USRE40580E1 - Toy figure simulating a jump shot - Google Patents

Images

Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
  • A63F—CARD, BOARD, OR ROULETTE GAMES; INDOOR GAMES USING SMALL MOVING PLAYING BODIES; VIDEO GAMES; GAMES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • A63F7/00—Indoor games using small moving playing bodies, e.g. balls, discs or blocks
  • A63F7/22—Accessories; Details
  • A63F7/24—Devices controlled by the player to project or roll-off the playing bodies
  • A63F7/2409—Apparatus for projecting the balls
  • A63F7/2472—Projecting devices with actuating mechanisms, e.g. triggers, not being connected to the playfield
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
  • A63F—CARD, BOARD, OR ROULETTE GAMES; INDOOR GAMES USING SMALL MOVING PLAYING BODIES; VIDEO GAMES; GAMES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • A63F7/00—Indoor games using small moving playing bodies, e.g. balls, discs or blocks
  • A63F7/06—Games simulating outdoor ball games, e.g. hockey or football
  • A63F7/0604—Type of ball game
  • A63F7/0612—Basketball
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
  • A63F—CARD, BOARD, OR ROULETTE GAMES; INDOOR GAMES USING SMALL MOVING PLAYING BODIES; VIDEO GAMES; GAMES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • A63F7/00—Indoor games using small moving playing bodies, e.g. balls, discs or blocks
  • A63F7/22—Accessories; Details
  • A63F7/24—Devices controlled by the player to project or roll-off the playing bodies
  • A63F7/2409—Apparatus for projecting the balls
  • A63F7/2481—Apparatus for projecting the balls with a projection mechanism actuated by a spring or other elastic member
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
  • A63F—CARD, BOARD, OR ROULETTE GAMES; INDOOR GAMES USING SMALL MOVING PLAYING BODIES; VIDEO GAMES; GAMES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • A63F7/00—Indoor games using small moving playing bodies, e.g. balls, discs or blocks
  • A63F7/22—Accessories; Details
  • A63F7/24—Devices controlled by the player to project or roll-off the playing bodies
  • A63F7/2409—Apparatus for projecting the balls
  • A63F7/249—Apparatus for projecting the balls projecting the playing bodies through the air, e.g. with a jump

