Time synchronization of gaming machines

• US 9,947,170 B2
• Filed: 09/28/2015
• Issued: 04/17/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 09/28/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Original Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Inventors: Higgins, Kevin M., Nelson, Dwayne R., LeMay, Steven G., Price, Derrick
• Primary Examiner(s): GARNER, WERNER G
• Application Number:
  US14/867,108
• Publication Number:
  US 20170092040A1
• Time in Patent Office: 932 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/16 Sound input; Sound output speech processing G10L
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3211 Display means
• 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 17/3244 Payment aspects of a gaming system, e.g. payment schemes, setting payout ratio, bonus or consolation prizes
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3269 Timing aspects of game play, e.g. blocking/halting the operation of a gaming machine

Abstract

Banked EGM light and sound shows which reduce the probability of appearing unsynchronized are described herein. A modified client time protocol on each EGM stores an offset from a time reference source. The time offset is used to schedule banked light and sound shows so that the performance of each EGM is synchronized, without requiring the actual clocks of the EGMs to be synchronized.

Claims

1. An electronic gaming machine 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 processor;

at least one game outcome display device supported by the housing;

a plurality of light devices;

at least one speaker;

a network interface; and

at least one memory device which stores;

(I) a first set of instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to;

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

(b) after receiving an actuation of a wager button, initiate a play of a primary game and decrement the credit balance based on a wager amount,

(c) cause the at least one game outcome display device to display said play of the primary game including a randomly determined outcome on the at least one game outcome display device;

(d) responsive to a cashout input being received via the cashout device, cause an initiation of any payout associated with the credit balance;

(II) a second set of instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor responsive to receiving a request through the network interface to activate at least one of the plurality of light devices and the at least one speaker at a future time, cause the at least one processor to;

(i) send a query through the network interface to a time server for a current time;

(ii) receive a response through the network interface from the time server indicating the current time;

(iii) determine a time difference between a local clock and the indicated current time;

(iv) determine a scheduled time based on both the future time and the time difference;

(v) schedule the activation to occur at the scheduled time; and

(vi) at the scheduled time, cause at least one of the plurality of light devices and the at least one speaker to provide an event associated with at least another electronic gaming machine.

2. The electronic gaming machine of claim 1, wherein the determined time difference accounts for network latency between the electronic gaming machine and the time server.

3. The electronic gaming machine of claim 1, wherein the plurality of light devices includes a first group of light devices determined to be within a viewing area of a player when the player is playing the primary game and a second group of light devices determined to not be within the viewing area of the player when the player is playing the primary game, the at least one memory device further containing instructions, which when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to:

(i) determine whether the player is using the electronic gaming machine by determining whether there is at least one of;

(a) a positive credit balance or (b) a game currently in play; and

(ii) when the local time equals the scheduled time, activate the first group of light devices only if the player is determined to not be using the electronic gaming machine.

4. The electronic gaming machine of claim 1, which includes:

a light control device coupled to the plurality of light devices, the light control device operable to process one of a plurality of content files which cause the plurality of light devices to illuminate in a predetermined manner;

a sound processor coupled to the at least one speaker;

the sound processor operable to process one of a plurality of content files which causes sound to be emitted from the at least one speaker; and

wherein scheduling the activation causes both the light control device and the sound processor to process a respective content file.

5. The electronic gaming machine of claim 4, wherein the at least one memory device contains further instructions, which when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to:

(i) determine whether content files for a scheduled activation are stored on the at least one memory device;

(ii) responsive to a determination that the content files are not stored on the at least one memory device, send a request for the content files through the network interface to a content server; and

(iii) receive from the content server the content files requested and store the content files on the at least one memory device.

6. The electronic gaming machine of claim 5, wherein the determining of whether the content files for the scheduled activation are stored on the at least one memory device, the sending of the request for the content files, and the receiving from the content server the content files are performed independently of the request to activate the at least one of the plurality of light devices and the at least one speaker at the future time.

