FR2881357A1 - Bidding displaying device for bridge, tokens representing bidding, connected to support by magnetic attraction, integrated in table surface, and placed in cells in flat manner, where token have recall of indications on their front side - Google Patents

Abstract

The device has tokens (5) representing bidding and connected to a rectangular support (4) by a magnetic attraction. The tokens integrated in a table surface are placed in cells (A1, A2) in a flat manner. The cells are arranged such that a surface exposed to the tokens levels a surface of a space available for players. The tokens have, on their back side, graphics and colors used in the bidding and on front side, a recall of indications.

Description

TECHNICAL AREA

  The present invention relates to a device for use by card game players whose practice requires the preliminary conduct of auctions such as for bridge.

  CONTEXT (for neophytes) The practice of part of the bridge together 4 people around a table very generally equipped with a carpet. It opposes a pair located in the North-South axis to the other pair located in the East-West axis. It involves playing a number of data.

  At each new deal, systematically before the "card game" begins, there is an ordered auction phase which aims at achieving the nature and level of commitment of the highest contract. It's the donor who starts. Then the neighbor to his left continues and so on, each in turn. The auction stops when one of the players obtains from his opponents and his partner the renunciation to outbid.

  The practice of auctions gives rise to the use of numerous and complex conventions. Originally they were practiced orally.

  Voluntarily or not, the intonations let pass parasitic information such as: "It's finished", "I disapprove", "I hesitate", ...

  In the clubs, the sound level reached seriously upset the concentration necessary for a competitive practice.

  For many years now the use of accessories overcomes the disadvantages described above.

PRIOR ART

  Universally, auctions are conducted in a silent manner. Each player has cardboard cards stored in a box. This arrangement is characterized by an orderly stacking which is structured by the arrangement of notches. When it is his turn to do so, the player extracts from the box the useful form (s) which he places in front of him in a visible manner by the other players. When the auctions are over, the cards are returned to their places.

  The use of this device, despite the advantages it has brought, causes many drawbacks in areas such as: 1) the size caused by the presence of housings of dimensions 10 cm x 8 cm x 6 cm (approximately) . These housings being placed on the carpet or hung around the table according to the chosen positioning mode.

  2) The visual impact caused by the volume, the shapes and the colors of the cases is unnecessarily catchy, even unsightly.

  3) The inconvenience of the selection of the desired cartons caused by the small size of the notches of capture.

  4) The possibility of cheating. By orienting the deposit position of his cardboard on the table, an unscrupulous player can provide additional indications by using illicit conventions previously established between him and his partner.

  5) If any of the cartons that may be blocking an auction or multiple middle bids slip over each other, the apparent timing of a player's bidding may be adversely affected.

  6) The instability of the boxes placed on the table or the hanging for those who are fixed around, often leads in the course of the reversals in which the many cartons are mixed. The reinstatement is made tedious and the bustle caused disrupts the concentration of players.

  Concerning the maintenance, in the clubs it is essential to regularly make sure that in each box all the boxes are: present, in their place and in good state. It is a load that requires hours of hard work and significant expense for the purchase of replacement items.

  What explains the complexity and the importance of the work of maintenance is that: 1 ') the cardboard is fragile and messy.

  2) wear is very irregular because, comparatively, the frequency of use of each carton is very different depending on the indication that it supports.

  3) the collective use invariably and quickly causes disorder or even mess in the ordering of boxes.

  PRESENTATION OF THE INVENTION: The purpose of the present invention is to propose a device enabling bridge players to make preliminary prizes to the game of the card. While retaining the benefits of current devices it overcomes the disadvantages described above.

  This device is designated by the name BID-SHOP which is a trademark filed by the inventors.

  The auction device according to the present invention is of the type comprising tokens connected to their support by a magnetic attraction. In order for the surface of the table to be completely unobstructed in order to free users from the presence of bulky objects, according to the present invention the tokens are integrated in the surface of the table. To achieve this, the tokens are laid flat and spread out in cells. These cells are made and arranged so that the exposed face of the chips is flush with the surface of the space available to the players.

