US2811362A - Chance controlled game apparatus - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 29, 1957 E. BAREZlTHER 2,811,362

CHANCE CONTROLLED GAME APPARATUS Filed Jan. 23. 1956 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. EMFINUEL 5/1351 THEE Oct. 29, 1957 BARElTHER 2,811,362

CHANCE CONTROLLED GAME APPARATUS Filed Jan. 23, 1956 s sheets-sheet 2 INVENTOR.

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E. BAREITHER 2,811,362 CHANCE CONTROLLED GAME APPARATUS Filed Jan. 23, 1956 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. EMANUEL .B/IREITHEB 2,811,362 PatentedOcL-ZQJ,

CHANCE CONTROLLED GAME APPARATUS Emanuel Bareither, Seattle, Wash. Application January 23, 1956, Serial No. 560,813 1 Claim. 01. 273-142 This invention relates to games and it hasreference more particularly to the provision of a novel formof gameand game device of the parlor and table top category; itibein g the principal object of the present invention .to provide a baseball game device employing a baseball "field. simulating member upon which a ball confining bowl vshaped member is mounted for spinning about a vertical axis, and vupon the inside surface of which .bowlshaped member the various plays which occur ingplaying the game of baseball are inscribed, and which plays are adapted to be individually designated in the playing'of the game by the spinning of the bowl and allowing aball that isconfined therein to come to reston the inscribed surface.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a game device of the character-above disclosed whereinnovel means is provided for spinning the bowl, and also novel :meansjisprovided for-causing it to:be suddenly stopped so that the confined ball, which continues to traveLwithin :the bowl, will be uncontrolled :but will finally come to rest on one of the play designating notationswithin the bowl.

.zFurther objects andiadvantagesiof the invention reside in'l-he details of construction of the various parts of the game apparatusrin their combination with-.ea'ch'other, andinthe mode of operation ofthegamedevice. as .will "hereafter-be described.

In accomplishing the above mentioned and .otherobjectsof the-invention, I have provided theimproved;de- "tails of construction, the present preferred forms of @which :areillustratedin the accompanying drawings wherein:

.Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a game device. embodied .hythe present invention as seen from what-willbe referred :to as the front side.

Fig; 2 is atop or plan view of a portion of the ball con- -fining:bowl, showing-the play designating notationsmade :thereon, andalso showing a part of the. centrally located, peripherallynotched disk. V

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the bowl'spinningrack bar-and its mounting'and guide member; a part-thereof .being broken away for better disclosure of their inter- :fitting relationship.

Fig-4 isv a vertical cross-section taken through-the game :device in the axial plane of the bowl portion.

:Fig. -5 .is a horizontal section takenon theline 55 in Fig. 4, showing the bowl spinning rack barand gear.

with which it is adapted to be meshed.

Fig. 6 is a vertical section through the base, showing the bowl stopping lever and its mounting means.

Fig. 7 isone of the pegs usedin playing the-game.

,Fig. 8 is a-flattened view of thebowl-surface showing .the.play designating notations as appliedthereto.

.Refern'ng more in detail to thedrawings:

The present game device, as shownbest in Fig. 1, com- ,prises a flat baseboard or plate 10, preferablysquare-in horizontal dimensions and preferablyrelativelythin, and equipped on its underside, at its four corners, with supporting buttons of rubber, or the like designated by numeral 10'. Mounted centrally on the base for axial spinning, is can upwardly facing bowl shaped ,--member .1-,1;;this being fixed upon the upperend portion of a tubular hub 12 coaxial thereof and which,. in,turn, is mounted for rotation about a vertical bolt 13 that extends upwardly i2 from and is fixed in the baseboard 10. Itis shownt-in Fig. 4 that'the bolt 13. has a flattened head :13 atits lower end engaged flatly against the under face-of. boa-rd 10, andhas a nut 13x threaded ontoits shankv'and-ltightened against the top surface ofthe board, thus to secure the bolt rigidly upright. The lower end of :the hub member 12 rests upon the nut, but is adapted'to spin freely thereon, .-and supports the bowl membervllxsomewhat above the baseboard as shown in Fig. '4, fora purpose presently apparent.

The bowl member 11 is enclosed by a cylindrical 'IhOHS- ing 14 mounted in the baseboard 10. This housing is slightly greater in diameter than the bowl andIis closed .at its upper end by a transparent plate ;15 which closely overlies the=rim of the-bowl. If desired,'thehousing:14 may be of transparent plastic, colored or otherwise for ornamentation, but it isprefer'red that theplater15 :be ,sufficiently transparent as not to interfere with clear'view of-the.-notations inscribed on the-inside'surface .of the bowl, and the position of the ball whichis contained-in the bowl.

