APPARATUS FOR THE GAME OF TUG-OF-WAR

Abstract: Apparatus for the game of tug-of-war has an arm (10) supported for pivotal movement on a base (12). Ropes (15) are attached to the upper end of the arm (10). At least one cylinder (16), containing a fluid and a piston (17) is used to restrain the movement of the arm (10). A conduit (20) with a valve (21) in it connects one end of the cylinder (16) to the other end. By opening the valve (21), fluid can flow through conduit (20) to reduce the restraint to movement of the arm (10). A double cylinder embodiment is also described.

Description: TITLE: "APPARATUS FOR THE GAME OF TUG-OF-WAR" Technical Field This invention concerns apparatus for use in the game or physical contest generally known as "tug-of- war". Background art Traditionally, the game of tug-of-war has required two teams which grasp a rope and pull against each other. The game is won by the team which either pulls its opponents over a datum line or (more usually) pulls the rope to a position where an indicator on the rope (often a strip of coloured cloth) reaches a predetermined point. Mechanical aids, to remove the uncertainty that is sometimes associated with winning the second (the more common) form of the contest have been proposed. For example, in the specification of US Patent No 2,485,763, apparatus is provided which ensures that the rope used for the game runs in an elongate tunnel or box disposed between the competing teams. The tunnel or elongate box has a slot in the top of it, through which an indicator - in the form of a plate clamped to the rope - passes. It is then a relatively easy matter to see the precise position of the indicator, and hence of the position of the midpoint of the rope, as the contestants move the rope through the tunnel. Another mechanical tug-of-war apparatus, designed for children's playgrounds, is ' described in the specification of US Patent No 3,171,654. That apparatus uses a pair of flags, angularly displaced relative to ' S E ir OMPI each other, as the indicator of the progress of the competition. The flags are mounted on a pendulum shaft, which is moved about a pivot point by a pair of ropes, each passing over a respective pulley wheel and having 5 one end fixed to the framework of the apparatus. The free ends of the ropes are pulled by the opposing teams, and the game is won by the team which first causes the flag of the opposing team to assume a vertical position as a result of the displacement of 10 the pendulum shaft. Yet another tug-of-war apparatus with a mechanical indicating arrangement for the rope is described in the specification of US Patent No 2,884,248. Other forms of apparatus, for use in modified forms of the game of 15 tug-of-war, are described in the specifications of US Patents Nos 4,153,245 and 4,346,884. In all the tug-of-war equipments referred to above which rely upon a mechanical indication of the progress of the game, the movement of the indicator to the "win" 20 position requires a relatively small movement of the rope being pulled. Thus - as in the traditional game of tug-of-war - considerable care has to be taken to ensure that each team strains evenly on the rope before the game begins, to prevent a sharp impulse on the rope 25 by one team giving it a significant advantage over its opponents. Disclosure of the present invention It is an object of the present invention to provide a form of apparatus which reduces the 30 aforementioned problem of a sharp impulse at the beginning of the game, while still providing the desirable clear indication of the progress of the game of tug-of-war. OMPI This objective is achieved by providing a tug-of- war apparatus which uses a pivoted arm on a platform which is set down between the opposing teams of the game. A pair of ropes extend from the arm in opposite directions, for pulling by the competitors. The indicator of the progress of the game shows the position of the arm. The problem of a sharp impulse at the beginning of a game is at least partially overcome by providing at least one arm movement restraint means in the form of a piston in a cylinder, the piston being moved within the cylinder when the arm is rotated about its pivot point, to cause oil -or a similar fluid to flow from one end of the cylinder to the other. A by-pass channel for the fluid, controlled by a valve, may be incorporated into the or each cylinder to vary the degree of restraint of the movement of the arm that is provided. If the movement restraint means consists of two cylinders on opposite sides of the arm, each with its associated piston, the flow of fluid when the arm is moved may be from one cylinder to the other through a constricted channel. Preferably, the constriction of the fluid flow through this channel is variable, and its effect can be readily altered. Thus, according to the present invention, apparatus for the game of tug-of-war comprises: a) a vertically disposed arm, adapted to have two ropes attached thereto; b) a base or base frame, having arm support means to which said arm is pivotally mounted; and c) indicator means associated with said arm to indicate the progress of the game; and is characterised by OMPI "^ NITI d) at least one movement restraint means, connected between said arm " and said base or base