U.S. patent number 3,589,725 [Application Number 04/806,244] was granted by the patent office on 1971-06-29 for automatic bowling scorer with cathode-ray tube display.
This patent grant is currently assigned to American Machine & Foundry. Invention is credited to Ralph Townsend, James J. Walker.
United States Patent |
3,589,725 |
Townsend , et al. |
June 29, 1971 |
**Please see images for:
( Certificate of Correction ) ** |
AUTOMATIC BOWLING SCORER WITH CATHODE-RAY TUBE DISPLAY
Abstract
An automatic bowling scorer which calculates scores in
accordance with the rules of the game from signals representative
of pinfall and having a cathode-ray tube for presenting a visual
display of the history of the game of bowling wherein the face of
the cathode-ray tube is divided into identifiable discrete areas to
represent the frames of the game for at least one player.
Inventors: |
Townsend; Ralph (Darien,
CT), Walker; James J. (Bedford, NH) |
Assignee: |
American Machine & Foundry
(N/A)
|
Family
ID: |
10185404 |
Appl.
No.: |
04/806,244 |
Filed: |
March 11, 1969 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
|
|
|
|
|
May 14, 1968 [GB] |
|
|
22809/68 |
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
473/70; 377/5;
340/323R; 345/10 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63D
5/04 (20130101); A63D 2005/048 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A63D
5/04 (20060101); A63D 5/00 (20060101); G06F
19/00 (20060101); A63d 005/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;273/54C ;340/323,324
;178/6.6DD,7.83 ;235/92,150,151,92GA |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Oechsle; Anton O.
Claims
What we claim is:
1. In an automatic bowling scorer for presenting a visual display
of the history of a game of bowling comprising a cathode-ray tube
having a display face, circuit means for controlling the
cathode-ray tube so that the display face of the cathode-ray tube
is divided into discrete areas representative of the frame of a
game of bowling for at least one player, first means associated
with the face of the cathode-ray tube to identify the player
associated with the discrete areas representative of the frames of
the game, and second
2. The combination as defined by claim 1 wherein said first means
comprises an area for displaying a players name and said second
means comprises numbers one through ten to identify the 10 frames
of the game of bowling.
3. The combination as defined by claim 2 including display logic
means coupled to said cathode-ray tube to indicate pinfall and
total for each frame.
4. The combination of claim 3 wherein said display logic means
includes strike symbol generating means and spare symbol generating
means.
5. The combination of claim 4 wherein said display logic means
includes split symbol generating means.
6. An automatic bowling scorer for presenting a visual display of
the history of a game of bowling comprising a cathode-ray tube
having a display face, circuit means for controlling the
cathode-ray tube so that the display face of the cathode-ray tube
is divided into discrete areas representative of the various frames
of a game of bowling for at least one player, signal-generating
means coupled to generate signals representative of the number of
pins felled by a ball, calculating means fed by said signal
generating means to compute total score from the signals
representative of the number of pins felled according to the rules
of the game as the game progresses frame by frame, and display
logic means fed by said calculating means to drive said cathode-ray
tube to display the score history of the game frame by frame.
7. The combination of claim 6 wherein said calculating means
includes a memory means to store the signals representative of
pinfall for the various frames.
8. The combination of claim 7 wherein said memory means comprises a
recirculating delay line.
9. The combination of claim 8 including means fed by said
calculating means to record permanently the history of the game
bowled.
10. The combination of claim 8 including means to selectively enter
pinfall for a ball of a desired frame.
11. The combination of claim 10 including means to selectively
enter player blind score.
12. The combination of claim 11 including means to selectively
enter team handicap.
13. The combination of claim 12 including means to selectively
enter team marks handicap.
14. An automatic bowling scorer for presenting a visual display of
the history of a game of bowling comprising a cathode-ray tube
having a display face, circuit means for controlling the
cathode-ray tube so that the display face of the cathode-ray tube
is divided into discrete areas representative of the various frames
of a game of bowling, first signal-generating means coupled to
generate signals representative of the number of pins felled by a
ball on a first lane, second signal-generating means coupled to
generate signals representative of the number of pins felled by a
ball on a second lane, search means to select the lane on which a
ball has been rolled, memory means coupled to the signal generating
means of the lane selected by the search means to receive and store
signals representative of pinfall for the ball rolled, calculating
means to compute total score frame by frame to the last frame
bowled coupled to feed said total score frame by frame to said
memory means, and display logic means fed by said memory means to
drive said cathode-ray tube to display the score history of the
game frame by frame.
15. The combination of claim 14 including manually controlled
signal-generating means coupled to feed selectively signals
representative of pinfall to said memory means.
