Amusement apparatus

• US 4,037,845 A
• Filed: 01/09/1976
• Issued: 07/26/1977
• Est. Priority Date: 03/14/1975
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Bally Manufacturing Corp. (Park Hotels & Resorts Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Bally Manufacturing Corp. (Park Hotels & Resorts Inc.)
• Inventors: Hooker, Donald E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Skogquist, Harland S.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kramer, Arnold W.
• Application Number:
  US05/647,905
• Time in Patent Office: 564 Days
• Field of Search: 273/138 A, 273/143 R, 273/143 A, 273/143 B, 273/143 C, 273/143 D, 273/143 E
• US Class Current: 273/143.00R
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/34 depending on the stopping of moving members in a mechanical slot machine, e.g. "fruit" machines

Abstract

An amusement apparatus having a plurality of symbol displaying elements, such as rotatable reels, with some of said symbols on the display elements being "Win" symbols having potential score values and others being "Hold" symbols without score values and said display elements adapted to randomly index in a viewing area during a play cycle a combination of said symbols with or without other symbols or "Blanks" having no value, and control elements associated with the changeable symbol display elements which are adapted to modify the random indexing of the symbols by holding automatically in indexed position in the viewing area any "Win" symbols during the play cycle immediately following a play cycle in which the "Win" symbol and a "Hold" symbol have been simultaneously indexed in the viewing area of the apparatus so that a winning combination of symbols may be automatically built-up in a series of play cycles before all of the symbol display elements are again changed and randomly indexed.

Claims

1. An amusement apparatus having a plurality of symbol display elements each having a plurality of symbols of a first type which designate "Win" symbols and a plurality of symbols of a second type which designate "Hold" symbols, said apparatus normally operative in a play cycle for displaying one symbol from each display element sequentially in a viewing area, said display elements adapted to be indexed at the end of a play cycle to display in said viewing area one symbol from each said display element to form a combination of said symbols which can have a predetermined score value, and control means associated with said display elements for automatically holding in said viewing area during the next succeeding play cycle a said "Win" symbol when at least one of the symbols simultaneously indexed with said "Win" symbol in said viewing area at the end of the first mentioned play cycle is a "Hold" symbol;

whereby a combination having increased score value can be built up stepwise in successive play cycles.

2. An amusement apparatus having a symbol viewing area and a plurality of symbol display elements with each said display element having a plurality of a first type of symbols which designate "Win" symbols having score value and a plurality of symbols of a second type which designate "Hold" symbols having no score value, each said display element when said apparatus is actuated being operative during a play cycle for displaying sequentially the symbols of each display element in said viewing area and indexing in said viewing area one symbol of each display element to form a selected combination of symbols at the end of a play cycle, and said symbol display elements having associated therewith control means adapted to automatically keep indexed on display in said viewing area during the next play cycle any said "Win" symbol of a display element which has been indexed in said viewing area whenever a said "Hold" symbol of another said display element is indexed in said viewing area simultaneously with said "Win" symbol while allowing each said display element which does not have a "Win" symbol indexed on display in said viewing area to be operative.

3. An amusement apparatus having a plurality of symbol display elements with each display element having a plurality of symbols some of which are designated "Win" symbols having score value and at least one other symbol of a second type which is designated a "Hold" symbol without score value, each said display element on actuation of the apparatus having means operative during a play cycle for displaying sequentially said symbols in a viewing area and indexing one of said symbols of each said element for display in said viewing area to form a random selected combination of symbols having potential score value at the end of the first play cycle, and said symbol display elements having associated therewith control means adapted to automatically keep indexed any said "Win" symbol on display in said viewing area during the next play cycle wherever a said "Hold" symbol of another display element is indexed in said viewing area simultaneously with a said "Win" symbol while allowing any said display element which does not have a "Win" indexed on display in said viewing area to be operative;

whereby a combination having increased score value can be built up step-wise in successive play cycles without arbitrarily limiting the number of play cycles before a new random selected combination of symbols is formed in said viewing area.

4. In a method of operating an amusement apparatus having a plurality of symbol display elements each having a plurality of symbols of a first type which designate "Win" symbols having potential score value and a plurality of symbols of a second type which designate "Hold" symbols without score value with said apparatus when actuated adapted to display said symbols sequentially during a play cycle in a viewing area and indexing one said symbol from each display element in said viewing area at the end of a first play cycle to form a random selected combination of said symbols having a potential score value, the improvement comprising;

Automatically holding any said "Win" symbol indexed in said combination on display in said viewing area during the next play cycle and during each succeeding play cycle so long as a said "Hold" symbol of a display element is simultaneously indexed in said viewing area with the "Win" symbol at the end of a play cycle;

whereby a combination having increased score value can be built up step-wise in successive play cycles without arbitrarily limiting the number of play cycles before all the said display elements are allowed to be operative to form a new random selected combination of symbols in said viewing area.

5. A method of operating an amusement apparatus having a plurality of symbol display elements which are adapted to display sequentially one symbol of each display element in a viewing area of the apparatus during a play cycle with a plurality of said symbols on each display element being "Win" symbols having score value and a plurality of symbols which are without score value and which can be special "Hold" symbols comprising;

randomly indexing one symbol of each display element in said viewing area at the end of the first play cycle to form a randomly selected combination of symbols having a potential score value, and automatically holding in indexed position in said viewing area during the following play cycle any said "Win" symbol at the end of the play cycle indexed in the viewing area when a said "Hold" symbol of one said display element is simultaneously indexed in said viewing area with the "Win" symbol while allowing any said display element which does not have a "Win" symbol indexed on display in said viewing area to be operative on the following actuation of the apparatus;

whereby a combination having increased score value can be built up step-wise in successive play cycles without arbitrarily limiting the number of play cycles before all the said display elements are allowed to be operated to form a new random selected combination of symbols in said viewing area.

6. A method of operating an amusement apparatus having a plurality of symbol display elements with each said display element adapted to display sequentially in a viewing area during a play cycle at least two distinct types of symbols including "Win" symbols which have score value and at least one "Hold" symbol which has no score value when on display in a said viewing area comprising;

randomly indexing one symbol of each said display element in said viewing area at the end of a first play cycle to form a randomly selected combination of symbols having a potential score value, and automatically holding any said "Win" symbol indexed on display in said viewing area during the next play cycle and during each succeeding play cycle so long as any said "Hold" symbol of one display element is simultaneously indexed in said viewing area with a "Win" symbol of another said display element at the end of a play cycle while allowing any said display element which does not have a "Win" symbol indexed on display in said viewing area to be operative;

whereby a combination of symbols having increased score value can be built up step-wise in successive play cycles without there being a predetermined number of play cycles before a new randomly selected combination of symbols is formed in said viewing area.