Patent Abstract:
Disclosed is an oil clearing apparatus for a bowling ball which clears oil on a surface of a bowling ball by using high-temperature heat, thereby preventing the bowling ball from sliding due to the oil applied to a lane of a bowling alley, and is utilized for the purpose of keeping the bowling ball warm and heating the bowling ball, as well as storing the bowling ball.

Full Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD  
       [0001]    The present invention relates to an oil clearing apparatus for a bowling ball, which can clear oil on a surface of a bowling ball by using high-temperature heat, thereby preventing the bowling ball from sliding due to the oil applied to a lane of a bowling alley, and can be utilized for the purpose of keeping the bowling ball warm and heating the bowling ball, as well as storing the bowling ball. 
       BACKGROUND ART 
       [0002]    In general, bowling is one of indoor sports in which a bowling ball of a predetermined weight is rolled along a lane to throw down pins arranged at an end of the lane, and is being recently spotlighted since the game rule of the bowling is relatively simple and a high exercising effect can be achieved. 
         [0003]    Relatively heavy bowling balls designed to be held by inserting fingers are used in bowling games, and oil on lanes or other foreign substances are often attached to the bowling balls during use of the bowling balls. Thus, if the contaminants are not cleared, the bowling balls may have bad outer appearances and may be slid and separated from the hand as well, also badly influencing the game records due to inferior rolling characteristics thereof. 
         [0004]    Thus, according to the related art, a bowling player has to wipe a contaminated bowling ball with towel personally before and after the game or during the game. 
         [0005]    However, the process of manually wiping a contaminated bowling ball is very troublesome and considerably laborious, and does not exhibit a sufficient washing effect, demanding advent of a mechanical washing apparatus. 
         [0006]    As an example of related technologies, Korean Patent Pre-registration No. 1995-0008098 discloses a bowling ball washing apparatus as shown in  FIG. 1 . The bowling ball washing apparatus includes a housing  20  defined by a bottom plate  22 , a vertical wall  24  and a ceiling plate  26 , and a horizontal baffle plate  28  is disposed in the housing  20 . A bowling ball introduction opening  30  having a diameter slightly larger than that of the bowling ball is formed in the ceiling plate  26  of the housing  20 , and a user can input the bowling ball into the washing apparatus through the bowling ball introduction opening  30 . 
         [0007]    A coin insertion slot  32  is arranged on the vertical wall  24  of the housing  20  and a bowling ball support body  34  is arranged below the bowling ball insertion opening  30  to be spaced apart from the bowling ball introduction opening  30 , and a soft washing cloth  36  formed of an water absorbing material is detachably attached onto an inner curved surface of the bowling ball support body  34 . 
         [0008]    A driving roller  38  is supported by an arm at an upper side of the bowling ball support body  34  to be rotated about an axis of rotation thereof by an electric motor  42 , an output shaft of the electric motor  42  is connected to an axis of rotation of the driving roller  38  by a belt  44  in conjunction with the driving roller  38 , and a driven roller  46  is installed at an opposite side of the driving roller  38  to be rotated about an axis of rotation thereof while maintaining an interval by which the bowling ball can be accommodated. 
         [0009]    However, the bowling ball washing apparatus washes the bowling ball with the washing cloth  36  while rotating the bowling ball with the driven roller  46  and the driving roller  38 , and the washing cloth is repeatedly reused, so the oil attached to the bowling ball cannot be perfectly eliminated. 
       DISCLOSURE 
     Technical Problem 
       [0010]    The present invention has been made in an effort to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an oil clearing apparatus for a bowling ball, which can naturally clear oil from a surface of a bowling ball due to gravity by using properties of the oil which is melted when heated, simultaneously clear the oil and foreign substances, serve as a keeping box for the bowling ball while clearing the oil of the bowling ball, keep the temperature of the bowling ball and heat the bowling ball while preventing the bowling ball from sliding. 
       Technical Solution 
       [0011]    In order to accomplish the object, according to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an oil clearing apparatus for a bowling ball including a housing having an upper body and a lower body installed separately from the upper body, a heating unit provided in at least one of the upper body and the lower body, and casing installed inside the upper and lower bodies of the housing to support the bowling ball while the bowling ball is heated by the heating unit, wherein a drain unit is connected to the casing located in the lower body. 
