Electronic game having light guide array display

Claim 1

In an electronic amusement apparatus, the combination comprising: a housing; an array of illuminatable elements within said housing; electronic control means within said housing coupled to said array for selective energization of said elements; manually operable switch means for providing inputs to said control means for controlling at least in part the energization of said elements; a viewing surface on said housing in generally parallel relation with said array of illuminatable elements; and a light control means positioned between said array of elements and said viewing surface, said light control means having an array of light control portions corresponding in number to the number of said elements, each of said light control portions having a peripheral wall defining an aperture extending therethrough with an entrance end and an exit end, said exit end being configured for providing an indicia on the viewing surface conforming to the shape of said exit end, said light control means being formed from a material having light transmitting and light reflecting properties; and means for maintaining the entrance ends of said light control means in spaced proximate relation relative to said array of elements for enabling light rays emanating therefrom to be transmitted through said peripheral wall and to be reflected from the inner surface of said aperture to provide generally uniform illumination of the indicium on said viewing surface.