U.S. patent application number 17/022122 was filed with the patent office on 2022-03-03 for movable flipper drain device of pinball machine.
The applicant listed for this patent is CHUNG-PO YANG. Invention is credited to CHUNG-PO YANG.
Application Number | 20220062746 17/022122 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | |
Filed Date | 2022-03-03 |
United States Patent
Application |
20220062746 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
YANG; CHUNG-PO |
March 3, 2022 |
MOVABLE FLIPPER DRAIN DEVICE OF PINBALL MACHINE
Abstract
A flipper drain device of a pinball machine is provided,
including a fixed rack and a drain and ball-striking assembly. The
fixed rack is mounted in the pinball machine and includes guide
rods. The drain and ball-striking assembly is mounted to the guide
rods, such that the drain and ball-striking assembly is
leftward/rightward movable but not rotatable on the guide rods. The
drain and ball-striking assembly has a drain opening and a flipper
provided at each of a left part and right part thereof. The drain
and ball-striking assembly includes an operation table, which is
provided with an operation member. The operation member controls
the drain and ball-striking assembly to selectively move
leftward/rightward. The operation table is provided with an
operation button on each of a left part and a right part thereof
for respectively controlling the flippers of the drain and
ball-striking assembly to rotate.
Inventors: |
YANG; CHUNG-PO; (Kaohsiung
City, TW) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
YANG; CHUNG-PO |
Kaohsiung City |
|
TW |
|
|
Appl. No.: |
17/022122 |
Filed: |
September 16, 2020 |
International
Class: |
A63F 7/02 20060101
A63F007/02; A63F 7/24 20060101 A63F007/24 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Aug 27, 2020 |
TW |
109129295 |
Claims
1. A flipper drain device of a pinball machine, comprising a fixed
rack and a drain and ball-striking assembly, wherein the fixed rack
is fixedly mounted in the pinball machine and comprises two fixed
seats and a guide rod between the two fixed seats; and the drain
and ball-striking assembly is mounted to and supported on the guide
rod between the two fixed rack, such that the drain and
ball-striking assembly is movable leftward or rightward on the
guide rod and the drain and ball-striking assembly is not rotatable
frontward and rearward, an upper surface of the drain and
ball-striking assembly and a surface of a playfield of and the
pinball machine being a same surface; the drain and ball-striking
assembly is formed with a drain opening, a ball launch device being
arranged below the drain opening, a curved guide plate being
provided on the drain opening; the drain and ball-striking assembly
comprises a flipper that is arranged on a left part and a right
part of a portion of the upper surface thereof that is frontward of
the drain opening, the flippers being controllable and drivable to
rotate; the drain and ball-striking assembly comprises an operation
table, which is provided with an operation member, the operation
member being operable to control the drain and ball-striking
assembly to selectively move leftward or rightward, the operation
table comprises an operation button provided at each of a right
left part and a right part of a top thereof, the two operation
buttons being operable to control and drive the flippers of the
drain and ball-striking assembly to rotate for striking a ball; and
the drain and ball-striking assembly is provided with a cushion
member on each of a left side and a right thereof.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to a movable flipper drain
device of a pinball machine, and more particularly to a movable
flipper drain device that includes a drain and flippers that are
both movable leftward and rightward so as to enhance game
interesting.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
[0002] Pinball games are easy to operate, have high interesting of
playing, and involve generally no gambling, and are not restricted
to any specific ages for the player, and are thus widely prevailing
in for example night markets, game centers, playing grounds, or
shopping malls, where game machines are commonly deployed for game
players to play the games. The pinball game has a table surface
that constitutes a playing field on which scoring zones, bumpers,
and lances are provided. A drain is provided on the table, and
flippers are provided at the drain, so that a player may operate
the flippers to strike and redirect a ball up back to the playing
field for hitting the scoring zones and bumpers to gain point. Once
the ball falls into the drain, the game ends.
[0003] For the known pinball games, the drain and the flippers are
often made stationary and fixed, making it impossible to improve
interesting and challenging of the game, so that when a player has
played the game for a certain period of time, the interest of game
goes down. Further, in such an arrangement, the ball may easily
pass between the two flippers and goes directly into the drain,
making the game ended. Thus, it is a challenge to the game
manufacturers to upgrade the interesting, interactivity, and
challenging of the pinball machine.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0004] An objective of the present invention is to overcome the
drawbacks discussed above by providing a movable flipper drain
device that makes a drain and flippers movable leftward and
rightward to thereby improve the interesting of the game.
[0005] To achieve the above objective, the present invention
provides a flipper drain device, which comprises a fixed rack and a
drain and ball-striking assembly,
[0006] wherein the fixed rack is fixedly mounted in the pinball
machine and comprises two fixed seats and a guide rod between the
two fixed seats; and
[0007] the drain and ball-striking assembly is mounted to and
supported on the guide rod between the two fixed rack, such that
the drain and ball-striking assembly is movable leftward or
rightward on the guide rod and the drain and ball-striking assembly
is not rotatable frontward and rearward, an upper surface of the
drain and ball-striking assembly and a surface of a playfield of
and the pinball machine being a same surface; the drain and
ball-striking assembly is formed with a drain opening, a ball
launch device being arranged below the drain opening, a curved
guide plate being provided on the drain opening; the drain and
ball-striking assembly comprises a flipper that is arranged on a
left part and a right part of a portion of the upper surface
thereof that is frontward of the drain opening, the flippers being
controllable and drivable to rotate; the drain and ball-striking
assembly comprises an operation table, which is provided with an
operation member, the operation member being operable to control
the drain and ball-striking assembly to selectively move leftward
or rightward, the operation table comprises an operation button
provided at each of a right left part and a right part of a top
thereof, the two operation buttons being operable to control and
drive the flippers of the drain and ball-striking assembly to
rotate for striking a ball; and the drain and ball-striking
assembly is provided with a cushion member on each of a left side
and a right thereof.
