US3533625A - Search and destroy toy - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 13, 1970 KOSSQR ET AL 3,533,625

SEARCH AND DESTROY TOY Filed Sept. 23, 1968 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. I

FIG. 2

INVENTORS ALBERT A. KOSSOR STEVEN A. KOSS ATTORNEY 0% 1970 A. A. KOSSOR ET AL 3,533,625

SEARCH AND DESTROY TOY 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 25, 1968 INVENTORS ALBERT A. KOSSOR STEVEN A. KOSSOR ATTORNEY I Oct. 13, 1970 A. A. KossoR ET 3,533,625

SEARCH AND DESTROY TOY Filed Sept. 23, 1968 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. ALBERT A. KOSSOR STEVEN KOSSUR BY W 54 Oct. 13, 1970 A. A. KOSSOR ET AL 3,533,625

SEARCH AND DESTROY TOY 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Sept. 23, 1968 ahm ON mv mv INVENTOR. ALBERT A. KOSSOR STEVEN A. KOSSOR BY wfi ATTORNEY SEARCH AND DESTROY TOY 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Sept. 25, 1968 INVENTORS ALBERT A. KOSSOR STEVEN A. SSOR ATTOR N EY United States Patent "ice 3,533,625 SEARCH AND DESTROY TOY Albert A. Kossor and Steven A. Kossor, both of 13 N. 12th St., Kenilworth, NJ. 07033 Filed Sept. 23, 1968, Ser. No. 761,675 Int. Cl. A63d 3/02 US. Cl. 273-120 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A toy or game in which the player peers through a telescopic sight of a rotating periscope which he attempts to focus on a target on the playing board, such as a battleship, after which he releases a metal ball (torpedo) in an attempt to sink or overturn the target ship. A particular feature of the invention is the simulated explosion which occurs after the target is contacted, and which is activated by the ball, prior to sinking of the target ship, alternately making and breaking electrical contact to a small light bulb focussed on the target, as it rolls down a circuited trough beneath the playing board. Other features of the invention include a convex mirror in the periscope for creating a simulated distant image of the target ship, and an elastic suspension which makes the sinking of the ship appear realistic.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This relates in general to games and toys, more particularly of the type in which one or more players participate by actuating a lever which releases a missile in an attempt to overturn or sink a target.

Numerous prior art games are played by mechanically releasing a ball which is projected onto a playing board in an attempt to knock down one or more targets. This is accomplished in various ways such as, for example, either by arranging to have the ball contact the target directly on the surface of the playing board or, alternatively by having the ball roll in channels beneath the board, thereby contacting a lever directly connected to the target which causes the target to upset. Such arrangements have been used, for example, in games in which facsimile battleships are mounted on a playing board with projecting portions extended below. The latter are contacted by balls (simulating torpedoes) released from a conning tower in an attempt to overturn the battleship. When contacter, the latter merely falls over. The effect of this is rather crude in terms of attempting to simulate the torpedoing of a ship.

Accordingly, it is the object of the present invention to provide an improved game of the type described in which the targets are contacted by missiles in a manner that realistically simulates an explosion and sinking of the target from sight.

Other objects of the invention are to provide a game in which battleships are sunk by torpedoes in a manner that appears quite realistic when viewed through a telescopic sight.

Other objects are to provide a more eflicient and more interesting game in which it is attempted to contact a target with missiles, notwithstanding interference.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION These and other objects are realized in accordance with the present invention in a game in which a periscopetype viewer is focussed on targets which, in the specific case under description, simulate battleships which realistically appear to sink below the surface when contacted by a ball released by the player.

A particular feature of the game of the present invention is that upon being contacted by the torpedo (the 3,533,625 Patented Oct. 13, 1970 metal ball released by the player), the target appears to be subject to multiple explosions as or after it is hit, subsequently causing it to sink out of sight in a realistic manner. The simulated explosions are brought about by a novel circuit arrangement in which the metal ball (torpedo) released by the player, after contacting the target and being deflected by it, rolls down a circuited trough in such a manner as to alternately make and break contact to an electrical circuit including a small magnifying incandescent bulb which serves to produce intermittent flashes of intense light focussed on the target. The realistic sinking of the simulated battleship is achieved by a lever arrangement having one end suspended from a tensioned coupling which may include a spring or simply an elastic band, which provides mechanical bias overcome by the ball as it rolls down the trough.

