Game playing member supporting device for a hockey game table

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6623005
  • Patent Number
    6,623,005
  • Date Filed
    Friday, June 21, 2002
    22 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, September 23, 2003
    20 years ago
  • Inventors
  • Examiners
    • Chiu; Raleigh W.
    Agents
    • Troxell Law Office PLLC
Abstract
Game playing member supporting device of hockey game table, including a main body; a transmission mechanism including: a rod section horizontally rotatably fitted through the main body, when pulling the rod section, the main body is driven and displaced; a shaft member upright rotatably fitted through the top face of the main body, top end of the shaft member being connected with a game playing member; when rotating the rod section, via a transmission unit, the shaft member being driven and rotated; and a predetermined number of upper and lower rollers rotatably disposed at front end and/or rear end of the main body. The upper and lower rollers are opposite to each other spaced from each other by a certain distance. The upper and lower rollers are resiliently forced toward each other to provide a resilient clamping force. Accordingly, the supporting device can resiliently clamp a inner board in the table and stably move within the table.
Description




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




The present invention is related to a game device, and more particularly to a game playing member supporting device of hockey game table, which can be more stably moved within the table.





FIG. 1

shows a conventional hockey game table


10


. Multiple game playing members


12


and slot rails


14


are disposed on the table face


11


. A player can operate the operation bars


15


disposed on the table


10


to rotate and drive the game playing members


12


to move along the rails


14


so as to simulate a hockey.




Multiple transmission mechanisms


16


are disposed in the table


10


as shown in FIG.


2


. Each transmission mechanism


16


has a linking member


18


(which can be a spring or a soft flexible member). The inner end of each operation bar


15


is connected with one end of the linking member


18


. The bottom end of the game playing member


12


through the rail


14


is connected with the other end of the linking member


18


. When rotating the operation bar


15


, the game playing member


12


is driven and rotated via the linking member


18


. When pushing or pulling the operation, bar, the game playing member is driven to move along the rail


14


. Accordingly, the game playing members is operable to drive a hockey platelet


19


.




In the above conventional structure as shown in

FIG. 2

, the game playing member


12


and transmission mechanism


16


are not well located. As a result, when moving and rotating the game playing member, the game playing member and the transmission mechanism tend to deflect and swing. Therefore, the game playing member can be hardly stably moved and operated. Moreover, the game playing member and transmission mechanism are easy to collide the table face


11


to produce noise.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide a game playing member supporting device of hockey game table. The supporting device can be more stably moved within the table to stably drive the game playing member.




It is a further object of the present invention to provide the above game playing member supporting device of hockey game table, which can be stably operated to reduce noise in operation.











The present invention can be best understood through the following description and accompanying drawings wherein:




BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS





FIG. 1

is a perspective view of a conventional hockey game table;





FIG. 2

is a partially sectional view of the conventional hockey game table;





FIG. 3

is a perspective assembled view of a first embodiment of the present invention;





FIG. 4

is a perspective exploded view of the first embodiment of the present invention;





FIG. 5

is a partially sectional view showing that the present invention is mounted in the hockey game table;





FIG. 6

is a sectional view taken along line


6





6


of

FIG. 5

; and





FIG. 7

is a partially sectional view of a second embodiment of the present invention.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS




Please refer to

FIGS. 3 and 4

. According to a first embodiment, the game playing member supporting device


20


of the present invention includes:




A main body


30


having a hollow frame body


31


. A stem section


33


upward extends from top face of the frame body


31


. A top seat section


32


is disposed at top end of the stem section and spaced from the frame body by a certain distance. A shaft hole


34


is transversely formed through front and rear end faces of the frame body


31


. A through hole


35


is upright formed through the top seat section


32


, the stem section


33


and the frame body


31


. Four tubular holder sections


36


are respectively upright fixed on two sides of the front and rear ends of the frame body


31


.




Four support pins


40


, the bottom ends of the four support pins


40


are respectively up and down slidably fitted in the four holder sections


36


as shown in FIG.


6


. The top end of each support pin


40


is provided with a pivot section


42


. The bottom end of the support pin extends out of the bottom end of the holder section and retained by a C-shaped retainer ring


44


which prevents the support pin from upward detaching from the holder section


36


.




Four resilient members such as springs


45


are respectively accommodated in the four holder sections


36


and fitted around the support pins


40


as shown in FIG.


6


. The top end of each spring


45


abuts against a shoulder section


43


of the support pin. The bottom end thereof abuts against an inner flange


361


of bottom end of each holder section. The spring provides a resilient force for the support pin, whereby when the support pin does not suffer external force, the support pin is kept sliding upward. When the C-shaped retainer ring


44


abuts against the bottom end of the holder section


36


, the support pin is positioned at an upper dead end.




A transmission mechanism


50


including a rod section


52


, a shaft member


54


and a transmission unit


55


.




The rod section


52


can be an inner end of an operation bar of the hockey game table. In this embodiment, the rod section


52


is a separate member connected with the operation bar. The rod section


52


is rotatably fitted through the shaft hole


34


of the main body


30


. A C-shaped retainer ring


53


is fixed at rear end of the rod section


52


to locate the same. The rear end and rod body of the rod section respectively abut against the front and rear end faces of the main body, whereby the main body can be driven and moved.




