GB2345861A

GB2345861A - Crane amusement apparatus.

Info

Publication number: GB2345861A
Application number: GB9900735A
Authority: GB
Inventors: John Remblance; Andrew Coxhead
Original assignee: J B R LEISURE Ltd
Current assignee: J B R LEISURE Ltd
Priority date: 1999-01-13
Filing date: 1999-01-13
Publication date: 2000-07-26

Abstract

A crane 1 which forms part of an amusement game has a grab for picking up prizes, the grab comprising arms 3 movable between open and closed positions. A control unit 11 is provided that automatically controls the strength of grip of the grab arms so that, on occasions, in the closed position the prize is not held firmly and slips from the grab. The control unit is situated on a part of the crane, preferably on the gantry head of the crane. Two sixteen position switches 17, 19 may be provided. One switch is adjustable to set a lower level of grip which is insufficient to maintain grip on a prize. The other switch is adjustable to set the percentage time the grab has full strength grip rather than the lower level of grip. In a further disclosure the control unit is powered by the power supply 23 for an activation coil 5 which controls movement of the grab arms.

Description

A Crane for an Amusement The present invention relates to a crane for an amusement. In particular, it relates to a crane for an amusement for selecting and picking up a prize.

For many years, an amusement game in which a crane is moved by the operator to select and pickup a prize have been provided in amusement arcades. The crane comprises a plurality, usually three or four, armatures (or fingers) which when in rest are in an open position. The crane with its armatures in the open position is moved in two dimensions by the operator above a selection of prizes. Once the operator has completed movement of the crane in two dimensions, the head of the crane with its armatures drops downwardly towards the selection of prizes. The armatures are then activated and move inwardly to a closed position to grip the prize. Once the armatures are in their closed position, the head of the crane is lifted upwardly and, if the operator has been successful, a prize will be gripped in the armatures. However, the strength of the grip of the armatures is variable so that on some occasions the strength of the grip is insufficient for the prize to remain within the grasp of the armature and the prize slips through the armatures and drops by virtue of its own weight. If the strength of the grip of the armature is, however, sufficient to carry the weight of the price, the prize is carried by the crane to a win-bay whereupon the prize is released for the operator to retrieve it. If the operator has not been successful, the head of the crane will be raised without a prize gripped by the armatures whereupon the crane is returned to its rest position.

The movement and strength of the grip of the armatures is controlled by a control unit which, in conventional apparatus, is placed within the operator control panel. The control unit can then be accessed to enable the occurrence of slippage of the prize to be adjusted. However, provisions of such external access also provides access to the cashbox which may be undesirable as it might increase the possibility of theft. Further it is awkward since the location of the controller, makes the device difficult to install and maintain.

The present invention seeks to provide a crane for an amusement which allows adjustment of the strength of the grip of the armatures and in which the control unit is easily accessible and has improved security. It also seeks to provide a control which is quick and easy to install. Further, the present invention seeks to provide a device which is small and efficient to operate.

The present invention provides a crane for an amusement for selecting and picking up a prize comprising a plurality of armatures, the armatures being moveable between an open position and closed position so that, in the closed position, a prize can be gripped by the armatures, and a control unit for automatically controlling the strength of the grip of the armatures such that on occasions, in the closed position, the prize may be caused to slip from the grasp of the armatures, wherein the control unit is located on a part of the crane.

The present invention also provides a crane for an amusement for selecting and picking up a prize comprising a plurality of armatures, the armatures being activated by at least one activation coil so that the armatures are moved between an open position and a closed position so that in the closed position, a prize can be gripped by the armatures, and an electronic control unit for automatically controlling the strength of the grip of the armatures such that on occasions, in the closed position, the prize may be caused to slip from the grasp of the armatures, wherein the electronic control unit is powered by the power supply of the activation coil of the armatures.

In locating the control unit on a part of a crane, for example on the gantry, the control unit can be easily accessed by a mechanic to adjust the settings of the control unit without security being compromised since the mechanic can not gain access to the cash box as in the conventional apparatus. Furthermore, according to the second aspect of the present invention, separate power supplies are not required. This reduces the number of components and hence the size of the control unit making it more suitable to be fitted to a part of the crane. It further reduces the cost of manufacture of the unit. Furthermore, since the power supply is shared between the activation coil and the control unit, the unit is more efficient to operate. Furthermore, the control unit is quick and easy to install.

Preferred features of the present invention are set out in the subsidiary claims.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described in more detail with reference to Figure 1 which shows a schematic diagram of the amusement crane and its control unit.

The amusement crane is suspended from the roof of a transparent container. It is arranged so that it can be moved in two dimensions across the roof of the container. Beneath the crane, there is provided a selection of prizes.

The amusement crane 1 comprises three or four identical downwardly directed armatures 3 which are curved inwardly. The armatures 3 are mechanically linked via linkage 4 to at least one activation coil, not shown.

