Technical field
The given invention relates to the organization
and running of gaming processes, in particular to
methods and systems for organizing lottery games and
sporting totalizators.
Prior art
The analogue of the present invention is the
well known method of playing the lottery as implemented
in the game of "Sportloto", and comprising the
distribution of special numbered tickets bearing an
information datablock, their drawing by a random law at
a previously established time, and the determination
and issue of a monetary prize or prize in kind (Russian
Federation Patent No. 2023307, Cl. B G07C 15/00).
It must be said that the negative qualities of
the analogue include an inadequate involvement in the
game, and also the absence of gaming factors which
raise or develop the intellectual qualities of the
participants in the game. The shortcomings mentioned
are due to the fact that the role of a player and his
participation in the gaming process when composing the
winning combinations of figures does not require the
application of his intellectual abilities, general
knowledge or operational thinking. The fact that when
determining winnings no account is taken of such
sporting criteria as speed and the operational nature
of decision making also lowers the gaming entertainment
and the attractiveness of the gaming process of the
lottery. The deficiencies of this lottery must also be
said to include the impossibility for a participant to
withdraw from it with minimum losses when the draw goes
unfavourably.
Other known types of lotteries (the bingo
lottery run in the USA and England, and having an
annual turnover in the USA alone of 2 million dollars,
the "National", France and others), comprising sporting
pools and forecasts, are also based on guessing some
arbitrarily selected numbers, that is to say all that
is required of a person is to buy a ticket and then to
follow carefully the course of a draw or to fill up a
coupon received (as in the case of various sporting
forecasts and totalizators), although it is clear that
from the point of view of reducing some of the
deficiencies mentioned above, which are connected with
the lack of need to apply intellectual abilities in
filling in cards, sporting forecasts are the more
favourable type of lottery.
The deficiency of sporting totalizators or
forecasts is their primitiveness, since virtually all
stakes are generally bet on some team or sportsman
winning (losing), that is to say on the result of a
contest. Thus, for example, in England the most
widespread variant of the football totalizator is the
requirement to indicate the results of three separate
football matches (Taylor, F. Professionaly: Futbol
protiv futbola [Professionals: football against
football]/translated from English - Moscow: Fizkultura
i sport, 1985, page 57). Even in such an intellectual
game as chess, a monetary stake on the result of a
chess match is the most widespread type of totalizator
(64-Shakhmatnoe obozrenie [64-Chess Review], No. 9,
1995, page 25). In this case, the fans act as extras,
since the inherently direct nature of a sporting
contest cannot influence the variant of the outcome of
the contest indicated in the stake. A common deficiency
of the considered methods of organizing events is the
need for a large outlay bound up with the preparation,
despatch and processing of a large quantity of cards
(coupons, forms) used in lotteries and sporting
totalizators. Confirmation of the large number of
tickets intended for processing is to be seen, firstly,
in an analysis by American experts which was conducted
with the aim of establishing the specific weight of the
sporting totalizator in the general structure of the
gaming business in the USA and showed that each year
average Americans spend more than 10,000,000,000
dollars on stakes in sporting totalizators and,
secondly, in the data relating to other countries, from
which it follows that, for example, more than
60,000,000,000 tickets are distributed every year in
Japan on the official sporting totalizator (Wykes,
Alan. Entsiklopediya azartnykh igr [Dictionary of games
of chance]. Translation from English - Moscow:
Tovarishchestvo "Efrat" 1994, - pages 60,149). However,
no account has been taken here of amounts spent on
racecourse totalizators. The abovementioned large
outlays are bound up not only with processing and
sending cards, but also with precautionary measures
adopted because of possible tricks in results or any
other type of fraud. The reason for this is that the
winnings of a participant in a lottery or sporting
totalizator can reach several tens of millions of
dollars. Some idea of the volumes of the abovementioned
expenditure can be gained from the example of the
substantial complex of defensive measures developed by
the organizers of one British football pools company
(Wykes, Alan Entsiklopediya azartnykh igr
[Encyclopedia of games of chance]. Translation from
English - Moscow: Tovarishchestvo "Efrat" 1994, - page
184). The number of employees of said company is
10,000, the majority of whom are involved in checking
coupons. Moreover, several thousand postal workers are
involved in circulating the pools, and in theory they
are able to insert a coupon with the correct results
into an envelope after the announcement of the score of
this or that football match. General precautionary
measures include the following actions: spot checks of
employees; four different coded stamps recorded on each
coupon received; changing the stamp codes at randomly
selected time intervals; personal supervision of all
postal assignments and collections by a specially
engaged guard drawn from a large number of former
policemen; inspection and sealing of all windows and
doors in every one of the numerous departments of the
company where checking is performed immediately after
the arrival of the results of the next football match;
a stop on all telephone calls in rooms where coupons
are checked after the start of the match, and mandatory
monitoring of this by the security service; secret
checking of the employees of the security service
themselves by an independent secret monitoring service
of the company, and also a complete ban on any means of
radio and telecommunications in company buildings.
Moreover, all the coupons are kept in sealed bags in
special safeguarded rooms. Every coupon which arrives
after the stipulated deadlines is subjected to careful
checking and investigation irrespective of whether its
owner later requests payment of a prize or not. Special
observation is set up for those pools participants who
have been lucky in winning a prize two or more times in
a row. All genuine winning coupons are carefully
checked. A general check is conducted in the case when
the winner is a newcomer participating for the first
time in the pools, or if he has suddenly changed his
traditional playing system which he had adhered to
earlier, and also if he despatched the coupon later
than usual. All coupons and envelopes in which they
were sent in the course of a current run are entered in
a card-index and kept in a special file. Coupons
belonging to especially successful players are
subjected to a detailed analysis with the aim of
revealing any deviations and special features. Special
and numerous precautions against any attempted fraud
are an inherent feature of practically any large
lottery.
