GB1347003A - Amusement machines - Google Patents

Abstract

1347003 Coin-freed amusement apparatus BELL-FRUIT MFG CO Ltd 21 July 1971 [30 April 1970] 20832/70 Heading G4V An amusement machine comprising means for displaying a combination of symbols to the player, the combination being changed during the course of a game and prizes being awarded when certain combinations are displayed at the end of a game, further includes preselection means available to the player to preselect possible prize winning combinations and/or the prizes corresponding to winning combinations before the display is changed. The embodiment described comprises a coin-freed fruit machine with three rotatable symbol carrying reels R1 to R3, the rotation of which is controlled by an electronic control unit as described and claimed in Specification 1,319,625. The preselection means comprise switches K1 to K5 each associated with an individual symbol carried by the drums, the switches serving, when operated by the player, to set the corresponding stage of a shift register J. The setting of any stage sends a signal along a corresponding line X1 to X5 to a win decoder unit and also through inverter G7 applies a signal to the shift register J preventing the setting of any further stages. The win decoder, Fig. 2, comprises a logic gating circuit which receives inputs along lines Z1, Z2 and Z3 indicative of the final positions of the reels R1 to R3, line Z4 which indicates that the reel motor M has stopped and line X1 from the preselection means and serves to give prize-amount indicative outputs on lines 2, 4 and 12 if the symbol corresponding to switch K1 is displayed on the first, first and second and all three reels respectively providing that switch K1 has been actuated, and an output on line 8 if all the reels display this symbol but the switch K1 has not been depressed. A similar win decoder unit is provided for each switch K1 to K5 and further units may be included for those symbols not represented by the switches. The signals from the win decoder units are applied to a payout unit also described in the above mentioned Specification. If a switch K1 to K5 is fortuitously closed at a specific point in the cycling of the control unit then a gate G11 is opened to pass pulses from a pulse generator of the control unit to the shift register setting all of the stages J1 to J5 so that all of the prize-winning combinations corresponding to the switches K1 to K5 are set up simultaneously.