been moved. Machines have heretofore been made which are capable of accomplishing this result provided the upright pins have been shifted only within a certain range. One of the shortcomings of the machines of the past has been that if a standing pin has been moved during the bowling of the rst ball an amount somewhat outside of 'the range of the machine,

`there has often been the danger of knocking down of such pin during the deadwood clearing operation.

It is one of the objects of the present invention to provide a machine which is capable of clearing deadwood even though the pins have been shifted from their normal positions and which will not throw or displace pins which, in the previous play, have ybeen displaced beyond the range 'of operation of the machine. In accordance with the principles of the presentinvention,l a pin which has been displaced beyond the range ofthe machine will be left standing by the 'machine without danger of being knocked down as the machine attempts the normal clearing of the deadwood. It may interfere with the deadwood clearing operation, in which event this -l may be performed manually, in' the rare vinstances of such displacement of the'pin, and. the game continuedwith the pin in exactly the position to vwhich it has been -moved' by the previous ba'll. The present invention is applicable, in general, to 'automatic pin Setters of the type that provide for clearance of deadwood, the object of the present invention being to prevent knocking over or displacement of standing pins regardless of the posi.

tions of thevstanding'- pins.

In the accompanying drawings, the present invention has been shown as applied to a pin lifting .apparatus of a construction such as shown in the Ernest Hedenskoog Patent No. 2,531,429 lalthough it is clearly applicable to other pin setting machines.` The machine of this patent, which has been chosen for illustrative purposes-as a typical machine to which the present invention has been applied, includes a horizontal frame that is normally positioned above the pins and isA movable to a position below the top of the pins and has therein a series of oversized holes corresponding to the normal positions of the pinsvon the alley. The frame is capable the periphery of the hole in the frame.

' tially along theline 3-3 of Fig. 1 with one of lowering movement of a position substantially below the top of standing pins, and it includes a series of spring pressed plates, one above each hole in the frame, which plates come to rest on standing pins and hold them firmly in place during the operation of the gripping means that then grips the pins preparatory to lifting them off of the alley for the movement of a sweeper between the dead wood. If the pins are shifted from their normal positions but are still in line with the circular plates carried by the frame, the machine will operate in its normal manner.

If the pins have been shifted a slightly greater amount there is, in the machines of the past, a possibility that the standing shifted pins will be struck by the portion of the frame which forms the periphery of the holes and that thereby the standing pins would be knocked down. It is an object of this invention to prevent knocking down the pins by `the plate under those conditions. This result is accomplished, in the preferred embodiment of the present invention, by providing a series of tine saw-toothed, downwardly 'extending projections around If the pin has been shifted into that critical area where' it is not engaged by the spring pressed plate carried by the framev and is engaged by the `periphery of the hole in the frame, it will be the saw teeth along the periphery of the hole that engage the standing pin. These teeth are sufciently large that they biteinto the pin duringthe descent of the frame and, by so doing,hold the pin iirmly in place so that the pin is not tilted and therefore notl knocked down by the descending frame. The teeth onthe descending frame that bite into a standing pin would limit the descent of `the frame. The mechanism then goes through its cycle of operations, ultimately raising the' frame to its uppermostvposition. However, in View of the fact that the frame had not descended its full amount *asv required preliminary to clearing of dead wood, the pin sweeper of the machine is not brought into operation, so that when the plate has completed its cycle of'movement the standing pins and the deadwood both remain inthe alley thereby indicating to the player or to an attendant that one or more pins have been shifted into'ay critical zone and therefore the machine cannot clear the deadwood. An attendant or the player then does this manually and the game then proceeds.

