GAME TRANSACTION MODULE INTERFACE TO SINGLE PORT PRINTER

• US 20090275394A1
• Filed: 04/30/2008
• Published: 11/05/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 04/30/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LNW Gaming Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Bally Gaming Incorporated (Scientific Games Corporation)
• Inventors: Young, J Scott, Kompella, Vijay
• Granted Patent: US 8,251,808 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 463/25
• 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 17/3248 involving non-monetary media of fixed value, e.g. casino chips of fixed value
• 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 gaming device includes a game module for presenting instances of a game title and a game transaction module for interfacing with a system controller of a game entertainment center. The gaming device further includes a printer for printing various items such as tickets, coupons, vouchers, and other promotional material. The gaming device further includes a printer manager for arbitrating print job conflicts.

Claims

1. A method of operating a gaming system having a game module, a game transaction module, and a printer device with only one communications port, the method comprising:

receiving a first print job provided by the game module at a printer manager of the game transaction module;

receiving a second print job provided by a module of the game transaction module at the printer manager of the game transaction module;

arbitrating print jobs for printing content with the printer device received at the printer manager of the game transaction module;

sending at least a portion of one of the first print job and the second print job from the printer device received at the printer manager of the game transaction module to the printer device via the only one communications port; and

buffering at least a portion the other one of the first print job and the second print job in a memory of the game transaction module.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the first print job includes a data structure indicative of a number of game credits and further comprising:

receiving game information indicative of a number of game credits from the game module at the game transaction module; and

providing at least a portion of the game information indicative of the number of game credits to a remote accounting system.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving user-input indicative of termination of a respective session of game play at the game module by a respective player from a game module user interface of the game module; and

providing the first print job to the printer manager of the game transaction module in response to the user-input received at the game module user interface of the game module.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

receiving user-input at a game transaction module user interface of the game transaction module;

providing the second print job to the printer manager of the game transaction module in response to the user-input received at the game transaction module user interface of the game transaction module.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

receiving a first set of structured data from a remote server at the game transaction module; and

providing the second print job to the printer manager of the game transaction module after receiving the first set of structured data, the second print job including a second set of structured data related to the first set of structured data.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

receiving a first set of structured data from a remote server at the game transaction module; and

providing the second print job to the printer manager of the game transaction module after receiving the first set of structured data, the second print job including a second set of structured data related to the first set of structured data.

7. A method of retrofitting a gaming machine having a game module and a printer device with only one communications port, wherein the game module provides instances of a game title and implements a slot-accounting-system protocol, the method comprising:

communicatively coupling a game transaction module configured to interface with the game module in accordance to the slot-accounting-system protocol and configured to interface with a remote computing device in accordance with a game-to-system protocol to the remote computing device;

communicatively coupling the game transaction module to the only one communications port of the printer device; and

providing a printer manager configured to arbitrate print jobs for the printer device.

8. The method of claim 7 comprising:

configuring the printer manager to communicate with the printer device;

configuring the printer manager to buffer print jobs for the printer device; and

configuring the printer manager to provide the printer device with a respective print job of one of the buffered print jobs only in response to receiving an indicator of printer device availability indicative of the printer device being available to print content corresponding to the respective print job.

9. The method of claim 8 comprising:

configuring the printer manager to query the printer device for the indicator of printer device availability.

10. The method of claim 8 comprising:

configuring the printer manager to provide the printer device with respective ones of the buffered print jobs on a first-in/first-out basis.