US1119452A - Game apparatus. - Google Patents

Description

W. EASTER.

GAME APPARATUS.

APPLIUATION FILED JUNE 6, 1914.

1,1 1 9,4t5%, Patented Dec. 1, 1914 2 SHEETSSHEET 1.

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GAME APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 6,1914.

1 1 9,45%" 7 Patented- Dec. 1, 1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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WALTHER EASTER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR T0 OLYMPIA GAMES COMPANY,

- OF CHICAGQ ILLINOIS, A COIZIOBA'I'ION OF ILLINOIS.

GAME APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 11, 1914.

To all whom. it may concern Be it known that I, WALTHER Ras'rnu, citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Game Apparatus; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to game apparatus and more particularly to an apparatus for enabling two players (or a larger number of players taking two sides) to play a game according to the standard rules of foot-ball.

One object of my invention is to provide a game apparatus which will offer each player the choice of the usual variety of lays as ordinarily available to the side hol ing the ball, and in which each of the said plays will permit of the various results encountered with the respective plays in foot-ball as actually played out of doors.

Another object of my invention is to rovide for each of a number of different ays consecutively undertaken by the p ayer nominally in possession of the ball a series of alternative results, the possible results in each series being so balanced as to offer substantially the same probabilities of favorable and unfavorable results in the case of each group of consecutive plays.

A further object is to provide a ame in which the attempts at kicking oal rom the field will increase in the proba 1e favorable outcome in proportion as such a play is made from points nearer the goal.

Other objects of my invention are to provide a dial and indicator arran ement in which the indication of the resu ts of the.

play may readily be ascertained with certainty and to provide an auxiliary indicator for showing the play or move in the game assumed to be undertaken in each instance on the grid-iron.

Still other objects of my invention are to provide a simple and cheaply constructed support for a rotating disk, to equip the retating member of such a game apparatus with means for limiting the relative tilting of the latter without straining the relatively fragile disk, and to provide means for read- 11y increasing or decreasing the friction encountered by the rotating member in moving upon its pivot.

Still other objects will be apparent from the following specification and from the drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a plan view of a game embodying the various features of my invention. Fig. 2 is a fragmentary vertical section through Fig. 1 along the line 22. Fig. 3 is an enlarged vertical section through Fig. 1 alon the line 3-3. Fig. 4 is a fragmentary p an view of the rotating disk forming part of the game.

in the embodiment of the drawings, the game of my invention is shown as mounted in a rectangular box 1 having a block of wood 2 centrally disposed upon the bottom thereof. Screwed into the said block or base 2 and extending vertically above the same is a metal standard or post 3 equipped with a rounded upper end 4 engaging the correspondingly rounded upper end of the vertical bore 5 of a knob or socket member 6. Secured to the lower end of the said knob 6 by fastening means such as screws 7 is a disk or dial 8 of'cardboard or other suitable material, which disk-is imprinted with a series of markings arranged between concentric circles as shown in Fig. 4. When the said post, knob and disk are in their above described relative positions, as shown in Fig. 3, it will be obvious that the end 4 of the post forms a ivotal mounting for the said knob and dis K, thereby permitting the latter two members to be readily rotated about or spun upon the said post by manually grasping and twirling the knob 6. The bore 5 of the knob is preferably considerably larger in diameter than the post 3 so as to prevent a frictional engagement between the main portion of said bore and the circumferential faces of the post. However, such a difference in size between the said bore and the exterior of the post might be apt tfikdpmage the relatively fr central; drtions oi? the dis a ai' 'nst esaibtpost: To'a'voi thisan' to a rd a guide for limiting the relative tiltat}: "of the knob with respect to the p 'ostyjl preferably enlarge the said bore '5 of the knob at its lower end and slip into the enlarged portion of the bore a metal washer posed play before the disk 8 is rotated by ma hsi aaas i y t K A g The said enlarged 'pdrtibn ot the bore.'

metal Washer is also preferably'ofsuch height as to be clam ed between the smaller hnredportien rl of the knob and the-inner the disk: when the saidj disk i's 'secured'to the' knob by the screw 7. "It will bE"0bVlb}lS 'irom FigB that by nipping the eaibhwivasherf With' a 'bore' smal er' than 20 that of"the"disk" fifths edge of the'said washer will bear against the-post f3 to limit the"tiltiug"of'the knob 4 (and'consequently of the disk- 8) with respect t dthe'said post, thereby also preventing "the said post 3 from hearing against and damaging the inner portion fi of'the' said disk. I It will also be evident that b, rounding both the-top of the post 4' and t 'e upper end of therecess or bore 5' of the said knob, I 'can'provide a 'votal mounting for the knob and disk which war afford a moderate "amount of friction, thereby causing'thediskto' come to rest with more certainty than if the post and knob were-e nipped with coiiperating conical ortions. orcover, the friction between t e said" members can readily be reduced by rubbing a suitable anti-friction material, such as graphite, upon the' upper end of the post; or the said frictionmay be increased by rubbing chalk upon the upper end of the said post.