Other features of the present invention include the use of a convex mirror for simulating a distant image.

These and other objects, features, and advantages will be apparent to those skilled in the art from a study of the detailed specification hereinafter with reference to the attached drawings.

SHORT DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective showing of a game, or toy, in accordance with the present invention, arranged for operation by a player as indicated by the dashed lines;

FIG. 2 is a detailed showing in cross-section of a conventional opera-type magnifier connected to the periscope sight of FIG. 1, for bringing the target ship into closer view;

FIG. 3 is a showing of the target ship as viewed through the periscope of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a perspective showing, partly cut away, of the details of a section of the conning tower of FIG. 1, taken part way up, including the cam-release mechanism for the metal balls;

FIG. 5 is another perspective view of the conning tower section of FIG. 4, rotated degrees, and partly cut away to show the storage cache and relase mechanism for the metal balls;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the section of the conning tower shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a plan view of one sector of the device shown in perspective in FIG. 1, with the conning tower turned in a direction to focus on a particular target ship;

FIG. 8 is a side sectional view along the line 88 of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a plan view of a circuited trough as indicated in the breakaway sections AA and BB of FIG. 7, which is disposed beneath the level of the playing board and designed to intercept and guide the metal balls to roll along it;

FIGS. 10 and 11 are showings in side section and end elevation, respectively, of the channel indicated in FIG. 9; and

FIG. 12 is a schematic showing of the make-and break circuit provided by the metal trough shown in FIGS. 9, l0, and 11, leading to a small incandescent light bulb which serves to focus pulsed flashes on the target.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Referring in detail to FIG. 1, there is shown a player operating the game of the present invention which simulates a conning tower environment comprising a periscope I, mounted vertically at the center of a shallow cylindrical standard 2, which in the present example is about 2 feet in diameter, and has a vertically extended outer wall 2a, about 6 inches high, and a dish-shaped bottom 2b which may, for example, be strengthened by a plurality of radial ribs. This is supported on a ring-shaped base portion 20, which extends several inches above the floor and is recessed a few inches from the outer periphery of wall 2a to accommodate the feet of an observer. The cylindrical standard 2, including the periphery 2a, the bottom 2b, and supporting ribs, and the base portion 20, preferably take the form of an integrally molded plastic structure approximately inch thick. Alternatively, these parts may be formed of metal, or wood, of such thickness as to provide a rigid structure which can be readily and cheaply fabricated.

The periscope 1 comprises an inner tube 1a and an outer tube 1b, assembled telescopically. An eyepiece 3 extends laterally from the upper end of the inner tube 1a. The eyepiece 3, which is shown in enlarged detail in FIG. 2, is a conventional opera-type magnifier comprising a plano-convex lens mounted at the far end of the larger tube 3b, and a double concave lens mounted in the inner end of the smaller tube 3a. The latter slides telescopically in tube 3b until the image comes in focus for the observer. A pair of arms 4a, 4b, attached to the upper part of tube 1a, is provided for adjusting the vertical height of the eyepiece 3 for the comfort of the observer, by sliding the smaller periscope tube 1a vertically inside of the larger tube 1b, until the desired height is reached. Arms 4a, 4b also provide means for manual 360 rotation of periscope 1.

The tubes 10 and 1b may be formed of any rigid material, preferably fairly light in weight and inexpensive, such as, for example, plastic, wood, cardboard, or papiermache, or alternatively, lightweight metal. In the present example, in which the tubes are preferably formed of extruded plastic, the larger tube 1b is about 2 inches in outer diameter and inch thick, and the inner tube 1a is of corresponding thickness and a little less than 1 /3 inches in outer diameter. The fit between the two tubes 1a and 1b should be suffiicently tight so that they fit together telescopically, permitting periscope 1 to be raised slideably to a desired height by the observer. At the desired height, tubes In and 1b are locked together by depressing the lever 5, which keys a slot in tube 1a relative to tube 1b. In addition to controlling the vertical extent of periscope 1, this device also serves to lock tubes 1a and 1b together for the lateral scanning operation to locate targets. Operation of lever 5 will be described in greater detail with reference to the detailed showing of FIGS. 4, 5, and 6. It will be apparent that other mechanical means, well-known in the art, can be employed to perform these functions.

