US3456944A

US3456944A - Game device

Info

Publication number: US3456944A
Application number: US609092A
Authority: US
Inventors: John W Ryan; Phyllis Frederick; Michael E Golden; Charles R Zimmerman
Original assignee: Mattel Inc
Current assignee: Mattel Inc
Priority date: 1967-01-13
Filing date: 1967-01-13
Publication date: 1969-07-22
Anticipated expiration: 1986-07-22

Description

July 22, 1969 J, w. RYAN ET AL GAME DEVICE 3 Sheets-Sheetl 1 Filed Jan. 13, 1967 /z j /A/VAW rap;

July 22, 1969 J, W RYAN ET AL 3,456,944

GAME DEVICE 5 Sheets-Sheet z Filed Jan. 13, l 1967 'July 22, 1969 J, w, RYAN ET AL GAME DEVICE 5 Sheets-Sheet :5

Filed Jan. 13, 1967 l, a l

United States Patent O 3,456,944 GAME DEVICE John W. Ryan, Los Angeles, Phyllis Frederick, Manhattan Beach, and Michael E. Golden and Charles R. Zimmerman, Los Angeles, Calif., assignors to Mattel, Inc., Hawthorne, Calif., a corporation of California Filed Jan. 13, 1967, Ser. No. 609,092 Int. Cl. A63f 9/00; A63b 67/10 U.S. Cl. 273-1 10 Claims ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE Swingable wands carry removably-mounted, point-scoring objects. The game participants cause the wands to swing to-and-fro until one or more of said objects are removed from the opponents wand.

It is a primary object of the present invention to provide a new and useful game device.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a game device of the type described which includes at least two swingable wands having point-scoring objects removably aixed thereto.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a game device of the type described which includes pivot means pivotally mounting a pair of wands in operative association with each other in such a manner that pointscoring objects removably aflixed to one Wand may be removed bythe other wand when both wands are swung toand-fro.

According to the present invention, a new and useful game device is provided which includes at least two support means or Wands swingably mounted in operative association with each other and means connected to the wands for swinging them to-and-fro about a fixed pivot means.

Point-scoring objects are removably affixed to each Wand and the wands are so mounted with respect to each other and have such a length that one wand may engage and remove point-scoring objects fronr another wand when the wands are swung to-and-fro.

The game is designed for use by two players. Each player positions himself adjacent one of the wands and its associated actuating means. Each player then operates an actuating means to start his wand swinging to-and-fro toward and away from his opponents wand. The object of the game is for one player to engage a point-scoring object on the other players wand when the wands are being swung towards each other and remove the object by quickly reversing his wand to swing away from the other players wand.

Each wand is biased to an upright position, is swung in a direction away from the other wand each time the actuating means is actuated in one direction and is swung toward the other wand each time the actuating means is actuated in a second direction. Additionally, the wands may be swung towards each other by energy stored in the biasing means when the wands reach the limit of their travel away from each other.

The features of the present invention which are believed to be novel are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The present invention, both as to its organization and :and manner of operation, together with further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which like reference characters refer to like elements in the several views.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevational view, with parts shown ice in perspective, of a game device constituting a presently preferred embodiment of the invention;

FIG-URE 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIGURE l;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged, partial rear view, with parts broken away to show internal construction, of a wand and a point-scoring object forming a part of the game device of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 4 4 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIGURE 2 with cetrain parts of the game device shown in exploded relation; and

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged, partial perspective view, with parts broken away to shown internal construction, of an actuating means forming a part of the device of FIG- URE l.

Referring again to the drawings, a game device constituting a presently preferred embodiment of the invention, generally designated 10, includes at least two wands 30, 31 (sometimes referred to herein as support means) which are swingably mounted on a base member 15 by associated pivot means 18, 20, respectively.

Point-scoring object means 35, 36 (sometimes referred to herein as removing m'eans) are removably aixed to associated

wands

30, 31 which are so mounted with respect to each other and which have such a length that one wand may engage and remove a point-scoring object means from another wand when the

wands

30, 31 are swung to-and-fro about their associated pivot means 18, 20.

The

wands

30, 31 may be swung to-and-fro manually by the user or users of the game device 10. Alternatively, the

wands

30, 31 may be swung to-andfro by associated actuating means 26, 28.

