{
  "patent_number": "US 3659285",
  "country": "US",
  "title": "How the First Home Video Game Console Worked",
  "original_title": "Television gaming apparatus and method",
  "summary": "Ralph Baer's 1969 patent for the Magnavox Odyssey, the first home video game system, which generated controllable dots on a standard television screen using analog circuitry.",
  "what_it_does": "The patent describes an analog electronic system that connects to a standard television's antenna terminals to display interactive games. It generates three main visual elements: two 'hitting' symbols (controlled by players) and one 'hit' symbol (a ball). The system uses horizontal and vertical sync generators to create square pulses. By delaying these pulses using voltage controls, the system positions the symbols on the screen. A critical component is the coincidence circuit, which detects when a player's hitting symbol overlaps with the ball symbol. When this overlap occurs, the circuitry automatically reverses the ball's direction, simulating a bounce in games like table tennis or volleyball.",
  "what_it_does_not_cover": [
    "Does not cover digital game systems that use microprocessors, software code, or pixel framebuffers to render graphics.",
    "Does not cover games that display complex, multi-colored sprite graphics instead of simple geometric dots or blocks.",
    "Does not cover systems that require a specialized computer monitor rather than a standard broadcast television receiver.",
    "Does not cover collision detection calculated via software coordinate checks rather than analog hardware coincidence gating."
  ],
  "filed": "1969-08-21",
  "granted": "1972-04-25",
  "expires": "1989-08-21",
  "status": "expired",
  "holder": "Sanders Associates Inc",
  "holder_url": "https://patentbrief.org/company/sanders-associates-inc",
  "inventors": [
    {
      "name": "Ralph H Baer",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/ralph-h-baer"
    },
    {
      "name": "William T Rusch",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/william-t-rusch"
    },
    {
      "name": "William L Harrison",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/william-l-harrison"
    }
  ],
  "times_cited": 44,
  "tags": [
    "consumer_electronics",
    "gaming",
    "mechanical"
  ],
  "abstract": "Apparatus and methods are herein disclosed for use in conjunction with standard monochrome and color television receivers, for the generation, display and manipulation of symbols upon the screen of the television receivers for the purpose of playing games, training simulation and for engaging in other activities by one or more participants. The invention comprises in one embodiment a control unit, connecting means and in some applications a television screen overlay mask utilized in conjunction with a standard television receiver. The control unit includes the control means, switches and electronic circuitry for the generation, manipulation and control of video signals representing symbols which are to be displayed on the television screen. The symbols are generated by voltage controlled delay of pulses and coincidence gating. The connecting means couples the video signals to the receiver antenna terminals thereby using existing electronic circuits within the receiver to process and display the signals. An overlay mask which may be removably attached to the television screen may determine the nature of the game to be played. Control units may be provided for each of the participants. Alternatively, games may be carried out in conjunction with background and other pictorial information originated in the television receiver by commercial TV, closedcircuit TV or a CATV station.",
  "url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/3659285/video-game-console-magnavox",
  "markdown_url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/3659285/video-game-console-magnavox/md",
  "google_patents_url": "https://patents.google.com/patent/US3659285",
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}