WO2001047239A2 - Combination jukebox and electronic game - Google Patents
Combination jukebox and electronic game Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- WO2001047239A2 WO2001047239A2 PCT/US2000/041486 US0041486W WO0147239A2 WO 2001047239 A2 WO2001047239 A2 WO 2001047239A2 US 0041486 W US0041486 W US 0041486W WO 0147239 A2 WO0147239 A2 WO 0147239A2
- Authority
- WO
- WIPO (PCT)
- Prior art keywords
- mode
- jukebox
- subsystem
- game
- entertainment system
- Prior art date
Links
Classifications
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
- A63F—CARD, BOARD, OR ROULETTE GAMES; INDOOR GAMES USING SMALL MOVING PLAYING BODIES; VIDEO GAMES; GAMES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- A63F13/00—Video games, i.e. games using an electronically generated display having two or more dimensions
- A63F13/90—Constructional details or arrangements of video game devices not provided for in groups A63F13/20 or A63F13/25, e.g. housing, wiring, connections or cabinets
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
- G07F—COIN-FREED OR LIKE APPARATUS
- G07F17/00—Coin-freed apparatus for hiring articles; Coin-freed facilities or services
- G07F17/30—Coin-freed apparatus for hiring articles; Coin-freed facilities or services for musical instruments
- G07F17/305—Coin-freed apparatus for hiring articles; Coin-freed facilities or services for musical instruments for record players
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
- G07F—COIN-FREED OR LIKE APPARATUS
- G07F17/00—Coin-freed apparatus for hiring articles; Coin-freed facilities or services
- G07F17/32—Coin-freed apparatus for hiring articles; Coin-freed facilities or services for games, toys, sports, or amusements
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
- G07F—COIN-FREED OR LIKE APPARATUS
- G07F17/00—Coin-freed apparatus for hiring articles; Coin-freed facilities or services
- G07F17/32—Coin-freed apparatus for hiring articles; Coin-freed facilities or services for games, toys, sports, or amusements
- G07F17/3286—Type of games
- G07F17/3295—Games involving skill, e.g. dexterity, memory, thinking
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G11—INFORMATION STORAGE
- G11B—INFORMATION STORAGE BASED ON RELATIVE MOVEMENT BETWEEN RECORD CARRIER AND TRANSDUCER
- G11B27/00—Editing; Indexing; Addressing; Timing or synchronising; Monitoring; Measuring tape travel
- G11B27/002—Programmed access in sequence to a plurality of record carriers or indexed parts, e.g. tracks, thereof, e.g. for editing
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G11—INFORMATION STORAGE
- G11B—INFORMATION STORAGE BASED ON RELATIVE MOVEMENT BETWEEN RECORD CARRIER AND TRANSDUCER
- G11B31/00—Arrangements for the associated working of recording or reproducing apparatus with related apparatus
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
- A63F—CARD, BOARD, OR ROULETTE GAMES; INDOOR GAMES USING SMALL MOVING PLAYING BODIES; VIDEO GAMES; GAMES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- A63F13/00—Video games, i.e. games using an electronically generated display having two or more dimensions
- A63F13/60—Generating or modifying game content before or while executing the game program, e.g. authoring tools specially adapted for game development or game-integrated level editor
- A63F13/65—Generating or modifying game content before or while executing the game program, e.g. authoring tools specially adapted for game development or game-integrated level editor automatically by game devices or servers from real world data, e.g. measurement in live racing competition
Definitions
- the present invention relates generally to electronic entertainment devices. More specifically, the present invention relates to a combination jukebox and electronic game.
- Electronic entertainment devices are common in many types of establishments, including arcades, taverns, restaurants and nightclubs. Dart games are among the most popular electronic entertainment devices. Of course, music is also one of the most popular forms of entertainment, but require establishments to provide separate electronic music devices (e.g., expensive jukeboxes) that enable patrons to select and play desired music.
- establishments to provide separate electronic music devices (e.g., expensive jukeboxes) that enable patrons to select and play desired music.
- Floor space is a valuable commodity for many entertainment establishments.
- Electronic entertainment devices and jukeboxes occupy valuable floor space that could otherwise be profitably used, for example, for additional customer seating.
- An important consideration, therefore, in the design of new electronic entertainment devices is reducing their footprint .
- a further consideration is the initial cost associated with providing an establishment with jukeboxes and each gaming system. Because of their sophisticated capabilities and complex structure, electronic entertainment devices are typically significant investments. An establishment owner may therefore need to invest a substantial sum of money to adequately meet patron demand for entertainment.