The shaft member


54


is rotatably fitted through the through hole


35


.




The transmission unit


55


is disposed between the rod section


52


and the shaft member


54


, whereby the rod section


52


and the shaft member


54


can be synchronously rotated. The transmission unit


55


can be a flexible member such as a spring. Alternatively, in this embodiment, the transmission unit


55


includes two bevel gears


56


,


58


which are respectively integrally formed with the rod section


52


and the shaft member


54


or are separate members. In this embodiment, the first gear


56


is a separate member fitted around the rod section


52


and positioned in the main body


30


. The inner circumference of the gear


56


around the inner hole


561


thereof is formed with two channels


562


. The rod section


52


is formed with two ribs


521


engaged in the channels


562


, whereby the gear


56


is synchronously rotatable along with the rod section. The second gear


58


is fixedly disposed at bottom end of the shaft member


54


and positioned in the main body


30


. The second gear


58


meshes with the first gear


56


.




Two upper rollers


60


each having a shaft section


62


. The shaft sections


62


of the upper rollers are respectively inlaid and latched in the clip sections


321


formed at front and rear ends of the top seat section


32


. Therefore, the upper rollers


60


are rotatably disposed on the top seat section and the wheel sections


64


of the upper rollers


60


can be rotated.




Two lower rollers


65


each having a shaft section


66


and several wheel sections


68


disposed on the, shaft section


66


. The shaft sections


66


of the lower rollers


65


are respectively inlaid and latched in the pivot sections


42


of top ends of the support pins


40


. Therefore, the lower rollers


65


are rotatable on the top ends of the support pins. After mounted, the lower rollers


65


and upper rollers


60


are opposite to each other and spaced by a certain distance.




After assembled as shown in

FIG. 3

, the present invention is mounted in the hockey game table


70


as shown in

FIGS. 5 and 6

. Each supporting device


20


is connected with a game playing member


80


.




As shown in

FIGS. 5 and 6

, a partitioning board


75


is additionally disposed under the table face


72


of the hockey game table


70


. The partitioning board is formed with a slot


76


under each rail


74


.




The supporting devices


20


are disposed in the table


70


under the table face


72


. The upper and lower rollers


60


,


65


respectively clamp the top and bottom faces of the partitioning board


75


as shown in

FIGS. 5 and 6

. The stem section


33


is positioned in the slot


76


. The inner ends of the operation bars


78


are respectively fixedly connected with outer ends of the rod sections


52


for operating the support devices as shown in FIG.


5


. An insertion section


82


of bottom end of the game playing member


80


is passed through the rail


74


and inserted in the insertion hole


541


of top end of the shaft member


54


so as to connect the game playing members with the shaft member. The game playing member is positioned on outer side of the table face


72


. It should be noted that the shaft member


54


can be alternatively integrally formed at bottom end of the game playing member.




In use, when pushing or pulling the operation bar


78


, the supporting device


20


is driven and moved along the rail


74


and the slot


76


, whereby the game playing member


80


is driven and displaced. The rollers


60


,


65


roll on the partitioning board


75


in a direction of the displacing direction of the supporting device.




When rotating the operation bar


78


to rotate the rod section


52


, by means of the engagement between the two gears


56


,


58


, the shaft member


54


is driven and rotated. Therefore, the game playing member


80


can be rotated to drive the platelet on the table face


72


.





FIG. 7

shows another embodiment of the present invention, in which the main body


90


, rod section


92


, shaft member


94


and transmission mechanism


95


are identical to those of the first embodiment.




The second embodiment is different from the first one in that the holder sections


100


are disposed at front and rear ends of the top seat section


102


. The four support pins


104


are respectively upward fitted into the holder sections


100


. The resilient members


106


serve to keep the support pins


104


downward moving. The upper rollers


108


are rotatably disposed in the pivot sections


105


of bottom ends of the support pins


104


. The top edges of front and rear end faces of the frame body


91


of the main body


90


are respectively formed with two clip sections


110


. The lower rollers


112


are rotatably disposed in the clip sections


110


. The upper and lower rollers


108


,


112


are also spaced from each other by a certain distance. Accordingly, the rollers


108


,


112


also resiliently clamp the partitioning board. The upper rollers of the second embodiment provide resilient clamping force instead of the lower rollers of the first embodiment.




Alternatively, teaching by the embodiments, both the upper and lower rollers can provide resilient clamping force.




The present invention is advantageous in that the supporting device is stably mounted in the table by the way of resilient clamp. Therefore, the supporting device can be stably moved without swinging or deflecting. Accordingly, the operation is stabilized. Moreover, both the supporting device and the game playing member will not collide the table so that the noise is reduced.




The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the present invention, not intended to limit the scope thereof. Many modifications of the above embodiments can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.