In other known methods and arrangements for
eliminating some of the deficiencies enumerated1 it is
proposed to use a telephone communication line,
transmitting by it, for example, hypothetical chess
moves. Thus in the invention described in International
Application PCT (WO) 93/05483, Cl. 5 G07C 15/00
(example of prior art), to exclude cards from the
lottery its participant may win by dialling one
telephone number indicated in a special list. At the
end points, the lottery participants are instructed by
voice in order to obtain the requisite numerical data,
for example telephone number, age, insurance policy
number, or driving licence. Moreover, the serial number
of the player and the date and time of the calls are
recorded. All these data enter the data collecting
centre and are used in subsequent processing.
Identifying data on the players are confirmed by
various methods with the aid of means for preliminary
data processing. Players can be distributed in
different categories according to set rules and
sequence. According to one set of playing rules, the
winner can be selected by defining the number of the
random winning sequence or the winning number received
from the random number generator. In another variant,
the identifying data are received at the last moment
for the purpose of determining the owner of the grand
prize by using different methods of data processing
with the aid of an appropriate computer.
The deficiency of this and also of other
analogous inventions is the limitation on the number of
participants of one or other event because of the low
transmitting capacity of the telephone communication
channel. Moreover, a participant in a sporting event
experiences great inconvenience bound up with the need
for simultaneously transmitting the hypothetical data
on the telephone network (for example, chess moves) and
carefully following the course of the contest, which is
situated where it is being conducted.
Disclosure of the invention
The object of the present invention is to
create a method for organizing various events bound up
with the running of lotteries or sporting totalizators
which is such that its practical implementation does
not require, firstly, the application of various
special tickets nor, secondly, of communication
channels used as means for transmitting hypothetical
data to the data collecting centre.
According to the invention, the essence of the
achievement of the object set consists in that each or
several participants use, at least, a storage device
having a timing unit, an internal memory and a data
input/output device; timing data arriving from the
timing unit are stored in the internal memory at the
moment when the participant issues the hypothetical
data, which are also stored in the internal memory by
the participant using the data input device, and for
the purpose of the abovementioned comparison with
actual data use is made only of that portion of the
hypothetical data issued via the output device from the
storage device which was input into its internal memory
up to the given moment of appearance of the actual
data.
Moreover, it is possible by means of the given
method to determine the time for recording data in the
internal memory of the storage device by calculating
the algebraic sum of the current time for reading data
from the internal memory, data with the sign minus the
value of the time of the timing unit which it has at
the moment of reading said data, and data of the timing
unit which were recorded in the internal memory at the
moment of data recording. In the case of using the
system for running a lottery, sporting totalizator and
also other events connected with the participants of
said events guessing actual data, the system comprises
a source of actual data and, at least, one data
collecting centre comprising means for preliminary data
processing and connected to a computer intended for
processing the results of data proposed by the
participants, said system is characterized in that the
participants have storage devices, each of which
contains an internal memory and also a timer connected
thereto, both of which are connected to a control unit
and to one or several data input/output devices, the
data collecting centre having means for outputting data
from the internal memory of the storage devices.
Moreover, the system can be fitted with one or
several actual data sensors and a timer, which are
connected to the central storage device connected to
the means for preliminary data processing.
The advantage of the considered method for
running a lottery and of the system for implementing it
is the exclusion of the necessity to make use in one
gaming event or another of cards or coupons and also of
other analogous means. The other advantage of the given
invention is the complete independence of the
participants of the gaming events from those means of
communication which are used to transmit hypothetical
data into the data collecting centre. Other features
and advantages of the invention will be clear from the
detailed description, and also from patent Claims 3-15.
Brief description of the figures of the drawings
The invention is explained below by describing
variants of its implementation which although specific
do not limit the invention, and by means of the
appended drawings, in which:
Figure 1 shows a general diagram of the system
for running lotteries and sporting totalizators; Figure 2 shows a functional diagram of the
portable storage device; Figure 3 shows one of the variants of the
external appearance of the portable storage device; and Figure 4 shows a block diagram of the algorithm
for running a lottery or sporting totalizator.
The best variants for implementing the invention
In the description of the considered variant of
the implementation of the method being applied for to
run lotteries, which is shown in the figures, use is
made for clarity of a concrete, narrow nomenclature.
However, the invention is not limited by the terms
adopted, and it must be remembered that each such term
covers all equivalent elements operating in a similar
way and used to accomplish the same tasks, which
include organizing lotteries, a totalizator, in
particular a sporting one, and also other events
connected with guessing events and organizing various
competitions, quizzes etc. It must also be noted that
the concept of "user" will be understood below as a
participant or group of participants who have one
individual storage device in the process of playing in
the lottery or on the totalizator.
In Figure 1, the numeral 1 denotes an actual
data source which is a totality of actions or events,
the result of the i-th event or action being determined
at the moment in time T(i). The moments of the
beginning and end of the i-th event or action will be
denoted correspondingly by T1(i) and T2(i). An event
may be understood as, for example, events such as
running a lottery with the use of a lototron, a chess
tournament, a chess match, football game, basketball
game, and also a contest in a type of sport which can
be transmitted via the communication channels 2, for
example via television or radio communication channels.
