Patent Publication Number: US-7591732-B2

Title: Hydraulic drive pin setter for bowling alley with hydraulic linkage ball lift

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
   This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/479,491, filed on Jun. 17, 2003, in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 

   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of Invention 
   Apparatuses and methods consistent with the present invention relate to bowling pin setting machines. Specifically, the apparatuses and methods relate to hydraulically actuated bowling pin setting machine controlled by a programmable logic controller. 
   2. Description of the Related Art 
   Automatic pin setters for bowling alleys have been in existence for more than fifty years. Originally, automatic pin setters were electromechanical devices, wherein a series of interrelated belts, pulleys, and cams were driven by one or more electric motors. There are problems with existing electromechanical pin setters in that they require a high degree of maintenance and a highly skilled maintenance technician. Parts and labor and service are expensive and sometimes unavailable or stressful financially for some bowling alley operators. On the other hand, complete replacement of all of the pin setters in a bowling alley with more current pin setters is often cost prohibitive. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   An aspect of the present invention is to provide an improved pin setting drive mechanism. An another aspect of the present invention can be retrofitted in an existing electromechanical pin setter, such as a pin setter manufactured by BRUNSWICK that is currently in widespread use. Another aspect of the present invention is to provide improvements in certain features of an automatic pin setter. 
   An embodiment of the present invention includes an electromechanical pin setter wherein a deck assembly holds pins in deck chutes and reciprocates vertically to spot and re-spot pins on a pin setting location on a bowling lane, a rake mechanism removes pins from the bowling lane, a pit conveyor moves pins and a bowling ball toward a pin elevator, the pin elevator in a pit area lifts pins to a cross conveyor, the cross conveyor delivers pins to a turret, the turret distributes pins to the deck chutes, a ball elevator to lift the bowling ball to a ball return track, the electromechanical pin setter including a hydraulic drive component having at least one of a fluid motor and a fluid drive cylinder, hydraulic drive component operated by a source of pressurized fluid through an electrically controlled valve, to control an operation of at least one of the deck assembly, the rake mechanism, the pit conveyor, the pin elevator, the cross conveyor, the turret, and the ball elevator; and a controller individually controlling and sequencing operations of the electrically controlled valve to control operations of the hydraulic drive component. 
   Another embodiment of the present invention is a method for operating an electromechanical pin setter wherein a deck assembly holds pins in deck chutes and reciprocates vertically to spot and re-spot pins on a pin setting location on a bowling lane, a rake mechanism removes pins from the bowling lane, a pit conveyor moves pins and a bowling ball toward a pin elevator, the pin elevator in a pit area lifts pins to a cross conveyor, the cross conveyor delivers pins to a turret, the turret distributes pins to the deck chutes, a ball elevator to lift the bowling ball to a ball return track, the method including controlling an operation of at least one of the deck assembly, the rake mechanism, the pit conveyor, the pin elevator, the cross conveyor, the turret, and the ball elevator by a hydraulic drive component including at least one of a fluid motor and a fluid drive cylinder, said at least one of fluid motor and fluid drive cylinder operated by a source of pressurized fluid through an electrically controlled valve; and individually controlling and sequencing operations of the electrically controlled valve to control operations of the hydraulic drive component through a programmable controller. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a conventional pinsetter; 
       FIG. 2  is a rear view of the conventional pinsetter; 
       FIG. 3  is a view of a ball elevator; 
       FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a conventional gear box; 
       FIG. 5  is a view of the conventional pin setter; 
       FIG. 6  is a view of a cross conveyor and a turret; 
       FIG. 7  is a view of a rake sweep mechanism; 
       FIG. 8  is a perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention; 
       FIG. 9  is a perspective view of a deck assembly; 
       FIG. 10  is a view of the deck assembly; 
       FIGS. 11A-B  are views of the deck assembly; 
       FIG. 12  is a view of the pit cushion lift mechanism; 
       FIGS. 13A-C  are views of the rake sweep assembly; 
       FIG. 14  is a view of the pin wheel elevator; 
       FIG. 15  is a view of a ball elevator; 
       FIG. 16  is another view the ball elevator; 
       FIG. 17  is a view of the pit conveyor; and 
       FIGS. 18A-C  are flow diagrams showing the operation of the deck mechanism an operation of the present invention. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS 
   One aspect of the present invention is an improved drive mechanism for a pin setter of the type that is conventionally driven by an elaborate electromechanical system of belts, pulleys, and cams driven by an electric motor. Existing systems are well-known in the art and will not be described in detail herein. An existing electromechanical pin setter manufactured by BRUNSWICK is shown in  FIGS. 1-7 . 
