Methods and systems for tracking an event of an externally controlled interface

• US 10,497,204 B2
• Filed: 05/11/2016
• Issued: 12/03/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 04/13/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Original Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Inventors: Weber, Reid M., Little, William C., LeMay, Steven G., Marcu, Adrian R., Cockerille, IV, Warner R., Beaulieu, Nicole M., Gipp, David A., de Waal, Daniel, Manfredi, Vincent S., Bullard, Bryan, Iddings, Cara L., Schneider, Richard J., Russell, Glenn Keith, Graham, Jacob, Schlottmann, Gregory A., Rowe, Richard E., Williams, David C., Larsen, Kurt M., Yi, Jae Man, Petersen, Erik B.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hylinski, Steven J
• Application Number:
  US15/152,114
• Publication Number:
  US 20160253864A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,301 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3202 Hardware aspects of a gaming system, e.g. components, construction, architecture thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3211 Display means
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3223 Architectural aspects of a gaming system, e.g. internal configuration, master/slave, wireless communication
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/323 wherein the player is informed, e.g. advertisements, odds, instructions
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3232 wherein the operator is informed
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3239 Tracking of individual players
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3244 Payment aspects of a gaming system, e.g. payment schemes, setting payout ratio, bonus or consolation prizes

Abstract

A method for tracking an event of an externally controlled interface (ECI) is described. The method includes generating the externally controlled interface independent of an outcome of a wager-based game regulated by a regulatory authority, and logging the event of the externally controlled interface.

Claims

1. A method of operating a gaming system, said method comprising:

independent of an outcome of a wager-based game regulated by a regulatory authority, generating, by a processor, an externally controlled interface;

responsive to a determination occurring that a resource of an electronic gaming machine is available to be allocated to the externally controlled interface, communicating data to the electronic gaming machine which results in the electronic gaming machine displaying, independent of the wager-based game, content associated with an event of the externally controlled interface; and

logging, by the processor, the event of the externally controlled interface.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the content associated with the event of the externally controlled interface is generated using a code that is executed separately from a code used to generate the outcome of the wager-based game.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the processor comprises a processor of a remote host.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising timestamping, by the processor, the event.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising timestamping, by the processor, the outcome of the wager-based game.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

generating, by the processor, a first timestamp by timestamping the event;

generating, by the processor, a second timestamp by timestamping the outcome of the wager-based game; and

associating, by the processor, the event with the outcome of the wager-based game via the first timestamp and the second timestamp.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing, for access at a later time, information related to the event.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising generating, by the processor, a graphical representation of the event.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

generating, by the processor, a first timestamp by timestamping the event;

generating, by the processor, a second timestamp by timestamping the outcome of the wager-based game; and

determining, by the processor, whether the first timestamp is within a threshold of the second timestamp.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

communicating data to the electronic gaming machine which results in the electronic gaming machine displaying the event at a first time by executing a first application;

determining, by the processor, that a first application from a plurality of applications is used to perform said displaying of the event; and

communicating data to the electronic gaming machine which results in the electronic gaming machine redisplaying the event at a second time by executing the first application.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing information regarding the event within a memory device of the electronic gaming machine.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing information regarding the event within a memory device of a remote host that controls the externally controlled interface.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

storing information regarding the event within a memory device of the electronic gaming machine;

storing the information regarding the event within a memory device of a remote host that controls the externally controlled interface;

determining whether the remote host is inoperable; and

obtaining the information regarding the event from the memory device of the electronic gaming machine upon determining that the remote host is inoperable.

14. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

storing a first set of information regarding the event within a memory device of the electronic gaming machine; and

storing a second set of information regarding the event within a memory device of a remote host that controls the externally controlled interface;

wherein an amount of the first set of information stored within the memory device of the electronic gaming machine is less than an amount of the second set of information stored within the memory device of the remote host.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising playing the wager-based game via a plurality of reels.

16. A system comprising:

a remote host comprising a remote host processor and a remote host memory device that stores a plurality of remote host instructions that, when executed by the remote host processor, cause the remote host processor to;

generate an externally controlled interface independent of an outcome of a wager-based game regulated by a regulatory authority, and

responsive to a determination occurring that a resource of an electronic gaming machine is available to be allocated to the externally controlled interface, communicate data to the electronic gaming machine which results in the electronic gaming machine displaying, independent of the wager-based game, content associated with an event of the externally controlled interface; and

an event logger configured to log the event of the externally controlled interface.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the content associated with the event of the externally controlled interface is generated using a code that is executed separately from a code used to generate the outcome of the wager-based game.

18. The system of claim 16, further comprising a timestamping module configured to timestamp the event.

19. The system of claim 16, further comprising a timestamping module configured to timestamp the outcome of the wager-based game.

20. The system of claim 16, further comprising:

a timestamping module configured to;

generate a first timestamp by timestamping the event, and

generate a second timestamp by timestamping the outcome of the wager-based game; and

an association module configured to associate the event with the outcome of the wager-based game via the first timestamp and the second timestamp.

21. The system of claim 16, further comprising:

an outcome logger configured to record the outcome of the wager-based game; and

an event logger configured to record the event.

22. The system of claim 16, further comprising a processor configured to:

generate a first timestamp by timestamping the event;

generate a second timestamp by timestamping the outcome of the wager-based game; and

determine whether the first timestamp is within a threshold of the second timestamp.