VIt is a still further object of the present invention t0 provide means for preventing tilting or felling of lbowling pins that have been moved'widely from their spot positions on the alley bed, which requires the addition of very little t-o existing bowling pin setting machines, and

which is comparatively economical of construction and simple in its operation.

the present invention will be apparent from the following specification taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of an automatic pin setting machine embodying a preferred form of the invention with the pin setting mechanism in raised position;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevational view of a portion of the pin setting mechanism illustrated in Fig. 1 showing the same in an intermediate position with the parts arranged to engage standing pins prior to a pin lifting operation; v

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken substanof the pins in an extreme offset position;

pin setter engages an extreme offset pin;

Fig. 5 is a broken view of the structure illustrated in Fig. 3 as viewed upwardly from the alley bed, and

Fig. 6 is a plan view of a frame member employed in connection with the present invention.

In all of the above-described views, similar characters of reference are employed to designate similar parts throughout.

While there is shown in the drawings and hereinafter described in detail a preferred form of the invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the particular form and arrangement shown. It is contemplated that various changes may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit Vand scope of the appended claims.

Referring now to the drawings in detail and, in particular, to Fig. l, an alley bed 10 has a set of pins 12 positioned thereon. The alley includes the usual pit 14 and pit cushion 16. A conventional side guard or kick back 18 is positioned on the far side of the alley bed. The

`pin setting machine to which the pin retaining mechanism of the present invention is applied involves in itsV general organization a pair of upright frame elements 20 which serve to support at their upper ends a cross channel 22. A pair of forwardly extending channels 24 serve to support a pair of vertically extending bushings 26 in which` there are slidable respective vertically extending cylindrical rods 28. The rods 28 carry at their lower ends a series of pinlifting instrumentalities, the nature and function of which will be described presently.

Referring now to Figs. 2, 3 and 4, the pin setter to which the present invention is applied includes three horizontally extending, parallel decks or frames A, B, and C. The frame A has rigidly attached thereto a fourth and lowermost frame or deck D which constitutes a pin retaining mechanism to which the presentv invention is principally directed and the nature and function of which will be set forth in detail after an understanding of the pin setter as a whole has been obtained.

The frame A is positioned intermediate the frames B and C, with the frame B mounted above and the frame C mounted below the frame A. The frame A is iixed to the lower ends of the vertical rods 28 by means of laterally extending lugs 30 formed on frame A and to which the lower ends of the rods are secured as by welding.

The frame A, hereinafter referred to as the pin carrier inasmuch as it supports a set of pins while they are moved from an upper position to a lower position adjacent the bed preparatory to being deposited on the latter, consists of a rear cross bar 32 and side members 34 which extend forwardly from the rear member in parallelism a predetermined distance and then converge toward each other at the front end of the frame where they are joined by a cross bar 36. The frame A is provided with a series of transversely extending cross plates 38, 40, 42 and 44 upon which the pins 12 are adapted to rest when the frame is away from. the alley bed. Means are provided whereby, when the frame is in its lowermost position adjacent the alley bed, the pins carried on the cross members may be moved forwardly off the members and onto the alley pin spots. The frame B is provided with ten relatively short tubular pin chutes 46 which are adapted to receive pins from other portions of the pin setting machine and to direct them downwardly onto the cross members 38 to 44, inclusive, of the pin carrier frame A. The frame B is a fabricated structure comprising a rear cross member 4S, a front cross member 50 and a pair of side members 52 which extend forwardly in parallelism from Athe rear cross member 48 a predetermined distance and converge to join the front cross member 50.

The frame B is adapted to be moved from a position wherein a setof pins rests on the cross bars 38 and 44, inclusive, of the pin carrier frame A to a forward position wherein the pin chutes 46 are centered over the pin spots on the alley bed during which movement the pins slide o t e cross bars onto the pin spots. The frame B is supported onthe frame A for this relative movement by a pair of links 54 and 56, the lower ends of which are pivotally connected to the frame A and the upper ends of which are pivotally connected to upwardly extending brackets 57 secured to the frame B. Mounted on the frame B at positions directly above the alley pin spots when the frame B is in its rear position are a series of circular pinengaging pressure plates 5S. These pressure plates are secured to the lower ends of vertical rods 60 which are slidably supported on the frame B and have cross pins 62 at their upper ends to limit the downward movement thereof. Coil springs 64 are positioned between the plates 58 and frame B and serve normally to urge the plates downwardly from the frame. As will be more particularly set forth presently, the plates 58 serve to engage the tops of the standing pins and to clamp them to the alley bed while certain pin lifting members subsequently to be described engage the necks of the pins.

