US3479035A - Player actuated chance game device - Google Patents

Description

NOV. 18, 1969 M, GLASS ET AL 3,479,035

PLAYER ACTUA'I'ED CHANGE GAME'DEVICE Filed Feb. 24, 1966 2 Sneo-Ls-Sheet l NOV. 18, 1969 M, GLASS ET AL AYER ACTUTED CHANCE GAME DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 24, 1966 United States Patent U.S. Cl. 273-138 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Game apparatus comprising a three-dimensional board having an upper playing surface supporting a mova'bly mpunted figure which is surrounded by a plurality of openings, playing pieces including portions adapted to be inserted in the openings, and mechanism beneath the playing surface which provides for movement of the figure, by chance, as a playing piece is inserted in the openings. The chance mechanism includes a rotatable member having arms disposed for movement through a path underlying the openings and supported for tilting movement as a playing piece strikes one of the arms. The tilting of the rotatable member trips latch mechanism to operate a sound device and effect movement of said figure on the playing surface.

The present invention relates to games, and is particularly directed to a game comprising a board including a mechanical chance device which is randomly operable as peg-like markers are moved along a path defined by openings in the board, in accordance with the directions of an accompanying deck of cards. rIhe game is illustiated in a form which is especially appropriate to a group of girls, with the mechanical device incorporating asleeping baby which is to be attended :by the players. The illustrated embodiment is in the form of a game in which the common activity of baby sitting is simulated, the object of the game being to perform as many related tasks as possible without waking the baby. The girls receive token money for successfully performing these tasks, and the game continues until the money has all been distributed, whereupon the play ends and the girl having the most money wins the game. The extra tasks are performed on or in cooperation with the chance device and whether the performance of any of the tasks will wake the baby is entirely unpredictable.

t It is the primary object of the invention to provide game apparatus wherein an action is produced at random by insertion of a peg in the board. Another object is to provide game apparatus including a positively rotatable element underlying a board having openings therein, which element is cooperable with an action and sound producing mechanism to operate the latter when a peg is inserted in one of said openings and engages said rotatable element.

More particularly, it is an object of the invention to provide a game which includes a simulated sleeping baby, and which also includes a playing board having a plurality of holes identified in various ways as for example cover baby with blanket, change babys diaper, wash the dishes, turn on the TV set, etc., and each of the players is provided with a peg which when inserted in a hole may trip the mechanism and cause the baby to sit up and emit a crying sound.

Further objects and advantages will become apparent "from the following description of the selected embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective View of the device according to the invention;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of the device taken on the line 2-2 of FIGURE 1;

3,479,035 Patented Nov. 18, 1969 ice FIGURE 3 is a view of the device similar to FIGURE 2-iwith the parts in a different position;

FIGURE 4 is a horizontal sectional view of the device taken on the line 4-4 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary, plan view of certain reset mechanism indicated in FIGURES l to 3;

FIGURE 6 is an elevation of one of the playing or instruction cards;

FIGURE 7 is a similar view of a different card; and

lFIGURE 8 is an elevation of one of the money tokens.

Generally, the illustrated form of theinvention comprises a game for girls which simulates many of the tasks performed by babysitters. The center of the threedimensional board includes the figure of a sleeping baby and surrounding such ligure are a number of stations or paths, d ened by openings in the top of the board, which are associated with an appropriately illustrated task such as nchange babys diaper, wash the dishes etc. Through means of instruction on a deck of playing cards, each player in turn has the opportunity of performing a task by inserting her playing peg in a particular hole or holes. If the peg strikes an underlying, randomly rotatable element, the baby awakes and emits a cry, and the player forfeits the pay otherwise due her.

More particularly, the cards are made, each with a note of instructions and preferably a picture thereon depicting a typical task which a baby sitter might be asked or might volunteer to perform while sitting The game might be played in various ways, but typically, each girl is issued a peg of a distinctive color, the cards are dealt three to a player, the remaining cards being placed face down on the table, and the players take turns baby sitting. During her turn each player tries to perform specific tasks without waking the baby. She draws a card from the deck or supply pile on the table and may choose one of the tasks depicted on the four cards which she now holds, matching the chosen card with one of the holes similarly identified on the playing board. She must then insert her peg in that hole as far as it will go. If the baby does not awaken, or in other words, if the mechanism is not tripped, she may collect a 25 cent token. She may continue and pick a second task if she wishes, and if this does not wake the baby she may collect a 50 cent token. A third task successfully performed will net $1.00 token. Each time a task is performed the corresponding card is placed in a discard pile, and a different card is taken from the supply on the table, so that each player nominally holds four cards at all times when choosing her task. The discard pile may be reshufed and used if the supply pile runs out. If one of the tasks wakes the baby, that players turn ends, and she may be required to return any tokens collected during that turn to the bank. The device is then reset, and the turn passes to the next player. As will be apparent, different modes of using the cards and chance device might be devised and used without departing from the invention.

