US3369811A - Simulated beanstalk game - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 20, 1968 M. GLASS ET AL 3,369,811

SIMULATED BEANSTALK GAME Filed June 4, 1965 6 jeans 072v United States Patent 3,369,811 SIMULATED BEANSTALK GAME Marvin I. Glass, Chicago, and Hans E. Jernstrom, Northbrook, Ill., assignors to Marvin Glass & Associates, Chicago, 111., a partnership Filed June 4, 1965, Ser. No. 461,400 4 Claims. (Cl. 273135) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLGSURE A game including a playing base in the form of a hollow column simulating a beanstalk, a series of vertically spaced-apart openings in the side of the column and having various cross-sections, a plurality of markers each with a stem portion complementary to one or more of the openings in the column, a marker dispensing tray, means defining a transverse opening in the lower portion of the column for slidably receiving the tray, means defining an additional opening in said column above the tray-receiving opening to permit entry therein of a marker, indicating means representing a giant at the top of the column and movable between a position within the column and an exposed position above the column, and spring biased latch means for retaining the indicating means within the column and responsive to the insertion of a marker stem in a predetermined opening in the column to release said latch means and move the indicating means to its exposed position.

The present invention relates to games, and particularly to a game in which the fortunes of the players are determined largely by chance and in which the several operations are of such a nature as to be of particular interest to younger players. The game is based on the fairy story of Jack and the Beanstalk, with the game starting with the beanstalk fully grown. A column is provided simulating the beanstalk, with the column being much enlarged at the top to simulate a cloud having a castle floating thereon, as set forth in the story.

Within the castle but hidden from view is a giant, and in playing the game each player may take a token in the form of a leaf from a selecting and dispensing tray which slides out of the base of the beanstalk and attempt to fit the stem thereof in the lowermost of a series of holes in the stalk. If the stem fits he may replace the tray and with it withdraw another token or leaf. If this one fits the next hole the player is entitled to still another turn, and so on. If the stem does not fit the hole, the player returns the leaf to the interior of the stalk through a suitable opening above the dispensing tray and his opponent then has a turn. A special leaf is provided which will fit all the holes, and another which will not fit any of the holes. Whichever player reaches the topmost hole first and inserts the proper leaf will find that his leaf will release the giant, who will pop up out of the castle into full view. This player wins the game.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a game of this nature which, as stated, will involve chance and a certain amount of skill in fitting the leaves into the holes, and which will therefore appeal to players of a relatively early'age.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following description of the invention.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is an elevational side view, partly in axial section, of a simulated beanstalk illustrating the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view taken along the line 22 in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 33 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary, sectional view of the beanstalk with a modified form of latch mechanism; and

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of FIGURE 4.

In the drawings, FIGURE 1 shows a column which may be made of any suitable material, but which lends itself particularly to fabrication from one or another of well-known plastic materials. Column 10 may be molded in any desired form, but in the present instance is in the form of a beanstalk growing up through a cloud. Column 10 has a base portion 12, which will be further described,

and is expanded at the top into a form simulating a cloud 14. At the top of the cloud, in accord with the story, is a castle 16. Within castle 16 is a partial figure of a giant 18, and in base portion 12 is a storage space 20 for holding in readiness a stack of tokens 22, which are dispensed to the players by a slidable tray 24.

Storage space 20 is preferably in the form of a generally cylindrical space or column, and accommodates the individual tokens in the form of leaves, as indicated at 26, each having a stern portion, as indicated at and 32, respectively, with the various stems having different cross sections of circular, square or other rectangular form, triangular, etc., configuration. Chamber 20 is of such a size and shape that the leaves 26, when placed therein at random, will fall flat upon each other in an upwardly directed stack, so that they may be removed from the bottom of the stack one by one, as will appear.

For this purpose tray 24 is slidable back and forth in a slot 34 in base portion 12, and the tray has a pair of recesses 36 and 38, each of a size corresponding substantially with the cross section of storage chamber 20 and of a depth substantially that of the thickness of one of the tokens 26. When tray 24 is centered with column 10 the lowermost token will be supported on an elevated portion 40 intermediate the recesses 36 and 38, with the other tokens resting on top of it. If tray 24 is slid out to one side, the lowermost token drops into one of the recesses and a reverse movement of the tray will expose such token. Similarly, the player on the other side of the beanstalk 10 may select a token. In this manner, a supply of tokens is kept on hand and dispensed to the players in a random manner as the game progresses. Tokens are placed in chamber 20 through slots 42 and 44 formed in the sides of column 10.

