Apparatus for Playing and Supporting a User During a Game

Abstract

A skating frame which incorporates hockey flippers to allow inexperienced skaters to play hockey while learning to skate. It is designed to be used as a multi surface game apparatus, allowing for wide accessibility. The apparatus aims to increase the people that can play hockey by allowing inexperienced skaters, when used on ice, to maintain balance and be supported while allowing them to also be able to interact with the object in play. The apparatus may also be adapted for ground use to help those with mobility impairments to play floor hockey. The interaction with the object used in the game is facilitated by the flipper blades that run along the play surface allowing the user to engage with the play object easily without having to compromise their support.

Claims

1. An apparatus for supporting a human player, and for propelling a playing object across a playing surface, said apparatus comprising: A frame with a height and width sized for a human player, which frame provides support to said player; Surface contact elements which are situated on the bottom of said frame, which surface contact elements glide or roll along said playing surface; One or more movable propulsion devices mounted at said playing surface to contact a playing object, and One or more hand controls which operate said propulsion device through a mechanism connecting said hand controls with said propulsion device.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the width and height of said frame are adjustable.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said propulsion device comprises hockey stick blades.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said propulsion device comprises pinball flipper-like paddles.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said propulsion device is interchangeable.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said surface contact elements comprise wheels.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said surface contact elements are interchangeable and may be configured in accordance with said playing surface.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein lighting is incorporated into the apparatus to provide entertainment and play in low light conditions.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said frame is decoratively shaped to resemble a recognizable form.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein said frame is decoratively shaped to resemble one or more animals.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein said propulsion device is decoratively shaped to resemble natural appendages.

12. An apparatus for supporting a human player on a playing surface, said apparatus comprising: A frame with a height and width sized for a human player, which frame provides support to said player; Surface contact elements which are situated on the bottom of said frame, which surface contact elements glide or roll along said playing surface; One or more electronically controlled lights mounted on said frame, which lights may communicate with separate and additional apparatuses of this claim; and One or more hand controls which activate said lights.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein said frame is sized to fit through a course or maze.

14. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the width and height of said frame are adjustable.

15. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein one or more of said lights are infrared or laser-tag style lights.

16. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein said lights may be controlled by an outside source, such as a gamemaster, whether it be manually, automatically, or when in the vicinity of a separate and additional apparatus of this claim.

17. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein said surface contact elements comprise wheels.

18. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein said surface contact elements are interchangeable and may be configured in accordance with said playing surface.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] FIG. 1 shows a side view of the apparatus, including the frame and the two mechanisms used to rotate the propulsion devices on the front.

[0011] FIG. 2 is a rotated view of FIG. 1, giving a better representation of the width, with enough room to fit two propulsion devices on the front, one from each side. FIG. 2 additionally shows the cross beam that joins the left and right sides of the frame.

[0012] FIG. 3 shows a side view of a single side (left or right) of the frame, with the handle on top where the interior cable connects to the handle that then travels down the front of the frame, joining the propulsion device mechanism. In the center of the frame is also the clip that the cross beam fits into to connect the two frames.

[0013] FIG. 4 is a rotated view of FIG. 3, showing both the length and width of the frame, with a clear emphasis on the supports connecting the rear surface contact to the connection for the propulsion device mechanism and the channel for the cable leading from the propulsion device mechanism to the handle.

[0014] FIG. 5 is a side view of the propulsion device mechanism, with the front half of the housing invisible as to better see the inner mechanism, showing the height that the mechanism rests at within the casing, so as to hold the propulsion mechanism high enough to freely rotate.

[0015] FIG. 6 is a top view of FIG. 5, showing the central axis of rotation around which the cam rotates. It also shows the two round pins on either side of the central axis, which pins act to hold the bottom mechanism to the frame.

[0016] FIG. 7 is a view of the full propulsion device mechanism from the back. It shows the supports from the lower part, in contact with the ground, to the housing that holds the cam and rotating axis.

[0017] FIG. 8 is a front view of FIG. 5, slightly rotated to the lower right, and presents the connection between the rotation axis along with the cam. with the cable running down from the handle in order to change the lateral motion from the handle to the rotational motion passed from the cam to the propulsion device, through the connection box directly below the propulsion device or flipper.

[0018] FIG. 9 Is a front view of the apparatus, showing the frame and propulsion mechanisms.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0019] It is appreciated that this description is of one embodiment of the invention, but other methods of assembly and mechanisms may be incorporated to accomplish the claims provided below. The apparatus is specifically intended to provide a structure to be used as support, or simply to participate with others in a game that uses a mechanism to propel a playing object across a surface. While the structure may provide necessary support for balance and to assist in the user's movement, such as ice skating, the main purpose is to provide a means to propel an object while using the structure. Additionally, users who don't necessarily need the structure for support can use it to participate in a game with users that do need it for support. It should be noted that the terms user, player or participant are used synonymously. Also, the terms flipper, blade, paddle or stick may be used interchangeably to denote the part of the apparatus that strikes the object to propel it across the playing surface, and are generally referred to as the propulsion device, unless otherwise noted to make a distinction.

[0020] Referring to the drawings, the overall apparatus is identified with numeral 10. The frame components are identified with numeral 20. The overall rotational mechanism is identified with numeral 30. The flipper/propulsion device is identified with numeral 40.

[0021] It must be appreciated that the drawings represent one embodiment of the apparatus. The overall apparatus [10] may consist of a frame [20], rotational mechanism [30] and flipper [40] as described below. Alternatively, any one or more of those components may be configured differently to accomplish the purpose.

[0022] The handle beam [100] is the uppermost beam in the apparatus which contains the upper end of the cable which connects to the handle that protrudes from the handle beam. The elbow support [110] allows for the handle beam [100] to connect to the vertical support beam [140]. Also includes the possible addition of a rotating wheel allowing for the cable to transition more smoothly from a horizontal path to a vertical one. The diagonal support beams [120] consist of two diagonal beams which attach to the vertical support beam [140] and the rear support beam [130], and provide structural support to the side frames. With both the diagonal and vertical beams maintaining the height of the apparatus, both may be adjustable allowing the user to adjust both the height and pitch of the handle beam. Integrated throughout the support beams are areas in which lighting systems (not shown) may be integrated for various other versions of play. The structures of the side frame [120], [130], and [140] may be configured as tubular to allow sliding adjustment of the top portion of the frame to slide into the bottom portion to allow for height adjustment.

[0023] The rear support beam [130] runs from the elbow support [110] to the rear surface contact [150], and serves to hold the rear surface contact [150] in place. The vertical support beam [140] houses the cable from the elbow support [110] down to the rotational mechanism housing [300] and supports the front of the apparatus. The rear surface contact [150] maintains contact with the playing surface while facilitating the possible addition of wheels, ice blades, or other shapes and devices.

[0024] The crossbeam contact eyelet [200] allows for the main horizontal crossbeam [210] to attach to the side frames. The eyelets are located just under the elbow supports [110]. The main horizontal crossbeam [210] holds the two side frames together, allowing the apparatus to consist of two parallel side frames. The diagonal crossbeam supports [220] attach to the main horizontal crossbeam [210] and increase the structural integrity of the crossbeam. While the various components of the crossbeam along with the main crossbeam hold a static position, the possibility for an adjustment in the length of the crossbeam to change the overall width of the apparatus is still available. The horizontal cross members, such as [210] may be configured as tubular to allow a left side of the frame [20] to slide closer or further away from a right-side frame [20], to adjust for width.

[0025] It should be appreciated that the frame portion [20] of the apparatus may have elements and structure to allow it to expand in height or width. Alternatively, the frame may take the solid form of an animal or other recognizable figure or object. Objects such as airplanes, vehicles, or other recognizable items may be used to create the basic frame of the apparatus.

[0026] The rotational mechanism housing [300] holds the rotational cam [350], the rotational axis [370] and the flipper blade holder [360]. This housing allows these parts to be connected to the rest of the apparatus, while remaining free to rotate. The flipper mechanism vertical supports [310] allow for the rotational mechanism housing [350] to be held suspended over the front surface contact [320], allowing enough room for the flipper blade [400] to fit between the two. The front surface contact [320] holds the flipper mechanism up off of the ground. The main frame contact rods [330] allow for the rotational mechanism housing to be secured to the side frames.

[0027] The rear surface contacts [150] and front surface contacts [320] are configured for the playing surface and comprise the surface contact elements. For play on an ice rink, they may be configured as blades or another shape with a hard surface for stability and low friction on the ice surface. For play in a gymnasium, recreation center, or roller rink, they may be casters or wheels to facilitate movement on a higher friction surface. The surface contact elements would be configured for the playing surface, and may include but not be limited to low-friction hard spheres, casters, runners, or rollers. The surface contact elements may be interchanged as appropriate for the playing surface, or when worn.

[0028] The rotational cam [350] has a cable (not shown) wrapped around it and allows the lateral motion of the cable to be translated to rotational motion around the rotational axis [370]. The flipper blade holder [360] allows the flipper blades [400] to be secured to the rotational axis [370]. The rotational axis [370] runs through the middle of the rotational cam [350], which rotates the axis, translating the energy to the flipper blade holder [360]. The rotational axis is held in the rotational mechanism housing [300], while remaining free to rotate.

[0029] A lever (not pictured) is attached to the handle beam [100] in a way that part of the lever is inside the handle beam and attached to the cable. This allows the lever to be used to pull the cable (not pictured). The cable runs from the lever through the handle beam [100], elbow support [110], and vertical support beam [140], and attaches to the rotational cam [350]. The cable transfers the force from the lever to the rotational cam [350]. The tension spring (not pictured) is a part of the flipper mechanism that allows the cam to maintain tension on the cable, and stay in the default position. It must be appreciated that the rotational mechanism [30] may be configured in a different manner to create the coupling from a hand control to the rotational action of the flipper.

[0030] The flipper blade [400] is attached to the flipper blade holder [360], which causes the blade to rotate and transfer energy to the object in play (puck, ball, etc.) It must be appreciated that the flipper mechanism [40] may be a removable cartridge that may be configured for the game or player preference. The blade may also be constructed of different materials in accordance with the playing surface, to maintain reliable contact with the playing surface. The flipper mechanism may be a hockey stick blade, straight or curved; a pinball type elastic flipper that propels the playing object with more action; it may mimic an anatomical part of an animal or other object part; or be so comprised to strike the playing object with the mechanism used to translate the hand control to the flipper. The propulsion device may be interchanged during game play when worn or broken. The propulsion device may be selected and changed depending on the object in play or the game being played.