US1599188A - Amusement device - Google Patents

Description

sept. 7 1926. 1,599,183

J. A. sEE'DE y AMUSEMENT- DEVICE AFiled yarchzl, 1920 c 28 ze 27 'ubyw'mjcy Patente-d Sept. 7, 1926.

JOHN A. snnnn, or Nrsnauna, NEW YoRK.

lan'Usrlirnri" DEVICE.

Y appuea'tion med March 31, 1.9201. serial naawe'z.

The present invention comprises a Ynew game or amusement device. Itis the object of my invention to provide a recreation device Which will permit two or more players to enter into direct contest with eachother Ain a game wherein the' difficulties vvill deend partly'l on the yplayer and Vpartly on lis opponent, thereby re uiring a moderate degree of physical eor and yencouraging the aquisitionof' skill', quickness andV judgment.

In a device embodying my invention, a ball, or othermovable object, is served by a player against an obstacle from Whichv it rebounds and piassesbyv an indirect path to the playing space of'an opposingplayer, who Will endeavor to return the ball While in motion to the' playing space of the serving player. In its preferred embodiment my new game device is constituted by a frame provided With deflectors extending at an angletothe general direction of play and also individual projectors for each player., ln' some cases my new game maybe arranged by constituting the floor of a room as the plane surface upon which the game is played. Vln'this case, the projector for the ball may be provid-edwitli a handle for greater ease or comfort of players or may resemble' a croquet mallet. The novel features of my invention Will be pointed' oult Withy greater particularity in the appended claims.

e In the accompanying drawing, Figfl is a plan View of' a .device embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a' vertical section; Fig. 3 is a plan vieu7 oif a` modification; Fig. i is a vertical longitudinal section of a; springoperated propelling device suitable for use with my invention the mechanism` being in art broken away; Fig. 5 showsa horizontal section of this device taken on line 5-5 of V Fig. er; Fig. 6'v and Fig. 7 illustrate propelling devices operated by the muscular force of the player. l j The device shown in Fig. 1 comprises 'an oblong rectangular frameY comprising a base `or floor "1,7 vertical side Walls" 2, andan end Wall y3. This frame rests on suitable supports or standards 4. A vertical partition 5 extends longitudinally from one end of theI frame to apoint short of the opposite end of the fra-ane, thereby providing rplayA ing spaces 6,17, en its opposite sdea op posing' players,l 'connected by a passage l8,. The Width ofthis Vpassage preferably should bee ual to A1A; to 1/4P the total Width of floor Parel-sr orifice. y

1f.- n either side ofthis passage are located f abutments or deflectors 9, 10 extending at a suitable angle so that a ball or otherpro )e'cltile striking one of these abutments may becaused to rebound, and if"properly aimed will be defiected through the passage 8. The end" Wall 3 and deiiectors 95, 1%0 preferably consist of hard resilient material, such'as hard Wood, hard rubber, bakelite, or the like. The ball may or may not pass through the passage 8, Vdepend-ing on the skill of the player, the geometricv relation ofk the defiectors and partition vva-ll determining the degree of skill required. For example', the ball may strike 'the end Wall 3, thence rebound to the side W'all' of' tlie opposite playing space. The" ball strike the end Wall 3 and return directly to the player'serv'- ing theball. The ball may strike the` deflectorv 91,' rebound to the partition' 5', and return to the court vof the serre-r; It may even strike the deflector, 9, rebound' t; the deflector l0, and again-rebound into the playing space 6. The di'llieulty of getting the ball into the opposite playing space may be increased by constituting or covering" the side Walls 2 Wholly or in part with sui-table yielding material suchas'cl-oth, tol penalize the playerA striking these sidewalls instead Y of the' deflectors' 9, 10, the end Wall 2 and partition 5. The angle WhichA the` deflectors 9, l0 make to the' end Wall 3 may be varied in any s Aitable Way. For ,eirampld diiferent triangular inserts may be used to' make the task of shooting' a ball through the opening 8 more or less diflicult. In general,- it

will be easier to cause the ball to rebound4 into theoppsite Vplay-ing`4 space? by makin-g the angle tijd abouty i5 degrees. y' Greater or lesser-,angles than 45 degrees vWill increase the 'diiiiculty active players ang-le of'v about" 66)y degrees is to be preferred.'

balll 1-1 consisting olf'suitable resilient 'finaterifal may be .projected lor served, 'say from court A constitutinga suitable part of the :playing space 6' byy a simple cue, as shownf in'Fig.; 6, by" a mallet, as shownin Fig. 7 or by a mechanical projector, as shown in Figs'.

rected it vvillfrrebound either from 'the de- :liector 9"@'1 the end Wall 3, preferably the 41 and 5. V. If properly diL projectile will not only be successfully received but will bel successfully shot back into the vplaying space of the opponent. Should the receiving player fail to return the ball to the playing space of the propelling player the ball may spend its energy by striking the yielding back stop and drop into the pocket 16 at the serving end of the frame. In some cases, by successive ricocheting the ball may come to a standstill without reaching this pocket, even though it is not returned, but this isv avoided as far as possible in design. The ball may now be served again, this time from court B against the deflector 9 or the end wall 3, preferably the former, thus distributing the service and making the contest more varied. l/Vhen a set is completed theY initiative may pass to the opposing player. The score may be counted in various ways, and rules may be substituted by agreement of the players.

The spring-actuated projector shown in Fig. 4 comprises a. housing 17 having a hinged cover or lid 18 and containing a reciprocating plunger 19. The plunger 19 is movable longitudinally and when moved against the rea-r wall 20 will compress a spring' 21. The spring has not been illustrated in Fig. 4 for the sake of clearness. The cover 18 is movably connected on each side of the housing by pins 22, to levers 23, 23. As shown in Fig. 4, the lever 23 is provided with a slot 24 in which slides pin 25, the lever 23 having the same construction. This pin 25 is fastened to the side wall of the housing. The levers 23, 23 in turn are connected by levers 26, 26 on each side of the device to a collar 27 sliding on the plunger 19. Between this collar 27 and the spring 21 is a second collar 28 rigidly connected to the plunger 19. The vertical axis of a section of the plunger l is preferably longer than the horizontal axis, and being otherwise shaped to prevent the plunger from lifting the ball or driving it against the table so as to prevent it going over the side walls.

TvVhen a player desires to set the projector he grasps the base of the projector with one hand and grasping the handle 29 afiixed to the cover with the other hand, raises the lid. This causes the plunger to be pulled backward., compressing the spring 21, the alignment of the plunger being maintained by a rod 30 sliding within the hollow plunger 19. When the collar 28 passes under the trigger lever 31 the plunger is prevented from returning. The projector is now set. A push button 32 working against a spring 33 is provided to enable the player to release the plunger 19 while the projector is stationary so as to aim it to serve or return the ball. A horn 34 on the front end of the projector is provided to prevent the player from moving the projector beyond the foul stop 14, thus preventing a player in his eagerness to strike the ball beyond the allotted space.

As shown inf, Fig. 3, the device may be modified within the spirit of my invention by placing the opposing players at opposite ends of a frame in the center of which is located a deflector containing angular passages through which the vball may be sent by an indirect path by one player to the opposing player who will endeavor to return the same with his own projector. The arrangement shown in Fig. 3 comprises a centrally located deiiector 35 cooperating with laterally located dellectors 36, 37, and separated therefrom by passageways 38, 39.

The ball must be shot in such a way against the delector 35 that it will by successive rebounds reach the .court of the opposing player.

rlhe game is ofrdeceptive simplicity. A slight difference in the angle of incidence and point of impingement of the ball together with a secondary rotation of the ball. about a vertical axis as might be imparted by a player of superior skill', will completely change the course of the ball. In one case it will reach the opponents court successfully, but the neXt shot although apparently made in the same way and causingthe ball to apparently hit the target at the same spot will cause the ball to return to the player. As the ball always remains substantially in the same plane even though moving about with considerable speed, the game is suited for playing in a room without damaging fragile articles in the room.

lV hat I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

1. A game comprising a frame, one or more partitions whereby said frame is separated into playing spaces which are connected by a passage so placed that an obj ect cannot be readily projected therethrough from the end of one playing space to the corresponding end of another playing space without deflection, means capable of releasing energy while held in a fixed position whereby a movable object projected by one player from a playing space may be propelled and pass by deflection into the playing space of an opposing player and means for deflectying said object through said passage by an indirect path into the playing space of an Opposing player,- Where. the; ernment my receive said object and cause thesainevto. return into the playing spaceY of the first player. I

` '2. A gaine comprising a platform having ak plane surface, an oblong frame enclosing the same, a partitionin large part dividing said frame to provide playing spaces on said platform for opposing players, leaving a restricted passage connecting said spaces, and extending at an angle to said playing spaces, and trigger actuated, energy storing means for each of said playing spaces whereby an object may be served by a player upon said plane surface against a portion of said frame and thereby projected in an indirect path in a horizontal plane through said passage into the playing space of an opposing player, said means being also adapted to return said object when received by said opposing player. j

3. A game comprising a frame having playing spaces for opposing players, a longitudinal partition extending past the centre of said frame and leaving constricted passage through which' an object may pass from one space to the other by an indirect-path, a defiector adjacent said passage so as to enable an object projected against said deflector in a horizontal plane by one player to be deflected into the playing space ofv an opposing player, and individual mechanical propelling means which are capable of releasing energy while held in a fixed position, said means being freely movable in a playing space and being adaptedto drive said object against said delector at any desired angle.

4. A game comprising the combination .of a frame, upright partition thereon extending past the centre of said frame and separating said frame into playing spaces connected by a passage out of direct line between said players, a ball of resilient material, spring-actuated propelling means for each playing space movable in a horizontal plane for projecting said ball and deiiectors positioned with respect to said playing spaces to enable a ball striking a deiiector from one playing space to rebound into another playing space and also affording other angular deflections whereby said ball will be returned to the first named playing space.

5. A game comprising a frame having a substantially plane horizontal surface, a lo'ngitudinal partition extending past the centre of said frame and separating said frame into playing spaces located side by side but leaving at one extremity a constricted opening between said spaces', energy-storing rpropelling devices for said playing spaces for pro- Y jecting a movable object and means for deflecting said object through an indirect path from one playing space to another.

6. A game comprising a platform, a longitudinal partition extending part waybetween Vthe extremities of'. said platform and' separating playing, spaces for opposing players, a projectile, a vertical abutmentpositioned opposite said playing spaces andf located'at an angle to said partition whereby vsaid projectile shot bygone player vfrom 'a playing space on one side of said partition may bel deiected by an indirect path into a playing space on the opposite side of said partition to be received by an opposing player, but affording also numerous angular deiiections causing said projectile to return to the iirst player and a bar dividing each of said playing spaces without vinterfering with the motion of said projectile.

7. A game device comprising means providing a plane surface, a vertical frame enclosing saidsurface, a vertical partition dividing said surface longitudinally except for an opening, vertical deflectors opposite said playing spaces positioned at an angle to said partition, a freely movable projector for each of said playing spaces whereby an object-,may be caused to iinpinge by a player upon said .deflector and thereby directed to an opposing player, if properly aimed, and a barrier for preventing said Vprojector from being moved outside of a v sto-p.

9. A game device comprising the combination of means providing a frame having individual playing spaces located side by side, a vertical partition separating said spaces except for an opening at one end of said frame, trigger-actuated propelling means for each player adapted to drive an object lfrom his own playing spaces to his opponents playing space, a deflector adjacent the opening between said playing spaces spaced to permit an object striking said deiiector from one playing space toy rebound into the neighboring playing space through the opening insaid partition, and aback stop of yielding material for said playing spaces. f

l0. A game comprising a playing surface, a longitudinal partition extending part'way from one extremity of said surface to a point spaced away fromthe opposite extremity whereby playing spaces are dened con# nected by a passage, vertical deflectors positioned at an angle to said partition adjanent said passage, a projector for each of saidrplaying spaces adapted to be moved on said playing surface, a foul stop comprising a bar spaced away from said' playing surface so as to permit the passage of a projectile but intercepting said projectors, a yielding backstop for said playing spaces, and a pocket for receiving a projectile 10 striking said backstop.

In Witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 30th day of March 1920.

JOHN A. SEEDE.

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