US20080315518A1

US20080315518A1 - Portable piece game set

Info

Publication number: US20080315518A1
Application number: US11/812,976
Authority: US
Inventors: Jackson Kuo
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2007-06-22
Filing date: 2007-06-22
Publication date: 2008-12-25

Abstract

A portable piece game set comprises a gameboard and a plurality of pieces. The gameboard includes two boards, where on an inner surface of a first board has a plurality of recessed piece seats for placing pieces, and a second board is connected with and used for covering the first board. Each piece includes a holding part and a positioning part, where the holding part is used for players to position or place the piece and the positioning part is fit with the recessed piece seat for placing the piece on the inner surface of the first board.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a piece game set and, more particularly, to a portable piece game set, which comprises a gameboard made by lightweight and thin material and a plurality of game pieces, can be manufactured easily at low cost and easily carried around.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Generally, a piece game set includes a gameboard and a plurality of game pieces. A conventional gameboard is usually made by paper, timbering, plastics, metal, or other materials. On a gameboard, we usually find a plurality of rows and columns printed thereon and players can play various games on the gameboard.
The pieces are placed on the gameboard where players play various games. When the gameboard is shaken caused by some accidents, some pieces on the gameboard may be fallen down or misplaced. Consequently, the game is interrupted and players have to restart a new one.
In view of the shortcoming mentioned above, some gameboards on which the pieces can be stuck have been invented. Although this kind of gameboards can overcome the shortcoming to prevent the pieces from being fallen down accidentally by any accident, they are all with a certain thickness for sticking the pieces thereon via mechanical or magnetic force. Thus, these gameboards have other shortcomings as described in the following. First, it is inconveniently for players to carry around these gameboards because of their thickness. Besides, a gameboard is usually designed for one kind of games. In consequence, it is difficult for any player to carry several gameboards around by herself or himself at the same time when they want to play in some specific places. Second, the price of this kind of gameboards is higher than that of conventional ones because of the manufacturing cost. Besides, a player desiring to play different games has to buy different gameboards because one gameboard is usually designed for one kind of games. Thus, it is not economic for players to buy several gameboards. Third, while players play a game, if one of the players has to leave and need to stop the game, it is impossible for players to continue the game later because pieces on the gameboard need to be packed before players carry the pieces and the gameboard away. Fourth, when players play a game, some pieces that are captured or removed from play or are extra pieces can be only placed beside the gameboard. These pieces are easily lost because they are easy to be accidentally fallen down on the floor or are easily forgotten to be packed and carried away. Consequently, players will fail to play the game next time for missing some pieces.
In order to overcome all disadvantages described above, there is a need for players to own a portable piece game set, which is of low price and the positions of pieces on a gameboard of the piece game set can be maintained for players to play continuously next time, the inventor is thus to study and develop the present invention after hard study.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One object of the present invention is to provide a portable piece game set made by lightweight and thin material for players to carry around by themselves to play different games.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a portable piece game set for players to maintain the positions of pieces on a gameboard so that the unfinished game can be played continuously next time.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a portable piece game set with reduced manufacturing cost, in consequence players can purchase the piece game set at lower price.
In order to achieve the aforementioned objects, the present invention provides a portable piece game set comprising a gameboard and a plurality of pieces. The gameboard includes two boards made by lightweight and thin material, where on the inner surface of a first board has a plurality of recessed piece seats for placing each piece, and a second board is connected with and used for covering the first board. Each piece includes a holding part and a positioning part, where the holding part is used for players to position or place the piece and the positioning part is fit with the recessed piece seat for placing the piece on the inner surface of the first board.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of this invention will be apparent after reading the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a gameboard in a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a piece in the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing that the piece in FIG. 2 is attached to a piece seat on the gameboard in the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 shows another form of the piece according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing a using state of the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing that the portable piece game set of the first embodiment of the present invention is folded;

FIG. 7 is a schematic view showing that a holding part of the piece of the first embodiment of the present invention can be pushed down in the arrow direction;

FIG. 8 is a schematic view showing a using state of a gameboard in a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a schematic view showing a using state of a gameboard in a third embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a schematic view showing that the portable piece game set in FIG. 9 is to be stored in a two-ringed folder;

FIG. 11 is another schematic view showing that the portable piece game set in FIG. 9 is to be stored; and

