Gaming machine reel having a rotatable dynamic display

• US 9,129,488 B2
• Filed: 11/21/2012
• Issued: 09/08/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/27/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Original Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Inventors: Paulsen, Craig A., Griswold, Chauncey W., Hedrick, Joseph R., Wilder, Richard L., Mattice, Harold E.
• Primary Examiner(s): D'AGOSTINO, PAUL ANTHONY
• Application Number:
  US13/683,747
• Publication Number:
  US 20130102376A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,021 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3202 Hardware aspects of a gaming system, e.g. components, construction, architecture thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3211 Display means
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3213 Details of moving display elements, e.g. spinning reels, tumbling members
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3216 Construction aspects of a gaming system, e.g. housing, seats, ergonomic aspects
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/34 depending on the stopping of moving members in a mechanical slot machine, e.g. "fruit" machines

Abstract

A gaming machine reel having a motor capable of rotating the reel operatively coupled to a controller to control a reel rotation speed, a support mechanism coupled to the motor having an outer circumferential region, a rotatable display mounted on the outer circumferential region operable to rotate about an axis of the reel. The rotatable display may be used to display game play indicia utilized in a wager-based game of chance. A game controller coupled to the rotatable display may be configured to determine a portion of the rotatable display that is visible through a viewing window on the gaming machine at a particular, determine pixel locations associated with the visible portions and map visual content to the visible portions as a function of time while the rotatable display is rotating.

Claims

1. A gaming machine, comprising:

a cabinet;

a plurality of reels mounted within the cabinet, each reel comprising a physical reel structure rotatable about an axis and having an outer perimeter region;

at least one display mounted on the outer perimeter region configured to rotate with the physical reel structure, said at least one display comprising an array of addressable pixels;

a memory device configured to store a sequence of game play indicia utilized in a wager-based game of chance and instructions for generating images for each indicium in the sequence of game play indicia; and

a gaming controller, communicatively coupled to the plurality of reels and the memory device and configured to;

(a) receive a wager on an outcome of the wager-based game of chance;

(b) determine an outcome to the wager-based game of chance wherein the outcome is indicated by a combination of indicia selected from the sequence of game play indicia;

(c) cause each of the plurality of reels to start rotating via rotation of the corresponding physical reel structures and the at least one displays mounted thereto;

(d) while each of the plurality of reels is rotating, for said reel;

(i) determine a first symbol display portion of said reel;

(ii) determine a first plurality of pixel addresses on the at least one display associated with the first symbol display portion of said reel;

(iii) select a game play indicium from the sequence of game play indicia;

(iv) before the first symbol display portion becomes visible through a viewing window, render an image of the selected game play indicium to the first plurality of pixel addresses;

(v) continue rendering the image of the selected game play indicium to the first plurality of pixel addresses while the reel rotates and the first symbol display portion remains visible through the viewing window;

(vi) after the first symbol display portion ceases to be visible through the viewing window, stop rendering the image of the selected game play indicium to the first plurality of pixel addresses; and

(vii) thereafter, select a different game play indicium from the sequence of game play indicia and while repeat (d)(iv) to (d)(vi) for the selected different game play indicium; and

(e) stop the plurality of reels from rotating such that images of the combination of indicia selected from the sequence of game play indicia that indicate the outcome to wager-based game are visible on the reels through the viewing window.

2. The gaming machine of claim 1, wherein an outer perimeter of the outer perimeter region of each reel structure is circular.

3. The gaming machine of claim 1, wherein for each of at least a first reel, the gaming controller is further configured to perform (d)(i) to (d)(vii) for a plurality of symbol display portions of said reel in addition to the first symbol display portion such that the rendered images of the selected game play indicia appear to rotate at a rate that is different from a rotation rate of the first reel.

4. The gaming machine of claim 3, wherein for each of at least the first reel, the apparent rate of rotation of the selected game play indicia is greater than the rotation rate of the first reel.

5. The gaming machine of claim 3, wherein for each of at least the first reel, the apparent rate of rotation of the selected game play indicia is less than the rotation rate of the first reel.

6. The gaming machine of claim 1, wherein the gaming controller is further configured to download the sequence of game play indicia from a remote device.

