GB2214909A - Conveying apparatus for e.g. amusement machine - Google Patents

Abstract

Conveying apparatus comprises a square-sectioned support 2 up which a single stack of balls or other objects 3 is conveyed. A rotatable cam 8 and a retainer 7, operate together to cause the stack of objects to be conveyed from an entry point 2a to an exit point 2b of support 2. In an amusement machine, a movable ball catcher 13 is mounted on a wheeled bogey 15 drivable in either direction by a motor 21 via a bolt 20, and the cam 8 is driven by a motor 9. The retainer 7 is a leaf spring. <IMAGE>

Description

CONVEYING APPARATUS The present invention relates to apparatus for conveying objects.

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided apparatus for conveying objects, comprising an elongate support along which, in use, objects are conveyed, entry and exit points spaced apart along the longitudinal axis of the support at which the objects enter and leave the support, and conveying means located at said entry point and operable to convey objects along the support.

Typically, the support would be oriented such that the exit point is higher than the entry point, and the apparatus is particularly suited to conveying objects vertically with the exit point located directly above the entry point.

Where the apparatus is used to convey objects from a first level to a second higher level, the conveying means comprises, in combination, a pusher and a retainer which cooperate to achieve the desired conveying effect.

The retainer is preferably resiliently biased into engagement with the last or lowest object on the support to prevent it from returning to the entry position, and is pushed aside by operation of the pusher which at the same time pushes a further object upwardly and/or forwardly along the support.

In this way, a line of objects is built up which is then conveyed along the support in steps each time a further object is lifted by the conveying means, the distance the objects are moved forward at each step being determined by the size of the objects conveyed.

The retainer preferably takes the form of a spring such as a leaf spring at least a portion of which extends, in its rest position, into the path of the objects being conveyed.

The pusher preferably takes the form of a cam adapted for rotation about an axis which extends substantially perpendicularly to the longitudinally axis of the support.

The cam is conveniently arranged such that, on each rotation of the cam, it engages an object which has previously been located at the entry point and pushes it upwardly and/or forwardly, and at the same time forces aside the retainer.

The cam preferably takes the form of a curved arm in a shape of a scythe extending from a central body, the cam being rotatable about an axis passing through the centre of the central body. By rotating the cam at speeds of up to 175 to 200 revolutions per minute, a desired conveying action may be achieved. If the cam is rotated faster than 200 revolutions per minute, problems may be encountered due to the objects bouncing and jamming the mechanism.

The support conveniently takes the form of a hollow tube of square cross-section, the size of the square crosssection being just large enough to accommodate a single line or stack of objects.

A conveying apparatus of the present invention has many different applications, but it has been found particularly suitable for incorporation into a bagatelletype of amusement game in which balls are caused to roll down a slope in a random manner.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided amusement apparatus comprising a playing surface which is, at least in use, sloped, and a receiving device located at the bottom of the sloped surface and movable by a player to receive objects previously caused to roll down the slope.

The object of the game is to catch a certain number of balls in the receiving device in a certain lengthy of time.

If the player is successful in achieving this object, then he wins a prize which may be either goods or money, and for this purpose a prize dispenser is incorporated in the apparatus.

Preferably the apparatus includes a microprocessor which controls the operation of the game and which is programmable towards the number of balls and time limit required to win the game.

The receiving device is preferably a cup-shaped body mounted on a trolley or bogey which is adapted to travel along a predetermined path. The bogey is preferably mounted on a timing belt, the latter being located around pullies driven either by two single direction motors, or a single two directional motor. The motor is operated by the player pressing "left" and "right" buttons on the outside of the apparatus to cause the timing belt and hence the bogey and receiving device to move one way or the other to catch the balls.

Irregularities or obstacles are provided on or in association with the surface to cause the balls to spread out randomly over the width of the surface as they roll down, so that the player has to use his skill to move the receiving device accordingly to catch the balls. Although the balls are caused to roll down the slope one by one, the obstacles delay the progress of some of the balls more than others, so that they may reach the bottom in very quick succession.

