Game apparatus and alphabet teaching device

Claim 2

A game device comprising a hollow body containing a plurality of movable objects each marked with distinctive indicia, a plurality of compartments arranged in an upper portion of said body, each said compartment having distinctive indicia, said indicia on each of said movable objects being identical to the indicia on each of said compartments, an object elevating means mounted in the body to sweep the objects from the bottom of the body into said compartments in a single upward stroke, and return means for selectively returning objects from the compartments back into the bottom of the body.

Claim 3

A game device as set forth in claim 1 wherein said movable objects are balls marked with a letter of the alphabet.

Claim 4

A game device as set forth in claim 1 wherein said object elevating means includes a flap member in the body with a rod along one side edge supported in the end walls of the body to rotate the flap member in a vertical plane.

Claim 5

A game device as set forth in claim 3 wherein said rod terminates in enlarged grip members suitable for manually rotating said flap member.

Claim 6

A game device as set forth in claim 1 wherein said return means includes an individual return member for each said compartment.

Claim 7

A game device as set forth in claim 5 wherein each said individual return member includes a pair of legs arranged about a common hub at about right angles to one another, a pivot member extending throuGh said hub for pivotal movement to move one leg through the associated compartment against a movable object in the compartment to remove the object from said compartment.

Claim 8

A game device as set forth in claim 6 wherein one of said legs extends through the rear wall of the compartment and is moved downwardly to remove the object.

Claim 9

An educational game device comprising: a hollow generally rectangular body including top, bottom, end and front and rear walls formed as an integral unit and containing a plurality of balls each marked with a letter of the alphabet, a plurality of ball-receiving compartments arranged side by side longitudinally of the body in an upper portion thereof along the rear wall with each compartment being open at the front and with each compartment being consecutively marked with a letter of the alphabet, a flap member in the body having a rod along an edge thereof with end portions of the rod extending through said end walls and terminating in knobs for swinging movement of the flap member to sweep the balls from the bottom of the body into the compartments in a single upward rotary stroke, and a return member for each compartment marked with a corresponding letter of the alphabet, each said return member including a pair of legs arranged at approximately right angles to one another on a common hub, the hub being pivotally mounted at the rear of the compartment and having one leg depending along the rear wall of the compartment and the other leg projecting through the rear wall of the compartment to be moved downwardly to move the depending leg against a ball in the compartment to selectively return the ball from the compartment to the bottom of said body.

Claim 10

An educational game device comprising: a hollow generally rectangular body including top, bottom, end and front and rear walls formed as an integral unit and containing a plurality of balls each marked with a letter of the alphabet, a plurality of ball-receiving compartments arranged side by side longitudinally of the body in an upper portion thereof along the rear wall with each compartment being open at the front and with each compartment being consecutively marked with a letter of the alphabet, a flap member in the body having a rod along an edge thereof with end portions of the rod extending through said end walls and terminating in knobs for swinging movement of the flap member to sweep the balls from the bottom of the body into the compartments in a single upward rotary stroke, and a return member for each compartment marked with a corresponding letter of the alphabet, each said return member including a pair of legs arranged at approximately right angles to one another on a common hub, the hub being pivotally mounted at the rear of the compartment and having one leg depending along the rear wall of the compartment and the other leg projecting through the rear wall of the compartment to be moved downwardly to move the depending leg against a ball in the compartment to selectively return the ball from the compartment to the bottom of said body.