US2313701A - Game - Google Patents

Description

March 9, 1943. P. w. WHITE GAME Filed Feb. 2.4. 1941 Patented Mar. 9, 1943 GAME Paul W; White, Waterbury, Conn, assignor to Parva Products Company,

porationof Delaware Chicago, 111., a cor- ApplicationFebruary 24, 1941, Serial No. 380,201 13 Claims. (Cl. 273-30) This invention relates to a game and has special reference to a game adapted to be played indoors in relatively confined quarters on a game table, the game being based on the rules of table tennis.

More particularly, this invention relates to the combination with a game table having a substantially horizontally extending playing surface and a net extending transversely thereof defining fields of play for simultaneous competition between a plurality of players using a single ball, of an upright deflector wall extending lengthwise of a table on opposed sides thereof, the defiector walls extending at least a major portion of the length of the table substantially equally on each side of the transversely extending net.

The structural features of the present inven tion add to the. usual table tennis game, deflecting walls which may be substantially universally adjustable. In the usual table tennis game a ball is batted over a transversely extending net on a game table by one or more players at each end of the table. The ball, to be in play, must be served upon a field of play on one side of the net and the player on that side of the table must bat the ball before the ball is permitted to bounce a second time, the ball being returned over the net onto the opposite playing field. All of the services and returns played are straight over-the-net passes with the only diversion being in the speed and placement of the passes on the playing fields and in developing spin of the ball.

The present invention contemplates the provision of means for adding to the ordinary table tennis game additional plays requiring an unusual degree of alertness and skill. Plays are created which are most deceptive and require fast reflexes to solve, due to the added playing surfaces and to the various angularities thereof. Further, since the deflecting walls are substantially universally adjustable the game may be arranged with varying degrees of difficulty to suit it to the entire range of players from the amateur to the expert. For example, the deflecting walls may be at a substantial angle to the vertical so that When the ball strikes the wall it takes a much higher rebound than when the angle of the wall is closer to the vertical. Therefore, when the deflecting walls are in a vertical position the game is extremely fast but the more the walls are angled away from the vertical the slower the game becomes due to the difference in rebound the ball takes after striking thereagainst.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide a game of the character indicated above in which an unusual degree of alertness and skill must be employed and wherein the game may be arranged with varying degrees of difficulty to suit it to the entire range of players from the amateur to the expert.

Another object of this invention is to provide a game of the type hereinabove mentioned in which attachments of an inexpensive character may be easily and conveniently connected to game tables of present commercial form for the play of the game.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will hereinafter be more particularly pointed out and, for a more complete understanding of the characteristic features of this invention, reference may now be had to the following description when taken together with the accompanying drawing, in which latter: I

Figure l is a perspective View of a game table incorporating the features of this invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken on the line 2-2. of Fig. 1 showing a fragmentary portion of the table;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is an end elevational view of a modified form of construction embodying the. features. of this invention; and

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of one of the upright deflector walls of Fig. 4.

Referring now to the drawing and more particularly to Figs. 1 to 3, inclusive, the game of this invention comprises a game table H1 having a substantially horizontally extending playing surface and a net I i extending transversely thereof defining fields of play on veach side of the net. The game table is preferably the usual table on which table tennis is played and the net H is likewise the net used in playing table tennis; Such a table is generally approximately nine feet long and five feet wide.

In the usual play of the game table tennis one or two players occupy positions at each end of the table and bat; a ball across the net to each other with a paddle or racket providing. simultaneous competition between the players and using a single ball. The present invention extends the playing surfaces in the provision of stiff upright deflector walls l2 and l3 which extend lengthwise of the table on opposed sides thereof. In the so-called serving or returning of the ball the player may use the surfaces of the deflector walls as playing surfaces as well as the playing surface formed by the table top.

