Background of the Invention Rolling contact between a bowling ball and a lane often leaves wear or scratch on the surface of the bowling ball.

In particular, the bowling ball tends to make contact with the lane substantially at the same circumferential area thereof, which gives rise to an unbalanced partial wear of the bowling ball. Use of the scratched and unevenly worn bowling ball would make a bowling player feel it difficult to command, e. g., spin skills at his or her desire due mainly to the unpredictable movement of the bowling ball.

Accordingly, the scratch and the unbalanced wear may adversely affect the score of a bowling game, thus reducing the amusement of the game played. This means that the bowling ball should be periodically resurfaced into a complete spherical shape.

There are a number of prior art references that disclose a device for automatically resurfacing the bowling ball. One of them is U. S. Patent No. 5,613,896 that teaches a bowling ball resurfacing machine including three shafts each pivotally disposed at an angle of 120° in a manner as to support a bowling ball therein, three motors for rotating the corresponding shaft in a forward/reverse direction, and three cone-shaped abrading cups mounted on the shafts.

Although this bowling ball resurfacing machine has its own advantages, the problem of unbalanced partial wear still

remains unsolved because the rolling direction of the bowling ball cannot be vigorously changed during the resurfacing operation.

Summary of the Invention It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a resurfacing device for automatically abrading, machining and furbishing the entire surface of a spherical objects without leaving any uneven partial wear on the surface thereof.

Another object of the invention is to provide a bowling ball resurfacing device for automatically and uniformly abrading the entire surface of a bowling ball while causing the latter to revolve in many different directions.

In accordance with an aspect of the invention, there is provided a bowling ball resurfacing device, comprising: a body; a plurality of supporting posts mounted on the body, each post rotatable about a corresponding vertical axis; a plurality of rollers mounted on the top end of each of the supporting posts in such a manner as to make a rolling contact with the bowling ball, each roller rotatable about a corresponding horizontal axis; a first driving mechanism operatively connected to the rollers for causing rotational movement of the rollers; a second driving mechanism operatively connected to the supporting posts for causing the posts to rotate at a predetermined angle together with the rollers so that the bowling ball can be revolved in a different direction; and an abrasive member attached to the body for making a frictional contact with the surface of the bowling ball to thereby resurface the bowling ball.

Brief Description of the Drawings Fig. 1 is a schematic cross sectional view showing a

bowling ball resurfacing device in accordance with the present invention; Fig. 2 is an enlarged cross sectional view illustrating a lower abrasive unit incorporated in the bowling ball resurfacing device in accordance with the invention; Fig. 3 is an enlarged cross sectional view depicting a supporting posts with a roller at the top end thereof; Fig. 4 offers a partially cut away top view taken along line A-A in Fig. 1; Figs. 5 and 6 are views similar to Fig. 4 but showing different operation modes; Fig. 7 represents a schematic cross sectional view delineating an upper abrasive unit incorporated in the bowling ball resurfacing device in accordance with the invention; and Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 7 but illustrating the upper abrasive unit brought into an operative position.

Best Mode for Carrying out the Invention The above and other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments given in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

A bowling ball resurfacing device of the present invention comprises a lower abrasive unit (100) and an upper abrasive unit (200), as shown in Fig. 1. The lower abrasive unit (100) is adapted to cause the revolving motion of a bowling ball (B) and to abrade a lower surface of the bowling ball (B). The upper abrasive unit (200) abrades an upper surface of the rolling bowling ball (B). These abrasive units will be described in detail hereinbelow.

The lower abrasive unit (100) includes a lower body (101) having an internal plate (105) located between an

upper plate (102) and a lower plate (104). The lower abrasive unit (100) further includes a push button (106) and a timer (107) disposed on the outside thereof and a control board (108) installed on the inside thereof. The lower abrasive unit (100) further includes a cylindrical container (109) secured to the upper plate (102), the cylindrical container (109) having an access opening (109a) on the top thereof and a dust collection basin (109b).

