Patent Publication Number: US-7900931-B2

Title: Balancing mechanism for an equilibrium game

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Various games of chance have been proposed over the years wherein a player tries to predict the outcome of an event and places a bet on the outcome. Roulette is one such game in which players bet in which numbered compartment of a revolving wheel a small ball will come to rest. 
     After considerable research on experimentation, the equilibrium game of the present invention has been devised wherein a number of players bet on the final equilibrium position of a balancing mechanism. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The balancing mechanism of the present invention comprises, essentially, a tripod having a hub connected to the upper end thereof by a universal joint. A plurality of inclined arms have their upper end portions connected to the hub, and a container or cup is connected to the lower end portion of each arm. A depending indicator having a pointer is connected to the hub and extends downwardly therefrom to a Cartesian coordinate graph, whereby when weights such as marbles are placed in the containers, the arms are caused to tilt off center from the horizontal to an equilibrium position resulting in the indicator pointing to a certain point or position on the Cartesian coordinate graph. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a front perspective view of the balancing mechanism of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a front perspective view of the mechanism showing a ball being placed in one of the cups on the right side thereby tilting the balancing mechanism to the right; 
         FIG. 3  is a front perspective view similar to  FIG. 2  but showing a ball being placed in a cup on the left side, thereby tilting the mechanism to the left; 
         FIG. 4  is an enlarged fragmentary view of some of the cups having balls therein and the Cartesian coordinate graph and associated pointer; 
         FIG. 5  is a top plan view of the balancing mechanism of the present invention; 
         FIG. 6  is a fragmentary top plan view of the balancing mechanism; and, 
         FIG. 7  is a top plan view of the cartesian coordinate graph. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring to the drawings and more particularly to  FIG. 1 , the balancing mechanism of the present invention comprises a tripod  1  having a hub  2  connected to the upper end thereof by a universal joint  3  provided by a base  3   a  connected to the upper end of the tripod  1  and having a spherical recess  3   b  formed in the upper surface thereof for receiving the pointed end  3   c  of a depending spindle  3   d  fixed to the bottom surface of the hub  2 . 
     A plurality of inclined arms  4  have their upper end portions connected to the hub  2  and a container or cup  5  is connected to the lower end portion of each arm  4 . 
     A depending indicator  6  having a pointer  6   a  is connected to the hub  2  and extends downwardly therefrom to a Cartesian coordinate graph  7  supported on a table top  8  positioned centrally within the tripod  1 . 
     In use, as will be seen in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , weights  9 , such as marbles, are placed in selected cups  5  causing the arms  4  to tilt off center from the horizontal to an equilibrium position resulting in the pointer being positioned at a certain X,Y coordinate on the graph  7 . 
     To play the equilibrium game, a plurality of players having a number of marbles, gather around the cups  5  and predict the final equilibrium position of the pointer  6   a  on the graph after all the balls have been placed in the cups  5 . Each player is given five or ten marbles so as to enable the equilibrium of the mechanism to be attained without the pointer  6   a  ending at the origin of the X,Y axis on the graph  7 . The game is won when a bettor bets the closest to the predicted coordinates. 
     It is to be understood that the form of the invention herewith shown and described is to be taken as a preferred example of the same, and that various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or scope of the subjoined claims.