NZ241886A - Portable game board and magnetic game pieces - Google Patents

Description

9A\ 886 Priority Date(s): ..71. fli Complete Specification Filed: ..4.3..% Class: ftW. f.3 loo,.. 03iml !7 Publication Date: P.O. Journal, No: ... rl 1*% $ V •1' V ' V / % ;/-V -6 MAR 1992;, U / \! - Patents Form No. 5 Number PATENTS ACT 1953 Dated COMPLETE SPECIFICATION PORTABLE GAME BOARD I, KAZUHIDE YONEKAWA, a Japanese subject, of 3-34-6-204 Tabatashin-Machi, Kita-ku, Tokyo 114, Japan do hereby declare the invention for which I pray that a Patent may be granted to me, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: 24 1 8 86 PORTABLE TYPE GAME BOARD BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to a portable type game board, in which magnetic game pieces placed thereon for playing a game are magnetically attracted to the surface of the board, and more particularly to an improvement of a board member for magnetically attracting the game pieces. 2. Brief Description of the Prior Art Many of conventional game boards, which are formed in a portable type in order to facilitate an easy carrying, are designed such that game pieces placed or arranged on the board are attracted to the surface of the board by magnetic force so that the game pieces would not be moved on or dropped out of the board during a game. However, since the conventional portable type game boards employing a magnet have an iron plate embedded in the game board so that the magnetic game pieces would be magnetically attracted to the surface of the board, the game boards become thick and heavy because of the provision of the iron plate. Therefore, the conventional portable type game boards are not suitable for an easy carrying. Moreover, they had the shortcomings, among others, that their covers are frequently deformed 241886 and/or collapsed due to the heavy weight of the iron plate.

In view of the above, the present applicant has successfully developed, as discussed in EP 1 09 6 73 which discloses a portable type game board capable of obviating the.above shortcomings, which as a very thin pure iron sheet called "iron foil" instead of an iron plate, the iron sheet being embedded in a game board.

The game board having a pure iron sheet embedded in a board has the advantages that magnetic game pieces are prevented from being moved on and dropped out of the board because they are magnetically attracted to the surface of the board, that a whole game board is thin and light in weight in order to enhance an easy carrying, and that a cover thereof is prevented from being deformed and/or collapsed thereby to prolong a service life of merchandise thereof. On the other hand, this game board developed by the present applicant still has the shortcomings that since the upper surface of the game board is formed of a thin board of transparent synthetic resin such as vinyl chloride and the lower surface thereof is printed with frame lines and various patterns suitably designed for a game by screen printing or the like, it is technically difficult to print complicated colorful frame lines, patterns, etc. thereon. Therefore, it can be used only for a limited number of games such as chess, 2 24 1 8 86 Japanese Go-game, etc. which require only simple vertical and horizontal lines which are simple but time and cost inefficient.

In addition, since the above game board has an iron foil and a cardboard as a core member with the iron foil placed thereon in an overlapped relation, which are interposed between an upper surface board and a cover ground, the upper surface board and the cover ground being heat welded together at outer peripheral edges thereof, the iron foil is directly seen from the above depending on the printed patterns of the upper surface board. This naturally degrades an outer appearance of the game board. Moreover, the inserted iron foil is unstable, and therefore, the game board becomes bulky and the upper surface board is undulated, thus making it difficult to finish the upper surface flat and smooth.

The present invention has be^n achieved in view of the above.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a portable type game board which is easy to carry.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a portable type game board in which complicated colorful frame lines, patterns, etc. suitably designed for a game can be printed on a board surface thereof at a low cost.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 3 24 1 8 86 A further object of the present invention is to provide a portable type game board in which a board surface thereof can be made flat, and a whole board thereof can be made thin but rigid in structure.

To achieve the above objects, there is essentially provided a portable type game board comprising a board member which can be double folded so as to be put into a player's pocket, etc., and an iron foil embedded in said board member, magnetic game pieces placed on a surface of said board member for playing a game being magnetically attracted to said board member, wherein said board member comprises an upper surface board formed of a smooth and flat transparent synthetic resin board, an indicator paper printed thereon with various kinds of frame lines, patterns, etc. suitably designed for a game, a very thin iron, and a cover ground formed of the same synthetic resin as said upper surface board, said indicator paper with said very thin iron foil placed thereon being attached to said card board, said card board with said indicator paper and very thin iron foil attached thereto being interposed between said upper surface board and said cover ground, said upper surface board and cover ground being heat welded with each other at outer peripheral edges thereof.

The transparent synthetic resin thin board may be formed of a vinyl chloride material. The very thin iron foil may be a pure iron sheet having a thickness of about 20/i . 4 24 1 8 86 The portable type game board having the above-mentioned constitution is functioned as follows.

Since the various kinds of frame lines, patterns, etc. suitably designed for a game are printed on the indicator paper and such printed frame lines, patterns, etc. can be seen by eye through the transparent upper surface board, there can be provided a game board having much more complicated and colorful frame lines, patterns, etc. compared with the conventional game board in which the frame lines, patterns, etc. are printed on the lower surface of the synthetic resin upper surface board, using a conventional printing technique. Accordingly, the portable type game board of the present invention can be used in a wider range of games. Furthermore, since the very thin iron foil is inserted under the upper surface board and, in the foregoing state, attached to the card board as a core member, the iron foil is not bulky, the board surface can be made flat, and the whole board can be made rigid.

