Two-wire exchange system
First Claim
1. A gaming system, comprising:
- a gaming device only having a single Ethernet communication port;
a plurality of peripheral devices located within the gaming device, wherein the plurality of peripheral devices use the single Ethernet communication port to communicate with a plurality of system hosts; and
an intelligent multiplexer in simultaneous communication with the plurality of system hosts, wherein the intelligent multiplexer communicates with the gaming device only through the single Ethernet communication port and enables the single Ethernet communication port to function as if the single Ethernet communication port is a plurality of ports, andwherein the intelligent multiplexer arbitrates communication between the peripheral devices and the system hosts by controlling the timing of when each of the system hosts communicates with the gaming machine using fixed time response windows,wherein the intelligent multiplexer enables the system hosts to communicate with the gaming machine using requests that are made in accordance with the fixed time response windows, wherein a fetching period is the time required for the gaming machine to respond to a request, and wherein the multiplexer is capable of arbitrating the requests even when the fixed time response windows are shorter than the fetching period.
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Abstract
A two-wire exchange system is disclosed that enables a gaming device having one communication port to function as a gaming device having a plurality of communication ports. The two-wire exchange system allows a gaming device having only a single communication port to connect to two or more system hosts simultaneously. The two-wire exchange system is an intelligent multiplexer that communicates using the same protocol as the system hosts to which it is connected. The two-wire exchange system has the ability to respond to a poll from the system host by indicating that the gaming device is busy, and that the system host should poll the gaming device again. This is provided to avoid and to prevent data collisions. The two-wire exchange system is also able to directly arbitrate and facilitate the communication between one or more peripheral hosts and the system hosts.
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Citations
15 Claims
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1. A gaming system, comprising:
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a gaming device only having a single Ethernet communication port; a plurality of peripheral devices located within the gaming device, wherein the plurality of peripheral devices use the single Ethernet communication port to communicate with a plurality of system hosts; and an intelligent multiplexer in simultaneous communication with the plurality of system hosts, wherein the intelligent multiplexer communicates with the gaming device only through the single Ethernet communication port and enables the single Ethernet communication port to function as if the single Ethernet communication port is a plurality of ports, and wherein the intelligent multiplexer arbitrates communication between the peripheral devices and the system hosts by controlling the timing of when each of the system hosts communicates with the gaming machine using fixed time response windows, wherein the intelligent multiplexer enables the system hosts to communicate with the gaming machine using requests that are made in accordance with the fixed time response windows, wherein a fetching period is the time required for the gaming machine to respond to a request, and wherein the multiplexer is capable of arbitrating the requests even when the fixed time response windows are shorter than the fetching period. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A gaming system, comprising:
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a gaming device only having a single Ethernet communication port; a plurality of peripheral devices located within the gaming device, wherein the plurality of peripheral devices use the single Ethernet communication port to communicate with a plurality of system hosts; and an enhanced multiplexer in simultaneous communication with a plurality of system hosts, wherein the intelligent multiplexer communicates with the gaming device only through the single Ethernet communication port and enables the single Ethernet communication port to function as if the single Ethernet communication port is a plurality of ports, and wherein the enhanced multiplexer includes a game monitoring unit to monitor one or more games on the gaming device and game accounting-related data; and wherein the intelligent multiplexer enables the system hosts to communicate with the gaming machine using requests that are made in accordance with fixed time response windows, wherein a fetching period is the time required for the gaming machine to respond to a request, and wherein the intelligent multiplexer is capable of arbitrating the requests even when the fixed time response windows are shorter than the fetching period. - View Dependent Claims (8)
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9. A method of remotely controlling a peripheral device in a gaming machine, the method comprising:
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providing a gaming machine only having a single communication port coupled to an intelligent multiplexer, wherein the intelligent multiplexer is in simultaneous communication with a plurality of system hosts, and wherein the intelligent multiplexer communicates with a plurality of peripheral devices located within the gaming machine only through the single Ethernet communication port; receiving multiple system messages sent from multiple system hosts that are intended for one or more peripheral devices; arbitrating the system messages between the peripheral devices and the system hosts by controlling the timing of when each of the system hosts communicates with the gaming machine using fixed time response windows, wherein the intelligent multiplexer enables the system hosts to communicate with the gaming machine using requests that are made in accordance with the fixed time response windows, wherein a fetching period is the time required for the gaming machine to respond to a request, and wherein the multiplexer is capable of arbitrating the requests even when the fixed time response windows are shorter than the fetching period; and sending each system message to an intended peripheral device. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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Specification