U.S. patent application number 11/224945 was filed with the patent office on 2007-03-15 for hockey game table with rotary striking unit.
Invention is credited to Jerry Tsai.
Application Number | 20070057450 11/224945 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 37854304 |
Filed Date | 2007-03-15 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070057450 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Tsai; Jerry |
March 15, 2007 |
Hockey game table with rotary striking unit
Abstract
A hockey game table having a table face on which a disc is
movable. The hockey game table includes a rotary striking unit
including a propeller and a driving mechanism for driving the
propeller. The rotary striking unit is mounted to the table body
with the propeller positioned on the table face. When a disc moves
on the table face and touches the vanes of the propeller, the
moving direction or moving speed of the disc is unexpectedly
changed by the propeller so as to enhance the entertaining
effect.
Inventors: |
Tsai; Jerry; (Taichung,
TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
TROXELL LAW OFFICE PLLC
SUITE 1404
5205 LEESBURG PIKE
FALLS CHURCH
VA
22041
US
|
Family ID: |
37854304 |
Appl. No.: |
11/224945 |
Filed: |
September 14, 2005 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
273/108.1 ;
273/108.53 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63F 7/0636 20130101;
A63F 2007/3005 20130101; A63F 7/0017 20130101; A63F 7/26 20130101;
A63F 7/06 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
273/108.1 ;
273/108.53 |
International
Class: |
A63B 67/14 20060101
A63B067/14 |
Claims
1. A hockey game table with rotary striking unit, comprising: a
table body having a table frame, a recessed table face being
defined by a top face of the table frame, said hockey game table
being characterized in that further comprises; at least one rotary
striking unit including a propeller and a driving mechanism, the
propeller being connected with and drivable by the driving
mechanism, the propeller having a predetermined number of vanes,
the rotary striking unit being mounted to the table body with the
propeller positioned on the table face, whereby a disc is movable
on the table face and when the disc touches the vanes of the
propeller; moving direction or moving speed of the disc is
changed.
2. A hockey game table with rotary striking unit, comprising: a
table body having a table frame and several table legs connected
with the table frame, a table board being disposed on top ends of
the table frame, a recessed table face being defined by a top face
of the table board and the table frame, said hockey game table
being characterized in that the table board is formed with at least
one through hole passing through the table board from a top face to
a bottom face thereof, the hockey game table further comprising: at
least one rotary striking unit including a propeller and a motor,
the motor being fixedly mounted in the table body, the propeller
having a shaft section and a predetermined number of vanes fixedly
connected with the shaft section, the propeller being positioned on
the table face, the shaft section of the propeller being connected
with a shaft of the motor by passing through the through hole of
the table board, whereby the motor can drive the propeller to
rotate on the table face.
3. The hockey game table as claimed in claim 2, wherein the through
hole and the propeller are disposed at a center of the table
face.
4. A hockey game table with rotary striking unit, comprising: a
table body having a table frame and several table legs connected
with the table frame, a recessed table face being defined by a top
face of the table frame, said hockey game table being characterized
in that the hockey game table further comprises: at least one
rotary striking unit including: a motor, a shaft of the motor being
directed downward; two links respectively horizontally locating at
two sides of the motor, the motor being located between inner ends
of the links; and a propeller having a shaft section and a
predetermined number of vanes arranged around the shaft section,
the shaft section of the propeller being connected with the shaft
of the motor and drivable by the motor; outer ends of the two links
being mounted on two sides of the table frame of the table body,
the propeller being positioned on the table face of the table
body.
5. The hockey game table as claimed in claim 4, wherein the rotary
striking unit further includes a housing defining a space inward
extending from a bottom face of the housing, the inner ends of the
links being respectively fixedly connected with two sides of the
housing, the motor being fixedly disposed in the space of the
housing, the housing being positioned above the table face, a
bottom end of the housing being spaced from the table face by a
distance, the vanes of the propeller protruding from the bottom end
of the housing.
6. The hockey game table as claimed in claim 4, wherein each link
is composed of an inner tube and an outer tube both of which have
polygonal cross-section, the inner tube being telescoped in the
outer tube.
7. The hockey game table as claimed in claim 5, wherein each link
is composed of an inner tube and an outer tube both of which have
polygonal cross-section, the inner tube being telescoped in the
outer tube.
8. The hockey game table as claimed in claim 4, wherein the rotary
striking unit further includes two connecting assemblies mounted at
the outer ends of the links respectively, the striking unit being
mounted on the table frame of the table body via the connecting
assemblies.
