GB2540755A - Entertainment apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

Game apparatus that comprises a booth 1 having means for a person to gain access and means for receiving an airflow, the airflow being directed into the booth 1 at an angle other than perpendicular to the surface of the booth 1 so as to cause balls 9 or tokens within the booth 1 to be circulated and raised 10 for collection by a person who is inside the booth 1. The booth 1 may be cylindrical in shape and formed from a two part frame and a cover. The balls 9 are passed through an aperture 6 into a collecting device 8 where they can be delivered to a further vessel or returned back to the booth via an aperture 7. The air supply 3 for the airflow is within a housing which includes a damper that alters the amount of air supplied to an inlet 2.

Description

ENTERTAINMENT APPARATUS

This invention relates to entertainment apparatus. In particular it relates to apparatus of a type in which, in a challenging environment, tokens or game pieces must be collected within a certain time period or other constraints.

Entertainment apparatus is available in which a player can position themselves inside a booth and in which their task is to collect tokens or playing pieces which are caused to flow around the booth by means of airflow or otherwise. Typically these may involve pieces of paper or card. Generally, the player is set a certain time period and must collect as many tokens as possible.

Existing designs can be fairly bulky and difficult to transport. In addition, counting of tokens collected may be subject to errors. Furthermore, it is often difficult to vary the game parameters for players of different skill levels and physical attributes, for example so that an adult can enjoy a more challenging game than a child or a person with particular disabilities, in terms of speed of tokens, type of tokens and so on.

According to the present invention in a first aspect there is provided game apparatus, comprising a booth having means for a person to gain access and means for receiving an airflow, the airflow being directed into the booth at an angle other than perpendicular to the surface of the booth so as to cause a variety of balls or other tokens within the booth to be circulated and raised within the booth for collection by a person who is inside, or at least one of who's hands are inside, the booth.

Preferably, the booth comprises a body forming a booth in which a person may be accommodated, comprising 2 or more body parts, each of full length and adapted to form, when assembled together, the body of the booth. The booth may have an accurate cross-section, preferably a cylindrical cross-section, and each of the 2 or more parts may form part of the accurate cross-section.

Most preferably, the booth comprises two parts. One of the parts may be of greater dimension or larger in perimeter than the other one, ie for a cylindrical structure, one of the surrounds has a greater angle than at least one other.

The booth may further comprise a door part enabling access. The booth may comprise a skeletal frame, comprising one or more parts, and a cover or liner to form the complete booth. The cover or liner may be of plastics material, cardboard, paper or otherwise.

The game apparatus may include a ball collecting device mountable to the side of the booth, the booth comprising one aperture for the person to deposit collected balls, the ball collecting device being mounted in register with the aperture.

The booth may comprise a further aperture positioned lower than the first aperture and the collector having a means for returning balls directly to the second aperture (to play in the booth).

The collector preferably includes an aperture or other outlet mounted on a face other than a face that contacts the booth, and a moveable means within the collecting device that is displaceable from a first position or disposition where it causes balls to be returned into the booth to a second position or disposition where it causes balls to be directed towards the further outlet. A ball counter/collector may then be mounted to the further outlet and used to collect balls. This is preferably removable so it can be removed with the collected balls therein, for counting by an adjudicator or judge. Preferably the moveable means a plate which is pivotedly moved from a first to a second position.

The ball collector may comprise a second moveable and/or removable block means in the form of a block which in the first position blocks the collector so the balls are collected in the collector above the block and cannot drop below it, and in which the second position allows balls to drop to the first moveable means. The ball collector may be a "periscope" design.

In some embodiments, the apparatus may further include a housing for a air fan, such as a high pressure high volume fan, the housing being connected to the air inlet via a hose or a conduit and the housing may comprise a damper means for variably restricting airflow from the fan into the machine and therefore altering air speed within the booth.

This may comprise a damper such as a plate movable across an air inlet and which is moveable to selectively restrict airflow into the inlet.

The plate may be moved between 9 first position at which it does not restrict airflow to a second position at which it totally covers the airflow, and to positions there between.

