| 摘要 |
A system for managing table tennis balls facilitates retrieval of stray balls, stores them and dispenses them conveniently to a player as required. The system has two main components: a ball retriever, a.k.a. the BallSnatcher, and a storage rack, a.k.a. the BallFeeder. The tubular retriever can hold a column of balls and is deployed in a hand-held manner in a vertical orientation from a standing position. The retriever is fitted at its bottom end with a ball trap including (a) a flexible coaxial constriction ring defining an expandable entry opening that when lowered over a stray ball captures and retains it in the retriever tube, and (b) a flexible coaxial guidance flange extending outwardly and downwardly to provide initial guidance in retrieving a stray ball. The tubular storage rack is mounted below the playing surface of a game table at a low angle; an open upper end is located along one side of the table where it can receive balls in an easy transfer from the retriever, while the opposite lower end is fitted with an endstop/dispenser, located at an end of the table convenient to a player, that retains the balls in the rack and dispenses them one at a time as required for play. The storage tube is sized to receive the open top end of the retriever for ball transfer; furthermore, the retriever can inserted telescopically into the storage tube and left conveniently stored in this manner, ready to be easily pulled out for deployment.
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