A bottom spindle (110) is vertically installed at the center of the lower body (101). The bottom spindle (110) is supported by the collection basin (109b) and the internal plate (105), with bearings retained therebetween, in such a way that the bottom spindle (110) rotates about its central axis. Particularly, the top portion of the bottom spindle (110) is disposed in the middle of the opening (109a) through a through-hole (109c) of the collection basin (109b), wherein the collection basin (109b) has an extension (109d) surrounding the bottom spindle (110) and extending upwardly.

The bottom spindle (110) includes a hub ring (120) secured to the periphery thereof and rotating therewith, the hub ring (120) having a rotary pulley (122) and a driving gear (124) installed thereon (see Fig. 2).

The bottom spindle (110) is forwardly or reversely rotated by a first driving unit including a driving motor (130), a driving pulley (134) connected to the driving motor (132), a driven pulley (112) secured on bottom portion of the bottom spindle (110) and a belt (135) operatively connecting the driving pulley (134) and the driven pulley (112) together. Torque of the driving motor (130) is transferred to the bottom spindle (110) through the driving pulley (134), the belt (135) and the rotary pulley (112).

As shown in Fig. 2, on the top end of the bottom spindle (110) is formed a bottom abrader part (140) for

abrading the lower surface of the bowling ball (B), which includes an outer abrader wheel (142) and an inner abrader wheel (145) surrounded by the outer abrader wheel (142).

The outer abrader wheel (142) has an abrasive area (143) remaining in frictional contact with the bowling ball (B) and an upwardly opened recess (143a). The abrasive area (143) is generally in the shape of doughnut and has substantially the same curvature as the bowling ball (B) to assure close contact therebetween. Provided on the abrasive area (143) is a doughnut-shaped abrading element such as an abrasive stone, cloth or brush. The abrading element is detachably attached to the abrasive area (143) by suitable fastening means, e. g., Velcro fastener.

The outer abrader wheel (142) is affixed to the top portion of the bottom spindle (110) by a clamp (144) and four fixing bolts (144a). A spring (144b) is retained between the outer abrader wheel (142) and the clamp (144).

The fixing bolts (144a) are equally spaced about the bottom spindle (110) and the springs (144b) serve to resiliently bias the outer abrader wheel (142) upwardly into close contact with the bowling ball (B). The outer abrader wheel (142) is caused to rotate by the bottom spindle (110) and, hence, abrades the surface of the bowling ball (B).

The inner abrader wheel (145) is disposed in the recess (143a) of the outer abrader wheel (142) and includes a threaded rod (146) rotatably fitted to the outer abrader wheel (142) at the bottom thereof and an abrasive area (147) contactable with the bowling ball (B). The threaded rod (146) extends through the center of the recess (143) of the outer abrader wheel (142) and is disposed along the same axis as the bottom spindle (110). The inner abrader wheel (145) is rotatable with respect to the outer abrader wheel (142) in such a fashion that the rotation of the outer

abrader wheel (142) in the forward or reverse direction can result in the inner abrader wheel (145) being moved upwards or downwards. In other words, the inner abrader wheel (145) has a tendency to remain immovable due to its inertia, while the outer abrader wheel (142) is strongly rotated by the bottom spindle (110). This assures that the inner abrader wheel (145) remaining in threaded engagement with the outer abrader wheel (142) is caused to move up and down depending on the direction of rotation of the outer abrader wheel (142), whereby the abrasive area (147) of the inner abrader wheel (145) may be elevated higher than that (143) of the outer abrader wheel (142) and then come into contact with the bowling ball.

The bottom abrader part (140) includes a stopper arrangement for preventing over-rotation of the outer abrader wheel (142) with respect to the inner abrader wheel (145), wherein the stopper arrangement includes a first and a second pin (146a), (146b) provided at the top and the bottom portion of the treaded rod (146), respectively, and first and second stoppers (142a), (142b) disposed on the outer and inner surfaces of the outer abrader wheel (142), respectively. When the threaded rod (146) moves up and down, the first and second pins (146a), (146b) come to abut the second and first stoppers (142b), (142a), thereby making it possible to avoid any over-rotation of the outer abrader wheel (142).

