US3044780A

US3044780A - Ball pick-up devices for mixing machines

Info

Publication number: US3044780A
Application number: US7692A
Authority: US
Inventors: Silverman Solly
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1960-02-09
Filing date: 1960-02-09
Publication date: 1962-07-17
Anticipated expiration: 1979-07-17

Description

July 17, 1962 s. slLvERMAN 3,044,780

BALL PICK-UP DEVICES FOR MIXING MACHINES Filed Feb. 9, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. 2

INVENTOR SOLLY S/LVE/PMAN- ATTORNEY July 17, 1962 s. slLvERMAN BALL PICK-UP DEVICES FOR MIXING MACHINES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 9, 1960 INVENTOR SOL/.Y S/LVERMAN er: /zfwffmy/ ATTORNEY United States Patent Office 3,044,780 Patented July 17, 1962 3,044,780 BALL PICK-UP DEVICES FOR MIXHN MACIHNES Solly Silverman, 24 Baycrest Ave., Toronto, Ontario, Canada Filed Feb. 9, 1960, Ser. No. 7,692 Claims. (Cl. 273-144) My invention relates to ball mixing machines of `the kind commonly employed by concessionaires in playing the game of bingo. In such a mixing machine, it is customary to mix the balls in a cage forming an enclosure and having a floor which is apertured to provide air passages. The balls have assigned values and are con-A fined in the cage wherein they are tossed about by an air blast in a mixing operation and then picked up by a delivery device one at a time so that the operator may take balls successively and call o the numbers whereupon they are placed in a tray and returned to the cage by a ball return device when a game has been played.

The light-weight balls which are of the ping-pong type are tossed in a mixing operation by an air blast which emanates from one of the apertures in the iioor and over this aperture is a tossing tube which is spaced above the oor to admit a ball in order that the air blast may carry it up the tube andy project it therefrom. Balls are tossed by the tube in this way to bring about a promiscuous mixing of the same. The balls may be guided toward the air blast orifice in the floor by 1nclination of the Hoor surface.

Another aperture in the oor to which the balls are inclined to roll due to inclination of the oor surface serves as a part of the ball pick-up device and below the floor a compartment houses an electric fan for producing the air blast.

According to my invention there is provided a delivery device comprising a generally upright passage for balls having a lower rball-receiving end and an upper end. This passage is in the form of a tube which is spaced above the door a distance suiiicient to allow a ball to enter the passage under the influence of the air blast and at the upper end of the tube there is a tubular delivery chute supported to slope downwardly with its outer end disposed exteriorly of the cage and provided with a ball-catching device. The juncture of the upper end of the pick-up tube in the delivery chute is supplied with one or more openings and a dellector, preferably in the form of a plate for guidably confining the balls and allowing the air blast to expend itself so that by reduc* tion of pressure at this juncture the balls lost momentum yand are caused to travel down the delivery chute mainly by the force of gravity so that they may be stopped by the ball-catching device for removal by the operator in the play of the game. My invention produces a steady ilow of balls in a pick-up operation so that the balls may be taken from the machine by the operator without any delay during its operation. This is a highly important feature and my invention has proven to be a decided improvement in the art. It is economical to manufacture and facilitates the playing of the game in a smooth, uninterrupted manner.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FlG. 1 is a general perspective View of a ball mixing machine with parts broken away and incorporating my invention; n

FIG. 2 is a cross sectional detail of the ball-return tray by which delivered balls are allowed to return to the cage;

FIG. 3 is a sectional elevation of the ball delivery mechanism.

Now, referring more particularly to the drawings, my invention is used iny association with a ball mixing machine comprising a cage generally denoted at 4 upstanding from a base 5 which provides a chamber 6 containing fan blades 7 driven by au electric motor 8 for placing the air in the chamber under pressure to produce air blasts through openings 9 and l0 provided in the floor 11 of the cage, as is well known in the art. The fan motor is controlled by a switch 12 and has an electric cable 13 for connection with a source of electrical energy, such as an outlet of a service line. These details are conventional in character and their precise arrangement is given only by way of example as they do not, per se, form a part of the invention.