The players will be disposed about the game board, which comprises a base 10 having a raised portion 12 which supports a miniature crib or babys bed having a frame 14 and a simulated mattress portion 16. The head and upper part of the torso 18 of a doll representing the baby are supported on a pivot pin 20, which is in turn supported in a pair of bearing brackets 22 fixed on the upper surface of matress 16. Pin 20 is located in the lower region of the dolls body and the remainder of the body is uncompleted, since pivot pin 20 and its associated parts will always be hidden by the bed covers. Body 18 may therefore be swung up and down about pin 20 to assume a sitting or a lying position and this action is controlled by a reciprocating element generally designated as 24.

Assuming the baby is in a sitting position, as seen in FIGURE 2, to set the device, body 18 is forced to a lying position as seen in FIGURE 3. As this is done a finger 26, xed on and extending downwardly and rearwardly from body 18 in the FIGURE 2 position, presses against Ian abutment or thrust block 28 projecting upwardly from and fixed on reciprocating element 24. The latter is thereby forced toward the right as seen in FIG- URES 2 to 4. Ay pawl 30 is pivotally supported on a pin 32 carried by element 24, and upon sufiicient movement to the right of element 24 the pawl encounters an upper wall of floor portion 34 of raised portion 12. Continued movement to the right causes floor portion 34 to swing pawl 30 upwardly about pin 32, and through gravity it becomes engaged in a notch 36 so as to lock element 24 in position against the pull of an actuating spring 38 positioned in tension between an upwardly directed guide bracket 39 and a portion of a cylinder 40, fixed in relation to base 10, so as to continuously urge element 24 toward the left. Spring 38 might equally well be anchored to any other fixed portion of mattress 16 or raised portion 12, as convenient. As will be apparent, if pawl 30 'is released from notch 36, the action will be reversed. That is to say that element 24 will be shifted toward the left, and finger 26, in contact with thrust block 28, will swing body 18 to an upright or sitting position. During this action, element 24 will be guided in its movement by sliding along fioor portion 34 and by contact of guide bracket 39 with the upper wall 41 of mattress portion 16, and also by interaction of finger 26 with a slot 42 in reciprocating element 24.

The action is controlled by a piston portion 43 fixed on element 24, and which is freely slidable in cylinder 40 but substantially fluid-tight therein so that the movement of the piston is prevented by air trapped in the cylinder, except as the air escapes in a controlled manner through a unit 44 which, although not necessarily, preferably'is in the form of a noise maker which will simulate the cry of a baby as the air escapes. Thus the body will sit up and cry in a somewhat natural manner when pawl 30 is released. The pawl is released according to the fortunes of the game by a chance mechanism which will now be described.

The upper wall or floor 48 of base 10 provides a series of downwardly open sockets or holes 50 communicating with the interior of base 10, and into which pegs 52 are insertable. These pegs may be embellished with the figures of small girls 54, and are preferably of different colors so that they may lbe identified with the different players. Peg 52 is of a length to contact and depress an arm 56 of a trigger element generally designated as 58, and which element has a plurality of other arms 60, 64, 66 and 68, all extending substantially radially outwardly from a center or hub portion 70, as best seen in FIGURE 4. Arms 56 and 60 to 68 inclusive, are irregularly spaced about hub 70 but preferably are so located that, when one arm is placed squarely beneath one of the holes S0, the remaining arms will each be squarely beneath one of the other holes. Trigger element S8 is mounted to tilt in all directions, and for this purpose is supported on a pivot pin 72 fixed to hub portion 70 and rockably seated in a socket 74 fixed on the floor or lower wall 76 of base 10 within the path outlined by the holes 50.

As best seen in FIGURES 2 'and 3, hub portion 70 has an upward extension 78 including an upwardly directed depression or seat 80, in which is seated a complimentary head portion 86 fixed on raised portion 12 beneath pawl 30 when the latter is latched in the position shown in FIGURE 3. A spring 88 normally urges head 82 into seat 80 and thereby yieldably maintains trigger element 58 in a generally horizontal position. However, when `one of the arms, as 56 in FIGURE 2, is depressed by peg 5.2, head 82 is raised by the camng action of the resulting sideward movement of socket 80, compressing spring 88. This movement also raises trip pin 84 and dislodges pawl 30 from socket 36 whereupon reciprocating element 24 shifts to the left and raises body 18, as hereinbefore described. Thus the baby has been awakened by the insertion of peg 52, or in the terms of the game, by the performance of the task assigned to the particular hole 50` in which peg 52 is inserted.

Since there are many more holes 50 than there are arms on trigger unit 58, the chances are greatest that there will be no arm 4beneath any selected hole in which peg 52 is inserted, and owing to the irregular distribution of the arms it is hardly possible to figure out which holes are free by observing anything which may have happened previously. Furthermore, the location of the arms beneath the holes may be changed at will, and this would be done preferably as often as once for each players turn.

