Random selection and registration apparatus

Claim 3

An apparatus, as claimed in claim 1, wherein said generating means comprises: a shaft; a means for rotating the shaft in response to activation by the initiating means; a circuit board position approximately perpendicular to and about the shaft; score generating circuit contacts positioned on the circuit board approximately in a circular path approximately centered at the center line of the shaft; a wiper means attached to the shaft for traversing and individually contacting the score generating circuit contacts as the shaft rotates, whereby electric signals corresponding to a respective opportunity are generated by individual contact of the respective circuit contacts by the wiper means.

Claim 4

An apparatus, as claimed in claim 2 wherein said indicating means comprises: an arrow attached approximately perpendicular to the shaft; and an indicating disk segmentally divided into visual representations of the opportunities, said disk positioned approximately perpendicular to and about the shaft and adjacent the arrow, whereby the randomly selected opportunity is visually indicated by the point of the arrow coming into direct visual alignment with an opportunity segment.

Claim 5

An apparatus, as claimed in claim 2, wherein the control means comprises: an electric control motor; a multiplicity of cams operably rotated by the motor through six separate control positions.

Claim 6

An apparatus, as claimed in claim 4, wherein the maintaining means comprises: a first cam switch operably closed by its corresponding cam when said cam is rotated to its first position upon activation of the control motor; and a parallel circuit for providing and maintaining power to the control motor in response to the closing of the first cam switch.

Claim 7

An apparatus, as claimed in claim 4, wherein said lockout means comprises: a second cam switch operably opened by its corresponding cam when said cam rotates through one of six positions; switch means for activating said registration means in response to cessation of rotation of the shaft and in further response to the opening of the cam switch after cessation of rotation of the shaft.

Claim 8

In a conventional pinball machine, said machine comprising roller balls, a magazine to store the roller balls, an inclined play field, means for propelling the roller Balls individually from the magazine to the top of the play field, means for containing the roller balls on the play field, play field score means for providing score signals when contacted by the roller balls as they roll down the inclined play field, registering means for receiving, interpreting and totaling the score signals, means for receiving the roller balls at the bottom of the play field and returning the roller balls to the magazine; a random score initiating device comprising : a score generating means for randomly selecting and generating electrical signals interpretive of the scoring opportunity selected in response to activation and time elapsed deactivation; an indicating means operably associated with the generating means for visually indicating the randomly selected opportunity; a control means; an initiating means located on the play field responsive to the contact of a roller ball for activating the score generating means and the control means; a maintaining means responsive to the initial activation of the control means for maintaining activation of the control means after deactivation of the score generating means; a deactivating means responsive to the time elapsed activation of the control means for deactivating the score generating means; a score lockout means actuated in response to deactivation of the generating means and to the further time elapsed activation of the control means for transmitting electric signals interpretive of the score from the generating means to the registering means after activation of the lockout means, whereby a purely random selection of an opportunity is made and the selected opportunity is registered without the necessity of an indexing means for said indicating means.

Claim 9

In a conventional pinball machine, said machine comprising roller balls, a magazine to store the roller balls, an inclined play field, means for propelling the roller Balls individually from the magazine to the top of the play field, means for containing the roller balls on the play field, play field score means for providing score signals when contacted by the roller balls as they roll down the inclined play field, registering means for receiving, interpreting and totaling the score signals, means for receiving the roller balls at the bottom of the play field and returning the roller balls to the magazine; a random score initiating device comprising : a score generating means for randomly selecting and generating electrical signals interpretive of the scoring opportunity selected in response to activation and time elapsed deactivation; an indicating means operably associated with the generating means for visually indicating the randomly selected opportunity; a control means; an initiating means located on the play field responsive to the contact of a roller ball for activating the score generating means and the control means; a maintaining means responsive to the initial activation of the control means for maintaining activation of the control means after deactivation of the score generating means; a deactivating means responsive to the time elapsed activation of the control means for deactivating the score generating means; a score lockout means actuated in response to deactivation of the generating means and to the further time elapsed activation of the control means for transmitting electric signals interpretive of the score from the generating means to the registering means after activation of the lockout means, whereby a purely random selection of an opportunity is made and the selected opportunity is registered without the necessity of an indexing means for said indicating means.

Claim 10

A random score initiating device, as claimed in claim 7, wherein the score generating means comprises : a freely rotatable shaft; means to rotate the shaft; means responsive to the angular position of the shaft for generating electric signals interpretive of the score.

Claim 11

A random score initiating device as claimed in claim 8, wherein the means to rotate the shaft comprises an electric spin motor operably connected to the shaft by a mechanical gear linkage.

Claim 12

A random score initiating device as claimed in claim 8, wherein said indicating means comprises : a score indicating arrow attached approximately perpendicular to the shaft; a circular score indicating disk positioned perpendicular to and around the shaft, immediately adjacent the score indicating arrow, said score indicating arrow and said score indicating disk positioned relative to the angular position of the shaft to visually indicate the respective scoring opportunity selected by the score generating means.

Claim 13

A random score initiating device as claimed in claim 10, wherein the means responsive to the angular position of the shaft for generating electric signals interpretive of the score comprises: a circuit board positioned perpendicular to and about the shaft; printed circuits located on the circuit board corresponding to the scoring opportunities, arranged in an outer circular path with the center of the circular path located approximately on the center line of the shaft; a wiper-arm assembly including a first and a second wiper-arm affixed to the shaft; a first rubbing contact positioned on the first wiper-arm to traverse the printed circuits of the printed circuit board, whereby electrical signals interpretive of the scoring opportunity selected are generated by contact of the first rubbing contact with the respective printed circuit.

