JPH11206953A - Ball returning device for bowling - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a ball returning device which is used to return a thrown ball to the side of a player wherein a malfunction, which is caused by rebounded pins, can be avoided. SOLUTION: The ball returning device for bowling includes an open/closure door 7A which is provided at an opening 6A for introducing a ball and held at a closed position by a spring 23a, a door lock means 30A, which can be unlocked, to lock the door 7A at a closed position, a sensing means 40A to sense a ball received by the door 7A at its closed position, and a ball sending- out means to send out a ball which pushes open the door 7A and comes in after the means 30A is unlocked. And the door lock means 30A is switched from a lock state to an unlock state only when the ball sensing means 40A senses balls successively during a set time.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a ball returning device used for returning a thrown ball to a player in an entertainment / sports bowling facility.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A ball returning device used in a bowling facility receives a ball on a pin-conveying conveyor connected to the end of a lane and sends the ball to a ball returning path to a player. Opening / closing door provided in the ball entry opening and held in the closed position by a spring, unlockable door lock means for locking the opening / closing door in the closed position, and actuated by a ball received by the open / closed door in the closed position And a ball sending-out means for pushing open the opening / closing door after the door lock means is unlocked and sending out the entered ball.

However, in this type of conventional ball returning device, the door lock means is configured to switch from the locked state to the unlocked state in conjunction with the movement of the ball sensing piece.

[0004]

In the conventional ball returning device as described above, the ball sensing piece exposed on the front side of the opening / closing door naturally has the pin scattered on the pin conveying conveyor. The ball sensing piece is located at a position where the pin is unlikely to collide as much as possible, for example, at a position as close as possible to the upper end of the opening and closing door. Even if the ball sensing piece is disposed in the door, it is not always the case that there is no risk of the ball sensing piece being actuated due to the collision of the pin. As a result, the ball is pushed open, and a pin enters the ball returning device, thereby making it impossible to return the ball.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a ball returning device which can solve the above-mentioned conventional problems. The opening and closing door 7A provided in the ball entry opening 6A and held in the closed position by the spring 23a, a door unlocking means 30A that can unlock the opening and closing door 7A in the closed position,
Bowling provided with detection means 40A for the ball B received by the opening / closing door 7A at the closed position, and ball sending means 4 for sending out the ball B which has entered by opening and closing the opening / closing door 7A after unlocking the door locking means 30A. Ball return device, wherein the door lock means 3
0A is configured to switch from the locked state to the unlocked state only when the ball detecting means 40A is continuously in the ball detecting state during the set time.

Incidentally, specifically, the ball detecting means 4
Reference numeral 0A denotes a ball sensing piece 42 that can move back and forth with respect to the surface of the opening and closing door 7A, a spring 43 that holds the ball sensing piece 42 at a protruding position, and a ball sensing piece provided around the opening and closing door 7A. A switch operating piece 44 that moves in conjunction with 42 and a detection switch 45 that is provided around the ball entry opening 6A and that is activated by the movement of the switch operating piece 44 can be configured.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. A ball returning device shown in the accompanying drawings is provided between left and right lanes and is used in both lanes. B is a type which sends out the ball B to one ball return path between both lanes, and has two rows of ball guide rails 3 for guiding the ball B to the ball return path in a casing 2 having moving wheels 1. And ball sending means 4 for sending the ball B to the ball return path side on the ball guide rail 3, and the pin transfer conveyors located on both left and right sides of the ball returning device are provided on both side plates 5 of the casing 2. (Not shown) Ball entry openings 6A and 6B for receiving the ball B from above are provided, and open / close doors 7A and 7B are provided in each of the ball entry openings 6A and 6B.