The game device may be constructed with only one swingably mounted wand. In this case, point-scoring objects may be removably allixed in any suitable manner to any suitable support means. The swingable wand may then be so mounted with respect to the point-scoring objects that the wand will engage and remove point-scoring objects when the wand is swung to-and-fro about its pivot means. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, however, two swingable wands are employed to impart a greater degree of action to the game and thereby be more attractive and interesting to the participants thereof.

As shown in FIGURE l, the base member 15 supports at one end 16 thereof the pivot 20 and at the other end 17 thereof the pivot 18 about which the wands 30 and 31, respectively, may swing to-and-fro. Actuating means 26 and 28 are operatively connected to

wands

30 and 31, respectively, enabling a participant of the game to impart swinging action to associated

wands

30, 31. Each

wand

30, 31, at its upper, free end 59, has removably mounted thereon the point-scoring object means 35, 36, respectively, each artistically arranged and displayed as a beetle. The pointscoring object means 35, 36 each comprises a body portion 44 and a head portion 60. Each body portion 44 includes a cyclindrical tube 38 removably mounted at the lower end 38a thereof on the upper end 59 of an associated

wand

30, 31 and has atlixed thereto an arm member 46 and a decorative member 37, in the form of a simulated bowtie.

The upper end 38b of each cylindrical tube 38 receives therein, in loose engagement, a rod 66 which carries the head portion -60 of associated point-scoring object means 35, 36. As clearly shown in FIGURES 2 and 3 for one head portion 60, each head portion 60 comprises an upper section 62 and a lower section 64. Each lower section 64 includes a face plate 67 which is aixed to the upper end 66a of rod 66 in any convenient manner, such as by frictionally engaging a hollow, cylindrical boss 68 carried by plate 67. A plurality of outwardly extending appendages or hooks 69 integrally formed with each face plate 67 serve to aid anopposing wand member to engage and remove lower section 64 from its associated cylindrical tube 38 thereby scoring a predetermined number of points. Upper section 62 comprises a left half and a

right half

70, 72, respectively, each having a downwardly extending tab 76 removably engageable within pocket 65 formed onv the back of face plate 67 of lower section 64. Each of the left and

right halves

70, 72 serve as additional pointscoring objects that may be removed by an opposing wand. Aflxed to each of the left and

right halves

70, 72 is an upwardly extending hook or antenna 84 having a plurality of

hook segments

88, 90, which serve as removing means for engaging and removing point-scoring objects associated with an opposing wand.

Referring now more in particular to FIGURE 5, each arm member 46 of an associated body portion 44 is adapted to support removably mounted pointed-scoring objects 47 including a hand member 48 loosely, removably mounted on an associated arm member 46 by a pin and

socket arrangement

52, 53, respectively. Each hand member 48 includes a pair of finger members 50' loosely, removably mounted on an associated hand member 48 by pins 51 and sockets 54.

The pivot means 18, may be disposed one from another and the

wands

30, 31 may be of such a length that, when the

wands

30, 31 are swung to-and-fro, the upwardly extending antenna 84 of one wand, may engage one or more of the point scoring objects of the opposing wand. Various numerical values may be assigned to each of the constituent parts of the point-scoring object means 35, 36 which, when engaged and removed by one swingable wand, will be credited to the score of the participant and operator of the opposing swingable wand. Several benefits are bestowed upon the child-participant of the game device, including the normal satisfaction and pleasure of outscoring his opposing child-participant. Further, the coordination and skill of the child-participant will be increased as it is necessary for the child-participant to actuate his respective wand in such a manner that it will engage and remove point-scoring objects from an opposing wand without having point-scoring objects of his own wand removed therefrom.

While it is possible to impart relative movement to wands 30, 31 about

pivot beans

18, 20 by any convenient form of actuating means 26, 28, respectively, a preferred embodiment of each actuating means is shown in FIG- URE 6, for the actuating means 28. The actuating means 28 includes a cylindrical member 20a having an upper end 21 provided with a counterbore 22 (FIGURE 2) receiving the lower end 31a of wand 31. The pivot lmeans 20 includes a pivot pin 23 extending through an intermediate portion 24 of member 20a normal thereto and includes ends 23a, 23b journalled in hollow bosses 25a, 25b, respectively, for pivotally mounting wand 31 in a housing 27 which houses actuation means 28 and `which is atlixed to base 15. A pair of coil springs 92, each having one end 94 thereof axed to the lower end 96 of member 20a and the other end 98 thereof aflixed to base 15, are arranged to bias the wand 31 to an upright position. Pivotal movement of wand 31, about pivot means 20 is imparted to wand 31 through an elongated lever 100 which is pivotally mounted in housing 27 by a pivot pin 102 journalled in suitable hollow bosses, like the one shown at 104. The lever 100 includes a first end 106 which is provided with a slot 108 having sliding communication with a pin 110 extending outwardly from intermediate portion 24 of member 20 normal thereto. The lever 100 also includes a second end 112 extending out of housing 27 through a U-shaped slot 114 where end 112 is accessible to a child-user of game device 10. Downward movement of the end 112 created by the child-user applying force thereon will cause an upward movement of the end 106 by swinging lever 100 in a Cil clockwise direction on pin 102. This causes upward move ment of pin swinging member 20 and an associated