frame, said restraint means comprising (i) an elongate cylinder within which is located a piston, said cylinder and said piston being connected one to said arm and one to said base or base frame, and (ii) a fluid within said cylinder. The movement of the piston in each cylinder (provided each piston is a tight fit in its cylinder) effectively dampens the movement of the arm as fluid flows past the piston from one end of the cylinder to the other. If the piston is a very tight fit in the cylinder, and/or the fluid is a thick oil, the dampening effect may be so great that it almost stops the movement of the arm if the arm experiences a lateral impulse. If it is desired to reduce or remove the dampening effect of the movement restraint means, the two ends of the or each cylinder may be joined by an external conduit, with a tap or valve therein. The tap or valve can be opened to allow fluid to flow through the conduit, thus reducing the restriction of the movement of the arm. If a pair of movement restraint means are used, then it is preferred that the cylinders (and their associated pistons) are mounted on opposed sides of the arm, with the axes of both cylinders being in a plane which is perpendicular to the pivotal axis of the arm. In this particular configuration, one end of one of the pair of cylinders may connected by a conduit to an end of the other cylinder, with a valve or tap in the connecting conduit, so that when ' the valve or tap is opened, fluid from one cylinder can flow through the connecting conduit into the other cylinder, as a result of the coordinated movement of their respective pistons. Thus, by opening the tap or valve, the movement restricting effect of the restraint means can be reduced or removed. The indicator means may be a pointer attached to the arm and adapted to move relative to a fixed scale, or between two "end" positions. Alternatively, and preferably, the indicator means may comprise an array of electrical contacts which are part of a plurality of electrical circuits connected to an indicator board and/or audio signalling devices. Electrical connection to the contacts is effected by a wiping contact as the arm pivots about its pivot axis. These and other features of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description of embodiments of the present invention. In the following description, reference will be made to the accompanying drawings. Brief description of the drawings Figure 1 is a side view, partly schematic, of one form of the tug-of-war apparatus which has been constructed in accordance with the present invention. Figure 2 is a modified form of the apparatus of Figure 1. Figure 3 illustrates, schematically, one type .of game progress indicator. Figure 4 shows, in a single embodiment, two different forms of game progress indicator which may be used with the present invention. Detailed description of illustrated embodiments The apparatus shown in Figure 1 has a vertical arm 10 which is supported by an axle 11 which extends between a pair of parallel plates 13. The axle 11 provides a pivot axis for the arm 10. The parallel plates 13 (only one plate is shown in the drawings) are typically connected to, and form part of, a base or base frame 12. Near the end of arm 10 which is remote from axis 11, a pair of hook-like projections allow ropes 15 to be held, as shown in Figure 1, near the top end of arm 10. For a game of tug-of-war, the ropes 15 are pulled in a substantially horizontal direction. Other forms of locating the tug-of-war ropes near the top of arm 10 may be adopted. For example, the hook-like projections 14 may be more hook-shaped than indicated in Figure 1 and may be closed by a snap link or the like so that the rope cannot slip from the arm inadvertently. Alternatively, the sides of the arm 10 may be indented to provide positive locations for the ropes 15 and again prevent slippage of the ropes from the arm. Any other suitable rope-locating arrangement (of which, many will occur to a person skilled in this art) may be used. A feature of the present invention which, as far as the present inventors are aware, has not hitherto been used in this art, is the inclusion of a movement restraint arrangement for the arm 10. The movement restrain arrangement of Figure 1 comprises a cylinder 16 with a piston 17 located within it. The piston 17 is a tight fit in the cylinder 16. A connecting rod 18 is joined to a closed end 16A of the cylinder 16, and has its other end' pivotally secured to the arm 10 at mounting 18A. A second connecting rod IS extends from one end of the piston 17 and is pivotally connected to a mounting 19A on the base or base frame 12. A high pressure seal 22, fitted to the other end 16B of cylinder 16, ensures that the fluid (typically a liquid, and preferably an oil) which fills the space between the piston 17 and the inner walls of the cylinder 16 does not leak through end 16B when the fluid adjacent to end 16B is under great pressure. With the arrangement of Figure 1, if a sideways force is applied to the upper end of arm 10, the rate at which the arm will pivot about axis 11 will depend upon the degree of movement damping that is provided by the movement restraint arrangement. If the piston 17 is a very tight fit in cylinder 16, the flow of liquid