Pneumatic Skill Game

This invention relates to a game of skill, and more particularly to a game in which a projectile confined within a section of transparent tubing is caused to move back and forth by manipulation of air bellows secured to the opposite ends of the tubing.

A pneumatic skill toy described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,919,135 comprises a section of transparent tubing having expandable air bladders, such as rubber balloons, secured to the opposite ends thereof, and a ball confined within the tubing for movement by air pressure in the tubing. In use, the air bladders are manipulated by the player to cause air currents to flow back and forth in the tubing to thereby move the ball captive therein. It is a closed system, so if air is moved in one direction through the tubing by collapsing one of the bladders, the ball is moved and at the same time the air expands the bladder at the opposite end, caution must be employed to prevent the resilient quality of the expanded bladder to direct the additional air therein backwardly through the tubing to alter the position of the ball therein. The object of the game which may be played with the toy, by one or two persons, is to position the ball progressively through several locations marked by indicia on the tubing. There is no clear indication of the winner, when the toy is used by two persons, visual observance of the position of the ball being the only way of noting the progress of the game.

It is a primary object of the present invention to provide a game to be played by two persons in competition which is both entertaining and useful in the development of manipulative skills, and in which the skill of the opposing players largely determines the outcome of the game.

Briefly, the game apparatus includes a section of rigid, transparent tubing which forms a relatively long, straight air passageway having compressible air bellows secured to its opposite ends, and a projectile, in the nature of a "shuttle cock", having a diameter slightly less than the inner diameter of the tubing, disposed within the tubing for movement therealong by air pressure within the tube. The air bellows is shaped to be firmly supported on a flat surface, and to be manipulated by one or both hands and is coupled to the tubing by an elbow connector. Associated with each of the bellows is a scoring indicator in the form of a flag which is actuable when the projectile strikes it. The object of the game is for one player to force the shuttle cock, by skillful manipulation of his bellows and in the face of manipulation by his opponent of his bellows, to strike the scoring indicator at the opponent's end of the tubing, the game being won by the player who scores the most times in a prearranged number of encounters. A count indicator is provided at each end of the tubing to keep a count of the "hits" scored by each of the players.

The above and other objects and features of the invention will become more apparent, and its construction and operation better understood, from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a pneumatic game device constructed in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation view of a projectile used in the device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of a tube connector member; and

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary side elevation view, partially in cross-section, illustrating the construction of the bellows unit of the game apparatus.

Referring now to FIG. 1, the game apparatus of the invention comprises a straight, elongated rigid transparent tube 10, typically having an outer diameter of one inch and an overall length of about four feet. In order that the packaging for the game be of reasonable size, the tubing preferably is in two sections 10a and 10b of substantially equal length and joined together by a center connector 12 formed, for example, of high impact plastic material. The inner diameter of the connector is dimensioned to receive the mating ends of the two tube sections with a snug fit, and as best seen in FIG. 3, has an internal peripheral shoulder 12a equidistant from its ends against the opposite sides of which the adjacent ends of the tube sections 10a and 10b abut. A connector length of about two inches has been found sufficient to securely join the tube sections and to prevent the joined tube from sagging at the middle. The connector has an air vent 12b formed in the wall thereof, at the location of the shoulder 12a so as to be disposed between the confronting ends of the tube sections, for relieving the air pressure within the tube, for reasons to be later described in more detail.

An elongated projectile 14, in the nature of a "shuttle cock" about two inches long, and having an outer diameter slightly less than the inner diameter of the tube 10, is disposed within the tube for movement back and forth therein by air pressure in the tube. The projectile is preferably molded from a suitable plastic material, and to reduce its weight while retaining the indicated overall dimensions, and to function cooperatively with other parts of the game apparatus (to be described), has the construction shown in FIG. 2, consisting of a central longitudinally extending shaft 14a having at each end thereof three integral, spaced-apart discs 14b, 14c and 14d of increasingly larger diameters whose peripheries lie along the arc of a circle, the diameter of the discs 14d being slightly less than the inner diameter of the tube 10.

