Game apparatus

A game apparatus consisting of a housing with a generally triangular game playing surface. A ball is rolled on the playing surface either manually or by a conventional shooting device. The playing surface has openings and the ball, propelled from the front towards the rear end, falls into one of the openings, enters in the interior of the housing and rolls back towards the front end. One center rectangular opening in the rear end wall is designated as a "functional" opening and the interior of the housing has electrical wiring and a switching device for starting and stopping a motor which rotates an ornamental disc whenever the ball falls into the "functional" opening.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
As shown in FIG. 1 a housing 10 has a generally triangular transparent or 
transluscent game playing surface 11 with three rows of six circular 
openings 12, a rear end wall 13 projecting above the playing surface 11 
and having five rectangular openings 14, side retaining walls 15 
projecting above the playing surface 11, and a large front end opening 16. 
A ball 17 is rolled on the playing surface 11 from the front or narrow end 
towards the openings 12 and 14 at the rear or wide end, by use of a 
conventional shooting device (not shown) or by hand. The ball can fall 
into any one of the openings 12 or 14, enter the interior of the housing 
and then roll out of the housing through the front end opening 16. The 
housing 10 can be either constructed with a small inclination so that the 
ball 17 will roll out of the interior of the housing by itself, or the 
housing may be placed on a sloping platform whenever a game is to be 
played. 
The points scored by the player whenever the ball 17 enters an opening 12 
or 14 are shown by arabic numerals in front of each circular opening 12 or 
above each rectangular opening 14, as indicated in FIG. 1. The letter P 
above the center rectangular opening designates that it is a "functional" 
opening; whenever the ball enters into this opening, the player, depending 
on the rules of the game, might have an extra chance to roll the ball 
and/or multiply or divide his accumulated points score by a factor. 
The size of the openings is related to the size of the ball; for a ball 
having a half-inch diameter, the circular openings have a diameter of 1.25 
inches and the rectangular openings are 1.25.times.1.5 inches. Also, the 
distance between two openings should be at least equal to the ball 
diameter. 
A plan view of the interior of the housing 10, as shown in FIG. 2, 
indicates that the housing is equipped with an ornamental incandescent 
light bulb 18, a d.c. motor 19 for rotating an ornamental disc 20, 
diverters 21 to ensure that the ball 17 will roll freely towards opening 
16, a channel 22 for quiding the ball 17 to roll on a pair of metal strips 
23 and 24, to act as contacts whenever the ball enters the "functional" 
opening P, which is shown in FIG. 1. 
A transformer-converter 28, having a plug which can be plugged into an a.c. 
electrical outlet, feeds d.c. current to one of a pair of metal strips 23 
and 25 and, in conjunction with further electrical wires, to the light 
bulb 18 and d.c. motor 19. The metal strips 23, 24 and 25, and the further 
wires are electrically insulated from each other. 
The ball 17 upon entering the "functional" opening P falls into channel 22 
and is guided on to the metal strips 23 and 24 as shown in FIG. 3. Since 
the entire game apparatus has a small inclination towards the front-end, 
the ball will roll in that direction on metal strips 23 and 24; these 
metal strips form a channel to ensure that the ball will not fall off to 
the side. A ball made of an electrically conducting material will close 
the electrical circuit for the d.c. motor 19; thus, the motor 19 will 
start running, as soon as the ball 17 completes a circuit between the two 
metal strips 23 and 24. The motor will continue to run as long as the ball 
maintains such contact. As soon as the ball rolls off the strips 23, 24, 
the electrical circuit for the motor will be broken and the motor will 
stop. The ball 17, and the metal strips 23 and 24 together act as a time 
switch for the motor 19. 
The electrically conducting metal strip 25 does not come in contact with 
the ball 17, as shown in FIG. 3. This metal strip could be replaced by an 
electrical wire. 
The electrical circuit diagram for the incandescent light bulb 18 and the 
d.c. motor 19 is shown in FIG. 4. The switch 30 is the time switch which 
consists of the metal strips 23 and 24 and the electrically conducting 
ball 17. The source of electricity could alternatively be a battery 29 as 
shown in FIG. 4 or several batteries connected together, or any other 
suitable source of electrical energy with the appropriate electrical 
wiring to ensure the safety of the players. 
The time switch 30 is closed only for a brief period of time; the time 
should be sufficiently long to turn on the motor 19 and, in turn, spin the 
ornamental disc 20 so that the player can have a clear visual indication 
that the ball has entered into the "functional" opening P. A time period 
of 1-2 secs. is sufficient for running the motor and obtaining the desired 
visual effect with the spinning of the ornamental disc. The time can be 
adjusted to the desired period by increasing or decreasing the inclination 
of the apparatus; also, the length of the metal strips 23 and 24, the 
weight of the ball, and its surface roughness will affect the time period 
of maintaining a closed circuit for the motor. 
