Mechanical guns and projectors – Centrifugal – Mechanical
Reexamination Certificate
1999-04-20
2001-02-13
Ricci, John A. (Department: 3712)
Mechanical guns and projectors
Centrifugal
Mechanical
C473S460000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06186132
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a service machine for table tennis, and particularly to a service machine that is mountable on a court for table tennis.
The table tennis game is widely considered as one of the popular sports all over the world, partly because it doesn't require a large indoor space or expensive facilities, since a table with a net is essentially all that is required to play the game. It permits people of different age, stature, or sex to play and enjoy together, and basically a player needs nothing more than a personal bat. One can hardly find another sport item as convenient and inexpensive as the table tennis game.
However, one cannot make progress in playing skill alone, and will need a decent partner to practice constantly in order to raise his skill level, and also a training course under a coach's guidance. For this purpose, some service machines have been developed and provided for people to practice receiving skill on their own and without a partner. Unfortunately, when using a conventional service machine, a user has to go across the table from time to time to the service machine for resetting another mode or function if a change in the service style is desired. This procedure tends to reduce a player's interest in the game.
Subsequently, some machines closer to human function have been proposed, such as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,485,995 and 5,566,936. Other examples are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,917,380 and 5,009,412.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to an improved structure for a service machine mountable on a court for table tennis, having a service machine body connectable with the court and provided with a micro-controller used to control a ball-positioning mechanism built in the service machine body and a ball-projecting mechanism coupled with the ball-positioning mechanism. The ball-positioning mechanism includes an elevation control motor for adjusting the elevation angle, and a sway control motor for adjusting the deflection angle of the ball-projecting mechanism. The ball-projecting mechanism further comprises a ball-conveying device and a ball-projecting device. The ball-conveying device includes a ball-collecting tray that collects plural balls and sends them, via a conveyer, from the service machine body to the ball-projecting device of the ball-projecting mechanism sequentially through the ball-positioning mechanism. The ball-projecting device is provided with a propelling wheel that controls the ball speed, and snap shots can be made sequentially due to engagement friction between the balls and the propelling wheel. After a ball is shot, the micro-controller will instruct the conveyer to replenish a new ball. The propelling wheel will also cooperate with a spin control motor to change the positional angle of the frictional snap shot for further control of the spin direction of a shot ball. The micro-controller can be set by a user or preset with a program to enable the service machine to project spun balls continuously or intermittently at various angles and directions automatically or manually.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3306613 (1967-02-01), Mainers
patent: 4203413 (1980-05-01), Hodges
patent: 4883272 (1989-11-01), Lay
patent: 5383658 (1995-01-01), Newgarden
patent: 5417196 (1995-05-01), Morrison et al.
patent: 5533722 (1996-07-01), Lu
patent: 5938204 (1999-08-01), Tzeng et al.
Bacon & Thomas
Ricci John A.
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