Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
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WO 96/38827 PCT/DE96/00954
PROGRAM-CONTROLLED, MONEY-OPERATED
ENTERTAINMENT AND GAMING APPARATUS
Description
The invention relates to a program-controlled, money-
operated entertainment and gaming apparatus having a storagedevice, in particular, as a jukebox.
In order to provide a versatile and varied gaming
operation, DE 43 31 258 A1 proposed a program-controlled
entert~;nm~nt apparatus wherein are included a housing, a
display which is connected to or provided in the housing,
particularly a screen, operating elements associated with the
housing, a control unit provided in the housing and a storage
device associated with the housing, in which storage device
program information and data information are stored, This
program-controlled entertainment and gaming apparatus can be
used according to the respective program that is stored in the
storage device. In this manner, it can be designed entirely to
correspond to the requirements with regard to its function in
that, depending on the situation, new program information and
data information are read in and stored. A restoring process
of this type has the effect that the characteristics of the
gaming apparatus change, i. e., it is possible, e. g., to play
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a different game variant. However, by reading in an entirely
different program or game, it is also possible to completely
change the function of the gaming apparatus. If, e. g., the
gaming apparatus was first a money gaming apparatus, it can
subsequently be an apparatus for a game of skill, whatever is
desired. These entirely different apparatuses have the
hardware components of the apparatus in common such as housing,
display, operating elements, control unit and the storage
device with variable storage contents, with the different games
being stored in the storage device.
The storage unit of the known entert~;nm~nt and gaming
apparatus can comprise a hard disk. Alternatively or
additionally, one or several CD ROM's as data carriers can be
provided in the housing. It is advantageous for a rapid
changing of the CD ROM if a CD ROM magazine is provided for the
storing and reading of the data carriers. One or several
EPROM's can also be provided as storage device. The game
action can be integrated into the respective apparatus via
these EPROM's.
In an embodiment of the known entert~'nm~nt and gaming
apparatus, the apparatus is connected to a remote data
transmission line, with it being possible to store the received
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data, for example, on the hard disk. Thus, the gaming
operation can be designed to be very flexible. The data can be
~x~h~nged, e. g., by the installer but alternatively also by
the user, i. e., the player. If the installer notices, for
example, that the gaming apparatus concerned is used
considerably less frequently, he/she merely needs to exchange
the stored game for another game, in which there seems to be a
greater interest, by means of a command and the corresponding
reading in of new gaming data.
According to the above, extensive program data and gaming
data are required for an entertainment and gaming apparatus of
this type because the apparatus is only defined with respect to
its use by means of the data received. In spite of the
enormous storage capacities, which have become possible in the
last few years, such data amounts still present a problem.
Because of the large data turnover, delays occur during the
transmission and storage of data as well as during the use of
the entertainment and gaming apparatuses, i. e., undesirable
delays occur. In addition, there is the problem of data
security.
To facilitate a versatile and interesting gaming
operation, DE 42 22 110 A1 has proposed a program-controlled
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entertainment and gaming apparatus having a playback unit for
a CDI disk on which the program information and data
information are stored. The respective use of the apparatus is
determined by the program which is permanently stored on the
CDI disk and, in this m~nn~r, the apparatus can be designed
specifically to meet the requirements with regard to its
function. The CDI disk makes it possible for the gaming action
to be run in an unexpectedly varied m~nne~. It is possible to
select different gaming functions interactively at top speeds
and to combine them with one another.
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Furthermore, it is also possible when selecting a specific
function and the immediately following display to select a
further game function from this display. In this manner, jumps
are made from one level of the game into the next, with it
being permitted, of course, to jump from and into the dif~erent
levels in an alternating manner at any time. Thus, the gaming
possibilities are expanded remarkably compared to conventional
entert~inm~nt and gaming apparatuses. But the problems of the
large data volumes which must be processed occur in this
configuration as well.
From the field of computer applications it is known to
deposit data in storage media in a compressed and/or interlaced
manner to save storage space and to enhance data security. The
data must be decoded so that they can be read later. Depending
on the architecture of the storage organization and of the
software that is used, the storage data can be accessed in a
correspondingly rapid manner.
EP-A-O 623 799 discloses an interactive video system for
military or police firing training. In order to be able to
process realistic video scenes in real time, a data compression
is carried out by means of MPEG. Furthermore, US-A-4,799,677
discloses a video apparatus wherein the video data are
digitized and compressed.
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It is the object of the invention to propose an
entert~;nm~nt and gaming apparatus which allows a versatile and
varied as well as swift gaming operation at the same time.
According to the invention, this object is solved in a
program-controlled, money-operated entertainment and gaming
apparatus having the features of claim 1. Advantageous
modifications of the gaming apparatus according to the
invention are the subject of the dependent claims.
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A program-controlled, money-operated entertainment and
gaming apparatus according to the invention thus comprises a
storage device in which program information and data
information are stored. For the processing of data, the MPEG
decoding and/or compression is used.