The shuttle cock 14 is movable within the tube 10 by air currents produced by squeezing one or the other or both of two air bellows 16 and 18 coupled to and respectively communicating with the opposite ends of the tube 10 via elbow connectors 20 and 22. As best seen in FIG. 4, wherein the bellows 16 and the connector 20 are shown in cross-section, the bellows unit is a generally flat, hollow bladder formed to have two rectangular portions 16a and 16b coupled to each other through a cross-connecting portion 16c. The undersurfaces of the bladder portions 16a and 16b are flat so as to be stably supported on a floor or table or other supporting surface, and the underside of the cross-connecting portion is at a level slightly above the undersurface of portions 16a and 16b. The bellows unit is molded of a suitable flexible, durable plastic material, for example 50% medium density polyethylene and 50% linear polyethylene, so as to be hand squeezable by a child to drive the air from the bellows, yet be capable of springing back to a normal position when applied force is removed. The upper surfaces of the portion 16a and 16b have a plurality of circular projections formed thereon to be slightly simulative of a military weapon and to help prevent the hands of the user from slipping off when the bellows unit is being manipulated. Typically, the overall dimensions of the bellows unit are about nine inches in the crosswise direction, about six inches in the direction parallel to the axis of tube 10 and about one and one-half inches high.

Centrally of the upper surface thereof the cross-connecting portion 16c is of generally frustro-conical shape, as at 16d, and has a circumferential trough therearound for supporting the flared lower end 20a of the elbow connector 20, the inner diameter of which conforms to the outer diameter of the upper end 16e of the cone to effectively seal the elbow connector to the bellows unit. The elbow unit is removably secured to the bellows unit with a peripheral ring 20b of semicircular cross-section formed on the inner wall of the flared portion 20c which engages a correspondingly shaped and dimensioned peripheral groove 16f formed in the outer surface of the upper end 16e of the cone.

The elbow connector 20, which is preferably molded of plastic material such as ABS or HIS in two halves and joined at the section line illustrated in FIG. 4, has a transverse wall 22 having an aperture 24 therethrough which allows air to flow from the bellows, through the flared portion 20a and into the horizontally oriented barrel portion 26 and thence into the tube 10a, the inner end of which abuts against a shoulder 28 formed on the inner wall of the barrel inwardly from its free end. Integrally joined to the underside of the barrel 26 is a valve housing 30 of circular shape in which a thin, flexible disc 32 formed of vinyl, for example, is supported on a crossmember 34 extending diametrically across the housing 30, the lower end of the housing otherwise being open for the entry of air when the disc 32 is flexed and thereby lifted from the peripheral seat provided by the shoulder 36 formed on the inner wall at the lower end of the valve housing. When the interior pressure of the bellows unit is below atmospheric pressure, vertical movement of the disc is limited by another crossmember 38 extending from the inner wall and diametrically across the valve housing 30, above the disc 32. The space 40 above the disc communicates via a passage 42 with the flared lower end 20a of the elbow connector. Thus, when the air pressure within the system, which is closed except for the air vent 12b in the tube connector 12 and other openings in the elbow connector (to be described), is increased above atmospheric pressure by compressing the bellows unit, the flexible disc 32 is seated against the shoulder 36 to prevent the escape of air and to force air current to flow through the opening 24 into the barrel 26 and the tube 10. However, when the internal pressure of the system is below atmospheric, as happens upon release of the compressed bellows, the disc 32 flexes upwardly at its edges to allow air to enter the system. Thus, compression of bellows 16, if bellows 18 is not compressed at the same time, causes air to flow into tube 10 from left to right in FIG. 1 and to carry the shuttle cock 14 therealong until it enters the barrel portion of elbow connector 22. The converse is, of course, true if the bellows unit 18 is compressed when bellows 16 is not compressed. In actual game play, with opposing players pumping the bellows simultaneously, the shuttle cock is pressured back and forth since it is acted upon in both directions. Theoretically, if the opposing flows of air occur at the same instant and with the same force, the shuttle cock will remain stationary. A player wins by pumping with greater force than his opponent when the air flows are simultaneous, and/or by taking advantage of a "lull" in his opponent's pumping action, without which there is a resistance-free path to the scoring indicator. The object of the game is for each player to so manipulate his bellows unit as to prevent the shuttle cock from entering his unit and causing it to enter his opponent's unit, making for spirited competition and the development of proper coordination of eyes and hands to achieve the manipulative skill necessary to score against the opponent.