         [0012]    The oil clearing apparatus may further include a locking unit and a knob in the housing, and a control box is provided at one side of the heating unit to control an operation and a temperature of the heating unit. 
         [0013]    The oil clearing apparatus may further include a support unit  210  supporting the bowling ball and provided inside the casing  200  and a positioning boss fixing the bowling ball  300  and provided at a lower portion of the casing. 
         [0014]    The oil clearing apparatus may further include a drain unit including a drain hole and a collection box installed to close the drain hole and coupled to the support unit serving as a screw coupling unit through a sealing member. 
         [0015]    The heating unit may include a heating coil installed at an inner periphery of the housing and a control box including a microcomputer connected to the heating coil to control the heating temperature and time. 
         [0016]    The heating unit may have a heating coil, a blower fan, and a plurality of air holes through which external air flows by the blower fan. 
       Advantageous Effects 
       [0017]    As described above, the oil clearing apparatus for a bowling ball according to the present invention can naturally clear oil from a surface of a bowling ball by using properties of the oil which is melted when heated, naturally remove foreign substances from a surface of the bowling ball when the oil is cleared, serve as a keeping box while clearing the oil of the bowling ball, store the bowling ball while maintaining the temperature of the bowling ball and heat the bowling ball while preventing the bowling ball from sliding. 
     
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         [0018]      FIG. 1  is a sectional view showing a bowling ball washing apparatus according to the related art; 
           [0019]      FIGS. 2 to 4  are a perspective view, a disassembled view, and an assembled sectional view showing an oil clearing apparatus according to the present invention, respectively; 
           [0020]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view showing an oil clearing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0021]      FIG. 6  is an exploded perspective view showing an oil clearing apparatus according to the present invention; 
           [0022]      FIGS. 7A and 7B  are sectional views showing a heating unit provided in the oil clearing apparatus according to the present invention, respectively; 
           [0023]      FIG. 8  is a sectional view showing an oil clearing apparatus including a heating unit according to another embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0024]      FIGS. 9A and 9B  are sectional views showing mounted states of heating units according to other embodiments of the present invention, respectively; 
           [0025]      FIGS. 10 and 11  are perspective views showing oil clearing apparatus of the present invention, respectively; 
           [0026]      FIG. 12  is a perspective view showing a keeping state of the oil clearing apparatus according to the present invention; and 
           [0027]      FIGS. 13A and 13B  are a perspective view and a sectional view showing an oil clearing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention, respectively. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0028]    Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
         [0029]      FIGS. 2 to 4  are a perspective view, a disassembled view, and an assembled sectional view showing an oil clearing apparatus according to the present invention, respectively,  FIG. 5  is a perspective view showing an oil clearing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention,  FIG. 6  is an exploded perspective view showing an oil clearing apparatus according to the present invention,  FIGS. 7A and 7B  are sectional views showing a heating unit provided in the oil clearing apparatus according to the present invention, respectively,  FIG. 8  is a sectional view showing an oil clearing apparatus including a heating unit according to another embodiment of the present invention,  FIGS. 9A and 9B  are sectional views showing mounted states of heating units according to other embodiments of the present invention, respectively,  FIGS. 10 and 11  are perspective views showing oil clearing apparatus of the present invention, respectively,  FIG. 12  is a perspective view showing a keeping state of the oil clearing apparatus according to the present invention, and  FIGS. 13A and 13B  are a perspective view and a sectional view showing an oil clearing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention, respectively. 
         [0030]    The oil clearing apparatus C of the present invention has an assembly structure of a housing  100  having supports  140  for preventing rolling and a casing  200  provided inside the housing  100 . 
         [0031]    The housing  100  of the present invention may be fixed to a box-shaped outer casing (not shown) without an additional support. 
         [0032]    A heating unit  110  is provided inside the housing  100  and a locking unit  120  is provided at a connecting portion of the housing  100  to prevent the housing  100  having upper and lower separable structures from being separated. 
