US2585153A - Polarized electromagnetic shuffleboard - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 12, 1952 c. METZ POLARIZED ELECTROMAGNETIC SHUFF 'LEIBOARD Filed Sept. 8, 1944 l h R.Z m m n kL m R m I M E m Q W 5 ma 2 m H h WV MW a Feb.- 12, 1952 c, MET 2,585,153

POLARIZED ELECTROMAGNETIC SHUF'FLEBOARD 53 W 30 INVEVNTOR.

i 5 f9 [KR/570191967? #522 Patented Feb. 12, 1952 POLARIZED ELECTROMAGNETIC SHUFFLEBOARD Christopher Metz, Baldwin, N. Y.

Application September 8, 1944, Serial No. 553,163

2 Claims (Cl. 273-126) This invention relates to improvements in shuflieboard games.

The general object of the invention is to provide an improved form of shufileboard game.

A further object of the invention is to provide a shuiileboard game adapted to coin controlled operation.

Still another object of the invention is to provide improved scoring means for shuiileboard games.

With these and still other objects which are apparent in the following full description in mind, the invention consists in the combinations and arrangements of parts and details of construction which will now first be fully described in connection with the accompanying drawing, and then be more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a shuflleboard game I embodying the invention in a preferred form of embodiment;

Figure 2 is a section taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a section taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 2; and

Figure 4 is a wiring diagram.

The game comprises a smooth shutlleboard playing surface I, of generally rectangular form and made of wood, plastic or other suitable material, over which surface the various shuilieboard disks 2 are slid by the players. The surface I is supported by the box-like structure or housing composed of the bottom 4, ends '5 and 8, and side walls I, which latter walls extend up above the playing surface throughout the major part of its length, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, and carry a transparent cover 8, of glass or other suitable material, so ,that the playing surface is divided into a long rearward covered portion and a shorter forward open portion. The disks are placed on the forward portion by the player and propelled along the playing surface to the other end thereof, the cover 8 preventing interference therewith during passage along the playing surface and also being close enough to the playing surface to prevent edgewise movement of disks or overlapping of one disk over another. A spacing, such as indicated, in which the clearance between playing surface I and cover 8 is about one and one-half times the thickness of the disks, is satisfactory. The shuilleboard structure is mounted on legs 9, shown fragmentarily in Figure 2, at a suitable height, generally about thirty inches. The far end of the playing surf-ace l is marked with a scoring field l0, which may assume a va riety of forms, but is illustrated for simplicity as of rectangular form and comprising a plurality of square scoring spaces l I. Each space will normally be marked with a scoring indication corresponding to the difficulty of placing and maintaining a disk therein, so that a player's total score is determined by the number of disks within scoring spaces and the value of the spaces. As indicated in Figure 1, the disks 2a and 2b have not yet been played while the disk 20 is in a scoring space, the disk 2d is in a nonscoring position overlapping the boundary line of a space, and the disk 2e has been slid too far so as to be in a nonscoring portion of the playing surface beyond the scoring field [0.

Automatic scoring means, as later described in detail, is provided and operates a bank of lights I2 (Figures 2 and 3), the rear wall 6 being extended upward to form a backboard for supporting the same and a housing I3, attached thereto and having a translucent front M, being provided. The lights may be of different colors such as red and blue as indicated in Figure 3 and are separated from each other in pairs by partitions 15 within the housing 13. As will be understood, the translucent panel I4 may carry suitable numbers forming scoring indicia in front of the lights, so that the translucent scoring panels indicate by red lighted numbers the score of one player and by blue lighted numbers the score of the other. Various other scoring arrangements including automatic cumulating devices, and which are well known in the art, may be used.

As shown in Figures 2 and 3, means is provided for returning disks to the players and comprises a bar l6 movable back and forth along the playing surface I underneath the top 8. The bar i6 is carried by means of members IT, and rides in slots !8 of sprocket chains H, which are held in position and operated by the idle sprocket wheels 20 mounted on a rearward shaft 2| and by the driving sprocket wheels 22 which are mounted on a forward shaft 23 and driven by means of electric motor 24. As will be apparent energizing the motor 24 will cause the bar IE to move forwardly from the position shown in Figure 2 to a position above the sprocket wheels 22 thus pushing any disks on the playing surface out from under the cover 8 into a position accessible to the player. Return movement of the bar It to the position of Figure 2 puts the playing surface again into condition for use.

