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US2136060A - Game apparatus - Google Patents

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US2136060A
US2136060A US136628A US13662837A US2136060A US 2136060 A US2136060 A US 2136060A US 136628 A US136628 A US 136628A US 13662837 A US13662837 A US 13662837A US 2136060 A US2136060 A US 2136060A
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ball
runway
balls
playing
named
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US136628A
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Ken C Shyvers
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CHARLES B CANNON
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CHARLES B CANNON
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    • AHUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A63SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
    • A63FCARD, BOARD, OR ROULETTE GAMES; INDOOR GAMES USING SMALL MOVING PLAYING BODIES; VIDEO GAMES; GAMES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • A63F7/00Indoor games using small moving playing bodies, e.g. balls, discs or blocks
    • A63F7/02Indoor games using small moving playing bodies, e.g. balls, discs or blocks using falling playing bodies or playing bodies running on an inclined surface, e.g. pinball games
    • A63F7/025Pinball games, e.g. flipper games

Definitions

  • This invention relates to game apparatus.
  • This invention has particular reference to amusement or game apparatus, especially of the so-called coin-controlled marble game type which embodies an inclined playing board'or surface, and in which there is employed a plunger or analogous device for propelling balls from a point adjacent the lower end of the inclined playing board or surface onto the upper portion of the same so that the balls thus propelled may gravitate down the inclined playing board or surface into engagement with pins, or so-called spring bumpers, or other ball-obstructing or deflecting devices which may bearranged upon the inclined playing board or surface.
  • a primary object of the present invention therefore, to provide an amusement game apparatus of the so-called marble game type, or of analogous types of game apparatus employing balls, in which the spent or played balls are returned to the plunger or ball-propelling device of the game apparatus without at any time being allowed to drop to a point below the inclined playing board or surface of the game apparatus itself.
  • An additional object of the present'invention is toprovide an amusement or game apparatus of the so-called marble game type, in which the spent or played balls are at all times kept upon, and are visible upon, the inclined playing board or surface, as they are fed to the plunger or ballpropelling device, so that they player may, at all times, see the number of balls which he has played and also the number he has yet to play and which have been discharged from the playing surface to a point below the same for return to the plunger or ball-propelling device, thereby overcoming the above-mentioned objectionable features ofthe prior art constructions which employ reversely or otherwise inclined runways and the like for feeding the spent or played balls to the ball elevator.
  • a further object of the present invention is to provide a novel arrangement and combination of visible runways upon the inclined playing board or surface of a game apparatus of the so-called marble game type for feeding the spent or played balls to the plunger or ball-propelling device.
  • Another object of the present invention is to construct the new game apparatus in such a manner that the ball runway by which the spent or played balls are returned to the plunger or ball propelling device is continuous with, and communicates with, both the lower portion of the inclined playing surface or inclined playing board and also with the ball ramp or runway along in the visible ball-return runway, hereinbefore V referred to, and which communicates at one end with the lower portion of the ball-playing surface proper, of the inclined playing. board, and
  • a still further object of the present invention is to provide a novel device and arrangement for ejecting the balls, one at a time, out of the lower portion of the above-mentioned visible ball return runway and into the lower portionv of the ball ramp or runway and into position to be propelled up thelatter bythe plunger or ball-propelling device.
  • An additional object of the present invention is toprovide a novel arrangement and combination of a the ball-return runway, cut-ofi device, and ball-ejecting means, all of which cooperate to return the spent or played balls from the lower portion of the inclined ball-playing surface to the plunger or ball-propelling device;
  • Fig. 1 is atop plan View of a game apparatus embodying a preferred form of the present invention and with parts of the inclined playing board broken away to reveal the construction of the cut-off device; 7
  • Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical sectional view on line 2'2 in Fig. 1, showing parts of both the cutoff device and ball-ejecting device;
  • Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical sectional detail view of the cut-off device and is taken on'line 33 in Fig. 1;
  • Fig. 4 is a longitudinal vertical sectional detail view of the cut-off device and is taken on line 44 in Fig. 1;
  • Fig. 5 is a transverse vertical sectional detail view of the ball-ejecting device and is taken on line 55 in Fig. l;
  • Fig. 6 is a sectional detail view, on line 6 -6 in Fig. 1, illustrating the construction. of the ball return runway which is embodied in the present invention.
  • a preferred embodiment of the new game apparatus is shown in the drawing, is therein generally indicated at H), and is shown as being of the so-called marble game type and, more specifically, as being of that type of games which has recently become popular and which are known as the so-called bumper games, although the present invention and its several novel features, here inafter to be described and claimed, are not limited to use with games of this so-called other types of game apparatus employing balls.
  • the new game apparatus lEI includes a cabinet or casing, which is generally indicated at H, and which is shown as having a transparent glass top I2 although in certain types of games such, for example, as in the so-called non-coin-controlled or home games, of the marble type, this glass top may be, and is,'in fact, eliminated.
  • irrclin ed playing board or ball-playing surface 13 Arranged in the cabinet or casing II is an irrclin ed playing board or ball-playing surface 13, which is visible through the glass top l2, and provided at one side or longitudinal edge of this inclined playing board or surface i3 is a ball runway or ramp [4 along which balls are propelled, by means of a conventional plunger or ball-propelling device I5, onto the upper portion of the inclined playing board 13 so that they may gravitate over the latter. 7
  • various ball-obstructing devices which may be in the form of so-called spring bumpers l6, as shown, or in the form of pins or other ball-obstructing or analogous devices, as may be desired, since these devices do not form part of, nor are they essential to, the present invention.