Mounted within the box 1 and supported by depending flanges 12 is a cover plate 13', which plate is disposed slightly above the disk Band is equipped with a central perforation permitting theknob 6'to project upwardly above the saidplate 13. The plate 13 is provided with a substantially sectorshaped openin eizposing a portion of the disk 8, which} isk carries a plurality or se-. ries of markings'arr'anged in the concentric rings numbers respectively as 14,to 25 inclusive' The 'op osite edges of the said opening in the p ate 13 preterably extend radially of thefcommon axis of thedisk 8 and post3, so as to intersect: all'of thesaid rings substantially radially. Adjacent to each of the said, lateral edges of the said opening in the plate 13, the said plate is provided with a series ofmarkings arranged in" twelve parallel fields extending substantially at right angles to the said edges of the opening; which fields carry "desiations cane socket as, n i the stre cars. einee ar ed 'interchangeabkli jto reqe-"ve "a play-designating eg "27 Which peg is inserted into e said sockets to indicate the row r O :manipulating the knob 65.

Each of the concentric rings upon the disk .8is 'divided'i'nto 'a series of fields marked to correspond with the various results obtainable by the plays indicated upon the field eachhdf the said rings "being proportioned substantially in accordance with theprobabilities er there'sults ae'tual'ly'observ' d with similar plays inactu'al practice. For examleyjin tryingtbforc'e the'ball through the iine'by a center, play, as implied by the outer rim 14',"again'of'otie yard is much' more pro able than one of twenty yards, Whil'ea gain of twent" yards is likewise'more probable 'than'a' ve'yard penalty'forth'e o ponent. Consequently, the divisions of the said'ring areproportioned to the said prob abilities of progress or. ground gaining. lLike'w'ise', referring to ring 17 which corresponds to an attempted forward pass, an incomplete, pass is much more. probable than either anjintercepted' pass or a; gain of round, while a gain often yards is more ighlypi obablc than one or sixty yards, and the "'t'lorrespohdingly' marl'zcd 'divisions are pro ortioned accordingly." ,t iv

If will' be obvious that in playing according to "the" accepted rules of foot-ball, each layer will continue to Play as longas' he is in, nominalpossession o the ball, so that the number "of, consecutive times which each player rotates'the disk'may vary greatly. To allow .for'th'is variation, I, preferably proportion the divisions in the respective rings in sucha way that while no two rings are similarly divided; the probability. of

gaining ground 'by the consecutive plays during whidh a'player has nominal possession' 'of the ball 'will be substantiallythe same for 'all "er the'ringsf Without such a balancing oif'the propk'ir'tio'nate divisions of the respectively interchangeable rings" ,or seriesofmarkings, any oneconversant with such a game apparatus might semi learn t'o.

rules of foot-be #1. Centerplay. #8. End play. #8. Fake play. figs! Yards '7 02 Yards 7 of Yards 7 of Yards 7 o! of gain. riiig. otgaln. r 113. otgain. ring gain. 1' ng 4 8 6 8 b 16 6 8 a 12 6 1B 8 24 2 18 2 80 1 24 0 10 0 16 0 25 lncomp Av 8.0 90 Av.8.6 90 Av.4.0 Pb Av.4 5 80 *IL. 8 -2L. 8 2L. 6 +51 6 2L'. 2 +5L. 2 6L. 2 +81 6 5L. 8 a! 4 -61. 2 --BP. 1 -5P. 2 -51 1 --15 P. 1 -16 P. 1 -16 P. 1 -15 P 1 +61. 1 +51. 2 +61. 1 +51 2 15 P. 1 +16 P. 1 +15 P. 1 +16 P 1 (News: P, Penalty; I, intercepted ball; L, Lost ball.)

.vide a manually movable indicator 29 for showing the number of downs already undertaken by the side holding the ball and preferably imprint the plate 13 with the plan 30 representing a foot-ball field, the said field being laid off in yard lines, thereby enabling the player to insert a pin or other suitable indicator at the proper yard line to designate the position of the ball at the time that the play is started. I also preferably equip the game apparatus with two pair of score indicators 31 for indicating the respective scores of the two players.

In using the ap aratus as above described, the first player 0 oses the initial play and designates the same by inserting the peg 27 in one of the sockets 26, whereupon he rotates the disk 8 by means of the knob 6. When the disk comes to rest, the intersection of the indicator wire 28 with the rin alining with the said position of the peg 2 will indicate the result of the attempted play. Then the pin indicating the ball will be moved upon the field 30 and the play will proceed from one player to the other just as the ball passes from one side to the other in the actual game of foot-ball.