The abrasive area (147) of the inner abrader wheel (145) is so configured as to make close contact with the surface of the bowling ball (B) and is provided with an abrading element, e. g., an abrasive stone or abrasive cloth.

The abrading element is attached to the abrasive area (147) through the use of suitable fastener means, e. g., Velcro fastener, in a readily detachable manner.

The abrading element of the outer abrader wheel (142) is of different roughness than that of the inner abrader wheel (145) such that the abrading element of higher rouhgness can be used in the process of initial abrading operation, while the abrading element of lower roughness can be utilized for the sake of precise abrasion. The bottom spindle (110) will be caused to rotate in a selected direction such that only one of the outer and the inner abrader wheels (142), (145) may come into contact with the bowling ball (B) at one time.

Turning back to Fig. 1, the lower body (101) further includes at least three supporting posts (150) rotatable about their own vertical axes. As best illustrated in Figs.

1 and 3, the supporting posts (150) are equally spaced about and around the bottom spindle (110) and are rotatably mounted on upright driving shafts (160). The driving shafts (160) are, in turn, rotatably fitted to the internal plate (105) and are protruded over the top of the supporting posts (150). The supporting posts (150) are disposed around the bottom abrader part (140) in the access opening (109a) of the dust collection basin (109b) and respectively fitted into a through-hole (109c) of the collection basin (109b) which is defined by a upwardly projecting boss (109d). A cylindrical cover (154) is provided at the top portion of the supporting post (150) and extends downwardly therefrom so as to overlap a part of the boss (109d). As clearly shown in Fig. 3, the cover (154) is fitted to the supporting post (150) by the combined use of guide ridges (150a) and guide grooves (154a), ensuring that the supporting post (150) can be vertically fixed but rotatable about its own axis. The cover (154) prevents the abrasive fluid from flowing over the boss (109d).

Although four supporting posts (150) equally spaced

about the bottom spindle (110) are shown and described herein by way of example, the number of supporting posts (150) is not limitative in the present invention and therefore can be less than or more than four.

Referring again to Figs. 1 and 3, it can be appreciated that each of the supporting posts (150) is provided at its top end with a roller (170) that functions to have the bowling ball (B) revolve. Specifically, a support bracket (155) with opposing support plates (155a) is mounted on the top end of the supporting post (150) in a manner that the opposing support plates (155a) can rotatingly hold the driven shaft (156). The roller (170) is affixed to and rotated with the driven shaft (156) so as to cause the bowling ball (B) to revolve. The roller (170) includes a first and a second hemi-sphere (172), (174) between which the top end of the driving shaft (160) is positioned. The roller (170) has a pair of operative recesses (172a), (174a) at the inside of the first and the second hemi-spheres (172a), (174a).

The roller (170) is adapted to support the bowling ball (B) and is caused to rotate about a horizontal center axis.

Preferably, the roller (170) is made of rubber in order not to damage the bowling ball (B) and has a spherical shape such that it can make point-to-point contact with the bowling ball (b). This assists in maintaining constant the elevation of the bowling ball (B) supported by the roller (170) as well as in causing the supporting posts (150) to turn against the frictional force between the roller (170) and the ball (B).

As shown in Figs. 1 and 3, the roller (170) is rotatable about its horizontal center axis by means of a second driving unit. The second driving unit includes: the driving motor (130) rotatable forwardly and reversely; the bottom

spindle (110) operatively connected to the driving motor (130); the driving gear (114) fixedly secured to the bottom spindle (110); the driven gear (162) placed at bottom of the driving shaft (160) and engaged with the driving gear (114); the driving bevel gear installed at the top end of the driving shaft (160); and the driven bevel gear (156a) affixed to the driven shaft in a meshing relationship with the driving bevel gear (164).

A rotary motion of the driving motor (130) is transferred to the roller (170) through the bottom spindle (110), the driving shaft (160) and the driven shaft (156), in such a way that all of the rollers (170) positioned around the bottom abrader part (140) can be rotatingly driven at the same speed. The bowling ball (B) placed on the rollers (170) is then revolved in the forward and reverse direction by the rollers (170). At the same time, the bottom abrader part (140) located at the center of the lower body (101) will abrade the lower surface of the rotating bowling ball (B).

