Amusement machine

Abstract

A coin pusher amusement machine with a playfield 2, coin pusher 4 and win chute 21 is provided with a robotic arm 5 for taking items from reservoir 6 and placing them as desired on the playfield 2 and/or in the win chute 21.

1 . An amusement machine comprising: 
 a playfield;    a coin projection device for projecting coins onto the playfield;    a coin pusher which is moveable relative to the playfield;    a reservoir; and    a robotic arm for automatically picking up and dispensing objects from the reservoir onto the playfield, the robotic arm being provided with a grabber at its distal end for picking up objects and releasing them.    
     
     
         2 . An amusement machine according to  claim 1  further comprising a plurality of play stations each located in front of a corresponding section of the playfield, wherein the robotic arm is arranged to deliver objects to any of the sections of the playfield.  
     
     
         3 . An amusement machine according to  claim 2  wherein the robotic arm is mounted above the reservoir, the playfield is located around the reservoir and a plurality of play stations each including a separate win chute and coin input are provided around the periphery of the playfield.  
     
     
         4 . An amusement machine according to any preceding claim wherein the robotic arm is pivotally mounted on a substantially vertical pivot axis and includes at least two joints allowing flexing of the arm about a substantially horizontal axis.  
     
     
         5 . An amusement machine according to any preceding claim further comprising a win chute located at the periphery of the playfield wherein objects falling down the chute are accessible from outside the amusement machine.  
     
     
         6 . An amusement machine according to any preceding claim further comprising a controller that is triggered by a predetermined event to control the robotic arm to pick up an object from the reservoir and deliver it to a predetermined location.  
     
     
         7 . An amusement machine according to any preceding claim wherein the coin pusher is eccentrically mounted for rotation relative to the playfield.  
     
     
         8 . An amusement machine according to  claim 7  wherein the coin pusher is an eccentrically mounted disc.  
     
     
         9 . An amusement machine according to any of  claims 1  to  6  wherein the coin pusher reciprocates across part of the playfield to disturb the distribution of the coins on the playfield surface.  
     
     
         10 . An amusement machine according to  claim 9  wherein the coin pusher is a moveable stage mounted above and adjacent to the playfield.  
     
     
         11 . An amusement machine according to any of  claims 1  to  6  wherein the coin pusher comprises a rod and stage movable relative to each other.  
     
     
         12 . An amusement machine according to any preceding claim wherein the coin pusher is rotatable around a substantially vertical axis.  
     
     
         13 . An amusement machine according to any preceding claim wherein the playfield is rotatable around a substantially vertical axis.  
     
     
         14 . An amusement machine according to any preceding claim comprising two or more coin pushers.