Patent Application
20140100009
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a target hitting game machine, such as a “whack-a-hole” machine, where a player gains points by using a mallet or a hammer to whack mechanical targets, such as moles, as they pop out of their holes, and in particularly to a target hitting game machine with targets which can be lighted up as they pop out.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional target hitting game machine, such as a whack-a-mole machine, consists of a large, waist-level cabinet with holes in its top and a large, soft mallet. Within each hole is a single mole or target driven by machinery necessary to move it up and down. Once the game starts, the moles will begin to pop up from their holes at random. The object of the game is to force the individual moles back into their holes by hitting them directly on the head with the mallet, thereby adding to the player's score. The score will be shown on a display which may be lighted to apply fancy visual effects for the score; however, the targets or moles are dim during the game.
It is therefore a primary object of the subject invention to provide a game machine with targets that are hidden in their holes and will be lighted up when they pop-out.
To fulfill that object, the game machine includes a cabinet, a supporting rod disposed in the cabinet, a retaining base secured on top of the rod, a lighting device disposed on the retaining base, at least one target on top of the rod, and a drive mechanism disposed in the cabinet.
Specifically, the cabinet has a table in which at least one hole is defined. The rod is formed on top with a flattop head, and defines a first bore therein. The retaining base is secured on top of the head of the rod, and defines an aperture in communication with the first bore in the rod. The lighting device has a light source and an electric wire extending from the light source. The light source is seated on the retaining base; and the electric wire extends through both of the aperture in the retaining base and the first bore in the rod. The target is made of a light-transmissive material and has a receptacle such that the retaining base together with the lighting device is housed in the receptacle of the target. The drive mechanism is configured to drive the rod to move up and down. When the rod moves up, the target on the rod pops out of the hole in the table of the cabinet and the lighting device inside the transparent target can be turned on to provide fancy visual effects. In contrast, when the rod moves down, the target retracts back into the hole and the lighting device may be turned off.
Further benefits and advantages of the present invention will become apparent after a careful reading of the detailed description with appropriate reference to the accompanying drawings.
A game machine according to the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
The present invention will hereinafter be explained with reference to the preferred embodiment illustrated in
Referring to
As shown in
Specifically, the rod 2 defines three eccentric bores 211 and a screw hole 212 in the head 21. The retaining base 3, on the other hand, defines an aperture 31 in a radial direction. The retaining base 3 further defines a hole 33 aligned with the screw hole 212 in the rod 2 such that the retaining base 3 can be secured onto the head 21 of the rod 2 by means of a first screw 61, where the aperture 31 in the retaining base 3 is in communication with the associated eccentric bore 211 in the rod 2.
The lighting device 3 is disposed on the retaining base 3 and includes a light source having a substrate 40 and a light emitting diode package 42 mounted on the substrate 40, and an electric wire 43 extending from the light source. In addition, notches 41 are defined in a peripheral of the substrate 40 of the light source so that a second screw 62 can be screwed through the associated notch 41 as well as a hole 32 defined in the retaining base 3 for mechanical connection of the lighting device 3 and the retaining base 3. The electric wire 43 extends from a side of the substrate 40 of the light source and through both of the aperture 31 in the retaining base 3 and the eccentric bore 211 in the head 21 of the rod 2, as depicted in
The target 50 is made of a light-transmissive material and disposed on the head 21 of the rod 2. The target 50 has a receptacle 51 so that the retaining base 3 together with the lighting device 3 may be housed in the receptacle 51. In such a fashion, the target 50 may be lighted by the lighting device 3 to create fancy visual effects. Moreover, the target 50 defines at least one positioning hole 53 in a cylindrical wall of the receptacle 51. On the other hand, the retaining base 3 has at least one upright wall 34 adjacent to the cylindrical wall of the receptacle 53 and a screw hole 341 defined in the upright wall 34 and corresponding to the positioning hole 53 in the cylindrical wall of the receptacle 51. In this way, a third screw 63 can be laterally screwed through the positioning hole 53 of the receptacle 51 and the screw hole 341 in the upright wall 34 for mechanical connection of the target 50 and the retaining base 3.
Referring to
It is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are illustrative in nature and the invention is not to be limited to any one or more embodiments except as set forth in the following claims.
