GB425844A - Apparatus or appliances for playing games or providing amusement - Google Patents

Abstract

425,844. Toy boats; games. GREENER, F., 134, Grange Road, Erdington, Birmingham. Oct. 11, 1933, No. 27968. [Classes 132 (ii) and 132 (iii)] An apparatus or appliance for playing a game or for serving as an amusing or instructive toy comprises a tank or similar liquid receptacle provided with one or more uniformly diverging channels and one, or a series of, light and thin buoyant objects adapted to be launched upon the water in the narrow end of one of the channels the boundaries of the channels and the edges of the floating objects being inclined or arranged so that the objects will be propelled, under the influence of capillary attraction towards the wider end of the channel. As shown in Fig. 5, an open tank containing water is constructed with a uniformly diverging but tortuous channel c<1> having vertical or inwardly inclined walls c. The channel opens into a " harbour " area c<2> containing structures representing, for example, a lighthouse f and a landing stage e. The walls of the lighthouse may be vertical or inwardly inclined and the walls of the landing stage outwardly inclined. Small thin objects of metal or other material, such as the object a<1>, Fig. 3, representing boats, when placed on the surface of the water at the small end of the channel c<1> proceed down the channel by reason of the capillary forces set up by the vertical or inclined walls and emerge into the harbour area where they are repelled by the lighthouse and attracted by the landing stage. The channel c<1> may be produced by two uniformly diverging wires in contact with the surface of the water. A wire, vertically adjustable, may be stretched, in contact with the water, from the mouth of the harbour to the opposite side to cause the boats to travel along the side of the wire. A tank with two or more channels may be provided for a race game and means may be introduced into the tank to enable the players to vary the speeds of the boats. Such means may consist of rudderlike contrivances hinged to the walls, or the walls may be hinged. Glass rods may be provided to attract or repel the boats by dipping the rods into the water at various angles adjacent to the boats. Instead of boats, metal representations of fish may be provided, and when two channels are provided in the tank, one competitor may endeavour to make his fish intercept and simulate swallowing that of the other competitor.