Method and apparatus for providing secondary gaming machine functionality

• US 9,600,965 B2
• Filed: 06/11/2015
• Issued: 03/21/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 10/20/2003
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Original Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Inventors: Johnson, Sam, Ryan, Chad, Ward, Bradley G.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hylinski, Steven J
• Application Number:
  US14/737,153
• Publication Number:
  US 20150287282A1
• Time in Patent Office: 649 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3211 Display means
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3223 Architectural aspects of a gaming system, e.g. internal configuration, master/slave, wireless communication
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3225 Data transfer within a gaming system, e.g. data sent between gaming machines and users
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3227 Configuring a gaming machine, e.g. downloading personal settings, selecting working parameters
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3239 Tracking of individual players
• 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 17/3248 involving non-monetary media of fixed value, e.g. casino chips of fixed value
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3255 Incentive, loyalty and/or promotion schemes, e.g. comps, gaming associated with a purchase, gaming funded by advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3267 Game outcomes which determine the course of the subsequent game, e.g. double or quits, free games, higher payouts, different new games
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3272 Games involving multiple players
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/329 Regular and instant lottery, e.g. electronic scratch cards
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/42 for ticket printing or like apparatus , e.g. apparatus for dispensing of printed paper tickets or payment cards

Abstract

A modified gaming machine includes a plurality of gaming machine peripheral devices for use in implementing one or more games to a player, and a master gaming controller configured to implement primary gaming machine functionality, including generating and transmitting information to the plurality of gaming machine peripherals. The modified gaming machine further comprises a secondary controller interposed between one or more of the plurality of gaming machine peripheral devices and the master gaming controller, whereby the secondary controller may forward information generated by the master gaming controller to the gaming machine peripheral devices and transmit secondary information to the peripheral devices.

Claims

1. A gaming system comprising:

a housing;

a plurality of input devices supported by the housing, said plurality of input devices including;

(i) an acceptor, and

(ii) a cashout device;

at least one display device supported by the housing;

at least one printer supported by the housing;

a master gaming controller configured to operate with the at least one display device, the plurality of input devices, and the at least one printer to;

(a) if a physical item is received via the acceptor, establish a credit balance based, at least in part, on a monetary value associated with the received physical item,

(b) for a play of a game;

(i) determine a game outcome, and

(ii) cause the at least one display device to display the determined game outcome, and

(c) if the credit balance has a value greater than zero and a cashout input is received via the cashout device, transmit, to the at least one printer, a print ticket instruction associated with causing the at least one printer to print a ticket associated with the credit balance having the value greater than zero; and

a secondary controller configured to operate with the at least one display device, the plurality of input devices, and the at least one printer to;

(a) monitor for any print ticket instructions transmitted by the master gaming controller, and

(b) if a designated print ticket instruction is transmitted by the master gaming controller;

(i) cause the at least one printer to not print any ticket associated with the credit balance having the value greater than zero, and

(ii) cause the at least one display device to display an alert associated with the at least one printer not printing any ticket associated with the credit balance having the value greater than zero.

2. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the secondary controller is configured to cause the at least one printer to not print any ticket associated with the credit balance by intercepting the designated print ticket instruction transmitted from the master gaming controller to the at least one printer.

3. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the secondary controller is interposed between the master gaming controller and the at least one printer.

4. The gaming system of claim 3, wherein a first communication link connects the master gaming controller and the secondary controller, and a second communication link connects the secondary controller and the at least one printer.

5. A peripheral device controller comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory device which stores a plurality of instructions, which when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to;

(a) monitor for any print ticket instructions transmitted from a gaming machine master gaming controller to at least one gaming machine printer, said print ticket instructions being associated with causing the at least one gaming machine printer to print a ticket associated with a credit balance having a value greater than zero and being transmitted from the gaming machine master gaming controller to the at least one gaming machine printer if a cashout input is received via a gaming machine cashout device, and

(b) if a designated print ticket instruction is transmitted from the gaming machine master gaming controller to the at least one gaming machine printer;

(i) cause the at least one gaming machine printer to not print any ticket associated with the credit balance having the value greater than zero, said credit balance being increasable via a gaming machine acceptor of a physical item associated with a monetary value, and decreasable via the gaming machine cashout device, and

(ii) cause at least one gaming machine display device to display an alert associated with the at least one gaming machine printer not printing any ticket associated with the credit balance having the value greater than zero.

6. The peripheral device controller of claim 5, wherein when instructed by the at least one processor, the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to cause the at least one gaming machine printer to not print any ticket associated with the credit balance by intercepting the designated print ticket instruction transmitted from the gaming machine master gaming controller to the at least one gaming machine printer.

7. The peripheral device controller of claim 5, wherein the at least one processor is interposed between the gaming machine master gaming controller and the at least one gaming machine printer.

8. The peripheral device controller of claim 7, wherein a first communication link connects the gaming machine master gaming controller and the at least one processor, and a second communication link connects the at least one processor and the at least one gaming machine printer.

9. The peripheral device controller of claim 5, which transmits and receives data over a data network.

10. The peripheral device controller of claim 9, wherein the data network is an internet.

11. A method of operating a gaming system, said method comprising:

(a) if a physical item is received via an acceptor, causing a master gaming controller to establish a credit balance based, at least in part, on a monetary value associated with the received physical item,

(b) for a play of a game;

(i) causing the master gaming controller determine a game outcome, and

(ii) causing at least one display device to display the determined game outcome, and

(c) if the credit balance has a value greater than zero and a cashout input is received via a cashout device, causing the master gaming controller to transmit, to at least one printer, a print ticket instruction associated with causing the at least one printer to print a ticket associated with the credit balance having the value greater than zero,

(d) causing a secondary controller to monitor for any print ticket instructions transmitted by the master gaming controller, and

(e) if a designated print ticket instruction is transmitted by the master gaming controller;

(i) causing the secondary controller to cause the at least one printer to not print any ticket associated with the credit balance having the value greater than zero, and

(ii) causing the at least one display device to display an alert associated with the at least one printer not printing any ticket associated with the credit balance having the value greater than zero.

12. The method of claim 11, which includes causing the secondary controller to cause the at least one printer to not print any ticket associated with the credit balance by intercepting the designated print ticket instruction transmitted from the master gaming controller to the at least one printer.

13. The method of claim 11, which is provided through a data network.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the data network is an internet.

15. A method of operating a peripheral device controller, said method comprising:

(a) monitoring for any print ticket instructions transmitted from a gaming machine master gaming controller to at least one gaming machine printer, said print ticket instructions being associated with causing the at least one gaming machine printer to print a ticket associated with a credit balance having a value greater than zero and being transmitted from the gaming machine master gaming controller to the at least one gaming machine printer if a cashout input is received via a gaming machine cashout device, and

(b) if a designated print ticket instruction is transmitted from the gaming machine master gaming controller to the at least one gaming machine printer;

(i) causing the at least one gaming machine printer to not print any ticket associated with the credit balance having the value greater than zero, said credit balance being increasable via a gaming machine acceptor of a physical item associated with a monetary value, and decreasable via the gaming machine cashout device, and

(ii) causing at least one gaming machine display device to display an alert associated with the at least one gaming machine printer not printing any ticket associated with the credit balance having the value greater than zero.

16. The method of claim 15, which includes causing the at least one gaming machine printer to not print any ticket associated with the credit balance by intercepting the designated print ticket instruction transmitted from the gaming machine master gaming controller to the at least one gaming machine printer.

17. The method of claim 15, which is provided through a data network.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the data network is an internet.