US213113A

US213113A - Improvement in game-indicators

Info

Publication number: US213113A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1879-03-11
Anticipated expiration: 1896-03-11

Description

A. 11. JONES & 1;-.0'sG0-0n.

Game -lnd'i'ca tjo-r No; 213,113 Patented Mar. 11, 1879.

Jlwen, for) UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ABNER H. JONES, OF ILION, AND ISAAC OSGOOD, OF UTIGA, SEW YORK.

IMPROVEMENT IN GAME-INDICATORS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 2] 3,113, dated March 1], 1879; application filed August 17, 1878.

' To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, ABNER H. JONES, of Ilion, in the county of Herkimer, and ISAAC OSGOOD, of Utica, in the county of Oneida, and State of New York, have invented certain Improvements in Indicators for Games, of which the following is a specification:

Our-invention relates to devices for indicating the order of playing in croquet and similar games in which the order is frequently changed; and it consists in a rod or stem provided with a series of balls, buttons, or blocks of difierent colors or hearing different marks or characters, arranged to be removed from the rod or stem and placed in any order desired at will.

The object of this invention is to obviate the necessity of exchanging mallets and balls when playing croquet, Z6 cercle, and similar games, to cause them to correspond in the order of their playing with the arrangement of the colors or other marks upon the stakes.

In playing games of this class it is generally considered desirable to play last, or, at least, after one or two others have played and for the purpose of determining the order of playing it is customary to lag or draw lots for choice. When this point is decided, mallets and balls are taken by the players in accordance with the arrangement of the marks on the stakes, and the game is played. The order being changed at the commencement of the next game, the players are compelled to exchange mallets and balls. To this there are various objections, the players being apt to play the wrong balls, having become accustomed to different ones, the mallets and balls frequently being of different weights and sizes, and players frequently being accustomed each to the use of a particular mallet and ball.

To remedy these difliculties, we construct our improved indicator as represented in the drawing, in which A represents a rod or stem, which may be of any suitable form 5 and I), a series of buttons, balls, or blocks, which are perforated and passed onto the rod or stem over the end, and secured upon the same by means of a pin, 0, passed through the upper end of the rod or stem, the balls or buttons 1) resting at the lower end of the series upon a sleeve or collar, (1.

By removing the pin 0 the balls or buttons 1) may be removed and their arrangement changed to suit the order of playing.

When less than the full number of players engage in the game, only the balls or buttons required to indicate such number are used, the collar or sleeve cl being slid upward on the stem or rod A, and clamped by means of a screw, 6, against the lower ball or button.

The indicator may be made to take the place of the usual stakes, may be placed upon the same or upon one or more of the wicket-s, or it may be used in addition to the stakes and placed at any point or points about the ground.

It is apparent that, instead of the balls or buttons, plates or flags may be used, having stems to pass into, or hooks to engage upon, the rod or stem; but the construction shown and described is considered preferable.

It is also obvious that the indicator-balls may be marked with numbers to designate them, instead of colors; but in that case the mallets, or both balls and mallets, would require to be marked or designated in the same manner, and, as these are usually marked by colors, it is more convenient to designate the balls, rings, or plates of the indicator by col. ors to correspond therewith.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim is- 1. An indicator for croquet and similar games, consisting of a support or rod, A, with a series of variously colored or numbered balls or equivalent devices, mounted thereon in such a manner that they may be removed and their order or relative positions be changed at will, substantially as described.

2. In combination with the rod A and a series of detachable balls or equivalent devices, an adjustable supporting-collar, d, all arranged to operate substantially as described.

ABNER H. JONES. ISAAC OSGOOD. Witnesses:

F. O. SHEPARD, GE H. DYOTT.