Method and apparatus for supporting wide area gaming network
First Claim
1. A method for supporting a gaming device from a remote location comprising the steps of:
- monitoring said gaming device;
determining an occurrence of an event at said gaming device;
generating a message regarding said event;
encoding said message;
transmitting said message to said remote location, said message transmitted over a communication link including at least a portion of the Internet utilizing SMTP;
receiving said message at said remote location;
decoding said message;
analyzing said message; and
initiating a response to said message.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method of monitoring and providing support to a gaming device that includes monitoring the gaming device to determine an occurrence of an event, generating a message regarding the event, encoding the message, transmitting the message to a remote location over a communication link, receiving the message at the remote location, decoding the message, analyzing the message, and initiating a response to the message. In one embodiment, the event comprises an error or fault and the message regarding the event is transmitted using the simple mail transfer protocol (SMTP). Embodiments of the invention comprise apparatus forming a part of a gaming network or system including gaming devices such as gaming machines. In one embodiment, the apparatus comprises servers associated with a remote service center and message data storage.
71 Citations
24 Claims
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1. A method for supporting a gaming device from a remote location comprising the steps of:
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monitoring said gaming device;
determining an occurrence of an event at said gaming device;
generating a message regarding said event;
encoding said message;
transmitting said message to said remote location, said message transmitted over a communication link including at least a portion of the Internet utilizing SMTP;
receiving said message at said remote location;
decoding said message;
analyzing said message; and
initiating a response to said message. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method of providing support to a gaming device comprising:
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determining the occurrence of an event meeting a predefined criteria at said gaming device;
generating a message regarding said event;
transmitting said message from said gaming device to a remote service center utilizing a dedicated communication link between said gaming device and remote service center;
analyzing said message regarding said event; and
generating a response. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18)
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19. A gaming system including a plurality of gaming devices and a support system for said gaming devices comprising:
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a gaming controller associated with each of said gaming devices;
a first communication interface associated with said gaming controller;
means for detecting the occurrence of an event meeting predefined criteria occurring at said gaming device;
means for generating an event message in response to a detected event;
a remote server;
a second communication interface associated with said remote server;
a dedicated communication link between said first communication interface associated with said gaming controller and said second communication interface associated with said remote server;
a memory associated with said remote server for storing messages transmitted from said gaming device to said remote server; and
means for generating a response to said event message. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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Specification