Abstract:
An amusement device is disclosed having a housing for enclosing a playing field, and at least one target disposed on the playing field, the target oriented for interaction with a vertically dropped projectile. The device further includes a pick-up device within the housing, the pick-up device suspended from a rail arrangement that provides for four-way horizontal movement over the playing field. The device has player controls including a first control for maneuvering the pick-up device in a horizontal plane above the playing field, and a second control for releasing the projectile, wherein an objective of the amusement device is to position the pick-up device over a target and release the projectile to hit the target to win the prize.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     Arcade type games of every variety and kind are becoming increasingly popular toady, and more and more places are utilizing these games to attract customers, particularly kids and young adults. Bowling alleys, pizza parlors, shopping areas, and arcades incorporate these games of skill and chance as a revenue stream and as a way of bring new customers into such establishments. Arcade games are popular with children of all ages, and they allow participants to play a game for the joy of establishing high scores, win prizes, and compete against other players. The present inventor is named on many such arcade machines, having invented a plethora of various style games including those involving cranes and pick-up devices. 
     The present invention is a reversal on the crane game made so popular in arcades and stores across the country. In a crane game, a collection of prizes is arranged on the floor of a housing, and the player manipulates a crane in an attempt to capture and pick up a prize for collection. If the prize is successfully captured, the player gets to keep the prize. However, there are often issues with both the pick-up mechanism, be it mechanical or vacuum, and the types of prizes that can be successfully picked up by such devices. For example, plush toys were the most predominant type of toy that was used with mechanical crane games because they were able to be captured by mechanical pick-up devices. Conversely, vacuum type crane games cannot easily pick up plush toys, so other types of prizes were needed for these types of games. The present invention eliminates the disparity between the types of pick up devices by providing a new variation on the familiar arcade game. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is a ball drop device that is played in a housing with a transparent window. The game uses a ball in most embodiments, although other objects could work depending on the difficulty sought and the variation of the game. The game begins when a player pays for the game, whereupon a pick-up device (mechanical or vacuum for example) captures the ball from its resting place. The pick-up device lifts the ball over the playing field to the top of the housing, where a player can use a joystick or other four way maneuvering device to move the ball in an x-y plane over the playing field. The playing field has arranged at least one target, and preferably a plurality of targets, at the floor of the playing field. The targets may take the form of plates, a bowls, objects with a hole or recess, simple rings, that are oriented to receive the ball dropped from the pick-up device, and each target has a prize associated with it. The prize can be an object of value, a receipt for merchandise, a number of redemption tickets corresponding to the value of the target difficulty, or other item of value. The player attempts to drop the ball into the target, be it a cup, bowl, plate, ring, or the like, by releasing the ball from the pick-up device so that it drops vertically above one of the target. In the case of a bowl, cup, or plate, the target has a sensor that detects when the ball comes to rest on or in the holder, indicating that the player has won the associated prize. In the case of a ring or object with a recess, a sensor detects of the ball is caught by or passes through the ring or object. If the ball misses the target, or bounces off of or out of the target, the floor of the playing field is sloped to return the ball to the starting position, where it can be picked up by the pick-up device. If the ball hits the target, in a first embodiment the target includes a sensor sends a signal to a microprocessor that the player has won the designated prize. The prize can be awarded by a printed ticket that states the prize, or an alarm can sound alerting a clerk to the player&#39;s victory. Or the game can dispense the prize by conveying it to a receptacle from which the player can retrieve the prize. The ball can then be ejected from the holder by a kicker, a clerk, or some other mechanism, so that the ball will return to the starting position, awaiting the next play. In some game sequences, there may be a time limit and the player can make as many attempts as time allows. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIGS. 1-3  are elevated, perspective views of a first embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIGS. 4 and 5  are cross-sectional schematic views of the embodiment of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIGS. 6A-6C  is a side view of a kicker mechanism for releasing a ball; 
         FIG. 6D  is a cross-sectional schematic view of the embodiment of  FIG. 1  showing the operation of the kicker mechanism; 
         FIGS. 7-9  are cross-sectional views of various shaped targets; and 
         FIG. 10  is an elevated perspective view illustrating a clerk awarding a prize to the participant. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The present invention is general shown in  FIG. 1 , which illustrates an arcade type game  100  having a housing  10  that encloses a playing area and a playing field  12 . The playing field  12  has a number of prizes  44  arranged in various location about the playing field, and a number of targets  36 , each associated with a particular prize  44 . Although the embodiment of  FIG. 1  is illustrated with a plurality of prizes and targets, the game is not limited to multiple prizes and targets and may in fact only have a single prize with a single target. The housing  10  is equipped with various features that allow the game to be played, including a speaker  30 , a control area  26  including player controls  20 ,  22 , and  24 . A coin slot  28  is provided on the front of the housing, although other forms of payment may be used such as card readers, ticket counters, magnetic strip readers, and dollar bill readers. Also shown in the front of the housing is a prize drawer  32  which, in one preferred embodiment, allows a player to retrieve a prize  44  once successfully won from the game. As will be discussed more fully below, player  5  operates the controls  20 ,  24  to manipulate a pick-up device  34  which controls the movement of a projectile  50  in an attempt to hit the targets  36 . 
