GB1559497A

GB1559497A - Counting arrangements

Info

Publication number: GB1559497A
Application number: GB1405676A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Neale W Boothby R J; Stenson B N
Current assignee: Neale W Boothby R J; Stenson B N
Priority date: 1977-04-07
Filing date: 1977-04-07
Publication date: 1980-01-23

Description

(54) IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO COUNTING ARRANGEMENTS (71) We, WILLIAM NEALE, of 5 Willow Road, Burstwick, Humberside, ROBERT JOSEPH BOOTHBY, of 21 Hayburn Avenue, National Avenue, Hull and BERNARD NEIL STENSON, of 10, Hill Rise, Market Weighton, York, all British Subjects, do hereby declare the invention for which we pray that a Patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement :- This invention relates to counting arrangements for indicating and/or recording sum totals of coins inserted into a plurality of coin operated machines.

In many places of amusement provision is made for a number of players to take part in a game of skill or chance identified by a plurality of similar machines each defining a player position, each player occupies a player position and indicates his intention of taking part in the game by inserting a coin or token, hereinafter referred to as a coin, into the player position.

The game is started when a predetermined number of player positions have been actuated.

In such arrangements the number of player positions occupied may exceed the number of positions actuated, it is most important that the person in charge should be aware of the number of player positions actuated prior to starting the game and, when a plurality of games are being played in succession, it is advantageous to the management to be aware of the total number of coins inserted over a series of games.

It is known in the art to record the number of coins inserted into coin operated playing positions by providing each player position with a coin detection mechanism connected, by cables individual to that position, to a counting location and at which location the cables supply mains voltage to a stud, individual to the player location, to indicate actuation of the player position.

To ascertain the number of coin activated positions at any given point in time, a wiper sweeps over the studs and a step by step counter connected to the wiper counts the number of studs to which voltage has been applied.

A difficulty with the prior art arrangement described above is that each player position must be individually connected to the counting location by cables and with, for example, a fifty player position arrangement, this can mean one hundred cables between the player positions and the counting location. Further, the counter arrangement can only count the number of coinoperated positions activated when the wiper is actuated to wipe the studs and therefore the mechanism must include a relatively complexe mechanism for preventing the actuation of a player position after the final count has been taken and the game initiated.

The present invention seeks to provide a counting apparatus which does not require each player position to be individually connected by cables to the counting location. The present invention further seeks to provide a counting arrangement capable of affording a continuous visual display of the number of coin actuated player positions.

According to the present invention there is provided a coin counting apparatus for indicating and/or recording the number of activated coin operated machines in an assembly of such machines comprising a sensing means individual to each coin operated machine and arranged, when operable, to produce a continuous output signal when its associated machine is activated by a coin counting means common to said assembly, and connecting means associated with all the sensing means of the assembly and ar ranged to transmit to the coin counting means a single indicative of the sum total of the output signals from the sensing means.

Preferably each sensing means is arranged to produce an A. C. output signal and, con veniently, said sensing means are arranged to produce identical output signals.

Preferably each sensing means is arranged to be activated, to produce its output signal, by a device associated with a coin inspection mechanism of its respective machine and, conveniently each said device comprises a relay arrangement to activate its associated sensing means when the respective coin inspection mechanism accepts a coin.

Preferably said coin counting means in clucles a counter responsive to the strength of the signal applied to the coin counting means by the connecting means and, conveniently said counter comprises an elec- tronic counter.

In a preferred embodiment said counter is linked to a visual display for indicating the number of sensing means activated and/ or said counter is linked to a visual and/ or audible signal generating means arranged to be activated when the signal applied by the connecting means to the coin counting means is above a predetermined level.

Preferably the coin counting means includes a fixed resistance member.

Preferably said coin counting means includes a voltage compensating device.

Preferably the apparatus includes means for cancelling the signal applied by the connecting means to said coin counting means.

Preferably also the apparatus includes counting means for recording the total number of sensing means activated over a plu rality of successive counting cycles for the counting means.

Preferably said connecting means comprise a single cable, conveniently a single cable comprises a loop connecting each and every sensing means to the coin connecting means.

The invention will now be described further by way of example with reference to the single figure accompanying the Pro visional Specification and which shows diagrammatically, a coin counting arrangement of the present invention applied to a so called"Bingo Stall".

In the ilustrated example a plurality of coin operated player positions 11 which may number up to fifty, are connected by single wire 12 to a coin counting position 13 at the so-called"Caller"position. Each player machine includes a playing surface upon which random numbers, individual to that position, are displayed and a coin inspection and operating mechanism, generally identified by numeral 14, which includes a relay 15 which relay is closed, when a coin is accepted by the machine, to extend main power to the player position to illuminate the playing surface and thereby indicate to the player that the position is activated. A sensing unit 16 is provided individual to each relay 15 and the sensing unit 16 is activated by actuation of the relay to apply a continuous signal to the wire 12. The signal applied by each sensing unit 16 to the wire 12 is the same as that signal for all the other activated sensing units 16 so that, at coin counting position 13, the wire 12 carries a signal indicative of the sum total of all the signals from the sensing means 16 of the actuated player positions.

