US3471152A - Turnatable game with magnetic tippable game pieces - Google Patents

Description

a PIECES M. MURAOKA TURNTABLE GAME WITH MAGNETIC TIPPABL'E GAM Filed Sept. 5, 1967 Z'SheetS-Sheet l INVENTOR. MASAO MURAOKA ATTORNEY? Oct. 7, 1969 MURAOKA 3,471,152

TURNTABLE GAME WITH MAGNETIC TIPPABLE GAME PIECES Filed Sept. 5. 1967 '2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FI GJ Z.

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ATTORNEY United States Patent US. Cl. 273-86 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The invention comprises a game, the play pieces of which are moved by magnetic means. A turntable is provided mounting a radial member extending outwardly therefrom and which member carries one or more tippable tubes seating play pieces and normally maintained in a vertical position. Trays or drawers beneath the turntable contain fixed vertical tubes which are so related to the tippable tubes as to have the tippable tubes and the fixed tubes brought into alignment as the turntable rotates. Bar magnets, not identified as to polarity, are placed in the fixed and tippable tubes so that as the turntable rotates, certain of the bar magnets may be of a polarity like that of the bar magnets in the fixed tubes of the trays as well as certain bar magnets having unlike polarity in said trays. Tipping occurs when the magnets have the same polarity and in end to end relationship and no tipping will occur when the magnet ends are of opposite polarity.

An object of the invention is the provision of a game wherein play pieces are moved by magnetic means.

A further object is the provision of a game wherein objects are moved in a circular path representative of a race track by a turntable and wherein as the turntable rotates certain of the play pieces will be dislodged from the turntable while other play pieces will be retained for movement with the turntable.

A further object is the provision of a game wherein a turntable carries various play pieces in a given path as the turntable rotates, the play pieces being dislodged from the turntable and moved out of play by the employment of magnets in which the polarity of said magnets is unknown to the player with the result that certain of the play pieces are maintained in play while the turntable makes a complete rovolution while other of said play pieces are dislodged and fall from the turntable out of play.

As is well known, bar magnets exert a mutual attraction therebetween when the polarity of the ends are opposite and a repulsion when the ends are of the same polarity. Use of this principal is employed in the present invention.

A further object is the provision of a game employing magnets which is amusing to both young and old, provides many game situations, interesting entertainment, and is inexpensive in cost.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention consists in the novel and useful provision, formation, construction, association and relative arrangement of parts, members and features, all as shown in one embodiment in the accompanying drawings, described generally and more particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a partially sectional, top plan view of the game shown as an entirety;

FIGURE 2 is a cross sectional view, on an enlarged scale, taken on the line 22 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary, partially sectional plan view on an enlarged scale looking in the direction of arrow 3 of FIGURE 4;

3,471,152 Patented Oct. 7, 1969 FIGURE 4 is an enlarged fragmentary, cross sectional view on the line 44 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged sectional View on the line 55 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary view, partly in section, taken on the line 66 of FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 7 is a perspective view of a drawer used in the practice of the present invention;

FIGURE 8 is a perspective view of a tippable tube for a play piece;

FIGURE 9 is a perspective view of a support for the tippable tube of FIGURE 8;

FIGURE 10 is a perspective view of a further form of support for the tippable tube shown in FIGURE 8;

FIGURE 11 is a perspective view, on an enlarged scale, of means adapted to block tipping of a tippable tube of the type shown in FIGURE 8;

FIGURE 12 is a perspective view of one form of the play piece;

FIGURE 13 is a perspective view of a bar magnet of the type employed in the present invention;

FIGURE 14 is a fragmentary sectional elevation of a tube of the type of FIGURE 8 housing a magnet and supporting a play piece of the type shown in FIGURE 12, the device of FIGURE 11 blocking the tipping of the tube as the tube carrying the play piece passes over a magnet positioned beneath the turntable;

FIGURE 15 shows movement of the turntable relative to the magnet beneath the turntable, the device for blocking tipping of the tube being lowered;

FIGURE 16 shows further movement of the turntable the play piece being dislodged from the tippable tube;

FIGURE 17 is a plan view of various elements which are employed in playing the game; and,

FIGURE 18 is a perspective view of a further form of play piece representative of a tank.