Here and below, the term "communication channel" is
always understood as the totality of technical means
and physical media intended for transmitting data
(signals) from a transmitter to a receiver (user). The
fundamental technical means included in the composition
of a communication channel are: actual data sensors,
transmitters, receivers, signal amplifiers, coding and
decoding devices, modulators and demodulators,
commutators, filters, interfaces etc. The technical
means and physical media ensuring propagation of the
signals from the transmitter to the receiver form a
communication line in their totality. The transmission
medium can be compound and include segments of
different types, for example, wire and optical-fibre
lines between which an appropriate transformer must be
arranged in this case. In the transmitter, the message
(data) from the actual information source 1 is
transformed into the digital or analogue signals which
are then fed to the input to the communication line;
upon receiving the signal at the output of the
communication line, the receiver reproduces the
transmitted message. Depending on the nature of the
signals, a distinction is made between electric
communication lines (wire and radio), sound (acoustic)
and light (optical communication) (Elektronika:
Entsiklopedicheskii slovar/Gl.red. V. G. Kolesnikov,
M.: Sov. Entsiklopediya, 1991, s.189) [Electronics:
Encyclopedic dictionary]/Ch. ed. V. G. Kolesnikov,
Moscow:] [Sov. Encyclopedia], 1991, page 189). The
representation of the actual information can be
transmitted to the user 3 directly from the source 1 or
via representation devices included in the
communication channel 2. The representation devices are
devices of visual and acoustic (television sets) or
only acoustic (radio receivers) representation of
actual data. The presence of several communication
channels 2 is explained by the possibility of
transmitting data from the source 1 along several
television and radio channels. At t(i), each user 3 can
record the data he proposes in the storage device 4,
which will be designated as a PSD (portable storage
device) in order to emphasize that it is not one of the
many functional elements, but is designed in the form
of a finished portable construction. One of the
fundamental conditions for the hypothetical data to be
admitted to the draw is for one of the following
inequalities to be satisfied: t(i)<T(i), t(i)<T1(i),
t(i)<T2(i). The selection of one or other of the
inequalities is determined by the rules established by
the organizers of the event, and is a function of the
moment of appearance of the actual data. The dotted
lines 5 mark the connections which are used after the
conclusion of any gaming event to connect the PSD 4 to
the comparison devices (CD) 7, via the communication
channels 5, for which computers may be used. The dotted
lines 8 mark the connections which are used to connect
the PSD 4 to CD 7 directly that is to say without the
use of any communication channels. The aim of
connecting the PSD 4 to CD 7 is to compare the actual
data kept in the data collecting centre 9 with the
hypothetical data kept in the PSD 4. The data
collecting centre 9 and CD 7 are connected via
communication channels 10. The comparison device 7 is
included in the terminals 11, each of which is a
subscriber's (user's) point intended for processing and
outputting the results of data comparison arriving in
it from the PSD 4 and data collecting centre 9. The
composition of each terminal 11 includes a CD 7, for
which a microcomputer can be used, and output devices
12, for which it is possible to use printers, cash
dispensers, adaptors for a communication line etc. The
data collecting centre 9 comprises a precision timer 13
whose output can be connected to an exact time signal
former and a central storage device (CSD) 14 at whose
input a signal arrives from one or several actual data
sensors 15. The output of the exact time signal former
(not shown in the drawing) can be connected to a code
specifier (not shown in the drawing) (for example, to a
numerical code specifier) and to the transformer of the
code into the signal fed to the input of the
communication channels 2. The requisite data kept in
the CSD 14 can be sent with the aid of preliminary data
processing means 16 to the input of the calculator 17,
for which a computer can be used. It may be noted that
one of the terminals 11 can be arranged inside the data
collecting centre 9. All the elements included in the
system described are known or standard ones. Thus, a
transmitting television camera can be used for the
actual data sensor 15, a video recorder for CSD 14, and
a human operator for the preliminary data processing
means 16. The standard design of the other elements is
given in the text. Moreover, as mentioned above, the
actual data sensor 15 can be a component part of one or
several communication channels 2.
Figure 2 represents a functional diagram of the
portable storage device. The functional diagram of the
PSD 4 is constructed on the basis of the functional
diagram of a standard microcomputer. The number of
portable storage devices 4 must be not less than the
number of users participating in the lottery or
sporting totalizator. A secondary element included in
the PSD can be a decoding element 18. The decoding
element 18 comprises a receiver 19 of the signal
connected to the decoder 20, which is connected to the
internal memory 23 via a controller 21 and an inner
tyre 22. The internal memory 23, for its part, is
connected via the inner tyre 22 to one or several
independent timing units 25 inside which corresponding
controllers are contained. Moreover, the internal
memory 23 is connected to one or several data input
devices 27 via a controller 26, and to one or several
data output devices 29 via a controller 28. Moreover,
the internal memory is connected to a mains adaptor,
containing, in particular, a transceiver 24 and
connecting block to the communication line 30, and to a
LCD display 32 via a controller 31. All the elements
included in the PSD 4 are fed from the internal source
33. All the elements interact with the internal memory
23 by means of a processor 34. All the elements
presented here can be constructed using known diagrams,
or it is possible to use as these elements standard
units (monocrystalline microcomputers, LSI watch
circuits etc.), applicable in communication systems and
in computer technology. Moreover, the PSD can comprise
additional units linked, in particular, to a change in
external influences (external radiation, mechanical
acceleration). Type PIC microcontrollers, which have a
low power consumption, can be used in the simplest
variant of the PSD. All the PIC have built-in ROM
(0.5-4 K) and Smm (32-256 bytes). Moreover, the PIC are
fitted with timers (from 1 to 3 pieces), a built-in
resetting system, a watchdog timer and an internal
clock-pulse generator which can be started from the
quartz resonator. In more complicated variants of the
PSD, use may be made of additional independent
microcomputers intended for fulfilling additional
auxiliary functions: inputting data into the PSD from
the user's voice, receiving and processing data
arriving from the data collecting centre 9, issuing
variants of hypothetical data etc. Other variants of
the PSD can be specialized, for example, intended only
for participation in chess totalizators.