The service is developed by the server projecting or dropping the ball by hand only and striking the ball so that it touches first the playing field on the side of the server and then bounces directly over the net to touch the playing field on the opposite side thereof either directly or by contact with the deflector wall. In other words, the server may direct the ball over the net or may bounce it against either of the deflecting walls over the net onto the playing surface on the other side thereof. The servers opponent may return the ball on the first bounce by striking the ball against the deflector wall on either side so that it lands on the playing field of the server or may direct it straight over the net onto that playing surface. It is quite apparent that a great variety of passes may be made in either direction in addition to those that are normally made by players playing the ordinary table tennis game. It is possible to strike both deflecting walls in a single return or service if the ball is placed accurately and is hit hard enough.

The deflecting walls may be formed of any material of suflicient rigidity to permit the ball to bounce thereon. In an inexpensive attachment embodying the features of this invention, the deflecting wall may beof a relatively heavy cardboard. In the more expensive sets the deflecting walls may be formed of plywood, plastic or composition materials or even plate glass. If stretched tight enough it might also be desirable to form a frame employing canvas, ordinary fabric, or even paper therein, For the present purpose, however, the deflecting walls are formed of a single sheet of plywood which does not necessitate any frame and, in order for the player to judge the angles of a shot that he might make, the playing surface may be divided by lines M into small sections.

In order to arrange the deflector walls to suit the entire range of players so that varying degrees of difficulty may be obtained in the game, the deflecting Walls may be made adjustable as to the angularity cf the playing surface thereof with respect to the playing surface of the table top. Also the height of the deflecting wall with respect to the plane of the surface of the table top as well as the distance horizontally from the edge of the table may be predetermined through adjustment.

In order to accommodate the above adjustment 2. standard is provided on each side of the table for supporting the deflector walls, there being two such standards shown for each wall. Various standards may be employed for accommodating vertical, horizontal and angular adjustment. However, for the purpose of illustration, each standard shown in the drawing comprises a vertically extending leg 15 and a horizontally ex-? tending leg Hi, the legs being formed preferably of a single rod or tube at substantially right angles to each other. The leg l6 of the standard slidably engages the underneath of the table, the leg extending through a bearing I! which latter is secured to the edge of the table. A roller l8 may be provided on the end of the leg [5 to facilitate the horizontal adjustment of the standard, a fixed relation between the standard and the table being obtained through the nut IE! which passes through the bearing l1 and frictionally engages the leg I6. When it is desired to adjust the standard horizontally with respect to the table ID, the nut i9 is loosened and the standard moved in or out to a desired position with the nut thereafter being tightened. Movement of the standard H in this horizontal relation with the table spaces the deflector wall l2 to a desired degree from the edge of the table.

The deflector walls l2 are preferably removably mounted on the standard and are supported between arms 20 and 21. The arm 20 extends froma bearing 22 which latter is provided with an axial aperture through which the vertically extending leg I5 extends. The relation of the bearing 22 to the leg I5 is fixed as by means of a bolt 23 extending through the bearing for frictional engagement with the leg. The arm 2! is supported in a bearing 24 which latter is provided with a vertically extending aperture for slidably receiving the vertically extending leg l5 and a horizontal aperture through which the arm 2| extends in slidable engagement therewith.

Movement of the arm 2! in either direction will change the angularity of the playing surface of the deflector wall [2 with respect to the plane of the surface of the table top I0. Movement of the bearings 22 upwardly or downwardly on the vertically extending leg 15 varies the vertically spaced relation of the bottom edge of the deflector wall with respect to the top of the table. Thus the deflector walls I2 and I3 are adjustable with respect to the playing surface of the table top substantially universally. The deflector wall may be moved to adjust the space between it and the edge of the table in a horizontal relation, it may be moved vertically to adjust its spaced relation above the playing surface of the top of the table, and the angularity of the playing surface of the deflector wall may be changed with respect to the plane of the playing surface of the table top. The present attachment may, of course, be very conveniently attached to or detached from any usual table tennis game board simply by the attachment of a bracket to the side edge thereof for each of the standards.

Since it is desirable to space the deflector walls l2 and I3 vertically and horizontally with respect to the longitudinal edges of the game board it is desirable that a net, fabric or other flexible member 25 be secured between the deflector wall and the table top to catch the balls which go out of play thereat. The net 25 may be detachably secured in any suitable manner to the longitudinal edges of the deflect-or wall and the game board.