The supporting posts (150) are rotated together by a third driving unit. As shown in Fig. 1, the third driving unit includes a stepping motor (180) mounted on the internal plate (105). An output shaft (182) extends upwardly from the step motor (105) and a driving pulley (184) is affixed to the output shaft (182). The driving pulley (184) is operatively connected to a driven pulley (122) of the hub ring (120) by a belt (185) so as to rotate the hub ring (120) and the driving gear (124). This assures that the torque of the stepping motor (180) is transferred to the respective supporting post (150) to thereby cause intermittent angular movement of the latter.

As described above, the bowling ball (B) is uniformly abraded by such an angular movement of the supporting posts

(150). More specifically, as shown in Figs. 4 through 6, when the supporting posts (150) and hence the rollers (170) are subjected to intermittent turning movement about a vertical axis at a predetermined angle, the axis of rotation of the bowling ball (B) is sequentially changed from"X"in Fig. 4 to Y"in Fig. 5 and then to"Z"in Fig. 6. This makes it possible to uniformly abrade the bowling ball (B) with no unbalanced wear because the contacting surface of the bowling ball (B) with the bottom abrader part (140) continues to be changed automatically and positively.

It should be noted that the time period and angle of rotation of the supporting posts (150) and the rollers (170) about their vertical axes can be properly controlled with the use of the push button (106) and the timer (107) of the control board (108). In the embodiment illustrated in Figs.

5 and 6, the rollers (170) are turned at an angle of 45° at a time by the rotation of the supporting posts (150), but the turning angle of the posts (150) and the rollers (170) is not limitative in the invention and may be changed to, e. g., 10 or 15 degrees.

The lower body (101) further includes a lubricating unit for supplying abrasive fluid to the surface of the bowling ball (B). As shown in Fig. 1, the lubricating unit includes a container (190) for storing the abrasive fluid, a pump (192) for discharging the abrasive fluid with a specific pressure, a nozzle (195) for spraying the abrasive fluid on the surface of the bowling ball (B) and a hose (194) for feeding the abrasive fluid from the pump (192) to the nozzle (195). The container (190) includes an opened top through which the abrasive fluid are refilled into the container (190), wherein the collection basin (109b) has a drain hole (109e) for dropping the abrasive fluid of the collection basin (109b) into the container (190). The

container (190) further includes a filter (190a) that serve to purify the drained abrasive fluid.

In the meantime, an upper abrasive unit (200) is mounted on the lower abrasive unit (100). The upper abrasive unit (200) includes an upper body (201) having an upper abrasive part (240) installed thereon.

The upper body (201) of the upper abrasive unit (200) is built on the lower body (101) by supporters (201a) and is provided with a fixing plate (202) and an ancillary plate (204) mounted over the fixing plate (202). The fixing plate (202) is spaced apart from the ancillary plate (204) by a pair of vertical connectors (205) in a parallel relationship with each other. A lifting plate (207) is installed between the fixing plate (202) and the ancillary plate (204) for up and down reciprocating movement along the vertical connectors (205).

A hollow upper spindle (210) is rotatably fitted to the center of the lifting plate (207). The upper spindle (210) is rotatingly driven in the forward or reverse direction by a fourth driving unit and can move up and down so as to make contact or out of contact with the surface of the bowling ball (B).

As shown in Figs. 7 and 8, the fourth driving unit includes a driving motor (220) mounted on the fixing plate (202) and having an output shaft (222), a driving pulley (224) secured to the output shaft (222), a transfer shaft (225) rotatably attached to the ancillary plate (204), and a driven pulley (226) mounted on the top of the transfer shaft (225) and operatively connected to the driving pulley (224) by a belt (227). The transfer shaft (225) is inserted through the bore of the upper spindle (210), wherein the upper spindle (210) can move up and down along the transfer shaft (225) but the rotation thereof is made together with

the transfer shaft (225) by the combined action of a vertical slot (212) formed on the upper spindle (210) and a pin (225a) fixed to the transfer shaft (225).