The coin counting position 13 includes a fixed resistance R and, when the signals applied by the sensing units 16 to the wire 12 are susceptible to variation with variation in main current, the coin counting position 13 includes a voltage compensat- ing device 17. The means for translating the signals applied to the wire 12 to a visual display at the coin counting position 13 may be performed by means well known to the art but preferably said means comprise a circuit including a capacitor, which is charged to the same value as the peak voltage across resistance R and discharged by feeding in a current in the opposite direction i. e. reverse polarity to the charging current.

As the time taken to discharge the capacitor is a measure of the charge in the capacitor and hence the number of sensing units 16 activated, the time taken to discharge the capacitor is indicative of the number of sensing units 16 energised. Further, as is known in the art, the coin counting means 13 may include compensating devices to ensure that the signal measured is indicative of the number of sensing units energised, temperature compensating arrangements, and a pulse counter for recording the number of machines activated prior to, and during the start, of a game. At a predetermined point in play the"Caller"will actuate a device (not shown) to ensure that unactivated player positions cannot be actuated but with the present device the count of energised sensing units is maintained up to the point when the"Caller"cancels the unoccupied positions. The visual display of the number of positions active in the game may be maintained until, after the game, the"Caller"terminates the power supply to all the player positions at which point the counter returns to zero to be ready for a new game.

In an alternative arrangement, the counter, or a second counter, is arranged to count all the sensing units energised over a number of games so that the total value shown by this counter equals the total number of coins inserted into all the machines over the predetermined number of games.

When the player positions are activated by mains power the output signals from the sensing means may derive from the mains power and whereby the output signals will be A. C. In other situations where mains power is not available the output signal may derive from an auxilliary power source, for example a generator or battery, and may therefore be positive or negative signals.

It will be appreciated that whilst the present invention has been described by way of example with reference to a"Bingo"stall the invention is not limited to"Bingo"and the invention can be applied to any game in which an assembly of two or more coin operated machines are provided.

Further, it will be appreciated that an "assembly"need not comprise all the machines in a game and in for example, a"Bingo"stall with say fifty positions an "assembly"may be any tow or more machines in the stall, the stall may include any number of assemblies and, for some layouts, an"assembly"may include two or more machines with other machines in the stall supplying their respective output signals individually to the counter.

Claims

WHAT WE CLAIM IS :-

1. A coin counting apparatus for indicating and/or recording the number of activated coin operated machines in an assembly of such machines comprising a sensing means individual to each coin operated machine and arranged when operable, to produce a continuous output signal when its associated machine is activated by a coin, a coin counting means common to said assembly, and connecting means, associated with all the sensing means of the assembly and arranged to transmit to the coin counting means a single signal indicative of the sum total of the output signals from the sensing means.

2. A coin counting apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which each sensing means is arranged to produce an A. C. output signal.

3. A coin counting apparatus as claimed in claim I or 2 in which said sensing means are arranged to produce indentical output signals.

4. A coin counting apparatus as claimed in claim 1,2 or 3 in which each sensing means is arranged to be activated, to produce its output signal, by a device associated with coin inspection mechanism of its respective machine.

5. A coin counting apparatus as claimed in claim 4 in which each said device comprises a relay arangement to activate its associated sensing means when the respective coin inspection mechanism accepts a coin.

6. A coin counting apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim in which said coin counting means includes a counter respoasive to the strength of the signal applied to the coin counting means by the connecting means.

7. A coin counting apparatus as claimed in claim 6 in which the said couter comprises an electronic counter.

8. A coin counting apparatus as claimed in claim 6 or 7 in which said counter is linked to a visual display for indicating the number of sensing means activated.

9. A coin counting apparatus as claimed in claim 6,7 or 8 in which said counter is linked to an audible signal generating means arranged to be activated when the signal applied by the connecting means to the coin counting means is above a predetermined level.

10. A coin counting apparatus as claimed in claim 6, 7,8 or 9 in which said counter is linked to a visual display arranged to be activated when the signal applied by the connecting means to the coin counting means is above a predetermined level.

11. A coin counting apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim in which the coin counting means includes a fixed resistance member.

12. A coin counting apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim in which said coin counting means includes a voltage compensating device.

13. A coin counting apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim including means for cancelling the signal applied by the connecting means to said coin counting means.

14. A coin counting apparatus as claimed in claim 13 including counting means for recording the total number of sensing means activated over a plurality of successive counting cycles for the counting means.

15. A coin counting apparauts as claimed in any preceding claim in which said connecting means comprise a single cable.

16. A coin counting apparatus as claimed in claim 15 in which the single cable comprises a single loop connecting each and every sensing means to the coin connecting means.

17. A coin counting apparatus substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the drawing accompanying the provisional Specification.