It is possible that the balls may be manually lifted from the base of the slope to the top, but for a more efficient operation the apparatus includes a conveying device such as that described above to automatically lift the balls which collect at the bottom of the slope to the top of the slope.

To ensure continuous operation of the device, a feed path is located between the base of the slope and the entry point of the conveying device, the entry point being lower than the base of the slope to allow the balls to arrive under the action of gravity at the entry point to the conveyor.

The amusement apparatus is preferably coin operated so that once a coin is inserted the microprocessor will cause the cam to rotate a predetermined number of times to convey a certain number of balls to the top of the slope from whence they are released to roll down the slope.

The ball receiving device conveniently includes a hole of a suitable size to allow any balls caught in it to fall through into a hopper beneath the predetermined path of the receiving device, the hopper extending across the width of the slope. Each time a ball is caught and passes through the receiving device, a switch is tripped to count the number of balls caught.

A prize dispenser, which is preferably located above the slope, is activated to dispense a prize if the required conditions are fulfilled.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a front view of an amusement apparatus incorporating a conveying device; Figure 2 is a side view of the apparatus of Figure 1; Figure 3 is an end elevation of a ball receiving device used in the apparatus of Figures 1 and 2.

Referring to the drawings, a conveying apparatus according to a first aspect of the invention is described in combination with an amusement apparatus according to a second aspect of the invention. It should be appreciated however that the conveying apparatus could equally be applied to convey many different objects in different applications, just as the amusement apparatus may incorporate any equivalent conveying device.

The conveying apparatus comprises an elongate support 2 in the form of a square section hollow tube of a size such as to accommodate a single stack of balls 3. The entry point 2a of the housing 2 is open and communicates with a similar housing 4 which defines a feed path for returning balls 5.

The conveying means 6 comprises, in combination, a pusher 8 in the form of a cam and a retainer 7 in the form of a leaf spring. The cam 8 comprises a central body 8a and a laterally extending curved arm 8b in the shape of a scythe.

The cam body Sa is mounted for rotation about an axis 8c in the direction shown by arrow A, the cam being driven by a motor 9.

On each rotation of the cam, a returning ball or other object 5 previously caused to enter the entry point 2a of the housing is lifted by the cam arm 8b into a position previously occupied by the lowest ball in the stack. At the same time, the edge of the cam arm pushes aside portion 7a of the leaf spring 7 which had previously served to retain the lowest ball in the stack, the leaf spring returning after the cam arm has passed to its rest position, this time engaging the recently lifted ball.

The speed of revolution of the cam is ideally 110 revolutions per minute, but it should be appreciated that any suitable speed may be used, for example 0 to 200 revolutions per minute.

Thus, the stack of balls 3 is gradually lifted step wise by continuous rotation of the cam.

At the exit point 2b of housing 2, the balls are released one by one to roll down a sloped surface 10 on which obstacles such as nails 11 and rubber pillars 12 are provided to delay and randomise the progress of the balls down the slope.

At the bottom of the slope a ball receiving device or ball catcher 13 is mounted for movement to the left and right along a path which extends across the width of the slope.

Beneath the ball catcher 13, which has a hole 13a in the base to allow balls to pass through, is a ball hopper 14 which extends for the same width and in the same direction as the path of the ball catcher. The hopper 14 is sloped downwardly towards its centre, to allow the balls to collect in the centre and roll down a feed tube 4 with which it communicates to return to the entry point of the conveyor.

The ball catcher is mounted on a trolley or bogey 15 of U-shaped construction. On each arm of the bogey is mounted two pairs of wheels 16,17 (four in total) which roll along tracks 18,19, the tracks extending across the width of the slope at the base thereof. The bogey 15 is mounted on a timing belt 20 which is located around an anchored motor 21 and a freely rotating wheel 22. The motor 21 is operated in one direction by the player pushing one of two buttons 25,26, and in the opposite direction by the player pushing the other button.

