Video slot machine

• US 5,725,428 A
• Filed: 03/09/1995
• Issued: 03/10/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 03/09/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: GTECH Germany GmbH
• Original Assignee: Atronic Casino Technology Distribution GmbH
• Inventors: Achmuller, Klaus
• Primary Examiner(s): Harrison, Jessica
• Assistant Examiner(s): SAGER, MARK ALAN
• Application Number:
  US08/401,937
• Time in Patent Office: 1,097 Days
• Field of Search: 463/1, 463/16, 463/20, 463/30-31, 364/410, 364/412, 273/139, 273/143 R
• US Class Current: 463/20
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/34 depending on the stopping of moving members in a mechanical slot machine, e.g. "fruit" machines

Abstract

A slot machine device comprises an input sensor for sensing tokens delivered to the slot machine. A processor is connected to the input sensor for receiving information about tokens entered into the machine and for initiating a corresponding cycle of the slot machine. A first pseudo random number generator is connected to the processor for being triggered upon sensing a token input. A background position control unit is connected to the first pseudo random number generator for associating a plurality of position pointer addresses to the signal from the first pseudo random number generator. A background reel memory includes a plurality of background reel memory sections, with each background reel memory section coordinated to a corresponding one of the plurality of position pointer addresses and connected to the processor for delivering to the processor the final configuration of this cycle. Each background reel section determines coded symbol signal values of a plurality of main display symbols with each of the main display symbols to be displayed in the center of a display zone. An output control is connected to the processor for delivering a winning payout amount in case a winning combination was delivered by the plurality of position pointer addresses of the background reel sections. A video reel memory is connected to the background reel memory for determining coded symbol signal values of subsidiary display symbols to be associated with each of the main display symbol.

Claims

1. A slot machine device comprising

an input sensor for sensing tokens delivered to a slot machine;

a processor connected to the input sensor for receiving information about tokens entered into the slot machine and for initiating a cycle of the slot machine;

a first pseudo random number generator connected to the processor for being triggered upon sensing a token input;

a background position control unit connected to the first pseudo random number generator for associating a plurality of position pointer addresses to a signal from the first pseudo random number generator;

a display including a video screen and having a plurality of display zones for displaying symbols determined for each display zone of the plurality of display zones;

a virtual background reel memory including a plurality of virtual background reel memory sections, where each virtual background reel memory section is coordinated to a corresponding one of the plurality of position pointer addresses and connected to the processor for delivering to the processor a final configuration of the cycle, and wherein said each virtual background reel memory section determines coded symbol signal values of a plurality of main display symbols, where each of the plurality of main display symbols is displayed in a center of one of the plurality of display zones;

a winning combination memory connected to the processor for allowing the processor to compare the plurality of pointer position addresses of the virtual background reel memory with winning combinations;

an output control connected to the processor for delivering a winning payout amount when a winning combination was delivered by the plurality of pointer position addresses of the plurality of virtual background reel memory sections wherein a number of display zones is larger than a number of virtual background reel memory sections;

a video reel memory connected to the virtual background reel memory for determining coded symbol signal values of subsidiary display symbols associated with said each of the plurality of main display symbols;

a display control circuit connected to the display and connected to the video reel memory for receiving the coded symbol signal values of the subsidiary display symbols determined by the video reel memory and for receiving the coded symbol values of the plurality of main display symbols determined by the virtual background reel memory, wherein the display control circuit controls the display by displaying the plurality of main display symbols and by displaying the subsidiary display symbols associated with said each of the plurality of main display symbols; and

a symbol memory connected to the display control circuit for delivering symbol signals corresponding to coded symbol signal values received from the video reel memory.

2. The slot machine device according to claim 1, further comprising

a reel motion memory connected to the display control circuit for delivering simulated pictures of rotating reels to the display control circuit and thereby to the video screen of the display.

3. The slot machine device according to claim 1, wherein the video reel memory includes a plurality of sections of virtual video reel memory associated such that some of the virtual background reel memory sections are assigned to different virtual video reel memory sections.

4. The slot machine device according to claim 1, wherein the video reel memory includes a plurality of sections of virtual video reel memory associated such that each of the virtual background reel memory sections is assigned to a different virtual video reel memory section.

