FR2721833A1 - Bingo game digital display system - Google Patents

Abstract

The system includes a wall panel on which numbers can be displayed, with each number illuminated by an associated lamp. Numbered balls are released in the game to produce the required random numbers, and the balls are placed in the positions corresponding to their positions on a control panel. The presence of the numbered ball on the control panel activates a switch to control the illuminated display panel. The information can be transmitted from the control to the display panel either by electric cables, infrared signals, ultrasound or radio signals.

Description

To The present patent relates to an apparatus composed of two parts

  main ones connecting two fields: one which is electricity or even electronics. the other construction and production. in part.

  No device of this kind exists at present.

  It is characterized in that, due to its great simplicity of design, its objective allows a certain category of person to participate more easily in a game. This game is of the same genre as the

lotto. -

  The idea would be. by a large wall panel of 90 boxes,

  display 90 numbers independently of each other.

  In an urn, for example, there would be 90 balls numbered from 1 to 90. A number of them would be drawn at random. As they are drawn and announced, a person would place each numbered ball in a box with the same number. This box would be part of a set of 90 boxes numbered from 1 to 90. arranged on a control panel. At the time of deposit, by an electrical contact, the

  number drawn would be illuminated by a light bulb on the wall panel.

  This system then ensures a double utility: allowing the hearing people to play and the others to control as and when

we haven't forgotten an ad.

  The electricity part will therefore relate to the connections between the control panel and the wall panel, the contact between the ball and the control panel and the mechanical and productive part on the panels in them.

same, and on the balls.

  According to another characteristic of the invention, the modularity of the wall and control panels will make it possible to adapt other systems which will be mentioned below. Reference will be made to electronics. This will leave

therefore the choice to the user.

  The system of the two large panels comes from a very accessible design. Easy to use, according to one of the characteristics of the invention, they are constructed by an assembly in which the different members are made up of several distinct elements. well sized and proportioned.

  Their assembly and disassembly will thus be done easily.

  The elements thus produced. control panels and wall panels offer, among other advantages, special qualities for their handling and maintenance. Thus, in the event of a defect for example, the user will not

  only to change the element in question.

  Furthermore. according to another characteristic of the invention, very few tools are necessary for the assembly and disassembly of the various parts, unless the user decides to use the electronic assemblies which

  will be mentioned later (they also offer other advantages).

  The invention consists of a large so-called control panel, on which 90 boxes are created by means of plates made of the same material. To each box corresponds a switch to which we associate a light bulb on a wall panel. The latter comes from

  same type of design as the control panel (90 boxes).

  According to another characteristic of the invention, various materials 1 could be used for the control panels. Examples will be given so that, based on certain principles of resistance of materials, they will offer optimum qualities of rigidity, safety,

  resistance, aesthetics and magnability.

  The electricity part uses components that we all use frequently (bulbs and switch), in our daily life. By

  elsewhere. they are very reliable and easily mountable and dismountable.

  According to another characteristic of the invention, the security of the various assemblies will be ensured. A general switch will allow handling on the electrical assembly without any risk. In addition, casings will be provided on the two panels to protect people against any risk of electric shock. The sons carrying out the various

  connections will of course be isolated.

  On the other hand, according to the invention, the electrical system (transmission by cables) will be mainly detailed because it is governed by very

  simple and allows very easy use and maintenance.

  That said, the transmission can be done by infrared, ultrasound or

radio waves.

  The medium of propagation is either the atmosphere. or optical fibers.

  The lighting of the bulbs can be managed either by a multiplexer or a microcontroller. They both use binary coding principles corresponding in fact to niche voltages. Depending on the coding sent after pressing a

  switch, the bulb corresponding to the switch lights up.

  lu tigure 1, according to the invionion. represents the schenma The 'base allowing to light one or more bulbs at the same time., \ chaique

bulb we associate a switch.

  This torque, according to the invention, is mounted in parallel with a voltage generator (a kind of large battery) and a general switch. The current leaves the plus terminal of the generator. If all the switches are open, current cannot therefore flow through the bulbs. They remain extinct. As soon as one of them is closed, the current flows and the bulb lights up. This system thus makes it possible to make the bulbs independent

each other.