         [0033]    The housing  100  may have a separable structure without using the separate locking unit  120 . 
         [0034]    A control unit  150  having a combination of a temperature adjustor  151 , a timer  153 , and a microcomputer  155  connected to the temperature adjuster  151  and the timer  153  is further provided such that the control unit  150  can be exposed to the outside at one side of the housing  100 . 
         [0035]    Then, the control unit  150  may be integrally or separately provided at one side of the housing  100 , and may be installed to supply an external power through a connector  157 . 
         [0036]    The casing  200  is integrally installed at an inner side of the housing  100  to support the bowling ball  300  and the drain unit  170  is connected to the casing  200 . 
         [0037]    The housing  100  may not include the drain unit  170  separately. 
         [0038]    A knob  180  is further installed at an outer side of the housing  100  for transportation. 
         [0039]    A support unit  210  for supporting the bowling ball  300  is further provided inside the casing  200 , and a positioning boss  230  for fixing the bowling ball  300  is further provided at a lower portion of the casing  200 . 
         [0040]    The positioning boss  230  includes a plurality of support bosses  231  corresponding to finger insertion portions  310  of the bowling ball  300  and fixing blocks  235  connected to the support bosses  231  via springs  233  and coupled to the casing  200 . 
         [0041]    The drain unit  170  includes a drain hole  171 , an L-shaped guide groove  173  to close the drain hole  171  and a collection box  175  having a fixing boss  175 a corresponding to the guide groove  173  and coupled to the guide groove  173  through vertical movement and rotation thereof. 
         [0042]    As shown in  FIGS. 7A and 7B , the heating unit  110  includes a first heating coil  111  installed at an inner periphery of the housing  100 , and a set of first heating coils may be separately installed at inner sides of the upper and lower casings or may be integrally connected to each other. 
         [0043]    As shown in  FIGS. 9A and 9B , the heating unit  110  includes a heating chamber  113 , a second heating coil  115  provided at an inner side of the heating chamber  113 , a blower fan  114  provided in the heating chamber  113 , and a vent hole  117 . 
         [0044]    The vent hole  117  may be formed in the upper body  101  and the lower body  103  prepared as a set in the housing  100 , respectively, or one vent hole may be formed such that air can flow through a separate vent hole formed at a connecting portion of the upper body  101  and the lower body  103  coupled with each other. 
         [0045]    The heating unit  110  may employ a surface heater instead of a coil. 
         [0046]    Meanwhile, a plurality of stoppers  270  protrude from a side surface of the casing  200  while forming the same plane to prevent interference with the bowling ball  300  received in the casing  200  such that a support shelf  275  can be positioned thereon. 
         [0047]    The oil clearing apparatus C and the bowling ball  300  are kept in a bowling ball bag  400  having a support plate  410 . 
         [0048]    As shown in  FIGS. 13A and 13B , in the oil clearing apparatus C of the present invention, after the upper body  101  and the lower body  103  of the housing  100  are separately installed, the support unit  105  is formed in the lower body  103  to accommodate one end of the upper body  101  and a flexible cable  290  is connected to sides of the upper and lower bodies  101  and  103  to supply an electric power to the heating coil  111  of the heating unit  110 . 
         [0049]    In the present invention, an adiabatic member  500  is provided into the housing  100  to prevent loss of heat of the heating unit  110 . 
         [0050]    In the present invention, as shown in  FIG. 8 , the upper body  101  of the housing  100  has a height smaller than a height of the lower body  103  so that the center of weight of the housing  100  is located in the lower body  103 . 
         [0051]    Hereinafter, the operation of the present invention will be described. 
         [0052]    As shown in  FIGS. 2 to 13 , the present invention has the housing  100  including the combination of the upper body  101  and the lower body  103  and the casing  200  installed to correspond to the shape of the bowling ball  300  when connected to the upper and lower bodies  103  of the housing  100  while forming a closed space inside the housing  100  so that the bowling ball  300  can be kept inside the housing  100  to which the casing  200  are integrally coupled. 
