US1994977A - Game apparatus - Google Patents

Description

March 19, 1935. J N N 1,994,977

GAME APPARATUS Filed May 25, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR W .9 MW

FF JRMPAMPWL m :5 m Wm QMW n ATI'O NE March 19, 1935.

J. P. BENSON GAME APPARATUS Filed May 25, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTYOR M .7 $944010 Afro I Patented Mar. 19,1935 '7 1 V UNITED S'l'AS AENT OFFICE r A v 1,994,977 I I I GAME APPARATUS Joseph P. Benson, Brooklyn, N. Y. Application May 25, 1933, Serial No. 672,777

11 Ciaims. (Cl.'27 3l44)' I My present invention relates to a, game apleft without a bottom wall and is provided with paratus' and'to the playing elements used therea front wall 14 which may be either transparent with and aims to provide certain improvements or opaque as desired depending upon the charthereing' j V acter of the game which is to beplayed orthe An object of my invention is to provide a chance use to which the apparatus is .to be put. 1 Pivotally 5 and game apparatus adapted for use in playing mounted within the chamber a d. p e b at a multiplicity of games with either a, given set the rear wall thereof is a pair or -transfermom-- of playing elements or with different sets or" playbels 17 W c a pivoted t d transfer 7 ing elements which may be substituted one for membersbeing sli y Spaced pa t the other at the will of the players- Another obja ht ed s 0 s fl h partition W 10 ject is to provide an apparatus of the character when used, and having their top faces sloping described wherein the playing elements used downwardly toward each other as indicated at 17b. therewith are adapted to be activated by gravity r i sur t e v t Of e p y and'whichmay be rendered controllable by the ents in t e pp 14 t0 the i r ci i player orleft entirely to' chance. Another ob- S0 a b b eh a by th tr r members '7 l5 ject is to provide playing elements madeup in the h pp r is m d Wi h an inw ly l p n sets or groups of difierent colors in any desired alse bot om 14!;- r g g V r proportion or sets of elements provided with nota- Directly beneath the hopper 14 there is a slide tionsyindicia or legends thereon corresponding block-'18 which is movable betweenia p to players,- parts or terms used in any game or u d s the front d of said'sli'de block being 20' sport;-Preferably these elements will be of pr vid d with cir ul r op nins l'ii n h re r spherical form. r of said slide block having an opening or groove 18c The'foregoing and various other objects of my and a pa 0 p y extending p 13d which invention as well as the construction and operaproject throu h s s n e bottom f t e 5 tion thereof will be better understood from the h ppe Said P ns Bngag'ihg the under side of the detailed descriptionwhich follows when considansfermemb s 7 d b ap e to v ered in conjunction with the accompanying draws said members 17 up y about the p vots 17a' ings which illustrate a preferred embodiment of as the slide block 18 moves o wa d ydmy invention and wherein: ing the slide block in its rearmost position there Figure 1 is a front elevation of a ame ap is provided a pair of coil springs 18c which arepod ratus embodying my invention. V sitioned in recesses formed within the slide block,

Fig. 2 is a section taken substantially along the said springs bearing at one end against fixed abut- 1 planes of the broken line 2-2 of Fig. 1. ments 19 carried by a partition wall 20. The;

Figs. 3, 4, 5 and 6 are sections taken substanopenings 18b in the slide block are normally dis- 5 tially'alongthe planes of the lines 33, 4- 4, posed directly beneath the open bottom of the 55 and 66 respectively of Fig. 2. secondary chamber 14a. The partition wall 20 at Figs. 7 and 8 are elevations of groups of difits forward end is formedwith spaced circularferent playing elements adapted for use with my openings 20a and at its rear'end with a slot which game apparatus. underlies the groove 18c and through which pro Referring to the drawings wherein the same jects a finger 21 which is fixedly mountedon a 0 reference characters are employed to designate shaft 22- I At h a y p points along similar parts inthe various figures, the numeral 10 saidshaft there'are provided downwardly protectindicates the base of my game apparatus which ing fingers 22a, 22b, 22c and 22d, the functions has side walls 11 and 1111, front walls 12 and 12a for which will presently appear. If. desiredthe and a rear wall 13. Supported by said walls at front and top wall of the chamber within which 4 5" the top thereof is a hopper or chamber 14 which the slide block moves may be provided with transmay be of any desired form and construction and parent windows 2011 and 200 so that the playing as herein shown is provided with inwardly taperelements may be seen when moved forward by the ing sides 15 near its bottom and a central partislide block. 1

