Surface ball game apparatus

A ball game apparatus having a playing surface in the shape of an inverted cone surrounded by an upstanding cylindrical wall. An air blower circulates game balls continuously along the circular periphery of the playing surface at the inside of this wall. A ball striker is selectively adjustable along this wall and it has a pivoted striker arm which can be actuated from a retracted position on the outside of the wall to a ball-deflecting position on the inside in the path of game balls along the periphery of the playing surface. Pivoted targets are located in front of the air blower on the opposite of the apex of the playing surface from the striker.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates to a game apparatus in which a player directs a game 
ball across a playing surface toward a target. 
In accordance with a presently preferred embodiment, this game apparatus 
has a conical playing surface having the apex of the cone as the high 
point. One or more game balls are blown continuously along the periphery 
of this playing surface by an air blower. A ball striker or deflector is 
selectively movable pivotally from a retracted position, in which it is 
out of the way of the game balls rolling along the periphery of the 
playing surface, to a ball-deflecting position, in which it is momentarily 
the path of the next game ball to arrive, deflecting that game ball to 
roll across the conical playing surface toward a target. The ball striker 
may also be moved by the player circumferentially along the periphery of 
the playing surface as one more selective control factor which determines 
how the ball will be directed across the playing surface toward a target. 
Preferably, a series of pivotally suspended targets are positioned in 
succession across the playing surface on the opposite side of its high 
point from the ball striker and in front of the air blower to shield it. 
A principal object of this invention is to provide a novel surface ball 
game apparatus which tests a player's skill, particularly the eye and hand 
coordination. 
A principal object of this invention is to provide such a game apparatus 
having a conical playing surface along whose periphery one or more game 
balls roll continuously until struck by a ball striker whose operation and 
position along the periphery of the playing surface are under a player's 
control. 
Further objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent from the 
following detailed description of a presently preferred embodiment, which 
is illustrated schematically in the accompanying drawings.

Before explaining the disclosed embodiment of the present invention in 
detail it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its 
application to the details of the particular arrangement shown since the 
invention is capable of other embodiments. Also, the terminology used 
herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. 
DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
The present game apparatus has a circular housing 10 (FIG. 2) on top of a 
vertical post 11 which extends up from a base (not shown) resting on the 
floor. The housing has a rigid cylindrical side wall 14 extending down to 
a rigid horizontal bottom wall 15 inside the side wall 14 at its lower 
end. Referring to FIG. 4, about one-third of the way down along its side 
wall 14 the housing presents a horizontal dividing wall 16. A cylindrical 
inner wall 17 extends vertically between dividing wall 16 and the top 
cover 13 a short distance inward from the housing side wall 14. Walls 14 
and 17 are concentric and both are transparent, preferably. The playing 
surface of the game apparatus is the top face of a rigid panel 18 in the 
shape of a shallow, inverted cone located inside the cylindrical inner 
wall 17 immediately above the horizontal dividing wall 16. The apex of the 
cone 18a (FIG. 4), which is the high point of the playing surface, is at 
the conjoint axis of housing walls 14 and 17, directly below the center of 
the circular top cover 13. 
If desired, the playing surface panel 18 could be of convex rounded 
curvature on the top, instead of being conical, preferably with its high 
point at the center. 
Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, for somewhat less than 90 degrees of the 
circumference of the housing side wall 14, the space between this wall and 
the cylindrical inner wall 17 defines an arcuate guideway 19 for the 
arcuate base 20 of a ball striker or deflector which has a striker arm 21 
pivotally mounted on the base 20 at 20a and normally aligned vertically 
with the base. The opposite limits of movement of base 20 along the 
housing guideway 19 are shown in phantom in FIG. 3. The inner wall 17 of 
the housing is formed with an arcuate, horizontally elongated slot 22 
(FIGS. 2, 3 and 4) located just above the playing surface at the periphery 
of the conical panel 18 and at the same level as the striker arm 21. A 
player may actuate the striker arm to pivot momentarily from its normal, 
retracted position outside the inner wall 17 to an inwardly displaced 
position, as shown in full lines in FIG. 3, in which it extends through 
the slot 22 past the inner wall 17 and in the path of a game ball B 
rolling along the periphery of the conical panel 18 (which is the low 
point of the playing surface) inside the inner housing wall 17. 
Consequently, the ball will strike the arm 21 and be deflected by it 
across the playing surface in a direction determined by the velocity of 
the ball just before striking the arm, the circumferential position of the 
striker arm along the periphery of the playing surface, and the timing of 
the inward actuation of the striker arm 21 to strike the ball. 
The circumferential position of the striker arm 21 and its base 20 is 
determined by an elongated, horizontal, pivoted handle 23 (FIG. 4) which 
is accessible at a relatively large side opening 24 in the housing side 
wall 14 (FIGS. 2 and 4) below the horizontal dividing wall 16 of the 
housing. Handle 23 is located just above the bottom wall 15 of the 
housing. It extends horizontally out from a vertical shaft 25, which is 
rotatably supported by the housing walls 15 and 16 in vertical alignment 
with the central apex 18a of the conical playing surface. Just below wall 
16, shaft 25 carries a horizontal arm 26 on whose outer end is mounted the 
base 20 of the ball striker. Both the handle 23 and the arm 26 are rigidly 
fastened to shaft 25, so that the ball striker will follow the movement of 
handle 23 circumferentially of the housing. The housing has internal 
vertical walls 27 and 28 (FIG. 3) which extend between the housing walls 
15 and 16 and meet on the opposite side of shaft 25 from the side wall 
opening 24. These walls 27 and 28 provide limit stops for the handle 23 in 
either direction. 
