Electronic baseball game

• US 4,395,760 A
• Filed: 01/07/1981
• Issued: 07/26/1983
• Est. Priority Date: 01/07/1981
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Mattel Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Mattel Incorporated
• Inventors: Levine, Richard S., Soski, Norbert S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Smith, Jerry
• Application Number:
  US06/223,184
• Time in Patent Office: 930 Days
• Field of Search: 364/410, 364/411, 364/412, 340/323 R, 273/1 E, 273/1.5 R, 273/85 R, 273/85 G, 273/237, 273/313, 273/DIG. 28, 273/88
• US Class Current: 463/3
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/10 Control of the course of the game, e.g. start, progess, end
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/28 responding to control signals received from the game device for affecting ambient conditions, e.g. for vibrating players' seats, activating scent dispensers or affecting temperature or light controlling the output signals based on the game progress A63F13/50
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/44 involving timing of operations, e.g. performing an action within a time slot
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/45 Controlling the progress of the video game
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/812 Ball games, e.g. soccer or baseball
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/92 Video game devices specially adapted to be hand-held while playing
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/204 the platform being a handheld device
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/638 according to the timing of operation or a time limit
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/8011 Ball
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 7/0608 Baseball
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 9/24 Electric games; Games using electronic circuits not otherwise provided for video games A63F13/00; computerized gaming systems G07F17/32

Abstract

An electronic baseball game in which the display represents the prespective of a batter standing in the batter'"'"'s box. In a preferred embodiment, a pitcher throws randomly selected pitches to the batter which move through a number of positions to end in or out of a strike zone and an operator may swing at the end pitch by depressing a hit key. The timing of the operator'"'"'s depression determines the results of each swing.

Claims

1. An electric baseball game comprising:

a display having indicia in the form of first illuminable indicators simulating base runners, second illuminable indicators simulating a ball, and indicia representing a pitcher, a batter, and bases;

input means for providing input signals to cause the pitcher to throw the ball, to cause the batter to swing at the ball, and to cause a runner to run toward a base;

control means responsive to the input means for controlling the illuminable indicators to depict the play of the game, including means for incrementally varying the brightness of one of the first illuminable indicators in a sequential manner to simulate movement and rate of movement of a base runner toward that one first illuminable indicator, and means for incrementally varying one of the second illuminable indicators in a sequential manner to simulate movement and rate of movement of the ball away from that one second illuminable indicator.

2. The game of claim 1 in which the control means includes means for incrementally increasing the brightness of one of the first illuminable indicators as a runner approaches that one first illuminable indicator, where the rate of increase of brightness is proportional to the speed of that runner.

3. The game of claim 1 in which the control means includes means for incrementally increasing the brightness of one of the second illuminable indicators as the pitcher throws the ball away from that one second illuminable indicator, where the rate of increase of brightness is proportional to the speed of the ball.

4. The game of claim 3 in which the control means includes means for causing the batter to hit the ball, and means for incrementally decreasing the brightness of another one of the second illuminable indicators to simulate movement of the hit ball away from that another one of the second illuminable indicators.

5. An electronic baseball game comprising:

a display having indicia in the form of first illuminable indicators, each simulating a base runner, second illuminable indicators simulating a ball, and indicia representing a pitcher, a batter, and bases;

input means for providing input signals to cause the pitcher to throw the ball, and to cause a runner to run toward a base;

control means responsive to the input means for controlling the illuminable indicators to depict the play of the game, including means for selecting on a random basis a fast pitcher windup or a slow pitcher windup, means for illuminating the second illuminable indicators at a rate proportional to the speed of the selected windup;

means for permitting a runner to safely advance one base during a slow windup, and means for preventing a runner from advancing one base during a fast windup.