Bowling Game Device With Foot Stop

Abstract

A bowling game device has an alley bed with an approach end and a pin end. Legs are connected to the alley bed so that it is supported a substantial height above the ground. A foot stop on the ground is connected to the legs at the approach end to limit how close a player can get to the alley bed while delivering a ball. The foot stop extends in front of the approach end a distance substantially greater than the width of the alley bed so that the ball is delivered in a conventional approach to a region between the front of the approach end and a foul line near to and parallel with the front of the approach end.

Description

This invention pertains to amusement devices and more particularly to a bowling game which includes a miniature bowling alley so scaled to simulate the conditions of play of conventional bowling alleys.

Conventional ten-pin bowling is attracting more and more players each year. However, the very nature of the playing area dimensions requires special buildings. Therefore, only under very special circumstances and generally only for the very rich can bowling be a home entertainment game. In the past there have been attempts to provide home bowling games. However, such games were generally in the nature of children's toys and not games of skill. The toy was generally poorly constructed and improperly scaled down from the conventional game.

It is accordingly a general object of the invention to provide a miniature bowling game of skill that is played and scored like conventional ten-pin bowling.

It is another object of the invention to provide a miniature bowling game of skill which realistically simulates conventional ten-pin bowling.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a miniature bowling game of skill for family use in the home as a recreational exercise and family entertainment.

It is yet another object of the invention to provide a miniature bowling game of skill which is therapeutically valuable for the rehabilitation, through recreational exercise, of handicapped people.

It is still a further object of the invention to provide a miniature bowling game of skill for use by Senior Citizens who can enjoy mild exercise and an involvement in recreational pastimes.

It is still another object of the invention to provide an incentive game for anyone who wishes to participate in a sport wherein the person can improve his play of the game with practice.

It is yet still a further object of the invention to provide a miniature bowling game of skill which can be used in tournament competition and on which organizations can base fund-raising campaigns by charging entry fees.

Briefly, one aspect of the invention contemplates a bowling game device which comprises an alley bed with an approach end and a pin end. Leg means are connected to the alley bed for supporting it above a floor. A foot stop means on the floor is connected to the leg means. The foot stop means extends outward beyond the approach end of the alley bed so that a player can only come to within a given distance of the alley bed when delivering a ball.

Another aspect of the invention concerns the detailed construction of the alley to provide a nonwarpable playing surface.

Further aspects of the invention are directed to a pin pit at the pin end of the alley.

Other objects, the features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description when read with the accompanying drawing which shows a bowling game device in accordance with the presently preferred embodiment of the invention.

In the Drawings:

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a bowling game device including an alley, a pin pit and a floorboard footstop;

FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of the underside of the alley of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line 3--3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 shows the details of a joint of side and end frame members of the alley of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 shows the cross section of one of the ball gutters on either side of the alley;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the floor board foot stop of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line 7--7 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a top view of the pin end of the alley and the pin pit of FIG. 1;

FIG. 9 is a side view of the pin end of the alley and the pin pit of FIG. 1;

FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken along the line 10--10 of FIG. 8;

FIG. 11 is a top view of a pin spotter rack resting on the pin end of alley of FIG. 1;

FIG. 12 is a side view of the pin spotter of FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is another side view, partially broken away and in section, of the pin spotter of FIG. 11;

FIG. 14 is a view of a bowling pin for use with the bowling game; and

FIG. 15 shows a bowling ball for use with the bowling game.

In FIG. 1 there is shown a bowling game device according to the invention comprising an alley 20 having an approach end 22 and a pin end 24 and supported above the ground by a first pair of legs 26 near the pin end and a second pair of legs 28 near the pit end (See FIG. 2). Connected to the pin end is pin pit 30. Connected to legs 26 is a foot stop in the form of floor board 32.

The bowling game is played and scored in the same manner as conventional ten pins except for the mode of delivery of the ball by the players. In particular, the player starts from the right as viewed in FIG. 1 with a conventional approach to the stop end 34 of floor board 32. As the player slides with his leading foot to the stop end he delivers the ball so that it first touches the alley 20 in the region thereof between foul line 36 and the approach end 22. It should be noted that alley 20 is provided with "spot bowling" dots and arrows just as a conventional alley to provide aiming guides for the player. The use of the foot stop and foul line restrict the player to a particular type of ball delivery requiring skill and practice.

The floor board (See also FIGS. 6 and 7) is provided with a front pair of holes 38 and a rear pair of holes 40 for accepting legs 26 which pass therethrough. One pair of holes is used at any one time, when the front set 38 are used the player can approach closer to the alley than with the rear set. Thus with less skilled players and/or children the front set will be used, while with more skilled players and in tournament competition the rear set 40 will be used.

