Patent Application
20110028197
This invention relates to mechanical payout calculators for combinations of roulette wagers.
Roulette is a gambling game in which a croupier spins a wheel in one direction then rolls a ball in the opposite direction on a tilted rim surrounding the wheel. The ball eventually falls into one of many colored and numbered pockets on the wheel. Players place bets on various aspects of the result, such as the winning number, the color of the pocket, whether the number is odd or even, etc. The pockets are numbered from 1 to 36, alternating between red and black. There is a green pocket numbered 0. In American roulette, there is a second green pocket marked 00. Pockets are not in numerical order around the wheel. Some consecutive numbers are the same color.
Players can make a variety of “inside” bets by selecting the number of the pocket the ball will land in or a range of pockets based on their position, and /or players can make “outside” bets on various positional groupings of pockets, pocket colors, or odd or even pocket numbers. The payout odds for each type of bet are based on its probability of success. The table usually imposes minimum and maximum bets, and these limits usually apply separately for all of a given player's inside and outside bets for each spin. Players can continue to place bets until the dealer announces “No more bets.” Betting areas on a roulette table are covered with cloth having a tabular arrangement known as a layout.
Inside bets
Straight: a bet on a single pocket number.
Split: a bet on two adjoining numbers on the layout.
Street: a bet on three numbers on a single horizontal line on the layout.
Corner: a bet on four numbers in a square arrangement on the layout.
Line: a bet on two adjoining streets on the layout.
In a typical roulette game, odds are paid out by the casinos on inside bets as follows:
Players can make different types of bets on the same game. After the wining number is determined, the croupier must then determine the payout to each winning player. The mathematical calculations of multiplying and adding to determine combined payouts can be cumbersome and error-prone.
The invention is a mechanical calculator that computes payout sums for combinations of bets in roulette. There is a long-felt need for a reliable device that helps croupiers perform these calculations to avoid miscalculating the payout. It is an object of the present invention to provide a calculating device that assists croupiers in quickly determining payouts to roulette players.
The invention has parts with numbers printed thereon. Any number without an underline or a lead line is a number printed on a part of the invention. Any number with an underline or lead line is a reference numeral. Some elements are referenced both generically and specifically. In
The invention is described herein in embodiments designed to compute bets for up to twenty chips placed on each of two types of bets in roulette. For this reason, the number twenty appears frequently throughout the description. However, this number is not a limitation. More or less chips can be accommodated, depending on calculator physical size considerations. More chips require more numbers on the number wheel. The exemplary limit of twenty shown herein is sufficient to calculate most bets, and is enough to illustrate the features of the invention. The invention is illustrated using various types of inside bets in roulette as examples. However, it can also support other types of bets in roulette or other wagering games.
The mask wheel 40 and the number wheel 50 may each have a circumference with twenty detents 70 for one or more spring-loaded detent rollers 72 that releasably halt the wheels 40, 50 in rotational alignments with each other and with the cover plate window 26 at user-selected positions. Herein “detent” means a restraint that checks the motion of something. Each detent roller 72 may be mounted on a leaf spring 74 fixed to the base 21. As the roller drops into a depression 70 in the circumference of the mask and/or number wheel, it checks the motion of the wheel.
One or more lamps 76 such as light-emitting diodes may be provided under the number wheel and positioned below the cover plate window 26 for backlighting, controlled by the switch 34. For backlighting, the number wheel may be translucent or transparent with opaque numbers 54. Without backlighting, the number wheel may have an opaque background color that contrasts with the numbers 54, such as black numbers on a white background or vice versa.
The mask wheel 40A has twenty numeric labels 46, each of which shows a given multiple of the first type of bet, here street bets, through the window 26 of the cover plate depending on the rotational position of the mask wheel 40. The mask wheel in
Mask window 10 is shown radially aligned with the index number “10”. Mask window 10 will show a number on the number wheel 50, and shows the payout for a combination of ten chips on a street plus a selected number of chips on another type of bet, depending on the bet type of number wheel 50 and its rotational position. Mask window 4 is much larger than mask window 5. This is due to a transition on the number wheel as later described between a single radial column of numbers and a double radial column of numbers. Mask windows 1-4 are configured for a single radial column, while mask windows 5-20 are configured for a double column. This configuration is not a requirement of the invention, but it reduces the diameter of the mask and number wheels.
The payout numbers on the number wheel 50A are arranged in radial wedges and concentric circles. One radial wedge is outlined by the cover plate window 26 shown in dashed lines. The radially innermost number of a wedge, such as “61” indicates a single bet of a first type, combined with a bet of a second type multiplied by the index number 46. In this example, “61” indicates the payout for one line chip (1*11=11) plus ten street chips (10*5=50) for a total of 11+50=61. The wedges as shown have an inner portion 55 with a single radial column of payout numbers, and an outer portion 56 with a double radial column. The use of a double column reduces the number of concentric circles in this example from 20 to 12, thus reducing the diameter of the number wheel. If there were only a single radial column of numbers in each radial wedge there would be twenty concentric circles of numbers. The transition from single to double radial columns may be done at a different point than shown in this example.
In view of the single/double column arrangement it is possible to understand the geometry of the mask windows 1-20 on the mask wheel 40A. Mask windows 1-4 extend across the width of the cover plate window 26 to show the payout numbers in the single column portion 55. Mask windows 5-20 only extend across half the width of the cover plate window 26 (or a little more than half, given the space between the double columns) to show only one of the two numbers at a given radius in the double column portion 56.
The significant difference between the calculator 100A of
Herein “horizontal” and “vertical” may be used to describe relative positions and orientations of the calculator parts. These terms are not to be interpreted as absolute. For example, a calculator according to the invention may be turned on its side, attached to a wall, etc., and still meet a claim with such orientation terminology.
The second knob 33 may drive the number wheel by via gears 62, 64, 66 as shown herein. These gears are an example of an appropriate transmission, which may alternately be provided in the form of a chain and two sprockets, not shown.
A ring of numeric labels (not shown) may be attached around the second knob 32 under the cover plate 22, and appear through the window 27 in addition to the index numbers 68 to indicate payouts for multiples of chips placed on the single bet type controlled by the second knob. In this case, the window 27 may advantageously extend to the left of the second knob, so the payout numbers can be viewed horizontally and compactly through the window 27.
Although the present invention has been described herein with respect to preferred embodiments, it will be understood that the foregoing description is intended to be illustrative, not restrictive. Modifications of the present invention will occur to those skilled in the art. All such modifications that fall within the scope of the appended claims are intended to be within the scope and spirit of the present invention.