The frame C which is positioned below the pin carrier frame A and which carries the previously mentioned, and subsequently to be described, pin lifting device is mounted on the frame A for sliding movement in a fore and aft direction, parallel to the longitudinal axis of the alley bed. The frame C involves in the general organization a rear cross member 66, a front cross member 68 and a pair of -side members 70 which are parallel in their rear regions and which converge forwardly adjacent their front ends and join the front cross member 68.

A pair of brackets 72 which support rollers 74 are mounted at the rear regions of the side members 70 and the rollers are adapted to travel on a pair of short parallel rails 76 formed on the side members 34 of the frame A. The frame C additionally carries a pair of brackets 78 adjacent the forward portion of the side members 70 which brackets in turn carry rollers 80 adapted to travel on rails 82 carried by the frame A. The rails 76 and 82 provide tracks on which the frame C is slidably supported so that it may be shifted relative to the frame A.

The frame C as shown in Fig. 3 is comprised of a thin sheet 84 of metal or other material extending between the frame members 66, 68 and 70. This sheet or plate 84 is provided with ten openings 86 therein which are located in the plate at positions generally corresponding to the ten pin spots on the alley bed. The rear portions 88 of the openings are semicircular in configuration and the front side edges 90 converge from intermediate parallel side walls 92 toward the forward end of the openings 86. These openings are so situated in the plate 84 that when the frame C is in its forward or right hand position as `shown in Figs. l and 3, the semicircular rear portions 88 are coaxial or concentric with the alley pin spots.

The previously mentioned pin lifting devices are in the form of forked members one of which is positioned adjacent each aperture 86 and immediately below the plate 84. These pin lifting members may be formed of metal or other suitable material and are generally of U- shaped configuration with parallel side arms 102 and divergent ends 104. The side arms 102 are spaced apart a distance -slightly greater than the diameter of the neck of a bowling pin 12 so that the members may straddle the neck without contacting the latter as the pin lifting rnembersare moved into straddling engagement with the neck of the pin. The bases of the pin lifting members 100 are pivotally supported on the plate 84 to swing laterally of the apertures 86. v

The tapered end of eac aperture 86 is formed with a recess 106 and an upstanding lug 108 provided at the base of the pin lifting member 100 has a laterally extending portion 110 which overlies the plate 84. A coil spring 112 anchored at one end to a post 114 mounted on the plate 84 has its other end secured to a post 116 carried on the laterally extending portion 110 of the lug. 103',

From the above description it will be seen that the inner edge of the recess 106 constitutes a. bearing edge while the lug 108 operating in the manner of a knife edge isdrawn by the coil spring 112 against the edge of the recess in such a manner that the pin lifting device 100 as a whole is normally centered relative to the opening 86. However, when the frame C ismoved to the left as viewed in Fig. 3 so that the diverging feeler ends 104 of the parallel arms 102 engage the neck portion of a pin which has become offset with respect to its pin spot, the pin lifting device 100 will be guided in the proper direction so thatthe parallel arms 102 will be eventually caused to straddle the reduced neck portion of the bowling pin. Conversely, when the frame C is moved in such a direction so as to release the pins, the various pin lifting devices will be restored by their respective springs 112 to their normal positions.