     FIGS. 1 and 2  show a conventional automatic pin setter  10  mounted over a pin setter location  12  at the end of a bowling lane  14 . The pin setter location  12  is flanked by raised sidewalls called kickbacks  16 . Behind the pin setter location  12  is an area called the pit  18  which includes a downwardly and rearwardly inclined pit conveyor  20 , which leads to a circular ball elevator  22  and a pin elevator  24 . The pit conveyor  20  is an oscillating or vibrating device which causes the pins to gravitate downwardly to the bottom of the ball and pin elevators  22 ,  24 . A padded movable cushion called a pit cushion  26  ( FIG. 7 ) is positioned behind the pin setter location  12  over the pit conveyor  20  and positioned to receive and cushion the impact of a bowling ball after it has traveled through the pin setter location  12 . The pit cushion  26  is pivotally mounted and can be raised to permit the ball and pins to proceed rearwardly to the ball and pin elevators  22 ,  24  after the main force of the ball momentum has been cushioned by the pit cushion  26 . Hereinafter, rearwardly or the rear of the pin setter  10  refer to an end of the pin setter  10  where the ball and pin elevators  22 ,  24  are disposed and forwardly or the front of the pin setter refers to an end of the pin setter  10  where the rake  56  is disposed. 
     FIG. 3  shows the ball and pin elevators  22 ,  24  including a rotating pin elevator wheel  28  and a counter-rotating ball elevator wheel  30 . Pins drop into notches  25  in the pin elevator wheel  28  and are held in place by the notches  25 . Balls contact ball lift rods  32  and are pressed thereby against the ball elevator wheel  30  so that they roll up the ball elevator wheel  30  to an elevated position where the ball is diverted from the ball elevator wheel  30  and falls onto a track  34  that leads downwardly to a ball return track  36  ( FIG. 1 ), which carries the ball to the opposite end of the bowling lane  14 , where the bowler can retrieve the ball. An accelerator  37  ( FIG. 1 ), comprising an elongated driven belt, engages the top of the ball and urges it toward the head of the bowling lane  14 . As shown in  FIG. 4 , the conventional automatic pin setter  10  has an electric motor  38  to drive a mechanical system of pulleys and belts and cams through a gear box in order to coordinate a number of mechanically timed operations of the automatic pin setter  10 . The parts of the mechanical system wear out and require periodic replacement and continuous adjustment. Moreover, these mechanical systems are quite complex and require a highly skilled technician to maintain, lubricate, adjust, and repair these systems. 
   Another element of the automatic pin setter  10  is a pin setter deck assembly  40  shown in  FIG. 5 , mounted over the pin setter location  12  on the end of the bowling lane  14 . The deck assembly  40  is supported on a frame  31 , which includes left and right side frames  42 L and  42 R and a plurality of cross shafts. The cross shafts include a main cross shaft  44 , a rake lift shaft  46 , and a rake sweep shaft  48 . Deck assembly  40  includes a raisable, triangular mechanism that includes properly positioned receptacles for ten pins. The deck assembly  40  retains the pins in the pin receptacles called deck chutes  49  and then releases the pins onto the surface of the bowling lane  14  when the deck assembly  40  is lowered. The pin setter deck assembly  40  also is capable of picking up and resetting standing pins that remain after a first ball is bowled. 
