SE415435B - MALDEFEKTOR - Google Patents

Description

15 20 25 30 35 H0 7sno419-9 consideration and has not been a participant to such an extent that he has been able to control or influence the nature of or make additions to the presentation that has appeared on the TV screen. An ordinary TV receiver with auxiliary equipment was used to provide an active form of home entertainment. Since most homes have TV receivers, the only cost_ that arises to provide extended family entertainment is the expense required for a controller of one kind or another.

An object of an present invention is therefore to provide a device for presenting video signals on a TV receiver's screen, wherein some or all video signals are both generated and controlled by the viewer and where a visual indication of the result of the game played or of the simulated the training programs completed are obtained. The object of the invention is thereby to provide a target detector, with which the activated viewer should be able to influence the image information. Helin how to achieve through the mwdwl specified in the characteristic part of the following main claim. Another object of the present invention is to be able to interrogate an ordinary TV receiver by means of such a target detector by allowing the optical photo-sensing device to identify a time or frequency coded message, which cannot be interpreted by an unarmed eye, wherein such a message generated or up: entered into the TV viewer's equipment through a cooperating TV station or _ a closed loop TV system or a central antenna TV system. In this way, with the present invention, devices can be provided for decoding messages on a TV screen. In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, there is a video game apparatus which generates video signals in accordance with the standardized TV format, the signals being controllable by a individual operator by means of an (aircraft) lever or other actuator intended for manual action. The video game apparatus comprises a control box, in which are present all the necessary electronic circuits for producing video signals which are compatible with ordinary 'television sets' for monochrome or color reproduction. The control box has operating means for the video signals, these operating means being easily accessible, and furthermore there are connecting means for connecting them. video signals that are generated in the control box of the TV receiver and a target detector which, by being directed at the information displayed on the screen, can affect this information under certain conditions.

As an example, the electronic game or hunting apparatus can be used for electronic target firing by providing a target detector in the form of a rifle with a photoelectric cell, which is activated when a trigger is actuated. Thus, when the rifle is aimed at a point, which is presented on the TV screen and which serves as a target, and the trigger on the rifle is affected, a hit will be indicated directly on the TV screen through a visual presentation when the photocell is directed towards the point. The target point can be either fixed or movable and can be moved across the screen in a predetermined or random manner and at either fixed or varied speed and either manually or automatically. As further illustrative examples, it can be stated that the device can be used in such a way that a cooperating TV station can achieve targets for target firing as well as messages that must be decoded. Thus, test questions can be presented on the TV screen together with a plurality of answers, the correct answer being coded in such a way that a photocell circuit in the target detector detects the coding indicating the choice of the correct answer.

From the examples now given, it is clear to a person skilled in the art that the present invention has a very large area of use.

The aforementioned and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of the basic components of an embodiment of the invention; Fig. 2A shows a target detector according to the invention in the form of a "light gun" containing a photocell and electronic circuits, Z Fig. 2B shows the way in which the components of the embodiment shown in Fig. 1 can be connected when used together with a cooperating TV station. Fig. 3 shows a block diagram of the control unit according to Fig. 1, Fig. 4 shows a wiring diagram of the electronic circuits of a target firing device, Fig. 5 shows a TV screen used for coded information and Fig. 6 shows a wiring diagram for a decoding device used to decode the information present on the TV screen shown in Fig. 5. '10 15 20 25 30 'ss RO. 7800419-9 e 'iu VI the following describes preferably used embodiments of the invention, and the basic components of such an embodiment of a television device for gaming and hunting according to the invention are indicated in Fig. 1, which in perspective shows a TV receiver 10, a control unit 14 and means 12 for connecting the control unit 1U to the receiver 10. The TV receiver designated by 10 can be any commercially available type of standard design for home use. Both black and white and color television sets can be used in connection with the present invention, since the basic principles of the invention apply in both cases. The connecting means 12 in this case consists of a shielded cable of, for example, a double conductor type and it is connected to the antenna connections of the receiver 10 in the usual way. In the control unit 1H video signals are generated which are shown as points 201 and 202 and these can be positioned on the receiver screen 18 by means of knobs 16, 17 and 17, respectively. 161, 171. In the embodiment shown here, the points 20 consist of squares or rectangles, but they can have any geometric shape. The knob 16 controls the point 201 in the vertical position and the knob 17 controls the horizontal position of the same point. It is thus clear that the point 201 can be placed at any place on the screen by suitably actuating the knobs 16 and 17.

Point 20g is positioned in the same way through knobs 161 and 171.