Referring to the drawings, the invention in its present embodiment includes a base plate 1 which in the present instance is square sided although other geometrical forms may be employed. A raised flat annulus 2 is secured centrally to the base plate by feet 3. A disk type turntable 4 is coaxial with the fiat annulus 2 and interposed between the platform and the annulus 2 is anti-friction means 5, in the form of rollers held by journal means comprising a disk 6 provided with holes through which a portion of the periphery of the balls extends and by a series of members 7 provided with holes, which members are secured to the disk 6. Thus segments of the balls project beyond disk 6 and the members 7, as shown in FIGURE 2. Such a construction allows the balls to contact the turntable disk 4 and the annulus 2. To maintain the co-axial relationship of the members aforesaid, a stud shaft 8 is secured to the base plate 1 and extends upwardly therefrom through the annulus 2, the anti-friction means and through a central opening in the turntable. This construction permits ready separation of the parts just described. Secured to the turntable disk 4 is a rectangular table 10, the longitudinal center of which intersects the axis of the turntable, ends of the table extending outwardly beyond the rim of the turntable 4 to provide space for play pieces, and other mechanism. The table 10 is adapted to be revolved either manually or by the use of a motor and in the present instance a small electric motor 12 is employed for this purpose as will hereinafter be set forth. Extending in radial relationship to the turntable, and carried by the base plate are four equidistantly spaced apart, or apart, non-magnetic casings 15, 16, 17 and 18. Thus casings 15 and 17 are in alignment as are casings 16 and 18. These casings are of a length such that the inner ends thereof terminate adjacent the turntable 4. The casings in each instance are adapted to receive drawers of the type shown in FIGURE 7 and designated as 19. All drawers are of like construction and provided with tubular compartments 20. The number of compartments will depend upon the length of the drawer and in the present instance there are seven separated, vertically mounted compartments within each drawer. These compartments are all numbered as shown at 21. The number of compartments will depend in each instance upon the number of play pieces, and the number of play pieces in turn will depend upon the length of the rectangular table 10. Thus, in the present instance, as stated, there are seven tubular compartments extending the depth of the drawer and these compartments are formed of non-magnetic material as is likewise each drawer. As the base plate is flat, the drawers may be drawn from the outer ends of each casing 15 to 18 inclusive, as shown in FIGURE 1 at 25. This exposes the upper ends of the tubular compartments which are open for access thereto.

Mounted upon the rectangular table are trippable supports for the play pieces, the play pieces being so placed upon the table that during rotation of the turntable the supports move in concentric circles over the compartments in the drawers. Each tippable support constitutes an assembly as illustrated in FIGURES 8, 9 and 10 and designated as 30 and 31. The support 30 is placed near the rear edge 32 of the table while support 31 is placed on the table adjacent its leading edge at 33. In the present instance there are four supports 31 and three supports 30, the supports being staggered. Support 31 has a base 34 secured by rivets or the like to the top of the table 10 and which base has an upright member 35 having two extended side arms 36 and 37 which project upwardly at right angles to upright 35. The side arms are provided with aligned holes at 38 and 39. The support 30 comprises an upright 40 having a pair of upstanding parallel arms 41 and 42, and perforated feet or lugs 43 and 44. The arms are provided with aligned bores 45 and 46, and the perforated feet or lugs 43 and 44 are secured by rivets or otherwise to the table. The uprights of either form 30 or 31 each support between the arms thereof a tippable play piece support designated generally as 50. The tippable support is of tubular form and in the present instance is square sectioned and closed at its lower end 51 and open at its top 52, opposite sides 53 and 54 being sheared from the top to provide a pair of aligned trunnions 55 and 56, the trunnions adapted to be fitted in the aligned holes 45 and 46 in one instance and 38 and 39 in a second instance of the supports 30 and 31. The arrangement is such that the lower ends of the tubes 50 terminate above the base of said support in each instance so that the tubes may tip in one direction, that is, tip away from the support portions 35 and 40. Each tippable tube stands vertically above the table 1 and when the turntable is rotated, each support 30' and 31 with its tippable tube 50 follows a circular path of different radius from the innermost tube to the outermost thereof, the arrangement being such that when the drawers are within the casings shown at to 18 inclusive, the lower end of each tippable tube will pass over each compartment tube, the compartment tubes lying upon the circular paths covered by the tippable tubes. In other words, as shown in the figures, for instance FIGURES 1 and 7, a tippable tube 50 will pass over a compartment tube within the drawer 19.