About 6 inches above the floor inside of the larger periscope tube 1b, opposite a lateral opening in the tube, is mounted a mirror and lens combination 7, comprising either a convex mirror 7a mounted at a 45 angle in the vertical plane or a plane mirror and a plano-concave lens 7b, set in the lateral opening, to create the illusion of distance. The combination is focussed to sight on objects on the horizon, in a manner to be described with reference to FIGS. 7, 8, and 10. The horizon is simulated by the inner periphery of the cylindrical wall 2a, around which are spaced a plurality of target ship silhouettes 8 which are supported within the focal range of the periscope by a mechanism to be described in detail hereinafter. The target ships 8 normally appear to ride on the surface of the ocean, which is simulated by the sectorshaped apron 9, preferably painted dark blue, and rigidly attached by means of a collar at its inner end to the periscope tube 1b, with which it rotates in a 360 horizontal plane during the search operation.

When the periscope 1 has been turned in such a posi tion as to sight on a particular ship 8, the image appearing to the observer in the eyepiece 3 is of the form indicated in FIG. 3, which shows the ship image 8 lined up with a cross hair 11, which may be inscribed on the surface of the diminishing-image mirror 7a (FIG. 8),

or on a separate transparent disc internally supported within the lower tube 1b.

The object of the game is for the player, upon sighting a ship in the eyepiece 3, to depress a lever 6, which releases a torpedo (a metal ball) in an attempt to hit the sighted ship 8. The ball rolls down through a vertical tube 12, fastened parallel to the periscope tube 1b. Tube 12 executes a right angle bend near its lower end, directing the ball onto the surface of the sector-shaped apron 9, which is downwardly inclined at an angle of about 5 between the central tube 112 and the peripheral edge. This causes the ball to roll in the direction of the horizon, and hopefully, to make a hit by contacting and being deflected by one of the sighted ships.

A particular feature of the present invention is the occurrence, after a hit is made, of a plurality of apparent explosions as the ship sinks realistically below the surface of the water (apron 9). This is brought about by the metal ball, after deflection by the ship rolling down a first inclined channel or trough rigidly fixed beneath apron 9, alternately making and breaking contact in an electrical circuit to a small incandescent bulb, and ultimately rolling down a second inclined channel hinged to drop (sink) the ship 8 to a position below the apron 9, when counterbalanced by the rolling ball.

These operations will :be better understood by reference to the more detailed figures of the drawings.

Let us refer to FIGS. 4 and 5, which are enlarged showings of the periscope tubes 1a, 1b and attachments in a section midway to the top, in two perspective showings, rotated from one another and partially cut away; and FIG. 6 which is a plan view of the showings of FIGS. 4 and 5.

Means for locking the tubes 1a and 11; together for lateral rotation through a 360 angle during the searching operation includes lever 5 which is vertically rotated by the player about an entrapped pin 14, mounted between the lobes 15 which extend laterally from the upper periphery of the outer tube 1b. In the locking position, cam 13 is designed to fit into clearance slot 16 in the upper edge of tube 1b.

Means for releasing balls 20 (torpedoes) includes the storage cache or receptacle 17 which is designed to accommodate a number of balls 20 simultaneously. The latter are preferably of metal, but may comprise any conducting material of suitable weight. In an optimum embodiment, they are copper or copper-coated to enhance their conductivity, for contact purposes in the make-and-break circuit. Receptacle 17 is frusto-conical in shape, about, say, one inch in diameter at its upper lip and terminating at its lower end in a tube 12 fastened to the side of tube 1b, and extending downwardly in a vertical direction. The tube 12 may be, for example, of any suitable material, such as metal or plastic, or even wood or paper pulp, if desired. The inner diameter, in the present instance, is /2 inch, although the only requirement is that it be large enough to readily accommodate the balls 20', one at a time only, without sticking. An inch or so below the bottom of funnel 17 is a semicircular shade-type detent 19, which is rotated in a vertical plane by lever 6. Detent 19 is spring-loaded in its upper position by a torsion spring 19a. The latter acts against the stop pin 19b, causing the pin to bear against the lower periscope tube 1b. When lever 6 is moved downward manually, detent 19, is removed from beneath the lowest one of the stored balls 20, releasing it into the channel 12, and at the same time preventing release of any of the other stored balls.

Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, which show the lower end of tube 1b and a portion of cylindrical standard 2 in plan and cross sectional views respectively, it is seen that the lower end of the tube 12 terminates in a tube 12a, of substantially the same diameter, which executes a nearly right angle bend, passing diametrically through a lower portion of the periscope tube 1b and open at the end,

so that a ball 10 traversing tube 12, is directed to roll down approximately along the central axis of the slightly inclined apron 9.

The transverse tube section 12a also serves as a support for the convex mirror 7a, which is fastened inside of periscope tube 1b in such a manner that its reflecting surface is disposed at substantially a 45 angle to the walls of the tube. The convex shape of the mirror 7a serves to give the illusion of distance to the images of ships 8 appearing in the eyepiece 3 (see Fig. 3.) Alternatively, mirror 7a may be a plane type, in which case a lano-concave lens 7b is located in a position attached to the outside wall of tube 1b opposite the central axis of mirror 7a, and is focussed on objects adjacent the inner wall of shell 2a, including target ships 8.

The lower end of the periscope tube 112 fits into and is mounted for rotation in a cylindrical bearing cup 21, which takes the form of a downwardly projecting hub formed integrally with the dish-shaped bottom 2b of the standard 2. Tube 1b is secured to the bottom of cup 21 by means, such as a conventional shouldered screw 22, which is applied through a recessed clearance hole 23 in the closed end of cup 21. The latter extends downwardly from a central opening in the floor 2b, threaded hole 23 mating internally with a threaded hole in the bottom of tube 112. Cylindrical bearing 21 is preferably of plastic, about 2 inches in outer diameter, inch in wall thickness, and say 4% inches high. Alternatively, this bearing cup could be formed of plastic, wood, or any other material of sufficient strength and rigidity for the purpose. In addition to serving as a cylindrical bearing for tube 1b, the upper periphery of the bearing 21 serves as a thrust bearing on which the downwardly extending collar 9a of apron 9, rigidly fixed to the lower end of tube 1b, is supported during the rotation.

The inclined apron 9, which takes the form of a sector of a circle, is formed with a circular opening at its narrow inner end which fits around the tube 112 just below outlet tube 12a, with a protruding flange 9b to the rear, and a downwardly extending cylindrical flange 9a forming a collar secured in place on the periphery of bearing cup 21, so that apron 9 rotates in a horizontal plane as an integral unit with tube 112, whenever the latter rotates about its vertical axis.

The apron 9 slants downwardly at a slight angle, terminating near the inner peripheral wall 2a of the cylindrical standard 2. It may be formed, for example, of plastic, metal, wood, or of any similar rigid or semirigid material, and is preferably painted or enameled a dark blue to simulate the ocean. Suspended below a central radius of the apron 9, in such a manner that it inclines toward the interior, forming an angle of about with the 'under surface of apron 9, is the make-andbreak channel 36. This is shown in the broken-out portions AA and BB of apron 9 in FIG. 7, and also in enlarged detail in FIGS. 9, 1O, 11, and 12, the first three of which show the aforesaid channel in plan view, in side section, and end elevation, respectively; and, the last of which shows the schematic of the electrical circuit which is a salient feature of this invention.

The channel 36 comprises a bell-mouthed trough 36a at its outer end, which protrudes outwardly about inch from beneath the edge of apron 9, extending along the edge of the apron a distance of about 2 inches, commensurate with the length along the water line of one of the target ships 8. When the periscope is centered on a target ship 8, and the apron 9 is lined up therewith, the clearance between the edge of the bell-mouthed trough 36a and the vertically extending flange upon which the replica of the target ship 8 is imprinted, is insufficient to permit the escape of a ball which has contacted and been deflected by the ship, the ball being confined in the trough 36a between the face of the flange in front, and a pair of shallow sides, each rising about inch high at the edges. The ball is therefore guided down the trough 36. If, on the other hand, the trough 36 is not properly lined up with a target ship 8, the ball rolls off of the edge of mouth 36a, and down onto the floor 2b, where it is returned for collection, as will be described.

