US683566A - Game-table. - Google Patents

Description

No. 683,566. Patented Oct. l, |90I. H. MEYERS.

GAME TABLE.

(Application led Feb. 1l.,v 1901.)

l (No Model.)

2 Sheets-Sheet l.

Nq. 683,566.' Patented octfl, |901..

H. MEYERS. GAME TABLE.

(Application lled Feb. 11, 1901.) (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

L; //////////////////nmuumlmnmmmm UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY MEYERS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

GAME-TABLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 683,566, dated'October 1, 1901.

Application led February 11, 1901. Serial No. 4'6 ,885. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom zit may concern.-

Be it known'that I, HENRY MEYERS, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city of Chicago, county of Cook, and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful'Improvement in Game-Tables, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to tables whereon games combining skill and chance are played for recreation and amusement, the game em ploying balls which are propelled by means of cues or other devices.

The object of my invention is to provide a game-table furnished at divers points in the bed thereof with -a number of apertures through which a ball may drop, said apertures being assigned various values which count in scoring the game.

It is also my object to provide an indicating mechanisrn,whereby a number representing the value of the hole through which a ball has dropped will be brought into view in such a manner as to indicate the number of points scored.

I attain these objects by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of the table. Fig. 2 is a view in vertical section, taken lengthwise of the table, showing the operating mechanism. Fig. 3 is a detail view, Vin vertical section, showing the shutter as 1o-l cated beneath an aperture.. Fig. 4 is a detail view, also in vertical section, illustrating the operation .of the indicating or registering mechanism. Fig. 5 is a view of the table from beneath, showing the lcollecting-trough removed in order to reveal the indicatingand resetting mechanism. In said Fig. 5 there is shown an alternate construction of the indicators. Fig. 6 is a view in longitudinal vertical section showing the table wherein is employed the alternate form of indicators. Fig. 7 is a detail view, in longitudinal verti-A cal section, showin g the operation of the shutters. Fig. 8 is a detail view showingthe alternate form of indicators in dierent positions. In one of the positions shown the score-number is exposed to view and in the other position thereof the score-number is hidden from view. Fig. 9 is a detail view in plan showing the operation of the said alter- 'nate form of indicator.

Similar letters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

A represents the bed of the table, which is bordered by the coping a. Near the head of the table is located a wall a', which is preferably curvedin such a manner that the center of curvature lies midway between the sides of the table and somewhere near the head thereof, .as shown in Fig. l. Said wall is cushioned, so that a ball striking the same may rebound. In order to deaden the sound and reduce the wear of the balls, the bed is covered with billiard-cloth or other fabric a2.

Arranged in a suitable manner in the bed A, desirably toward the upper or head end thereof, are the apertures b b b, which are of sucient size to let a ball drop through. Said apertures are designated by numbers marked, preferably, upon the bed of the table, and to increase the hazard of the game ward-pins c c are placed adjacent to said apertures.A The shutters d d are hinged upon the blocks e e in lsuch a manner as to occupya position beneath said apertures in contact with the lower surface of the bed A. The most advantageous construction of said shutters is shown in detail in Figs. 3 and 7, wherein d represents a knee or bell-crank lever hinged to said blocks at the axial points e. Tension-springs f are attached at one end to the table A. and at theV other end to thefre'e extremities of each of said levers d in'such'a manner that the said springs are caused to pass said axes e during the movement of the shutters d from va closed to an open position. By this arrangement the distance between the ends of the springs is shorter in either of the extreme positions of said shutters than in the intermediate position thereof, said springs therefore having a tendency to maintain the shutters in a closed position when closed and in an open position when open. Each of the rods g is pivotally connected at one end to the lower or free ex-r tremity of the lever d -and at the other end to the indicating devices located at the head of the table.

The form of indicating device which I consider most desirable is illustrated in Figs. 2 and 4t and consists ot' a knee or bell-crank IOO lever 72 pivotally mounted upon the block 1'., secured beneath the bed Aof the table. The lower extremity of said lever h is pivotally connected to the rod g, while the forward eX- tremity of said lever is pivotally connected to the indicator j in such al manner that the turning of said lever consequent upon the backward and forward movement of the rod g causes a raising and lowering of said indicator.

