US1829239A - Golf bowling game - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 27, 1931. c. R. SCHNITMAN GOLF BOWLING GAME 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 24, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 C. R. SCHNITMAN GOLF BOWLING GAME Filed Oct. 24, 1930 Oct. 27, 193

H m .tv .1. 1 mm a J u r. A vs MAM QB. n05 n k, M *0 l m .m 8 8 w|mi W, k k v.0 m w# Q 2w 0 E M RA n. a e @N HM b h N M0 km Patented Oct. 27, 1931 PATENT OFFICE CHARLES R. SCHNITMAN, OF WATERIBURY, CONNECTICUT GOLF BOWLING GAME Application filed October 24, 1930.

This invention relates to amusement apparatus, and more particularly to a game board upon which a bowling game may be played with a golf putter and a standard golf ball. One object of the present invention is to .provide a golf-bowl game board of the above nature having aminiature bowling alley provided with a golf tee-mat at one end and a' set of small ten pins and one or more golf holes at the other end.

A further object is to provide a game board of the above nature having meanslocated at means for mechanically re 'stering the number of times the pins have con reset.

A further object is to provide a game board of the above nature which will be simple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture,

easy to install and manipulate, compact, 0r-' namental in appearance, and-very eflicient and durable in use. 4

With these and other objects in view there have been illustrated on the accompanying drawings two forms in which the invention may be conveniently embodied in practice.

In the drawings: Fig. 1 represents a perspective view of the game board as it appears in use.

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view of the same on a slightly enlarged scale showing one of the pins in horizontal position, the section being taken along the broken line 22 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 4 is a side view of the same. Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view on an enlarged scale taken along the line 5-5 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary enlarged sectional Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the apparatus;

Serial No. 491,062.

view of a modified form of the invention showing an electrical switch mechanism actuated by the falling over of a pin to register the score upon an indicator, the section being taken along the line 6-6 of Fig. 8.

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary sectional view taken through one of the golf cups of the modified form of the invention, the section being taken along the line 77 of Fig. 8.

Fig. 8 is a diagrammatic view of the modified form of apparatus showing the wiring connections between the pin and cup switches and the indicator.

Fig. 9 is a vertical sectional View of the indicating device.

Referring now to the drawings in which like reference numerals denote corresponding parts throu bout the several views, the game board inc udes a base 10 having vertical side walls 11 and 12 and a rear end wall 13 extending upwardly therefrom. Centrally mounted upon the base 10 is a runway 14 having a golf tee mat 15 at one end, and a setof ten pins 16 at its other end. The arrangement of the set of ten pins 16 is opposite from the customary bowling setup; i. e. the head pin is at the end of the runway 14 and the row of four pins is at the front, as shown. Moreover, a pair of shallow curved ball-shaped golf cups 17 and 18 are located at the rear corners of the runway 14, .one of said cups being arranged at each side of said head pin.

In order to cause the ball 48 to return to the front of the game board after each stroke, the rear end of the base is supported in raised position by a housing 19 having a removable bottom plate 20. The rear end of the runway 14 is provided with downwardly slo ing sides 21, extending outwardly from t e center line thereof in order to cause the ball 48 to roll into one of the side gutters 22 located between the edges of the runway 14 and the side walls 11 and 12. The gutters 22 have outwardly diverging front ends 23 and 24 and are closed by apair of inwardly inclined walls 25 and 26. I

Pin setting rack In order to permit the player to easily reclined arm 57 extending from a counting set the pins after each putting stroke, provision is made of a rectangular rack 27 located in the housing 19. The rack 27 comprises a pair of side members 28 and 29 con nected by four transverse slats 30, 31, 32 and 33.

To normally maintain the rack 27 in the upper full-line position shown .in Fig, 2, provision is made of a plurality of spiral compression springs 34, four in this instance, said springs being preferably connected to the underside of the side members 28 and 29 adjacent the ends thereof as by pins 35.-

Provision may also'be made of four tension springs 36 housed within alined apertures in the runway 14, base 10, and rack 27, said springs 36 being secured in apertures 37 as by horizontal bolts 38 located underneath washers 39, the diameter of said washers being larger than that of the spring housing apertures 37. Each aperture 37 is closed at the top by a wooden plug 40.

The base 10, runway 14, housing 19 and rack 27 are herein shown as constructed of wood, but it will be understood that any other suitable material may be substituted if desired, such as concrete, rubber composition or rustless metal. The pins 16 may be made of any desired material, such as wood or hard rubber. Each of the pins 16 is provided at its lower end with a central recess 41-having an interior cross rod 42 at the upper end thereof for supporting a depending chain 43. The chain 43 passes downwardly through a metal tube 44 located within the runway 14 and base 10, and said chain 43 carries at its lower end a nut 45 secured in position by a cotter pin 46. Above said nut 46, provision is made of a washer 47 which is adapted to prevent the pin 16 from sliding or rolling off the runway after it has been knocked over by the ball 48, which is adapted.

to be driven from the tee 15 by a golf club 49. preferably a putter.

The resetting rack 27 is adapted to be moved downwardly after each stroke has been taken, from the full line to the dotted line position shown in Fig. 2, by means of an elongated rod 50 rotatively mounted within a longitudinal groove in the bottom of the base 10. The forward end of the rod 50 is provided with a laterally extending foot-operated pedal arm 51. by means of which the rod 50 may be rocked in a clockwise direction. This will cause a short lateral arm 52 mounted on the rod 50 beneath the center of the set of pins 16 to engage a metal weanplate 53 positioned in the top of a strip 53a located between the rack slats 31 and 32. The rear end of the rod 50 is provided with a lateral arm 54 which is con siderably longer than the arms 51 and 52 and has a flattened apertured extremity 55 for receiving a chain 56 connected with an inmachine 58 (see Fig. 1) adapted to register the number of times the pin setting rack has been operated.