  • a ball-return runway l which extends at an angle relative to both the long and short axes of the inclined playing board I2 and toward that side of the same at which the ballpropelling device I5 and the ball runway I4 are located (right hand edge, as seen in Fig. 1).
  • This ball-return runway I1 is preferably formed by a channel-shaped metal trackway 19 which is inserted into a groove l8 which is formed in the upper surface of the inclined playing. board l3 (Fig. 6).
  • the metal trackway or guideway 19 may, if desired, be eliminated and the balls allowed to run directly in the channel-shaped groove l8, although I find that the former arrangement is preferred because after such balls have been used for a time they become covered with a coating of paint from the painted surface of the: inclined playing board 13 and will stick to a wooden runway whereasthey will run freely down the metal runway IS without sticking to the latter and with no other inclination in the runway 17-49 than is provided by the inclination of the inclined playing board l3 itself.
  • the lower portion of the inclined ball return runway ll--I8I9 extendsbetween two blocks Ell-2
  • the ball-return runway ll communicates at its upper end (left hand end, Fig. 1) with. the lower portion of the inclined playing board or surface 1:3, and at.- its. lower end (right hand end, Fig. l)
  • 1 communicates, by way of an enlarged end portion Ha, with the lower portion of the ball runway or ramp l4.
  • I provide a ball-ejecting device which is generally indicated at 24.
  • This ballejecting device 24 comprises a manually operable memberor handle 25 which is movably, that is, slidably, mounted in the lower end Wall 26 of the cabinet II, and at its inner end this member 25 is provided with an enlarged head 21 which bears against a pin 28.
  • This pin 28 is slidably mounted in a slot 29 which is formed in a portion 30 of the wall or block 2
  • which is slidably mounted in a slot 32 which is formed in the wall or block 30.
  • This slot 32 opens at one end into the ball-return runway I1 and the ballel'ector member 3
  • a flat coil resetting spring 33 bears against the pin' 28 so as to retain the ball-ejector member 3
  • the present invention also contemplates and includes the provision of a novel arrangement of a.
  • This cut-off device 34 includes an operating bar 36 which is slidably mounted in the cabinet upon the inclined playing board I3, that is, upon the bottom side of the latter, by means of suitable guides or brackets such as 31.
  • This slide bar 36 extends transversely of the long axis of the cabinet N (Fig. 1) and it has two forwardly extending and parallel but spaced arms 38 and 39.
  • the arm 39 has an upward extension 40 which works in a slot 4
  • the slide bar 36-43-39 and the cut-ofi device 34 carried thereby are urged into their normal position (as in Fig. 1) by means of a resetting spring 43 (Fig.
  • this resetting spring 43 being attached at one end to the arm 38 and being anchored at its other end in the cabinet below the inclined playing board l3.
  • This resetting spring 43 should be strong enough to hold the slide bar 36-43-39 and the cut-off device 34 in their normal position (as in Fig. 1) and against movement therefrom should the player lift the front or lower end portion (bottom as seen in Fig. 1) of the cabinet H in an attempt to dislodge the cut-off device 34 from its normal and effective position in; an attempt to play the game apparatus fraudulently,
  • thesame may be played with any desired and predeter-v mined number of balls or marbles such, for ex-" ample, as ten, which are shown'in the drawing, and at the start of play these balls will normally be arranged, as shown, in the ball return runway I1, and when in this position the balls are pre vented, by the cut-off member 40-42, from traveling by gravity down the ball-return runway I! to the ball-ejecting device 24, and into position to be ejected by the latter from the runway I1 into the ball ramp or runway l4.
  • a predetermined number of the spent playing balls (which may be the entire number of balls used in playing the game or less than the entire number, but is illustrated as being five (Fig. 1), which is half of the number of balls used in playing the typical game illustrated in the drawing), for movement down the ball-return runway l1 into the lower portion of the latter, that is, to the ball-ejecting device 24. and into position to be ejected, by the latter, from the ball-return runway l'l into the ball runway I4 and into position to be propelled up the latter by the plunger l5.
  • the entire number of balls used in playing the game may be released at one operation of the coin slide 35, and cut-oil device 34-36-40-42, for movement down the ball return runway into position to be ejected from the latter into the runway l4, and into position to be propelled up the latter by the plunger l5;
  • the number of balls that may be released at one operation by the cutofi member 40-42 may be varied by varying the position or location of the cut-off member 40-42 either to the right or to the left of the position in which it is shown in Fig. l, and by correspondinglyvarying the size and shape of the block or wall 20, that is, extending the lower left hand por-, tion of the latter (as seen in Fig. 1) to the right or to the left of the position in which it is shown in Fig. 1.
  • the present invention provides a game apparatus of the so-called marble game type in which the played or spent balls are returned tothe plunger or ball-propelling device by means of a ball-return runway I l-l8l9 which is arranged at the same general level as the inclined playing boardv itself and without ever at any time going below the visible level of the inclined playing board or ball-playing surface, that is, the played balls at no time drop through any opening or openings in the inclined playing board or surface and are at all times visible upon the latter, so that the player may at all times readily see the entire number of balls with which the.
  • the balls are customarily returned to the plunger or ball propelling device by being dropped through one or more holes or openings in the inclined playing board or surface and from which they are directed, by one. or more reversely or otherwise inclined runways, to a ball elevator, by which'they are elevated into a position in front of the plunger or ball-propelling device.
  • the present invention eliminates both the necessity for, and the use of, the various reversely and otherwise inclined ball runways and sub-floors heretofore used in the prior art constructions for returning the spent or played balls from the inclined playing board or ball-playing surface to a ball elevator, (and from the latter to the plunger), as well as eliminating the necessity for such an elevator, itself, thus simplifying the construction of the game apparatus and reducing the cost of manufacturing the same, since in the present game apparatus, all of the balls or marbles which are used in playing the game are at all times kept upon, and are visible upon, the inclined playing board or ball playing surface of the game apparatus itself, and hence the necessity for the use of reversely or otherwise inclined runways and sub-floors, and a ball elevator arranged be-- low the visible ball playing surface or inclined playing board is eliminated.
  • the expression at the same level as the inclined ballplaying surface referring to the ball-return runway 11, is intended to mean that the said ball-return runway IT is not arranged below the level of the inclined playing board l3, relative to the horizontal, as has been the general practice heretofore of arranging ball-return runways in analogous game apparatus, but is, in fact, arranged at the same general level as the inclined playing board l3, relative to the horizontal, and neither above nor below the latter, and so as to be visible from above the same.
  • a cabinet or casing including an inclined ballplaying surface, a ball runway in the said cabinet at one side of the said ball-playing surface for guiding balls onto the upper portion of the latter, a ball-propelling device arranged in the lower end portion of the said ball runway for propelling balls up the latter and onto the upperportion of the said inclined ball-playing surface so that they may gravitate over the latter,
  • the said second-named ball runway extending from thelower portion of the said inclined ball-playing surface toward that side of the said cabinet at which the said first-named ball runway and ball-propelling device are located and having communication at its upper end with the lower portion of the said inclined ball-playing surface and having communication at its lower end with the lower end portion of the said first-named ball runway, and means for ejecting balls, one at a time, from the lower end portion of the said second-named ball runway into the lower end portion of the said first-named ball runway and into a position to.
  • said ball-propelling device said secondfnafmed runway having an,” obstruction in the lowerend' portion thereof preventingballs from traveling by gravityfrom the said second-n'amed runway into the said first-named runway
  • said ball ejecting means including a member for forcing a ball out of the-lower end portion of jthesaid-secondenamed runway around the said jlobstruction and into the lower end portion of Ina: game apparatus, thecombination of: a cabinet' o'r casing including inclined ballplaying surface, a ,ball runway in the said cabmet at one side?
  • said ball-propelling device arranged in the lower end portion of the said ball runway for propelling balls up the latter and onto the upper portion of the said inclined ball-playing surface so that they may gravitate over the latter, and a second ball runway in the said cabinet or casing, and at the same level as the said inclined ball-playing surface, for directing spent or played balls from the lower portion of the said inclined ball-playing surface into the lower end portion of the said first-named ball runway, and means for ejecting balls, one at a time, from the lower end portion of the said second-named ball runway into the lower end portion of the said first-named ball runway and into a position to be propelled up the latter by the said ball-propelling means, said ball-ejecting means including a ball-ejecting member movably mounted in the said cabinet for movement into and out of ball-ejecting position in the lower end portion of the said second-named ball runway, said second-name
  • the said ball-ejecting member including a portion for forcing a ball out of the lower end portion of the said second-named runway around the said obstruction and into the lower end portion of the said first-named-runway.
  • a cabinet or casing including an inclined ballplaying surface, a ball runway in the said cabinet at one side of the said ball-playing surface for guiding balls onto the upper portion of the latter, a ball-propelling device arranged in the lower end portion of the said ball runway for propelling balls up the latter and onto the upper portion of the said inclined ball-playing surface so that they may gravitate over the latter, and a second ball runway in the said cabinet or casing, and at the same level as the said inclined ballplaying surface, for directing spent or played balls from the lower portion of the said inclined ball-playing surface into the lower end portion of the said first-named ball runway, means for ejecting balls, one at a time, from the lower end portion of the said second-named ball runway into the lower end portion of the said first-named runway and into a position to be propelled up the latter by the said ball-propelling means, said ball-ejecting means including a ball-ejecting member movably mounted in the
  • a cabinetor casing including an inclined ball-; playing surface, a ball'runway in the said cabi net or casingvat' one side of the said ball-playing surface for guiding balls onto the upper portion of the latter, a"ball-propelling device arranged in the lower end portion of the said ball runway for propelling balls up the latter and onto the upper portion of the said inclined ball playing surface so that they may gravitate over the latter, and a second ball runway in the said cabinet or casing, and at the same level as the said inclined ball playing surface, for directing spent or played balls from the lower portion of the said inclined ball-playing surface into the lower end portion of the first-named ball runway, the said second-named ball runway extending from the lower portion of the said inclined ball-playing surface toward that side of the said cabinet at which the said first-named ball runway and the said ball-propelling device are located and having communication at its upper end with the lower portion of the said inclined ball-playing surface and having communication at its lower end with the lower end portion of the said first
  • a cabinet or casing including an inclined ballplaying surface, a ball runway in the said cabi-- net at one side, of the said ball-playing surface for guiding balls onto the upper portion of the latter, a ball-propelling device arranged in the lower end portion of the said ball runway for propelling balls up the latter and onto the upper portion of the said inclined ball-playing surface so that they may gravitate over the latter, and a second ball runway in the said cabinet or casing, and at the same level as the said inclined ball-playing surface, for directing spent or played balls from the lower portion of the said inclined ball-playing surface into the lower end portion of the first-named ball runway, the said secondnamed ball runway extending from the lower portion of the said inclined ball-playing surface toward that side of the said cabinet or casing at which the said first-named ball runway and the said ball-propelling device are located and having communication at its upper end with the lower portion of the said inclined ball-playing surface and-having communication at

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Description

Nov. 8, 1938. K. c. SHYVERS GAME APPARATUS Filed April 13, 1937 4 u a t s M 5 r W w w z r 6 av w 7 k 4, w f: U n w 2 9 r iv 7 I 4 7a J 4 a w 7 Z H/ m M 2 U 6 4 ma r n 0 mu, MW 2, S m
ii; I llll lllrL n 1L Patented Nov. 8, 1938 PATENT OFFICE GAME APPARATUS Ken 0. Shyvers, Chicago, Ill., assignor of onefourth to Charles B. Cannon, Chicago, Ill.
