Patent GB-106750-A (GB)
IPC: G07F17/38
Abstract: 106,750. Betti, U., and Hansel, E. Sept. 28, 1916. Tivoli billiards and the like. - In apparatus of the kind in which balls, released for play by coinfreed mechanism and caught in a movable cup controlled by the player, operate mechanism for causing a series of flags to obscure other flags in succession, the flag-operating mechanism comprises a series of bellcranks operable in turn by a spring-actuated bar released step by step by escapement mechanism operated by the balls; the balls, when caught, are returned for play, and each success after a certain number releases mechanism for delivering a check. In the apparatus shown, a coin placed in a slot d, Fig. 1, passes down a shoot c, Fig. 2, until arrested by a finger 9 on a lever 11. When a handle 12 is moved by the player, a projection 15 thereon engages the lever 11 to free the coin, which falls on to a lever 17 and disengages a catch 20 on a spring-controlled lever 21 connected by. a rod 25 with a gate 7, which is thus raised to release the balls 6 for play. The balls pass to an aperture 43 in communication with a ball magazine a. When a handle 42 is rotated, a pin 41 on a lever 40 raises a lever 34 connected to a piston 33 and moves the first ball, which has passed through the aperture 43, past a lever 29. A projection 32 on this lever engages a prolongation 24 of the lever 21 and resets the catch members 19, 20. At the same time, a ball at the top of the magazine is released and passes down a shoot 44 through an aperture i to guides h and deflecting-pins g. If the ball is not caught in the cup f, which is controlled from a handle f<8> in known manner, it passes along guides j, k to be retained by the gate 7. If. however, the ball enters the cup, this is moved opposite an aperture 45, through which the ball passes down a shoot 46, so that it depresses a lever 47 and is returned for play through an aperture 71. Each time the lever 47 is depressed, it operates an escapement 50 and allows a spring-controlled bar 54 to move one step to the left, so that pins on the bar are moved successively out of engagement with ledges of different lengths on four spring- controlled bell-crank levers 59 connected to the first four movable flaps 5 - - 2. When the fourth flag 2 is operated, a spring-controlled plate 64 is released by a bracket on the bar 54 and moves from a vertical position to the position shown in dotted lines, so as to cause the next, or fifth, ball that is caught to pass down a shoot 67, depress a lever e<3>, and be returned for play through the aperture 71. When the lever e<3> is depressed, it releases a lever e<2> to operate a checkdelivery slide c<1> and release a catch 68 from engagement with a ledge on the fifth bell-crank lever 59, which thus moves the last flag 1. When the handle 42 is rotated to bring another ball into play, the pin 41 on the lever 40 engages a bellcrank lever 36 connected by a slotted link 37 to the lever e<2>, and thus resets the lever e' in engagement with the catch e<3>. Each subsequent time that the ball is caught, the catch e<3> is released. When the handle 12 is rotated after insertion of the coin, the lever 11 moves the bar 54 to the right, where it is retained by the escapement, and also moves a lost-motion bar 60 having pins 70, which engage and reset the bell-crank levers 59, a projection 59<a> on the third lever moving the plate 64 to its vertical position so as to close the shoot 67.