5. The slot machine device according to claim 1, further comprising

a connection between the display control circuit and the processor for delivering a signal to the processor indicating that a game is over.

6. The slot machine device according to claim 1, further comprising

a connection between the display control circuit and an output of the processor for delivering a game start signal from the processor to the display control circuit.

7. The slot machine device according to claim 1, wherein the display is provided by a cathode ray tube.

8. A slot machine device comprising

an input sensor for sensing tokens delivered to a slot machine;

a processor connected to the input sensor for receiving information about tokens entered into the slot machine and for initiating a cycle of the slot machine;

a first pseudo random number generator connected to the processor for being triggered upon sensing a token input;

a background position control unit connected to the first pseudo random number generator for associating a plurality of position pointer addresses to a signal from the first pseudo random number generator;

a display including a video screen and having a plurality of display zones for displaying symbols determined for each display zone of the plurality of display zones;

a virtual background reel memory including a plurality of virtual background reel memory sections, where each virtual background reel memory section is coordinated to a corresponding one of the plurality of position pointer addresses and connected to the processor for delivering to the processor a final configuration of the cycle, and wherein said each virtual background reel memory section determines coded symbol signal values of a plurality of main display symbols, where each of the plurality of main display symbols is displayed in a center of one of the plurality of display zones;

a winning combination memory connected to the processor for allowing the processor to compare the plurality of pointer position addresses of the virtual background reel memory with winning combinations;

an output control connected to the processor for delivering a winning payout amount when a winning combination was delivered by the plurality of pointer position addresses of the plurality of virtual background reel memory sections wherein a number of display zones is larger than a number of virtual background reel memory sections;

a video reel memory connected to the virtual background reel memory fr determining coded symbol signal values of subsidiary display symbols associated with said each of the plurality of main display symbols;

a display control circuit connected to the display and connected to the video reel memory for receiving the coded symbol signal values of the subsidiary display symbols determined by the video reel memory and for receiving the coded symbol values of the plurality of main display symbols determined by the virtual background reel memory, wherein the display control circuit controls the display by displaying the plurality of main display symbols and by displaying the subsidiary display symbols associated with said each of the plurality of main display symbols;

a symbol memory connected to the display control circuit for delivering symbol signals corresponding to coded symbol signal values received from the video reel memory;

a reel motion memory connected to the display control circuit for delivering simulated pictures of rotating reels to the display control circuit and thereby to the video screen of the display;

a second pseudo random number generator associated with the video reel memory for determining the subsidiary display symbols to be displayed in connection with each main display symbol in a display zone; and

a third pseudo random number generator connected to the display control circuit for setting time periods of showing the simulated pictures of rotating wheels.

9. A slot machine device comprising

an input sensor for sensing tokens delivered to a slot machine;

a processor connected to the input sensor for receiving information about tokens entered into the slot machine and for initiating a cycle of the slot machine;

a first pseudo random number generator connected to the processor for being triggered upon sensing a token input;

a background position control unit connected to the first pseudo random number generator for associating a plurality of position pointer addresses to a signal from the first pseudo random number generator;

a display including a video screen and having a plurality of display zones for displaying symbols determined for each display zone of the plurality of display zones;

a virtual background reel memory including a plurality of virtual background reel memory sections, where each virtual background reel memory section is coordinated to a corresponding one of the plurality of position pointer addresses and connected to the processor for delivering to the processor a final configuration of the cycle, and wherein said each virtual background reel memory section determines coded symbol signal values of a plurality of main display symbols, where each of the plurality of main display symbols is displayed in a center of one of the plurality of display zones;

a winning combination memory connected to the processor for allowing the processor to compare the plurality of pointer position addresses of the virtual background reel memory with winning combinations;

an output control connected to the processor for delivering a winning payout amount when a winning combination was delivered by the plurality of pointer position addresses of the plurality of virtual background reel memory sections wherein a number of display zones is larger than a number of virtual background reel memory sections;

a video reel memory connected to the virtual background reel memory for determining coded symbol signal values of subsidiary display symbols associated with said each of the plurality of main display symbols;

a display control circuit connected to the display and connected to the video reel memory for receiving the coded symbol signal values of the subsidiary display symbols determined by the video reel memory and for receiving the coded symbol values of the plurality of main display symbols determined by the virtual background reel memory, wherein the display control circuit controls the display by displaying the plurality of main display symbols and by displaying the subsidiary display symbols associated with said each of the plurality of main display symbols;

a symbol memory connected to the display control circuit for delivering symbol signals corresponding to coded symbol signal values received from the video reel memory;

a second virtual video reel memory connected to the display control circuit such that coded symbol signal values, received from a first virtual video reel memory, are associated in the display control circuit to display symbols.

