Soccer game table with rounded corners

Details Soccer game table with rounded corners Soccer game table with rounded corners

2001-02-09

2003-09-23

Chiu, Raleigh W. (Department: 3711)

Amusement devices: games

Surface projectile game; game element

Simulated game

C273S108520, C273S11800R, C273S11900R

Reexamination Certificate

active

06623004

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a soccer game and specifically to a soccer game table having rounded corners, as opposed to right-angled corners.
2. Prior Art
Soccer game tables have been known for many years. In these games, a planar game surface is surrounded by a wall extending above the game surface. With reference to the prior art as generally depicted for purposes of illustration in
FIG. 2
, the game surface is typically rectangular with four sidewalls that define right-angled corners. Goal openings are provided at the center of each sidewall extending along the short sides of the rectangular game surface.
Player rods extend across the game surface between the sidewalls extending along the long sides of the rectangular game surface. Each player rod extends through a corresponding bore provided in each of the game sidewalls along the long sides of the rectangle. Typically there are a total of eight player rods, four rods for each soccer team although other configurations are possible. The rod closest to the goal represent the goalie. One or more player figures are mounted on each player rod such that the player figures are suspended above the game surface. Each player rod includes a handle used by a game user to both rotate the rod and the player figures mounted thereon, as well as shift the lateral position of the player figures relative to the game surface.
The soccer game may be played by each game user using the player figures on the user's team to advance a game ball past the opponent's player figures and into the opponent's goal.
Due to inherent limitations on the length and reach of the player rods, it may not be possible to reach a game ball located in one of the right-angled corners with the goalie player figures. Thus, the right-angled corners may constitute a “dead spot” on the game surface. Play may be made more interesting by the elimination of these dead spots, or at least by reducing the tendency of the game ball to come to rest in these dead spots.
Accordingly, there is a need for a soccer game table that eliminates dead spots at the corners of the game surface, and/or reduces the tendency of the game ball from resting in these dead spots.
There is also a need for a soccer game table wherein strategic reorienting of the game ball may be accomplished.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Responsive to the foregoing challenges, Applicants have developed an innovative soccer game table comprising: a game surface; at least four sidewall sections surrounding and extending from said game surface; and a corner defined by the intersection of two of said sidewall sections, said corner having a curved face.
Applicants have also developed an innovative soccer game table comprising: a game surface; at least four sidewall sections surrounding said game surface; a substantially right-angled corner defined by the intersection of two of said sidewall sections; and a removable corner member having a curved face, said removable corner member being adapted to convert said substantially right-angled corner to a rounded corner.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only, and are not restrictive of the invention as claimed. The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein by reference, and which constitute a part of this specification, illustrate certain embodiments of the invention and, together with the detailed description, serve to explain the principles of the present invention.
In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in this application to the details of construction and to the arrangement so the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
Further, the purpose of the foregoing abstract is to enable the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally, and especially the design engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a cursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of the application. The abstract is neither intended to define the invention of the application, which is measured by the claims, nor is it intended to be limiting as to the scope of the invention in any way.
It is therefor an object of the present invention to provide a soccer game table that eliminates dead spots in the corners of game table.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a soccer game table with corners that reduce the tendency of the game ball to come to rest in the corners.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a soccer game table with corners that make it easier to contact a game ball resting in the corner with a goalie player figure.
It is still yet another object of the present invention to provide a soccer game table that may be converted between having right-angled interior corners and having rounded interior corners.
It is yet another object of the present invention to convert a normally inactive area of a soccer game table into an active area that may be targeted by game users to set up scoring attempts.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention are set forth, in part, in the description which follows and, in part, will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art from the description and/or from the practice of the invention.
These together with other objects of the invention, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the invention, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and the specific objects attained by its uses, reference would be had to the accompanying drawings, depictions and descriptive matter in which there is illustrated preferred embodiments and results of the invention.


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