System for real-time game network tracking

• US 20040214622A1
• Filed: 01/08/2004
• Published: 10/28/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 01/08/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Original Assignee: Acres Gaming Incorporated (International Game Technology)
• Inventors: Atkinson, Keith W.
• Granted Patent: US 7,803,053 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 463/1
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/12 involving interaction between a plurality of game devices, e.g. transmisison or distribution systems protocols for networked virtual reality, networked games H04L29/06034
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/30 Interconnection arrangements between game servers and game devices; Interconnection arrangements between game devices; Interconnection arrangements between game servers
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/401 Secure communication, e.g. using encryption or authentication
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/50 characterized by details of game servers
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/535 for monitoring, e.g. of user parameters, terminal parameters, application parameters, network parameters
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/5546 using player registration data, e.g. identification, account, preferences, game history
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements
• 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: H04L 61/5014 using dynamic host configuration protocol [DHCP] or bootstrap protocol [BOOTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0236 Filtering by address, protocol, port number or service, e.g. IP-address or URL
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0272 Virtual private networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0428 wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0807 using tickets, e.g. Kerberos cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication using tickets or tokens H04L9/3213
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/1416 Event detection, e.g. attack signature detection
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/162 at the data link layer
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/168 above the transport layer
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/131 Protocols for games, networked simulations or virtual reality
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/033 of the user plane, e.g. user's traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 Authentication

Abstract

A data presentation system that allows a user to view information from a game network in real-time is disclosed. Information is collected from a game network and stored in a data repository. Data is gathered from the data repository, filtered, formatted, and displayed on a viewer of a user machine connected to the data presentation system. The user machine may be wired or wireless, and can include handheld devices as well. A user can select from a number of data views and customize the views, thus ensuring that the desired information is available to the user. Information is updated at a pre-selected rate, or as the network allows. Pre-filtering of data can provide notice to a user when predetermined network events occur.

Claims

1. A gaming network, comprising:

a plurality of gaming machines;

one or more information servers coupled to the plurality of gaming machines, the one or more information servers structured to store data related to the plurality of gaming machines and related to players of the gaming machines, and to generate data for use on the gaming network;

a secure wireless server coupled to the one or more information servers;

one or more secure wireless receivers structured to couple to the secure wireless server; and

an image generator coupled to the one or more information servers and to the secure wireless server, the image generator structured to generate an image for display on one or more of the receivers, the image including data stored on the one or more information servers.

2. The gaming network of claim 1 wherein the image is a graph.

3. The gaming network of claim 1 wherein the image is a table.

4. The gaming network of claim 1, wherein the image comprises an amount of game-in for a given amount of gaming devices over a time period.

5. The gaming network of claim 1, wherein data from one or more of the gaming devices in the gaming network can be excluded from data used to generate the image.

6. The gaming network of claim 1 wherein the image comprises data indicating whether players of the gaming devices are identified players.

7. The gaming network of claim 1 wherein the image comprises an amount of activity from only a portion of the gaming machines in the gaming network.

8. The gaming network of claim 1 wherein the image comprises a list of employees currently working.

9. The gaming network of claim 1 wherein the image comprises a listing of ones of the plurality of gaming machines and the duration of gaming sessions that have been played on them.

10. A method of operating a gaming network, comprising:

assembling data from one or more gaming devices coupled to the gaming network;

generating a graphic display of data gathered from the assembled data; and

displaying the graphic display on a wireless component coupled to the gaming network.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the wireless component has a secure data connection to a wireless server on the gaming network.

12. The method of claim 10 wherein generating a graphic display comprises generating a graph.

13. The method of claim 10 wherein generating a graphic display comprises generating a table.

14. The method of claim 10 wherein generating a graphic display comprises displaying an amount of game-in for a given amount of gaming devices over a time period.

15. The method of claim 10 wherein generating a graphic display comprises excluding data from one or more of the gaming devices in the gaming network.

16. The method of claim 10 wherein generating a graphic display comprises data indicating whether players of the gaming devices are identified players.