   Pins are transported from the pin elevator  24  to the deck assembly  40  as follows. When the pins reach the top of the pin elevator wheel  28 , the pins are discharged into a contoured pan, called a turn around pan  50  ( FIG. 3 ). This turn around pan  50  causes the pins to become oriented with their bases facing forwardly toward the bowler, regardless of which way the pins were oriented when they reached the top of the pin elevator wheel  28 . Pins are thereafter conveyed upwardly over the deck assembly  40  by means of a cross conveyor  52 , as shown in  FIG. 6 . When they reach the end of the cross conveyor  52 , the pins are deposited in separate receptacles in a wire basket called a turret  54 . Turret  54  is rotatably mounted above the pin setter deck assembly  40  and rotates in an indexed movement one location at a time to receive each pin as it reaches the turret  54  until the turret  54  is full, at which time additional pins are prevented from being deposited on the turret  54 . When the pin setter deck assembly  40  returns to its raised position after the end of a bowler&#39;s turn, a triggering mechanism causes the turret  54  to release ten new pins into the chutes  49  in the deck assembly  40  and the deck assembly  40  then lowers and deposits the pins on the bowling lane  14 . 
   In order to remove fallen pins at the end of a first ball or all pins after a second ball has been rolled, a rake sweep mechanism  700  is shown in  FIG. 7 . The rake sweep mechanism  700  includes a rake  56  that lowers to a position in front of the pin setter location  12  and then moves rearwardly to remove the fallen pins (“dead wood”) from the bowling lane  14 . The rake  56  includes a pair of spaced rake support arms  58  mounted at an upper end on the rake sweep shaft  48 . A lower end is connected to a rake sweep arm  62  that extends outwardly and downwardly and is pivotally mounted around the distal end  61  of the rake support arm  58 . A fiberglass rake board  64  extends across the bowling lane  14  between outer ends of the rake sweep arms  62 . The rake  56  is lowered by means of the pin setter electromechanical drive mechanism, which rotates a V lever  66  on the rake lift shaft  48 . A rake lift rod  68  on the end of the V lever  66  extends to a position  70  between the rake board  64  and the distal end  61  of the rake support arm  58  on the rake sweep arm  62 . Rotation of the rake sweep shaft  48  thus causes the rake sweep arm  62  to pivot on the end of the rake support arm  58  so as to raise and lower the rake board  64  toward and away from the bowling lane  14 . 
   The rake  56  is mechanically connected to the other elements in the system and triggered so that the rake  56  automatically lowers and sweeps dead wood from the bowling lane  14  after the end of each bowling turn. A rake lift cam  63  operated by the main gearbox maintains the rake  56  in a level position while it is retracted by the arcuate movement of the rake support arms  58 . The rake sweep mechanism is mechanically linked to the pit cushion  26  to cause the pit cushion  26  to be raised when the rake  56  is actuated. 
   All of the foregoing elements are present in the automatic pin setter  10  shown in  FIGS. 1-7 . All of the elements of the automatic pin setter  10  are essentially linked mechanically for sequential operation. Actuation is accomplished by mechanical actuators, such as the contact between a bowling ball and the pit cushion  26 . The contact signifies that a turn is over and initiates a series of mechanically dependent steps that cause the pin setter deck assembly  40  to lower to pick up standing pins and cause the rake  56  to actuate to remove dead wood. The conventional system also includes mechanical sensors that determine whether or not there are standing pins and whether the pins are out of position or not. 
