Patent Abstract:
Cups and games of skill involving such cups are provided. A representative cup includes: an aperture communicating with a cavity; and a barrier extending partially about the periphery of the aperture such that a portion of the cup lacking the barrier forms a lateral entrance to the cavity, the barrier having an upwardly and outwardly sloping first portion and a downwardly and outwardly sloping second portion, the first portion being located between the second portion and the aperture.

Full Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application is a utility application that claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application 61/145,196, filed Jan. 16, 2009, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     1. Technical Field 
     The disclosure generally relates to sports equipment. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Many games of skill are known that involve the tossing or throwing of an object at a target. Horseshoes is a well known example that involves a horseshoe being tossed at a driven stake. Other games, such a bocce ball, involve throwing a ball at a target (e.g., another ball). Typically, a high score in such a game is related to how close the tossed horseshoe or ball lands to the target. 
     SUMMARY 
     Cups and games of skill involving such cups are provided. In this regard, an exemplary embodiment of a cup comprises: an aperture communicating with a cavity; and a barrier extending partially about the periphery of the aperture such that a portion of the cup lacking the barrier forms a lateral entrance to the cavity, the barrier having an upwardly and outwardly sloping first portion and a downwardly and outwardly sloping second portion, the first portion being located between the second portion and the aperture. 
     An exemplary embodiment of a game comprises: a cup having an aperture communicating with a cavity and a barrier extending partially about the periphery of the aperture; and a projectile sized to fit within the cavity via the aperture; the cup being configured such that, as a base of the barrier is in contact with an upper surface of soil, the cavity extends below the upper surface of the soil to form a hole into which the projectile is directed. 
     Other systems, methods, features and/or advantages of this disclosure will be or may become apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the following drawings and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, features and/or advantages be included within this description and be within the scope of the present disclosure. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Many aspects of the disclosure can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily to scale. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views. 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram depicting an exemplary embodiment of a game including two cups and a projectile. 
         FIG. 2  is a side view of an exemplary embodiment of a cup. 
         FIG. 3  is a plan view of the cup of  FIG. 2 . 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view depicting the top of another exemplary embodiment of a cup. 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view depicting the bottom of the embodiment of  FIG. 4 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram depicting an exemplary embodiment of a game  10  including two cups  12 ,  14  and at least one projectile (e.g., projectile  16 ). In this regard, the cups can be used to play a game similar in some respects to the game of Horseshoes. Specifically, cups  12 ,  14  are spaced from each other by some distance—say, 21 feet. A member of one team stands near one cup and a member of the other team stands near the other cup. Each team member then tries to get his projectile into the others&#39; cup. This can be done by throwing, rolling, bouncing, etc. Scoring can be based, for example, on whether or not the projectile ends up in the cavity of the corresponding cup. 
       FIG. 2  is a side view of an exemplary embodiment of a cup and  FIG. 3  is a plan view of that cup. As shown, cup  20  includes an aperture  22  (e.g., a circular aperture) that communicates with a cavity  24 . The cavity is defined by a wall  26 , which is cylindrical in this embodiment, although various other shapes can be used. In this embodiment, the width (W 1 ) of the cavity is approximately 5 inches, and the depth (D) is approximately 5 inches (e.g., a depth that exceeds a diameter of the projectile). This embodiment also includes a bottom wall  28  although, in other embodiments, a bottom wall can be omitted. 
     A barrier  30  extends partially about the periphery of the aperture so that a lateral entrance  32  to the cavity is formed. In this embodiment, the barrier exhibits a height (H) of approximately 2½ inches. The barrier includes a base  33 , an upwardly and outwardly sloping first portion  34  and a downwardly and outwardly sloping second portion  36 . Note that, in this embodiment, the bottom wall  28  extends below the base  33 . 
     An included angle (B) between the first portion of the barrier and the base is between approximately 5 and approximately 45 degrees, and an included angle (A) between the second portion of the barrier and the base is between approximately 5 and approximately 45 degrees. Preferably, the included angles (A and B) are approximately 30 degrees. 
