Method of employing a television receiver for active participation

Abstract

The present invention pertains to .[.an apparatus and.]. .Iadd.a .Iaddend.method, in conjunction with standard monochrome and color television receivers, for the generation, display, manipulation, and use of symbols or geometric figures upon the screen of the television receivers for the purpose of .[.training simulation, for.]. playing games.[., and for engaging in other activities.]. by one or more participants. The invention comprises in one embodiment a control unit, connecting elements and in some applications a television screen overlay mask utilized in conjunction with a standard television receiver. The control 10 unit includes the control, switches and electronic circuitry for the generation, manipulation and control of video signals which are to be displayed on the television screen. The connecting elements couple the video signals to the receiver antenna terminals thereby using existing electronic circuits within the receiver to process and display the signals. An overlay mask which may be removably attached to the television screen may determine the nature of the game to be played or the training simulated. Control units are provided for each of the participants. In the present invention dots are generated on a television screen and controls are provided to cause one dot to overlap the other. Alternatively, a photoelectric element senses light emitted by a displayed dot and denotes that the light has been sensed.

I claim: .[. 
     
       1.  A method of employing a standard television receiver for active participation by players, comprising the steps of: generating controlled television video signals representing "dots" displayed on the screen of a single television receiver;   directly coupling said video signals only to a single television receiver being viewed by the players; and   moving the "dots" over the television screen. .].   
     
     
       2. The method of .[.claim 1.]. .Iadd.employing a standard home television receiver previously employed only for passive viewing of programs for adding active home entertainment capability by providing for active participation by players in the playing of amusement games on the screen of the television receiver by said players, comprising the steps of: generating controlled television video signals representing "dots" displayed on the screen of a single home television receiver .Iaddend.wherein said step of generating video signals includes the steps of:   generating positive and negative pulse trains at the horizontal sync frequency;   generating positive and negative pulse trains at the vertical sync frequency;   delaying said positive pulse trains amounts proportional to the desired position on the screen where the "dots" are to be displayed;   AND gating said delayed positive pulse trains; summing said negative pulse trains and said AND gate delayed pulse trains; generating an rf signal; and   modulating said rf signal with said summed signal .Iadd.;   disabling said single home television receiver from receiving broadcast television signals;   directly coupling said video signals only to a single television receiver being viewed by the players; and   moving the "dots" over the television screen of said home television receiver to play amusement games.Iaddend.. .[.3. The method of claim 1 wherein two "dots" are generated and displayed, further including the step of causing one of the "dots" to disappear when the two "dots" are moved to   
     
     
        the same position..]. 4. The method of .[.claim 1 further including the steps of.]. .Iadd.employing a standard home television receiver previously employed only for passive viewing of programs for adding active home entertainment capability by providing for active participation by players, comprising the steps of: generating controlled television video signals representing "dots" displayed on the screen of a single television receiver;   directly coupling said video signals only to a single television receiver being viewed by the players;   moving the "dots" over the television screen to play amusement games; and .Iaddend.   sensing light emitted by a displayed dot with a photoelectric element .Iadd.disposed at a substantial distance from the television receiver screen to play a shooting game which simulates actual target shooting; .Iaddend.and   denoting that light has been sensed. .[.5. The method of claim 1 employed in conjunction with video information broadcast by a cooperative station, further including the step of receiving video information from a cooperative station and displaying same along with said "dots"..]. .[.6. The method of claim 1, said step of coupling said signals including the step of attaching a wire to the antenna terminals of the television receiver to directly couple the generated video signals to the television   
     
     
        receiver..]. .Iadd.7.  A method of employing a standard home television receiver previously employed only for passive viewing of programs for adding active home entertainment capability by providing for active participation by players in the playing of amusement games on the screen of the television receiver by said players, comprising the steps of: generating controlled television video signals representing "dots" displayed on the screen of a single home television receiver, wherein said step of generating controlled television video signals includes the steps of generating first signals representing the horizontal position of said "dots", generating second signals representing the vertical position of said "dots", and AND dating together said first and second signals;   disabling said single home television receiver from receiving broadcast television signals and directly coupling said video signals only to said single home television receiver being viewed by the players; and   moving the "dots" over the television screen of said single home television   
     
     
        receiver to play amusement games. .Iaddend. .Iadd.8.  A method of employing a standard home television receiver previously employed only for passive viewing of programs for adding active home entertainment capability by providing for active participation by players in the playing of amusement games on the screen of the television receiver by said players, comprising the steps of: generating controlled television video signals representing "dots" displayed on the screen of a single home television receiver, wherein said step of generating controlled television video signals includes the steps of generating first signals representing the horizontal positions of said "dots" and   generating second signals representing the vertical positions of said "dots";   disabling said single home television receiver from receiving broadcast television signals and directly coupling said video signals only to said single home television receiver being viewed by the players;   moving the "dots" over the television screen of said single home television receiver to play amusement games; and   detecting time coincidence of at least selected ones of said first and second signals representing two of said "dots" on said screen at a random time during the playing of a game, wherein said step of detecting time coincidence includes the step of AND gating selected ones of said first and second signals. .Iaddend. .Iadd.9. A method of employing a standard home television receiver previously employed only for passive viewing of programs for adding active home entertainment capability by providing for active participation by players in the playing of amusement games on the screen of the television receiver by said players, comprising the steps of:   generating controlled television video signals representing "dots" displayed on the screen of a single home television receiver;   disabling said single home television receiver from receiving broadcast television signals and directly coupling said video signals only to said single home television receiver being viewed by the players;   moving the "dots" over the television screen of said single home television receiver to play amusement games; and "shooting" at said "dots", said step including aligning a light responsive means with a displayed "dot". .Iaddend. .Iadd.10. The method of claim 9, further including the step of causing a displayed "dot" to disappear when the light responsive means   
     
     
        receives light from a displayed "dot". .Iaddend. .Iadd.11.  A method of employing a standard broadcast television receiver for active participation by players in the playing of games on the screen of the television receiver by said players, comprising the steps of: generating controlled television video signals representing "dots" displayed on the screen of a single broadcast television receiver;   providing an initial background color for the screen of said television receiver;   disabling said single broadcast television receiver from receiving broadcast television signals and directly coupling said video signals only to said single broadcast television receiver being viewed by the players;   moving the "dots" over the television screen of said single broadcast television receiver to play games;   "shooting" at said "dots", said step including aligning a light responsive means with a displayed "dot"; and   causing the background color of the television screen to completely change colors for a lasting duration when the light responsive means receives light from a displayed "dot" wherein said color change is distinct from said initial color. .Iaddend.