US1470872A - Educational game appliance - Google Patents

Description

Patented @cti 16, 1923.

.ELIJAH A. ovnNsHrnn, on Los ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.' 'As'sIGNoaisY ivrEsNE ASSIGN- MENTS, on ONE-HALF To onscNA.' Lovnaov; or Los ANGELESCALIFQRN1AI` p EDUCATIGNAL GAL'WE I-LPLIANGIE.l

Application medrebruar'y 21, 1922. Y`serial No. 538,155.

To all whom/1f may concern:

Be it known that I, ELrJAH A. QvnNsHInE, a citizen of theUnlted States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county v of Los Angeles and Statey of California, have invented a new and useful Educational Game Appliance, cation.y

A11 object of this invention is toV provide a game appliance'ofchfeap and'durableconstruction that is effective inamusing and entertaining a large number of( players and which also Ywill be instrumental in educating the participants in therespect'that itinculcates alertness and quickness in their mathematical' calculations.l To that end an appliance is providedV with an enclosed base having eldsrthereonin which are arranged a number of movable pins; and the fields andalso the movable pins are provided with numerals that are factors in the mathematiA cal calculations involved in the game'.

The movable pins have anumber of. flat faces preferably eight on which are printed the -respective numerals from 1-to` 8; and a traveling topV is provided for moving in unknown courses over the fields and upset- 'ting an unknown number'of: pins and both the number of pins upset .and the position in which they fall are Vfactors of calculation in a game as will be hereinafter explained.

Another object of invention is to provide a game employing a traveling .top that will move in unknown courses over the field to knock down an indeterminate numberof pins; and meansconnec'ted with the topby which it will continuously travel during its entire spinning actiong'and in vthis respect the invention is broadly new, basic 'and pioneer. z An object of inventionV is to provide an instructive74 and` beneficial game of' skill in which any ,number of players can participate, and also which will -be of great interest to the bystanders or spectators; and which willbe interesting `to both children and adults and lead them to become vadept in mathematical calculationin keeping` a score of the game.V j An object of inventionis to providev an instructive game that will be interesting for a child' to play alone. f

Otherobjects, advantages and, vfr iatrines of of which the following is` a specifi-v kinvention appear from* the accompanyingdrawing, the subjoined detailed descrip- 'tion andthe appended claims.

The accompanying drawing illustrates the invention. 'iv .y

rFigure 1 isaplan view of the appliance showing one arrangement and coloringiof the fields lover .which .the traveling .top

moves. 1

.FgQZfis anenlarged fragmentalsection on line Fignl. f F1g.13 isafperspective v i-ewqof the applianceshowing another arrangement of the iields, omitting the colors therefrom.

`Fig. 4 is avplan view of the travelingtop about vtwo thirds actual size.` f

Fig. 5 is a section on line m5, FigQt. Fig. -is a developed view of movable pins e 'with the upper portion thereofbroken away, showing the .arrangement of the numeralsfrom l to. Sthereon whichl arrangements of ynumbers, is the same on all of :the pins.

The appliance comprises a'A Vrectangular base l mounted on legs 21l and provided with sides 3 and ends 4, 1l, lthat form.a, walled enclosure that can if desiredbecove'red by a removable top l,`as fragmentally shown lin Fig. 2, and the appliance Vc`an' .fbe finished as a libraryor dining room' table or as a game board; and within this enclosureare arrangedy thevfields a, I), c, d, that"ar epref era-bly colored as shown, thatfisthe iields c; tyd, are red andthe field b is green. However, itV is` yunderstood that the arrangement of the colorsfcanbe varied land any combination used without affecting the game as the colors? simply add a pleasing and artisticfeffect tothe appliance. kAlso,I if desired, theH board can be divided into four plainl uncc'loredrectangular fields that are separated bythe intersecting lines cc-x' and QI/. v/jas shown in fFig. 3. .f

. nthe'fields aresystematically arranged stationary posts that are provided to guard movable pins. The center pin e is normally arranged atjapoint central ofthe-enclosurev and 'is guarded bygfour stationary posts f that are spaced equidistant apart and l form a hollow square aroundfthe pin;V and preferablymthere 'is' an easyplearance between the posts f so that ythetraveling top enter the hollow` square lto V,the pins; and the value of pin e when knocked down is 100 plus the numeral that is on top-when itis thrown and at rest. That is when the -pin is knocked down it will fall y and rest con one of the eight faces numberedA from 1 to 8 with the upper number counting. f For example if the pin falls and rests on the face 1 the face 5 will bek upward which whenadded t-o the base-number 100 4 'opposite 8, so that ifa pin is knocked down and resting on any one o'th'enu- Vmerals 1, '2, 3, 4 its corresponding number 6, 7:01* 8 will be a counter and viceversa.

fil

Spacedequidistant from the positionings point of center pin c and in longitudinalV alinement are the positioning .points for arrangement of the movableV pinsV g, It that are respectively guarded bythe stationary posts z', y arranged inA hollow squares around their respective pins; and these pins when.

thrown over by the'traveling top have the counting value'ofrO, plus lthe numeralon the upper 'face' of the thrown pins.

