Gaming machine power fail enhancement
First Claim
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1. A meter sub-assembly for a gaming system, the meter sub-assembly including:
- at least one electromechanical meter which records data relating to transactions occurring in the gaming system;
a local power supply unit associated with said at least one electromechanical meter, the local power supply unit being powered by a power supply unit of the gaming machine and the local power supply unit providing sufficient hold-up time to enable said at least one electromechanical meter to complete a data recording operation in the event of a power failure; and
a plurality of redundant random access memory (RAM) chips on each of which said data is recorded by said electromechanical meter wherein, in the event of a power failure, at least a first of said RAM chips is adapted to store original data and at least a second of said RAM chips adapted to store data after completion of said data recording operation during said hold-up time and, wherein when power is restored, data is selectively restored from the first or the second RAM chip based on at least one predefined criterion.
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Abstract
An operating system for a gaming system includes a data producer which generates non-reproducible data relating to a transaction carried out in respect of the gaming system. A data consumer is in communication with the data producer for storing data relating to the non-reproducible data. A game controller is in communication with the data producer and the data consumer which effects communications between the data producer and the data consumer by means of a transaction-based protocol. The invention also relates to the use of data storage device for a gaming system that includes a local power supply.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A meter sub-assembly for a gaming system, the meter sub-assembly including:
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at least one electromechanical meter which records data relating to transactions occurring in the gaming system; a local power supply unit associated with said at least one electromechanical meter, the local power supply unit being powered by a power supply unit of the gaming machine and the local power supply unit providing sufficient hold-up time to enable said at least one electromechanical meter to complete a data recording operation in the event of a power failure; and a plurality of redundant random access memory (RAM) chips on each of which said data is recorded by said electromechanical meter wherein, in the event of a power failure, at least a first of said RAM chips is adapted to store original data and at least a second of said RAM chips adapted to store data after completion of said data recording operation during said hold-up time and, wherein when power is restored, data is selectively restored from the first or the second RAM chip based on at least one predefined criterion. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A method of updating data on meter RAM of a gaming system, the method including:
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creating a backup copy of original meter data and storing the backup copy in a predetermined, second data storage location of a memory device of the meter; receiving new meter data and overwriting the original meter data at an original, first data storage location of the memory device; and prior to implementing the action of overwriting the data, changing the status of a status indicator, wherein the gaming system includes a plurality of redundant random access memory (RAM) chips on each of which said data is recorded by said electromechanical meter, wherein, in the event of a power failure, at least a first of said RAM chips is adapted to store original data and at least a second of said RAM chips adapted to store data after completion of said data recording operation during said hold-up time and, wherein when power is restored, data is selectively restored from the first or the second RAM chip based on at least one predefined criterion. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A data updating arrangement for meter RAM of a gaming system, the data updating arrangement including:
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a memory device including a first data storage location for storing original meter data; and
a second data storage location for storing a backup copy of the original meter data and for enabling new meter data to be written to the first data storage location;an update status indicator for indicating the status of updating data at the first data storage location; and a plurality of redundant random access memory (RAM) chips on each of which said data is recorded by said electromechanical meter wherein, in the event of a power failure, at least a first of said RAM chips is adapted to store original data and at least a second of said RAM chips adapted to store data after completion of said data recording operation during said hold-up time and, wherein when power is restored, data is selectively restored from the first or the second RAM chip based on at least one predefined criterion. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15)
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16. An electronic gaming machine which includes:
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a game controller board including a game controller; at least one peripheral device by means of which a game transaction is effected, said at least one peripheral device communicating with the game controller using a transaction-based protocol; a data storage sub-assembly for storing data relating to said transaction, the data storage sub-assembly communicating with the peripheral device and the game controller by means of the transaction-based protocol, the data storage sub-assembly including a data store for storing data relating to said at least one peripheral device, and a dedicated controller for controlling operation of the data store; and a plurality of redundant random access memory (RAM) chips on each of which said data is recorded by said electromechanical meter wherein, in the event of a power failure, at least a first of said RAM chips is adapted to store original data and at least a second of said RAM chips adapted to store data after completion of said data recording operation during said hold-up time and, wherein when power is restored, data is selectively restored from the first or the second RAM chip based on at least one predefined criterion. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19)
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Specification