Game apparatus including scoring and totalizing means responsive to the state of a game being played and visibly observable score display means coupled thereto

Claim 1

GAME APPARATUS INCLUDING MEANS RESPONSIVE TO THE STATE OF A GAME BEING PLAYED FOR VISIBLY OBSERVABLY INDICATING THE SCORING OF A GAME AS IT IS PLAYED AND THE OUTCOME OF THE GAME AT THE TERMINATION THEREOF, COMPRISING: GAME BOARD MEANS HAVING A PLAYING SURFACE SURROUNDED BY EDGE WALL MEANS; FREELY MOVABLE PLAYING PIECES COOPERABLE TO REST UPON TO FORCED ACTUATION THEREOF; SAID THEREALONG IN RESPONSE TO FORCED ACTUATION THEREOF; SAID PLAYING SURFACE BEING SPACEDLY PROVIDED WITH FIRST AND SECOND GOAL SCORING MEANS, SAID FIRST AND SECOND SCORING MEANS ALSO INCLUDING CORRESPONDING FIRST AND SECOND SCORE SENSING MEANS POSITIONED IN A PREDETERMINED RELATIONSHIP WITH RESPECT TO THE CORRESPONDING FIRST AND SECOND GOAL SCORING MEANS WHEREBY TO SENSE THE RECEPTION THEREBY OF ONE OF SAID FREELY MOVABLE PLAYING PIECES IN A GOAL-SCORING MANNER, EACH OF SAID SCORE SENSING MEANS COMPRISING EFFECTIVE SWITCH MEANS POSITIONED FOR OPERATION IN RESPONSE TO THE RECEPTION, BY THE CORRESPONDING GOAL SCORING MEANS, OF THE FREELY MOVABLE PLAYING PIECE IN A GOAL-SCORING MANNER; FIRST AND SECOND SCORE INFORMATION STORING AND TOTALIZING MEANS EFFECTIVELY CONNECTED, RESPECTIVELY, RELATIVE TO SAID FIRST AND SECOND SENSING MEANS AND RESPONSIVE TO OPERATION THEREOF BY SAID PLAYING PIECE FOR STORING AND TOTALIZING INFORMATION CORRESPONDING TO THE NUMBER OF GOALS WHICH HAS BEEN SCORED BY RECEPTION OF SAID PLAYING PIECE BY THE CORRESPONDING GOAL SCORING MEANS; SCORE DISPLAY MEANS EFFECTIVELY COUPLED WITH RESPECT TO SAID FIRST AND SECOND SCORE INFORMATION STORING AND TOTALIZING MEANS AND RESPONSIVE THERETO FOR CORRESPONDINGLY VISIBLY DISPLAYING EACH PLAYER''S SCORE AS THE GAME PROGRESSES; EACH OF SAID FIRST AND SECOND SCORE INFOMATION STORING AND TOTALIZING MEANS COMPRISING MULTI-POSITION SCORE-TOTALIZING STEPPER MEANS PROVIDED WITH ELECTRICALLY ENERGIZABLE ADVANCEMENT ACTUATING MEANS, A MULTI-POSITIONABLE SCORE-TOTALIZING MEMBER EFFECTIVELY COUPLED IN DRIVEN RELATIONSHIP WITH RESPECT TO SAID ACTUATING MEANS, MULTI-CONTACT SWITCH MEANS EFFECTIVELY AND INDIVIDUALLY CLOSABLE IN SEQUENCE BY SAID MULTI-POSITIONABLE SCORETOTALIZING MEMBER, AND CORRESPONDING CIRCUIT MEANS CONNECTED BETWEEN CORRESPONDING PORTIONS OF SAID MULTICONTACT SWITCH MEANS AND CORRESPONDING PORTIONS OF SAID SCORE DISPLAY MEANS FOR ELECTRICALLY ENERGIZABLE SAID CORE DISPLAY MEANS IN CORRESPONDENCE