     The first and second portions  34 ,  36  are frusto-conical segments, with the first portion  34  having a focal point (f 1 ) located on the same side of the aperture as the cavity (e.g., within the cavity), and the second portion  36  having a focal point (f 2 ) outside the cavity (e.g., on the opposite side of the aperture). Notably, the first portion is located between the second portion and the aperture. 
     A lip  38  is positioned between the first portion of the barrier and the aperture. In this embodiment, the aperture is positioned within a plane and the lip is oriented substantially perpendicular with respect to the plane. The lip in this embodiment exhibits a width (W 2 ) of approximately 1.5 inches. In some embodiments, a lip may not be included, while in others, a lip extending about only a portion of the aperture may be included. For instance, a lip may be positioned between the barrier and the aperture, but may be omitted between at locations corresponding to a lateral entrance. 
     A distal surface  40  is positioned between the first portion of the barrier and the second portion of the barrier. In this embodiment, the distal surface is an annular segment that oriented substantially parallel to the lip and exhibits a width (W 3 ) of approximately 1.5 inches. In other embodiments, distal surface distinct from the first and second portions of the barrier wall may be omitted. 
     With reference to  FIG. 3 , the barrier includes ends ( 42 ,  44 ) that are spaced from each other to form lateral entrance  32 . An included angle (C) between the ends is approximately 120 degrees in this embodiment although, in other embodiments, different angles can be used, such as between approximately 45 and approximately 180 degrees. Optional end walls  46 ,  48  extending between the first and second portions can be used. It should also be noted that inner sides of the end walls can be positioned at various locations with respect to the aperture. In some embodiments, the walls may be set farther back than depicted in  FIG. 3  (e.g., inner diameter edges of the end walls may be rear of a centerline of the aperture) to more effectively redirect the projectile toward the aperture. 
     It should also be noted that end walls may be oriented and/or configured in various manners. By way of example, the end walls may be inclined from bottom to top. Additionally or alternatively, the end walls may be inclined from respective outer diameter edges to respective inner diameter edges. The end walls, much like others of the surfaces, also may be curved. 
     Preferably, a cup is made of suitably rigid and weather resistant materials (e.g., injection molded plastic) to accommodate outdoor use. For instance, cups can be used at the beach, at which a cup can be pushed into the sand until the corresponding cavity is below the surface, with the aperture (and corresponding lip (if included)) being located at surface level ( FIG. 1 ). 
       FIGS. 4 and 5  are perspective views depicting the top and bottom, respectively, of another exemplary embodiment of a cup. As shown, cup  120  includes an aperture  122  that communicates with a cavity  124 . Side wall  126  and bottom wall  128  define cavity  124 . 
     A barrier  130  extends partially about the periphery of aperture  122  to form a lateral entrance  132 . Barrier  130  includes a first portion  134  and a second portion  136 , with the first portion being located between the second portion and the aperture. End walls  146 ,  148  of the barrier form the lateral entrance  132 . 
     An annular lip  138  is positioned between the first portion  134  of the barrier and the aperture  122 . Additionally, a distal surface  140  is positioned between the first portion of the barrier and the second portion of the barrier. 
     As shown in  FIG. 5 , this embodiment is a relatively thin-walled structure that incorporates structural ribs (e.g., rib  142 ). The ribs extend between the underside surfaces of the first and second portions of the barrier. Clearly, other forms of support (such as those that do not incorporate the use of ribs) can be used in other embodiments. 
     It should be emphasized that the above-described embodiments are merely possible examples of implementations set forth for a clear understanding of the principles of this disclosure. Many variations and modifications may be made to the above-described embodiments without departing substantially from the spirit and principles of the disclosure. All such modifications and variations are intended to be included herein within the scope of this disclosure and protected by the accompanying claims.

Technology Classification (CPC): 0