Display for a pinball game

A pinball game comprises a cabinet, an inclined playfield, and a video display. The inclined playfield supports a rolling ball and a plurality of play features thereon. The cabinet includes a pair of opposing side walls and a rear wall extending between the opposing side walls. The playfield is housed within the cabinet such that the playfield is partially encompassed by the side walls and rear wall of the cabinet. An upper portion of the rear cabinet wall extends above a level of a rear portion of the playfield. The video display is mounted to this upper portion of the rear cabinet wall and is located in close proximity to the rear portion of the playfield. By mounting the display to the rear cabinet wall in close proximity to the playfield, the display can be easily viewed by a player during game play and, yet, allows the playfield to be easily serviced for maintenance and troubleshooting purposes without interference from the display. For maximum clarity of images shown on the display, the angle between a front surface of the display and an upper surface of the playfield is preferably such that the front surface of the display is generally perpendicular to a sight line extending between the display and a typical player.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates generally to pinball games and, more 
particularly, relates to a pinball game display located in close proximity 
to, but not fastened to, a rear portion of a pinball playfield so that the 
display can be easily viewed by a player during game play and, yet, allows 
the playfield to be easily serviced for maintenance and troubleshooting 
purposes without interference from the display. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
Pinball games generally include an inclined playfield housed within a game 
cabinet and supporting a rolling ball (i.e., pinball). A generally 
vertical backbox extends upward from a rear portion of the game cabinet 
and houses both a video display and game control circuitry. A plurality of 
play features are arranged on the playfield. A game player uses a pair of 
mechanical flippers mounted at one end of the playfield to propel the 
rolling ball at the various play features on the playfield to score points 
and control the play of the game. 
The video display generally shows player scores and provides special 
effects and suggestions to a player in response to certain events 
occurring on the playfield during game play. The special effects and 
suggestions on the display are intended to enhance the appeal of the 
pinball game. For example, the game control circuitry may cause the 
display to show an explosion in response to the rolling ball actuating a 
particular switch on the playfield. Switches are generally associated with 
the play features such that a play feature switch is actuated in response 
to the rolling ball impacting the associated play feature. The game 
control circuitry generally causes a sound generator to generate sounds 
consistent with the special effects and suggestions shown on the display. 
A drawback of mounting the video display in the backbox is that the display 
is largely segregated from the playfield. Consequently, during game play, 
a player must divert his or her eyes away from events occurring on the 
playfield in order to view the scores, special effects, and suggestions 
provided by the display. Since keeping the rolling ball on the playfield 
and scoring points is generally of paramount concern to the player, the 
player may give minimal regard to the scores, special effects, and 
suggestions on the display. If the player misses some of the scores, 
special effects, and suggestions on the display due to its segregation 
from the playfield, the purpose of the display is defeated to some extent. 
An alternative to mounting the display in the backbox is to mount the 
display in the rear center of the playfield, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 
4,375,286 to Seitz et al. Although the in-playfield display of Seitz can 
be viewed by a game player while also viewing events occurring on the 
playfield, the in-playfield display of Seitz somewhat interferes with the 
ability to easily service the playfield for maintenance and 
troubleshooting purposes. A service technician who wishes to gain full 
access to electrical and/or mechanical components beneath the playfield 
must first disconnect electrical wiring joining the display to a power 
supply beneath the playfield. Moreover, the display of Seitz faces a 
generally upward direction such that any images shown on the display may 
be obscured. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a display for 
a pinball game that can be easily viewed by a player during game play and, 
yet, allows the playfield to be easily serviced for maintenance and 
troubleshooting purposes without interference from the display. 
This and other objects are realized by providing a pinball game including a 
cabinet, an inclined playfield, and a video display. The inclined 
playfield supports a rolling ball and a plurality of play features 
thereon. The cabinet includes a pair of opposing side walls and a rear 
wall extending between the opposing side walls. The playfield is housed 
within the cabinet such that the playfield is partially encompassed by the 
side walls and rear wall of the cabinet. An upper portion of the rear 
cabinet wall extends above a level of a rear portion of the playfield. The 
video display is mounted to this upper portion of the rear cabinet wall 
and is located in close proximity to the rear portion of the playfield. By 
mounting the display to the rear cabinet wall in close proximity to the 
playfield, the display can be easily viewed by a player during game play 
and, yet, allows the playfield to be easily serviced for maintenance and 
troubleshooting purposes without interference from the display. 
