US3463495A - Variable vibration pattern game device - Google Patents

Description

Aug. 26, 1969 o. R. CHRISTENSEN 9 VARIABLE VIBRATION PATTERN GAME DEVICE Fi'led Oct. '11. 1967 GAME- PLAY PATTERN AME-PLAY PATTERN R I |0-|o-s7 M INVENTOR United States Patent U.S. Cl. 273-110 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A game board on which vibrations in a playing surface can be controlled and changed by a player in synchronous, but widely differing, interacting patterns of infiuence on game pieces. The surface is vibrated by an AC. electrically operated magnetic coil located under the surface and operativelyassociated with a vibrating vertical armature. This armature is rigidly attached to a hub that protrudes through the center of and mounts the vibrating game surface. On top of the hub and releasably attached to it, is a control stick by which a player may rotate, tilt, or exert downward pressure on the hub such that the vibrating playing surface is respectively, rotated, tilted, or made to cease vibrations. Suitable playing pieces or pawns are placed on the vibrating surface to play different games. By removing the control stick, different choice game sheets may be interchanged. In addition,'contro1 switches for each player may control the flow of alternating current to the magnetic coil.

This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending application Ser. No. 450,046, filed Apr. 22, 1965, now abandoned.

Summary of invention The game device, electro-mechanical in nature, and for purposes of identification only, herein called a Vibro- Board, uniquely embodies a newly-discovered vibration principle not found in existing art of record, which at best provides means of changing the directional courses of vibrated pawns only in a direction roughly parallel to a changed vibration axis on a surface linearly vibrated, uniformly over its total area; or by physical effects built into a playing surface, together with features of one-direction resistance built into the pawns themselves.

A change of vibration axis in the Vibro-Board, produces a multiplicity of varied patterns of directional influence upon game objects, while the dominant line, or vibration axis, is itself not even evident or discernible. Game objects or pawns move directionally as if pushed by invisible waves changing, crossing, and countering;

no design feature is needed in the surface area or in the pawns to contribute to forward and various courses 0 movement by the pawns.

The radiation of the single vibration axis results from cyclical impacts of a round hubs vertical face against the vertical edge of an encircling vibratable game sheet. On the horizontal plane, the vibratory axis, or line of vibration, has a different angular relationship to every point on the surrounding arc, so the line of force, as conveyed by the matching arc of the hub face, is diverted throughout the game sheet by the encircling arc in varying directions and intensities, and in its outward course each line of vibratory force is repeatedly shifted, spread or whipped laterally by the original vibration axis, for invisible, joining waves of influence on the movement of game pawns.

3,463,495 Patented Aug. 26, 1969 No previous vibratory game device has utilized this principle. None has provided various vibration patterns synchronously present within a vibratable game sheet surface. None has used an unattached, freely placed game sheet, or a game sheet surface which encircles round means of conveying linear vibrations. No other invention has provided direct hand-control means of effecting almost instant changes in a widely varied distribution of vibration waves within a game sheet surface. No other invention has conveyed vibrations to a game sheet simultaneously in various degrees and directions through cyclical contacts with an interior, vertical edge of said game sheet. No other invention has provided a truly rotatable vibration means in which even a tilting capability is available to effect changes in the distribution of vibratory influences.

The Vibro-Board is not, in itself, a game, but rather is a device upon which a whole new field of table-type games can be played, and upon which may familiar games of long standing and favor may be given new depths of action and interest, offering players tantalizing, elusive, but evident influence and control over their own game destinies in play procedures that keep all players actively involved on every turn through plural switching means available to all, while a single player controls the changing of widely varied directional vibration influences upon game pawns, trying to move them by invisible, elusive vibrations which are directed and altered by his handcontrol of the vibrating center hub, his purpose being to cause as many of his pawns as possible to be distributed into outlined favorable locations on a game field pattern and successfully stop them within these locations by switching off the vibratory action; but at the same time all opponents of the turn-player, of the moment, are watching a certain number of differently colored pawns representing the opponents individually and mutually. If their opponent-pawns are inadvertently moved into certain locations by the turn-players efforts in behalf of his own pawns, any opponent is entitled to switch off the action, but in doing so must successfully stop the opponent-pawns clearly within those certain required locations, or suffer penalties.

