GB2363735A

GB2363735A - Plural ball roulette apparatus

Info

Publication number: GB2363735A
Application number: GB0122346A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Charles John Summers; Justin Charles Tomlinson
Original assignee: Coinmaster Gaming Ltd
Current assignee: Coinmaster Gaming Ltd
Priority date: 1999-09-13
Filing date: 2000-04-27
Publication date: 2002-01-09
Anticipated expiration: 2020-04-27
Also published as: GB2363735B; GB0122346D0

Abstract

A gaming apparatus comprising a wheel (2) mounted for rotation about its axis in a horizontal plane, a peripheral region of the upper surface of wheel being divided into a plurality of compartments (14). The apparatus comprises means for delivering a plurality of balls to the surface of the wheel (2), sensing means (40,42,50) for identifying which of the compartments (14) of the occupied by balls, and means for providing a payout according to the compartments identified by said sensing means. A striker is positioned above the wheel for dislodging any ball that becomes trapped.

Description

2363735 Gaming Apparatus The present invention relates to a gaming

apparatus and more particularly to a gaming apparatus based on the game of roulette.

The game of roulette has, for many years, provided entertainment in casinos and other gaming establishments.

To play the game of roulette, a horizontally-oriented circular wheel, having a peripheral region divided into a plurality of numbered compartments, is spun in either a clockwise or an anti-clockwise direction about its axis A ball is released onto the surface of the spinning wheel where it is randomly deflected before eventually coming to rest in one or other of the compartments.

Players of the game bet on which compartment or subgroup of compartments the ball is going to fall into by placing tokens or "chips" at appropriate locations on a betting table.

Traditionally, a croupier has been required to manually operate the roulette wheel and to supervise betting However, with the advent of affordable electronic technology, it has now become possible to provide a fully automated roulette wheel based gaming apparatus and a number of such systems are already in use.

In existing automated gaming apparatus, the outcome of play is determined by identifying the compartment in which a single ball comes to rest However, this arrangement, which reflects the traditional rules of play of the game of roulette, is unnecessarily limited in the range of different bets that it can provide.

We have now devised an arrangement which overcomes this limitation.

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a gaming apparatus comprising:

a wheel mounted for rotation about its axis in a horizontal plane, a peripheral region of the upper surface of wheel being divided into a plurality of compartments; means for delivering a plurality of balls to the surface of the wheel; sensing means for identifying which of the compartments of the wheel are simultaneously occupied by balls; and means for providing a payout according to the compartments identified by said sensing means.

Thus the apparatus may be used to play Keno or another such game.

A limitation of such an apparatus, particularly when using a conventional roulette wheel, is that a ball coming to rest adjacent an already occupied compartment may become trapped and therefore fail to enter a compartment.

To overcome this limitation, the apparatus of the present invention preferably comprises at least one striker, most preferably in the form of a swinging pendulum, positioned above the wheel, for dislodging any ball which may become trapped Preferably the or each striker is arranged to deflect balls into unoccupied compartments of the wheel.

As an alternative or, more preferably, in addition to providing the apparatus with one or more strikers, the wheel may be arranged for balls to enter the compartments thereof via a circular channel extending around the wheel and through respective entrance passages formed in the radially innermost edges of the compartments Each compartment is sized to accommodate a single ball so as to present a substantially smooth surface at its entrance from said channel, across which a ball may freely run Where one or more strikers are provided, these preferably form obstructions in said channel.

In existing automated gaming apparatus, to facilitate the recovery of a ball from a compartment of a roulette wheel, the base of each compartment is formed with an aperture A disc, mounted to the underside of the wheel, is formed with a plurality of apertures corresponding to those formed in the compartments of the wheel.

The wheel and the disc are normally arranged such that their corresponding apertures are misaligned, but are rotatable with respect to one another to align the apertures when it is required that the ball should drop through the aligned apertures to be recovered.

However, such an arrangement is limited in that any accumulation of detritus between the opposed surfaces of the wheel and the disc will cause the disc to jam.

To overcome this limitation, each compartment of the wheel is preferably formed with an aperture in its base which exposes the static surface of a track extending below the wheel, a portion of the track being displaceable away from the underside of the wheel to allow a ball held in an overlying compartment to fall through the aperture of that compartment.

