Magnetic table top game

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6450497
  • Patent Number
    6,450,497
  • Date Filed
    Thursday, November 9, 2000
    24 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, September 17, 2002
    22 years ago
Abstract
A magnetic table game is disclosed wherein gaming pieces are movably mounted to a substantially non-magnetic playing surface of a game by a magnetic coupling device. The coupling device comprises a base mounted to the gaming piece, the base having a housing, a first and second magnet and a first support element positioned between the first and second magnets and further positioned to support the base on the surface. The base is held on surface by a magnetic coupling positioned on the opposite side of the surface. The magnetic coupling has a housing, a first and second magnet and a second support element positioned between the first and second magnets of the magnetic coupling and further positioned to support the base on the surface. The housings and the support members of the base and magnetic coupling are configured to position the magnets of the base in close proximity to the magnets of the magnetic coupling when the base and magnetic coupling are mounted to each other on opposite sides of the surface. The support members are made of a low friction material and are rotatably mounted to their respective housings by bearings. The gaming pieces are manipulated by moving the magnetic couplings via long lever arms which are operatively coupled to the magnetic couplings by gear drives. The gear drives convert the torsion of the lever arms into the rotation of the magnetic couplings, which in turn cause a corresponding rotation of the corresponding player piece.
Description




FIELD OF THE INVENTION




The invention relates generally to magnetic games and in particular to magnetic table top or magnetic stand alone sports games.




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




Table top games, such as table top hockey games, have been know for some time. These table top games generally consist of a playing board shaped to resemble a hockey arena or the like and several mechanically operated gaming pieces which are movably attached to the playing board. The gaming pieces are generally controlled by long lever arms which are coupled to the gaming pieces by a gear mechanism positioned beneath the gaming board. A player may move the gaming piece along the board by pulling or pushing the lever arm. The player may also rotate the gaming piece by twisting the lever arm. The gaming pieces are generally mounted to the gaming board along elongated slots, which help guide the playing pieces along the board, and at the same time, permit a mechanical connection between the gear mechanism and the gaming piece. Rotating the gaming piece is an important aspect of the game since it permits the player to manipulate the gaming piece to permit the piece to shoot the ball, puck or similar object.




Traditional table top games are very popular, however, the elongated slots associated with these traditional games are a nuisance. Firstly, the addition of elongated slots does not permit the use of forced air levitation of the puck. Furthermore, the mechanical connection between the gearing mechanism and the player piece through the slot makes it difficult to remove gaming pieces to simulate penalty situations. Finally, the elongated slots detract from the realism of the game play. Therefore, attempts have been made to provide gaming boards having magnetically controlled playing pieces. Existing magnetic table games utilize magnetic control systems consisting of magnetic gaming pieces which are manipulated by magnetic lever arms. The lever arms are provided with a magnet at one end which are used to magnetically couple the magnetic playing piece located on the opposite side of the playing surface. The magnets used in this system must be sufficiently strong to keep the gaming pieces on the playing surface. As the user pulls or pushes the lever arm, the magnetic playing piece is dragged across the playing surface. Unfortunately, prior magnetically operated table top games do not provide an optimum balance between the magnetic forces keeping the playing pieces on the playing surface and the force required by the user to manipulate the lever arm. If the magnetic forces are increased to ensure the playing pieces are securely held on the playing surface, then it will be very difficult to move the pieces because of the increased friction between the playing piece or lever arm and the playing surface. Furthermore, if the magnetic forces are high, then it will be very difficult for small children to use the game because they will not have the strength to move the gaming pieces. If the magnetic forces are decreased, then it will be difficult to accurately control the pieces. There remains a need for a table top magnetic board game which is easy to play and economical to construct.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




The invention is a device for movably coupling a gaming piece to a substantially non-magnetic playing surface of a game. The coupling device comprises a base mounted to the gaming piece, the base having a housing, a first and second magnet and a first support element positioned between the first and second magnets and further positioned to support the base on the surface. The base is held on surface by a magnetic coupling positioned on the opposite side of the surface. The magnetic coupling has a housing, a first and second magnet and a second support element positioned between the first and second magnets of the magnetic coupling and further positioned to support the base on the surface. The housings and the support members of the base and magnetic coupling are configured to position the magnets of the base in close proximity to the magnets of the magnetic coupling when the base and magnetic coupling are mounted to each other on opposite sides of the surface. The gaming pieces are manipulated by moving the magnetic couplings via long lever arms which are operatively coupled to the magnetic couplings.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS





FIG. 1

is a perspective view, of the present invention.





FIG. 2

is a side view of a gaming piece of the present invention partly in cross section.





FIG. 3

is a side view of the present invention showing the gaming piece in relation to the board and in relation to the gaming piece control unit.





FIG. 4

is a side view, partly in cross section, of an alternate embodiment of the present invention.





FIG. 5

is a side view, partly in cross section, of yet another alternate embodiment of the present invention.





FIG. 6

is a side view, partly in cross section, of yet another alternate embodiment of the present invention.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION




Referring firstly to

FIG. 1

, a gaming board made in accordance with the present invention, shown generally as item


10


, comprises game board


12


having sides


14


, playing surface


16


, lever arms


20


and gaming pieces


18


. Gaming pieces


18


in turn comprise game

figure 22

mounted on top of magnetic base


24


. Lever arms


20


are mechanically coupled to gaming pieces


18


via base


24


such that a game player may manipulate puck


26


by moving lever arms


20


. Playing surface


16


may be provided with perforations


28


to permit compressed air to flow through the board to support puck


26


on a cushion of air.




Referring now to

FIG. 2

, gaming piece


18


comprises figurine


22


generally in the shape of the desired player, such as a hockey, soccer, baseball, golf or any other desired player. Figurine


22


is rigidly mounted onto base


24


. Base


24


comprises housing


30


, magnets


32


and


34


rigidly mounted within the housing, bearing


36


mounted to the housing at a position between the magnets, plate


31


and support member


38


mounted to the bearing. Housing


30


is supported on top of playing surface


16


by support member


38


. Support member


38


is rotatably mounted to housing


30


via bearing


36


. Bearing


36


is a rotatable low friction bearing which is mounted to both support member


38


and housing


30


permitting the housing to spin easily relative to support member


38


.




Mounted below playing surface


16


is magnetic coupling mechanism


40


. Magnetic coupling mechanism


40


comprises housing


42


, magnets


44


and


46


, bearing


48


mounted to the housing between the magnets, plate


43


and support member


50


mounted to the bearing. Housing


42


is separated from player surface


16


by support member


50


, which in turn is mounted to bearing


48


. Bearing


48


is a rotatable low friction bearing which permits housing


40


to spin easily relative to support member


50


. Support members


38


and


50


are disks of low friction material such as teflon or some other low friction material and permit base


24


and magnetic coupling mechanism


40


to move along playing surface


16


with relative ease.




Base


24


is positioned opposite magnetic coupling mechanism


40


such that complementary magnetic pairs


32


/


46


and


34


/


44


are in magnetic contact with each other. If magnets


32


and


34


are sufficiently strong, then magnets


44


and


46


may be replaced with iron or some other magnetic material. Alternatively, magnets


32


and


34


may be replaced with iron if magnets


44


and


46


are sufficiently strong. To maximize the strength of the magnetic flux between base


24


and magnetic coupling


40


, then complementary magnetic pairs


32


/


46


and


34


/


44


should be used. Other measures ensure a strong magnetic connection; for example, housings


30


and


42


are made of a non-magnetic material such as plastic or aluminum in order to maximize the magnetic flux between complementary magnetic pairs


32


/


46


and


34


/


44


. Furthermore, plates


31


and


43


are made of a magnetic material such as iron or steel, and also help maximize the magnetic flux between complementary magnetic pairs


32


/


46


and


34


/


44


. The use of non-magnetic materials for housings


30


and


42


together with magnetic materials for plates


31


and


43


create a strong magnetic coupling between base


24


and magnetic coupling


40


. Being magnetically coupled in this way, rotation of magnetic coupling


40


causes a corresponding rotation in base


24


. Bearings


48


and


36


permit magnetic coupling


40


and base


24


to rotate freely with little friction since complementary magnets


32


,


46


,


34


and


44


do not contact playing surface


16


. Bearings


48


and


36


permit magnetic coupling


40


to rotate base


24


with little player effort.




Referring now to

FIG. 3

, bearing


36


preferably comprises a bearing having outer member


36


, inner member


54


and ball bearings


56


. Ball bearings


56


permit outer member


36


to spin freely relative to inner member


54


. Housing


30


is attached to outer member


36


, while support member


38


is attached to inner member


54


. Likewise, torsion member


48


comprises a bearing having outer member


58


, inner member


60


and ball bearings


62


. Housing


42


is attached to outer member


58


while support member


50


is attached to inner member


60


. To permit a user to control the movement of base


24


, magnetic coupling mechanism


40


is coupled to gear drive


64


, which in turn is mechanically coupled to lever arm


20


. Gear drive


64


translates the twisting motion of lever arm


20


into a corresponding rotation of magnetic coupling mechanism


40


. Several suitable gear drive mechanisms for translating a twisting motion of a lever arm into a corresponding rotation are well known in the art. To permit magnetic coupling mechanism


40


to move smoothly beneath playing surface


16


, the magnetic coupling mechanism may be mounted to guide


66


which in turn is mounted to base


68


. Alternatively, as seen in

FIG. 6

, guide


66


may be mounted within elongated housings


130


which are in turn mounted to the underside of playing surface


16


.




The bearing may comprises any bearing type mechanism, with or without ball bearings, which permits easy rotation. For example, in

FIG. 4

an alternate embodiment of the invention is shown wherein base


70


uses a bearing


80


which comprises a thrust bearing having central portion


82


, outer portion


86


and ball bearings


84


. Outer portion


86


is physically connected to housing


72


which in turn house magnets


74


and


76


. Central portion


82


is physically connected to support member


78


. In this arrangement, the thrust bearing permits very easy rotation of base


70


even if the base is pressed against playing surface


16


with considerable force. Corresponding magnetic coupling mechanism


90


may comprise housing


92


, magnets


94


and


96


and support member


98


. If support member


98


is sufficiently slippery, then there may be no need for a separate low friction bearing. Plates


71


and


91


are provided on housings


72


and


92


respectively. To maximize the magnetic flux between the magnets, housings


72


and


92


are made of a non-magnetic material while plates


71


and


91


are made of a magnetic material. As with the earlier embodiment, magnetic coupling mechanism


90


is operatively coupled to lever arm


20


via gear mechanism


100


, which in turn may be mounted to base


68


via guide


102


. As can be seen from the embodiment shown in

FIG. 4

, the base mechanism does not have to be identical to the magnetic coupling mechanism.




Referring now to

FIG. 5

, yet another embodiment of the present invention is shown wherein base


110


comprises housing


112


, magnets


114


and


116


and bearing


122


. Bearing


122


comprises a swivel joint formed from central element


120


having ball bearing


124


which is retained in socket


125


of housing


112


. Central element


120


is physically connected to support member


118


. Central element


120


is restrained in socket


125


via ridges


127


. While this type of bearing is effective, it is possible to do away with ball bearing


124


if central element


120


is made of a low friction material such as teflon. Other possible bearing arrangements may be used.




Referring now back to

FIGS. 2 and 3

, to operate the gaming piece, a player simply manipulates lever arm


20


. By twisting lever arm


20


, magnetic coupling mechanism


40


is made to rotate which in turn causes base


24


to rotate. Since torsion elements


36


and


48


are centrally disposed relative to magnets


32


/


34


and


44


/


46


, the rotation of base


24


and magnetic coupling mechanism


40


is achieved with a minimum amount of torque applied to lever arm


20


. This permits small children to manipulate the gaming pieces and play the game. Furthermore, since support members


38


and


50


are centrally disposed relative to magnet pairs


32


/


34


and


44


/


46


, respectively, the magnet pairs are kept in close alignment even if base


24


and magnetic coupling mechanism


40


are rapidly moved along playing surface


16


. Furthermore, the central location of the support members relative to the magnet pairs also minimizes the surface area in contact between the support members and playing surface


16


, which in turr permits the gaming pieces to be moved with a minimum of force applied to the lever arms


20


.




Specific embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed; however, several variations of the disclosed embodiments could be envisioned as within the scope of this invention. It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.



Claims
  • 1. A device for movably coupling a gaming piece to a substantially non-magnetic surface having opposite sides, said device comprising;(a) a base mountable to the gaming piece, the base comprising a housing, a first and second magnet and a first support element positioned between the first and second magnets, the first support element dimensioned and configured to support the base on one side of the surface, (b) a magnetic coupling positioned on an opposite side of the surface relative to the base, said magnetic coupling comprising a housing, a first and second magnet and a second support element positioned between the first and second magnets of the magnetic coupling, the second support element dimensioned and configured to position the magnetic coupling on the opposite side of the surface, (c) the housings and the support members of the base and magnetic coupling configured to position the magnets of the base in close proximity to the magnets of the magnetic coupling when the base and magnetic coupling are mounted to each other on opposite sides of the surface; (d) the support members being made of a low friction material, and (e) both of the support members being rotatably mounted to their respective housings.
  • 2. A device as defined in claim 1 wherein the support members are rotatably mounted to their respective housings by low friction bearings.
  • 3. A device for movably coupling a gaming piece to a substantially non-magnetic surface having opposite sides, said device comprising;(a) a base mountable to the gaming piece, the base comprising a housing, a first and second magnet and a first support element positioned between the first and second magnets, the first support element dimensioned and configured to support the base on one side of the surface, (b) a magnetic coupling positioned on an opposite side of the surface relative to the base, said magnetic coupling comprising a housing, a first and second magnet and a second support element positioned between the first and second magnets of the magnetic coupling, the second support element dimensioned and configured to position the magnetic coupling on the opposite side of the surface, (c) the housings and the support members of the base and magnetic coupling configured to position the magnets of the base in close proximity to the magnets of the magnetic coupling when the base and magnetic coupling are mounted to each other on opposite sides of the surface, and (d) wherein at least one of the coupling and the base further comprises a plate, the plate being made of a magnetic material, the plate being mounted to the housing and positioned relative to the magnets to maximize the magnetic flux between the magnets of the base and the magnets of the magnetic coupling.
  • 4. A device as defined in claim 3 wherein both the base and the coupling have a plate mounted to their respective housings, each plate being made of a magnetic material and positioned relative to the magnets to maximize the magnetic flux between the magnets of the base and the magnets of the magnetic coupling.
  • 5. A device as defined in claim 3 wherein at least one of the first and second support members are rotatably mounted to its respective housing.
  • 6. A device as defined in claim 3 wherein both the first and second support members are rotatably mounted to their respective housings.
  • 7. A device as defined in claim 6 wherein the first and second support members are each rotatably mounted to their respective housings by a low friction bearing.
  • 8. A game comprising;(a) a game housing supporting a non-magnetic playing surface having opposite sides, (b) a plurality of magnetic game pieces, each piece having a base mounted to the gaming piece, the base comprising a housing, a first and second magnet and a first support member made of a low friction material positioned between the first and second magnets, said first support member dimensioned and configured to support the base on one side of the playing surface, said first support member being rotatably mounted to the housing of the base, (c) a plurality of magnetic couplings on the opposite side of the playing surface for movably coupling the game pieces to the surface, each magnetic coupling comprising a housing, a first and second magnet and a second support member made of a low friction material positioned between the first and second magnets of the magnetic coupling, said second support member dimensioned and configured to position the magnetic coupling on said opposite side of the surface, said second support member being rotatably mounted to the housing of the coupling, (d) the housings and the support members of the bases and magnetic couplings configured to position the magnets of each base in close proximity to the magnets of the corresponding magnetic coupling when the base and magnetic coupling are mounted to each other on opposite sides of the playing surface, (e) a plurality of lever arms for controlling the game pieces, each lever arm operatively coupled to a particular magnetic coupling of a respective game piece, the lever arm moving the game piece by creating a corresponding movement of the magnetic coupling.
  • 9. A device as defined in claim 8 wherein the said support members are each rotatably mounted to their respective housings by a low friction bearing.
  • 10. A device as defined in claim 9 wherein the bearing comprises a standard ball bearing mechanism with an internal sleeve, and external sleeve and a plurality of ball bearings mounted between the internal and external sleeves.
  • 11. A device as defined in claim 10 wherein the bearing comprises a thrust bearing.
  • 12. A device as defined in claim 10 wherein the bearing comprises a pivot bearing.
  • 13. A device as defined in claim 8 further comprising a plate mounted to the housing the magnetic coupling, the plate being made of a magnetic material and positioned relative to the magnets to maximize the magnetic flux between the magnets of the base and the magnets of the magnetic coupling.
  • 14. A device as defined in claim 13 further comprising a second plate mounted to the housing of the base, the second plate being made of a magnetic material and positioned relative to the magnets to maximize the magnetic flux between the magnets of the base and the magnets of the magnetic coupling.
  • 15. A device as defined in claim 8 further comprising a guide for guiding the longitudinal motion of the magnetic couplings when the couplings are longitudinally moved by the lever arms.
  • 16. A device as defined in claim 15 wherein said guide comprise a first member mounted to the gear drive and a second member mounted to the underside of the playing surface.
  • 17. A device as defined in claim 15 wherein said guide comprises a first member mounted to the gear drive and a second member mounted to the game housing beneath the playing surface.
Priority Claims (1)
Number Date Country Kind
2293914 Jan 2000 CA
US Referenced Citations (6)
Number Name Date Kind
2716028 Yaeger Aug 1955 A
3976296 Smith Aug 1976 A
4192508 Livick Mar 1980 A
5016878 Hay et al. May 1991 A
5275401 Llorens Jan 1994 A
6189885 Hamot Feb 2001 B1
Foreign Referenced Citations (3)
Number Date Country
2609458 Sep 1977 DE
3046136 Jul 1982 DE
2668713 May 1992 FR