Patent ID: 8070602
Filing Date: 2011-12-06
Classification: G07F

Abstract:
1. A gambling machine comprising: a display unit to display a course of a game and to display the results of a game; an operating unit to influence the course of a game; and an electronic control unit connected to said display unit and to said operating unit to control the course of a game and to determine the game results, wherein said operating unit comprises a several millimeter thick operating panel made of a dielectric material a front side of said operating panel forming an operating surface of the operating unit, wherein said operating panel is subdivided into a plurality of operating fields, wherein a plurality of capacitive sensor elements is arranged on a rear side of said operating panel, wherein each capacitive sensor element of said plurality of capacitive sensor elements is allocated to a respective operating field of said plurality of operating fields, wherein said operating panel is made of a hard and form-stable plastic material having dielectric properties and configured to provide substantially no movement of said operating panel during operation of the gambling machine, and wherein a respective sensor surface of each of said plurality of capacitive sensor elements is coupled to said electronic control unit by a digital evaluation electronic interface, said digital evaluation electronic interface being configured to evaluate for each capacitive sensor element a velocity of variation in time of a capacitance recorded at said respective sensor surface, the capacitance determined by a network comprising a first capacitance between said respective sensor surface and a portion of an operator's body, a second capacitance between said respective sensor surface and a remainder of the gambling machine and a third capacitance of the operator's body, and said digital evaluation electronic interface being configured to generate a control signal depending on a result of the evaluation and to transmit the control signal to said electronic control unit when the velocity of variation in time of the capacitance exceeds a defined limit value on a condition that the velocity of variation in time of the capacitance does not again fall under the defined limit value during a defined time interval.