FR2669837A1 - Additional game device for fairground or amusement park vehicles - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to an additional game device for fairground or amusement park vehicles, moving over a track limited by an elastically deformable peripheral shock absorber. The device according to the invention is characterised in that at least one target (5) is arranged at the periphery of the track (2) outside the said peripheral shock absorber, the said target (5) being equipped with an optical reader (6) interacting with a coded marking (4) carried by each vehicle (1) and characteristic of the said vehicle (1), the said optical reader (6) being connected to processing (7, 8) and display (9, 10) means. Application to games.

Description

Additional location device For party or attraction vehicles.

The invention relates to an additional game device for party or attraction vehicles, said vehicles moving on a track limited by an elastically deformable peripheral damper.

Such vehicles are, for example, so-called "self-bumper" or "auto-skooters", and the game consists for each driver to strike, from the most diverse angles, the other vehicles while avoiding being struck . Such a game is therefore limited to producing impacts between vehicles, with great difficulty in creating tests or contests, due to the absence of a system for marking strokes.

To overcome this drawback, it has been proposed in
US-A 4,898,382, a system consisting in equipping each vehicle so as to be able to count the blows on the front bumper, considered as positive points, and the blows on the rear bumper, considered as negative points.

A luminous display allows the scores obtained by each driver to be known.

This known system, if it theoretically responds to the problem posed, has the major drawback of requiring, on each vehicle, electronic means for capturing shocks and sending corresponding signals to a processing and display unit. This results in a high cost of equipment and great fragility, due to the impact between vehicles and / or the track bumper, which form the essential purpose of the game.

In addition, the original game itself is preserved, without supplement, and its educational power remains reduced.

The present invention therefore aims to provide a new additional game for party or attraction vehicles, originally fitted to a set of vehicles and the track on which they operate, or which can on the contrary be mounted on an existing set, which does not not have the drawbacks of known devices. In particular, the game according to the invention does not require the equipment of vehicles with expensive and fragile electronic equipment and makes it possible to add to the original game tests of a competitive and educational nature.

To this end, the game according to the invention is characterized in that at least one target is arranged on the periphery of the track outside said peripheral damper, said target being provided with an optical reader cooperating with a coded marking. carried by each vehicle and characteristic of said vehicle, said optical reader being connected to processing and display means.

The additional play according to the invention, which can be applied to bumper cars or to other vehicles operating on a track, therefore makes it possible to create competitions thanks to a marking system not involving any fragile device on the vehicles, in particular no electronic, electrical or mechanical device.

According to a preferred embodiment, the marking consists of a bar code and the reader is a bar code reader. It is thus possible to use existing optical readers, with high reliability and relatively low cost, and which have a perfectly defined maximum reading distance, which makes it possible to obtain an accurate count, each point marked being linked to the crushing of the shock absorber and to the impact or alignment angle of the vehicle. It is thus possible to educate in a precise and repetitive manner the shots at the goal of each vehicle, which constitutes, in addition to the game, learning to precise driving.

Preferably, the bar code is printed on a self-adhesive label placed on the front of the vehicle body.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the processing means comprise a decoder associated with each optical reader and connected to a counting machine or the like, which is connected to a display board.

Advantageously, a plurality of targets are arranged around the track and can be activated individually or in groups, the activation being signaled for example by an indicator light. We can thus create apparently mobile targets, make the game more mobile and avoid the accumulation of vehicles.

The invention will be clearly understood on reading the following description made with reference to the appended drawing in which
FIG. 1 is a schematic elevation view,
partially in section, of part of a track
equipped with a game according to an exemplary embodiment of
1 invention; Figure 2 is a plan view of a
part of the runway in Figure 1, and Figure 3 is
an enlarged view of part of the figure
1.

The device comprises a plurality of vehicles 1, such as bumper cars, moving on a track 2 provided with an elastically deformable peripheral damper 3.

According to the invention, each vehicle 1 is provided with a marking 4 consisting of a bar code printed on a self-adhesive label applied to the front of the vehicle. The bar code contains the number, or any other information, characteristic of the respective vehicle 1.

At the edge of track 2, and outside the damper 3, are arranged a plurality of targets 5 with each of which is associated a detection assembly comprising an optical bar code reader 6, a decoder 7 connected to the reader 6 and to a counting machine 8 or other processing device. The automaton 8 is in turn connected to a display panel 9 comprising lamps 10 arranged in a matrix, the lighting of which in a column corresponds to a winning point marked by a vehicle whose code corresponds to the column in question. Each vehicle 1 has an elastically deformable peripheral bumper.

When a vehicle 1 strikes the damper 3 opposite a target 5 in operation, the associated optical reader 6 can read the bar code 4 carried by this vehicle. Reading takes place only if, taking into account the exact impact of the vehicle 1, the corresponding crushing of the shock absorber 3 and the bumper 9 and the angle of impact, the distance between the optical drive 6 and the marking 4 is less than the reading range of the reader 6.

The various targets 5, or groups of targets 5, can be activated individually, by manual or automatic control, so as to limit in time the efficiency of a target and to avoid accumulations of vehicles 1 in front of the targets. Activation can be signaled by a fixed or flashing indicator light (not shown).

Claims (5)

Claims 1. Additional game device for party or attraction vehicles, said vehicles moving on a track limited by an elastically deformable peripheral damper, characterized in that at least one target (5) is disposed on the periphery of the track (2) outside said peripheral damper (3), said target (5) being provided with an optical reader (6) cooperating with a coded marking (4) carried by each vehicle (1) and characteristic of said vehicle (1 ), said optical reader (6) being connected to processing (7, 8) and display (9, 10) means. 2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the marking (4) consists of a bar code and the reader (6) is a bar code reader. 3. Device according to claim 2, characterized in that the bar code (4) is printed on a self-adhesive label placed on the front of the vehicle body (1). 4. Device according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the processing means comprise a decoder (7) associated with each optical reader (6) and connected to a counting machine (8) or the like, which is connected to a display board (9). 5. Device according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that a plurality of targets (5) are arranged around the track (2) and can be activated individually or in groups, the activation being signaled for example by an indicator light.