9. The hockey game table as claimed in claim 5, wherein the rotary
striking unit further includes two connecting assemblies mounted at
the outer ends of the links respectively, the striking unit being
mounted on the table frame of the table body via the connecting
assemblies.
10. The hockey game table as claimed in claim 8, wherein two thread
holes are respectively formed on top faces of two sides of the
table frame of the table body, each connecting assembly including
an upright tube member fixedly connected with the outer end of the
link and a bolt passed through the tube member, a bottom end of the
bolt protruding from the tube member, and a gasket being fixedly
fitted on a stem of the bolt below the tube member for supporting
the tube member, bottom ends of the bolts of the connecting
assemblies being respectively screwed in the thread holes of the
table body.
11. The hockey game table as claimed in claim 9, wherein two thread
holes are respectively formed on top faces of two sides of the
table frame of the table body, each connecting assembly including
an upright tube member fixedly connected with the outer end of the
link and a bolt passed through the tube member, a bottom end of the
bolt protruding from the tube member, and a gasket being fixedly
fitted on a stem of the bolt below the tube member for supporting
the tube member, bottom ends of the bolts of the connecting
assemblies being respectively screwed in the thread holes of the
table body.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention is related to a game device, and more
particularly to a hockey game table on which a disc can move in
unspecific direction and speed so as to enhance the entertaining
effect.
[0002] A conventional hockey game table has a table face and two
wickets arranged at two ends of the game table. A player can push a
disc to move on the table face. In the case that the player pushes
the disc into a wicket, the player scores.
[0003] In the hockey game, the disc is pushed by the players to
linearly move on the table face. Under such circumstance, the
players can easily foresee the moving direction of the disc.
Moreover, after pushed, the disc is substantially moved in constant
speed without change of speed. Therefore, the players can also
easily foreknow when the disc will reach a specific position. As a
result, the conventional hockey game table can hardly achieve novel
entertaining effect.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0004] It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to
provide a hockey game table on which a disc can move in unspecific
direction so as to enhance the entertaining effect.
[0005] It is a further object of the present invention to provide
the above hockey game table by which the moving direction and
moving speed of the disc are unexpectedly changed so that the
players can have more fun in the game.
[0006] According to the above object, the hockey game table of the
present invention includes a rotary striking unit including a
propeller and a driving mechanism for driving the propeller. The
rotary striking unit is mounted on the table body with the
propeller positioned on the table face. When a disc moves on the
table face to touch the vanes of the propeller, the moving
direction and/or moving speed of the disc is unexpectedly changed
by the vanes so as to enhance the entertaining effect.
[0007] The present invention can be best understood through the
following description and accompanying drawings wherein:
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0008] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of the
present invention;
[0009] FIG. 2 is a sectional view-of the first embodiment of the
present invention;
[0010] FIG. 3 is a top view according to FIG. 1, showing the use of
the hockey game table of the present invention;
[0011] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the
present invention;
[0012] FIG. 5 is a perspective exploded view of the rotary striking
unit of the second embodiment of the present invention; and
[0013] FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the second embodiment of
the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0014] Please refer to FIGS. 1 and 2. According to a first
embodiment, the hockey game table 10 of the present invention
includes a table body 20. The table body 20 has a table frame 22
and several table legs 24 connected with the table frame. A table
board 25 is arranged on top end of the table frame. A top face of
the table board serves as a table face 26 of the hockey game table.
Two wickets 27 are respectively formed on inner faces of two short
sides of the table frame to communicate with the table face 26. Two
disc-taking windows 28 are formed on outer faces of the short sides
of the table frame to communicate with the wickets 27
respectively.
[0015] The invention further includes at least one rotary striking
unit 30. The rotary striking unit 30 includes a propeller 32
arranged on the table face 26 and drivable by a driving mechanism.
In this embodiment, the driving mechanism is a motor 36. Referring
to FIG. 2, the motor 36 is fixedly mounted in the table body 20
under the table board 25. The propeller 32 has a shaft section 34
and a predetermined number of vanes 35 fixedly connected with the
shaft section 34. In this embodiment, there are two vanes 35, for
example. The shaft section 34 of the propeller is connected with a
shaft of the motor 36 by passing through a through hole 29 of the
table board 25. Accordingly, the propeller is located on the table
face 26 and the motor 36 can drive the propeller 32 to rotate.
