Abstract:
A one or two player ball game assembly comprising a motorized ball launcher that shoots balls upwards into the air in a random fountain like pattern. Each player catches or retrieves the launched balls and places them back into their designated reservoir. The reservoir gravity feeds the balls back into a striker mechanism. In one embodiment, the reservoirs are clear tubes so that each player may monitor the number of balls in each player&#39;s reservoir during play. The clear tubes also act as a fence, keeping each player on their respective sides thus minimizing possible collisions during play. In one embodiment, the game operates on an adjustable timer (e.g. 1-15 minutes) which automatically terminates powered to the motorized striker. The timer may also trigger an audible signal (e.g. bell) when the game is over. The winner is the player with the most balls in their reservoir at the end of play. In the single player game, a single reservoir is used and the player&#39;s score is the number of balls in the reservoir when the game ends.

Description:
[0001]    Embodiments of the invention relate generally to indoor ball games, ping pong ball feeder mechanisms, and, more particularly to games involving catching a ball, and placing it back into an apparatus that automatically launches it back into the air. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    There are a multitude of indoor ball games including billiards, ping pong, and ball tossing games typically involving throwing a ball into a hoop, hole, or at a target. There are also many variations of games using a ping pong ball including games like beer pong, where balls are bounced into a cup. There are also several types of mechanisms that automatically shoot or launch a ball into the air using a ping pong ball. These mechanisms typically involve launching the ball using a pair of spinning wheels, or by striking the ball with a spring loaded mechanism. The ping pong ball feeders on the market are manufactured for use as an apparatus to practice the game of ping pong. The mechanisms typically attach to a ping pong table and feed balls to a player so they can practice their shots using a ping pong paddle. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0003]    The embodiments of the invention provide a game that automatically launches balls one by one upwards into the air in in a random fountain like pattern. One or more player(s) then catch the balls in mid air, or retrieves them on the ground. The player(s) then places the ball back into their designated reservoir where they are fed back into the invention to be launched again. 
         [0004]    The reservoirs provide a clear indication of how many balls are in the reservoir. This may be accomplished by using clear tubes with inside diameters slightly larger than the ball diameter so that the balls form a sleeve of balls whose length (or number of balls) is easily distinguished during play. 
         [0005]    The invention may run on an adjustable timer switch (e.g. 1-15 minutes). In the two player game, each player places balls into their designated reservoir and the game begins with multiple balls in each reservoir. The feed mechanism of the invention alternates between reservoirs when feeding balls into the ball striking mechanism. When the timer switch expires, and the motorized feeder stops, the winner is the player with the most balls in their reservoir. To prevent collisions when catching and retrieving balls, the reservoir tubes act as a fence between players, each player must stay on their side during play. 
         [0006]    In the single player game, a deflector may be attached attached to the invention to ensure balls are launched on the side towards the single player. Only one reservoir is used and when the game ends, the score is the number of balls left in the reservoir. 
         [0007]    The invention uses a geared electric motor to turn a drive shaft with one or more cam drivers that actuate a spring loaded striker to propel the balls into the air. In one embodiment, the invention may use rotating disks and apertures to feed in balls from the tubular reservoirs. 