  Figure 2, according to the invention, shows the type of bulb that can be used. This kind of bulb must operate with a minimum power of W, it allows good lighting and thus ensures good development of the number drawn. It has a threaded part 2A on which one of the metal rods of the cube will come to rest. The other pole of the battery is on its base 2B and will also receive a metal rod. Figure 3, according to the invention. shows different views of the switch that can be used. Simple. efficient and very discreet, it has a 3B internal architecture allowing electrical contact to be established by simply pressing 3A. The bulb therefore lights up. A second press then switches off the bulb. They will be like those used in homes, but much less imposing because they will not

  crossed only by weak currents.

  According to another characteristic of the invention, the wiring will be carried out by wires having a suitable conductivity. In addition, they will of course be isolated. The two terminals of the switch in the 3C box will receive the wires thanks to two screws which by tightening will ensure the connections

  wire-switch. Only a screwdriver is necessary.

  FIG. 3 ′, according to the invention, represents the second type of switch that can be used. It consists of a plate to cover the entire surface generated by the box. It has a sort of nipple of rectangular shape on which the strips will stick.

  metallic 3'A. At each end, a spring will be glued. Otherwise.

  another strip should be glued to the box so that the plate makes good contact. Four low stiffness springs will ensure

maintains support.

  Figure 4. According to the invention, shows different views of the basic part of the control panel. Originally. we have a shaped piece

rectangular parallelepiped.

  Can be obtained by extrusion molding for example, it could be made of a plastic material such as PVC (polychloride of vv! Nil). By a process of machining of plastic materials, grooves will be produced. as shown in front views 4.A and bottom views 4.B

  in Figure 4. These grooves can also be directly molded.

  They will receive a male coin, used to separate the different numbers

  which will be registered with stickers.

  Another groove will be made, this time on the other side of the support in order to receive the protective casing. It is performed all around. This box will receive a lateral semicircular notch to allow the wires to pass through to ensure the electrical connections with the bulbs of the

wall panel.

  Designed to be more rational, according to one of the characteristics of the invention, the fixing of the male parts in the grooves is done by hand which allows easy assembly and disassembly, especially for maintenance. The adjustment between the latter two must be tight. In addition, a small diameter hole (approximately mm) will be made for each box to allow wire connections with the generator and the corresponding bulb. These will be

moreover hidden by the casing.

  Figure 5, according to the invention, shows the protective casing for the control panel. Made of the same material as the latter, it performs a dual function. It allows, firstly, to ensure the protection of people against electrocution and secondly,

  to hide the wires which gives the invention a certain discretion.

  This box will be embedded in the control panel without the help of any tool. Equipped with a side notch. it will allow the wires to pass or leave the free transmission of the infrared signal, in the case of

choice of an electronic system.

  Without wishing to depart from the scope of the present invention, any shape, any material may be used for the production of the casing and of the

3 5 panel.

  Figures 6 and 7, according to the invention, schematically show the so-called male plates coming to be fixed in the grooves of the switchboard.

  control. Their reduction in side ensures good fixation.

  Two dimensions are foreseen thus allowing to see only

  boxes placed side by side, to save space and save material.

  Their arrangements are made in a simpler way. One will have a dimension, for example, of DOmm and the other of 60mm. They are so that each box has the same area. According to another characteristic of the invention, each piece which will be all around the panel will receive as soon as it is molded a small stud which will receive the support of the push button. The others will have two, as shown in Figure 7. one on each side because they will each receive

two plates.

  According to the invention, the height of the nipples must be precise enough so that the switches. once placed in their support, do not

require no fixing.

  A slight play will be left between the plate and the 4 others surrounding it so that the assembly and disassembly is done easily. A small notch will be made in order to let pass the wires which connect each switch. Figure 8, according to the invention, shows the wafer to receive a switch. It is deposited on the nipples and is provided with a square hole in order to receive it. It can be made of the same material

  as the supports delimiting the boxes.