Fixed to the central inside surface of the bowl, which issubstantiallyfiat, is a -flat disk .18 through whichth'e upper end portion of thebolt-1-3 extendsasseen -in Fig. -4. Acap nuti19 is threaded ontothe upper endaofithe bolt for the purpose of retaining the-bowl in place :but without interference to its rotation or spinning. As' shown bestrinFigs. 1, .2 and -4, the:peripheral edge of;.the disk- 18 is formed with contiguous notches 20, of -cylindrical curvature, -,or .V shaped, and radiating from the joining edges of these notches are lines, such as designated Eat-52:1 in Fig. .2, which extend to.theoutenperiphery:ofthetbowl. These'lines-sset otf-surface-areas between them, r-a'dialtof the bowl, on which .the:play,notations are inscribed, such as, for example, Struck Out, Base Hit, .Walk', Strike and :other plays which are typical of therg'ame of baseball. V

The walls of the bowlcurvegradually upwardlfromithe disk: and: finally provide .the ,verti'cal rim portion, tithe :ttop surface ofwwhichisquite closeztorthe plateI15.

Contained freely in the bowl is-a .smallimetalpellet, 'or dJall.I25,-about-' of an-inch in diameter. rNormall-y thisk ball will rest against-thezperiphery of ;t 'e disk .2128 when the bowland ball are at rest,'but when the bowl is spun'in;.play, the ball spins therewithnnd moves -rby centrifugal force .to its outer 1 edge, :andf then if zthe bowl is suddenly stopped,'the ball will continue-to'travehabout the bowlzand'finally cometo rest'in oneofzthezperipheral .notches.20 ofthe disk, :thus to .designateithe .play that :has :just takenplace; it being understood that me tplay is that vwhichislnoted on athe radial .area'thattis zaligned with the :notch in which the ball 25 ..comestorrest. The means for spinning the disk bowl andtforrthenzsudwdenly-sto'ppingdt has been shown best inxFigs. 1 iandsi, and will :now be described. First, the bowl spinning means: Thisteomprises a relatively small ;gear i.that

is fixed ,on oriformed'integral with the hub member 12 uponxwhichthe'bowl is :fixed. :Fixedly mounted (on the -baseboard :10, ztorextend beneath the bowl,iis a:'straight channeled guide bar 31.in"which a rackbarifizisimounted fori-endwise travel. The guide bards sozrelated to .the:.bowl .and ithe hub gear :thatiits teeth 32x, formed :on the rack bar along one side of its inner end portionifcan be engaged 'with the :teeth "of gear 30 :for ithe :manual .rotationzor spinning :of theibowl. i

ydtiis tozbeobservedby reference to Fig. l thattthe guide hat. .311 extends :from beneath *the bowl :tosnear therfront right hand cornertportionaof ithet baseboard F10,T:'3Hd -the.=-rack-bar; 32 is egu'ippedrat-its .outeiaend withvasvertieal .pin. 33 servingaas-its operating {handle andatd-ts, inner; end :haszashort stop stud.-34 thereon. The extent ofdnward movement of the rack bar is limited by the engaging of the pin 33 with the outer end of an inturned flange 31" gear 30. Then, it is pulled quickly outwardly, thus causing its teeth, meshing with the teeth of gear wheel 30, to spin the bowl. When the rack bar reaches its outer limit,

its teeth disengage the gear. This spinning will cause the ball 25 to move to the outer periphery of the bowl, being restrained by the glass or transparent cover plate 15, and to move to more or less extent with the bowl.

The means provided for suddenly stopping the spinning bowl is shown best in Figs. 5 and 6. It comprises a short lever 40 disposed beneath the bowl and pivotally supported on the base in a position radial of the hub 12 'by a mounting plate 42. This plate is equipped with two laterally spaced, vertical ears 4242 between which the lever 40 is mounted by a horizontal pivot pin 44. At its inner end, the lever 40 is equipped with a brake pad '45 and at its outer end has a flattened head 46 against which downward pressure maybe manually applied to cause the pad to engage against the under surface of the bowl to stop its rotation. Normally the stopping lever .40 rests in the position in which it is shown in Fig. 6.

It is to be observed more particularly by reference to Fig. 5, that the bowl enclosing housing 14 is recessed. as at 47 for the passage of the rack guide and rack bar, and also at 48 to receive the outer end portion of lever 40 therethrough.