wand

30, 31 in the direction of arrow 116 (FIGURES 1 and 6) for moving

wands

30, 31 away from each other. One of the springs 98 will then swingA associated

wand

30, 31 in the direction of arrow 118. Thus, a series of downward movements imparted to the end 112 of an associated lever 100 in combination with thebiasing eifects of spring 98 Iwill impart a to-and-fro pivotal movement to

wands

30, 31 abouttheir pivots 18, 20, respectively. Alternatively,the child-user may pull up on end 112 to quickly swing an associated wand toward the other wand. Manipulation of end 112 of an associated lever 100 is facilitated by an vactuating button allXed-thereto.

The enjoyment of game device 10 may be enhanced by providing it with a noisemaker 122 positioned beneath the end 112 of each lever 110 for actuation each time an" end 112 is depressed. Each noisemaker 122 is affixed 'to' base member 15 and comprises a reed-type noisemaking device 124 (FIGURE 6) housed within a bellows 126 and biased to an extended position by a spring 128.A

While the particular game device herein shown' and` described in detail is fully capable of attaining the objects and providing the advantages hereinbefore stated, it is to be understood that it is merely illustrative of the presently preferred embodiment of the invention and` that no limitations are intended to the details of construction or design herein shown'other than as dened in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A game device comprising:

point-scoring object means;

support means for supporting said point-scoring object means, said point-scoring object means being removactuating means connected to said wand for swinging said wand to-and-fro about said pivot means for engaging said removing means with said point-scoring object means to remove said point-scoring object means from said support means. 2. A game device as stated in claim 1 wherein said support means comprises a second wand.

3. A game device as stated in claim I1 wherein said removing means is removably connected to said wand.

4. A game device comprising: point-scoring object means; support means for supporting said point-scoring object means, said point-scoring object means being removably aixed to said support means; a wand spatially disposed from said point-scoring object means; removing means carried by said wand for engaging and removing said point-scoring object means;

pivot means for imparting relative movement between said point-scoring object means and said removingA` means, whereby said removing means may be swung into engagement with said point-scoring object means Aand remove them from said support means, said pivot means being operatively connected to said wand, said support means comprising a second wand, said re-` -moving means bting removably connected to its associated wand; and

hook means on said point-scoring object means for ref 5. A game device as stated in claim 4 wherein said pivot means includes a separate pivot pin for each wand and wherein said game device includes actuating means connected to said wands for swinging them to-and-fro about said pivot pins for engaging said removing means with said point-scoring object means to remove said point-scoring object means from its associated wand and for engaging said hook means with said removing means for removing said removing means from its associated wand.

6. A game device as stated in claim 4 including biasing means connected to said wands for normally maintaining them in an upstanding position.

7. A game device as stated in claim 5 including a base member having a rst end and a second end and wherein one of said pivot pins swingably connects one of said wands to one end of said base member and the other of said pivot pins swingably connects the other of said wands to the other end of said base member.

8. A game device as stated in claim 7 wherein said actuating means includes spring means connected to said wands for normally maintaining them in an upstanding position and lever means operatively associated with said wands for swinging them in at least one direction against the bias of said spring means.

9. A game device as stated in claim 8 wherein said point-scoring object means and said removing means each comprises:

a body portion removably connected to an associated wand;

a head portion removably connected to an associated body portion; and

hook means removably connected to an associated head portion.

10. A game device as stated in claim 9 including a plurality of fingers provided on each of said body portions, the ngers on one of said body portions being engageable with the tingers on the other of said body portions during said to-and-fro swinging.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,228,575 6/1917 Lynch 273-1 2,868,542 1/1959 Mieg 273--1 3,222,066 12/1965 Durrell 273-1 FOREIGN PATENTS 8,922 1911 Great Britain.

ANTON O. OECHSLE, Primary Examiner P. E. SHAPIRO, Assistant Examiner