  Figure 9, according to the invention, shows one of the balls to be placed on the control panel. It can be made of any plastic material. She will receive a number, between 01 and 90. Thus, the drawing of a ball being made, it will only remain at the

  place in the corresponding box.

  The bulb with the same number will light up. Its diameter will be approximately 5m.m less compared to the space available to it. This allows it, on the one hand, according to the invention, to be stable in the box and

  on the other hand, to go past it so that the number is visible.

  In addition, its extraction from the box will be easier.

  Figure 10, according to the invention, now shows the wall panel. It has the same basic architecture as the control panel. Parallelepipedic in shape. it can be made of a material

  plastic (PVC type). It is made up of three screwed parts: a transparent

  rent, another fine of red color (sort of interlayer), the other black.

  So, we will use a fairly powerful black sticker, like

  as shown in Figure 12 ". The 90 numbers will be engraved on the latter.

  So. only the engraved part corresponding to the number drawn will be lit.

  Still in FIG. 10, according to the invention. grooves of the same

  type that those of the control panel will be operated. In the present case.

  they will be more numerous because all the boxes in this panel will be independent of each other. The lighting of one should not in fact interfere with the fact that the other is turned off. Furthermore. the system thus proposed will facilitate the attachment of the bulbs. Each set of four grooves arranged to form a square with a surface larger than that of the control panel, must correspond to the position of a number. Each of these sets of grooves corresponds to a housing to receive a bulb. A large groove. as for the control panel will be provided in order to fix the protective casing. In the case of a transmission using an infrared system for example,

  make a hole on its face in order to fix the receiving diode.

  1 D Figure 11, according to the invention, shows the protective casing of the wall panel. It has exactly the same features and benefits

  than those on the control panel. Only its dimensions will be adapted.

  Figure 12, according to the invention, represents in skeletal perspective

  then in the plan the box which will accept the bulb illuminating its number.

  This time, as we mentioned earlier, it has a cubic shape. According to the invention, it allows easy assembly and disassembly of the bulb. Attaching by hand to the panel, it can be made of the same plastic material as its support. The elevation of the bulb will be ensured by an internally threaded stud allowing the latter to be screwed. At the same time, it allows the threaded and extreme parts of the bulb to be cleared, which must ensure electrical contact. The

  diameter of the bulb should correspond to the inside diameter of the nipple.

  The other 4 faces of the case are all of the same kind. as shown in figure 12 '. With their size changes, they enter the grooves provided for their fixing. The latter is

  therefore done very easily, without tools.

  Figure 13, according to the invention, shows the 2 metal parts allowing the connection between the wires and the bulb. By their geometry, Elles 3 5 will be glued to the rear face of the bulb housing. Furthermore, that shown in FIG. 13A will have contact with the threaded part and that

  of figure 13B with the extreme part.

  So, thanks to their presence. they avoid the need to solder the electric wires on the bulb. Assembly and disassembly are therefore easier. This ten, a welding will be necessary with each wire having to make a connection between a switch and a bulb: but the latter will be done by

through these platelets.

  Li height of the first part 13.A is deliberately less than the height of the part of the bulb which protrudes from the housing so that its end, when screwed, pushes this small plate. This

  the latter twists slightly. in order to achieve safe contact.

  FIG. 14, according to the invention, represents the manner in which the

  parts 13.A and 13.B will establish contact with the bulb.

  Figure 15, according to the invention, shows the way in which the electrical connections must be made. They will be carried out according to the same principle as that in Figure 1. A special arrangement characterizes them in order to facilitate wiring. All switches have one of

  1 5 their terminal connected together. The other is connected to a light bulb.

  According to another characteristic of the invention, the use of a transmission by other systems is possible. That said, she asks

  a more in-depth study and the realization of more difficult assemblies.

  Without wishing to depart from the scope of the present invention, any system, any component and any method may be used for the realization of the electronic assemblies. The objective is, always after having deposited the ball in the corresponding box, to light a bulb with the same number. This

  times, the transmission will no longer be by wire.

