US2663967A

US2663967A - Magnetic game board

Info

Publication number: US2663967A
Application number: US224475A
Authority: US
Inventors: Waddy T Mathis
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1951-05-04
Filing date: 1951-05-04
Publication date: 1953-12-29
Anticipated expiration: 1970-12-29

Description

Dec. 29, 1953 w. "r. MATHIS MAGNETIC GAME BOARD 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 4, 1951 INVENTOR BY ,M W ATTORNEY5 W. T. MATHIS MAGNETIC GAME BOARD Dec. 29, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 III Filed May 4, 1951 I INVENTOR k ATTOR N EY5 Patented Dec. 29, 1953 UNITED s'rars ram OFFICE MAGNETIC GAME BOARD Waddy T. Mathis, Hamden, Conn.

Application May 4, 1951, Serial No. 224,475

3 Claims.

This invention relates to a game or amusement device,-and more particularly to a device of this type in which game pieces are propelled over the surface of a board of magnetic attraction, the propelling element being a magnet moved under control of the operator so that the game pieces may be propelled in any direction over the fiat surface upon which they are supported so that a universal movement of these pieces may be efiected over the surface.

As illustrated, the present invention comprises a game board having a smooth supporting surface upon which the game pieces are adapted to slide although they may be mounted upon wheels if desired. As illustrated, the game pieces are in the form of ships or vessels, and the smooth surface of the game board represents a body of water.

One of the game pieces, as illustrated, is adapted to act as a tractive device, a tug boat in the present instance, and it is used to draw or push others of the game pieces, while anothergame piece is in the form of a ferryboat which is adapted to be moved about but not to draw or propel other objects. In either case, it is desirable that the game pieces which'are moved by the moving magnet be under universal control or so arranged that they may be moved in any direction at any point in their courses or routes,

and that their movements be directly under control of the operator so that he may at will move the game pieces in any desired direction. With the present arrangement it will be found that this requires considerable skill and coordination on the part of the operator which adds to the enjoyment and the attractiveness of the device.

In the present instance, this universal control over the game pieces is provided by so mounting the propelling magnet that it is moved by two actuators, one of which moves it in one direction, and the other of which moves it in another direction substantially at right angles to the first. Moreover, these two actuators are individually operated but may be operated simultaneously, so that the movement of the magnet and of the game piece attracted thereto is the resultant of the movement impressed upon the magnet by the two actuators. The direction of this resultant may, of course, be any that is desired for while each actuator moves the magnet in one line or one direction, it may also be reversed so as to move the magnet in the opposite direction.

Specifically this operation is obtained by sup.- porting the magnet upon a pin or stud which stud upon which the magnet is mounted is moved in one direction only by one of the actuators, and in a direction transverse to the longitudinal dimension of that actuator,-it may move longitudinally throughthe slot of that actuator if such movement is impressed upon it by the sec- 0nd actuator. Moreover, the pin or stud upon which the magnet is mounted is revolublyreceived in the intersection of the slots in the two actuators, and the propelling magnet is eccentricallymounted with respect to the pin so that the magnet'will tend to follow the pin at all times when it is being moved and will turn through an angle of degrees when the direction of the magnet is reversed.

One object of the present invention is to provide anew and improved amusement device in which game pieces are moved about by magnetic attraction.

Another object of the invention is to provide a game. board or amusement device of the character described in which the game pieces are moved about by magnetic attraction, the movement at all times being in such direction sired by the operator.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a magnetic game board or amusement device of the character described in which the direction of the movement of the game pieces may be controlled or changed at the will of the operator at all times by his manipulation of the controls of the device so that considerable skill or coordination in the manipulation of the controls may be exhibited by the operator.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a magnetic amusement device of the character described in which the controlling or actuating magnet is arranged for a two-dimensional movement, the two movements being independently controlled and simultaneously effected so that the actual movement of the propelling magnet is a resultant of the two movements impressed thereupon by the actuating de- V1065. r

as de- To these and other ends the invention consists in the novel features and combinations of parts to be hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a game board or amusement device embodying my improvements;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the device;

Fig. 3 is a top plan View of the device with the supporting board removed to show the operating parts therebelow;

Fig. 4 isasectional view on line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a detailed sectional view somewhat enlarged on line 55 of Fig. 2; and.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged view of one of. thegame. pieces.

