Pinball machine having pivoted double-inclined playing surface

Claim 2

A pinball game, comprising: a projectile; at least two surfaces on which the projectile travels, the surfaces having a first position wherein each surface is disposed at a first angle with respect to the horizontal, and each surface having an upper edge and a lower edge, the upper edge meeting to form an apex that the projectile may travel over to move from one surface to another in the first position; a drive mechanism to move the apex to and from a second position wherein each surface is disposed at a second angle with respect to the horizontal; and at least one projectile engaging mechanism operable by a player to project the projectile across the surfaces.

Claim 3

A pinball game as defined in claim 1, wherein the projectile comprises a ball.

Claim 4

A pinball game as defined in claim 1, wherein the projectile comprises a puck.

Claim 5

A pinball game as defined in claim 1, wherein the drive mechanism comprises a cam operatively connected to lower and raise the apex and a drive to move the cam.

Claim 6

A pinball game as defined in claim 1, wherein the drive mechanism comprises a solenoid operatively connected to move the apex in one of the raising and lowering directions and a spring biased in the other of the raising and lowering directions.

Claim 7

A pinball game as defined in claim 1, wherein the second position comprises a substantially horizontal position for each surface.

Claim 8

A pinball game as defined in claim 1, wherein the second position comprises a plurality of positions between the first position and a position substantially lower than the horizontal for each surface.

Claim 9

A pinball game as defined in claim 1, wherein the second position comprises a position substantially lower than the horizontal for each surface.

Claim 10

A pinball game as defined in claim 1, further comprising an actuator generating a trigger signal, the actuator operatively connected to the drive mechanism to engage the drive mechanism upon the occurrence of a predetermined event.

Claim 11

A pinball game as defined in claim 9, wherein the actuator comprises a clock and the predetermined event comprises an elapsed amount of time.

Claim 12

A pinball game as defined in claim 9, wherein the actuator comprises a target element disposed on at least one of the surfaces and the predetermined event comprises the projectile engaging the target element.

Claim 13

A pinball game as defined in claim 11, wherein the target element comprises an aperture, a sensing element disposed in the aperture to detect engagement of the projectile with the aperture and an ejector for ejecting the projectile from the aperture.

Claim 14

A pinball game as defined in claim 1, further comprising a scoring element configured to keep score for at least two players.

Claim 15

A pinball game as defined in claim 13, further comprising a projectile sensing mechanism operatively connected to a projectile engaging mechanism.

Claim 16

A pinball game as defined in claim 14, wherein the projectile engaging mechanism comprises a flipper element.

Claim 17

A pinball game as defined in claim 14, wherein the projectile sensing mechanism generates a contact signal to the scoring element so that all subsequently scored points are credited to a first player associated with that projectile sensing mechanism, until a second projectile sensing mechanism associated with a second player makes contact with the projectile.

Claim 18

A pinball game as defined in claim 1, further comprising a second drive mechanism connected to raise and lower the lower edges of the first and second surfaces to and from a third position substantially above the horizontal.

Claim 19

A pinball game, comprising: a projectile; at least two surfaces on which the projectile travels, the surfaces having a first position wherein each surface is disposed at a first angle with respect to the horizontal, and each surface having an upper edge and a lower edge, the upper edges meeting to form an apex that the projectile may travel over to move from one surface to another in the first position; means for moving the apex to and from a second position wherein each surface is disposed at a second angle with respect to the horizontal; and at least one projectile engaging mechanism operable by a player to project the projectile across the surfaces.

Claim 20

A pinball game, comprising: a projectile; at least two surfaces on which the projectile travels, the surfaces having a first position wherein each surface is disposed at a first angle with respect to the horizontal, and each surface having an upper edge and a lower edge, the upper edges meeting to form an apex that the projectile may travel over to move from one surface to another in the first position; means for moving the apex to and from a second position wherein each surface is disposed at a second angle with respect to the horizontal; and at least one projectile engaging mechanism operable by a player to project the projectile across the surfaces.

Claim 21

A pinball game, comprising: a projectile; at least two surfaces on which the projectile travels, the surfaces having a first position wherein each surface is disposed at a first angle with respect to the horizontal, and each surface having an upper edge and a lower edge, the upper edges meeting to form an apex that the projectile may travel over to move from one surface to another in the first position; a target element disposed on at least one of the surfaces; and an actuator, the actuator generating a trigger signal upon engagement of the projectile with the target element, the actuator operatively connected to a drive mechanism such that the drive mechanism receives the trigger signal to engage the drive mechanism to move the apex to and from a second position wherein each surface is disposed at a second angle with respect to the horizontal.

Claim 22

A pinball game, comprising: a projectile; at least two surfaces on which the projectile travels, the surfaces having a first position wherein each surface is disposed at a first angle with respect to the horizontal, and each surface having an upper edge and a lower edge, the upper edges meeting to form an apex that the projectile may travel over to move from one surface to another in the first position; a target element disposed on at least one of the surfaces; and an actuator, the actuator generating a trigger signal upon engagement of the projectile with the target element, the actuator operatively connected to a drive mechanism such that the drive mechanism receives the trigger signal to engage the drive mechanism to move the apex to and from a second position wherein each surface is disposed at a second angle with respect to the horizontal.

Claim 23

A pinball game, comprising: a ball; a first surface initially inclined with respect to the horizontal having an upper edge, and a second surface initially inclined with respect to the horizontal having an upper edge, the upper edge of the first surface meeting the upper edge of the second surface to form a ridge that the ball may roll over to get from one surface to the other; a drive mechanism for lowering and raising the ridge to and from a substantially horizontal position; a kick-out hole disposed on at least one of said first and second surfaces operatively connected to the drive mechanism to generate a trigger signal upon engagement of the ball; a scoring mechanism configured to keep score for at least two players; and a first flipper element disposed on the first surface and a second flipper element disposed on the second surface, the first and second flipper elements configured to detect engagement of the ball and to communicate the engagement to the scoring mechanism.

Claim 24

A pinball game, comprising: a ball; a first surface initially inclined with respect to the horizontal having an upper edge, and a second surface initially inclined with respect to the horizontal having an upper edge, the upper edge of the first surface meeting the upper edge of the second surface to form a ridge that the ball may roll over to get from one surface to the other; a drive mechanism for lowering and raising the ridge to and from a substantially horizontal position; a kick-out hole disposed on at least one of said first and second surfaces operatively connected to the drive mechanism to generate a trigger signal upon engagement of the ball; a scoring mechanism configured to keep score for at least two players; and a first flipper element disposed on the first surface and a second flipper element disposed on the second surface, the first and second flipper elements configured to detect engagement of the ball and to communicate the engagement to the scoring mechanism.