[0008] As such, the drain and the flippers are made movable
leftward and rightward, so as to provide a flipper drain device
that could enhance interesting of the game.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the present invention.
[0010] FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the present invention.
[0011] FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the present invention
mounted to a pinball machine.
[0012] FIG. 4 is a top plan view showing the present invention
mounted to the pinball machine.
[0013] FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the present invention,
demonstrating a movement of the drain and the flippers.
[0014] FIG. 6 is also a top plan view of the present invention,
demonstrating a movement of the drain and the flippers.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0015] Reference is now made to an embodiment of the present
invention shown in FIGS. 1-6 for description of the technical
solution that the present invention adopts to achieve the above
objective and the structure thereof.
[0016] As shown in FIG. 1, the present invention provides, in an
embodiment, a flipper drain device, which comprises a fixed rack 10
and a drain and ball-striking assembly 20.
[0017] The fixed rack 10 (see FIG. 2) is fixedly mounted inside a
pinball machine 30 and comprises two fixed seats 11A, 11B and guide
rods 12 arranged between the two fixed seats 11A, 11B.
[0018] The drain and ball-striking assembly 20 (see FIGS. 2, 3, and
4) is mounted to and supported on the guide rods 12 of the fixed
rack 10, such that the drain and ball-striking assembly 20 is
movable on the guide rods 12 in leftward and rightward directions
and the drain and ball-striking assembly 20 is not rotatable either
frontward or rearward. The drain and ball-striking assembly 20 has
an upper surface that is generally flush with or in alignment with
or the same as a surface of a playfield of the pinball machine 30.
The drain and ball-striking assembly 20 is formed with a drain
opening 21, and a ball launch device (not shown) is arranged below
the drain opening 21. The drain opening 21 is provided with a
curved guide plate 22. Further, the drain and ball-striking
assembly 20 is provided, on the upper surface thereof, with a
flipper 23A, 23B in each of a left part and a right part of a
portion thereof that is located frontward of the drain opening 21,
and the flippers 23A, 23B are drivable, in a controlled manner, to
rotate. The drain and ball-striking assembly 20 is provided at one
end thereof, with an operation table 24. The operation table 24 is
provided thereon with operation members 25 (which are provided as
two handles including a left one and a right one as shown in the
drawings). The operation members 25 enable operation of controlling
the drain and ball-striking assembly 20 to move leftward and/or
rightward. The operation table 24 is provided an operation button
26A, 26B on each of a left part and a right part of a top thereof.
The two operation buttons 26A, 26B are provided to, respectively,
control and drive the flippers 23A, 23B provided on the upper
surface of the drain and ball-striking assembly 20 to rotate and
strike. Further, the drain and ball-striking assembly 20 is
provided with a cushion member 27 on each of a left side and a
right side thereof.
[0019] Following the above description, a preferred embodiment is
that the guide rods 12 of the fixed rack 10 are provided as two
round bars (as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2) or square or rectangular
bars, or guide rails, in order to support the drain and
ball-striking assembly 20 thereon in a manner of being not
rotatable thereon.
[0020] Based on the above structure, since the drain and
ball-striking assembly 20 is mounted to and supported on the guide
rods 12, a player may operate the operation members 25 provided on
the operation table 24 to drive the drain and ball-striking
assembly 20 to selectively move leftward and/or rightward (as shown
in FIGS. 5 and 6). The curved guide plate 22 provided on the drain
opening 21 functions to guide a launched ball to the surface of the
playfield of the game machine 30 to start a gamine. The player may
then operate the left-side and right-side operation buttons 26A,
26B provided on the operation table 24 to respectively drive the
left-side and right-side flippers 23A, 23B to rotate (as shown in
FIGS. 5 and 6), so that the flippers 23A, 23B may strike and
redirect the ball. When the drain and ball-striking assembly 20 are
moved leftward (or rightward) to a left-side extreme position (or a
right-side extreme position), due to the cushion members 27
provided at the left side and the right side of the drain and
ball-striking assembly 20, direct impact of the drain and
ball-striking assembly 20 with the fixed seats 11A, 11B can be
avoided and vibration of collision can be reduced, and also damage
of the drain and ball-striking assembly 20 caused thereby can be
prevented.
[0021] Since a player is allowed to operate the drain and
ball-striking assembly 20 of the present invention for leftward or
rightward movement, the player may move the drain and ball-striking
assembly 20 by following a movement path of the ball, and meanwhile
making drain opening 21 and the flippers 23A, 23B moving so as to
improve the chance of successfully striking the ball and the gain
of score, and thus, the interesting, exciting, and man-machine
interactivity of the game can be improved to enhance and train the
speed of response of the player in making a movement and
control.
[0022] Thus, it can be appreciated from the above description that
the present invention is inventive and not obvious and provides a
structural arrangement that has never been known. As such, it is
believed this invention meet completely the requirement for a
patent, and the application is so filed in order to pursue granting
of patent.
[0023] However, it is noted that what described above is just one
of the feasible embodiments of the present invention, and such an
embodiment is provided as an example of illustration of the
technical solution that the present invention may adopt to achieve
the purpose of the present invention as described above, and the
structure thereof, and is not intended to limit the scope of
protection that the application pursues. All the equivalent
variations and modifications that are made according to the above
description and the appended claims are considered falling within
the scope of protection for the present invention.
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