US732444A - Bowling-alley. - Google Patents

Description

PATENTBD JUNE 30, 1903,

Y4 R um MAD MNM In WzT Hum WITNESSES:

EMIL REISKY, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK, ASSIGN OR TO THE BRUNSWIOK- Patented. J'u'zie 30, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

BALKE-OOLLENDER COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

BOWLING-ALLEY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 732,444, dated June 30, 1903.

Application filed February 4, 1902. Serial Ila. 92,499. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern;

Be it known that I, EMIL REISKY, of Buffalo, county of Erie, State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Bowling-Alleys; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification.

My invention relates to that part of a bowling-alley which is denominated the ball return-way,and especially to that style or construction of return-way made the subject of Letters Patent No. 599,447, to me granted as assignor February 22, 1898, and now almost exclusively used in this country. The novelty in this patented return-way of mine or the generic invention covered by said patent lies in a ball-track which has a descending portion at the vicinity of the pit end of the alley down which the ball rolls rapidly and to a level lower than that of the terminal at the players end, on which the homed balls congregate for reuse, and which also has an ascending portion or upgrade at the vicinity of the players end that merges into the terminal and in rolling up which (to get onto the terminal) the speed of the homed ball is so materially checked as to prevent any very serious or injurious smashing up together of the balls on the terminal. This patent return-way, though so far superior to all its predecessors as tohave practically wholly superseded them and although capable of perfection of operation under some of the practical conditions to which bowling-alley return-ways have to be used, is not perfect in its operation under all circumstances. It being understood that if said patented return-way having certain relative heights and proportions between the downgrade and the upgrade will result in a ball of a given size say the largest size usedjust traveling up the upgrade and landing at a minimum rate of speed on the terminal, it must follow that a ball of the smallest size will not roll up and onto the terminal, also that in the event of proportioning the parts so that a ball of the smallest size ever used will roll up onto the terminal it will inevitably result that the largest-sized ball will roll up the upgrade and ontothe terminal at an undesirably great rate of speed or too fast. In other words, while my patented return-way can be made to operate perfectly for either a given size of balls or to work with a practical degree of perfection in the use of, say, three or four of the larger sizes or for three or four of the smaller sizes, it cannot be made to work with satisfaction where all the various sizes of balls are to be homedsay all balls running from the regulation size, eight and six-tenths diameter to three and a halfinch diameter, inclusive. There is therefore room for improvement on my patented return way in the direction of rendering it capable of homing balls of all the various sizes from the regulation ball down to the smallest ball, inclusive, because while in some sections of the country and in some alleys only games are played requiring the use of one, two, or three of the larger sizes in other places a return-way is required that will home balls of all sizes from the largest to the smallest in the same desirable manner that my patented device will operate with balls of only three or four sizes. To add to my patented return-way this capability of operating equally well with balls of all sizes is the object of my present invention, which consists in a novel construction of the upgrade portion and ball-track, such as will be hereinafter fully described, so that a certain number of the smaller sizes of balls-say from three inches diameter to five, inclusive'-will roll on one set of ways or rail-contacting surfaces,the next seriessay from five and ahalf inches to six and a half, inclusiveon another set of ways set wider apart and also extending upwardly to a higher elevation at the terminal, and the next seriessay from balls of seven inches diameter to eight and sixtenths-on another set of still farther separated ways which extend to a higher elevation yet and from the extreme upper ends of which the homed balls have to make a short drop or sudden descent onto the rails of the terminal proper, as I will now more fully describe and as will be found most particularly pointed out in the claim of this specification. In the accompanying drawings, which form part of this specification, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a ball return-way made according to my present invention, but shown as if the long low-down horizontal portion of the balltrack were removed and the pit end and players end portions moved up close together in order to better show those portions within the space-limit of a Patent Office drawingsheet. Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal central section of the players end portion only of the contrivance seen at Fig. 1 and drawn on about twice as large a scale. Fig. 3 is a top view, on the same scale as Fig. 2, of the players end portion of the return-way. Fig. 4 is a cross-section at the dotted line 4 4, but showing all the parts of the device seen in elevation at Fig. 2 and drawn on a much larger scale than either Figs. 1, 2, or 3. Fig. 5 is another cross-sectional view on the same scale as Fig. 4 and taken at the dotted line 5 5 of Fig.1. Fig. 6 is another similar view of the last named, but taken at the dotted line 6 6 of Fig. 2.

In the several figures the same part will be found designated always by the same letter of reference.

A is the usual terminal of the ball returnway properly supported in a nearly horizontal position by suitable standards a 0. and the newel-post a at its rear end, toward which post, as usual, the said terminal slightly declines. From the forward end, so to speak, of this terminal A extends downwardly nearly to the level of the alley-floor the upgrade B, which in the present case is of peculiar construction and different from that of my patented return-way, the lower end of this upgrade merging into the long horizontal balltrack C, (which, as shown at Fig. 1, is almost wholly broken away to make more room for the drawings,) and said low-down horizontal portion 0 of the ball-track merges, as shown at Fig. 1, into the lower end of the sweep or downward incline of end portion D of the return-way, the said sweep having its rearmost end supported preferably by a post (1 through the medium of an adjustable supporting metallic device d, which is adapted to be raised and lowered within its post-strap d and to be secured and located in any desired position, to which it may be vertically adjusted by means of a locking-pin d, this metallic and adjustable device being preferably formed, as seen at Fig. 1, with an oblique or flared upper end, on which rests and to which may be flexibly secured the upper end portion of the said sweep D, and inasmuch as only a limited extent of adjustment may be requisite the said part D, it built suificiently light, may be bent or sprung to set its extreme pit end at slightly-dilferentelevations. The object of this feature of adjustment in the pit end portion of the return-way l) is about the same as that of the adjustable ball cage or hopper shown and described in my said patent and cuts and particularly figures in the matter of my present improvement.