The cage is made up of bars as usual and has side walls and a top wall, The -top wall has the usual pliant impact section 14 placed over the opening 9 belonging to the ball tossing and mixing tube 15. Tube 15 is generally vertically supported in register with the air blast opening 9 and is shown as supported by legs 16 by way of example. The opening 9 is made larger than a ball and therefore, it is supplied with crossbars 17 so that the balls may not pass therethrough. Floor 11 may be made of rigid material covered with a felt or other textile product, or it may be composed of some other material which is of a non-rigid character suitable for the purpose of reducing or obviating bounce of balls which are tossed by the mixing tube 15. Usually the floor slopes or is inclined toward the air blast opening 9 so that the balls may tend to roll toward it in the operation of the machine.

The ball-return device is located at one side of the cage and is generally denoted at 18. It comprises a shallow tray i9 having retaining walls 20 at three of its sides and the fourth side is open to the cage as at 20. The tray is inclined toward the opening 20 so that balls received therein will gravitate into the cage and may not return. The top of the tray is closed off by a perforated indexing plate 21 supplied with openings denoted at 22 each of a diameter greater than the balls so that the balls may pass therethrough. Below the openings there is an arrangement of blocking bars 23 carried by a control rod 24 operated by a handle 25 which enables the operator to shift the bars to one side ofthe openings so that any balls in openings may drop through into the tray. This is an arrangement tha-t will be well understood in the art, and it will be understood that in the play of the game when a ball is picked up by the operator, the number is called and then the ball is placed in an opening when the bars are in their blocking positions. At the end of the game, the handle allows the balls to be dropped in are-setting operation.

Now, having described the construction and arrangement of a ball mixing machine in association with which my invention is used, the invention itself will now be recounted in detail. This del-ivery device comprises a generally upright passage for balls indicated at 26; the passage has a lower ball-receiving end 27 and an upper egress end 28. Passage 26 is provided by the bore of an imperforated pick-up tube 29, the lower end of which is spaced above the floor 1l a distance suflicient to allow a ball to enter the passage 26 through the lower end 27. The pick-up tube is disposed with its lower end in register with the air blast aperture 10 in the floor 11, which floor has its surrounding lioor surface inclined toward this air blast opening so that balls rolling toward the same will be subject to the air blast and will thereby be tossed upwardly and a ball entering the tube 29 will be entrained in the air blast and carried upwardly therethrough. FIG. 3 shows a ball indicated at 30 in the act of passing upwardly through tube 29 which tube has the passage 26 3 made a somewhat larger diameter than the ball to allow for free travel of balls.

At the upper end of tube 29 there is disposed a tubular delivery chute 31 which is disposed to provide a passage which -is downwardly inclined from the upper end 28 of passage 26 for movement of balls to a ball-catching device 32.

The pick-up element 29 is connected at its upper end to the upper end of the delivery chute 31 by a detlecting juncture including an air escape opening for reducing buoyant pressure on a ball in the upright passage 26 so that the ball may roll down said chute passage gently and be retained by the catching device 32. The deecting juncture provides for abrupt dissipation of air pressure at the upper end of tube 29 which causes the levitated ball to lose its momentum in passing into chute 31. It therefore travels down the chute without undue momentum. The deecting juncture comprises an apertured elbow generally denoted at 33 which is desirably made up of connecting rods 34 curving from the upper end of said pickup tube 29 to the upper end of the delivery chute 31. Rods 34 may be suitably secured to the adjacent ends of tube 29 and chute 31 and thus may serve as a support for tube 29 in cooperation with a welded connection 36. The rods 34 are connected to a curved deector 37 which directs levitated balls to the delivery chute 31 and provides intervening openings 35 for escape of air. Moditication may be resorted to with regard to the construction and arrangement of the deflecting juncture in accordance with the spirit of the invention. The deector 37 and the openings 35 may be termed an apertured deector.

The delivery chute 31 is depicted as secured to a wall of the cage as at 38 and the catching device 32 at the lower end of the chute is in the form of a ring-like member of a split type having its ends secured to the chute, the ring being disposed at a suitable angle near the cutaway portion of the chute indicated at 39 which allows a ball to be readily taken from the delivery chute by the operator.

