GB1598609A

GB1598609A - Coin-operated or coinfreed gaming or amusement-with-prizes machines

Info

Publication number: GB1598609A
Application number: GB2412578A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: JPM AUTOMATIC MACHINES Ltd
Current assignee: JPM AUTOMATIC MACHINES Ltd
Priority date: 1978-05-30
Filing date: 1978-05-30
Publication date: 1981-09-23

Description

(54) IMPROVEMENTS RELATING TO COIN-OPERATED OR COIN-FREED GAMING OR AMUSEMENT-WITH-PRIZES MACHINES (71) We, J.P.M. (AUTOMATIC MA CHINES) LIMITED, of Hadfield Road, Leckwith Trading Estate, Cardiff, Glamorgan, a British Company, 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 coin-operated or coin-freed gaming or amusement-with-prizes machines.

The invention is concerned with machines of the kind generally known and referred to herein as fruit machines and in which a series of symbols carried by rotatable drums, reels or discs is displayed to view in a line. For convenience, reference will only be made to 'drums'. When the machine is operated by a coin or by depression of a lever or the like, the drums stop in an apparently random manner. If the symbols in the line are in a winning combination a prize is awarded and indicated. Such a machine will be referred to as of the kind described.

There must therefore be some means correlating the combined drum positions, when they have stopped rotating, with the payout mechanism, in order that the latter should pay out a prize of the correct amount for any winning combination. These means have in the past been somewhat complicated, and generally electro-mechanical. The aim of this invention is to simplify such means using electronics.

According to the present invention there is provided in a coin-operated or coin-freed gaming or amusement-with-prizes machine of the kind described, a system for detecting the positions of the drums comprising sensor means associated with each drum for providing serial data streams corresponding to the relative angular movement of the drums, means for regularly sampling said streams in a cyclic sequence at a rate substantially greater than the rate at which the display of symbols is changed, memory means for storing the latest sample from each drum, and means for correlating drum positions, represented by the latest stored samples, with stored information on the positions the various symbols occupy on the drums.

The sensor means are referred to herein as being associated with the drums, and this means that they could co-operate with members attached to the drums or coupled to them to rotate synchronously, as well as directly with the drums. Preferably they will be optical, but alternatives such as magnetic, should not be discounted.

Preferably, a micro-processor provides said sampling means and is adapted to sample the drums cyclically to compare each sample with the corresponding information in the memory means, and to update the memory means if the comparison indicates any change.

Conveniently, the memory means is a random access memory and the information on the symbol positions on the drums is stored in a read only memory.

Each sensor means may have two sensors, one being solely for producing a signal indicating a drum datum position. Alternatively, the drum can be encoded with an information chain providing both progress signals and a datum position signal to a common sensor, there being means for distinguishing these signals.

A fruit machine incorporating this system may have drums that are rotated and randomly stopped independently of the detecting system. Alternatively, the rotation of the drums may be under the control of a random selector unit arranged, upon actuation of the machine, to determine the total rotational increments for each drum. The final position will thus be known even before the drums stop. With this arrangement, there may be an override for the random selector, whereby if the drums are assigned to stop at a certain combination, they may in fact be stopped at a different combination.

For a better understanding of the present invention, one embodiment thereof will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawing in which the single Figure is a simplified block diagram of a drum detecting system for a fruit machine.

The machine has three drums 1, which can be rotated upon actuation of the machine to stop randomly and display in respective windows 2 a combination of symbols in a line 3. Certain combinations of these symbols are arranged to generate the award of prizes, others are not.

The drums have sensors 4 and 5 respectively associated with them. The sensors 4 are preferably optical and respond, for example, to an annular array of castellations 6 of equal mark/space ratio spaced with a pitch corresponding to half the number of symbols on each drum, the sensor being arranged to give information on the leading and trailing edge of each castellation as it passes.

This is information that one angular rotational increment, corresponding to the spacing of adjacent symbols, has been achieved.

Each sensor 5 co-operates with just one projection or mark 7 on the associated drum, and this gives one signal per revoltion, representing and identifying a datum position of that drum.

It will be appreciated that these sensors may take any of a variety of forms and examples as are mentioned above.

The outputs from the sensors 4 and 5 are applied via an input circuit 8 to a microprocessor 9. This is programmed to sample the inputs from the sensors 4 cyclically at a rate faster than the quickest the motion of the drums can cause the serial data stream to change. After one revolution, the microprocessor will also have information on the datum position of each drum.

A random access memory (RAM) 10 stores information on each drum, which is supplied by and available to the microprocessor 9. As the sampling progresses, the micro-processor compares the input information on each drum with the information stored in RAM 10. If there is any change the information in RAM 10 is updated. Thus it holds current angular position data. A read only memory (ROM) 11 has stored a table of displayed symbols, memorised in a form uniquely and unambiguously related to respective drum positions relative to the datum which are determined from the sensors 4 and 5 and stored in RAM 10.

When all the drums have stopped, the ilTomiation in RAM 10 is correlated with the talilé in ROM 11 and there is thus obtained informition on the symbols displayed. The combination is used to determine whether or not a prize is to be awarded, and if so the amount of the prize.

It will be appreciated that each symbol on a drum is uniquely related to the datum position of that drum by the angular displacement from the datum position at which it resides. Therefore, the symbols actually showing are uniquely and unambiguously represented by the information in the RAM 10.

