MULTIPLE TOUCHSCREEN SENSORS ON A MONOLITHIC STRUCTURE

• US 20080076581A1
• Filed: 09/27/2006
• Published: 03/27/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 09/27/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Original Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Inventors: Gadda, Chris, Stockdale, James, Wilder, Richard, Mattice, Harold, Griswold, Chan
• Granted Patent: US 7,874,923 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 463/46
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/1075 using a touch screen
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0416 Control or interface arrangements specially adapted for digitisers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/044 by capacitive means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0444 using a single conductive element covering the whole sensing surface, e.g. by sensing the electrical current flowing at the corners
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/045 using resistive elements, e.g. a single continuous surface or two parallel surfaces put in contact
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3211 Display means
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/322 Casino tables, e.g. tables having integrated screens, chip detection means

Abstract

Provided in embodiments of the present invention is a plurality of touchscreen arranged on a single monolithic structure of a multi-player gaming device. In one embodiment, a gaming device having a base structure and an upper structure arranged to define a layout of gaming stations each with a gaming display includes a substantially transparent monolithic substrate, an electrically conductive coating, and a protective layer. The monolithic substrate may be arranged over the upper structure to cover at least the plurality of gaming displays. The electrically conductive coating may be formed on the monolithic surface over at least the plurality of gaming displays such that conductive coating over each of the gaming displays is electrically isolated from the remainder of the conductive coating. The protective layer may be formed over the conductive coating and monolithic substrate and have a substantially planar surface.

Claims

1. A gaming device comprising:

a base structure;

an upper structure mounted on the base structure, the upper structure arranged to define a layout of gaming stations;

a plurality of gaming displays respectively disposed at each of the gaming stations;

a substantially transparent monolithic substrate arranged over the upper structure to cover at least the plurality of gaming displays;

an electrically conductive coating formed on the monolithic substrate over at least the plurality of gaming displays, where the conductive coating over each of the gaming displays is electrically isolated from the remainder of the conducive coating; and

a protective layer formed over the conductive coating and monolithic substrate, the protective layer having a substantially planar surface.

2. The gaming device of claim 1, wherein the monolithic substrate includes optically clear glass.

3. The gaming device of claim 1, wherein the protective layer includes silicon dioxide.

4. The gaming device of claim 1, wherein the conductive coating includes indium tin oxide.

5. The gaming device of claim 1, further comprising a bottom drive shield coating formed on a bottom surface of the monolithic substrate, the drive shield formed to overlap at least each of the gaming displays.

6. The gaming device of claim 5, wherein the bottom drive shield coating is etched such that each etched portion of the conductive coating has a corresponding electrically isolated drive shield.

7. The gaming device of claim 6, wherein the etched electrically isolated drive shields are structured such that they may be used as touchscreen electrodes.

8. The gaming device of claim 5, further comprising a bottom protective layer formed over the bottom drive shield coating.

9. The gaming device of claim 8, wherein the bottom drive shield includes indium tin oxide and wherein the bottom protective layer includes silicon dioxide.

10. The gaming device of claim 1, further comprising:

a resistive pattern formed on the bottom surface of the protective layer; and

an isolation spacer disposed between the monolithic substrate and the protective layer such that the conducive coating on the monolithic substrate is isolated from the resistive pattern on the protective layer, the isolation spacer including void portions disposed over each of the gaming displays.

11. A multi-station gaming device comprising:

a table-like playing surface having a plurality of gaming terminals, each gaming terminal including a gaming display unit; and

a monolithic layer having a substantially planar upper surface arranged over the multi-station gaming device, the monolithic layer including a plurality of electrically isolated touchscreens respectively positioned over each of the gaming display units.

12. The gaming device of claim 11, further comprising a plurality of touchscreen sensors respectively associated with each of the isolated touchscreens.

13. The gaming device of claim 12, further including a plurality of touchscreen controllers, where each of the isolated touchscreens is respectively connected to one of the touchscreen controllers.

14. The gaming device of claim 12, further comprising a multi-screen touchscreen controller, where each isolated touchscreen is connected to the multi-screen touchscreen controller.

15. The gaming device of claim 14, wherein the multi-screen touchscreen controller is a multi-channel touchscreen controller, the multi-channel touchscreen controller including:

a processor;

a sampling circuit connected to the processor;

an input filter circuit connected to the sampling circuit;

a plurality of input amplifiers respectively connected to the plurality of touchscreens; and

an input channel switching device connected to each of the input amplifiers and the input filter circuit, where the input channel switching device selects one of the input amplifiers to connect to the input filter circuit.

16. The gaming device of claim 15, wherein the multi-channel touchscreen controller further includes a shield driver connected to each of the isolated touchscreens and driven by the central processor.

17. The gaming device of claim 15, wherein the multi-channel touchscreen controller further includes a plurality of communication ports connected to the central processor for communicating with a gaming network.

18. The gaming device of claim 17, wherein the central processor communicates to a server based gaming controller over the gaming network.

19. A method of forming a multi-touchscreen monolithic layer, the method comprising:

coating a top surface of a monolithic substrate with a substantially transparent conductive material;

etching the substantially transparent conductive material to form a plurality of electrically isolated portions of the conductive material, where each isolated portion includes at least one touchscreen sensor formed at an edge of the isolated portion; and

depositing an insulating protective coating over the monolithic substrate such that multi-touchscreen monolithic layer has a substantially smooth upper surface.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein etching the substantially transparent conductive material includes electrically isolating portions of the substantially transparent conductive material and electrically isolating components necessary to form the at least one touchscreen sensor with an etching laser.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein etching the substantially transparent conductive material includes:

forming a mask layer over the substantially transparent conductive material, the mask layer formed to exposed portions of the substantially transparent conductive material to be etched;

etching the exposed portions of the substantially transparent conductive material; and

removing the mask layer from the substantially transparent conductive material.

22. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

forming an isolation layer on the coated monolithic substrate before depositing the protective coating, the isolation layer having void portions corresponding to electrically isolated conductive layer portions;

coating a bottom of the protective layer with a resistive coating; and

etching the resistive coating to substantially match the shape of the etched conducive layer, where etched portions of the resistive coating are substantially aligned with the electrically isolated conductive layer portions.