  FIG. 16, according to the invention, represents the basic diagram of the principle of the transmission. It is explained in the description of the invention. It consists of 5 elements: a source, an encoder. a transmitter, a medium

  of propagation. a receiver. a decoder and a user.

  FIG. 17 schematically represents, according to the invention, the basic principle of a multiplexer. It contains pins which are swept by a strip. A binary code is generated. corresponding to

  a single frequency, which will be associated with a bulb.

  FIG. 17 ′ according to the invention, represents the kind of voltage in niches encountered, in the system of the multiplexer. In a niche we

  associates a "logical 1" whereas with a voltage "zero". a O "logical 0".

  In order to make assembly and dismantling operations easier, the control panel will consist of a main support (4) of parallelepiped shape on which there will be grooves. The latter will receive plates (6 and 7) of the same material. This will form 90 boxes which will be numbered with labels. The plates will also be provided with a notch allowing the wires to pass through for current conduction. They will also be fitted with a small stud on each side, ensuring the maintenance of the switch supports (8). The latter, according to the invention, will receive a hole for fixing the

switches (3).

  Undeniably, this will facilitate the assembly and disassembly of the control panel and will give the invention a better presentation.

  and better quality in terms of safety.

  According to the invention, another system (3 ') can be used to act as a switch. The plates delimiting the boxes no longer have nipples. On the plate which served as a switch support, we do not make a hole but a sort of nipple of rectangular shape. Two metal strips (3'A) are fixed on it, very parallel and not touching. They constitute the two terminals of our new switch. Above will be soldered the wires necessary to establish an electrical contact. The plate is located MI at a certain height from the panel. and is maintained by 4 small springs of very low stiffness. In a box belonging to the panel

  control, a new metal strip is fixed.

  As soon as a ball (9) is deposited, the plate sinks and ensures

  thus an electrical contact between the two strips of the control panel.

  This allows us, among other things, to lighten the editing. That said, it is necessary to provide a ball before a sufficiently large mass so that it crushes the

  support and that contact is established well.

  According to the invention, the wall panel (10) is designed in part according to the

  same principle. At the start, we have 3 supports of parallelepiped shapes

  one of which has notches. The 2 extremes are made of the same material but the one accepting the sticker without any shade, that is to say transparent. A large notch. as for the control panel,

  will be provided to receive the protective casing (11).

  Via a black sticker (12 ") where only the female parts of the 90 numbers will be visible, an insulated bulb (2), facing a

  number, will light up the transparent male part.

  G On the other side of the panel will be fixes O) cubes i] '! that will insulate the bulbs. Cubes have only five of their faces. The faces (2 '' before contact with the missing one will be constructed in such a way that they can be recessed by hand in pre-cut notches for. The face that does not have contact with the wall panel support will have a cylindrical nipple drilled inside and threaded to receive

  the bulb necessary for lighting.

  According to another characteristic of the invention, this face will receive two metal rods (13) in order to establish contacts with the rest

  of the circuit, and more precisely with the power supply and its switch.

  On them will be welded the necessary electric wires, thus allowing to change the bulbs without the need for tools. We can also provide a nearby ampoule container without wanting to depart from the scope of the present invention, the choice of 1 materials. components. parts procurement process is left

  at the discretion of users. The wiring can be done as shown (15).

  The electronic part, according to the invention, is the basis of other types of transmissions. It is made up of two parts: a part to issue the

  signal, the other receiving it, as in diagram (16).

  For infrared transmission, the link is made in a medium

  propagation which is air or optical fiber.

  Other types of transmissions can be used: for example.

ultrasound or radio waves.

  In addition, the management of the switching on and off of the bulbs by the switches can be done by a multiplexer system (17,17 - '). or by a microcontroller. All of these elements actually respond to a certain

  number of criteria already well defined in electronics.

  An information transmission link implements a series of organs or physical environments allowing transmission

  the information generated by a source to the user for whom it is intended.

  At the beginning. we have a source of information. It can be reduced to an active dipole, consisting of a resistor in series with an electromotive force. Then an encoder is placed. It is an active quadrupole which will generate a signal containing all the information debited by the source and adapted to the characteristics of the propagation medium used by the transmission channel. Two operations must be distinguished: source coding which reduces if not eliminates the natural redundancy of information. And coding at the input of the transmission channel which protects

  the information from the source of the disturbances introduced by the channel.

