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Electronic access control for amusement devices

a technology of electronic access control and amusement devices, applied in the field of amusement devices, can solve the problems of general limitation of the collection of revenue at the table to allow any of the various modes of play

Inactive Publication Date: 2005-09-29
GLOBAL BILLIARD MFG
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  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0014] An objective of the present invention is to provide a programmable controller whereby the insertion of coins, bills of a predetermined denomination, bank credit or charge cards or coded cards, or the presence of a “virtual wallet” cell phone, the amount being programmably variable, will allow the user to select timed or rack play, thereby releasing the pool balls in a pool table for manual transfer for one or more racks of play or for play in which balls fall freely into the holding area until the expiration of a predetermined time period related to the consideration deposited.

Problems solved by technology

However, revenue collection at the table to allow any of the several modes of play has generally been limited to coin or bill acceptors.

Method used

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  • Electronic access control for amusement devices
  • Electronic access control for amusement devices
  • Electronic access control for amusement devices

Examples

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Embodiment Construction

[0032] Turning first to FIG. 1, there is shown a system 10 which in the present example is a billiard parlor with a plurality of billiard tables 12 and a central revenue collecting station 14. As shown in FIG. 1, the revenue collecting station 14 communicates with the individual tables 12.

[0033] In some situations, a wired connection is acceptable and this mode is indicated by the cables 16. In other embodiments, communication can be through a low-power radio frequency (“RF”) link, indicated by the antennas 18. Alternatively, the communication can be by means of an infra red (“IR”) transmission system, indicated by the panels 20. It is to be understood that all of these links are intended to be duplex links for receiving and transmitting.

[0034] In operation, a patron accesses the revenue collection device and makes a payment, using coins, currency or a debit / credit card or, using a wireless communication device, arranges for payment, the confirmation of which is communicated to th...

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PUM

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Abstract

A remote revenue collection station controls access to and play of one or more pool tables. The remote station includes coin, token and bill collectors, non-currency card readers for debit, credit and special purpose fare cards, scanners for bar codes on coupons and the like, and a computer with communication capabilities for contacting sources capable of authorizing non currency payment transactions. The computer can be programmed to determine type and duration of play as a function of the payment made by a patron. One station can be connected to control a plurality of pool tables, either directly or though wireless communication, which could be optical or electromagnetic.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This is a continuation-in-part of my provisional application for letters patent, Ser. No. 60 / 556,397, filed Mar. 26, 2004.STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT [0002] Not Applicable REFERENCE TO A SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING COMPACT DISK APPENDIX [0003] Not Applicable BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0004] 1. Field of the Invention [0005] The present invention relates to amusement devices and more particularly, game tables such as pool tables which are fitted with devices for enabling play such as controlling the release of pool balls. [0006] 2. Description of the Prior Art [0007] The prior art most applicable to the present invention is described, in detail, in the patent to Sundstrom et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,302,154, issued Apr. 12, 1994. That patent teaches apparatus which can program the parameters of a play-for-pay pool table, setting such variables as time of play, number of games a...

Claims

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Application Information

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IPC IPC(8): A63D15/00A63F9/24G06Q20/00G06Q30/00G07F7/00G07F17/32G07F17/38
CPCA63D15/00G07F17/0014G07F17/0042G07F17/38G07F17/3223G07F17/3244G07F17/32
Inventor GRAMSTRUP, SCOTT W.
Owner GLOBAL BILLIARD MFG
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