This invention relates generally to a game apparatus, and more particularly to an improved game having a playing surface that may be tilted by opposing players to direct movement of playing pieces toward a goal area.
Many games have been developed in which a player uses actuators to tilt a playing surface so that a ball or other rolling object moves along a surface and under the influence of gravity to a goal position. One of the most recognizable examples of this is a tilting maze where a player must move a marble through the maze by tilting the maze surface in two orthogonal dimensions.
The problem becomes a little more complicated when the game is intended for head-to-head play by opposing players. One example of such a system is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,607,155 to Campbell in which four handles attached at spaced peripheral edges of the centrally-pivoted table are used by players to physically tilt the table in various directions. A drawback to the Campbell system, however, is that success depends in large part to the comparative strength of the players. That is, enjoyment of the game is severely reduced if the opposing players have mismatched strength.
Other head-to-head tilting games have been developed which raise or lower corners of table. Examples of these include U.S. Pat. No. 3,479,033 to Crisafulli, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,539,188 to Salverda. In Crisafulli, each player can rotate their two cammed handles to engage with the underside of the table surface and thereby raise that portion of the table. In Salverda, each player can push down upon two handles to lower the particular corners of the playing surface biased upward by springs. Drawbacks to these games are that the lifting and lowering of the playing surface may not be smooth and thus cause the playing pieces to bounce; furthermore, certain tilting actuators may be taken out of play, thus reducing enjoyment of the game.
Accordingly, the need arises for a game having improved controls for overcoming the drawbacks of these prior art games.
The invention comprises a slightly bowl-shaped playing surface that angles downward from a peripheral edge of the circular playing surface to a centrally located hole. Weighted balls are ejected on to the playing surface during play. In head-to-head action, the object of the game is to steer one's own weighted balls into the hole, with the person having steered all of their balls in being the winner.
Steering occurs by way of one or more sets of controls, with each set adapted to tilt the playing surface on one axis. Each control set would include a control actuated by a first player and a control actuated by a second player. Input from the controls are coupled in a mechanical or electrical mixer and thence transmitted to the playing surface to effect tilting.
In a preferred embodiment, the controls to effect mixing of the player actuation. signals includes two sets of pulleys located beneath a gimbled playing surface. Four rotatable dials are spaced about the periphery of the game. One pair of opposed dials acts upon the first pulley system and associated gamble pivots to tilt the surface along a first axis. A second pair of opposed dials acts upon a second set of pulleys and gimbals to tilt the playing surface along a second axis, perpendicular to the first. Each of the two sets of pulleys and gimbals acts independently of the other, thus allowing one or more players to tilt the playing field in any direction.
An important feature of the invention is the ability to allow both offensive and defensive tilting. The system of pulleys and gimbals are interconnected so that one player can tilt up while another player is trying to tilt the surface downward—thus resulting in no tilt. Tilting occurs along axes, thus ensuring better balance of the game. Furthermore, turning one dial has no effect on the movement of the other dial, thus ensuring that strength plays no part in the game.
The specific arrangement of pulleys and gimbals is as follows. Each of the dials turns an associated central pulley wrapped by a cord. Secondary pulleys on either side of the central pulley guide the cord to the tilting pulleys located more centrally along the underside of the playing surface. Turning the handle one way causes the cord on one side of the central pulley to lengthen, thus allowing that side of the surface to rise upward. Consequently, the cord on the other side is shortened and therefore pulls the central tilting pulley downward. The tilting pulleys are each spaced equally about a central axis of the playing surface so that the height is maintained.
The invention comprises several general embodiments for implementing the inventive apparatus and method. In a first general embodiment, a head-to-head tilting surface game comprises a playing surface tiltable in two orthogonal directions to effect movement of playing pieces toward a goal area located on the playing surface. A first set of controls are coupled together and configured to tilt the playing surface along a first of the two orthogonal directions. A second set of controls are coupled together and configured to tilt the playing surface along a second of the two orthogonal directions. Players of the game can then actuate one of the first set of controls and one of the second set of controls to effect tilting of the playing surface in competition with an opposing player operating another of the first set of controls and another of the second set of controls.
