Patent Application
20200289918
Arcade games are well known in the art, and particularly crane-type games where players maneuver a crane over targets in an attempt to extract the target from a playing field. The targets for claw-type arcade games have traditionally been plush toys that are easy to capture with the crane. However, the allure of plush toys, while popular with some, is not always an attraction for all players, particularly teens and young adults. Unfortunately, prizes that would be attractive to these players are not readily compatible with claw mechanisms. Thus, a large population of would-be players is lost due to the discrepancy between the types of prizes players want and a game that can work with such prizes that cannot be picked up with a claw type grasp. Aluminum cans are one such target.
The present invention is an arcade game with a crane mechanism that uses a suction device to capture and extract aluminum cans of beverages or other canned items. Many of the most popular beverages with teens and young adults comprise sodas and energy drinks that are sold in aluminum cans. In the United States, approximately five hundred billion aluminum cans are produced each year for beverages. The present invention provides a game that uses these aluminum cans as targets for a crane game, offering players a choice of different beverages to try and capture.
The arcade game may use a rotating playing field where the targets sit on a turn-table type rotating disk, or the targets may be arranged on a stationary playing field. In the former case, the pick-up device may move linearly across the turn-table as the targets pass below the crane, and in the latter case the pick-up device preferably moves in both a left to right and back to front directions to cover the entire playing field and therefore each of the targets. The pick-up device can use a joystick, buttons, or other type of player controls to maneuver the pick-up device over the intended target, and then lowered onto an inverted can in an attempt to extract the target from the playing field. The cans are inverted, i.e. placed upside down, because the lower surface of the can is round, smooth, flat and make a perfect target for the suction cup. The pick-up device preferably uses a suction cup that, if positioned directly over the upper surface of the can, will make a seal with the can and allow the can to be lifted from the playing field. If the suction cup is not placed directly over the can such that a seal is not established, the pick-up device will not be able to apply a fully negative pressure between the can and the pick-up device, and the attempt will fail. In the event of a successful attempt, the can is lifted to a retrieval bin adjacent the playing field where the player can obtain the prize. When the play is finished, the pick-up device returns to a parked position ready for the next play.
The present game is the first arcade game to use aluminum cans as a target/prize, and the opportunity to attract an even larger market to the crane-type arcade game is a major advance over the existing games.
Housing 12 provides a support for the other components of the game apparatus. Housings can take a wide variety of forms; for example, as shown in
Front panel 14 can be positioned below and/or above the player controls 16 and playing field 18, as shown in
Coin deposit slot 20 typically accepts standard currency coins, game tokens, or bills that are often available in an arcade environment. In some embodiments, other types of monetary input may also be provided, such as a credit card, debit card, magnetic game card, etc. A coin deposited in coin deposit slot 20 or other payment starts a game. A retrieval bin is used to provide prizes to the player which have been won by the player from playing the game. The pick-up device is used to both capture the targets in the playing field and to deliver any successfully captured prizes from playing area 18 to the player-accessible retrieval bin 22 where the player retrieves the prize. With carbonated beverages, transfer of the prize may need to extend all the way to the floor of the retrieval bin so as not to agitate the beverage and cause it to spray out when opened. Speaker(s) 24 emits sounds based on game actions and other game states and is controlled by a game control system.
Player controls 16 allow a player to manipulate events in the game, and typically include a joystick, buttons, switch, knob, or the like. Game action occurs in playing area 18, where a pick up mechanism may be controlled and guided by the player to pick up prize objects, as described below. In the embodiment of
Game playing area 18 is used to display the game action and prizes to a player and is the area where game action occurs. A transparent shield 34 can prevent the player from interfering with game action. The playing area 18 houses a prize display area 36, a vacuum pick up device 38, and a drive system for moving the pick-up device 38. The pick-up device 38 is a suction cup that is connected to a vacuum where a negative pressure can be created if the suction cup makes a seal with a surface on the target. The player guides the pick-up device 38 horizontally over the playing field, and then either the player of the automatic control of the game lowers the pick-up device 38 over a selected prize in an attempt to capture the prize. If a prize is picked up, the game controller automatically guides the pick-up device 38 with the prize attached to the retrieval bin window 37, which leads to the player's retrieval bin 22.
The carriage 64 supports the pick-up device, and the pick-up device 38 can be raised and lowered from the carriage 64. The targets 70 are inverted beverage cans arranged about the turntable 72, which in turn is rotated by motor 74. The cans 70 are inverted so as to provide a smooth, round, flat continuous upper surface onto which the pick-up device can engage and capture. The aluminum can 70 is cylindrical (see
In using beverages or other cans as prizes, the game may be provided with a refrigeration unit 90 to control the temperature inside the playing area. The refrigeration unit 90 delivers cold air to the playing area, ensuring that the beverages are at a pleasing temperature for drinking when won.
The object of the game is clear. Place the pick-up device over a beverage can/target 70, such that the suction cup 54 falls completely within the annular rim 80 of the inverted can's bottom surface, such that the suction cup makes contact with the smooth continuous circular bottom face without any contact with the annular rim, or rests precisely on the rim which is more difficult. Only in this manner will the suction cup make an airtight engagement with the beverage can, and allow the suction cup to lift the can from the playing field.
