"CHESS APPARATUS"

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

THIS invention relates to a chess apparatus, i.e. an apparatus used to play the game of chess.

Chess is of course a very popular game, played both indoors and outdoors. In the normal indoor application, the chess pieces and board are relatively small and are easily portable. However outdoor chess is often played using a large board, possibly several metres by several metres in extent, and oversize chess pieces. In this case the board and pieces are not normally portable, so persons wishing to play must themselves travel to a site where the board and pieces are already provided.

To address the problem of portability, the prior art includes several examples of chess apparatuses which include collapsible chess pieces. One such example is US 5,895,046 which describes a chess piece composed of flat components including a base section, an upstanding body section and a head section. In use the base section is arranged horizontally. The body section has a tab at its lower edge which locates in a slot in the horizontal base section and the top section, which determines the character or rank of the chess piece, is fitted to the body section. While the chess piece can be dismantled and stowed compactly, it is perceived that the interconnection of the three sections is relatively insecure and that the chess piece lacks the robustness required for repetitive outdoor play.

US 7,178,804 also describes a collapsible chess piece. In this case, the. chess piece has a flat, horizontal base and a series of panel members which can be attached relative to one another and to the base in order to form a three-dimensional, upstanding body. In the claimed example, the panel members include wire frames covered by flexible material. It is perceived that the chess pieces described in this document lack robustness and that the manner in which the components are connected is complicated and laborious.

It is an object of the invention to provide a chess apparatus comprising robust, collapsible chess pieces which can be assembled rapidly and simply.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the invention there is provided a chess apparatus comprising a set of collapsible chess pieces, each chess piece including first and second components both of which are of flat proportions and have operatively upper edges and straight lower edges, characterised in that the first component has an operatively vertical slot therein extending to its lower edge and the second component has an operatively vertical slot therein extending to its upper edge, the components being engagable releasably with one another by aligning the slots and moving the components together in a slotwise direction, thereby to form a chess piece at least a lower part of which is of cruciform cross-section with the straight lower edges of the lower ends of the components coplanar and forming a cruciform base on which the chess piece can stand.

Other advantageous features of the chess apparatus of the invention are set forth in the appended claims and are exemplified below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will now be described in more detail, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figures 1 (a) to 1(f) show perspective views of chess pieces of a chess apparatus according to the invention;

Figure 2 shows a face view of a first component of the chess piece seen in Figure 1(a);

Figure 3 shows a face view of a second component of the chess piece seen in Figure 1 (a);

Figure 4 shows a perspective view of a chess board forming part of a chess apparatus according to the invention;

Figure 5 shows a perspective view of a chess apparatus according to the invention, the apparatus including the chess pieces and chess board illustrated in the earlier Figures;

Figure 6 shows a perspective view of a chess apparatus according to another embodiment of the invention;

Figure 7 shows, in an exploded perspective view, a lower part of a chess piece and a separate base;

Figure 8 shows the chess piece and separate base in an assembled condition; and

Figure 9 diagrammatically illustrates a chess piece which is exemplary of another embodiment of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Figure 1(a) illustrates a chess piece 10, in this case a king, forming part of the chess set of a chess apparatus according to the invention. Figures 1(b) to 1 (f) illustrate the other chess pieces 12, 14, 16, 18 and 20 of the chess set, namely a queen, a bishop, a knight, a rook and a pawn respectively.

The chess piece 10 has two components, both of moulded plastics construction and both of flat proportions, i.e. the thickness of the component is very substantially less than the operative height and width of the component.

The first component 24 of the chess piece 10, seen in Figure 2, is of elongate shape with an upper part 26 shaped to be representative of a king, and a lower part 28. The lower part 28 has a straight lower edge 32. A central, vertical slot 30 extends to the lower edge 32 as illustrated.

The second component 36 of the chess piece 10, seen in Figure 3, has a shape similar to that of the lower part 28 of the first component 24. It is formed with a central slot 38 extending vertically from its operatively upper edge 40, as illustrated. In this embodiment, the second component has a shape which is, apart from the slots 30 and 38, identical to that of the lower part 28 of the first component 24.

The slots 30 and 38 have similar dimensions and are designed to mate with one another, as indicated by the numeral 41 in Figure 1 , when the components 24 and 36 are arranged at right angles to one another, with the slots in alignment, and are moved towards one another in a slotwise direction, i.e. in a direction parallel to the slots. As shown in Figures 2 and

3, the side walls of the slots 30 and 38 are formed with laterally facing protrusions 31 , 39, and the ends of slots are formed with re-entrant formations 33 and 35 that extend downwardly and upwardly respectively. When the components 24, 36 are moved together and the slots 30 and 38 are partially mated, the formation 33 encounters the protrusions 39 and the formation 35 simultaneously encounters the protrusions 31. If the components are pushed together with slight force, the formations move past the respective protrusions, with some resilient deformation of the components, until the formations 33, 35 come into contact with one another. This creates a firm but releasable engagement between the components.

Once the components are engaged with one another in this way the lower part of the assembled chess piece has a cruciform shape in cross section and the lower edges of the components are lie in a common plane and form a stable base on which the chess piece 10 can stand at an upright orientation.

It will be understood that the chess pieces seen in Figures 1 (b) to 1 (f) are assembled in the same way as the chess piece 10. It will furthermore be understood that the second component of each chess piece will, apart from the slots, be identical to the lower region of the associated first component of that piece.

