Ball Bounce Game Device

Abstract

A ball bounce game device comprising a pair of winglike members disposed end to end and having an aperture for mounting the wings on the body of an individual is provided whereby an individual wearing the wings secured about his waist can use a resilient ball, such as a ping-pong ball, tennis ball, rubber ball and the like to bounce the ball from one wing member over his head to the other wing member and back again. The wings are joined together with a pivot means and are detachably secured together by a latch means, with at least one of said pivot means and latch means preferably including means for adjusting the spacing of said wings and the resulting size of the body engaging aperture. A resilient cushion is also preferably provided around the periphery of said aperture for the comfort of the player wearing the device.

Description

This invention relates to a ball bounce game device to be worn by a player and used by the player in bouncing a ball from one wing member of the device to another wing member of the device.

The game device of this invention generally comprises a pair of elongated wing members disposed end to end with respect to each other; a pivot means joining the wing members to each other at their adjacent ends; a latch means disposed opposite the pivot means detachably securing one wing member to the other in a closed, operative position; and, a body encircling aperture formed at the adjacent ends of the wing members providing the means by which the wing members can be fitted and secured about the waist of an individual.

The game device of this invention can be used with a resilient ball, such as a ping pong ball, tennis ball, soft rubber ball, and the like, which is placed or bounced onto the outer end of one of the wing members. The player, by manipulating his hips, can then flip the ball into the air from one wing onto the other wing and thus bounce the ball back and forth over his head. The game device can also be used by two or more players who, by manipulating their hip movements, can utilize the device to bounce a ball from one player to another.

The game device of the invention will become more apparent when considered together with the accompanying drawing, in which there is illustrated several exemplary views thereof, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of one embodiment of the game device of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a view taken substantially on the line 2--2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view taken substantially on the line 3--3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view taken substantially on the broken line 4--4 of FIG. 3, illustrating one embodiment of the latch means of the game device.

FIG. 5 is a view, taken substantially on the line 5--5 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a view, part in phantom and part broken away, taken substantially on the line 6--6 of FIG. 5; and,

FIG. 7 is an illustration showing how a player would wear and use the game device of the invention.

Turning now to the drawing there is shown in FIG. 1, the game device of the invention wherein reference numerals 10 and 10' denote the wing members of the game device. The adjacent ends 11, 11' of the wing members have semielliptical cut outs 12, 12', respectively, which together form a body encircling aperture 13. The wing members 10, 10' are joined together at one side or at the rear of said aperture 13 by a pivot means, generally indicated by reference numeral 14, and detachably secured together at the front or opposite side of said aperture 13 by a latch means, generally indicated by reference numeral 15.

In the embodiment illustrated, the wing members 10, 10' are shown to have a configuration similar to butterfly wings in that they are flared at their outer ends and converge toward their adjacent ends 11 and 11'. The peripheral contour of the wing members can be varied considerably, but it is important to provide a protruding distance from the aperture 13 of about 12 to 16 inches and a front to rear dimension in the vicinity of the protruding edges slightly greater than said protruding distance. In a preferred adaptation the wings protrude from the aperture 13 about 14 inches and have a front to rear dimension of about 18 inches.

Pivot means 14 can take the form of pins 16, 16' passing through apertures 17, 17' formed in the wing members and apertures 18, 18' formed in upper and lower spanner members 19, 19' (FIGS. 1 and 5). If it is desired to provide for variations in the size of the body encircling and engaging aperture 13, the pivot means 14 can be made adjustable as, for example, by providing other apertures 20, 20' formed in the wing members 10, 10' spaced apart from apertures 17, 17' and connected thereto by means of elongated slots 21, 21' which are of a width substantially smaller than the diameter of said apertures 17, 17' and 20, 20' (FIGS. 5 and 6). By then providing diametrically opposed flattened surfaces on the pins 16, 16', as shown at 22, 22', the wing members 10, 10' can be swung to orient said flattened portions 22, 22' of the pins 16, 16' with the width of elongated slots 21, 21', thereby permitting the pins 16, 16' to be moved slideably through elongated slots 21, 21' from apertures 17, 17' to apertures 20, 20', respectively, and vice versa (FIG. 6). The flattened surfaces 22, 22' are disposed at an angle of about 45.degree. with respect to the common alignment of the pins 16, 16' with the apertures 17, 17' and 20, 20' when the wings 10, 10' are in the full line positions shown in FIG. 6, while permitting entry of the flattened pin 16, 16' into the slots 21, 21' upon practical swinging movement of the wings 10, 10'.

