The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jun. 09, 1992
Filed:
Aug. 28, 1991
Applicant:
Inventors:
John Trudeau, Chicago, IL (US);
Zofia Bil, Chicago, IL (US);
Assignee:
Williams Electronics Games, Inc., Chicago, IL (US);
Attorney:
Primary Examiner:
Assistant Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
A63F / ;
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
7731 / ; 2731 / ; 2731 / ; 2731 / ; 2731 / ;
Abstract
A dual-path ramp for pinball games is formed of a single plastic member and has a plurality of entrances from the game playfield and exits back onto the playfield. The geometry of sides of the ramp is such that the ball, as it travels adjacent to one of the sides, is directed into a plurality of patterned grooves in the bottom surface of the ramp, which, in turn, direct the path of the ball back to the sides in a criss-cross pattern. In a second embodiment, ball guides, rather than grooves, are used to cause the ball to follow one side or the other of the ramp instead of criss-crossing back and forth.