Gaming machine and control device capable of collecting advertisement cost from sponsor, and method of collecting the advertisement cost

• US 8,298,076 B2
• Filed: 10/12/2009
• Issued: 10/30/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 01/27/2009
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Aruze Gaming America Incorporated (Aruze Gaming America, Inc. /Okada/)
• Original Assignee: Aruze Gaming America Incorporated (Aruze Gaming America, Inc. /Okada/)
• Inventors: Okada, Kazuo
• Primary Examiner(s): McClellan, James S
• Application Number:
  US12/577,651
• Publication Number:
  US 20100190547A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,114 Days
• Field of Search: 463/16, 463/20, 463/25
• US Class Current: 463/25
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3227 Configuring a gaming machine, e.g. downloading personal settings, selecting working parameters

Abstract

According to a gaming machine 1, a predetermined profit is offered and an advertisement image of a sponsor is displayed to a lower image display panel 141 when a predetermined condition is satisfied. A hard disk drive 205 provided in an external control device 200 stores data based on the satisfaction of the predetermined condition as cost-collecting data for collecting money in an amount corresponding to the predetermined profit from the sponsor.

Claims

1. A method of collecting advertisement cost, comprising the steps of:

(a) providing a gaming machine configured to offer a predetermined profit when a predetermined condition is satisfied;

(b) said gaming machine configured to output an advertisement image or an advertisement sound of a sponsor to an output device when said predetermined condition is satisfied and when an amount of money corresponding to said predetermined profit and advertisement cost is deposited by said sponsor and stored in a memory device as deposit data;

(c) said gaming machine configured to transmit a signal based on the satisfaction of said predetermined condition to a control device at a predetermined timing;

(A) said control device configured to receive the signal transmitted in said step (c); and

(B) said control device configured to store cost-collecting data for collecting, as the advertisement cost corresponding to said predetermined profit, a portion of the amount of money stored in the memory device as deposit data, wherein

the control device is configured to compare the deposit data with the cost-collecting data and to subtract the advertisement cost from the amount of money deposited by said sponsor, said cost-collecting data being based on data included in the signal received in said step (A), and wherein

when the comparison of the deposit data and the cost-collecting data does not satisfy redetermined criteria neither of the advertisement image or the advertisement sound is output.

2. The method of collecting advertisement cost according to claim 1, wherein said step (B) includes

said control device storing data indicating a total number of times said predetermined condition has been satisfied or a total amount of money corresponding to said predetermined profit offered in said step (a), in the memory device based on the signal received in said step (A), as cost-collecting data for collecting money in an amount corresponding to said predetermined profit from said sponsor.

3. The method of collecting advertisement cost according to claim 1, further comprising the step of

(d) said gaming machine receiving from an input device a signal corresponding to one sponsor selected out of a plurality of sponsors through said input device, when said predetermined condition is satisfied, wherein

said step (b) includes said gaming machine outputting an advertisement image or an advertisement sound of the sponsor corresponding to the signal received in said step (d), to the output device,

said step (c) includes said gaming machine transmitting a signal including information indicating the sponsor corresponding to the signal received in said step (d) to the control device at a predetermined timing, and

said step (B) includes said control device storing cost-collecting data for collecting money in an amount corresponding to said predetermined profit from the sponsor indicated by information included in the signal received in said step (A) in the memory device in association with the sponsor, said cost-collecting data being based on data included in the signal.

4. The method of collecting advertisement cost according to claim 3, wherein said step (B) includes storing data indicating the number of times the sponsor indicated by information included in the signal received in said step (A) has been selected through said input device in the memory device in association with the sponsor, as the cost-collecting data for collecting money in an amount corresponding to said predetermined profit from the sponsor.

5. A gaming machine comprising:

an output device capable of outputting an image or a sound; and

a controller, said controller programmed to execute the processing of;

(a) offering a predetermined profit when a predetermined condition is satisfied;

(b) outputting an advertisement image or an advertisement sound of a sponsor to said output device when said predetermined condition is satisfied and when an amount of money corresponding to said predetermined profit and advertisement cost is deposited by said sponsor and stored in the memory device as deposit data; and

(c) storing data based on the satisfaction of said predetermined condition in an external memory device, as cost-collecting data for collecting money in an amount corresponding to said advertisement cost from said sponsor, wherein

said gaming machine is capable of communicating with a control device,

said processing (c) includes transmitting a trigger signal based on the satisfaction of said predetermined condition, to said control device at a predetermined timing, and

said trigger signal is a signal of triggering said control device to execute a processing of subtracting the amount of money corresponding to said advertisement cost from the amount of money deposited by said sponsor, and wherein

the control device is configured to compare the deposit data with the cost-collecting data and when the comparison of the deposit data and the cost-collecting data does not satisfy predetermined criteria, neither of the advertisement image or the advertisement sound is output.

6. The gaming machine according to claim 5, wherein

said trigger signal is a signal of triggering said control device to execute a processing of storing data indicating a total number of times said predetermined condition has been satisfied or a total amount of money corresponding to said predetermined profit offered in said processing (a), in a memory device provided in said control device based on the signal, as cost-collecting data for collecting money in an amount corresponding said predetermined profit from said sponsor.

