The funnel was designed between the fourth and final iterations of the shooting mechanism. This funnel had to accomplish two tasks:
The top of the funnel was kept wide that poker chips would not miss as it rotated to hit the small side bins. The small face on top of the funnel (shown clear in the photo) was kept shallow in order to deaden the fall of the poker chips. The chips then slide to a steep face and flip over as they do so.
Poker chips were not loaded into the shooting mechanism as soon as they fell in the device. Rather, they were loaded as soon as the swinging arm was pulled back. This process kept the poker chips on the steep slope of the funnel before loading which would guarantee they fall into place with the arm every time. If poker chips sat on the 30 degree slope of the shooter before firing, they would stick occasionally and misfire.
- Catch a poker chip as it falls
- Flip the poker chip into the correct orientation for shooter
The top of the funnel was kept wide that poker chips would not miss as it rotated to hit the small side bins. The small face on top of the funnel (shown clear in the photo) was kept shallow in order to deaden the fall of the poker chips. The chips then slide to a steep face and flip over as they do so.
Poker chips were not loaded into the shooting mechanism as soon as they fell in the device. Rather, they were loaded as soon as the swinging arm was pulled back. This process kept the poker chips on the steep slope of the funnel before loading which would guarantee they fall into place with the arm every time. If poker chips sat on the 30 degree slope of the shooter before firing, they would stick occasionally and misfire.