A reset switch 26 is displayed on the controller 14 and is used to reset the image on the TV screen. With a knob 15, the background color can be adjusted when the color TV is used. By supplementing the target design with the present target detector according to the present invention in a manner which will be described in more detail below, for example, a game can be played in which, by the target of the target detector towards any of the points 20¶, 202 as shown in Figs. 2A and 2B, hit indication is obtained. so that the dot disappears if it is a black and white TV or a color TV * the dot disappears and the background changes color. When it comes to. games of this kind require an effect reset means before the game can be resumed. The reset switch 26 performs this function.

The control unit 14 will now be described in more detail with reference to the block diagram shown in Fig. 3. The timing of the video game system is provided in the control unit by a horizontal sync generator 31 and a vertical sync generator 32.

In the horizontal sink generator 31 used in this embodiment, it consists of a multivibrator (astable rocker) 10 15 20 25 30 35 H0 7aoo419-9 with an output signal consisting of a series of pulses instead of one of square wave. The repetition rate of the pulses is the same as the horizontal scan frequency for the ordinary TV receivers. The positive sync pulse output signal 81 from the horizontal sync generator 31 is applied simultaneously to a first "point" generator 34, a second "point" generator 35 and a color generator 33 (for color-Two applications). The negative sync pulse output 82 from the horizontal sync generator 31 is fed directly to a summing amplifier modulator 37. The "point" generators 34 and 35, when triggered by the horizontal sync generator 31, generate a pulse which is the horizontal video information portion of the composite TV signal forming the points "20 on the TV receiver's screen 18. The manual control knobs 16, 17 and 161, 171 on the control unit are attached to shafts belonging to potentiometers in resp. 3H and 35 point generator circuits of "point" generators. Alternatively, a single lever in the form of a lever can be connected to the knobs 16, 17 and a second lever can be connected to the knobs 161, 171. By setting the said potentiometers, the position of the points on the TV screen is achieved.

Vertical Sync Generator 3? is coupled to the first and second "point" generators BH and 35 and triggers these "point" generators to generate a pulse which forms the vertical video information portion of the composite TV signal. By combining the horizontal and vertical signals, a point is formed on the TV receiver's screen. There are two manually adjustable control knobs for each point. One of the knobs controls the position of the horizontal pulse and the other regulates the position of the vertical pulse. The output signal from the "point" generator consists of the delayed horizontal pulses which are gated by the delayed vertical pulse, and thereby the position of the points on the TV screen is determined.

The horizontal and vertical video information from the first and second "point" generators 34 and 35, respectively, are summed in the summing circuit included in the summing amplifier modulator 37. The summing circuit consists of a resistor matrix which sums to one point all signals it receives. the composite video information is formed.

The composite video information is then fed to the modulator part of the summing amplifier modulator 37 and to a high frequency oscillator 38, which modulates the video information on the carrier to generate the modulated high frequency signal, which is then routed to the antenna terminals. The high frequency signal present at the antenna connections is detected and processed by the TV tuner in the usual way and presented on the screen. The two adjustable punters are the means that allow the game. * 10 15 20 25 so_ ess H0 78001419-9 Alternatively, the video signal can be input to an internal point in the TV receiver without any modulation of a high frequency carrier.

The "dot" coincidence detector circuit (line detection circuit) denoted by H0 receives input signals from the first and the second "dot" generator 34 and 34, respectively. 35. A measuring circuit 36 is further connected to the detector circuit 40, which may comprise a photocell 50 which can be directed towards the display 18 (Fig. 4). In the event of a coincidence between any of the points 201 and 202 and the projection of the photocell intended on the screen, the "hit" point will be disconnected through the detector circuit H0. Thus, when a point_hits, one of will disappear.

One game that can be played using the prior art invention is target shooting. A toy rifle with a photocell is electrically connected to the control unit.

, When using the said rifle, which is also called a "light pistol", hits are indicated on the screen by one of the points disappearing. Signals detected by a target circuit 36 are used to trigger the part of the detector circuit 40 which shuts off the first "point" generator 34. One of the points will thus disappear and thereby indicate a hit. The operation of the target circuit will be described in more detail in connection with Fig. 4.

The color generator 33 is used when the control unit 14 is connected to a color TV receiver. The color generator 33 can be excluded in the case of black and white (monochrome) applications. When using color, the gaming device is the same as with black and white receivers, with the exception that the background color of a color TV receiver can be regulated.