  We find, thereafter. the transmitter. The spectrum generated by the encoder propagates badly and it is generally necessary to use an auxiliary signal. of sufficiently high frequency, in order to transport the signal in the propagation medium. This signal is called carrier. The transmitter is an active quadrupole, consisting of the series connection of a modulator with which the carrier oscillator is associated and an amplifier. The signal produced by the modulator has a low average power. It is necessary to amplify it, in order to inject it into the

  medium of propagation. The modulator is therefore followed by an amplifier.

  The modulated signal is injected into the propagation medium. Let us distinguish the propagation media where the propagation is free (the atmosphere for example) and those where the propagation is guided (optical fibers in particular). In addition to the delay due to the crossing time, three phenomena affect the propagation: attenuation. distortion and sound effects in

certain cases.

  Then, the receiver receives the signal from the propagation medium and has the function of restoring the modulating signal by demodulating the modulated signal. For the demodulation to be carried out under the best conditions, the useful signal received must be amplified. Its spectrum must be translated on a sufficiently low frequency while the noise must

  be reduced as much as possible, by filtering.

  Finally, the decoder which is the reciprocal organ of the coder. When it receives a signal s. it produces an S signal. It is much more complicated

  than an encoder and is similar to a computer.

  In terms of controlling the lighting of the bulbs, according to the invention, it can be done either by means of a multiplexer,

or a microcontroller.

  Depending on the switch that has been selected, a kind of strip sweeps across a set of pins. These are associated with a "logical 1" or a "logical 0". Depending on the contacts made, we get

  output a binary code. In fact, these are niche tensions.

  Then, the transmission of the generated signal takes place and its reception makes it possible to light the corresponding bulb. through an interview and

a translation of the signal.

  According to another characteristic of the invention, the management of the ignition can be carried out by means of a microcontroller. It is an integrated circuit that must be programmed in a language

  special. like that of 6809. L.n switch being selected.

  a certain voltage in slots is (; being thus corresponding to a binary code. The latter arrives at the input of the CI. It processes this code.

  then obtains at its output a frequency specific to the transmissible switch. The transmission and reception of the signal will then take place without difficulty.

  With regard to the transmission means, according to the invention.

  several principles can be used. Infrared seems to be the most expensive in the first place. The system is composed of a transmitting diode which sends the signal supplied by the multiplexer or the microcontroller of the control panel and of a receiving diode located on the wall panel and which will transmit the information

  necessary to light the bulb. The medium of propagation is air.

  Thus, no object, whatever it is, must be on the path of

two diodes.

  In the field of propagation media, it is possible to use optical fibers. Thus, unlike air, this medium is not

  not directly subject to the surrounding environment.

  The use of ultrasound and radio waves is also possible. For the latter, a request to the competent authorities must be made beforehand. The transmission of radio waves is subject to certain legislation. Each of these systems has well-known characteristics and will therefore not be the subject of

a description.

  RvE VENDI CA TIO0S 1) Digital display system for lotos characterized in that it includes a wall panel whose numbers are illuminated as and when balls are numbered are drawn and a control panel connected to the wall panel and with 90 boxes or the balls

numbered are filed.

  2) System se.lon claim 1 characterized in that the control panel has 90 boxes corresponding to the 90 numbers can be drawn and has a safety housing, the electrical contact is made via normal switches or manufactured with a plate and three metal strips, with each of them being associated with a bulb on the wall panel.

  3) System according to the claims

  I and 2 characterized in that the transmission of the current to the wall panel is done with wires, the wall panel consists of 90 colored boxes each having a bulb and also has a housing, on its face is fixed a

  sticker engraved with numbers.

  4) System according to claim 3 characterized in that the transmission can also be done by infrared, ultrasound or radio waves, the propagation medium being the atmosphere, or optical fibers and the management of the lighting of the bulbs is done thanks to a

  multiplexer, or a micro controller.