7. The gaming machine according to claim 5, wherein said gaming machine is:

provided with an input device capable of receiving an input of a command related to a game; and

said controller is further programmed to execute the processing of (d) receiving a signal from said input device corresponding to one sponsor selected out of a plurality of sponsors through said input device, when said predetermined condition is satisfied,

said processing (b) includes outputting an advertisement image or an advertisement sound of the sponsor corresponding to the signal received in said processing (d), to said output device,

said processing (c) includes transmitting a trigger signal including information indicating the sponsor corresponding to the signal received in said processing (d) to said control device at a predetermined timing, and

said trigger signal is a signal of triggering said control device to execute a processing of storing the cost-collecting data for collecting money in an amount corresponding to said predetermined profit from the sponsor indicated by information included in the signal, which is based on data included in the signal, in a memory device provided in said control device in association with the sponsor.

8. The gaming machine according to claim 7, wherein

said processing (c) includes transmitting the trigger signal including information indicating the sponsor corresponding to the signal received in said processing (d), to said control device when said predetermined condition is satisfied, and

said trigger signal is a signal of triggering said control device to execute a processing of storing data indicating a number of times the signal has been received, as the cost-collecting data for collecting money in an amount corresponding to said predetermined profit from the sponsor indicated by information included in the signal, in a memory device provided in said control device in association with the sponsor.

9. The gaming machine according to claim 5, wherein

said gaming machine is provided with a slot for an external memory device storing advertisement data indicating an advertisement image or an advertisement sound of a sponsor,

said processing (b) includes outputting an advertisement image or an advertisement sound of a sponsor to said output device based on the advertisement data stored in said external control device inserted into said slot, when said predetermined condition is satisfied, and

said processing (c) includes storing data based on the satisfaction of said predetermined condition in said external memory device or an other external memory device different from said external memory device, as cost-collecting data for collecting money in an amount corresponding to said predetermined profit from said sponsor.

10. A control device comprising:

a memory device capable of storing data; and

a processor,

said control device being capable of communicating with a gaming machine,

wherein said gaming machine outputs an advertisement image or an advertisement sound of a sponsor, in addition to offering a predetermined profit, when a predetermined condition is satisfied and when an amount of money corresponding to said predetermined profit and advertisement cost is deposited by said sponsor and stored in the memory device as deposit data, and transmits a trigger signal based on the satisfaction of said predetermined condition to said processor at a predetermined timing, and said processor is programmed to execute the processing of;

(A) receiving said trigger signal from said gaming machine; and

(B) storing cost-collecting data for collecting, as the advertisement cost corresponding to said predetermined profit, a portion of the amount of money stored in said memory device, said cost-collecting data being based on data included in said trigger signal received in said processing (A), wherein

the processor is configured to compare the deposit data with the cost-collecting data and to subtract the advertisement cost from the amount of money deposited by said sponsor, said cost-collecting data being based on data included in the signal received in said step (A), and wherein

when the comparison of the deposit data and the cost-collecting data does not satisfy predetermined criteria, neither of the advertisement image or the advertisement sound is output.

11. The control device according to claim 10, wherein said processing (B) includes storing data indicating a total number of times said predetermined condition has been satisfied or a total amount of money corresponding to said predetermined profit offered in said gaming machine, in said memory device based on the trigger signal received in said processing (A), as the cost-collecting data for collecting money in an amount corresponding to said predetermined profit from said sponsor.

12. The control device according to claim 10, wherein

said data stored in the memory, includes advertisement data corresponding to an advertisement image or an advertisement sound of a sponsor;

said gaming machine outputs the advertisement image or the advertisement sound to the output device based on said advertisement data; and

,

said processing (A) includes

(A-1) transmitting the advertisement data stored in said memory device to a controller at a predetermined timing; and

(A-2) receiving said trigger signal from said gaming machine, and

said processing (B) includes storing cost-collecting data for collecting, as the advertisement cost corresponding to said predetermined profit, a portion of the amount of money stored in said memory device, said cost-collecting data being based on data included in said trigger signal received in said processing (A-2).

13. The control device according to claim 12, wherein said processor is further programmed to execute the processing of (C) updating the advertisement data stored in said memory device according to access from a sponsor-side terminal.

14. The control device according to claim 12, wherein said control device is capable of communicating with a sponsor server provided with a sponsor-side memory device capable of storing said advertisement data, and said processor is further programmed to execute the processing of (D) storing the advertisement data stored in said sponsor-side memory device in said memory device as new advertisement data, when the advertisement data stored in said memory device is different from the advertisement data stored in said sponsor-side memory device.

15. The control device according to claim 12, wherein said processing (A-2) includes receiving said trigger signal from said gaming machine when said predetermined condition is satisfied, and said processing (A-1) includes transmitting the advertisement data stored in said memory device to said controller when receiving the signal in said processing (A-2).