         [0053]    Then, the housing  100  is connected by a hinge at one side thereof and is provided with the locking unit  120  at the other side thereof, so that the bowling ball  300  can be safely kept if the housing  100  is closed and movement of the housing  100  is minimized by the supports  140  provided on a bottom surface of the housing  100  when the housing  100  is received in a keeping bag  400 . 
         [0054]    Further, the oil clearing apparatus C of the present invention performs a function of a keeping container even without a bowling ball bag  400  and can be carried by using the knob  180 . 
         [0055]    Moreover, the heating unit  110  for heating an inner side of the casing  200  is provided at one side of the casing  200  mounted to an inner side of the housing  100 , that is, the closed space  200  to heat an inner side of the casing  200  during an operation thereof, thereby melting the oil attached to the bowling ball  300  and separating the oil from the bowling ball. 
         [0056]    Then, the heating unit  110  is connected to the control unit  150  including a temperature adjustor  151 , a timer  153 , and a microcomputer  155  connected to the temperature adjuster  151  and the timer  153  to adjust the temperature of the bowling ball  130  to a desired temperature, making it possible to safely adjust temperature while preventing overheating by using a program input to the microcomputer  155  in advance. 
         [0057]    Further, in the present invention, the adiabatic member  500  is filled at one side of the heating unit  110  so that the heat generated by the heating unit  110  can be transferred only to an inner side of the casing, minimizing loss of heat to the outside of the housing  100 . 
         [0058]    The heating unit  110  includes the first heating coil installed at an inner periphery of the upper housing  100  and attached to the casing  200 , the heating chamber  113 , the second heating coil  115  provided inside the heating chamber  113 , the blower fan  115  provided in the heating chamber  113 , and the vent hole  117 , so that when the blower fan  115  is operated, the air heated in the heating chamber  113  flows through the vent hole  117  via the blower fan  115  to heat the closed space while transferring heat to the casing  200  to heat an inner side of the casing  200 . 
         [0059]    Meanwhile, the heating unit  110  of the present invention may not have a coil shape but may use a surface heater. 
         [0060]    Further, the heating unit  110  easily connects the melted and dropped oil through the drain unit  170  connected to the casing  200 . 
         [0061]    The support unit  210  for supporting the bowling ball  300  is provided at an inner side of the casing  200  and the positioning bosses  230  for fixing the bowling ball  300  is provided at a lower portion of the casing  200  to safely support and keep the bowling ball  300  received in the casing  200 . 
         [0062]    Then, the support unit  210  includes a support plate  211  and a resilient support portion  213 , and the positioning boss  230  includes a plurality of support bosses  231  corresponding to the finger insertion portions  310  of the bowling ball  300  and the fixing blocks  235  connected to the support bosses  231  via springs  233  and coupled to the casing  200 , so that the bowling ball can be safely supported by easily absorbing an impact of the bowling ball. 
         [0063]    The drain unit  170  includes the drain hole  171 , the L-shaped guide groove  173  configured to close the drain hole  171  and the collection box  175  having the fixing boss  175 a corresponding to the guide groove  173  and coupled to the guide groove  173  through vertical movement and rotation thereof, so that the drain unit  170  can be promptly coupled and separated and the melted and dropped oil can be easily collected and then removed. 
         [0064]    Meanwhile, the stoppers  270  protrude from a side surface of the casing  200  while forming the same plane to prevent interference with the bowling ball  300  received in the casing  200  such that the support shelf  275  can be positioned thereon, so that the oil clearing apparatus C can be utilized as a keeping container when the oil clearing apparatus C is not used to clear oil by using the heated casing. 
         [0065]    As shown in  FIGS. 13A and 13B , the oil clearing apparatus C of the present invention includes the lower body having the support unit by which one end of the upper body is accommodated and attached to the lower body, and when the oil clearing apparatus C is kept, the upper body and the lower body can be separated to reduce a keeping space. 
         [0066]    Further, as shown in  FIG. 8 , the upper body  101  of the housing has a height smaller than a height of the lower body  103  so that the center of weight of the housing  100  is located in the lower body  103 . Thus, the housing  100  is prevented from being overturned when stored.

Technology Classification (CPC): 0