US2444999A - Miniature tennis game - Google Patents

Description

July 13, 1948. J. NA' I'CHUK MNIATURE TENNIS GAME Filed May 2, 1946 |N\IENTOR J 0114 A AT CHI/K I M u $M ATTORNEY Patented July 13, 1948 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MINIATURE TENNIS GAME John Natchuk, East Islip, N. Y. Application May 2, 1946, Serial No. 666,750

2 Claims.

This invention relates to an improved game.

It is an object of the invention to provide a game having many points of similarity with tenhis or table tennis and which will afford amusement and entertainment to the players. My game has the advantage that it is more compact in form than tennis or table tennis and also the ball is captive and cannot escape from the playing area.

Other objects will be apparent from the accompanying drawing in which- Fig. 1 is a perspective view of one form of game embodying'my invention, and

Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing a paddle which may be used in playing my game. I

My game comprises a ball 5 mounted on the upper end of an elongated resilient spring member 8, which, in turn, is suitably supported on a base 1.

The ball 5 is preferably made of resilient material and may be similar to a table tennis ball or may be an air or gas filled ball having a rubber, Celluloid or other similar casing. The elongated spring member 6 may be made of any suitable spring material strong enough to normally support the ball in upright position but resilient enough to permit the ball to swing back and forth when in play. For this purpose I have found that spring wire such as hard drawn music wire produces satisfactory results. The spring wire is suitably attached to the ball as by being vulcanized in the rubber casing, embedded in the Celluloid or otherwise fastened thereto. At its lower end the spring member 6 is mounted adjacent the central portion of the base I as by being extended through or inserted in an aperture formed therein. It will be appreciated that the base may be made of any suitable material such as wood.

Adjacent the two side edges of the base I provide a pair of uprights or standards 8 which may be in the form of wood dowels and at the upper ends of the two uprights I provide the nets 9 which may be made of fabric mesh and which extend towards each other in the same plane and obstruct a portion of the area between the uprights. The outer edges of the nets may be provided with loop-like hems 19 into which the ends of the standards are inserted and the inner edges of the nets are provided with fabric or cloth borders H. The nets are supported in the manner shown extending in a plane between the two standards by means of a cord or a wire [2 stretched between the upper ends of the nets. I preferably reenforce or stiffen the nets by means of a suitable stiffening agent such as a lacquer applied to the nets and the cloth borders. When in operating position the two nets should be located a short distance from the two sides of the ball 5 and at such a height that if the ball is swung to the sides it will engage the nets.

In using my game the base is placed upon a table such as a ping pong table and the players are each provided with a paddle similar to a table tennis paddle such as shown at 13 in Fig. 2. The ball may be placed in play by being pulled against the tension of the spring wire to one side of the nets and then released so that it swings between the nets to the other side. Each of the players in turn then strikes the ball with the paddle and attempts to drive it back to the opposite side of the nets. If either of the players fails to hit the ball or if he fails to drive it back to the other side of the net he, of course, loses a point. Any type of scoring may be employed in playing the game such as that employed in tennis or table tennis. The game may also be played with difierent types of paddles, racquets, or bats or may be played manually by being struck with the hand or fist.

It will thus be seen that I have provided an improved game embodying many of the features of tennis and table tennis which afiords amusement and entertainment and which has the advantage of being compact and so arranged that the ball cannot escape from the playing area. Modifications may be made in the illustrated embodiment of my invention without departing from the invention as set forth in the accompanying claims.

I claim:

1. In a ball game, a base member, an elongated spring wire mounted in upright position adjacent the center of the base member and having a ball supported at the upper end thereof, a pair of standards mounted adjacent the two sides of the base member and a pair of nets supported from said standards a short distance from the two opposite sides of the ball, said spring wire being sufficiently strong to support the ball in upright position but being resilient enough to permit the ball to swing back and forth when in play.

2. In a ball game the combination of a pair of nets, means supporting the nets in spaced relationship and at substantially the same height and in the same vertical plane, a ball and flexible means supporting the ball so that it is normally held between the nets but so that it may swing back and forth.

JOHN NATCHUK.

Name Date Widger Sept. 3, 1889 Yaggi Oct. 29, 1929 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain Oct. 8, 1925 Great Britain July 26. 1934 Number Number

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