Definitions

• U.S. Pat. No. 5,788,242 (Rudell et al., 1998) shows a TWO SIDED BASKETBALL GAME with two simple launchers.
• U.S. Pat. No. 2,878,801 to Patchin et al. (1959) discloses a vertical TOY CATAPULT DEVICE with a horizontal support for rectangular projectiles.
• U.S. Pat. No. 2,203,990 to R. J. Haynur (1940) proposes a multiplayer GAME APPARATUS using a molded spring launcher and a projectile with parallel faces indicating a play board position for the next player.
• the present invention provides an easy to manufacture and inexpensive toy figure simulating a jump shot, a hook shot and a ball pass for simulated games using aerial projectiles, such as basketball and others.
• aerial projectiles such as basketball and others.
• FIG. 1A shows a toy figure with fixed arms, energized by a leaf spring inclined from horizontal:
• FIG. 1B shows a similar figure with rotatable arms and connecting means to rotate them.
• FIGS. 1C to 1 E show various kinds of resilient means for use with e.g. FIGS. 1A , 1 B, and 5 .
• FIG. 2 presents a similar figure with a curved leaf spring.
• FIG. 3 shows another toy figure using a tension coil spring, with forearms rotated forward by a string.
• FIG. 5 presents a ‘executive toy’ version with a ball shooting hand on a leaf spring.
• FIG. 8 shows a version of a tabletop basketball game using the toy figures in FIGS. 1 through 4 .
• FIG. 9 shows a version of dice used to randomly select the next game action.
• FIG. 1A shows a preferred embodiment of my invention—a toy FIG. 10 simulating jump-shooting and ball passing in games using aerial projectiles.
• Said toy figure comprises a base 11 , resilient means in the form of a leaf spring 12 , and a body 13 in the shape of a ballplayer.
• Base 11 has a flat bottom surface large enough to provide stability.
• Spring 12 is attached toward one edge of base 11 and rising in a sharp angle to the horizontal plane over the center of said base, also for stability reasons.
• Body 13 is coupled to the opposite end of spring 12 .
• Arms and hands 14 of the figure are fixed in a typical raised jump-shooting position.
• a ball or other aerial projectile 15 is placed upon hands 14 formed to carry it.
• Base 11 and body 13 including arms and hands 14 are preferably cast of a plastic or metal material or a suitable equivalent, and are attached to spring 12 by any appropriate anchoring means like glue, screws or other comparable method or cast directly around the spring as shown here.
• Spring 12 is formed of at least one substantially flat piece of a resilient plastic, metal or other material strong enough to withstand repeated flexing and to impart enough force to propel the projectile 15 .
• the material, length, thickness and shape of the leaves, and angle of the spring will affect the trajectory of the projectile, as will the weight of the projectile and other factors.
• the projectile 15 may be made to the requirements of any particular purpose.
• a user places said toy FIG. 10 on a suitable surface such as a play board with court markings and positional or directional indicia.
• Directional marks can be used to orient the figure toward a target.
• the user places ball 15 upon hands 14 and bends down spring 12 as indicated by phantom lines 12 a, estimating the force necessary to shoot ball 15 a desired distance.
• spring 12 is released, it rebounds to its original position, carrying body 13 , hands 14 and ball 15 upward and forward on a curve. At the highest point of the curve the ball 15 is thrown in an arc indicated by the upper arrow.
• FIG. 1D shows a similar platform energized by a torsion coil spring 12 d wound around axle 19 , with one end of the spring supporting the platform and the other end pressing against the base.
• FIG. 1E shows four other variations combined: (a) a curved leaf spring 12 e attached to base 11 by (b) anchoring means 20 (glue, weld, screw, pin, a groove etc.) can be (c) combined with another spring, here a compression coil spring 12 f springing (d) not against the base, but against the surface carrying the toy figure.
• FIG. 3 shows a partially sectioned view of another type of the figure.
• Tension coil spring 32 is anchored by its bent upper end 32 a to base 31 and by its bent lower end 32 b to body 33 (anchoring means and resilient means are identical.)
• Each forearm and hand 34 is attached rotatably to the body at an elbow pivot 36 .
• Connecting means (string 37 ) is attached at one end to base 31 , goes through a cavity in body 33 around a pin 39 located in the shoulder area, and attaches to one forearm and hand 34 at elbow 38 .
• FIG. 4 the toy figure uses a compression coil spring 42 deformable between a compression flange 43 b and base 41 .
• Arms and hands 44 rotate around an arm pivot 46 joining them through a hollow body 43 within shoulder area.
• a shaft 47 is attached to said arm pivot 46 by an upper pin 49 a and link 48 , and to base 41 by a lower pin 49 b; together they form the connecting means (here identical to anchoring means.)
• An optional flange 40 provides an easier hold for pushing down body 43 .
• Rack and pinion assembly could be also used to translate the vertical movement of the body into the rotation of the arms.