16. The combination of claim 15 wherein said calculating means
includes means to inhibit the display of the score history of the
game frame by frame during the occurrence of an unbroken string of
strikes.
17. The combination of claim 16 wherein said memory means comprises
a recirculating delay line.
18. An automatic bowling scorer for presenting a visual display of
the history of a game of bowling comprising a first cathode-ray
tube having a display face, circuit means for controlling the
cathode-ray tube so that the display face of the cathode-ray tube
is divided into discrete areas representative of the various frames
of games of bowling, said first cathode-ray tube being associated
with a first lane, a second cathode-ray tube having a display face,
circuit means for controlling the cathode-ray tube so that the
display face of the cathode-ray tube is divided into discrete areas
representative of the various frames of other games of bowling,
said second cathode-ray tube being associated with a second lane,
first signal-generating means coupled to generate signals
representative of the number of pins felled by a ball on the first
lane, second signal-generating means coupled to generate signals
representative of the number of pins felled by a ball on the second
lane, memory means to receive and store signals representative of
the history of the games, search means to selectively couple said
first signal-generating means and said second signal-generating
means to said memory means, calculating means to compute total
score frame by frame as a game progresses for each player and to
feed said total score frame by frame to said memory means, and
display logic means fed by said memory means to drive said first
cathode-ray tube to display the score history of the games of a
first group of players frame by frame and to drive said second
cathode-ray tube to display the score history of the games of a
second group of players frame by frame, and means coupled to said
display logic means to generate for selective display spare and
strike occurrences.
19. The combination of claim 18 including controllable
signal-generating means selectively coupled by said search means to
said memory means to modify the number of pins felled by a rolled
ball.
20. The combination of claim 19 wherein said controllable signal
generating means comprises means to generate a team handicap entry.
entry.
21. The combination of claim 20 wherein said controllable
signal-generating means comprises means to generate a team marks
handicap entry.
22. The combination of claim 21 wherein said controllable
signal-generating means comprises means to generate a player blind
score entry.
23. The combination of claim 22 including means fed by said memory
means to record permanently the history of a game of bowling.
24. The combination of claim 23 wherein said means comprises a
magnetic tape.
25. The combination of claim 23 wherein said means comprises a
printed tape.
26. The combination of claim 23 wherein said means comprises a
punched tape.
Description
This invention relates generally to the game of bowling and more
particularly to an automatic bowling score calculating device which
computes the score as the game progresses and displays the history
of the game in a prominent manner.
It is an object of this invention to provide an automatic bowling
scorer having a cathode-ray tube as a display of the history of the
game.
It is another object of this invention to provide an automatic
bowling scorer that can identify the player next to bowl.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide an automatic
bowling scorer which can identify the lane that is to be used by
the next bowler during team play.
It is still another object of this invention to provide an
automatic bowling scorer which can correct an error in the display
of the history of the game.
It is still another object of this invention to provide an
automatic bowling scorer which permits a bowler, during team play,
to take himself out of the game for one or more frames.
It is still another object of this invention to provide an
automatic bowling scorer that makes a permanent record of the
history of the game.
It is still another object of this invention to provide an
automatic bowling scorer that can accept manually entered
information.
It is still another object of this invention to provide an
automatic bowling scorer that is economical to build and reliable
in operation.
Other objects and many of the attendant advantages of this
invention will be readily appreciated as the same becomes better
understood by reference to the following detailed description when
considered in connection with the accompanying drawings
wherein:
FIGS. 1a, 1b and 1c when positioned relative to each other as
illustrated in FIG. 1d form FIG. 1 which is a block diagram of
structure in accordance with the principles of the invention;
FIG. 2 is a view of the bowler's console or keyboard;
FIG. 3 is a view of a cathode-ray tube display in accordance with
the principles of this invention;
FIG. 4 is a view of FIG. 3 illustrating frames one through nine of
a single player;
FIG. 5 is a view of a single frame of FIG. 3 representative of
frames one through 9; and
FIG. 6 is a view of a single frame of FIG. 3 representative of the
10th frame; and
FIG. 7 illustrates the matrix used for the generation of characters
on the face of a cathode-ray tube.
The automatic bowling scorer here disclosed can be thought of as a
special purpose digital computer having a fixed wired program and
using a magnetostrictive delay line as a memory means. A
cathode-ray tube fed by the delay line displays the history of the
game as it progresses. If desired, a recording means such as
magnetic tape, punch tape or the like can be utilized to provide a
permanent history of the progress of the game.
This invention is designed to accommodate two five-man teams that
bowl against each other in accordance with the ABC rules governing
team play. In addition, the automatic bowling scorer follows normal
player procedures such as the superstition factor for a plurality
of consecutively occurring strikes, the computation of marks during
the course of the first nine frames of play and the like.
