US2942884A - Bowling alley pin sweeping mechanism - Google Patents

Description

June 28, 1960 B. L. SCHERZINGER sowuuc ALLEY PIN SWEEPING macmmsm Filed Sept. 25. 1957 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VE N TOR A TTORNE Y5 June 28, 1960 B. L. SCHERZINGER 2,942,884

BOWLING ALLEY PIN swssymc MECHANISM 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 25, 1957 m4 ONQ INVENTOR 13mm I d8 RN ATTORNEYS June 28, 1960 B. L. SCHERZINGER 2,942,884

BOWLING ALLEY PIN SWEEPING MECHANISM Filed Sept. 25. 1957 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR AOBY 7 I E ATTORNEYS B. L. SCHERZINGER 2,942,884

BOWLING ALLEY PIN SWEEPING MECHANISM June 28, 1960 Filed Sept. 25. 1957 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 IN VE N TOR 14 TTORNE Y June 28, 1960 B. 1.. SCHERZINGER 2,942,384

BOWLING ALLEY PIN SWEEPING MECHANISM Filed Sept. 25, 1957 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 WAD ATTORNEYS June 28, 1960 B. 1.. SCHERZINGER 2,942,384

BOWLING ALLEY PIN SWEEPING MECHANISM Filed Sept. 25, 1957 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 M fixkiiggi W @W United States Patent BOWLING ALLEY PIN SWEEPIN G NIECHANISM Bruno L. Scherzinger, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, as-

signor to Mechanical Pin Resetter C0,, Ltd., Calgary, Alberta,'Canada Filed Sept. 25, 1957, Ser. No. 686,154

Claims priority, application Canada Dec. 6, 1956 1 Claim. (Cl. 273-54) This invention relates to machines for resetting pins in a bowling alley, and is particularly concerned with an improved sweeping mechanism for clearing the alley of deadwood i.e. fallen pins and occasionally balls, between the balls of a frame and at the conclusion of a frame.

Canadian Patent No. 532,156 issued October 23, 1956 (United States application Serial No. 528,711, filed August 16, 1955) contains a description and illustration of a complete bowling alley resetting machine, which machine includes an alley sweeping mechanism. It is referred to in such prior application as Section (B) of the machine. The present invention is concerned with an improved form of alley sweeping mechanism and reference to the prior application showing the whole machine is made purely to facilitate appreciation of the part that such an alley sweeping mechanism playsin the overall operation of a typical bowling alleyres etting machine. It is to be expressly understood that" the alley sweeping mechanism of the present invention may be employed with "other resetting machines of different structure, the function that the sweeping mechanism is required to perform being basically the same regardless of other details of operation of the machine.

Various difiiculties have been experienced in sweeping mechanisms of prior construction. It has been found diflicult to obtain reliability of operation without undue complexity of construction.

It is one of the objects of the present invention to provide improvements in this regard, that is to say to provide a dependable mechanism employing a relatively small number of links.

In pin setting machines the sweeping mechanism is subjected to rough usage and is called upon to handle pins disposed in all kinds of random positions. Moreover, due to continued use, the pins may not always conform to the specified dimensions. As a practical matter these factors make it almost impossible to prevent an occasional jam." One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a design of sweeping mechanism in which the likelihood of a jam occurring is reduced as far as possible and in which the machine is rendered inoperative for as short a time as possible if a jam does occur. In particular, it is an object of the invention to prevent the machine inflicting damage to itself or the alley or the pins, in the event of a jam.

One form of alley sweeping mechanism constructed in accordance with the present invention is illustrated by way of examplein the accompanying drawings. In these drawings:

Figure 1 shows a side view'of the sweeping mechanism in its inoperative position;

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1 showing the parts in the forward operative position at an early stage of operation, the sweep having just been lowered to the alley floor;

Figure 3 is a further view similar to Figures 1 and 2 ice showing the position of the parts at a later stage in the sweeping operation;

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3 but serving to illustrate the manner of operation of the mechanism if the sweep becomes jammed;

Figure 5 is a further side view of the mechanism showing the positions of the parts when the sweep is in its fully rearward position; and

Figure 6 is a front view of the mechanism seen from the bowling end of the alley showing the parts in the position they occupy in Figure 3.

