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US 4,440,036 AGranted
Gaming apparatus having manually controllable operating speed
AssigneeBally Manufacturing Corporation
InventorsDonald E. Hooker, Roman A. Tojza
Life of this patent
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AssigneeBally Manufacturing Corporation
InventorsDonald E. Hooker, Roman A. Tojza
Estimating the term…
An improved amusement or game device of the type which has one or more indicia-bearing rotatable reels which are rotated upon initiation of play by a player is disclosed. The game device has an improved main drive mechanism which permits the player to vary the initial rotational speed of the reels in direct proportion to the speed in which an associated operating handle is pulled. A supplemental drive mechanism is included for increasing the speed of the reels if the player fails to pull the operating handle with sufficient force to rotate the reels at a predetermined minimum speed. The device also includes an improved indexing means for stopping the reels in accordance with the operation of the game device. The game device also includes means for absorbing excessive energy that may be provided by a player pulling the operating handle with extraordinary speed or force. A mechanism is also included for providing slight resistance to movement of the reels subsequently of enablement of the game device and immediately before pulling of the operating handle, during which time the reels are otherwise free to rotate since neither the main drive mechanism, the supplemental drive mechanism nor the indexing mechanism is engaged at this time.
In an apparatus of the type wherein a rotatable shaft is journaled at opposite ends in a frame structure and has a ratchet wheel attached to one end portion of the shaft, a mechanism for driving a shaft to impart an initial speed of rotation that is directy proportional to the force that is applied to an operating handle by operator manipulation, said mechanism including a latch means which, when actuated, releases said mechanism for movement from a rest position in a first direction into engagement with said ratchet wheel for contacting and rotating said wheel and shaft through a first predetermined arc, an actuating means for actuating said latch means comprising an electrically energizable coil attached to said frame structure and adjacent said latch means when said mechanism is in its rest position, said frame structure including a protrusion for contacting a cam surface of said mechanism before said arc is completed and disengaging the same from said ratchet wheel, said shaft thereafter rotating at a speed proportional to the speed imparted to said wheel and shaft before disengagement.
A drive mechanism for initiating rotation of a shaft to an initial rotational speed that is proportional to the speed of a drive member engaging the mechanism, comprising:
A mechanism as defined in claim 12 including second stop means for stopping said plate means at said rest position when said plate means returns thereto.
A mechanism for initially driving a shaft for continued rotation subsequently of the initial driving thereof, the shaft carrying a plurality of indicia bearing reels, the shaft being journaled in a frame structure, the reels being driven by the shaft when the shaft is driven in a first rotational direction and being rotatable relative to the shaft in the opposite rotational direction, said mechanism being driven by a drive member engageable therewith, the speed of said drive member being variable and determined by an operator manipulating an operating handle operatively connected to said drive member, said mechanism comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.