A table tennis service machine is simple in construction and is formed of mechanical devices, such as a ball feeding device, a driving member, a deceleration gear set, and a ball ejecting device. The deceleration gear set is driven by the driving member such that the ball ejecting device is driven by the deceleration gear set in an intermittent manner, thereby resulting in a periodic ejection of the ball by the service machine. |
Citations|
| US3084680 | May 26, 1959 | Apr 9, 1963 | | BALL PROJECTING APPARATUS | | US3807379 | Apr 7, 1972 | Apr 3, 1974 | | PROGRAMMING CONTROL MEANS | | US5888155 | Jan 8, 1998 | Mar 30, 1999 | | Automatic tennis ball supply device | | US6176230 | Sep 14, 1999 | Jan 23, 2001 | | Portable projectile launcher for pet amusement |
Referenced by|
| US8162783 | Jul 29, 2010 | Apr 24, 2012 | | Table tennis game with automated serving and scorekeeping | | USD621457 | Aug 17, 2009 | Aug 10, 2010 | North American Table Tennis, LLC | Automatic table tennis ball server | | USD663757 | Oct 27, 2010 | Jul 17, 2012 | Newgy Industries, Inc. | Table tennis robot |
Claims1. A table tennis service machine comprising: - a housing which is comprised of a guide slot, an assembly slot, and an ejection slot, said guide slot being provided at a top end with a port, said ejection slot being provided at a top end with an opening which is located under said port of said guide slot, said assembly slot being located between said guide slot and said ejection slot whereby said ejection slot is provided with a guiding tube which is provided in a tube wall with an elongated through slot in communication with said assembly slot;
- a motor comprising an output shaft, and a drive gear mounted on said output shaft, said motor being mounted in said assembly slot of said housing;
- a deceleration gear set mounted in said assembly slot and comprised of a plurality of driven gears, one of which is engaged with said drive gear of said motor, with another one of said driven gears being provided with a push plate which is in turn provided at a top end thereof with a protrusion whereby said protrusion is engaged in a circular motion at the time when said push plate is in motion;
- a ball ejecting rod greater in length than said guiding tube of said ejection slot of said housing, said ball ejecting rod being slidably disposed in said guiding tube in conjunction with a spring fitted thereover such that said spring is located between one end of said guiding tube and a nut fastened to one end of said ball ejecting rod, said ball ejection rod provided in an outer wall with a projection whereby said projection juts out of said guiding slot via said elongated through slot of said guiding slot such that said projection is pushed by said protrusion of said push plate in motion to cause said ball ejecting rod to move intermittently in a backward direction, thereby resulting in compression of said spring; and
- a ball feeding member comprised of a shaft and a plurality of arms extending from said shaft, said ball feeding member being located in said guide slot of said housing such that said shaft is driven by one of said driven gears of said deceleration gear set, and that said arms of said ball feeding member turn along with said shaft in motion to scoop up table tennis balls which are collected in a tray located at an opponent end of a table, with the table tennis balls being lined up in said guide slot such that a ball located at the top is pushed out of said guide slot via said port of said guide slot, so as to fall into said ejection slot via said opening of said ejection slot, thereby resulting in ejection of the ball by said ball ejecting rod in conjunction with a spring force of said spring.
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