Application April 13, 1937, Serial No. 136,628
5 Claims. (01. 273-121) This invention relates to game apparatus.
It is an object of this invention to provide an improved game apparatus which is relatively simple and inexpensive in construction and efficient in use.
This invention has particular reference to amusement or game apparatus, especially of the so-called coin-controlled marble game type which embodies an inclined playing board'or surface, and in which there is employed a plunger or analogous device for propelling balls from a point adjacent the lower end of the inclined playing board or surface onto the upper portion of the same so that the balls thus propelled may gravitate down the inclined playing board or surface into engagement with pins, or so-called spring bumpers, or other ball-obstructing or deflecting devices which may bearranged upon the inclined playing board or surface.
Heretofore in the art of the above-mentioned type of game apparatus it has always been customary to drop the played or spent balls through one or more holes or, openings formed or provided in the inclined playing board or surface The return of the spent balls to the ball elevator has been accomplished in various ways, as by the use of reversely or otherwise inclined runways arranged at or adjacent to the lower end of the inclined playing board or ball-playing surface and by which the spent or played balls are fed to a point adjacent to the ball elevator. There are certain objectionable features, however, to this prior art type of construction and among these is the fact that in using this type of construction the player can not see the balls after they have been discharged from the playing surface to a point below the latter and are being returned to the ball elevator and plunger, or ballpropelling device, and hence he can not readily tell the number of balls he has already played and has yet to play, without the aid'of some special registering or indicating apparatus for this purpose. mentioned prior art constructions is, in general, relatively complicated and expensive, from the standpoint of manufacture, and they are useful only where it is necessary to drop the spentor played balls through one or more holes or openings in the inclined playing board or surface and to a point below the same. However, certain Furthermore, the use of the abovetypes of marble games have recently come into use, especially the so-called bumper games, in which'ball exit scoring holes or openings in the inclined playing board or surface are not required, and hence the only reason for dropping that which keeps the played or spent balls upon the playing surface of the same, in the ball exit opening, until such time as all of the balls have been played, whereupon they are dropped through this opening to a point below the playing surface for return to the-ball-elevator and plunger.
According to the present invention, however, I provide'a construction by which the played or spent balls can be returned to the plunger or ball-propelling device of an amusement or game apparatus of the so-called marble game type, or of other analogous types of game apparatus employing balls, without dropping the spent or played balls at any time to a point below the inclined playing board or surface of the apparatus and in which the spent or playedballs are at all times kept upon the upper surface of the inclined playing board and in full view of the player- It is ,a primary object of the present invention, therefore, to provide an amusement game apparatus of the so-called marble game type, or of analogous types of game apparatus employing balls, in which the spent or played balls are returned to the plunger or ball-propelling device of the game apparatus without at any time being allowed to drop to a point below the inclined playing board or surface of the game apparatus itself.
An additional object of the present'invention is toprovide an amusement or game apparatus of the so-called marble game type, in which the spent or played balls are at all times kept upon, and are visible upon, the inclined playing board or surface, as they are fed to the plunger or ballpropelling device, so that they player may, at all times, see the number of balls which he has played and also the number he has yet to play and which have been discharged from the playing surface to a point below the same for return to the plunger or ball-propelling device, thereby overcoming the above-mentioned objectionable features ofthe prior art constructions which employ reversely or otherwise inclined runways and the like for feeding the spent or played balls to the ball elevator.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a novel arrangement and combination of visible runways upon the inclined playing board or surface of a game apparatus of the so-called marble game type for feeding the spent or played balls to the plunger or ball-propelling device.
Another object of the present invention is to construct the new game apparatus in such a manner that the ball runway by which the spent or played balls are returned to the plunger or ball propelling device is continuous with, and communicates with, both the lower portion of the inclined playing surface or inclined playing board and also with the ball ramp or runway along in the visible ball-return runway, hereinbefore V referred to, and which communicates at one end with the lower portion of the ball-playing surface proper, of the inclined playing. board, and
at its other end with the ball ramp or runway along which the balls are propelled onto the upper portion of the inclined playing board or surface. i
A still further object of the present invention is to provide a novel device and arrangement for ejecting the balls, one at a time, out of the lower portion of the above-mentioned visible ball return runway and into the lower portionv of the ball ramp or runway and into position to be propelled up thelatter bythe plunger or ball-propelling device.
An additional object of the present invention is toprovide a novel arrangement and combination of a the ball-return runway, cut-ofi device, and ball-ejecting means, all of which cooperate to return the spent or played balls from the lower portion of the inclined ball-playing surface to the plunger or ball-propelling device;
Other objects will appear hereinafter.
The invention consists in the novel combination and arrangement of parts to be hereinafter described and claimed.