In a second general embodiment, the head-to-head tilting surface game comprises a playing surface tiltable along two orthogonal axes and configured to support moving playing pieces thereon and having a goal area. Each of a first pair of controls is disposed adjacent opposite peripheral edges of the playing surface along a first of the two orthogonal axes. Each of the first pair of controls is independently actuatable to result in a respective move signal. A first mixer is coupled between the first pair of controls and tilting surface to combine move signals from respective controls into a first axis tilt response and impart said first axis tilt response to the playing surface, whereby the playing pieces supported on the playing surface move responsive to the first axis tilt response imparted to the playing surface so that the playing pieces can be moved toward the goal area.
In a third general embodiment, a game comprises a playing surface over which one or more generally spherical elements are adapted to roll. A raised peripheral edge is bounding said playing surface and includes a central zone within the playing surface as a goal to which the spherical elements are adapted to be guided during play of the game. A first set of two opposing actuators in common communication with a first mixer are configured to tilt the playing surface along a first axis passing through a center of the playing surface. A second set of two opposing actuators are in common communication with a second mixer, independent of the first mixer, and is configured to tilt the playing surface along a second axis passing through a center of the playing surface, said second axis being orthogonal to the first. Each of the actuators can be used to oppose tilting caused by an opposing actuator within the same set.
In a fourth general embodiment, a method for tilting the playing surface of a game to influence movement of playing pieces on the playing surface comprises placing moveable playing pieces on a playing surface, receiving movement from a first actuator resulting in a first vector move signal, and receiving movement from a second actuator resulting in a second vector move signal The first and second vectors are summed through a mixing unit and tilting movement is imparted to the playing surface in a magnitude proportional to the summation of the first and second vectors.
The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become more readily apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention that proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings.
In a two-player game, the first player balls 20 can be colored or patterned to be different from those balls 22 of the second player. Here, balls 20 have one color while balls 22 are a different color. Alternately, one set of balls may have a uniform color while another set has a colored stripe marked on their outer surface. In a four-player game, the balls 20, 22 can be marked to denote four different types—one for each of the players. Depending upon the rules of the game, a player wins when he or she is either the first player to direct all of their balls into the central hole 24, or alternately when all of the opposing players' balls have been “sunk” into the hole 24.
Outer frame 12 has mounted thereon two ball delivery systems 30a, 30b—one for each player—and score keeping means 32a, 32b.
Each ball delivery system includes a channel 34, coupled to a peripheral edge of the table frame 12, which slopes downward to a launching point 36. A mechanical arm 38 is pivot connected 40 to an underside of the body 42 framing the channel 34 and off-center to its center weight point so that, in a rested position, an actuator arm 44 angles upward at one end and a launching arm 46 angles downward. The launching arm 46 has a general C-shape and includes a sloping surface at its terminal end 48 angled toward the playing surface 14. A hole 50 is formed at a bottom portion of the channel at the launching point 36 and is sized to receive therethrough the sloped terminal end 48 of the launching arm 46.
In use, a player would tap downward on the actuator arm 44, thus causing the launching arm 46 to rotate upward around the pivot 40. The angled terminal end 48 of the launching arm then passes up through the hole 50 into the channel 34 and against an underside of a ball 20 resting there to thereby launch the ball upward and inward on a trajectory 51 toward a center of the playing surface 14. The trajectory 51 of the ball 20 from the launcher 30a preferably results in a landing within an outer portion 74 of the playing surface 14, however the game is not limited thereby. The terminal end 48 then returns back down through the hole 50 as the mechanical arm 38 returns to its resting position, with the actuator arm 44 up and the launching arm 46 down. The next ball then rolls down the channel 34 to the launching point 36 now vacated by the terminal end 48 of the launching arm.
The score keeping means 32a, 32b can be any means for keeping score. In the preferred embodiment as shown in
Also mounted on an outer wall of frame 12 are four actuators grouped into two pairs. A first pair of actuators 56a, 56b are coupled together and operably configured to tilt the table along axis 16. A second pair of actuators 58a, 58b are coupled together and operably configured to tilt the table along axis 18. Each actuator is coupled to the table through a mixer 60 (
Players can actuate one of the first pair of controls and one of the second pair of controls to effect tilting of the playing surface in competition with an opposing player operating another of the first pair of controls and another of the second pair of controls. In a two-player game, actuators 56a and 58a are used by a first player to tilt the playing surface 14 of table 10 along axes 16 and 18, respectively. In a similar fashion, actuators 56b and 58b are used by a second player to tilt the playing surface 14 of table 10 along axes 16 and 18, respectively. As will be appreciated with reference to the description below, movement of one actuator is essentially independent of a paired actuator so that players may effect both offensive and defensive tilting signals through the mixer without relying on a strength contest with the opposing player.