[0016] In use, as shown in FIG. 3, a disc 40 is placed on the table
face 26 and a player can hold a push block to push the disc 40 to
move on the table face into the wicket 27. During the game, the
motor 36 is powered on to keep the propeller 32 rotating on the
table face, and the propeller 32 is rotating in a clockwise
direction for example. When the disc 40 is pushed in a direction as
shown by the arrow of solid line to touch the rotating vanes 35 of
the propeller 32, the disc 40 will be shifted by the vanes 35.
Under such circumstance, the moving direction of the disc 40 will
be variously changed. For example, as shown by arrows A, B and C of
phantom lines, the disc will obliquely move in faster or slower
speed. Alternatively, as shown by arrow D of phantom line, the disc
will move toward the other end of the table and by means of the
force applied to the disc by the rotating propeller 32, the moving
of the disc will be speeded. Still alternatively, as shown by arrow
E of phantom line, the disc will move in reverse direction toward
the home player F. Therefore, during the game, the rotary striking
unit 30 will shift the disc to irregularly change the moving
direction and moving speed different from the originals. As a
result, the moving direction and moving speed of the disc will be
unexpectedly changed. This makes it harder for the players to
control the moving direction and moving speed of the disc.
Therefore, the players can have more fun in the game.
[0017] FIG. 4 shows a second embodiment of the hockey game table 50
of the present invention, in which the table body 60 is identical
to that of the first embodiment and will not be further described
hereinafter.
[0018] Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, the rotary striking unit 70 of
the second embodiment includes a housing 72, two links 80, a
driving mechanism 90 and a propeller 95. The housing 72 defines a
space 74 inward extending from a bottom face of the housing.
[0019] Inner ends of the links 80 are respectively connected with
two sides of the housing 72. Each link can be a one-piece bar
member with fixed length. Alternatively, as shown in the
embodiment, each link 80 can be composed of an inner tube 82 and an
outer tube 84 both of which have polygonal cross-section. The inner
tube 82 is adjustably nested in the outer tube 84, whereby the link
can be telescopically adjusted.
[0020] The driving mechanism is a motor 90 fixedly mounted in the
space 74 of the housing 72. A shaft of the motor 90 is directed
downward.
[0021] The propeller 95 has a shaft section 96 fixedly connected
with the shaft of the motor 90.
[0022] The striking unit 70 is mounted on the table body 60 by
outer ends of the two links 80 being mounted on two sides of the
table body 60. After mounted, the housing 72 is positioned above
the table face 62 with the bottom end spaced from the table face 62
by a certain distance as shown in FIG. 6. The distance is slightly
larger than the thickness of the disc, permitting the disc to move
on the table face 62 without being obstructed by the housing. The
vanes 98 of the propeller 95 protrude from the bottom end of the
housing 72 to approach to the table face 62 of the table body
60.
[0023] In addition, the outer end of each link 80 is equipped with
a connecting assembly 100. The connecting assembly 100 includes an
upright tube member 102 fixedly connected with the outer end of the
link. A bolt 104 is passed through a through hole 103 of the tube
member 102. A bottom end of the bolt 104 protrudes from the tube
member 102. A gasket 106 is fixedly fitted on the stem of the bolt
104 below the tube member 102 as shown in FIG. 6 for supporting the
tube member 102. The bolts 104 of the connecting assemblies 100 are
respectively screwed in two thread holes 66 formed on top faces of
two long sides 64 of the table body 60. By means of screwing the
bolts 104 into the thread holes 66 or out of the thread holes 66,
the height of the bolts 104 and the tube members 102 can be changed
to adjust the level of the striking unit 70.
[0024] The links 80 are adjustable in length, whereby the striking
unit can be mounted on different hockey game tables with different
sizes.
[0025] The second embodiment can achieve the same effect as the
first embodiment. When touching the vanes 98 of the propeller 95,
the moving direction and moving speed of the disc will be variously
changed. When the disc moves on the table face 62, the disc can
move through the gap between the bottom end of the housing 72 and
the table face 62 to touch the vanes 98. In addition, the housing
protects the players from incautiously touching the propeller
95.
[0026] In conclusion, the rotary striking unit is added to the
hockey game table for unexpectedly changing the moving direction
and moving speed of the disc. Therefore, the entertaining effect of
the hockey game table can be enhanced.
[0027] The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the
present invention, not intended to limit the scope thereof. Many
modifications of the above embodiments can be made without
departing from the spirit of the present invention.
* * * * *