Under normal team play, the automatic bowling scorer is time shared
to accept input information signals from three input stations; a
bowler's control console or keyboard, and a pair of pinspotters
(one for each lane). The automatic bowling scorer receives
information signals and calculates bowling scores from the three
input stations in accordance with the rules of bowling.
Referring to FIG. 1, there is illustrated, in block form, structure
in accordance with the principles of this invention. A delay line
10 which can be a magnetostrictive delay line or the like stores
the data received from the keyboard and the pinspotters. This data
consists of a frame by frame account of the history of the game for
each player bowling in addition to the marks, handicaps and blind
score data associated with each team. The data is stored in the
delay line 10 having a multitude of slot positions, one four-bit
slot being assigned to each character in a frame. The master
counter and arithmetic address 12 counts the bits as they emerge
from the delay line 10 and contains the address of each four-bit
character as it is fed to the tail register 14. The information
representative of the history of the game is recirculated
continuously through the delay line 10; the output of the delay
line being fed through the tail register 14 and through control
gates to the input of the delay line 10.
The information in the tail register 14 is fed to the display logic
16 which displays the received information on a cathode ray tube 18
in a predetermined sequence.
The display logic can be self-contained and, therefore, the display
of data as it emerges from the delay line is independent of the
computation of the scores of the players. Thus, as a game progress,
the display will shown the score of a player calculated up to the
current frame from prior entries while the computer section can be
in a rest state.
The state of the computer is determined by the program counter 20.
The program counter 20 is a counter which counts either
sequentially or in steps or jumps in accordance with instructions
received from the instruction gates and jump gates 22. The program
counter 20 and instruction gates and jump gates 22 directs the
various subsections of the computer through a sequence of operation
which enables the invention here disclosed to compute a bowling
game score. If the program counter 20 is in its rest state, it will
remain there until one of the input stations calls the
computer.
The search logic 24 continually scans the inputs from the left ball
switch synchronizer 26, the right ball switch synchronizer 28; and,
the keyboard synchronizer 30. At the instant that the search logic
24 detects a signal from one of the input stations, it stops its
scan of the inputs and feeds a signal to the instruction gates and
jump gates 22 to leave the rest state and to direct the computer by
the program instructions through the program required to perform
the computations required. The program counter 20 sequences through
its cycle and, upon returning to rest, signals the search logic 24
that it has performed the required computation. The search logic is
then released and continues to scan the input lines.
Referring now to the receipt of input information from a
pinspotter, it shall be assumed that a ball is delivered on the
left lane of the two-lane pair served by the machine. The left ball
switch synchronizer 26 detects the ball striking the back cushion
and synchronizes the information from the pinspotter with the
computer and signals the search logic 24. The player who delivered
the ball will be the player that the left lane sequence counter and
display 32 indicated as "up" for the left lane. When the search
logic 24 detects this condition, it signals the instruction gates
and jump gates 22, and the program counter 20 is directed to leave
the rest state and proceed through the pinspotter entry
program.
When the program counter 20 enters this program, it transfers the
contents of the left lane player sequence counter 32 through the
transfer gates 34 into the address counters 36. The address
counters 36 now contain the identity of the player who delivered
the ball not the frame in which it was delivered or the actual ball
delivered. The program instructions from the instruction gates and
jump gates 22 then directs the pinsensor scan gates 38 to feed the
count of the number of pins down into the input register 48 through
the control gates 42. The data search logic 44 is directed to
search through the memory contents of the delay line 10 for the
player who has delivered the ball and establish the ball and frame
identity. The data search logic 44 transfers this information into
the address counters 36 which now contains the player, frame, and
ball identity. When the identity of the entry is known, the program
instructions direct the address counters 36 and strike spare store
and score conditions 46 to examine the ball content of the past two
frames bowled by this player. The strike spare store and score
conditions 46 determine if the scoring of the two prior frames
depends upon the ball just bowled. For example, if the two frames
prior to a first ball of a frame delivery were both strikes, the
scoring of the two prior frames depends upon the data just
acquired. If the second frame prior to the current frame requires
the present ball data to complete it, the program instructions will
direct the three-digit total for the third frame prior to the
current frame to be transferred to the adder 48 and accumulator 50
through control gates 42.
The contents of the input register 49 which contains the number of
pins felled by the present ball will now be added through control
gates 42 and 52 to the total data for the third frame prior to the
current frame stored in the adder 48 and accumulator 50. This
correct score data for the second frame prior to the current frame
is entered into the delay line 10 through control gates 52 and 54.