While opponents of the turn-player are jeopardized by such an effort failing, and by his possible successful action, the turn-player is always in equal jeopardy that a delayed switch-off on his part may move pawns to locations favorable to successful action by one of his opponents, and thereby lose him any benefits from his turn. With pawns moving like skittering bugs in many directions, their action is a constant test of peripheral vision, concentration, quick evaluations and decision, providing players a tantalizing balance between manipulations of game forces, sharp-eyed skills, quick actions and pure luck.

An over-all object of the basic Vibro-Board device is the providing of means of playing presently provided games and games of future development on a game structure of relatively simple construction and durable longservice potential, with different games involving only the change to a different game sheet and different rules.

Various specific innovations and advantages embodied in this invention will be more fully apparent from a detailed consideration of the remainder of this disclosure, specification, appended claims, and accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a viewof a presently preferred form of this invention, showing the semblance of a game sheet unattached above it, and also the devices control stick unattached above it.

FIG. 2 is the same view with game sheet and control stick in game-play position and some pawns upon game sheet surface.

FIG. 3 is a diagram rudimentarily illustrating the manner in which a single line of vibratory force is radiated by a curved face impacting a curved, vertical edge.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged, detailed cross-section of enclosed vibrator means, slip-ring electrical contact, and attached hub.

FIG. 5 is a total cross-section of the device showing the relationship of various components, and the positioning of a game sheet in relation to hub and basic game structure, also a slightly differing configuration in enclosed vibrator means.

In detailed consideration, FIG. 1 of the drawings shows the general structure of a preferred form of the invention, called, for identification purposes, the Vibro-Board, and herein also identified by the reference character 20. Basically, this device comprises a plastic, wood, metal, or fiber board box of low contour and square horizontal dimensions, with its top surface 21 depressed /2 inch to create an enclosing rim effect 22 around said surface perimeter. Comparable rim effects 23 enclose triangular areas 24, separating them from the remainder of the depressed top area. In two such diagonally opposed triangular corner areas 24, at least, a switch 25 is located. A switch 25 in each of the four corner areas 24 would provide individual switching means for each of four players, but with each of two diagonally opposed switches 25 serving two adjacent sides of the game structure 20, accessibility to switching means by all players is adequate. Triangular corner areas 24, not occupied by switches 25 are shown occupied by similarly located bolts 26 which extended down through corner interior bracing blocks 27 (FIG. 5

Centrally located in depressed top surface area 21, is vibrating hub 28, with slight lip or ledge 29 extended outward from it around its full perimeter at the level of its bottom plane. Hub 28 may be formed of any rigid material such as metal, wood, or plastic. While not evident in this view, it is firmly attached to enclosed vibrator means, detailed and identified below. A prime requirement of its relationship to top surface 21 is its adequate elevation so that the bottom plane of hub 28 with extended lip 29 is positioned at least 5 inch above top 21 to guarantee that it remains unrestrained by any contact with the top surface 21 during all vibratory action.

Encircling hub 28, roughly midway between it and other rim 22 are upturned pegs 30, constructed as a formed part of top surface 21, or made of /2 inch lengths of inch diameter wooden dowel or plastic tube cemented, or affixed by screw or bolt means, to top surface 21. The number of pegs 30 may vary. They merely serve to maintain the proper positioning of game sheet 31, shown detached above game structure 20 of FIG. 1. While not an accurate replica of any one of many available game sheets, the pattern on the surface of game sheet 31 in FIG. 1 and also in FIG. 2 suggests a type of game field having many outlined divisions as in most Vibro-Board type games.

Also in FIG. 1 and unattached from its in-use position is control stick 32, knobbed at one end and with two pegs 33 protruding from the opposite end, providing means of socketing this end in matching holes 34 in top of hub 28 for a firm engagement of control stick 32 and hub 28, which makes stick 32 an extension of hub 28 with which hub 28 may be turned, restricted by downward pressure, or tilted slightly to bring it into more positive contact with a particular portion of the interior vertical edge of hole 35 in game sheet 31 during game play when sheet 31 is positioned on top surface 21, with hole 35 closely but not tightly encircling hub 28 and smaller game sheet holes 36 very loosely encircling top surface pegs 30.

