Patent US1806790A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
Patent US5274871A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US5274871A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Multiple tanks for applying lane dressing to transfer roller for bowling lane dressing apparatus
Assignee: Daifuku Plusmore Co Ltd
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Filing: 1993-06-07
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Granted: 1994-01-04
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Expires: 2013-06-07
Abstract
Abstract A bowling lane dressing apparatus for use on a bowling alley has a carriage with a lane buffer roller. A transfer roller in rolling engagement with the lane buffer roller and in fluid communication with a plurality of reservoirs, each containing lane dressing fluid for transferring fluid from each reservoir by a wick therein to the lane buffing roller. Each reservoir is pivotally mounted for independent movement to bring its wick into or out of engagement with the transfer roller. A variable speed drive is connected to the transfer roller for rotating it at variable speeds to vary the rate of transfer of fluid from each reservoir to the lane buffer roller. If desired, the transfer roller can be separated into independently rotatable roller segments, each of which can be driven by separate variable speed motors. The roller segments and the wick of the reservoir associated with that roller segment may be of substantially equal widths.
Inventors
- 👤 Ronald L. Smith
- 👤 Gary D. Fields
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-27 15:59
CPC Classifications
A; A47; A47L; A47L11/00; A47L11/28; A47L11/282; A47L11/40; A47L11/4002; A47L11/4008; A47L11/4011; A47L11/4036; A47L11/4041; A47L11/4063; A47L11/4069; A47L11/408; A63; A63D; A63D5/00; A63D5/10
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 18
Claim 1
Independent Claim
183 words
A bowling lane dressing apparatus for use on a bowling alley, said apparatus comprising: a carriage for movement along a bowling alley between a foul line and pit; laterally spaced drive wheels rotatably mounted on said carriage in lane-contacting relation; a plurality of reservoirs spaced laterally across said carriage for separate storage of lane-dressing fluid; a separate wick extending from each of said reservoirs for transferring fluid from each said reservoir; a lane buffer roller journaled on said carriage for rotation with its surface in lane-contacting relation to transfer lane dressing fluid to the bowling alley; a transfer roller mounted in rolling engagement with said lane buffer roller and in selective fluid communication with each of said wicks of each of said reservoirs for transferring fluid from said respective reservoirs to said lane buffer roller; variable speed drive means connected to said transfer roller for rotating said transfer roller at variable speeds to vary the rate of transfer of fluid from said reservoirs to said lane buffer roller; and means for selectively moving each of said wicks into engagement with said transfer roller.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
183 words
A bowling lane dressing apparatus for use on a bowling alley, said apparatus comprising: a carriage for movement along a bowling alley between a foul line and pit; laterally spaced drive wheels rotatably mounted on said carriage in lane-contacting relation; a plurality of reservoirs spaced laterally across said carriage for separate storage of lane-dressing fluid; a separate wick extending from each of said reservoirs for transferring fluid from each said reservoir; a lane buffer roller journaled on said carriage for rotation with its surface in lane-contacting relation to transfer lane dressing fluid to the bowling alley; a transfer roller mounted in rolling engagement with said lane buffer roller and in selective fluid communication with each of said wicks of each of said reservoirs for transferring fluid from said respective reservoirs to said lane buffer roller; variable speed drive means connected to said transfer roller for rotating said transfer roller at variable speeds to vary the rate of transfer of fluid from said reservoirs to said lane buffer roller; and means for selectively moving each of said wicks into engagement with said transfer roller.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
64 words
Apparatus, as claimed in claim 1, wherein said variable speed drive means comprises: a variable speed motor mounted on said carriage connected to said transfer roller to rotate said transfer roller at a speed relative to the speed of rotation of said variable speed motor; and a variable resistor connected to said variable speed motor for varying the speed of said variable speed motor.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
177 words
