Chance discharge game apparatus

Game apparatus includes a three dimensional representation of a duck in which there is a pellet receiving opening in the mouth and pellet discharge opening in the lower rear of the duck. A cavity is formed internally of the duck and a plate is mounted horizontally within the cavity above the discharge opening. A hollow tube connects the pellet receiving opening with the cavity above the plate. A plurality of apertures are formed in the plate at the opposed sides thereof and extend through the plate from top to bottom. A hollow tube element depends from the plate connected in each of the plate apertures. Each such tube element has an aperture in at least the side wall closest to the adjacent internal surface of the duck. Openings are formed in the opposed sides of the duck corresponding to and aligned with the apertures in the tube elements. Pull pins are slidably mounted in the openings in the sides of the duck and the inner end of each such pull pin is dimensioned to slide within the corresponding tube element aperture. A selector element such as a spinner device is provided having colored sectors and the sectors of the spinner device and the pull pins are color coded. The game apparatus includes at least one pellet dimensioned to pass sequentially through the pellet receiving opening, a plate aperture tube element and through the discharge opening.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates to game apparatus in which a three 
dimensional animal representation is constructed to dispense pellets 
through manipulation of pull pins which are determined by chance. 
Toys which are constructed to discharge pellets upon impact by a projectile 
have been employed heretofore as target devices. U.S. Pat. No. 1,390,789 
issued Sept. 13, 1921 to St. Charles Jacobs and U.S. Pat. No. 2,971,761 
issued Feb. 14, 1961 to C. O. Musser are representative of such toys. The 
Jacobs toy requires that the animal representation be struck with 
sufficient force to cause tilting of the animal body to discharge the 
pellet whereas the Musser toy provides a complex arrangement of chutes and 
lever elements and also requires that the target element be struck with a 
projectile. 
There has thus been no game apparatus available heretofore to applicant's 
knowledge which includes an animal representation adapted to dispense 
pellets in response to pull pin elements which are selected by 
manipulation of a selector device operable on the principle of chance. 
Such a game, particularly where the animal is a duck, goose or hen and the 
pellet is a golden egg, would be most entertaining for children. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
It is one object of the invention to provide game apparatus consisting 
essentially of a three dimensional pellet dispensing animal representation 
and a selector device whereby each player is guided by chance to the 
manipulation of one of a series of pellet discharge control pins and an 
unknown one of such control pins is actually operable to effect the 
discharge of the pellet. 
It is another object of the invention to provide game apparatus in the form 
of an egg-dispensing toy duck which relies wholly on the element of chance 
in the selection of the proper control means for the dispensing of an egg. 
Other objects and advantages of the invention will become readily apparent 
from the following description of the invention. 
According to the present invention there is provided a three dimensional 
animal representation including head and body sections and adapted to be 
self-supporting in an upright position; 
a pellet receiving opening in said head section; 
a cavity within said body section; 
a plate member mounted horizontally within said cavity and having a 
plurality of apertures extending therethrough; 
a downwardly inclined passageway in said head section communicating at the 
upper end thereof with said pellet receiving opening and at the lower end 
thereof with said cavity at a location above said plate; 
a plurality of hollow tube elements each depending from a respective one of 
said plate apertures and having an aperture in at least the side wall 
thereof closest the adjacent internal surface of said body section; 
a plurality of openings in the opposed side walls of said body section, 
each of said body section side wall openings being in alignment with the 
aperture in one of said tube elements; 
a pull pin slidably mounted in each of said body section side wall openings 
and dimensioned to slide within the corresponding aligned tube element 
aperture, each of said pull pins having indicia adapted to visually 
distinguish same from the other of said pull pins; 
a discharge opening in said body section adapted to receive the pellets 
descending from said tube elements and to discharge same from said body 
section; 
at least one pellet dimensioned to pass sequentially through said pellet 
receiving opening, passageway, plate aperture, tube element and discharge 
opening; 
and a selector element having indicia thereon representative of each of 
said pull pins.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
Referring to the drawings there is shown a three dimensional animal 
representation 10 in the preferred form of a duck. The duck may be 
constructed of any suitable material and includes head and body sections 
12, 14. The duck should be capable of sitting in an upright position as 
depicted in FIG. 1. This may require the provision of a base section 16. 
The duck is given a pellet receiving opening 18 in the head section and 
desirably such opening constitutes the mouth of the animal. 
Within the body section 14 there is formed a cavity 20. The bottom wall 22 
of the cavity preferably is included downwardly towards the rear of the 
animal at which location there is provided a pellet discharge opening 24. 