To determine the identity of an occupied compartment or the wheel, the wheel is preferably formed with a reference aperture connecting its upper and lower surfaces, with the apparatus comprising:

a first fixed-position sensor mounted below the wheel for detecting the reference aperture as it passes overhead; and a second fixed-position sensor for detecting whether a passing compartment of the wheel is occupied by a ball, and being arranged to count the number of compartments passing the second sensor in the time interval between the reference aperture being detected by the first sensor and an occupied compartment being detected by the second sensor, to determine therefrom the identity of the occupied compartment.

The wheel is preferably formed with a circular arrangement of apertures connecting its upper and lower surfaces, each aperture corresponding with a respective compartment, the number of apertures detected by the first sensor (or by an additional sensor) in said time interval providing said count.

Under different jurisdictions, the number of numbered compartments which must be provided by a roulette wheel can vary, thus requiring a manufacturer to produce a range of automatic gaming machines.

To overcome this limitation, the wheel of the present invention is preferably replaceable and the apparatus is arranged:

to count the number of compartments of the wheel as the wheel is rotated; and to automatically reconfigure itself, each time the wheel is replaced, according to the number of compartments counted.

In existing automated gaming apparatus, it is desirable for players to sit at respective consoles around a roulette wheel so that they are each able to watch the operation of the wheel However, this necessarily limits the number of people who can play the apparatus at any one time.

It is known to provide such an apparatus with a video camera which relays an image of the roulette wheel to the screen of one or more remote monitors, thus enabling an increased number of persons to play the apparatus However, the image provided by a camera is typically of a very poor quality.

We have now derived an arrangement which overcomes this limitation.

To overcome this limitation, the apparatus of the present invention is preferably arranged:

to identify any compartment of the wheel which may be occupied by a ball; and to display a stored image corresponding to any compartment so identified.

The stored image is preferably a simulated image of the whole or a portion of the actual wheel, giving the player the impression that he is viewing the actual wheel of the apparatus Preferably the simulated image is stored as a digitised image of an actual roulette wheel Preferably, prior to the stored image being displayed, the display means provides an animated display of a rotating wheel, which may comprise a sequence of digitised images of an actual wheel.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described by way of an example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of an automated gaming apparatus in accordance with the present invention; Figure 2 is a plan view of the roulette wheel of the gaming apparatus of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a perspective view of a portion of the wheel of Figure 1; Figure 4 is a section through a sub assembly of the apparatus; and Figure 5 is an example of a simulated screen display that might be provided by the apparatus; Referring to Figure 1 of the drawings, an automated roulette-wheel based gaming apparatus is shown comprising a roulette wheel 2 encased beneath a domed canopy 4, a plurality of operating consoles 6, each having a respective touch sensitive screen interface 8, and an elevated screen display 10.

The roulette wheel 2 of the apparatus is shown in detail in Figure 2 and comprises an inclined peripheral region 12 encircling a plurality of compartments 14 The base of each compartment 14 is formed with an aperture 16 having a diameter slightly greater than that of the ball used to play the apparatus.

The wheel 2 is also formed with a reference aperture 18 and a circular arrangement of apertures 20, each corresponding with a respective compartment 14, the apertures 20 being used to determine the number corresponding with an occupied compartment, as will be explained in more detail below.

When the wheel 2 is fitted in place to an upright rotatable shaft 22, as shown in Figure 3, the apertures 16 of the compartments 14 overlie the static surface of an annular track 24 such that a ball, e g 26, coming to rest in one of the compartments will roll along the surface of the track 24 as the wheel 2 is rotated The shaft 22 is rotated by an electric motor 28, which drives the shaft via a gearbox 30.

A portion 32 of the track 24 is pivotally mounted and connected to a solenoid or pneumatically operated plunger 34 such that when the plunger 34 is retracted by the solenoid 36, the pivotally mounted portion 32 is displaced away from the underside of the wheel 2 (as shown) to allow a ball, e g 38, carried in a compartment 14 passing over the pivotally mounted portion 32, to fall through the aperture 16 in the base of that compartment to be recovered.

As shown in Figure 3, a first optical sensor 40 mounted below the wheel 2 is arranged to detect the apertures 20 in the wheel 2 as they pass overhead A second optical sensor 42 mounted adjacent the first sensor 40 is arranged to detect the reference aperture 18 of the wheel as it passes overhead An optical transmitter 44 is arranged to transmit a light beam, through opposed apertures 46,48 formed respectively in the inner and outer walls of each compartment 14, to a third optical sensor 50, such that the beam is broken by a ball sitting (as shown) in a passing compartment 14.

