Ball lottery apparatus
AssigneeKonami Gaming, Inc.
InventorsMasato Okuaki, Takashi Uchiyama, Makoto Nakano, Shogo Azuma, Norifumi Kawai
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A ball lottery apparatus include a discharger adapted for discharging individually multiple lottery balls, a lottery field including multiple holes in which the discharged lottery balls can enter, a host controller for executing various controls, a retrieval mechanism adapted for retrieving the lottery balls. When a bingo game is played, the host controller can set the ball lottery apparatus to a normal mode in which an input time point at which each of the lottery balls discharged from the discharger is input to the lottery field depends on a predetermined rule, and to a dealer mode in which the input time point depends on human action.
Claims9
A ball lottery apparatus comprising:
- a lottery field including multiple holes in which multiple lottery balls enter;
- a discharger configured to discharge individually the multiple lottery balls into the lottery field, the discharger located separate from the lottery field;
- a lottery result decider configured to decide a lottery result depending on which lottery holes the lottery balls have entered;
- a retrieval mechanism configured to retrieve the lottery balls that have entered the holes;
- a mode setter configured to set the ball lottery apparatus to a first mode in which an input time point at which each of the lottery balls discharged from the discharger is input to the lottery field depends on a predetermined rule, and to a second mode in which the input time point depends on human action;
- a rail connected to the discharger to guide the lottery balls discharged from the discharger to the lottery field;
- and
- a blocking member provided in the rail at a location between the discharger and an entrance of the lottery field,
- wherein the blocking member comprises a movable plate, which permits the lottery balls from the discharger to enter into the lottery field in the first mode, and blocks the lottery balls from the discharger before the lottery balls enter any of the multiple holes in the lottery field in the second mode.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.