   In accordance with the present invention, many of the electromechanical components of the foregoing system have been removed or deactuated, replacing many interdependent moving parts with a series of very simple, cost-effective fluid cylinders such as hydraulic cylinders that are actuated at appropriate times by a programmable logic controller (“PLC”) that operates relays for electrical solenoid control valves that in turn actuate the hydraulic cylinders. The present system replaces many mechanical drive components with a few simple, non-temperamental hydraulic drives and a single controller that can be programmed and reprogrammed to vary the timing and sequence of the individual elements as may be desired. This is all accomplished without requiring complete replacement of the principal components of the electromechanical system, mainly the pin setter deck assembly  40 , turret  54 , cross conveyor  52 , pin and ball elevators  28 ,  30 , and sweep mechanism  700 . However, as an additional aspect of the present invention, some of the conventional features have been modified or improved, such as the ball elevator  22  and the sweep mechanism  700 , as will be described more fully below. The elements employed in the present invention that are similar to the elements employed in the conventional automatic pin setter  10  described above are identified with the same numerals as the present invention. 
     FIG. 8  shows an automatic pin setter  800  of the present invention. In the pin setter  800 , a programmable logic controller (PLC)  80  generates output signals to a series of output terminals  81  that control the operation of the hydraulic components of the present invention. The PLC  80  operates relays (internal, as shown, or external) that control the solenoid operated hydraulic control valves  82  that control the hydraulic drives to be described below. These hydraulic control valves  82  open or close conduits providing pressurized hydraulic fluid to the various operating components of the drive mechanism. Hydraulic fluid for the entire system is provided by a hydraulic pump  84  driven by an electric motor  86 . A computer  72  comprising a CPU  74 , monitor  76 , and keyboard  78  can be connected to the PLC  80  in order to set up, adjust, or change the programming in the PLC  80 . 
   One aspect of the invention with respect to the existing pin setter is that the electromechanical drive components controlling the deck assembly  40  are replaced by a series of hydraulic drives. The deck assembly  40  continues to be supported and lifted by a deck lift shaft  88  pivotally mounted between the two side frames  42 L,  42 R. Deck lift arms  90  extend from the deck lift shaft  88 , and the deck lift arms  90  are connected to deck support arms  92  that are attached to the deck assembly  40  itself. Rotation of the deck lift shaft  88  thus raises and lowers the deck assembly  40 . A deck hydraulic lift cylinder  94  including a linearly extending output shaft which moves in a linear motion, rotates the deck lift shaft  88  through a drive arm  96  extending outwardly from the deck support shaft  88 . Hydraulics to the deck hydraulic lift cylinder  94  are controlled through a PLC controlled valve  82 . 
   The pin setter deck assembly  40  includes an upper portion called an upper deck or movable deck  98  ( FIG. 9 ). The movable deck  98  is superimposed over a lower deck called a stationary deck  100 . Deck chutes  103  are mounted on the movable deck  98  and hold ten individual pins. The stationary deck  100  has two layers, an upper cast metal plate  102 , and a thinner lower plate  104 , sometimes called a scissor plate. The two plates are spaced apart by connecting rods or bolts. The lower plate  104  has pin supporting rollers  108  at front edges of pin openings  110 . The movable deck  98 , which contains deck chutes  103  has openings which are aligned with the rollers  108  when the movable deck  98  is in a forward position.  FIG. 10  shows the underside of the movable deck  98  having fingers  112  on a rear side of the chute openings in the movable deck  98 . The fingers  112  urge the pins to a forward position. The movable deck  98  reciprocates to the rear to release the pins from the movable deck  98 . It first moves to an intermediate position where the pins are pulled to the side of the rollers  108 . The fingers  22  hold the pins against the sides of the rollers  108  and prevent the pins from dropping out of the movable deck  98  completely. When the movable deck  98  becomes positioned adjacent to the bowling lane  14 , the movable deck  98  is moved further rearwardly toward the pit  18 , releasing the pins completely and letting the pins move downwardly to the surface of the bowling lane  14 . 
   Whereas an electromechanical drive was used to accomplish this movement in the past, in the present invention, the movable deck  98  of the present invention is moved by a linear motion of an extendable output shaft of the hydraulic movable deck drive cylinder  114 , which is again controlled independently by the PLC  80  through one of the electric valves  82 . 