The invention will be best understoodby reference to the accompanying drawing showing the preferred form of construction, and in which;
Fig. 1 is atop plan View of a game apparatus embodying a preferred form of the present invention and with parts of the inclined playing board broken away to reveal the construction of the cut-off device; 7
Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical sectional view on line 2'2 in Fig. 1, showing parts of both the cutoff device and ball-ejecting device;
Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical sectional detail view of the cut-off device and is taken on'line 33 in Fig. 1;
Fig. 4 is a longitudinal vertical sectional detail view of the cut-off device and is taken on line 44 in Fig. 1;
. Fig. 5 is a transverse vertical sectional detail view of the ball-ejecting device and is taken on line 55 in Fig. l; and
Fig. 6 is a sectional detail view, on line 6 -6 in Fig. 1, illustrating the construction. of the ball return runway which is embodied in the present invention.
A preferred embodiment of the new game apparatus is shown in the drawing, is therein generally indicated at H), and is shown as being of the so-called marble game type and, more specifically, as being of that type of games which has recently become popular and which are known as the so-called bumper games, although the present invention and its several novel features, here inafter to be described and claimed, are not limited to use with games of this so-called other types of game apparatus employing balls.
The new game apparatus lEI includes a cabinet or casing, which is generally indicated at H, and which is shown as having a transparent glass top I2 although in certain types of games such, for example, as in the so-called non-coin-controlled or home games, of the marble type, this glass top may be, and is,'in fact, eliminated. v Arranged in the cabinet or casing II is an irrclin ed playing board or ball-playing surface 13, which is visible through the glass top l2, and provided at one side or longitudinal edge of this inclined playing board or surface i3 is a ball runway or ramp [4 along which balls are propelled, by means of a conventional plunger or ball-propelling device I5, onto the upper portion of the inclined playing board 13 so that they may gravitate over the latter. 7
Provided upon the inclined ball-playing board or surface [2 are various ball-obstructing devices which may be in the form of so-called spring bumpers l6, as shown, or in the form of pins or other ball-obstructing or analogous devices, as may be desired, since these devices do not form part of, nor are they essential to, the present invention.
In order to carry out the objects of the present invention I provide a ball-return runway l"! which extends at an angle relative to both the long and short axes of the inclined playing board I2 and toward that side of the same at which the ballpropelling device I5 and the ball runway I4 are located (right hand edge, as seen in Fig. 1). This ball-return runway I1 is preferably formed by a channel-shaped metal trackway 19 which is inserted into a groove l8 which is formed in the upper surface of the inclined playing. board l3 (Fig. 6). However, the metal trackway or guideway 19 may, if desired, be eliminated and the balls allowed to run directly in the channel-shaped groove l8, although I find that the former arrangement is preferred because after such balls have been used for a time they become covered with a coating of paint from the painted surface of the: inclined playing board 13 and will stick to a wooden runway whereasthey will run freely down the metal runway IS without sticking to the latter and with no other inclination in the runway 17-49 than is provided by the inclination of the inclined playing board l3 itself.
The lower portion of the inclined ball return runway ll--I8I9 extendsbetween two blocks Ell-2| of wood or other material which are arranged upon the inclined playing board l3 and theformer of which, that is, block 20, separates the playing surface of the inclined playing board [3 from the ball runway orv ramp I4.
' The ball-return runway ll communicates at its upper end (left hand end, Fig. 1) with. the lower portion of the inclined playing board or surface 1:3, and at.- its. lower end (right hand end, Fig. l)
this ball-return runway |1 communicates, by way of an enlarged end portion Ha, with the lower portion of the ball runway or ramp l4.
It will be noted (Fig. 1) that the lowermost of the played or spent balls 23 which are shown as being disposed in the ball-return runway bears against a ball-obstructing member 22 which prevents it from running directly into the ball ramp or runway l4, and, in order to eject the balls, one
. at a time, from the ball-return runway, l1 into the ball runway or ramp l4, and into position to be propelled up the latter by the plunger or ballpropelling device I5, I provide a ball-ejecting device which is generally indicated at 24. This ballejecting device 24 comprises a manually operable memberor handle 25 which is movably, that is, slidably, mounted in the lower end Wall 26 of the cabinet II, and at its inner end this member 25 is provided with an enlarged head 21 which bears against a pin 28. This pin 28 is slidably mounted in a slot 29 which is formed in a portion 30 of the wall or block 2| (Fig. and this pin 28 is attached to a ball-ejector member 3| which is slidably mounted in a slot 32 which is formed in the wall or block 30. This slot 32 opens at one end into the ball-return runway I1 and the ballel'ector member 3| is, as shown, provided with a beveled or angled edge 3|a so that the ballejector member 3| is, in efiect, wedge-shaped (Fig. l) One end portion of a flat coil resetting spring 33 bears against the pin' 28 so as to retain the ball-ejector member 3| in, and to return the same to its normal position (as in Fig. 1)
The present invention also contemplates and includes the provision of a novel arrangement of a.
