Electronic chess game

• US 4,391,447 A
• Filed: 11/20/1980
• Issued: 07/05/1983
• Est. Priority Date: 11/20/1980
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Raymond Dudley
• Original Assignee: Raymond Dudley
• Inventors: Dudley, Raymond
• Primary Examiner(s): Hum, Vance Y.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Picard, Leo P.
• Application Number:
  US06/208,781
• Time in Patent Office: 957 Days
• Field of Search: 273/238, 273/260, 273/237, 434/128, 369/410, 369/411, 340/323 R
• US Class Current: 273/238
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 19/22 Games, e.g. card games

Abstract

An electronic game for positional games such as chess comprises a playing board and a plurality of playing pieces, each piece being movable between playing positions on the playing board in accordance with a predetermined pattern which is influenced by the locations of other playing pieces. Each playing piece is encoded in accordance with its identity, and each playing position automatically responds to the encoding when it is occupied by a playing piece. An electrical circuit associated with the playing position causes other positions to which the playing piece is capable of moving to be illuminated with an appropriate color. Each playing piece includes light sources which are illuminated when the playing piece is in jeopardy of being captured by an opposing playing piece or is covered by a friendly playing piece. The intensity of attack and the depth of cover may also be indicated. The playing pieces are automatically oriented in a predetermined manner when they are placed on a playing position in order to establish electrical contact between electrical terminals on the base of the playing piece and electrical terminals on the playing position.

Claims

1. An electronic game comprising a playing board defining a plurality of playing positions, a plurality of playing pieces, at least some of which are of different types, each piece being movable between playing positions in accordance with a predetermined pattern dependent upon its type, said predetermined pattern being influenced by the locations of other ones of said pieces, means for encoding each piece according to its type, means at each position responsive to the encoding means for detecting the presence and type of a piece located at that position, and means responsive to the detecting means for illuminating each position on the board to which such piece can be moved, the illuminating means being responsive to the locations of other ones of said pieces.

3. The game of claim 1, wherein the illuminating means includes means for varying the intensity of said illumination in accordance with the number of other pieces that can be moved to said position.

10. The game of claim 1 or 4 further comprising means for automatically orienting each piece in a predetermined manner with respect to the position on which it is located.

11. The game of claim 10, wherein the orienting means includes a first magnet located at each position and a second magnet located in the base of each piece.

12. The game of claim 1 or 4, wherein the base each piece includes a plurality of electrical terminals and each position has a plurality of corresponding electrical terminals adapted to contact the terminals in the base of the piece when the piece is located on a position.

13. The game of claim 12, wherein the encoding means includes means within each piece for shorting together certain ones of the terminals in the base of the piece.

14. The game of claim 13, wherein the detecting means comprises electrical circuit means having inputs connected to predetermined ones of the terminals at said positions, said predetermined ones of terminals including terminals corresponding to the shorted terminals in the base of the piece.

15. The game of claim 14, wherein the electrical circuit means has outputs connected to said illumination means.

16. The game of claim 15, wherein the playing pieces comprise pieces of different types, each piece being encoded according to its type and each type being capable of moving in a different characteristic pattern, and wherein said electrical circuit means comprises first circuit means responsive to the encoding of a piece for producing encoding signals, and second and third circuit means connected to the first circuit means for receiving the encoding signals, the second circuit means being responsive to a first plurality of playing piece types for controlling the illumination of the positions to which the pieces of the first plurality can move, and the third circuit means being responsive to a second plurality of playing piece types for controlling the illumination of the positions to which the pieces of the second plurality can move.

2. An electronic game comprising a playing board defining a plurality of playing positions, a plurality of playing pieces divided into groups of opposing pieces representing opposing players, each piece being movable between playing positions in accordance with a predetermined pattern, said predetermined pattern being influenced by the locations of other ones of said pieces, means for encoding each piece according to its group membership, means at each position responsive to the encoding means for detecting the presence of a piece located at that position and the group membership of the piece, and means responsive to the detecting means for illuminating each position on the board to which such piece can be moved, the illuminating means being responsive to the locations of other ones of said pieces.

6. The game of claim 2 or 4, wherein the means for illuminating comprises means for illuminating with different colors representative of the different groups.

7. The game of claim 2 or 4, wherein each group of playing pieces comprises pieces of different types, each type being capable of moving in a different characteristic pattern.

8. The game of claim 7, wherein the game is chess.

9. The game of claim 7, wherein the encoding means further includes means for encoding each piece according to its type, and the detecting means includes means for detecting the type of each piece.

4. An electronic game comprising a playing board defining a plurality of playing positions, a plurality of playing pieces divided into groups of opposing pieces representing opposing players, each piece being movable between playing positions in accordance with a predetermined pattern and capable of capturing an opposing piece located on a position to which such piece is moved, said predetermined pattern being influenced by the locations of other ones of said pieces, means for encoding each piece according to its group membership, means at each position responsive to the encoding means for detecting the presence of and the group membership of a piece located at that position, and means responsive to the detecting means for illuminating each piece when it is located at a position to which an opposing piece can be moved.

5. The game of claim 4, wherein the illuminating means further comprises means for illuminating each piece according to the protection afforded said piece due to the location of another piece having the same group membership.

17. In an electronic game of the type having a playing board defining a plurality of playing positions, each adapted to receive one of a plurality of playing pieces, the playing pieces being divided into groups representing opposing players, each piece being encoded in accordance with its group membership and being capable of moving in accordance with a predetermined pattern between said positions, said predetermined pattern being influenced by the locations on said positions of other pieces, the playing board comprising first electrical circuit means for detecting the positions on the board which are occupied by a piece and for identifying the group membership of the piece located at each occupied position, second electrical circuit means responsive to the first electrical circuit means for determining the possible moves that each piece can make, considering the locations of the other pieces, and means for indicating said possible moves.

18. The game of claim 17, wherein the indicating means comprises means for illuminating the positions which represents possible moves of each piece, the positions being illuminated in different colors corresponding to the different groups.

19. The game of claim 18, wherein the playing board is translucent and the illuminating means includes light emitting means located beneath each playing position.

20. The game of claim 17, wherein said first and second electrical circuit means comprise digital circuits.

21. An electronic game comprising a playing piece and a playing board defining a plurality of playing positions to which the playing piece may be moved, first magnetic means located at each of the playing positions, second magnetic means located in the base of the playing piece, a first set of electrical terminals disposed on the board at each position, and a second set of electrical terminals disposed on the base of the playing piece, the first and second magnetic means being effective to orient the playing piece at each position to which the playing piece is moved such that electrical contact is established between predetermined ones of the terminals of said first and second sets.

22. The game of claim 21, wherein said first and second magnetic means comprise permanent bar magnets.

23. The game of claim 21, wherein the playing piece further comprises illumination means disposed therein, the illumination means being connected to certain ones of said second set of terminals and adapted to be illuminated by electrical signals on corresponding ones of the first set of terminals.

24. The game of claim 21, wherein the playing piece further comprises means for shorting together predetermined terminals of said second set of terminals in order to identify the playing piece.

25. The game of claim 21, wherein the playing board comprises means associated with each playing position for detecting the location of the playing piece, the playing piece being capable of moving between playing positions in accordance with a predetermined pattern, and means responsive to said detecting means for illuminating playing positions on the board which represent possible moves of said playing piece.