Source: https://patents.justia.com/patent/20080093798
Timestamp: 2019-11-12 16:46:32
Document Index: 197738242

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 19', 'art 20', 'art 19', 'art 21', 'art 22', 'art 19', 'art 20', 'art 21', 'art 22']

US Patent Application for METHOD OF CONTROLLING A DICE GAME AND GAMING MACHINE Patent Application (Application #20080093798 issued April 24, 2008) - Justia Patents Search
Justia Patents US Patent Application for METHOD OF CONTROLLING A DICE GAME AND GAMING MACHINE Patent Application (Application #20080093798)
METHOD OF CONTROLLING A DICE GAME AND GAMING MACHINE
Oct 15, 2007 - Aruze Corp.
The game section 3 is configured so as to cause plural dice to be sequentially released and dots on the tops of the dice to be determined in order of release. In this connection, releasing of the dice simulates rolling thereof. In this embodiment, three dice D1, D2, and D3 are used in the game section 3, as with the conventionally well-known SICBO. A dice releasing unit 3a sequentially releases these dice.
The game section 3, which is shaped like a circle on the whole, includes a dice releasing unit 3a, a rotary plate 3b, and a stopping plate 3c. The dice releasing unit 3a sequentially releases the dice D1, D2, and D3. The rotary plate 3b tumbles the dice D1, D2, and D3 released by the dice releasing unit 3a. The stopping plate 3c ultimately causes the dice tumbling on the rotary plate 3b to rest.
The dice releasing unit 3a, which is provided on a circular outer frame 3F of the game section 3, releases the dice D1 to D3 one by one onto the rotary plate 3b. More specifically, the gaming machine 1 releases one of the dice, identifies dots on the top of it, and retrieves it. This type of operation is repeated three times for a game.
As illustrated in FIG. 4, the rotary plate 3b is formed in a so-called cone shape gently sloping inward down from the circular outer frame 3F, and is supported by multiple driving rollers 3d, which are in contact with the bottom of the rotary plate 3b so as to allow rotation. At a start of a game, rotary plate driving motors 3A rotationally drive the multiple driving rollers 3d, rotating the rotary plate 3b. It should be noted that since protrusions 3h are formed at predetermined intervals (e.g., formed so as to extend radially at substantially 90 degree intervals) on the surface of the rotary plate 3b, the dice are efficiently tumbled due to bouncing when the rotary plate 3b is rotationally driven.
In addition, the stopping plate 3c is a disk-like bottom of the cone-shaped rotary plate 3b, and is an area where a die D1 (D2 or D3) tumbling on the rotary plate 3b eventually comes to rest after falling along the slope thereof when the rotary plate 3b stops rotation. In other words, the die D1 (D2 or D3) released from the dice releasing unit 3a tumbles on the surface of the rotary plate 3b while the rotary plate 3b is rotating, falls along the sloping surface of the rotary plate 3b, and ultimately comes to rest on the stopping plate 3c when the rotary plate 3b stops rotation.
As illustrated in FIG. 4, a stopping plate driving motor 3B drives the stopping plate 3c to slide. When the stopping plate 3c is driven to slide, the die D1 (D2 or D3) falls toward a retrieve/release mechanism 10 while making contact with a contact section 3b′, which is formed at the bottom of the rotary plate 3b.
The retrieve/release mechanism 10 includes: a receiving unit 10a which receives dice falling from the stopping plate 3c; a carrying mechanism 10b which stores one set of dice for a game within the receiving unit 10a and carries the set of dice to the dice releasing unit 3a; and a carrier driving motor 3C which drives the carrying mechanism 10b.
The retrieve/release mechanism 10 is not structurally limited as long as it is configured with the following functions: retrieving the dice from the dice releasing unit 3a; and releasing the dice to the rotary plate 3b after a detecting unit 15 to be described later detects dots on the tops of the dice resting on the stopping plate 3c. In other words, the carrying mechanism 10b may be implemented in various forms. For example, it may be possible to use air pressure, or a carrying mechanism such as a conveyer.
A transfer path of the carrying mechanism 10b has a storage section 10f in which the three dice D1 to D3 accumulated in the receiving unit 10a can be stored in a random manner. Specifically, when one die tumbles in the game section 3 and is retrieved into the receiving unit 10a, the carrying mechanism 10b extracts another die, which is to be released subsequently, from the dice stored in the storage section 10f, transferring the die to the dice releasing unit 3a.
It is preferable, but not necessary, that the receiving unit 10a that receives a die dropped from the stopping plate 3c is driven to oscillate by an oscillating mechanism 10d for a predetermined period of time. The receiving unit 10a described above allows the three dice to be shuffled prior to being stored in the storage section 10f. Thus, the three dice differing in colors can be randomly stored in the receiving unit 10a, and can be released from the dice releasing unit 3a with randomness. It should be noted that the oscillating mechanism 10d is driven by the driving motor 3D. The period of time to drive the driving motor 3D is randomly set for each game.
The top of the game section 3 is entirely covered with a cover 12 of hemispheric clear acryl to control the tumbling range of a die. In this embodiment, the detecting unit 15, which detects dots on the top of the die resting on the stopping plate 3c, is provided at the top of the cover 12.
The imaging device 17 is focused on the stopping plate 3c by a focus lens 17a so as to capture an image of the die on the stopping plate 3c, and is controlled for exposure. The dots detection circuit 18 includes: a subject recognition part 19, which receives imaging signals from the imaging device 17 and recognizes a position of the subject (die); a brightness calculation part 20, which calculates brightness of the subject image (die image) recognized by the subject recognition part 19; a recognition processing part 21, which determines dots on the top of the die; a dots data storage part 22, which stores comparison data regarding the dots on the top of the die; a control RAM 23; and a control CPU 24, which controls these units. These units are connected to each other via a bus, and each unit is configured so as to be controlled by the control CPU 24.
