ELECTRONIC SYSTEM FOR A GAME OF CHANCE

• US 20020013170A1
• Filed: 11/03/1999
• Published: 01/31/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 11/03/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LIF Capital Group, LLC
• Original Assignee: 516 Holdings, Inc.
• Inventors: SALIGA, THOMAS V, MILLER, BRADLEY K
• Granted Patent: US 6,354,941 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 463/19
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 3/0645 Electric lottos or bingo games

Abstract

Electronic equipment is provided for playing a bingo-like game in a fashion closely simulative of the well known game of bingo played with paper cards. The three main functional components are: a) a central computer that is used both to determine which sets of faces are downloaded into players'"'"' game boards and to reconcile cash received by a salesperson with the number of downloaded games authorized to be played; b) players'"'"' game boards, each of which is adapted to receive enabling messages from a sales unit, to display enabled sets of playable indicia simulative of a bingo card and to modify that display responsive to a player'"'"'s input; and c) the sales unit, which is adapted both to send an enabling message to a player'"'"'s game board responsive to a manual input from a salesperson, and to record each such enabling transaction for later upload to the central computer. Another feature of the system is a switching arrangement for controlling a LCD display in a manner simulative of the use of a conventional ink dauber in marking a paper bingo card. This may be done by using a permanent magnet disposed on a simulative dauber that cooperates with a Hall-effect, or other, magnetic field sensor disposed behind an LCD display cell.

Claims

1. A gaming system for use by an operator and a plurality of players in playing a bingo-like game, the system comprising:

computer means adapted to be controlled by the operator to download data representative of a patterned array of indicia into each of a plurality of game board computers, the computer means further adapted to communicate a respective enabling message to a predetermined one of the game board computers responsive to receiving a payment from one of the players; and

wherein

the predetermined game board computer is adapted to display the respective patterned array of indicia only after receiving the enabling message.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the computer means comprises a base computer and a sales computer, wherein the base computer is adapted to download a first predetermined number of sets of indicia to the game board computer, wherein the game board computer comprises a computer memory adapted to store the first predetermined number of sets of indicia;

and wherein the display is adapted to display a second predetermined number, no greater than the first predetermined number, of the first predetermined number of sets of indicia after receiving the enabling message from the sales computer.

3. The system of claim 1 further comprising:

a marking device adapted to be moved by one of the players adjacent a selected cell of the display; and

a proximity sensing means having an output to the game board computer when the marking device is adjacent the selected cell.

4. A game board for playing a bingo-like game, the game board comprising:

first display means adapted to display a first patterned array of indicia on a first portion of the game board, wherein each of the indicia of the first plurality thereof is displayed in a respective display cell;

display control means adapted to alter the visible appearance of a selected one of the first plurality of indicia responsive to the player bringing a marking means proximate that cell displaying the selected indicium;

second display means for displaying a second patterned array of indicia on a second portion of the game board separate from the first portion thereof; and

switching means having an output to the display control means, wherein the display control means is further adapted to replace the display of the first patterned array with a display of the second patterned array responsive to the output.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein

the first and second display means comprise respective LCD panels;

the marking means comprises a permanent magnet; and

the display control means comprises a Hall effect sensor.

6. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein

the first and second display means comprise respective electronic ink displays;

the marking means comprises a permanent magnet; and

the display control means comprises a Hall effect sensor.

7. The game board of claim 4 further comprising a liquid-tight sealed housing.

8. The game board of claim 4 further comprising a power supply having both a main battery and a back-up battery operatively connected thereto, the power supply adapted to selectively supply power to both the first and the second display means from only one of the main battery and the back-up battery.

9. In a display apparatus for a bingo-like game wherein a patterned array of a predetermined number of indicia are separately displayed in a respective predetermined number of display cells and wherein a player alters the visual appearance of a selected indicium by bringing a marking device proximate the cell wherein the selected indicium is displayed, an improvement comprising:

a computer adapted to control the display, the computer having a computer memory operatively associated therewith, the computer memory storing a representation of the respective indicium displayed in each of the respective display cells;

a respective sensor operatively associated with each of the display cells, each sensor adapted to sense the proximate presence of the marking device, each sensor having a respective output to the computer; and

wherein the computer is adapted to replace the representation of the selected indicium stored in the computer memory with a representation of an altered indicium responsive to receiving an output from that sensor operatively associated with the selected display cell.

