ROULETTE WHEEL

Subject of Invention

[1] The subject of the present invention is a roulette wheel both of a manual roulette managed by an authorised person and of an automated roulette controlled by a computer.

Technical Problem

[2] A technical problem solved by the invention is how to conceive a roulette wheel that would meet all gambling standards and simultaneously also provide more lighting effects to make a more variegated visual impression of the roulette and increase the clarity of the game, especially of the ball during its circling in the wheel and at the end of its position in one of the pockets defining the winning number.

[3] Better clarity is expected due to the needs of players and observers, and above all due to the electronic monitoring of a game with video cameras etc.

Prior Art

[4] There have been attempts to additionally illuminate the roulette wheel not only with external, especially ceiling lights, but also with a light source positioned in the circumferential part of the wheel, preferably as a neon tube that normally comprises the whole circle. Such additional roulette wheel illumination contributes to the aesthetic appearance of the wheel as a whole, yet does not

contribute anything to better clarity when watching the wheel with the ball in it moving around. Moreover, such illumination does not bring to the improvement of contrast between the ball and the wheel. Video presentations of a roulette wheel on big screens are not clear enough during the game and an observer spends much effort watching.

Solution to the Technical Problem

[5] The described technical problem is solved by a device of the invention characterised in a rotor of a roulette wheel in the area of pockets, into which the ball falls at random, which rotor being provided with a transparent or translucent ring and with a set of illuminating bodies within the roulette wheel, so that said translucent ring is totally illuminated and the non-translucent ball appears as a contrast dark element. On the transparent part of the ring above the set of pockets there may be non transparent gaming marks, which are therefore more visible.

[6] The invention will be described in more detail in the continuation by a description of an embodiment and the enclosed drawing, on which

Fig. 1 shows a cross-section of a roulette wheel of the invention.

[7] A roulette wheel consists of a housing 1 of a circular shape, with its internal surface 2 being tilted as a turned truncated cone-shaped shell and its external edge being continuously transformed into a border 3 with a groove-like internal surface 4 functioning as a protection against the ball 5 falling out. On the surface 2 there may be protruded barriers 2a of various shapes that additionally increase the random nature of movement of the ball 5 that rolls approximately spirally.

[8] In the centre of the housing 1 there is a rotating panel 6 driven by a motor 7 positioned in the housing 1 under the panel 6. The panel 6 can also be driven

manually, as known from classic roulettes. On the circumference of the panel 6 there is a ring 8 made of a transparent or translucent material. The ring 8 comprises circularly arranged pockets 9, into one of which a ball 5 falls at random upon the termination of each individual game. The pockets 9 are freely- open on the internal edge 8a of the ring 8. From the set of pockets 9 towards the border 3 of the housing 1 the ring 8 is provided with a circular band 10 having a circularly running indented band from the side of the motor 7 in the housing 1, whereas on the external side, i.e. its visible side, the panel 12 is positioned in the same apparent level of the shell of the upside down turned truncated cone as the surface 2 of the housing.

[9] The ring 8 is within the housing 1 so that a minimum air slot 13 is formed therebetween, said slot not obstructing the ball 5 when randomly passing from the housing 1 to the ring 8.

[10] On the panel 6 there is a central protruded truncated cone 14, whose edge 15 of the large bottom basic panel reaches to the internal edge 8a of the ring 8, thus preventing the ball 5, which ends in one of the pockets 9 upon the termination of each game, from falling out.

[11] The cone 14 rotates simultaneously with the plate 6. In automated roulettes, i.e. roulettes, in which the ball 5 is ejected mechanically and without intervention of a person in tangential direction into the roulette wheel and then left to stop in one of the pockets 9 after it had randomly circled in the wheel. When the game is finished, the cone 14 is lifted manually or automatically by means of another motor 16. The ball 5 thus has an open way to fall out from the pocket 9 and then fall through a hole 17 in the plate 6 to the space beneath, where it is (not shown on the figure) taken by a device for automatic ejection into the roulette wheel in the next game.

[12] In the housing 1 beneath the band 11 of the ring 8 there is at least one light source 18. Preferably, there is a set of light sources 18 along the entire circumference. Light sources 18 may be bulbs or colour diodes of variable colours. The light from the sources 18 shines through the ring 8, which is transparent or translucent. On the surface 12 of the ring 8 there are non translucent gaming marks 12a shown as dark patterns on the illuminated ring 8. Also the non transparent ball 5 is clearly visible in its pocket 9, which is illuminated, whereas the ball 5 is dark i.e. non translucent.

[13] On the panel 6 in the contact area with the ring 8, there is a reflecting panel 6a preferably a mirror reflecting the light from the sources 18 through the ring 8, which increases the lighting effect.

[14] The above technical problem is herewith solved.

[15] The described solution offers additional possibilities of optional aesthetical light accessories which make the roulette appear more attractive. As mentioned, the light colour emitted by the light sources 18, can be optionally changed by different colour diodes. Colour changing of the lamp sources 18 can be manually controlled, yet a computer controlled changing is more adequate. These solutions are no longer the subject of the present invention, though.

[16] The light emitted by the sources 18 is used in a way that it is caught and reflected from different roulette wheel parts to make an aesthetic impression and also to draw attention to the situation of the panel 6: standstill, rotating and hit. A nice visual effect can be reached by putting a transparent multisided body 19, preferably of a cut glass, on the top of the cone 14. Its flat surfaces reflect the light from the sources 18 into various directions and in various colours.

[17] It is understood that a man skilled in the art can conceive different embodiments of the present invention based on the knowledge of the above description, especially in the sense of industrial design without circumventing the essence of the invention defined in the appended claims.