The bell-mouthed channel 36a is centered on and formed integrally with inclined U-shaped trough 36, about 6 inches long, and about /2 inch wide, or just wide enough to accommodate a single ball as it rolls down the slight inward incline, a pair of inwardly inclined sides 36c and 361) being provided to hold the ball in place. One of the inclined sides 36b is conductively coated with, for exam ple, copper, along its entire length, along which it is continuously in contact with the ball as the latter rolls down. The other inclined side, 360, is discontinuously coated with intermittent strips of conducting material, such as copper, which are laterally spaced apart along the length of the channel, the intervening portions being insulated. The interrupted copper coating along the side 360, may, for example, take the form of a conventional printed circuit. Alternatively, it may be formed at any types of conductive strips of which the conductivity is interrupted at intervals, such as by discontinuities, or the interposition of strips of insulator. When the ball rolls along, contact is intermittently made and broken with a circuit including the continuous conducting strip on the other side 36b. Sides 36b and 36c are slightly spaced apart along their length so that no contact is made between them except as bridged by the rolling ball, which may be copper or copper-coated to improve its conductivity. Circuits from the two sides 36b and 36c are connected through a source of power 33 to a small incandescent light 34 which is preferably of a standard magnifying type. This may take the form of a conventional D battery 33 clipped into a conventional holder 33a (see FIG. 8) provided with a socket into which is fitted the incandescent light 34. Light 34 is focussed on objects along the circle comprising target ships 8, so that whenever contact is made by the rolling ball, a flash of light is focussed on the deflecting target ship 8 and surrounding background of wall 2a, creating the illusion of an explosion. It will be understood that in addition to an incandescent light of the type specified, other types of light sources could be employed, such as well known in the art.

The trough 36 is rigidly aflixed in the desired inclined position on the underside of sector 9 by a pair of braces 35a and 35b at the outer and inner ends, respectively. At the inner end of trough 36 the ball rolls off into a time-delay channel 37, also radially directed, and inclined in the opposite direction to channel 36. Unlike channel 36, time-delay channel 37 is not rigidly fixed in position, but is hinged at its inner end. Moreover, there is a separate time-delay channel 37 corresponding to each of the target ships 8 spaced at intervals around the horizon 2a, of which, in the present embodiment, there are six, the radial orientations of which are clearlv shown in FIG. 7 and 8. The hinged channels 37, which may be formed of metal, such as aluminum or alternatively, of plastic, wood, or any other suitable material, are about 9 inches long and /2 inch in cross-section across the base, or just wide enough to accommodate a single ball. They have sides about /4 inch high which are interrupted at intervals to form inwardly extending projections along the length to slow the progress of the rolling ball.

Cut-out AA through the sector shaped apron 9 of FIG. 7 shows the alignment of make-and-break chan nel 36 with respect to the timedelay channel 37 when the latter is aligned with target ship 8, as indicated by partial section AA, FIG. 8. The ball 20 is thus delivered to the lower channel 37, and is delayed in rolling down, as indicated in cut-out BB of FIG. 7, representing the positioned view BB of FIG. 8.

Channels 37 extend outwardly like the spokes of a wheel, centering at their inner ends on cup 21 located in an axial position. The inner ends of each of channels 37 is equipped with an upwardly extending tab 37a; the heel of which provides a fulcrum 37b which engages a pivotal recess in the outer surface of cup 21. Each of the tabs 37a is constrained to bear against the cup 21 by means of a conventional elastic band 39, which acts in the manner of a garter-spring to maintain the ships 8 in a normal upper position in which they project above the surface of the board 9.

The outer ends of the channels 37 each terminate in a radially extending finger 41 which rides in a vertical slot 42 in the cylindrical wall 2a; which slot defines the upper or normal position of channel 37. There is provided at the outer end of channel 37, a short vertical projection on which is reproduced the aforementioned replica of a target ship 8. Preferably, this takes the form of a silhouette imprinted on the plastic in black ink, or black enamel, or a metal or cardboard cutout in black or a dark color, several inches long and about one inch high.