At right angles toa longitudinal line .through the positioning points of pins e,.g,

It, and equidistant from the positioning point of center pinl e are arranged the positloning vrpoints of the Vmovable pins la, Z that are respectively provided with side guards m, m; andthe 'counting value or' rthese pins is 25 plus thenumeral on the upper face or the thrown pins. l

Neareach'corner of theencl'osure are arranged the positioning points for the movable pins 0,79, g', and 9, each ofk which' has itsrespective guard s, t, 10,02," andthe counting value of thesepins is 25 plusthe numeral on the upper face of the thrown pin. Itis understood that the arrangement of pins and posts on the fields as described can Vl'ie'altered it desired, to suit various games; vand the foregoing disposition of pins and posts isV only one of the numerous arrangements that can be made of them.

A traveling topiA is'provided for moving over the respectiveelds agb, '0, and d, to knock down the respective pins e, g, h, lc, Z, 0, "ju, g,'and `@fand the number of vpins overturned depends considerably on the skill with which the tp is operated andthe effectiveness of the guardingposts which guard the pins in various directions from kthe top.

The travelingl topl may be variously constructed and is adapted'to run about upon thesurfa'ce on which it spins. f Y l Thetop'is caused to continuously'travel during its entire "period of spinning action bymeans cfa Cylindrical stem having a bottom end inclined Q'Vdegrees to thesteins axis;

`which causes the topv when in action to rise on a semi-circular edge that is oil center to the tops axis, and the rotary `motion of causes the top to travel in circular courses as Aindicated by the dottedv and continuously curving line 2&2, Vshown in Fig. 3 as extending from the holder to spring top. WhileQ degrees is specified as the inclination of the stems base to its axis, it is understood vthat it can be more or less without altering the eiiect obtained by constructing the parts so that the top' will spin on a semicircular edge ori' center to the tops axis.

i The distance and direction in which the top will travel over the elds depends on the skill with which it is manipulated; andl afterwards onvthe various efectscausedby the top contacting withthe enclosure walls,

the ixed posts and movable pins. That is,l

when the `top 'contactswi'th' the renclosure walls,stationary posts or movable pins it is deiected inanotherf direction b'yits 'rotary impact; so that it moves in unknown courses tary motion is imparted to itv by means of a string 7 extending over the top of the side wall 3 and that is wound yaround the upper portion "of the tops stem 8 which extends above lsaid side wall and that is unwound vtheretromliy a sudden pull that imparts rotary motion to the top.

The holder 6 has upper and lower retaining seats 9,10 in which the upper and'lower f ends of stem 8 are placed when rotary mo- .tion is to be 'imparted to the `top by unwind- `ing string 7 as described, and the seats 9, 10 Y are open, toward the centerot the board .so l

thatthe toplcan jump. out ofthe holder *i and begin itstravel over the fields as soon as the unwinding action of the string 7 is completed. l e A The holder 6 is movable along a major portion of the end wall 11 so that a selective means is provided for positioning the top relative to releasing it. That is, aiplayer may elect to release the top fromfthe right, center yor left of the end wall,vor from any of thek intermediate points; with the object or directing the top overan open course or toward a stationary post or wall so that it will carom off to accomplish the purpose of knocking-down allor a largev number of ,thel

movable pins. As hereinbefore stated k1the distance and course of traveler the top dependfgreatly enA the skill with 4which it is manipulated; such as the rotary speed imparted to the top andthe delicatecaroming effect of a finger touch as the top leaves the holder. A v A' ,e The holder is provided with the overhanging arms 12 that areconnected by a plate 13 that contacts with the'outside of wall 11; and on the inside of the Wall is the retaining plate lion which are slidably mounted the extensions 15 of holder 6. A wearingplate 16V is interposed between the overhanging arms12 and the upper surface of the wall 11. `It is understoodv that any holder can jbe used or anytop employed except that in the top construction the spinning point mustlbe off center to the tops axis or otherwise the top would not travel, preferably this spinning point is as stated,

' a semi-circular edge; however good results can be obtained byV various formsfof off centery contacts but for the sake of brevity only one form of contact ofv Spinningk point is shown.