cut-off device, generally indicated at 34, and which is associated with a coin control or coin slide 35, of conventional design, for releasing balls held by the said cut-off device in the upper portion of the ball return runway l for return to the ball ejector-member 24 and plunger l5. This cut-off. device 34 includes an operating bar 36 which is slidably mounted in the cabinet upon the inclined playing board I3, that is, upon the bottom side of the latter, by means of suitable guides or brackets such as 31. This slide bar 36 extends transversely of the long axis of the cabinet N (Fig. 1) and it has two forwardly extending and parallel but spaced arms 38 and 39. l The arm 39 has an upward extension 40 which works in a slot 4| which is provided in the block or wall l8-20 (Fig. 3) and this extension 40 has a laterally extending arm 42 which normally projects across the ballreturn runway l1 and functions, in a manner to be described more fully hereinafter, as a cut-off member for controlling the return of the spent or played balls from the lower portion of the inclined playing board l3 to the ball-ejecting device 25. The slide bar 36-43-39 and the cut-ofi device 34 carried thereby are urged into their normal position (as in Fig. 1) by means of a resetting spring 43 (Fig. 1), this resetting spring 43 being attached at one end to the arm 38 and being anchored at its other end in the cabinet below the inclined playing board l3. This resetting spring 43 should be strong enough to hold the slide bar 36-43-39 and the cut-off device 34 in their normal position (as in Fig. 1) and against movement therefrom should the player lift the front or lower end portion (bottom as seen in Fig. 1) of the cabinet H in an attempt to dislodge the cut-off device 34 from its normal and effective position in; an attempt to play the game apparatus fraudulently,
that is, without inserting a coin into the coin slide 35. l
Operation- In the use of the new game apparatus thesame may be played with any desired and predeter-v mined number of balls or marbles such, for ex-" ample, as ten, which are shown'in the drawing, and at the start of play these balls will normally be arranged, as shown, in the ball return runway I1, and when in this position the balls are pre vented, by the cut-off member 40-42, from traveling by gravity down the ball-return runway I! to the ball-ejecting device 24, and into position to be ejected by the latter from the runway I1 into the ball ramp or runway l4. However, when the player inserts a suitable coin into the coin slide 35, and pushes the latter inwardly in the usual manner, the inner end portion of the coin slide 35 engagesthe transversely extending portion of the operating slide bar 36 and pushes the latter forwardly (upwardly as seen in Fig.1), against the action of the resetting spring 43, thereby tensioning the latter, and thus withdrawing the cut-off member 40-42 from the ballreturn runway l1 (upwardly as seen in Fig. 1, right to left, Fig. 4). Accordingly, when the cutoff member 40-42 is thus withdrawn from the ball-return runway I! it releases a predetermined number of the spent playing balls, (which may be the entire number of balls used in playing the game or less than the entire number, but is illustrated as being five (Fig. 1), which is half of the number of balls used in playing the typical game illustrated in the drawing), for movement down the ball-return runway l1 into the lower portion of the latter, that is, to the ball-ejecting device 24. and into position to be ejected, by the latter, from the ball-return runway l'l into the ball runway I4 and into position to be propelled up the latter by the plunger l5. However, when the coin slide 35 is released the tensioned resetting spring 43 returns the slide bar 36, and the cut-off member 40-42 carried thereby, back into their initial positions (as in Fig. 1) the cut-ofi member 40-42 thus preventing the remaining number of the spent balls (five, as shown) from traveling down the ball-return runway I1 into position to be ejected from the latter, by the ball-ejecting device 24, into the ball-runway l1, until such time as the coin slide 35 is again operated. It will be noted, however, that if the game is played, for example, with five balls (instead of ten as illustrated in the drawing) the entire number of balls used in playing the game may be released at one operation of the coin slide 35, and cut-oil device 34-36-40-42, for movement down the ball return runway into position to be ejected from the latter into the runway l4, and into position to be propelled up the latter by the plunger l5;
and it will also be noted that the number of balls that may be released at one operation by the cutofi member 40-42 may be varied by varying the position or location of the cut-off member 40-42 either to the right or to the left of the position in which it is shown in Fig. l, and by correspondinglyvarying the size and shape of the block or wall 20, that is, extending the lower left hand por-, tion of the latter (as seen in Fig. 1) to the right or to the left of the position in which it is shown in Fig. 1.
In order to eject the balls released by the cutoff member 40-42 from. the ball-return runway into the ball runway l4, and into position to be propelled up the latter bythe plunger l5, the
player pushes in onthe manually operable mem-v her or handle 25, whereupon the enlarged head 21, which is provided on the inner end of the latter, engages the depending pin 28 and thus moves the latter forwardly (right to left, Fig. 5) in its slot. 29. This movement of the pin 29 slides the wedge-shaped ball-ejector member 3| forwardly (right to left, Fig. 5), thus projecting the same across the lower end portion of the ball-return runway l1, and during this operation thebeveled edge 3la of the wedge-shaped ball-ejector member 3! engages the lowermost ball 23 in the ball return'runway l1 and in so doing moves, that is, wedges the same upwardly, (bottom to top, Fig. 1, right to left, Fig. 5), past the ball-obstructing or ball-stopping member 22, intothe enlarged lower end portion 11a of the ball runway I-l, whereupon the thus ejected ball 23 will gravitate, by reason of the inclination of the inclined playing board l3 and ball returnirunway I! (note Fig. 5) into the lower portion of the ball ramp or runway l4 and into av position to be propelled up the latter (by'the plunger 15) and onto the upper portion of the inclined playing board 13, so that the thus played ball may gravitate over the latter to the lower end of-the same and into the upper portion of the ball-return runway I! wherein it will be prevented, by the cut-off member 4D42, from traveling down the ball-return runway ll into position to be ejected from the latter, by the ballejecting device 24, into the ball runway or ramp Mland into, position to be propelled up the latter by the plunger l5. s
It will be seen, therefore, from the foregoing description, taken in conjunction with the drawing, that the present invention provides a game apparatus of the so-called marble game type in which the played or spent balls are returned tothe plunger or ball-propelling device by means of a ball-return runway I l-l8l9 which is arranged at the same general level as the inclined playing boardv itself and without ever at any time going below the visible level of the inclined playing board or ball-playing surface, that is, the played balls at no time drop through any opening or openings in the inclined playing board or surface and are at all times visible upon the latter, so that the player may at all times readily see the entire number of balls with which the. game is played and thus see both number of balls he has already played and the number he has yet to play which is, of .course, impossible, in the prior art constructions without the use of special registering or indicating devices, since in the prior art constructions the balls are customarily returned to the plunger or ball propelling device by being dropped through one or more holes or openings in the inclined playing board or surface and from which they are directed, by one. or more reversely or otherwise inclined runways, to a ball elevator, by which'they are elevated into a position in front of the plunger or ball-propelling device.
