Patent Document:

as shown in fig1 - 4 of the drawings , the fishing game of the present invention includes a motor 10 having a spindle on which there is provided a worm gear 11 that meshes with a gear 20 . gear 20 is provided to rotate pinion 21 which in turn meshes with at least one idler gear . in the embodiment of fig1 two idler gears 30 and 31 mesh with pinion 21 . in the embodiments of fig2 and 3 , one idler gear 30 meshes with pinion 21 . it will be observed in the embodiments of fig1 , and 4 , there are two idlers . in the four pan arrangement of fishing games shown in fig1 and 4 , two idlers identified by reference numerals 30 and 31 mesh with pinion 21 while in the embodiment of fig3 one idler gear 30 meshes with pinion 21 and a further idler gear identified by reference numeral 32 is provided to insure simultaneous rotation of the pans as will be described in greater detail hereinafter . to provide a fishing toy construction of a four pool type , as shown in fig1 and 5 , the two idler gears 30 and 31 mesh with pinion gear 21 which is disposed in the central portion of the support body 100 . each of the idler gears 30 and 31 mesh with two rotatable pans 40 , 41 , and 42 , 43 , respectively . as can be seen from fig1 the rotational pans 40 - 43 , each contain a plurality of vertically extending sockets 101 into which game targets can be located . the pans each have an annular peripheral surface having teeth 102 thereon . these teeth mesh with idler gears as shown by the various embodiments of fig1 , 3 , and 4 . the four pan embodiment of the invention as shown in fig5 includes a support body 1 having four cavities therein to rotatably support the pans 40 - 43 . in the embodiment shown by fig2 and 7 , a support body 104 is provided with two cavities , wherein pans 40 and 41 are supported . in the embodiment of the invention shown in fig6 a support body 105 is provided with three cavities wherein pans 41 - 43 are supported . as can be seen from the illustration of fig4 in the base of the cavities provided in the support body , there is located upwardly incline tracks 107 that cause the game pieces to rise and fall in the sockets of the pans while the pans simultaneously rotate . in view of the foregoing , it can be seen that the fishing toy of the present invention may comprise different arrangement of drives in cooperation of different number of pans . this arrangement has been found to be superior to conventional fishing toys because participation by a number of players can take place through allocation of a player for each pool . in fig8 there is illustrated a further embodiment of the present invention wherein a motor 10a is mounted in a suitable housing and has a spindle on which there is mounted a worm gear 11a . the worm gear in turn meshes with a gear 52 which is mounted on a rod 51 . a rubber wheel 50 is attached to the rod 51 . the rubber wheel engages with a tooth peripheral surface of pan 60 to drive the pan for rotation in the support body . when rotation of the pan 60 is stopped , the rubber wheel 50 exerts a force comprised of two components ; one component being normal to the periphery of the pan and the other force being tangential to the annular edge of the pan containing the teeth . this force is a result of a spring 10b to protect the motor . in the event the pan is inadvertently stopped by the person using the toy , a tangental component of force will be exerted on and slightly stress the spring so that the rubber wheel 50 disengages from the tooth periphery of the pan to prevent the motor from being stopped . in normal use of the toy , the force component which is normal to the tooth periphery of the pan maintains contact between the rubber wheel 50 and the pan 60 thus maintaining continuous rotation of the pan . this embodiment of the present invention has the advantage that the longevity of the motor in the toy will be longer than the motor used in conventional fishing toys . the embodiments of fishing toys according to the present invention utilize different drive arrangements to produce the simultaneous rotation of the various differently numbered pans . the drive arrangements are superior over conventional drives in known fishing toys because of the usefulness provided for the users of the toy . the fishing toy according to the present invention can be used by a number of game participants simultaneously rather than restricting use of the game by the group to a sequential order of the persons comprising the group . the present invention also offers the advantage that the period for participating in the game can be controlled more uniformly and accurately while the participants simultaneously participate in the game . thus it can be seen that the recreational effect as well as the reaction capability of the game participants can be exercised through competition . in addition , the interest by the players of the game can be enhanced by using various different game targets such as game targets having the shape of a shrimp , crab , fish , and frog . while the present invention has been described in accordance with the preferred embodiments of the various figures , it is to be understood that other similar embodiments may be used , or modifications and additions may be made to the described embodiment for performing the same functions of the present invention without deviating therefrom . therefore , the present invention should not be limited to any single embodiment , but rather construed in breadth and scope in accordance with the recitation of the appended claims .

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