Abstract
A method of weighting a chess piece, comprising the steps of creating a first cavity in a base of the chess piece, and filling the first cavity with a powdered metal. The method also includes the step of creating a second cavity in the base, and filling the second cavity with an electronic sensor so that the piece may communicate electronically with a sensory chess board.
Claims
1. A method of weighting a chess piece, comprising the steps of: creating a first cavity in a base of said chess piece; filling said first cavity with loose particles of metal thereby forming a weighted chess piece; creating a second cavity in the base of said chess piece, in a different location than said first cavity; and, filling said second cavity with a sensor operatively arranged to communicate with a chess board.
2. The method recited in claim 1, wherein said loose particles of metal are tungsten in powder form.
3. The method recited in claim 1, further including the step of sealing said first cavity.
4. The method recited in claim 1, wherein said chess piece is made of wood.
5. The method recited in claim 1, wherein said first cavity is in the shape of an annular recess.
6. The method recited in claim 5, wherein said first cavity in the shape of an annular recess is concentric with a longitudinal axis of said chess piece.
7. The method recited in claim 1, wherein said second cavity is a partial through-bore.
8. The method recited in claim 7, wherein said second cavity is a cylindrically shaped partial through-bore concentrically arranged with a longitudinal axis of said chess piece.
9. A method of weighting a set of chess pieces, said set comprising a subset of white pieces and a subset of black pieces, where the white pieces are made of a first species of wood, and the black pieces are made of a second species of wood, where the two species of wood have different densities, the method comprising: weighting each piece of said subset of white pieces with loose particles of metal of a first average particle size; and, weighting each piece of said subset of black pieces with said loose particles of metal but of a second average particle size.
10. The method of weighting a set of chess pieces as recited in claim 9 wherein said first average particle size is smaller than said second average particle size.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
(1) The nature and mode of operation of the present invention will now be more fully described in the following detailed description of the invention taken with the accompanying drawing figures, in which:
(2) FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a chess set embodying the invention;
(3) FIG. 2a is a side elevational view of pieces of the chess set shown in FIG. 1;
(4) FIG. 2b is a side elevational view of pieces of the chess set shown in FIG. 1;
(5) FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of the King shown in FIG. 2a;
(6) FIG. 4a is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the invention taken generally along line 4a-4a in FIG. 3;
(7) FIG. 4b is a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of the invention taken generally along line 4b-4b in FIG. 3;
(8) FIG. 5a is a cross-sectional view of the King of the invention taken generally along line 5a-5a in FIG. 3;
(9) FIG. 5b is a cross-sectional view of the King of the invention taken generally along line 5b-5b in FIG. 3;
(10) FIG. 6 is bottom perspective view of the King shown in FIG. 2a;
(11) FIG. 7a is an exploded perspective view of an example embodiment of the King shown in FIG. 2a except inverted;
(12) FIG. 7b is an exploded perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the King shown in FIG. 2a except inverted;
(13) FIG. 8a is a front elevational view of a white King of the invention;
(14) FIG. 8b is a front elevational view of a black King of the invention;
(15) FIG. 9a is a cross-sectional view of the white King of the invention shown in FIG. 8a; and,
(16) FIG. 9b is a cross-sectional view of a black King of the invention shown in FIG. 8b.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
(17) At the outset, it should be appreciated that like drawing numbers on different drawing views identify identical, or functionally similar, structural elements of the invention. While the present invention is described with respect to what is presently considered to be the preferred aspects, it is to be understood that the invention as claimed is not limited to the disclosed aspects.
(18) Furthermore, it should be understood that this invention is not limited to the particular methodology, materials and modifications described and, as such may, of course, vary. It should also be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular aspects only, and is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention as claimed, which is limited only by the appended claims.
(19) Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood to one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention pertains. In this patent, the terms “chess piece”, “chessman”, and their derivatives are used interchangeably. Although any methods, devices or materials similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice or testing of the invention, the preferred methods, devices, and materials are now described.