- iIfdesired means are provided for increasing the caroming effect of the topwhen it contacts with side walls or stationaryposts;

- the walls can be -provided with a resilient contact preferably a rubber strip 17 that is rounded in cross section and which extends entirely around the inner wall at a height to contact with the bodyk ofthe top; and the postsV are provided with resilient removable `contacts preferably rubber sleeves 18 that are slipped over the upper end ofthe posts in position tov contact with the top body.'

However, it is optional with the players whether the removable resilient sleeves are employed or not.

To facilitate the leveling of the board it is provided vwith adjustable legs 2 that screw in or out of sockets 19 secured to theV bottom of the base 1, see Fig. 2; andl an end and side wall are provided with spirit levels 20, 21. to-indicate when the legs kare adjusted to the right position to hold the board level.

The top 5 is constructed with a body portion 22 that can be formed of any material and in any desired shape; and connected to this body is a-stem 8 having a reduced portion 23 on which the string 7 is wound; and as previously stated stem 8 has a bottom end inclining at about a 2 degree angle to the stems axis for the purpose of formingja semi-circular spinning edge 24 that will cause the top to travel when placed in rotary motion. Y

Quite a number of games can be played but for the sake of brevity only a few plays will be described in detail. e' Y K Assuming that a game is to be played involving only addition and that a player has actuated the top and'that it has knocked down all the pins. The total play irrespective of the numerals on the faces of the pins is 350,-which amount is obtained by adding the positioning points ofthe pins or the field numbers togetherandy these numbers comprise six points with each a value of 25;

two points with each a value of 50 and one This playis possible but it is understood that it would rarely be made.

vNowassuming that a play wasmade'and only one of Vthe pins of 25 value was knocked down; and that the numeral 1 was upward on the pin the total play would be only 26;

Referring now to Fig. 1 with its arrangef ment of fields `andy playing a gameinvolving theY four principal factors kof mathematics, it is assumed that aplay is made in which allof the pins aleknocked down in each of the fields and that the numeral 8Yis yupwards on the thrown pins; the {calculations of additiomsubtraction, multiplicaV tion and. division are all accomplished be fore a final total is made by addition. In the field of addition a therevare two pins with a value of 25 leach which added totheir counter numerals of 8k would make a total off66. In the field of Subtraction b there are two pins with a counter value of 50 each and two pins with a counterv value of 25 each making a sum of150 from which is subtracted the counter numerals 8 of each pin or 32 which would leave a, total of 118,

In the multiplication field c there is one pin with a value of 100 which multiplied by the counter numeral 8 of the pin would pro-k duce a total of 800. A q

In the field of division there are two pins with a counter value of 25 each making a sum of 50 which divided by the sum ofthe counter numerals l8 of each pin or 16 would give a total of 3%; kmaking a grand total, when the sums of each field are all added'together, 0159875:

One' of the rules` of the game can kbe that a pin knocked from. one field into another willcount'in the field in which it lies when the play is made. Now assuming that a playhas been made under this rule,with all pins knocked down with numerals 8 up and the Yfour mathematical factors are employed as before; except that in this play the moving top has knocked the pin e from the" multiplication field c over Vinto the division field d. Then the count 'would be as follows: addition and subtraction would be the same with the respective amountsof 66 and 118. With no counter in theV field of multiplication vit would be eliminated and pin e counted in the division field with its value of 100 added kboard is subdivided into -four rectangular ields with a common corner on which is cenc Y Y tered thepin e that has the greatest counter value, and this pin is positioned so that it must tall into one of the four fields of addition, subtraction, m'ultiplication or division, or across a division line between the iieldsin which instance it will not count; insuring an uncertainty as to what the value of this counter pin will be when it is knocked over. In other words it the pin e with a field value 'of 100 falls and lies fully within the iield of addition with the greatest counter numeral 8-upward on `the pin the total counting value islOO plus 8 or 108. It pin e falls in the iield of subtractionr its total counting value is lOO-S or 92; and it it alls in the CR y field of multiplication the value is 100)(8 or 800 5 and if it Jtails in the field Vof division itsvalue is 100 divided by 8 or 16%; if the pin falls so that it touches o r lies on the intersecting lines ab-or y-g/ the pin has no counting value.

The invention comprises a travelling top with which considerable skill can be developed to so operate it as to cause it to move in directions best calculated to throw down the largest. number of pins. This skill is developed in vthe manipulation of the means for spinning the travelling top, the choice of position for releasing itand also the delicate finger-touch imparted to the top as it moves` from the holder. i In other words an operator can develop a touch that is imparted at the. moment of. releasing the spinning top that is effective in causing it to'move off in apredeterminedv direction'of travel similar to the touch limparted to aball manipulated by a ball player.