The plate may be moved to variable positions by a ratchet mechanism, or by a mechanism in which it is suspended in a generally vertical disposition, for example so that in a first position the bottom edge of the plate does not impinge over the inlet and then being lowerable to progressively impinge upon more of the inlet. Many other mechanisms will be apparent.

According to the present invention in a further aspect there is provided game apparatus claimed in claim 2 wherein the booth is cylindrical in a horizontal cross-section and each part represents a segment of the circle in said horizontal cross-section.

In a further aspect the invention comprises a housing for an air compressor for a games apparatus, the housing comprising a housing for an air compressor or fan, including a damper moveable relative to an inlet of the far or air compressor to alter the amount of air supplied to the inlet.

The apparatus may be used to play many types of games, or simply for entertainment. Players may compete against each other.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by example only, with reference to the accompanied drawings in which;

Figure 1 shows a games apparatus,

Figure 2 shows a frame,

Figure 3 shows part of the frame of figure 2,

Figure 4 shows an assembled booth,

Figure 5 shows the assembled booth from another direction,

Figure 6 shows details of an air inlet,

Figure 7 shows a ball collection device,

Figure 8 shows a side view of the ball collection device; and Figure 9 shows an air calibration unit/compressor housing.

Referring to figure 1, games apparatus comprises a booth 1 which is suitably sized so that it can accommodate a standing adult. Alternatively, it may be slightly smaller and able to accommodate at least 1 standing child. Typically, the booth is cylindrical as shown and has a radius of around 100 cm for a child and perhaps 150 cm in diameter for an adult. Typically it may be of height 150 cm for a child or 180 cm for an adult, although their dimension may vary. In principle it could be any size and shape and may even be significantly smaller so it might not actually accommodate a person within it but has one or more apertures windows so that a person can insert one or both arms inside the booth whilst remaining outside it.

The booth is preferably cylindrical as shown although it may have arcuate sides other than cylindrical ones or be rectangular, square or otherwise shaped. It need not be of constant cross-section along its length. The booth 1 includes, towards its bottom, an inlet (2) for receiving air from a compressor (3) via a hose or conduit (4). The inlet preferably comprises a length of pipe (5) (shown more clearly in figure 6) which is angled so that air does not enter perpendicular to the surface of the booth at that point but instead enters at an angle to it, thus causing the air to circulate or swell round. Typically, it may enter at an angle which asymptotic or at another angle to the tangent at the surface of the booth at that point. A typical angle Θ is 50° to the tangent of the surface at that point (see figure 1). The booth may be covered on its top and/or bottom. It also includes one or more apertures (6) and (7) at different heights of the cylinder and these enable balls collected within the booth during a game to be passed out by a user to a collecting device 8. Different height apertures (6) and (7) may be provided either for use for people with different height (or eg, by a standing person and a person sitting in a wheelchair) or may be used so that one of the apertures is used for a person to pass balls out (typically these will be the highest aperture) to the collector and balls and returned from the collector using the other aperture. A series of spaced apertures may be provided around the circumference of the booth.

In use, the booth is filled with a variety of balls or other tokens, although balls are preferred. These will typically be light balls which are capable of being moved around the cylinder by an airflow through inlet (2). Thus, typically, each ball will be, say between, 50mm and 70mm in diameter and of a foamed/sponge material. They may be larger or smaller than this and/or of other materials. When turned on, with a user accommodated inside the booth, this causes the variety of balls to rotate and swirl around, including being lifted, within the booth, as shown schematically by balls (9) taking above (10) shown by dash lines. The balls will of course not all follow the same path and may flow a complicated chaotic path, particularly once they start to collide with each other and with the walls/roof of the booth. A user is then given a certain amount of time to collect as many balls as possible.

Various game options may be used, such as having balls of two or more colours and a user having to collect the balls of a certain colour and having points added for balls of that colour he collects and deducted for balls of a different colour that he inadvertently collects. By collection is meant that the user collects a ball and deposits it in the counter. The collector is arranged to store the collected balls so that they can counted and also, preferably, a mechanism for selectively causing the balls to be ejected to a removable device for adjudication and also be used to return balls to the device. The collector will be further described below.