Turning next to the playing surface 14 itself, tilting is accomplished in a preferred implementation through a series of nested rings coupled in a gimbled arrangement. The outer ring 62 is coupled to the stationary outer frame 12 of the game 10 via opposing pivots 16a, 16b aligned with pivot axis 16. Tilting of this ring—either left or right of axis 16—occurs by player operation of actuators 56a and 56b. In a preferred embodiment, actuators 56a and 56b are implemented in dials mounted on opposing sides of the game frame 12 along axis 16. Turning the dials cause, through means described below, the playing surface to tilt in the direction in which the dial is turned. In
Similarly, rotating the dial 56b in the clockwise direction (from the perspective of player #2) will cause the opposite tilting effect. In this way, player #2 can counteract the tilting of player #1. Tilting direction is thus intuitive to rotation of the dials.
An inner ring 64 is coupled to outer ring 62 along pivot points 18a, 18b disposed along axis 18 where axis 18 is orthogonal to axis 16. Tilting of this ring—either left or right of axis 18—occurs by player operation of actuators 58a and 58b. In a preferred embodiment, actuators 58a and 58b are implemented in dials mounted on opposing sides of the game frame 12 along axis 18. Turning the dials cause, through means described below, the playing surface to tilt in the direction in which the dial is turned. In
Rings 62 and 64 are preferably positioned so that they extend above the playing surface 14. In this way, inner ring 64 presents a peripheral barrier to balls 20, 22 within the playing surface 14. Similarly, outer ring 62 presents a barrier to balls contained within the launchers 30a, 30b so that the balls must be launched up and over the ring 62 and into the playing area bounded by inner ring 64.
Mechanical movement of the table via the mixer can be accomplished by several embodiments detailed herein, including a pulley system shown in
The playing surface 14, in a preferred embodiment, is configurable with various elements to change certain tactical elements of the game. In the embodiment shown in
In scenario ‘1’, player #1 turns dial 56a two complete counterclockwise rotations (720°) thus resulting in a large upward move vector imparted to mixer 60 while player #2 fails to turn dial 56b at all thus resulting in no move vector. Because player #2 did not move his or her dial, the sum of the two move vectors is simply the move vector from player #1. The resulting tilt is (from player #1's perspective) highly slanted upward from left to right.
In scenario ‘2’, player #1 turns dial 56a one counterclockwise rotation (3600) thus resulting in a medium upward move vector imparted to mixer 60 while player #2 turns dial 56b one clockwise rotation (360°) thus also resulting in a medium upward move vector. The sum of these two vectors is the same as in scenario ‘1’, where the resulting tilt is (from player #1's perspective) highly slanted upward from left to right.
In scenario ‘3’, player #1 turns dial 56a one and a quarter clockwise rotations (450°) thus resulting a slightly more than medium upward move vector imparted to mixer 60. Player #2 moves his dial in the same fashion as player #1, thus resulting in an equal but opposite move vector. The sum of the two move vectors is zero, thus resulting in no net tilt to the playing surface 14.
In scenario ‘4’, player #1 turns dial 56a three-quarters counterclockwise rotation (270°) thus resulting in a slightly less than medium upward move vector imparted to mixer 60. Player #2 moves his dial one and three-quarters counterclockwise rotation (630°), thus resulting in a large downward move vector. The sum of the two move vectors is a medium net downward effect (e.g. half the magnitude as in scenarios ‘1’ and ‘2’) so that the resulting tilt of playing surface 14 is downward from left to right.
Tilting is preferably accomplished through the following formula electrically or mechanically applied by the mixer(s) 60:
Turn Angle A+Turn Angle B=constant*Tilt Angle C (1)
where the constant is around 1/20. The turn angles are judged from a single perspective (e.g. both from player #1, or both from player #2). If the angle is judged from the player perspective of the one turning the dial, the equation is subtractive instead of additive.