The pin setting device with lwhich the present invention is associated is provided with means for lowering the mechanism from an elevated position wherein it is well above the level of the tops of any pins that may be standing on the alley bed to a position wherein it may either set a new set of pins on the alley bed or lift existing standing pins. Means are provided for shifting the upper pin setting frame B and the lower pin setting frame C relative to the frame A. The means for lowering or raising the pin setting mechanism includes a pair of vertically extending rods 120 (Figs. l and 2) which are pivotally connected at the lower ends to the frame A by means of pins 122 and are pivotally connected at their upper ends to actuating arms 124 by pins 126. The arms 124 are carried at the opposite ends of a horizontal shaft 128 which is adapted to be periodically driven in opposite directions by suitable mechanism (not shown) according to the cyclic phase of machine operations. The mechanism engages and operates the ann 129 which is secured to the shaft 128. The arm 129 is moved by the mechanism to lower the frame to pin pickup or to pin setting positions.

t The operating mechanism for the frame B includes a link 130 pivotally connected at one end to. a lug 132 on the rear cross-member 48 of the frame B and at the other end to one arm 134 of a bell crank lever 136 having a -second arm 138 pivoted to a lug 140 mounted on the cross member 32 of the frame A. A third arm 142 of the bell crank lever 136 is pivotally connected to a yoke 144 carriecl by an operating rod 146. Movement of the rod upwardly as viewed in Fig. 2 causes the bell crank lever 136 to turn in a clockwise direction about its pivotal axis n the lug 140 and thus cause the link 130 to the shift the frame B forwardly of the frame A a suicient distance t0 move the pins which may be carried within the chutes 46, and standing on the cross plates 38, 40, 42 and 44, off

of these plates and onto the alley pin spots. Suitable t mechanism (not shown) is provided for actuating the rod 146 according to the intended cyclic operation of the machine when the pin setting frames are in their lowered positions adjacent the alley bed.

The means for shifting'the frame C relative to the frame A comprises a bell crank lever 150 mounted on a pivot pin 152 secured in an upstanding bracket 154 mounted on the rear cross member 32 of the frame A. A downwardly extending arm 156 of the bell crank lever 150 is formed with a slot 158 therein. A pin 160 carried on a bracket 162 projecting rearwardly from the cross member 66 of the frame C extends through the slot 158. A horizontal extending arm.164 of the bell crank lever 150 is pivotally connected by a pin 166 to the lower end of an actuating bar 168 adapted to be suitably actuated according to the cycle of machine operations in order to shift the frame C relative to the frame A and thus bring the pin lifting devices 100 into proper registry with the respective pins which they mayengage for lifting purposes.

In the operationof the apparatus with the pin setter in its raised position and with a pin contained within each of the chutes 46 and standing on the cross plates 34 to 38y inclusive `of the frame A, the pin setter is lowered toward thelalley bed to a position of close proximity with respect thereto. This lowering movement is accomplished by means of the arms 124 and rods 120. When the pin setter reachesits-,lowered position, the rod 146 is raised to shift the frame B forwardly and move the pins off the cross plates and onto the alley pin spots. With the frames B and C remaining in their forward positions, the pin setter is then raised by movement of the arms 124 to their elevated position wherein the entire apparatus clears the pins which have been deposited on the alley bed. During such elevation of the pin setter, the frame B is restored to its original position.

At this point, the alley is then ready for play and preferably a. new set of pins is fed into the chutes 46. If it is assumed that upon rolling of the first ball some of the pins remain standing While others are knocked down and still others are shifted from their positions on the pin spots a slight distance, the pin setter operating mechanism may again be placed in operation and the pin setter will be moved downwardly and function in such a manner that it may pick up such pins as may remain standing. Thus, the pin setter is again lowered by means of the arms 124 and rods 120 until such time as the spring pressed plates 58 engage the tops'of the standing pins. lAs soon as the standing pins are clamped to the alley bed, the pin setter frame C is moved toward the left from the position shown in Fig. 3, thus causing the forked lifting members to engage the necks of the standing pins, although gripping contact with the pins is not effected until the frames are raised. The divergent feeler ends 104 of the lifting membersvfunction during this movement to guide the arms -102 to their proper pin-straddling positions. Thus as a pin has been moved a slight distance from its alley bed spot, the lifting member is swung on its pivotal axis to a position wherein the neck of the pin may enter between the arms 102. When the frame C has been moved -to its rearmost position, the pin setter is raised to bring the members 100 into gripping engagement with the pins and lift them while the dead wood is swept from the alley by any suitable means such, for example, as the usual sweep board 170. During the lifting of the pins, they are firmly held in position immediately above the spots where they were found on the alley bed, by the downward pressure exerted by the plates 58 on the heads of the pins which force the underneath tapered surfaces thereof against the parallel arms 102 of the respective lifting members 100.

