Personalized Game Board and Display Case
A customizable game board adaptable for display on a horizontal or vertical surface, such that the customizable components remain in their appropriate locations on the game board regardless of the orientation with respect to the direction force of gravity.
This application claims the benefit of provisional patent application number 61/510,073, filed 20 Jul. 2011 by the present inventor, Zachary S. Sullivan.
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENTNot Applicable
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONBoard games structured around the activity of buying, selling, renting and improving real estate have been around at least as early as the early 1900's. Elizabeth “Lizzie” Magie created “The Landlord's Game,” applying for, and receiving at U.S. Pat. No. 748,626, issued on 5 Jan 1904, and U.S. Pat. No. 1,509,312, issued on 23 Sep 1924. Charles Darrow adapted the concepts into a game called Monopoly®, the rights to which are currently owned by Hasbro, Inc., of Pawtucket, R.I. Those earlier game board were made of various materials, include being printed on cloth, so as to be rolled up for transport, or on cardboard, so as to be folded for storage and transport.
It would be an addition to the art to adapt similar board games to a display case configuration, constructed out of presentation-grade materials, so as to store the game in plain sight in a home. It would be of particular novelty and interest to construct the game board so as to make the board, typically used in a horizontal orientation, displayable in a vertical orientation. It would be a further addition to the art to configure a game board so as to be variable, and modifiable, so that the game may be adapted to reflect personalized locations and properties.
The invention will be explained in conjunction with an illustrative embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:
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In the exemplary embodiment, knobs 116 provide a handle with which to lift the center cover 114 from the board 100. Knobs 116 may be rotatable with corresponding rotatable latch protrusions (not shown) on the opposite side of the center cover 114 from the knobs 116, that both permits securing each knob 116 to the center cover 116, and also permits engagement with the board 100, to securely affix the center cover 116 to the board 100 as desired. Alternative latch systems, known to those of ordinary skill in the art of the field of small hardware securement devices, may be employed within the scope of this disclosure.
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This disclosure claims priority to U.S. provisional application No. 61/510,073, filed 20 Jul. 2011, and incorporates all the diagrams, photos and illustrations, along with text describing what is portrayed therein, of a particular exemplary embodiment of the current invention. The elements shown in the illustrations, both in this specification and the provisional application, may disclose more than the particular embodiment, in that one skilled in the art, given the disclosure contained in the photos, will be able to appreciate the elements contained, as well as those understood to be equivalents or variations that would not be novel over the particular elements shown. The provisional application is therefore incorporated by reference to provide a better understanding and appreciation of the entire scope of the currently development. All the portrayed variations, and those variations that may be seen as obvious in light of the novel elements presented herein, are considered by the inventor to be within the scope of the current invention.
The foregoing disclosure and description of the invention is illustrative and explanatory thereof. Various changes in the details of the illustrated construction may be made within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of the invention. The present invention should only be limited by the following claims and their legal equivalents.
Claims
1. A game board comprising:
- a rigid frame with a plurality of wells positioned in a pattern about the frame that supports the play of a game;
- a plurality of tiles suitably sized to be positionable within the wells; and
- a securement element to secure the tiles within the wells in resistance to gravity.
2. The game board of claim 1, where the securement element is intermediate a tile and a well floor.
3. The game board of claim 1, further comprising:
- a play surface fixedly positionable on the frame, over the wells.
4. The game board of claim 1 further comprising:
- wells formed as voids, each delineated by a floor surface on the frame, and bordered on one side by a perimeter wall, an opposite side by an interior wall, partitioned off from adjacent wells by dividers, having a first and second side generally perpendicular to the dividers where the first side is a section of the floor surface, and the second side is open; and
- a well floor defined by the floor surface section proximate to the well.
5. The game board of claim 4, wherein the securement element further comprising:
- a hook and loop fastener combination, where either the hook or the loop component is securely affixed to a tile and the complimentary component is affixed to the well floor.
6. The game board of claim 4, wherein the securement element further comprising:
- a magnet in the well floor; and
- a tile made of a magnetic attractive material.
7. The game board of claim 6, where the magnetic attractive material is a metal.
8. The game board of claim 4, wherein the securement element further comprising:
- a magnet in a tile; and
- at least a portion of the well floor made of a magnetic attractive material.
9. The game board of claim 8, where the magnetic attractive material is a metal.
10. The game board of claim 4, wherein the securement element further comprising:
- a protrusion and orifice affixment combination, where one of either the tile and the well floor comprises one of either a protrusion component and a complimentary orifice component, and the other of the tile and the well floor comprises the other of either the protrusion component and the complimentary orifice component.
11. The game board of claim 4, wherein the securement element further comprising:
- a deformable tile; and
- a pair of dividers precisely shaped to permit the forced insertion and resist the removal of the tile.
12. The game board of claim 4, wherein the securement element further comprising:
- a pair of deformable dividers precisely shaped to permit the forced insertion and resist the removal of a tile.
13. A game board comprising:
- a rigid frame with a plurality of wells positioned in a pattern about the frame that supports the play of a game;
- each well proximate a well floor and at least two dividers;
- a plurality of tiles suitably sized to be positionable within the wells;
- a play surface fixedly positionable on the frame, over the wells; and
- a securement element to secure the tiles within the wells sufficiently to overcome the force of gravity oriented to separate them.
14. The game board of claim 13, wherein the securement element further comprising:
- a hook and loop fastener combination, where either the hook or the loop component is securely affixed to a tile and the complimentary component is affixed to the well floor.
15. The game board of claim 13, wherein the securement element further comprising:
- a magnet in the well floor; and
- a tile comprising a magnetic attractive material.
16. The game board of claim 13, wherein the securement element further comprising:
- a tile comprising a magnet; and
- the well floor comprising a magnetic attractive material.
17. The game board of claim 13, wherein the securement element further comprising:
- a protrusion and orifice affixment combination, where one of either the tile and the well floor comprises one of either a protrusion component and a complimentary orifice component, and the other of the tile and the well floor comprises the other of either the protrusion component and the complimentary orifice component.
18. The game board of claim 13, wherein the securement element further comprising:
- a deformable tile; and
- a pair of dividers precisely shaped to permit the forced insertion and resist the removal of the tile.
19. The game board of claim 13, wherein the securement element further comprising:
- a pair of dividers precisely shaped and at least one divider being deformable, to permit the forced insertion and resist the removal of a tile.
20. A game board comprising:
- a rigid frame with wells positioned in a pattern about the frame that supports the play of a game;
- a plurality of tiles suitably sized to be positionable within the wells; and
- a means for the tiles to resist gravity in position within the wells.
Type: Application
Filed: Jul 20, 2012
Publication Date: Jan 24, 2013
Inventor: Zachary Scott Sullivan (Eureka, MT)
Application Number: 13/555,055
International Classification: A63F 3/00 (20060101);