Figure 3 represents one of the variants of the
external appearance of the PSD, on the front panel of
which there are arranged a panel 35 of the liquid-crystal
display 32, an alphanumeric or only numerical
keyboard 36 of non-fixed pushbutton switches, and a
keyboard 37 of functional keys each of which, when
pressed, inputs an appropriate command. The event code
and action code are input respectively by pressing on
the keys 38 and 39. Short-lived pressing on the key 40
cancels an input command or deletes data recorded in
the memory block 23 of the portable storage device 4.
The keys 41 and 42 are intended for inputting data
having a double-alternative character when the
hypothetical result, specified by the user, of some
event or action is linked only to two possibilities of
their outcome "yes" or "no". Pressing on the key 43
records data in the internal memory 23 which have been
composed by the user using the switch relating to the
keyboard 36. The keys 44 and 45 are connected to
pushbutton switches, one of which is used to correct
the timing unit 25, while the other is used to switch
off the power source 33 from the electronic circuit
servicing the part of the internal memory in which data
entered by the user are kept. Of course, depending on
structural features, complexity and also on purpose
(only for chess tournaments, only for running
lotteries, and multifunctional designation), there may
be different keys in different types of PSD and,
moreover, a combined function regime can be provided
which permits the use of each key to carry out two or
even three operations.
Figure 4 represents a block diagram of the
algorithm for running a lottery or a sporting
totalizator. Let us give some names to the numerical
designations which are not fully indicated in Figure 5.
Numeral 47 designates the action "pressure on key 44 at
the moment of transmitting the signal s(t)", numeral 48
designates the condition "will the readings of the
timing unit 25 be corrected?", numeral 49 designates
the action "setting of the event code", numeral 50
designates the action "setting of the action code",
numeral 51 designates the action "inputting and storing
of the hypothetical data", numeral 52 designates the
action "automatic storage of the data arriving from the
timing unit 25", numeral 53 denotes the condition "will
the set codes be changed?" and numeral 54 designates
the condition "will these be a continuation?". If,
while lotteries are running, it is required to set only
the event code or only the action code, the presented
block diagram of the algorithm is simplified by
excluding action 49 or action 50 from it.
The system for running lotteries and sporting
totalizators is operated in accordance with the block
diagram of the algorithm represented in Figure 4, and
is based on the totality of the following two
fundamental ideas. The first of these ideas is bound up
with the fact that the hypothetical result of one or
other event (result of running the lottery, the next
move in the chess game, result of the football match),
which was marked earlier on a special card or
communicated by phone (telegraph, computer net, etc.)
can be recorded in the memory of the individual storage
device. The second idea consists in that, with the aim
of checking that only hypothetical data have been
recorded, it is sufficient automatically to store in
the memory of the storage device the time of recording
said data. The result of this is not only to exclude
any dependence of the user on the communication means
at the time of running one or the other event, but, as
will be shown below, also to bring the observation
process, for example after one or other sporting
contest, to a qualitatively new level requiring some
intellectual effort from the fans. The given algorithm
is realized in practice with the aid of special
software which is kept, firstly, in the permanent
storage device, located in the internal memory 23 of
the PSD 4 and, secondly, in the permanent storage
devices of the computers 7, 17, which are included in
the system under consideration. Let us suppose that
after pressing on key 45, that is to say after
supplying the feed voltage (action 46) to the elements
of a PSD 4, which service the internal memory 23 and
timing unit 25, there is no need for a correction of
its readings ("NO" in condition 48) which is connected
with bringing them into a unique correspondence with a
given error with the readings of the timer 13. A
possible refusal to correct the timing unit 25 can be,
for example, in the case when, after the last
correction of said block, an insufficiently large time
period has passed. Other cases of refusal of a
correction will be considered below. The further
functioning of the system depends on the nature of the
event, the data source of which is denoted by numeral
1, and also the nature of the user's 3 participation in
it. If the user is a participant of the lottery or
sporting totalizator without desiring to predict the
actions of, for example, sportsmen in the course of the
game itself, as a result of the termination of one or
several actions included in some event the hypothetical
data are recorded in the memory of the PSD before it
starts. The term event can be understood as running a
lottery, chess match or game, a heavyweight boxing
match, a tennis match, basketball game, game of
roulette etc. In this case, some actions could be cited
which are going to exist in these events: dropping the
winning number out of the lototron, moves in the chess
game, efforts of the boxer to prolong the bout after he
has missed a knockout blow, drawing of the next ball
(tennis, basketball, football, water polo etc.)
penalty ball throw. The requisite data on all events
and actions which participate in the lottery or
totalizator are stored in the memory of the computer
17, after which they arrive in the memory of the CD 7.
A preliminary selection of the requisite data is
carried out with the aid of the preliminary data
processing means 16, the functions of which, as was
mentioned above, can be fulfilled by a human operator
selecting data participating in the draw from the CSD
14, which is constructed, for example, in the form of a
video recorder at whose input data arrives, firstly,
about the event from the source 1 with the aid of one
or several actual data sensors 15 or via one of the
communication channels 2 and, secondly, from the timer
13. The exchange of data between the computer 17 and
terminals 11 is effected via the communication channels
10 which, in particular, contain specialized adaptors:
universal synchronous-asynchronous transceivers
(USART). If, after the termination of the event, the
user won a large prize, he evidently must present the
PSD at one of the points where the terminal 11 is
arranged where, after direct connection marked by the
dotted line 8 in Figure 1, firstly, the appropriate
data are read from the memory of the PSD to the memory
of the CD 7, secondly, said data are compared with
those data which have arrived in the memory of the CD 7
from the data collecting centre 9 and, thirdly, the sum
of the winnings is calculated in accordance with the
result of this comparison and also with the conditions
and rules set out by the organizers of the event. The
winnings may be handed over to the user in cash or
transferred without cash to his account or card through
one of the data output devices 12. In the case of small
winnings, the reading of the appropriate data from the
memory of the PSD to the memory of the CD 7 can be
performed via one of the communication channels 5. To
identify the user in the data collecting centre 9 or
where the terminal 11 is arranged in the permanent
internal memory of a PSD, it is possible to keep a
corresponding code. Connecting the PSD to the
communication channel 8 is also expedient in the case
when there is a prize draw intended to attract viewers
to the event being run. The following indices can be
taken into account in the abovementioned data
comparison: the level of coincidence between the
hypothetical and actual data, the difference T1(i)-t(i),
the difference T2(i)-t(i), and the difference
T(i)-t(i). Some variants in the concrete use of said
indices when calculating the amount of the winnings
will be considered below. As already mentioned, the
communication channels 8, 10 serve to connect the
interface devices included in the PSD to the terminals
11 or to other interface devices included in said
terminals. It may be noted that the basic type of said
channels which are used in teleprocessing systems is
the separate (dedicated) telephone channel. At the same
time, it is usual to envisage the possibility of using
switched telephone channels, telegraph channels and, in
certain cases, broadband channels with a higher
transmission speed. A range of methods is possible for
organizing the connection between terminals (subscriber
points), the data collecting centre 9 and the PSD 4.
The following basic types of systems can be named among
them: those with direct connections (radial systems),
those with multipoint communication lines, those with
concentrators (multiplexers), those with packet-type or
normal radio communication, and those with local
networks. Of course, in real computer networks it is
possible to use different combinations of the systems
indicated, depending on the needs arising. It is, of
course, also possible to transmit data, for example,
recorded on a magnetic carrier, by post or by courier
to the point where the terminal 11 is arranged. It is
very convenient for the user to be able to make a
preliminary check of the results of the draw on their
home PC, which in this case is used as the CD 7. Data,
and also software required for such checking can be
received through communication channels 6, for which it
is possible to use the internet, for example. Recording
the hypothetical result of the termination of the
selected i-th event in the memory of the PSD is
performed after storing the event code in said memory,
and this is done by pressing on the key 38 "input
code". The process of recording in the memory consists
in sequentially composing appropriate signs (figures or
letters) with the aid of keys included in the keyboard
36, and subsequently pressing on the key 43, in which
process all the abovementioned data are represented on
panel 35. The numerical (alphanumeric, letter) codes of
all the events are set up, as a rule, once and not
changed subsequently. An example which can be given is
the possible numerical codes which can correspond to
certain events (basketball - 01, football - 02, boxing
- 03, chess match - 04, chess game - 05, "sport-loto"
lottery 06, "policy" game - 07), and also certain
actions included in said events (free throw in
basketball - 01.1, throw of the ball from the three-point
zone in basketball - 01.2, an eleven-metre
penalty kick in football - 02.1, selection of the
hypothetical move in a chess game - 05.1, guessing the
result of a chess game in a chess match - 04.2). At the
same time as the hypothetical data composed by the user
3 are recorded, the current time value, which has been
established by the timing unit 25, is also recorded in
the internal memory 23; in this case, the term current
time is understood as only one point (date and current
time or the start of time reading after recording in
the memory of the PSD of the corresponding data) which
point lies on the time axis. In other variants of the
PSD, when the hypothetical data are first input the
timing unit 25 is switched on and operates, in this
case, as a timer. The possibility of simultaneous
recording in the internal memory 23 of the hypothetical
data and the current time value, and also of carrying
out other actions connected, for example, to inputting
and outputting said data from the PSD is ensured with
the aid of appropriate software and a standard
microprocessor structure which can be implemented on a
monocrystalline microcomputer constructed in accordance
with KNOP - a technology which is of low power
consumption (10-100 µW). A typical microcomputer
comprises the following, connected by the common
internal bus 22: the processor 34, the internal memory
23, the controllers 21, 24, 26, 28, 31 and the bus
adaptor, which contains at least the transceiver 24 and
the interface block with the communication line 30. A
continuation of the internal bus is the external bus,
to which it is possible in our case to connect input
devices (interfaces of the communication line) of one
of the communication channels 6 or a controller
included in the microcomputer 7. The PSD contains a
decoding element 18 as one of the input devices. The
following may be used, for example, as output devices
29: contactless (optical, ultrasonic, acoustic,
electromagnetic) radiators, a magnetic storage device
on microcassette. The controllers are intended for
interfacing corresponding devices 25, 20, 32, 29, 27
with the internal bus 22 of the microcomputer. The
adaptor of the buses fulfils the function of electric
and, possibly, logical interfacing. It should be noted
that in the example given above the user can refuse the
correction of the timing unit 25, since after the
acquisition of the PSD by the user, or after his last
correction, the readings of the timing unit may not be
very significantly lead the readings of the timer 13.