For simplicity of illustration, no attempt has been made to show the remaining parts of the resetting machine.

The machine will have a suitable source of motive power, e.g. an electric motor (not shown) and this motor will drive the sweeping mechanism through a transmission 1 which will also include suitable apparatus for timing the movement of the sweeping mechanism in relation to the movements of the other parts of the machine, principally those parts which serve to set and reset bowling pins P on the pin supporting area of the alley surface S. The transmisison 1 drives the sweeping mechanism through a shaft 2 which carries at each end a crank arm 3. As appears from Figure 6, the crank arm 3 and the elements driven by this arm are duplicated on the other side of the alley. The text which follows will in the main be confined to describing those parts on the left-hand side of the alley as seen in Figure 6, namely those parts visible in the other views.

' A main'rigid activator link 4 slightly bent at an intermediate point 8 is pivotally mounted at one end on an upstanding projection 5 of the frame of the machine about a pin 6. The intermediate point 8 of this activator link 4 is connected to the crank arm 3 by a connecting link 7. 4

Pivotally mounted on the free end of the activator link 4 is a driving link 9 which, at its free end, is pivotally connected by a pin 11 to an intermediate point of a main sweeper arm 10. At its upper end, the main sweeper arm 10 is pivotally connected 'by a joint 13 to one end of a main support arm 12, which arm 12 is also mounted to swing about the pin 6 supported in the projection 5 of the frame. The arm 12 extends beyond such pivotal mounting to form an extension 12a which carries near its free end a weight 21.

The lower end of the sweeper arm 10 carries a pivotal joint 14 about which a bell-crank lever 16 is pivoted. This bell-crank lever 16 extends from a pivotal connec tion 17 at one end, past the joint 14, downwardly to the alley floor. 'A transverse rod 16a extends across the alley to join the lower ends of the two bell-crank levers 16 (see Figure 6). The bell-crank levers 16 and the rod 16a serve to'carry a sheet 15 of light metal which forms the sweep itself. This sheet 15 extends fullyacross the width of the alley and, when the parts are in a lowered sweeping position such as Figure 2 or Figure 3, to within about an inch of the alley floor. It also has downwardly projecting ears 15a at each side which sweep the gutters G of the alley. a

The upper end of each bell-crank lever 16 is pivotally connected at 17 to a further arm 18. Each arm 18 extends parallel to each sweeper arm 10 and forms a closed rectangular parallel link mechanism therewith by virtue of a link 20 which is pivotally connected to the upper end of the arm 18 through a joint 18a and to the joint 13. The link 20 is actually one arm of a bell-crank lever,

the other arm 20a of which is connected by a pivotal A pin 26 mounted on each main sweeper arm 10 acts shaft 2 will be rotated clockwise.

only in Figure l) positioned to co-operate with the weight 21 mounted on the extension 12a (see Figures 1 and 2).

- The operation of the mechanism is as follows:

In the inoperative position shown in Figure 1, the sweep is held up high up above the alley surface. The weight of the mechanism is balanced by the weights 21 and 2.4 which act both through the arm 4a on the activator link 4 as well as directly and through'the projection 25 on the extension 12a and hence the arm 12.

When the control mechanism of the machinedetermines that a sweeping operation is required, the crank position adopted by the parts after approximately 90 of crank arm rotation. The links 7 have been lowered somewhat, and so have the activator links 4 and with them the driving links 9 and support arms 12. 'As a result, the main sweeper arms 10 have been lowered with each roller 22 travelling along the vertical portion of its guide rail 23. i The low point of each guide rail is reached when the sweeper is the-required distance above the V alley surface (say one inch); This is the Figure 2 position. i r g Further clockwise rotation of the crank shaft12 will bring the parts to the .position'shown in Figure 3. The

links 7 have been forced to the left and therewith the activator links 4; This has drawn the driving links 9 to the left and causedthe'whole sweeping mechanism to move rearwardly along the surface of the alley with the rollers 22 running in their respective guide rails 23'. The

gentle upward curvature of the guide rai1s23, at'this point prevents the sweep 15 from eoming'into actual contact with the alley floor serving to maintain such sweep a constant spacing from such floor. 'The parallel link I mechanisms comprised 'of sweeper arms 10, the upper parts of bell-cr-ank-levers 16, links 18, 1 9, and 20a,

insure that the sweep 15remain's in its original slightly tilted inclination to the vertical.