To illustrate a preferred embodimentoff invention, I have shown a frame which in this instance may be in the form of" a container I0 having a hinged cover I I, front and rear walls 12,, side walls 13, and a bottom M, the cover being hinged to -the rear. wall.. Mounted. upon. the. bottomof the.container. and upstandingtherefrom are. a pair. of. rails. IF. extending. from front. to. back. of. the; container, and, also mounted. upon.v

the. bottom 1.4.- are similar: parallel rails. l6, one.

adjacentthe frontand one adjacent. the. back. ofthe. container, these. rails. extending: from side. to side or inatra-nsverse direction relatively. to. that of the rails [5.

From Fig: 4: of the. drawings, it will be: seen: that the. rails are; slightly higher than the' rails P6,. and rotatably' mounted onv the upper edgesof the. rails. tare. a pair of. shafts. l1 and: 1-8,. one: adjacent each. sideof. the containen.

Securedc upon: the ends. of. these shafts between Q the rails. Hi. and the. front and rear. walls: ofthe: container are pulleys 2 2.0: adjacent the rear wallot the; container, and pulleys 21. adjacent; the. front. wall. Endlesscordsbr belts 2&2 and23 are-trained. aboutthe. pulleys 2.0 and. 21' respectively; As. shown. the shafts. H and; I8 are rotatably secured. in. place upon. the-..- rails l-6.. by; staples 24s although.anywdeslred-zsecuring means maybe em.

ployed:; r v 7 Similarly, shafts 2 5 and 26 are rota-tably see I cured upon the rai1s l5 and; It, the shaftZS-being; disposed. adjacent the: front wall. ofthe container. and.-.the shaft. 26. adjacent the-rear wall.- thereofi. Upon; the ends of.these-shaftsare-se cured

pulleys

21 and 28. and endless cordsaor-belts:

rand-13wareztrainedabout.the

pulleys

21 and 28 respectively. The; shaft? I 82 extends: through' the: front. wall. 12: of the" container: and". is: provided; upon; its. extended end with: an. operating crank:

3.|-,.,while.- the shaft extends through the-left:

hand side wall of the container 'and. is: providedz with;v ansoperating. crank 32: so thatthe operator may. rotate..:the shaft l8-- with the right hand and: the shaft25: with. the left. hand:

Slidably: mounted upon: the rails. 16: is an. ac tuating memberinltheform of a'.slat. 33 which: extends: from. frontto back. This slat is pro' vided with a longitudinally extendingsl'ot' 34' ex tending substantially throughout the length of the slat. The latter is provided with reduced end portions 35- which lie beyond the rails I 6* and whichxare secured to. the

cords

22 and 23 sothat movement of these cords will eifectmovement of the. actuating, member 33.. from one. sideto. the other. of. the container, the actuating. member. being maintained. parallel. to. itself. during. this. movement. It.- will, of course, .be. obvious. that. as. the. crank.3l may be turnedin either direction.

the actuating member 33 may be moved from. 7.5:.

left to right or from right to left at the will of the operator.

Similarly, a second actuating member or slat 31 is slidably mounted upon the rails [5, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. The member 31 is at a higher level than the member 33 so that the latter may lie below the former. The actuating member 31 is likewise provided with a slot 38 extending longitudinally thereof for substantially its full length and. at its ends is provided with reduced portions 39 which are secured to the

cords

29 and 30. It will be apparent, therefore, that as the crank 32 is rotated to turn the shaft 25, the actuatingmember 32 may be moved from front toback'and vice versa with respect to the container; the." actuating member being maintained in positions parallel to itself and sliding upon the upper surfaces of the rails l5 just as the actuating. member 33 slides upon the rails l6 in a transverse direction.

Still referring to Figs. 3 and 4, itwill beseen that the 510155.34 and 38 willregister at. one point to provide the openingthrough both of the actuating members 33 and 3.1. Rotatably mounted. within these registering portions of the slots 341 and 3B 'isa stem or pin 40 upon the upper end of which is mounted a plate 4]. This plate may be of any desired non-magnetic material such as. thin non-magnetic metal or plastic, for example, and may be dished slightly sothat it will rotate. more freely upon the slat 3T upon. which. it rests. Upon the upper surface of the member 4| is abar magnet 42; an-dit willbe. seen that this magnetis eccentrically mounted with respect.