A depressing unit is provided which includes a lifting motor (230) mounted on the fixing plate (202) and rotatable in the forward or reverse direction. The lifting motor (230) is provided with an output shaft (232) to which a pinion gear (234) is fixedly secured, whereas the lifting plate (207) has a rack gear (207a) extending downwardly and engaged with the pinion gear (234). The forward and reverse rotation of the lifting motor (230) causes the lifting plate (207) to move upwards and downwards by virtue of the pinion gear (234) and the rack gear (207a).

The upper spindle (210) further includes an upper abrasive part (240) carried on the bottom end portion thereof. The upper abrasive part (240) for abrading the surface of the bowling ball (B) includes an outer abrader wheel (242) and an inner abrader wheel (245) surrounded by the outer abrader wheel (242). As best illustrated in Fig.

7, the outer abrader wheel (242) has a downwardly opened recess (243a) and an abrasive surface area (243). The abrasive area (243) is of concave shape to assure close contact with the surface of the bowling ball (B) and has an abrading element such as an abrasive stone or an abrasive cloth. The abrading element is attached to the abrasive area (243) with the use of suitable fastener means, e. g., Velcro fastener, in an easily detachable manner.

The outer abrader wheel (242) is affixed to the top portion of the upper spindle (210) by a clamp (244) and four fixing bolts (244a). A spring (244b) is retained between the outer abrader wheel (242) and the clamp (244). The fixing bolts (244a) are equally spaced about and around the upper spindle (210) and the springs (244b) serve to resiliently

bias the outer abrader wheel (242) upwardly into close contact with the bowling ball (B). The outer abrader wheel (242) is caused to rotate by the upper spindle (210) and, hence, abrades the surface of the bowling ball (B).

The inner abrader wheel (245) is disposed in the recess (243a) of the outer abrader wheel (242) and includes a threaded rod (246) engaged with the outer abrader wheel (242) at bottom thereof and an abrasive area (247) contactable with the bowling ball (B). The threaded rod (246) extends through the center of the recess (243) of the outer abrader wheel (242) and is disposed along the same axis as the upper spindle (210). The inner abrader wheel (245) is rotatable with respect to the outer abrader wheel (242) in such a fashion that the rotation of the outer abrader wheel (242) in the forward or reverse direction can result in the inner abrader wheel (245) being moved upwards or downwards. In other words, the inner abrader wheel (245) has a tendency to remain immovable due to its inertia, while the outer abrader wheel (242) is strongly rotated by the upper spindle (210). This assures that the inner abrader wheel (245) remaining in threaded engagement with the outer abrader wheel (242) is caused to move up and down depending on the direction of rotation of the outer abrader wheel (242), whereby the abrasive area (247) of the inner abrader wheel (245) may be elevated higher than that (243) of the outer abrader wheel (242) and then come into contact with the bowling ball (B).

The upper abrader part (240) includes a stopper arrangement for preventing over-rotation of the outer abrader wheel (242) with respect to the inner abrader wheel (245), wherein the stopper arrangement includes a first and a second pin (246a), (246b) provided at the top and the bottom portion of the treaded rod (246), respectively, and a

first and a second stopper (242a), (242b) disposed on the outer and the inner surface of the outer abrader wheel (242), respectively. In the event that the treaded rod (246) moves up and down, the first and the second pin (246a), (246b) come to abut the second and the first stopper (242b), (242a), thereby making it possible to avoid over-rotation of the outer abrader wheel (242).

The abrasive area (247) of the inner abrader wheel (245) is so configured as to make close contact with the surface of the bowling ball (B) and is provided with an abrading element, e. g., an abrasive stone or abrasive cloth.

The abrading element is attached to the abrasive area (247) through the use of suitable fastener means, e. g., Velcro fastener, in a readily detachable manner.

The abrading element of the outer abrader wheel (242) is of different roughness than that of the inner abrader wheel (245) such that the abrading element of higher rouhgness can be used in the process of initial abrading operation, while the abrading element of lower roughness can be utilized for the sake of precise abrasion. The upper spindle (210) will be caused to rotate in a selected direction such that only one of the outer and the inner abrader wheels (242), (245) may come into contact with the bowling ball (B) at one time.

