Amusement devices: games – Surface projectile game; game element – Ball games
Reexamination Certificate
2001-08-06
2003-03-25
Chiu, Raleigh W. (Department: 3711)
Amusement devices: games
Surface projectile game; game element
Ball games
C273S12300A, C446S168000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06536763
ABSTRACT:
The present invention relates to a ball track composed of individual components with running tracks that have a guide for rolling balls, and with connecting elements that have a ball passageway substantially vertical and/or distinctly inclined with respect to the horizontal, wherein the running tracks are provided with at least one through aperture or respectively through bore for transferring a ball to another component.
Numerous configurations of ball tracks are known, and commercially available. The great majority of the ball tracks concerned have running tracks that are fixed, and mostly installed one above another. These ball tracks, mostly made in one piece, have the advantage that they can be played with immediately. Because of the fixed, pre-determined paths and as use of the track is limited to using a ball or another suitable object, the ball track user quickly loses interest in it.
The ball track known from utility model patent GM 75 11 147 that forms the prior art on which the present invention is based, has the advantage that the user is given a certain degree of freedom in the layout of the ball track. This ensures that the user's interest in the ball track, in particular the interest of a playing child, is maintained for a greater period of time. The pedagogical value of such variable tracks is far greater, as the imagination and the child's logical and constructive thinking is more strongly promoted in this case.
With this known ball track, the running tracks are inclined in order to accelerate the balls along said running tracks, so the running tracks can only be played with from one direction. Further, this ball track has the disadvantage that no provision is made for assembling several running tracks one above another. Because the tracks are inclined, there is no simple way of building up the connecting elements on top of one another, so when assembled together, in particular in the case of tall constructions, the ball track is unstable.
A ball track with parallel tracks is known from utility model patent application DE 296 15 318. With this fixed construction ball track, the balls go through a bore in the running tracks onto a circular track segment. In this way the balls accelerated by free fall are steered onto the horizontal running tracks below. Because of the single piece configuration, however, no flexibility is possible with respect to the layout.
A variable ball track is also known from GB 2285755. However, in this case running tracks and connecting elements are prefabricated in a single piece. In addition, the running tracks of the assembled components are inclined, so the rolling element components can only travel in a direction pre-determined in the manufacturing process.
The toy building set of DE 25 47 070 is constructed in a comparable manner. In this case, rectangular building blocks with an inclined groove and a gap at the lowest point are arranged on top of one another. In this case also, the direction of travel of the ball is pre-determined because of the pre-fabricated building blocks.
In DE 24 42 904 an attempt is made to increase the variability of the ball track by making running tracks that can be placed or hooked into hollow cylindrical connecting elements. This construction is always unstable, however. In addition, because of the inclined arrangement of the running tracks, reversing the direction of travel on a running track is not possible.
Lastly, German utility patent DE 1 676 519 discloses a variable ball track. Variability is limited, however, to tracks arranged in an inclined manner being placed in connecting elements that are arranged on pillars of different heights, wherein the connecting elements can be rotated about a vertical axis with respect to the pillars.
Compared to fixed ball tracks, this simply has the advantage that individual running tracks can be rotated out of the plane of the ball track.
The object of the present invention is therefore to provide a ball track that can be assembled in a variable manner from a few different elements (running tracks and connecting elements), wherein a high degree of stability is obtained even with tall constructions.
This object is solved in that the running tracks and connecting elements can be attached to and detached from one another in order to create a ball path that goes beyond more than one component, wherein the ball path runs horizontally on at least one section of the tracks.
A ball path is understood to be the course that a ball takes when it rolls along the components.
The horizontal running track sections allow stable connection to the connecting elements without affecting variability. In this way the ball track cannot be toppled easily when accidentally knocked or when being dismantled, even with tall constructions, that is to say constructions with many running track sections at different heights.
Running tracks are particularly preferred that create a ball path that runs horizontally over the entire length of the running tracks. As the running tracks or respectively the ball path on the running tracks does not have a pre-determined incline, it is possible for the ball to travel in both directions on the running tracks. The variability of the ball track is significantly increased. On the one hand, when assembling construction of the ball path it is unnecessary to already establish the direction of travel. A ball track can also be constructed that can sometimes be travelled on in one and sometimes in the other direction, irrespective of the ball's starting point.
In principle, such a ball track also allows the connection of connecting elements or running tracks to one another. A construction made exclusively of connecting elements is thus possible.
The variability of this ball track can be increased significantly further when running tracks and connecting elements can be connected to one another in a rotatable manner about a substantially vertical axis.
Within certain limits, constructions on an oblique plane are also possible, where the axis of rotation is somewhat tipped over from the vertical. The limits of permissible inclination of the substantially horizontal running tracks are established in that the ball track must remain playable, that is to say a ball must travel along the running tracks to the pre-determined point where it again falls through a through bore in order to be accelerated again by gravity when the ball subsequently passes through a connecting element.
Preferably, the connecting elements are substantially in the shape of pillars or blocks and are provided with vertical through bores or respectively bore sections.
It can be advantageous to equip with connecting element with a sound producing apparatus that generates a sound when a ball passes through the connecting element. The sound producing apparatus can be, for example, a bell that is struck by the ball. It is particularly advantageous, however, in particular when the connecting elements are made of wood, to provide a resonant volume through which the ball rolls, so when the ball hits, for example, a wall, a sound is produced. It is then also possible to create different sounds in different connecting elements. Whole melodies can be put together by means of the ball path.
It is further advantageous that in at least some of the connecting elements at least one side exit aperture is provided, and that at least one section of the bore within the connecting element has a degree of inclination with respect to the horizontal of between 0° and 90°, so a ball that falls into the upper bore of the connecting element undergoes acceleration with horizontal components when passing through the bore.
In this way it is possible to use substantially planar running tracks even for longer ball paths. Because of the friction, which is not negligible, between the ball and running tracks, on horizontal running tracks the ball loses speed. In order to provide longer ball paths, the ball must be accelerated again in the meantime. The ball gains the necessary speed in passing through the vertical as
Chiu Raleigh W.
Dunn Michael L.
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