Education and demonstration – Science – Physics
Reexamination Certificate
1999-11-12
2001-04-10
Cheng, Joe H. (Department: 3713)
Education and demonstration
Science
Physics
C434S255000, C482S003000, C273S440000, C273S454000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06213781
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to educational games. More particularly, the invention relates to educational games that teach children about physical concepts such as speed and relative velocity.
Commercially available educational games have been used in various settings to teach a wide variety of information and concepts. Various board games, for example, use trivia or directed questions to educate users on various topics. Physical concepts such as gravity and velocity, are not readily amenable to such methods of teaching. Textual presentation of such concepts lack the environmental interaction that can provide a student a conceptual link that demonstrative presentation can give. Further, reading or listening to an explanation of a concept requires the student to perform the potentially difficult task of digesting the text into a form that has meaning to that student.
Some toys take a step toward teaching some physical concepts. Teaching speed and velocity, for example, are taught by introducing a relative motion with respect to the user. An example of such a toy is a car race track. The user then controls the speed of the car over the track thereby investigating and learning in an abstract sense the concepts of speed and acceleration. A problem with such toys is that the speed of the car is not known or given in absolute terms, and its context is always the same. Its scale is small, and does not allow the user to participate physically in the motion of the car to get a deep physical sense of speed and its consequences of covering a perceptible distance over time.
Currently available full size toys and games have not been used to teach such physical concepts. Examples of such games and toys are found on an average playground. A swing set, for example, can be used to introduce a relative motion to a user where the user oscillates with respect to the earth. The speed of the user is not easily gauged nor can it be controlled beyond the rudimentary manual control of the user. Therefore, the user has no way to ascertain speed against a controlled speed in order to learn the physical concept.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a game that teaches physical concepts such as speed and velocity.
It is another object to the invention to provide a game that is fully scaled such that motion within the game can be accurately applied to the user.
It is still another object of the invention to portray velocity, or other physical concepts, in such a way that the user can investigate the concepts in a playful way singularly or in groups.
These and other objects of the invention will be obvious and will appear hereinafter.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The aforementioned and other objects achieved by the invention which provide, in one aspect, a game for teaching physical concepts. The game comprises a housing, signaling means and control means.
The housing is elongate and is disposed alongside a track. In the preferred embodiment, the track and the housing are linear, and the housing extends for a length of the track.
The signaling means is disposed on the housing for indicating an active point on the housing substantially parallel to the track. The signaling means can consist of visual and/or auditory signals, such as a plurality of illuminating devices, such as incandescent lights, and a plurality of audible devices, such as bells. Each of the illumination devices and auditory devices are disposed in a spaced apart relationship along the housing substantially parallel to the track spanning from a beginning point of the track to an end point of the track. An example of such an arrangement is placing incandescent lights together with the bells, every one-half meter from the beginning of a twenty-five meter track to the end of the track. The simultaneous flashing of any incandescent light and ringing of a spatially related bell, gives the impression of actual motion.
The control means is electrically connected to the signaling means and has a control panel disposed thereon. The control panel comprises a gauge marked in meters per second for adjusting the speed at which the signaling means displaces the active point on the housing relative to the track. In other words, when an operator of the controls means adjusts the gauge such that it is set for five meters per second and the signaling means contains a plurality of illuminating devices, then the lights on the signaling means would then be selectively displaced at a rate of five meters per second. In this way if a person chooses a specific rate such as five meters per second, then the user can visually monitor the displacement and perceive a true representation of that rate. The user can dynamically adjust the displacement once the signaling means has started. Thereby, the user perceives the concept of acceleration. Alternatively, the user can delay the beginning of the displacement or have a separate operator start the signaling means, which allows the user to walk or run on the track and to compare their speed to the known rate of displacement. Thus, the comparison further teaches the aforementioned physical concepts by the kinesthetic involvement of the user.
The game is interactive, in that, a user can be positioned on the track while an operator is governing the control means. The control means are adjustable during use, so as to slow down or speed up the rate at which the signaling on the housing is displaced or even reverse the direction at which the signaling or the housing is displaced. The adjustability allows the operator to interact with the game and fool the user.
In further aspects, the invention provides methods in accord with the apparatus described above. The aforementioned and other aspects of the invention are evident in the drawings and in the description that follows.
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Sampson, Barbara C., “HANDS ON!”,Terc, Spring 1995, vol. 18, No. 1, pp. 1-23.
Bromberg & Sunstein LLP
Cheng Joe H.
Technical Education Research Centers, Inc.
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