Illuminated Playing Board

Abstract

An illuminated decorative playing board such as used for chess or checkers having a square frame and a top fastened thereto comprising a sheet of transparent material extending across the top and supporting a set of alternately differently colored squares of transparent material arrangement in checkerboard manner to form a playing area for said board. A bottom panel is connected to the frame and supports a plurality of tube-type lights along the inner surfaces of the sides of the frame to illuminate the top from beneath. The top is hinged to the frame for access to the interior and slots are also provided along the sides of the frame to permit rays from the lights to shine therethrough and illuminate areas adjacent said sides. The slots are covered with sheets of a colored transparent material. The playing board also may be suspended upon a wall for illuminated decorative effects if desired.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

For many years, it has been conventional to play chess and checkers upon boards of various kinds having a set of alternately differently colored squares, either printed, or of a inlaid nature, some of which are of a very elaborate and expensive nature. Boards of this type are used by employing external illumination provided either by daylight or an artifical source. As far as is known, there is only one suggestion in the prior art of an internally illuminated chess or checkerboard and this comprises French Pat. No. 1316699, to Baroun-Sekret, delivered Dec. 26, 1962.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide many desirable refinements not present in the aforementioned French patent and thus provide an interally illuminated playing board possessing desirable aesthetic propertys not heretofore employed in playing boards of this class.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is the principle of the present invention to provide an internally illuminated and decorative playing board such as used in playing games of chess, checkers and the like, comprising a frame of side members, a bottom panel fastened to one edge of said frame, and the top comprising side members connected at the ends to form a top frame and having a sheet of substantially transparent material extending across and supported by said top frame below the upper surface thereof to provide a shallow seat for a set of alternately differently colored squares of transparent material comprising the actual playing surface of the board, and a plurality of tube-type lights being supported within said frame below the transparent sheet of material to illuminate said playing surface when the lights are connected to a source of current.

It is another object of the invention to arrange said tube lights parallel to the inner edges of said top frame and thereby provide substantially even illumination for all surfaces of said playing surface.

It is a further object of the invention to provide the sides of said frame with slots extending longitudinally therealong and positioned to receive illumination from said tube lights within said frame when the same are lit, the inner surfaces of said frame preferably having sheets of colored transparent material extending across said slots to increase the aesthetic effects of the playing board and particularly illuminate the areas immediately adjacent the sides of said frame.

It is still another object of the invention to provide the inner edges of said top frame with grooves within which said sheet of transparent supporting material is received for support by said top frame, said grooves being spaced below the upper surfaces of the top frame, whereby a shallow seat is provided to receive said set of differently colored squares of transparent material, the upper surfaces of which are substantially flush with the upper surfaces of said top frame.

A still further object of the invention is to connect said set of differently colored squares by channels of material extending along all edges of said squares and operative to secure all of the same together as a unit which extends between the inner edges of said top frame, said unit being secured against removal from said shallow seat provided in said top frame for said unit.

Other objects of the invention are to provide means arranged in or on the bottom panel of said board operable to engage supporting means upon a wall or the like to support said board in a substantially vertical position for decorative illumination of a room area, and said top frame also preferably being hingedly connected along one side to one side of said frame to permit ready access to the lights on the interior of the playing board.

Details of the foregoing objects and of the invention, as well as other objects thereof, are set forth in the following specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawing comprising apart thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of an illuminated playing board made in accordance with the principles of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the playing board shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a horizontal sectional view of the playing board shown in FIGs. 1 and 2 as seen on the line 3--3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary vertical sectional elevation showing details of the board as seen on the line 4--4 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is another fragmentary vertical elevation showing details of the board as seen on the line 5--5 of FIG. 1.

FIGS. 6 and 7 respectively are fragmentary views of a portion of the outer surface of the bottom panel of the board shown in the preceding figures and illustrating respectively two different embodiments of means by which said board may be supported from a wall or the like.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, it will be seen that the playing board 10 comprises a plurality of sides 12 which, as seen from FIG. 3, preferably are of equal length and are connected together at the ends. The board therefore preferably is substantially square. A bottom panel 14 is secured to the lower edges of the sides 12 and a top 16, which is of a composite nature, details of which are described below, is affixed to the upper edges of the sides 12 as viewed in FIG. 2. The top preferably comprises a top frame 18 composed of a plurality of side strips which are connected together suitably at the ends thereof to form a square frame and one side of said frame preferably is connected by hinges 20 to the upper edge of one side 12 of the board 10. All of the elements of the board thus far described may be made from any suitable material, such as wood, synthetic resin, or any other appropriate material which may be desired. Wood, however, is the preferred material but the invention is not to be restricted to the same.

The side members of the top frame 18 preferably are provided with longitudinally extending grooves 22, best shown in FIG. 4. Said grooves receive the edges of a sheet of transparent or translucent material 24, such as a sheet of glass or synthetic resin. In view of the fact that the grooves 22 are formed a short distance below the upper surface of the side members of the top frame 18, the inner edges of said side members and the sheet of material 24 comprise a shallow seat which receives a composite unit 26 of a transparent or translucent nature which actually comprises the playing area of the board 10. Said unit is composed of a series of alternately differently colored squares 28 and 30 of transparent or translucent material, such as glass, synthetic resin, or otherwise which are of equal size. The alternate arrangement thereof corresponds to a playing area for games of chess or checkers and the like. The colors are selected so as to readily transmit artificial illumination, described below, which is arranged on the interior of the frame formed by the sides 12. In the preferred construction, the squares of material 28 and 30 are connected into said unit 26 by elongated, cris-cross channels 32 of the type, for example, formed from soft metal, such as lead, material of this type commonly being used in the formation of socalled leaded windows. Other forms of channels may be used if desired, however. The thickness of the composite unit 26 preferably is substantially equal to that of the shallow seat formed in the top frame 18 which receives said unit. Also, at various locations around the inner edge of the top frame 18, securing means such as small brads 34 may be inserted at an angle into the frame members, as shown in the exemplary manner in FIG. 4.