past the piston from one end of the cylinder to the other will occur only slowly, even if the sideways force on the arm is high. In this situation, pivotal movement of arm 10 about axle 11 will be very slow. The degree of movement restraint will be reduced if the piston 17 is a less tight fit in cylinder 16. The cylinder 16 that is illustrated in Figure 1 is provided with an external conduit in the form of a tube 20, that connects the ends of the cylinder 16. A tap or valve 21 in conduit 20 enables the flow of fluid through the conduit to be controlled. With the valve 21 closed, the fluid in cylinder 16 cannot flow through conduit 20. If valve 21 is fully opened, the fluid can flow readily through conduit 20. Thus the extent to which valve 21 is opened determines the degree of movement restraint that is provided by the cylinder and piston arrangement. It will be apparent that with tap or valve 21 closed, the arm 10 will move but little, if at all, when it is subjected to a horizontal impulse at its upper end. Thus, a tug-of-war competition, using ropes 15, can be started fairly with valve 21 closed and arm 10 vertical. When each competing team is fully straining on its rope, the valve 21 can be opened so that the competing teams are pulling only against each other, and not against the restraint mechanism also. The embodiment illustrated in Figure 2 is similar to the tug-of-war apparatus of Figure 1, but the movement restraint arrangement for arm 10 comprises a pair of piston/cylinder combinations. Each piston/ cylinder combination may be constructed as shown in Figure 1. Alternatively, as shown in Figure 2, the cylinders 30 and 32 may have oil in their upper regions 30A and 32A only, and with the piston connecting rods 36 passing loosely through the ends of their associated cylinders. In such piston/cylinder combinations, air can enter and leave the cylinders below pistons 31 and 33, and control of the degree of movement restraint is effected by conduit or tube 34 and its associated tap or valve 35. The way in which the control is effected will be readily apparent from the above description of the movement restraint mechanism of Figure 1. As indicated earlier in this specification, it is a common practice in a game of tug-of-war for an indicator to be provided to demonstrate to onlookers, and sometimes to the competing teams, the progress of the contest. Several forms of progress indicators are shown in Figures 3 and 4. Ar W1PO In Figure 3, an arcuate array of electrical contacts 40 are connected to respective lamps 41 which are mounted on an indicator board 42. A wiping contact 43, which is mounted on the arm 10, is connected to a power source 44 via a terminal 45 which is located on arm 10 near to its pivot axle 11. The power source - which is preferably a battery or a low voltage DC supply - is also connected to the lamps 41. When the wiping contact 43 touches a contact 40, the circuit to one of the lamps 41 on the indicator board 42 is completed and that lamp glows until the sliding contact 43 moves away from its associated contact 40. Normally, several adjacent lamps 41 will glow at any time due to the extensive surface of wiping contact 43. The lamps 41 may be supplemented by buzzers, bells or other audible signalling devices, actuated by completion of their associated electrical circuits. One of the indicators shown in Figure 4 is a simple pointer 50 which is mounted on arm 10. A scale 51 is located adjacent to the upper end of pointer 50, to show onlookers the progress of the tug-of-war contest. The arrangement of Figure 4 also incorporates a pair of microswitches 53, mounted on respective support frames 54. The microswitches 53 are positioned so that they are actuated by the pointer 50 when arm 10 has been sufficiently pivoted to one side or the other. Actuation of a microswitch 53 closes an electrical circuit to actuate a visible and/or audible signal (not shown), to signify victory to one team in the tug-of- war competition. In practice, it has been found to be advantageous to provide the tug-of-war apparatus with a series of footrests, in the form of periodically raised regions of a heavy guage metal mesh which extends transversely between a pair of horizontal support rails. The support rails are detachably connected to each side of the base or frame 12 of the tug-of-war apparatus. With such footrests, the tug-of-war equipment can be used successfully both in a field and in a gymnasium, without damage to the turf of the field or to the floor of the gymnasium from the footwear of the competing teams. Modifications and variations of the illustrated embodiments of this specification can be made without departing from the inventive concept. For example, the opening and closing of the tap or valve 21 in conduit 20, the move'ment of the arm 10 and the operation of the progress indicators could be monitored and/or controlled by any suitable computer or microprocessor. In such a modification, the arcuate array of electrical contacts 40 could be replaced by a potentiometer. The movement of the arm 10 causes a change in potential which is monitored by the computer or microprocessor, which then actuates the progress indicators. A further modification is the mounting of a pre-settable timer on the indicator board 42.