From the foregoing it can readily be understood that a very wide range of mathematical calculations is possible with this game; with also the factor that the participants will unconsciously acquire alertness,

skill and accuracy, withouty tedious study or arduous labor. Y

' For the sake of brevity the various unimportant rules for playing the game are omitted- I claim 1. ln an educational game appliance com'- pri'sing a level field, and a wall enclosing said field; movable pins adapted to bearranged on said iield, and adapted to have a counting value when knocked down; and posts arranged adjacent said pins for guarding them a traveling top having a stem the lower end of which is inclined, said top being adapted to spin on said stem and 'od center to its vertical aXis so that it will travel over said field to knock down said pins.

2. In an educational game appliance comprising a base on which are arranged a number of iields and a wall enclosing said ields;

movable pins arranged in the fields of said f elds of said base; 4movable pins arranged in the fields of said base, and a traveling top for moving over the ields' of said base to knock down said pins and being provided with a-.stem on which said top is adapted to spin, said stem having a bott-oinend that is inclined oli" two degrees more or less from a linev perpendicular to the axis of said stem.

4l. ln an educational game appliance the combination with a base on which are arranged a number of fields and a wall enclosing the ields of said base; movablepins arranged in the ields of said base, said pins having a varied counting value when knocked over; posts for guarding said movable pins; of a traveling top for moving over the ields of said base to knock down said pins, said top having a stem with a semicircular edge on which the top is adapted to spin, said semi-circular edge being ofi center to a vertical axis through the top.

5. Inva'n educational game appliance the combination with a base on which Aare arranged a number ot ields; a wall enclosing the fields of said base; movable pins arranged in the iieldsof said base, said pins having a varied counting value when knocked over; posts for guarding said movable pins; of a traveling top for moving over the fields of ysaid base to knock down said pins, i

said topfhaving a stem with asemi-circular edge on which the top is adapted to spin, said'seini-circular edge being off center to a vertical axis through the top; and means for spinning` said top so that it will move over the'tields of said base.

6. A topadapted for use with a game board, said top comprising a body portion and a stem connected to said body portion, said stem having a bottom end that is inclined angularly to the longitudinal axis of said stem.

l7. An educational game appliance comprising a base divided into a number of iields; a wall enclosing the fields of said base; movable pins arranged on said fields,

said pins having a varied counting jvalue when upset; postsiarranged to respectively guard said pins in various directions from said top; a traveling top for moving over,-

said fields and knocking down said pins; a

holder along the endV of said wall; land .means adapted to extend over said vvallffork spinning said top. v

48. An educational VVgame appliance comk 1 prising-a level base; fields of varied countlng value arranged on said base; a wall enclosing said fields; movable pins: arranged on said fields, said pins having alvaried counting value of from 1 to 8-whenknocked yizo down, and also said Vpins when knocked down and into afield impart a varied counting value to suchknocked down pin; a traveling top for moving over said-field for knocking down said pins; posts` for respectively guarding said pins in various directions from said top means connected to said top whereby it will travel when spun; selective means for positioning said top for spinning; and meansorspinning said top 'within said wall.

9. An educational game appliance comprising a level base; fields arranged on said base; aA wall enclosing said fields; movable pins arranged systematically on said fields; a traveling top for moving over said fields to knock down said pins; posts arranged systematically for guarding `said pins in various directions from said top; means connected to said top whereby it will travel when spun; a holder; selective means for positioning said holder for spinning Vsaid for spinning said top. y

An educational game appliance comprising a levelbase; colored fields arranged top; and means extending over said wall onls'aidbas'e; awall enclosing said colored fields movable pins arrangedl systematicalzly oncsaid fields; l posts arrangedsystematically for guarding said pine; a traveling Ytopfor moving over said fields to knock down sadpins; means. connected to said top wherebyit will travel when Spun; a holder; selective means for positioning said holder for spinning said top; `means for Vspinning said top; and resilient means conneeted with said pos-ts and wall yfor delecting said top when it contacts Vwith either the posts or wall.Y .y

11. An educational appliance comprising alevel base; Vcolored `iields arranged on said fbase; a wall enclosing said colored fields;

movable `pins arranged systematically on said fields; posts arranged systematically for guarding said pins; a traveling toprfor moving over said fields to knock down said pins; means connected to said top whereby it will travel when spun; a holder; selective means for positioning said holder for spinning said top; means for spinningsaid top; and arubber band on said wallandy rubber sleeves on saidnposts for defiecting said top when .it contacts with either the sleeves or rubber band. c

In testimony whereof, I have hereuntok set my hand 'at Los Angeles, California, this 14th day of February, r1922.

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