- an object of present invention to provide an entertainment system including a jukebox and an electronic game. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for combining jukebox and dart game functionality in a single unit.
- the entertainment system includes a game subsystem (including, for example, a dart board and dart board interface) , and a jukebox subsystem
- the entertainment system further includes a control subsystem for directing and supervising overall operation of the entertainment system.
- the combined operation of the jukebox subsystem and the control subsystem provides a jukebox mode of operation.
- the combined operation of the game subsystem and the control subsystem provides a dart game mode of operation.
- the control subsystem may also provide for display of advertising and other information services (e.g., weather reports and news headlines) .
- the present invention also provides a method of operation of an entertainment system providing dart game and jukebox functionality.
- the system operates in a current mode of operation that may be, for example, a jukebox mode, a dart game mode or an advertising mode.
- the method includes receiving a mode command from a patron.
- the method determines a next mode of operation based on factors including the mode command received from the patron and the current mode of operation.
- the mode of operation of the entertainment system is then set to a determined next mode.
- the entertainment system may automatically resume operation in the previous mode (or any other mode) .
- Figure 1 illustrates a high-level block diagram of a combination entertainment system.
- Figure 2 illustrates a block diagram of a combination jukebox and dart game entertainment system.
- Figure 3 shows a flow diagram illustrating a method of operation of a combination jukebox and dart game entertainment system.
- FIG. 1 illustrates a combination entertainment system 100.
- the combination entertainment system 100 includes a game subsystem 102, a jukebox subsystem 104, and a control subsystem 106.
- the game subsystem 102 includes the hardware and software that implement an electronic game (e.g., one or more variants of the game of darts) .
- the jukebox subsystem 104 includes the hardware and software that implement a computer jukebox
- the control subsystem 106 includes the hardware and software that exercise coordinated control over the game subsystem 102 and the jukebox subsystem 104.
- the computer jukebox subsystem 104 may, for example, download and store digitized songs on its hard drive for subsequent playback, or may play digitized songs by receiving and processing song data streamed directly from a remote server. Although described below with reference to dart games, it is noted that the jukebox subsystem 104 may be combined with any type of game (e.g., a video poker game) or entertainment device (e.g., an arcade video game) .
- game e.g., a video poker game
- entertainment device e.g., an arcade video game
- the entertainment system 200 implements a combined jukebox and dart game and includes a dart head target 202, and, optionally, additional targets such as the second dart head target 204.
- the lights 206 are provided to communicate information or provide an attractive display for the patron, and the buttons 208 accept input from the patron. Some or all of the lights 206 and buttons 208 may be used for both jukebox mode and dart game mode of the entertainment system 200.
- a sound card 210 preferably provides dart game specific sound.
- the entertainment system 200 accepts payment through a coin mechanism 260 and/or a bill acceptance mechanism 262.
- the entertainment system 200 preferably includes an audio data decoder 220.
- the data decoder 220 receives encoded audio data and produces decoded audio information.
- the data decoder 220 may be a decoder for any one or more popular encoding techniques including, for example, MP3 , MS Audio 4, Madison Project, Liquid Audio and A2B.
- the data decoder 220 may be implemented in hardware only, or may be implemented using a processor executing decoding software.
- the data decoder 220 provides decoded audio information to a high quality sound card 222 or digital to analog converter, which provides music output at the desired quality for jukebox operation.
- the pre-amp 204 in turn, generates a pre-amplified output signal for the amplifier 226 that, in turn, provides the final amplification of the audio signal to a desired power level for the speakers 230.
- a power supply 228 supplies the necessary power to the amplifier 226.
- a jukebox interface 232 is preferably provided that allows a patron to easily select or request songs. To that end, the jukebox interface 232 may be, for example, a touch screen in place over the display device 282.
- a motherboard 250 that provides control over the operation of the entertainment system 200.
- the motherboard 250 (through its CPU and associated software) exercises control over jukebox and dart game modes of operation, as discussed in more detail below with respect to Figure 3.
- the motherboard 250 communicates with a mass data storage device 252, such as a hard disk drive.
- the mass data storage device 252 stores data for use for dart game, jukebox, and advertisement operation.
- Removable portable media 254 e.g., a removable disk system
- the game subsystem 102 includes the hardware and software used to implement game functionality.
- the dart game subsystem may include dart game specific hardware, such as the dart targets 202, 204 and the sound card 210, used only for dart game mode.