tion member 1-6 which may be removably held Below the partition wall 20"is a playing ele- 50" within said hopper in any preferred manner. ment receivingrchamber 23, the bottom of which Within said hopper 14 is a'secondar-y chamber 14; is provided with a plurality of trap doors 2311,23!) formedb'y an inwardly sloping top wall 14b, a and23c, each in turn provided with a central rear wall 140 having an opening 14d therein and upstanding partition wall '24, said trapdoors being side walls 146. Said chamber 14a is preferably fixedly mounted upon shafts 25a, 25b and 25c;re '55" spectively to open upwardly, which shafts in turn are rotatable through the medium of links 26a, 26b and 260 respectively, and which links in turn have pins which engage in elongated slots in operating arms 27a, 27b and 270 respectively. The operating arms extend through; guide openings in the upper front wall 12a and terminate at their outer ends in enlargements or buttons, 28. At their inner ends the operating arms 27a, 27b and 270 engagein guides 28a carried by the wall 13 and abut against the inturned ends of the fingers 22a, 22b and 220 respectively, as best shown in Fig. 1. For engaging the downwardly extending finger 22d an operating arm 29* is provided. The receiving chamber 23 rearwardly of the trap door 23a is formed with a central partition 24a and is bottomless for a purpose which will presently appear. 7

Disposed beneath each of the trap doors 23a; 23b and 230 as well as beneath the bottomless portion of the receiving chamber are a plurality of pairs of conduits a, 30b, 30c and 30d respectiveiv, the top openings of which underlie and are in alignment with the openings in the bottom of the ceptacle 33 which is disposed in inclined relation to the base of the device so that the playing elemerits when received in said chutes 32 will move by gravity down said chutes until they reach the lower ends thereof or are sooner stopped by a playing element already in said chute. The receptacle may be provided with a transparent cover 33a so as to render visible the playing elements received in the Various chutes. The chutes may be suitably designated by letters to difierentiate them from each other and the rails of said chutes may also be provided with numbers to indicate the quantity of elements in a chute. The lower end ofthe duplex conduit 30c is not formed with any ofiset portion but on the contrary directly overlies a pair of chutes 32a as best shown spring detent devices 33d. The slide door 330 extendsilaterally beyond the sides of the receptacle 7 provided withdeflectors 34 and 34g respectively 33 and is thus provided with a pair of manipulatingmembers 33c. i

For receiving the playing elements upon being discharged from the lower ends of the chutes 32 and 32a when the slide door 33c is openedthere.

is provided a downwardly sloping cabinet 34 provided with two superposed chambers 34a and 34b divided by a partition wall 340, said cabinet being' so constructed that the upperchamber 34a connects with one of each of the pairs of chutes 32 and 32a and the lower chamber 342) connects with thepther of each pair of said chutes when the slide door is open. The chambers 34a and 34b are for directing the playing elements to openings 34d and 34c provided by said deflectors on alternate sides of the center line of said chambers.

Disposed rearwardly of the chambers within the cabinet 34 for receiving the playing elements discharged therefrom is a longitudinally partitioned tray 35 which is laterally removable from the cabinet, said tray having end walls 35a formed with openings 35b and 350 which align with the discharged openings 34d and 34a respectively. Adjacent said walls 35a and inwardly thereof the tray is formed with doors 35d and 35e which are laterally slidable into and out of the tray, said doors having openings which are adapted to align with the opening 35c when the doors are in open position. In said position the doors also establish communication between the cabinet 34 and. the tray 35 through the openings 35b in the end walls of the tray. If the tray 35 is to be used to transfer the playing elements to the hopper the slide door 35d is opened and the door 35c is closed while receiving said playing elements and the door 35d is closed prior to the tray being removed from the cabinet.