Column 10 provides a plurality of holes, as indicated for example at 46 and 48, of a variety of shapes or cross sections distributed in an upwardly spiraling row on the outer wall of column 10, and the stems on the leaves in stack 22 are preferably of differing cross sections, as stated, each being complementary to one or more of the holes. Most of the leaves are preferably green in color, but one is gold color and, according to the rules of the game, may be fitted in any hole and, therefore, entitles the player to another turn. Another leaf is black. This leaf may have a stern that is too big or otherwise shaped so that it cannot be inserted in any hole in column 10. A player drawing this leaf loses his turn to insert a leaf and must wait for his opponent to take a turn.

Giant 18 consists of a body portion 49, as seen in FIGURE 1, of generally round configuration, freely slidable in a tubular guide 50 formed as a part of castle 16. A head 52- on the body portion is entirely contained in guide 50 so as not to be visible. Giant 18 includes a downwardly directed extension or shaft 54, which extends lengthwise into column 10 and has an anchorage 56 to which is attached the lower end of a spring 58. Anchorage 56 is preferably in the form of a collar which, while permitting substantial lateral or side swinging of extension 54, will eventually contact the inside of column 10 so as to limit the swinging in any direction. The upper end of spring 58 is hooked or otherwise attached to lug 59 fixed within column .10 above anchorage 56.

Body portion 49 has a slot or groove 60 extending longitudinally thereof, and a rib or key 62 fixed on the interior of guide 50 is freely slida'ble in groove 60 so that giant 18, while free to slide'up and down in guide 59, cannot twist or turn in the guide so as to become misaligned with certain mechanism to be described. He is also enough smaller than guide 50 to be able to tilt a limited amount. It will be apparent from the above that giant 18 may be raised by the action of spring 58 so that head 52 will come into view above castle 16.

The giant 18 has the generally cruciform shaped extension 54, and a detent 64, preferably in the form of a collar encircling shaft portion 54 which is normally engaged beneath a ledge or pawl 66 fixed within column 10. Collar 64 is located between body portion 49 and extension 54-, so as to be located in the region below cloud 14. The pull of spring 58 tends to pull collar 64 to the right, as seen in FIGURE 1, so as to tilt giant 18 in a counterclockwise direction sufiiciently to maintain collar 64 engaged beneath ledge 66, thus maintaining giant 18 out of sight within castle 16.

When a player has succeeded in progressively filling all the holes on the path along the column up to the last hole 68, he is then in a position to draw the complementary leaf and insert the stem in hole 68, whereupon the leaf stem, as more particularly shown in FIGURE 2, will contact collar 64 and shift it toward the left. With this movement the collar 64 will escape from beneath ledge 66 and, under the impetus of spring 58, the giant will pop up and appear over the castle as seen in FIG- URE 1. It is contemplated that hole 63 will pass entirely through column 10 so that a leaf may be inserted from either side. The winner may therefore insert his leaf in the hole 68 on either side if he acquires the right to do so.

In order to add further interest to the game, there is also provided a soundmaker which operates with the upward motion of the giant. The soundmaker includes a flexible, metal leaf spring or vibratory reed 70, which is fixed at one end to the inside wall of column 10 and has a free end portion in position for engagement by a serrated edge or toothed rack 72 formed on extension 54. Consequently, as the giant pops up under the biasing action of spring 58, the edge 72 will repeatedly strike reed 70 and effect a sound.

A modified form of latch mechanism for holding giant 18 in a concealed position is shown in FIGURES 4 and 5. In this embodiment the column 74 has a ledge 76 retaining a collar 78 in a manner similar to that previously described with respect to collar 64 in FIGURES 1-3. However, in this instance a cam member 80 is slidable in a passageway formed in the wall of column 74 beneath ledge 76. Cam 80 is cut away to fit about collar 78 and provides an arcuate portion 84 which will contact and force collar 78 to the left as seen in FIGURE 5 and release collar 78 from beneath ledge 76 and allow the attached giant to appear, as in the case of the FIGURE 1 embodiment. Cam 80 has a recess 86 extending along one side thereof and matching a similar recess 88 formed in the side of the passageway. A centering spring 9t) is compressed partly in recess 86 and partly in recess 88, so that it is compressed more whenever cam member 80 is displaced from its central position. When the displacing force is removed, spring 90 promptly returns cam 80 to its central position as seen in FIGURE 5. As will be apparent, a leaf may be inserted at either end of cam 89 to move the same in either direction. Either movement of cam 80 will dislodge collar 78 and cause the attached giant to appear.