After the sweeping operation is completed, the pin setter is again lowered and the pins are returned to the alley bed in the position which they formerly occupied. The pinsV are thus again held clamped to the alley bed by the springy pressed plates 58, and downward movement of the frame C releases the pressure on the underneath tapered surfaces of the pin heads. The frame C is shifted to the right to the position shown in Fig. 3 to withdraw the lifting members from the necks of the pins, and thereafter the pin setter is raised leaving the pinsstanding on the alley bed in the exact -positions where theywere -found prior to the lifting operation. I

According to the present invention, means are provided whereby the placement of all pins which remain standing after the first ball of a frame has been rolled, regardless ofthe positions of the pins on thealley bed, will be accurately preserved. Accordingly, the frame D (Figs. l, 2

and 4) is provided. This frame is in the-form of a flat plate 200 having a rear downturned `flange 202, and side flanges 204 which are parallel in the medial regions of the flange and which converge toward each other in the forf The frame D is suspendedA ward regions of the plane. below the level of the three frames A; B and C by suspension brackets 210 and 212, which'are secured to the side members 34 of the -frame A.' Stop elements;206` are secured to the under side of the .frame D. 4The plate 200.

occupies a position a slight distance below the -frame C. The plate 200 is provided with a series of ten circular openings 214 therein which are substantially concentric with the vertical projections of the pin spots on the alley bed. Thel diameters of the openings 214 are substantially in excess ofthe diameters of the pressure plates 58 and` are preferably slightly greater than the maximum transverse width of the openings 86 provided in the plate 84 of the frame C. Each opening 214 is surrounded by a downwardly extending flange or ring 216 the lower edge of which is formed with means which upon engagement with the head of the bowling pin is adapted to bite into the material of the pin and thus hold the ring against further descent without tilting the pin and without in any way tending to upset the pin. This means may be a knife edge, but in the preferred embodiment illustrated here, coinprises a series of relatively sharp downwardly extending, closely spaced pin-engaging teeth 218. The ring members 216 may be` a ange struck from the edges of the openings 214 or they maybe separate hardened steel bands suitably secured, as by welding, to the underneath surface of the plate 200 and surrounding the various openings 214. Such bands could be constructed from band saw blades shaped as a cylinder with the ends abutted and welded together.

Reference to Fig. 2 will disclose the fact that the diameters of the toothed rings 216 are substantially greater than the maximuml diameter of one of the pins 12 and thus, immediately after pin setting operations, the pin setter frames including the frame D may be elevated in the usual manner and the various pins 12 which are all centered on the pin spots will not be disturbed by the toothed rings 216 which are each4 centered with respect to a pin axis.

