MULTIPLE MONETARY TYPE GAMING MACHINE WITH CASH CONVERSION FUNCTIONALITY

• US 20090054149A1
• Filed: 08/24/2007
• Published: 02/26/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/24/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Original Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Inventors: Saffari, M. Ali, Morro, Stephen W., McCreary, Terrence Lee JR., Wolf, Bryan D., Brosnan, William R., Chamberlain, John W.
• Granted Patent: US 8,641,513 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 463/42
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3244 Payment aspects of a gaming system, e.g. payment schemes, setting payout ratio, bonus or consolation prizes
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 436/106664 Blood serum or blood plasma standard or control

Abstract

A gaming machine connected in a gaming network or operating as a stand-alone machine, is capable of accepting two or more currencies for wager game play. The machine operates internally using a native monetary type and converts non-monetary bills to native amounts in the form of restricted or cashable credits. The multiple currency capability of the machine is utilized to encourage the use of restricted credits by adjusting conversion rates, payback tables, and the like. These features, combined with the use of restricted credits, also enable ways to monitor abuse and illegal activity on the gaming machine and implement ways to limit losses by a player. Certain post-conversion processes are used to ensure that the player is returned non-converted amounts. The gaming machine has additional hard and soft meters to process multiple monetary types.

Claims

1. A gaming machine, comprising:

at least one processor;

at least one interface operable to provide a communication link to at least one other network component in a wager gaming network;

a currency conversion module operable to perform currency conversions from a non-native monetary type to a native monetary type of the gaming machine;

one or more non-native cash in meters for storing one or more non-native monetary values;

an operator interface module operable to provide currency conversion-related interfaces for use by a gaming operator to manage currency conversion features on the gaming machine; and

a memory storing;

exchange rate data related to currency conversion operations between the native monetary type and the non-native monetary type; and

monetary type data related to the native monetary type and to the non-native monetary type,

wherein the at least one processor is operable to perform conversions from the non-native monetary type to the native monetary type to enable game play on the gaming machine and payouts in the native monetary type in the form of a cashable credit or a restricted credit.

2. A gaming machine as recited in claim 1 wherein the currency conversion module further comprises:

a restricted credit conversion component; and

a cashable credit conversion component.

3. A gaming machine as recited in claim 1 wherein the operator interface module further comprises:

a currency conversion operator interface; and

an exchange rate operator interface.

4. A gaming machine as recited in claim 1 further comprising:

a post-conversion component for processing unconverted amounts.

5. A gaming machine as recited in claim 4 wherein the post-conversion component processes left-over non-native amounts.

6. A gaming machine as recited in claim 1 further comprising:

a bill validator capable of recognizing bills in the native monetary type and bills in the non-native monetary type and that holds a bill while a currency conversion process executes.

7. A gaming machine as recited in claim 1 wherein the memory further stores currency conversion rules.

8. A gaming machine as recited in claim 1 wherein the memory further stores loss limit rules.

9. A gaming machine as recited wherein the one or more non-native cash in meters further comprises:

a non-native hard meter for cash inserted into the gaming machine.

10. A method of accepting two monetary types in a gaming machines to enable game play, the method comprising:

scanning a bill inserted into the gaming machine, thereby ascertaining a monetary type of the bill, wherein a scanning mechanism holds the bill in a temporary state;

releasing the bill from the temporary state in the scanning mechanism if the gaming machine is configured to process the monetary type of the bill;

if the bill is of a non-native monetary type, converting a non-native value of the bill to a native value using a valid exchange rate between the non-native monetary type and a native monetary type, wherein the valid exchange rate varies depending on a selected native credit type;

processing an unconverted non-native value of the non-native value; and

updating one or more non-native cash in meters in the gaming machine with the non-native value and one or more native meters with the native value, thereby enabling wager game play in the gaming machine using a non-native monetary type bill.

11. A method as recited in claim 10 further comprising determining whether an exchange rate is valid by checking a date and time of the rate.

12. A method as recited in claim 13 further comprising obtaining a valid exchange rate during a conversion process if an exchange rate has expired.

13. A method as recited in claim 10 wherein converting a non-native value of the bill to a native value is performed after it is determined that one or more non-native bills constituting a total cash in amount for a game play session have been inserted.

14. A method as recited in claim 10 wherein if the gaming machine is not configured to accept the bill based on the monetary type, rejecting the bill.

15. A method of enabling input of a first currency type and a second currency type into a gaming machine, comprising:

accepting input of a first currency indicia having a first value;

adding a left-over value measured in the first currency type to the first value, thereby deriving a total value, wherein the left-over value is retrieved from gaming machine memory;

converting the total value to a converted total value having a second currency type and adjusting internal components of the gaming machine;

calculating a non-convertible value in the first currency type;

outputting a portion of the non-convertible value that the gaming machine is capable of outputting; and

if there is a non-returnable portion of the output portion due to limitations of the gaming machine, storing the non-returnable portion on the gaming machine.