In operation the game is played by two persons who sit opposite each other and take turns pulling tray 24. Each pull will bring forth a leaf in recess 36 or 38. The player takes the leaf and tries to fit it into the lowermost hole. If the leaf fits into the hole, he gets another turn and returns the tray and pulls it out again, thereby obtaining another leaf. If the leaf does not fit, he must return the leaf through one of the slots 42 and 44. There is one gold leaf which fits any hole, and one black leaf which does not fit any hole or in any event causes the player to lose his turn to insert a leaf in the beanstalk. As stated, the stems of the leaves are of different contours or cross sections, and will fit only in their proper holes. When either player has inserted a leaf in hole 68, he wins the game, and the giant 18 awakens with a sound and appears above the castle 16.

Although shown and described with respect to particular apparatus, it will be apparent that various modifications might be made without departing from the principles of this invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A game comprising a three-dimensional playing base in the form of a column having a hollow interior portion, means defining a series of vertically spaced apart openings in said column with the openings having a plurality of different cross sections, a plurality of markers each including a stem portion having a cross section complementary to one or more of said openings in said column, a marker dispensing tray adapted to receive one of said markers, means in the lower portion of said column defining a transverse opening and guideway therethrough for slidably receiving said tray, said transverse opening being in communication with the interior of said column, and means defining an additional opening in said column at a position above said transverse opening to permit passage of a marker into the interior of said column, whereby a plurality of said markers can be stacked within said column and be removed therefrom one at a time by sliding movement of said tray.

2. A game comprising a three-dimensional playing base in the form of a column having a hollow interior portion, means defining a series of vertically spaced apart openings in said column with the openings having a plurality of different cross sections, a plurality of markers each including a stem portion having a cross section complementary to one or more of said openings in said column, a marker dispensing tray including a depressed portion adapted to receive one of said markers, means in the lower portion of said column defining a transverse opening and guideway therethrough for slidably receiving said tray, said transverse opening being in communication with the interior of said column, and means defining an additional opening in said column at a position above said transverse opening to permit passage of a marker into the interior of said column, whereby a plurality of said markers can be stacked within said column with the lowermost marker positioned in said depressed portion of said tray, and whereby the transverse movement of said tray is effective to expose said lowermost marker on said depressed portion while a portion of the tray adjacent said depressed portion supports the remainder of the stack.

3. A game comprising a three-dimensional playing base in the form of a column having a hollow interior portion, means defining a series of vertically spaced apart openings in said column with the openings having a plurality of different cross sections, a plurality of markers each including a stem portion having a cross section complementary to one or more of said openings in said column, a marker dispensing tray adapted to receive one of said markers, means in the lower portion of said column defining a transverse opening and guideway therethrough for slidably receiving said tray, means defining an additional opening in said column at a position above said transverse opening to permit passage of the markers into the interior of said column to form a stack therein with the lowermost marker supported on said dispensing tray, an indicating means positioned at the top of said column and movable between a concealed position within the column and an exposed position above the column, means for biasing said indicating means toward its exposed position, and latch means for releasably retaining said indicating means in its concealed position, said latch means being in a position for engagement by the stem of a marker when inserted in a selected one of said openings to permit said biasing means to move said indicating means to its exposed position.

4. A game comprising a three-dimensional playing base in the form of a column having a hollow interior portion, means defining a series of vertically spaced apart openings in said column, a plurality of markers each including a stem portion adapted to be fitted in said openings in said column, a marker dispensing tray adapted to receive one of said markers, means in the lower portion of said column defining a transverse opening and guideway therethrough for slidably receiving said tray, means defining an additional opening in said column at a position above said transverse opening to permit passage of the markers into the interior of said column to form a stack therein with the lowermost marker supported on said dispensing tray, an indicating means positioned at the top of said column and vertically movable between a concealed position within the column and an exposed position above the column, means for biasing said indicating means upwardly toward its exposed position, and latch means for releasably retaining said indicating means in its concealed position, said latch means being in a position for engagement by the stem of a marker when inserted in a selected one of said openings to permit said biasing means to move said indicating means to its exposed position.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,494,876 5/1924 Zander 273135 2,244,921 6/1941 Roth 273136 X 3,115,345 12/1963 Temple et a1. 273134 3,201,129 8/1965 McFarland et a1. 273--134 3,235,263 2/1966 Smith 2731 X FOREIGN PATENTS 12,329 1915 Great Britain. 143,032 5/ 1920 Great Britain.

DELBERT B. LOWE, Primary Examiner

Images