Any game sheet 31 must be relatively thin. If cardboard, its thickness will likely be only slightly thicker than ordinary magazine periodical cover stock, or at the most no thicker than 2-ply Bristol art stock. A relatively smooth surface is favored, but scattered over the surface of game sheet 31 are very slight indentations 37 of miscellaneous shapes and relatively limited horizontal dimensions, so that pawns merely slide over them, but the presence of these variations in the otherwise uniformly horizontal surface may reasonably be expected to contribute slight diversionary infiuences on the fiow of varied patterns or waves of vibratory effect invisibly moved throughout game sheet 31 by the cyclical vibratory impacts of hub 28 against the encircling vertical edge of hole 35 during periods of vibration action in game play. With another different game field pattern delineated on the opposite side of game sheet 31, indentations 37 of very slight depth on this side also, do, in fact, become slight protuberances on the side opposite, but as such their elevation is so minimal that they do not markedly affect the vibrated progress of pawns, however, as in the case of indentations 37, they serve to provide a slight diverting effect upon varying vibration patterns.

In FIG. 2, game sheet 31 is shown in game play position on game structure 20, its center hole closely encircling hub 28 and smaller holes loosely encircling pegs 30. Its undersurface, immediately adjacent to center hole 35, rests upon lip 29 of hub 28, and is thereby kept from settling below the level of the hub and slipping into the clearance space separating hub 28 from top surface 21. The perimeter edge of game sheet 31 rests within the interior face of rims 22 and 23, without binding contact at any point; including a slight overhang in the design of the interior face of rims 22 and 23 for the purpose of loosely confining the outer edge of game sheet 21 is acceptable, and serves to maintain the proper freely resting placement of game sheet 21, upon which, in FIG. 2, light, /2 inch diameter plastic pawns 38 slightly less than inch thickness are shown, a few in a usual game-turn beginning placement on a starting line that is delineated, on most game patterns, as a linear position loosely encircling hub 28, while other pawns 38 are in scattered positions on the playing surface. During vibration action, there will be no dominant pattern of response by pawns to single axis of linear vibrations conveyed by hub 28; rather, pawns will move generally outward in all directions a short distance, then will alter their various meandering courses markedly as interactions of radiating vibration waves are produced by the basic vibration axis shifting laterally all lines of vibratory force that are at countering angles to it as diagrammed in FIG. 3. This conflict between continuing radiations and a single crossline of vibratory force moves pawns 38 in all possible directions, seemingly riding invisible crests of joined and changing patterns. The slightest change in the original vibratory axis alters patterns in the total game sheet, as will happen in varying degrees when vibrating hub 28 is merely tilted A inch from its normal vertical line and thereby made to have more positive vibratory contact with a particular portion of the game sheets encircling vertical edge and lessened vibratory contact with an opposite segment of this surrounding arc of hole 35.

Shown in attached game-play position in FIG. 2. is control stick 32, firmly engaged by insertion of pegs 33, in matching socket-holes 34. With this serving as an extension of hub 28, a players hand, using a finger hold on the knobbed end of stick 32, will be sufficiently above the playing area so that a generally clear view of pawn actions will be available to all players. A total length of five or six inches for stick 32 will be adequate, but this dimension is obviously flexible, as are most dimensions in the Vibro-Boards construction.

In the example of the game structure shown herein, the vertical height of hub 28 is about one inch, but a vertical measure of /4 inch would serve equally Well if control stick manipulation is used, the one inch height providing mainly the opportunity of direct finger-tip control, and accommodating hubs attachment to a larger portion of armature 39, as shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, than if a hub of shallower dimension were used.

Control stick 32 is detached, each time a game sheet 31 is changed, to permit game sheets easy removal from the hub and replacement by a different choice game sheet. Then, control stick is reset in socketing holes 34 in top of hub 28 and game play may proceed under whatever rules apply to the newly chosen game sheet.

Interior vibration means is powered by generally available electrical alternating current conveyed to it by cord 40, shown in FIG. 1 entering the side of box structure 20, and at this point protected from abrasive contact with the box by a surrounding rubber grommet 41. Wiring of plural switches 25 so that any single switch turns on or turns off the flow of alternating current electricity to interior vibration means 42, shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, is commonly understood by anyone having familiarity with electrical circuits and will therefore not be detailed here.

