| JPH0630673 | [Title of Invention] Game Machine |
| WO/2001/051142 | ROULETTE SYSTEM |
| JP3928239 | COMMODITY DISCHARGING MECHANISM, AND PRIZE OBTAINING GAME DEVICE |
| EP0269331A2 | 1988-06-01 | |||
| GB2424193A | 2006-09-20 | |||
| US4337945A | 1982-07-06 | |||
| GB1544962A | 1979-04-25 |
CLAIMS
1. The wooden frame of the automated roulette wheel 1 with improved ball launch in which the mentioned wooden frame consists of multiple parts (Ia, Ib, ... ) , characterized by that, these parts, when put together, in the body of the wheel 1 form upper and bottom parts of one or more grooves
(3, 4) which spread throughout the body of the mentioned wooden frame of the roulette wheel 1, with beginnings (3a and/or 4a) in which the flexible tube where the ball gains acceleration is inserted, and where the ball is injected through the mentioned groove or several of them into the area 2 of the roulette wheel and where the groove or several of them end in the final radius 2d of the roulette wheel that the ball physically touches when launched.
2. The automated roulette wheel, according to claim 1, characterized by that, the groove 3 and/or 4 is of such length that it allows the ball to become completely steady while inside, preferably about 1/4 of the 2c circle's circumference .
3. The automated roulette wheel, according to claim 1 and 2, characterized by that, the ball's velocity vector in the moment of its entrance into the area 2d (point X) is tangential to the circle 2c.
4. The wooden frame of the automated roulette wheel according to any of the previous claims, characterized by that it has two grooves 3 and 4 that enable such ball launch as described in the claim 3, clockwise and/or counterclockwise.
5. The automated roulette wheel, characterized by that, it comprises one or the more grooves for insertion of the ball in the area 2 in the way that the mentioned grooves are as being made by drilling across the predetermined curve through the frame of the roulette wheel 1 and where the mentioned curve finishes in the area 2, and where the said effect is achieved by the composition of two or more parts of the roulette wheel into one compact roulette wheel 1. |
AUTOMATED ROULETTE WHEEL WITH BALL LAUNCH IMPROVED
DESCRIPTION
Technical problem
Technical problem solved by this innovation refers to the new construction of automated roulette with improved ball launch and with significantly smaller difference between the outer device dimensions and the diameter of the internal functional part of the device itself.
Previous state of art
Earlier art offers several technical solutions of ball launches in the automated roulette. One solution to the problem is accelerating the ball with the help of compressed air or a spring, whereby the ball is transported via a flexible tube wrapped around wooden wheel frame rim. This is the most popular manner of launching the ball through the flexible tube, whereby the tube leads the ball from the start ramp where the game cycle begins, to the entrance into the wheel, preferably tangentially to the inner wheel frame walls through a drilled bore in the wooden frame. The problems, which arise when the ball is injected in such a way, are the following: outer dimensions of the device cause problems with: transport, installation and the placing of the device. The device itself is not compact. There are frequent malfunctions due to uncontrolled ball launches because the tube shifts from its ideal position. This mostly occurs in transport and during installation, but also very often during the operation itself. In addition, in the moment when the ball exits the frame hole
it has been observed that there are impacts against the very- internal wall of the frame where the ball spins until it starts to ascend to the winning number field due to retardation and centrifugal force declination. Cases when the ball uncontrollably exited due to abovementioned impacts, which sometimes caused the ball to enter the winning number field while the bets were still on, have been known to happen. After it is used for a short time, damages like wear of the frame's surface in the point where the ball suddenly passes the wooden frame bore to the isle on which the said ball still spins are noticeable.
Other popular method is injecting the ball with the help of compressed air and with the help of the disc rotation itself. According to this method, the ball is launched in the game from the winning number field by a combination of compressed air pressure and the roulette disc rotation. This solution is used only by one automated roulette wheel manufacturer and, in principle, it hasn't been extensively used on the market. The market dismisses the said solution almost entirely because there was a problem with occasional uncontrollable ball exits in such launches. For the mentioned technical solution a characteristic problem is that the ball, when injected in the game, sometimes hits stoppers on the wooden frame slope, which is one of the causes that make the ball launch uncontrollably. The mentioned technical solution does not continuously enable preconditions for device to function well and it is not wholly functional .
