The jumping toy comprises a puppet, a plurality of springs, and a counter. The counter and the plurality of springs attach to the puppet. The jumping toy is configured for use with a supporting surface. The jumping toy is pressed against the supporting surface such that the plurality of springs is deformed. When the jumping toy is released, each of the plurality of springs returns to its relaxed position such that the jumping toy jumps to an elevation above the supporting surface. The counter is a mechanical device. The counter counts the number of times the jumping toy jumps. The puppet is a composite prism structure that visually presents a dynamic expression during the use of the jumping toy.

A target assembly includes a target post mounted to an underside of a playfield and sized to extend through an opening in the playfield. A centering device is mounted to the target post between a first end of the target post and a second end of the target post and a centering plate secures the target post to the underside of the playfield, wherein the centerplate and the centering device form a fulcrum for the target post to pivot as a lever. Impact of a ball with any portion of the target post, and in any direction, above the playfield causes the target post to pivot about the fulcrum, where a sensing switch senses the target post movement. A biasing element coupled to the centering device biases the target post into a rest position and returns the impacted target lever towards the rest position after impact by the ball.

A toy having three bobs on a string where the middle bob slides. A low moment of inertia of the middle bob is desirable because it minimizes tangling of the string about the middle bob and produces smooth, tactile-appealing orbits. Each bob has a pair of mated throughbore pieces sandwiching a central metal weight and an equatorial bag stuffed with low-density pellets. Concave sections (in profile on a plane along the polar axis) of the throughbore occupy a substantial portion of the length of the throughbore to take best advantage of the torques produced by the string by focusing the tension of the string at the mouths of the throughbore. The concave sections also reduce the volume occupied by the bag, thereby reducing moment of inertia. Additionally, hollows in the concave regions of the throughbore pieces further reduce the moment of inertia.

A toy having three bobs on a string where the middle bob slides. A low moment of inertia of the middle bob is desirable because it minimizes tangling of the string about the middle bob and produces smooth, tactile-appealing orbits. Each bob has a pair of mated throughbore pieces sandwiching a central metal weight and an equatorial bag stuffed with low-density pellets. Concave sections (in profile on a plane along the polar axis) of the throughbore occupy a substantial portion of the length of the throughbore to take best advantage of the torques produced by the string by focusing the tension of the string at the mouths of the throughbore. The concave sections also reduce the volume occupied by the bag, thereby reducing moment of inertia. Additionally, hollows in the concave regions of the throughbore pieces further reduce the moment of inertia.

A roulette machine having a launch device including an automatic ball-change device is described. The ball-change device includes a rotatable main wheel comprising a plurality of pockets, and a rotatable switch wheel switching between an open position and a closed position. The main wheel receives and stores a plurality of roulette balls for future use and facilitates changing of a current game ball and, with the switch wheel, delivering the roulette ball to a launch start position or other desired output. The main wheel and the switch wheel may be independently rotatable, and coordinate with one or more sensors to determine a timing and delivery of a specifically-selected game ball to start a game cycle.

The invention provides a mechanical toy (2) comprising: a body portion (6) and an operating handle (4), the operating handle (4) being connectable to and disconnectable from the body portion (6); the operating handle (4) comprising a switch mechanism (19) operably connected to a moveable shaft (24), the moveable shaft (24) being operable to move between a first position and a second position under the operation of the switch mechanism (19); the body portion (6) comprising a gear mechanism operably connectable to the moveable shaft (24) and operable in use to rotate upon movement of the moveable shaft (24) between the first position and the second position; the body portion (6) further comprising at least one moveable limb (8) operably connected to the gear mechanism, at least part of the limb (8) being configured to move in use upon rotation of the gear mechanism, wherein the at least one moveable limb (8) or part thereof is rotatable about a primary pivot point (14), the primary pivot point (14) being defined by the axis of at least one gear of the gear mechanism and wherein the at least one moveable limb (8) comprises two or more connected portions (10) which are rotatable, in use with respect to one another about a secondary pivot point (16).

A toy having three bobs on a string where the middle bob slides. A low moment of inertia of the middle bob is desirable because it minimizes tangling of the string about the middle bob and produces smooth, tactile-appealing orbits. Each bob has a pair of mated throughbore pieces sandwiching a central metal weight and an equatorial bag stuffed with low-density pellets. Concave sections (in profile on a plane along the polar axis) of the throughbore occupy a substantial portion of the length of the throughbore to take best advantage of the torques produced by the string by focusing the tension of the string at the mouths of the throughbore. The concave sections also reduce the volume occupied by the bag, thereby reducing moment of inertia. Additionally, hollows in the concave regions of the throughbore pieces further reduce the moment of inertia.

Disclosed are an apparatus, a system, and method for automatically launching roulette balls into a ball track of a roulette wheel.

Disclosed is a game method for a game machine for ticket output in which a puck dropped onto a rail unit through a puck feeder slides toward one end portion of the rail unit, in this case, when the puck is hit by a hitting device such that the puck is discharged to the other end portion of the rail unit, the puck slides along a score acquisition unit in proportion to a hitting force of the hitting device to fly into any one of a plurality of score holes, the number of tickets corresponding to the score hole into which the puck flies is displayed on a ticket output amount display, and the number of tickets displayed on the ticket output amount display is output trough a ticket output unit.

A flipper system for retrofitting existing flippers of a pinball game which rotate in operative engagement with a solenoid, with new flippers. The new flippers have an opening which is removably engageable upon an engagement end of a rotatable actuator shaft and can include hollow cavities within a metal body of the new flipper. An improved connection to the existing solenoid is provided by inclusion of a actuator shaft and clamp with the system.