More specifically, the distribution in image intensity of the imaging signal of the die formed on the imaging device 17 is measured by the subject recognition part 19. As schematically illustrated in FIG. 6, the measurement of intensity distribution allows determination of the position (surface conditions) of the die D1 (D2 or D3) on the stopping plate 3c. The brightness calculation part 20 measures the brightness so as to determine a color of the die. In addition to the color, the recognition processing part 21 specifies the dots on the top of the die resting on the stopping plate 3c by performing a comparison with dots patterns (six types of dots combinations) previously stored in the dots data storage part 22.
As described above, the information related to the color and dots determined for the die is stored in the control RAM 23. The information is then transmitted to a main control unit 80, which is described later, via an interface 25, when the game media are paid out. In other words, the detecting unit 15 detects respective dots on the tops of the dice D1, D2, and D3, which come to rest in turn on the stopping plate 3c, and transmits the information to the main control unit 80 which controls the entire gaming machine.
In this way, the color of a dice and dots on the top of the dice are specified for each of the three dice, which are sequentially released by the dice releasing unit 3a.
The detecting unit 15 as described above is able to instantly detect dots on the tops of the dice resting on the stopping plate 3c in addition to an order of released dice. In this way, it is possible to promptly notify the respective player terminals 4 of game results. It should be noted that, when betting is not directed to the colors of the dice, the above-described three dice may alternatively be in a single color, or a single die may alternatively be used to perform the game.
A description in detail is now given of the first bet screen 40 described above. This first bet screen 40 is an example of a table through which a player places a bet on dots to appear on the tops of the three dice, which are sequentially caused to rest on the stopping plate 3c. In the first bet screen 40, betting is not directed to an order of release or colors of the dice.
A bet timer bar graph 49 is provided at the top of the first bet screen 40. The bet timer bar graph 49 indicates the allowable time left for a player to place a bet. At the beginning of a game, a red bar starts running gradually toward the right, and when it reaches the extreme right position, the allowable time for placing a bet in the current game concludes. When the player's betting time is up in each player terminal 4, the dice D1 to D3 are thrown out sequentially from the dice releasing unit 3a toward the rotary plate 3b.
CPU 81 is connected to various devices which drive the game section 3, more specifically, the rotary plate driving motor 3A, the stopping plate driving motor 3B, the carrier driving motor 3C that serves as a main driving unit for the dice retrieve/release mechanism 10, the motor 3D for oscillating mechanism 10d and the like via an I/O interface 90. In addition, the aforementioned detecting unit 15 is connected to the I/O interface 90, and transmission and reception of a signal indicating the end of a game as well as signals indicating respective dots to appear on the top of the three dice resting on the stopping plate 3c is carried out therebetween. In addition, via a communication interface 95 connected to the I/O interface 90, the main control unit 80 transmits and receives data such as bet information, payout information, and the like to and from each player terminal 4.
CPU 81 controls components to drive the game section 3, such as the rotary plate driving motor 3A, the stopping plate driving motor 3B, the carrier driving motor 3C, and the oscillating mechanism driving motor 3D, based on the data and programs stored in ROM 82 and RAM 83. In this way, CPU 81 controls processing associated with the progress of a game, such as throwing of the dice to the rotary plate 3b of the game section 3, carrying of the dice to the dice releasing unit 3a so as to allow for re-throwing of the dice retrieved from the stopping plate 3c, and checking of the dots to appear on the top of the dice resting on the stopping plate 3c.
Moreover, a bet decision button 30, a payout button 31, and a help button 32 provided in the control unit 6 (see FIG. 2) are connected to CPU 111, respectively. CPU 111 controls the execution of various operations in accordance with manipulation signals, which are generated in response to each button pressed by a player. More specifically, CPU 111 executes various processing, receiving input signals transmitted from the control unit 6a in response to player's manipulation, and the data and programs stored in ROM 112 and RAM 113. Subsequently, CPU 111 transmits the results to CPU 81 in the main control unit 80.
The bet information from the above-described respective player terminals 4 is stored in a predetermined working area of RAM 83 of the main control unit 80. When a period of time allowed for a player to place a bet has elapsed, CPU 81 of the main controller unit 80 sends a drive signal to the game section 3. As a result, any of the dice D1 to D3 in three colors is released onto the rotary plate 3b rotationally driven in the game section 3. Subsequently, the dice are stopped and retrieved on the stopping plate 3c (these operations are repeated three times for each of the three dice). The detecting unit 15 detects the colors of the sequentially-released dice while they are resting on the stopping plate 3c so as to identify the colors of dice in combination with the order of their appearance.
Accordingly, CPU 81 of the main control unit 80 drives the retrieve/release mechanism 10 so as to shuffle the three dice D1 to D3 stored in the receiving unit 10a. CPU 81 then controls the shuffled dice to be stored in the receiving unit 10a so as to advance a new game.
Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the order and colors of released dice are specified in the dice releasing unit 3a. Accordingly, the gaming machine can simultaneously tumble and stop the three dice in the game section 3, which results in a reduction in time required of a game. Furthermore, the use of released dice having different colors can also allow the player to easily recognize the order of their release.
Publication number: 20080093798
Patent Grant number: 7857310
Applicant: Aruze Corp. (Koto-ku)
Inventor: Kazumasa YOSHIZAWA (Tokyo)
Application Number: 11/872,197
Current U.S. Class: 273/146.000
International Classification: A63F 9/04 (20060101);