US1730523A - Game - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 8, 1929. J. s. NICHOLAS 1,730,523

GAME

Filed March 16, 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet l Inventor Oct. 8, 1929. J. s. NICHOLAS GAME Filed March 16, 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 I]. sJl b'chalds Q B Wm y Attornqy Oct. 8, 1929.

J. S. NICHOLAS GAME Filed March 16, 1928 v 3 Sheets-Sheet Inventor 6 3 If. SJYiohoZas Patented Oct. 8, 1929 "UNITED STATES JAMES S. NICHOLAS, OE AKRON, OHIO GAME Application filed March '16, 1928.. Serial No. 262,095.

The presentinvention embodies the idea and means for providing an amusing game of the type including aboard having certain indications and instructions located thereon, together 'With a manually operable ejecting device for a ball, marble or the like which,

is literally shot across the surface of the board for cooperation with thevarious indications.

I am aware that various games of this general type are in use today and that many have been patented. After carefully considering these, I have evolved and produced a game which is characterized by-certain new and novel features which lend individuality thereto and serve to produce what I believe to be a new contribution to this art.'

The details and their relative arrangement and association will become more readily apparent from the following description and drawings.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a game board constructed in accordance with th present invention. I

Figure 2 is a central longitudinal section, taken approximately upon the plane of the line 22 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is an irregular section, taken approximately upon the plane of the line 33 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a view of the device, with the bottom board removed to expose novel mechanism constituting an important party of the invention. c

In carrying, out the invention, I provide a box-like container which includes a flat bottom 5, the forward or playing end of which rests upon the supporting surface, and the remote end of which is supported in an inclined position by a prop or equivalent element 6. Incidentally, the prop is of such height as to incline the bottom of the box to facilitate gravity return of the projectile used in playing the game. The bottom 5 is of elongated configuration as shown in Figures 1 and 4, being straight across at the playing end (namely the left hand end) and being curved on a circular line at the opposite right hand end, which may be designated as at the the horizontal partition 8, which is centrally a high point pocket. Cooperating with this,

In other words, it has the straight end, spaced parallel sides, and rounded ends. In this connection, it is to be stated that the rounded ends are particularly important in the playing of the game as will be seen later.

Appropriately supported within the box is located, to provide a lower ball return com- 0 partrhent, and an upper playing field 10. This partition is provided with a plurality of openings which cooperate in forming receiving pockets. I desire to make a distinction between the pockets because they operate somewhat individually in the scoring. For example, at the upper right hand end of Figure 2, we observe an opening 11, which for the sake of clearness may be designated as .a

on the left hand side, is the stop pin 12. As

isapparent from Figure 1, this particular pocket is located centrally'of the curved end of the board and in fact is spaced downward- 5 1y from the crown portion of the adjacent part of the rim 7. In the actual game, this pocket will have an indication, for example,

five thousand, consisting of the highest individual point, the pocket being located atthe point on the board which makes it very difficult to score on. Located on one side of the pocket 11 is a bumper or buffer 'pin 13 (see Figure 1). In practice, this may be an upstanding pin surrounded by a rubber sleeve 5 to cushion the blow of the ball. Incidentally, in playing this game, I prefer to use" a marble, ball or suitable projectile. The bumper 13 is located to one side of the crown portion of the rim and in fact in the path of travel of the o I ba-ll. In most instances, when the ball is projected, it will strike this bumper and bounce various ways across the surface of the partition 8.

I now call attention to the holes 14. They are aseries of'three. Each one is surrounded by a circular set of upstanding pins, forming what may be designated a pen 15, and this is formed on the bumper side with an entrance opening '16. Each penwill have a number therein, so that when the ball goes through the entrance it will remain in the pen to aid in counting the score. I next in- Vite attention to a pocket 17, in the comple-- mental pocket 18, the pocket 17 being surrounded by the small pen 19, and the pocket [intervals and having cooperating pins 23,

and these have individual scores capable of being made.