Claims
  • 1. A game playing member for a hockey game table, comprising:a hollow main body, a shaft hole being formed through front and rear end faces of the main body, a through hole being upright formed through a top face of the main body; a transmission unit including: a rod section horizontally rotatably fitted through the shaft hole, whereby when pushing or pulling the rod section, the main body is driven and displaced; a shaft member upright rotatably disposed in the through hole, a top end of the shaft member being connected with a doll; a transmission unit disposed in the main body and connected with the rod section and the shaft member, when rotating the rod section, via the transmission unit, the shaft member is driven and rotated; at least one upper roller rotatably disposed on upper side of front end and/or rear end of the main body and able to roll; and at least one lower roller rotatably disposed at front end and/or rear end of the main body opposite to the upper roller, the upper and lower rollers being spaced from each other by a certain distance, the upper and lower rollers being resiliently forced toward each other to provide a resilient clamping force.
  • 2. A game playing member for a hockey game table as claimed in claim 1, wherein the lower roller has a resilient upward moving force.
  • 3. A game playing member for a hockey game table as claimed in claim 1, wherein the upper roller has a resilient downward moving force.
  • 4. A game playing member for a hockey game table as claimed in claim 1, wherein the lower roller has a resilient upward moving force, while the upper roller has a resilient downward moving force.
  • 5. A game playing member for a hockey game table as claimed in claim 1, wherein the end of the main body at which the lower roller is disposed is provided with at least one upright tubular holder section, the holder section being positioned under the upper roller, at least one support pin being up and down slidably fitted in the holder section without upward detaching out of the holder section, a top end of the support pin being formed with a pivot section, at least one resilient member being disposed between the holder section and the support pin to resiliently keep the support pin upward moving, the lower roller being rotatably disposed in the pivot section.
  • 6. A game playing member for a hockey game table as claimed in claim 5, wherein the support pin is formed with a shoulder section under the pivot section, the bottom end of the holder section being formed with an inner flange with smaller inner diameter, the resilient member being a spring fitted around the support pin, two ends of the spring respectively abutting against the shoulder section and the inner flange.
  • 7. A game playing member for a hockey game table as claimed in claim 5, wherein the portion of the main body on which the upper roller is disposed is formed with a clip section, the upper roller being rotatably disposed in the clip section.
  • 8. A game playing member for a hockey game table as claimed in claim 1, wherein the end of the main body at which the upper roller is disposed is provided with at least one upright tubular holder section, the holder section being positioned above the lower roller, at least one support pin being up and down slidably fitted in the holder section without downward detaching out of the holder section, a bottom end of the support pin being formed with a pivot section, at least one resilient member being disposed between the holder section and the support pin to resiliently keep the support pin downward moving, the upper roller being rotatably disposed in the pivot section.
  • 9. A game playing member for a hockey game table as claimed in claim 8, wherein the support pin is formed with a shoulder section above the pivot section, the top end of the holder section being formed with an inner flange with smaller inner diameter, the resilient member being a spring fitted around the support pin, two ends of the spring respectively abutting against the shoulder section and the inner flange.
  • 10. A game playing member for a hockey game table as claimed in claim 8, wherein the portion of the main body on which the lower roller is disposed is formed with a clip section, the lower roller being rotatably disposed in the clip section.
  • 11. A game playing member for a hockey game table as claimed in claim 1, wherein the main body includes a hollow frame body and a top seat section disposed on upper side of the frame body, the shaft hole being formed through the frame body, the through hole being formed through the top seat section and the frame body, the upper roller being rotatably disposed at front end and/or rear end of the top seat section, the lower roller being rotatably disposed at front end and/or rear end of the frame body.
  • 12. A game playing member for a hockey game table as claimed in claim 11, wherein the end of the frame body at which the lower roller is disposed is provided with at least one upright tubular holder section, at least one support pin being up and down slidably fitted in the holder section, a top end of the support pin being formed with a pivot section, at least one resilient member being disposed between the holder section and the support pin to resiliently keep the support pin upward moving, the lower roller being rotatably disposed in the pivot section.
  • 13. A game playing member for a hockey game table as claimed in claim 11, wherein the end of the top seat section at which the upper roller is disposed is provided with at least one upright tubular holder section, at least one support pin being up and down slidably fitted in the holder section, a bottom end of the support pin being formed with a pivot section, at least one resilient member being disposed between the holder section and the support pin to resiliently keep the support pin downward moving, the upper roller being rotatably disposed in the pivot section.
  • 14. A game playing member for a hockey game table as claimed in claim 11, wherein the bottom face of the top seat section is connected with the top face of the main body via a stem section.
  • 15. A game playing member for a hockey game table as claimed in claim 1, wherein the transmission unit includes a first and a second bevel gears, the first bevel gear being concentrically disposed on the rod section, the second bevel gear being concentrically disposed on the shaft member, the first and second bevel gears meshing with each other.
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Number Name Date Kind
3113776 Romei Dec 1963 A
5046734 Laine Sep 1991 A
5433443 Ples Jul 1995 A
5655767 Francis et al. Aug 1997 A
6189885 Hamot Feb 2001 B1
6450497 Bialler et al. Sep 2002 B1
6478299 Bialler et al. Nov 2002 B2