Thus, in order for the hypothetical data (action 51) to
participate in the next draw of the i-th event, it is
sufficient to record them not later than the time value
T(i)-g, where g is the maximum error accumulated in the
PSD after its last correction. Note that for the
purpose of practical implementation of the possibility
presented (participation in the game without correction
of the PSD) the timing unit 25 must be set in such a
way that the relative error of the time reading is only
positive under any condition. In other words, at any
moment of time (except for the moment of the correction
itself) the timing unit 25 must be ahead of the actual
time fixed by the timer 13. Let us examine below the
general functioning of the system on the basis of some
concrete examples. We may take as first example, as
mentioned above, the most widespread variant of the
football totalizator, where it is necessary to guess
the results of three separate football matches. To
participate in said totalizator, the user must make a
stake by any known method and at any time prior to the
start of the first of the three matches. Similarly, at
any time prior to the start of the first of these
matches or prior to the start of any of said matches,
if permitted by the rules, the user 3 records in the
memory of the PSD the code of said variant of the
totalizator and the hypothetical score of each match.
All the data (code, results of the matches) are
indicated on the panel 35. In the case where the user
is participating in the lottery, it is necessary to
record in the memory of the PSD the lottery code and
the desired quantity of variants of the numbers
participating in said lottery. The presence of the
elements 15, 14, 16, 13, 17, 7, 12, 10 is not
obligatory for the variants under consideration, since
after conclusion of the series of football matches or
of the lottery the comparison, and also the calculation
of the amount of winnings can be carried out manually
(of course, after reading in the data collecting centre
9 or in the place of the arrangement of the terminal 11
from the memory of the PSD the hypothetical data and
the time coordinate of its recording) on the basis of
the currently existing technology. As has already been
mentioned, data from the internal memory of the PSD can
be read both by contact methods and by contactless
ones. Let us further examine one of the variants of the
construction of the PSD directly during the course of
some event, using the example of games of basketball,
chess, football, and also boxing. If, before the start
of running said event a sufficiently long time has
elapsed after the last correction of the PSD, it is
desirable (though not obligatory) to run it again
("YES" in condition 48), since the presence of an error
in the time measurement can falsify the value t(i), and
thus the parameters taken into account when determining
the extent of the winnings. Note that depending on the
complexity of the timing unit 25, the frequency of the
required correction can be within the limits of several
weeks up to several months. Given an average relative
error equal to 1/6 × 10, the process of correcting the
PSD for relatively slow types of sport (classic and
active chess, figure skating) can be carried once a
month. A correction itself is carried out directly
using a contact or contactless method by transmitting
to the timing unit 25 a special correcting signal
intended to bring the readings of the timing unit 25
into unique correspondence with the readings of the
timer 13 or with the current value of exact or world
time. In the case of using a contact method, the
correcting signal arrives via one of the input devices
27, which is constructed in the simplest case in the
form of a connector. In the case of a contactless
method, an input signal arrives at the input to the
decoding element 18 and is used to derive a correcting
signal by amplification, preliminary processing and
decoding. Amplification and preliminary processing are
performed in the receiver 19, and decoding in the
decoder 20. The type of receiver 19 and decoder 20 is
selected as a function of the type of input signal
(radio signal, optical and acoustic ones) and its type
of modulation. Let us consider below several variants
of conducting the correction process. The first variant
is related to the PSD correction carried out in the
place specially set aside therefor. In the case of the
use of this variant, it is expedient or even necessary
to transmit together with the correcting signal a
certain non-repeating code which, after storage in the
PSD, will serve to ensure the truth of the correcting
signal. If the correction is carried out in an
arbitrary place using acoustic, telephone or radio
signals of exact time, in the case of subsequent
reading with the aim of excluding deliberate attempts
to reduce the readings read by the timing unit 25, it
is desirable to check the truth of such a correction.
One of the possible methods of such checking consists
in separately determining and comparing the relative
errors of the timing unit 25 relating to two time
periods. The first period falls within its two last
corrections, and the second between the last correction
and the moment of the abovementioned reading. If the
signal of exact time is true, and not a preliminary
recording, for example on a tape recorder, the values
of the relative errors will be equal, to the given
accuracy. To increase the trustworthiness of such
checking, it is necessary to have several identical
independent timing units 25, the value of the time
reading of each of which is recorded and kept in the
corresponding memory area of the PSD. In this case, a
conclusion on the trustworthiness or falsity of the
exact time signal used is reached on the basis of the
criterion of achieving a given number of such timing
units 25 which passed the abovementioned checking. The
other variants of correction can comprise the following
operations: joint transmission of the correcting signal
and code, which is repeated twice (once prior to the
start of the event, and a second time prior to its
conclusion), joint transmission of the correcting
signal and code. Note also the method of storing the
time t(i) which in no way requires correction of the
readings of the timing unit 25. The essence of this
method consists in the fact that the time coordinate
which is fixed by the PSD at the moment of recording
the hypothetical data is "attached" at the moment they
are read. In other words, after data are recorded in
the memory of the PSD, one or several timing units 25
start to function as timers, each of which separates
two events. One of these events is the moment of
storing the data (after pressing on the key 43, 41 or
42), while the other is the moment they are read (after
pressing, for example, on the corresponding key located
on the PSD or CD 7). If the exact time at the moment of
reading the hypothetical data from the memory of the
PSD and the values of the timing unit 25 at the moment
at which said data was stored is designated as t0, the
exact time of inputting the hypothetical data relating
to the i-th event or action will be determined by the
difference t0-t1(i), where t1(i) is the time period
accumulated by the timing unit and relating to the i-th
event or action. The possibility of influencing the
unit 25 by various factors which destabilize its
functioning in order to reduce the magnitude of t1(i)
must be considered as a deficiency of said method. To
reduce or completely exclude the said deficiency, it is
expedient to use one of the units 25 as an electronic
clock. Moreover, it is desirable to install inside the
PSD special sensors which fix in its memory various
deviations from given parameters characterizing the
external conditions of use, which may be taken to
include ambient temperature, acceleration, the PSD
under test, and external radiation fluxes of various
natures. A complete refusal of a correction can also
occur in the case of the use of one or several units 25
used as a timing device (date and current time of day)
or as a time accumulator. The exact time of recording
the data relating to the i-th event (event code, code
of the action included in said event, hypothetical
data) will then be determined in the form of an
algebraic difference t0-t3+t2(i), where t2(i) is the
reading of the unit 25 at the moment of recording
relating to the i-th event, and t3 is the reading of
the unit 25 at the moment of reading the data from the
memory of the PSD. Evidently, the circuit of the PSD
which does not require correction of the time of the
timing unit 25 must be without the decoding element 18.
