Ball separator and return mechanism

Claim 1

A BALL SEPARATOR AND RETURN MECHANISM FOR POOL GAME TABLES OR THE LIKE COMPRISING, AN ELONGATED BALL RECEIVING CHANNEL SLOPING LONGITUDINALLY DOWNWARD TOWARD A DELIVERY SHELF LOCATED AT ONE END OF THE TABLE, SAID ELONGATED BALL RECEIVING CHANNEL RECEIVING RETURN BALLS FROM DIFFERENT ANGLES AND DIRECTING SAID BALLS SINGLE FILE TOWARD THE DELIVERY SHELF, AN INCLINED BALL RETURN PASSAGE SECURED TO THE LOWER END OF THE BALL RECEIVING CHANNEL, DIVIDER MEANS SPANNING THE BALL RETURN PASSAGE AT A HEIGHT SO AS TO ALLOW THE FREE PASSAGE THERETHROUGH OF BALLS OF A PREDETERMINED SIZE, BALLS OF A LARGER SIZE BEING DEFLECTED TOWARD ONE SIDE OF THE RETURN PASSAGE, SAID ONE SIDE HAVING AN OPENING THEREIN IN ALIGNMENT WITH A RETURN OPENING COMMUNICATING WITH THE DELIVERY SHELF, A CONTROL GATE MEANS MOUNTED ABOVE THE DELIVERY SHELF AND EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY OF THE TABLE WITH ONE END IN COMMUNICATION WITH THE LOWER END OF THE RETURN PASSAGE FOR RECEIVING SAID BALLS OF A PREDETERMINED SIZE, SAID CONTROL GATE MEANS COMPRISING PIVOTALLY MOUNTED STOP MEANS CONFINING SAID BALLS, SPRING MEANS BIASING SAID STOP MEANS TO A CONFINING POSITION, COIN-OPERATED ACTUATOR MEANS RELEASABLY ENGAGABLE WITH THE STOP MEANS FOR MOVEMENT THEREOF TO RELEASE THE BALLS INTO THE DELIVERY SHELF, AND A REARWARDLY AND DOWNWARDLY INCLINED SURFACE FORWARD OF SAID STOP MEANS AND SLIGHTLY TRANSVERSELY INCLINED FROM THE RETURN PASSAGE, SAID STOP MEANS IN ITS CONFINING POSITION, BEING OF GENERALLY INVERTED CHANNEL SHAPE AND INCLUDING A FORWARD WALL REARWARDLY INCLINED AND SPACED FROM THE INCLINED SURFACE A DISTANCE SO AS TO CONFINE SAID PREDETERMINED SIZE BALLS THEREBETWEEN, AND A REAR WALL OF A SIZE SO AS TO CONFINE SAID BALLS SUBSTANTIALLY BETWEEN SAID WALLS UPON UPWARD AND REARWARD PIVOTAL MOVEMENT OF SAID FORWARD WALL, SAID BALLS BEING RELEASED UPON SUBSEQUENT FORWARD PIVOTAL MOVEMENT OF SAID FORWARD WALL.