At the time an entry is being made from the arithmetic unit, the
normal path of data from the tail register 14 through the control
gates 56 into the stream register 58 and delay line 10 through
control gates 54, will be opened to accept new or additional
information at control gates 56. Thus, whatever was in the delay
line for the second frame prior to the current frame of the player
who delivered the ball will be replaced by the new information.
This process will be repeated for the first frame prior to the
present frame and for the present frame each time the strike spare
store and score conditions 46 determines the pinfalls to be added
to the frame being scored. Hence, it is seen that any pinspotter
entry can affect two prior frames and the computer program
accommodates this condition.
In addition to computing the score for the player who has just
bowled, this invention computes the new team marks total for the
current frame. To compute the new team marks total, the program
instructions directs the data search logic 24 to reset the current
frame address into the address counters 36 through the transfer
gates 34 and to set the player section of the address counters 36
to the first player on the team for which a ball delivery has been
made. The program instructions then direct the strike spare store
and score conditions 46 to establish the number of marks that the
first player on the team has in the current frame. This operation
requires the ball data for both the present and previous frame
since the action in the frame immediately preceeding the current
frame influences the number of marks to be credited to the current
frame for a given player. For example, a strike in the frame
immediately preceeding the current frame followed by a strike in
the current frame will cause two marks to be given for the second
strike rather than one. The procedure of marks calculation is
repeated for each player on the team by indexing the address
counters 36 after the current frame marks have been computed for a
given player. The frame marks for a team are accumulated in the
adder 48 and accumulator 50 as the program instructions index the
address counters 36 and direct the strike spare store and score
conditions 46 to transfer the number of marks for each player
through control gates 42.
During team play, when the fifth player's frame marks are
calculated and added to the frame marks of the previous four
players, the program instructions transfer the contents of the
accumulator 50 and adder 48 into a nondisplayed set of slot
positions in the delay line 10. This transfer occurs as before, the
information signals passing through control gates 52 and 54 while
control gates 56 close the tail register 14 to the receipt of
signals from the stream register 58 thus replacing any old marks
data with the new information calculated.
When the current frame marks have been entered, the program
instructions set the frame section of the address counters 36 to
the first frame and the line section to the sixth line. The marks
handicap is gated into the adder 48 and accumulator 50 through
control gates 42 and the contents of the frame marks slot positions
are directed by the program instructions through control gates 42
to be added to the handicap previously stored in the adder 48 and
accumulator 50.
This total is then inserted into the visible marks position for the
first frame and the process is continued, one frame at a time, each
time adding the number of marks for the frame to the total
accumulated marks and transferring the contents of the accumulator
50 to the visible marks slot position for the frame. The transfer
of the marks totals is a nondestructive transfer in that the
contents of the accumulator 50 and adder 49 are circulated back
into the accumulator 50 and adder 49 thru control gates 42 and 52
while being transferred into the delay line 10 thru control gates
54. When the instruction gates and jump gates 22 detect that the
last-bowled frame has been reached, the gates direct the program
counter 20 to the remainder of the score calculation program.
The last frame bowled is detected by the data search logic 44 which
examines the ball content of all players for the frame in which the
marks are being calculated. When it is found that no player has
completed this frame, the data search logic 44 signals the
instruction gates 22.
It is seen that the above-described steps of score calculations
accommodate the marks and scoring portion of the machine
requirements but does not include the operations required for the
superstition factor and team score totaling.
In addition to the sections of the program which exists to
calculate score and marks for a pinspotter entry, a section of
program exists to insert a code bit into a code word associated
with each frame for a player. This code bit directs the Display
logic 16 to either blank or display the total data associated with
the frame. If the frame is a member of an unbroken strike string,
the total will not be displayed. For example, if a player has
bowled the first three frames without scoring a strike, but bowls
strikes in frames four through seven, the display bits will be
inserted in the code words for frames four through seven and these
totals when computed will not be displayed. If the player breaks
the string of strikes in the eighth frame, the code bit will direct
the display logic 16 to display the totals for frames one through
eight. The display bit section of the program determines the steps
required. The player section of the address counters 36 contains
the identity of the player who has delivered the ball. This player
address is not changed during score calculation. At this time in
the program (after score calculation but before marks calculation)
the display bit for the superstition factor is calculated. During
this procedure, the program instructions directs the data search
logic 44 to search the ball content from the first frame for the
player who has bowled. When the data search logic 44 detects that a
frame has been bowled which is not a strike, it transfers the
address of this frame into the frame section of the address
counters 36 through the transfer gates 34. The program instructions
then inserts the display bit causing frames one through to the
frame found to be displayed. The frame section of the address
counters is indexed forward and the search is again initiated
starting at the current frame address in the address counters 36.
To illustrate the action of this section of program consider the
original example which is illustrated in FIG. 4.
Using the above description of the data search logic 44 during the
display bit section of the program, it is seen that the first frame
found which is not a strike is the first frame F1. This frame
address is transferred through the transfer gates 34 to the address
counter 46. The control gates 56 are then instructed to write a
display bit in the code word for the first frame causing it to be
displayed. The address counter 36 is now indexed to the second
frame F2 and the data search logic 44 begins to search for a frame
which is not a strike starting at the second frame F2. The second
frame is then found not to have a strike. Again, the transfer will
occur and a display bit will be inserted into the control word for
the second frame F2. Similarly, the third frame F3 will be
displayed. When the address logic is set for the fourth frame F4,
it is seen that no frame can be found beginning at the fourth frame
F4 which is not a strike and, therefore, a display bit will not be
inserted into the code word from the fourth frame onward to cause
the superstition factor to be observed. This assumes that the
eighth frame F8 has not been bowled. Assume now that the eighth F8
is bowled and is not a strike as shown. When the address counter 36
is set at the fourth frame F4 and the search begins, the eighth
frame F8 will be found and transferred to the address logic. The
program instructions will then direct control gates 56 to insert a
display bit into the control word from the last found displayable
frame to the frame now in the address counters 36 (the eighth
frame) to cause the scores for frames one through eight to be
displayed.
Referring now to the computation of a team total, the program used
is actually a part of the score calculation program previously
described. As mentioned previously, during a pinspotter entry the
data search logic 44 locates the frame in which the ball is
delivered. If the frame found is the 10th frame F10, the score will
be computed as described and the status of the tenth frame will be
examined. If the 10th frame is complete and the player has,
therefore, finished his game, the strike spare store and score
conditions 46 circuitry will signal the instruction gates 22. The
program counter 20 will then be directed through the total
calculation portion of the pinspotter entry program. The first
action of this section of program is to transfer the team handicap
from its section in the delay line 10 thru control gates 42 into
the adder 48, accumulator 50, and input register 49. The program
instructions then sets the address counters 36 to the first player,
10th frame, and directs this data to be added to the handicap. The
total for the first player is circulated through the adder 44 along
with the existing handicap. Control gates 42 and 52 control this
circulation and addition in accordance with the program
instructions received by these units. The total of the first
player's score plus the handicap is now contained in the adder 48,
accumulator 50 and input register 49. The program instructions now
index the address counters 36 to the second player and directs his
total to be added to the existing total. This process is continued
until it is detected that all five players of the team have had
their totals added to the team handicap. Note that if any of the
players have not completed the game, their 10th frame total will be
zero and hence, when it is added as described, it will not change
the totals in the registers. After accumulating the team total,
this data is directed into the delay line 10 through control gates
52 and 54 while control gates 56 close to block the flow of
information to the tail register 14 from the stream register 58 to
replace any existing total data by the new data.
The remaining action of the computer is to check the strike spare
store and score condition 46 subsection to establish if the ball
delivered completes the frame for the player "up" on the left lane.
If this is so, the program instructions index the player sequence
counter 32.
It is assumed that the left-lane player sequence counter 32 is
indexed to the next player "up" on the left lane. Upon completion
of the program, the program counter 20 returns to the rest state
and signals the search logic 24 to resume its search of the input
synchronizers; the keyboard synchronizer 30, the right ball switch
synchronizer 28 and the left ball switch synchronizer 26.
In this invention, four types of information can be manually
entered through the keyboard. These entries are as follows:
1. Team marks handicap entry
2. Team handicap entry
3. Player blind score entry
4. Pinfall entry
Again the operation of the machine will be described for each of
the types of entries above.
Referring now to the operation of this invention during a keyboard
marks entry, when the marks switch 74 on the keyboard illustrated
in FIG. 2 is depressed, the keyboard synchronizer 30 detects this
action and sets itself to a state which opens the entry gates to
the keyboard buffer 76. The opening of these gates allows any entry
made on the keyboard number switches 78 to be loaded into the
keyboard buffer. Assume that a marks handicap of 25 is to be
entered for Team A. After setting the team switch 80 to A by
depressing the team A button and depressing the marks switch 74 as
described, the number switches can be actuated. When the number two
is pressed, it is loaded into the first four-bit slot in the
keyboard buffer 76. The number five is then pressed and the
keyboard synchronizer 30 detects this to first shift the contents
of the keyboard buffer 76 four bits to the left (toward the most
significant digit position of the keyboard buffer); and, the five
is then entered into the first four-bit slot of the keyboard buffer
76. The keyboard buffer 76 now contains the desired marks handicap.
At this time the entry switch 82 is depressed to signal the
keyboard synchronizer 30. The synchronizer then locks out any
further entry from the keyboard and calls the search logic 24.
