U.S. patent number 3,734,509 [Application Number 05/211,184] was granted by the patent office on 1973-05-22 for invisible indicia matching and display device.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Marvin Glass & Associates. Invention is credited to Kathy A. Dunn, Marvin I. Glass.
United States Patent |
3,734,509 |
Glass , et al. |
May 22, 1973 |
INVISIBLE INDICIA MATCHING AND DISPLAY DEVICE
Abstract
A game including a plurality of playing cards each having one of
a set of characters printed thereon and a display device to be used
in connection therewith for randomly exhibiting a second set of
characters one at a time. The second set of characters are the same
as those printed on the playing cards wherein the object of the
game is to match the character printed on a playing card with the
same character exhibited by the device. The characters printed on
the playing cards are normally invisible and become visible only
after exposure to concentrated light. The display device has a
light for illuminating the normally invisible card characters.
Inventors: |
Glass; Marvin I. (Chicago,
IL), Dunn; Kathy A. (Chicago, IL) |
Assignee: |
Marvin Glass & Associates
(Chicago, IL)
|
Family
ID: |
22785884 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/211,184 |
Filed: |
December 23, 1971 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
273/139;
273/143D; 273/DIG.24; 273/293 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63H
3/006 (20130101); A63H 33/22 (20130101); A63H
3/38 (20130101); A63F 1/06 (20130101); A63H
3/48 (20130101); Y10S 273/24 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A63H
3/38 (20060101); A63H 3/00 (20060101); A63H
33/22 (20060101); A63H 3/48 (20060101); A63F
1/00 (20060101); A63F 1/06 (20060101); A63f
009/00 (); A63f 001/02 () |
Field of
Search: |
;273/1R,1E,138,143,152.1,142JC,148,139 ;250/71R,78 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Pinkham; Richard C.
Assistant Examiner: Shapiro; Paul E.
Claims
We claim:
1. A game wherein the object is to match the same character from
two sources comprising:
a plurality of playing cards, each having one of a set of
different, normally invisible, characters printed on one side
thereof which characters are viewable responsive to exposure to
concentrated light; and
display means for randomly displaying one of a second set of
different characters, the characters of said second set being the
same as those printed on the playing cards.
2. The game of claim 1 wherein said display means includes means to
illuminate a playing card with a concentrated light source whereby
the printed character on said card is made visible permitting
comparison with the character exhibited by said display means.
3. The game of claim 2 wherein said display means includes a
housing having window means for observation inside the housing and
slot means for receiving a playing card within said housing;
an assembly mounted within the housing having the second set of
characters associated therewith, said second set of characters
being visible through said window means; and
said illuminating means is located within the housing so as to
illuminate the printed side of a playing card inserted in the slot
means.
4. The game of claim 3 wherein the assembly includes a generally
circular dome member rotatably mounted within the housing for
spinning therein and the second set of characters is printed in a
straight line on a tape running around the periphery of said dome
member.
5. The game of claim 4 wherein the assembly has a vertical shaft
extending from the center of the circular tape out of the housing
providing an axis about which the dome member spins.
6. The game of claim 5 wherein said display means includes indexing
means associated with the assembly whereby only one character is
observable through the window means when the dome member has come
to rest after spinning.
7. The game of claim 6 wherein said indexing means produces noise
whenever the dome member is spinning.
8. The game of claim 6 wherein said window means include two
openings, said tape has pairs of characters printed thereon, and
said indexing means causes only one pair of identical characters to
be observable through the two openings when the dome member has
come to rest after spinning.
9. The game of claim 3 wherein the housing of the display means is
in the shape of an owl, said window means being defined by the eyes
of said owl, the assembly is in the upper part of the housing, the
illuminating means is in the bottom of the housing and the slot
means is therebetween.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to card games and is
particularly directed toward a matching card game.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Matching card games have long been popular with children and
particularly with young children who enjoy games with simple rules.
Such games have taken many forms, with the simplest probably being
played with an ordinary deck of cards wherein the child seeks to
acquire a pair of cards of the same value.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is the primary object of the present invention to provide a card
game wherein characters on playing cards are matched with
characters exhibited by another source. More particularly, it is
the object of this invention that the characters that are printed
on the playing cards be invisible until exposed to light.
The game generally includes a plurality of playing cards having one
of a set of normally invisible characters printed thereon and a
display device for exhibiting a second set of characters. The
characters printed on the playing cards become visible only after
exposure to light. The second set of characters exhibited by the
display device are the same as those printed on the playing
cards.