- the jukebox subsystem 104 may include jukebox only hardware, such as the audio decoder 220, the preamplifier 224, and the amplifier 226, used only for jukebox mode.
- the game subsystem 102 and the jukebox subsystem 104 may include common components used for both modes of operation. As an example, the game subsystem 102 and the jukebox subsystem 104 share use of the I/O board 270, video card 280, and video display device 282.
- the control subsystem 104 includes the hardware and software to exercise control over the entertainment system. To that end, the control subsystem 104 may generally be considered to include the motherboard 250, CPU 282, and memory 284 (which stores the program executed by the CPU 282) .
- the entertainment system 200 also includes a communications interface 256
- a modem card for example, a modem card
- a network card 258 for example, a modem card
- the communications interface 256 and network card 258 allow the entertainment system 200 to communicate data
- An I/O board 270 (including, for example, data buffers and read/write control logic) coupled to the motherboard 250, controls input and output operations for the entertainment system 200.
- the dart head target 204 provides input representative of dart hits, and is accordingly coupled to the I/O board 270.
- the coin mechanism 260 and bill acceptance mechanism 262 are coupled to the I/O board 270, as are the output lights 206 and input buttons 208.
- the I/O board 270 is also coupled to the pre-amp 224 to enable or disable jukebox music output.
- the entertainment system 200 uses a video card 280 and video display device 282 to present to the patron game information, jukebox song selection information, advertisement information, and the like. In an alternate embodiment, the jukebox interface
- the jukebox interface 232 may be physically separated from the entertainment system 200 itself, although still connected to, controlled by, and processed by the CPU 282.
- a touchpad, keyboard, mouse, or other pointing device may be provided some distance from the dart target 202.
- the jukebox interface 232 thereby allows players to make music selections while other players interact with the dart game.
- FIG. 3 that figure shows a flow chart 300 of the operation of the entertainment system 200.
- operation begins at block 301.
- the system 200 checks, at step 302, whether a song was interrupted the last time the system 200 was operating. If song play was interrupted, the system 200 resumes playing songs in the background at step 303.
- the system 200 After checking for song play interruption and resuming song play at steps 302 and 303 (if necessary), the system 200 checks to see, at step 304, if dart game play was interrupted the last time the system 200 was operating. If dart game play was interrupted, the system 200 resumes dart game play at steps 318 and 320. If a dart game was not interrupted, the system 200 enters the advertising mode at step 306.
- advertising mode 306 the system 200 outputs advertising information on the video display 282. Once in advertising mode 306, the system 200 waits for a patron to select either the dart game mode or the jukebox mode of operation.
- the flow chart 300 illustrates two techniques for checking for a patron mode request input.
- the system 200 polls a dart button at step 308 to determine if a patron has requested dart game mode. If dart game mode has not been requested, the system 200 polls a jukebox button at step 330 to determine if jukebox mode has been requested by a patron. If neither dart game mode nor jukebox mode has been requested by a patron, system operation returns to the advertising mode step 306, where the dart game mode check 308 and jukebox mode check 330 are made again. The polling loop of steps 306, 308 and 330 continues until the patron inputs a mode selection. As a second technique, the system 200 may respond to interrupts to check for patron requests.
- the system 200 If the patron makes a mode request, the system 200 generates an interrupt to the CPU 282.
- the mode request interrupt service routine starts at step 309 and checks for the service button pressed at steps 308 and 330.
- the polling technique and interrupt technique for patron mode request detection may alternatively be used separately or in combination.
- the system 200 determines that the patron selected the dart game mode, the system 200 displays a dart game menu to the patron at step 310.
- the dart game menu preferably displays a list of dart game options including, for example, the number of players or the specific dart game variation.
- the system 200 subsequently performs a game check at step 312 to determine whether the patron has yet chosen a specific dart game.
- the system 200 performs a money check at step 314 to determine if the patron deposited the appropriate amount of money. If a specific dart game is not selected or dart game money is not provided within a predetermined time period (during which the system 200 waits for input at step 316) , system operation returns to the advertising mode at step 306.
- dart game play begins at step 318.
- the system 200 checks for the game to be completed at step 320. If the game is not over, system operation continues back at the dart game play step 318. If the game is complete, the system 200 returns to displaying the dart game menu at step 310.
- step 330 when the system 200 detects a jukebox mode request, the system 200 performs a game- in-progress check at step 331. If a game is currently in progress, the system preferably resumes operation at the game playing step 318. Thus, in one embodiment, a request for jukebox mode is not allowed to interrupt a dart game in progress. However, in an alternative embodiment, the system 200 may allow a jukebox mode request to temporarily interrupt a game. The game may then resume upon the completion of jukebox mode.
