Abstract:
A game that includes a movable target is provided. To this end, the game includes an object that is thrown at the movable target. The movable target has a first movable element, a second movable element, a switch actuated by the thrown object, and a driving mechanism. The driving mechanism switches from moving the first movable element to moving the second movable element in response to actuation of the switch. Switch actuation occurs when the thrown object encircles the movable target and strikes an appendage of the movable target.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     This invention relates to a ring toss game that provides a moving target. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     Ring toss games such as the game of quoits are well known. In the game of quoits, a player pitches iron or rope rings at a stake with a goal of encircling the stake with a ring. 
     SUMMARY 
     The invention provides a movable target for a throwing game in which the target is intended to receive a thrown object. To this end, the target includes a first movable element, a second movable element, a switch actuated by the thrown object, and a driving mechanism. The driving mechanism switches from moving the first movable element to moving the second movable element in response to actuation of the switch. 
     Embodiments may include one or more of the following features. For example, the target may be in the shape of an animal, such as a seal. The first movable element may include one or more first movable sub-elements (e.g., a body, a neck, and a head). Furthermore, moving the first movable element may include moving one of the first movable sub-elements relative to another one of the first movable sub-elements. 
     Similarly, the second movable element may include one or more second movable sub-elements (e.g., arms and a sound element). Moving the second movable element may include moving one of the second movable sub-elements relative to another one of the second movable sub-elements. 
     The movable target may further include a base element that supports the movable elements. Additionally, the first movable element may include a lower element, a middle element attached to the lower element, and an upper element attached to the middle element. Thus, moving the first movable element may include moving the lower element relative to the base, moving the middle element relative to the lower element, and moving the upper element relative to the middle element. 
     Moving the lower element relative to the base may include moving the lower element forward and backward relative to the base. Likewise, moving the middle element relative to the lower element may include moving the middle element from side to side relative to the lower element. Lastly, moving the upper element relative to the middle element may include moving the upper element from side to side relative to the middle element. 
     The second movable element may include one or more arm elements attached to the first movable element and a sound element housed in the movable target. Moving the second movable element may include moving one or more arm elements relative to the first movable element, and moving the sound element, which may cause sounds to be emitted from the sound element. Moving an arm element may occur in synchronization with moving the sound element. The thrown object may include a ring and the switch may be activated when the ring encircles the movable target and strikes an appendage. Moving the second movable element may include doing so for a predetermined time after the switch is activated. 
     The thrown object may include a ring. The ring may include two releasable semi-circular sections that fit together to form the ring. 
     Other features and advantages will be apparent from the following description, including the drawings, and from the claims. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a ring toss game that provides a moving target. 
     FIG. 2 is a side view of the ring toss came. 
     FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing operation of the ring toss game. 
     FIG. 4 is a side cross-sectional view of the ring toss game of FIG. 1 showing internal mechanisms that operate the game. 
     FIG. 5 is a top cross-sectional view of a head of the ring toss game. 
     FIG. 6 is an aligned sectional top view through the ring toss game. 
     FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional bottom view from inside the ring toss game. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a ring toss game  100  includes a base  105 , a target figure 110 in the shape of a seal and one or more rings  115  that a player throws towards and over the figure  110 . The target figure 110 is mounted on the base  105 . In operation, the target figure 110 moves relative to the base. The game  100  rewards a player with sounds and actions when a thrown ring encircles the FIG.  110 . 
     The target figure 110 includes a body  120  that is mounted to the base  105  and is configured to rock forward and backward about a body pivot positioned at the base  105 . A tail  125  is attached to the body  120  at a tail pivot inside the base  105 , and is configured to move about the tail pivot. A neck  130  couples a head  135  to the body  120 , and is configured to rock from side to side relative to the body  120 . The head  135 , in turn, moves from side to side relative to the neck  130 . Arms  140 , fastened to the body  120  at an arm pivot, are configured to make a clapping motion relative to the body  120 . Within the body  120  and affixed to the base  105 , a box  145  (shown in FIG. 4) holds many of the active components of the game  100 . 
     As noted above, the target figure 110 is in the shape of a seal. To better depict the seal, whiskers  150  may be attached to protrude from the head  135  of the seal. The whiskers may be formed of any pliable material such as plastic. Likewise, the arms  140  may be shaped like flippers that have the paddlelike shape of seal flippers. Furthermore, movement of the body  120 , neck  130 , head  135 , and flippers  140  may realistically mimic corresponding movement in a live seal. For example, a live seal that moves its neck to one side would simultaneously move its head to the other side to keep its center of gravity unchanged relative to the ground. Thus, the head  135  of the figure 110 is configured to move in a direction opposing the direction of movement of the neck  130 . 
