Compact board game turntable

A turntable rotatably supports the board of a board game when the board is unfolded for use. The turntable supports the board at all four sides and adjusts to the size of the board. The turntable is reduceable in size to fit inside the container of the board game for convenient storage when not in use and for enhanced marketability in conjunction with a game.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
This invention realtes to turntables, and more particularly to turntables 
that can be reduced to a size to fit within a board game container when 
not in use and that can be expanded to support the board during play. 
There are a number of board games wherein playing pieces that may bear 
indicia are positioned on a flat playing board that may bear indicia. 
Players on opposite sides of the playing board may enjoy the game more if 
the board can be rotated to present the indicia right side up to the 
player when it is his/her turn to play. Turntables of the prior art may be 
used to support the board and rotate it as required. Since most board 
games have boards that are greater than fourteen inches square, the 
turntable must be of a substantial size to support the board. 
The boards of most board games fold up to fit into a box much smaller than 
the board. It would be useful to have a turntable large enough to support 
all sides of the board that would fit into the board game container when 
not in use. This would require a turntable that can be reduced in its 
dimensions when not in use. U.S. Pat. No. 4,378,943 to Newberry discloses 
a turntable for a board game that has a considerable height and width and 
that springably clamps two opposite sides of the board, leaving two sides 
unsupported. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a turntable support 
for a board game that will support all four sides of a board game. It is a 
further object to provide such a support that is adjustable to support 
boards of different sizes. It is yet another object to provide such a 
support that can be reduced to such small dimensions when not in use that 
it may be stored within the container that holds the board game for 
convenience in storage and for more effective marketability. The turntable 
of the invention comprises: a flat base unit with a plurality of 
concentric circular bearing elements; a rotary cruciform element pivotally 
engaging the base unit and supported thereupon by the circular bearing 
elements; and extensible arm members engaging the arms of the rotary 
element to extend their length to the dimensions necessary to support the 
board. The dimensions of the base and rotary element without the extension 
of the arms is small enough to fit within the board game container. 
These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become evident 
from the following detailed description with reference to the appended 
drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
Referring now first to FIG. 7, a game board 4 opens and folds in half along 
hinge seam 6. It carries indicia-bearing tiles 5 that are placed at 
suitable squares on the board. The board is shown in open position for 
play. To make the indicia more easily readable, the board 4 is supported 
upon turntable 1. A portion of the board is broken away to expose more of 
the underlying turntable. The four adjustable extension arms 7 are 
extended until their vertical projections 9 engage the four edges of the 
board. The board rests upon the arms 7, and the arms 7 are supported by 
rotary member 10, that rotates on base 2. Rotation of board 4 is indicated 
by arrows 11. As better seen in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, the base 2 rests flat on 
a table or other surface (not shown) on rubber foot pads 12. Rotary 
cruciform member 10 rotates about a vertical post 13 that is a part of 
base 4. The post 13 is flattened at its top to retain member 10. Each 
radial element 14 is split by slot 15 to provide a springy engagement of 
the extension arm, only one of which is shown in place on rotary member 10 
of FIG. 1. The extension arms 7 are removed for compact storage. 
Graduations 16 may optionally be marked on the radial elements 14 to 
enable the user to extend all arms equally so that the board will rotate 
about its center and to facilitate reassembly once the correct settings 
have been determined. Concentric, circular ridges 3 on base 2 provide the 
bearing surfaces supporting the rotary member 10 and its extension arms 7 
on th base that is very flat to provide reduced storage dimensions. By 
providing reduced surface area at the points of contact, sliding friction 
is greatly reduced. By molding one or more of the parts of a lubricous 
plastic material such as polyolefin, acetal or nylon friction can be 
further reduced. Because the base 4 is supported by the table on which it 
rests, it may be made quite thin for economy and storage efficiency 
without sacrificing function. 
In an alternative embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the extension arm 7 has an 
open bottom portion 17, through which a portion of radial element 14 
projects. In this case, the radial element makes contact with the circular 
ridges 3 of the base. In the alternative embodiment shown in FIG. 5, a 
portion of the rotary member 10 is shown with hole 19 for receiving the 
pivot post 13 of the base. One radial element 14 is shown with a plurality 
of pin-receiving holes 20 therein. The removable extension arm 21 has pins 
22 arranged to engage the pin-receiving holes 20. The pins and holes are 
arranged so that the extension arm 21 may be secured to the radial element 
14 at different lengths to accommodate boards of different lengths, and 
are removable for compact storage. 
In the alternative embodiment shown in FIG. 6, the extension arms 23 are 
hingedly attached to the ends of radial elements 14 by hinge means 24. One 
arm is shown open for use and the other arm is shown folded for compact 
storage. A plurality of vertical surface projections 25 extend upwardly to 
the same plane as the hinge to support the board at a single plane. A 
locking pin 26 secures the rotary member 10 to post 13. Rivets, bolts and 
other pivotal fastening means well known in the art may be employed to 
rotatably secure the rotary member 10 to base 4. 
The above disclosed invention has a number of particular features which 
should be preferably be employed in combination although each is useful 
separately without departure from the scope of the invention. While I have 
shown and described the preferred embodiments of my invention, it will be 
understood that the invention may be embodied otherwise than as herein 
specifically illustrated or described, and that certain changes in the 
form and arrangement of parts and the specific manner of practicing the 
invention may be made within the underlying idea or principles of the 
invention within the scope of the appended claims.