For this purpose hub portion 70 is provided with gear teeth to form the lower portion of it into gear wheel (FIGURE 5). A gear segment 92 is fixed on a lever arm 94, the latter being pivoted on a fulcrum 96 fixed on fioor portion 76 so as to be swingable by means of a projecting handle portion 98, so that manipulation of handle 98 will swing segment 92 into engagement with gear wheel 90 and cause rotation of the latter. Such rotation moves trigger element 58 to change the location of the several arms 56, 68 etc. A detent head 100 is supported on a resilient shank portion 102 fixed on oor portion 76, so as to press against gear wheel 90 and penetrate slightly between the teeth thereof to effect an accompanying sound and also slow and stop the rotation in a reasonably short time. Preferably, the number of teeth on gear 90` corresponds with the number of holes 50, and the engagement of head in the spaces between the teeth will insure that trigger element 58 will stop rotating with the arms 56, 64 etc. disposed beneath certain holes 50 virtually at all times, and not with the arms beneath imperforate portions of floor 48 between the holes.

A spring is connected to handle portion 98 and anchored to a bracket 106 fixed on floor 7 6, 'and acts to return lever arm 94 to its starting position after each use. Such motion will cause reverse rotation of trigger element 58, which will still further confuse any attempt to estimate the position of the arms.

As seen in FIGURE 6, the cards 108 may have pictures suggesting the tasks which they represent, as well 4as legends directing the operations in words. Some of the cards, as 110, may have legends requiring a variation in procedure to make the game more complicated, and therefore more interesting. A token 112 representing $2.00 is shown in FIGURE 8, and it is to be understood that a substantial number of such tokens of various values would be part of the outfit.

In summary, the operation of the invention includes putting the baby to bed by pressing body 18 to a lying position, which shifts reciprocable element 24 toward the right, where it becomes latched by engagement of pawl 30 with notch 36. Handle 98 is then actuated to spin trigger element 58, and instruction cards 108 are dealt to the various players. The first player then draws a card from the supply pile on the table, chooses a task from the instruction cards which :she holds, matches it with one of the holes 50, and places her peg in that hole. lf arms 56 etc. are so placed that none of them is contacted by the players peg, she collects a 25 cent fee for completing that task, and then she may choose another task or stand on her good fortune and pass to the next player. If one of the arms as 56 is contacted, trigger element 58 is tilted, head 82 and pin 84 are raised, disengaging pawl 30 and allowing spring 38 to lshift reciprocable element 24 to the left. This movement expels air through noise maker 44, producing a crying sound, and at the same time actuates finger 26 to swing body 18 into an upright or sitting position. The baby is awakened, and the player must sacrifice any money she has won during that particular turn. The resistance of the air trapped in cylinder 40 to movement of position 43 slows the movement of element 24 so that the action of the baby in sitting up is natural, and not too abrupt.

Handle 98 may be actuated after each turn, or after each task, and the particular rules in use may specify, and certain cards, if drawn, may invoke special penalties, as card 110 for example, which requires the player to miss her turn.

Although the invention has been described in connection with a specific device, modifications may occur to those skilled in the art, and which could be made in the game or the apparatus without departing from the principles thereof. Further, it should be understood that the described manner of playing the game with the illustrated apparatus is simply rby way of example, and that other forms of play might be devised.

What is claimed is:

1. Game apparatus comprising a three-dimensional playing board including a lower supporting wall surface and an upper playing surface with openings therein, a figure pivotally mounted on said playing surface for vertical swinging movement, a plurality of markers adapted to be inserted in and project through said openings, and mechanically operable means underlying said playing surface and providing a chance device for effecting movement of said figure from a reclining position to an upright position upon insertion of a marker in one of said openings, said chance device means comprising a member mounted on said lower wall for rotation about a generally vertical axis and for tilting movement relative to said vertical axis, said member including a hub portion and a plurality of radially extending arms disposed for movement through a path underlying the openings in said 3 playing surface, a sound making device between said playing surface and lower Wall and including a movable part, spring-biased latch mechanism interconnecting said pivotally mounted figure, said lrotatable chance device member and said movable sound-making part so as to normally hold said ligure in its reclining position, maintain said rotatable member in position on its vertical axis and to position said sound making part in` readiness for operation to produce a sound, said latch mechanism, ligure, and rotatable mem-ber being thereby disposed so that insertion of one of said markers through an opening overlying one of said arms and into engagement with the latter causes tilting of said rotatable member and release of said latch mechanism, to thereby cause said figure to rise from said playing surface to the accompaniment of a sound produced by said sound making device, said hub portion of said rotatable member including a toothed peripheral portion, and a lever pivotally mounted on said lower supporting wall with one end portion projecting outwardly of the playing board and the,- other end provided with an arcuately toothed portion in position for engagement with said toothed portion of the hub to effect rotation of said member.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,479,774 1/ 1924 Steinmetz.

2,408,687 10/ 1946 Sanchez 273-138 3,169,768 2/1965 Glass et al. 273--139 X FOREIGN PATENTS 440,080 1/ 1927 Germany.

ANTON O. OECHSLE, Primary Examiner A. W. KRAMER, Assistant Examiner

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