Means is provided for registering disks in scor- 55 ing position and also for differentiating between the disks belonging to different players. This is accomplished by embedding in each disk 2 a magnet 25, one set of disks having the north pole uppermost and the other having the south pole uppermost. Below each scoring position is located a means for registering the position of a disk above the same. Thi means may be formed very simply and comprises merely a small magnet 26 carried on a spring contact arm 21 which makes contact with either an upper contact 28 or a lower contact 29 according to the movement of the magnet 26. If, now, we suppose that the north portions of the magnet 25 are uppermost any such magnet will be attracted by a disk which is in scoring position, if the disk also has its north pole uppermost, and will be repelled by any disk in scoring position which has its south pole uppermost. One of these registering devices will accordingly indicate any disks in scoring position and will also indicate the polarity of the disks or the player to which'they belong.

Referring now to the wiring diagram of Figure 4, two banks of lights with the lights of each bank being differentiated by the letters R and B to indicate red and blue, are shown, it being understood that the number of pairs of lights may be any number desired, only two pairs being shown as the connections of all pairs are similar.

Each pair of lights has a common connection 30 to a power line 31 from the secondary of transformer 32. lhe center contact members of armatures 27 of the registering devices are connected through connections 33 to the other power line 34 leading to the secondary of transformer 32 and the red and blue lights respectively are connected to the upper and lower contacts 28 and 23's of these devices; Accordingly any disk in scoring position over a registering device will bring its armature 21' into contact with either the contact 28 or the contact 29 and will accordingly close the circuit through a red or blue light in the corresponding position on the scoreboard, depending on polarity of the disk. Should a disk be knocked out of scoring position during the play, it will a;

cease to operate the armature 27 and its score will accordingly be canceled.

The device will normally be coin contrclled, any convenient known coin control switch being employed for this purpose. The common type of switch S1, in which the pusher of the coin slot closes contacts and also winds a small clock work which keeps them closed for an interval of time, will normally be used, the clock work determining the time allowed for a game. By means of a rod 36, or other conventional connection, the slide is also connected to a switch 82 which is conveniently of the ordinary snap-action rotary type, the movable member 37 making contact with contact 38 or 39, depending on the switch position. At (.1

the start of a game, this switch will normally be in contact with contact 39, and will be moved over to contact 33 to establish connection for the motor 24 in the forward direction, this circuit leading from the power line L1 through switch S1, switch S2, motor winding F and the motor armature, and back to power line L2. The motor 24 will proceed to move the pusher bar 16 from the position of Figure 2 forwardly toward the a oi position. This motion continues until the pusher bar reaches switch S2, at which time it strikes this switch and rotates the contact member so as to break contact 38 and establish contact 39. This cuts oil the current for the motor in a forward direction and establishes a circuit through the reverse winding G or" the motor so that the pusher bar is returned to the position of Figure 2. The switch S3 is an ordinary limit switch arranged to be open when the pusher bar is in the position of Figure 2 and it closes when the pusher bar moves forwardly away from it. Accordingly, when the pusher bar reaches the position of Figure 2 it opens the switch S3, stopping the motor. All parts are now in condition for commencement of a game.

Power is also supplied for the primary of the transformer 32 through lines 40 and ll and is controlled by the switch S1. Accordingly, the scoring lights will remain on until the timer switch S1 breaks contact.

What is claimed is:

1. In a shuiileboard game, and in combination, a playing surface having a scoring field, and automatic scoring means comprising a plurality of magnetically actuated two-way electric switch means of the same magnetic polarity located below said scoring field, for detecting the presence on the playing surface of disks of magnetic material differentiating between disks of opposite magnetic polarity and controlling a score indicator ac-' cordingly.

2. In a shufileboard game, and in combination, a playing surface having a scoring field, a plurality of switch means located below said scoring field, each said switch means comprising a contact arm carrying a magnet in position for attraction and repulsion by a magnet located above said scoring field, and upper and lower contacts, whereby the closing of said upper and lower contacts may be utilized to operate score indicator for indicating scores diiferentiall ac'cord ing to whether the upper or lower contacts are closed.

CHRISTOPHER METZ.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 483,895 Buckley Oct. 4, 1892 927,583 Nelson July 13, 1909 1,013,074 Schutz Dec. 26, 1911 1,605,703 Brown Nov. 2, 1926 1,622,330 Mader Mar. 29, 1927' 1,866,821 Rather July 12, 1932 1,906,260 Gibbs May 2, 1933 1,963,371 Butterworth July 31, 1934 2,048,275 Luse July 21, 1936 2,077,684 Gensburg Apr. 20, 1937 2,093,948 Allen -1 Sept. 21, 1937 2,130,123 Ebert Sept. 13, 1938' 2,145,846 Cannon Feb. 7, 1939 2,149,998 Jones Mar. 7, 1939 2,214,274 Glendenning Sept. 10, 1940 2,226,885 Williams Dec. 31, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 817,921 France Sept. 14, 1937

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