  According to the present invention, these tokens have on the reverse side a graphic and colors usable in auctions and on the other side a reminder of these indications. These indications, front side, have a height of character sufficient for the said indications are visible by the other players positioned, each of them in its normal place. Side verso the reminder of the indication on the front side is done with a height of character adapted to the desired visual effect according to criteria of operational discretion and aesthetic integration associated with the readability necessary for its use.

  THIS DEVICE INCLUDES: A set of elements made available to each player, Basic accessories of a collective character, Additional accessories with optional character, Each player will have at his disposal Tokens in kind and in sufficient number to cover all auctions that a bidder may need.

  These tokens are housed in cells arranged in the table or a support.

  The storage is in a waiting area which is in the immediate vicinity of the user. In this waiting area, the chips are selected and subsequently moved to the auction area where they are placed in the active position.

  The active position is obtained by the bidder who seized the appropriate token then returns and place it in an orderly and progressive way in one of the free cells 20 provided in the row or rows reserved for depositing the auction.

  These free cells constitute the auction area. The orientation of the indications on the face of the returned token is fixed so that the direction of reading is at the place for the partner and the opponents.

  Some bidding indications such as Pass, Counter and Override can be used multiple times, they sonar available in number. In order to avoid illegal agreements it is possible to impose a regulatory entry that is ordered and prioritized by indexing these tokens by a progressive numerical index; for example: Pass 1, Pass 2, ... Pass (x).

  The extraction of the token into its socket is facilitated by an ergonomic device which may be, for example: 1) a clearance to pass the end of a finger. This clearance can be practiced in the support or vice versa in the token.

  2) a tilting system that can be obtained in two ways: 1) with a flat token resting on a boss on the support.

  2) with a flat support on which rests a token whose shape or arrangements allow tilting.

  The stability of the positioning of the token in its cell is obtained by a magnetic attraction.

  The chips are stored in a honeycomb support.

  This honeycomb support is characterized by its reduced thickness which makes it integrable from a functional and aesthetic point of view.

  It may consist of one or more elements.

  In the case where it is in a single element, it constitutes a single general support. This single support can be permanently attached to the table by constituting the surface of its tray or it can be removable. He is then placed on some table or specialized. The space offered by this single general support is then divided into four. In the space that belongs to him, each player will have at his disposal his game of chips arranged in the cells designed for this purpose.

  In the case where it is in several elements these elements can be placed on the carpet or be embedded in the carpet which will then receive the appropriate cuts.

  The cells are of shapes and dimensions adapted to those of the chips. Each cell is arranged so that the entry of the tokens is facilitated.

  This arrangement can be a clearance or a rocking device as presented in the description of possible solutions to facilitate the extraction of tokens (page 3, lines 31 to 38) The total number of cells corresponds to the sum of the cells necessary for the storage of the tokens plus the number of cells intended for the deposit of the auctions. In the example presented, this support is rectangular in shape and in one element. However, according to the ergonomic and aesthetic criteria retained: 10) this support can be divided into several elements 2) the shape of the element or its fractions can evolve in multiple ways for example: L-shape, triangle, oval, curved, ...

  To protect the tokens from untimely expulsions they are connected to their support by a magnetic attraction.

  In the example presented, the magnet is fixed on the support and the token is made of magnetic material with low remanence. It is possible to obtain the same effect by doing the opposite, that is to say: by using magnetic tokens and a support of low-remanence magnetic material.

  Keeping the token storage order permanently as shown in FIG. 9 is a mandatory requirement to maintain the quality of use that allows the user to enter the desired token without having to search for it.

  To facilitate this storage up to even impose: -5 ..

  1) on the bottom of the cell is a visual reminder of the symbol of the token assigned to it.