The channel 37 is maintained in such a position that the target ships 8 normally appear around a target circle just inside of the horizon 2a, protruding above the outer face of the ocean-colored sector 9. In the present embodiment, channel 37 is held in this position against the tension of the elastic band 39. Elastic band 39 may be tensioned to provide such a mechanical bias that the weight of the ball 20, as it rolls down to the outer end of channel 37, is sufficient to cause the target ship 8 to sink slowly below the water simulated by the outer edge of apron 9. Alternatively, the tension and vertical position of the elastic band 39 may be so adjusted that the weight of two or more balls is required to sink a ship.

In alternative form, channels 37 may extend outwardly, being hinged from a collar comprising, for example, a rigid plastic, or any other material of sufiicient strength and rigidity to form a support. In the latter case, the channels are hinged at their inner ends from hearing posts extending outwardly from the plastic collar. A lip extending inwardly from the inner end of each of the channels is constrained to bear on the surface of the collar by a spring connection, which provides sufiicient bias to maintain the ships 8 in their normal, upward positions.

After scoring against one ship, the player repeats the performance previously described, by rotating the periscope 1, scanning the horizon in an attempt to sight and sink additional ships 8, of which there are six, in the present illustrative embodiment.

After successive plays, the balls aligned in the lowered time-delay channel 37 are released by use of the players finger to jerk pin 41 of channel 37 sharply upward to strike against the upper extremity of the slot 42, inertia causing the collected balls 20 to fall onto the dish-shaped floor 2b of the housing 2.

If the target ship 8 is missed, no explosions of the type previously described occur; and, the ball 20 gfiects off of the inside wall 2a of the housing 2, and onto the dish-shaped housing floor 2b. All balls 20 thus released, are guided into a centrally inclined recess or storage magazine 44, which surrounds the cup-shaped bearing 21 in spiral fashion near its lower end, aligning themselves near an opening 45 in the lower section thereof. The aligned balls are restricted within the storage magazine 44 by a tab 46 which serves to close off the exit through a ballreturn trough 47. The latter, which is of aluminum, plastic, or other rigid material, is about /2 inch in crosssection and 8 inches long, with sides about A inch deep. It is hinged at the inner end, and is normally springloaded by tension spring 48, in an upward direction, causing it to bear against the underside of the housing floor 2b, pivoting about point 49.

The ball-return trough 47 is positioned intermediately between adjacent target ships 8, with its outer end, including a tab 51, protruding through the opening 50 of the housing support wall 20. Tab 51 is constructed to be manually depressed by the player, in order to gather the balls in his hand, ready to be replaced into the funnel 17 so that the sequence of operations can be repeated.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that practice of the invention is not restricted to the specific structure disclosed herein by way of example. For example, it will be appreciated that the principle of the invention, which contemplates the occurrence of one or more explosions after a missile released by the player has contacted a target, might also be applied to simulated land and air operations, as well as those involving ships at sea. In any case, the scope of the invention is restricted only in the manner defined in the appended claims.

What we claim is: 1. An amusement device comprising in combination: a playing board, a plurality of targets, means for supporting said targets in a normal position visible above the edge of said board, and in an 0&- normal position below the edge of said board, a storage cache of electrically conductive balls, means for sighting on at least one of said targets at a time and for releasing and directing at least one of said balls at a time toward said target in an attempt to move said target from said normal position to said off-normal position in response to deflection of said ball by said target, circuit means comprising an electrically powered light source disposed to direct a beam on said deflecting target, and an energizing circuit connectable to said light, said energizing circuit including an intermittent conducting path which comprises a primary channel including an enlarged opening movable by said sighting means to a position adjacent said one target and constructed for partial closure by said target of said opening to confine said ball to said channel, said primary channel containing conducting and non-conducting areas along the length thereof, and said primary channel being slightly inclined inwardly to propel said ball to roll therealong to intermittently bridge conducting portions of said energizing circuit for intermittently making and breaking the energizing circuit to said light source, said means for supporting said targets comprising a plurality of secondary channels each pivotally supported at their inwardly directed ends and constructed for partial rotation in a vertical plane about said inwardly directed ends, the outer ends of each of said channels each having a projection in a vertical plane rigidly coupled to said targets for respectively raising and lowering said targets to said normal position visible above the edge of said board and to said off-normal position below the edge of said board, each of said secondary channels disposed, upon deflection of said ball by the target corresponding to said secondary channel, to receive the ball from said primary channel, mechanical biasing means connected to each of said secondary channels for biasing said channel to assume said normal position, said mechanical biasing means constructed and arranged to exert a force which is sufficient to maintain said target in said normal position when no counter force is applied to said secondary channel, said force being just counterbalanced by the weight of at least one said ball as it moves to the outer end of said secondary channel, thereby causing said outer end to rotate in a vertical plane to lower said target from said normal position to said off-normal position as said ball rolls down said secondary channel. 2. An amusement device comprising in combination: a playing board, a plurality of targets, means for supporting said targets in a normal position visible above the edge of said board, and in an off-normal position below the edge of said board, a storage cache of missiles comprising electrically conductive material,

means for sighting on at least one of said targets at a time, and for releasing and directing at least one of said missiles at a time toward said target in an attempt to move said target from said normal position to said off-normal position in response to defiection of said missile by said target.

circuit means comprising an electrically powered light source disposed to direct a beam on said deflecting target,

and an energizing circuit connectable to said light,

said energizing circuit including an intermittent conducting path constructed and arranged to mechanically confine the motion of said missile to said path upon deflection of said missile by said target, said path containing conducting and nonconducting areas along the length thereof for causing intermittent make-and-break of the energizing circuit to said light source when bridged by said missile traversin said path,

wherein said means for sighting on at least one of said targets at a time comprises a periscope including a pair of vertically disposed telescopically mounted tubes rotatable through 360 degrees about the vertical axis of said tubes,

an eyepiece connected to the upper one of said telescopically mounted tubes and constructed to focus an image reflected in said periscope, and focussing means disposed transversely across the lower body portion of said telescopically mounted tubes forming an angle with said axis, said focussing means focussed on the circuit defining the positions of said targets, and constructed to produce an image of diminished size of one said target in the eyepiece of said periscope.

3. The combination in accordance with claim 2 wherein said focussing means comprises a convex mirror.

4. The combination in accordance with claim 2 wherein said focussing means comprises a plane mirror in combination with a lens constructed to produce an image of diminished size.

5. The combination in accordance with claim 2 where in said periscope is mounted at the center of a shallow cylindrical chamber,

the normal positions of said targets being at spaced intervals around a circle slightly inside the inner cylindrical periphery of said cylindrical chamber,

wherein said playing board comprises a sector-shaped apron rigidly fastened at its inner end to the lower portion of said periscope and rotatable through 360 degrees with the rotation of said periscope,

said apron extending at its outer end to a circle just inside of the circle defining the positions of said targets,

wherein said missiles are balls,

and said means for releasing and directing at least one of said missile at a time toward said targets comprises an auxiliary tube having its upper end disposed parallel to the tubes of said periscope, lever means for releasing said balls one at a time connected to the upper end of said lower periscope tube, the lower end of said auxiliary tube passing diametrically through said lower periscope tube and bent at an angle slightly greater than 90 degrees for directing released balls to roll down said apron,

said primary channel comprising said intermittent conducting path being rigidly fastened to extend in a radial direction beneath said apron, said enlarged opening protruding in a radial direction slightly beyond the edge of said apron, and substantially coextensive in a circumferential direction with the circumferential extent of said targets, said primary channel being slightly inclined inwardly from said enlarged opening in a vertical plane relative to the angle of inclination of said apron, whereby a ball deflected by said target is trapped between said enlarged opening and said target, rolling inwardly along said primary channel for deposit on the secondary channel corresponding to said target.

6. The combination in accordance with claim 5 wherein said electrically powered light comprises an incandescent bulb and means for focussing the light from said bulb on the circle defining the positions of said targets.