The difference between the radius of the ring 216 and the radius of its pressure plate 58 is less than the radius of the head of a pin 12. By thus selecting the proper diameter for the toothed ring 216, any pin 12 which upon dislodgment thereof after the first ball ofl aframe has been rolled, fails to have its vertical axis fall within the vertical contines of the pressure plate 58, within certain limits, will be engaged by one or more of the teeth 218 formed on the ring 216 and will thus be clamped firmly against the alley bed so that its position will be preserved. The teeth 218 will penetrate or bite into the wood of the head of the pin 12 even though the teeth may engage the head at a position which is widely offset with respect to the axis of the pin and thus the pin will be held against tilting movement on the alley bed. It willV bev understood that such pins as have been moved from their spot positions wherein they are engaged bythe toothed ring upon descent of the pin setter will prevent further downward movement of the pin setter although the operating mechanism whereby the pin setter is controlled will continue to go through its cycle without function until such time as the partially descended pin setter is again picked up, so to speak, by the operating mechanism and restored to its elevated position. In such an instance the cyclic sequence of events following the initial arresting of the pin setter in its downward movement will not take place and the frame C will not be moved relative to the frames A and B so that no pins will be engaged by the pin lifting devices 108 and no pins will be elevated with the frame as it rises to release the clamped pin or pins. In such an instance none of the pins, including the obstructing pin or pins, will have been disturbed, or moved from the positionsI which they occupied on the alley bed at the time obstruction of the movement of the pin setter took place. Any dead wood existing on the alley bed in the vicinity of the pins will be removed manually prior to rolling of the. second ball of the frame since the pin sweep will be locked out from operating.

When a standing pin 12 has its vertical axis located just within. the confines of thepressure plate 58, it will be. engaged by the pressure plate in the normal manner of operationof the machine and the'toothed ring 216 will clear the side of the head of the pin. When a standing pin has its vertical axis located just outside the vertical connes of the toothed ring 216, it will be engaged by one or more ofthe teeth 218 provided on the ring 216..

Because of the shallowness of the ring 216, the teeth 218 do not project downwardly from the plate 2.80l a very great distance and, because of the fact that the sides of a pin slope sharply away from the top of the pin, there is a narrow band or region on the alley bed just outside of' the ring 216 wherein a standing pin having its axis falling thereon will be engaged by the teeth 218 of the ring. Any pin falling outside of the region aord'ed will not be engaged by the teethv 218 of the ring but instead will be engaged by the underneath face of the plate 290. in such an instance descent of the pin setter will bring. the plate 200 into engagement with the extreme top of the pin head so that the pin will be firmly clamped to the alley bed and further movement of the pin setter down.- wardly will be obstructed. Upon subsequent elevation of the carriage at the proper time in the machine cycle the pin will be released on the off spot position.

It will be understood that the elevation or height of the frame D, above the alley bed, and consequently the height of the pin setter as a whole at the time when the teeth thereof engage a particular pin will depend upon the region of the pin head engaged by the teeth. If the pin head is engaged by the teeth 218 squarely at the extreme top of the head, the carriage will be arrested in its downward movement and will remain at an elevation which is slightly higher than would be the case if the pin head were engaged at an eccentric point adjacent the side of the pin head. This is due to the fact that the top of the pin head stops downwardly and outwardly in all directions. Since all of the toothed rings 216 assume the same elevation, and since all of the pins 12 are of equal height and of identical configuration, it will be obvious that in practically all instances only one pin head will be engaged by the teeth of its respective ring 216 during descent of the pin setter. In other words, the pin which presents the tallest obstruction to downward movement of the pin setter will prevail over any other offset pins which might otherwise be in a position to engage the teeth 218 of their respective rings in the absence of the first pin. Therefore, upon initial engagement of any particular pin by the teeth of its respective ring 216, further contact between any portion of the carriage and any other standing pin on the alley will be precluded. Since the engaged pin will have its position preserved and since the other pins will not be disturbed by contact with any portion of the carriage, the position of al1 of the standing pins will be maintained after the carriage has been raised.

An extremely rare condition may obtain wherein a particular standing pin is dislodged or offset from the alley spot to such an extent that its respective ring, upon descent of the frame D, will engage the head of the pin at a region near the extreme side of the pin wherein the angularity between the teeth 218 and the surface of the head of the pin is so small that the points of the teeth cannot penetrate the wood of the pin. In such an instance the pin will be tilted or rocked to a very slight degree with the ring 216 barely touching the pin. As the ring passes downwardly along the side of the pin, the upper endy of the pin is shortly thereafter engaged by the underneath surface of the plate 200 and the pin, in its slightly tilted position, will be clamped to the alley bed'. Upon subsequent elevation of the pin setter and releasel of the pin by the frame plate 200, the pin will, due to its stable equilibrium, fall or rock back toits original position on the alley bed.