In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the display device has
a light source associated therewith to make the printed characters
on the playing cards visible.
In the embodiment of the invention, the display device also
includes a housing, a display assembly mounted within the housing
and the illuminating means located within the housing. The housing
has window means for observation therein and slot means for
receiving a playing card therein. The display assembly has the
second set of characters associated therewith so that they are
visible one at a time through the window means. The illuminating
means is so situated so as to illuminate the printed card of a
playing card inserted in the slot means.
The display assembly in the embodiment is rotatably mounted within
the housing and is constructed so as to spin therein. The second
set of characters are printed on a circular tape running along the
periphery of the assembly. While the display assembly is spinning,
means associated therewith produce a clicking sound while at the
same time provide indexing means.
The housing of the display device is made in the shape of a toy,
doll, or the like. For example, the housing of the preferred
embodiment described herein is in the shape of an owl. The window
means are the eyes of the owl, the display assembly is housed in
the head of the owl, the illuminating means is housed in the bottom
portion of the owl. The slot means is located between the display
assembly and the illuminating means.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the game of this invention;
FIG. 2 is a vertical section view of the display device utilized
with the game shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken generally along the line 3--3 of
FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the game taken generally along the
line 4--4 of FIG. 2;
FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the game taken generally along the
line 5--5 of FIG. 2; and
FIG. 6 is an enlarged plan view of two playing cards showing
characters printed thereon.
While this invention is susceptible of embodiment in many different
forms, there is shown in the drawings and will herein be described
in detail a specific embodiment therefore, with the understanding
that the present disclosure is to be considered as an
exemplification of the principle of the invention and is not
intended to limit the invention to the embodiment illustrated.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Turning now to the accompanying drawings in detail, the items
needed to play the game of this invention are shown in FIGS. 1 and
6 and include playing cards 10, a display device, generally
designated 12, and one of a plurality of tokens 14 which is used as
a means to keep score in the game. Each card 10 has a character 16
printed on one side thereof which is normally invisible to the
human eye unless exposed to light. The general object of the game
is to match the character shown on a card 10 after it has been
exposed to light with a second set of characters which are randomly
exhibited by the display device 12. A successful match results in
awarding of a token 14.
The two characters 16 shown on the two cards in FIG. 6 are a skull
and a bat. However, any other desirable character may be used. Each
card 10 is made from plastic or plastic and paper laminate or any
other suitable material. The characters 16 are either printed or
painted on the cards 10 with light-sensitive material such as
phosphorous paint and are normally invisible.
The device 12 is a means of exhibiting a second set of characters
and at the same time providing means to make the characters 16 on
playing cards 10 visible. Device 12 is seen to generally include a
housing 18 having a spinner assembly, generally designated 20, and
illuminating means, generally designated 22, housed therein. By
virtue of the device 12 a player tries to match up the character 16
found on a particular playing card 10 with a character which may be
exhibited by the device 12 as will be more fully discussed
hereinafter.
The housing 18 shown in the accompanying drawings is in the form of
a toy owl. The shape of the housing is optional and can be any
suitable shape that may be desired. The owl housing 18 is generally
hollow and is molded out of plastic or other suitable material. The
owl-shaped housing of this embodiment has an opening 24 in the
center of the top of the head, two openings 26 in the front of the
head forming the owl's eyes, a horizontal slot 28 in front
immediately below the head of the owl, and another opening 30 in
the middle of the back of the owl.
The interior surface 32 of the owl-shaped housing 18 has integrally
formed therewith an elongated spinner assembly support 34
horizontally extending from the interior surface 32 of the owl's
head to a point past the vertical center of the housing 18. Also,
integrally formed with the interior surface 32 of the lower part of
the housing is a top support member 36 having an inwardly facing
annular groove 36a, and middle and bottom support members 38 and
40, respectively. The housing 18 has a flat removable bottom 42.
The bottom 42 is secured to the housing 18 with a suitable screw 44
as shown in FIG. 2.
The spinner assembly 20, shown in greater detail in FIGS. 2 and 3,
is seen generally to include a dome-like member 46, a vertical
shaft 48 and a vertically disposed knob 50. The knob 50 has a top
grasping portion 52, a bottom flanged portion 54 and an elongated
neck portion 56 therebetween. The knob 50 is rotatably captured at
its neck portion 56 in the opening 24 on top of the owl's head.
