US3556527A

US3556527A - Flexible game board with ball openings

Info

Publication number: US3556527A
Application number: US726998A
Authority: US
Inventors: Arnold E Margolis; Morris Margolis; Charles F Foley
Original assignee: MARSON Inc
Current assignee: MARSON Inc
Priority date: 1968-05-06
Filing date: 1968-05-06
Publication date: 1971-01-19
Anticipated expiration: 1988-01-19

Abstract

A game or amusement device utilizing a game board ordinarily held and operated by a pair of opposing players or contestants that is made in the form of a flexible band or sheet having upturned side walls along the edges of the band and having one or more holes or pockets located in the band for the purpose of capturing a ball that is jiggled along the flexible band by the actions of the opposing players. The ball is porous or hollow.

Description

United States Patent Inventors Arnold E. Margolis;

Morris Margolis; Charles F. Foley, Minneapolis, Minn.

May 6, 1968 Jan. 19, 1971 Marson, Inc.

Minneapolis, Minn.

a corporation of Minnesota Appl. No. Filed Patented Assignee FLEXIBLE GAME BOARD WITH BALL OPENINGS 9 Claims, 4 Drawing Figs.

US: Cl 273/115,

273/58 Int. Cl A63b 67/14 Field ofSearch 273/113,

115, 116, 117, 109, 110, (Styrene Digest), 123(Cursory), l2

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,620,191 12/1952 Barry 273/123 3,069,170 12/1962 Dillon.. 273/199 3,232,619 2/1966 Burk 273/123 3,251,600 5/1966 Warnberg 273/136 FOREIGN PATENTS 768,946 8/1934 France 273/12 Primary Examiner-Richard C. Pinkham Assistant Examiner-Theatrice Brown Attorney-Merchant & Gould ABSTRACT: A game or amusement device utilizing a game board ordinarily held and operated by a pair of opposing players or contestants that is made in the form of a flexible band or sheet having upturned side walls along the edges of the band and having one or more holes or pockets located in the band for the purpose of capturing a ball that is jiggled along the flexible band by the actions of the opposing players. The ball is porous or hollow.

PATENTED JAN 1 9 I97! l N VEN Tons ARNOLD MARGOL/J MOP/PAS MARGOL/d F G- CHARLEJ FFOLEY AT TORNEYS FLEXIBLE GAME BOARD WITH BALL OPENINGS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Games involving game boards provided with holes (with or without accompanying receptacles) adapted to receive, capture or divert balls rolling or bouncing along the surface of the game board have been known for some time. See, for example:

Aug. 2, 1910 US. Pat. No. 966,091 Heinig et al.

Oct. 21, 1919 US. Pat. No. 1,319,245 Raster Jan. 4, 1921 US Pat. No. 1,364,632 Harrington Caeser U.S. Pat. No. 2,492,462

Oct. 30, 1962 U.S. Pat. No. 3,061,312 Glass et al.

For the most part, games of this type have utilized rigid game boards (e.g. wood, cardboard, metal, etc.). However, such game boards are cumbersome and thus expensive to ship and store. By contrast, flexible game boards are readily adaptable to compact packaging and are frequently cheaper to manufacture. However, flexible game boards are often restricted in use (eg as by requiring one end to be attached to a support, etc.) and it is difficult to move a ball on a'flexible game board without inadvertently permitting the ball to drop from the edge of the game board. See, for example, US. Pat. No. 966,091.

Various attempts have been made to improve upon the construction and method of operation of flexible game boards and to capitalize upon the advantageous manufacturing and packaging factors associated with the use of flexible game boards. However, many such attempts have been unsuccessful. For example, the use of rigid sidewalls firmly attached to a flexible game board effectively prevents the game ball from being inadvertently dropped from the game board, but at the same time causes the game board to acquire a degree of rigidity that limits the flexibility of the game board in play and that is not conducive to compact packaging.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION We have now discovered a form of game board and method of use that offers substantial advantages over the prior art devices of this character, particularly interms of the ability of the game board to be inexpensively manufactured and compactly packaged (both advantages offer significant cost savings).

Briefly described, the game board of the present invention is made of a thin, usually rectangular (e.g. feet X 2 feet). sheet of flexible material (e.g. polyethylene film) which serves as the main or playing portion. Upturned sidewalls (e.g. 3 inches high) are attached to the playing portion along the margin thereof to retain the game ball on the playing portion, these sidewalls also being formed of flexible material. A lightweight, usually porous or hollow game ball is used. One or more holes or pockets are formed in the playing portion of the game board.

To play the game, two opposing players grasp the opposite ends of the game board and hold it between them with the flexible sidewalls stretched so that they stand erect. A light game ball (e.g. a Ping-Pong ball) is placed on the game board and each player then attempts to maneuver the ball against the actions of the opposing players into selected holes or pockets by jiggling, tilting, or otherwise moving the game board.

THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is an isometric view of a game board constructed according to this invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the game board as shown in FIG. 1 taken along the lines 2-2.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view of the game board shown in FIG. 1 taken along the lines 3-3.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view of the game board shown in FIG. 1 taken along the lines 4-4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION The following description of the invention is made with reference to the drawings in which like numerals represent like elements.

One form of the improved game board of this invention is shown in FIG. 1. The game board comprises a playing portion 1 made of a flexible material (e.g. a thin sheet of plastic such as polyethylene film, mylar film or the like). Attached to the margin of flexible playing portion 1 are upturned

side walls

2, 3, 4 and 5 which are also made of flexible material. A plurality of receptacle-lined holes are formed in the playing portion 1 of the game board. The number, configuration and arrange ment of these holes (6-12) is not critical and they can vary in size, shape, significance, etc. As shown in FIG. 1, holes 6-8 and 10-12 are larger than game ball 13 and thus offer capture sites for removable game ball 13. Hole 9 is smaller than game ball 13 and can be used to preposition game ball 13 to start a game.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the flexible game board shown in FIG. 1 as taken along lines 2-2. In this view, game ball 13 is shown resting in hole 9.

Holes

6, 7, and 8 have been fitted with receptacles 14-46 respectively These receptacles, in the form of cups, are secured to the flexible playing portion 1 by the coaction of their radially extending upper lips l7-l9 and elastic bands (e.g. rubber bands) 2022.

The positioning of game ball 13 in starting hole 9 is more clearly shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view of the flexible game board shown in FIG. 1 taken along lines 4-4. In FIG. 4, the hole 12 (shown in FIG. 1) in the flexible playing portion 1 is filled or lined with a cup or receptacle 23 having an upper radially extending flange or lip 24. This cup has been inserted into hole 12 (shown in FIG. 1) and is held in place by the action of an elastic band 25 which encircles the exterior surface of receptacle 23 immediately below and in contact with flexible playing portion 1. The receptacle 23 is of slightly different construction from the receptacles (14-16) of FIG. 2. The receptacle of FIG. 4 is shallower than the receptacles of FIG. 2 and is provided with a circular lower opening or hole 26 which permits game ball 13 to drop into cup 23 without the necessity of using a deeper receptacle. Holes 10 and 11 can be fitted interchangeably with

receptacles

14 or 23.

It is essential that game ball 13 have a low weight/volume ratio to prevent the ball from distorting one of the side walls 2- -5) upon impact, thereby preventing ball 13 from being dropped from the playing area 1. Weight/volume ratios of less than 10 pounds/cubic foot (preferably, less than 5 pounds/cubic foot) are desirable. Further, the game ball should have a radius which is less than the height of sidewalls 2-5 (e.g. a radius which is less than half of the height of the side walls). In general, we have found that solid balls (e.g. a 3 inch diameter solid rubber ball) are to heavy. By contrast, we prefer to use balls which are porous (i.e. spongelike or cellular in nature). The balls which we prefer to use are those having more than 50 percent, desirably more than 75 percent (preferably more than percent) of their apparent volume being voids. The game ball 13 of FIG. 3 is shown in partial cross section to illustrate its cellular structure, which includes pores 13'. Typically preferably, the pore 13' size of such balls will exceed 2 mm in diameter, more usually exceed 5 mm in diameter (e.g. exceed 10 mm in diameter). Hollow balls (e.g. Ping-Pong balls), sponge balls, and cellular balls (e.g. made of cellular polystyrene foam) are particularly useful in conjunction with this game.

Any flexible material can be sued for the construction of game boards according to this invention. Suitable materials include cloth and plastic film. Materials which are completely flexible and normally incapable of self-support (i.e. not rigid) are preferred. The preferred flexible materials can be characterized as limp" and capable of being compactly packaged as by folding, rolling, and so forth. Heat-scalable plastic films (e.g. 3-20 mils thick) are especially preferred because of their low cost and ease of fabrication.

To play a game with the game board just described, a pair of opposing players will ordinarily grasp the opposite ends of the game board (e.g. as by each person grasping the two corners at his end of the game board). The players then stretch the game board between them so that the sidewalls stand erect. A playing or game ball 13 is placed in starting hole 9 (e.g. marked start"). The two players then jiggle the game board to jar the game ball into one of the other holes (e.g. holes 6- 8) by jiggling, tilting or otherwise moving the game board, all against the actions of the opposing player who will typically be seeking to maneuever the ball 13 into a different set of holes. Ordinarily, the holes will be marked with different in dicia (e.g. two different colors) so that each player will score points only when the ball is dropped into one of the holes marked with his colors. Any convenient scoring method can be sued. For example, each time the ball drops though a particular hole, the players assigned the color of that hole will receive the number of points marked at the edge of the hole.