The coil is housed in a housing 5 directly above the linkage 4 of the armatures 3. An extendible cable 7 passes into the housing 5 to provide power to the coil within the housing 5. The housing 5 and armatures 3 are suspended by a second extendible cable 9. The housing 5 and armatures 3 are movable in two dimensions and the second cable 9 is extendible to allow the housing 5 and armatures 3 to be moved in a downward direction.

The activation coil housed within the housing 5 of the armatures 3 is controlled by the control unit 11. The control unit 11 is linked to the coils of the armatures 3 by connection wires 13 which are fed through the first cable 7 into the housing 5 to the coil.

The control unit 11 comprises electronic circuitry which includes a programmable integrated circuit 13, a power supply circuit 15, a link 16, a first switch 17 and a second switch 19. The power supply circuit 15 is linked via wires 21 to a power supply 23. The power supply 23 also supplies the power to the activation coils.

The circuitry of the control unit 11 enables it to be miniaturised since a separate power supply is not required. Typical dimensions of the unit are 45mm by 45mm. The control unit 11 is so small that it can be fitted to the gantry head of the crane without being noticed. Installation of the control unit 11 of the present invention only requires a terminal screwdriver and a volt meter. The circuitry of the control unit 11 has variable voltage output levels to enable it to control any type of amusement crane having voltage levels between 24 to 100 volts. It contains a link 16 and a first and second switch 17,19 which are user adjustable. Furthermore, the control unit has means to activate the activation coil of the armatures 3 for a maximum time period of 1Y2 to minutes, preferably 2 minutes, to prevent overheating in the event of a gantry or switch malfunction.

Installation of the control unit will now be described. The supply polarity of the unit is confirmed. The adjustable link 16 is set to allow for the crane to be adjusted between a short grab drop and a long grab drop. In a short grab drop the control unit 11 is set so that the crane takes less than 4 seconds to deposit the prize and is left in position in the case of a long grab drop. The first switch can be adjusted to give different levels of strength of the grip of the armatures 3. In the preferred embodiment, 16 levels of grip strength are pre-defined, for example 0 being the lowest and F being just below full strength. The strength of the grip of the armatures is varied by varying the voltage supplied to the activation coil. The level of the strength of the grip to be set is determined by the weight of the prize such that the maximum level possible can be set yet still enabling the prize to slip through the armatures by virtue of its weight as the crane is raised.

It is important that the level is set so that the operator is not aware of the differing strengths of grip. Therefore, 16 possible levels are provided to allow for fine adjustment. The second switch enables the percentage settings for occurrence of full strength grip and less than full strength to be set. For example, the switch can have a number of pre-defined levels in which the chance of the full strength grip, in which the armatures maintain their grip on the prize, can be set and this will override the setting made by the first switch, in which the strength of grip is insufficient to maintain the armatures'grip on the prize. Examples of possible settings for the second switch are given in the table below.

(0) None (Test for switch 1) (1) 1 in 250 (2) 1 in 125 (3) 1 in 80 (4) 1 in 60 (5) 1 in 50 (6) 1 in 40 (7) 1 in 30 (8) 1 in 25 (9) 1 in 20 (A) 1 in 15 (B) 1 in 10 (C) 1 in 8 (D) 1 in 5 (E) 1 in 3 (F) Every game Operation of the amusement crane will now be described. At rest the crane 1 is in its retracted position, with its armatures 3 in their open position and the power supply to the activation coil disconnected. A user inserts a coin or token which activates the crane. The user moves the crane in two dimensions across the roof of the container by means of a joystick or the like. Once the user is satisfied with the position of the crane, he pushes a button which causes the second cable 9 to extend causing the crane to move downwardly toward the selection of prizes beneath the crane. The crane may alternatively drop automatically after a predetermined time period.

Upon contact with the prizes, the activation coil is activated by the control unit 11 to cause the armatures 3 to close in an attempt to grip a prize.

Depending upon the settings of the first and second switches, the strength of the grip is automatically determined by the control unit. For example, in n the event that the second switch 19 is set to (5) as in the table above, there is a 1 in 50 chance that the armature will close around the prize with full strength so the armatures maintain their grip on the prize. Otherwise the strength of the grip is reduced by reducing the voltage of the activation coil to the level determined by the setting of the first switch so that the armatures can not maintain their grip and the prize drops out of the armatures by virtue of its weight as the crane is raised.

If the user is successful, a prize is gripped between the armatures.

The crane is then lifted by retraction of the second cable 9 to carry the prize to a win-bay whereupon it is delivered to the user. The crane then returns to its rest position. If the user is unsuccessful the armatures are empty and the crane returns to its rest position.

In the light of this disclosure, modifications of the described embodiments as well as other embodiments, all within the scope of the appended claims, will now become apparent to a person skilled in the art.

