Apparatus for rocket sled game

An air-powered rocket sled game which includes a base having a pair of closed intersecting grooved tracks of substantially equal length in the upper surface thereof and a pair of air ducts in the interior of said base, each duct being in open communication with one of the grooved tracks through a plurality of spaced bores; a pair of projectiles adapted for slidably fitting in the grooved tracks and individually controlled means for introducing a continuous flow of compressed air into each air duct to thereby force the projectiles along the tracks.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates to a game which may be used for individual 
entertainment or by a pair of opponents competitively. In the past, a 
great number of toys and games have been devised which pits the dexterity 
or skill of the players in opposition as they attempt to manuever 
miniature racing cars along a fixed track. These cars are normally 
individually controlled by the players by electrical transformers 
energizing the track to provide power for the vehicle electric motors. The 
popularity of such devices has been immense as evidenced by the myriad of 
types and numbers marketed. 
Due to the nature of the power supply and the abuse received at the hands 
of children, however, the aforementioned devices rarely work for prolonged 
periods of time. 
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a competitive racing 
rocket sled game which is economical to manufacture, extremely durable, 
and safe for children of all ages. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The preferred embodiment of the rocket sled game disclosed herein is 
designed for the competitive racing of a pair of projectiles or rocket 
sleds around two adjacent closed tracks of equal length. 
As each track and rocket sled cooperate in the same manner, a description 
of the functioning of a single track and sled will suffice. Included in 
the invention is a base having a substantially U-shaped groove in the 
upper surface thereof and having an air duct in the interior of said base 
substantially underlying said groove. The groove, which serves as a track 
for the projectile, and the air duct are in communication with each other 
through a plurality of spaced bores entering the bottom of the groove at 
an acute angle. A centrifugal fan, driven at substantially constant speed, 
provides a continuous supply of air to a branched exhaust duct within the 
base, one branch of said duct opening to the air duct underlying the base 
groove and the remaining branch exhausting to the atmosphere. A manually 
operated gate is provided at the exhaust duct branch point which permits 
the operator to divert as much of the air from the fan to his air duct as 
may be desired, with the remainder of the air being vented to the 
atmosphere. 
A projectile or rocket sled is provided which slidably fits in the groove 
and is sufficiently light in weight so as to be propelled along the track 
by the air passing through the boxes to the groove. 
Preferably, the centrifugal fans which supply the air to each track are 
belt driven from a common electrical motor, thus insuring power euqality 
between the operators.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
FIG. 1 of the drawings illustrates a top view of the track base, generally 
indicated by reference numeral 10, said base preferably having a pair of 
intersecting tracks on the upper surface thereof generally indicated by 
reference numerals 12 and 14 for racing a pair of rocket sleds (not 
shown). Handles 16 and 18 extending from the base are controlled by the 
players to vary the speed of each rocket sled. Plastic "mountains" 20 or 
similar terrain features formed of other suitably molded materials provide 
an ornamental background for the racing tracks while concealing the 
individual air supply ducts underlying each track, the air source and 
internal control features of the invention. 
FIG. 2 of the drawings is a cross-sectional view of tracks 12 and 14 taken 
along line 2--2 of FIG. 1. The tracks are actually U-shaped platforms or 
base grooves in cross-sectinal configuration positioned above air ducts 22 
and 24. Air ducts 22 and 24 are in open communication with the atmosphere 
via spaced bores 26, which may be of a triangular shape as shown in the 
drawings, terminating in the bottom of the grooves. A solid partition 28 
prevents communication between the two air ducts and thus differing air 
pressures may be maintained in each duct. The triangular bores are acutely 
inclined to the track axis as shown in FIG. 3 so that air flows from the 
ducts 22 and 24 to the atmosphere in the direction of the arrows. The air 
flow, thus directed, is used to power a lightweight projectile or rocket 
sled 30 along each track. The rocket sled configuration is such that the 
projectile will slidably fit in the track as indicated in FIG. 3 of the 
drawings. The triangular shape of the bores 26 is clearly revealed in the 
top view of the tracks shown in FIG. 4. 
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the base 10 taken along line 5--5 of 
FIG. 1. Air is provided on a continuous basis to ducts 22 and 24 by a pair 
of centrifugal fans indicated generally by reference numerals 32 and 34. 