   The movable deck  98  also includes pairs of clamping arms called scissors  116 . The scissors  116  are positioned adjacent to the pin openings  110  in the lower plate  104  and are pivotal over the lower plate  104  to clamp the neck of a pin in place in the plate  104  when the movable deck  98  moves downwardly after a first ball is thrown. 
   In the conventional pin setter, a standing pin engages a rubber pad on the movable deck  98  which stops the downward movement of the movable deck  98 . This actuates a series of mechanical devices that clamp the standing pins in the movable deck  98  and lift the standing pins upwardly while the rake  56  removes the dead wood. 
     FIG. 11A  shows the underside of the movable deck  98  showing the series of mechanical devices in a BRUNSWICK automatic pin setter which clamp the standing pins. The series of mechanical devices include shift rods  1100  connected to the scissors  116 . At the opposite end of the shift rods  1100 , there are links  1102  which are connected to a crossbar  1104 . In operation, the movement of the crossbar  1104  in the x direction shifts the position of the shift rods  1100  in the a direction to open the scissors  116 . The movement of the crossbar  1104  in a direction opposite to the x direction closes the scissors  116 . 
   In the present invention as shown in  FIG. 11B , the scissors  116  are not actuated by mechanical devices but are instead actuated by a single scissor drive cylinder  120  mounted transversely at the rear edge of the movable deck  98 . A shaft  121  extending from the scissor drive cylinder  120  in a linear motion, is connected to the crossbar  1104  to open or close the scissors  116 . The scissor drive cylinder  1120  again is controlled by the PLC  80  through an electrically controlled valve  82 . 
   The deck operations thus are controlled by three hydraulic drive cylinders  94 ,  114 ,  120 , each acting independently through electrical control valves  82  and controlled as to timing and operation by a single PLC  80 . The basic function of the deck assembly  40  remains essentially the same but all of the mechanical drive components are replaced by the three simple hydraulic cylinders. 
   In addition to replacing the mechanical drive components of the deck mechanism, the present invention also uses a sensor to initiate the appropriate deck function. After a first ball is rolled, the system must first detect if there has been a strike or if standing pins remain, and if standing pins remain, whether any of the standing pins are “out of position.” If there has been a strike, the computer  72  tells the rake  56  to lower and remove all pins. If there are standing pins remaining and they are in their proper position, the computer  72  actuates the scissors  116  to clamp the standing pins, lift the standing pins, and actuate the rake  56  to remove the dead wood. The standing pins are then replaced. If there are standing pins but one or more pins are nudged so that they are out of position and do not align with the scissors  116  and openings  110  in the deck assembly  40 , the system has to be stopped so that the dead wood can be removed manually before the next ball is thrown. These functions in the conventional mechanical system are accomplished by mechanical devices that are actuated when the deck assembly  40  is lowered. If the deck assembly  40  lowers to its maximum extent, this indicates that all of the pins have been knocked down, and this triggers a rake  56  removal procedure. If there are standing pins that are in the right position, the deck assembly  40  lowers to a position higher than the lowest position, where it engages the standing pins, and stops. This actuates the scissors mechanism to pick the standing pins up. If there are standing pins that are out of position, the standing pins engage the bottom of the stationary deck  100  and do not extend into the opening in the stationary deck  100  and thus stop the stationary deck  100  at a higher position yet. This actuates a mechanical connection that stops the pin setter  10  for manual removal of the dead wood. 
   In the present invention, an electronic distance measuring device  99 , such as an ultrasonic distance measuring device, is employed, as shown in  FIG. 8 . This is desirably mounted above the deck assembly  40  and is focused on the deck assembly  40  so that it detects the distance that the deck assembly  40  moves downwardly. The distance measuring device also can be mounted on the deck assembly  40  so it senses the distance between the bottom of the deck assembly  40  and the bowling lane  14 . The device has a substantially continuous readout, and the PLC  80  is programmed so that if the readout remains the same for a predetermined delay, such as one second, this indicates that the deck assembly  40  has encountered a pin at that location, and this consequently triggers an appropriate pin setter action, depending on the deck elevation level detected and the first or second ball status. Other types of electronic distance measuring devices can be employed for this purpose without requiring a mechanical detection of deck position. 