It should be said that as a result of this, known cases indicate that the ball was "released" in a manner much worse than the one when professional croupiers release it, not to mention damages to wheel parts of the automated roulette and
undesirable cases when the ball is "trapped" in a field while the bets are still on.
Automated roulette wheel constructed according to the patent in question eliminates the observed deficiencies of earlier technical solutions, injects the stabilized ball steadily onto the radial trajectory in a manner similar to the one when an experienced croupier manually spins the ball on the spinning path and it provides smaller outer device dimensions, gives it a more compact form and stability.
The summary of the invention
The core of the invention represents a new roulette wheel construction, comprising of multiple parts, the larger of which is the base while the smaller ones overlap that base; all those parts connected together form a wooden wheel rim with grooved ball trajectories. In these grooves the ball gradually reaches its desired trajectory and steadies its oscillations. The innovation itself forms up to two grooves for ball launch, one in the counter-clockwise direction and the other clockwise.
Detailed description of the invention
The roulette is a well-known casino game. Automated roulette is a derivative of classic manual roulette with one basic difference: automated roulette does not require staff members (croupiers) to be present during the game and it functions entirely on its own.
Automated roulette wheel is the roulette' s "heart" and it is therefore the most demanding and most complex part. We already
mentioned that the innovation in question solves the technical problem of improved ball launch and construction of the device with significantly smaller difference between outer device dimensions and the diameter of the internal functional part of the very device constructing the automated roulette wheel in a special way.
The mentioned "improved ball launch" presents in a quieter and more stable ball launch above the very roulette disc, especially in the fact the ball is injected in the roulette without any impacts. This alone decreases wearing of the wooden frame surface in the point the ball exits the frame bore.
At the same time, the invention brings significantly smaller device dimensions, and enables greater functionality for this device as well as the option for installing it in a smaller space, without disrupting stochastic processes essential for the game itself. To explain, the invention gives the possibility of constructing the wheel with a far lesser difference between the outer device dimensions and the diameter of the internal functional part (inner frame diameter the ball is spinning on before falling into the winning number field) . Transport and device installation are significantly easier and the device can be placed in a smaller space owing to the mentioned smaller device dimensions. There is no longer a need to make a decorative mask intended for hiding the ball launch tube in the systems with separate game terminals. In this manner, the roulette wheel with such improved ball launch is aesthetically more suited, without the need for additional elements. As for the reliability, the cited invention provides that permanent parameters enabling the launch are equal to those initially set in the construction.
It should be noted here that in cases with technical solutions that entirely use the flexible tube (as described in the earlier state of art) , it often occurs that after a while, due to transport, (re) installation or device operation the tube is shifted from the correct position, therefore causing the ball to be uncontrollably launched and preventing further normal device operation.
To appropriately solve the observed technical problems of earlier solutions, they were analyzed and it became clear that the problem could be solved only in such a way so as to gradually inject the ball in the trajectory. In the first instance this meant that the dimensions of the wheel itself should be increased, which the innovation in question was trying to avoid. Moreover, the idea was that the device dimensions should be reduced and the roulette stochastics improved.
The only solution for such demands of opposing technical characteristics entailed the construction of grooves for leading the ball in the very circular wheel, which was technically impossible to achieve by drilling into the wheel body comprising of only one piece.
According to the cited invention, the solution is that the automated roulette wheel is constructed of multiple parts - which, connected together - would form the required grooves like they have been formed by drilling into the cylinder body of the wheel.
Finally, such a solution prevents all kinds of obstructions known in the previous solutions, like i.e. shifting the launch
tube from the desired position, its flexing and the like, wherefore the technical effect is entirely close to the effect made when an experienced croupier spins the ball in a traditional roulette.
Moreover, research has shown that with the mentioned construction the outer wheel diameter can be significantly decreased, parallel to the functional wheel part (diameter of the inner frame wall the ball is rotating on) . Therefore, in relation with the previous technical solutions the distance between the largest diameter of the inner frame wall and the greatest dimension (length, i.e. width) is reduced for over 10 cm. In this way, the device is easier to transport through smaller door, which was not the case earlier, not without tedious and expensive dismantling of the device.