In the case of the use of several timing units 25
functioning, for example, as clocks, t2(i) and t3 can
he taken to be the average time calculated inside the
PSD. Thus, if the user has a confirmation of the stake
payment which was effected prior to the start of
running the selected event (the confirmation of payment
must also include data on the code of the event or
action), and it is necessary to correct the time ("YES"
in condition 48), before it is started the key 43 is
pressed and held (action 47) up to the moment the
correcting signal is terminated. During the running of
the lottery or sporting competition, the user employs
the key 39 to set one or several action codes which,
firstly, can be in the given event and, secondly, are
paid for or for guessing which the prize has been
announced. Initialization of said codes, for example in
the form of their blinking, can be performed ("YES" in
condition 53) at any moment by pressing on the
corresponding key of the PSD. Until the key 43 is
pressed, the composed codes can be corrected or deleted
by pressing the key 40. All the hypothetical data input
by the user into the memory of the PSD relates only to
the initialized code. Keys 41, 42 are used in the event
that after the conclusion of one or another action the
result is of a double-alternative nature or, in the
extreme case, a triple-alternative nature. After
pressing on the keys 41, 42, the data is quickly
recorded in the memory of the PSD. This is explained by
the fact that the user has only seconds for taking
decisions on the possible results of certain actions of
a double-alternative nature. Thus, if prior to the
taking of an 11-metre penalty kick in football or a
free throw in basketball the key 41 (42) was pressed,
and after the taking of the penalty or free throw a
"goal" (miss), or a drop into the basket (miss), said
hypothetical results kept in the memory of the PSD are
considered as having been guessed. Of course, the
probability of guessing rises significantly if the user
seated in front of the television screen or in the
stadium will take into account the personality of the
sportsman, and also his physical and moral condition
before each free throw or penalty kick. Let us propose
below that before the basketball game (or football
match) each of 500,000 people has put up a monetary
stake in the amount of 10 to 100 US dollars for a
simple guess of the results of free throws (penalty
kicks from the game) which will be designated in the
course of the entire game; in this case, for a 100%
guess the sum is allotted to the extent of 10% of the
sum allotted for prize payments and equal, for example,
to 1,200,000 dollars. Then, if 20 free throws were made
during play and three people guessed their results,
each of them will receive 40,000 dollars. The remaining
money is distributed in accordance with rules
established earlier among those users who exhibited
worse results. The payment of winnings is performed
after the expiry of a certain time period in the course
of which it is necessary to transmit data from the
internal memory of the PSD along the communication
channel 6 to the data collecting centre 9 or to the
terminal 11. It is most expedient to use the following
technology for quick checking of the results of the
totalizator. The entire game is recorded on a video
recorder which, in the given case, fulfils the function
of the CSD 14. At the same time, a numerical
representation of the current time initiated by the
timer 13 is recorded on said video recorder. The entire
video data on the game arise at the input to the video
recorder from the actual data sensors 15 or from other
means included in the composition of the communication
channel 2 (televison set, tuner). During preliminary
data processing, which is carried out by a human
operator 16, he is viewing the game and visually
allotting all those moments T(i) after which the ball
was thrown (in some cases it is possible to allot those
moments T(i) after which the result of a free throw is
definitive). Each time the abovementioned moment is
allotted, the video recorder is put on hold, after
which the human operator reads the value of the current
time from the monitor screen and inputs it into the
computer 17. All these input values of the moments T(i)
will be accumulated in the computer 17 under a separate
file relating to the corresponding event code also
recorded in the computer memory which can also carry
out functions of the CD 7. The comparison of the
hypothetical data recorded in the internal memory of
the PSD 4 and the determination of the size of the
winnings do not exhibit any special features, being
completely determined by the corresponding software and
also by the conditions and rules set up by the
organizers of the totalizator. In certain cases, during
viewing of the sporting contest television companies
can envisage the transmission of a special signal
(acoustic or visual) during which the hypothetical
result can be recorded in the memory of the PSD. In
conclusion, using the example of a chess game let us
describe the interaction of the user with the PSD,
which is characteristic of any events during the
running of which numerical data forecasting the results
of some actions are also being recorded. In the chess
totalizator, the operations of inputting data and
storing it are connected, principally, with guessing
moves. It is possible to name an infinite number of
variants with the aid of which it is possible to
organize a totalizator or to distribute free prizes,
for example from companies and firms placing their
advertisement during the chess game. People who play
and support the game can make stakes on guessing the
largest number of moves in their uninterrupted series
etc. From the point of view of the authors of the given
invention, the most interesting is a stake on the speed
of guessing, for example, 29 moves by white and 32
moves by black. In this variant, it is necessary as
quickly as possible to record in the memory of the PSD
the 29th move by white and the 32nd by black, it being
desirable for the number of moves to be communicated to
the television audience or the viewers at the playing
venue after the game has begun. This is achieved by the