The dome member 46 has a translucent tape 60 attached around the
periphery thereof. Six pair of characters 62 are printed on the
tape 60 in a fashion which will be discussed in greater detail
hereinafter. Each character 62 is aligned with holes 64 in the dome
member 46. The characters 62 printed on the tape 60 are the same as
those printed on the cards 10.
The dome member 46 is concentrically secured to the middle of the
vertical shaft 48. The top of the vertical shaft 48 is fixedly
received in an opening 66 formed in the bottom of the knob 50. The
bottom of the vertical shaft 48 rotatably rests on a recess 68
formed at the end of the spinner assembly support 34. The dome
member 46 can be made to spin about the vertical shaft 48 by merely
grasping the top portion 52 of the knob 50 and twisting.
At the top of the dome member 46 is a horizontal disc portion 70
having six radially extending notches 71. In the same plane as the
notches 71 is a flexible steel or plastic member 72 horizontally
extending inwardly from the inside surface 32 of the owl's body 18
towards the notches 71. The end of member 72 is adapted to contact
and be received in notches 71. Whenever the dome member 46 is
spinning, the flexible member 72 will contact the notches 71
causing a clicking sound.
The combination of the disc portion 70 and the flexible member 72
also provides means to index the spinner assembly 20 so that the
same two characters 62 will appear through the eye openings 26 at
the same time. When the dome member 46 comes to rest after
spinning, the end of the flexible member 72 is intended to be
received in one of the six notches 71. The spacing between the
characters 62 which are printed on the tape 60 is generally the
same as the spacing between holes 64 so as to result in a pair of
identical characters 62 being aligned with openings 26 whenever the
end of flexible member 72 is received within a notch 71.
The illuminating means 22 which is housed in the bottom portion of
the owl housing 18 is shown in greater detail in FIGS. 2, 3 and 5.
The illuminating means 22 is seen to generally comprise a pair of
batteries 74 and 76, a lightbulb 78, a reflector 80, two upper
battery contacts 82 and 84, a lower battery contact 86 and a switch
88. The batteries 74 and 76 are vertically positioned over the
lower contact 86 which is secured to the bottom floor 42 of the
housing 18. The positive end of battery 74 faces downwardly and the
positive end of the battery 76 faces upwardly with both batteries
being laterally supported within openings 38a and 40a of the middle
and bottom support members 38 and 40.
Secured to opposite sides of the middle support member 38 are the
two upper battery contacts 82 and 84. Contact 82 is against the
negative terminal of battery 74 and contact 84 abuts the positive
terminal of battery 76.
Connected at the end of the upper contact 84 is the bottom of a
conventional flashlight lightbulb 78. The lightbulb 78 is screwed
in the center of a conventional reflector 80 found in most
flashlights. The bulb 78 and reflector 80 are aimed vertically
upward. The upper rim of the reflector 80 is received in an annular
groove 36a of the top support member 36.
The light bulb 78 is turned on by means of the switch 88. The
switch 88 extends through the back opening 30 of the housing 18 to
permit a player to activate or deactivate the illuminating means
22.
The illuminating means 22 serves two general purposes. First, a
card 10 inserted character side down into the slot 28 is
illuminated by a concentrated light source provided by the
illuminating means 22. After withdrawing the card 10 from the slot
the normally invisible luminous character 16 becomes visible for a
limited period of time following withdrawal of the card 10. Second,
the light from the illuminating means 22 tends to highlight the
characters 62 on the tape 60 when observed through the eye openings
26.
The game can be played by any number of players. The equipment
required to play the game is one owl-shaped display device 12,
tokens 14 and playing cards 10.
In this embodiment there are six different card characters 16 on 18
cards 10. Thus, each character 16 is printed on three playing cards
10. The same six characters 16 printed on the cards 10 are also
printed on the tape 60 in pairs.
The object of the game is to match a tape character 62 exhibited by
the display device 12, after spinning the dome member 46 with a
randomly selected card character 16 printed on a playing card 10.
The normally invisible card character 16 on the card 10 is
ascertained by inserting the card into the display device as
described above. For each successful match a token is awarded. The
first person to collect a designated number of tokens is the winner
of the game.
The foregoing detailed description has been given for clearness of
understanding only, and no unnecessary limitations should be
understood therefrom, as some modifications may be obvious to those
skilled in the art.
* * * * *