A play piece 60 in one instance may be representative of a horse and its rider, as shown in FIGURE 12, or it may be in simulation of an army tank, as shown in FIG- URE 18. Each play piece is numbered to correspond to the number of tippable tubes used in playing the game and, consequently, there are in the present instance, seven play pieces. In the case of a simulated horse and rider, a small lug is provided for each form of play piece as shown at 61 for reception within the upper end of a tippable tube and to hold the play piece in position. The play piece is stabilized in that each tippable tube at its upper end is provided with a bracket 62, the upper surface of which carries the playing number of said tube, as shown in FIGURE 3 wherein the numbers are 4 and 5. The play piece 60 has a flat base 63, so that the base when carried on the top of a tippable tube overlies the bracket and its number. As the device is operated by magnetic means to either maintain the play piece in position on a tippable tube or to be dislodged therefrom, means 64 is provided to initially hold the tippable tube against any tendency to dislodge the play piece. This means is shown in FIGURE 11 and constitutes a lever or arm 70 pinned at 71 to a support member 72, the lower edge of said lever being inclined at 73 to provide a cam edge, the lever being provided with an arm 74 at a right angle to arm 70. There is one of these devices for each tippable tube and in the present instance, seven thereof. The members 72 are fastened, in each instance, to the table 10 in such position that the arms 74 may engage a tippable tube, as shown in FIGURE 3. The lever 70 extends through a slot in the table, as illustrated at 75 and 76 in FIGURE 3. Thus, the arm 70 may drop through said slot of the table and assume the position shown in both FIGURES 15 and 16 or be raised as shown in FIGURE 14 so that the arm 74 engages a tippable tube to prevent tipping thereof during rotation of the turntable, as hereinafter described.

The turntable is adapted to be rotated, as previously stated, either manually or by a motor such as 12, the motor driving a train of gears shown in FIGURE 6, the train of gears being designated generally as 80 and the gears turn an axle 81 mounting a wheel 82. This wheel is adapted to travel on a circular trackway 83 having four arcuate parts, which may be quadrants, each quadrant being interposed between the casings 15, 16, 17 and 18, the quadrants =all lying in the same plane, the top surfaces of which are substantially on the level with the top surfaces of the casings. The wheel 82 travels on this trackway as the motor 12 is energized and in the present instance the motor is driven by a battery 84 controlled by a switch 85. Upon closing the switch the battery energizes the motor and through the train of gears slowly turns the turntable 4. As the table 10 turns the cam edge 73 of the lever 70 contacts a casing such as 15, see FIGURES l4, l5 and 16, to raise the same from the position shown in FIGURE 15 to that of FIGURE 14 which prevents a tipping of the tippable tube 50 until the cam edge of the lever escapes from travel over the casing whereupon it drops to the position of FIGURE 15 and allows the tube 50 to be tipped, as shown in FIGURE 16. Tipping of the tube will dislodge the play piece from the position of FIGURE 15, the play piece moving upon a slide or chute 86, which extends from the support of the type shown at 31 to the level of the table 10. This will cause the play piece to be received upon the base plate 1. A play piece carried by the tippable tube adjacent the rear edge of the table will be directly dislodged onto the base plate 1.

To play the game, magnetic means is employed, the magnetic means comprises bar magnets of the type shown in FIGURE 13 and the bar magnets are not identified as to poles. The bar magnet shown in FIGURE 15 may be north for the upper end and south for the lower end or vice versa, the poles not being identified, and the same is true for other bar magnets adapted to be placed within the tubular compartments in each drawer, as shown in FIGURE 7. Hence, to begin with, the person conducting the game will place magnets within one or more compartments of each drawer, or will not place any bar magnets therein. The same procedure will be followed in the placing of the bar magnets within each of the tippable tubes, or certain of the tubes may be without bar magnets. Thus, with the players in position and at a starting point, the numbered play pieces such as simulated horses and jockeys will be positioned on the tops of the tippable tubes which are numbered. Assuming that the north pole of the bar magnet in the tippable tube is adjacent the play piece as shown in FIGURE 14, and that the bar magnet over which the tippable tube is passed placed in the compartment tube of a drawer, as the turntable rotates, the

lever 70 is brought into position to prevent tipping of the tube and as the tube passes over the bar magnet in the compartment tube of a drawer, the south pole is naturally attracted by a north pole of the bar magnet in the drawer, and as a consequence, the play piece is not dislodged from its position on the upper end of the tippable tube. However, if the bar magnet has its north pole positioned as shown in FIGURE 16, as like poles repel, movement of the tippable tube over the bar magnet in the drawer will tip the tippable tube and in so doing dislodge the play piece as shown. As the dealer may or may not know the polarity of the different bar magnets, the game becomes of interest due to the uncertainty of dislodgement of the play pieces due to the positions of the magnets within the compartment of the drawer and within the tippable tubes.

The operation, uses and advantages of the invention are as follows.