     The target figure  110  and its various parts may be formed of a lightweight plastic material to ease maneuverability and reduce manufacturing costs. The base  105  may be formed of a suitable rigid plastic material and may house additional components that cannot fit in the target figure  110 . The rings may be formed of a lightweight plastic material of various colors for use in multi-player game play. Furthermore, each ring may be formed of two semi-circular sections that easily mate into the annular shape. This configuration reduces the amount of packaging required to transport and house the game  100  and permits players to form multi-colored rings. 
     Referring also to FIG. 3, during game play, a motor  300  inside the body  120  is actuated by an ON/OFF switch  305  on the front of the base  105  to cause movement of the target figure 110. A power source  310 , such as a battery, may be used to supply electrical power to the motor. When the player tosses a ring  115  to encircle the target figure 110, the ring strikes and moves the tail  125 , which signals the game  100  to reward the player. When the tail  125  is forced down by the ring  115 , the tail actuates a change lever  315  that changes, for a preset time, mechanisms used to affect movement in the target figure  110 . Normally, target mechanisms  320  couple to the target figure 110 to move the head  135  and neck  130  from side to side, and to move the body  120  forward and backward. However, the change lever  315 , activated by the tail  125 , selects a different set of reward mechanisms  325  which couple to the target figure 110 to perform one or more actions that are different from the actions described above. For example, if the target FIG. 110 is a seal, the reward mechanisms  325  produce barking sounds using a sound mechanism  330  and simultaneously move and rotate the flippers  140  to simulate a seal&#39;s clapping motion. 
     FIGS.  4 - 8  provide detailed information about assembly and operation of the ring toss game  100 . FIG. 4 is a side cross-sectional view of the ring toss game  100  which shows the target mechanisms  320  and reward mechanisms  325  in addition to various other devices in the base  15  and the target figure 110 that facilitate game play. FIG. 5 is a top cross-sectional view of the head  135  of the target figure  110 . FIG. 6 is an aligned sectional top view through the body  120 , and FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional bottom view from inside the body  120 . 
     As shown in FIG. 4, the batteries  310  are secured in a battery holder  400  formed in the base  105  and are retained within the battery holder  400  by a battery lid  405  that attaches to the battery holder  400 . Electrical contacts  410  in the battery holder  400  make contact with terminals of the batteries. 
     The sound mechanism  330  is housed within and secured to the base  105 . 
     The box  145  contains mechanical components, including the motor  300 . The box  145  is located in the body  120  and secured to the base  105 . 
     Target mechanisms  320  include a body cam  420  positioned inside the box  145 . They also include a neck cam  415  positioned inside the box  145 , a neck lever  425  that couples the neck cam  415  to the neck  130 , and a neck stay  430  secured to the box  145  and protruding into the neck  130 . Other target mechanisms include a head link  435  that couples the neck lever  425  to the head  135 , a head stay  440  secured inside the neck  130  and to the head  135 , and a head clutch plate  445  positioned inside the head  135  to facilitate head movement. 
     Torsion springs  450  and tension springs  455  are used by both the target mechanisms  320  and the reward mechanisms  325  to provide necessary return forces and torques as well as stabilization of the mechanisms  320 ,  325 . 
     The tail  125  protrudes from the body  120  and rotates about the tail pivot  500 . A base cavity  505  is formed in the base  105  directly below the tail pivot  500  to receive the moving tail  125 . 
     Reward mechanisms  325  include a reward cam  510  that is positioned within the box  145  and engages both sound mechanism  330  and clapping mechanisms. The reward mechanisms also include a timer cam  515  that determines the preset time for which the reward is given. The sound mechanism  330  includes a sound lever  520  (shown in FIG. 7) coupled to a sound piston  525  by a sound rod  530 . The sound piston  525  is movable within a sound cylinder  535  which houses a sound air path  540 . The clapping mechanisms include a clap lever  545 , an arm clutch  550  that rotates about an arm pivot  555 , and an arm lever  560  (shown in FIG. 6) that rotates the arms  140  about a clap pivot  565  positioned in a shoulder area  570  of the flipper  140 . 