In order to ensure that the force exerted on the shuttlecock by actuation by one player of bellows 16, for example, to drive the shuttlecock toward the elbow connector 22 at the other end of the tube, be resisted only by air flow in the tube due to actuation of bellows 18 by an opponent, a pair of vents, one of which is visible at 44 in FIG. 4, are provided in the side walls of the elbow connectors, the vents each being about three-fourths inch long and about three-sixteenths inch wide. Without such venting, the system would tend to "draw" the shuttlecock back slightly when the bellows is released and allowed to spring back to refill with air. Thus, the vents "fine tune" the air flow within the system and prevent the shuttlecock from being drawn back by a vacuum that would otherwise be present in the air passageway between the bellows and the shuttlecock.

The game's interest is heightened by a somewhat dramatic indication of a score provided by flags 50 and 52 mounted at the top of elbow connectors 20 and 22, respectively, which are actuable from the "down" position in which flag 52 is shown in FIG. 1 to the "up" position in which flag 50 is shown by entry of the shuttlecock into the barrel of the elbow connector. As better seen in FIG. 4, the flag and actuating assembly, which is preferably molded in a single piece from the same plastic material of which the elbow connector is formed, includes a staff 54 on which the flag 50 is supported, a thin, flat member 56 disposed perpendicularly to the staff and lying along the outer wall of the barrel 26, a flat septum 58 disposed along the center line of and depending from the under surface of member 56, a rearwardly extending curved member 60, and a pair of trunnions projecting from either side of septum 58, one of which is visible at 62. The trunnions are received in openings formed in a pair of bosses 64 and 66, and the curved member 60 extends through an opening 68 in the wall of barrel 26 and into the barrel, the relative locations of the pivot points and opening 64, and the curvature of member 60 being such as to permit the flag to freely pivot from the position shown in phantom to the position shown in full lines when the extremity of the curved portion, which is positioned essentially on the axis of barrel 26 when the flag is "down", is struck by the projectile 14. When the flag is pivoted to the "up" position, a hook 58a on septum 58 projects through an opening 70 in the wall of barrel 26 and into the barrel a sufficient distance to engage the inner surface of the disc 14d of the shuttlecock thereby to retain the shuttlecock within the barrel until the flag is returned to the "down" position. Inadvertent return of the flag to the "down" position is prevented by attraction of a permanent magnet 72 confined in a housing 74 formed on the topside of the barrel 26 to a magnetic member, such as a rivet 76, secured to the extremity of member 56 of the flag assembly. Thus, the flag must be deliberately lowered, following a score, to again put the shuttlecock in play for another encounter.

The players may keep track of their respective "hits" by scoring rings 78 and 80 rotatably mounted with a snug fit on the tube 10 adjacent the free end of the elbow connectors 20 and 22, respectively. These rings are preferably molded of high impact plastic material, are knurled to facilitate their rotation relative to the tube 10, and have indicia, such as 1, 2, 3, 4, etc., distributed therearound to indicate by alignment with a reference mark on the end of the barrel the number of "hits" scored. The player who scores the most "hits" in a prearranged number of encounters wins the game.

It will be evident from the foregoing that there is provided an entertaining competitive game which meets the objects of the invention. The invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction described and claimed, it being the intention to cover all changes and modifications of the example of the invention chosen for purposes of the disclosure which fall within the spirit and scope of the invention.