AUTOMATIC ELECTRONIC GAMING MACHINE OF THE ROULETTE TYPE

• US 3,819,186 A
• Filed: 06/07/1972
• Issued: 06/25/1974
• Est. Priority Date: 09/15/1971
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Adolf Hinterstocker
• Original Assignee: Adolf Hinterstocker
• Inventors: Hinterstocker, Adolf
• Primary Examiner(s): Oechsle, Anton O.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kramer, Arnold W.
• Application Number:
  US05/260,364
• Time in Patent Office: 748 Days
• Field of Search: 273/138A,139,142A,142B,137A,136A,135A,135B,13AB,131A,134A
• US Class Current: 463/17
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/34 depending on the stopping of moving members in a mechanical slot machine, e.g. "fruit" machines

Abstract

An electronic automatic roulette game having a simulated number cup and a simulated revolving ball. A game board includes a plurality of numbers corresponding to the numbers on the cup and further subdivided into various color fields and high and low number groups any of which a player can bet a stake on. The cup includes a plurality of lights which are energized in succession under control of an oscillator to simulate the revolving ball, each light corresponding to one of the colored numbers. A counting unit and stake bet computer circuit automatically ascertain when the amount of the stake selected by the player to be bet has been fully paid by the player and cooperate to bring the oscillator to rest, thus stopping rotation of the simulated ball. A win determining circuit compares the number, color, or high and low numbers selected by the player to the colored number position of the simulated ball to determine any correspondence which correspondence controls the pay out.

Claims

1. An electronic automatic gaming machine of the roulette type comprising a game board in which a winning number of a number field made up of a plurality of differing numbers can be illuminated by a simulated rotating ball with the odd numbers having one coloration and the even numbers another coloration, said board including numbers corresponding to the numbers of the number field and subdivided into high and low number groups and color fields for player selection of a number, color field or a high or low number group, a number cup unit including a number of illuminatable lamps making up said number field and means for successively illuminating said lamps in response to the normally occurring output of a frequency controlled oscillator so as to simulate the rotating ball, setting means operable by a player for selecting a stake to be bet on a single number, a color, or high and low numbers, or combinations thereof, a counting unit arranged to receive disk payments made by the player depending on his selected bets, a stake computer circuit coupled to said setting means and said counting unit and being arranged to deliver to said number cup unit a paid-up signal when the disk payments paid by the player match the stake selected, said signal causing the frequency controlled oscillator to reduce its oscillator frequency to zero whereby the number field corresponding to the winning number remains illuminated.

2. A gaming machine as set forth in claim 1 further including win determining circuit means coupled to said number cup unit and said setting means for determining coincidence between the winning number and any previously operated setting means.

3. A gaming machine as set forth in claim 2 further including resetting means operable by the player before the initiation of a playing cycle for resetting the circuits of the machine to the respective standby playing condition in which the oscillator operates at its normally occurring frequency above the perception limit of human vision so as to prevent a player from following the simulated rotation of the illuminated number field.

4. An automatic gaming machine according to claim 3, wherein said win determination circuit means coupled to said number cup unit and said setting means for determining coincidence delivers a winning signal to a winning signal line in case of coincidence.

5. An automatic gaming machine as set forth in claim 2 including pay-out means coupled to the win determining circuit means and including a disk store and a disk pay-out means, a shift register and a switching network for interrogating the win determining circuit means and for controlling the disk pay-out means.

6. An automatic gaming machine as set forth in claim 5 wherein the pay-out means includes a pay-out device for the selected number and a pay-out device for the selected high or low number group prize, said devices being alternately operable.

7. An automatic gaming machine as set forth in claim 1 including means for controlling the frequency of the oscillator such that the initial oscillation frequency of the oscillator lies above the perception limit of human vision, and upon appearance of said pay signal the oscillation frequency falls abruptly to a lower value within the perception region of human vision and thereafter falls to zero within the course of a predetermined time interval.

8. An automatic gaming machine as set forth in claim 1 wherein said means for successively illuminating said lamps includes a switching device containing a multistage shift register whose shift pulse input is coupled with th output of the oscillator and means for coupling a logic member to the input of the first stage of the shift register, which logic member delivers, for one shift pulse, a binary 1 to the first stage, the first to the last-but-one stage of the shift register store in each case initially being zero '"'"''"'"''"'"''"'"'0.'"'"''"'"''"'"''"'"'

9. An automatic gaming machine as set forth in claim 1, wherein the stake computing circuit includes stake units corresponding to varying amounts and contains for each stake unit a forwardly and backwardly operating counter which has a forward counting input and a reverse counting input, a key circuit, one of the inputs being coupled to the key circuit appertaining to the respective stake, the other input being coupled to the counting unit.

10. An electronic automatic gaming machine of the roulette type comprising a game board in which a winning number of an illuminatable number field made up of a plurality of differing numbers can be illuminated by a simulated ball with the odd numbers having one coloration and the even numbers another coloration, and fields for betting upon a number, a color or a group of high or low numbers, the illuminated number field including a frequency controlled oscillator, a switching device connected to receive the output from said oscillator and adapted to be controlled by the oscillations of the oscillator and a number of lamps connected to said switching device and switchable in succession by the switching device in synchronism with the oscillator so as to illuminate the number field in simulation of a rotating ball, player operated setting unit means for selecting a stake to be bet on a number, a color, or a high or low number group, a counting unit arranged to receive disk payments made by the player depending upon the stake of his selected bets, a stake computer circuit coupled with the setting unit and the counting unit and being arranged initially to sum the appertaining stake chosen by the player and subtract therefrom the disk payments offered by the player and deliver to said frequency controlled oscillator a pay signal when the stake has been fully paid, said pay signal causing the frequency controlled oscillator to reduce its oscillator frequency to zero within a predetermined time duration whereby the number corresponding to the winning number remains illuminated.

11. A gaming machine as set forth in claim 10 including win determining circuit means coupled to said number field and the setting unit for determining coincidence between the winning number and any previously operated setting unit and pay-out means coupled to the win determining circuit means, said pay-out unit containing a disk store and disk pay-out means.

12. A gaming machine as set forth in claim 11 further including resetting means operable by the player before the beginning of a new playing cycle, said resetting means being arranged upon operation to reset all circuits to the respective standby playing condition in which the oscillator oscillates at a frequency above the perception limit of human vision.

13. An electronic automatic gaming machine of the roulette type comprising a game board in which a winning number of a number field made up of a plurality of numbers can be illuminated by a simulated rotating ball, said board including a variety of numbers which are suBdivided into various number groups, an number fields for setting up a number or a group of numbers adapted to be selected by a player, a simulated number cup unit having a frequency controllable oscillator, a frequency control device for controlling the oscillation frequency, a switching device controlled by the oscillations of the oscillator and a number of lamps switchable in succession by the switching device in synchronism with the oscillator so as to simulate the rotating ball in the simulated number cup, said lamps representing the illuminatable number field bearing the numbers of the number cup, a setting unit including a number of setting keys which represent the fields for placing a stake or bet, and a key store for each number, each key of a store containing a storage stage settable by the operation of the key, a counting unit arranged to receive disk payments made by the player, a stake computer ciruit coupled with the setting unit and the counting unit and being arranged initially to sum the appertaining stake for each setting key which is operated and also to sum the disk payment offered by the player and to deliver to the number cup unit a pay signal when the stake has been fully paid, said pay signal causing the frequency control device to reduce the oscillator frequency to zero within a predetermined time duration whereby the number corresponding to the winning number remains illuminated.

14. A gaming machine as set forth in claim 13 including a win determining circuit coupled to the number cup unit and the setting unit for determining any disk winnings to be paid upon coincidence of the winning number to the number of any of the operated keys, and a disk pay-out unit coupled to the win determining circuit and containing a disk store and a disk pay-out device.

15. A gaming machine as set forth in claim 14 including a resetting device operable by the player before the beginning of a cycle, said device serving to reset all units to the respective standby playing condition in which the oscillator oscillates ata relatively high frequency above the perception limit of human vision.

16. An automatic gaming machine according to claim 15, wherein the frequency control device is set such that after operation of the resetting device the oscillation frequency of the oscillator lies above the perception limit of human vision, and upon appearance of said pay signal falls abruptly to a lower value in particular within perception region of human vision and thereafter falls to zero within the course of a predetermined time interval.

17. An automatic gaming machine according to claim 14, wherein the switching device includes a multiple stage shift register whose shift pulse input is coupled with the output of the oscillator, a logic member means for coupling to the input of the first stage of the shift register, for one shift pulse, a binary 1 to the first stage, when the first to the last-but one stage of the shift register store in each case is a binary 0.

18. An automatic gaming machine according to claim 17, wherein the win determination circuit contains logic members having a first connection in each case to a stage of the key store and also stages of the shift register, said logic members being arranged after the oscillator is at rest to deliver a winning signal to a winning signal line when the shift register stage, which stores a binary 1 after the oscillator has been brought to rest, is coupled to the respective logic member.

19. An automatic gaming machine according to claim 14, wherein the disk pay-out unit includes a shift register and a switching network for interrogating the winning signal lines and for the control of at least one disk pay-out device.

20. An automatic gaming machine according to claim 19, wherein the disk pay-out unit includes a disk pay-out device for th winning number and a disk pay-out device for the winning number group, said devices being alternately operable.

21. An automatic gaming machine according to claim 20 including an oscillator for controlling the shift register, th disk pay-out devices and the switching network.

22. An automatic gaming machine according to claim 20, wherein the disk pay-out unit includes circuit means for determining and prescribing the time duration available for the paying out operation with the duration of time proscribed being associated with the respective pay-out device.

23. An automatic gaming machine according to claim 13, wherein the stake computing circuit contains for each stake unit a forwardly and backwardly operating counter which has a forward counting input and a reverse counting input, the one of which inputs is coupled to the setting key circuit appertaining to the respective stake, while the other input is coupled to the counting unit.