10. A method for operating a slot machine comprising the steps:

feeding a token into a slot machine;

sensing entry of the token into the slot machine with a sensor;

delivering a signal corresponding to the entry of the token from the sensor to a processor;

starting a game with the processor;

delivering a game start signal from the processor to a first pseudo random number generator;

delivering an output signal of a first pseudo random number from the first pseudo random number generator to a background reel position control unit;

deriving a plurality of signals corresponding to virtual background reel pointer addresses from the first pseudo random number in the background reel position control unit;

delivering the plurality of signals corresponding to the virtual background reel pointer addresses from the background reel position control unit to a virtual background reel memory;

coding the plurality of signals corresponding to the virtual background reel pointer addresses into coded symbol signal values;

transmitting the coded symbol signal values from the virtual background reel memory to a virtual video reel memory;

transmitting virtual video reel position pointer addresses corresponding to the coded symbol signal values from the virtual video reel memory to a display control circuit;

controlling a display having a plurality of display zones with the display control circuit wherein a number of display zones is larger than a number of pseudo random numbers delivered to the virtual background reel for a display picture.

11. The method for operating a slot machine according to claim 10, further comprising the steps:

delivering a game start signal from the processor to the display control circuit;

transmitting coded symbol signal values from the virtual background reel memory to the processor;

comparing the coded symbol signal values transmitted to the processor with winning combinations stored in a winning combinations memory connected to the processor;

delivering a game over signal from the display control circuit to the processor for allowing start of a new game.

12. The method for operating a slot machine according to claim 10, wherein a number of virtual background reels corresponds to a number of columns of the display zones.

13. The method for operating a slot machine according to claim 10, wherein a number of virtual background reels corresponds to a number of rows of the display zones.

14. A method for operating a slot machine, comprising the steps:

feeding a token into a slot machine;

sensing entry of the token into the slot machine with a sensor;

delivering a signal corresponding to the entry of a token from the sensor to a processor;

starting a game with the processor;

delivering a game start signal from the processor to a first pseudo random number generator;

delivering an output signal of a first pseudo random number from the first pseudo random number generator to a background reel position control unit;

deriving a plurality of signals corresponding to virtual background reel pointer addresses from the first pseudo random number in the background reel position control unit;

delivering the plurality of signals corresponding to the background reel pointer addresses from the background reel position control unit to a virtual background reel memory;

transmitting coded symbol signal values from the virtual background reel memory to a virtual video reel memory;

transmitting virtual video reel position pointer addresses from the virtual video reel memory to a display control circuit;

connecting a reel motion memory to the display control circuit;

displaying upon start of a game a simulated reel rotation with display signals from the reel motion memory on the display;

controlling a display with the display control circuit;

determining a third pseudo random number in a pseudo random number generator for setting rotation run times of individual display zones.

15. A method for operating a slot machine, comprising the steps:

sensing entry of a token into the machine with a sensor;

delivering a signal corresponding to the entry of a token from the sensor to a processor;

starting a game with the processor;

delivering a game start signal from the processor to a first pseudo random number generator;

delivering an output signal of a first pseudo random number from the first pseudo random number generator to a background reel position control unit;

delivering a plurality of signals corresponding to virtual background reel pointer addresses from the background reel position control unit to a virtual background reel memory;

transmitting coded symbol signal values from the virtual background reel memory to a virtual video reel memory;

selecting a second pseudo random number in a second pseudo random number memory;

delivering the second pseudo random number to the virtual video reel memory for assigning virtual video reel position pointer addresses associated with the coded symbol signal values of main display symbols for determining subsidiary display symbols displayed above and below of the main display symbol disposed centered in the display zone;

transmitting the coded symbol signal values associated with the main display symbol and the subsidiary display symbols to the display control circuit;

transmitting virtual video reel position pointer addresses from the virtual video reel memory to a display control circuit;

controlling a display with the display control circuit.