The long low-down portion of the returnway 0 is preferably made in the form shown, consisting of a bottom board and two vertical sides or edge strips, the latter having their inner upper corners rounded to about a quarter-circle, as plainly shown in the drawings, and so that the balls while rolling on these rounded upper edges of the troughlike device will contact at different rollinglines thereon, according to the sizes of the balls.

At a point or locality at which the upgrade B has its lower end connected with or merged into the long low-down portion of the balltrack andfrom this up to the highermost point of said upgrade this device or portion B of the return-way is constructed on a different plan entirely from the upgrade shown and described in my patent, and this different and novel construction, which I will presently more fully explain, renders the said upgrade device capable of deliveri-ng'balls of all the different sizes onto the terminal A at a very low rate of speed and at approximately the same rate of speed and constitutes the novel feature of my present return-way. As this upgrade portion is in the first place formed or supplied with two parallel rails or ball-tracks b and b (see Figs. 2, 3, 4, and 5,) which are, as seen, located on the base a of the upgrade and which, extending from the points seen at Figs. 2 and 3, run upwardly on the said upgrade and also continue along on the bottom or surface of the return-way A and are set such a distance apart as illustrated by the series of circles drawn at Fig. 4 and illustrating diiferent sizes, balls from three to five inches,inelusive,';in diameter will roll or travel along on these ways I) and Z) without being disturbed by or contacting with at either side any other parts or portions of the upgrade portion of the return-way, although, as most clearly seen at Fig. 4, there are another set or pair of ball-rails b and b which project laterally and inwardly from the vertical sides of the main side-track pieces b and b of the upgrade. When, however, balls ranging in size from five and one-half to six and onehalf inches in diameter, inclusive, approach and roll up the upgrade, balls of such sizes come into contact with these laterally-projecting ways]; and I) (see Figs. 2, 3, and 4) until they reach the uppermost ends of said ways or the points 8 thereof, (see Fig. 2,) which points, it will be observed, are at a considerably-higher elevation than any points in the track-rails b and b from which highermost points 3 said series of balls will slightly descend or drop onto the bottom or ball-supporting portion of the terminal A. Now it will be seen that this last-named series of balls having thus to roll up the track-pieces b and b will, by reason, first, of said trackpieces being set farther apart than those on which the smaller series of balls travel to the terminal, and, second, by reason of being carried up to a higher elevation, as seen at the I I H i II.

points 3 Fig. 2, be caused to land from these points 3 onto the terminal at a much lower rate of speed than if they were allowed to travel to the terminal on the ways I) and b and, as matter of fact, will land on the terminal at approximately the same rate of speed as the smaller series of balls which do travel onto the terminalfrom the ways b and b As will be observed by reference again now to Fig. 4, all those balls ranging from six inches in diameter up to the largest size, inclusive, after partially ascending the upgrade B, while rolling along on the upper rounded inner edges of the side pieces a and a of the long low-down portion of the runway, will run onto the lowermost end portions of the more widely-separated Ways b I) (see Figs. 1, 2, and 3) and continue thereacross, thence on these track-pieces b b,which, as clearly shown, are inclined farther upwardly as they approach the extreme rear end of the upgrade, and the balls travelingvthereon will roll to a higher elevation than any of the others or up to the points s (see Figs. 1, 2, and 3,) from which they will suddenly descend or drop onto the side pieces a and a which extend rearwardly in the same vertical plane with the parts b b and constitute the side pieces of the terminal proper, A. Hence this larger series of balls traveling upwardly and rearwardly to their landing place on the track-rails b b are not only more widely separated than the rails of either of the other two tracks, but also run up to a higher elevation before permitting the landing of the balls onto the terminal proper at a much lower rate of speed than if they rolled up on either of the other two balltracks and, as matter of fact, will he landed on said terminal at approximately the same rate of speed as that at which all the other or two series of smaller balls are landed.

Thus by means of this novel constructionembodying a series of ball tracks or rails each constituting a track of different width from either of the others and each ascending to different points of elevation before permitting the balls rolling on it to pass onto the terminal proper I am enabled, as will be clearly understood, to so regulate the speed of the balls ascending the upgrade as to make those of the various sizes of an-entire set of balls translated from the upgrade onto the terminal proper roll at approximately the same rate of speed, and thus again the great desideratum of landing all the balls on the terminal in that type of return-way to which my present invention relates, so as to avoid all injurious contacting of the balls, while at the same time balls of the smallest size can be used with the same results or advantages as can those of the largest size, and vice versa.

Of course it being understood that the pith and essence of my present invention rests in the idea of providing a series of ball rails or tracks of various widthsv and on which the balls have to roll to variouselevations, but landing on the terminal proper, it is not material to my invention whether three or more tracks or sets of ball-rails be employed or whether the precise manner of the carrying into effect this idea (shown in the drawings) be adopted or whether by equivalent means or mere modification in carrying out my invention the same efiects be produced by substantially the same means.

I therefore wish it to be distinctly understood that, irrespective of the precise detailed constructions shown and described under various modifications as to form and proportions in which my invention may be carried into efiect, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

In a ball return-way of the type hereinbefore alluded to, the combination, with the low-down portion; and with the elevated terminal, of the ball-track, of an upgrade which comprises a series of tracks, or rolling surfaces, to accommodate, respectively, balls of different sizes, and constructed so thatthe balls of various sizes are delivered, thereby, though from slightly different elevations, onto the said elevated terminal; and at, approximately, the same rate of speed; all as hereinbefore set forth.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 29th day of January, 1902.

EMIL REISKY. [1 s.

In presence of- GEO. E. FINOH, HENRY P. IDE.

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