.. to the pin 40 so thatwhen thepin is moved as.

will be later.d'escribed,,itj will tend to rotate about the pin Mite-such a positiorrthat.themagnetwill. lie rearwardly ofthe pin with respect to its direction of movement. or. in a trailing position. If,'.for example, the direction .of movement of. themagnet is reversed.as,. for example, by turningone. of the cranks 31 and" 32 in. a. direction opposite. to. thatin which it. waslast. rotated, the pin. 401 will turn throughan angle. of .180. degrees sothat'. the magnetwouldlieuponthe. side. ofthe pin op.- posite to that previously occupied- With. the. above construction. it. will. be. seen.

that rotation. of. the crank 31. ih.-.a.clockwise. di.- rection. will. move. the. actuator 3.3. toward. the.

, right, as. shown. in, Fig. 3,. and likewise. move. the. magnetin the same. direction. Rotation of this.

crank alone. will only. vary the. positionof. the. magnetbetween the sides of. the. container. and. will'notvary its positionfromfront to. back.. The.-

. crank 3|. may, of course, be rotated in theopposite. direotiontomove the actuator 33. toward...

the left. Rotationof the.crank.32, however, in-a clockwise direction, viewed from-the left of Fig.

3', ,will efiect movementof theactuator 3.1. toward.

the operator and will; therefore, move the magnet in this direction, while rotation of this. crank.

in the opposite direction will move the actuator. 3T toward'the rearof the container.

Itwill'be. apparent that movement of. either of the actuatorsalone willmove the pin 40. lengthwise of the slot intheother actuator so that. as

long as. the other. actuator is not moved, the-pin willalways be given a straight-line movement paralleleither to the side wallsof the container or; the front and rear walls of the container depend-- ing upon which actuator is movedr It will a-lso bev obvious. that: the atcuators may be moved inde-- pendently or may be moved simultaneously. If both. are moved; simultaneously; the movement of-the pin will be. aresultant of. the. movementsof.

the actuators as the pin will aways lie at the intersection of the

slots

34 and 38. Therefore, by manipulating the the cranks 3| and 32 universal movement of the magnet may be obtained in any direction or in any desired path at the will of the operator, the cranks, of course, being manipulatable independently or simultaneously and in either direction.

Adjacent each corner of the container is a post 44, and upon these posts is supported a game board 45, the upper surface of which forms the supporting surface for the game pieces. As shown in Fig. 5, this game board is spaced above the actuator 31 so that the magnet 42 lies in close proximity to the lower surface of the board. As in the present embodiment of my invention the game pieces are adapted to slide upon the upper surface of the board 45, this surface may be covered with a smooth material such as cellophane 46 so as to oifer as little resistance as possible to the movement of the pieces.

As shown more especially in Figs. 1 and 2, the upper surface of the game board is made to represent a body of water, and the game pieces which are designed to move upon this surface are in the form of vessels of various types. Such an arrangement may, of course, be varied as desired as, for example, the game pieces might conceivably be wheeled vehicles having other features varied accordingly. As shown, game pieces comprise a number of ships or vessels 48, and around the border of the surface 46 are shown appropriate accessories such as slips or docks 49 within which the ships 48 may be received, and representations of warehouses or the like 50, it being understood that these devices are raised from the surface 46 so that the movement of a boat entering a slip will be checked by the sides thereof.

The vessel 48 are preferably of non-magnetic material, but each is provided in at least one end, for example the stem end thereof, with a pin 5| of magnetic material. These pins are not, however, within the magnetic field of the magnet 42, and in order that the vessels may be moved over the surface 46, I provide a power vehicle or vessel such, for example, as the tugboat 52, the lower portion 53 of which is of magnetic material so as to be attracted by the magnet 42 and moved with the latter. Preferably the member 53 is a permanent magnet so that when in the field of the magnet 42 it Will always occupy the same position relatively to the magnet 42 so that the tugboat will normally be moved in a forward direction. Also, if when the member 53 is a permanent magnet, it will not have to depend upon induced magnetism to attract the pin 5| of one of the vessels 48 and will, when the tugboat is moved over the supporting surface 46, draw the boat with it.

It will be apparent that as the magnet may be moved in any desired course below the surface 46, the tugboat which is moved by the magnet may likewise be moved in any desired course and draw the vessels 48 along with it so as to move these vessels to any desired position. Either end of the tugboat may be directed against the pin 5| of one of the vessels 48 so that the vessel may be pulled or pushed as desired in order that the bow end of the ship may be made to enter the slip or dock. It will also be apparent that with the complete control over the tugboat which is afforded by the manipulation singly or simultaneously of the cranks 3| and 32, the latter may be hooked up to any of the the vessels or may be nosed against the side or either end of the vessels to warp then into the docks or slips in a manner quite similar to that of the actual tugboat and passenger liner. Also the tug may be detached from one of the vessels when such is desired by merely turning it in a narrow circle so that it will followaround the side of the boat and work itself away from the pm.

As shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the pin is loose- 1y received in the

slots

34 and 38, so that it is not only rotatable in these slots but also slidable in a vertical direction to permit the magnet 42 to approach the under side of the game board 45, as shown in Fig. 5, when the

members

42 and 53 are mutually attracted. This enables the magnet 42 to approach closely to the game piece regardless of any irregularities there might be in the surface of the game board.

As shown more especially in Figs. 2 and 6 of the drawings, a ferryboat 55 is provided, the latter being designed to enter the slip 56 in the wharf 51. This ferryboat is preferably of light non-magnetic material, and upon its lower side is provided with a downwardly facing elongated slot 58 within which is freely mounted a disk 59 of magnetic material. The disk 59 is adapted to be attracted and carried along with the magnet 42 so that the ferryboat may be propelled as desired. If the magnet 59 is not attached to the ferryboat but merely lies freelywithin the recess 58, the latter does not turn when its direction is reversed, either end becoming the leading end depending upon the direction of travel, as is usually the case with ferries.

A slip 60 is also provided in the wharf 51 (Fig. 2) in which slip the tug 52 may be berthed when it is desired to discontinue the use of the toy or to release the tug from the magnet. The motion of the tug will be checked by the sides of the slip and continued movement of the magnet 42 will draw it away from the tug.

As the board 45 may not be transparent, it would not be possible for the operator always to know the position of the magnet 42. Therefore, the device is so constructed that the

slips

56 and 60 will lie in the path of the magnet when the actuator 31 has been moved to the limit of its forward movement adjacent the front of the container l2. In other words, if the operator does not know the position of the magnet 42, he may turn the crank 32 in the proper direction to draw the actuator 31 to the front of the device. Then by rotating the crank 3| and moving the magnet 42 transversely across the front of the container he may pick up either the tug 52 or the ferry 55, as desired, if these pieces are in their slips 5B and 60. Having once picked up the desired one of these vessels, he may direct them over any desired course upon the surface 46.

While I have shown and described a preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be understood that it is not to be limited to all of the details shown, but is capable of modification and variation within the spirit of the invention and within the scope of the claims.

What I claim is:

1. In an amusement device, means providing a supporting surface, a game piece movably supported thereon and having a permanent bar magnet at its lower portion, a second bar magnet disposed below said supporting surface in a substantially horizontal position to directionally attract and move said game piece, actuating meanslfor. saidzsecondt magnet comprising: pair of crossed substantially? horizontal elongated? members each having a; slot: extendingv lengthwise thereof, means for? mounting; said; second:- named magnet upon: said members at the in.-

tersection of said: slots: for. rotational? movement means for said, second: magnet comprising a; pair:

of crossed substantially horizontal elongated members each having a slot extending lengthwise thereof, means for: mounting said secondnamed. magnet upon said: members ati the initersection of said slots iorirotationali movement about a vertical axis and for movement in a vertical direction to permit the second", magnet to approach said supportingsurface; said magnet being supported eccentricaily with respect to said axis, and means for moving each of said members in'atdirection transverse to its length.

3. In an amusement. device, means providing a supporting surface, a game piece movably supported thereon and having a permanent bar magnet at'its lower portion, a second bar magnet disposed below said: supporting surface in a.

substantially horizontal position" to directionallyattract: and: move said game piece, actuating: meansior said secondmagnet comprising a pair? of. crossed substantially horizontal elongated: members each having a slot. extending lengthwise" thereof, means for mounting said second-- named? magnet upon said members at the inter section of said slots for rotational. movement.

about a vertical axis and for movement in a vertical direction to permit the secondrmagnet:

to approach. said supporting surface, said maginet: being supported eccentrically with respect tosaid axis,.and means for moving each of saidt members in a directiontransverse to its length, said mounting meansv comprising a pin attached to-the magnetand extending downwardly therefrom to be loosely received in said slots.

WADDY T. MATI-EIS.

References Cited in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 754,086 Nichols Mar. 8, 1904 1,183,977 Hoefle May 23, 1916 1,216,261 Ashley Feb. 20, 1917 1,609,379 Morris Dec. 7', 1926 1,988,071 Bryn Jan. 15,1935 2,018,357 Hammond Oct. 22;.1935' 2,263,115 Winter Nov. 18;,19e1.

FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 450,161 Great Britain July 10, 1936