IMPROVEMENTS IN MARKERS OR DEVICES FOR MARKING GAMES AND THE LIKE
Year: 1884

page_text: I HENRY COOPER SEDDON, of 7- Upper Nile Terrace, Rochester, in the County
of Kent, Lieutenant Colonel in the Royal Engineers, do hereby declare the nature
of my invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MARKERS OR DEVICES FOR MARKING
GAMES AND THE LIKE," and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
The object of my invention is to produce compact, simple, and easily portable
markers or recording devices such as may be made at small cost. For this purpose
I use in conjunction with a disc or piece of suitable material such as card, bone,
ivory, metal or vulcanite, having either smooth or indented edges and on its-face
the required marks, radiating bands arms or pointers constructed wholly or partly
of material sufficiently elastic to keep them in any position in which they may
have been pat, until purposely shifted.
Thus for whist I use a device such as represented in face view in Fig 1, and in
section in Fig 2 of the drawings, and which comprises a piece of card or other
suitable material a, having holes b and c, which may be lined with metal as for
instance by the use of eyelets. The general form of the part a is that of two
portions of circles joined together, and having b and c as their respective centres,
the portion whereof b is the centre being divided and marked for the number of
games and for the number of points, and the portion whereof c is the centre being
marked as an indicator for odds laid and points won or lost, as will be readily
understood on reference to the drawing. d d' are elastic bands radiating from the
centre of the first named part of a circle, and intended to be used as pointers
respectively for the games and for the points. d³ d³ d' are similar bands radiating
from the centre of the other portion of a circle of the combined device aud intended
for indicating odds laid and points won. These bands may in the cheaper forms of
marker be conveniently made of elastic material such as worsted cord, passed
through the holes and tied (whilst stretched) as at d* so as to bear always with a
slight amount of pressure against the periphery of the card or other disc or index,
thus remaining in any position to which they may have been moved, until
purposely shifted. It will be evident that in lieu of making the bands as described
they may be of metal arranged to press against a, or in lieu of bands elastic fingers
with hook or clip like outer ends arranged to press against the edges of a may be
used.

page_text: Figs 3 and 4 represent a modified-arrangement of my improved marker designed
to mark the games and points of short whist as well as the laying of the odds (as
also points won, if desired) all on the face of a single circular marker or disc, by
means of radiating bands or arms dd'd constructed wholly or partly of any
suitable material sufficiently clastic to keep them in position until purposely
sliifted.
It will be evident that the arrangement Fig 1 could be made circular by simply
bringing the two centres together and slightly enlarging the length of radius; or,
in other words, the arrangement Fig 3 could contain all on Fig 1, by adding one
more pointer and slightly longthening the radius.
Figs 5 and 6 represent a marker with elastic bands & d' daimilar to that
represented in Figs 3 and 4, but designed to mark other games from 1 up to 999.
I would remark that two or more markers can be combined in one, thus the
numbers for the game marker Figs 5 and 6 can be arranged round the outer edge
or on the back of the circular whist marker Figs 3 and 4; also the forms could be
altered by striking circular or approximately circular arcs from different contres;
and the invention can be applied to markers for other games and to other purposes
than gaine markers.
:
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I. declare that what
I claim is,
1. A marker constructed with one or more elastic bands arms or pointers such as
hereinabove described, radiating from a centro or centres, bearing against the edge
or edges of the card or other material forming the body of the marker, and able to
be shifted from one radial position to another and to remain in position until
shifted, so as to indicato odds laid or games or points won or lost or other particulars
as required substantially as described
2. A whist marker comprising a disc or piece of card or other suitable material
and elastic bands or pointers of the kind described, such disc or its equivalent
being so marked as to euable not only games and points and the laying of odils
but also points won or lost to be all indicated on the face of the one-marker by
means of the elastic bands or pointers substantially as described.
3. The improved marker shown-in and described with reference to Figs 1 and 2
of the drawings.