A bowling lane dressing apparatus for use on a bowling alley, said apparatus comprising: a carriage for movement along a bowling alley between a foul line and pit; laterally spaced drive wheels rotatably mounted on said carriage in lane-contacting relation; a plurality of reservoirs spaced laterally across said carriage for separate storage of lane-dressing fluid; a separate wick extending from each of said reservoirs for transferring fluid from each said reservoir; a lane buffer roller journaled on said carriage for rotation with its surface in lane-contacting relation to transfer lane dressing fluid to the bowling alley; a plurality of transfer rollers mounted in rolling engagement with said lane buffer roller and in fluid communication with each of said respective wicks for transferring fluid from each of said reservoirs to a corresponding region of said lane buffer roller; and variable speed drive means connected to each of said transfer rollers for rotating them at variable speeds to vary the rate of transfer of fluid from each of said wicks to a corresponding region of said lane buffer roller.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
177 words
A bowling lane dressing apparatus for use on a bowling alley, said apparatus comprising: a carriage for movement along a bowling alley between a foul line and pit; laterally spaced drive wheels rotatably mounted on said carriage in lane-contacting relation; a plurality of reservoirs spaced laterally across said carriage for separate storage of lane-dressing fluid; a separate wick extending from each of said reservoirs for transferring fluid from each said reservoir; a lane buffer roller journaled on said carriage for rotation with its surface in lane-contacting relation to transfer lane dressing fluid to the bowling alley; a plurality of transfer rollers mounted in rolling engagement with said lane buffer roller and in fluid communication with each of said respective wicks for transferring fluid from each of said reservoirs to a corresponding region of said lane buffer roller; and variable speed drive means connected to each of said transfer rollers for rotating them at variable speeds to vary the rate of transfer of fluid from each of said wicks to a corresponding region of said lane buffer roller.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
22 words
Apparatus, as claimed in claim 3, further including: means for selectively moving each of said wicks into engagement with said transfer rollers.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
69 words
Apparatus, as claimed in claim 3, wherein said variable speed drive means comprises: at least two variable speed motors mounted on said carriage connected to at least two different transfer rollers to rotate said two transfer rollers at different speeds relative to each other; and a variable resistor connected to each of said variable speed motors for varying the speed of said variable speed motors independently of each other.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
66 words
Apparatus, as claimed in claim 3, wherein said plurality of rollers, each having a length, are mounted on a common axis and include: a center roller; a pair of track rollers, one of said track rollers being mounted at each end of said center roller; and a pair of outer rollers, one of said outer rollers being mounted at the outer end of each track roller.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
106 words
Apparatus, as claimed in claim 6, wherein said plurality of reservoirs include: a center reservoir mounted adjacent said center roller, said center reservoir having a center wick with a width substantially equal to the length of said center roller; a pair of track reservoirs mounted adjacent each respective track roller, each of said track reservoirs having a track wick with a width substantially equal to the length of said respective track rollers; and a pair of outer reservoirs mounted adjacent each respective outer roller, each of said outer reservoirs having an outer wick with a width substantially equal to the length of said respective outer rollers.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
44 words
Apparatus, as claimed in claim 7, further including: a lane-dressing fluid in one of said reservoirs having a first set of physical properties; and a lane-dressing fluid in at least one of said other reservoirs having a second and different set of physical properties.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
96 words
Apparatus, as claimed in claim 7, further including: a lane-dressing fluid in said center reservoir having a first set of physical properties; a lane-dressing fluid in at least one of said pair of track reservoirs having a second set of physical properties which differ from said first set of physical properties; and a lane-dressing fluid in at least one of said pair of outer reservoirs having a third set of physical properties which differ from the physical properties of at least one of said first set of physical properties and said second set of physical properties.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
47 words
Apparatus, as claimed in claim 3, wherein said variable speed drive means comprises: a first variable speed drive motor connected to said center roller; a second variable speed drive motor connected to said track rollers; and a third variable speed drive motor connected to said outer rollers.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
39 words
Apparatus, as claimed in claim 3, wherein said variable speed drive means comprises: separate variable speed drive motors connected to said center roller, each of said pair of track rollers and each of said pair of outer rollers, respectively.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