Shortly thereafter, the search logic will detect that the keyboard
is calling and lock on to the keyboard. When the search logic
recognizes the keyboard, it will signal the instruction gates 22 of
the type of entry found and the program counter is driven off rest
and into the keyboard marks entry program.
The first action of this program is to transfer the team address
into the address counters 36 through the transfer gates 34. When
the marks storage position for Team A appears in the master counter
and arithmetic address 12, the program instructions will direct the
contents of the keyboard buffer 76 to be transferred, through
control gates 54, into the storage slot position in the delay line
10 for Team A marks. The program counter 20 is now directed through
part of the previously described marks calculation program. The
section of program utilized is the marks accumulation section. In
this portion the team marks handicap is transferred into the adder
48 and accumulator 50 and the address counters 36 are set to the
sixth line, frame one. The frame one marks are transferred into the
adder 48 and added to the existing marks handicap. This total is
placed in the visible frame marks slot position for frame one and
is also circulated back into the adder 48 and accumulator 50. The
frame marks total for the subsequent frames are added and displayed
until the last frame bowled is reached. The program counter then
returns to rest, releases the search logic and resets the keyboard
synchronizer 30. The necessity of going through the marks
accumulation can be seen if it is assumed that the marks handicap
can be changed at any point in the game, hence if a marks
calculation has proceeded this entry, the change of the handicap
will change all the marks totals. If no frames have been bowled as
would be the case for the beginning of a game, the marks handicap
only will be inserted into the first frame marks display slots.
Referring now to the entry of a keyboard handicap, its entry begins
in the same manner as a marks handicap entry. A team is first
selected by means of the team switch 80 and then the desired
multidigit handicap is inserted by means of the number switches 78.
The action of the keyboard synchronizer 30 and keyboard buffer 76
is identical to that described for the keyboard marks entry. When
the desired handicap is entered, the enter switch 82 is actuated
and the keyboard synchronizer 30 signals the search logic 24 that a
keyboard entry is to be made. When the search logic 24 scans the
keyboard synchronizer 30 input it recognizes the keyboard and
informs the instruction gates and jump gates 22 that a keyboard
handicap entry is being made. The instruction gates drives the
program counter 20 from its rest state into the keyboard team
handicap program. The program instructions transfer the team
address into the address counters 36 and forces these counters to
the address of the handicap storage slot position. The keyboard
buffer 76 is then directed to shift its contents through control
gates 54 into the handicap storage slot. The program counter 20 is
now directed through the total accumulation program previously
described for a pinspotter entry. Hence, when a handicap is entered
it is added to any existing 10th frame totals. Again, this
procedure is required as a handicap entry can be made at any time
during a game. When the program counter 20 completes the handicap
program it returns to rest, releases the search logic 24 and allows
it to scan the input lines for the next entry.
The entry of a players blind score is similar to the entry of a
team handicap. When the enter switch 82 is actuated the search
logic 24 signals the instruction gates 22 that a player's blind
score is to be entered. The program counter leaves the rest
position and advances to the blind score entry program. The program
instructions transfer the address of the player and team from the
player switch into the address counters 36 through the transfer
gates 34 and also directs the frame section of the address to the
10th frame. The blind score is entered and the program goes through
the score total procedure previously described. When the score
totaling has been completed the search logic is released and the
program counter returns to its rest position. The totaling
procedure is required as a blind score may be entered or changed at
any point during a game.
When an entry of pinfall is desired from the keyboard, the identity
of the player, frame and ball is first set on the player, switch
84, frame switch 86, and ball switch 88. The OK switch 90 is then
actuated and signals the keyboard synchronizer 30 that a pinfall
entry is to be made. The synchronizer detects this condition and
allows any subsequent occurring one digit number data to be loaded
into the first four-bit slot of the keyboard buffer 76. If several
number switches are pressed in sequence, then only the last entry
is stored in the keyboard buffer 76. When the enter switch 82 is
actuated, the keyboard synchronizer 30 calls the search logic 24.
The search logic 24 signals the instruction gates 22 that a pinfall
entry is to be made. The instruction gates 22 directs the program
counter to advance from the rest position to the keyboard pinfall
entry program. The program instructions transfer the player, frame
and ball address into the address counters 36 through the transfer
gates 34. The ball data is then transferred through control gates
42 into the input register 48. The program instructions then
proceed to step through the program for the pinspotter entry for
calculating frame score. The frame section of the address counters
36 is then indexed forward and the data search logic 44 is directed
to test if the next frame has been bowled. If the next frame has
been bowled, the frame-scoring routine is repeated to update the
frame to the right on the basis of the new data received. The
procedure of checking the next frame after computing a frame score
is continued until either the 10th frame or an empty frame is
reached. Hence, an entry earlier in the game will update the entire
game for player. When the frame-scoring program is completed, the
totaling program is called if necessary. After totaling, the
keyboard marks scoring program is initiated.
To calculate the new marks score on the basis of the edit, the
program instructions transfer the frame address back into the
address counters 36 from the frame switch 86. The marks are
recalculated for this frame using the marks calculation program
previously described. The frame section of the address counters 36
is then indexed forward to the next-appearing frame and the marks
program is repeated. This is necessary since an edit in a
particular frame N can change the marks for frame N+1. For example,
if frame N+1 is a strike and frame N is changed to a strike, then
the strike in frame N+1 will be worth two marks. Thus, a keyboard
pin fall input will result in the recalculation of all changes
brought about by that entry.
When the keyboard program is complete the program counter returns
to its rest condition and releases the search logic 24.
In this invention a magnetostrictive delay line or the like is used
as a storage means. Data that is to be stored in the line is in the
form of a four-bit word for each character stored. The information
contained within a single bowling frame consists of six characters
for each frame one through nine; and eight characters for the 10th
frame. The characters associated with frames one through nine are
as follows:
Information Character I
Ball One Pinfall B1
Ball Two Pinfall B2
Least Significant
Frame Total Digit T1
Second Most Significant
Frame Total Digit T2
Most Significant
Frame Total Digit T3
The characters associated with the 10th frame are the same as those
noted above except that an additional ball B3 is required and one
additional total digit T4 is allocated to the 10th frame. The T4
digit is required for the sixth line, 10th frame, only to display
team totals. However, for consistency, each 10th frame is allocated
the T4 digit.
The data within the delay line is fed to and displayed by a
cathode-ray tube as illustrated in FIG. 3 Referring to FIG. 5,
there is illustrated a single frame of the display of FIG. 3 for
frames one through nine; and, referring to FIG. 6, there is
illustrated a single frame of the display of FIG. 3 for the 10th
frame.
Referring to FIG. 5, in this invention, the display logic includes
split symbol generating means coupled to the cathode-ray tube so
that the cathode-ray tube writes a circle around the ball one
pinfall B1, and then proceeds to write ball one pinfall B1, ball
two pinfall B2, frame total digit T1, frame total digit T2 and
frame total digit T3 before beginning the writing of the
information in the next occurring frame. The circle around B1 will
be displayed only when the player has a split in that frame. The
information character associated with each frame contains this
split information as well as a display bit signal which determines
whether the total consisting of the numbers T1, T2, T3, should be
displayed. The total format of displayed data consists of six lines
per tube. Referring to FIG. 3, lines 100, 102, 104, 106 and 108
display the score and pinfall for the players displayed. Line 110
displays the marks data for the frame in the T1 and T2 positions.
Line 110, frame 10 displays the team total consisting of the
numbers B1, B2 and B3 in addition to T1, T2, T3 and T4 as
illustrated in FIG. 6.
All of the information in the delay line 10 is normally displayed
on the face of the cathode-ray tube. FIG. 3 illustrates the history
of a game for five players played to completion.
If the information to be displayed is examined, it would appear
that the data emerges sequentially from the delay line in the form
following:
L1FlI, L1F1B1, L1F1B2, L1F1T1, L1F1T2, L1F1T3, F1F2I, etc.
where L1 represents Line 1 or Player 1; and
F1 represents Frame 1
This, however, is not the case as an interlace pattern is required
to have a delay line of reasonable length.
The necessity of an interlace can be seen if it is assumed that the
circuitry forming the characters can operate no faster than 24.mu.
sec. per character, and as 744 characters are required to display
the information on two tubes (one for each lane) the length of the
delay line would be T.sub.L =744.times.24.times.10.sup..sup.-6 or
17.9 msec. long. A line having this length is difficult to
construct and difficult to use as signal attenuation becomes
troublesome. The operating frequency of this assumed line is
determined by the expression
f.sub.b =1/T.sub.b and T.sub.b =24.mu.sec./4 = bus/bit
Assume that the operating frequency of the line is raised but the
time distance between sequential characters remains the same as the
display cannot process the information in less 24.mu. sec.
Increasing the operating frequency causes the occurrence of a space
after L1F1I appears and before L1F1B1 emerges. If subsequent data
is written, or interlaced, in the space, the length of the line can
be decreased. To accommodate the display requirement for the
information to be present for 24.mu. sec., the contents of the tail
register 14 can be transferred to the display logic 16 every 24.mu.
sec., when the next character to be displayed emerges.
The interlace used in the practice of this invention to shorten the
line is as follows:
L1F1I, L2F1I, L3F1I, L4F1I, L5F1I, L6F1I,
L7F1I, L8F1I, L9F1I, L10F1I, L11F1I, L12F1I,
L1F1B1, L2F1B1 L12F1B1, L1F1B2, and so on,
If the delay line frequency is assumed to be IMC it is seen that
the underlined characters in this interlace are spaced at 24.mu.
sec. intervals, the spacing being taken from the end, or last bit,
of a character to the last bit of the next character as the
information is not usable in the tail register 14 until all four
bits have been entered. If the interlace is examined, it will be
seen that a given frame and character a grouping exists such that
the character emerges for the 12 display lines in ordered sequence.
Hence, if we treat the designations I, B1, B2, etc. as the ordered
group of characters for all lines, the interlace can be rewritten
as follows:
F1I, F1B1, F1B2, F1T1, F1T2, F1T3, F2I, F2B1,
F2B2, F10I
F10B1, F10B2, F10B3, F10T1, F10T2, F10T3, F1054 Note that the line
designation (LN) is omitted as each character group contains the
data for all lines.
The display logic selects the ordered character in each group in
accordance with the line being displayed. Hence, on each pass of
the delay line the character selected will be indexed by one (i.e.,
for line one the display logic selects the first and seventh
characters in the group, for line 2 the second and eighth, etc.)
The characters emerging at a 24 .mu. sec. spacing alternate between
the two cathode-ray tubes and, therefore, the display of the
characters alternate. This push-pull type of arrangement of tube
display provides a 24 .mu. sec. time duration to position the beam
for a given tube while the other tube is writing a character. The
beam positioning information is derived from the master counters 12
which contain the address of the character emerging from the delay
line. This character address is transferred to the display logic 16
and positions the beam through analog decoding gates. The beam can
be positioned to the next character to be written while the
opposing tube is writing to provide a maximum time duration for the
transients in the positioning amplifiers to subside.
In this invention, the beams for the two cathode-ray tubes are
alternately controlled to display the characters. When the beam is
in position and the tube is to display a character, the beam is
unblanked and driven by the display logic through a position
character generation pattern.
The method of character generation is the seven-stroke technique.
Referring to FIG. 7, the beam is carried through positions 1 to 2
via stroke S1, 2 to 3 via stroke S2, 3 to 4 via stroke S3, 4 to 1
via stroke S4, 1 to 5 via stroke S5, 5 to 6 via stroke S6, 6 to 2
via stroke S7, and 2 to 1 via stroke S8. If, now, the beam were to
be normally "on," the FIG. 8 would always be generated. Assuming
stroke S1 is always blanked, strokes S2 through S8 are the active
strokes (seven strokes). All digits can now be created by
selectively blanking the proper strokes. For example, if strokes S4
and S7 were blanked the FIG. generated would be a 5, if strokes S2
and S7 were blanked the FIG. 3 would be generated.
In some instances it may be desirable to have a permanent record of
the history of the game bowled. In those instances, the data
signals fed from the delay line 10 to the display logic 16 can also
be fed through a matching matrix to a tape recorder means. The
recorder means can be a punched tape, a magnetic tape or the like.
In this manner the information within the delay line can be stored
permanently. When, at some time in the future the history of the
game is to be reproduced, the information on the tape is fed back
into the delay line through a matching material and the information
in the delay line is then fed to and controls the display on the
cathode-ray tube. Thus, at any particular instant, and when
desired, the complete history of the game can be reproduced.
In the operation of this invention, the sequence of operations of
the various desired cycles or procedures can be as follows where,
of the various steps noted,
Step 0 is a rest condition;
Steps 1 through 8 and 10 relate to keyboard entry;
Steps 11 through 19 relate to pinspotter entry;
11 through 19 relate to pinspotter entry;
Step 20 relates to printing;
Steps 21 through 37, 40 and 42 relate to point score
calculations;
Steps 38 and 39 relate to accumulating 10th frame totals including
points handicap;
Steps 41 relates to testing for end of game of a player;
Steps 43 through 46 relate to superstition factor display and
suppressing display of score of a strike string;
Steps 9 and 47 through 55 relate to marks calculations;
Steps 56, 57, and 58 relate to supression of zero to left of most
significant figure for marks;
Step 59 relates to clearing of step and logic result;
Step 60 relates to entering marks handicap into delay line; and
Step 61 relates to entering points handicap into delay line.
##SPC1##
Obviously, many modifications and variations of the present
invention are possible in the light of the above teachings. It is,
therefore, to be understood that within the scope of the appended
claims the invention may be practiced otherwise than as
specifically described.
* * * * *