FIG. 12 shows a fourth embodiment of the present invention, where the portable piece game sets are to be stored in a folder by means of a pair of fastening belts.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The present invention provides a portable piece game set comprising a gameboard 1 and a plurality of pieces 2. The gameboard 1 includes two boards made by lightweight and thin material, where on the inner surface of a first board 11 has a plurality of recessed piece seats 112 for placing pieces 2, and a second board 12 is connected with and used for covering the first board 11. Each piece 2 includes a holding part 21 and a positioning part 23, where the holding part 21 is used for players to position or place the piece 2 and the positioning part 23 is fit with the recessed piece seat 112 for placing the piece 2 on the inner surface of the first board 11.
FIG. 1 shows a gameboard 1 used in a portable piece game set in a first embodiment according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the gameboard 1 includes a first board 11 and a second board 12. The two boards 11, 12 are all made by lightweight and thin material, such as pasteboard and leather. In this embodiment, the two boards are all made by pasteboard. On the inner surface of the first board 11 is printed with a plurality of rows and columns that form a plurality of squares 111 thereon and within each square 111 has a recessed piece seat 112, the shape of which corresponds to the shape of the piece 2. In this embodiment, the piece seat 112 is of, but not limited to, round shape. Besides, the piece seat also can be polygonal without departing the spirit of the present invention. The second board 12 is connected with the first board 11 and can be folded to cover the first board 11, by which the pieces 2 can be protectively and stably placed with the recessed piece seat 112 after the portable piece game set is stored.
The first board 11 is composed of two layers of pasteboard, wherein the lower layer is an intact pasteboard while the upper layer is with a plurality perforated holes. In practice, the two layers of pasteboard are combined with each other and the perforated holes form a plurality of recessed piece seats 112 on the inner surface of the first board 11. Besides, the second board is made by two layers of intact pasteboard.
FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of the piece 2 in a first embodiment of the present invention while FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing that the piece 2 in FIG. 2 is attached to the piece seat 112 on the gameboard 1 of the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in these figures, the piece 2 according to the present invention includes a holding part 21 and a positioning part 23. In this embodiment, the holding part 21 is a sheet made by transparent Polyvinyl Chloride for players to position or place the piece 2. Besides, a printing layer 22 made by thin paper is disposed on the positioning part 23 for players to identify the piece 2. The positioning part 23 is made by elastic material for stably placing the piece 2 within the piece seat 112. Here, the elastic material is Ethylene-Vinyl-Acetate Copolymer. The piece 2 can be more stably connected to the recessed piece seat 112 by means of the elasticity provided by the positioning part 23 of the piece 2.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the printing layer 22 is printed with different patterns, colors, or characters for presenting the role it represents. For example, in a checkers game, the printing layer 22 can be printed with different colors for representing different players. In a chess game or Chinese chess game, the printing layer 22 can be printed with different patterns or characters, such as a pattern of a horse or a chariot or a Chinese character representing the meaning of a horse or a chariot, to represent the role of a piece 2. Moreover, although the holding part 21 is made by transparent Polyvinyl Chloride in this embodiment, it also can be made by Polyvinyl Chloride printed with different colors, patterns, or characters for identifying the role of a piece 2.
FIG. 4 shows another form of a holding part 21 a of a piece 2 a according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 4, the holding part 21 a is a rope for players to position or place the piece 2.
FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing a using state of the gameboard 1 in the first embodiment according to the present invention. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, when players play a game, they can position or place the pieces 2 by means of the holding part 21. Besides, the pattern printed on the printing layer 21 can be used to represent the role of a piece 2 and the color of the holding part 21 can be used to differentiate players. When a piece game is over or players has to stop the game, players can store the portable piece game set while maintain the positions of the pieces 2 on the gameboard 1 without taking the pieces 2 away from the gameboard 1.
When storing the portable piece game set according to the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, players only have to fold the second board 12 to cover the first board 11 along the direction of the arrow. Because only the holding part 21 of the piece 2 protrudes from the inner surface of the gameboard 1 and it is a sheet made by Polyvinyl Chloride, when players fold the gameboard 1, the holding part 21 will be pushed down by the second board 12 on the inner surface of the first board 11. Besides, when the gameboard 1 is unfolded, the holding part 21 can return to its originally vertical position. Moreover, the thickness of the portable piece game set is thin enough for players to carry around by themselves since the first and the second board 11, 12 are made by pasteboard and the holding part 21 is made by a sheet of Polyvinyl Chloride.
FIG. 8 is a schematic view showing a using state of a gameboard 1 in a second embodiment of the present invention. For the purpose of describing this embodiment conveniently, the same structures will be assigned with the same numbers used in the first embodiment. In this embodiment, the second board 12 further includes a plurality of recessed piece seats 121 for placing the pieces 2 that are captured or removed from play or are extra pieces. Thereby, players not only don't need to worry about where to place the pieces that are captured or removed from play or are extra pieces, but also can prevent from missing any piece.
FIG. 9 is a schematic view showing a using state of a third embodiment according to the present invention. For the purpose of describing this embodiment conveniently, the same structures will be assigned with the same numbers used in the first embodiment. In this embodiment, the first board 11 of the gameboard 1 further includes a connecting part 131 for being connected with other portable piece game sets. The connecting part 131 can be provided with at least one through hole or fastening belts to be in connection with other piece game sets. In the third embodiment, the connecting part 131 is provided with two through holes 1311. In practice, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, players can store several piece game sets within a two-ringed folder 3 via the two through holes 1311.
Moreover, in a fourth embodiment as shown in FIG. 12, a connecting part 132 of the first board 11 is provided with a pair of fastening belts 1321 respectively on its inner and outer surfaces. In practice, players can store several piece game sets within a folder 4 with a pair fastening belts 41 by means of the pair of fastening belts 1321 respectively on the inner and outer surfaces of the connecting part 132.
The folders 3, 4 are suitable for players to carry around by themselves since the gameboard 1 of each piece game set in the third or fourth embodiment is made by pasteboard and thus lightweight and thin. Thereby, players can carry several piece game sets of different games by themselves to play different games in specific places.
Thereby, the present invention has following advantages:

1. The present invention can provide a portable piece game set made by lightweight and thin material for players to carry around easily by themselves to play different games in specific places.
2. The present invention can also provide a portable piece game set for players to maintain the positions of pieces on a gameboard so that the unfinished game can be played continuously next time.
3. The present invention can also provide a portable piece game set having a second board with a plurality recessed piece seats thereon for players to place the pieces that are captured or removed from play or are extra pieces, so that players not only don't need to worry about where to place the pieces that are captured or removed from play or are extra pieces, but also can prevent from missing any piece.
4. The present invention can also provide a portable piece game set having reduced manufacturing cost, and consequently players can purchase the piece game set at lower price.
5. The present invention can also provide a portable piece game set having a connecting part used for being connected with other portable piece game sets.

Accordingly, the present invention can provide a portable piece game set, which can be carried around, has reduced manufacturing cost, and can maintain the positions of the pieces on the gameboard for players to continue to play the unfinished game next time. It is new and can be put into industrial use.
Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail, many modifications and variations may be made by those skilled in the art from the disclosures hereinabove. Therefore, It should be understood that different modifications and variations could be made from the disclosures mentioned above by the people familiar in the art, without departing the spirit of the present invention.

Claims

1. A portable piece game set, comprising:

a gameboard having two boards made by lightweight and thin material, and on an inner surface of a first board has a plurality of recessed piece seats for placing pieces, and a second board is connected with and used for covering the first board; and

a plurality of pieces, each of which includes a holding part and a positioning part, where the holding part is used for players to position or place the pieces, and the positioning part is fit with the recessed piece seat for placing the piece on the inner surface of the first board.

2. The portable piece game set as claimed in claim 1, wherein on an inner surface of the second board further includes a plurality of recessed piece seats for placing pieces that are captured or removed from play or are extra pieces.

3. The portable piece game set as claimed in claim 1, wherein on the positioning part of the piece further has a printing layer for representing the role of the piece.

4. The portable piece game set as claimed in claim 3, wherein the printing layer is made by thin paper, and the positioning part is made by elastic material and used for closely fitting the piece in the recessed piece seat.

5. The portable piece game set as claimed in claim 4, wherein the elastic material is rubber or Ethylene-vinyl-acetate copolymer.

6. The portable piece game set as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first board further includes a connecting part for connecting other portable piece game sets.

7. The portable piece game set as claimed in claim 6, wherein the connecting part includes at least one through hole.

8. The portable piece game set as claimed in claim 6, wherein the connecting part includes a pair of fastening belts.

9. The portable piece game set as claimed in claim 1, wherein the boards of the gameboard are made by pasteboard or leather.

10. The portable piece game set as claimed in claim 1, wherein the holding part is a sheet or a rope.