Patent Application
20240058689
The present invention is in the technical field of gaming equipment and accessories. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a novel piece of equipment meant to be used with dice games.
Dice have been in use since before recorded history. It is possible that dice developed in conjunction with fortune telling or similar practices. Twenty-sided dice date back to as early as 200 B.C. Today dice games are still very popular as are tabletop role playing games that use multi-sided dice. Several board games and casino related games also use dice on a regular basis. Playing with dice requires the use of a flat surface but rolling dice on a flat surface carries with it the possibility that the dice roll off of the flat surface on to the floor and possibly become lost. This problem is so common that casinos use a table with a wall to run various dice games. However, such tables are not commonly used outside of casinos. Most people playing dice games at home do not have a walled table to use to solve this problem.
The purpose of using dice in these types of games is to generate random numbers. There are other means of doing so, including using a computer program to generate numbers, but there is something aesthetically pleasing about manipulating a physical object to allow it to rotate and produce a random number. Simply hitting a button on a computer does not carry with it the same feeling. As a result, there is a need in the field for a form of dice that allows the user to spin or rotate an object to generate a random number without rolling the dice across a flat surface and giving them the opportunity to fall off the table and get lost.
Another spinning device is the fidget spinner. Fidget spinners generally have a stationary section that holds the ball bearing assembly and the multi-lobed portion that is configured to spin. The fidget spinner is a toy with a ball bearing in the center and a multi-lobed structure designed to spin around its central axis when pressure is applied to the lobes. These devices are meant to continue spinning without any manual manipulation after the device is set into motion. The motion of the device can be stopped manually only by interfering with the rotation of the lobed portion of the device. There is no other structure present that allows the user to stop the fidget spinner from spinning. As a result, the typical fidget spinner is not easily adaptable as a replacement for dice.
The present invention is a spinning device that generates a random number without rolling dice. The device includes a top plate with a viewing window integrated therein and a bottom plate or base that has a central post around which a middle plate rotates. Preferred embodiments of the top plate also feature a vertically positioned pin extending downward away from a central axis of the top plate. In the inventor's anticipated best mode, this pin is sized and positioned to be inserted into the central post on the bottom plate which can be shaped as a hollow cylinder. Still further preferred embodiments of the device feature a raised seat around a base of the pin on the top plate. This raised seat decreases the amount of the device that is in contact with the middle plate as it spins thereby decreasing the amount of friction between the middle plate and the top plate. Preferred embodiments of the middle plate include text printed on a surface of the disk that can be viewed through the viewing window when the device is fully assembled. The base features a vertically oriented post extending up and away from an upper surface of the bottom plate/base that is able to engage with the post on the top plate. The middle plate has a channel or hole that is sized and shaped to fit over and around the central post featured by the base there by allowing the middle plate featuring the text to spin around the central post. Preferred embodiments also include a raised seat or platform on the base plate and/or top plate. The inventor's anticipated best mode of the device includes a raised seat that encircles a portion of the central post adjacent or near where it attaches to the base plate. Some embodiments of the central post include the seat integrated into the lowest portion of the post at the point near where it attaches to the base plate or top plate. The raised seat serves to separate the middle plate from the base plate and top plate so that there is no contact or friction between the rest of the base plate and the middle plate when the middle plate spins around the central post.
The presence of the raised seats around the base of the pin and central post creates some space between the top plate and the middle plate as well as the bottom plate and the middle plate so that the disk can rotate freely without encountering as much friction between the three pieces. However, the inventor anticipates using a flexible material such as plastic, to form at least the top plate of the device if not the entire device. Aside from manufacturing concerns, the flexibility of the device is a critical feature of the spinning device as it allows the user to squeeze the center of the spinning device thereby applying pressure to the top plate, bottom plate, middle plate and raised platforms with which the middle plate is in contact when it spins. By applying pressure to the center of the top and/or bottom plates, the user increases the amount of friction between the middle plate and the raised platforms, or the top and bottom plates in versions without the platforms and can stop the device from spinning. This represents a significant departure from prior art devices in that most prior art devices are designed to spin as long as possible, not to be stopped by manual pressure applied to the device. This is important to the device's functioning as the spinner is designed to replace a quick roll of the dice in games involving dice and if they cannot quickly obtain the result of their “dice roll” and have to wait a long time for the spinner to stop spinning, then they will likely get frustrated and not enjoy the game.
Still further preferred embodiments and the inventor's anticipated best mode include a ball bearing assembly integrated into the middle plate. The middle plate can be thought of as having an outer edge and an inner edge—the inner edge being the portion of the middle plate that encircles the hole or channel in the middle plate and the outer edge being the outer annular surface of the middle plate. A ball bearing assembly includes an inner and outer race each having tracks or grooves through which the ball bearings can move. The two races serve to hold the ball bearings in place so they can move in the space or channel formed by the tracks on the inner and outer races. Such an assembly can be integrated into or attached to the inner edge of the middle plate so that the middle plate spins around the ball bearing assembly.
Furthermore, the middle plate can feature text, including numbers, to indicate the result of a dice throw. Preferred embodiments will have rows of numbers printed on an upper surface of the middle plate and around the hole or channel in the middle plate so that when the user stops the middle plate from spinning, numbers are visible in the viewing window. Since it is common for dice games to use a number of different multisided dice in a single game, the numbers on the middle plate can have any ranges desired and can replace 4-, 6-, 8-, 10-, 12-, 20-, 24-, 30- and 100-sided dice, for example. In addition, preferred embodiments and the inventor's anticipated best mode of the middle plate include spines or protrusions that are integrated into the outer edge of the middle plate. These spines can protrude past the outermost edges of the top and bottom plates to allow the user a surface to grip when spinning the middle plate.
When fully assembled the user manipulates the middle plate by spinning it around the central axis of the device, where the central post and pin are positioned. The user can either allow the middle plate to stop on its own or they can press the center of the top plate and/or the bottom plate to apply pressure to the middle plate and the raised seats causing the disk to stop spinning. The user can then read the result of their “dice throw” through the viewing window. The device can be placed on a flat surface when spun or it can be held completely in the user's hand.
The advantages of the present invention include, without limitation, the ability to play dice games without having to locate a flat surface on which to roll dice and off of which dice can easily fall and become misplaced or simply hard to reach.
Reference throughout the specification to features, advantages, or similar language does not imply that all of the features and advantages that may be realized with the present invention should be or are in any single embodiment of the invention. Rather, language referring to the features and advantages is understood to mean that a specific feature, advantage, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, discussion of the features and advantages, and similar language, throughout the specification may, but do not necessarily, refer to the same embodiment.
Furthermore, the described features, advantages, and characteristics of the invention may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize that the invention can be practiced without one or more of the specific features or advantages of a particular embodiment. In other instances, additional features and advantages may be recognized in certain embodiments that may not be present in all embodiments of the invention.
It is understood that the above-described embodiments are only illustrative of the application of the principles of the present invention. The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics. The described embodiment, including the best mode, is to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicated by the appended claims, if any, in conjunction with the foregoing description.
While the foregoing written description of the invention enables one of ordinary skill to make and use what is considered presently to be the best mode thereof, those of ordinary skill will understand and appreciate the existence of variations, combinations, and equivalents of the specific embodiment, method, and examples herein. The invention should therefore not be limited by the above described embodiment, method, and examples, but by all embodiments and methods within the scope and spirit of the invention.
