Apparatus for cleaning belts of bowling pinsetter

{
  "publication_number": "US11318366B2",
  "country": "US",
  "kind": "B2",
  "title": "Apparatus for cleaning belts of bowling pinsetter",
  "abstract": "An apparatus for cleaning belts of a bowling pinsetter comprising at least one cleaning member for cleaning at least one belt of the bowling pinsetter and a frame for coupling the at least one cleaning member to the bowling pinsetter. The apparatus further comprises at least one positioning member comprising a mechanism for moving and guiding the at least one cleaning member between a cleaning position and a non-cleaning position, wherein the cleaning member is coupled with the bowling pinsetter in the cleaning position and in the non-cleaning position.",
  "claims": [
    "1. An apparatus, comprising: at least one cleaning member for cleaning at least one belt of a bowling pinsetter; a frame for coupling the at least one cleaning member to the bowling pinsetter; and at least one positioning member comprising a mechanism coupled with an electric motor configured to provide force to move and guide the at least one cleaning member between a cleaning position in which the at least one cleaning member contacts the at least one belt and a non-cleaning position in which the at least one cleaning member does not contact the at least one belt, wherein the cleaning member is coupled with the bowling pinsetter in the cleaning position and in the non-cleaning position.",
    "2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the positioning member is configured to provide a translational and/or a rotational movement for moving and guiding the at least one cleaning member between the cleaning position and the non-cleaning position.",
    "3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the frame comprises a housing for the at least one cleaning member and wherein a structure of the housing is open so that the at least one cleaning member contacts the at least one belt of the bowling pinsetter in the cleaning position.",
    "4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the frame comprises a first and a second axle for the at least one cleaning member.",
    "5. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the at least one of the first and the second axle comprises at least one locking member for locking the at least one cleaning member to the at least one of the first and the second axle.",
    "6. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the first and/or the second axle is detachably mounted into the frame for replacement of the at least one cleaning member.",
    "7. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the at least one cleaning member comprises a plurality of the cleaning members mounted into the same axle adjacent to each other.",
    "8. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the frame comprises a support member configured to receive the at least one cleaning member and the at least one belt in the cleaning position.",
    "9. An apparatus, comprising: at least one cleaning member for cleaning at least one belt of a bowling pinsetter; a frame for coupling the at least one cleaning member to the bowling pinsetter; and at least one positioning member comprising a mechanism configured to move and guide the at least one cleaning member between a cleaning position in which the at least one cleaning member contacts the at least one belt and a non-cleaning position in which the at least one cleaning member does not contact the at least one belt, wherein the cleaning member is coupled with the bowling pinsetter in the cleaning position and in the non-cleaning position, wherein the frame comprises a control member configured to limit rotation of the first axle.",
    "10. An apparatus, comprising: at least one cleaning member for cleaning at least one belt of a bowling pinsetter; a frame for coupling the at least one cleaning member to the bowling pinsetter; and at least one positioning member comprising a mechanism configured to move and guide the at least one cleaning member between a cleaning position in which the at least one cleaning member contacts the at least one belt and a non-cleaning position in which the at least one cleaning member does not contact the at least one belt, wherein the cleaning member is coupled with the bowling pinsetter in the cleaning position and in the non-cleaning position, wherein the at least one positioning member is configured to rotate the first axle during the positioning of the at least one cleaning member to the non-cleaning position and is configured to rotate the second axle during the positioning of the at least one cleaning member to the cleaning position.",
    "11. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus comprises a plurality of the cleaning members for cleaning a plurality of the belts of the bowling pinsetter simultaneously.",
    "12. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus is an auxiliary device for the bowling pinsetter.",
    "13. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus is the bowling pinsetter."
  ],
  "description_excerpt": "This application claims priority to FI 20185509 filed Jun. 5, 2018, the entire contents of which is hereby incorporated by reference.\n\nThe invention relates to a bowling pinsetter, and more particularly to a solution for cleaning belts of the bowling pinsetter.\n\nThe bowling pinsetter comprises a plurality of round belts, which are used for transporting, for example, bowling balls and pins. The belts get dirty during the operation of the bowling pinsetter because, for example, oil, grease and dust gathers on the belts. Cleaning of the belts must be performed regularly to ensure proper operation of the bowling pinsetter. The cleaning of the belts is normally a manual process performed often by a cloth. The belts are cleaned normally one by one when the bowling pinsetter is running. There are many disadvantages in the manual cleaning of the belts. The one bowling pinsetter comprises a plurality of the belts which must be cleaned regularly and there might be, for example, dozens of bowling pinsetters in a bowling alley. Therefore, it is very time consuming to manually clean the belts one by one with the cloth. The manual cleaning process may also be dangerous because of the running bowling pinsetter.\n\nTo alleviate the disadvantages described above a more sophisticated solution is needed.\n\nThe invention is defined by the independent claim.\n\nEmbodiments of the invention are defined in the dependent claims.",
  "cpc": [
    "A63D 5/10",
    "A63D 5/08",
    "B08B 1/008",
    "B08B 1/02",
    "B08B 1/04",
    "B08B 1/20",
    "B08B 1/30",
    "B08B 1/34"
  ],
  "ipc": [
    "A63D 5/08",
    "A63D 5/10",
    "B08B 1/20"
  ],
  "assignees": [
    "Finems Oy"
  ],
  "inventors": [
    "Marko LINDEMAN"
  ],
  "filing_date": "2019-06-03",
  "publication_date": "2022-05-03",
  "grant_date": "2022-05-03",
  "priority_date": "2018-06-05",
  "application_number": "US-201916429438-A",
  "family_id": "66685384",
  "cited_by_count": 3,
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}