US20020024180A1

US20020024180A1 - Tower game

Info

Publication number: US20020024180A1
Application number: US09/922,102
Authority: US
Inventors: Sherrill Dalton
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1998-05-26
Filing date: 2001-08-06
Publication date: 2002-02-28

Abstract

The instant invention is played using a plurality of rods and thin slices of fairly firm materials. The object is to build a tower as high as possible without having the tower fall over.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a game which is of particular value in building eye-hand co-ordination skills in handicapped persons. The pieces for playing the game consist of foam slices and clothespins or other rod-shaped.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Several games are known for use by handicapped individuals. Some of the games must be played by two or more players. Some require expensive or complex devices. It is important that handicapped persons be able to either interact with others or practice skills on their own.

The use of toys comprising collections of components for building structures is well known. Often prior art collections containing bars and/or boards have been equipped with notches that cause the components to fit together to cause the assembled components to hold together to form more sturdy structures than would be constructed if such notches were not provided. Examples of such toys include the log cabin kits available in toy stores.

Some collections of building components have blocks or bars with holes into which dowels can be inserted to hold structures together. Some collections of parts for building provide dowels that form the primary structures, such dowels being joined by variously shaped connectors (often cylindrical in shape) with many holes into which to fit the dowel sticks. Additionally, some toys composed of parts for making constructs have sites to provide interlocking of parts.

Definitions

For purposes of this disclosure, the term “rod” can refer to a cylindrical object such as a clothes pin or dowel stick, or to any elongated, firm object such as a elongated bar which may be rectangular, trapezoidal or square in cross-section.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIGS. [0007] 1(a), (b), (c), (d), (e), (f) and (g) show shapes of slices and rods for use in the game.
FIG. 2([0008] a) shows rods which are cylindrical and have a grove while
FIG. 2([0009] b) shows a rod which is a clothes pin.
FIG. 3 shows the arrangement of rods on alternate slices wherein rods on alternate slices lie at a 90° angle to one another as viewed from above. [0010]
FIG. 4([0011] a) shows a tower of the invention made of rods and slices.
FIG. 4([0012] b) shows the kit for use in playing the tower game.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The instant invention requires several slices of material which may (and would, preferably) have some flexibility and several rods. Preferred shape for children [0013] 4 and under and for disabled persons with modest coordination are cylindrical rods which, optimally, have a longitudinal cut in the rod. An object of such a preferred cylindrical rod is a clothespins. It is the purpose of the game to build as high a tower as possible with the pieces provided. For very young children and severely handicapped persons, the rods, in cross-section may be square or rectangular.
Preferred material for making the slices is thin, fairly firm foam such as that used in crafts. A preferred depth of the foam is about 0.03 to 0.20 inches, with depth of about 0.04 to 0.10 being a preferred depth. While the pieces may be of any shape or size, a rectangle of about 3 to 8 inches is most manageable. [0014]
The game is played on a flat surface such as a floor or table. A slice is placed on the flat surface. Three to five of the rods are then placed parallel to each other at intervals on top of the slice. To make the next layer, another slice is added, then other rods are placed parallel to each other on that slice in such a manner that the rods on the second slice are placed at about a 90° angle from the rods on the first slice. (i.e., If the rods could be viewed from above through transparent slices without consideration of the difference in depth from they viewer, they would appear to be perpendicular to each other). If the rods are cylindrical, clothes pins or other cylinders having a grove which is parallel with the length of the cylinder can be placed with the cut of the grove against the surface of the slice to provide greater stability to the tower. [0015]
The layers continue to be stacked until the tower falls down or the player runs out of materials (usually the rods). When a tower falls, the players may appropriately say, “Timber”! The highest tower wins. [0016]
If the players are given a designated number of rods and are told to build as high a tower as they can, the players may try to make the tower higher by using fewer rods at each level in order to have enough rods to build the taller tower. [0017]
Referring to the figures, FIG. 1([0018] a) shows a circular slice (1), FIG. 1(b) shows a rectangular slice (2), FIG. 1(c) shows a square slice (3). FIG. 1(d) shows a rod (4) which is round in cross section (5), FIG. 1(e) shows a rod (6) that is rectangular in cross section (7), FIG. 1(f) shows a rod (8) that is square in cross section (9), and FIG. 1(g) shows a rod (10) that is oval in cross-section (11). FIG. 2(a) shows at (15) a rod with a grove (16). FIG. 2(b) shows a rod (16) with a groove (17) having a head (18), said rod being a clothes pin.
FIG. 3 shows slices ([0019] 20) with rods (21) wherein the rods on alternate (transparent) slices appear, if viewed from above, to be perpendicular to one another (lie at about a 90° angle (22) from each other).
FIG. 4([0020] a) shows a tower (25) composed of rods (30) and slices (31). FIG. 4(b) shows a kit (32) with rods (33), slices (34) and instructions (35) for playing the tower game.
The pieces may be made available in a kit containing rods, slices and instructions for playing the game. Many of the players particularly enjoyed having colored rods and pieces. [0021]

Claims

What we claim is:

1. A kit for playing a game comprising slices of material and rods with instructions for building a tower with alternate slices and rods.

2. A kit of claim 1 wherein the rods are cylindrical.

3. A kit of claim 2 wherein the rods have a grove running part of the way down the cylinder parallel with the length of the cylinder.

4. A kit of claim 3 wherein the rod is a clothespin.

5. A kit of claim 1 wherein the rods are rectangular in cross-section.

6. A kit of claim 1 wherein the rods are square in cross-section.

7. A kit of claim 1 wherein the rods are oval in cross-section.

8. A method of playing a game comprising the steps of:

(a) placing a slice of material on a table,

(b) placing rods at intervals in such a manner that said rods lie about parallel with one another,

(c) placing a second slice on top of said rods laid down in step (b), then placing rods at intervals on said second slice in such a manner that they are about parallel with each other and, when viewed from above, form about a 90° angle from the rods lying on the slice below, then

(d) repeating step c repeatedly to build a tower.