Other objects and many attendant advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description when taken together with the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a portab 1e/type game BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 24 1 8 86 board according to one embodiment of the present invention, showing a double folded state thereof; Fig. 2 is likewise a perspective view showing an open state thereof; Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing a structure of a board member thereof; Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view showing a structure of the board member; and Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional view of a game piece.

One preferred embodiment of a portable type game board according to the present invention will be described in detail hereinafter with reference to the accompanying draw-i ngs .

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing a double folded state of a whole body of a portable type game board according to one embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 2 is likewise a perspective view showing an open state of a whole body of the portable type game board, which is now ready for playing a game. In these Figures, the numeral 1 denotes a board member, 2, a center folding line, and 3, a heat welded portion formed on a peripheral edge of the board member 1.

The whole body of the board member 1 comprises, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, an upper surface board 4 formed of a flat DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENT 6 24 1 B 86 and smooth transparent resin thin board, an indicator paper 5 colorfully printed in detail on a surface thereof with frame lines, patterns 5a suitably designed for a game, a very thin iron foil 6, a card board 7 as a core member, and a cover ground 8 formed of the same synthetic resin sheet as the upper surface board 4, the iron foil 6 with the indicator paper 5 placed thereon being attached to the card board 7, the card board 7 with the indicator paper 5 and iron foil 6 attached thereto being inserted between the upper surface board 4 and the cover ground 8, the upper surface board 4 and cover ground 8 being heat welded together at outer peripheral edges thereof as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 4. The upper surface board 4 and cover ground 8 are formed of a synthetic resin material such as, for example, vinyl chloride.

Used as the iron foil 6 is, for example, "IRON FOIL" manufactured by Toyo Kohan Kabushiki Kaisha. This "IRON FOIL" is a pure iron sheet which is formed into a very thin form of approximately 20 <i in thickness by an electric casting method. It is thicker than the conventional steel foil which is manufactured by a rolling method and has such features as easy to cut and excellent in strength.

In Fig. 2, the numeral 9 denotes game pieces used on the game board of the present invention. Each of the game pieces 9, as shown in its enlarged scale in Fig<. 5, is comprised of a rubber magnetic body 9a which is m&de by mixing 7 24 1 8 86 fine powders of permanent magnetic steel, and printed elements 9b, 9c either attached to a single or both surfaces of the rubber magnetic body 9a or directly printed on the surface or surfaces of the rubber magnetic body 9a.

Since the portable type game board according to the present invention comprises the board member 1 and the game pieces 9, the game pieces 9 placed on the upper surface board 4 of the board member 1 having the iron foil 6 embedded therein for playing a game are magnetically attracted to the upper surface board 4. Furthermore, since the frame lines, patterns 5a, etc. printed on the indicator paper 5 inserted under the upper surface board 4 can be seen through the upper surface board 4 which is made of a transparent synthetic resin thin board, a game can be played in accordance with these frame lines, patterns 5a, etc. Moreover, since the whole board member 1 can be double folded and the iron foil 6 embedded in the board member 1 is very thin and attached to the card board 7 under the upper surface board 4, the iron foil 6 is stable and not bulky. Accordingly, the board surface can be made flat. In addition, the whole board can be made thin and rigid. Therefore, the board member 1 can be put into a player's pocket for easy carrying.

As apparent from the above-mentioned description, since the portable type game board according to the present invention can be made thin and rigid, it is very handy to be f 8 // l\J f/O Cftf fi^ cr- y \\ Ci i d 8 6 carried for a trip, etc. Moreover, since the frame lines, patterns, etc. suitably designed for a game are printed on the indicator paper by conventional printing means, much more delicate and colorful beautiful frame lines, patterns, etc. are available compared with those obtained by the conventional screen printing. Accordingly, the portable type game board can be used in a wider range of games. Furthermore, it is more fancy to carry as a portable type game board. In addition, structure thereof is simple and printing charges are low. As seen, the portable type game board of the present invention is very high in value of practical use.

While only one embodiment of the present invention has been shown in detail, it will be understood that the same is for illustration purpose only and is not to be taken as a definition of the invention. 9 \

Claims (4)

WHAT WE CLAIM IS: 241886

1. A portable type game board comprising a board member which can be double folded so as to be put into a player's pocket, an iron foil being embedded in said board member, and magnetic game pieces placed on a surface of said board member for playing a game, the game pieces being magnetically attracted to said board member, wherein said board member comprises an upper surface board formed of a smooth and flat transparent synthetic resin board, an indicator paper printed thereon with various kinds of frame lines and patterns suitably designed for a game, said iron foil, and a cover ground formed of the same synthetic resin as said upper surface board, said indicator paper with said iron foil placed thereon being attached to a card board, said card board with said indicator paper and said iron foil attached thereto being interposed between said upper surface board and said cover ground, said upper surface board and cover ground being heat welded with each other at outer peripheral edges thereof.

2. A portable type game board as claimed in claim 1, wherein said transparent synthetic resin thin board is formed of a vinyl chloride material.

3. A portable type game board as claimed in claim 1, wherein said iron foil is a pure iron sheet having a thickness of about 20 p.

4. A portable type game board substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings. \ per: ATTORNEYS FOR THE APPLICANT