The booth is preferably made as a frame which is then covered by a cover (or lined with a liner) which is preferably transparent so that spectators can view a player within the booth. It typically comprises one or a plurality of vertical rails/supports (12) and at least a top and bottom circumferential rail/support (13) and (14). Further circumferential supports (15) and (16) may be provided, based up the booth. The cover will typically be a polycarbonate sheet which is mounted over the frame.

Whilst the frame may be made in one piece, in preferred embodiments it is made in two or more pieces. Typically, each of those represents part of the radial extent of the frame. Thus, in the embodiment of figure 2, the frame is formed of two portions generally vertically disposed, a first smaller part (20) and a second larger (21). Figure 3 shows the smaller part 20. As shown, this includes a top and bottom acrylate frame (14a) and (13a) respectively, each of which in this case, since the whole frame is cylindrical, represents an arc of a circle but which is subtends less of 180 degrees, thus making this part smaller than the other part. Connecting the ends of these are two frames members (12a) and (12b). There are also cross members between the two ends of upper frame (14a) shown as cross member (15a) and between the ends of cross member (14b) and (15b). One or more strengthening bars (16a), (16b) and (16c) may be provided between the arc of frame (14b) and bottom of cross member (14b). Thus the two parts form, in a horizontal cross-section, segments of the complete circular cross-section of the perimeter of the cylinder.

The booth has a longitudinal axis which is generally vertical and is divided along a plane parallel to this or having a component parallel to this (ie at an angle other than horizontal) into at least two of the parts.

Part (21) is similar, although the top and bottom frame will of course subtend a greater angle and an angle of greater than 180 degrees.

In a typical embodiment the smaller frame part subtends one third of a whole circle (ie 120 degrees) and the larger parts subtends two thirds (ie 240 degrees).

By arranging to have one larger and one smaller piece, it is much easier to transport and manoeuvre the booth into place because the smaller parts can fit through doorways and other entrances easier, to be assembled on site. Additionally a relatively large door (not shown in the figures for clarity) which may be formed by a plastic panel for example which can be removable or hinged can be included in the larger part and this enables easier access and perhaps also access for people with disabilities or in wheelchairs for example.

The frame might alternatively be formed or three or more main body parts.

Typically the frame members may be around 30 mm or so in thickness. However, this may of course vary and be dependent upon the material of which they are made. This material may be plastic material or may be metal, wood, or other materials.

Figures 4 and 5 show two perspective views from different angles of a completed booth. They show the frame and a plastic cover (25) mounted upon this. Figure 4 shows three holes (26), (27) and (28) mounted within the cover. These are in line vertically with each other in this embodiment. These not necessarily be in line vertically and more than one series of holes can be provided. These holes or apertures are for a user to deposit a ball through to a collecting device and therefore size to be of greater diameter than the diameter of the balls to be used. They need not be circular. Whilst two upper holes (26a) and (26b) are provided (for people of different heights for example) the lower hole (26c) may be used to return balls into the booth. In operation, a collecting device is placed over a set of apertures, as described further below. The figures also show the input tube (5) for an air supply, both from the outside in figure 4 and internally in figure 5 (through the transparent cover).

Note that several sets of holes (25)(26) may be provided, around the periphery. These may be equi-spaced around the periphery. This enables two, three or more ball collectors (see below) to be used simultaneously. Thus two or more players can play at the same time, or, for example, a player may have to deposit one colour of ball in the first collector and another in a second collector mounted away from the first collector.

Figure 6 shows the tube (5) in a little more detail. It comprises a generally cylindrical tube (5) entering the booth at an angle perpendicular to the surface 30 at the point of entry and an enlarged frame end part (31) for enabling a hose from an air compressor to be attached.

Figures 7 and 8 show a ball collector. Figure 7 also shows an additional removable vessel attached to the ball collector. The ball collector comprises a hollow box made of plastics material, for example, and which may be rectangular in cross section. It is shown as (40) in figure 7 and 8. It is mountable to the side of the booth at the position where it is in register with at least one aperture of the booth. It includes, on its rear side (not shown for clarity) at least one aperture mountable in register with at least one aperture of the booth. Preferably it may include two such apertures on one side, one for ball receiving and the other for delivering balls back into the booth, and may also include further height spaced-apart apertures so that persons of different heights can apply balls into the collector and may also include a further aperture or window on the same face, for allowing balls to be redelivered from it back into the booth.