exclusion of preliminary agreement between the chess
players or with any user. Particular interest in this
variant of the totalizator stems from the fact that
even a person who has only recently become acquainted
with the game of chess can receive a large monetary
prize in it. Indeed, as the chess position progresses
to the 29th move for white and to the 32nd move for
black on the one hand there is an increased probability
of its being guessed while, on the other hand, there is
a decrease in the probability of receiving large
winnings. However, the probability of guessing
increases, basically only for experienced chess
players, that is to say over the relatively long time
period up to the performance of the 29th move the
probability of guessing it is approximately equal for
all the participants of the chess totalizator. The
hypothetical chess move (action 51) is input by
pressing on the appropriate keys of the keyboard 36
and, if the numerical representation of the chess move
indicated on the panel 36 has been composed without
errors, it is recorded in the memory of the PSD by
pressing on key 43. Of course, the data on the time of
recording said move will also be stored automatically
in said memory. After termination of one or another
event it is desirable to use key 45 to switch off
(action 54) all the elements servicing the internal
memory 23 and the timing unit 25.
The advantage of the invention considered is
that during the running of a lottery its participants
are excluded from any dependence on the means of
communication. Moreover, the use of the given system
will bring the process of observation, for example of
one or another sporting contest, to a qualitatively new
level connected principally to the fact that the fan
playing the totalizator becomes not simply a passive
observer of the sporting competition, but in a certain
sense, a co-participant in it, because he gains the
possibility of guessing the action of the sportsmen on
the basis of his understanding of one or another type
of sport (moves in a chess game, the result of a free
throw in basketball, the result of an 11-metre penalty
strike in football, the result of a knockout blow in
boxing up to the moment when the referee counts up to
10 etc.) directly during the sporting competition
itself, as well as the judgments which the judges award
them (assessments of the judges in figure skating,
gymnastics, boxing etc.). There is also the possibility
of play related to guessing the technical results
exhibited by the sportsmen: time (race, bobsleigh),
length (long jump). One further advantage of the given
invention is its unlimited possibilities and means with
the aid of which many hundreds of millions of people
can additionally be attracted to television screens,
radio receivers and computers connected to
telecommunication networks, and also to stadia and
sports grounds. In addition to the advantages
mentioned, the given invention has a whole range of
advantages connected with the very large economies on
paper and ink, and also on means necessary for
preparing various coupons, cards and other similar
forms used to run lotteries and totalizators. In this
case, the environment is not polluted and there is a
substantial reduction in expenditure on means
connected, firstly, with processing said forms and,
secondly, with ensuring the security measures
considered on page 2 [ pages 3 and 4 in the
translation]. The following may be mentioned among the
other advantages: the possibility for the user to exit
from any event ahead of time, the possibility of
organizing the totalizator between two and more users
(given that at least one of them has a personal
computer fulfilling the function of the CD 7), minimum
expenditure on means for processing the hypothetical
data, and the complete exclusion of falsification of
the data recorded in the memory of the PSD. The low
expenditure on means required for processing the
hypothetical data is the result of its small volume,
since in the case where the hypothetical and actual
data do not correspond the user does not present his
PSD in the data processing centre. The complete
exclusion of the possibility of falsifying the
hypothetical data is bound up with the fact that they
are recorded not on paper but in the memory of the PSD
which, firstly, is not demountable and, secondly, is
equipped with sensors for various external influences,
which can be used to change the hypothetical data.
Moreover, it may be mentioned that even in the case of
the absence of such sensors in the event of any
external influence used with the aim of changing the
hypothetical data, the programme controlling, in
particular, the output of the hypothetical data from
the PSD is also destroyed. The indirect advantages of
the invention may be said to include the expected
increase in the volume of sales of computer technology,
and also of software for the running of chess
totalizators. Thus, the invention presented opens up a
new era in the relationships between the mass media and
people, transforming the latter from passive observers
of one or another event into active participants in it.
Industrial Applicability
The invention can be applied to events
connected with running every kind of lottery and
sporting totalizator. The invention can be used to
popularize chess, since virtually any person who has a
PSD can participate in a chess totalizator or
tournament. The invention can be used by advertising
agencies and companies to attract people to look at a
repeated advertisement, since while it is being shown
it is possible every time to ask the simplest
questions, such as those related to a manufactured
product, which require operational answers. The
invention can be used for organizing the mass
production of PSDs in that sector of industry which
manufactures integrated electronic circuits produced
using KNOP technology, for example series KV1013 LSI
microprocessors manufactured in Russia, or series PIC
160XX microcontrollers from MicroChip. We can give
possible general (commercial) names of the PSD under
which it can be produced and marketed: loter, toter,
Lototer, Lottoter, toloter, totloter, chessloter,
chesstoter.