- the system 200 displays a song selection screen at step 332.
- the system next performs a song selection check at step 334. If the system 200 determines that song selection has occurred, the system 200 checks deposited funds at step 336. If the system 200 determines that the appropriate amount of money to play the requested songs has been deposited, the system queues the songs for play at step 338. The system 200 then plays the songs in the background at step 340.
- the system 200 may thereby provide high quality music entertainment in the background while patrons play a game. As shown in Figure 3, the system 200 checks the dart button at step 341, thereby enabling a patron to quickly return to the game mode at step 310.
- the system 200 also monitors for additional song selections at step 342.
- a song selection timeout at step 342 results in the system returning to advertising mode at step 306.
- the entertainment system 200 allows a patron to play a dart game.
- the entertainment system 200 allows a patron to select songs and optionally have those songs played in the background while playing a game.
- the entertainment system 200 also provides an advertising mode as a current mode of operation that allows an establishment owner to increase revenues through advertising.
- the entertainment system 200 reverts automatically, in certain instances as shown in Figure 3, to a mode of operation prior to the current mode of operation (i.e., a previous mode of operation) to allow the entertainment system 200, for example, to continue to display advertising.
- the present invention thereby provides a single entertainment system 200 that includes both jukebox and game functionalities.
- the system 200 reduces floor space requirements while maintaining the level of entertainment provided.
- the system 200 also provides cost savings by reducing the number of individual systems required by an establishment for a given amount of entertainment.
- the system further provides cost savings by sharing expensive system components between game and jukebox operation, thereby reducing the overall number of system components necessary to provide game and jukebox entertainment.
Abstract
Description
Claims
Priority Applications (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
AU50751/01A AU5075101A (en) | 1999-10-25 | 2000-10-24 | Combination jukebox and electronic game |
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US42604799A | 1999-10-25 | 1999-10-25 | |
US09/426,047 | 1999-10-25 |
Publications (3)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
WO2001047239A2 true WO2001047239A2 (en) | 2001-06-28 |
WO2001047239A3 WO2001047239A3 (en) | 2002-01-24 |
WO2001047239A9 WO2001047239A9 (en) | 2002-08-08 |
Family
ID=23689068
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
PCT/US2000/041486 WO2001047239A2 (en) | 1999-10-25 | 2000-10-24 | Combination jukebox and electronic game |
Country Status (2)
Country | Link |
---|---|
AU (1) | AU5075101A (en) |
WO (1) | WO2001047239A2 (en) |
Cited By (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
FR2859036A1 (en) * | 2003-08-20 | 2005-02-25 | Esther Benita | Animation terminal for use in juke box, has opening for introduction of coin so that user has access, through touch screen and control buttons, to browsing tree of software to play chosen music bit using audio system |
Citations (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US5848398A (en) * | 1990-06-15 | 1998-12-08 | Arachnid, Inc. | System for managing a plurality of computer jukeboxes |
US5971397A (en) * | 1994-09-09 | 1999-10-26 | Miguel; Edward Kendal | Automated league and tournament system for electronic games |
US6163817A (en) * | 1998-06-30 | 2000-12-19 | U.S. Philips Corporation | Dynamically disabling and enabling of devices in consumer system with multiple communication protocols |
-
2000
- 2000-10-24 WO PCT/US2000/041486 patent/WO2001047239A2/en active Application Filing
- 2000-10-24 AU AU50751/01A patent/AU5075101A/en not_active Abandoned
Patent Citations (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US5848398A (en) * | 1990-06-15 | 1998-12-08 | Arachnid, Inc. | System for managing a plurality of computer jukeboxes |
US5971397A (en) * | 1994-09-09 | 1999-10-26 | Miguel; Edward Kendal | Automated league and tournament system for electronic games |
US6163817A (en) * | 1998-06-30 | 2000-12-19 | U.S. Philips Corporation | Dynamically disabling and enabling of devices in consumer system with multiple communication protocols |
Cited By (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
FR2859036A1 (en) * | 2003-08-20 | 2005-02-25 | Esther Benita | Animation terminal for use in juke box, has opening for introduction of coin so that user has access, through touch screen and control buttons, to browsing tree of software to play chosen music bit using audio system |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
WO2001047239A3 (en) | 2002-01-24 |
WO2001047239A9 (en) | 2002-08-08 |
AU5075101A (en) | 2001-07-03 |
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