GB2064341A - Football or cricket game figure - Google Patents

Abstract

A football or cricket figure for a game, comprises a base cup 12 and a disc 16 which closes the cup, the disc and cup being held together by a spigot and socket connection 30, 20, the socket being formed in the base, and its aperture extending through the cup portion. The spigot and socket have resilient barbs and recesses respectively whereby they can be snapped together. A weight 10 gives stability. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Improvements relating to figures for use in sports games This invention relates to figures for use in sports games, such figures being for example of the type to represent miniature football players, cricket players or rugby players, or indeed to represent any other playing piece of a game. Where the expression "figure" is used herein therefore, it is intended, unless the context otherwise demands, that any of the figures or playing pieces indicated is intended.

The invention relates to figures for sports games of the type having a cup-shaped base mounting on which the figure stands, the said mounting serving as a self-righting element, tending to make the figure stand upright should it topple over. These figures are used extensively in connection with a soccer game which we produce and market throughout the world, the figures in use being flicked by the finger against a playing ball which is thereby propelled by the flicking of the figures. The game is a football game, and it is desirable that the figures should be self-righting in order to give the game as much realism as possible, and so that the players do not continuously have to right fallen over figures.

The figure and its mounting are usually constructed from a number of separate parts which have to be adhered or otherwise connected together to form the final figure.

Mainly, these parts are in fact glued together by hand, before or after being painted, but such process is of course extremely slow and expensive, and therefore much attention has been given to assembling the parts of the figure automatically, the said parts being constructed accordingly.

The present invention is concerned with a novel method of connecting the parts of the figure together whereby assembly of same will be much facilitated and the figures will be more adapted for assembly by means of automatic machinery.

As has been mentioned above, it is novel for these figures to comprise a number of separate portions, and in a first arrangement, the mounting comprises a cup-shaped base portion, the open top of which is closed by means of a disc portion.

There is a figure portion which is connected to the disc portion; it may be integral with or separable from the base portion. It is usual furthermore, for the cup portion to contain a weight in the form of a metal washer for ballasting the completed figure to improve its self-righting characteristics.

In accordance with the present invention, in a first aspect, a figure for a sports game comprises a cup-shaped mounting supporting a figure portion, said mounting comprising a base cup portion, the cup of which is closed by means of a disc portion, the disc and figure portions being held to the base cup portion by means of a spigot and socket arrangement, comprising a socket formed in the interior of the base cup portion, the aperture of which socket portion opens through the bottom of the base cup portion, and the spigot portion being part of the combined disc and figure portions and being engaged in said socket portion in order to hold the portions of the figure together.

Inside the base cup portion there may be a weight comprising a metal washer, located to encircle the socket portion.

The socket portion may be made up of an axially slit tube portion, the several parts thereof having internal shoulders or ledges so as to define barbs which can engage behind a stepped portion on the spigot. The spigot will by this means snap into the socket, displacing said parts of the tube portion resiliently outwardly, and when the step has passed the shoulders on the parts of the socket tube portions, they will snap over the spigot to retain the socket and spigot in connected relationship.

The spigot is preferably an integral part of the figure portion, which is provided with a flange, the function of which is to serve to hold the disc portion, which has a central aperture to enable the spigot portion to pass therethrough, to the base cup portion.

All of the components, apart from the washer, may be injection moulded in plastics material.

In an alternative arrangement, the figure portion and disc portion are formed integrally, and the disc portion is provided on one side with the figure portion, and on the other side with the said spigot portion.

In another aspect of the invention there is provided a figure for a sports game comprising a cup-shaped mounting supporting a figure portion, said mounting comprising a base cup-portion, the cup of which closed by means of a disc portion, the disc and figure portions being held to the base cup portion by means of a spigot and socket arrangement, the socket having internal shoulder means and the spigot having projection means whereby, when the spigot is pushed into the socket, the projection means engages the shoulders firmly to hold the parts together.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein Fig. 1 shows an exploded, perspective view of a figure according to a first embodiment of the invention; Fig. 2 shows a sectional elevation of the mounting of the figure shown in Fig. 1; and Figs. 3 and 4 are views similar to Figs. 1 and 2, but show alternative embodiments of the invention.