The arrangement of three optical sensors 40,42,50 allows the number corresponding to an occupied compartment to be determined by counting the number of apertures 20 to pass the first sensor 40 in the time interval between the reference aperture 18 being detected by the second sensor 42 and the occupied compartment being detected the third sensor 50.

The arrangement of optical sensors 40,42,50 also allows the apparatus to automatically reconfigure itself when the wheel 10 is replaced with one having a greater or lesser number of compartments 14, by counting the number of apertures 20 detected by the first sensor 40 between successive detections of the reference aperture 18 by the second sensor 42.

At the start of play, balls are released onto the surface of the wheel 2 by a rapid fire ball delivery mechanism (not shown) For example the balls might be carried upwards by and thrown, one at a time, from the top of a rotating Archimedean screw Alternatively, a supply of pressurised air may be provided for blowing balls onto the surface of the wheel.

Referring once again to Figure 1, each screen of the elevated screen display 10 provides a display corresponding to the state of play of a game Whilst the balls have not yet come to rest in respective compartments 14, an animated digitised image of a roulette wheel is displayed Once each ball has come to rest in a compartment 14, an image such as that shown in Figure 8 is displayed to indicate the occupied compartments, as determined from the output of the optical sensors 40,42,50.

The images displayed are such that a player viewing the screens will assume that he is looking at a relayed image of the roulette wheel 2 and not a simulated image The elevated screen display 10 may also be used to present advertising or other information.

As a number of balls are released onto the surface of the wheel at each play, it will be appreciated that any ball coming to rest adjacent an already occupied compartment may become trapped and therefore fail to enter a compartment.

To alleviate this problem, the wheel of Figures 1 and 2 is arranged for balls to enter the compartments 14 thereof via a circular channel 84 and through respective entrance passages 86 formed in the radially innermost edges of the compartments Each compartment 14 is sized to accommodate a single ball so as to present a substantially smooth surface at its entrance 86 from the channel 84, across which a ball may freely run.

One or more strikers in the form of swinging pendulums (not shown) are also mounted above the wheel, and form obstructions in the channel 84 for dislodging any ball which may become trapped The incident surface of each striker is shaped to deflect balls from the channel into unoccupied compartments of the wheel.

The apparatus thus described provides a larger variety of betting schemes than a traditional single ball roulette- wheel based gaming apparatus.

Whilst typically the different compartments carry respective numbers to identify them, they may be identified by any other appropriate system of indicia Also, whilst the apparatus has been described in the form of a roulette apparatus, it may be arranged to play any other game requiring a rotary wheel provided with a series of compartments to receive a ball released onto the wheel.

Claims

Claims

1) A gaming apparatus comprising a roulette wheel mounted for rotation about its axis in a horizontal plane, a peripheral region of the upper surface of wheel being divided into a plurality of compartments.

means for delivering a plurality of balls to the surface of the wheel; sensing means for identifying which of the numbered compartments of the wheel are simultaneously occupied by balls; and at least one striker, positioned above the wheel, for dislodging any ball which may become trapped, the wheel being arranged for balls to enter the compartments thereof via a circular channel extending around the wheel and through respective entrance passages formed in the radially innermost edges of the compartments, each compartment being sized to accommodate a single ball so as to present a substantially smooth surface at its entrance from said channel, across which a ball may freely run, the or each striker forming a respective obstruction in the channel.

Amendments to the claims have been filed as follows Claims 1) A gaming apparatus comprising a roulette wheel mounted for rotation about its axis in a horizontal plane, a peripheral region of the upper surface of wheel being divided into a plurality of compartments.

means for delivering a plurality of balls to the surface of the wheel; sensing means for identifying which of the numbered compartments of the wheel are simultaneously occupied by balls; and at least one striker, positioned above the wheel, for dislodging any ball which may become trapped, the wheel being arranged for balls to enter the compartments thereof via a circular channel extending around the wheel and through respective entrance passages formed in the radially innermost edges of the compartments, each compartment being sized to accommodate a single ball so as to present a substantially smooth surface at its entrance from said channel, across which a ball may freely run, the or each striker forming a respective obstruction in the channel.