Patent GB-1048454-A (GB)
Title: Amusement devices
IPC: G07F17/32
Filed: 1965-02-12
Abstract: 1,048,454. Selective signalling. ORBIT ENGINEERING Inc. Feb. 12, 1965 [Feb. 13, 1964], No. 6201/65. Heading G4H. A control system for a modified game of noughts and crosses, particularly for use in an amusement arcade, comprises an electromagnetic relay scanner 65, Fig. 3, whereby a nought, or a cross in dependence on the state of a nought/cross relay flip-flop 95, is displayed in one cell of each of a plurality of noughts and crosses fields of play (e.g. three: green, blue and red, as shown) 90, 91, 92 (see also Fig. 1) and then sequentially moved, simultaneously in all fields of play, through all the nine cells in a sequence which is fixed but different (e.g. as indicated by the numbers in the cells of the fields of play shown) for each field. The control system also includes means whereby upon depression of a key 42, Fig. 1, on a control unit by a player firstly the moving nought (or cross) is held and permanently registered for the duration of the game in the cell of each field of play it then occupies, and secondly the nought/cross flip-flop has its state reversed, whereby crosses start to circulate instead of noughts except that the cells now occupied by noughts are skipped. In a similar way, the second player, by depressing the key 42 at an appropriate time, can register a set of crosses As described, the control unit 40, Fig. 1, is coupled by radio to the control system and includes a coin entry slot 41. The operation of the system is as follows. Normally, either a nought or cross is stepped repeatedly around each field of play and play selecting key 42 is inoperative. On insertion of the appropriate coin, a single frequency is transmitted to the control system which, by means of a " game hold " unit 63 primes the hold units 70-87 for a period of, say, four minutes. Subsequent depression of the play selecting key 42 at appropriate instants then registers either a nought or a cross, as described above, and play continues until either the end of the four-minute period or until a further coin is inserted, which ever is earlier, whereupon the system reverts to its idle mode repeatedly circulating noughts or crosses. The scanning, registering and indicating circuits are described in detail and employ conventional electromagnetic relay switching techniques. The scanner is free running, its stepping speed of for example 1 step per second, being determined by appropriate capacitors. Depression of the play selecting key 42 does, however, temporarily halt the scan to prevent faulty registration. Also appropriate interlocks between the indicating circuits and the hold circuits cause occupied cells to be skipped. Various obvious modifications of the game are described, Figs. 7a, 7b and also a modification, Fig. 7c, in which the' basic circulation includes both noughts and crosses, whereby depression of the play key will register 4 noughts (say) for the player and also 2 crosses for the opponent. The circled numbers in the fields of play indicate where the crosses will occur during a nought cycle. A four-byfour field of play is also envisaged as well as " phantom " games in which the final position is only displayed at the end of a game.