Figure 4 demonstrates what happens if there should be a jam. Theoretically the clearance between the bot tom of the sweep 15 and the alley floor is insufficient to allow even'the head of a into pass under the sweep,

. but it is not practical to ensure that the device is con structed with such precision that the theoretical clearance can be maintained at all timesand under all operating conditions. a As a practical matter, it is found that very occasionally jams do occur. The circumstance that is most likely to give-rise. to a jam is that which occurs when, in the course of play, a pin rolls or is knocked forwards along the alley,'i.e. towards the playing end, so that the sweep descendsdirectly onto the pin.

* With the present system, such jams are infrequent and are found nearly always, to :be self-clearing, although this may require two successive operationsof the sweep. If

the mechanism should'requir'e manual clearing, this will be a simple matter and the mechanism is such that it v' ha it it should happe t at n rm pr gr ss of e. weep 1.5. i pretre ed y some form of re stance to Figure 2 shows the movement of the deadwood on the alley floor, the sweep 15 will ride up over the jammed pins and not exert undue forces on them. This manner of operation is illustrated generally in Figure 4 which shows how the parts are free to move vertically when the sweep is jammed by a pin P with the rollers 22 rising out of their guide rails 23. The transmission 1 may include a slipping clutch 28 (Figure 6) which will prevent positive transmission of power to the mechanism whenever excessive resistance to movement is encountered, i.e. the circumstances illustrated in Figure 4, but in practice it is found that such a clutch can usually be omitted without the mechanism causing damage to itself, the pins, or the alley. The fully rearward position of the mechanism is shown in Figure 5, the crank arms 3 having completed a rotation of 180 so that the links 9 will have been moved to their maximum rearward positions with the rollers 22 engaging almost the rear ends of the guide rails 23.

Continued clockwise rotation of the crank arms 3 through a further 180 reverses the movement of the sweep returning it to the original Figure 1 position. The counterweights 24 provide assistance to the latter stages of this movement, firs tly by acting through the activa tor links 4, and then, once the projections 25 on the arms 4a have re-engaged the Weights 21 on the extensions 12a through the support arms 12, which then lift the sweep 15 and its associated pants up away from towards the alley playing area, a main sweeper arm having one end pivotally connected to' the free end ofsaid main support arm so as to form a continuation thereof, a sweep mounted on the free end of said sweeper arm, a guide rail extending along a side of the alley playing area, a follower mounted on said main sweeper ar'm'for co-operation with said guide rail, actuating means for swinging said main sweeper arm about its pivotal connection to said main support arm between a first position in which said main sweeper'arm extends generally hori- V zontally forwardly from said main support arm to hold said sweep high above and forwardly of the pin supporting area of the alley surface, a second'pos'ition in which said main sweeper arm extends generally horizontally but somewhat downwardly inclined and forwardly from said main support "arm with said follower engaging said guide rail to hold said sweep just clear of said all'ey'surface in a position forward of said pin supporting area, and a third position in which said main sweeper arm depends from said main support arm'with said follower still engaging said guide rail to hold said sweepjustclear of said alley, surface in a position rearward of said pin supporting area, the guide railbeing such as to define the downward limits of swinging movement .ofthe port arm, a link extending parallelwith said main sweeper arm and interconnecting one arm of said bell-crank lever aud'said sweep,'the latter being pivotally carried by said 5 main sweeper arm, and a further link extending parallel with said main support arm for a pivotal connection to the other arm of said bell-crank lever to a pivotal con nection to the frame.

1,297,951 Wheeler Mar. 18, 1919 6 Cone May 30, 1933 Bates Nov. 13, 1945 Johns et a1. Apr. 1, 1952 Zuercher Nov. 6, 1956 Zuercher Mar. 17, 1959

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