In order to prevent the ball 48 from accidentally jumping out of the game board, provision is made of a back stop preferably formed of a strip 59 of canvas and supported in position upon a pluralityof posts 60 located on the rear end wall 13, and on the rear section of the side walls 11 and 12.

Operation In operation, when playing the game, assuming the pins to be set-up as shown in Fig. 1, the player will drive the ball 48 from the tee mat 15 down the runway 14 toward the pins with the putter 49, the object of the game being to secure the highest total of points in five successive set-ups, only one stroke being taken on each set-up. As will be understood, after knocking down any of the pins which it strikes, the ball will either return by gravity to the starting point or drop into one of the cups 17 and 18.

Any desired schedule of scoring may be used, but the following is recommended:

Each pin dropped from the front row will count five points, the second row 10 points, third row 15 points, the head pin in the fourth row 20 points, and if the ball goes into either cup 17 or 18, 50 points will be scored. If the player drives a ball off the run-way into the gutter, he must play it over again with the penalty of one stroke.

In order to reset the pins, it will only be necessary for the operator to press down with his foot upon the front pedal arm 51 of the rod 50 which will cause the lateral arm 52 to ,force the rack 27 against the action of the springs 34 and 36. Any pins 16 which may have been knocked down will then be pulled into upright position by means of the chains 43 acting through the tubes 44.

Electrical score indicator In the modified form of the invention shown in Figs. 6 to 9. means are provided for visually registering the amount of the score at each set-up. For this purpose, an indicator board 61 having a hollow casing 62 is adapted to be supported in convenient position on the wall of a room, as by brackets 63 and screws 64. A translucent glass pane 65 is provided at the front of the board 61, behind which is a transparent glass pane 66 upon which the numbers 5, 5, 5, 5; 10, 10, 10; 15, 15; 20, and 50, 50 are arranged in five parallel rows. as shown in Fig. 8. The numbers on the glass pane 66 correspond in position to the arrangement of the pins 16 and the cups 17 and 18 illustrated in Figs. 1 and 3.

The numbered glass pane 66 is backed up by a rectangular wooden strip 67 provided with tapered apertures 68, behind each of which is a lamp 69 for illuminating said numbers and adapted to throw an enlarged image thereof upon the front translucent glass pane In order to illuminate the lamps 69 corresponding to the pins 16, rovision is made of a plurality of lateral y spaced contact members 70 and 71 located underneath the chain apertures 72 in the rack 27. The contact members 70 and 71 are adapted to be" bridged by a circular metal washer 73, preferably constructed of copper and supported by the nut 45 held upon the lower end of the chain 43, as by the cotter pin 46. By means of this construction, when the pin falls over, the chain 43 will pull the bridging washer 73 upward into electrical engagement with the contact members 70 and 71, closing the circuit through the source of current and the lamp 69 corresponding to the pin 16 which has been knocked down. Each of the contacts 70 are connected to a common ground wire 74 having connections leading to one side of all of the lamps 69, while each of the contacts 71 is connected a special individual wire 75 to the other side of the particular corresponding lamp 69.

In Fig. 7 an arrangement of contacts is shown for indicating when the ball falls into one of the cups 17. A pair of binding posts 76 and 77 are provided in the bottom of the base 10 having contacts 78 and 79 adapted to be bridged by a metal disc 80 which is adapted to be moved downwardly by an upper plate 81, said plate 81 being pressed upnecting each of said pins with said plate, a rod extending under said runway and having a lateral arm engageable with the to of said plate, said rod having a lateral pe al at its front end for rocking said rod after each stroke to force said plate downwardly to reset the pins.

2. In a game board, a runway having a set of pins located at the rear end thereof, an upwardly spring-pressed pin-resetting plate located beneath said runway, means for connecting each of said pins with said plate, a rod extending under said runway and having a lateral arm engageable with the top of said plate, said rod having a lateral pedal at its front end for rocking said rod after each stroke to force said plate downwardly to reset the pins, said rod having a lateral exten-.

sion on its .rear end for engagement with a counting device to register the number of times the pins have been reset.

3. In a game board, a runway having a set of pins located at the rear end thereof, a pinresetting plate located under said runway and connected to each of said pins, an indicator, and switch means on said plate under each pin and operable by the falling thereof to visually register on said indicator which pins have been knocked over. I

In testimony whereof, I have afiixed my signature to this specification.

CHARLES R. SCHNITMAN.

wardly by a spiral spring 78a to normally keep the disc 80 out of engagement with' the contacts 78 and 79. Current is adapted to be supplied through a pair of lead wires 82 and 83 from a power line, .a battery, or any other desired source.

It will be understood that instead of employing the transparent illuminated num bered glass pane 66 to indicate the scores of a person playing the game, depressible magnetically-operated numbered cards, such as are used on buzzer systems, may be used within the spirit and scope of the invention.

While there have been disclosed in this specification two forms in which the invention may be embodied, it is to be'understood that these forms are shown for the purpose of illustration only, and that the invention is not to be limited to the specific disclosures but may be modified and embodied in various other forms without departing from its spirit. In short, the invention includes all the modifications and embodiments coming within the scope of the following claims.

Having thus fully described the invention what is claimed as new and for which it is desired to secure Letters Patent is:

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