7. The electronic gaming machine of claim 5, wherein a remote host instructs the at least one processor to perform the determining of whether the content files for the scheduled activation are stored on the at least one memory device, the sending of the request for the content files, and the receiving from the content server the content files.

8. The electronic gaming machine of claim 4, wherein the at least one memory device contains further instructions, which when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to:

(A) determine whether content files for a scheduled activation are stored in the at least one memory device;

(B) responsive to a determination that the content files are not stored in the at least one memory device, send a request for the content files through the network interface;

(C) receive the content files requested and store the content files in the at least one memory device; and

(D) execute (A) to (C) at least 5 seconds in advance of the scheduled activation time.

9. The electronic gaming machine of claim 8, wherein a remote host instructs the at least one processor to perform (A) to (C).

10. A gaming system comprising:

a plurality of electronic gaming devices, each of the electronic gaming devices including;

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 processor;

at least one game outcome display device supported by the housing;

a plurality of light devices;

at least one speaker;

a network interface; and

at least one memory device which stores;

(I) a first set of instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to;

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

(b) after receiving an actuation of a wager button, initiate a play of a primary game and decrement the credit balance based on a wager amount,

(c) cause the at least one game outcome display device to display said play of the primary game including a randomly determined outcome on the at least one game outcome display device;

(d) responsive to a cashout input being received via the cashout device, cause an initiation of any payout associated with the credit balance; and

(II) a second set of instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor responsive to receiving a request through the network interface to activate at least one of the plurality of light devices and the at least one speaker at a future time, cause the at least one processor to;

(i) send a query through the network interface to a time server for a current time;

(ii) receive a response through the network interface from the time server indicating the current time;

(iii) determine a time difference between a local clock and the indicated current time;

(iv) determine a scheduled time based on both the future time and the time difference;

(v) schedule the activation to occur at the scheduled time; and

(vi) at the scheduled time, cause at least one of the plurality of light devices and the at least one speaker to provide an event associated with at least another one of the electronic gaming devices; and

a time server, including;

a processor;

a network interface;

a memory device storing instructions that, when executed by the processor of the time server, cause the processor of the time server to operate with the network interface of the time server to;

(i) receive the query through the network interface of the time server for the current time;

(ii) send the response through the network interface of the time server indicating the current time.

11. The gaming system of claim 10, wherein, with respect to each of the electronic gaming devices, the plurality of light devices includes a first group of light devices determined to be within a viewing area of a player when the player is playing the primary game and a second group of light devices determined to not be within the viewing area of the player when the player is playing the primary game, the at least one memory device further containing instructions, which when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to:

(i) determine whether the player is using the electronic gaming device by determining whether there is at least one of;

(a) a positive credit balance or (b) a game currently in play; and

(ii) when the local time equals the scheduled time, activate the first group of light devices only if the player is determined to not be using the electronic gaming device.

12. The gaming system of claim 10, wherein each of the electronic gaming devices includes:

a light control device coupled to the plurality of light devices, the light control device operable to process one of a plurality of content files which cause the plurality of light devices to illuminate in a predetermined manner; and

a sound processor coupled to the at least one speaker;

the sound processor operable to process one of a plurality of content files which causes sound to be emitted from the at least one speaker; and

wherein scheduling the activation causes both the at least one of the plurality of light control devices and the sound processor to process a respective content file.

13. The gaming system of claim 12, wherein, with respect to each of the electronic gaming devices, the at least one memory device contains further instructions, which when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to:

(i) determine whether content files for a scheduled activation are stored on the at least one memory device;

(ii) responsive to a determination that the content files are not stored on the at least one memory device, send a request for the content files through the network interface; and

(iii) receive the content files requested and store the content files on the at least one memory device;

the gaming system further including a content server, the content server including;

a data storage device, the data storage device storing the content files;

a processor;

a network interface;

a memory storing instructions, which when executed by the processor of the content server, cause the processor of the content server to;

(i) receive a request for content files from an electronic gaming device through the network interface of the content server; and

(ii) send the requested content files through the network interface of the content server to the electronic gaming device that made the request.