Each of said centrifugal fans are powered by belts 36 driven by a dual 
sheave 38 mounted on a suitably journalled drive shaft 40 (not shown) 
operably connected to an electrical motor 42. The effluent air from fan 32 
is exhausted via duct 44 to air duct 22 although a portion of the air may 
be diverted to a central motor chamber 48 by opening gate 50. A diversion 
of the air to chamber 48 which is open to the atmosphere via apertures 90 
thus lowers the rate of air flow from the duct to the atmosphere via 
triangular bores 26. Partition walls 52 and 54 prevent the duct 22 from 
forming a closed loop although the inertia of the rocket sled permits the 
sled to circle the track. Similarly the effluent air from fan 34 is 
exhausted via exhaust duct 60 to air duct 24 although a portion of said 
air may also be diverted to the central motor chamber 48 by opening gate 
62, thus lowering the air pressure in duct 24 and the consequent rate of 
air flow from the duct 24 to the atmosphere via the triangular bores. Duct 
24 is also prevented from forming a closed loop by means of partition 
walls 66 and 68. The general direction of air flow within each duct is in 
accordance with the arrows shown in the figure. 
A cross-sectional view of the centrifugal fans and drive motor taken along 
line 6--6 of FIG. 5 is illustrated in FIG. 6. As shown in said figure the 
fan blades are rotatably mounted in oppositely disposed cylindrical 
housings 70 having tangential exhaust ducts 44 and 60 (not shown). The 
center hubs 72 of each centrifugal fan are driven by the action of belts 
36. Base 10 has a plurality of apertures 74 substantially centered over 
the housings 70 which function as air inlet ports for the fans. 
Cylindrical baffles 76 are provided to aid in channelling the inlet air 
flow to the axial center of each fan. 
FIG. 7 is a second cross-sectional elevation taken along line 7--7 of FIG. 
5. 
The air supply to ducts 22 and 24 underlying the racing tracks may be 
varied by adjusting the position of gates 50 and 62. While the following 
discussion is limited to the operation of gate 50, it is to be understood 
that the oppositely disposed gate 62 functions in precisely the same 
manner. 
The vertical side walls of exhaust duct 44 are formed by a first partition 
80 extending tangentially from the cylindrical fan housing 70 and an 
oppositely disposed second partition 82. Duct 44 and the adjacent central 
motor chamber 48 are in open communication by means of opening 86 in the 
common partition 80. Gate 50 is pivotally hinged to partition 80 along the 
far edge of opening 86 from the fan proper and has a width somewhat 
greater than the width of opening 86. Thus by pivoting gate 50 about its 
hinged edge, the air flow form fan 32 may be diverted into duct 22 to 
power the rocket sled or into motor chamber 48 from where it is vented to 
the atmosphere via apertures 90. Any intermediate position selected for 
the gate will permit a division of the air flow between the air duct 22 
and central motor chamber 48 thus enabling the operator to vary the speed 
of the rocket sled. As each operator has equal quantities of air flow 
available, from the separate but commonly powered fans the winner of the 
race will normally depend upon the skill of the operator in maneuvering 
his or her sled through the curved track portions without mishap. 
The actual mechanism employed to adjust the gate position may take many 
forms, however, the preferred means is illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9. Rod 
92 extends through an opening in the sidewall of base 10 and is slidably 
mounted through ear 94 which is secured to the base. A handle 16 is 
affixed to the end of the rod extending from the base for ease in manually 
sliding said rod in a back and forth motion. Strut 96 is pivotally hinged 
at one end to the end of rod 92 and at the other end to gate 50. The 
hinging of strut 96 in this manner allows for the necessary angular 
articulation of gate 50 in opening and closing as rod 92 is moved in a 
reciprocal motion. 
While the invention has been described with a certain degree of 
particularity, it is manifest that many changes may be made in the details 
of construction and the arrangement of components without departing from 
the spirit and scope of this disclosure. It is understood that the 
invention is not limited to the embodiments set forth herein for purposes 
of exemplification, but is to be limited only by the scope of the attached 
claim or claims, including the full range of equivalency to which each 
element thereof is entitled.