Referring now more particularly to Figs. 4 and 5 of the drawing, the game table 26 is of the usual type used for table tennis and is provided with a transversely extending net 21 also usually employed when playing table tennis. The deflector walls 28 and 29 are formed of a rigid cardboard, plastic, composition material, glass or the other various materials mentioned above with respect to the first described embodiment of this invention and are supported in a substantially universally adjustable relation with respect to the game table.

Instead of supporting the deflector walls 28 ing held in a predetermined position by nuts 36 which latter extend through the standards and frictionally engage their respective rods.

A single standard has been shown for each deflector wall although, of course, depending upon the length of the deflector wall, two. or more standards may be employed. The deflector wall is secured to the upper end of the; rod extending, from the standards by a hinge construction 31 which permits the angularity of the deflector Wall to be varied and held in. a predetermined position by manually adjustable means such. as ascrew and nut, The bottom edge of the deflector wall is provided with a. net or other flexible means 38 supported between. hook-shaped end. supports 39 (Fig. 5)- for the purpose of catching a. ball that is deflected from the playing surfaces and is out. of play.

The deflector walls 28 and 29 may be raised or lowered to. adjust the bottom edges thereof in a desired spaced relation with respect to the play ingsurface of the game table. The standards may be moved inwardly toward the table or outwardlyaway therefrom in order to predetermine the horizontal spacing between. the deflector walls and the edge of the game table. The deflector walls may also be moved angularly with relation to the plane of the playing surface of the game table so as to speed the game or slow it down, depending upon the experience of the players. In either embodiment of this invention described above the length of the deflector Walls is at least a major portion of the length of the game table and, in proportion, the game table being approximately nine feet, for example, the length of the deflector walls should be between four and onehalf and five feet.

While but two embodiments of this invention are herein shown and described, it is to be understood that various modifications thereof may be apparent to those skilled in the art without dcparting from the spirit and scope of this invention and, therefore, the same is only to be limited by the scope of the prior art and the appended claims.

I claim:

1. The combination with a game table having a substantially horizontally extending playing surface and a net extending transversely thereof defining fields of play for simultaneous competition between a plurality of players using a single bounding ball, of an upright stiff deflector wall extending lengthwise of said table and having an edge thereof disposed in a vertically and horizontally spaced relation from each of the opposed side edges thereof, and flexible means connecting the spaced edges of said walls and said table.

2. The combination with a game table having a substantially horizontally extending playing surface and a net extending transversely thereof defining fields of play for simultaneous competition between a plurality of players using a single bounding ball, of a stiff deflector wall of substantially greater height than said net extending lengthwise of said table on opposed sides thereof to cause balls impinging thereon to rebound, said deflector wall being adjustable angularly upwardly with respect to the plane of the playing surface.

3. The combination with a same table having a substantially horizontally extending playing surface and a net extending transversely thereof defining fields of. play for simultaneous competition between a plurality of players using a single bounding ball, of a stiff deflector wall of substantially greater height than said net extending lengthwise of said table and being adjustable as to its spaced relation vertically and horizontally from each of the opposed side edges thereof, said deflector wall being adjustable angular-1y upwardly with respect to the plane of the playing surface of said game table. 4

4. The combination with a game table having a substantially horizontally extending playing surface and a net extending transversely thereof defining fields of play for simultaneous competition between a plurality of players using a single bounding ball, or a stiff deflector wall extending lengthwise of said table on opposed sides thereof, a standard on each side of said table for supporting said deflector walls, said standards being adjustable horizontally and vertically with respect 1 side of said table for supporting said deflector walls, each of said standards comprising a horizontally extending leg for slidably engaging the underneath of said table and a vertically extending leg for extension above the playing surface, and means between said deflector walls and said vertically extending leg for adjusting the degree. of angularity between said Walls and the plane of said playing surface.

6. The combination with a game table having a substantially horizontally extending playing surface and a net extending transversely thereof: defining fields of play for simultaneous competition between a plurality of players using a single ball, of a deflector wall extending lengthwise of said table on opposed sides thereof, a standard on each side of said table. for supporting said deflector walls, each of said standards comprising a horizontally extending leg for slidably engaging the underneath of said table for adjusting the space between said deflector walls and the sides of said table and a vertically extending leg for extension above the playing surface, and means adjustable horizontally and vertically on said vertically extending leg for adjusting the space between the bottom edge of said deflector walls and the playing surface and for adjusting the angularity therebetween.

'7. The combination with a game table having a substantially horizontally extending playing surface and a net extending transversely thereof defining fields of play for simultaneous competition between a plurality of players using a single bounding ball, of a stifi deflector wall of substantially greater height than said net extending lengthwise of said table on opposed sides thereof, said deflector walls having a stiffness comparable to the stiffness of the playing surface of said table and extending at least a major portion of the length of said table substantially equally on each side of said transversely extending net, and means for detachably holding said deflector walls in a desired adjusted relation with respect to said table.

8. The combination with a game table having a substantially horizontally extending playing surface and a net extending transversely thereof defining fields of play for simultaneous competition between a plurality of players using a single bounding ball, of a stiff deflector wall of substantially greater height than said net extendin lengthwise of said table on opposed sides thereof to cause rebound of balls impinging on said deflector Walls, and means supported by said table for holding said deflector walls in an adjustable spaced relation vertically, angularly and horizontally with respect to the plane of said playing surface. s

9. The combination with a game table having a substantially horizontally extending playing surface and a net extending transversely thereof defining fields of play for simultaneous competition between a plurality of players using a single bounding ball, of a stiff deflector wall extending lengthwise of said table on opposed sides thereof, a standard on each side of said table for supporting said deflector walls, said standards being adjustable horizontally and vertically with respect to said table for spacing said deflector walls therefrom, means on said standards for holding said deflector walls in desired positions of angular adjustment with the plane of the playing surface of said table, and flexible ball retaining means extending substantially the length of said deflector walls and spanning the space between each deflector wall and the adjacent table edge while permitting said horizontal, vertical and angular adjustment of said deflector walls.

10. The combination with a game table having a substantially horizontally extending playing surface and a net extending transversely thereof defining fields of play for simultaneous competition between a plurality of players using a single bounding ball, of upright stiff deflector Walls of substantially greater height than said net extending lengthwise of said table on opposed sides thereof for causing rebounding of balls impinging thereon, said deflector wall extending at least a major portion of the length of said table substantially equally on each side of said transversely extending net, and means supporting said walls in spaced relation outwardly from the edges of said table.

11. The combination with a game table having a substantially horizontally extending playing surface and a net extending transversely thereof defining fields of play for simultaneous competition between a plurality of players using a single bounding ball, of stiff deflector walls of substantially greater height than said net extending lengthwise of said table on opposed sides thereof for causing rebounding of balls impinging thereon, and means supporting said deflector walls with the bottom edges thereof spaced in a vertical relation upwardly from said playing surface.

12. The combination with a game table having a substantially horizontally extending playing surface and a net extending transversely thereof defining fields of play for simultaneous competition between a plurality of players using a single bounding ball, of upright stiff deflector walls of substantially greater height than said net extending lengthwise of said table, and means supporting said walls in a horizontally outwardly spaced relation from each of the opposed side edges of said table for causing balls impinging thereon to rebound.

13. The combination with a game table having a substantially horizontally extending playing surface and a net extending transversely thereof defining fields of play for simultaneous competition between a plurality of players using a single bounding ball, of upright stiff deflector walls forming additional playing surfaces extending lengthwise of said table, and means supporting said walls in a horizontally spaced relation outwardly from each of the opposed side edges of said table with the bottom edges of the walls spaced in a vertically spaced relation upwardly from said horizontally extending playing surface, said deflector walls being of substantially greater height than said net. 7

PAUL W. WHITE.

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