To simulate a baseball playing field on the baseboard 10, I provide the representation of first, second, third and home bases 50, 51, 52 and 53, joined by the base lines 54. At each base, the board is formed with a bored peg receiving socket 55 and near the home base area, it is likewise formed with three bored sockets 56, each designed to receive a play piece in the form of a pin or peg such as shown at 60 in Fig. 7.

The dimensions of the parts 10 and 11 of the present game device are not critical and may be varied within reasonable limits. However, it has been found quite satisfactory to employ a wooden baseboard twelve inches square and one-half inch thick. The bowl member may also be of wood, and is approximately six inches in diameter and approximately two inches deep. The disk 18 contained in the bowl has a diameter of about two inches and is one/fourth inch thick. The housing 14 is shown to be cylindrical, but not necessarily so.

Various materials may be used in the making of the various parts of the game device. While it has herein 'been indicated that the base 10 is or may be of wood, it is recognized that it might also be a molded plastic member, suitable for the present use,.and that the means for mounting the rack bar 32 and stop lever might be cast integral with the base. The guide and rack bar, and also the stop lever might also be quite satisfactorily made of plastic, fiber, wood or other suitable metal. 'In view of the above, it is not my intent to confine the making of the apparatus to any particular material or materials. Any suitable materials may be employed so long as their use is practical and also economical.

Assuming that the various parts are so constructed, the game device is used in the playing of the game as follows:

The game is best played by at least two persons, respec- *tively, representing two baseball teams. To start play, the first player grasps the handle member 33 and pushes the rack bar 32 all the way, or a part of the way, inward- 1y thus engaging its toothed surface with the bowl spinning gear 30. He then gives it'a quick outward pull to its full limit causing the bowl to be spun. This move- ;ment disengages the rack from the gear and the bowl 4 spins freely about bolt 13. With this spinning, the confined ball 25 moves to the outer rim of the bowl and to more or less extent spins with the bowl. Then, while the 'bowl is spinning, the player pushes down on the outer end of the bowl stop lever 40 and thus suddenly stops the spinning action of the bowl; the ball, however, continues to travel and gradually slows down and comes to rest in a notch of the disk 18. The play notation which is aligned with this notch is the players play. For example, if the ball comes to rest in a notch which indicates a one base hit, a peg 60 is inserted in the first base hole. It the ball should stop in a notch indicating a right field high fly catch, the imaginary batter is thus counted out, and another peg is inserted in one of the three holes 55. Various plays in the field are thus indicated and marked on the field by applying or removing pegs from the bases. Whenever all three holes are pegged, the inning is then over, and the player or players representing the other team take over for the spinning of the bowl. A score card may be kept as in the real game of baseball if desired to keep account of the entire game.

Games of this kind are interesting, educational and can be played by various numbers to players representing two teams.

It is recognized that details of construction of parts might be changed or modified without departing from the spirit of the invention which resides in the combination of base 10, and bowl 11 as shown, together with its spinning and stopping means and the play designating ball or pellet.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new therein and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

A game device of the character described comprising a base plate, a pivot bolt fixed centrally therein and extended vertically upward therefrom, an upwardly facing bowl-like container, equipped with a coaxial, downward- 'ly extended, hub revolu'bly applied to said bolt for mounting the bowl for spinning action, said hub having a gear formed thereon beneath the bowl, a rack 'bar guide ap plied to the top of said base plate, a rack bar mounted in said guide for endwise shifting therein, a handle member on the bar for its manual actuation, means on the bar for limiting its travel in opposite directions; said rack bar having teeth formed along a portion thereof adapted to be meshed with the hub gear for imparting spinning action to the bowl, by the manual shifting of the rack bar, a lever pivotally mounted between its ends on the base member substantially radially of the pivot bolt, having a brake pad at its inner end adapted to be pressed upward- 'ly against the bottom of said bowl-like container by an application of downward pressure against the outer end of the lever, thus to stop the spinning of the bowl, a disklike member in the bowl, centrally of its bottom surface formed with a succession of peripheral notches; said bowl having play notations inscribed on its inside surface in areas extending radially in the bowl in alignment with said notches, and a ball confined in the bowl and adapted to roll freely on the inside surface to come to rest in anyone of said notches.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,409,029 Riordan Mar. 7, 1922 1,474,488 Nelson Nov. 20, 1923 1,522,714 7 Dietze Ian. 13, 1925 1,561,421 Erickson Nov. 10, 1925 1,670,692 Rosar May 22, 1928 1,741,903 Amend Dec. 31, 1929 2,118,359 Quinn May 24, 1938 FOREIGN PATENTS 36,121 Germany July 14, 1886 18,112 Great Britain 1906 j 271,674- Switzerland Feb. 1, 1951

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