Claim 14

A random score initiating device as claimed in claim 11, wherein the control means comprises: an electric control motor; a multiplicity of connected cams rotated through six angular positions by the electric motor; a multiplicity of cam operated switches operably connected to a corresponding cam and operably responsive to the angular position of the corresponding cam.

Claim 15

A random score initiating device, as claimed in claim 12, wherein the initiating means comprises: an electrical power source for providing electric current; a first cam operated switch closed only at the sixth position of the electric control motor; a play field switch located in a recessed area of the play field operably responsive to a roller ball entering the recessed area, said play field switch in serial electrical continuity with the first cam operated switch; a spin relay coil in serial electrical continuity with the play field switch; a normally open first spin relay switch in serial electrical continuity with the electric spin motor, operably closed by electrical activation of the spin relay coil; a normally open second spin relay switch in serial electrical continuity with the electric control motor operably closed by electrical activation of the spin relay coil, whereby the spin motor and the control motor can be electrically activated when the control motor is at rest in its normal deactivated sixth position responsive to a roller ball closing the play field switch.

Claim 16

A random score initiating device as claimed in claim 13, wherein the maintaining means comprises: an electrical power source for providing electric current; a fourth cam operated switch closed only at the first position of the electric control motor; a third normally open spin relay switch in serial electrical continuity with the fourth cam operated switch; an eject relay coil in serial electrical continuity with the third spin relay switch; a fifth cam operated switch open only at the fourth position of the electric control motor; a normally open first eject relay switch operably closed by electrical activation of the eject relay coil in serial electrical continuity with the fifth cam operated switch and said first eject relay switch and said fifth cam operated switch in parallel electrical continuity with the fourth cam operated switch and the third spin relay switch; a normally closed first spin score relay switch in parallel electrical continuity with the fifth cam operated switch; a normally open second eject relay switch in parallel electrical continuity with the second spin relay switch operably closed by electrical activation of the eject relay coil; whereby the second eject relay switch maintains electrical continuity to the control motor after the fourth cam operated switch closes and activates the eject relay coil thereby closing the first and second eject relay switches, until the fifth cam operated switch opens when the control motor reaches its fourth position after activation of the first spin score relay.

Claim 17

A random score initiating device, as claimed in claim 14, wherein the deactivating means comprises: an electrical power source for providing electric current; a second cam operated switch open only at the fifth position of the electric control motor; a normally open fourth spin relay switch in serial electrical continuity with the spin relay coil and the second cam operated switch, said fourth spin relay switch operably closed by electrical activation of the spin relay coil; whereby electrical continuity is broken to the spin relay coil when the electric control motor reaches its fifth position.

Claim 18

A random score initiating device, as claimed in claim 12, wherein the score lockout means comprises: an electrical power source for providing electric current; a first and second individual contacts alternately positioned about an inner circular path on the circuit board; a first individual contact connector means for providing electrical continuity to the first individual contacts; a second individual contact connector means for providing electrical continuity to the second individual contacts; a second rubbing contact positioned on the second wiper-arm to traverse the inner circular path of the first and sEcond individual contacts; a first delay relay coil in serial electrical continuity with the first individual contact connector means; a normally open first delay relay switch operably closed by electrical activation of the first delay relay coil; a sixth cam operated switch open only at the first position of the electric control motor, said sixth cam operated switch and said first delay relay switch in serial electrical continuity with the first delay relay coil and in parallel electrical continuity with the first individual contacts; a second delay relay coil in serial electrical continuity with the second individual contact connector means; a normally open second delay relay switch operably closed by electrical activation of the second delay relay coil; a seventh cam operated switch open only at the third position of the electric control motor, said seventh cam operated switch and said second delay relay switch in serial electrical continuity with the second delay relay coil and in parallel electrical continuity with the second individual contacts; a spin score relay coil; a normally closed third delay relay switch operably opened by electrical activation of the first delay relay coil; a normally closed fourth delay relay switch operably opened by electrical activation of the second delay relay coil, said third and fourth delay relay switches combined in parallel electrical continuity and said parallel combinations in serial electrical continuity with the spin score relay coil; a normally open third eject relay switch in serial electrical continuity with the parallel combination of the third and fourth delay relay switches, said third eject relay switch operably closed by electrical activation of the eject relay coil; an eighth cam operated switch closed only at the sixth position of the electric control motor, said eighth cam operated switch in serial electrical continuity with the third eject relay switch; a normally open second spin score relay switch operably closed by electrical activation of the spin score relay coil; a ninth cam operated switch open only at the fifth position of the electric control motor, said ninth cam operated switch and said second spin score relay switch in serial electrical continuity with the spin score relay coil and in parallel electrical continuity with parallel combination of the third and fourth delay relay switches, the third eject relay switch and the eighth cam operated switch; a normally open third spin score relay switch operably closed by electrical activation of the spin score relay coil, said third spin score relay switch in serial electrical continuity between the means for receiving, interpreting and totaling the score signals and the means for generating electronic signals interpretive of the score thereby preventing receipt of the score signals until the third spin score relay is closed; whereby the third and fourth delay relay switches are held open by the pulsing current through the first and second delay relay coils caused by the movement of the second rubbing contact across the first and second individual contacts when the shaft is rotating, preventing scoring until the shaft stops rotating and the third and fourth delay relay switches can be closed thereby electrically activating the spin score relay coil and closing the third spin score relay switch thereby completing electrical continuity to the registering means and initiating scoring.