Claims: . 1 CLAIMS 1. Apparatus for the game of tug-of-war comprising: a) a vertically disposed arm (10), adapted to have two ropes (15) attached thereto; b) a base or base frame (12), having arm support means (13) to which said arm is pivotally mounted; and c) indicator means associated with said arm (10) to indicate the progress of the game; said apparatus being characterised by d) at least one movement restraint means, connected between said arm (10) and said base or base frame (12), said restraint means comprising (i) an elongate cylinder (16) within which is located a piston (17), said cylinder and said piston being connected one to said arm (10) and one to said base or base frame (12), and (ii) a fluid within said cylinder. 2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, further characterised in that said piston (17) is provided with a connecting rod (19) for connection to said arm (10) or to said base or base frame (12), said fluid substantially fills said cylinder, and a seal (22) is provided to prevent said fluid leaking from said cylinder (16) at the location where said connecting rod (19) enters an end (16B) of said cylinder. OMPI i 3. Apparatus as defined in claim 2, further characterised in that a conduit (20) extends between the two end regions of said cylinder (16), externally thereto, said conduit (20) being provided with a valve (21) to control the flow of said fluid therethrough. 4. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, further characterised in that a) said restraint means comprises two elongate cylinders (30,32), within each of which is located a piston (31,33); b) said elongate cylinders (30,32) are disposed on opposite sides of said arm (10); c) each cylinder and its associated piston is connected one to said arm (10) and one to said base or base frame (12); d) the axes of said cylinders (30,32) and their associated pistons (31,33) are in a plane which is at right angles to the pivotal axis (11) about which said arm may move; and e) each cylinder (30,32) contains a fluid. 5. Apparatus as defined in claim 4, further characterised in that each piston (31,33) is provided with a connecting rod (36) for connection to said arm (10) or to said base frame (12), said fluid substantially fills each cylinder, and each cylinder is provided with a seal to prevent leakage of said fluid therefrom at the locations of the entry of said connecting rods (36) into the ends "of their respective cylinders. OMPI 1 -. * 6. Apparatus as defined in claim 5, further characterised in that, for each cylinder, a conduit (20) extends between the two end regions of the cylinder, externally thereto, said conduit (20) being provided with a valve (21) to control the flow of said fluid therethrough. 7. Apparatus as defined in claim 4, further characterised in that a) each said cylinder (30,32) is closed at one end thereof and a connecting rod (36) attached to its associated piston (31,33) passes through the other end thereof, said fluid substantially filling the region (30A,32A) between said associated piston (31,33) and said one end, and air being able to freely enter and leave said other end; b) a conduit (34) extends between said one end of one of said cylinders to said one end of the other of said cylinders; c) a valve (35) in said conduit controls the flow of fluid therethrough; and d) said cylinders (30,32) are mounted so that pivotal movement of said arm (10) which causes air to leave the other end of one of said cylinders also causes air to enter the other end of the other of said cylinders. 8. Apparatus as defined in any preceding claim, in which said fluid is an oil. 9. Apparatus as defined in any preceding claim, including indicator means to indicate the progress of a game of tug-of-war. 10. Apparatus as defined in claim 9, in which said indicator means comprises a) a plurality of electrical contacts (40), mounted in arcuate planar array alongside said arm (10) ; b) a wiping contact (43) attached to said arm (10) and adapted to make contact with each one of said plurality of electrical contacts (40) during maximum pivotal movement of said arm; c) an indicator board (42) having a plurality of electrical lamps (41) mounted thereon; d) a source (44) of electrical power; and e) electrical wiring, whereby, when said wiping contact (43) touches one of said plurality of electrical contacts (40), an electrical circuit including a respective one of said lamps (41) is completed, and said respective lamp is illuminated. 11. Apparatus as defined in claim 9, including electrically powered audio signal source means connected in parallel with at least two of said lamps (41), to provide an audible signal at least when a game of tug-of-war has been won. 12. Apparatus as defined in claim 9, in which said indicator means comprises a pointer (50) affixed to said arm (10), and a scale (51) mounted alongside part of said pointer. 13. Apparatus as defined in claim 11, including a pair of microswitches (53) mounted on respective support frames (54), one on each side of said arm (10), whereby, when said arm (10) is pivotally moved to a position where a game of tug-of-war is won, said pointer or said arm bears against one of the microswitches (53) to actuate that microswitch, thereby closing an electrical circuit to produce an audible signal, an optically sensed signal, or both an audible signal and an optically sensed signal.

Inventors: ANDERSON BRYAN PATRICK, HUBBARD ROBIN DAVID, ANDERSON, BRYAN, PATRICK, HUBBARD, ROBIN, DAVID
Applicants: ANDERSON BRYAN PATRICK, HUBBARD ROBIN DAVID, ANDERSON, BRYAN, PATRICK, HUBBARD, ROBIN, DAVID
Application year: 1984
Main classification: A63B21
IPC codes: A63B21