It will be obvious from the markings that attempts to kick goal from the field can only e made from points comparativel near to the goal, such as those corres 0nd ing to the rings 21, 22 and 23. It wil also be obvious that in attempting such a goal kick from the field, the probability 0 actual success will increase with the nearness to the goal. I, therefore, preferably provide the said rings 21 to 23 inclusive with markings in which the probability of scoring a goal kick increases with the nearness to the goal. I also preferably provide the game apparatus of my invention with a suitable cover 31 as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2; however, I do not wish to be limited to this or other details of my game apparatus as herein shown and described, as the same might bevaried in many ways without departing from the spirit of my invention. For example, the soc cet 6 is preferably of wood, but might be of fiber or other relatively. hard material, while the annular element 9, which is rigid with respect to the said socket, might be of hard rubber or fiber instead of metal.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a game apparatus, in combination with a vertical post and a stationary indicator, a rotatable member equipped with a plurality of designations adapted to pass in proximity to the said indicator when the said member is rotated; the said member including a downwardly open socket havin a bore larger than the diameter of the saic post, the upper ends of thesaid bore and post coacting to form a pivotal support for the said rotatable member and permitting a tilting of the latter with respect to the post; and an annular guard element rigid witi respect to the socket and having a ore smaller than the said bore of the socket; the bore of the annular element being normally out of engagement with said post,. but adapted to engage therewith upon relative tilting of the rotatable member with respect to the post to'limit the extent of the said tilting.

2. A foot-ball game apparatus including relatively rotatable dial and indicator members, the former having a plurality of relative progressdesignating markings arranged in fields of interchangeably selectparticular ring or rings selected for the said plays.

f nitigants apparatus including relatively "rotatable dial and indicator members, the

' former having a plurality of relative progrose-designating markings arranged in concentric rings; a plate covering a portion of the said dial and presenting an edge overlapping all of the said concentric rings, and an auxiliary indicator movably positioned upon'said plate adjacent to the said edge.

' 4:- A game apparatus including relatively rotatable dial and indicator members, the former having a plurality of relative progress-designating markings arranged in concentric rings, a late covering a portion of the said dial an presenting an edge'overlapping all of the said concentric circles and equipped with socket formations alining respectively with the said rings, and an auxiliary indicator removably mounted in one of the said sockets.

5. A foot-ball game apparatus including relatively rotatable dial and indicator mem bers, the former having a plurality of relative progress-designating markings arranged in concentric rings for indicating the result of attempted field goal kicks, the respective rings corresponding to various distances from the goal, the markings in the respective rings so proportioned that the probability of having a goal kick indicated by the said members after relative rotation thereof will vary inversely with the said distances from the goal.

6. A game apparatus including dial and indicator members one thereof stationary table centrally perforated disk, a vertical post, a manually rotatable knob pivotally supported upon the upper end of said Get and'having a bore of larger diameter t an said post, fastening means for securing the disk to the lower end of said knob, and a washer at the lower end of said knobconcentric with said bore and havin its opening of larger diameter than sai bore and of smaller diameter than the perforation in said disk and adapted to prevent the mouth portion of said bore and the wall of the v narrate opeaingzn the disk" from bearin against 8."A port; a isk rotatably mounted thereon and imprinted with a plurality of relative progrosedesignating markin s, acover ositioned over the said disk an e uippe with an opening exposing a sector-s aped portion of the latter, and an indicator rigidly disposed across the said 0 ening substantially radially of the said disk 1 9. A foot-ball game'apparatus including relatively rotatable dial and indicator members, the former having a plurality of relative progress-designating marks arranged in concentric rings for indicating the result of attempted field goal kicks, the respective rings corresponding to various distances from the goal; the goal-kick indicating markings in the respective rings being substantially in radial alinement, and the circumferential length of said markings increasing inversely with .the indicated distlzanlcres rom the goal of the attempted goal 10. A game apparatus including relatively rotatable dial and indicator members, the former having a plurality of relative progress-designating markings arranged in concentric rings, a plate covering a portion plate andiemovable from one to another of the said fields:

11. A game apparatus & including relatively rotatable dial and indicator members, the former having a-plurality of relative progress-designating markings arranged in fields in interchangeably selectable concentrio rings; each of said rings including fields of varying lengths with their respective lengths and the indications thereon so proportioned that the probabilities of' total progress indicated as the result of plays by the said indicator during the successive rotations of the dial corresponding to one players consecutive manipulations of the apparatus will be' substantially the heme regardless of the particular ring or rings selected for said plays.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name in presence of two subscribing wit- M. M. BOYLE, G. M. NEVILLE.

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