As shown in FIG. 4, however, the electrical circuit is connected to electrical vibrator means 42 by a slip-ring contact means 43 which maintains continuing hookup of electro-magnet coil 44 to exterior switches 25 and, thereby, through power cord 40 to, in most instances, readily available 115 volt alternating current electrical power source found in familiar home wall sockets. Slip ring contact means 43 shown herein consists of two plastic pill bottle caps sized so that the lower cap 45, cemented to baseboard 46 with its interior open area uppermost, may be enclosed by upper cap 47 downtended over it with V inch of clearance space between the exterior of the lower cap rim and the interior of the upper cap rim. An electrically conductive thin metal strip 48 is cemented inside the rim of upper cap 47, the ends of this strip meeting in an abutting 45-degree angle seam so uptended metal tab 49 will slide over seam smoothly without any break, even momentarily, in a continuing electrical circuit.

Metal strip 48 has a tablike portion of it extended up through a slot in the top plane of upper cap 47 so that it is available for connection to one of the wire leads of coil 44. The other lead of this coil is also connected, my solder, clips, or other securing means, to another conductive metal tab 50 which is also located on to top plane of upper cap 47 with a portion of it extending down through this surface to the interior of the enclosed lower cap 45 where a close relationship to the interior of lower cap rim and features of design, or simple spring tension, hold tab in continuing contact with electrically conductive thin metal strip 51 lining the interior of the rim of lower cap 45, just as upper cap 47 is lined except that a tablike portion of strip 51 projects downward through a slit in the bottom plane of lower cap 45 and is extended sideways to make the tab available for a secure connection to the appropriate wire of the plural switch circuit. In this slip-ring contact means, spring contacts 49 and 50 should be resistant to metal fatigue for long-lasting service life, but in any event, breakage or distortion of tab contacts 49 and 50* can only interrupt the current flow with no possibility of a crossed circuit since the rim of lower cap 45 separates positive and negative portions of the total circuit.

Precisely centered and penetrating upper cap 47, lower .cap 45, and baseboard 46 is hole 52. Centrally located in the bar which constitutes the bottom plane of vibrator means 42 is an identically sized hole. In the top plane of upper cap 47 a slight depth trough-like cut accepts placement of this bottom bar of vibrator means 42, precisely trapping it between the longitudinal edges of said trough-like cut so that upper cap 47 will turn with any repositioning or rotation of vibrator means 42 when said vibrator means is secured to upper cap 47 by bolt 53 eX- tended downward through the holes in said base of vibrator means, the top of upper cap 47, an insulator 54, the lower cap 45, the baseboard 46, in that order. Metal grommet 55 is set in hole in baseboard 46 from bottom up, surrounding loosely bolt 53, a proper metal washer is added and the end of the bolt flanged or otherwise secured so that it holds vibrator means 42 securely in the troughed top of upper cap 47, with said upper cap held in downtended covering position over the whole of upturned lower cap 45 and permitting upper cap 47 to be turned easily and smoothly upon the supporting rim edge of lower cap 45, without binding or excessive looseness.

To facilitate the foregoing assembly it should be done before coil 44 is mounted as shown in detailed crosssection FIG. 4 so that the coil will not obstruct placement or tightening of bolt 53. The total design or configuration of vibrator means 42 may be varied in numerous ways, providing certain important factors are observed. Having first and primary importance is the requirement that uptended armature 39 must be truly vertical in that portion of it that extends through and above hole 57 in top surface 21 of basic structure 20, and this vertical portion of the armature 39 must be centered directly above the center of bolt 46 since these two parts must share the same vertical center so their rotation will be on exactly the same axis. A curve in armature 39 as suggested in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 gives said armature a free-spring quality not available if a right angle bend from the base upward is used. Dimensions of the armature bar herein shown are as follows: Width, roughly /2 inch. Thickness, inch. But such dimensions are variables which must be correlated with the magnetic attraction of coil 44 and an air-gap between said coil and said armature of approximately inch. In a presently effective model of the Vibro-Board, a magnetic coil of roughly /5 ampere rating is used, but a coil of as low as ampere rating has been found to serve with adequate vibratory effect by merely narrowing the air-ga between the coils center core and armature 39.

