COMPETITION METHOD AND MEANS

Abstract: A method of conducting a pictorial competition entails displaying on a screen a pictorial display from which an object has been omitted and superimposing on the display an indication, selected by a competitor, of a position from which the competitor believes the object was omitted. The screen may be a television screen or a computer screen and the competitor's entry may be applied to the screen electronically, for example using an electronic pen, a touch screen, a computer mouse or a computer keyboard.

Description: COMPETITION METHOD AND MEANS The present invention comprises a method of conducting a pictorial competition and apparatus for conducting a competition of this type. Competitions requiring competitors to identify a winning location upon a pictorial entry coupon are well known. For example, football-based competitions in .which the entrant attempts to determine the notional location of a ball which has been erased or otherwise omitted from a football action picture were first described well over 60 years ago. Similar competitions have been described wherein the same principle is applied to a wide range of other sports, for example to tennis and to motor racing. Competitions of this foregoing general type have become extremely popular and millions of competitors each week now submit entries to such competitions, by obtaining the required entry form bearing the entry picture, marking thereon one or more notional positions for the omitted ball, and despatching the entry form, by post or via an appointed collector, together with the required entry fee. Unfortunately, this necessary procedure inevitably entails a delay, usually of several days, between the marking of the entry location by the competitor and the eventual publication of the competition result. In the current situation where instant-result lottery and other competitions are readily accessible, competitions of the "Spot the Ball" type are fast losing ground. It is an object of the present invention to provide a competition method and means whereby some at least of the disadvantages of such prior competitions are reduced or eliminated. The method according to the present invention of conducting a pictorial competition comprises displaying upon a screen a pictorial display in which the notional position of an object is required to be indicated by a competitor, and superimposing upon said pictorial display upon said screen an indication of the position selected by said competitor. Apparatus for conducting and for entering a competition of this type includes a display screen, means for displaying upon the screen the required pictorial display, and means for superimposing upon the display the indication of the position selected by the competitor. Although the competition method and apparatus according to the present invention may take a wide variety of different forms, a common feature of at least the majority of such competitions is that the result, that is the success or failure of the entry, may if desired be seen as soon as the entry has been made . By way of example, the pictorial display may be displayed upon a television screen, a computer screen or a stand-alone screen such as a photographic screen, a wall-mounted screen or even a cinema screen. Thus the screen may be a personal screen located in the home of a competitor, for example the screen of a television set or of a computer, or it may be a larger screen located in front of an audience in a studio, theatre or cinema. In one form of the invention, the screen is located in front of an audience in a television studio and intending competitors may be persons in that audience and/or persons watching the television program at some other location, for example at home. In another form of the invention, the game may be made available on a CD-ROM installed in a private competitor's own computer . The display itself may be a simple photographically-projected, including back-projected, picture upon a conventional cinema- type screen but may, in various alternative forms of the invention, be a three-dimensional or stereoscopic image, a holographic image or a display in virtual reality. The display, when displayed upon a television screen, may be a received signal via a television transmission sent by radio or by a cable or satellite-dish route. As one alternative, the display may be provided by a video player from a video recording, or by means of a play station. As a further alternative, the display may be conveyed to the screen by means of fibre optics or may be transmitted digitally. When displayed upon a computer screen, the display may, as indicated, be on CD-ROM but may alternatively be a received display, for example sent by land-line or by radio, from a remote location or via the Internet, or from a general or specific program already installed in the computer. The pictorial display may be a static or moving display. Thus, in the case of a moving display, the picture will usually, but not essentially, be stopped when the competitor is to enter the competition. In this form of the competition, when an entry has been made by the application of an indication of the selected position to the display, the display may be caused to move on to provide a new image, in particular if the earlier entry is successful . The pictorial display may be an authentic reproduction of a real view or photographic image but it may alternatively be a created or simulated display, for example in the manner of a cartoon or hand-created image or an image produced with the aid of computer graphics . The "winning" position, that is the position to be identified by a competitor, may be a position from which a part of the overall pictorial display has been removed. As an alternative, it may be a position selected by the creator of the competition upon a logical or arbitrary basis. For example, the position may be that from which the image of a football has been removed or it may be simply a position selected for some article against an artificial background. It is particularly preferred, but not essential, that the entry of a competitor in the competition be applied to the pictorial display electronically. Thus although an entry may be made by projecting a visual image upon the display, it is preferred to employ electronic means, such as an electronic pen, a touch screen or a computer mouse, to transmit to the display screen an indication of the position selected by the competition entrant. As a less preferred alternative, the competitor may specify his selected entry position in terms of coordinates associated with the pictorial display or shown upon a personal display, or simply by giving verbal instructions. The position selected by the competitor as his competition entry may be indicated by means of a simple cross, or by a dot, for example, or by a representation of the omitted item, for example of a football . Preferably the indication is of a multiplicity of adjacent markers, for example a multiplicity of crosses or dots, so that the competitor may thereby be given more than one opportunity of identifying the winning location in a single entry. The indication may be of three-dimensional form. The checking of each entry to establish whether or not the desired location has been correctly identified, that is to determine whether or not it is a winning entry, may be achieved by a simple visual check but it is much preferred that the checking be carried out automatically, that is electronically for example. Thus when the electronic message conveying the indication of the location selected by the competitor impinges on the correct, that is winning, location, a visual, oral or audiovisual signal indicating success may be omitted automatically. The invention may further be clarified by means of the following description of one specific example of an embodiment in "game show" form. In this example, a television game show is of a general knowledge type, wherein competitors watching a television quiz show on their home television sets may compete by answering questions by telephone. A viewer successfully answering such a question or a given number of questions, or more questions than other competitors, may thereby qualify to attempt to win a special prize, awarded only to a competitor who is successful in a competition to which the present inve-ntion relates. For example, the required pictorial display may be shown upon a large screen in the television studio and the competitor may then guide a member of the studio team, for example the quizmaster, to mark a position on the display which is selected by the competitor. If the selection is successful, a significant audiovisual indication of that success may be given . At another extreme, the competition incorporating the present invention may be wholly confined to a single personal computer, programmed to show the pictorial display (or a chosen one of several such displays) , to superimpose thereon an indication of the location which is the competitor's entry and to indicate whether or not that entry is successful . As a further example, the pictorial display may be sent to a competitor's television screen or to his computer screen from some central location, for example from a television studio or from an Internet site, and the competitor may then make his entry by sending a signal to the central location, for example by keying in selected coordinates on a keyboard or by means of a computer mouse or by a touch-screen method.

