There are numerous coin-actuated devices which involve dropping a coin onto a flat play surface at a location where it contacts a pusher and the pusher then moves the coin which in turn contacts other coins located near the periphery of a ledge and causes coins located at the edge of the ledge to fall into a hopper. These games are often referred to in the amusement game industry as pusher games. In conventional pusher games, a horizontal bar moves in a reciprocating motion at a constant rate and a constant distance over a flat playing surface and continuously sweeps a fixed area free of coins. This area is referred to in this application as the footprint. The coins within the footprint are pushed progressively toward a ledge where they fall into a hopper. Typically, pusher games use two hoppers: first, a player hopper, which directs the coins back to the player (or are counted and the player is awarded a commensurate number of tickets for redemption), and second, a house hopper which retains the coins for the owner of the machine or amusement facility. The object of these games is to drop a coin on the play surface so that the pusher will engage the dropped coin and push it toward the ledge causing the coin engaged by the pusher to push other coins and cause coins on the edge of the ledge to fall into the player's hopper. The player attempts to drop his coins so that the maximum number of coins will fall from the ledge into the player's hopper. Most games of this class of game allow a player to control the location of the coin drop to the play surface to some extent by providing a chute which can be moved over the footprint area. Further, the drop can be timed so that the coin will drop onto the fixed footprint area when it is at its maximum area. In most prior art games the pushers move at a constant distance and a relatively constant slow pace. Some games involve multiple pushers which move in a predetermined and predicable sequence.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds