Slim terminal gaming system

• US 7,189,161 B1
• Filed: 02/21/2002
• Issued: 03/13/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 11/06/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: New Millennium Gaming, LLC
• Original Assignee: New Millennium Gaming, LLC
• Inventors: Karmarkar, Jayant S., Wiltshire, Timothy A., Wiltshire, Michael S., Lisenbee, James J.
• Primary Examiner(s): GAFFIN, JEFFREY A
• Application Number:
  US10/080,816
• Time in Patent Office: 1,846 Days
• Field of Search: 463/40, 463/41, 463/42, 463/16, 463/20, 463/25, 463/12, 463/13, 463/18, 463/19, 463/26, 463/27, 463/28, 463/29, 707 1- 3, 707/101, 707/102, 707/104, 707/501, 707/513, 700/90, 700/91, 370/329, 370/336, 370/463, 709/230, 709/250, 709/217, 709/243
• US Class Current: 463/42
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 3/081 electric
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/34 Betting or bookmaking, e.g. Internet betting
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3223 Architectural aspects of a gaming system, e.g. internal configuration, master/slave, wireless communication
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3288 Betting, e.g. on live events, bookmaking

Abstract

A computer gaming system and method of operation thereof are provided that both drastically reduce the cost of gaming stations and allow contemporaneous access to multiple game programs from a single gaming station. The computer gaming system of the present invention allows for transparent modifications and upgrades to the gaming programs by executing gaming programs on a server/host computer connected to a plurality of client/terminal computers via communication pathways. Each client/terminal computer comprises a client/terminal program that allows input and output streams of the gaming program executed on the server/host computer to be separated and redirected to the client/terminal computers. Since the gaming programs are executed entirely on the server/host computer, with only wagering input and display output operations being executed on the client/terminal computers, the cost of the hardware and software required for each client/terminal computer is greatly reduced. A patron of a client/terminal computer can access any of the gaming programs executed on the server/host computer. Modifications and upgrades of the gaming programs only need to be performed on the server/host computer. By using a stereo head-mounted display together with a joystick input device and wireless communication pathways, the present invention allows a patron to participate in a mobile gaming environment.

Claims

1. A computer gaming system comprising:

one or more server/host computers connected to one or more client/terminal computers via communication pathways, wherein a client/terminal program is executed on each client/terminal computer;

one or more computer gaming programs executed on at least one server/host computer but not on any of the client/terminal computers; and

a server/host interface program executed on each server/host computer;

wherein the computer gaming program executed on the server/host computer separates input and output streams at an application layer of a protocol stack, and redirects the input and output streams over the communication pathways to the client/terminal computers via the server/host interface program and the client/terminal program.

2. The computer gaming system of claim 1, wherein an input command detected during execution of the client/terminal program on one of the client/terminal computers is transmitted to the server/host computer executing the computer gaming program over the communication pathways and, in response to the input command, the execution of the computer gaming program on the server/host computer is altered.

3. The computer gaming system of claim 1, wherein the computer gaming program is a casino gaming program.

4. The computer gaming system of claim 1, wherein at least one client/terminal computer further comprises touch screen display device.

5. The computer gaming system of claim 4, wherein at least one client/terminal computer further comprises a wager-acceptor device.

6. The computer gaming system of claim 1, wherein two or more computer gaming programs are executed on the server/host computers and the input and output streams of the computer gaming programs are redirected to one or more client/terminal computers.

7. The computer gaming system of claim 6, wherein the input and output streams of a first computer gang program executed on one of the server/host computers are redirected to a first plurality of client/terminal computers and the input and output streams of a second computer gaming program executed on one of the server/host computers are redirected to a second plurality of client/terminal computers.

8. The computer gaming system of claim 7, wherein the input and output streams of both the first and the second computer gaming programs executed on one of the server/host computers are redirected to a same client/terminal computer.

9. The computer gaming system of claim 8, wherein the input and output streams of the first gaming program are redirected to a window displayed on a screen of the client/terminal computer and the input and output streams of the second gaming program are redirected to a sub-window of the window displayed on the screen of the client/terminal computer.

10. The computer gaming system of claim 1, wherein the communication pathways comprise a local area network or a wide area network.

11. The computer gaming system of claim 1, wherein at least one client/terminal computer further comprises:

a head-mounted display device;

a joystick input device; and

wireless communication pathways.

12. The computer gaming system of claim 1, wherein the communication pathways comprise a global network.

13. The computer gaming system of claim 12, wherein the client/terminal program is first downloaded from one of the server/host computers to one of the client/terminal computers over the global network.

14. The computer gaming system of claim 13, wherein a patron of one of the client/terminal computers requests that the client/terminal program be downloaded from one of the server/host computers by accessing a web page.

15. A method of operating, a computer gaming system comprising one or more server/host computers connected to one or more client/terminal computers via communication pathways, the method comprising:

executing one or more computer gaming programs on at least one server/host computer;

executing a server/host interface program on at least one server/host computer; and

separating input and output streams of the computer gaming program and redirecting the input and output streams to the client/terminal computers via the server/host interface program and the client/terminal program.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

receiving the server/host computer executing the computer gaming program over the communications pathways an input command detected during execution of the client/terminal program on one of the client/terminal computers; and

in response to the input command, altering the execution of the computer gaming program on the server/host computer.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the computer gaming program is a casino gaming program.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein at least one client/terminal computer further comprises a touch screen display device.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein at least one client/terminal computer further comprises a wager-acceptor device.

20. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

executing two or more computer gaming programs on the server/host computer; and

separating input and output streams of the computer gaming programs executed on the server/host computer and redirecting the input and output streams to the client/terminal computers.

21. The method of claim 20, further comprising:

separating input and output streams of a first computer gaming program executed on one of the server/host computers and redirecting the input and output streams of the first computer gaming program to a first plurality of the client/terminal computers; and

separating input and output streams of a second computer gaming program executed on one of the server/host computers and redirecting the input and output streams of the second computer gaming program to a second plurality of the client/terminal computers.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the input and output streams of both the first and the second computer gaming programs are redirected to one of the client/terminal computers.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the input and output streams of the first computer gaming program are redirected to a window displayed on a screen of the client/terminal computer and the input and output streams of the second computer gaming program are redirected to a sub-window of the window displayed on the screen of the client/terminal computer.

24. The method of claim 15, wherein the communication pathways comprise a local area network or a wide area network.

25. The method of claim 15, wherein the communication pathways comprise a global network.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the client/terminal program is first downloaded from one of the server/host computers to one of the client/terminal computers over the global network.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein a patron of one of the client/terminal computer requests that the client/terminal program be downloaded from one of the server/host computers by accessing a web page.

28. A computer gaming system comprising;

one or more client/terminal computers for connection to one or more server/host computers via communication pathways, wherein one or more computer gaming programs are executed on at least one server/host computer but not on any of the client/terminal computers; and

a client/terminal program executed on each client/terminal computer;

wherein input and output streams separated by the computer gaming program at an application layer of a protocol stack are redirected over the communication pathways to the client/terminal computers.

29. The computer gaming system of claim 28, wherein an input command detected during execution of the client/terminal program on one of the client/terminal computers is transmitted to the server/host computer executing the computer gaming program over the communication pathways and, in response to the input command, the execution of the computer gaming program on the server/host computer is altered.

30. The computer gaming system of claim 28, wherein the computer gaming program is a casino gaming program.

31. The computer gaming system of claim 28, wherein at least one client/terminal computer further comprises a touch screen display device.

32. The computer gaming system of claim 31, wherein at least one client/terminal computer further comprises a wager-acceptor device.

33. The computer gaming system of claim 28, wherein two or more computer gaming programs are executed on the server/host computers and the input and output streams of the computer gaming programs are redirected to one or more client/terminal computers.

34. The computer gaming system of claim 33, wherein the input and output streams of a first computer gaming program executed on one of the server/host computers are redirected to a first plurality of client/terminal computers and the input and output streams of a second computer gaming program executed on one of the server/host computers are redirected to a second plurality of client/terminal computers.

35. The computer gaming system of claim 33, wherein the input and output streams of both the first and the second computer gaming programs executed on one of the server/host computers are redirected to a same client/terminal computer.

36. The computer gaming system of claim 35, wherein the input and output streams of the first gaming program are redirected to a window displayed on a screen of the client/terminal computer and the input and output streams of the second gaming program are redirected to a sub-window of the window displayed on the screen of the client/terminal computer.

37. The computer gaming system of claim 28, wherein the communication pathways comprise a local area network or a wide area network.

38. The computer gaming system of claim 28, wherein at least one client/terminal computer further comprises:

a head-mounted display device;

a joystick input device; and

wireless communication pathways.

39. The computer gaming system of claim 28, wherein the communication pathways comprise a global network.

40. The computer gaming system of claim 39, wherein the client/terminal program is first downloaded from one of the server/host computers to one of the client/terminal computers over the global network.

41. The computer gaming system of claim 40, wherein a patron of one of the client/terminal computers requests that the client/terminal program be downloaded from one of the server/host computers by accessing a web page.

42. A method of operating a computer gaming system comprising one or more client/terminal computers connected to one or more server/host computers via communication pathways, the method comprising:

receiving on the client/terminal computers input and output streams of a computer gaming program executed by the server/host computers and not by the client/terminal computers, the input and output streams being redirected via a server/host interface program executed by the server/host computers and a client/terminal program executed by the client/terminal computers.

43. The method of claim 42, further comprising:

transmitting over the communications pathways an input command detected during execution of the client/terminal program on one of the client/terminal computers to the server/host computer executing the computer gaming program, wherein in response to the input command the execution of the computer gaming program on the server/host computer is altered.

44. The method of claim 42, wherein the computer gaming program is a casino gaming program.

45. The method of claim 42, wherein at least one client/terminal computer further comprises a touch screen display device.

46. The method of claim 45, wherein at least one client/terminal computer further comprises a wager-acceptor device.

47. The method of claim 42, wherein two or more computer gaming programs are executed on the server/host computer, the method further comprising:

receiving redirected input and output streams of the computer gaming programs executed on the server/host computer on the client/terminal computers.

48. The method of claim 47, further comprising;

receiving input and output streams of a first computer gaming program executed on one of the server/host computers on a first plurality of the client/terminal computers; and

receiving input and output streams of a second computer gaming program executed on one of the server/host computers on a second plurality of the client/terminal computers.

49. The method of claim 48, wherein the input and output streams of both the first and the second computer gaming programs are redirected to one of the client/terminal computers.

50. The method of claim 49, wherein the input and output streams of the first computer gaming program are redirected to a window displayed on a screen of the client/terminal computer and the input and output streams of the second computer gaming program are redirected to a sub-window of the window displayed on the screen of the client/terminal computer.

51. The method of claim 42, wherein the communication pathways comprise a local area network or a wide area network.

52. The method of claim 42, wherein the communication pathways comprise a global network.

53. The method of claim 52, further comprising:

downloading the client/terminal program from one of the server/host computers to one of the client/terminal computers over the global network.

54. The method of claim 53, further comprising:

a patron of one of the client/terminal computer requesting that the client/terminal program be downloaded from one of the server/host computers by accessing a web page.