7. The combination in accordance with claim 5 wherein said periscope is constructed to simulate the conning tower of a. submarine, said ball-releasing means simulating a torpedo tube, wherein said targets are representations of ships, and wherein said apron is csolored to represent the ocean.

8. The combination in accordance with claim 5 which comprises means for retrieving spent balls from said cylindrical enclosure,

said means including a dished-shaped bottom of said enclosure for directing said balls to the center of said cylindrical enclosure,

a storage magazine disposed at said center for storing said balls,

means comprising a radially disposed retrieval channel connected between said storage magazine and the outer edge of said cylindrical enclosure, said retrieval channel pivoted to rotate clockwise from a first position above the level of said storage magazine in a vertical plane to a second position below the level of said storage magazine, said retrieval channel mechanically biased to remain in said first position, and means comprising a lever connected to the outer end of said retrieval channel for manually depressing said channel to said second position.

9. In combination with an amusement device for sighting and sinking ships which comprises in combination a hollow cylindrical shell having a dish-shaped bottom and a plurality of vertically extending slots spaced apart around the lateral surface of said shell, means including a vertical tubular periscope axially centered in said cylindrical shell, and constructed to rotate through 360 degrees in a horizontal plane,

a plurality of radially extending channel, each respectively terminating at its outer end in an upwardly extending flange bearing the replica of a target ship, said target ships respectively positioned at spaced intervals around a target circle adjacent the inner periphery of said shell,

each of said radially extending channels having a substantially horizontally extending projection at the end adjacent the flange bearing said target ship constructed to ride in a respective one of said vertically extending slots, and each of said channels being hinged near its inner end and having thereat a substantially horizontally extending projection comprising elastic biasing means to maintain each of said target ships in a normal upper position as opposed to an off-normal lower position when the bias of said elastic biasing means is overcome,

means comprising a semicircular sector having a collar near one end rigidly fitted near the base of said periscope, said sector constructed to rotate with the rotation of said periscope,

said sector being mounted above said radially extending channels, and shaped so that the principal surface of said sector is downwardly inclined from said tubular mounting toward the circular edge thereof adjacent said target circle,

said sector being colored to represent the sea, and each of said target ships designed in the normal upper position of said flange to protrude vertically above the outer edge of said sector,

a radially disposed trough-shaped member having a slight inclination in the direction of said periscope rigidly fixed to the underside of said sector and having a broadly expanded opening constructed to protrude beneath the outer edge of said sector closely adjacent said target circle,

a light source disposed for focussing a beam of light on said target circle,

a source of power,

conducting members arranged along said trough in alternation and connected in circuit relation between said light source and said source of power to energize said light source when bridged across,

said eriscope means including a pair of telescopically coupled tubes, an eyepiece connected near the top of the upper one of said tubes, and focussing means for producing a diminishing image transversely across the lower end of said periscope for focussing images from said target circle in the focal field of said eyepiece,

a tube adjacent said periscope tube designed to accommodate at its upper end a plurality of balls comprising electrically conducting material,

detent means responsive to a rotatable lever for releasing said balls to roll down said tube one at a time,

said tube vertically extended at its upper end and bent to substantially horizontal position at its lower end and terminating adjacent the upper surface of said sector,

when said periscope is sighted on a specific one of said targets, the upper end of said trough designed in cooperation With the flange comprising said target ship to confine said ball to said trough in bridging relation to said circuit means, the lower end of said trough disposed to feed said ball after rolling down said trough onto the inner end of the radially extending channel connected to said flange, said elastic biasing means constructed so that the bias thereof is just overcome when at least one of said balls rolls to the outer end of said channel causing said flange including said target ship to sink out of sight below the edge of said sector,

and means cooperating with said dish-shaped bottom and including a well beneath said channel for retrieving said balls from the ends of said channels and from said dish-shaped bottom.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 601,287 3/1898 Shoemaker 273l20 1,617,846 2/1927 Hawk 46-42 2,083,463 6 /1937 May 273125 2,300,132 10/1942 New 273-101.2 2,991,081 7/ 1961 Swimmer et a1. 273120 FOREIGN PATENTS 543,244 2/1942 Great Britain.

ANTON D. OECHSLE, Primary Examiner T. ZACK, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R.

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