US2300328A - Game - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 27, 1942.

l. H. wlLSEY Filed sept.' 1s. 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 jlorngys.

01.27, 1942'. .HfwLsEY '2,300,328

` GAME Filed'sept. 1s, 1940 s sheets-'shwrs a HIL. @ufl n.'

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Patented Oct. 27, i942V UNITED STATES PATENT; orifice-I- GAME Irven H. Wilsey, Chicago, Ill.

Application September 13, 1940, Serial No. 356,584

Claims.

Ihe invention relates to games, and particularly to games of what are commonly known today as the bagatelle type. In such games balls or similar game pieces are projected onto, and rolled down, -a slightly inclined game board through a maze of hazards or obstacles thereon such as bumpers or pockets, and the number of bumpers contacted, or the particular pocket into which the ball drops, determines the score accorded the player.

One general object of the present invention is to aiord to the player in a game of the type indicated a novel means of controlling the progress of the game piece after it is projected onto the board so that the apparatus becomes a true game of skill.

More specifically, it is an object to provide such a game embodying a tiltable playing board, together with a single operating handle mounted on the exterior of the casing for the game and having two degrees of motion, the handlebeing operable in said two degrees, respectively, to project the game piece and to tilt the board back and forth as may be required to guide the projected game piece. By using such a dual-function operating handle, it can be readily manipulated by the operator with one hand and Without loss of time, and hence control of the game piece, in shifting the hand from one handle to another.

Another object is to provide a game of the type indicated having a tiltable game board together with a novel actuator system for tilting the board so that it cannot be moved violently, thereby preventing throwing of the game piece forcibly from the board in a manner which would otherwise break the customary glass cover of the game layout.

Still another object is to provide a game of the type indicated having a tiltable game board with manually operable means for tilting the board at will to govern the path of a ball rolling across it, and in which the mounting for the board is of such character that it is releasably held in position in any degree of tilting adjustment to which it is moved by said manual means or, in other words, is not merely freed to fall over as soon as said manual means is released by the operator.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the following description proceeds taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a general perspective View of a bagatelle type game embodying the invention,

the lower portions of the mounting legs being shown as broken away.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged transverse sectional view taken substantially alongthe line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional View taken substantiallyl along the line lil-ill in Fig. 2. Y

Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail sectional view taken showing particularly the combined actuating mechanism for propelling the ball and tilting theA game board. y y Y.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary plan'view of the forward right hand corner portion `of the apparatus shown in Fig. l. y

Fig. 6 is a plan view of a modified form of game embodying `my invention. j Y

Fig. 7 is a longitudinal sectional View taken substantially along the line I-'I in Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged detail sectional view taken substantially along the line 8 8 in Fig. 7.

While the invention is susceptible of various modications and alternative constructions, I have shwon in the drawings and will herein describe in detail the preferred embodiment, but it is to be understood that I do not thereby intend to limit the inventionto the specific form- Vdisclosed, but intend to cover all modifications Vand alternative constructions falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as expressed in theA appended claims.

Referring more particularly to Fig. l, it will be seen that the exemplary Vembodiment of my inf' vention there shown comprises a bagatelle game which, at least in general over-all appearance, is of familiar form. It comprises a rectangular box-like casing I0 having a, transparent glass' .cover I I, the casing being carried on suitable legs I2 at its four corners. At the rear end of the casing is a scoring mechanism I3 of conventional form, but since it constitutes no ent invention need not bey detailed here.

Within the casing I0 is a generally horizontal game board I4 having a series of hazards or obstacles thereon, shown in the form of bumpers I5, and a nal ball-receiving pocketIS at the front end of the board and toward Which'the latter is slightly inclined. In playing the game, a plurality of gaine pieces, herein shown as balls I1 (see also Fig. 4) are delivered one 'by one to the game board .by successive lmanipulations of a plunger I8. The latter operates a balldelivery mechanism of conventional form (not shown) to deliver a ball upon each actuation thereof, this mechanism being freed for a predetermined part of the pres-I series of actuations by insertion of a coin in the usual coin receiver mechanism I3. The balls delivered to the game boards surface are propelled across it by a suitable shooter mechanism hereinafter described, the balls being driven to the upper end of the board along a runway defined between a guide and the opposed side wall of the generally elliptical recess in the face of the game board shown. The balls are then deflected laterally, upon leaving the runway, by the curved upper end wall of the game boards surface recess so that they may thereafter roll by gravity back down the board among the bumpers I5 and finally into the receiving pocket I6. Striking of the bumpers I5 by the balls causes the scoring mechanism I3 to be actuated.