A color control knob 15 (see Fig. 1) is arranged on the control unit 14 and is connected to a potentiometer 33 of a color generator, and thereby it is possible to vary the background color within the whole color spectrum. The horizontal sink generator 31 provides the trip signal to the color generator 33, the summing circuit of the summing amplifier modulator 37 is summed to the other parts of the video information. The resulting composite video information then modulates in the high frequency generator 38 the carrier generated there. The high frequency signal is then, as before, applied to the TV receiver's antenna connections 19 and detected, processed and presented in the usual manner.

The supply source H1 is preferably a battery and the various circuits thereby obtain such a supply that they function. 10 15 20 30 35 40 7800419-9 The target circuits 36 are shown schematically in Fig. H. When the rifle is aimed at the target point on the TV screen, a photocell 50, which is arranged inside the barrel of the rifle, will detect the intensity modulated point. The signal obtained by the detection is amplified by the transistors 51 and 52. When the rifle trigger finally acts on the Switch 53, the amplified detector signal will be applied to a control electrode in a controlled silicon rectifier 104, which is included in the detector circuit 40 and thereby passes to conductive circuitry. stand and provides ground potential at the 3U output of the "point" generator so that the point? 01 disappears. Whether the first or second point was used as a target does not matter, as a hit will be indicated by the disappearance of the first point. If only one point is to be presented on the TV screen as a target, the first point can be used for this. A reset switch 26 has been provided for the target to reappear after a hit is marked. The part of the circuit which lies within the line denoted by 56 forms part of the coincidence circuit 40. The potentiometer 57 provides a setting possibility, so that the threshold level of the photocell 50 can be adjusted in such a way that it is only when the rifle is carefully aimed at the target as the point disappears. This avoids false hits due to foreign light from the surroundings. The setting shall be such that the controlled rectifier 104 does not become conductive by light coming from the surroundings but only by the brightness which the presented point exhibits.

As already stated, the invention can be used in connection with a cooperating TV station in the form of a standard commercial TV station, a closed loop TV system or central antenna TV systems. When working in this way, the invention can be used for target shooting and or for decoding messages on a TV screen, these messages being the result of a transmission from a cooperating TV station, and it can for instance be a question of samples where also the coded answer is added. Other uses may consist of broadcasts from organizations that offer a viewer-equipped service as specified here, which may, for example, consist of recommendations regarding purchases from consumer information organizations, recommendations regarding the purchase or sale of certain shares, as well as other Services that include presentation of valuable Information for a tílIur ~ which is equipped in accordance with Nan present invention. io 15 20 25 30 35 40 f is shown on the TV screen 18 and further there are symbols 5 '7800419-9 Fig. 6 shows a device which allows both target shooting and decoding. The decoding part is described in connection with the sketch shown in Fig. 5. Although the circuit shown in Fig. 6 is used for both decoding and target shooting, it is clear that certain components can be omitted when only one of the two functions is desired.

The information is presented on the TV screen in such a way that a section of it is coded. Fig. 5 shows, for example, possible answers 152 f.o.m. 155 next to each answer. One of the symbols (in this case the one denoted by 153) has been coded in such a way that it triggers in Fig. 6 a presentation for test purposes. The question and a group 'showed the decoder. The symbols denoted by 152, 154 and 155 can, for example, flash 60 times while the symbol 153 for the correct answer flashes 61 times. The decoding device according to Fig. 6 is arranged to react for the odd number of flashes. The electronic circuit device shown in Fig. 6 can be mounted in the "guver" or in another suitable device and can there-. too easily handled.

In the circuit shown in Fig. 6, an initial actuation of a reset switch 142, which consists of a double-pole one-way switch, will put the device into operation. The modulation from the coded symbol, when it hits a photocell 136, will be transmitted via a buffer amplifier 137 and a pulse shaper 138 to a flip-flop 139, which is thereby actuated to change state. The output signal from the flip-flop 139 is transmitted via a buffer amplifier 141 to a lamp 140, which will illuminate with steady light until a reset takes place. When the light is steady, this indicates that the correct answer has been selected. 7 v If an incorrect answer is selected, the lamp will flash for a time equal to the time the symbol (152, 154, 155) is modulated, after which the lamp goes out.

In order for the next question to emerge, the decoder is returned to the start state by an actuation of the reset switch 142. It is to be noted that the reset switch must be actuated initially for the flip-flop to be in the correct state to produce a cash output signal to the lamp when the photocell 136 receives an odd number of periods.

In order for the circuit shown in Fig. 6 to operate during target firing, a switch 145 is switched to the contacts 146, 147.

