Abstract:
The present invention relates to a game apparatus and especially to a combination game apparatus in which players try to guess a preset combination of digits.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     The present invention relates to a game apparatus and especially to a combination game apparatus in which players try to guess a preset combination of digits.  
         [0002]     In the past, a wide variety of games including guessing games have been provided and these include many types of apparatus for playing games. Typically board games have spinning wheels or dice and the like and typically use cards and have various rules for playing the games. There are also many electronic type games which use computer circuitry including microprocessors and stored memory to play a game on a CRT using joysticks or controls. These type of games are typically used in arcades and may include coin boxes and the like.  
         [0003]     The present game relates to a combination game in which each player guesses the digits of a combination and, if all of the digits selected form the proper combination, either a door is opened or some other indication is given indicating the correct combination. Other prior art U.S. patents showing guessing games or games using ball and tracks can be seen in the Peter et al. U.S. Pat. No. 2,245,156 for a game of skill which uses automatic delivery of coins through a passageway and enables the player to affect mechanical settings of the device to various modes of playing a game of roulette or the like. The Dieball U.S. Pat. No. 3,982,764 is an electrical game apparatus of chance which includes a housing and display board using a plurality of display lights arranged to provide random symbols or numerals or letters and which game includes a rotatable mixer switch for varying the operation of the display lights with respect to the corresponding 4 switches. The Promin U.S. Pat. No. 3,610,628 is for a game apparatus having a plurality of number ring assemblies mounted vertically and rotatably on a shaft and each number ring assembly has a hole therethrough so that the assemblies can be rotated to any predetermined position which determines whether the base is allowed to drop through one number ring assembly and out through a base to indicate a winner. The Pitkanen et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,825,265 shows an amusement machine which has a vertically disposed playing surface such that perforated tokens or slugs are propelled upwards so as to descend into a plurality of slots or reservoirs. The Parks et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,531,114 shows an electric matching game apparatus using a series of electrical switches such that if correct selections are made, an electrical circuit is completed for dispensing tokens. The Kanno et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,458,899 is a game capable of collecting and then randomly dispensing objects. The Bohan U.S. Pat. No. 4,542,688 is a container disposal apparatus which raises containers to an elevated position from which they can traverse a downwardly inclined chute where a rotatable interpreter plate, positioned in the chute&#39;s path, allows the containers to traverse the interrupter plate to trigger a prize dispensing mechanism.  
         [0004]     My prior U.S. Pat. No. 5,221,093 of Jun. 22, 1993 for a Game Apparatus utilizes a ball running through a selected path formed by the rotation of a plurality of chutes for the ball. The ball cannot pass down the chute to the next selected combination unless the first correct chute has been selected. The ball travels down a series of ball chutes, each one of which can be selected from one of a plurality of chutes and a wrong selection returns the ball without completing the full combination circuit and requires the player to start over. The game has means for changing the code each time a game is played such that the players cannot view or determine what the new combination is and then the game can be played by rotating dials which determine whether balls will traverse the ball tracks and chutes through the combination setting members to complete a circuit to give an indication of a successful setting of the combination.  
         [0005]     The present invention is an improvement over my prior U.S. patent and has means for changing the code each time a game is played by the rotation of several concentric wheels which align openings in each wheel to form pathways for a token or game member to traverse and which either completes the correct path to activate a latching mechanism to allow the opening of a door or, alternatively, is shunted from the incorrect path without unlatching the door.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0006]     A game apparatus has a game element and a housing having a game element input and output. A combination setting system for changing the combination of the game includes a plurality of concentric code wheels in which each code wheel has a plurality of openings therein sized for a game element to pass therethrough and a plurality of concentric indicia wheels. Each of the concentric indicia wheels may be removable attached to one code wheel in a plurality of positions aligning a plurality of code wheel openings between adjacent concentric wheels to form a plurality of selectable combination paths through said plurality of code wheels. The attached concentric code and indicia wheels are separately rotatably mounted in the housing. A plurality of the code wheel openings each has a diverter member therein for diverting a game element passing therethrough from the path between code wheel openings when a diverter member is positioned in any one of the concentric code wheel openings of a selected combination path. The attaching of each concentric code wheel with each concentric indicia wheel forms a combination pathway for the game element to pass through so that rotation of each of the attached indicia and code wheels is used to align the openings in the code wheels for guessing the code having the correct path for the game element to pass through. Each indicia wheel has a series of numerals thereon rotatable to different positions. Each indicia wheel has a plurality of openings therein and has an indicia element, such as a ball, removably positioned in the openings so that the indicia element is outputted from each of the selected openings upon attaching a code wheel to an indicia wheel. The housing has a latching hinged door which unlatches when the game element passes through the correct combination pathway. The door latch is attached to the housing and unlatches the hinge door when the game element falls on one end of a latching lever upon passing through the correct combination pathway. The one diverter member in the innermost concentric code wheel opening is mounted in a separate direction to the other diverter members in the concentric code wheel openings for directing the game element against the latching lever to actuate the door latch. Thus, each diverter member facing in one of two directions and each code wheel opening may or may not have a diverter member. A plurality of concentric code wheels and attached indicia wheels rotate around a center tube mounted to the housing and having the door latch mounted therein. The concentric code wheels and each concentric indicia wheel are each attached together by a plurality of pegs on one wheel pushing into openings in the other wheel while simultaneously driving a plurality of indicia elements from each indicia wheel.  