Mounted on the interior of the frame formed by the sides 12, and preferably secured to the bottom panel 14, are a plurality of tube-type lights 36; said lights, for example, are of the type which have an elongated base 38 which is suitably secured against the upper surface of bottom panel 14. Each base supports ends of brackets 40 of conventional type and the actual tube-lights 42 are supported between the pairs of end brackets 40 on each base 38. All of the lights 36 are connected in parallel, by circuit wires 44 which are shown in exemplary manner in FIG. 3, and conduit 46 is in circuit therewith and includes a control switch 48 before terminating in a conventional electric plug 50 by which the circuit is connected to a source of current. It also will be seen that the tube-lights 42 preferably are parallel to the inner edges of the side members of top frame 18 and preferably are positioned no closer to the sides 12 of the frame than immediately below the inner edges of the side members of top frame 18, thus providing substantially even light for the entire playing area of the board.

Not only is the board illuminated for playing purposes but it also has aestetic illuminating properties for a general area in a room. To further enhance said aestetic properties, each of the sides 12 of the board are provided with slots 52, see FIGS. 2 and 4, which is substantially as long as the tube-lights 42. The slots 52 are of limited thickness, such as of the order of 1/4 inch or 5/16 inch for example. The thickness of the slot will depend upon the thickness of the sides 12. Where, for example, they are substantially of the order of about 3/4 inch, the dimensions referred to above are quite adequate to permit a limited amount of illumination to be transmitted through the sides 12 of the frame. Preferably also, strips 54 made of transparent or translucent material, such as glass, synthetic resin or the like, are mounted over the inner edges of the slots 52, as shown in exemplary manner in FIGS. 3 and 4. Appropriate brackets 56, such as shown in exemplary manner in FIGS. 3 and 4, engage either the sides and/or the ends of the strips 54 for purposes of securing the same in operative position for the transmission of light therethrough from the adjacent tube-lights 42, the enlignment of which therewith is shown in exemplary manner in FIG. 4.

In addition to the board 10 being positionable upon a supporting surface such as a table or the like, especially when playing a game thereof, the aestetic properties of the board may be used for more decorative purposes such as by being mounted upon a wall, for example, or other suitable supporting means, such as by being suspended from hanging cords or otherwise so as to dispose the board in a substantially vertical position. To assist in such positioning of the board vertically, attention is directed to FIGS. 6 and 7. In FIG. 6, for example, a blind keyhole slot 58 is shown as being formed in the outer surface of the bottom panel 14, preferably adjacent one upper corner thereof. It will be understood that a corresponding keyhole slot will be formed in the opposite corner, whereby a pair of headed members may be mounted upon a wall for example and disposed within the slots for purposes of supporting the board upon such wall. If desired, only a single keyhole slot may be formed in said surface of the bottom panel 14 intermediately between the side edges of the board.

Referring to FIG. 7, conventional hanging brackets 60, of conventional type, may be secured to the bottom panel 14, adjacent opposite upper corners thereof by means of screws 62, the brackets 60 in the upper ends thereof also being provided with holes 64 to receive a suitable hanging element such as a nail, hook or otherwise.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the present invention provides an interally illuminated game board upon which games such as chess or checkers may be played without the need for any exterior light, if desired. Further, additional illuminating means in the form of slots are provided in the sides of the frame of the playing board to provide additional illumination, whether the board is supported in normal horizontal manner or hanging vertically upon a supporting surface such as a wall. Access to the tube-lights on the interior of the playing board readily is obtained due to the fact that the top 16 is hingedly connected along one side edge to one side of the frame. A simple circuit connects all of the tube-type lights to a conventional source current. The alternately different colored squares of transparent or translucent material which form the playing surface are adequately supported from below by a unitary supporting sheet of transparent or translucent material mounted securely within the top frame of the board.

While the invention has been described and illustrated in its several preferred embodiments, it should be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the precise details herein illustrated and described since the same may be carried out in other ways falling within the scope of the invention as illustrated and described.

Claims

I claim:

1. An illuminated decorative playing board comprising a substantially square frame formed from side members of substantially even width and length and having slots therein below the upper edges thereof and parallel thereto, a bottom panel fastened to one edge of said frame, a top comprising side members connected at the ends thereof to form a top frame, a sheet of substantially transparent material extending across and supported by said top frame below the upper surface thereof, a set of alternately differently colored squares of transparent material arranged in checkerboard manner to form a playing area for said board extending along the outer surface of said sheet of transparent material and resting upon the same for support, the outer surface of said set of squares being substantially flush with the outer surface of said top frame and extending between the inner edges of said frame and the inner surfaces of said frame having strips of transparent material over said slots in said sides, a plurality of tube-type lights mounted within said frame below said sheet of transparent material no closer to the sides of said frame than opposite the inner edges of said top frame, a circuit connecting said lights in parallel with each other and connectable to a source of current, and circuit controlling means operable to render the lights illuminated when desired to illuminate said playing field from the inner surface thereof.

2. The playing board according to claim 1 in which said strips of transparent material are colored to render said board decorative when illuminated and provide illumination to areas surrounding the sides of said board.

3. The playing board according to claim 1 in which said slots in said sides of said frame are substantially opposite and parallel to said tube-like lights.