       FIG. 2  illustrates player  5  maneuvering a joystick  20 , which controls the movement of the pick-up device  34 . The joystick  20  has four way movement corresponding to four way (front, back, left, right) horizontal movement of the pick-up device  34  above the playing field  12 . The game begins when the player  5  places a coin or other payment in the coin slot  28 , which causes the pick-up device  34  to retrieve the projectile  50  from its starting position. In a preferred embodiment, the projectile  50  is a common sphere such as a ball, which may have different weight, texture, and rebound characteristics depending on the desired skill level of the game. The pick-up device  34  collects the projectile  50  and, using a reciprocating member  52 , rises above the playing field  12  with the projectile  50  suspended therefrom. From this starting position, the player can manipulate the joystick  20  in any of the four directions to maneuver the pick-up device  34  above the playing field  12 . The player  5  maneuvers the pick-up device  34  in order to align the projectile  50  directly above a target  36  so that, when released, the projectile will strike the target in an intended manner. 
     As shown in  FIG. 3 , if the player has successfully aligned the pick-up device  34  directly over the target  36 , the player can then hit a release button  22  that causes the pick-up device  34  to release the projectile  50 . If the projectile  50  is captured or otherwise strikes the target  36  in such a way that the projectile is either captured by the target in the case of a solid target or passes through the target in the case of a ringed or recessed target, then the player successfully wins the prize. In one embodiment, as shown in  FIG. 10 , the successful delivery of the projectile to the target will cause the speaker  30  to emit an audible alarm, which will summon a clerk  200  to the game to retrieve player fives prize  44 . An alternate form of prize distribution is disclosed in detail below. 
       FIGS. 7-9  illustrate possible shapes for targets  36  that capture the projectile dropped from an elevation above the target.  FIG. 7  illustrates a cup  210  with a hemispherical configuration. This type of target  36  would be more challenging in that its vertical profile (as viewed from above) is smaller than some alternative targets; however, the raised lateral edges provide some assistance for capturing the projectile and preventing it from rolling off the target. Conversely,  FIG. 8  illustrates a shallow bowl or plate  220  that has a larger surface area but lacks a well-defined outer rim that prevents the target from rolling over the edge. A spherical target may have a tendency to roll or bounce off the target of  FIG. 8 , depending upon the resiliency, weight, size, and other characteristics of the projectile  50 .  FIG. 9  illustrates yet a third target comprising an inverted cup  235  within a bowl  230 . This target could be used with more valuable prizes as it is more challenging to get a spherical projectile to come to rest in such a target without bouncing or rolling over the side. 
