Pinball machine having an interactive playfield
US5333866A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jul 12, 1993 |
| Grant date | Aug 2, 1994 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jul 12, 2013 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC A)Human Necessities
- CPC primaryA63F7/027
- WIPO fieldFurniture, games
- WIPO sectorOther fields
Abstract
A pinball machine has a plurality of ball-deflecting components mounted to a playfield section. The playfield section is selectively translated in response to player input, so that the ball is deflected by the ball-deflecting components to locations selected by the player. The translation of the playfield section, for example, is responsive to the conventional push-button switches that are operated by the player for activating flippers, and in this case the push-buttons activate respective solenoids for translating the playfield section in two different directions. The playfield section, however, could be translated in different directions along two or three orthogonal axes in response to a more complex player-input device such as a joy-stick. In a specific embodiment, the ball-deflecting components define different sloping lanes on the playfield section, and the player operates the flipper push-button switches to translate the playfield section from side-to-side in order to bump the ball from one lane to another. A microcomputer is responsive to ball-sensing switches on the playfield section, and awards the player for lane changes.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.