As so far described, the game is of Well known form and is largely a game of chance since the only control over the ball afforded is through the regulation of the initial velocity imparted to the ball as it is propelled up the board. In accordance with one aspect of my invention, I have embodied in thisgame apparatus a novel arrangement for affording further control of the balls path even after it has been shot out onto the board, thereby introducing a predominating element of skill into the game.

In carrying out the purpose noted, the game board I4 is tiltably mounted, in the present instance tiltable sideways or laterally about its longitudinal median axis, and a novel unitary mechanism is employed for effecting not only the tilting ofthe board but lalso the shooting of the balls II. In the instant construction, the game board I4 has fixed to its forward and rear ends,

brackets 2I of inverted V-shape (Fi-gs. 2 and 3) which rest on upstanding knife-edge bearings 22 screwed to the adjacent casing end walls. Upon reference to Fig. 2, itwill be seen that the board I4 can be tilted from the full line position shown lto the alternative limit positions of tilting indicated in dotY dash lines. A bubble gauge 23 fixed on the front end of the board indicates the degree and direction of tilt.

A single operating handle or hand grip member 24 (Figs. 1, 4 `and 5), projecting exteriorly of the front wall of the casing I0, serves not only to project the balls I'I but also t0 tilt the board I4. This handle, mounted on the casing I0, has two degrees or directions of independent motion, in the present instance, axial and rotational. In brief, axial movement of the plunger is used to project the balls I'I and rotational movement is used to tilt the game board I4;

In the particular construction shown (see Figs.

4 and 5) the handle 24 is of the plunger type and includes a stem 242- having a plunger head 25 xed on its inner end. The stem 24a is axially slidable within a metal sleeve 26, and this sleeve is in turn rotatably journaled in a suitable bore 2l formed in an escut-cheon plate 28 iixed to the casings front wall. A collar 29, screwed to the inner side of the escutcheon lplate is seated against a complemental annular shoulder on the sleeve 26 to hold the latter against endwise displacement. A set screw 30, threaded in the sleeve 26, is positioned'with its nose received in a longitudinal groovek 3l in the stem 24a, thus forming ya spline connection between the stem and sleeve.

To urge the stem 24a inwardly for driving. the balls, a compression spring 32 is arranged to encircle the stem, being interposed between the endV of the sleeve 25 and a'c'ollar 33 pinned tothe stem, while a secondcompression spring 34,1imits the recoil motion of the handle. Thus, when the handle 24 is pulled outward and released, the compression spring 32, snaps the stem 24EL inward driving the plunger 25 against an upstanding resilient spring tongue 35. This spring tongue is xed to the game board I4, normal to the latter, and at a point displaced laterally from the boards axis of tilting. This tongue 35, in effect, forms a driving connection between the plunger head 25 and the balls I'I presented successively to the game board surface by the ball delivery mechanism. Throughout the entire range of game board tilting, the tongue 35 will be maintained with a portion of it in front of the plunger head 25. Hence, even though the plunger is not directly `alined with the balls the driving force imparted from the plunger will be eifectually transmitted to the balls through the tongue 35. In this Way it is possible to use a driving plunger mounted on the casing even though the balls which it drives are carried on the tiltable game board.

In order to form a driving connection from the handle 24 to the game board I4 for tilting the latter, a resilient rubber sleeve 36 (Figs. 4 and 5) is fixed to the sleevey 26 by the screw 30. This sleeve 36 constitutes what might be termed the pinion element of a friction type rack and pinion drive mechanism. 'I'he part which corresponds to the rack element comprises an elongated upright metal strip 3l fixed on the end of a plate 33 pivoted on the under side of the game board I4by a pivot pin 39. The outer end of this plate 38 is connected by a contractile spring 4U with the adjacent end of a second sheet metal plate 4I fixed to the under side of a game board. The member 31 is thus yieldably urged into frictional engagement with the periphery of the rubber sleeve 36. Accordingly, when the handle 24 is rotated in one direction or the other, the member 3l is moved up or down correspondingly, and thus tilts the table I4 about its pivotal axis. Moreover, this frictional drive connection is such that the game board is' releasably retained in any -angular adjustment to which it is tilted, by virtue of the frictional engagement of the parts 35 and 3l. Also to be observed is the fact that the relative sizes of the parts are such, that a full revolution of the handle 24 effects only a relatively small degree of board tilting. This not only effects an advantageous force multiplication but also prevents sudden and violent pitching of the board such as would throw the balls I'I up against the glass cover II and break the latter.

