Rotating Wheel Amusement Game with Sensor Feedback
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing amusement games that incorporate a rotating wheel often result in quick gameplay sessions, leaving players unsatisfied and raising suspicions about fairness due to perceived manipulation of winning odds, which can deter repeat visits and trust in gaming establishments.
Innovation Solution
A coin-operated amusement device featuring a rotating wheel where players release balls to time their drop through apertures, with optical sensors detecting successful drops or random captures, providing transparent and skill-based or entirely random winning opportunities, including the use of elastic balls and varied aperture sizes and symbols for unpredictable motion and fair outcomes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a rotating wheel game is used to provide targets for skill exercise, then the game allows player skill development, but the gameplay duration is very short and players become unsatisfied
Solution Approach 1:
The game is divided into two distinct modes: a skill-based mode where players time ball releases to pass through apertures in a rotating wheel, and a random mode where balls are released and allowed to bounce and roll until trapped in cavities. This segmentation allows players to experience both skill exercise and extended random play, resolving the contradiction between skill development and gameplay duration.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically switches between skill-based and random game modes based on player selection. The rotating wheel serves dual purposes: as a target for skillful ball placement in one mode, and as a bouncing surface for random ball distribution in the other mode. This dynamic adaptability extends gameplay duration while maintaining skill exercise opportunities.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the game outcome is determined by random ball placement in wheel cavities, then winning is an entirely random event, but players may suspect manipulation of winning odds
Solution Approach 1:
The system incorporates sensors that detect ball positions in wheel cavities and provide real-time feedback to the controller. This transparent feedback mechanism allows players to see exactly where balls land and how outcomes are determined, eliminating suspicions of manipulation while maintaining random winning opportunities. The sensor feedback creates an open, verifiable gaming process that builds player trust.
3Duration of action of moving object
If multiple balls are rapidly released to bounce and roll in the play area, then the game provides extended play time, but the complexity of tracking and determining outcomes increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses sensors to automatically detect ball positions and determine outcomes without requiring complex manual tracking. The sensors self-monitor ball locations in cavities and provide data to the controller, which automatically determines winners based on predetermined criteria. This self-service approach extends play time through multiple ball releases while simplifying outcome determination through automated sensing and processing.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enhances gameplay duration and player satisfaction by offering both skill-based and random winning opportunities, increasing player trust through transparent mechanics, attracting repeat visits and generating publicity with visually engaging and unpredictable ball motion.
Implementation Method 1
a solenoid release that will launch a number of balls from a holding area toward a rotating wheel
Implementation Method 2
balls that can be introduced to play by activation of a solenoid release... made of an elastic material that allows the ball to bounce off surfaces of the game
Implementation Method 3
an optical sensor will detect the ball as it passes through the hole
Data Source
AI summary
An amusement device that includes a horizontally oriented rotating wheel having a plurality of apertures through the wheel and a release mechanism that will release game pieces from a location above the wheel is disclosed. The game can be played by exercising skill or it can be configured to result in a random outcome. In the skilled based embodiment of the invention, a user tries to time the activation of the release mechanism so that a high energy ball drops down from the release mechanism and falls through the rotating wheel. If a ball passes directly through the wheel, the ball is detected by a detector that is positioned below the wheel and an award is provided to the player. In an alternative embodiment of the device, the device is designed to release a plurality of balls which will bounce and roll on the rotating wheel until they are captured in apertures that are provided through the wheel. Each aperture has a detector and if the balls are captured in pre-selected apertures, an award is provided to the player.