In this mode of operation (see Fig. 2A), a target point 148 (Fig. 2A) will be obtained from the cooperating station, which may also provide background scenarios for aesthetic purposes. 10 15 20 25 30 35 9 7soo419-9 When the "rifle" or "gun" 27H (Fig. 2A) is aimed at the target 1H8 and the trigger (switch or switch 1H4 in Fig. 6) is actuated, the photocell 136 will emit an output signal. , which via the buffer amplifier 137 and the buffer amplifier and the pulse shaper 138 goes to the control electrode in a controlled silicon rectifier 1H9, which thereby becomes conductive and causes the lamp 1H0 to light up.

Fig. 2B shows an alternative embodiment, in which the output signal from the "rifle" 27 used in the target firing is fed to a "bar" circuit 4U, the output signal of which is fed to the antenna connection so that the screen becomes white when a hit is noted. The principles now stated apply with the same force to both black-and-white and color applications. Although the invention has been described as being mainly applied to black and white TV receivers, devices for working with color TV have also been described and can be applied to such games where the possibility of changing the background color is used. It is thus clear that such a game as roulette can be played for the purpose of guessing what color appears when the roulette wheel is hit by an activated target detector and stops spinning.

Furthermore, the invention can be used in target firing to indicate a hit by the point disappearing and / or by a change in the background color. The ones now mentioned are only a few of the innumerable variations that may come into question. During target shooting, a player can manually move a point while another player seeks to hit the point with the photocell rifle. Alternatively, the target can be moved automatically by being driven by the bias voltage for the delay flip-flop in a "point" generator with a variable voltage source.

It is also clear that the principles of the invention are not limited to gaming applications but can also be used for scientific, teaching, clinical and other applications. The applications shown are therefore only examples and many variations and modifications can be made without departing from the principles of the invention which have been stated and are further fixed by the patent claims.

Claims (9)

78004194 e 10 PATENTKRAV A target shooting type game device comprising a commercial television receiver (10) fed from an information transmitter, the transmitter generating one or more targeted moving light points (20, 148; 152 - 155) on the television receiver's picture. screen intended to be sensed by means of a photocell (50; 136), characterized in that the photocell (50, 136) is arranged in a target detector intended to be able to be directed at a distance from the screen towards one of the moving light points (20, 148; 155) and connected to a target sensing circuit (36, Fig. 6) so that upon activation due to light from one of the light points hitting the photocell arranged at a distance from the screen in the target detector, the target hit of the target detector is recorded. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the target sensing circuit (36; Fig. 6) is arranged to influence a coincidence circuit (56; 139). Device according to claim 2, characterized in that the target sensing circuit (36; Fig. 6) is activatable by means of a switch (53, 144) included in the connection between the target sensing circuit and the coincidence circuit, so that when the photocell (509 i36) senses intensity modulated light from the light point or points (20; 148; 152 - 155), said coincidence circuit is activated. Device according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the target sensing circuit (36; Fig. 60) comprises an amplifier (51, 52; 137, 138) connected to the photocell (50; 136), the output signal of which depending on the sensed target and the position of the switch (53, 144) is input to a silicon rectifier (104; 149) included in the coincidence circuit (56; 133) to make this conductive and ground the coincidence circuit, so that sensed target on the monitor (18) is highlighted . Device according to any one of claims 2 - 4, characterized in that the coincidence circuit (56) is connected to a point generator (34) included in the information transmitter arranged to generate said target in the form of a light point (20) on TV. the receiver's display (18), which light point is caused to disappear from the display by activating the coincidence circuit. 7800419-9 11 Device according to any one of claims 2 - U, characterized in that the coincidence circuit (56) is connected to a color generator (33) included in the information transmitter arranged to generate color information on the TV receiver's screen (18), which color information through the activation of the coincidence circuit is changed. Device according to one of Claims 3 to 6, characterized in that the switch (53) is shunted by a resistance branch with a central socket connected to the socket on a potentiometer (57) which is voltage-supplied (B +) for setting the threshold level of the photocell (50). Device according to Claim 1, characterized in that intensity modulation of the light points (152 - 155) appearing on the screen (18) is coded in a manner which is inexplicably visible to the eye and has a flashing frequency with a 7 even number of times (n ) and an uneven number of times (n + 1), the coincidence circuit (139) being bistable and arranged to be exhibited by the flashing frequency, so that a signal means (140) connected to the bistable circuit is caused to indicate a value corresponding to the state of the bistable circuit. Device according to one of Claims 2 to 17, characterized in that the coincidence circuit (56; 139) is resettable to its original value by means of a resetting means (26; 142), which brings the silicon contained in the coincidence circuit into 1I1 _ STILL PUBLICATIONS. : IBM Disclosure Bulletin Vol. 10 No. 7 December 1967 p. 980. IEEE Transactions on Computers, August 1968 p. 799. vf '