, In lieu of manually returning the playing elements to the hopper 14 through the medium of the tray 35 I may provide the apparatus with a conveyor means and thereby preclude the handling of the playing elements by the players and thus insure the initial or proper proportion of playing elements for use in the respective parts of the hopper. To accomplish this both slide doors 35d and 356 are opened and the portion of the cabinet 34 rearwardly of the tray 35 is provided with a middle partition 34h which extends to the rear wall of the apparatus whereat in a vertical rectangular chamber formed by the rear Wall 13 and the chamber walls 37, 38 and 39 I affix around a vertical rotatable shaft 40 a helix 41 and at the top of the vertical chamber I provide the shaft i0 with means 42 for accommodating an operating handle. At the bottom of the rear wall 13 of the conveyor chamber I provide a pair of spaced openings 13a through which the playing elements from the partitioned chamber 34 will pass into the conveyor chamber. I preferably so dimension the vertical conveyor chamber that the playing elements thus received will be confine-d tothe corners of the chamber at the rear wall of the apparatus as best shown in Fig. 3 and as the helix is rotated said playing elements will be raised to the top of the conveyor cabinet where at said rear wall 13 is formed with openings 13b through which the playing elements will be v discharged into the hopper 14 on opposite sides of the partition therein. a I

'In the use of my apparatus, playing elemen of any form which will freely slide or roll down an inclined plane may be employed. I prefer, however, to use rounded or-spherical bodies and as shown in Fig. 3 it will be apparent that the slide block 18 is designed for such bodies. These spherical elements may be of different colors and/or may have any desired legends or nota tions thereon and can be used in sets or groups wherein the colored spheres or those having legends thereon may be in varying proportions de-' pending upon the game or use to which the apparatus is to be put. For example, each of the hopper chambers may contain groups of equal numbers of black and white elements, or equal. numbers of three or four differently colored elements, or groups containing any arbitrary grouping of colored elements, or grouping of elements with legends or indicia thereon. It will thus be apparent that in :lieuof or in addition to colorthe one sphere so as to be visible irrespective to playing elements which carry or are provided with indicia or legendscorresponding to the values of the playingcards in a deckand although I have shown but. six such elements it will be apparent that the. number thereof used in the.

apparatus will correspond in number and legends thereon to the number of cards in a deck. With such playing elements too, the-particular legend will appear many times on a single sphere.

From the foregoing detailed description it will be apparent that with the game apparatus described andthe character ofplaying elements to be used therewith, various games can beplayed; for example when using colored spheres a .game may involve a race of filling different chutes 32 and 321; with different colored spheres delivered fromonly one section of the hopper; or where black and white spheres are used various combinations such as. white and white, white and black, black and black, etc., can be made. the basis of a race, since two playing elements can be simultaneously discharged to a pair of chutes to which said playing elements can be directed and controlled at the whim ofthe operatorwho can see the combination of spheres when they are disposed in the :openings 18b, .of the slide block. The possibility of the innumerable games which can be played with elements such as illustrated in Figs. 7 and 8 accordingly become at once apor in conjunction with some other game where manipulation of a pair of dice in the hands of a player may be considered objectionable. It will also be appreciated that by employing indicia corresponding to the players and terms used in baseball or in golf or any other sport these games can likewise be played with the apparatus.

The operation of the apparatus independently of any game which is to be played thereon is substantially as follows: The hopper 14 on opposite sides of the partition wall '16 or with said partition wall removed is first supplied with the requisite number or sets or groups of playing elements. If the playing elements fill the hopper to a point above the openings 14d in the secondary chamber 140., elements will find their way into each of the openings 18!). If the elements do not extend up to the openings 14d, the elements will be delivered to said openings by the transfer members 17 when the buttons 28 are pressed inwardly as previously explained. The elements in the openings 18b may be seen through the transparent walls 14 or 20b and 200, whereupon the player may direct or selectively control the passage of said two playing elements to any of the pairs of chutes 32 and 32a by pressing upon the proper button 28. As any of the buttons 28 which control the operating arms 27a. 27b and 2711 are pressed inwardly the corresponding finger 22a, 22b and 2211 will be moved rearwardly and turn shaft 22 with which will move arm 21 to engage the slide block 18 and move it forwardly against the tension of the springs 186 to dispose the playing elements over the openings 20a through which they will drop into the receiving chamber 23. But simultaneously with such action the corresponding trap door controlled by the'operating arm' will be raised to permitthe playing elements to pass through the pair of conduits into a predetermined pair of chutes- Of course when the button, 28. upon the operating arm 29 is moved inwardly no trap door is "operated but on the contrary the playing :ele'ments received within the chamber 23wwill'pass through thefopening in the bottom of. said chamber 'atith'e rear thereof down through the: pair of conduits connecting. therewith.-. 'It will be understood,