A chess set of the apparatus of the invention has the necessary components to form the required number of each of the various ranks of chess pieces, i.e. two kings, two queens, four bishops, four knights, four rooks and sixteen pawns. In this embodiment the second components of the higher ranking chess pieces, i.e. the kings, queens, bishops, knights and rooks, are all identical to one another and, as said above, identical aside from the slots therein to the lower parts of the respective first components. Similarly the second components of the pawns are all identical to one another and, aside from the slots, to the lower parts of the first components of the pawns. As the pawns of a chess set are generally

smaller in overall size than the higher ranking pieces, the second components of the pawns are smaller than the second components of the higher ranking pieces. It will accordingly be understood that the chess set includes two different sizes of second components, i.e. sixteen identical, larger second components which are to be used in the assembly of the higher ranking chess pieces and sixteen identical, smaller second components which are to be used in the assembly of the pawns.

When the chess pieces are no longer required, the components 24 and 36 can be separated by application of a slight separating force to disengage the interengaging slots from one another.

Because all the components of the chess pieces are of flat proportions they can be arranged compactly in stacks for convenient portability. Although it is stated that the components are of flat proportions it should be understood that this does not imply that the components are necessarily perfectly flat. For instance, referring to the cross-sectional details in Figures 2 and 3, it will be seen that in this embodiment, each component has a flat central region 44 bounded by a narrow flange 46 which provides the plastics moulding with some resistance to bending and twisting.

In addition to the chess set, the chess apparatus of the invention also includes a chess board 48 seen in Figure 4. The board 48 in this embodiment is provided by a square expanse of a tough, flexible material such as PVC (polyvinyl chloride) imprinted with a traditional chequered pattern. Each individual square of the board is dimensioned to accommodate the base of the largest of the chess pieces, i.e. the higher ranking pieces. Being of flexible material, the board 48 can be folded up compactly. When laid out on the ground or other penetrable surface, the board can be pegged down through eyelets 50 at the corners of the board.

In other embodiments, not illustrated, the chess board may be composed of rigid panels which are hinged together in a manner allowing the panels to be folded into a compact, overlying relationship with one another.

The chess apparatus also includes a case 54 seen in Figure 5 which contains a foam body 52 formed with separate recesses or pockets 55 to accommodate separate stacks of chess components as described above. In each pocket the stack of components is held together by means of elasticised loops 56. The folded chess board 48 can also be accommodated in the case 54 on top of the body 53. In this embodiment, the case 54 is made of tough, flexible material and has a lid or top 57 which can be closed by means of a slide fastener 59.

Figure 6 shows an exterior view of another embodiment in which the components of the chess pieces are accommodated in a container in the form of a flexible bag 58 formed by the board 48 itself. The flexible material of the board may for instance carry suitable fasteners, for example press- studs, Velcro-type hook and loop fasteners or the like, to hold it together when suitably folded to form the bag 58.

The chess pieces will typically be of a size typically associated with outdoor chess sets as provided at, for instance, parks and other outdoor recreational centres. The chess piece 10 may for example have a height of over 300mm when assembled. Despite the relatively large size of the chess pieces, it will however be understood that their collapsible nature makes it possible for the chess apparatus to transported compactly.

The preferred plastics material for the components of the chess pieces is ABS ₁ so the components are tough and hard-wearing.

The chess pieces illustrated in the drawings have traditional appearances, but it is within the scope of the invention for the pieces to have somewhat more fanciful appearances representing the conventional pieces. For example, the chess piece representing the king could be an effigy of a tribal chief or an historical regal figure, and so on.

In the illustrated examples the components of each chess piece, for example the components 24 and 36 of the chess piece 10, have substantially different vertical dimensions. In other embodiments of the invention the two components could have the same vertical height with one component having a slot extending vertically downwardly from an upper edge or extremity, typically to a halfway point and the other having an cooperating slot extending vertically upwardly from its lower edge, typically to a halfway point. The components could be identical to one another aside from their different slot configurations. In this type of embodiment it will be understood that each chess piece will have a cruciform shape in cross- section extending for its full height and that the upper parts of both components will be partly representative of the specific chess piece in question. It will also be understood that each of the two kings, two queens, four bishops, four knights, four rooks and sixteen pawns will be assembled from two components which are identical to one another aside from their slots.

Figure 9 shows an assembled chess piece, in this case a pawn, which is exemplary of the type of embodiment described in the previous paragraph.

Although the cruciform bases will provide the chess pieces with considerable stability, it is perceived that it may be necessary in certain cases, for example in windy outdoor conditions, to provide extra stability. Figures 7 and 8 show a separate base 60 which can be provided for each chess piece. The separate base 60 is of moulded plastics construction and has generally a shallow cup-shape with a circular bounding wall 64. The base includes an upstanding interior formation 66 of cruciform shape on which the cruciform base of the chess piece can stand as shown in Figure 8. The chess piece is engaged with the separate base by clipping the tips 68 of the lower edges 32 of the chess piece components into rectangular openings 70 formed in the bounding wall 64 as shown. It will be understood that the plastics material of which the base 60 is moulded will have sufficient inherent resilience to allow this clipping action to take place, and

to allow the tips 68 to be undipped from the openings 70 when disassembly of the apparatus is to take place.

Assuming that the chess pieces have two different cruciform base dimensions for the prawns and for the higher ranking pieces respectively, the apparatus of the invention may include sixteen larger diameter bases 60 and sixteen smaller diameter bases.

In use, the separate bases 60 can be filled with sand, water or any other suitable material to add stabilising weight to the chess pieces and counter any tendency they may have to topple over in windy conditions.

In each case, the bases are designed to be nestable for compact storage and transportation, and it will be understood that where such bases are included in the apparatus, the case 54 of Figure 5 may include one or more pockets to hold nested stacks of bases.

As an alternative to weighting the chess pieces to stabilise them, it would also be possible for the board and pieces to carry mating components of hook and loop type fasteners which can be mated and separated as required.