         [0008]    The above summary is not intended to describe each embodiment or every implementation of the invention. Rather, a more complete understanding of the invention will become apparent and appreciated by reference to the following Detailed Description of exemplary embodiments and claims in view of the accompanying figures of the drawing. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE VIEWS OF THE DRAWING 
         [0009]    The invention will be further described with reference to the figures of the drawing, wherein: 
           [0010]      FIG. 1  is a front isometric view of the ball launch and catch game invention showing a ball launched into the air; 
           [0011]      FIG. 2  is an enlarged top isometric view of the housing assembly and feed assemblies being assembled; 
           [0012]      FIG. 3  is an enlarged top isometric view of the upper housing assembly showing the striker mechanism; 
           [0013]      FIG. 4  is an enlarged isometric view of the lower housing showing the battery compartment; 
           [0014]      FIG. 5  is an enlarged front isometric view of the lower housing assembly with the upper housing and drive shaft removed; 
           [0015]      FIG. 6  is an enlarged front isometric view of the lower housing assembly with the upper housing removed and the drive shaft shown; 
           [0016]      FIG. 7A  is a section view of the housing assembly showing the initial contact between the cam driver on the drive shaft and the striker; 
           [0017]      FIG. 7B  is a section view of the housing assembly showing the rotating cam driver moving the striker in the downward direction; 
           [0018]      FIG. 7C  is a section view of the housing assembly showing the rotating cam driver moving the striker to its lowest position when the cam driver loses contact with the striker; 
           [0019]      FIG. 7D  is a section view of the housing assembly showing the spring loaded striker snapping back to its original upward position resulting in the ball being propelled in the upward direction; 
           [0020]      FIG. 7E  is a section view of the housing assembly showing the aperture on the rotating disk allowing the next ball to be fed into the striker cup; 
           [0021]      FIG. 8  is an enlarged isometric view of the drive shaft including its two disks and two cam drivers; 
       
    
    
       [0022]    The figures are rendered primarily for clarity and are not necessarily drawn to scale. Moreover, various structure/components, including but not limited to fasteners, electrical components (wiring, cables, etc.), and the like, may be removed from some or all of the views where inclusion of such structure/components is not necessary to understand the various exemplary embodiments of the invention. 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS 
       [0023]    In the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments of the invention, reference is made to the accompanying figures of the drawing which form a part hereof, and in which are shown, by way of illustration, specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. 
         [0024]    It is understood that individual parts may be assembled by several different means including, but not limited to, screws, bolts, adhesives, pins, retaining rings, press fits etc. without departing from the scope of the invention. 
         [0025]    For simplicity, the wiring between electrical components and the motor drives has been eliminated. It is understood that all of the electrical components are connected by some form of wiring. 
         [0026]      FIG. 1  is a front isometric view of the ball launch and catch game  10  showing a ball  16  launched into the air in generally vertical trajectory  18  in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. Two detachable ball feed assemblies ( 12   a,    12   b ) attach without the need for fasteners to the housing assembly  14 . The two feed assemblies ( 12   a,    12   b ) act as a fence between players, each must stay on their side during play to help prevent collisions between players. When the ball  16  flies to a player&#39;s side, they catch or retrieve the ball and place it back into their designated feed assembly ( 12   a,    12   b ) by placing it in the funnel  20 . At the end of the game, the player with the most balls  16  in their feed assembly ( 12   a,    12   b ) wins. In the single player game only one feed assembly  12   a  is attached and the player&#39;s score is the number of balls in the feed assembly  12   a  when the game ends. 
         [0027]    It is up to the players to decide how many initial balls start in each reservoir, and the game may be handicapped by adjusting the number of balls (e.g., a poor performing player may start with more balls in their reservoir). 
         [0028]    The ball feed assemblies ( 12   a,    12   b ) are comprised of a funnel  20  a clear tube  22 , and a housing connector  24 . The funnel  20  and housing connector  24  may be comprised of injection molded parts and fastened to the clear tube using a press fit or an adhesive. They may also be molded out a clear material (e.g. polystyrene or acrylic) so that the balls  16  may be seen inside them. The clear tube  22  may be made of an extruded plastic material such as polystyrene. 
         [0029]    The clear tube  22  acts as a reservoir for a plurality of balls  16  that may be ping pong balls or other lightweight plastic balls with a rigid outer shell. The inner diameter of the clear tube  22  may be slightly larger than the outer diameter of the balls  16  so that they form a string or sleeve of balls where each player may easily see how many are in each reservoir during play. The clear tube  22  may also be angled from horizontal (e.g., 45 to 70 degrees) so that the balls  16  are gravity fed into the housing assembly  14 . The clear tubes  22  may also have graduations, and/or numbers (not shown) to aid in assessing the number of balls in each reservoir. 