At the head of the table is located a series of slots or apertures j', which receive the indicators j and guide the same in their vertical movement. The said indicators bear upon their faces numbers corresponding to the value of the aperture wherewith the respective indicators are in connection,and the parts are so proportioned that when a shutter CZ is in a closed position the corresponding indicator will be below the bed of the table, and thereby concealed from view; but when said shutter is in an open position the said indicator will be raised above the bed of the table and the number upon said indicator exposed to view. It is desirable for protection to the indicators and for imparting a finished appearance to the table to provide a housing ic above said indicators, said housing being furnished with a glass front 7c', as shown.

A resetting-bar m is hinged to the under v side of the bed A of the table above the rods g and extends in a direction transverse t0 said rods in such a manner as to engage the lugs n thereon. A springe is attached to said bar and tends to swing the same toward the head end of the table. A trigger p is mounted in suitable guides at the foot or players end of the table and is connected to said bar m by means of a wirep or similar device. The parts are so related that the movement of the bar 'm from its normal position results in the retraction of such of the bars g as have been thrown toward the head of the table by the dropping of the shutters.- Such retraction of the rods causes the closing of the shutters. As soon as the trigger p is released the spring draws said bar m back into normal position, where the latter will not interfere with the operation of the indicaters.

Beneath the table is a trough q for receiving the balls as they drop through the apertures b. Said trough is inclined in such a direction that the balls tend to collect at the foot of the table, where they may be conveniently reached by the players.

A line r, drawn across the table near the foot thereof, may serve to indicate the portion of the table from which the Ycue-ball is to be played.

In the operation of the table in playing the game the cue-ball is placed in the assigned position and propelled, preferably, by means of a cue. When, consequent upon play, a ball falls into any one of the apertures b, the shutter CZ, located thereunder, is forced downward bythe weight of said ball. The dropping of the shutter permits the ball to fall into the trough q and be carried to the lower extremity thereof for subsequent use. The dropping motion of the shutter,acting through the medium of the lever d', rod g, and lever 7i, causes the indicator j to rise and expose to view the number thereon, thus showing the amount to be scored by the player. After one or more of the shutters have fallen and it i's desired to reset the same the trigger p is pulled against the force of the spring o and caused to engage and reset such of the rods g as have become projected during the play. The trigger pis then released and the bar m permitted to return toits normal position out of contact with said rods.

In the alternative form of indicating device shown in Figs. 5, 6, 8, and 9 the indicators fr' are rotary instead of reciprocatory and consist of prismatic blocks mounted upon the cylindric stems s. Said stems have bearings in the bed of the table, so as to rotate upon a vertical axis, and beneath the bed A of the table are connected to the rods g by means of the levers t. Y Said levers are rigidly se cured to said stems s and pivotally connected to the rods g, so that the reciprocation of said rods causes the rotation of said indicators, as illustrated in Fig. 9. One of the faces of each indicator fr' bears a number for indicating the value of the corresponding aperture b, while the other faces thereof are blank. The parts are so arranged that when a shut ter d is against the bottom of the table and the aperture b closed a blank face of the corresponding indicator is exposed; but when said shutter is down the numbered face of said indicator is rotated into view, The resetting mechanism, consisting of the bar m, lugs n, and related parts, is identical in construction and operation with both the forms of indicators described.

Although I have referred to the indicators as bearing numbers, it is within my conception to use other characters or symbols. For example, I may assign to the apertures b the symbols in use upon the ordinary playing cards, employing the same symbols, respec-v tively, upon the corresponding indicators, thereby making it possible to play by means of balls games analogous to card gaines.

The number and arrangement of apertures b may be variedwithout departing from my invention.

What I claim as new7 and desire to secure by Letters Patent, isd

l. In a game-table having apertures in the bed thereof, the combination of shutters be-Y neath said apertures, knees or bell-crank levers pivotally supporting said shutters, con-v nections between said knees or levers and said indicators; and springs attached to said knees or levers and also to a fixed portion of the table on opposite sides of the pivots of said knees or levers, said springs traversing the axes of said pivots during the movement of said shutters from a closed to an open po- IOO rio

fessee sition, said springs thereby tending to retain said shutters in a closed position When closed, and in an open position when open.

2. In a game-table, having apertures in the bed thereof, the combination of shutters hinged beneath said table adjacent to said apertures, rods 'pivotally connected to said shutters, indicators, levers connected to said indicators for operating the same, aresettingbar, lugs on said rods for engagement by re- .setting said bar, a spring operative upon said resetting-bar, a wire connected to said resetting-bar, means for operating said Wire and a trough beneath said table, substantially as described.

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