The ball sending means 4 comprises a swing frame 11 which can swing up and down within a certain range around a horizontal support shaft 10, and a rotating body 1 pivotally supported at both front and rear ends of the swing frame 11.
2, 13 and the ball sending belt 14 stretched between the rotating bodies 12 and 13, and the swing frame 11 so as to hold the large-diameter rotating body 12 on the front end side at the lower limit position. A spring 15 and a large-diameter rotary body 12 on the front end side are connected to a motor 19 interlocked via pulleys 16 and 17 and a belt 18. The motor 19 drives the large-diameter rotary body 12 on the front end side to rotate. Ball delivery belt 14
By rotating the ball B in the ball sending direction, the ball B sandwiched between the ball guide rail 3 and the ball sending belt 14 can be forcibly sent out to the ball return path.

The opening / closing doors 7A, 7B provided in parallel with the ball entry openings 6A, 6B are of a symmetrical structure, and are horizontally swingable inside the side plates 5 by vertical support shafts 20a, 20b. Door support arms 21a, 21 supported
b, can be horizontally swung between a closed position shown by a solid line in FIG. 2 and an open position shown by an imaginary line, and is mounted inside each of the door support arms 21 a and 21 b and the casing side plate 5. Spring locking members 22a, 22
b is held at a closed position for closing the ball entry openings 6A, 6B by springs 23a, 23b suspended between the opening 23A and the spring 23b.

Further, each door support arm 21a, 21b
When each is in the closed position, the vertical support shaft 20 supporting the door support arms 21b and 21a on the other side is provided.
b, 20a, a substantially triangular protrusion 25a, 25 having an arcuate concave curved surface 24a, 24b in a plan view.
b are formed, and a pair of guide rollers 26a, 26b are pivotally supported by these protrusions 25a, 25b at intervals in the swinging direction of the door support arms 21a, 21b.
Thus, each of the pair of guide rollers 26a, 26
As shown in FIG. 4, b is disposed vertically below and below the one protruding portion 25a and above the other protruding portion 25b, and as shown by a virtual line in FIG. When the other opening / closing door 7B (or 7A) is opened to the open position while the one opening / closing door 7A (or 7B) is in the closed position, a pair of guide rollers 26b on the other opening / closing door 7B (or 7A) side. (Or 26a) enters the inside of the concave curved surface 24a (or 24b) of the protruding portion 25a (or 25b) on the one opening / closing door 7A (or 7B) side, and the one opening / closing door 7A (or 7B) closes. It is configured so as to prevent the door from opening.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the doors 7A and 7B are provided with door lock means 30A and 30B, respectively. Each of the door lock means 30A and 30B has the same structure, and includes a door stopper 31 which can be freely moved back and forth, a spring 32 which holds the door stopper 31 at the limit lock position, and a solenoid which switches the door stopper 31 to the lock position at which the door lock is limited. 33 are provided.

More specifically, the door stopper 31
Is connected to the tip of the moving body 34, and the moving body 3
4 is a substrate 3 mounted inside the casing side plate 5
The upper and lower slide guides 36 are supported so as to be able to reciprocate only within a certain range via a long hole 37 and a pin 38, and the rear end of the movable body 34 and the actuator 33a of the solenoid 33 are connected to a pin 39. The spring 32 is hung between the pin 39 and the slide guide 36. Note that the door stopper 31 at the advance limit lock position is the door 7A at the closed position,
The door 7A is engaged with the inside of the doors 7A and 7B to prevent the door 7A from opening.
When the doors 7A, 7B are moved to the closed position, the doors 7A, 7B,
At the periphery of 7B, it is pushed away against the spring 32,
When the doors 7A and 7B reach the closed positions, the doors 7A and 7B are returned to the advance limit locking position by the spring 32, and
A, 7B can be locked in the closed position.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the doors 7A and 7B are provided with ball detecting means 40A and 40B, respectively. Each of the ball detecting means 40A and 40B has the same structure, and is capable of detecting a ball which can move back and forth with respect to the surfaces of the doors 7A and 7B via a through hole 41 provided at the center of the doors 7A and 7B. A piece 42, a spring 43 for holding the ball sensing piece 42 in a protruding position,
A switch actuating piece 44 provided at an upper portion around the opening and closing doors 7A and 7B and moving in conjunction with the ball sensing piece 42
And a detection switch 45 that is attached to the inside of the casing side plate 5 around the ball entry openings 6A and 6B and that is activated by the movement of the switch operating piece 44.