         [0030]      FIG. 2  is an enlarged top isometric view of the housing assembly  14  and feed assemblies ( 12   a,    12   b ) being assembled. The housing connector  24  contains two receptacles  28  that insert into insertion bosses  30  in the top housing  34  by lowering the assembly in the downward direction  40  until they mate and bottom out. The receptacles  28  in the housing connector  24  are joined by a tubular feature  26  that also mates with a tubular feature  32  in the top housing  34 , these mating features provide additional stability during insertion. These features provide a means of joining the feed assemblies ( 12   a,    12   b ) to the housing assembly  14 , once inserted, gravity holds the feed assemblies ( 12   a,    12   b ) securely in place. 
         [0031]    The housing assembly  14  consists in part of the upper housing  34  and the lower housing  36  which may be fastened together using screws (shown later). The housings may be injection molded parts. The housing assembly  14  may also contain a timer switch  38 , which may be a spring loaded device that when turned to the desired run time (e.g., 1 to 15 minutes), the invention will feed and launch balls  16  into the air for the desired time. When the time elapses, the invention will turn itself off and the game is over. The timer switch  38  may also provide an audible sound such as a bell when time elapses and the game ends. The housing assembly  14  may also contain an adjustable speed controller (not shown) to control the speed of the motor feeding the balls. 
         [0032]      FIG. 3  is an enlarged top isometric view of the housing assembly  14  showing the striker mechanism. The balls  16  are fed one by one into the striker cup  44 . The balls  16  are prevented from entering the striker cup  44  because they are trapped between the housing connector flange  42  and a disk  46   a.  The balls  16  enter only when an aperture (shown later) in the disk  46   a  allows the ball  16  to enter the striker cup  44 . There is a rotating disk ( 46   a,    46   b ) at the base of both ball feed assemblies ( 12   a,    12   b ) and apertures in both disks alternate feeding balls from both feed assemblies. 
         [0033]    The striker pin  48  protrudes upwards from a hole in the upper housing  34 . A raised ring  50  surrounds the hole which provides a means of producing random ball flight trajectories. As the ball  16  enters the striker cup  44 , it rotates around the striker cup  44  and raised ring  50  such that the center of the ball  16  is never in line with the axis of the striker pin  48 . The striker pin  48  always strikes the ball off center creating a random fountain like trajectory patterns. 
         [0034]      FIG. 4  is an enlarged isometric view of the bottom housing  36  showing the battery compartment  52 . The ball launch and catch game  10  is actuated by a DC gear motor (shown later) and may be powered by standard DC batteries. A battery compartment  52  sized for eight 1.5 volt AA batteries is shown. The batteries may be connected in series to increase the supply voltage. Many other power sources may be used including other combinations of standard DC battery sizes and quantities, rechargeable batteries, and internal or external power supplies. A battery door  54  may be fastened to the lower housing  36  using screws  56 , although other means (e.g. snap fits, tabs etc.) may also be used. 
         [0035]    The upper housing  34  and lower housing  36  may be fastened together using screws  60  that pilot through holes  62  in the lower housing  36  into threaded holes (not shown) in the upper housing  34 . Other variations of attachment may include self tapping screws, adhesives, sonic welding, threaded inserts, etc. 
         [0036]      FIG. 5  is an enlarged front isometric view of the lower housing assembly  14  with the upper housing  34  and drive shaft removed. A DC gear motor  66  may be attached to a motor plate  64  using flat head screws (not shown). The DC motor plate assembly may then be secured to the upper housing  34  and lower housing  36  using flanges  65  that mate with the edges of the motor plate  64 . The DC motor plate assembly is further captivated by half round cut outs  80  in the upper housing  34  and lower housing  36  that wrap around cylindrical features in the DC gear motor  66  and drive shaft  98  (see  FIG. 6 ). The DC gear motor may be a  6 - 12  Volt motor with an operating speed of 25-100 rotations per minute. 