In order to ensure correct operation when the machine is initially switched on, it can be arranged that the act of switching on, or at least the first play thereafter, will cause all the drums to rotate through at least one complete revolution, so that the micro-processor will receive the datum information.

This might be used only once per play, but it will be usual to perform a check or updating from that datum signal each revolution. It is possible to eliminate the datum sensors 5 by encoding the information which the sensors 4 derive from the drum, but this will generally only be possible if the drums can be arranged to rotate at constant speed.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS:- 1. In a coin-operated or coin-freed gaming or amusement-with-prizes machine of the kind described, a system for detecting the positions of the drums comprising sensor means associated with each drum for providing serial data streams corresponding to the relative angular movement of the drums, means for regularly sampling said streams in a cyclic sequence at a rate substantially greater than the rate at which the display of symbols is changed, memory means for storing the latest sample from each drum, and means for correlating drum positions, represented by the latest stored samples, with stored information on the positions the various symbols occupy on the drums.

2. A system as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the sensor means are optical.

3. A system as claimed in Claim 1 or 2, wherein a micro-processor provides said sampling means and compares each sample with the corresponding information in the memory means, and updates the memory means if the comparison indicates any change.

4. A system as claimed in Claim 3, wherein the memory means is a random access memory.

5. A system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein information on the symbol positions on the drums is stored in a read only memory.

6. A system as claimed in any'preceding claim, wherein each sensor means has two sensors, one being solely for producing a signal indicating a drum datum position.

7. A system as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 5, wherein the drum is encoded

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. the drums are assigned to stop at a certain combination, they may in fact be stopped at a different combination. For a better understanding of the present invention, one embodiment thereof will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawing in which the single Figure is a simplified block diagram of a drum detecting system for a fruit machine. The machine has three drums 1, which can be rotated upon actuation of the machine to stop randomly and display in respective windows 2 a combination of symbols in a line 3. Certain combinations of these symbols are arranged to generate the award of prizes, others are not. The drums have sensors 4 and 5 respectively associated with them. The sensors 4 are preferably optical and respond, for example, to an annular array of castellations 6 of equal mark/space ratio spaced with a pitch corresponding to half the number of symbols on each drum, the sensor being arranged to give information on the leading and trailing edge of each castellation as it passes. This is information that one angular rotational increment, corresponding to the spacing of adjacent symbols, has been achieved. Each sensor 5 co-operates with just one projection or mark 7 on the associated drum, and this gives one signal per revoltion, representing and identifying a datum position of that drum. It will be appreciated that these sensors may take any of a variety of forms and examples as are mentioned above. The outputs from the sensors 4 and 5 are applied via an input circuit 8 to a microprocessor 9. This is programmed to sample the inputs from the sensors 4 cyclically at a rate faster than the quickest the motion of the drums can cause the serial data stream to change. After one revolution, the microprocessor will also have information on the datum position of each drum. A random access memory (RAM) 10 stores information on each drum, which is supplied by and available to the microprocessor 9. As the sampling progresses, the micro-processor compares the input information on each drum with the information stored in RAM 10. If there is any change the information in RAM 10 is updated. Thus it holds current angular position data. A read only memory (ROM) 11 has stored a table of displayed symbols, memorised in a form uniquely and unambiguously related to respective drum positions relative to the datum which are determined from the sensors 4 and 5 and stored in RAM 10. When all the drums have stopped, the ilTomiation in RAM 10 is correlated with the talilé in ROM 11 and there is thus obtained informition on the symbols displayed. The combination is used to determine whether or not a prize is to be awarded, and if so the amount of the prize. It will be appreciated that each symbol on a drum is uniquely related to the datum position of that drum by the angular displacement from the datum position at which it resides. Therefore, the symbols actually showing are uniquely and unambiguously represented by the information in the RAM 10. In order to ensure correct operation when the machine is initially switched on, it can be arranged that the act of switching on, or at least the first play thereafter, will cause all the drums to rotate through at least one complete revolution, so that the micro-processor will receive the datum information. This might be used only once per play, but it will be usual to perform a check or updating from that datum signal each revolution. It is possible to eliminate the datum sensors 5 by encoding the information which the sensors 4 derive from the drum, but this will generally only be possible if the drums can be arranged to rotate at constant speed. WHAT WE CLAIM IS:-

1. In a coin-operated or coin-freed gaming or amusement-with-prizes machine of the kind described, a system for detecting the positions of the drums comprising sensor means associated with each drum for providing serial data streams corresponding to the relative angular movement of the drums, means for regularly sampling said streams in a cyclic sequence at a rate substantially greater than the rate at which the display of symbols is changed, memory means for storing the latest sample from each drum, and means for correlating drum positions, represented by the latest stored samples, with stored information on the positions the various symbols occupy on the drums.

2. A system as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the sensor means are optical.

7. A system as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 5, wherein the drum is encoded

with an information chain providing both the serial data stream and a datum position signal to a common sensor, there being means for distinguishing the signal from the stream.

8. A drum position detecting system substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawing.

9. A fruit machine incorporating a system as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the drums are randomly rotated and stop independently of the detecting system.

10. A fruit machine as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the rotation of the drums is under the control of a random selector unit, arranged, upon actuation of the machine, to determine the total rotational increments for each drum.

11. A fruit machine as claimed in claim 10, and including an override for the random selector, whereby if the drums are assigned to stop at a certain combination, they may in fact be stopped at a different combination.