Gaming machine and coupons
First Claim
1. A gaming machine for vending game coupons in return for game credits, said game coupons being coded with a number of game credits and being redeemable for said number of game credits, the gaming machine comprising:
- a coupon vendor which selectively dispenses individual game coupons to a player; and
a coupon acceptor which accepts said individual game coupons from the player after said individual game coupons have been dispensed by the coupon vendor, the coupon acceptor being operably connected to signal the gaming machine to issue game credits in response to the number of game credits coded on said individual game coupons.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A gaming machine and game coupons are disclosed for allowing an operator to redeem winning game coupons by inserting them directly into the gaming machine rather than by taking them to a cashier. The game coupons are coded with a machine-readable prize code which represents a number of prize game credits. The gaming machine includes a bill validator for accepting currency and winning game coupons from an operator. It also includes a code reader for reading the coupon prize codes as the coupons are inserted into the bill validator. The gaming machine issues game credits to the player depending on the prize codes of the submitted game coupons. The gaming machine also incorporates a fraud prevention scheme to guard against fraudulently copied or duplicated winning coupons. Each winning coupon is coded with a unique coupon identification code. The code reader reads and records the coupon identification code of each winning coupon as it is submitted. Subsequently, as further game coupons are submitted their coupon identification codes are checked against the codes already recorded. Detected duplicates are rejected.
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Citations
24 Claims
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1. A gaming machine for vending game coupons in return for game credits, said game coupons being coded with a number of game credits and being redeemable for said number of game credits, the gaming machine comprising:
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a coupon vendor which selectively dispenses individual game coupons to a player; and a coupon acceptor which accepts said individual game coupons from the player after said individual game coupons have been dispensed by the coupon vendor, the coupon acceptor being operably connected to signal the gaming machine to issue game credits in response to the number of game credits coded on said individual game coupons. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A gaming machine for vending game coupons in return for currency or game credits, wherein some of the vended game coupons are winning coupons, said winning coupons being coded with a digital machine-readable prize code representing a number of prize game credits and being redeemable for said number of prize game credits or for cash, the gaming machine comprising:
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a coupon vendor which selectively dispenses individual game coupons to a player; a coupon acceptor which accepts said individual game coupons from the player after said individual game coupons have been dispensed by the coupon vendor; the coupon acceptor including a code reader for reading the prize codes from winning coupons from among said individual game coupons; the coupon acceptor being operably connected to the coupon vendor to authorize the coupon vendor to dispense game coupons in response to the number of prize game credits represented by the prize codes from said winning game coupons. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A gaming machine for individually vending sets of game coupons in return for game credits, wherein some individual game coupons are winning coupons, said winning coupons being coded with a machine-readable prize code representing a number of prize game credits and a unique coupon identification code, the winning coupons being redeemable for said number of prize game credits or for currency, the gaming machine comprising:
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a coupon vendor which selectively dispenses individual game coupons to a player; a coupon acceptor which accepts individual game coupons submitted by the player; the coupon acceptor including a code reader for reading the prize codes and the coupon identification codes from submitted winning game coupons; the coupon acceptor also including coupon verification means for determining whether the identification code of each submitted winning coupon has previously been read; and the coupon acceptor being operably connected to the coupon vendor to authorize the coupon vendor to dispense game coupons in response to the number of prize game credits coded on submitted winning game coupons only when said winning game coupons have coupon identification codes which have not previously been read. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A gaming machine coupon acceptor for authorizing a coupon vendor to dispense individual game coupons, wherein some of the vended game coupons are winning coupons, said winning coupons being coded with a digital machine-readable prize code representing a number of prize game credits and being redeemable for said number of prize game credits or for cash, the coupon acceptor comprising:
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a currency validator which accepts currency and winning game coupons from a player after said winning game coupons have been dispensed by the coupon vendor; a code reader positioned relative to the currency validator to scan prize codes from said winning coupons as they are accepted by the currency validator; and a controller operably connected to the currency validator and the code reader, the controller having means for authorizing the coupon vendor to dispense individual game coupons to a player in response to the value of submitted currency and in response to the number of prize game credits represented by the prize codes from said winning game coupons. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24)
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Specification