7. A method of operating a gaming machine, said method comprising:

(a) receiving, by at least one input device of the at a gaming machine, a wager on an outcome of a wager-based game of chance, the gaming machine also comprising;

a cabinet;

a plurality of reels mounted within the cabinet, each reel comprising a physical reel structure rotatable about an axis and having an outer perimeter region;

at least one display mounted on the outer perimeter region configured to rotate with the physical reel structure, said at least one display comprising an array of addressable pixels;

a memory device configured to store a sequence of game play indicia and instructions for generating images for each indicium in the sequence of game play indicia; and

a gaming controller;

(b) determining, by the gaming controller, an outcome to the wager-based game of chance, wherein the outcome is indicated by a combination of indicia selected from the sequence of game play indicia;

(c) start rotating each of the plurality of reels via rotation of the corresponding physical reel structures and the at least one displays mounted thereto;

(d) while each of the plurality of reels is rotating, for said reel;

(i) determining, by the gaming controller, a first symbol display portion of said reel;

(ii) determining, by the gaming controller, a first plurality of pixel addresses on the at least one display associated with the first symbol display portion of each of the plurality of reels;

(iii) selecting, by the gaming controller, a game play indicium from the sequence of game play indicia;

(iv) before the first symbol display portion becomes visible through a viewing window, rendering an image of the selected game play indicium to the first plurality of pixel addresses

(v) continue rendering the image of the selected game play indicium to the first plurality of pixel addresses while the reel rotates and the first symbol display portion remains visible through the viewing window;

(vi) after the first symbol display portion ceases to be visible through the viewing window, stop rendering the image of the selected game play indicium to the first plurality of pixel addresses; and

(vii) thereafter, selecting, by the gaming controller, a different game play indicium from the sequence of game play indicia and repeating (d)(iv) to (d)(vi) for the selected different game play indicium; and

(e) stopping the plurality of reels from rotating such that images of the combination of indicia selected from the sequence of game play indicia that indicate the outcome to wager-based game are visible on the reels through the viewing window.

9. The method of claim 7, which includes, for each of at least a first reel, performing (d)(i) to (d)(vii) for a plurality of symbol display portions of said reel in addition to the first symbol display portion such that the rendered images of the selected game play indicia appear to rotate at a rate that is different from a rotation rate of the first reel.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein for each of at least the first reel, the apparent rate of rotation of the selected game play indicia is greater than the rotation rate of the first reel.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein for each of at least the first reel, the apparent rate of rotation of the selected game play indicia is less than the rotation rate of the first reel.

12. The method of claim 7, which includes downloading the sequence of game play indicia from a remote device.

8. The method of 7, wherein an outer perimeter of the outer perimeter region of each reel structure is circular.

13. A non-transitory computer readable medium wherein computer instructions are stored, the instructions operable to cause a gaming controller to:

(a) receive a wager on an outcome of a wager-based game of chance;

(b) determine an outcome to the wager-based game of chance, wherein the outcome is indicated by a combination of indicia selected from a sequence of game play indicia;

(c) for each of a plurality of reels, each reel comprising;

(1) a physical reel structure rotatable about an axis and having an outer perimeter portion; and

(2) at least one display comprising a plurality of pixels, mounted on the outer perimeter region, and configured to rotate with the physical reel structure, cause said reel to start rotating via rotation of the corresponding physical reel structure and at least one display mounted thereto;

(d) while each of the plurality of reels is rotating, for said reel;

(i) determine a first symbol display portion of said reel;

(ii) determine a first plurality of pixel addresses on the at least one display associated with the first symbol display portion of said reel;

(iii) select a game play indicium from the sequence of game play indicia;

(iv) before the first symbol display portion becomes visible through a viewing window, render an image of the selected game play indicium to the first plurality of pixel addresses;

(v) continue rendering the image of the selected game play indicium to the first plurality of pixel addresses while the reel rotates and the first symbol display portion remains visible through the viewing window;

(vi) after the first symbol display portion ceases to be visible through the viewing window, stop rendering the image of the selected game play indicium to the first plurality of pixel addresses; and

(vii) thereafter, select a different game play indicium from the sequence of game play indicia and repeat (d)(iv) to (d)(vi) for the selected different game play indicium; and

(e) stop the plurality of reels from rotating such that images of the combination of indicia indicium selected from the sequence of game play indicia that indicate the outcome to wager-based game are visible on the reels through the viewing window.