Modular Puck Game With Interchangeable Bridges
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing hockey-type table games with sliding pucks lack the ability to adjust difficulty and accommodate a variable number of players, making them monotonous and inflexible.
Innovation Solution
A modular, polygonal-shaped platform with an elastic band and interchangeable connector bridges of varying sizes allows for adjustable difficulty and flexible configuration to accommodate multiple players, enabling easy assembly and disassembly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a fixed number of players and standard difficulty are used in hockey-type table games, then the game structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but the game becomes monotonous and lacks adaptability to different age ranges and player preferences
Solution Approach 1:
The game board is divided into multiple modular sections that can be independently configured. Each module contains standardized connection points and elastic band mechanisms, allowing players to assemble different board configurations and difficulty levels by combining identical basic units in various arrangements.
Solution Approach 2:
The game components are designed with universal interfaces and standardized features that serve multiple functions. The same modular pieces can be used across different difficulty levels and player configurations, while the elastic band mechanism can accommodate various puck types and launching forces, making the system adaptable without requiring specialized parts for each game mode.
2Adaptability or versatility
If interchangeable connector bridges of different sizes are introduced to adjust difficulty, then the game becomes more versatile and adaptable to different skill levels, but the device complexity and number of parts increases
Solution Approach 1:
The connector bridges are designed with nested or hierarchical structures where smaller bridges can be integrated into or combined with larger ones. This allows multiple bridge sizes to be manufactured from the same basic component patterns, reducing manufacturing complexity while maintaining the ability to provide different difficulty levels through selective combination of nested elements.
3Adaptability or versatility
If modular platforms with elastic bands are used to propel pucks, then the game allows for adjustable difficulty and player configuration, but the assembly and disassembly process becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The modular platforms are pre-assembled with elastic bands and connector bridges attached in standardized positions before reaching the user. Connection points, mounting holes, and attachment mechanisms are pre-positioned during manufacturing, allowing end users to quickly assemble complete game configurations by simply connecting pre-prepared modules rather than assembling individual components during each setup.
4Adaptability or versatility
If the game board is designed to accommodate variable numbers of players with interchangeable components, then the game becomes more versatile, but the structural stability and composition consistency may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The modular connection system incorporates asymmetric coupling mechanisms where male and female connection interfaces are designed to work together in specific orientations. This asymmetric design ensures that modules can only be connected in correct configurations, maintaining structural integrity and preventing unstable or incorrect assemblies even when different numbers of players are accommodated through modular reconfiguration.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution allows for customizable game difficulty and player count, enhancing gameplay variety and convenience by enabling quick setup and teardown of the game board.
Implementation Method 1
a polygonal-shaped modular platform having walls on each of its edges, wherein said modular platform comprises an elastic band positioned close to and parallel to its bottom wall
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to the technical field of hockey-type table games, in particular to a game in which pucks are projected across a playing surface by means of a compression system that can be operated with the fingers of one hand and which aims to insert said pucks into a goal. Specifically, it provides a sliding puck multiplayer game having the possibility of adjusting the difficulty of the game and the number of players, characterized in that it comprises: a polygonal-shaped modular platform; a plurality of interchangeable connector bridges of different sizes that are connected to said modular platform; and a plurality of sliding pucks that are propelled by the effect of said elastic band, to go through said connecting bridges. In this way, it is possible to obtain a sliding puck game that allows a greater number of players simultaneously, with adjustable difficulty, portable and modular.