Referring to the drawings, in the embodiment shown in Fig. 1, the parts of the figure are fabricated in plastics material such as polyvinylacetate except for the weighting washer 10 which is of metal. The base cup portion 12 is as shown, of dished formation, and has a ledge 14 to receive the disc portion 16, and is provided with a central internal socket portion 1 8 which in fact is axially split to define three tube portions 20, each provided with an internal barb portion 22. The socket bore as can be seen clearly in Fig. 2, opens to the underside of the base portion 12, the said bore curving smoothly into the outer surface of the base portion so that the constructed figures will slide freely over a playing surface.

The disc portion 16 is provided with a central aperture 24, whilst the figure portion 26 is provided with a retaining flange 28 and under the flange, a spigot portion 30. The spigot portion 30 has a recess 32 towards the free end thereof, in order to define an annular retaining shoulder 34.

As can be appreciated from a consideration of Fig.

2, the spigot portion 30 is adapted to be springingly received inside the socket portion 18 of the base, the flange 28 serving to trap the disc portion, as shown, in a position closing the base portion, and the barbs 22 on the inside of the socket tube portions serve to engage over the shoulder thereby to retain the figure portion to the mounting comprising the disc and base portions.

The disc portion 16 in fact has a sleeve 1 6A to the underside thereof which surrounds the socket portion in the assembled figure, in order to prevent the tube portions of the socket portion from splaying outwards when the spigot portion engages therein. It is to be noticed that the spigot portion does not project down to the bottom plane of the base cup portion on which the mounting will stand when in use, and the spigot will therefore not impede any sliding movement of the figure in use. Equally, it is possible to remove the spigot portion from the socket portion by inserting a suitable implement into the hole in the base cup portion and forcing it against the end of the spigot.

It will be seen that the arrangement described provides an extremely simple and effective method of assembling figures of a type to which the invention relates, and the use of adhesive for connecting the parts is not envisaged.

In the arrangement shown in Figs. 3 and 4, very little additional description is needed, in that the same elements are provided, but the figure and the disc are made integral, as is evident from the drawings.

Claims (6)

1. A figure for a sports game comprising a cupshaped mounting supporting a figure portion, said mounting comprising a base cup-portion, the cup of which closed by means of a disc portion, the disc and figure portions being held to the base cup portion by means of a spigot and socket arrangement, comprising a socket formed in the interior of the base cup portion, the aperture of which socket portions opens through the bottom of the base cup portion, and the spigot portion being part of the combined disc and figure portions, and being engaged in said socket portion in order to hold the portions of the figure together.

2. A figure according to claim 1, wherein, inside the base cup portion, there is a weight comprising a metal washer, located to encircle the spigot portion.

3. A figure according to claim 2 wherein, the socket portion is made up of an axially slotted tube portion, the several parts thereof having internal shoulders or ledges so as to define barbs which can engage behind a stepped portion on the spigot, the spigot being designed to snap into the socket displacing said parts of the tube portion resiliently outwardly, and when the step has passed the shoulders on the parts of the socket tube portions, they will snap over the spigot to retain the socket and spigot in connected relationship.

4. A figure according to any preceding claim, wherein the spigot is an integral part of the figure portion, which is provided with a flange, the function of which is to serve to hold the disc portion, which is a central aperture to enable the spigot portion to pass therethrough, to the base cup portion.

5. A figure according any claims 1, 2 or 3, wherein the figure portion and disc portion are formed integrally, and the disc portion is provided on one side with the figure portion and on the other side with the said spigot portion.

A figure for a sports game comprising a cupshaped mounting supporting a figure portion, said mounting comprising a base cup-portion, the cup of which closed by means of a disc portion, the disc and figure portions being held to the base cup portion by means of a spigot and socket arrangement, the socket having internal shoulder means and the spigot having projection means whereby, when the spigot is pushed into the socket, the projection means engages the shoulders firmly to hold the parts together.

6. A figure for sports games substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figs. 1 and 2 or Figs. 3 and 4 of the accompanying drawings.