The general mode. of operation of the game apparatus disclosed willnow be clear. By way of synopsis itmay be noted that the player first inserts a coin in the mechanism I9 to free, in the usual way, a set of, say, live balls I'I for delivery successively to the shooter mechanism. Pulling out the plunger I8`and thrusting it back in again operatesthe ball delivery mechanism in the conventional manner to deliver one of the set of balls II into the runway-defined by the guidev 20and in position .to rest against the forward face of the upright tongue 35. Then the player grasps the handle 24, pulls out onV it and releases it for the plunger head 25 to strike the tongue 35 and thus drive the ball II up the runway. The amount ofimpelling force imparted toV the ball can, ofcourse, be regulated by the distance. to which the handle 24 is pulled out before being released. The drivenball moves up the runway and around the faceof the upper end of the oval recess-inthe game board surface and then starts to dribble down the board between the bumpers I5, by gravity, due to the incline of the board.

As the ball II moves down the game board I4 the latter is tilted about its longitudinal axis or, in other words, in a direction transverse to the general path of gravity movement of the ball so as to direct the ball either toward or away from desired ones of the obstructions on the game board. In thus tilting the game board the player grasps the same handle 24, which he used to shoot the ball, and twists it to the right to tilt the board to the right or to the left to tilt the board to the left. The player is thus able to retain control of the path traversed by the ball as it moves down the board so that a predominating element of skill is introduced into the playing of the game. Moreover this possibility of continued control of the balls`movements retains the complete concentration and interest of the player. Furthermore, the ability to direct the ball to right or left, as desired, gives vent to a very natural impulse of a player to do precisely that.

As the handle 24 is twisted in one direction or another to tilt the board, the resulting movement of the board is, in view of the character of the drive connection to it from the handle 24, slow enough that the ball cannot be thrown upward away from the board to break the glass cover II and otherwise damage the apparatus, as would be the case if simply a loosely pivoted game board were used with a projecting handle fixed directly to the board. Moreover, the game board is releasably retained in any tilted position to which it has been moved so that the player need not depend on the steadiness of his hand to hold it in some particular position. It will be appreciated that the board can initially be tilted to some desired angle even before the ball is shot if the player wishes to take advantage of some angle of tilt in accompanying a particular initial path of traverse for the ball.

A prime advantage of the mechanism herein shown is that it can readily be built into existing game boards.l It is a simple matter to remove the previously xed mounting for the game board in its cabinet andl mount it on pivots as shown, as well as to substitute the combined shooter and board tilting mechanism, as shown, for the previous shooter mechanism. The addition of the controllable tilting feature adds new zest and interest to game layouts which have become stale through previous use. On the other hand, a game constructed in the manner described can readily be conditioned for nontilting operation by latching the game board against tilting and disabling the tilting drive from the handle 24 as, for example, by removing the upright member 3l from the board.

In Fig. 6 I have shown a modified form of game also embodying my invention. Many of the parts are identical with that shown in Figs. 1 to 5 and the same reference numerals have been used for such identical parts. In general, the apparatus of Fig. 6 differs from that of Fig. l primarily in that the upright .tongue 35, which takes care of misalinement between the shooter plunger and ball due to tilting of the board, is eliminated and instead the initial runway for the ball is so constructed that the ball will always be accurately alined with the plunger head irrespective of the tilted position of the game board. This, upon reference to Fig. 6 it will be seen that a game board la has been provided, substantially identical with the game board I4 heretofore described except that its edge portion is notched out as indicated at 40' (see also Fig. 8*) and this notch isy overlaidv by along resilient "and ilexibl'e .metal strip 4| which-forms the-bottom of the runway. The left end (as viewed in Fig. 6) of this strip4| is screwed to the Vgame board while its right hand'y end is fixed to .a block 42 mounted on the inside of the casing I0',(see Figs. 7 and 8). Hence, ias theboard I4 is tilted back and forth about its longitudinal axis-the strip 44I is flexed but its: right hand end remains stationary (relative to the shooter mechanism which is also mounted on the casing) so that a ball I'I located on itisal- Ways retained in precise alinement with the nose of the plungerhead 25 (see Fig. V'7). The combined shooter and board tilting mechanism used in the gameof Figs. A6 to 8 is identical with that, heretofore .described and hence need not be detailed again- Asbefore, the ball is shot by axial movement-of the handle 24 and thetable tilted to, right andleftby rotating or twisting the handle correspondingly; y f

1..In a gameof the type described, the conibination of a casinghaving a gamev board tilt-` ably lmounted therein, a plunger type operating handle projecting from thecasing to the exterior thereof, means supporting said handleon said casing for both longitudinal and rotational movement, means .operable in responseto the longitudinal movement of said handle for Vcausing a game piece to traverse the surface of. said game board, and means actuated in response to rotary movementv of said handle for tiltingsaid board. m H 5 2. In a game of the type described, the combination-of a casing having a game board tiltably kmounted therein, an-l axially. shiftable plunger Within said casing adapted uponl projection thereof to strike a ball presented to it and drive it across the surface of said game board, a handle located exteriorly of the casing and mounted on said casing for both longitudinal and rotational movement, means operable in response to longitudinal movement of said handle for projecting said plunger, and means operable in re-` sponse to rotational movement of said handle for tilting said board.