One of the best ways to construct the cited invention is shown in figures 1-10. These show the system comprising of four elements, even though, structurally, it is possible to get the same technical effect with at least two parts.
Figure 1 shows the entire wooden frame of the automated roulette wheel 1, consisting of four parts, which are bound together by an adhesive or any other known (and suitable) way of bonding, forming a compact unit.
Figure 2 shows the cross-section of the base of the wheel wooden frame Ia, which is usually made from a soft material that can be processed, preferably a high quality wood. Position 2 denotes the slope that the ball passes on its way down to the winning number field as its rotation is retarded, together with the centrifugal force. It physically begins in 2d and ends in 2b, while on the wheel there is also the
farthest outer rim along which the croupier or this patented device initially "releases" the ball.
Figure 3 shows a top view of the same wooden frame of the wheel; position 4a denotes the place where the ball enters the frame of the roulette wheel Ia after it has been injected through the tube by compressed air; position 4b shows the bottom part of the groove that injects the ball in the radius area 2d, counterclockwise. Position 3a denotes the place where the ball enters into the roulette wheel Ia after it has been injected through the tube by compressed air; position 3b shows the bottom part of the groove that injects the ball in the radius area 2b, clockwise.
Figure 4 shows detail A, enlarged. Detail A is special because after approximately 1/4 rounds that the ball makes once it has been injected in the groove 4b, it tangentially enters the area 2, pressed along the rim 2d by centrifugal force. Groove 4b has the widest outer rims 4c and 4d. The point X 1 is a physical intersection of 4c and 2c, while point X is the physical intersection of rims 4d and 2c. While the ball travels along the groove 4b, its velocity vector remains the same (if we ignore friction) , but it constantly changes direction. When the ball reaches point X, its velocity vector is parallel with the tangent to the circle 2c so that the ball steadily enters into area 2d. In this way, even if there were some oscillations when the ball entered from the flexible tube in point 4a into 4b (figure 3) , the ball had enough time to become steady while it traveled approximately 1/4 round inside the roulette wheel itself.
The second part of the roulette wheel Ib is shown in figures 6, 7 and 8. Figure 6 shows the scheme, figure 7 shows the top
view and figure 8 shows the wooden frame part of the roulette wheel Ib.
Figure 7 shows the covers - parts of the grooves 3b 1 and 4b 1 - of a part of the roulette wheel wooden frame Ib, perfectly overlapping the corresponding parts 3b and 4b from the base Ia shown in figure 5. In the same way the parts 3a 1 and 4a 1 represent the covers in the place where the ball is injected into grooves 3 and 4.
Figures 9 and 10 show parts of Ic and Id, which, together with Ia and Ib, form the wooden part of the roulette wheel. Parts Ic and Id form the covers 3b 1 ' and 4b' ', which, together with positions 3b 1 and 4b 1 in a part of Ib and positions 3b and 4b in a part of Ia, form closed grooves 3 and 4 for the ball, thereby solving the technical problem.
Since it is technically impossible to drill the closed grooves 3 and 4 in the material, in the abovementioned segments Ib, Ic and Id they had been made by milling.
As we already mentioned several times, with such technical solution the ball steadily enters its ideal trajectory (tangential to the circle 2c) to the position 2d, with no oscillations in the injection groove on either the left or the right side.
Since the position 2d is much higher than the position 2c, and the resultant force of the centrifugal force on the ball and gravitation force on the ball rather quickly reduces circling of the ball to the circling radius in which it is not possible for the ball to touch the points X and X 1 . In this way the ball does not recognize points X and X' (detail A) on the left
and the right side of the roulette wheel, and these points do not disturb the ball's motion, and in no way affect the statistics of the game itself or the correctness of the launch. Such ideal entrance of the ball considerably extends service life of the roulette wheel itself.
The parts Ia, Ib, Ic and Id can be typically made using the CNC processing machines. The parts mentioned in this patent can also be made out of one piece, which, on the other hand, implies more waste during processing of the standard available material .
Industrial usage
Industrial usage of the patent is self-evident. The patent can be used in the construction of game roulettes, especially automated roulettes that require smaller dimensions and proper functioning .