Player structure in a fooz ball game

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6357744
  • Patent Number
    6,357,744
  • Date Filed
    Monday, March 13, 2000
    24 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, March 19, 2002
    22 years ago
  • Inventors
  • Examiners
    • Passaniti; Sebastiano
    Agents
    • Baxley; Charles E.
Abstract
A player structure in a fooz-ball game includes a body having a passage through which a shaft extends. A bolt receiving hole and a position hole are respectively defined in the body such that a bolt extends through the bolt receiving hole and the shaft and us securely engaged with the position hole. A first weight is received in a recess defined in a top of the body and a second weight is connected to a lower end of the body. The player is maintained at a position where the second weight is hanging above the floor of the machine so that a ball can pass below the players without impediment.
Description




FIELD OF THE INVENTION




The present invention relates to a player structure in a fooz-ball game wherein the lower end of the players may be maintained at a position above the floor to let ball pass through below the players.




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




A conventional fooz-ball game is shown in FIG.


1


and generally includes a box-like body


10


with an open top, and four sidewalls


11


extend from the floor of the body


10


. Five shafts


10


rotatably extend through two opposite sidewalls


11


and each shaft


10


has two handles


100


on two ends thereof. A plurality of players


15


or men are fixedly connected to the shafts


10


by a locking bolt


16


extending through the player


1




5


and securely engaging the shaft


10


as shown in FIG.


1


. When rotating the shafts


10


, the players


15


are rotated. Each player


15


is shaped as a real football player shape and the shaft


10


extends through a position about the shoulder of the players


15


. It is to be noted that the length below the shaft


10


of the player


15


is longer than the length above the shaft


10


of the player


15


so that the players


15


are always maintained in a vertical position relative to the floor


12


due to gravity. A block


150


is connected to a lower end of each player


15


so as to hit a ball on the floor


12


. Because the players


15


are always oriented vertically to the floor


12


so that the ball will be stopped by the players


15


during playing the game and this reduces the pitch of the game.




The present invention intends to provide a player structure wherein each player has a first weight on an upper end thereof and a second weight on a lower end so that when the players are rotated over a certain angle relative to the floor, the players is maintained at that position so that ball can quickly pass below the players.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a player structure in a fooz-ball game, and comprising a body having a passage for a shaft extending therethrough and a bolt extends through a bolt receiving hole in the body of the player and the shaft, and engaged with a position hole in alignment with the bolt receiving hole. A recess is defined in a top of the body so as to receive a first weight therein, and a second weight is connected to a lower end of the body.




The object of the present invention is to provide a player in a fooz-ball game wherein the top end of each player has a weight connected thereto so that the lower end of the player can be maintained above the floor of the game to allow the ball pass below the lower end of the players quickly.




These and further objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more obvious from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings which show, for purposes of illustration only, several embodiments in accordance with the present invention.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS





FIG. 1

is a perspective view to show a conventional fooz-ball game;





FIG. 2

is a side elevational view, partly in section, of a conventional player in the fooz-ball game;





FIG. 3

is an exploded view to show a player of the present invention;





FIG. 4

is a side elevational view, partly in section, of the player of the present invention, and





FIG. 5

is a side elevational view, partly in section, of the players which are maintained at a position where the lower end of each player is located above the floor.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT




Referring to

FIGS. 3

,


4


and


5


, the player in accordance with the present invention comprises a body


4


having a passage


40


defined through the body


4


at a shoulder position of the body


4


so as to allow a shaft


50


(

FIG. 5

) extend through the passage


40


. A bolt receiving hole


410


and a position hole


41


are respectively defined in the body


4


and both communicate with the passage


40


. The bolt receiving hole


410


is located in alignment with the position hole


41


which is a hexagonal hole. A bolt


6


extends through the bolt receiving hole


410


and the shaft


10


and is securely engaged with the position hole


41


so that when rotating the shaft


50


, the player is rotated with the shaft


50


.




A recess


44


is defined in a top of the body


4


and a first weight


3


is received in the recess


44


. A second weight


42


is connected to a lower end of the body


4


. A cap


2


is mounted to the top of the body


4


and retains the first weight


3


between the recess


44


and the cap


2


. The cap


2


has a head


22


and a tubular member


21


extending from a bottom surface of the head


22


and a groove


20


is defined in the head


22


and enclosing the tubular member


21


. The tubular member


21


is inserted in the recess


44


and the first weight


3


is received in the tubular member


21


. An edge


43


defining the recess


44


in the top of the body


4


is engaged with the groove


20


. It is to be noted that the cap


2


can be engaged with the recess


44


by any known ways such as gluing, threading or snapping.




As shown in

FIG. 5

, because the first weight


3


, when the player is rotated over an angle relative to the floor


5


of the game, the lower end of the player can be maintained at a position above the floor


5


so that a ball


7


can pass below the players quickly.




By this way, the game can be played at a quicker speed because the speed of the ball


7


is faster and a distance that the ball


7


moves at each kick is longer than before.




While we have shown and described various embodiments in accordance with the present invention, it should be clear to those skilled in the art that further embodiments may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention.



Claims
  • 1. A player structure, comprising:a body having a passage defined through said body so as to be adapted to allow a shaft to extend through said passage, a bolt receiving hole and a position hole respectively defined in said body and communicating with said passage, said bolt receiving hole located in alignment with said position hole, a bolt extending through said bolt receiving hole and adapted to extend through the shaft and securely engaged with said position hole, a recess defined in a top of said body and a first weight received in said recess, a cap mounted to said top of said body and retaining said first weight between said recess and said cap, said cap having a head and a tubular member extending from said head, said first weight received in said tubular member, a groove defined in said head and enclosing said tubular member, an edge defining said recess in said top of said body being engaged with said groove, a second weight connected to a lower end of said body.
  • 2. The player structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein said position hole is a hexagonal hole.
US Referenced Citations (3)
Number Name Date Kind
3627322 Leonhart Dec 1971 A
3945640 Denmark Mar 1976 A
4411096 Smith Oct 1983 A
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
Number Date Country
000500476 Aug 1992 EP