     When power is supplied to the motor  300 , the motor  300  operates on the various mechanical mechanisms in the box  145 , including target mechanisms  320  and reward mechanisms  325 . During normal operation, the change lever  315  causes the target mechanisms  320  that couple to the target FIG. 110 to move the head  135 , neck  130 , and body  120 . An electrical path including the ON/OFF switch  305  and the motor  300  is formed when the battery contacts connect with the set of contacts  410  in the battery holder  400 . 
     During target operation, the motor causes two primary motions in the target figure  110 . First, the body cam  420 , which connects to the body via a body lever  462 , moves the body  120  forward and backward about the body pivot  460 . Second, the neck cam  415  couples to the various other head and neck mechanisms—neck lever  425 , neck stay  430 , head link  435 , head stay  440 , and head clutch plate  445 —to cause the neck  130  to move from side to side relative to the body  120  and to cause the head  135  to move from side to side relative to the neck  130 . 
     In detail, during the second primary motion, the neck cam  415  rotates about a neck cam pivot  465  and irregularly-sized teeth  470  positioned along a neck cam rim  475  rotate the neck lever  425  about a neck lever pivot  480 . The neck lever pivot  480  connects the neck lever  425  to the neck stay  430 . Thus, the neck lever  425  rotates a distance from side to side about the neck lever pivot  480  that is dependent on the size of the teeth  470 . The neck lever  425  and corresponding tension springs  455  couple directly to the neck  130  to cause the neck  130  to rotate from side to side. The irregular neck motion, due to the irregularly-sized teeth, better imitates the random movements of the seal. 
     As the neck  130  rotates from side to side, the head stay  440 , which is fixed to a head pivot  485  within the head, remains stationary with respect to the neck  130  (that is, the head stay  440  moves in accordance with the motion of the neck  130 ). Simultaneously, the head link  435  (which, at its lower part, is fixed to the neck stay  430 ) is forced to move up and down relative to the head stay  440  to cause the head  135  to rotate from side to side about the head pivot  485 . The head link  435  is coupled at its upper part to a semi-circular slot  490  formed in the head clutch plate  445  that is secured to the head pivot  485 . As the head link  435  moves up and down, it slides back and forth through the slot  485  to cause the head  135  to rotate from side to side. The head&#39;s side to side motion is damped by the torsion spring  450  that couples the head pivot  485  to the head link  435 . 
     When the player manages to throw the ring  115  over the target figure 110, the ring  115  strikes the tail  125 , thus causing the tail  125  to rotate downward about the tail pivot  500  and into the base cavity  505  formed into the base  105 . The base cavity  505  prevents the tail  125  from breaking by providing an unimpeded path within the base  105  for the moving tail  125 . The downward movement of the tail  125  actuates the change lever  315  to select the reward mechanisms  325  and deselect the target mechanisms  325 . 
     During reward operation, the reward mechanisms  325  cause the flippers  140  to move in a clapping motion and cause the sound mechanism  330  to produce a barking sound. Because the sound mechanism  330  and the clapping mechanisms are both engaged by the reward cam  510 , the barking sounds may be emitted in synchronization with flipper clapping motion. 
     Once the sound lever  520  is engaged by the reward cam  510 , the sound lever  520  causes the sound piston  525  to move through the sound cylinder  535 . As the sound piston  525  moves through the sound cylinder  535 , air is forced through the sound air path  540  to produce the barking sound. 
     Additionally, the engaged clap lever  545  controls two primary clapping motions: flipper rotation and flipper clapping. The clap lever  545  initially engages the arm clutch  550  that rotates the flippers  140  about the arm pivot  555 . Once the flippers  140  have pivoted to a final clapping position, the clap lever  545  then repeatedly engages the arm lever  560 . The arm lever  560  claps each flipper  140  about the clap pivot  565  that is positioned in the shoulder area  570  of the flipper  140 . 
     The reward cam  510  repeatedly engages and disengages the sound lever  520  in synchronization with the clap lever  545  for a length of time corresponding to the preset reward time set by the timer cam  515 . When the preset reward time is over, the change lever  315  deselects the reward mechanisms  325  and re-selects the target mechanisms  320 . 
     In an alternate embodiment, the flippers  140  may be removable from the shoulder area to prevent breakage during transport of the game. 
     In a further embodiment, the target figure 110 may imitate other animals or figures, such as, for example, a lion. In such a setup, the lion may have different target motions that are associated more with movement of the lion. For example, the lion&#39;s figure may lift its arm during target motion or wag its tail during target motion. Reward motions may include producing a lion&#39;s roar or causing the lion&#39;s figure to lift up on its hind legs. 
     Other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims.