Patent Application
20060232014
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Portions of the disclosure of this patent document contain material that is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.
The present invention relates generally to a game apparatus, and more particularly to a balloon bursting game apparatus.
Many games that involve bursting balloons are known in the art. A variety of apparatuses, methods and playing procedures have been adopted for these games. Typically, the game apparatuses of such games include a balloon and some type of balloon-piercing structure. In general, the primary object of these games is to either prevent the balloon from bursting, or to be the first player to burst the balloon.
Several balloon-bursting games have been developed in art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,201,387 to Revermann discloses a balloon buster game. The game device includes a game board on which playing pieces travel along a path from a start to a goal. The game device also includes a screw operated balloon press for bursting a balloon, which determines the distance to be traveled by a game piece on the board.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,169,593 to Wood discloses a balloon bursting game, which comprises a box divided into multiple chambers by means of partitions. An inflated balloon is placed in a chamber having a top with a hole. An elastic partition is supported above the chamber having a plurality of needles fixed to it such that the needles extend perpendicularly into the hole. A partition with a plurality of mutually spaced holes is positioned on top of the elastic partition. A plurality of marbles are dropped by the players through the holes. When sufficient number of marbles rest on the elastic partition, it is stretched downward to force the needles through the hole in top of the chamber, thereby piercing the balloon.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,713,656 to Cooper discloses a balloon game system, which comprises an opaque box with an open bottom. The top surface of the box provides a playing surface, which includes a plurality of mutually spaced pre-cut nail-receiving perforations. The game system further comprises a plurality of needles, a hammer for driving the needles into the top surface of the box through the pre-cut nail-receiving perforations, a plurality of inflated balloons that are placed inside the box and a chance device to determine the number of nails. Each player must attempt to drive these nails into the pre-cut nail-receiving perforations without bursting the balloons.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,113,261 to Sims discloses a game that includes a gameboard, on which tokens are moved through a number of obstacles in accordance with the number cast on the dice. The game also comprises a three dimensional fish having jaws, a tail and a dorsal fin. By rotating the dorsal fin, which in turn is coupled to a threaded actuator assembly, the upper jaw of the fish is moved upwards or downwards depending on the direction of rotation of the dorsal fin. An inflated balloon is placed inside the mouth of the fish. While playing the game, players are required to rotate the dorsal fin when their tokens land on particular game board spaces. A player is penalized when the balloon bursts as a result of its contact with the upper jaw of the fish.
Although the above games involve bursting of the balloons, the game apparatuses are substantially different from the present invention in that they fail to incorporate a manually actuated pumping device feature into the game. Moreover, the present invention aims at providing a balloon bursting game, wherein game play is a vigorous activity for the players.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new balloon bursting game.
A further object is to provide a balloon bursting game, which utilizes an air pump to inflate a balloon.
A further object is to provide a balloon bursting game, which includes a balloon piercing frame-like member to burst the balloon when inflated by the air pump.
Finally, it is an object of the present invention to provide a balloon bursting game, which is suited for testing the competitiveness, speed and strength of the players, serving amusement as well as competitive purposes. These and other objects of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the appended Summary, Description, and Claims.
The present invention is a balloon bursting game. The game apparatus mainly includes an air pump, a balloon, a tube connecting the air pump and the balloon, a balloon stand and a frame-like member with a plurality of sharpened members. The air pump is enclosed in a housing. The game apparatus also includes a stand-like member on which the frame-like member and the balloon are disposed. The frame-like member is located such that the outer surface of a sufficiently inflated balloon will press against the plurality of sharpened members.
In order to play the game, the air pump is operated to gradually inflate the balloon. The balloon finally bursts when it presses with sufficient force against the sharpened members. The object of the game is to be the fastest to inflate and burst the balloon.
Referring to the drawings, the preferred embodiment of a balloon bursting game apparatus is illustrated in
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All features disclosed in this specification, including any accompanying claims, abstract, and drawings, may be replaced by alternative features serving the same, equivalent or similar purpose, unless expressly stated otherwise. Thus, unless expressly stated otherwise, each feature disclosed is one example only of a generic series of equivalent or similar features.
Any element in a claim that does not explicitly state “means for” performing a specified function, or “step for” performing a specific function, is not to be interpreted as a “means” or “step” clause as specified in 35 U.S.C. §112, paragraph 6. In particular, the use of “step of” in the claims herein is not intended to invoke the provisions of 35 U.S.C. § 112, paragraph 6.
Although preferred embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, various modifications and substitutions may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, it is to be understood that the present invention has been described by way of illustration and not limitation.
This is a utility patent application which claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/672,369, filed Apr. 18, 2005, which is hereby incorporated by reference as if set forth in full herein.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60672369 | Apr 2005 | US |
