Amusement devices: games – Including means for processing electronic data – With communication link
Reexamination Certificate
1998-04-21
2001-09-11
Martin-Wallace, Valencia (Department: 3713)
Amusement devices: games
Including means for processing electronic data
With communication link
C463S004000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06287199
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to an interactive, predictive game control system for use in conjunction with a live TV broadcast.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
In an interactive, predictive game played in conjunction with a live TV broadcast, remote players attempt to predict certain events which may or may not occur during the broadcast and will be awarded prizes, monetary or otherwise, if they are successful. Examples of interactive, predictive games include horse racing where the players can try to predict winners or place bets on particular horses to win or be placed in a race, and football matches where players may try to predict the final score or the time of occurrence of certain events such as the time of the first goal, first booking etc. Other examples are rugby, motor racing, tennis and cricket. An example of an interactive system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,592,546. This document describes in detail how the remote units are organised and controlled but provides very little information on the central location.
In order to enhance the enjoyment of such games, it is desirable to be able to present players with information relating to the game in advance of, and on occasion during, the playing of the game so that they can make intelligent predictions. For example, in the case of a horse race, it would be desirable to give the players information regarding the horses, the jockeys, the course and the odds while for a football game, players would like to have details of the teams, past form and current position in a league table. Much of this information, in particular information on odds and the like, will change in the run-up to the game and consequently there is a continuing need for instantaneous updates.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, an interactive, predictive game control system for use in conjunction with a live TV broadcast received by one or more remote players comprises a central controller for generating game playing data for transmission with a TV broadcast to the remote player(s) and for receiving information from the remote player(s); an input device connected to the central controller; and a database connected to the central controller for storing data relating to the content of the live broadcast and known in advance of the live broadcast, the central controller being responsive to signals from the input device:
a) prior to the live broadcast, to select data from the database for transmission to the remote user(s) in advance of and/or during the live broadcast, and
b) during or after the live broadcast, to record the time of occurrence of one or more events relating to the live broadcast which are to be predicted by the remote player(s), as indicated by an operator to the central controller via the input device.
In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention, a method of controlling an interactive, predictive game in conjunction with a live TV broadcast received by one or more remote players comprises:
a) prior to a live broadcast, selecting data from a database which stores data relating to the content of the live broadcast and known in advance of the live broadcast, and transmitting the selected data with a TV broadcast to remote player(s) in advance of and/or during the live broadcast, and
b) during or after the live broadcast, recording the time at which one or more events occur within the live broadcast and which are to be predicted by the remote player(s).
We have devised a control system and method which allows an operator to achieve as much preparation as possible prior to the commencement of a live TV broadcast. Typically, the database will store information relevant to future predictions. The operator is able to select data appropriate to the live TV broadcast from the database and arrange for this to be assembled as appropriate into a display format which can then be transmitted in association with a TV broadcast, either in advance of and/or during the live TV broadcast, to the remote player(s). This then allows the operator to concentrate on monitoring the live broadcast for the occurrence of events which are to be predicted by the remote player(s) without having to enter large amounts of data through the input device.
The time at which the event(s) occur during the live broadcast may be entered by the operator later, for example after the live broadcast has ended but preferably the operator indicates the time of occurrence immediately. The time of occurrence can then be recorded as the actual time at which an operator provides an indication or as the actual time when amended to take account of the operator's and system's response time.
In the preferred control system, therefore, the central controller computes the actual time of occurrence of an event by monitoring the time of a signal generated by the input device in response to operator activation, and modifies that time to take account of the operator's and system's response time.
Typically, an operator will undergo a test procedure in which his response time and the system latency is determined by the central controller and this response time and latency is then stored for later use in computing the actual time of occurrence of events in the live broadcast.
In order to communicate times between the control system and the remote player(s), it is necessary to encode those times into signals which are transmitted between the two locations. This is most conveniently achieved by a process known as “time stamping” in which data defining the times are attached to messages between the two. Time stamped signals supplied to the remote player(s) can be used in a variety of ways at the remote location. For example, the signal can be used as a lock-out command preventing further predictions being made by the remote player(s). It can also be used, of course, to enable the remote player(s) to determine whether or not he has made a successful prediction.
Typically, each remote player will be provided with a local control unit including a microprocessor which can respond to signals from the control system and to locally generated signals by the player to effect local control of the game. In some cases, players predictions are communicated back to the central controller for adjudication but in other systems the local unit is able to determine, following information received from the central controller, whether or not the associated player has won and can then communicate that information to the central controller only in the case of a winning player. This reduces the amount of time needed to communicate with the central controller and the number of remote units which have to communicate at the same time.
Typically, communication from the remote player(s) to the central controller will be via an existing communication network such as public switched telephone network and the like although a permanent connection is also possible.
In some cases, the action of updating the database can cause a time to be recorded by the central controller. This could be, for example, the case where fixed odds stored within the database are updated and the time of updating is then recorded by the central controller in response to signals from the database.
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patent: 5073931 (1991-12-01), Audebert et al.
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patent: 5759101 (1998-06-01), Von Kohorn
patent: 5860862 (1999-01-01), Junkin
patent: 5899810 (1999-05-01), Smith
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Kanady Thomas
Malaure Jason Robert
McKeown Mark William
Weston David Robert
Kasick Julie
Martin-Wallace Valencia
Price and Gess
Two Way TV Limited
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