Patents by Inventor Naoji Kumagai

Naoji Kumagai has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 7731587
    Abstract: A prize game apparatus that has plural pairs of pickup arms and can adjust the distance between the pairs of pickup arms is provided. A prize game apparatus includes: a pickup unit capable of moving in specified directions; plural pairs of pickup arms attached to the pickup unit; an opening/closing unit for opening and closing the pairs of pickup arms; and a distance adjustment unit for adjusting the distance between the pairs of pickup arms by moving the pair(s) of pickup arms; wherein a prize is picked up or released by closing or opening the pairs of pickup arms.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 12, 2006
    Date of Patent: June 8, 2010
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Sega
    Inventor: Naoji Kumagai
  • Publication number: 20090270184
    Abstract: A four-legged model racing machine 150 that drives, for example, models 20 of horses for racing can make the legs of the models swing up and kick up. The models 20 each having a body and plural legs supporting the body move on a partition board 5 serving as a racetrack board. Each model 20 is driven for motions by a mobile drive unit 160 disposed under the partition board 5. The plural legs of the model 20 can swing back and forth. Magnets Mfl, Mfr, Mrl and Mrr are embedded in the leg tips of the plural legs, respectively, with one of the magnetic poles of each of the magnets Mfl, Mfr, Mrl and Mrr facing the underside of the leg tip (facing down). The drive unit 160 is provided with adjacently arranged plural magnet pairs mfl, mfr, mrl and mrr respectively corresponding to the leg tips of the legs and capable of reciprocating parallel to a running direction along the lower surface of the partition board 5.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 26, 2006
    Publication date: October 29, 2009
    Inventor: Naoji Kumagai
  • Publication number: 20070013139
    Abstract: A prize game apparatus that has plural pairs of pickup arms and can adjust the distance between the pairs of pickup arms is provided. A prize game apparatus includes: a pickup unit capable of moving in specified directions; plural pairs of pickup arms attached to the pickup unit; an opening/closing unit for opening and closing the pairs of pickup arms; and a distance adjustment unit for adjusting the distance between the pairs of pickup arms by moving the pair(s) of pickup arms; wherein a prize is picked up or released by closing or opening the pairs of pickup arms.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 12, 2006
    Publication date: January 18, 2007
    Applicant: Kabushiki Kaisha Sega, d/b/a Sega Corporation
    Inventor: Naoji Kumagai
  • Patent number: 6533281
    Abstract: A playing machine making a player feel as if a car is running by moving a mobile body modeling a car shape on the surface of a circulating endless belt, wherein front wheels mounted on the mobile body are turned in a moving direction by a relatively simple mechanism. The mobile body 40 comprises a body 50, the front wheels 43 which are mounted so as to face toward the front both sides of the body 50 and which can swing around steering shafts 70 perpendicular to the obverse surface of the endless belt 20 and a wheel arm 46 to which the both front wheels 43 are connected at positions forward from the steering shafts 70 and which is formed to be movable according to the swing of the front wheels 43 around the steering shafts 70. Moreover, and the obverse-side attraction means 86 is fitted to the wheel arm 46 and is formed to be movable together with the wheel arm 46.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 19, 2001
    Date of Patent: March 18, 2003
    Assignee: Sammy Corporation
    Inventor: Naoji Kumagai