Gaming system adapted to receive bill data and ticket data based on a minimum acceptable denomination

• US 9,508,221 B2
• Filed: 12/16/2013
• Issued: 11/29/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 05/05/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Aristocrat Technologies Australia PTY Limited (Aristocrat Leisure Limited)
• Original Assignee: Aristocrat Technologies Australia PTY Limited (Aristocrat Leisure Limited)
• Inventors: Boesen, John Leslie
• Primary Examiner(s): McCulloch, Jr., William H
• Application Number:
  US14/107,775
• Publication Number:
  US 20140106859A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,079 Days
• Field of Search: 463/25, 463/46, 463/47
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3244 Payment aspects of a gaming system, e.g. payment schemes, setting payout ratio, bonus or consolation prizes
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3246 involving coins and/or banknotes
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3248 involving non-monetary media of fixed value, e.g. casino chips of fixed value

Abstract

A controller for a gaming machine, the controller adapted to receive data from a bill acceptor that may represent bill data or ticket data, the controller arranged to process the data and to output bill data to a game controller, and output ticket data to a ticket processing mechanism.

Claims

1. A method of monetary ticket use with a first gaming machine having a first gaming machine denomination and a second gaming machine having a second gaming machine denomination, the first gaming machine being retrofitted with a ticket processing mechanism in communication with an existing game controller of the first gaming machine, the ticket processing mechanism including a control unit, and the first gaming machine having a bill acceptor and a printer that maintain communication with the existing game controller, and a gaming board, the method comprising:

receiving a first ticket entered into the bill acceptor, the first ticket including ticket data associated with a monetary value for establishing game credits to provide a wager on the first gaming machine;

transmitting a ticket insertion message from the bill acceptor to the existing game controller, the ticket insertion message including the ticket data;

transmitting the ticket insertion message from the existing game controller to the control unit;

receiving the ticket insertion message at the control unit;

producing, by the control unit, game credit data and remainder data from the ticket data, the game credit data indicating a first monetary value that is at least equal to the first gaming machine denomination, the remainder data indicating a second monetary value that is less than the first gaming machine denomination, wherein the game credit data and the remainder data have a same combined value as the monetary value, wherein the second monetary value is at least the second gaming machine denomination;

transmitting, by the control unit to the gaming board, a game credit message defining a number of game credits based on the game credit data;

transmitting, by the control unit to the existing game controller, a print ticket message including the remainder data;

transmitting, by the existing game controller to the printer, the print ticket message; and

printing, by the printer, a second ticket including the remainder data.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1, and further comprising processing the ticket data to detect a record in a database that corresponds to information obtained from the ticket data.

3. A ticket redemption system for use with a first gaming machine having a first gaming machine denomination and a second gaming machine having a second gaming machine denomination, the first gaming machine being retrofitted with a ticket processing mechanism in communication with an existing game controller of the first gaming machine, the system comprising:

a bill acceptor, at the first gaming machine, that maintains communication with the existing game controller, the bill acceptor configured to;

accept a first ticket and paper money associated with a first monetary value for establishing game credits to provide a wager;

generate ticket data including the first monetary value upon receipt of the first ticket; and

transmit a ticket insertion message to the existing game controller, the ticket insertion message including the ticket data; and

the ticket processing mechanism comprising a control unit configured to;

receive the ticket insertion message from the existing game controller;

produce, from the ticket data, game credit data and remainder data based on the first gaming machine denomination, the game credit data and the remainder data indicating a same combined value as the first monetary value; and

transmit a print ticket message to the existing game controller, the print ticket message including the remainder data, the print ticket message configured to cause printing of a second ticket including the remainder data by a printer that maintains communication with the existing game controller, wherein the second ticket is redeemable at the second gaming machine, and wherein the remainder data has a second monetary value of at least the second gaming machine denomination.

4. A system as claimed in claim 3, wherein the control unit of the ticket processing mechanism at the first gaming machine is further configured to process the ticket data to detect a record in a database on a server that corresponds to information obtained from the ticket data.