It will be noted upon reference to FIGURE 1 that the base plate is provided with four shallow trays designated generally as 100 at each corner thereof. These trays are preferably of different colors such as red, blue, yellow and green. In addition, there are blocks designated generally as 101 adjacent each tray and provided with holes 102, the adjacent blocks being colored the same as the trays. The purpose of each tray is to hold chips which may be numbered by way of example as shown in FIG- URE 17 by the numbers 1 and 5. Cards 103 are colored the same colors as the blocks 101 and the trays 100, and indicates the particular jockey and horse selected by one of the players, which number would correspond to the number of a tubular compartment in the drawer 19 as shown in FIGURE 7, and, likewise, correspond to a number on one of the tippable support tubes 50. Thus if the player having chips in a blue tray selects play piece 7, he puts blue card 103 numbered 7 adjacent the tray. The horse and the jockey, is numbered in the manner shown in FIGURE 4. Hence, if the play piece is numbered, for instance 2, the play piece with its tippable tube likewise numbered 2 would, when the turntable is rotating, follow a circular path and pass over the different drawers and particularly the compartments within said drawers likewise numbered 2. Assuming that bar magnets are placed by the dealer in the drawer compartments in a certain relationship to the bar magnets placed in the tippable tubes 50, the play piece may be retained in position or dislodged from the tippable tube as illustrated in FIGURE 16. Accordingly, the chips which are played on a given horse and its jockey will depend on whether or not a given play piece completes one revolution without being dislodged or in certain instances how many obstructions are passed, the obstructions being the different casings 15 to 18 inclusive without the play piece being thrown from the tippable tube support. Thus the players of the game of whom there may be four in the present instance, may place chips on any horse of their selection to win, to place, etc., and the chips in the trays and the number thereof are placed on a play piece in accordance with the individual players selection. It is intended that each dealer should arrange the position of the magnets within the different compartment tubes of the drawers and in the tippable tubes, and then by means of a wire or reed 105, depress the switch 85 to cause the electric motor to drive the train of gears and rotate the turntable. The flag in FIGURE 17 is placed within the opening 102 of a block 101 in accordance with the selected dealer. The block selected will indicate starting and finishing position of the race. It is believed that the action of the bar magnets placed in the tippable tubes and in the compartment tubes of the drawer has been explained sufiiciently in the specification, and, accordingly, such operation will not be repeated here.

I claim:

1. A racing game board, including: a base plate, a turntable mounted for rotation on said base plate, a series of tubes, means tippably mounting said tubes on said turntable and in spaced relation to one another for rotation of said tubes in concentric circles when said turntable is rotated, each tippable tube receiving a bar magnet, a drawer positioned on the base plate and provided with tubular compartments removably receiving bar magnets, said turntable upon rotation moving the tippable tubes in concentric circles over the tubular compartments of the drawer, the tubular compartments of the drawer lying in the same concentric circles as that of the tippable tubes, said means mounting each tube for tipping thereof in response to a magnet in said tippable tube coming proximate to a bar magnet of said drawer.

2. The device as set forth in claim 1, characterized in: that each tippable tube loosely mounts a play piece, which play piece remains on the tippable tube when the poles of the magnets in the tippable tubes facing the poles of the magnets in the drawer compartment tubes are of opposite polarity; the tubes being tipped if the poles of said magnets are of like polarity, the play pieces being dislodged from the tippable tubes as the turntable rotates thereover.

3. The device as set forth in claim 2, characterized in: that motor means is provided for the turntable to rotate the same.

4. A racing game board, including: a base plate, a turntable axially secured for rotation to said base plate, said turntable provided with a substantially rectangular table, a series of tippable tubes secured to the rectangular table adjacent edges thereof and at different radial distances from the axis of said turntable, said tippable tubes receiving bar magnets, a series of drawers radial the turntable axis, secured to said base plate beneath said rectangular table, each drawer provided with tubular compartments and the radial distance of said tubular compartments and the radial distance of said different tippable tubes being the same whereby the turntable when rotating causes the tippable tubes to trace a series of concentric circular paths corresponding to concentric circles through the compartment tubes of the drawers, magnetic means between said drawer compartments and tippable tubes for tipping certain of said tubes in response to certain of said drawer compartments coming into vertical proximity therewith.

5. The device of claim 4, and a circular trackway interconnecting the drawers and means carried by the rectangular table for travel on said trackway to rotate the turntable.

6. The device of claim 4, characterized in: stop means is provided for each tippable tube carried by the rectangular table whereby as the tippable tube passes over a drawer the stop means is actuated to prevent the tube from tipping until the tube has passed beyond the drawer whereupon the stop means is out of contact with the tippable tube and the tippable tube may be moved by the bar magnets in accordance with the polarity thereof.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,441,060 5/ 1948 Cunningham 27386 3,336,695 8/1967 Warren 273-86 X FOREIGN PATENTS 195,316 3/ 1923 Great Britain.

ANTON O. OECHSLE, Primary Examiner THOMAS ZACK, Assistant Examiner

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