         [0037]    The timer switch  38  may be attached the lower housing by a threaded D shaft  88  protruding from the timer housing  84  and a nut  86 . The nut  86  also captivates the face plate  88  which has time increment markings (e.g. 1-15 minutes). The knob  90  may then be press fit onto the threaded D shaft to complete the assembly. 
         [0038]    The striker  74  slides up and down on two posts ( 68   a  and  68   b ) which are captivated by bosses  78  in the lower housing and upper housing (not shown). In order to prevent binding, the clearance between the first striker hole  72  and post  68   a  may be less than the second hole  70  and post  68   b,  or, the second hole may be slotted. Two compression springs  76  form a slip fit over the outside diameters of the posts ( 68   a  and  68   b ) and provide an upward force against the striker  74 . 
         [0039]      FIG. 6  is an enlarged front isometric view of the lower housing assembly  14  with the upper housing  34  removed and the drive shaft  45  shown. On each end of the drive shaft  45  are two disks  46   a  and  46   b  that act as gates preventing the balls  16  from entering the striker cup  44 . On each end of the drive shaft  45  are also two cam drivers  94   a  and  94   b  which actuate the striker  74 . Each full rotation of the drive shaft  45  actuates the striker  74  two times. The drive shaft  45  may be fixated to the D shaft  82  of the gear motor  66  (see  FIG. 5 ) using a set screw  96  that seats down on the flat of the D shaft  82 . The drive shaft  45  may be fixated to the DC gear motor  66  by other means such as adhesives, press fits, locking collars, split collars, etc. On the end of the drive shaft is a cylindrical shaft  98  that is captivated by half round cut outs  80  (see  FIG. 5 ) in the upper housing  34  and lower housing  36  that wrap around the cylindrical shaft  98 . 
         [0040]      FIG. 7A  is a section view of the housing assembly  14  showing the contact point  104  between the cam driver  94   a  on the drive shaft  45  and the striker  74 . The drive shaft  45 , disk  46   a,  and cam driver  94   a  all rotate as a single part in the clockwise direction  100  powered by the DC gear motor  66 . 
         [0041]      FIG. 7B  is a section view of the housing assembly  14  showing the cam driver  94   a  moving the striker  74  in the downward direction. The cam driver  94   a  pushes down on the striker  74  at contact point  104 , rounded surfaces on both the cam driver  94   a  and striker  74  minimize the wear between parts. The two compression springs  76  compress as the striker  74  moves downward increasing the upward force against the striker  74  which is guided by the two posts  68   a  and  68   b  (see  FIG. 5 ). 
         [0042]      FIG. 7C  is a section view of the housing assembly  14  showing the rotating cam driver  94   a  moving the striker  74  to its lowest position when the cam driver  94   a  loses contact with the striker  74  at contact point  104 . 
         [0043]      FIG. 7D  is a section view of the housing assembly  14  showing the spring loaded striker  74  snapping back to its original upward position. At this point the striker pin  48  strikes the ball  16  and propels it in the upward direction  106 . The impact may propel the ball  16  two to eight feet into the air. The impact force may depend on, but is not limited to the spring forces (e.g. spring constant, wire diameter, etc.), the stroke length of spring compression, and the characteristics of the ball (e.g. ball weight, outer shell hardness, etc.). 
         [0044]      FIG. 7E  is a section view of the housing assembly  14  showing the aperture  102   a  on the disk  46   a  allowing the next ball  16  to be fed into the striker cup  44 .  FIG. 8  is an enlarged hidden line isometric view of the drive shaft  45  including its two disks ( 46   a,    46   b ), two cam drivers ( 94   a,    94   b ), and two apertures ( 102   a,    102   b ). The cam drivers ( 94   a,    94   b ) and apertures ( 102   a,    102   b ) are positioned relative to each other whereby a ball  16  is fed between strikes (ball  16  propelled into the air). The apertures ( 102   a,    102   b ) are also 180 degrees apart so that a ball  16  is fed from each reservoir, alternating between them.