180 words
A bowling lane dressing apparatus for use on a bowling alley, said apparatus comprising: a carriage for movement along a bowling alley between the foul line and pit; laterally spaced drive wheels rotatably mounted on said carriage in lane-contacting relation; a plurality of reservoirs spaced laterally across said carriage for separate storage of a lane dressing fluid; a separate wick extending from each of said reservoirs for transferring fluid from each said reservoir; a lane buffer roller journaled for rotation on said carriage with its surface in lane-contacting relation with the bowling alley to apply lane dressing fluid to the alley; a transfer system of independent roller segments comprising a plurality of roller segments of the same outer diameter, driven by independent variable speed drive means such that each roller segment of any rolling pair can be driven at a specified individual speed, said transfer system being in rolling engagement with said lane buffer roller and in fluid communication with each of said wicks for transferring fluid from said respective reservoirs to the corresponding region on said lane buffer roller.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
180 words
A bowling lane dressing apparatus for use on a bowling alley, said apparatus comprising: a carriage for movement along a bowling alley between the foul line and pit; laterally spaced drive wheels rotatably mounted on said carriage in lane-contacting relation; a plurality of reservoirs spaced laterally across said carriage for separate storage of a lane dressing fluid; a separate wick extending from each of said reservoirs for transferring fluid from each said reservoir; a lane buffer roller journaled for rotation on said carriage with its surface in lane-contacting relation with the bowling alley to apply lane dressing fluid to the alley; a transfer system of independent roller segments comprising a plurality of roller segments of the same outer diameter, driven by independent variable speed drive means such that each roller segment of any rolling pair can be driven at a specified individual speed, said transfer system being in rolling engagement with said lane buffer roller and in fluid communication with each of said wicks for transferring fluid from said respective reservoirs to the corresponding region on said lane buffer roller.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
87 words
A bowling lane dressing apparatus as claimed in claim 12 wherein: each transfer roller segment outwardly adjacent to a previous roller segment is mounted for rotation with a shaft of greater inner diameter than the outer diameter of the next inner roller segment shaft, and has a length less than that of the next inner shaft; means interconnecting each of said outwardly adjacent transfer roller drive means to one of said independent variable speed drive means; and the innermost roller segment shaft is journaled at opposite ends.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
183 words
A bowling lane dressing apparatus as claimed in claim 12 wherein said transfer system of independent rollers comprises: five roller segments consisting of a center roller segment, right and left track roller segments and right and left outer roller segments; a center shaft extending from both ends of said center roller segment, journaled on each outer end, and engaged in driving relationship by a variable speed drive means on one of said ends; a pair of track shafts of greater inner diameter than the outer diameter of said center shaft mounted for rotation thereon, extending longitudinally outward from each of said track roller segments for a distance shorter than said ends of said center shaft and engaged in driving relationship by a variable speed drive means at each end; and outer shafts of greater inner diameter than the outer diameter of said track shafts mounted for rotation thereon, extending longitudinally outward from each of said outer roller segments for a distance shorter than said ends of said track shaft and engaged in driving relationship by a variable speed drive means at each end.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
112 words
Apparatus, as claimed in claim 14, wherein said plurality of reservoirs include: a center reservoir mounted adjacent said center roller segment, said center reservoir having a center wick with a width substantially equal to the length of said center roller segment; a pair of track reservoirs mounted adjacent each respective track roller segment, each of said track reservoirs having a track wick with a width substantially equal to the length of said respective track roller segments; and a pair of outer reservoirs mounted adjacent each respective outer roller segments, each of said outer reservoirs having an outer wick with a width substantially equal to the length of said respective outer roller segments.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1997-01-03 | 1997-07-05 | 1998-01-04 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2001-01-03 | 2001-07-05 | 2002-01-04 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2005-01-03 | 2005-07-05 | 2006-01-04 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |