Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6450497
-
Patent Number
6,450,497
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Date Filed
Thursday, November 9, 200024 years ago
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Date Issued
Tuesday, September 17, 200222 years ago
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Inventors
-
-
Examiners
Agents
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 273 126 R
- 273 126 A
- 273 108
- 273 118 A
- 273 119 A
- 273 1081
- 273 1085
- 273 10851
- 273 10855
- 273 10856
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International Classifications
-
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)
Foreign Referenced Citations (3)
Number |
Date |
Country |
2609458 |
Sep 1977 |
DE |
3046136 |
Jul 1982 |
DE |
2668713 |
May 1992 |
FR |