An overall consideration in the design of vibrator means 42 is the desirability of the lowest possible contour, since the height of said vibrator means largely determines the height of total game structure 20, affected otherwise only by the height of hub 28, which is here shown as ap proximately one inch in height. As seen in FIG. 4 that portion of armature 39 which extends above top surface 21 is enclosed by a tightly fitting slot centered in hub 28. Said slot avoids adjacent holes 34 which accommodate pegs 33 of control stick 32. Clearance space between top surface 21 and the bottom plane of hub 28 with extended lip 29 will be noted. Also notable is the relationship of game sheet 31 to hub 28 and lip 29, as well as its lightly resting relationship to top surface 21. The fact that a horizontal displacement of hub 28 will exert force primarily and linearly against a vertical interior edge or game sheet 31 is also evident in this cross-section, and it may be concluded that the smooth top surface of lip 29 moving horizontally will have little vibratory influence upon the, at this point, smooth undersurface of game sheet 31, thereby establishing a difference between the Vibro-Board and all previous related art, in which a permanently attached surface is vibrated either vertically or horizontally in a generally uniform manner over the whole of the surface. Reference back to FIG. 3, will offer a rudimentary analysis of the differing manner in which linear vibrations are received by the encircling vertical edge of hole 35 in cyclical impacts by the rounded face of hub 28, and said linear axis of vibration caused to be radiated in varying degrees outward from the edge of hole 35 throughout the surface of game sheet 31 in diverting and spreading patterns as a result of whipping influence of the continuing original axis upon all vibratory waves counter to it.

FIG. 5 shows, in complete cross-section, the over-all relationship of the various components. With various partial assemblies completed, the total assembly of the Vibro- Board proceeds generally as follows: Excluding the attachment of hub 28 to exterior portion of armature 39, most assembly work is completed on baseboard 46, in which there are hole perforations in an. overall pattern 58 which provides the relatively minor cooling ventilation requirements of magnetic coil 44. Switches 25, at least two in number, located in ,diagonally opposed corners, are wired in a commonly used multiple-switch hook-up with slip- ring contact tabs 49 and 51 and power cord 40. Bolts 26 hold a rubber or fiber non-scratching washer or pad at each corner of the undersurface of baseboard 46 and also anchor to baseboard said switches, with bracing blocks 27 being secured at corners where switches are not located, and also at four points surrounding the centered vibrator means 42, clear of any interefrence with its rotation. These latter bracing blocks will be glued or otherwise afiixed to the baseboard 46 and the lower plane of top surface 21 when it is added, and their purpose is merely support.

In the upper portion of box structure 20, holes in corner triangular areas 24 fit down over threaded top ends of switches 25 upon which threaded cap-washers 56 are tightened to secure top portion to base at these points, and bolts 26 are tightened to secure upper portion of box 20 at those corners not occupied by switches. Hole 57 in top surface 21 must encircle armature 39 with sufficient clearance to guarantee that said armature will not contact the top surface at any point during full rotation. With placement of hub 28 upon armature 39, and its solid securement to same as detailed earlier, hole 57 should thereby be covered and now inaccessible to insure the complete enclosure of interior electrical means. FIG. shows the total relationship of any game sheet 31 to hub 28 which it closely encircles; to lip 29 upon which it rests; to uptwined pegs 30 which it also encircles, but loosely; and to top surface 21 which it freely and lightly rests upon in varying degrees of contact, within encircling rim of said top surface.