On the opposite side of the playing surface from the arcuate slot 22 is an 
air blower 30 driven by a small electric motor 31 (FIGS. 4 and 6). The 
blower is covered by a canopy piece 32 which projects up through aligned 
openings in the horizontal dividing wall 16 and the playing surface panel 
18. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, this canopy is spaced inward from the 
cylindrical inner wall 17 of the housing enough to permit playing balls B 
to pass between them but close enough that the air comes out of the blower 
almost parallel to the inner wall 17 and creates a relatively 
non-turbulent flow of air circumferentially along the periphery of the 
playing surface just inside the inner wall 17. This circumferential stream 
of air causes the game balls to roll along the periphery of the playing 
surface continuously until struck by the striker arm 21 when it is 
actuated by a player. In one practical embodiment, the speed of each game 
ball is such that is completes a revolution along the periphery of the 
conical playing surface in about 1.2 seconds. 
The striker arm 21 is actuated momentarily by a solenoid 35 (FIGS. 4 and 5) 
attached to the bottom of arm 26 and under the control of a 
pushbutton-operated switch 36 (FIG. 4) on the outer end of handle 23. When 
solenoid 35 is energized by closing switch 36, it pulls in a horizontally 
slidable plunger 37 which extends from the solenoid toward the striker arm 
21 and its base 20. An actuator arm 38 has a sleeve 38a on its inner end 
(FIG. 5) which is fastened to the solenoid plunger 37. The outer end of 
actuator arm 38 is pivotally coupled at 39 to the ball striker arm 21 at a 
location spaced from the pivotal connection at 20a of the striker arm 21 
to its base 20. A pair of guides 40 and 41 on the bottom of arm 26 
slidably receive the solenoid plunger 37. A coil spring 42, which is under 
compression between the solenoid coil 35 and the sleeve 38a on the inner 
end of actuator arm 38, biases the solenoid plunger 37 out from solenoid 
35 so that striker arm 21 normally will be vertically aligned with its 
base 20. 
When a player operates the pushbutton switch 36 on the outer end of handle 
23, it momentarily completes an energization circuit for solenoid coil 35, 
which pulls in its plunger 37 (to the right in FIG. 5). This movement of 
the solenoid plunger is imparted to the arm 38 which pulls on the striker 
arm 21, causing it to pivot at 20a on its base 20 to project at an acute 
angle inward past the inner wall 17 and in the path of the next game ball 
B rolling counterclockwise in FIG. 3 along the periphery of the playing 
surface panel 18 (which is its low point). Even if the push button switch 
36 is held closed, the solenoid remains energized only long enough to move 
the striker arm 21 in to its ball-striking position and then the spring 37 
returns it to the retracted position. In one practical embodment, the 
striker arm moves in and out in about 0.015 seconds. 
The game assembly has one or more targets located just above the conical 
playing surface on the opposite side of its apex 18a from the ball striker 
21. In the illustrated embodiment there is an assembly of pivotally 
suspended targets T (FIG. 2) carried individually by respective sliders S 
which extend end-to-end in front of the blower 30. The sliders are 
displaced intermittently, such as from right to left in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, 
along a rigid endless guide track having a horizontally elongated top 
segment above the playing surface, shown at 50 in FIG. 4, and rounded end 
segments at its opposite ends extending down through respective openings 
51 and 52 (FIGS. 1 and 3) in conical panel 18 and the dividing wall 16 
below, and a lower, horizontally elongated, return segment 53 extending 
between these rounded end segments below the dividing wall 16 of the 
housing. 
If desired, the target assembly could consist of pivoted targets having a 
fixed location, or pivoted targets on an endless conveyor, or one or more 
targets, fixed or movable, which are not pivoted. 
Preferably, as shown, the target assembly extends across the playing 
surface far enough to shield the blower canopy 32 from being struck 
directly by a game ball B which has struck the ball striker arm 21. The 
game ball will strike one of the targets T first and will have most of its 
momentum absorbed in doing so, as well as undergoing a change in direction 
because of striking the target. Therefore, any game ball which does strike 
the blower canopy 32 after being deflected by the ball deflector 21 and 
striking a target T will strike the blower canopy with not enough force to 
damage it. 
OPERATION 
In the operation of this game apparatus, one or more game balls B are put 
into play, one at a time, in the circumferential path of the air from 
blower 30 along the periphery of the conical panel 18 just inside the 
inner side wall 17 of the housing. The game balls B arrive at different 
times at the ball striker 20, 21. 
A player grasps the outer end of handle 23 to move it along the 
circumferential opening 24 in the housing side wall 14, either 
continuously or to a selected position. The base 20 of the ball striker 
follows this movement of handle 23. 
The player may actuate the switch pushbutton 36 at any time to energize the 
solenoid 35 and cause the pivoted striker arm 21 to move inward throughout 
slot 22 past the inner side wall 17 of the housing into the 
circumferential path of the next game ball B to arrive at the striker. 
When a game ball B hits the striker arm 21, it will be deflected across the 
conical top surface of panel 18 and will strike one of the targets T in 
the target assembly. Eventually, that ball will be caught again in the 
stream of pressurized air from the air blower 30 and will resume rolling 
around the inside of the inner side wall 17 along the periphery of the 
conical playing surface. 
After each actuation the striker arm 21 is retracted very quickly so that 
the player can actuate it again to strike the next ball to arrive.