In use, a player operates the apparatus by inserting a coin through slot 27. This triggers a microprocessor to cause the motor 9 to rotate the cam a predetermined number of times to convey a certain number of balls upwardly to exit point 2b. As the balls roll down the slope, the player attempts to catch as many balls as he can in the catcher 13 by operating buttons 25,26. If he catches the required number of balls in the required time as determined by the microprocessor, a prize 30 is dispensed through apperature 28 from a prize hopper 29. The prize hopper includes a visible window 32 through which the prizes may be viewed.

An LED display 31 shows the score which increases by one each time the ball is caught in the ball catcher, the score being updated by triggering of a switch by passage of the ball through the ball catcher.

The prize, once dispensed from apperture 28, rolls down the glass sheet 35 covering the slope 10 to be collected by the player.

Claims (21)

1. Apparatus for conveying objects, comprising an elongate support along which, in use, objects are conveyed, entry and exit points spaced apart along the longitudinal axis of the support at which the objects enter and leave the support, and conveying means located at said entry point and operable to convey objects along the support.

2. Apparatus according to Claim 1 in which the exit point is higher than the entry point.

3. Apparatus according to Claim 2 in which the conveying means comprises, in combination, a pusher and a retainer which cooperate to achieve the desired conveying effect.

4. Apparatus according to Claim 3 in which the retainer is resiliently biased into engagement with the last or lowest object on the support to prevent it from returning to the entry position, and is pushed aside by operation of the pusher which at the same time pushes a further object upwardly and/or forwardly along the support.

5. Apparatus according to Claim 3 or Claim 4 in which the retainer takes the form of a leaf spring at least a portion of which extends, in its rest position, into the path of the objects being conveyed.

6. Apparatus according to any of Claims 3 to 5 in which the pusher takes the form of a cam adapted for rotation about an axis which extends substantially perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis of the support.

7. Apparatus according to Claim 6 in which the cam is arranged such that, on each rotation of the cam, it engages an object which has previously been located at the entry point and pushes it upwardly and/or forwardly, and at the same time forces aside the retainer.

8. Apparatus according to Claim 6 or Claim 7 in which the cam takes the form of a curved arm in the shape of a scythe extending from a central body, the cam being rotatable about an axis passing through the centre of the central body.

9. Apparatus according to any of the preceding Claims in which the support takes the form of a hollow tube of square cross-section.

10. Amusement apparatus comprising a playing surface which is, at least in use, sloped, and a receiving device located at the bottom of the sloped surface and movable by a player to receive objects previously caused to roll down the slope.

11. Amusement apparatus according to Claim 10 in which the receiving device is a cup-shaped body mounted on a trolley or bogey which is adapted to travel along a predetermined path.

12. Amusement apparatus according to Claim 11 in which the bogey is mounted on a timing belt, the latter being located around two pullies driven either by two single direction motors or a single two-directional motor.

13. Amusement apparatus according to Claim 12,in which the motor or motors are operated by the player pressing "left" and "right" buttons on the outside of the apparatus.

14. Amusement apparatus according to any of the preceding Claims in which irregularities or obstacles are provided on or in association with the surface to cause the objects to spread out randomly over the width of the surface as they roll down.

15. Amusement apparatus according to any of Claims 10 to 14 and including apparatus according to any of Claims 1 to 9 to cause the objects to be lifted from the bottom of the playing surface to the top.

16. Amusement apparatus according to Claim 15 in which a feed path is located between the base of the surface and the entry point of the conveying apparatus, the entry point being lower than the base of the surface to allow the objects to arrive under the action of gravity at the entry point.

17. Amusement apparatus according to any of Claims 10 to 16 which is coin-operated, insertion of a coin causing the cam to rotate a predetermined number of times.

18. Amusement apparatus according to Claim 10 and substantially as herein described.

19. Amusement apparatus substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

20. Conveying apparatus according to Claim 1 and substantially as herein described.

21. Conveying apparatus substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.