The floorboard 32 can be made of a sheet of quality plywood 42 encased by a moulding 44. Four nonskid rubber stops 39 are affixed to the bottom of moulding 44. The holes, such as hole 40 of FIG. 7 have an inside diameter to snugly fit about legs 26. To facilitate a smooth insertion of the legs into the holes, the top edge 46 of each hole is routed.

The alley 20 will now be described with respect to primarily FIGS. 1, 2 and 3. Alley 20 comprises a smooth playing surface board 48 with two longitudinally extending ball gutters 50 and 52 abutting the longitudinal edges of board 48. (To insure a good butting fit, the edge of the gutters adjacent the playing surface board are slightly tapered.) The edge of the gutters remote from the surface board has a downwardly extending lip 56. (See FIG. 5) The depth of the gutters gradually increases toward the approach end. Fixed to the approach end of board 48 and level therewith is removable front piece 23. Front piece 23 and the deeper portion of the gutters 50 and 52 adjacent thereto provide a pocket for the bowling balls. For longitudinal rigidity there are two longitudinally extending liner boards 58 and 60 fixed against the bottom surfaces of the playing surface board 48 and the ball gutters 50 and 52. To provide transverse rigidity there are horizontally lying transverse struts 62 and vertically lying transverse cross braces 64 fixed to said liner boards. Frame sides 66 downward extend from the liner boards adjacent the lips of the ball gutters, while frame approach end 68 and frame pin end 70 are connected thereto via mitred joints and cleats 72 fixed to a side frame 66 and having a mortise 74 extending into a dado in the frame end (See FIG. 4 for a typical corner joint). In addition, the frame sides 66 are provided with dadoes 78 to accept the ends the cross braces 64 (See FIG. 3 for a typical dado.)

Fixed to the cross brace 64 closest the approach end of the alley are legs 26 and similarly fixed to the cross brace nearest the pin end are the legs 28. The bottom of each leg is provided with the leveling screw glider 80.

The pin pit 30 and its connection to alley 20 will be described with reference to FIGS. 8, 9, and 10. The pin pit 30 comprises a floor member 100; backwall member 102 and sidewall members 104 and 106 extend upward therefrom. The sidewall members are connected to the backwall member by housed butt joints such as joint 110. The inner surfaces of the floor member and the wall members are lined with a cushioning material 108 of wool felt to deaden the bounce back of the ball and pins. The pin pit 30 is connected to the alley 20 in the following manner. The pin end of the top edges of the frame sides 66 is notched at 112 to provide longitudinally extending slots between the tops of frame sides 66 and the bottoms of the ball gutters 50 and 52. The pin pit 30 is then inserted into these slots and locked in by virtue of the top edge 71 of frame end 70 acting as a mortise extending into dado 114 transversely cut in the underside of floor member 100. It should be noted that the pin pit slopes downwardly toward the rear when in its final position so that a "dead" ball and pins do not interfere with the play of the game.

In order to spot the bowling pins on the proper spots 116 (FIG. 1) on alley 20, the pin spotter 118 of FIGS. 11, 12 and 13 is used. Pin spotter 118 comprises a triangular frame of three equilength wall members 120, 122 and 124. Supported within the frame is a sheetlike triangular template 126 by virtue of dadoes such as 128 intermediate the edges of the wall members. Cut into template 126 are 10 holes such as hole 129 equispaced from each other in a triangular array. Each hole has an inner diameter slightly greater than the outside diameter of the bowling pins to be used. The clearance should be such that the pins are accurately located without binding in the holes.

FItted into and downwardly extending from the bottom of wall member 120 are dowels or aligning pegs 130 and 132. These pegs are separated by a predetermined distance which will hereinafter become apparent.

Return now to FIG. 11. The end of the playing surface board 48 at the pin end thereof terminates before the end of the gutters 50 and 52 to provide steps 140 and 142 (See also FIG. 1) against which pegs 130 and 132 are positioned. The transverse separation of the inner edges of the gutter determines the distance between pegs 130 and 132 of the pin spotter 118 of FIGS. 11, 12 and 13. In operation, the pin spotter 118 is placed onto the alley 20 with pegs 130 and 132 against steps 140 and 142, respectively, and the bottom of the wall members resting on the alley surface. The pins are then placed in the holes 129 (FIG. 1) and are aligned on the spots 116 of the alley 120. The pin spotter is then lifted up without disturbing the pins. In this manner, the pins are spotted ready for play.

In FIG. 14 is shown a typical pin 150 scaled down from a conventional standard bowling pin. Pin 150 is made of hard maple or beech, colored white with a red collar. FIG. 15 shows a typical ball 160 similarly scaled down and preferably made of phenolic plastic colored black.