In a preferred form of the invention the bottom wall 22 and the upper wall 
26 of the cavity converge to define the discharge opening 24. 
There is horizontally mounted within the cavity, such as by chips (not 
shown), or by any suitable means, a plate member 28. The plate member, as 
shown most clearly in FIG. 3, may take the shape of the cavity and, 
therefore, may be generally elliptical as may be the shape of the cavity 
at the elevation at which the plate member is mounted thereon. However, 
the configuration of the cavity, and likewise the shape of the plate 
member, is not critical. A plurality of apertures 30 are formed in the 
plate so as to extend therethrough. Desirably the apertures are arranged 
along the opposed sides of the plate and are spaced from each other, there 
being preferably an equal number of apertures on each side. A total of ten 
such apertures has been found appropriate in creating a desirable external 
visual appearance for the duck and in affording a sufficient number of 
pull pins so as to generate interest in the game. It will become clear as 
this description ensues that the number of apertures in the plate 
determines the number of pull pins which are located externally of the 
body section. 
A plurality of hollow tube elements 32 depend from the plate member, each 
of such tube elements being connected to the plate so as to constitute a 
continuation of the plate aperture. Such tube elements may be flexible 
hose members or rigid tubes. The tube elements may, if desired, be formed 
integrally with the plate member. Each tube element is given an aperture 
34 in at least the side wall thereof which is closest to the adjacent 
internal surface of the cavity. If desired a pair of such apertures may be 
formed in the opposed side walls of each tube element. 
The body section of the animal is provided with a plurality of openings 36 
in the opposed side walls, and each of such openings is arranged so as to 
be in alignment with the aperture in one of the tube elements. Thus, there 
is a corresponding opening in the sidewalk of the animal for each of the 
tube elements. 
A pull pin 38 is slidably mounted in each of openings 36 and is dimensioned 
to slide within the corresponding aligned tube element aperture so as to 
extend across the through opening in the tube element. In this manner the 
pull pin prevents the passage of a pellet 40 through the tube element for 
dispensing through discharge opening 24. When the pull pin is retracted 
from the tube element the pellet is free to descend through the tube 
element onto the bottom wall of the cavity which directs the pellet 
through the discharge opening. 
There is provided in the head section of the animal a downwardly directed 
passageway 42 which communicates at its upper end with pellet receiving 
opening 18 and at its other end with cavity 20 at a location therewithin 
above plate member 28. Passageway 42 may be formed as part of the head 
section of the animal or alternatively, a separate hollow tube member may 
be positioned within the head section. Included in the game apparatus are 
a plurality of pellets 40 which, in the preferred embodiments where the 
animal representation is that of a hen, goose or duck, takes the form of 
an egg. It will thus be seen that the pellet must be dimensioned such that 
it can sequentially into the pellet receiving opening 18, downwardly 
through passageway 42, through any one of the tube elements 32 (the one 
from which its pull pin has been retracted) and thence out of discharge 
opening 24. 
The game apparatus also includes a selector element 46 which is preferably 
a spinner device that includes a base 48 and a spinner element 50 mounted 
rotatably on the base. The upper face 52 of the base is subdivided into a 
plurality of radial sectors 54. Desirably there are a greater number of 
such radial sectors than there are pull pins. However, there must be at 
least an equal number of such radial sectors. In the preferred embodiment 
of the invention each of the pull pins is given a different color and the 
radial sectors of the spinning device are color coded to match the pull 
pins. A nest 56 may be provided to receive the egg dispensed from 
discharge opening 24. 
It will, of course, be appreciated that the pull pins may be provided in 
the form of brightly colored feathers to enhance the visual appearance of 
the game and, if desired, point values may be provided on the various pull 
pins. 
The game is played by one player dropping a pellet into the mouth of the 
animal from whence it is directed downwardly onto the plate member. The 
duck is shaken and the pellet will migrate into one of the apertures and 
down into one of the tube elements. However, there is no way of 
ascertaining the particular tube element in which the pellet is lodged or 
the corresponding pull pins which can be retracted to clear the tube 
element and thereby permit the discharge of the pellet. The spinning 
device is manipulated by the player and the appropriate pull pin is 
retracted as dictated by the spinning device. If it is not the correct 
pull pin the next player manipulates the spinning device and retracts the 
pull pin dictated by alignment of the spinner pointer and the radial 
sector. Play thus continues until the correct pull pin is retracted and 
the pellet dispensed. 
While a specific embodiment of a game apparatus has been disclosed in the 
foregoing description it will be understood that various modifications 
within the spirit of the invention may occur to those skilled in the art. 
Therefore, it is intended that no limitations be placed on the invention 
except as defined by the scope of the appended claims.