Patent Application
20050248086
The present invention relates to a game apparatus and especially to a combination game apparatus in which players try to guess a preset combination of digits.
In the past, a wide variety of games including guessing games have been provided and these include many types of apparatus for playing games. Typically board games have spinning wheels or dice and the like and typically use cards and have various rules for playing the games. There are also many electronic type games which use computer circuitry including microprocessors and stored memory to play a game on a CRT using joysticks or controls. These type of games are typically used in arcades and may include coin boxes and the like.
The present game relates to a combination game in which each player guesses the digits of a combination and, if all of the digits selected form the proper combination, either a door is opened or some other indication is given indicating the correct combination. Other prior art U.S. patents showing guessing games or games using ball and tracks can be seen in the Peter et al. U.S. Pat. No. 2,245,156 for a game of skill which uses automatic delivery of coins through a passageway and enables the player to affect mechanical settings of the device to various modes of playing a game of roulette or the like. The Dieball U.S. Pat. No. 3,982,764 is an electrical game apparatus of chance which includes a housing and display board using a plurality of display lights arranged to provide random symbols or numerals or letters and which game includes a rotatable mixer switch for varying the operation of the display lights with respect to the corresponding 4 switches. The Promin U.S. Pat. No. 3,610,628 is for a game apparatus having a plurality of number ring assemblies mounted vertically and rotatably on a shaft and each number ring assembly has a hole therethrough so that the assemblies can be rotated to any predetermined position which determines whether the base is allowed to drop through one number ring assembly and out through a base to indicate a winner. The Pitkanen et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,825,265 shows an amusement machine which has a vertically disposed playing surface such that perforated tokens or slugs are propelled upwards so as to descend into a plurality of slots or reservoirs. The Parks et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,531,114 shows an electric matching game apparatus using a series of electrical switches such that if correct selections are made, an electrical circuit is completed for dispensing tokens. The Kanno et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,458,899 is a game capable of collecting and then randomly dispensing objects. The Bohan U.S. Pat. No. 4,542,688 is a container disposal apparatus which raises containers to an elevated position from which they can traverse a downwardly inclined chute where a rotatable interpreter plate, positioned in the chute's path, allows the containers to traverse the interrupter plate to trigger a prize dispensing mechanism.
My prior U.S. Pat. No. 5,221,093 of Jun. 22, 1993 for a Game Apparatus utilizes a ball running through a selected path formed by the rotation of a plurality of chutes for the ball. The ball cannot pass down the chute to the next selected combination unless the first correct chute has been selected. The ball travels down a series of ball chutes, each one of which can be selected from one of a plurality of chutes and a wrong selection returns the ball without completing the full combination circuit and requires the player to start over. The game has means for changing the code each time a game is played such that the players cannot view or determine what the new combination is and then the game can be played by rotating dials which determine whether balls will traverse the ball tracks and chutes through the combination setting members to complete a circuit to give an indication of a successful setting of the combination.
The present invention is an improvement over my prior U.S. patent and has means for changing the code each time a game is played by the rotation of several concentric wheels which align openings in each wheel to form pathways for a token or game member to traverse and which either completes the correct path to activate a latching mechanism to allow the opening of a door or, alternatively, is shunted from the incorrect path without unlatching the door.
A game apparatus has a game element and a housing having a game element input and output. A combination setting system for changing the combination of the game includes a plurality of concentric code wheels in which each code wheel has a plurality of openings therein sized for a game element to pass therethrough and a plurality of concentric indicia wheels. Each of the concentric indicia wheels may be removable attached to one code wheel in a plurality of positions aligning a plurality of code wheel openings between adjacent concentric wheels to form a plurality of selectable combination paths through said plurality of code wheels. The attached concentric code and indicia wheels are separately rotatably mounted in the housing. A plurality of the code wheel openings each has a diverter member therein for diverting a game element passing therethrough from the path between code wheel openings when a diverter member is positioned in any one of the concentric code wheel openings of a selected combination path. The attaching of each concentric code wheel with each concentric indicia wheel forms a combination pathway for the game element to pass through so that rotation of each of the attached indicia and code wheels is used to align the openings in the code wheels for guessing the code having the correct path for the game element to pass through. Each indicia wheel has a series of numerals thereon rotatable to different positions. Each indicia wheel has a plurality of openings therein and has an indicia element, such as a ball, removably positioned in the openings so that the indicia element is outputted from each of the selected openings upon attaching a code wheel to an indicia wheel. The housing has a latching hinged door which unlatches when the game element passes through the correct combination pathway. The door latch is attached to the housing and unlatches the hinge door when the game element falls on one end of a latching lever upon passing through the correct combination pathway. The one diverter member in the innermost concentric code wheel opening is mounted in a separate direction to the other diverter members in the concentric code wheel openings for directing the game element against the latching lever to actuate the door latch. Thus, each diverter member facing in one of two directions and each code wheel opening may or may not have a diverter member. A plurality of concentric code wheels and attached indicia wheels rotate around a center tube mounted to the housing and having the door latch mounted therein. The concentric code wheels and each concentric indicia wheel are each attached together by a plurality of pegs on one wheel pushing into openings in the other wheel while simultaneously driving a plurality of indicia elements from each indicia wheel.
The game is played by presetting each code wheel in one of its plurality of positions relative to its associated indicia wheel and connecting the wheels to form a plurality of pathways through each set of code wheels which simultaneously pushes out indicia elements from the indicia wheels. The attached code wheel and indicia wheels are then rotated to any of the indicated numerals on the indicia wheels to set up a combination which align three of the code wheel openings with an opening in the housing so that a game element or token can be dropped therein to follow through the pathway created by the code wheel openings. If the correct combination is selected, the game element falls upon the latching mechanism to unlatch the door. If the incorrect combination is selected, the game element is directed by one of the diverter elements in one of the openings in the code wheel to the inside and back of the center tube leaving the latch to the door in the locked position and then is directed through a slot in the tube to the bottom of the housing when the opening handle of the hinged door is turned.
Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the written description and the drawings in which:
Referring to the drawings and especially to
As seen in
As seen in
The code wheels 34 and 35 have one opening 40 that does not have a diverter element 41 therein so as to allow a game element or ball to fall through two openings 40 in the wheels 34 and 35 when they are aligned together. A third code wheel 36 has one opening 40 with a diverter element 42 facing in the opposite direction, as illustrated in
In
In
The exploded view in
Simultaneously, the pegs 38 will drive the indicia elements or clues from the openings 32 when they are pushed into the openings 32 except for the opening not having a diverter element in 34 and 35 which has no respective peg 38 and thereby leaves the element within the opening 32 in the indicia wheel. Similarly, the opening 40 in the indicia wheel 36 having the diverter element 42 facing the opposite direction has no equivalent peg 38. The combination requires the aligning of the openings 40 with no diverter element in wheels 34 and 35 with the diverter 42 in the opening 40 in wheel 36 which faces in the opposite direction to form a correct pathway and combination for opening the latch 47 and allowing the opening of the door 12.
It should be clear at this time that a combination game which allows players to preset the combination of three concentrically mounted wheels by the connection of a code wheel to an indica wheel has been taught and which is provided with indicia elements or clues. However, the game should not be considered as limited to the elements as shown which are to be considered illustrative rather than restrictive.
