Apparatus And Method of Detecting And Tracking Objects In Amusement Games

Abstract

An amusement game and method that tracks the movement of a game object utilizing an image sensing device that communicates with a control unit for the amusement game. The amusement game includes an image sensing device, such as a CCD or CMOS camera, that is positioned to view the playfield of the amusement game and track the movement of a game object along the playfield. The control unit receives a series of sequential image scans from the image sensing device and determines the position of the game object along the playfield. Based upon the detected position of the game object, the control unit modifies the operation of the game or awards player points.

1 . A method of operating an amusement game, the method comprising the steps of:
 positioning an image sensing device in view of a playfield of the amusement game;   defining at least one target area on the playfield;   operating the image sensing device to track the movement of a game object relative to the playfield;   comparing the movement of the game object to the at least one target area on the playfield; and   controlling at least one operating parameter of the amusement game based upon the movement of the game object relative to the target area.   
   
   
       2 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising the step of operating the image sensing device to capture a plurality of sequential image scans after the beginning of the game play, wherein the movement of the game object is tracked over the plurality of image scans. 
   
   
       3 . The method of  claim 2  further comprising the steps of:
 recording a reference image of the playfield from the image sensing device;   defining at least one target area on the reference image; and   comparing the movement of the game object to the at least one target area for each image scan.   
   
   
       4 . The method of  claim 2  further comprising the steps of:
 recording a reference image of the playfield from the image sensor before the beginning of game play; and   subtracting the beginning image from each image scan to determine the position of the game object relative to the playfield.   
   
   
       5 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the image sensing device is a CCD or CMOS camera. 
   
   
       6 . The method of  claim 2  further comprising the step of defining the at least one target area on the image scans from the image sensing device, wherein the location of the game object is compared to the target area for each image scan. 
   
   
       7 . The method of  claim 6  wherein the target area is the same for each image scan. 
   
   
       8 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the operating parameter is a score. 
   
   
       9 . A method of controlling the operation of an amusement game having a playfield and a game object, where the game object is directed at the playfield by a player as part of the game play, the method comprising the steps of:
 positioning an image sensing device in view of the playfield, the image sensing device being operable to generate an image scan of the playfield;   operating the image sensing device to capture a plurality of sequential image scans after the beginning of the game play;   defining at least one target area on the playfield;   tracking the movement of the game object relative to the playfield over the plurality of sequential image scans;   determining the position of the game object relative to the target area; and   controlling at least one operating parameter of the game play based upon the position of the game object relative to the target area.   
   
   
       10 . The method of  claim 9  wherein the image sensing device is a CCD or CMOS camera. 
   
   
       11 . The method of  claim 9  further comprising the steps of:
 recording a reference image of the playfield from the image sensing device before the beginning of game play; and   subtracting the reference image from each of the plurality of sequential image scans to determine the position of the game object relative to the target area.   
   
   
       12 . The method of  claim 9  wherein the position of the game object relative to the at least one target area is determined for each of the image scans. 
   
   
       13 . The method of  claim 9  further comprising the step of:
 defining a plurality of target areas on the playfield; and   determining the position of the game object relative to the plurality of target areas for each image scan; and   controlling the operating parameter of the game play based upon the position of the game object relative to the target areas.   
   
   
       14 . The method of  claim 13  further comprising the steps of:
 recording a reference image of the playfield from the image sensing device before the beginning of game play;   subtracting the reference image from each of the plurality of sequential image scans to determine the position of the game object relative to the target areas; and   controlling the operating parameter of the game play based upon the position of the game object relative to the target area for each of the image scans.   
   
   
       15 . An amusement game comprising:
 a playfield;   at least one game object selectively directable onto the playfield by a player during game play;   an image sensing device positioned to view the entire playfield and operable to create a plurality of sequential image scans of the playfield during game play; and   a control unit in communication with the image sensing device to receive the plurality of sequential image scans, wherein the control unit is operable to define at least one target area on the image scan and determine the position of the game object relative to the target area for each image scan.   
   
   
       16 . The amusement game of  claim 15  wherein the image sensing device is a CCD or CMOS camera. 
   
   
       17 . The amusement game of  claim 15  wherein the playfield includes an image projecting device operable to create a playfield image including a visual representation of the target areas. 
   
   
       18 . The amusement game of  claim 17  wherein the image projection device is a flat screen video monitor. 
   
   
       19 . The amusement game of  claim 18  wherein the video monitor is coupled to the control unit to display the visual representation of the target areas as generated by the control unit. 
   
   
       20 . The amusement game of  claim 19  wherein the control unit operates to vary the visual representation of the video monitor. 
   
   
       21 . The amusement game of  claim 17  wherein the control unit determines the position of the game object relative to the visual representation of the target areas. 
   
   
       22 . The amusement game of  claim 15  wherein the amusement game includes a plurality of image sensing devices each positioned to view the playfield and operable to create a plurality of sequential image scans during game play, wherein the image scans from the plurality of image sensing devices are combined by the control unit. 
   
   
       23 . The amusement game of  claim 17  wherein the control unit is operable to record the plurality of sequential image scans and to selectively replay the plurality of image scans on the image projecting device. 
   
   
       24 . The amusement game of  claim 15  wherein the amusement game includes at least two playfields and at least two image sensing devices, wherein at least one of the image sensing devices is positioned to view each of the plurality of playfields.