         [0007]     The game is played by presetting each code wheel in one of its plurality of positions relative to its associated indicia wheel and connecting the wheels to form a plurality of pathways through each set of code wheels which simultaneously pushes out indicia elements from the indicia wheels. The attached code wheel and indicia wheels are then rotated to any of the indicated numerals on the indicia wheels to set up a combination which align three of the code wheel openings with an opening in the housing so that a game element or token can be dropped therein to follow through the pathway created by the code wheel openings. If the correct combination is selected, the game element falls upon the latching mechanism to unlatch the door. If the incorrect combination is selected, the game element is directed by one of the diverter elements in one of the openings in the code wheel to the inside and back of the center tube leaving the latch to the door in the locked position and then is directed through a slot in the tube to the bottom of the housing when the opening handle of the hinged door is turned. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0008]     Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the written description and the drawings in which:  
         [0009]      FIG. 1  is a front perspective view of a game apparatus in accordance with the present invention;  
         [0010]      FIG. 2  is a front perspective view of the game of  FIG. 1  having the locking door open;  
         [0011]      FIG. 3  is a rear perspective view of the housing of the game of  FIGS. 1 and 2  having the rear door opened;  
         [0012]      FIG. 4  is a rear elevation of three concentric indicia wheels;  
         [0013]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view of three wheel pairs exploded from the center support tube;  
         [0014]      FIG. 6  is a sectional view taken through a portion of the game apparatus of  FIG. 1  having the code wheels partially attached to the indicia wheels;  
         [0015]      FIG. 7  is an exploded view of the code and indicia wheels mounted to the tube and latching mechanism for the combination game;  
         [0016]      FIG. 8  is a sectional view taken through the combination game of  FIG. 1  illustrating the movement of one game element for an incorrect combination; and  
         [0017]      FIG. 9  is a sectional view in accordance with  FIG. 8  illustrating one game element passing through the correct combination pathway. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0018]     Referring to the drawings and especially to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a game apparatus  10  is illustrated having a housing  11  and a hinge door  12  hinged with the hinge  13  and includes an opening handle  14 . A game element slot  15  is located at the top of the housing  11  and an open window  16  allows the indicia  17  of three indicia wheels  18 ,  20 , and  21  to be seen from the front of the housing. In  FIG. 2 , the opening illustrates an opening  22  in the housing  11  when the door  12  is opened and a bottom opening  23  for recovering the game tokens. In addition, a side opening  24  allows the recovery of indicia element during the playing of the game.  
         [0019]     As seen in  FIG. 3 , the housing  11  has a front housing member  25  hinged to a rear housing member  26  and an axially mounted tube  27  mounted to the housing portion  25  just below the opening  16 . Tube  27  has a slot  28  in the top thereof and a slot  19  in the bottom thereof. The bottom of the housing has a discharge chute  30  which discharges through the opening  24  into a container  31 .  
         [0020]      FIG. 4  illustrates the indicia wheels  18 ,  20  and  21 , each having a plurality of openings  32  therein and each containing an indicia element  33 , such as a ball having a numeral thereon. These indicia elements are selectively pushed from the indicia wheels  18 ,  20 , and  21  upon connecting the concentric indicia wheels  18 ,  20  and  21  with matching concentric code wheels  34 ,  35 , and  36 . The centermost indicia wheel  21  and the matching code wheel  36  have a center axial opening  37  which allows the concentric wheels to be rotatably mounted on the tube  27 , as seen in  FIGS. 5 and 6 .  
         [0021]     As seen in  FIGS. 6 and 7 , each indicia wheel  18 ,  20  and  21  has a plurality of openings  32  and each code wheel  34 ,  35  and  36  has a plurality of pegs or posts  38  mounted thereto. The holes  32  and the posts  38  are mounted around the respective wheels for inserting all of the pegs  38  into the openings  32  in any number of positions for holding the wheels together and for pushing the indicia elements  33  out of the indicia wheels and onto the chute  30  of  FIG. 3  and into the container  31 . These removed indicia elements are then used by the players as clues to the correct combination. Each code wheel  34 ,  35  and  36  has a plurality of openings  40  therein, each opening  40  being aligned with one of the numbers  17  on the front of the indicia wheels. Each of the code wheels  34  and  35  openings  40  have a diverter element  41  mounted in all the openings except one. Each of the code wheels  36  openings  40  have diverter elements, with one diverter element  42  facing the opposite direction than the others.  
         [0022]     The code wheels  34  and  35  have one opening  40  that does not have a diverter element  41  therein so as to allow a game element or ball to fall through two openings  40  in the wheels  34  and  35  when they are aligned together. A third code wheel  36  has one opening  40  with a diverter element  42  facing in the opposite direction, as illustrated in  FIG. 9 , to direct the game element against the latching element  47  of the latching mechanism  45  when the correct combination has been set between three code wheels  34 ,  35  and  36 .  
         [0023]     In  FIGS. 8 and 9 , a game element  43  is inserted through the slot  15  in  FIG. 9  when the correct combination has been selected and in  FIG. 8  when the incorrect combination is set. The game element  43  in  FIG. 9  passes through a pathway  44  which passes through openings  40  having no diverter elements  41  therein and thus passes through both code wheels  34  and  35  and hits the diverter element  42  in code wheel  36  which directs the element against the latching mechanism  45 . The latching mechanism  45  is attached by sliding it inside the center tube  27  and has a latch element  47  rotatably held with pin  48  attached to the sides of the latching mechanism. A latching catch member  50  on the end of lever  47  is forced by gravity into the shaft  46  slot  51  having the angled lift surface  52  on the end thereof. Thus, when the game element  43  falls against the lever arm  47 , it lifts the latch member  50  from behind the stop  52  to allow the door  12  to be opened.  
         [0024]     In  FIG. 8 , however, the game element  43  passes into the opening  40  in the code wheel  34  and hits a diverter element  41  of the wrong combination which dumps the game element to the back part of the tube  27 . When the opening handle  14  is turned, the game element  43  goes down a passageway  53  onto an arcuate guide  54  where it collects into the bottom of the housing  55 . Every time a wrong combination is selected from the rotated and aligned code wheels  34 ,  35  and  36 , a game element  43  is directed through the passageway  53  and into the holding area  55  and can be collected whenever the right combination is hit upon which allows the opening of the door  12 , as seen in  FIG. 2 , so that the game elements can be recovered through the opening  23 .  
         [0025]     The exploded view in  FIG. 7  shows the assembly of the concentric code wheels  34 ,  35  and  36  with the concentric indicia wheels  18 ,  20  and  21  and the latch mechanism  45  which is slid into the center tube  27  and the attached code and indicia wheels can individually rotate around the center tube  27  to allow the setting of different codes. Each of the code wheels  34  and  35  can be seen having one opening  40  having no diverting element therein and code wheel  36  can be seen having one opening  40  with a diverter element  42  facing the opposite direction than the other diverter elements  41 . Rotating each of these code wheels  34 ,  35 , and  36  relative to the indicia wheels  18 ,  20  and  21  attaches the wheels together by pushing the pegs  38  into the openings  32  of its associated indicia wheel.  
         [0026]     Simultaneously, the pegs  38  will drive the indicia elements or clues from the openings  32  when they are pushed into the openings  32  except for the opening not having a diverter element in  34  and  35  which has no respective peg  38  and thereby leaves the element within the opening  32  in the indicia wheel. Similarly, the opening  40  in the indicia wheel  36  having the diverter element  42  facing the opposite direction has no equivalent peg  38 . The combination requires the aligning of the openings  40  with no diverter element in wheels  34  and  35  with the diverter  42  in the opening  40  in wheel  36  which faces in the opposite direction to form a correct pathway and combination for opening the latch  47  and allowing the opening of the door  12 .  
         [0027]     It should be clear at this time that a combination game which allows players to preset the combination of three concentrically mounted wheels by the connection of a code wheel to an indica wheel has been taught and which is provided with indicia elements or clues. However, the game should not be considered as limited to the elements as shown which are to be considered illustrative rather than restrictive.