TO THE POSITION OF SAID MULTI-POSITIONABLE SCORE-TOTALIZING MEMBER WHEREBY TO VISIBLY INDICATE THE SCORE OF EACH PLAYER OF THE GAME AS THE GAME PROGRESSES, EACH OF SAID MULTI-POSITION SCORE-TOTALIZING STEPPER MEANS ALSO INCLUDING ELECTRICALLY ENERGIZABLE RESET MEANS FOR RETURNING THE CORRESPONDING MULTI-POSITIONABLE SCORE-TOTALIZING MEMBER TO AN INITIAL PREDETERMINED POSITION CORRESPONDING TO A GAME-PLAY-STARTING POSITION; AND INCLUDING TIMER MEANS FOR EFFECTIVELY TERMINATING AN AUTHORIZED GAME PLAY PERIOD OF PREDETERMINED LENGTH IRRESPECTIVE OF THE SCORES OF THE PLAYERS OF THE GAME AT THAT TIME BY EFFECTIVELY INACTIVATING SAID FIRST AND SECOND SCORE SENSING MEANS FOR SUBSEQUENT SCORE STORING AND TOTALIZING INPUT OPERATION WITH RESPECT TO SAID FIRST AND SECOND SCORE INFORMATION STORING AND TOTALIZING MEANS AND FOR EFFECTIVELY CAUSING SAID SCORE DISPLAY MEANS TO VISIBLY INDICATE THE SCORE AT THE TERMINATION OF A GAME, SAID TIMER MEANS COMPRISING MULTI-POSITION TIME-TOTALIZING STEPPER MEANS PROVIDED WITH ELECTRICALLY ENERGIZABLE ADVANCEMENT ACTUATING MEANS, MEANS FOR INTERMITTENTLY ELECTRICALLY ENERGIZING SAID ADVANCEMENT ACTUATING MEANS AT A PREDETERMINED TIME RATED OF REPETITIONS, A MULTI-POSITIONABLE TIME-TOTALIZING MEMBER EFFECTIVELY COUPLED IN DRIVEN RELATIONSHIP WITH RESPECT TO SAID ACTUATING MEANS, AND SWITCH MEANS EFFECTIVELY IN CIRCUIT WITH SAID ADVANCEMENT ACTUATING MEANS AND EFFECTIVELY OPENABLE BY SAID MULTI-POSITIONABLE MEMBER AFTER A PREDETERMINED PERIOD OF GAME PLAY TIME HAS ELAPSED WHEREBY TO INACTIVE THE GAME, SAID MULTI-POSITION TIME-TOTALIZING STEPPER MEANS ALSO INCLUDING ELECTRICALLY ENERGIZABLE RESET MEANS FOR RETURNING THE MULTI-POSITIONABLE TIME-TOTALIZING MEMBER TO AN INITIAL PREDETERMINED POSITION CORRESPONDING TO A GAMEPLAY-STARTING POSITION; AND INCLUDING COIN-OPERABLE EFFECTIVE GAME-PLAY-INITIATION SWITCH MEANS EFFECTIVELY COUPLED WITH RESPECT TO ALL OF SAID RESET MEANS FOR MOMENTARILY ENERGIZING SAME AND RETURNING SAID MULTI-POSITIONABLE SCORE-TOTALING MEMBERS OF EACH OF SAID SCORE-TOTALIZING STEPPER MEANS AND SAID MULTI-POSITIONABLE TIME-TOTALIZING MEMBER OF SAID TIME-TOTALIZING STEPPER MEANS TO SAID INITIAL PREDETERMINED POSITIONS CORRESPONDING TO THE STARTING OF GAME PLAY, SAID SWITCH MEANS ALSO EFFECTIVELY ACTIVATING SAID FIRST AND SECOND SCORE SENSING MEANS FOR SUBSEQUENT OPERATION IN RESPONSE TO THE RECEPTION BY THE CORRESPONDING GOAL SCORING MEANS OF THE PLAYING PIECE MEANS FOR CAUSING THE SCORE DISPLAY MEANS TO VISIBLY INDICATE ALL SUCH SCORING PLAYS.