More specifically, the ball sensing piece 42
Is attached to the lower end of the lower part of an L-shaped lever 47 whose bending portion is pivotally supported by a horizontal support shaft 46 within a certain range on the upper inside of the opening and closing doors 7A and 7B. The lower end horizontal shaft portion 48a of the elevating rod 48 is attached to the upper end of the elevating rod 48 that penetrates upwardly and downwardly through projecting portions 7a, 7b protruding inward from the upper portions of the doors 7A, 7B. The front end of the lower end horizontal shaft portion 48a of the elevating rod 48 is engaged with the opening / closing doors 7A and 7B (specifically, the opening / closing doors 7A and 7B).
The spring 43 is hung between the door support arms 21a and 21b supporting B. Therefore, the lifting rod 48 is moved by the urging force of the spring 43.
Is lowered, and the switch operating piece 44 is opened and closed by the doors 7A and 7B.
Of the ball sensing piece 42 through the L-shaped lever 47 while being held at the lowermost position where the ball sensing piece 42 abuts on the overhang portions 7a and 7b.
Is held at a projecting position projecting a predetermined amount from the center of the surface of the opening / closing doors 7A, 7B.

The detection switch 45 uses a limit switch, and a roller 45b pivotally supported at the end of an actuator 45a at the limit position is provided with a switch operating piece 44 of the opening / closing doors 7A and 7B at a closed position.
Abut on top. The ball detection signal 45a (detection signal when the actuator 45a is pushed up by the switch operating pieces 44 on the doors 7A and 7B) from the detection switch 45 is input to the control means 50. Only when the ball detection signal 45a is continuously input for a set time (for example, one second), the door lock release signal 50a is output and the solenoid 33 of the corresponding door lock means 30A, 30B is operated. Have been.

According to the ball returning device having the above-described configuration, for example, the ball B that has entered together with the pin on the pin conveying conveyor adjacent to the ball entry opening 6A of the ball returning device is guided by the guide on the pin conveying conveyor. 4B is guided to the ball entry opening 6A side of the ball return device.
As shown by the imaginary line in FIG. 3, the ball is received at the center of the surface of the opening / closing door 7A closing the ball entry opening 6A. At this time, the ball B pushes the ball sensing piece 42 protruding at the center of the surface of the opening / closing door 7A against the spring 43, and the elevating rod 48 is pushed up via the L-shaped lever 47, and the switch operating piece is pushed. 44
Rises. When the switch operating piece 44 rises, the actuator 45a of the detection switch 45 is pushed up to operate the detection switch 45, and the ball detection signal 45
a is input to the control means 50.

When the ball B continuously pushes the ball sensing piece 42 of the door 7A in the closed position for a set time (for example, 1 second), the ball detection signal 45a continues for a set time (for example, 1 second). Input to the control means 50, the control means 50 transmits the door unlock signal 50.
is output, and the solenoid 33 of the door lock means 30A shown in FIG. 3 is operated. Therefore, the door stopper 3
1 moves back to the retreat limit position (see the phantom line in FIG. 5) against the spring 32, and the lock on the door 7A is released. At this time, the ball B pushing the door 7A is opened and closed. Door 7A with spring 23
The ball is pushed open against a and enters the ball returning device from the ball entry opening 6A (see the phantom line in FIG. 2). The control means 50 activates the solenoid 33 for a set time. After the opening / closing door 7A (or 7B) is pushed and opened by the ball B, the door stopper 31 is returned to the original limit lock position by the spring 32.

The ball B that has entered the ball returning device is
The ball is transferred onto the ball guide rail 3 and is sent out onto a ball return path by a ball sending belt 14 driven by a motor 19 of the ball sending means 4 as indicated by phantom lines in FIGS.