       FIG. 4  illustrates a cross sectional view of the game illustrating the pick-up device  35  and the sloped playing field  12 . The slopped playing field  12  ensures that a spherical projectile  50  will roll to a common starting point of the lowest elevation  29 . This makes it easier for the game to always locate the projectile when the game is about to commence. Once the pick-up device  34  using the suction nozzle  35  picks up the projectile  50  at the starting point  29 , the pick-up device  34  raises above the playing field as shown in  FIG. 4 . Using the joystick  20 , the player can manipulate the position of the pick-up device in the horizontal direction in a four way manner, namely left, right, back, and front. The movement of the joystick is sent to a microprocessor  250 , that controls the operation of the pick-up device as well as other features of the game discussed below. Once the player has positioned the pick-up device  34  directly over the target  36 , a button  22  or other such mechanism can be pressed to release the projectile  50  from the pick-up device  34 . Under the influence only of gravity, the projectile  50  will drop in a vertical direction until it hits either a target  36 , a prize  44 , or the playing field  12 . Since there is nothing on the prizes  44  that will retain the projectile  50 , it will bounce off the prize  44  and roll along the slopped surface of the playing field  12  to the common or initial starting position  29 . Similarly, if the projectile misses everything and hits only the slopped playing surface  12 , the slop of the playing field will direct the projectile back to the initial position  29 . 
     However, if the player has positioned the pick-up device  34  in precisely the correct location, the projectile  50  will strike the target  36  and, in the case of a bowl or plate shaped target, come to rest on the target  36  as shown in  FIG. 4 . In this condition, the player has successfully won the prize  44 . In a preferred embodiment, the microprocessor  250  is located under the playing field  12 , and the target  36  includes a sensor  51  that senses when the target  36  has been successfully hit by the projectile  50 . The sensor  51  can be a motion sensor or a weight sensor, or a variety of other sensors that can be used to determine a successful attempt. When the microprocessor  250  receives a signal from the sensor  51  indicating a successful attempt, the microprocessor  250  can perform varies functions that will enable the player to collect his or her prize  44 . 
     For example, the microprocessor  250  can signal an alarm via the speaker  30  that alerts a clerk or attendant to the occasion of a successfully won prize  44 . The alarm could also be accompanied by flashing lights or another visual signal that would draw the attention of the clerk. Alternatively, the microprocessor  250  can release a trap door  400  as shown in  FIG. 5  that causes the prize  44  to fall into a collection bin  300 . The collection bin  300  can be lined or configured with foam or padding  310  so as not to damage the prize in its fall from the playing field  12  to the collection bin  300 . The collection bin  300  can be accessible by the player via a door  32  on the front of the housing, or the collection bin  300  may in an alternative embodiment be accessible only by authorized personnel via a locking mechanism  340 . The microprocessor  250  can release the prize  44  via an electronic latch  360  having a protruding tab  370  that projects over the trap door  400 . When a signal is received by the microprocessor  250  that a prize has been won, the microprocessor sends a signal to the electronic latch  360  requesting that the tab  370  be withdrawn allowing the trap door  400  to swing downward and the prize  44  resting thereon to fall to the collection bin  300 . The trap door  400  can then be reset when a new prize is installed by an attendant or clerk. 
       FIG. 6  illustrates a kicker mechanism for ejecting the projectile  50  after it has been captured by a target  36 . In  FIG. 6A , a target  36  is configured with a sensor  51  that determines whether a projectile  50  has come to rest in the designated “win zone”  55 . Below the target  36  is a piston having a rod  43  that can reciprocate within the piston in a vertical direction. In  FIG. 6B , the projectile  50  has come to rest in the win zone  55  and the sensor  51  has determined this event. The sensor  51  sends a signal to the microprocessor  250 , which in turn causes the rod  43 , which may be pneumatically or mechanically actuated, to be driven upwards against the projectile  50  as shown in  FIGS. 6B and 6C . The rod  43  serves as a kicker to eject the projectile  50  out of the target  36  so that the game can continue without human intervention. This is also shown in  FIG. 6D . Other types of kickers could also be used, including wipers, forced air, tilting mechanisms on the target, etc., which return the projectile into play so that the game can continue. 
     The forgoing descriptions and accompanying illustrations are intended to be illustrative only, and should not be taken to be limiting in any manner with respect to the scope of the present invention. Rather, there are modifications and alternative embodiments that would be understood and appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art in view of the foregoing description. For example, the type of pick-up device can be mechanical instead of a vacuum device, and the projectile can take many forms. Further, the targets themselves can be of various shapes other than those shown herein. Each of these modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the present invention. Therefore, such modifications and alternative embodiments should be considered to be part of the present invention, and the scope of the invention is limited only by the words of the appended claims using their common and ordinary meaning.