(20) In the description that follows, the subscript “.sub.B” is used to refer to black chess pieces and the subscript “.sub.W” is used to refer to white chess pieces. Adverting now to the figures, FIG. 1 is a perspective view of chess set 20. Chess set 20 broadly comprises board 21, Pawns 31.sub.B and 31.sub.W, Rooks 32.sub.B and 32.sub.W, Knights 33.sub.B and 33.sub.W, Bishops 34.sub.B and 34.sub.W, Queens 35.sub.B and 35.sub.W, and Kings 36.sub.B and 36.sub.W. The arrangement of chess set 20 is well known to a person having ordinary skill in the art and is representative of the starting positions for a game of chess. Pawns 31.sub.B and 31.sub.W, Rooks 32.sub.B and 32.sub.W, Knights 33.sub.B and 33.sub.W, Bishops 34.sub.B and 34.sub.W, Queens 35.sub.B and 35.sub.W, and Kings 36.sub.B and 36.sub.W are arranged on surface 22 of chess board 21. In a preferred embodiment, chess board 21 is a sensory chess board which is operatively arranged to detect the precise location of each piece on the board and communicate these locations to a computer. One such board, known to many chess players as a “DGT Board” is manufactured by Digital Game Technologies (DGT) of Enschede, Netherlands. It should be appreciated, however, that the use of any type of chess board can be used with the pieces claimed in this patent. Surface 22 of board 21 is preferably smooth and level to allow for ease of movement of the chessmen. As is well known, a chess board comprises 64 squares of alternating colors, arranged in 8 ranks and 8 files. The ranks are identified in an algebraic system by the letters “a” through “h” and the ranks by the numbers “1” through “8”. Each square on the board is traditionally and uniquely identifiable using this algebraic method. For example, “e4” refers to the square on the board where the “e” file and “4.sup.th” rank intersect. If a player pushes Pawn 31.sub.W, which initially is in front of King 36.sub.W, two squares forward, he or she is said to have moved the Pawn to the “e4” square.
(21) FIGS. 2a and 2b are side elevational views of the chessmen included within chess set 20. White pieces are shown in FIG. 2a and black pieces are shown in FIG. 2b. Specifically, King 36.sub.W comprises base 36a and seal 36b, Queen 35.sub.W comprises base 35a and seal 35b, Bishop 34.sub.W comprises base 34a and seal 34b, Knight 33.sub.W comprises base 33a and seal 33b, Rook 32.sub.W comprises base 32a and seal 32b, and Pawn 31.sub.W comprises base 31a and seal 31b. As shown in FIG. 2b, King 36.sub.B comprises base 36c and seal 36d, Queen 35.sub.B comprises base 35c and seal 35d, Bishop 34.sub.B comprises base 34c and seal 34d, Knight 33.sub.B comprises base 33c and seal 33d, Rook 32.sub.B comprises base 32c and seal 32d, and Pawn 31.sub.B comprises base 31c and seal 31d. It is important to note that each seal is removable from its respective base in order to gain access to the inside of each base for purposes of weighting. It should also be appreciated that the diameters of the pieces can vary based on preference and piece type.
(22) FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of King 36.sub.W. The diameter of seal 36b is larger than the width of base 36a. Similarly, as depicted in FIGS. 2a and 2b, the diameters of seals 31b, 31d, 32b, 32d, 33b, 33d, 34b, 34d, 35b, 35d, 36b and 36d are larger than bases 31a, 31c, 32a, 32c, 33a, 33c, 34a, 34c, 35a, 35c, 36a and 36c, respectively. It should be appreciated that the relationship between the diameters of the seals in comparison to the bases of the chessmen helps ensure the chessmen do not tip.
(23) FIG. 4a is a cross-sectional view of King 36.sub.W taken generally along line 4a-4a in FIG. 3. In an example embodiment, King 36.sub.W comprises cavity 38 within base 36a which can be filed with material 40.sub.W for weighting. Cavity 38 is arranged along longitudinal axis 50 of King 36.sub.W. Cavity 38 is a cylindrical partial through-bore drilled into base 36a from the center of the bottom of King 36.sub.W. The shape of cavity can be any suitable shape. In a preferred embodiment, material 40.sub.W is a tungsten powder which is packed into cavity 38 and held therein by seal 36b. The preferable tungsten powder for white chess pieces has an average grain size of approximately 18.0 microns, a porosity of 0.370 and a Scott Density of 160.8 Gm/cu. in. It should be appreciated, however, that the use of different powdered metals is possible and considered within the scope of the invention as claimed. It should also be appreciated that powders of different powdered grain size is also possible. It should be appreciated that King 36.sub.W with material 40.sub.W weighs approximately the same as a comparable white King weighted with lead in a cavity of approximately the same size. Since tungsten is almost twice the density of lead, in powder form, a given volume of lead weighs approximately the same as the same volume of tungsten powder assuming the grain size of the powder is optimized for that purpose. The only other metals that are denser than tungsten are platinum, rhenium, iridium, and osmium. Gold, uranium, and plutonium have about the same density as tungsten. The expense and radioactive nature of these other elements make them largely inappropriate for use in chess pieces.