For maximum clarity of images shown on the display, the angle between a 
front surface of the display and an upper surface of the playfield is 
preferably greater than 90 degrees but less than 135 degrees. By making 
the angle of the display relative to the playfield greater than 90 
degrees, distracting reflections of the play features on the front surface 
of the display are minimized. By making the angle of the display relative 
to the playfield less than 135 degrees, the front surface of the display 
is nearly perpendicular to a sight line extending between the eyes of a 
typical game player and the display. 
A generally vertical backbox preferably extends upward from a rear portion 
of the cabinet. Since, unlike most existing pinball games, the backbox is 
not used to house the video display, the backbox may use the space vacated 
by the display for additional game graphics, another display, or 
additional electrical or mechanical pinball game components. 
The above summary of the present invention is not intended to represent 
each embodiment, or every aspect of the present invention. This is the 
purpose of the figures and detailed description which follow.

DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS 
Turning now to the drawings, FIG. 1 depicts a pinball game 10 including a 
video display assembly 12 embodying the present invention. The pinball 
game 10 includes an inclined playfield 14 housed within a game cabinet 16 
and supporting a rolling ferromagnetic ball 18 and a plurality of play 
features 19 thereon. The rolling ball 18 can be propelled across the 
playfield 14 by a pair of player-operated flippers 20. A generally 
vertical backbox 22 extends upward from a rear portion of the cabinet 16 
and houses a game controller and other electronics for controlling play of 
the game. Since, unlike most existing pinball games, the backbox 22 is not 
used to house the video display assembly 12, the backbox 22 may use the 
space vacated by the display for additional game graphics, another 
display, or additional electrical or mechanical pinball game components. A 
player manipulates a plunger 24 to shoot the rolling ball 18 up an alley 
26 onto the playfield 14. When the rolling ball 18 approaches the flippers 
20, the player presses flipper switches 28 (see FIG. 5) to activate the 
flippers 20 and thereby propel the rolling ball 18 toward the play 
features on the playfield 14. In practice, the playfield 14 incorporates a 
number of playfield features. FIG. 1 shows only a few of these play 
features 19 for clarity. 
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 5, the game cabinet 16 includes a pair of opposing 
side walls 30 and 32, a rear wall 34, and a front wall 36 opposing the 
rear wall 34. The rear and front walls 34 and 36 extend between the 
opposing side walls 30 and 32. The playfield 14 is housed within the 
cabinet 16 such that the playfield 14 is positioned below upper edges of 
the cabinet walls 30, 32, 34, and 36 and is encompassed by the cabinet 
walls. Consequently, upper portions of the cabinet walls extend above 
levels of respective adjacent portions of the playfield 14. For example, 
an upper portion 34a (FIG. 5) of the rear cabinet wall 34 extends above a 
level of an adjacent rear portion of the playfield 14. As best shown in 
FIG. 5, the cabinet 16 is elevated above a ground surface 38 by four 
corner legs 40 (only two legs shown) mounted to the respective four 
corners of the cabinet 16 and extending downward from the cabinet 16 to 
the ground surface 38. 
Referring to FIG. 5, in accordance with the present invention, the video 
display assembly 12 has been strategically lowered from its conventional 
location in the vertical backbox 22 to a location just above the playfield 
14 to provide for improved integration with game play. Specifically, the 
display assembly 12 is mounted to the upper portion 34a of the rear 
cabinet wall 34 and is located immediately above the rear portion of the 
playfield 14 such that the display assembly 12 appears to "float" over the 
playfield 14. By mounting the display assembly 12 to the rear cabinet wall 
34 in close proximity to the playfield 14, the display assembly 12 can be 
easily viewed by a player 42 during game play and, yet, allows the 
playfield 14 to be easily serviced for maintenance and troubleshooting 
purposes without interference from the display assembly 12. The player 42 
can view scores, special effects, and suggestions shown on the display 
assembly 12 without sacrificing the attention he or she must give to 
events occurring the playfield 14 in order to keep the rolling ball 18 in 
play. 