  2) Positioning imposed by a mechanism designated in the current technical language is used by the term of keying

ADDITIONAL EQUIPMENTS

  The individual equipments are accompanied by the following elements: Rigid sub-hands to serve as writing desk. On one of their faces they include the tables of the scores obtained according to the result of the game of the card.

  The elements described above can be supplemented by the following accessories: folding screens, possibly removable and possibly secured to the supports. They are intended to avoid the parasitic and harmful and non-regulatory indications that may occur during hesitations and to hinder indiscretions such as gestures agreed upon by possible cheaters. (The high-level competitions are held with screens that mask the players between them.) PRESENTATION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS The present drawings are given by way of illustration.

  In Figure 1, the table shown in plan view, may optionally be covered with a mat 10 filled with four devices according to the invention.

  Figure 2 shows the arrangement of these devices so as to play bridge.

  Figure 3 is made in section of a device directly inserted in the thickness of the carpet which covers a table. This device, itif @ 2 consists of a rectangular support C1 composed of several rows of aligned cells (Al, A2 ..., B1, B2, ... C1, C2, ... etc.). In these cells, chips are placed. FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate, according to the invention, the embodiment of the standard chips such as 1+ and of a particular token such as STOP. The representation of their two sides illustrates the orientation of the symbols according to the face considered as well as a possible choice of height of characters.

  FIG. 6 illustrates, according to the invention, how to obtain the tilting of a token to facilitate its extraction.

  7 illustrates, according to the invention, how one imposes a storage of each token in the right cell using notches and lugs (Figure 8 illustrates, according to the invention, the possible embodiment of a support.

  FIG. 9 illustrates, according to the invention, the auction zone O1, a deposit bid2 and the storage area (Jet the methodical storage of the chips on the support.

  Figure 10 shows, according to the invention, a set of chips for the belote bridged giving an example that illustrates the adaptation of the device to other card games. -6.

MODES OF ACHIEVEMENTS

  Tokens: They are of a flat and generally elongated form. For example, according to the embodiment defined by the drawing 4 can be: rectangular, cut or stamped in a mild steel sheet. The dimensions are adapted to the dimensions of the symbols to: near or far and according to the face in view, to obtain the functional readability necessary on the one hand to the user and on the other hand to the farthest player.

  Some tokens, to be differentiated, may have different dimensions and shapes than others. Example: the STOP token according to the embodiment defined by the drawing 5, The thickness of the chips can be variable. It adapts to the embodiment of the honeycomb support where they are stored. The materials, the techniques of making tokens and the graphics techniques will be chosen to make robust and washable tokens.

  the tilting system of the token will be, for example, with a flat chip resting on a boss arranged on the support.

  The boss function being obtained by the magnet whose length has been shortened compared to that of the chip.

  According to, for example, the embodiment defined by FIG. 7 the polarizing function will be realized by practicing notches or cuts on its periphery.

  According to the embodiment defined by the drawing 6, the magnetic attraction between the token is the support is obtained by the positioning and fixing of a magnet at the bottom 25 of the cell and by the nature of the token which is steel soft.

  Honeycombed supports: The honeycombed support can be made from rigid or flexible semi-finished products which according to the choice will be machined, stamped or cut.

  The relative simplicity of the shapes to be obtained also makes it possible to use a molding process. According to the drawing figure 7 defining an example of the support, it will be realized using a molding technique.

  According to the drawing figure 6 on the periphery of each cell the embodiment will add elements of shapes such as protuberances or lugs.

Claims (4)

  1) Auction display device usable in particular by the bridge players, characterized in that it comprises tokens representing the auction, these chips being positioned in a dimpled plate.   2) Device according to claim 1 characterized in relation to the deposit of bids by a display bar, dimpled, hosting the auction chips in a chronological order, removing all the risks of unconventional interpretations.   3) Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the chips are connected to their support by a magnetic force prohibiting inadvertent movement 4) Device according to any one of the preceding claims characterized in that the arrangement of notches on the periphery of the chips in correspondence with indexes on the periphery of the cells, requires the user to replace the chips in their proper place.