The collector includes a first barrier (41), typically mounted in the form of a plate (41) which is mounted horizontally and which may be disposed into and out of the collector so as to cause balls inserted into apertures provided by it to be retained within the collector above the barrier (41). It may simply be inserted into a slot, such as slot (42) and can be removed when the balls are to be removed. Mounted below this is a pivotable or other moveable or altitude-changeable (eg pivotable) displaceable platform or deflector (43) which can pivot from a first position where balls are deflected towards rollers (44) where they can be collected in a separate collecting vessels (45). Alternatively, a lower aperture may be provided in the ball collector (see figure 8) and a further collector attached to receive balls through this aperture in any convenient way.

The balls can then be taken away in the further collector and perhaps the balls of all a series of competitors can be collected in separate collector vessels so an adjudicator or an audience can look at these side by side and decide who has won the competition. The platform (43) can alternatively be pivoted to an alternative position (43a) shown in dashed lines in figure 8) which then causes the balls to be returned back into the booth through the rear aperture (49) and back through aperture (26c) of the booth (figure 4).

Thus, by providing a moveable or pivotable platform (43) balls can either be collected and counted in the ball collector (40) itself and then returned straight to the booth, or can be collected initially in ball collector (40) and then moved to a further vessel (45), depending upon the type of game played and user preferences. Thus, a moveable platform provides considerable advantages and flexibility of use.

Whilst a pivoting platform is most convenient, the platform may be otherwise moved to different attitudes or position. It may be removed and slotted into different slots, at different angles for example. Preferably, it is displaceable by means of being mounted to a pivot point provided halfway down its length and extending laterally through it. This may be a pin which extends to one or both sides of the collector and this may include a mechanism such as a ring, thread, nut or knob, which acts with a screw thread on the pint to tighten the pin against the side of the collector when the platform is in a desired position and which can then be untightened to enable the pin and a platform mounted on it to be rotated or pivoted to an alternative disposition and then tightened again to maintain the platform in the second position. Thus, in some embodiments the barrier is mounted to the pin such that it does not freely rotate relative to the pin and is caused to rotate with the pin.

The rollers (44) help balls slide into the collector. This need not be provided in some embodiment.

The collector box may be mounted to the side of a booth in any convenient manner. It may include side frame portions (51) and (52) which can be attached by bolts, screws etc, or may have various clipping mechanism or other means for attaching it. It may be adhesively attached for example. Although the collector is shown in figure 7 as having a flat rear edge the rear edge, may be curved to match the curved edge of the booth.

The game is operated by a high volume fan providing moving air into the booth, which causes the balls to move within it. Fans suitable for this are well known and a typical one used may be a HP 550cfm 5.5" EG, 210/345/415mm, 6 amps, or an 10.5 HP 900cfm 6.5" WG 2.0, of 400/560/550mm. 10.5 amps. Other fans, or sources of air, may of course be used.

It is desirable to able to alter the speed of the air and this will help to make a more interesting game where a player can chose the speed and therefore difficulty and also which can enable the same apparatus to be used by players of vastly different abilities such as adults and children or those of certain disabilities. Both the described fan types cannot be adjusted with an electrical dimmer. An alternative damping method must therefore be provided.

One way of altering airflow is to limit the air which is received at the inlet of the air compressor. By limiting the air into the compressor, the output is limited also. Figure 9 shows a system for this. The compressor is mounted in a compressor housing (6) such as the outlet of the compressor or fan and passes through an outlet (61) to a hose and into the booth. The air inlet of the fan or compressor is open to receive air from outside the housing through an aperture (63) and a plate (64) is suspended or otherwise positioned where it can at least partially block the inlet as shown. By partially blocking the inlet it therefore restricts airflow. It may therefore be described as a damper. In the embodiment shown schematically in figure 9 the damper (64) is suspended from a position towards the top of the housing and can move up or down. This movement may be a motor or by a hand operation such as being suspended on a cord which can be tide in various positions. It may have a ratchet mechanism so it can be moved to various vertically or horizontally spaced different positions. By altering the relative position of the platform a different amount of the inlet may be blocked and therefore air flow can be varied. This can be associated with different levels of play. Thus, there may be LEVEL ONE which is a very simple level, LEVEL 2 a slightly more difficult level, LEVEL THREE a medium difficulty level and LEVEL FOUR a high difficulty level of maximum airflow and therefore maximum movement of the balls.