It should be noted that the magnitudes shown in
Although the scenarios above result from movement of actuator dials 56a and 56b, one will appreciate that such scenarios also apply to movement of actuator dials 58a and 58b for tilting movement of the playing surface 14 along an orthogonal axis to the one shown in
In
In
Several different types of balls may be included within the game. For instance, a second ball 22a may have a second weight 84 that is slidaby retained within the spherical shell 78 where the second weight is different from the weight of the first ball. In this way the game can include balls moving at different speeds where certain balls may count for more points. Other types of balls and playing pieces are of course possible; for instance the balls can formed of a single, solid material.
Actuator dials 56a and 56b are coupled to a first set of pulleys running beneath the playing surface 14 and within the boundaries of the game frame 12. Dial 56b (not shown in
Tilting occurs by way of adjusting the slack between tilting pulleys 100, 102 and tilting pulley 108, and between tilting pulleys 104, 106 and tilting pulley 110. Since the cable 98 wrapping around all of the pulleys has a fixed length, rotating the actuator dials 56a, 56b so as to take slack from the pulley set including tilting pulley 110 would necessarily add slack to the opposing pulley set including tilting pulley 108. And because the tilting surface is mounted to pivots 16a, 16b (
The amount by which the dials must be rotated to effect a certain angle of tilt can be adjusted by changing the diameter of the central pulleys 88. As pulley 88 is made larger, the dial can be turned in a smaller arc to take up the same amount of “slack” in the cable 98 (thereby transferring slack from one side of the mixer 60 to the other). As noted above, the diameter of the central pulley 88 is preferably selected to effect full tilt of the table by less than a full rotation of a single dial 56b.
The movement of the pulley system of
Although the remaining pulleys—associated with dials 58a, 58b—are not moved in the figures, one would understand that rotation of dials 58a, 58b would have a similar effect to these other pulleys. One also appreciates that rotation of dials 56a or 56b has no affect on the ability to tilt the playing surface using dials 58a and 58b. Furthermore, and with the exception that there is some tilting limit as when the tilting pulleys come in to alignment, rotation of one dial has no affect on the rotation of another dial. In this way, play of the game is balanced, controlled, and intuitive.
Referring next to the second bell-crank assembly 135, dial 56a is coupled to crank arm 138 which in turn is coupled to one end of cable 140. Cable 140 is slidingly received within sleeve 142 which is affixed to the table 10 via guides 144, 146. The other terminal end of cable 140 is coupled to one end of pivot arm 148. Dial 56b is similarly coupled to crank arm 150, cable 152, sleeve 154, and guides 156, 158.
One will appreciate that the bell-crank assembly is configured to allow maximum tilting with very little rotation of the dials. That is, maximum tilt is achieved by an approximate 90° rotation of the dials. Therefore, the players need not spin their dials endlessly to achieve tilt but can rock the dials back and forth within a 180° arc (e.g. 90° clockwise from the centerpoint, and 90° counterclockwise from the centerpoint—the centerpoint being noted by a marking on the dial being at 12 o'clock) to achieve full control over the tilt.
Each of the bell-crank assemblies, such as bell crank assembly 135, include a control arm 160 coupled at an upper end 162 to an underside of the playing surface 14 along axis 18. The control arm 164 of bell crank assembly 125 is coupled at an upper end 166 to the underside of the playing surface 14 along axis 16. The lower end 168 of control arm 160 is slidingly coupled within a slot 170 so that it can move back and forth within the slot in response to movement of pivot arm 148.
In
Referring next to the second bevel gear assembly 185, dial 56a is coupled to crank arm 138 which in turn is coupled to one end of cable 140. Cable 140 is slidingly received within sleeve 142 which is affixed to the table 10 via guides 144, 146. The other terminal end of cable 140 is coupled to one end of rotating arm 180. Dial 56b is similarly coupled to crank arm 150, cable 152, sleeve 154, guides 156, 158, and rotating arm 182.
Turning also to
As with the bell-crank embodiment of
Having described and illustrated the principles of the invention in a preferred embodiment thereof, it should be apparent that the invention can be modified in arrangement and detail without departing from such principles. I claim all modifications and variation coming within the spirit and scope of the following claims.