16. A method for operating a slot machine, comprising the steps:

feeding a token into a slot machine;

sensing entry of the token into the slot machine with a sensor;

delivering a signal corresponding to the entry of the token from the sensor to a processor;

starting a game with the processor;

delivering a game start signal from the processor to a first pseudo random number generator;

delivering an output signal of a first pseudo random number from the first pseudo random number generator to a background reel position control unit;

deriving a plurality of signals corresponding to virtual background reel pointer addresses from the first pseudo random number in the background reel position control unit;

delivering the plurality of signals corresponding to the background reel pointer addresses from the background reel position control unit to a virtual background reel memory;

transmitting coded symbol signal values from the virtual background reel memory to a virtual video reel memory;

transmitting virtual video reel position pointer addresses from the virtual video reel memory to the display control circuit;

connecting a second virtual video reel memory to the display control circuit;

transmitting the virtual video reel position pointer addresses from the display control circuit to the second virtual video reel memory;

transmitting the virtual video reel position pointer addresses from the display control circuit to the second virtual video reel memory;

transmitting coded video symbol signal values from the second virtual video reel memory to the display control circuit;

transmitting virtual video reel position pointer addresses from the virtual video reel memory to a display control circuit;

controlling a display with the display control circuit.

17. A method for operating a slot machine, comprising the steps:

feeding a token into a slot machine;

sensing entry of the token into the slot machine with a sensor;

delivering a signal corresponding to the entry of the token from the sensor to a processor;

starting a game with the processor;

delivering a game start signal from the processor to a first pseudo random number generator;

delivering an output signal of a first pseudo random number from the first pseudo random number generator to a background reel position control unit;

deriving a plurality of signals corresponding to virtual background reel pointer addresses from the first pseudo random number in the background reel position control unit;

delivering the plurality of signals corresponding to the background reel pointer addresses from the background reel position control unit to a virtual background reel memory;

transmitting coded symbol signal values from the virtual background reel memory to a virtual video reel memory;

transmitting virtual video reel position pointer addresses from the virtual video reel memory to a display control circuit;

controlling a display with the display control circuit;

wherein a number of virtual background reels corresponds to a number of columns of the display zones, and

wherein the main display symbols displayed in a column of display zones corresponds to a neighboring sequence of pointer addresses and corresponding coded symbol signal values on the respective virtual background reel.

18. The method for operating a slot machine according to claim 17, wherein the main display symbol, an upper subsidiary display symbol shown above the main display symbol, and a lower subsidiary display symbol shown below the main display symbol, displayed in each one of the display zones, correspond to coded symbol signal values disposed in a neighboring sequence of pointer addresses and corresponding coded symbol signal values on the respective virtual video reel associated with the respective virtual background reel.

19. A method for operating a slot machine, comprising the steps:

feeding a token into a slot machine;

sensing entry of the token into the slot machine with a sensor;

delivering a signal corresponding to the entry of the token from the sensor to a processor;

starting a game with the processor;

delivering a game start signal from the processor to a first pseudo random number generator;

delivering an output signal of a first pseudo random number from the first pseudo random number generator to a background reel position control unit;

deriving a plurality of signals corresponding to virtual background reel pointer addresses from the first pseudo random number in the background reel position control unit;

delivering the plurality of signals corresponding to the background reel pointer addresses from the background reel position control unit to a virtual background reel memory;

transmitting coded symbol signal values from the virtual background reel memory to a virtual video reel memory;

transmitting virtual video reel position pointer addresses from the virtual video reel memory to a display control circuit;

controlling a display with the display control circuit;

wherein a number of virtual background reels corresponds to a number of rows of the display zones; and

wherein the main display symbols, displayed in a row of display zones, correspond to a neighboring sequence of pointer addresses and corresponding coded symbol signal values on the respective virtual background reel.

20. The method for operating a slot machine according to claim 19, wherein the main display symbol, an upper subsidiary display symbol shown above the main display symbol, and a lower subsidiary display symbol shown below the main display symbol, displayed in each one of the display zones correspond to coded symbol signal values disposed in a neighboring sequence of pointer addresses and corresponding coded symbol signal values on the respective virtual video reel associated with the respective virtual background reel.