Gaming terminal with an inclined input interface

• US 9,349,240 B2
• Filed: 08/07/2014
• Issued: 05/24/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/20/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LNW Gaming Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Bally Gaming Incorporated (Scientific Games Corporation)
• Inventors: Castro, Christian L., Jaffe, Joel R., Lesley, Paul M., Pacey, Larry J., Smith, Jesse
• Primary Examiner(s): TORIMIRO, ADETOKUNBO OLUSEGUN
• Application Number:
  US14/454,428
• Publication Number:
  US 20150087403A1
• Time in Patent Office: 656 Days
• Field of Search: 463/16, 463/20, 463/25, 463/30, 463/31, 273/139
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3209 Input means, e.g. buttons, touch screen
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3211 Display means
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3216 Construction aspects of a gaming system, e.g. housing, seats, ergonomic aspects

Abstract

A gaming terminal includes a first display screen operative to display a wagering game that includes a lower section. A second display screen is operative to display images of input buttons and includes a touchscreen operative to receive inputs at the input buttons to play the wagering game. The second display screen is smaller than the first display screen. The second display screen is positioned forwardly relative to the lower section of the first display screen such that the second display screen is closer than the first display screen to a player position in front of the gaming terminal. The second display screen is inclined relative to horizontal such that an imaginary plane containing the second display screen intersects the lower section of the first display screen thereby creating an infinity pool effect when viewing the first display screen relative to the second display screen.

Claims

1. A gaming terminal, comprising:

a first display screen operative to display a wagering game, the first display screen including a lower section and a lower edge; and

a second display screen operative to display images of input buttons, the second display screen including a touchscreen operative to receive inputs at the input buttons to play the wagering game, the second display screen being smaller than the first display screen, the second display screen being positioned forwardly relative to the lower section of the first display screen such that the second display screen is closer than the first display screen to a player position in front of the gaming terminal, an upper edge of the second display screen being horizontally offset from the lower egde of the first display screen, the second display screen being inclined relative to horizontal such that an imaginary plane containing the second display screen intersects the lower section of the first display screen, thereby creating an infinity-pool effect when viewing the first display screen relative to the second display screen.

2. The gaming terminal of claim 1, wherein the second display screen has a surface area that is less than or equal to forty percent of a surface area of the first display screen.

3. The gaming terminal of claim 1, wherein a diagonal dimension of the second display screen is less than or equal to half of a diagonal dimension of the first display screen.

4. The gaming terminal of claim 1, further including a frontal ledge positioned below a height of a lower edge of the first display screen, the frontal ledge extending forwardly from the first display screen towards the player position in front of the gaming terminal, the second display screen being mounted to the frontal ledge.

5. The gaming terminal of claim 4, further including a cabinet housing the first display screen and forming the frontal ledge.

6. The gaming terminal of claim 4, further including push-buttons for receiving inputs to play the wagering game, the push-buttons being mounted to the frontal ledge.

7. The gaming terminal of claim 1, wherein the first display screen is disposed at an angle in a range of 0 to 10 degrees relative to vertical and the second display screen is inclined at an angle in a range of 14 to 30 degrees relative to horizontal.

8. The gaming terminal of claim 1, further including a support structure forming hand-hold recesses adjacent to respective opposite sides of the second display screen, the support structure forming a frame encompassing the second display screen.

9. The gaming terminal of claim 1, further including game-logic circuitry having a central processing unit and one or more memory devices, the one or more memory devices storing instructions that, when executed by the central processing unit, cause the gaming terminal to transfer a virtual object of the wagering game from the second display screen to the first display screen based on a speed and direction of a touch gesture received on the second display screen.

10. The gaming terminal of claim 1, wherein the imaginary plane containing the second display screen intersects the first display screen at an obtuse angle relative to a frontal viewing area of the first and second display screens during play of the wagering game.

11. The gaming terminal of claim 1, wherein an upper edge of the second display screen is approximately at or above a height of a lower edge of the first display screen.

12. A gaming system, comprising:

a first display device for displaying a wagering game, the first display device defining a first imaginary plane; and

a second display device having a frontal viewing area of height, H, for displaying images associated with the wagering game, the second display device including a touchscreen for receiving inputs associated with the wagering game, the second display device being smaller than the first display device, the second display device defining a second imaginary plane that intersects with the first imaginary plane within a lower section of a frontal viewing area of the first display device and forms an obtuse angle therewith, a top edge of the second display device being horizontally offset from a bottom edge of the first display device, the horizontal offset distance being in the range of 0.85 H to 1.15 H.

13. The gaming system of claim 12, wherein the arrangement of the first display device to the second display device creates an infinity-pool effect when viewing the frontal viewing area of the first display device relative to the second display device.

14. The gaming system of claim 12, wherein the obtuse angle is in the range of 104 to 130 degrees.

15. The gaming system of claim 12, wherein the horizontal offset distance is in the range of 0.95 H to 1.05 H.

16. The gaming system of claim 12, further comprising:

one or more processors; and

one or more memory devices storing instructions that, when executed by at least one of the one or more processors, cause the gaming system to;

display an object on an initial one of the first and second display devices, and

display the object in a moving animation from the initial one of the first and second display devices to the other one of the first and second display devices such that the object appears to seamlessly move across the offset distance between the first and second display devices.

17. The gaming system of claim 16, wherein the instructions, when executed by at least one of the one or more processors, further cause the gaming system to receive a movement input from the touchscreen, the moving animation of the object being at least partially based on the movement input.

18. The gaming system of claim 17, wherein the received movement input includes a speed and a direction.

19. The gaming system of claim 17, wherein the instructions further include physics-simulation instructions for defining a relationship between the movement input and the moving animation.

20. A method for operating a gaming terminal, the method comprising:

displaying a wagering game on a first display screen operative to display a wagering game, the first display screen including a lower section and a bottom edge; and

displaying images of input buttons on a second display screen, the second display screen including a touchscreen operative to receive inputs at the input buttons to play the wagering game, the second display screen being smaller than the first display screen, the second display screen being positioned forwardly relative to the lower section of the first display screen such that the second display screen is closer than the first display screen to a player position in front of the gaming terminal, a top edge of the second display screen being horizontally offset from the bottom edge of the first display screen, the second display screen being inclined relative to horizontal such that an imaginary plane containing the second display screen intersects the lower section of the first display screen, thereby creating an infinity-pool effect when viewing the first display screen relative to the second display screen.