     FIGS. 12 and 13  show another aspect of the present invention. Here, the movement of the rake  56  is also controlled by a hydraulic device. The rake  56  is raised and lowered and reciprocated rearwardly and forwardly by a linear motion of an extendible output shaft of the rake drive cylinder  126 . The rake drive cylinder  126  is in turn controlled by an electric valve  82  which is in turn controlled by the programming of the PLC  80 . 
   The mechanical construction of the rake lift mechanism also has been improved in the present invention. In the prior system, a rake lift cam  63  rotated on an independent shaft actuates a cam follower  65  that is connected to a C-shaped lever  66  attached to the rake lift shaft  46 . The C-shaped lever rotates  66  the rake lift shaft  46  and maintains the rake board  64  in a horizontal position as the rake support arms  58  are pivoted about the rake sweep shaft  48 . 
   In the present invention, instead of mounting a cam on a separate shaft, which involves timing considerations, a cam  132  is mounted directly on the rake sweep shaft  48  through the rake arm  49 , as shown in  FIG. 13A-C . Cam  132  bears against a cam roller  134  on the end of cam follower  136 , which is pivotally mounted to the frame on an opposite end thereof.  FIG. 14  shows a drive link  138  extending from an intermediate portion of cam follower  136  into driving contact with C-shaped lever  140 . Rake drive cylinder  126  includes an output shaft that is connected by a lost motion link  142  to a drive arm  144  mounted on rake sweep shaft  48 . Cam  132  is bolted to the drive arm  144  comprising of two spaced plates. 
   The manner in which the rake sweep drive also lifts the pit cushion  174  is shown in  FIG. 12 . When the rake drive cylinder  126  is retracted, pit cushion drive rod  160  slides rearwardly in a linear path. A cam  162  having a beveled surface on the end thereof engages cam wheel  164  on pivot arm  166 , which pivots about axis  168 . An opposite end  170  of the pivot arm  166  engages an adjustable pit cushion linkage  172  that is connected to pit cushion  174 , which is pivotally mounted at one end  176 . Retraction of the rake drive cylinder  126  therefore causes a clockwise rotation of pivot arm  166 , and this raises the pit cushion  174 . The lifting of the pit cushion  174  can also be accomplished or enhanced by a spring mechanism. 
   In operation, the rake  56  is normally maintained in a raised position. After a ball has been rolled and an electronic signal generated thereby, the output shaft of the rake drive cylinder  126  is retracted. A first release is caused by plungers ( FIG. 13C ) which is rotated when a latch  139  that pivots on an axis  145   a  permits the rake board  64  and rake sweep arm  62  to pivot downwardly under the force of gravity to a position adjacent the surface of the bowling lane  14 . Further retraction of the rake drive cylinder  126  causes lost motion link  142  to engage drive arm  144  on the rake sweep shaft  48  and rotate the rake sweep shaft  48 , causing the rake  56  to retract rearwardly. As the rake  56  retracts rearwardly, cam roller  134  rides on cam  132 . Cam  132  is shaped so that the rake board  64  is raised somewhat as the rake support arm  62  is retracted, causing the rake board  64  to be maintained in a horizontal position adjacent the surface of the bowling lane  14  as the rake  56  is retracted. With the cam  132  mounted directly on the rake sweep shaft  48  and controlling rake board position directly by the position of the rake support arm  58 , no adjustment is necessary in order to insure that the rake board  64  is always properly positioned. 