• FIGS. 3 and 4 operate in a similar way (numbers for FIG. 4 are in parentheses): the user presses down body 33 ( 43 ) deforming coil spring 32 ( 42 ) while steadying base 31 ( 41 ,) using flange 40 of provided. After forearms and hands 34 (arms and hands 44 ) rotate to a lower position indicated by phantom lines, the user places a ball 35 ( 45 ) upon the hands. When body 33 ( 43 ) is released, spring 32 ( 42 ) forces the body upward while string 37 (shaft 47 ) force forearms 34 (arms 44 ) to rotate forward. The combined motion pushes ball 35 ( 45 ) upward and forward in an arc indicated by the upper arrows.
• Both bodies 33 and 43 are preferably cast of a plastic or metal material or a suitable equivalent, with a cavity for connecting means.
• Rotatable arms or forearms including hands are preferably cast of the same material as the body, and attached to the body by said pivot 36 ( 46 ).
• Said coil spring 32 ( 42 ) is formed preferably of a spring metal wire capable of providing enough force to throw the ball without being too difficult to deform by an intended group of users.
• Shaft 47 , link 48 , pins 39 , 49 a and 49 b are preferably made of metal for strength and wear resistance.
• FIGS. 1 to 7 show only a small number of the many possible arrangements of these basic components:
• connecting means and anchoring means can be identical (e.g. string 37 or shaft 47 .)
• FIG. 8 describes a version of a tabletop play board 81 for a simulated basketball game using the toy figures simulating a jump shot or a hook shot described in FIGS. 1 through 6 .
• the board 81 can have either half-court game markings and one basket, backboard and stand assembly 84 , or full-court markings partially indicated by dashed lines, with two basket assemblies on opposite ends of board 81 .
• the game can use one toy figure of present invention 85 or a plurality of them per team, using either one type of figure or different designs for different positions.
• the toy figure of FIG. 1 could be used for both guard positions while toy figures shown in FIGS. 2 , 3 or 4 would be placed in forward and center positions, one of them based on FIG.
• the toy figure(s) 85 are placed on positional marks 82 which may be replaced by directional marks 83 as shown in positions number 4 , 5 (under the toy FIG. 85 ) and 6 on the board 81 .
• Directional marks 83 pointing to the center of the basket should be supplemented by matching directional marks 26 as shown on the toy figure in FIG. 2 .
• the positional and directional indicia could be variously combined on different sides of board 81 , for example to balance different skill levels of users.
• the game starts with a draw or a roll of standard dice to decide which user should start—the highest or the lowest roll starts the game as agreed by users. If only one toy FIG.
• FIGS. 85 are used per side, the starting user puts it on the marks 82 or 83 corresponding to the number on the dice. If 2 or more FIGS. 85 are used per side (5 as in the real game of basketball etc.,) the user passes a ball to the figure place in the corresponding position before starting the game. Rolling number 6 on the dice could result in a foul shot from position number 6, or optionally in losing the turn to the next user. Users can take turns rolling the dice and shooting the ball, or can use the dice described in FIG. 7 to determine the action to be taken next. Score can be kept according to the usual basketball rules with one, two or three points per shot. A game ends in any way agreed on—a time limit, certain score reached etc.
• FIG. 9 shows a variant of an action die for random determination of the next action to be taken by a user. If a user rolls P (Pass), the ball shall pass to a position optionally determined by a roll of a standard die indicating positions 1 through 6. User that rolls S (Shoot) may attempt shooting at the goal from the position possessing the ball. Rolling T (Turn-over) means the loss of the ball to the next user.
• the 32S-2P-1T probabilities indicated in FIG. 9 can be of course modified.
• the toy figures of the present invention simulate more realistically the jump shot or hook shot action of such aerial projectile games as simulated basketball and others.
• the toy figures are inexpensive to manufacture and can be shaped and decorated to resemble popular live ballplayers and their game uniforms, animals, literary or other personages and other real or imaginary characters providing various marketing opportunities.
• the toy figure body can be oriented sideways with one tentacle formed to shoot a so-called hook shot; the leaf spring can be variously shaped to generate different ball trajectories; a rack and pinion assembly can be used as connecting means in place of a string 37 or shaft 47 to rotate the arms; a spring type from one embodiment can be combined with an arm assembly from another; the body can be cast either solid or hollow or hand-carved from an exotic wood in any animate shape, such as an imaginary extraterrestrial being tossing a medium size galaxy and so on.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Multimedia (AREA)
• Toys (AREA)

Abstract

Description

Claims (15)

Priority Applications (1)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Related Parent Applications (1)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=40039936

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (1)

Cited By (3)

Citations (17)

• 2007
  • 2007-07-10 US US11/825,835 patent/USRE40580E1/en not_active Expired - Fee Related

Patent Citations (17)

Similar Documents

Legal Events