The following are typical dimensions for the miniature bowling alley game. The bowling pin is 43/4 (plus or minus) one thirty-second inches high and 11/2 inches diameter at its widest point. The weight of the pin is 13/4 to no more than 2 ounces. The bowling ball has a 61/4 inch circumference (2 inches in diameter) and weighs 4 ounces. The length of the playing surface of the alley is 8 feet and has a 12-inch width. The pin spotter has hole diameters 1 9/16 inches. The hole centers are 31/8 inches apart, creating nine equidistant triangles within a 93/8 inch rack triangle to space the pins when set up to a 15/8 inch separation. The distance from the front edge of the footboard stop to the approach end of the alley is controllable to either 281/2 inches (adult play) or 221/2 inches (junior play). The distance from the approach end of the alley to the foul line is 18 inches.

By way of comparison the American Bowling Congress specifies the following dimensions. The bowling pin is 15 (plus or minus) one thirty-second inch high and 4.7 inches in diameter at its widest point. The weight of the pin should range from 50 to no more than 58 ounces. A bowling ball has a 27-inch circumference and weighs no more than 16 pounds. The length of the alley is 60 feet and is 41 inches wide. The pins are spotted on 12-inch centers.

There has thus been shown an improved miniature bowling game of skill which, by providing a foot stop extending forward of the approach end of a raised alley limits the approach of a player while delivering a ball, realistically simulates conventional bowling conditions and requires skill to play.

In addition, the novel construction of the alley provides a warp-resistant playing surface.

Claims

While only one embodiment of the invention has been shown and described in detail there will now be obvious to those skilled in the art many modifications and variations satisfying many or all of the objects of the invention but which do not depart from the spirit thereof as defined in the appended claims.

1. A bowling game device comprising at least an alley bed with an approach end and a pin end having a foul line near to and parallel with the front of said approach end, depending leg means connected to said alley bed for supporting said alley bed horizontally a substantial height above a floor, and a foot stop means spaced below said alley bed and connected to said leg means at a point spaced below said alley bed and resting on the floor, said foot stop means extending outward beyond the front of the approach end of said alley bed a distance substantially in excess of the alley bed width to limit the closeness of the approach of a player to the alley bed while delivering a ball in a conventional approach to a region between said foul line and the front of said approach end.

2. A bowling game device comprising at least an alley bed with an approach end and a pin end, depending leg means connected to said alley bed for supporting said alley bed horizontally above a floor, and foot stop means spaced below said alley bed and connected to said leg means at a point spaced below said alley bed and resting on the floor, said foot stop means extending outward beyond the approach end of said alley bed to limit the closeness of the approach of a player to the alley bed while delivering a ball, and means for adjusting the distance of said footstop means from the approach end of said alley bed.

3. A bowling game device comprising at least an alley bed with an approach end and a pin end, depending leg means connected to said alley bed for supporting said alley bed horizontally above a floor, and foot stop means spaced below said alley bed and connected to said leg means at a point spaced below said alley bed and resting on the floor, said foot stop means extending outward beyond the approach end of said alley bed to limit the closeness of the approach of a player to the alley bed while delivering a ball, said leg means comprises at least a first pair of legs connected to said alley bed in the region of the approach end thereof and a second pair of legs connected to said alley bed in the region of the pin end thereof and wherein said foot stop means comprises a floor board having one end removably connected to said first pair of legs and an opposite end having an edge substantially parallel to the front edge of said alley bed providing a raised stop.

4. The bowling game device of claim 3 wherein said floorboard is provided near said one end with a pair of holes, each of said holes accepting one of the legs of said first pair of legs.

5. The bowling game device of claim 4 wherein said floorboard is provided with a second pair of holes displaced from said first pair of holes toward said raised stop for accepting said first pair of legs whereby the distance from said raised stop to the approach end of said alley bed can be controlled by locating said first pair of legs in a selected pair of holes.

6. The bowling game device of claim 3 wherein adjustable glides are screwably mounted in the bottom ends of said legs for leveling said alley.

7. The bowling game device of claim 3 wherein said alley comprises an elongated rectangular playing surface board, a ball gutter adjacent to each longer side of said playing surface board, the edges of said ball gutters remote from said playing surface board having a downwardly extending lip, a pair of liner boards, each liner board extending along the length of said playing surface board against the bottom thereof and the bottom of the adjacent ball gutter, and joined to said ball gutter and said playing surface board, a pair of side frame members, each of said frame members having one edge adjacent a downwardly extending lip of said ball gutter and the adjacent edge of a liner board, each of said side frame members being provided with a plurality of vertically extending dadoes, a plurality of horizontal struts joined to said liner board and having ends abutting said side frame members, a plurality of vertical cross braces, each of said cross braces at least abutting said liner boards and at least one of said struts and having ends extending into a dado of each of said side frame members, means for connecting one pair of legs to one of said cross braces and means for connecting the other pair of legs another of said cross braces.

8. The bowling game device of claim 3 further comprising a pin pit connected to the pine end of said alley, said pin pit sloping downward at a slight angle away from the pin end of said alley.