3. In a game of the .type described, the combination of a casing, a game board in said casing having a plurality of obstacles thereon, means supporting said game board with its surface slightly inclined relative to thehorizontal and for tilting movement only ina ,direction transverse to said incline, and a combined shooter and board tilting mechanism including a hand grip member operable from the exterior of said casing to shoot a ball vup the inclined game board surface so that the ball may thereafter roll back down such surface and for tilting the game board to guide the ball during its roll back past said obstacles.

4. In a game, the combination of a casing, a game board in said casing having a plurality of obstacles thereon, means'supporting said game board with its surface slightly inclined relative to the horizontal and for tilting movement only in a direction transverse to said incline, and means for projecting a ball in an upward direction along said inclined game board surface to roll back down by gravity past said obstacles and in a path determined in a lateral sense by the tilting of said game board.

5. A game comprising, in combination, a casing having a game board therein, means supporting said game board for lateral tilting movement about a median axis thereof and with said axis slightly inclined relative to the horizontal, means including a spring-urged manually-operable plunger mounted on said casing and operable from the exterior thereof for propelling a ball across the surface of saidv board, said plunger being rotatable as well as axially movable, a yieldable rubber sleeve telescoped over said plunger and splined thereto, andan elongated member fixed to said board` substantially normal to it at a point displaced laterally from said axis and yieldably urged against the periphery of said sleeve in frictional engagement with it to form a frictional drive connection between the plunger and board for tilting the latter in response to rotation of said plunger.

6. A game comprising, in combination, a casing having a game board therein, means supporting said game board for lateral tilting movement about a median axis thereof and with said axis slightly inclined relative to the horizontal, means including a spring-urged manually-operable plunger for propelling a ball across the surface of said board upon axial movement of said plunger, means including a sleeve telescoped over said plunger'and rotatably mounted in said casing for supporting said plunger for rotational as well as axial movement, means forming a splined connection between said sleeve and plunger, an

elongated member pivotally mounted on said` board substantially normal to it at a point displaced laterally from said axis,` and means including a contractile spring for yieldably urging said elongated member into frictional engagement with the periphery of said sleeve to form a frictional drive connection between the plunger and board for tilting theV latter in response to rotation of said plunger.

7; A game comprising, in combination, a casing having a game board therein, means supporting said game board for lateral tilting movement about a median axis thereof and with said axis slightly inclined relative to the horizontal, a spring-urged manually-operable plunger mounted on said casing and operable from the exterior thereof for both axial and rotational movement, a resilient spring tongue xed on said board in upright position in front of the-nose of said plunger to transmit a blow from the plungerto a ball located on the board in front of said tongue, a sleeve telescoped over said plunger and splined thereto, and an elongated member fixed to said boardl substantially normal to it at a point displaced laterally from said axis and frictionally engaging theperiphery of said sleeve to form a frictional drive connection between the plunger and board for tilting the latter in response to rotation of said plunger.

8. A game comprising, in combination, a casing having a game board therein, means supporting said game board for tilting movement, a manually-operable plunger mounted on said casing and operable from the exterior thereof for axial movement, and a resilient spring tongue fixed on said board in upright position in front of the nose of said plunger to transmit a blow from the plunger to a ball located on the board in front of said tongue.

9. A game comprising, in combination, a casing having a game board therein, means supporting said game board for lateral tilting movement about a median axis thereof and with said axis slightly inclined relative to the horizontal, a spring-urged manually-operable plunger mounted, on said casing and operable from the exterior thereof for both axial and rotational movement and located at the lower end of the incline, means defining a runway along said board extending from said plunger up the incline of the board, a resilient metal strip forming the bottom of said runway, said strip being fixed to said board at its upper end and to said casing at its lower end, whereby a ball in the lower end of the runway will be retained in alinement with said plunger irrespective of table tilting, a sleeve telescoped over said plunger and splined thereto, and an elongated member iixed to said board substantially normal to it at a point displaced laterally from said axis and yieldably urged against the periphery of said sleeve in frictional engagement with it to form a frictional driveA connection between the plunger and board for tilting the latter in response to rotation of said plunger.

l0. A game comprisingin combination, a casing having a game board tiltably mounted therein, a ball impelling mechanism mounted on the casing, means dening a runway leading along the game board surface from said mechanism, and a flexible strip arranged to form the bottom of said runway said strip being fixed to said casing at its end adjacent said mechanism, so as to remain stationary relative thereto despite any tilting of the board, and its other end being fixed to said board.

IRVEN H. WILSEY.

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