It will also be noted that the present invention eliminates both the necessity for, and the use of, the various reversely and otherwise inclined ball runways and sub-floors heretofore used in the prior art constructions for returning the spent or played balls from the inclined playing board or ball-playing surface to a ball elevator, (and from the latter to the plunger), as well as eliminating the necessity for such an elevator, itself, thus simplifying the construction of the game apparatus and reducing the cost of manufacturing the same, since in the present game apparatus, all of the balls or marbles which are used in playing the game are at all times kept upon, and are visible upon, the inclined playing board or ball playing surface of the game apparatus itself, and hence the necessity for the use of reversely or otherwise inclined runways and sub-floors, and a ball elevator arranged be-- low the visible ball playing surface or inclined playing board is eliminated.
While I have shown and described those novel features of the present invention which reside in and center about the ball-return runway l1 and ball-ejecting device 24, as being associated with acoin-controlled game apparatus, the aforesaid features may also be used in conjunction with the so-called home, or non-coin-controlled type of game apparatus, by eliminating the coin slide 35 and the cut-off device 343638-39 Ail-62 which is associated therewith.
As used hereinafter in the claims, the expression at the same level as the inclined ballplaying surface, referring to the ball-return runway 11, is intended to mean that the said ball-return runway IT is not arranged below the level of the inclined playing board l3, relative to the horizontal, as has been the general practice heretofore of arranging ball-return runways in analogous game apparatus, but is, in fact, arranged at the same general level as the inclined playing board l3, relative to the horizontal, and neither above nor below the latter, and so as to be visible from above the same.
While I have illustrated and described the preferred form of construction for carrying my invention into effect, this is capable of variation and modification, without departing from the spirit of the invention. I, therefore, do not wish to be limited to the precise details of construction set forth, but desire to avail myself of such variations and modifications as come within the scope of the appended claims. 7
Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is: r
1. In a game apparatus, the combination of: a cabinet or casing including an inclined ballplaying surface, a ball runway in the said cabinet at one side of the said ball-playing surface for guiding balls onto the upper portion of the latter, a ball-propelling device arranged in the lower end portion of the said ball runway for propelling balls up the latter and onto the upperportion of the said inclined ball-playing surface so that they may gravitate over the latter,
and a second ball runway in the said cabinet,
and at the same level as the inclined ball-playing surface, for directing spent or played balls from the lower portion of the said inclined ballplaying surface into the lower end portion of the said first-named ball runway, the said second-named ball runway extending from thelower portion of the said inclined ball-playing surface toward that side of the said cabinet at which the said first-named ball runway and ball-propelling device are located and having communication at its upper end with the lower portion of the said inclined ball-playing surface and having communication at its lower end with the lower end portion of the said first-named ball runway, and means for ejecting balls, one at a time, from the lower end portion of the said second-named ball runway into the lower end portion of the said first-named ball runway and into a position to. be propelled up the latter by the said ball-propelling device, said secondfnafmed runway having an," obstruction in the lowerend' portion thereof preventingballs from traveling by gravityfrom the said second-n'amed runway into the said first-named runway, and the said ball ejecting means including a member for forcing a ball out of the-lower end portion of jthesaid-secondenamed runway around the said jlobstruction and into the lower end portion of Ina: game apparatus, thecombination of: a cabinet' o'r casing including inclined ballplaying surface, a ,ball runway in the said cabmet at one side? of the said ball-playing surface for guiding balls onto the upper portion of the latter, a ball-propelling device arranged in the lower end portion of the said ball runway for propelling balls up the latter and onto the upper portion of the said inclined ball-playing surface so that they may gravitate over the latter, and a second ball runway in the said cabinet or casing, and at the same level as the said inclined ball-playing surface, for directing spent or played balls from the lower portion of the said inclined ball-playing surface into the lower end portion of the said first-named ball runway, and means for ejecting balls, one at a time, from the lower end portion of the said second-named ball runway into the lower end portion of the said first-named ball runway and into a position to be propelled up the latter by the said ball-propelling means, said ball-ejecting means including a ball-ejecting member movably mounted in the said cabinet for movement into and out of ball-ejecting position in the lower end portion of the said second-named ball runway, said second-named runway having an obstruction in the lower end portion thereof preventing balls from traveling by gravity from the said second-named runway into the said first-named runway, and
the said ball-ejecting member including a portion for forcing a ball out of the lower end portion of the said second-named runway around the said obstruction and into the lower end portion of the said first-named-runway.