In addition, the ball B which has entered together with the pin on the pin conveying conveyor adjacent to the ball entry opening 6B of the ball returning device pushes the opening / closing door 7B closing the ball entry opening 6B in the same manner as described above. It opens and enters the ball returning device, and the motor 19 of the ball sending means 4
The ball is sent out onto the ball return path by the ball sending belt 14 driven by. The opening / closing doors 6A and 6B respectively closing the ball entrance openings 6A and 6B on the left and right sides are respectively pushed and opened by the ball B, but are pushed and opened by the ball B as shown by phantom lines in FIG. The opened door 7A or 7B prevents the other door 7B or 7A from opening, so that the ball B does not simultaneously enter the ball returning device from the left and right ball entry openings 6A and 6B. .

When the ball B enters the ball returning device, the opening / closing door 7A or 7B pushed and opened by the ball B immediately moves to the spring 23a or 2b.
It automatically returns to the closed position by the biasing force of 3b, automatically engages with the door stopper 31 that has already returned to the original advance limit locking position, and is locked again at the closed position.

[0021]

As described above, according to the ball returning apparatus of the present invention, the door locking means for locking the door for opening and closing the ball entry opening at the closed position detects the ball received by the openable door at the closed position. Since the ball detecting means is configured to be switched from the locked state to the unlocked state only when the ball detecting means is continuously in the ball detecting state during the set time, the set time is
Even if the ball detecting means detects a pin that has been bounced off, it is only necessary to set it appropriately longer than the detection duration when the ball detecting means detects the pin that has been bounced off.
Since the detection continuation time is almost instantaneous, there is no possibility that the door is unlocked.

Therefore, even if the ball detecting means detects the jumped pin, there is no danger that the pin pushes the open / close door and enters the ball return device, and the open / close door is pushed and opened only with the ball. As a result, the ball can be made to enter the ball returning device, so that there is no risk of failure or malfunction due to the entry of the pin into the device, and the reliability of the device is improved. Further, in the case of the conventional device, the ball detection position of the ball detection means must be set to a position where the pin is unlikely to be detected as much as possible, for example, a position as high as possible above the opening / closing door. The ball sensing position of the detection means is
It is only necessary to be at a position where the ball received by the opening / closing door can be reliably detected, and the design is easy.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the detection switch which requires an electrical wiring operation is disposed at a position around the ball entry opening, the detection switch is opened and closed. Compared to the case where it must be attached to the door itself, it is easy to implement and can be configured at low cost.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional side view of the entire apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional plan view of a main part of the device.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing a configuration of one openable door and its related means.

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional front view of a main part of the apparatus.

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional front view showing one side openable door and its door locking means.

[Explanation of symbols]

 3 Ball guide rail 4 Ball sending means 6A, 6B Ball entry opening 7A, 7B Opening / closing door 21a, 21b Door support arm 23a, 23b Spring 30A, 30B Door locking means 31 Door stopper 32 Spring 33 Solenoid 40A, 40B Ball detecting means 42 Ball sensing piece 43 Spring 44 Switch actuation piece 45 Detection switch 45a Ball detection signal 47 L-shaped lever 48 Lifting rod 50 Control means 50a Door lock release signal

Claims (2)

[Claims] An open / close door provided in a ball entry opening and held in a closed position by a spring, unlockable door lock means for locking the open / close door in a closed position, and an open / close door in a closed position. A bowling ball returning device comprising: a ball detecting means for detecting a ball to be received; and a ball sending means for sending out a ball that has entered by opening and closing an opening / closing door after unlocking the door locking means, wherein the door locking means comprises: A bowling ball returning device configured to switch from the locked state to the unlocked state only when the ball detecting means is continuously in the ball detecting state for the set time. 2. The ball detecting means according to claim 1, wherein said ball detecting means is provided at a peripheral portion of said opening / closing door, a spring holding said ball sensing piece at a protruding position, said ball detecting piece being movable back and forth with respect to a surface of said opening / closing door. 2. The bowling ball according to claim 1, comprising: a switch actuating piece that moves in conjunction with the ball sensing piece; and a detection switch provided around the ball entry opening and actuated by movement of the switch actuating piece. 3. Return device.