that in .any selective control employed, the left and-right elements in openings 18b will always pass down into the left and right chutes re spectively of any pair of chutes. After the desired game has been completed, bymoving the slide door 330 outwardly the playing elements from the chutes 32 and 32a will pass into the asserting chambers. 34a and 34b and from there either into'the receiving tray.35 orthroughsaid tray into the rear of the cabinet 34 leading to the spiral conveyor if theslide door 35c isopen. From the tray 35 or cabinet 34 theplaying elements are returned to the original hopper chamber from which. they were discharged as hereinbefore described. 1

While I have shownand described a preferred embodiment of my invention, the manner which it isfconstructed' and operable and the playing means with which it is to be used I do not wish toqbe limited to the details of construction" disclosed or to the character of the playing elementsillustrated since it will be understood that said parts may be varied without departing from the spirit of my invention. What I claim is:

1. Azgam'e apparatus comprising a hopper for holding playing elements, a plurality of chutes below the hopper for receiving the playing elements and means interposed between the hopper and the chutes for controlling the simultaneous passage of a plurality of playing elements from the hopper into a corresponding number of predetermined chutes.

2. A game apparatus comprising a chamber for playing elements, means for positioning a playing element in a predetermined position within said chamber for release therefrom, a receiving chamber into which the playing element will fall upon being released from the first chamber, a receptacle provided with a plurality of passages leading from the. receiving chamber and means for selectively controlling the movement of the playing element from the receiving chamber to a desired passage.

3. A game apparatus comprising a chamber for playing elements, means for positioning a playing element in a predetermined position within said chamber for release therefrom, a receiving chamber into which the playing element will fall upon being released from the first chamber, a receptacle provided with a plurality of passages leading from the receiving chamber and means for releasing a playing element to cause it to pass into the receiving chamber and for causing said playing element to pass from the receiving chamber'to a desired passage.

4. A game apparatus comprising a chamber for playing elements, means for positioning a playing element in a predetermined position within said chamber for release therefrom, a receiving chamber into which the playing element willfall upon being, released from the first chamber, a receptacle below the receiving chamber provided with a plurality of passages, trap doors in the 'receiving chamber overlying the tops of the pasrespective chambers.

sages and means for causin'g'a playing element to enter the. receiving chamber and for selectively opening a trap door in said chamber for permitting the playing element to enter. a predetermined passage. 1

. 15. Agame apparatus comprising a plurality of chambers, groups of playing elements in said chambers, sets of chutes below said chambers,

means: for, simultaneously releasing an element from'each chamber to a predetermined set of chutes, means for discharging the elements from the chutes and means for automatically separating the discharged elements in'accordance with their original groupings.

i 6. A'game apparatus comprising a plurality of chambers, groups of playing elements in said chambers, sets of chutes belowsaid chambers, means for simultaneously releasing an element from ,each chamber to abpredetermined set of chutes, means for discharging the elements from the chutes, means for automatically separating the discharged elements in. accordance with their original groupings and mechanical means for returning the separated groups of elements to their 8. A game apparatus comprising a pair of said chambers, a plurality of pairs of chutes for receiving the playing elements from said chambers, means for simultaneously releasing a playing element from each chamber, means for selectively predetermining the pair of chutes for receiving the released playing elements, means for discharging the playing elements from the chutes and means for separating the playing elements upon being discharged according to their original groupings and means for returning them to their respective chambers.

9. A game apparatus according to claim 8 wherein the means forreturning the separated playing elements to their respective chambers is a mechanically operable conveyor with means for maintaining the :playing' elements in their separated group relationship while they are being conveyed to their respective chambers.

10.'AIgame apparatus according to claim 8 wherein the means for returning the separated playing elements to their respective chambers is a helical conveyor provided with means ior confining the movements' of the elements longitudicharge receptacle to the respective chambers of the'feed hopper from whence they first came.

JOSEPH P. BENSON;

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