3.- In a game apparatus, the combination of a cabinet or casing including an inclined ballplaying surface, a ball runway in the said cabinet at one side of the said ball-playing surface for guiding balls onto the upper portion of the latter, a ball-propelling device arranged in the lower end portion of the said ball runway for propelling balls up the latter and onto the upper portion of the said inclined ball-playing surface so that they may gravitate over the latter, and a second ball runway in the said cabinet or casing, and at the same level as the said inclined ballplaying surface, for directing spent or played balls from the lower portion of the said inclined ball-playing surface into the lower end portion of the said first-named ball runway, means for ejecting balls, one at a time, from the lower end portion of the said second-named ball runway into the lower end portion of the said first-named runway and into a position to be propelled up the latter by the said ball-propelling means, said ball-ejecting means including a ball-ejecting member movably mounted in the said cabinet for movement into and out of ball-ejecting position in the lower end portion of the said secondnamed ball runway, and means for operating the said ball-ejecting member including a manually operable member movably mounted in a wall of the said cabinet or casing, said second-named runway having an obstruction in the lower end portion thereof preventing balls from traveling by gravity from the said: secondnamed runway into the said first-named runway, and the said ball-ejecting member including'a portion for forcing a ball out of the lower end portion of V said first-named runway. V
4. In' a game apparatus, the combination of:
a cabinetor casing including an inclined ball-; playing surface, a ball'runway in the said cabi net or casingvat' one side of the said ball-playing surface for guiding balls onto the upper portion of the latter, a"ball-propelling device arranged in the lower end portion of the said ball runway for propelling balls up the latter and onto the upper portion of the said inclined ball playing surface so that they may gravitate over the latter, and a second ball runway in the said cabinet or casing, and at the same level as the said inclined ball playing surface, for directing spent or played balls from the lower portion of the said inclined ball-playing surface into the lower end portion of the first-named ball runway, the said second-named ball runway extending from the lower portion of the said inclined ball-playing surface toward that side of the said cabinet at which the said first-named ball runway and the said ball-propelling device are located and having communication at its upper end with the lower portion of the said inclined ball-playing surface and having communication at its lower end with the lower end portion of the said firstnamed ball runway, and means for ejecting balls, one at a time, from the lower end portion of the said second-named ball runway into the lower end portion of the said first-named ball runway and into a position to be propelled up the latter by the said ballpropelling means, said ballejecting means including a ball-ejecting member movably mounted in the said cabinet for movement into and out of ball-ejecting position in the lower end portion of the said second-named ball runway, said second-named runway having an ber including a portion for forcing a ball out of the lower end portion of the said second-named runway around the said obstruction and into the lower end portion of the said first-named runway.
5. In a game apparatus, the combination of: a cabinet or casing including an inclined ballplaying surface, a ball runway in the said cabi-- net at one side, of the said ball-playing surface for guiding balls onto the upper portion of the latter, a ball-propelling device arranged in the lower end portion of the said ball runway for propelling balls up the latter and onto the upper portion of the said inclined ball-playing surface so that they may gravitate over the latter, and a second ball runway in the said cabinet or casing, and at the same level as the said inclined ball-playing surface, for directing spent or played balls from the lower portion of the said inclined ball-playing surface into the lower end portion of the first-named ball runway, the said secondnamed ball runway extending from the lower portion of the said inclined ball-playing surface toward that side of the said cabinet or casing at which the said first-named ball runway and the said ball-propelling device are located and having communication at its upper end with the lower portion of the said inclined ball-playing surface and-having communication at its lower end with the lower endportion of the said first-named vball runway, and means for ejecting balls, one at a time,.from the lower end portion of the said second-named ball runway into the lower end portion of the said first-named ball runway and into a position to be propelled up the latter by the said ball-propelling means, said ball-ejecting means including aball-ejecting member movably mounted in the said cabinet for. movement into and out of balleejecting position in the lower end portion of the said second-named ball runway, and means for operating the said ball-ejecting
US136628A 1937-04-13 1937-04-13 Game apparatus Expired - Lifetime US2136060A (en)

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Cited By (9)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2551023A (en) * 1947-04-05 1951-05-01 David D Levitt Ball transfer mechanism for ball games
US2577222A (en) * 1947-12-15 1951-12-04 Douglas R Wiser Ball centering and propelling mechanism for playing boards
US2584956A (en) * 1946-06-24 1952-02-05 Williams Patent Corp Ball return and projecting mechanism for amusement game apparatuses
US2614840A (en) * 1947-11-06 1952-10-21 Arthur Peter Smith Ball game device
US2663568A (en) * 1951-07-16 1953-12-22 Gen Patent Corp Projecting device for pin ball amusement apparatus
US2964658A (en) * 1956-11-30 1960-12-13 Donald R Bocast Random signal generator
US3120390A (en) * 1961-10-04 1964-02-04 William G Fletcher Wrist bowling game
US3466036A (en) * 1966-11-09 1969-09-09 William F Connelly Coin-operated ball separating and dispensing device
US3642280A (en) * 1968-07-18 1972-02-15 Edouard Llorens Simulated football game apparatus

Cited By (9)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2584956A (en) * 1946-06-24 1952-02-05 Williams Patent Corp Ball return and projecting mechanism for amusement game apparatuses
US2551023A (en) * 1947-04-05 1951-05-01 David D Levitt Ball transfer mechanism for ball games
US2614840A (en) * 1947-11-06 1952-10-21 Arthur Peter Smith Ball game device
US2577222A (en) * 1947-12-15 1951-12-04 Douglas R Wiser Ball centering and propelling mechanism for playing boards
US2663568A (en) * 1951-07-16 1953-12-22 Gen Patent Corp Projecting device for pin ball amusement apparatus
US2964658A (en) * 1956-11-30 1960-12-13 Donald R Bocast Random signal generator
US3120390A (en) * 1961-10-04 1964-02-04 William G Fletcher Wrist bowling game
US3466036A (en) * 1966-11-09 1969-09-09 William F Connelly Coin-operated ball separating and dispensing device
US3642280A (en) * 1968-07-18 1972-02-15 Edouard Llorens Simulated football game apparatus

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