As shown in FIG. 6, to service the playfield 14, the playfield 14 may 
easily be removed from the cabinet 16 without interference from the 
display assembly 12. To facilitate removal of the playfield 14 from the 
cabinet 16, the playfield 14 is preferably mounted to the cabinet 16 using 
a mounting systems that allows the playfield 14 to be quickly slid and 
pivoted relative to the cabinet 16. Such a mounting system may, for 
example, include grooves 46 formed in the cabinet side walls 30 and 32 and 
spring-biased pivot pins 48 mounted on the playfield 14 for travel within 
the respective grooves 46. Guide bumpers 50, only one of which is shown in 
FIG. 6, are fastened to the underside of the playfield 14. The bumpers 50 
prevent damage to game components that are attached to the underside of 
the playfield 14 by preventing contact between the components and the 
cabinet walls during movement of the playfield. Further details concerning 
the playfield mounting system may be obtained from U.S. Pat. No. 5,536,082 
to Ritchie et al., which is incorporated herein by reference in its 
entirety. 
Referring back to FIG. 5, for maximum clarity of images shown on the 
display assembly 12, the angle a between a front surface of the display 
assembly 12 and an upper surface of the playfield 14 is preferably greater 
than 90 degrees but less than 135 degrees. By making the angle of the 
display assembly 12 relative to the playfield 14 greater than 90 degrees, 
distracting reflections of the play features 19 (see FIG. 1) on the front 
surface of the display assembly 12 are minimized. By making the angle of 
the display assembly 12 relative to the playfield 14 less than 135 
degrees, the front surface of the display assembly 12 is nearly 
perpendicular to a sight line 44 extending between the eyes of a typical 
game player 42 and the display assembly 12. In a preferred embodiment, the 
angle between the display assembly 12 and the playfield 14 is between 
about 100 degrees and about 125 degrees and is most preferably between 
about 110 degrees and about 120 degrees. 
FIGS. 2, 3, and 4 illustrate the video display assembly 12 in greater 
detail. As shown in the isometric rear view in FIG. 2, the display 
assembly 12 includes a mounting frame 52, a video display 54, and a 
protective plastic cover 56. The display 54 is attached to the mounting 
frame 52 by a plurality of fasteners 58 in the form of screws, bolts, 
rivets, or the like. The fasteners 58 are inserted through respective 
aligned holes formed in the mounting frame 52 and the display 54. To 
maintain some separation between the mounting frame 52 and the display 54, 
spacers 60 (FIGS. 3 and 4) are telescopically mounted over the respective 
fasteners 58 and disposed between the mounting frame 52 and the display 
54. A protective paper or plastic backing 55 is preferably applied to a 
rear surface of the display. As best shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the display 
54 and the backing 55 are secured adjacent to each other by virtue of the 
spacers 60 pressing against the display 54 on one side of the 
display/backing combination and fastener washers 61 pressing against the 
backing 55 on the other side. The protective plastic cover 56 is affixed 
to the mounting frame 52 by a plurality of fasteners 63 in the form of 
screws, bolts, rivets, or the like. The fasteners 63 are inserted through 
respective aligned holes formed in the cover 56 and the mounting frame 52. 
The mounting frame 52 is preferably composed of wood or rigid plastic and 
includes a generally rectangular opening 62 through which a substantial 
portion of the display 54 may be seen by a player. To enhance the 
aesthetic appeal of the display assembly 12, the mounting frame 52 
preferably includes artwork applied to its front surface and is shaped 
along its periphery. The peripheral shape and dimensions of the plastic 
cover 56 preferably correspond to the peripheral shape and dimensions of 
the mounting frame 52. 
The display 54 is preferably a digital dot-matrix display. One such 
dot-matrix display is commercially available as model no. PD01-B220 
(Plasmadot "Dot Matrix Gas Plasma" display) from Cherry Electrical 
Products Company of Waukegan, Ill. The display 54 includes on-board 
circuitry 64 electrically connected to a main power supply and to a game 
controller in the backbox 22 (see FIGS. 1 and 5). The game controller 
sends video signals to the circuitry 64 to control the digital graphics 
shown on display 54. The graphics may, for example, include player scores, 
special effects, and text. 
While the present invention has been described with reference to one or 
more particular embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that 
many changes may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and 
scope of the present invention. Each of these embodiments and obvious 
variations thereof is contemplated as falling within the spirit and scope 
of the claimed invention, which is set forth in the following claims.