The latch means 15 comprises a hook member 23 pivoted as at 24 to one of said wing members 10' in the same plane as the wing member and adapted to engage a notch 25 in the edge 26 of the other wing member 10 (FIGS. 3 and 4). Again, in order to permit variation in the size of the body encircling aperture 13, it is preferable to include one or more additional notches 25', 25" to be engaged by the hook member 23. The hook member 23 is suitably partially concealed between upper and lower cover plates 27, 27' which extend beyond the outer side edge of the hook member 23 to provide bearing and stiffening engagement with the upper and lower surfaces of the wing members 10, 10' in which event the pivot 24 will pass through the cover plates 27, 27'. The hook member 23 and cover plates 27, 27' can be molded as a unitary part or, as shown in the drawing, can be built up of laminated members secured together as with the rivets 28, 28'.

As described above, it can be seen that latch means 15 and pivot means 14 can be constructed to provide size adjustments to vary the circumference of the body encircling aperture 13. In the embodiments illustrated, the apertures 17, 17' and 20, 20' and elongated slots 21, 21' in the pivot means 14 together with the notches 25, 25', 25" formed to engage the hook member 23 in the latch means 15 provide size variation in the body encircling aperture 13 up to about 5". It is to be understood that while particular structures have been shown to provide size adjustment, these are given by way of illustration and not of limitation; and other means for providing adjustment might be employed without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. By thus providing means to vary the size of the body encircling aperture 13, the number of different sized devices which must be manufactured and stocked for sale can be materially reduced.

The circumference of the body encircling aperture 13 is covered with a cushioning material 29 (FIG. 1 and 2) suitably in the form of a tube of rubber, plastic material, or the like split as indicated at 30 to receive the edges of the cutouts 12, 12' in the wing members 10, 10'.

To put on the game device of the invention, the latch means 15 is pivoted about rivet 24 after hook member 23 has been disengaged from notch 25 so that wing members 10, 10' can be rotated in the direction of the arrows shown in FIG. 1, by pivoting them about pins 16, 16'.

As thus opened, the device is placed around the waist of the user and pivoted to the closed position shown in FIGS. 1 and 4 with the hook member 23 inserted in the particular notch 25, 25' or 25" which best fits the device to the user's body. If the waist measurement of the user is too large to permit engagement of the hook 23 with the notch 25", the device is removed and manipulated as shown in FIG. 6 to shift one or both wings from the full line position where pins 16, 16' engage the apertures 17, 17' to the dotted line positions where the pins engage the apertures 20, 20'.

It will be apparent that these adjustments will slightly vary the orientation of the wings 10, 10' with respect to the user. Thus utilizing notch 25 while widely spacing the pivoted ends at the user's back will tend to give the wings a forward orientation, while utilizing notch 25" while closely spacing the pivoted ends at the user's back will tend to give the wings a rearward orientation. Various users of the device may have different preferences with respect to forward, central, or rearward orientation of the wings 10, 10', and it is to be understood that the adjustable features above described provide the dual functions of accommodating different size waistlines, and enabling control of wing orientation for users of average or intermediate waistlines.

FIG. 7 illustrates one way in which a player 31 wearing the ball bounce game device, generally indicated by reference numeral 32, can bounce a ball 33 from one wing surface 10 over the player's head onto the other wing surface 10' and so on back and forth as many times as he can without missing.