   A fluid drive motor  146  also is substituted for a mechanical drive for operation of the turret  54 , as shown in  FIG. 8 . Pins are delivered to the turret  54  by means of the cross conveyor  52 , as in the conventional mechanical systems. However, in the conventional system, the turret movement is mechanically moved and released. In the present invention, the turret  54  is rotatably mounted for movement by means of a fluid drive motor  146 . The fluid drive motor  146  exerts a constant rotational pressure on the turret  54 . The mechanical sequencing and release mechanism of the prior system remains substantially the same. The insertion of each pin in the turret  54  releases a latch that permits the fluid drive motor  146  to move the next pin location into alignment with the cross conveyor outlet. When the turret  54  is full, the same mechanical system prevents the cross conveyor  52  from depositing additional pins on the turret  54 . 
   The cross conveyor  52  can be is also independently driven by a fluid drive motor. In an alternative embodiment a fluid motor may drive the cross conveyor and the pin wheel elevator  24 . 
   In another aspect of the present invention shown in  FIG. 14 , the pin wheel elevator  24  is driven by a fluid drive motor  148 . 
   The present invention could employ a conventional ball wheel elevator driven by a fluid drive motor  146 . However, an improved elevator system has been developed for the present invention. 
   In the present invention, the ball elevator wheel  580  includes a pivoting arm  150  mounted for pivotal movement about an axis  152  concentric with the axis of the ball elevator wheel  580 . The arm  150  engages a ball  182  as it reaches the ball elevator  30 , and a hydraulic drive cylinder  154  pivots the arm  150  from a downwardly extending position to an upwardly extending position, where the ball  182  is lifted and deposited on the ball return track  184 . The arm  150  is formed in an arcuate shape.  FIG. 16  shows a pair of fingers  158  at the end of the pivoting arm  150  to engage the ball  182  between the fingers  158  and the end of the arm  150  and support the ball  182  until it is deposited at the entry of the ball return track  184 . The simple movement of the arm  150  through an arc is sufficient to lift the ball  182  up to the ball return track  184 . This eliminates the moving parts in the conventional rotating ball elevator wheel. The ball lifting device only needs to be actuated when a ball&#39;s presence is expected or detected in the pit  12 . An electronic detector at the lift mechanism could be employed or a detector somewhat upstream of the lift mechanism would be satisfactory. 
   As shown in  FIG. 15 , drive cylinder  154  is pivotally mounted to a fitting  162  at an upper end of vertical beam  164 . An output shaft  166 , which linearly extends out of the drive cylinder  154  in a linear motion, is connected to a link  168  that is pivotally mounted at one end to beam  164 . An outer end of link  168  is connected to a link  170  that is connected to a midpoint of another link  172 , which is in turn pivotally mounted at an inner end  174  to the vertical beam  164 . Another link  176  is pivotally mounted to drive arm  178  that rotates an axle  180  on which pivoting arm  150  is mounted. This linkage mechanism interconnecting the drive cylinder  154  and the drive arm  150  increases the stroke of the drive cylinder  154  and makes it possible to rotate the axle  180  through a sufficiently large angle so that the pivoting arm  150  can pivot all the way up to position  150 ′ (shown in phantom lines) where the bowling ball  182  is dumped on track  184 . 
   In the present invention, the pit conveyor  1700  shown in  FIG. 17  also can be driven by a fluid drive motor  1720  in a continuously rotating fashion as a belt conveyor, rather than providing a vibrating conveyor as used in the prior devices. 
   All of these various hydraulic drive motors and drive cylinders can be controlled through electronic valves  82  by means of the programmable logic controller  80 , and all of the settings and adjustments can be varied to fine tune and correct the timing and sequencing desired for any set of circumstances. All of this is achieved in a cost effective manner and provides a substantially trouble free system that does not require a specialized technician to repair. 
   In operation, the present invention performs in a manner similar to prior pin setters, with the exception that the sequence and timing of the various functions is programmable. A flow chart setting forth the PLC program for deck operation is set for in  FIGS. 18A-C  and is described hereinbelow. 