Claims: CLAIMS 1) A method of conducting a pictorial competition, which method comprises displaying upon a screen a pictorial display in which the notional position of an object is required to be indicated by a competitor, and superimposing upon said pictorial display upon said screen an indication of the position selected by said competitor. 2) A method as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the pictorial display is displayed upon a television screen. 3) A method as claimed in Claim 2, wherein an image projected optically upon a display screen in a studio is transmitted for display upon a competitor's television screen. 4) A method as claimed in either of Claims 2 and 3, wherein the position selected by the competitor is indicated by means of coordinates associated with the display. 5) A method as claimed in either of Claims 3 and 4, wherein the position selected by the competitor is indicated electronically . 6) A method as claimed in Claim 2, wherein the display is a received signal via a television transmission. 7) A method as claimed in Claim 2, wherein the display is provided by a video player or by means of a play station. 8) A method as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the pictorial display is displayed upon a computer screen. 9) A method as claimed in Claim 8, wherein the pictorial display is provided by a CD-ROM. 10) A method as claimed in Claim 8, wherein the pictorial display is received by land-line or by radio. 11) A method as claimed in any of Claims 6 to 10, wherein the position selected by the competitor is indicated electronically. 12) A method as claimed in Claim 11, wherein the position selected by the competitor is indicated by an electronic pen, a touch screen, a computer mouse or a computer keyboard. 13) A method as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 12, wherein the pictorial display is three-dimensional. 14) A method as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 13, wherein the position selected by the competitor is indicated by a multiplicity of adjacent markers. 15) Apparatus for conducting a pictorial competition as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 14, comprising a display screen, means to display upon said screen a pictorial display from which an object has been notionally or actually omitted, and means to superimpose upon said pictorial display an indication of a position selected by a competitor. 16) Apparatus as claimed in Claim 15, wherein the screen is a television screen. 17) Apparatus as claimed in Claim 15, wherein the screen is a computer screen. 18) Apparatus as claimed in any of Claims 15 to 17, wherein the means to superimpose an indication of the selected position is an electronic pen, a touch screen, a computer mouse or a computer keyboard. 19) Apparatus as claimed in any of Claims 15 to 18, including means to determine electronically whether or not the position selected by a competitor coincides with the position from which the object has been omitted. 20) Apparatus as claimed in Claim 19, including means to provide a visual, aural or audiovisual signal when said two positions coincide.

Inventors: CONSTANTINE WILLIAM, CONSTANTINE WILLIAM ROBERT, CONSTANTINE, WILLIAM, CONSTANTINE, WILLIAM, ROBERT
Applicants: CONSTANTINE WILLIAM, CONSTANTINE WILLIAM ROBERT, CONSTANTINE, WILLIAM, CONSTANTINE, WILLIAM, ROBERT
Application year: 1998
Main classification: A63F9
IPC codes: A63F13