One way to initiate play is for the player to place a ball 33 on one wing and to swing the adjacent hip outwardly and upwardly in order to flip the wing member upwards while the opposing wing member is thrust downwardly thereby throwing the ball over the player's head, whereupon the other hip is thrust upwardly and outwardly to contact the descending ball and bounce it again over the player's head. Alternatively, play can be started by tossing the ball 33 into the air and interrupting its descent with either of the wings 10, 10'. While a skillful player may be able to complete a number of bounces while standing in one position, it is frequently necessary for the player to engage in considerable footwork, moving front, back, or to either side in order to properly orient one of the wing members with respect to a descending ball.

The ball bounce game device of the invention can be utilized by an individual player, a pair of opposed players, or even by groups of players each wearing a game device, the object being to bounce a ball from one player to another utilizing the wing members of the game device. A plurality of players can also utilize the game device in opposing team efforts employing a zone marker such as a string, net or a line drawn on the ground between the teams over which a ball must be bounce-passed. To add interest with a plurality of players, two or four players can keep score as in tennis or ping-pong. With more than four players, on the other hand, scoring might be as in volley ball.

The materials used to manufacture the various components of the game device are not critical and such materials as wood, plastic, metal and the like as well as combinations thereof can be used, but it is preferred that these materials be durable and lightweight.

While the game device of the present invention has been described in some detail and with particularity, it should be understood that alterations, changes and modifications can be made therein, in addition to those suggested herein, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.

Claims

What is claimed:

1. A game device for attachment around the waist of a player for projecting a lightweight object back and forth over the head and from one side to the other of a player through controlled hip movement of the player, said device comprising: a pair of lightweight, thin, planar members: means for coupling said planar members together in essentially coplanar relation, adjacent ends of said planar members having curved cutouts which collectively form an elliptical, waist encircling aperture in said device, said means enabling the size of said waist encircling aperture to be adjusted, each of said planar members extending laterally from said waist encircling aperture a substantially greater distance than the transverse dimension of said planar members at said waist encircling aperture such that when said device is adjustably coupled about the waist of a player, said planar members are disposed horizontally from the player's waist and are in the nature of horizontally disposed paddles.

2. A game device as defined in claim 1 wherein said adjustable coupling means comprises hinge means centrally of one long side of said elliptical, waist encircling aperture, and an adjustable latch means centrally of the opposed side of said elliptical, waist encircling aperture.

3. A game device as defined in claim 1 wherein the hinge means comprises upper and lower spanner members disposed on opposite outer surfaces of said planar members at their adjacent ends, and a pin at each end of said spanner members securing said spanner members to each other, each of said pins pivotally engaging a first aperture in one of said planar members.

4. A game device as defined in claim 3 wherein said hinge means includes a second aperture in each of said planar members spaced from said first aperture, said first and second apertures being of the same diameter and connected to each other by means of an elongated slot, the width of said slot being smaller than the diameter of said apertures, said pins being of a diameter to closely engage said apertures and having diametrically opposed flattened sides which are spaced to fit within said elongated slot and which are oriented to be aligned with said slot when a planar member is rotated about an associated pin through a predetermined angle on the order of about 45.degree., such that a pin can be moved from one aperture to the other to change the spacing between said planar members.

5. A game device as defined in claim 2 wherein said latch means comprises a hook member pivotally secured to one of said planar members, and a plurality of notches in an adjacent edge of the other planar member, said hook member being adapted to engage at least one of said notches snugly fitting said device about the waist of a player.

6. A game device as defined in claim 5 wherein said hook member is of channelled structure providing flanges slidably engaging opposed surfaces of said planar members with the hook portion of said member disposed between said flanges.

7. A game device as defined in claim 1 wherein the circumference of the elliptical, waist encircling aperture is provided with a cushioning material secured thereto.

8. A game device as defined in claim 1 wherein the transverse dimension at the ends of each of said planar members remote from the elliptical, waist encircling aperture is slightly greater than the transverse dimension of said planar members at said waist encircling aperture to provide a divergent contour to said planar members.

9. A game device as defined in claim 8 wherein the ends of said planar members remote from said elliptical, waist encircling aperture are smoothly rounded.