   At the start, a ball is rolled. A photo trigger, such as a photo cell device or proximity device or the like, immediately upstream of the pin location indicates that a ball has been rolled, and a ball count is established (e.g., first ball). There is then a three second time delay in order to give any standing pins time to stop wobbling. The deck assembly  40  is then lowered. The distance that the deck assembly  40  lowers without encountering an obstacle determines what happens next. There are three possibilities. 
   If the deck assembly  40  encounters a standing, out of range pin, the deck assembly  40  is raised and the program is stopped until the fallen pins have been manually removed (if this is a first ball). If this is a second ball, the rake  56  is simply actuated to remove all remaining standing pins. 
   If, after a first ball, the deck assembly  40  is lowered to the position where at least one standing, in range pin is detected, at that point the scissors  116  are closed on the standing pins and the deck assembly  40  is raised. After a delay of five seconds, the rake sweep mechanism  700  is actuated to remove dead wood. The deck assembly  40  is then lowered and the scissors  116  are opened to re-spot the standing pins. After a second ball, all of the pins are swept from the bowling lane  14 . 
   If, after a first ball, no standing pins are detected, the rake sweep mechanism  700  is actuated after a five second delay to remove all of the pins. Thereafter, the deck chutes  103  in the deck assembly  40  are filled by releasing the spoons in the buffer  54  with the movable deck  98  moved forwardly to in a position where the deck chutes  103  are aligned with rollers  108  on the stationary deck  100 , so the pins rest on the rollers  108 . The deck  40  is then lowered and the movable deck  98  is moved to the point where the pins are pulled off the tops of the rollers  108  and are positioned against the sides of the rollers  108 , with the pins being held against the wheels by the fingers  112  on the movable deck  98 . The belly of each pin is positioned above the roller  108  contact point, so that the pin cannot drop all the way down through the stationary deck  100 . 
   When the deck  40  has been lowered to the proximity of the bowling lane  14 , the movable deck  98  then moves all the way back so as to release the pins onto the pin setter location  12  on the bowling lane  14 . The deck  40  is thereafter raised until a ball has been rolled. 
   The foregoing operation of resetting the pins occurs after any ball in which no standing pins are detected and automatically after a second ball. This operation can also be triggered if, for any reason, the operator wishes to cycle the pin setter and start over. This might occur if a foul were detected (e.g., the bowler steps over the foul line) and the bowler&#39;s turn is nullified, requiring a new set of pins. 
   The foregoing aspects and other aspects can be programmed into the PLC  80 , with appropriate delays generated by the computer  72  and not requiring timed mechanical sequencing. The number and position of standing pins need not be detected by the position at which the deck  40  encounters an obstacle in its vertical path. Electronic position detectors, digital photographic sensors and imaging detecting software, and other known techniques can be used to ascertain the status of the standing pins after any ball is rolled. 
   The other elements in the system also are programmed to deliver fallen pins from the pit to the turret  54  and to return bowling balls to the head of the bowling lane  14 . Continuous operation of the ball elevator  22  is not required but can be triggered when the presence of a ball is detected. The pin elevator  24  can be operated continuously if pins are continuously being transferred from the pit  18  to the turret area, but the system can be programmed to deactuate the fluid drive motor  148  of the pin elevator  24  at any time, if desired. 
   In one alternative embodiment, the programmable logic controller  80  may control the operations of one pin setter of the present invention for one bowling lane. Alternatively, the programmable logic controller  80  may control a plurality of the pin setters of the present invention for a plurality of bowling lanes. 
   Another embodiment of the present invention includes methods for operating an electromechanical pin setter as described above. 
   The present invention can also be embodied as computer readable codes on a computer readable recording medium. The computer readable recording medium is any data storage device that can store data which can be thereafter read by a computer system. The programs, codes, and code segments for accomplishing the present invention can be easily construed by programmers skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains. 
   It should be understood that the foregoing is merely exemplary of the exemplary practice of the present invention and that various changes in the arrangements and details of construction may be made in the embodiments disclosed herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.