The MPEG process (a standard defined by the Motion Picture
Expert Group1 for video and audio compression) makes it
possible to work with large storage volumes and high data
transfer rates. Here, the data can be interlaced just like in
telecommunications engineering.
Preferably, the storage device comprises a disk, in
particular, a hard disk, with magnetic or optical disks being
used.
According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention,
one or several CDR's, including CD-ROM's, CDI's, can be
provided as data carriers in the housing.
In this manner, the entertainment and gaming apparatus
according to the invention can be played not only in a very
varied manner but also with the necessary game speed. The
implementation of an apparatus for a different type of
application can be carried out with sufficient speed because of
1 Translator's note: The words "Motion Picture Expert
Group" are included in English in the original German
language text.
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the use of the MPEG method.
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The data exchanges can, of course, be carried out at the
respectively desired moment and are not tied to the gaming
operation, in principle, i. e., usually the data transmission
does not take place on-line.
It is advantageous for the program-controlled, money-
operated entertainment and gaming apparatus according to the
invention to be connected to a network, with a server being
provided for the control of the apparatus or of a network
associated with the apparatus.
The invention is explained in greater detail by way of the
description of an embodiment which follows and by way of the
drawing. The drawing shows:
Fig. 1 a schematic diagram illustrating the
fundamental design of a first embodiment of a
program-controlled, money-operated
entertainment and gaming apparatus according to
the invention.
The fundamental design of a program-controlled
entertainment and gaming apparatus according to the invention
is explained in the following by way of the embodiment of Fig.
1. The illustrated entertainment and gaming apparatus 2 is a
coin-operated stand-alone apparatus. It includes a housing,
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not shown, with the housing is connected a display 4 in the
form of a screen, e. g., a VGA monitor. Furthermore, operating
elements 6 in the form of an input keyboard are connected with
the housing. A coin processing unit 8 is provided for the
coin-operated gaming operation. Furthermore, there is
connected with the apparatus an acoustic indication and
entertainment unit comprising a stereo amplifier 10 and
loudspeakers 14 which are connected with the amplifier by way
of two connecting lines 12.
The control unit is accommodated on a system board 16
which may be a commercially available system card. It is
provided with a DVI card 18, with DVI "Digital Video
Interactive" being a trademark of the Intel Corporation, USA.
The DVI card is connected to the display 4 via a line 20. An
I/0 module 22 is connected to the operating elements 6 via a
line 24 and with the coin processing unit 8 via a line 26. An
audio card, a so-called sound board, 28 is connected with the
stereo amplifier 10 via a line 30.
A system board 16 is connected to a power supply unit 34
via a supply line 32. A storage device allocated to the
housing comprises a hard disk 36 and a floppy disk station 38
or floppy disks which are connected to the system board 16 via
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lines 40 or 42. Optionally, a CD-ROM 44, illustrated in ~h~.~
lines, can be provided which is connected to the system board
16 via a line 46, also shown in dashed lines. The MPEG method
is employed for the data compression and the data decoding.
As can be seen from the above description of the design of
the apparatus, the entertainment and gaming apparatus is
suited, because it can combine graphics, freezing frames and
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moving images and audio unit, for an extremely flexible
operation with the assistance of a single computer. For the
respectively desired device function or device variant, it is
merely required to read a corresponding program with associated
data into the storage device. The apparatus then functions in
accordance with this new function input.
If the described entertainment and gaming apparatus is
reconfigured accordingly, it can be operated in conjunction
with an external server or an external evaluation unit. The
server or the evaluation unit is comprised of a computer which
is operated by the installer; the computer initiates contact
with the computers of the individual gaming sites via a remote
data transmission connection and monitors the individual
apparatuses or assumes their evaluation. It is also possible
to transfer new software to the local hard disks of the server
itself.
A networked apparatus configuration with local server and
remote data transmission connection to an external server or an
external evaluation unit is also feasible.
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movill~ images dlld dUdi~ unlt, ~or an extremely l~exible
operation with the assistance of a single compute~-. For the
respectively desired device function or device,~ariant, it is
merely required to read a corresponding prog~ ~m with associated
data into the storage device. The appa ~ us then functions in
accordance with this new function i ~ t.
If the described entertain ~ t and gaming apparatus is
reconfigured accordingly, it ~ n be operated in conjunction
with an external server o ~ n external evaluation unit. The
server or the evaluatio ~unit is comprised of a computer which
is operated by the ~ taller; the computer initiates contact
with the computer~ o~ the individual gaming sites via a remote
data transmis~on connection and monitors the individual
apparatuses ~ r assumes their evaluation. It is also possible
to trans ~r new software to the local hard disks of the server
itsel ~
/ A networked apparatus configuration with local server and
mote data transmission connection to an external server or an
~ ...... ......a~ ~v~lu~;on lln~t i~ dl~ ra~ibla.
Naturally, the invention is not limited to the embodiments
that are shown and described. It also comprises other
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configurations and partial combinations of the features that
are claimed, described and/or illustrated.
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