It is preferred that the outer and the inner abrader wheel (142), (145) of the bottom abrader part (140) and the outer and the inner abrader wheel (242), (245) of the upper abrasive part (240) have abrading elements with four different roughness to one another. The abrading elements are alternately and sequentially brought into contact with the surface of the bowling ball (B) by the forward and reverse rotary motion of the bottom spindle (110) and the upper spindle (210), whereby the bowling ball (B) is

resurfaced into through the four different abrading steps.

Preferably, the abrading elements of the bottom abrader part (140) are smoother than that of the upper abrasive part (240) so that the bottom abrader part (140) is utilized in a cleansing or polishing process, while the upper abrasive part (240) are used in a rough cutting process. The control board (108) is used to control the rotary motion of the bottom spindle (110) and the upper spindle (210).

The upper body (201) incorporates therein an upper collection basin (250) for storing the abrasive fluid scattered from the upper abrasive part (240) during the abrading process of the bowling ball (B). The upper collection basin (250) is disposed to surround the upper abrasive part (240) and can move along with the upper abrasive part (240). The upper collection basin (250) has a drain hole (252) located at bottom thereof and coinciding with the drain hole (109e) of the collection basin (109), such that the abrasive fluid stored in the upper collection basin (250) falls down into the cllection basin (109) through the drain hole (252) and hence is refilled to the fluid container (190) through the drain hole (109e) of the lower collection basin (109).

Operation of the bowling ball resurfacing device will be set forth hereinbelow.

First, the start button is depressed in a condition that the bowling ball (B) is placed on the rollers (170).

Then, the bottom spindle (110) will be forwardly rotated by the rotary motion of the driving motor (130) whereby the bottom abrader part (140) on the top of the bottom spindle (110) begins to abrade the lower surface of the rotating bowling ball (B). At this time, only one of the outer and the inner abrader wheels (142), (145) comes into contact with the lower surface of the bowling ball (B) depending on

the direction of rotation of the bottom abrader part (140).

The rotary motion of the bottom spindle (110) causes the driving shafts (160) connected to the bottom spindle (110) to rotate and, hence, the rollers (170) connected to the driving shafts (160) through the pair of the bevel gears (164,156a) to be also turned, thus forcibly rotating the bowling ball. Furthermore, the abrasive fluid are supplied to the surface of the bowling ball (B) through the nozzle (195) of the lubricating unit.

The stepping motor (180) of the lower body (101) is periodically energized to cause intermittent rotation of the supporting posts (150) through the bottom spindle (110) and the pair of bevel gears (124), (157), in such a way the axis of rotation of the bowling ball (B) is changed from"X"in Fig. 4 to"Y"in Fig. 5 and then to""Z''in Fig. 6. This assures uniform abrasion of the bowling ball (B) with no unbalanced wear.

Responsive to a reverse rotation signal issued from the control board (108), the bottom spindle (110) is reversely rotated by the driving motor (130), so that the bottom abrader part (140) can be turned in the reverse direction.

Accordingly, the inner abrader wheel (145) moves up or down, assuring that the other one of the outer and inner abrader wheels (142), (145)) is brought into contact with the lower surface of the bowling ball (B) to abrde the latter.

The upper abrasive part (240) can be subsequently operated to abrade the top surface of the bowling ball (B) in a similar way to the bottom abrasive part (140), the detailed description of which is omitted for the sake of convenience.

In this way, the bowling ball (B) is automatically and sequentially abraded into a true sphere shape with the four abrader wheels (142,145,242,245) of different roughness,

while it is forcibly revolved by the rollers about many different horizontal axes.

If required, the bowling ball resurfacing device of the invention may further incorporate the function of a conventional vending machine so that the individual bowling player can use the inventive device by inserting a coin thereinto.

Industrial Applicability of the Invention As fully described above, the bowling ball resurfacing device in accordance with the invention has the ability to turn the bowling ball about many different axes and automatically abrade the entire surface of the bowling ball into a true and complete sphere, with no unbalanced wear, by use of various abrading elements of different roughness.