Claims

CLAIMS 1. A crane for an amusement for selecting and picking up a prize comprising a plurality of armatures, the armatures being moveable between an open position and a closed position so that, in the closed position, a prize can be gripped by the armatures, and a control unit for automatically controlling the strength of the grip of the armatures such that on occasions, in the closed position, the prize may be caused to slip from the grasp of the armatures, wherein the control unit is located on part of the crane.
2. A crane according to claim 1, wherein the control unit is located on the gantry head of the amusement crane.
3. A crane according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the control unit comprises electronic circuitry for controlling the strength of the grip of the armatures.
4. A crane according to claim 3, wherein, in the closed position, the strength of the grip of the armatures is set either at full strength in which the armatures maintain their grip on the prize or less than full strength in which the prize slips from the grasp the armatures.
5. A crane according to claim 4, wherein the circuitry comprises a setting switch for adjusting the level of the reduced strength of the grip of the armatures of the amusement crane.
6. A crane according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the circuitry comprises a second setting switch for adjusting the percentage of occurrence of the full strength and less than full strength closed positions of the armatures.
7. A crane for an amusement for selecting and picking up a prize comprising a plurality of armatures, the armatures being activated by at least one activation coil so that the armatures are moved between an open position and a closed position so that, in the closed position, a prize can be gripped by the armatures, and an electronic control unit for automatically controlling the strength of grip of the armature such that on occasions, in the closed position, the prize may be caused to slip from the grasp of the armatures, wherein the electronic control unit is powered by the power supply of the activation coil of the armatures.
8. A crane according to claim 7, wherein the electronic control unit can be powered by a power supply range of 24 volts to 100 volts.
9. A crane according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the activation coil is activated for a maximum time limit to avoid over heating of the coil.
10. A crane according to claim 9, wherein the maximum time limit is within the range 1.5 to 3 minutes.
11. A crane according to any one of claims 7 and 10, wherein the electronic control unit is located on a part of the crane.
12. A crane according to claim 11, wherein the electronic control unit is located on the gantry head of the crane.
13. A crane according to any one of claims 7 to 12, wherein, in the closed position, the strength of the grip of the armatures is set either at full strength in which the armatures maintain their grip on the prize or less than full strength in which the prize slips from the grasp the armatures.
14. An amusement machine having a crane as claimed in any one of the preceding claims.

14. A crane according to claim 13, wherein the level of strength of the grip of the armatures is achieved by varying the voltage level of the activation coils.

15. A crane according to claim 13 or 14, wherein the control unit comprises a first setting switch for adjusting the level of the reduced strength of the grip of the armatures of the crane.

16. A crane according to claim 15, wherein the control further comprises a second setting switch for adjusting the percentage of occurrence of the full strength and less than full strength closed positions of the armatures of the crane.

17. A crane for an amusement substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying figure.

Amendments to the claims have been filed as follows 1. A crane for an amusement machine for selecting and picking up a prize comprising a plurality of hooks, the hooks being movable between an open position and a closed position so that, in the closed position, a prize can be gripped by the hooks, and a control unit for automatically controlling the strength of the grip of the hooks such that on occasions, in the closed position, the prize may be caused to slip from the grasp of the hooks, wherein the control unit is located on part of the crane.

2. A crane as claimed in claim 1, wherein the control unit is located on the gantry head of the crane.

3. A crane as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the control unit comprises electronic circuitry for controlling the strength of the grip of the hooks.

4. A crane as claimed in claim 3, wherein, in the closed position, the strength of the grip of the hooks is set either at full strength in which the hooks maintain their grip on the prize or less than full strength in which the prize slips from the grasp of the hooks.

5. A crane as claimed in claim 4, wherein the electronic circuitry comprises a setting switch for adjusting the level of the reduced strength of the grip of the hooks of the crane.

6. A crane as claimed in claim 4 or 5, wherein the electronic circuitry comprises a second setting switch for adjusting the percentage of occurrence of the full strength and less than full strength closed positions of the hooks.

7. A crane as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the hooks are movable between the open position and the closed position by means of at least one activation coil.

8. A crane as claimed in claim 7, wherein the control unit and the activation coil of the hooks are powered by the same power supply.

9. A crane as claimed in claim 8, wherein the control unit can be powered by a power supply range of 24 volts to 100 volts.

10. A crane as claimed in any one of claims 7 to 9, wherein the activation coil is activated for a maximum time limit to avoid over heating of the coil.

11. A crane as claimed in claim 10, wherein the maximum time limit is within the range 1.5 to 3 minutes.

12. A crane as claimed in any one of claims 7 to 11, wherein the level of strength of the grip of the hooks is achieved by varying the voltage level of the activation coil.

13. A crane for an amusement substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying figure.