' I now invite attention to a row ofpockets,

the pockets being indicated by the numerals 24 and there being interveningpins 25 assoit to come it can be easily projected or ejected by grasping the finger hook 28 for pulling out the ciated therewith, to aid in making small.

scores. a

I now desire to call attention to an upwardly inclined tubular chute or ejecting tube 26, located on one side at the playing end of the board. This is better shown in Figure 3. Referring to this figure it will beobserved that the tube terminates in spaced relation to the curved end 'of the board; In'practice, a

small marble is placed in this tube and the.

marble isshot out through the medium of an impact element which is shown in Figure 3, comprising a lever 27 pivotally mounted and having a finger piece 28 and an impact finger 29. The finger 29 extends through an opening and obviously engages the ball or marble. Then, there isa spring 30, associated with-this impact device, and it will be. seen that by placing the ball inthe chute and allowing to rest at the bottom of the chute,

lever and then releasing it, and this provides the necessary blow which drives the ball out through the chute and up onto the surface of the partition where it is permitted to roll recklessly about the playing field and to co- I operate with thedifierent pins. The pins set up many obstructions which would make the game more of a chance proposition rather than one of skill.

Referring now to Figure 4, it will be observed that individual flap valves or plates 31 cooperate with the variousfopenings.

- Means are provided for simultaneously operating the valves,.and for example I employ a rotary master shaft 32, having the valves mounted directly thereon as shown in Figure 4. Then extending at right angles to this we find three supplemental shafts 33, 34, and 35. These supplemental shafts are provided with arms 36, having operating connection with the valves in any appropriate manner. The supplemental shafts are mountedin guides 37 for sliding movement and they have operating connection with the master shaft 32,

through the medium of rack and pinion, as

springs 39 are provided, but the master shaft is provided with a control knob 40, located on the exterior and in convenient reach of the player. Obviously, by grasping the knob and turning the master shaft, the supplemental shafts simultaneously are reciprocated to open all of the slot valves so that in the event that the ball has stopped in any of. the openings or pockets carried thereby, the ball will be allowed to drop'through and into the return compartment 9. This compartment as shown in Figure 2, is provided at one end, with a substantially triangular stick 41, located at the left hand end of the compartment 9'under the partition 8, and leading over to the chute to guide the ball to the chute to be reused. v j

The playing field 10 is covered by a transparent glass plate 42, located so as not to interfere with the movement of the ball, but to allow the ball to be clearly seen therethrough for keeping score.

located in the lower end of the chute 26 and the impact device is operated, the ball will be driven out through the chute and up onto the surface ofthe partition where it will roll in a haphazard manner about this board and locate itself in any one of the different pockets. Since the various pockets have individual numbers, the player will keep track of his score. So long as he makes a score he keeps on shooting and when he misses, the next player shoots.

In many instances, the ball will follow around the curved rim at the point where it leaves the chute andwill usually strike the buffer or abutment 13. Here it will be.

bounced back onto the playing field to roll recklessly and to strike the various pins. It will gravitate down through the field and either locate itself in one of the pockets or I roll against certain of the pins and not go into the pocket. In some rare instances, the ball in striking the abutment 13 will return itself into the hlgh point pocket 11, which in the it way back into the chute, where it is used over again.

Attention 1s invited to the fact that the ball will appreciably roll down across the in- I clined .playing field and not having encountered any of the obstructions at all, or rolled into any of the pockets, it will lodge in the space between the pockets 24 and the pins 25 and the lower ends of the board.

In order that the ball, will be returned howevercto be reused, I provide a tapered channel or alley 44in the top surface of the partition member 8. Then at the wide end 5. at 38. It will be noticed that suitable return of this alley, I form an opening 43 through which the ball is allowed to drop and enter the chute in front of the check door.

It is obvious that a game of this character will provoke much amusement and promote likeable pastime, not only for children, but for grown persons as well. ployed in the scoring are unusually even and are easy to calculate, and to add, and the game may-be set at ten thousand points or more to produce the desired competition between .the contestants.

It is believed however, that the construction and features of the invention will be clear after reading the description inconnection with the drawings. Therefore, a more lengthy description is regarded as unnecessary.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new is:

In a game of the class described, a box of elongated form having a bottom with one end of straight design, with the opposite end of curved design, and with the opposite edges in spaced parallelism, an upstanding rim surrounding said bottom and of a configuration corresponding to the shape of the bottom, a central horizontal partition piece located in said box, said partition piece dividing said box into an upper playing field, and a lower projectile receiving and return space,

a projectile chute located on one side of the bottom communicating with the playing field and ball return space, ejecting means associated with the chute and located at the straight end of the box, a plurality of individual pocket-s formed on said partition, certain of said pockets being surrounded by a circular arrangement of pins forming a retaining pen having entrances, and a ball returning means formed on the lower end-0f said partition and communicating'with said projectile chute.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

JAMES S. NICHOLAS.

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