(24) FIG. 4b is a cross-sectional view of King 36.sub.W taken generally along line 4b-4b in FIG. 3. King 36.sub.W comprises first cavity 39, second cavity 43, and seal 36b. In a preferred embodiment, first cavity 39 is filled with material 40.sub.W, for example, a powdered metal like tungsten powder and second cavity 43 contains electronic sensor 42. In a preferred embodiment, first cavity 39 is an annular recess which is carved out of base 36a and then filled with material 40.sub.W for purposes of weighting. Preferably, sensor 42 is an induction coil which can interact with a DGT chess board. It should be appreciated that sensor 42 can be secured within second cavity 43 independent of seal 36b, for example, by gluing sensor 42 therein. First cavity 39 can be filed with material 40.sub.W and seal 36b can be secured to base 36a in order to keep material 40.sub.W contained within first cavity 39. It should be appreciated, however, that the use of different sensors is possible and considered to be within the scope of the invention as claimed. For example, sensor 42 could be a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag that interacts with an RFID scanner within a chess board. It should be appreciated, however, that an RFID tag may not necessarily be embedded in a cavity in the base of a chess piece. It may simply be secured to a bottom surface of the piece. Additionally, it should be noted that, in a preferred embodiment, seals 36a and 36b are made of a similar material. Seal 36b can be made from a variety of materials that have the ability to seal with base 36a. In order to secure seal 36b to base 36a, a form of glue or epoxy is used to seal the edge between base 36a and seal 36b. It should be appreciated that although, in a first embodiment, first cavity 39 is in the shape of an annular recess, first cavity 39 could take the form of other shapes as well (e.g., cylindrically shaped partial through-bores).
(25) FIG. 5a is a cross-sectional view of King 36.sub.W taken generally along line 5a-5a in FIG. 3. Cavity 38 is concentrically arranged within base 36a in order to ensure equal weight distribution of material 40.sub.W. Cavity 38 surrounds midpoint 51 which is a point on longitudinal axis 50. FIG. 5b shows a cross-sectional view of King 36.sub.W taken generally along line 5b-5b in FIG. 3. First cavity 39 is concentrically arranged about second cavity 43. Both first and second cavities 39 and 43 are arranged about longitudinal axis 55 which runs through the center of second cavity 43. This concentric arrangement ensures proper weight distribution and balance of King 36.sub.W. It should be appreciated that the other pieces of chess set 20 are formed with substantially similarly-shaped cavities to accommodate weighting.
(26) FIG. 6 shows a bottom perspective view of King 36.sub.W. Pad 45 (which is traditionally made of leather or billiard cloth) is secured to base 36a in order to protect board 21 from scratches during use of the pieces and to further seal material 40.sub.W therein. A glue or epoxy is used to fixedly secure pad 45 onto base 36a. FIG. 7a shows an exploded view of King 36.sub.W inverted to show how King 36.sub.W is weighted as described above with respect to FIGS. 4a and 5a. Cavity 38 is created in base 36a and cavity 38 is filled with material 40.sub.W. Thereafter, cavity 38 is sealed with seal 36b and pad 45 is applied last. Cavity 38, material 40.sub.W, seal 36b and pad 45 are concentrically arranged about longitudinal axis 50. FIG. 7b shows an exploded view of King 36.sub.W inverted to show how King 36.sub.W is weighted as described above with respect to FIGS. 4b and 5b. First cavity 39 is created in base 36a and second cavity 43 is created in base 36a such that second cavity 43 is in a different location than first cavity 39. Electronic sensor 42 is placed within second cavity 43 and material 40.sub.W is filled within first cavity 39. Seal 36b is applied to seal material 40.sub.W and optionally sensor 42. Pad 45 is lastly applied atop seal 36b. Electronic sensor 42 is operatively arranged to communicate with chess board 21. Preferably, second cavity 43 is concentrically arranged within first cavity 39 however, other arrangements are contemplated. First cavity 39, second cavity 43, material 40.sub.W, electronic sensor 42, seal 36b, and pad 45 are concentrically arranged about axis 55.
(27) As described above, the white pieces are typically less dense than the black pieces. As shown in FIG. 9a, the white pieces are weighted with tungsten powder 40.sub.W. Pawns 31.sub.B, Rooks 32.sub.B, Knights 33.sub.B, Bishops 34.sub.B, Queen 35.sub.B, and King 36.sub.B are manufactured from a material such as, Ebony which is different (more dense) than the material used to manufacture Pawns 31.sub.W, Rooks 32.sub.W, Knights 33.sub.W, Bishops 34.sub.W, Queen 35.sub.W, and King 36.sub.W, such as Boxwood. It is desirable to ensure that Pawns 31.sub.W, Rooks 32.sub.W, Knights 33.sub.W, Bishops 34.sub.W, Queen 35.sub.W, and King 36.sub.W are weighted in a manner such that their counterparts (Pawns 31.sub.B, Rooks 32.sub.B, Knights 33.sub.B, Bishops 34.sub.B, Queen 35.sub.B, and King 36.sub.B), have similar weights. Hence, a different grain size of tungsten powder is used to weight Pawns 31.sub.B, Rooks 32.sub.B, Knights 33.sub.B, Bishops 34.sub.B, Queen 35.sub.B, and King 36.sub.B. Since Pawns 31.sub.B, Rooks 32.sub.B, Knights 33.sub.B, Bishops 34.sub.B, Queen 35.sub.B, and King 36.sub.B are already denser than Pawns 31.sub.W, Rooks 32.sub.W, Knights 33.sub.W, Bishops 34.sub.W, Queen 35.sub.W, and King 36.sub.W, Pawns 31.sub.B, Rooks 32.sub.B, Knights 33.sub.B, Bishops 34.sub.B, Queen 35.sub.B, and King 36.sub.B require less weighting. As shown in FIG. 9b, King 36.sub.B is filled with material 40.sub.B which is distinct from material 40.sub.W which is used to fill King 36.sub.W. Preferably, material 40.sub.B is crystalline tungsten powder having an average grain size of 50.0 microns, a porosity of 0.350 and a Scott Density of 160.4 Gm/cu. in. Due to the larger size of the granules of material 40.sub.B, less material is needed to fill the cavity. It should be appreciated that chessmen can be manufactured from plastic or other materials and weighted using the same method that is described above. Since wooden chess pieces are typically made from different types of wood to represent a “black” and “white” side, the densities of each color wood will inherently be different. Additionally, even the same type of wood, which may come from other parts of the world, may have different densities even though they should be identical. The use of different size granules addresses and solves the problems associated with different types of wood and different densities within a species of wood.
(28) These powder forms of tungsten are preferable because they can be compressed with little resistance. Since a metal powder is not a continuum, significant eddy currents are not generated. Actually, in a sensory chess piece/chess board embodiment, tiny electromagnetic fields are generated about each individual granule, but are not significant, even with millions of granules. Eddy currents in the tungsten powder approach zero as the granule size decreases.
(29) Thus, it is seen that the objects of the present invention are efficiently obtained, although modifications and changes to the invention should be readily apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art, which modifications are intended to be within the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed. It also is understood that the foregoing description is illustrative of the present invention and should not be considered as limiting. Therefore, other embodiments of the present invention are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as claimed.
REFERENCE NUMBERS
(30) 20 chess set 21 chess board 22 surface 31.sub.W Pawn 31a base 31b seal 31.sub.B Pawn 31c base 31d seal 32.sub.W Rook 32a base 32b seal 32.sub.B Rook 32c base 32d seal 33.sub.W Knight 33a base 33b seal 33.sub.B Knight 33c base 33d seal 34.sub.W Bishop 34a base 34b seal 34.sub.B Bishop 34c base 34d seal 35.sub.W Queen 35a base 35b seal 35.sub.B Queen 35c base 35d seal 36.sub.W King 36a base 36b seal 36.sub.B King 36c base 36d seal 38 cavity 39 first cavity 40.sub.W material 40.sub.B material 41 sensor 43 second cavity 45 pad 50 longitudinal axis 55 longitudinal axis