10. The display apparatus of claim 9 wherein the marking means comprises a permanent magnet and wherein the sensor comprises a Hall effect sensor.

11. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein the display cells comprise portions of an LCD display.

12. The apparatus of claim 9 further comprising a power supply having both a main battery and a back-up battery operatively connected thereto, the power supply adapted to selectively supply power to the computer only one of the main battery and the back-up battery, the power supply further adapted to supply an output to the computer whenever the power is supplied from the back-up battery.

13. A apparatus for displaying an indicium of a plurality thereof, each of the indicia respectively associated with a predetermined bingo-like game in a session comprising a plurality of the bingo-like games, the apparatus comprising:

a movable member having the indicium disposed thereon;

selection means operable by a player; and

means for moving the movable member to display the selected indicium.

14. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein the movable member comprises an endless belt having a plurality of the indicia disposed along its length.

15. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein the indicium comprises a colored portion of the belt.

16. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein the means for moving the movable member comprises an electric motor.

17. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein the means for moving the movable member comprise manual means adapted to turn a roller shaft.

18. A method of playing a bingo-like game wherein prior to the game each of a plurality of players pays an operator for a respective playable face that is one of a first plurality of playable faces, the method comprising the steps of:

.

a) providing each player with a respective game board of a plurality thereof, each game board comprising a visually alterable display, each game board further comprising a respective game board memory having stored therein data representative of a second plurality of playable faces, the second plurality comprising a subset of the first plurality, the second plurality selected so that no two game board memories contain data representative of the same face; and

b) communicating an enabling message from a computer controlled by the operator to the respective game board responsive to the respective player paying the operator for the playable face, whereby the respective game board displays the respective playable face.

19. The method of claim 18 further comprising a step c) subsequent to step b) of:

c) altering an indicium displayed in a cell of the alterable display when the player brings a permanent magnet adjacent the cell.

20. The method of claim 18 wherein the communication in step b) is carried out by non-contact communication means.

21. In a bingo-like game wherein a patterned array of indicia are displayed on a display apparatus at a player'"'"'s location, and wherein the player uses a marking means to mark a predetermined one of the indicia, an improvement characterized in that:

the marking means comprises a permanent magnet;

the display apparatus comprises a plurality of display cells, each of the cells adapted to separately display one of the indicia; and

a respective sensor is disposed adjacent each display cell, such that each of the sensors is adapted to sense the proximate presence of the magnet, each of the sensors having a respective output to a computer, and wherein

the computer is adapted to alter that indicium displayed in a cell when the marking means is adjacent thereto.

22. The display apparatus of claim 21 wherein the sensor comprises a Hall effect sensor.

23. The display apparatus of claim 21 wherein each of the display cells comprises a portion of an LCD display.

24. The display apparatus of claim 21 wherein each of the display cells comprises a portion of an electronic ink display.

25. The display apparatus of claim 21 further comprising a sealed housing.

26. In a game board apparatus for playing a bingo-like game, the apparatus comprising a display means for displaying a patterned array of indicia, and a control means adapted to alter the display of one of the indicia responsive to a player'"'"'s input, an improvement comprising:

a sealed housing portion of the game board;

a main battery disposed within the sealed housing, the main battery operatively connected to a power supply circuit adapted to supply regulated electric power to the control means; and

a back-up battery disposed within the sealed housing, the back-up battery operatively connected to the power supply circuit;

wherein the power supply circuit comprises selection means adapted to selectively draw unregulated electric power from only a selected one of the main battery and the back-up battery.

27. The improved game board of claim 26 wherein the power supply circuit further comprises means to supply a signal output to the control means if the unregulated electric power is drawn from the back-up battery.

28. The improved game board of claim 26 wherein the main battery comprises a rechargeable battery and wherein the back-up battery comprises a primary battery.

29. The improved game board of claim 26 wherein the main battery comprises a rechargeable battery and wherein the back-up battery comprises a secondary battery electrically connected to a photovoltaic cell.