From the foregoing it is apparent that the subject invention differs greatly from prior art devices in that it comprises, as separate units, a vibration transmitter hub wholly unlike any known, and a vibration receiver sheet that is equally unique, which in combined usage provide controllable means of translating a single axis of linear vibration into multitudinous patterns of directional influence upon game pawns, and of compounding the directional effects of such interacting vibration patterns for infinitely varied results with each angular change of the basic vibration axis. However, since different vibration game devices have been built, and may in the future be built, utilizing certain features of this invention that are common to the pertaining art, said invention is to be considered as being limited only by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a game device comprising a low, boxlike structure with four sides, bottom and top; enclosed compact electrical vibrator means and exterior plural on-off switch ing means; features of new invention consisting of a hole through the top surface plane of said structure of suflicient size to permit a vertically untended armature of the enclosed vibrator means to project without restriction above said surface, and upon such vertically projected armatures exterior portion, a firmly attached and surrounding hub of rigid material, round on the horizontal plane with sides generally vertical and straight except for a relatively thin lip or ledge extending horizontally outward around said hubs full perimeter at the level of said hubs bottom horizontal plane, and clearing the top surface of the boxlike structure by a vertical distance sufficient to guarantee that aforesaid vibrator armature and said hub may vibrate as a single unit, not confined, restrained, or restricted by any contact with the top surface of the boxlike structure, or any vibration-restricting part within said structure other than the basic vibration unit itself, which is mounted to the interior top plane of the base of the boxlike structure yet able to rotate 360 degrees on the horizontal plane when the exterior hub is manually turned, with a sliding, continuing electrical connection to said vibrator means being maintained, and its electrical operation affected only by individual action, manually applied, to any of the aforesaid exterior mounted switches at locations that are readily accessible at each side of the boxlike structure, the top of which is rimmed by a raised edge or fence that avoids areas occupied by switches, but encompasses and delineates a confined space occupying the remaining surface area, in the center of which the aforesaid hub is located;

and as a separate component, not permanently attached to the basic structure, a relatively thin, vibratable sheet, its perimeter generally matching the shape delineated by the rimmed edge of the top surface of said structure, and in and through its horizontal plane, a round hole which is just a very slight fraction larger than the horizontal dimensions of aforesaid hub, measured at points just above its horizontally extended lip or ledge, and this hole being located within the sheet area so that it will closely but not tightly encircle the hub when said vibratable sheet is placed upon the top surface of the boxlike structure, within the area circumscribed by the rimmed edge, without said sheets, vibrate character being restricted or confined at any point except where it is in contact with the vibratable hub; graphically delineated upon said vibratable sheet, a design having the planning, layout, and character of a game play pattern correlated to particular game procedures; a completely different game design which correlates with other game procedures on the opposite side of said vibratable sheet, and upon identically contoured separate vibratable sheets, other designs suited to still other game-play procedures, when individually with a selected design upturned, the sheet freely resting within the structures rimmed top surface, and in each case, the interior vertical edge of aforesaid hole closely encircling aforesaid hub;

also as a separate component, for only temporary attachrnent to the hub as a means of turning, slightly tilting, and depressing said hub players hand at a height that does not obstruct general view of game sheet playing area, a dowel-like stick, rounded or knobbed at one end, and its other end having at least one peg of any asymmetrical thickness and shape protruding therefrom;

and in the top of aforesaid hub, a matching arrangement of complementary hole means to firmly, yet simply and easily, engage the pegged end of the knobbed stick so that it serves as an upwardly extended means of turning said hub, of slightly tilting it, and of depressing it to diminish its vibratory action by the restricting effect of downward pressure.

2. In a game device, those features of new invention as defined in claim 1 including in aforesaid graphically patterned vibratable game sheets light indentations and protuberances of hardly perceptible vertical dimensions, of any longitudinal shape and relatively limited horizontal dimension, so that game objects or pawns will slide over such variations in the surface plane during vibratory action, but with such variations from a uniform horizontal plane contributing slight diversionary influences upon the flow of many and various vibration patterns interacting throughout said game sheets during vibratory action.

3. In a game device, those features of new invention as defined in claim 1 including on the top surface of said boxlike structure, within the area circumscribed by an upraised rim or fence, encircling the vibratable hub at a generally mid-point distanct between said hub and said rim, various upraised pegs of much smaller scale than the hub; and in aforesaid vibratable game sheets, holes located and sized so that any such game sheet, placed within the encircling rim and encircling the hub in game-play position, fits down over said pegs very loosely, and gains from them and evenly distributed light holding action against tendency of game sheet to be displaced laterally by the turning of hub.

9 10 References Cited ANTON O. OECHSLE, Primary Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS THOMAS ZACK, Assistant Examiner 1,018,840 2/1912 Marikle 273109 1,496,721 6/1924 Martin 273115 X US. Cl. X.R.

2,700,251 1/1955 Bertaux 46-1 X 5 273--86, 109

Images