From the preceding description, it will be manifest that my invention provides an improved delivery device for balls and it has been demonstrated that this device is reliable and eicient. Having described my invention, it will be understood that such changes and modifications may be resorted to as fairly come within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

l. In a ball mixing machine having a cage provided with an apertured floor through which a blast of air enters for tossing balls, a delivery device comprising a pick-up element providing an imperforated generally upright passage for balls, said pick-up element having a lower end and an upper end, said pick-up element spaced above said oor with its lower end at a height suiicient to freely admit a ball and disposed in alignment with the aperture in said oor, a delivery chute of eiectively tubular cross section, sloped downwardly from the upper end of said pick-up element and having a junction with said upper end of said pick-up element in which there is an opening to allow escape of air for pressure reduction, and a ball-catching device at the lower end of said delivery chute, eiectively in the longitudinal axis of said delivery tube, the lower end of said delivery tube being disposed exteriorly of said cage.

2. In a ball mixing machine having a cage provided with an apertured floor through which a blast of air enters for tossing balls, a delivery device comprising a pick-up element providing an imperforated generally upright passage for balls, said pick-up element having a lower end and an upper end, said pick-up element spaced above said oor with its lower end at a height sucient to freely admit a ball and disposed in alignment with the aperture in said Hoor, a delivery chute supported to slope downwardly from said upper end of said pick-up element and having a lower end disposed exteriorly of said cage, a ball catching device at said lower end of said delivery chute, and an apertured deector providing a connection between the upper ends of said pick-up element and said delivery chute and operative to allow escape of air for pressure reduction on a ball arriving at said upper end of said delivery chute after having been blown up said delivery chute.

3. In a ball mixing machine having a cage provided with an apertured floor through which a blast of air enters the cage for tossing balls, a delivery device comprising an imperforated pick-up tube supported in said cage to extend in a general upward direction with its lower end substantially in register with the air-blast aperture in said oor and spaced above said oor a distance Suthcient to allow a ball to enter said pick-up tube under the intluence of said air blast, a tubular delivery chute supported to slope downwardly from the upper end of said pick-up tube and having a lower end disposed exteriorly of said cage, a ball-catching device at said lower end of said delivery chute, and an open deector interposed between the upper ends of said pick-up tube and said delivery chute whereby a stream of air under pressure passing through said pick-.up tube may spend itself on reaching the upper end of said pick-up tube so that a ball entrained in the air stream will be subjected to a reduction in air pressure on being elevated to the upper end of said pick-up tube.

4. In a ball mixing machine having a cage provided with an apertured iloor through which a blast of air enters the cage for tossing balls, a delivery device comprising an imperforated pick-up tube supported in said cage to extend in a general upward direction with its lower end substantially in register with the air blast aperture in said floor and spaced above said floor a distance suihcient to allow a ball to enter said pick-up tube under the inlluence of said air blast, a tubular delivery chute supported to slope downwardly from the upper end of said pick-up tube and having a lower end disposed exteriorly of said cage, a ball-catching device at said lower end of said delivery chute, and an elbow-forming deflector providing a connection between the upper ends of said pick-up tube and said delivery chute, said deflector having therein at least one opening through which air may escape to reduce pressure on a levitated ball on its arriving at the upper end of said pick-up tube.

5. In a ball mixing machine having a cage provided with an apertured floor through which a blast of air enters the cage for tossing balls, a delivery device comprising an imperforated pick-up tube supported in said cage to extend in a general upward direction with its lower end substantially in register with the air-blast aper ture in said floor and spaced above said tloor a distance sutiicient to allow a ball to enter said pick-up tube under the iniluence of said air blast, a tubular delivery chute supported to slope downwardly from the upper end of said pick-up tube and having a lower end disposed exteriorly of said cage, a ball-catching device at said lower end of said delivery chute, and an elbow-forming deector made up of rods curving from the upper end of said pick-up tube to the upper end of said delivery chute, said rods secured together in spaced relation and providing intervening openings for escape of air to reduce pressure on a levitated ball on its arriving at the upper end of said pick-up tube.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,127,520 Rosen Feb. 9, 1915 2,765,171 Cook Oct. 2, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 552,168 Canada Jan. 28, 1958