In another embodiment of this invention, the time switch 30 is constructed 
as a rocking rod, as shown in FIG. 5. A rod 34 is supported in the middle 
on a pivot 33 and is slightly tilted towards the front end. Two 
electrically conductive metal plates 35 are fixed on the base at the 
interior of the housing at the rear end, and are wired into the electrical 
circuit of the motor 19 and insulated from each other so that no electric 
current flows across them and, thus, the circuit is normally open. An 
electrically conductive wire 31 is fastened horizontally on the rocking 
rod 34 at the rear end. The ball 17 enters into the "functional" opening 
P and falls into a channel 32 in the interior of the housing. The weight 
of the ball tilts the rod 34 at the rear end and moves the wire 31 down 
into contact with the plates 35 and thus, closes the circuit and turns on 
the motor. The ball subsequently rolls towards the front end, due to the 
inclination of the entire housing, and the circuit for the motor is opened 
as soon as the ball passes the middle point where the rod 34 is supported; 
the weight of the ball tilts the rod towards the front end and the wire 31 
is lifted upwards and, thus, it is no longer in contact with the 
electrically conductive metal plates, so that the circuit is broken. The 
ball 17 in this embodiment of the invention can be made of plastics, 
metal, wood, or any other safe material for a game apparatus; however, the 
ball should have sufficient weight so that the rocking rod 34 is tilted 
and the wire 31 is pressed into contact with the plates 35 in order to 
close the circuit for the motor. Also, the electrically conductive metal 
plates 35 are preferably provided with a V-shaped groove (not shown) so 
that the wire 31 may seat into it and, provide good contact between the 
plates and the wire. 
As shown in FIG. 6 the ball 17 is rolling on the rocking rod 34, and is 
retained on the rod by the guiding channel 32. The channel 32 prevents the 
ball from falling off to either side. 
In another embodiment of this invention, the rocking rod 34 is replaced by 
a resilient plastic strip 36 shown in FIG. 7. The strip 36 is fixed to the 
base of the housing 10 at the front end and is located in the channel 32. 
Also, an electrically conductive wire is fastened to the rear end of the 
strip 36 in a manner similar to the fastening of the wire 31 to the 
rocking rod shown in FIG. 5. The ball 17 enters the "functional" opening 
P, falls into channel 32 and presses down the rear end of the resilient 
plastics material. The electrical wire 31 which is fastened to the rear 
end of the strip 35 is pressed down into contact with the metal plates 35 
and closes the electrical circuit for the motor 19. As the ball rolls 
towards the front end due to the inclination of the entire apparatus, the 
resilient plastics strip 36 springs back to its normal position shown in 
FIG. 7, and the electrical circuit for the motor is opened. 
The resilient strip 36 can be made from materials other than plastics; any 
resilient material will be satisfactory for this embodiment of the 
invention; a metallic strip with sufficient resilience or one made of wood 
would be satisfactory. Also, the ball could be made of any material which 
is safe for a game apparatus. However, the weight of the ball is related 
to the resilience of the strip 36; the ball should have sufficient weight 
to push down the rear end of the strip and, in turn, press the wire 31 
into contact with the electrical wiring, in order to close the electrical 
circuit for the motor. 
The channel 32 shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 is also used with the resilient 
plastic strip 36 in order to prevent the ball 17 from falling off to the 
side. 
The game apparatus of my invention is used in play as follows: 
The entire apparatus is placed on any sloping platform, or is raised at the 
rear end, so that there is sufficient inclination for the ball to roll 
freely in the interior of the housing towards the front end opening. The 
electrical transformer-converter is plugged into an a.c. electrical outlet 
and current flows to the electrical circuit of the light bulb and d.c. 
motor. The player has three chances to roll the ball on the playing 
surface. A cumulative points score is achieved depending upon which 
opening the ball enters each time it is rolled. If the ball enters the 
"functional" opening P, the player has an extra chance to roll the ball 
and, thus, achieve a higher overall score. Under another set of rules, the 
cumulative points score is multiplied or divided by a factor. Thus, under 
one set of rules, the player might concentrate his efforts for rolling the 
ball into the "functional" opening, whereas under another set of rules he 
would try to avoid rolling the ball into this specific opening. 
The description of the playing of the game has been brief and is merely 
exemplary. Many rule modifications are possible. Also the game apparatus 
can be varied. For example, multiple ornamental incandescent light bulbs 
can be used at different locations on the apparatus; the motor and the 
spinning disc could be located vertically at the rear end or on the side 
of the housing; the spinning disc could be marked with arabic numerals and 
indicate a points score when it stops after each spin; the playing surface 
can be made of a material other than a transparent or transluscent 
plastics material (e.g. wood). Also, the entire housing can be constructed 
from various materials--plastics, wood and metal. 
A large-scale version of the game can be played using a large ball and 
large openings in a similar fashion as for bowling alleys; the ball will 
be rolled on a large game-playing surface by hand. Other large-scale 
versions will be either to kick the ball by foot as in soccer or to hit 
the ball with a rod in a manner similar to a golf game. 
While this invention has been shown and described in the best forms known, 
it will nevertheless be understood that this is purely exemplary and that 
modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the 
invention as defined in the appended claims.