The stopping of the frames in their downward movement in the different positions either by the engagement of the pressure plates 58, the teeth 218 or the plate 200 also stops the movement of the arm 129 in different an gular positions and thereby controls the operating mechanism for the arm and the resulting cycle of operation of the machine as explained in the copending application of E. Hedenskoog et al., Serial No. 372,366, filed August 4,y 1953, for Completely Automatic Pin Setting and Ball Return Mechanism for Bowling Alley.

What is claimed is:

1. In a pin handling mechanism, in combination, a vertically movable first frame, means for supporting said frame above the rear end of a bowling alley bed, a plurality of yieldable clamping elements mounted on said frame and positioned directly abovethe alley bed pin spots, said elements being adapted to engage the tops of the heads of standing pins and to clamp the pins to the alley bed when the frame is lowered, a second frame below said first frame having openings therein aligned with said clamping elements, pin head biting means about the edge of said openings located beyond the horizontal range of the clamping elements which the respective opening underlies, and means for lowering said frames in unison.

2. In a pin handling mechanism, in combination, a vertically movable rst frame, means for supporting said frame above the rear end of a bowling alley bed, a plurality of circular spring-pressed clamping plates on said frame positioned directly above the alley pin spots, said plates being adapted to engage the tops of the heads of standing pins and to clamp the pins to the alley bed when the frame is lowered, a second frame below said rst frame having circular openings the edges of which have biting means which bite into the head of an oifspot pin aligned with the edge of an opening to stop the descent of the frame and prevent the pin from being knocked down by the edge.

3. In a pin handling mechanism, in combination, a vertically movable first frame, means for supporting said frame above the rear end of a bowling alley bed, a plurality of circular spring-pressed clamping plates on 'said frame and positioned directly above the alley pin spots, said plates being adapted to engage the tops of the heads of standing pins to clamp the pins to the alley bed when the frame is lowered, a second frame below said first frame, said second frame comprising a substantially at horizontally disposed sheet of metal having a series of circular openings likewise positioned directly above the alley pin spots and underlying said plates, biting means about the edge of each said opening, the diameter of each opening being greater than the diameter of its respective clamping plate, and means for lowering said frames.

4. In a pin handling mechanism, in combination, a vertically movable rst frame, means for supporting said frame above the rear end of a bowling alley bed, a plurality of circular spring-pressed clamping plates on said frame and positioned directly above the alley pin spots, said plates being adapted to engage the tops of the heads of standing pins and to clamp the pins to the alley bed when the frame is lowered, a second frame below said first frame, said second frame comprising a sub-7- stantially flat horizontally disposed sheet of metal having a series of circular openings likewise positioned directly above the alley pin spots and underlying said plates, a downwardly projecting annular pin-engaging flange surrounding each opening the free edge of which is capable of biting into the head portion of the pin when aligned therewith, and means for lowering said frames.

5. In a pin handling mechanism, in combination, a vertically movable rst frame, means for supporting said frame above the rear end of a bowling alley bed, a plurality of circular spring-pressed clamping plates on said frame and positioned directly above the alley pin spots, said plates being adapted to engage the tops of the heads of standing pins and to clamp the pins to the alley bed when the frame is lowered, a second frame below said first frame, said second frame comprising a substantially flat horizontally disposed sheet of metal having a series of circular openings likewise positioned directly above the alley pin spots and underlying said plates, and means surrounding each opening for engaging the top of the head of a standing pin when moved from 4spot position and to bite into said head and clamp the' pin to the alley bed and prevent it from being tilted by the edge portion of said opening when the second framel is lowered.

6. In a pinhandling mechanism, in combination, a vertically movable first frame, means for supporting said frame above the rear end of a bowling'alley bed, a plurality of circular spring-pressed clamping plates on said frame and positioned directly above the alley pin spots, said plates being adapted to engage the tops of the heads of standing pins and to clamp the pins to the alley bed when the frame is lowered, a second frame below said first frame, said second frame comprising a substantially flat horizontally disposed sheet 'of metal having a series of circular openings likewise positioned directly above the alley pin spots and underlying said plates, the difference between the radius of each clamping plate and the radius of the opening which it overlies being less than the maximum radius of the head 0f a pin, a downwardly projecting biting means surrounding each opening, and means for lowering said frames.

7. ln a pin handling mechanism, in combination, a vertically movable first frame, means for supporting said frame above the rear end of a bowling alley bed, a plurality of circular spring-pressed clamping plates on said frame and positioned directly above the alley pin spots, said plates being adapted to engage the tops of the heads ot' standing pins to clamp the pins to the alley bed when the frame is lowered, a second frame below said rst frame, said second frame comprising a substantially flat horizontally disposed sheet of metal having a series of circular openings larger than said plates likewise positioned directly above the alley pin spots and underlying said plates, the difference' between the radius of each clamping plate and the radius of the opening which it overlies being less than the maximum radius of a head of a pin, a series of relatively short downwardly projecting closely spaced circumferentially extending pointed projections surrounding each opening and designed to bite into the head of a pin when said second frame is lowered, and means for lowering said frames.

8. In a pin handling mechanism for standard bowling pins, in combination, a vertically movable first frame, means for supporting said frame above the rear end of a bowling alley bed, a plurality of circular spring-pressed clamping plates on said frame positioned directly above the alley pin spots, the diameter of each clamping plate being substantially greater than the major diameter of the pin, said plates being adapted to engage the tops of the heads of standing pins to clamp the pins to the alley bed when the frame is lowered, a second frame below said rst frame, said second frame comprising a substantially at horizontally disposed sheet of metal having a series of circular openings likewise positioned directly above the alley pin spots and underlying said plates, the diameter of each opening being greater than that of the plate, a series of circumferentially spaced saw teeth extending downwardly from the edge of each opening in position to bite into the head portion of off-spot standing pins aligned therewith for arresting the downward movement of the frames, and means for lowering said frames.

9. In a pin handling mechanism, vertically movable horizontally disposed frame means supported near the rear end of an alley bed above the spots thereon, means on said frame means for setting pins on the spots of said alley, means on said frame means for grasping standing pins after a spare has been made to have the pins raise and lower with the frame, a plate supported on the bottom of said frame means having circular openings therein aligned with the spots on the alley bed, and biting means adjacent to the edges of said circular openings which engage the head portion of a pin when aligned with the edge of an opening in such securing manner as to arrest the descent'of the frame means and prevent the pin from being tilted or knocked down.

10. A pin handling mechanism as recited in claim 9, wherein said biting means embodies a plurality of adjacent teeth on an annularly disposed ange about said opening which are capable of biting into the top portion of a pin.

11. A, pin handling mechanism as recited in claim 9, wherein saidbiting means comprises a plurality of closely adjacent downwardly extending teeth capable of biting into the top portion ofthe pin.

12. A pin handling mechanism las recited in claim 9, including means for raising and lowering said frame means, and means for actuating said raising and lowering means for lowering said frame means a greater distance in the absence of standing pins on the alley bed, a less 12 distance when standing pins pass through the circular openings in said plate without interfering with the stopping of the frame means and a still lesser distance when the biting means engage the top portion of a pin and bite thereinto,

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,231,842 Rundell Feb. 11, 1941 2,283,613 Schmidt May 19, 1942 2,530,385 Frye Nov. 21, 1950 2,531,429 Hedenskoog Nov. 28, 1950 2,611,611 Patterson Sept. 23, 1952

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