Many variations of this gameare possible. For example, the number of holes can be changed as well as their positions. Also, the game can be started by simply dropping the ball (or a plurality of balls) on the playing surface without the necessity of having a starting hole. The size of the ball can be changed to make it more or less difficult to drop the ball through the holes. Finally, the size of holes can be changed and the scoring varied according to the difficulty involved in dropping the ball through the hole. Although the present invention has been described with a certain degree of particularity, it will be realized that numerous changes and variations will be suggestedto one skilled in the art.

The term porous" as used herein is used in its broadest sense and intended to include both closed and open cellular constructions; and for example, a Ping Pong ball is viewed herein as a porous" ball having a large center pore or cell.

We claim:

1. Games which comprise:

a game board which includes an unsupported flexible playing portion being essentially incapable of self-support and having edges;

flexible sidewalls attached to the edges of said playing portion and normally in an unerected condition relative to said playing portion, said sidewalls being capable of erection to an upturned position when the sidewalls and playing portion are stretched; and 7 one or more openings in the playing portion; and

a game ball to be moved on the playing portion of said game board, said game ball having a weight/volume ratio that is low enough to permit the upturned sidewalls to retain the game ball on the playing area when the game ball is rolled orjiggled on the playing portion.

2. Games of claim 1 wherein the playing portion and the sidewalls of the game board are formed from plastic film, and said game ball is porous, the pore size exceeds 2 mm in diame ter, and the radius of the ball is less than the height of the upturned sidewalls.

3. Games of claim 1 wherein the playing portion of the game board is rectangular.

4. Games of claim [wherein the playing portion and the sidewalls of the game board are formed of a limp material.

5. Games of claim 4 wherein the paying portion of the game board is provided with a plurality of receptacles for the openings.

6.- Games of claim 5 wherein said receptacles are cups held in place by the coaction of;

a. radially extending lips 'orflanges on said cups which rest on top of said playing portion; and

b. elastic bands encircling said cups immediately below and in contact with the bottom of said playing portion. 7. Games of claim 6, wherein the game ball has a flexible sidewalls attached to the edges of said playing portion and normally in an unerected position relative to said playingportion, said sidewalls being capable of erection to an upturned position when the sidewalls or playing portion are stretched; and one or more cap lined-holes in the playing portion, said cups being held in place by the coaction of radially extending lips or flanges on said cups which rest on top of said play ing portion; and elastic bands encircling said cups immediately below and in contact with the bottom of said playing portion. 9. Game boards of claim 8 wherein the bottom of one or more of said cups is provided with a circular opening or hole.

Claims

1. Games which comprise: a game board which includes an unsupported flexible playing portion being essentially incapable of self-support and having edges; flexible sidewalls attached to the edges of said playing portion and normally in an unerected condition relative to said playing portion, said sidewalls being capable of erection to an upturned position when the sidewalls and playing portion are stretched; and one or more openings in the playing portion; and a game ball to be moved on the playing portion of said game board, said game ball having a weight/volume ratio that is low enough to permit the upturned sidewalls to retain the game ball on the playing area when the game ball is rolled or jigGled on the playing portion.

2. Games of claim 1 wherein the playing portion and the sidewalls of the game board are formed from plastic film, and said game ball is porous, the pore size exceeds 2 mm in diameter, and the radius of the ball is less than the height of the upturned sidewalls.

4. Games of claim 1 wherein the playing portion and the sidewalls of the game board are formed of a limp material.

6. Games of claim 5 wherein said receptacles are cups held in place by the coaction of: a. radially extending lips or flanges on said cups which rest on top of said playing portion; and b. elastic bands encircling said cups immediately below and in contact with the bottom of said playing portion.

7. Games of claim 6 wherein the game ball has a weight/volume ratio of less than 5 pounds/cubic foot, a pore size that exceeds 5 mm in diameter and radius which is less than half the height of the sidewalls.

8. Game boards which comprise: an unsupported flexible playing portion being essentially incapable of self-support and having edges; flexible sidewalls attached to the edges of said playing portion and normally in an unerected position relative to said playing portion, said sidewalls being capable of erection to an upturned position when the sidewalls or playing portion are stretched; and one or more cap lined holes in the playing portion, said cups being held in place by the coaction of radially extending lips or flanges on said cups which rest on top of said playing portion; and elastic bands encircling said cups immediately below and in contact with the bottom of said playing portion.

9. Game boards of claim 8 wherein the bottom of one or more of said cups is provided with a circular opening or hole.