In figure 8 an alternative collecting vessel (45a) is shown which mounts to the side by extending below, the ball collector which has an aperture which is in register with aperture (46) and can therefore receive balls.

In a modification, the booth may have one or more light emitters, or light arrays, mounted on or associated with it. They can cause one or more lights, eg LEDS, to illuminate to indicate game time, and/or display different colours to indicate the colour of ball to be collected, and so on. The colour may change periodically say every 30 seconds, to indicate to the player they must start collecting a different coloured ball.

Claims (19)

1. Game apparatus, comprising a booth having means for a person to gain access and means for receiving an airflow, the airflow being directed into the booth at an angle other than perpendicular to the surface of the booth where it enters, so as to cause a variety of balls or other tokens within the booth to be circulated and raised within the booth for collection by a person who is inside, or at least one of whose hands are inside, the booth.

2. Game apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the booth comprises at least two connectable parts, connectable to form a booth, which is generally arcuate in a horizontal cross section (when mounted on a horizontal floor) each part representing a segment of the entire arc of the booth.

3. Games apparatus as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the booth has a longitudinal axis which extends generally vertically in normal use, and where the booth is divided along a plane parallel to its longitudinal axis, or having a component parallel to its mounted axis, to form at least two of the parts.

4. Game apparatus claimed in claim 2 or 3 wherein the booth is cylindrical in a horizontal cross-section and each part generally represents a segment of the circle in said horizontal cross section.

5. Game apparatus as claimed in any of claims 2, 3 or 4 wherein at least one of the parts subtends a greater horizontal angle than at least one of the others.

6. Game apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim comprising a removable or hingeable door enabling access to within the booth by a person or a hand.

7. Game apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim comprising a skeletal frame and a cover.

8. Game apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim when the booth includes at least one aperture for a player to pass a collected token or ball out of the booth, and a collecting device attachable to the booth and having at least one opening to be mounted in register with the aperture to receive balls from said aperture, the collecting device having a first moveable or displaceable means for enabling a ball collected within to selectively be either returned back to the booth or delivered to a further collecting vessel, depending upon the position and/or attitude of the removable means.

9. Game apparatus as claimed in claim 8 wherein the removable means is pivotable from a first angle to a second angle.

10. Game apparatus as claimed in claim 8 or claim 9 wherein the ball collecting device has a second moveable or removable barrier mean mounted higher than the part, so as to temporarily hold balls at a position above the displaceable parts mean.

11. Game apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim further including a housing for an air supply such as a fan, the housing including means for adjusting airflow received within the booth, without the necessity for adjusting the speed of the fan or compressor.

12. Game apparatus as claimed in claim 11 wherein the means comprises a damper movable relative to an inlet of the fan or air compressor to selectively limit the air intake and therefore alter the amount of air supplied to the inlet.

13. Game apparatus as claimed in claim 12 wherein the plate is vertically or moveable across the inlet to progressively block the inlet and therefore alter the amount of air receivable at the inlet.

14. A collecting device for a games apparatus, comprising means for recovering balls from the apparatus, and a first moveable or displaceable means for enabling a ball collected within to selectively be either returned back to the booth or delivered to a further collecting vessel, depending upon the position and/or attitude of the removable means.

15. A collecting device as claimed in claim 14 wherein the removable means is pivotable from a first angle to a second angle.

16. A collecting device as claimed in claims 14 or 15 wherein the ball collecting device has a second moveable or removable barrier mean mounted higher than the part, so as to temporarily hold balls at a position above the displaceable parts mean.

17. A housing for an air supply such as a fan, including a damper movable relative to an inlet of the fan or fans to selectively limit the air intake and therefore alter the amount of air supplied to the inlet.

18. A housing as claimed in claim 17, wherein the plate is vertically or moveable across the inlet to progressively block the inlet and therefore alter the amount of air receivable at the inlet.

19. Games apparatus substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as illustrated by, any of the accompanying drawings.