Patent Application
20110177749
The invention relates to a game device that safely emulates a game of Russian Roulette using balloons and the method thereof. In particular, a game device that resembles a revolver that contains a protected pin instead of a bullet for puncturing a balloon in a game of Russian Roulette.
Russian Roulette is a lethal game of chance involving the use of a revolver. A single bullet is placed in the revolver, and each participant of the game takes turn to place the muzzle against his/her head and pulls the trigger. There are different methods of playing Russian Roulette. One method is that each participant gets to spin the cylinder that contains the one bullet before pulling the trigger, such that each player has an equal chance of discharging the bullet. Another method is that the cylinder does not get reset after each participant, and the chance of discharging the bullet increases with each subsequent participant.
Due to the lethal nature of Russian Roulette, it is not a popular game. An entertaining variation of the Russian Roulette using balloons was previously marketed. This prior art variation includes a device that resembles a revolver, but without the barrel. The muzzle of this device is adjacent the cylinder. Instead of using a bullet, a spring loaded pin is located in one of the chamber of the cylinder. A rigid plastic ring having a tab is removably and frictionally held on top of the device adjacent the muzzle, with the plane of the plastic ring in a horizontal position. A balloon is blown in the center of the plastic ring such that when the balloon exceeds the diameter of the ring, it is snuggly fitted and held by the ring. When the hammer hits the chamber containing the pin, the pin extends beyond the chamber to puncture the balloon held by the ring in front of the muzzle. A player can place the balloon adjacent his/her head or ear to make the game more exciting. This prior art variation has a number of disadvantages. First, with the pin located within the cylinder, a player can easily spot the chamber containing the pin (taking the fun out of the game). Second, after the pin punctures the balloon, the pin remains extending until the hammer is cocked to rotate the cylinder. The extended pin can easily injure a player. Finally, the plastic ring is easily disengaged from the top of the device, disrupting the momentum of the game.
Therefore, there is a need for an improved game device that safely emulates the game of Russian Roulette by providing a device that resembles a revolver and having a protected pin and a rotatably mounted ring that does not dislodge easily.
The present invention provides a game device for safely playing a game of Russian Roulette with balloons instead of bullets.
The game device of the present invention resembles a revolver, but without a barrel, and with the muzzle adjacent the cylinder. An expandable ring is rotatably mounted adjacent the muzzle of device allows exposure of the pin only when a fully blown balloon is positioned therein to be punctured.
The game device of the present invention comprises a main body that resembles a revolver without a barrel and an expandable ring mounted on the main body. The main body comprises a handle, a rotatably mounted cylinder, and a firing mechanism that are similar to and operate the same way as those components of a revolver. Instead of placing bullets in the chambers of the cylinder, a spring loaded piston is positioned in one of the chambers of the cylinder. A spring loaded pin is positioned outside and adjacent the cylinder and cooperates with the spring loaded piston. The expandable ring is rotatably attached to and positioned adjacent the muzzle of the main body for receiving a balloon to be blown therebetween. The expandable ring has at least one pin protection member that is positioned adjacent the muzzle to conceal the pin if no balloon is positioned between the ring. When a balloon is blown and positioned between the ring, the ring expands and the pin protection member is displaced from its original position concealing the pin to allowing the exposure of the pin.
Preferred embodiments of the present invention have been chosen for purposes of illustration and description and are shown in the accompanying drawings forming a part of the specification wherein:
With reference to the drawings, wherein the same reference number indicates the same element throughout, there is shown in
As shown in
The handle 201 allows a user to comfortably grip the game device 10. The handle 201 can be optionally and removably mounted on a corresponding configured support base 207 to allow the game device 10 to be in an upright position for use, play or display. As shown in
The cylinder 203 has a plurality of cylindrical chambers 209 evenly distributed around the central axis of the cylinder 203. There can be any number of cylindrical chambers 209, such as five, six, seven, or more cylindrical chambers 209. The cylinder 203 is axially rotatable around its central axis about the main body 20.
The firing mechanism 205 comprises a hammer 211, a trigger 213, a pawl 215, a ratchet wheel 217, first spring 219 and second spring 221. The ratchet wheel 217 has a disk shape body 225 with a plurality of openings 227 that correspond to the cylindrical chambers 209 of cylinder 203, a pair of arms 218 extending from the inner planar surface and a plurality of teeth 223 on its outer planar surface. Each tooth 223 has a sloped side and a straight side. The ratchet wheel 217 is mounted onto one end of the cylinder 203 with the openings 227 in alignment with the chambers 209.
As shown in
As shown in
The spring loaded piston 229 includes a striking element 233 pivotably connected to a piston element 235 with a spring 237 via a tubular opening 234 and a corresponding cylinder extension 236. A coil spring 239 overlays the cylindrical portion of the piston element 235 to keep the piston element 235 within the chamber 209 and to allow the piston element 235 to exit the chamber 209 in response to a force applied to it via the hammer 211 by compressing the spring 239. The traverse bar 238 slides along a pair of axially aligned and opposing grooves 210 (not shown) in the chamber 209 of cylinder 203. The spring loaded piston 229 is prevented from sliding out of the chamber 209 when arms 218 of the ratchet wheel come into contact with the traverse bar 238 of the piston element 235. The spring loaded pin 231 includes a pin housing 239 encircling a pin element 241 and a spring 243.
As shown in
With the expandable ring 30 attached to the main body 20 as discussed above, in the at rest position (contracted position), the perimeter of the expandable ring 30 is formed with the frame member 251, with no space at the break 257, and the'frame expander member 253 overlapping the frame member 251 (see
To safely play a game of Russian Roulette with the game device 10 of the present invention, a balloon is positioned between the expandable ring 30. The balloon is blown until it is large enough to cause the expandable ring 30 to expand to displace the pin protection member 266 to expose the pinhole opening 246. The hammer 211 is cocked, raising the pawl 215 to rotate the ratchet wheel 217 (and thereby the cylinder 203) to the next chamber 209, and readying the trigger 213. Assuming the chamber 209 that is in alignment contains the spring loaded piston 229, when the trigger 213 is pulled, the hammer 211 is released, causing it to strike the striking element 233 of the spring loaded piston 229 in a forward and downward direction. The striking element 233 is pushed forward, which in turn pushes the piston element 235 forward, which in turn pushes the pin element 241 forward through the pinhole opening 246 to puncture the balloon present in the expandable ring 30. With a burst balloon, the expandable ring automatically returns to its at rest (i.e. contracted) position such that the pin protection member 266 cover the pinhole opening 246 again to prevent the unnecessary exposure of the pin element 241.
Immediately after the hammer 211 pushes the striking element 233 forward, the striking element 233 pivots with respect to the piston element 235 to provide clearance to the downward moving hammer 211 to rest as shown in
The features of the invention illustrated and described herein are the preferred embodiments. Therefore, it is understood that the appended claims are intended to cover the variations disclosed and unforeseeable embodiments with insubstantial differences that are within the spirit of the claims.
