Gaming machine with externally controlled content display

• US 9,311,774 B2
• Filed: 09/12/2008
• Issued: 04/12/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 11/10/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Original Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Inventors: Weber, Reid M., Petersen, Erik B., Marcu, Adrian R., Little, William C., LeMay, Steven G.
• Primary Examiner(s): GARNER, WERNER G
• Application Number:
  US12/209,608
• Publication Number:
  US 20090098943A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,769 Days
• Field of Search: 463/42
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements
• 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 17/323 wherein the player is informed, e.g. advertisements, odds, instructions
• 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

Abstract

A gaming system including a number of host devices each coupled to one or more gaming machines, wherein content provided by the host device is output on the gaming machine. To output the content provided by the remote host, a host-controlled process that is authenticated by the gaming machine and executed in a secure memory location such that it is isolated from other processes executing on the gaming machine may be utilized. The host-controlled processes may be decoupled from the process used to execute the game of chance played on the gaming machine such that the content output by the host-controlled process doesn'"'"'t alter the play of game of chance.

Claims

1. A gaming system comprising:

a host including a processor configured to;

(a) receive information regarding a status of a media display device located on a gaming machine, the media display device associated with a first portion of a display of the gaming machine;

(b) send a request to load hosted content on the media display device, the hosted content including a plurality of instructions executable by a master gaming controller of the gaming machine to generate a hosted visual component, the hosted content not including any wager-based game content;

(c) send a request to activate the hosted content, wherein the activation enables the master gaming controller of the gaming machine to execute the plurality of instructions of the hosted content; and

(d) send a request to release the hosted content, wherein the released hosted content is no longer executable by the master gaming controller of the gaming machine;

the gaming machine including;

the display; and

the master gaming controller configured to;

(i) receive the request from the host to load the hosted content on the media display device, and in response to the received request to load the hosted content, load a plurality of different instances of the hosted content on the media display device;

(ii) receive the request from the host to activate the loaded hosted content and in response to the received request to activate the loaded hosted content, activate one of the loaded plurality of instances of the hosted content on the media display device, wherein

(A) only one of the loaded plurality of instances of the hosted content is activatable at a time;

(B) if outputting the hosted visual component on the first portion of the display is determined to utilize less than a designated limit of master gaming controller resources, generate a hosted window on the first portion of the display to output the hosted visual component; and

(C) if outputting the hosted visual component on the first portion of the display is determined to utilize more than the designated limit of master gaming controller resources, not output the hosted visual component via any hosted window on the first portion of the display;

(iii) generate a gaming window on a second portion of the display to output a play of a wager-based game including a wager-based game visual component; and

(iv) receive the request from the host to release the hosted content and in response to the received request to release the hosted content, release the hosted content;

an input mechanism; and

an output mechanism.

2. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the hosted content includes business logic that is executable within the media display device.

3. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the media display device includes a flash player.

4. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the media display device is configured to output at least one selected from the group consisting of:

a plurality of still images, a plurality of video images, audio data, and haptic data via at least one peripheral device coupled to the gaming machine.

5. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the master gaming controller is configured to store the loaded plurality of instances of the hosted content in a volatile memory source.

6. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the master gaming controller is configured to release all of the loaded plurality of instances of the hosted content when power is cycled on the gaming machine.

7. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the hosted content is stored on a network device separate from each of the host and the gaming machine.

8. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the master gaming controller is configured to:

receive a request to load a first of the plurality of instances of the hosted content from a first host and in response, load the first of the plurality of instances of the hosted content on the media display device; and

receive a request to load a second of the plurality of instances of the hosted content from a second host and in response, load the second of the plurality of instances of the hosted content on the media display device.

9. The gaming system of claim 8, wherein the first of the plurality of instances of the hosted content and the second of the plurality of instances of the hosted content are downloaded from a network device.

10. The gaming system of claim 8, wherein the master gaming controller is configured to:

receive a request to activate the first of the plurality of instances of the hosted content and the second of the plurality of instances of the hosted content at one time, and

determine which one of the first of the plurality of instances of the hosted content and the second of the plurality of instances of the hosted content to activate first.

11. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the master gaming controller is configured to load instances of the hosted content that are less than a maximum size on the media display device.

12. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the master gaming controller is configured to load a maximum number of instances of the hosted content on the media display device.

13. The gaming system of claim 12, wherein the master gaming controller is configured to:

determine that the maximum number of instances of the loaded plurality of instances of the hosted content is exceeded, and

in response;

identify at least one instance of the loaded plurality of instances of the hosted content that is associated with the host, and

send a request to the host to release the identified at least one instance of loaded hosted content.

14. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the master gaming controller is configured to maintain a log including information relating to each instance of the hosted content that is loaded and released on the media display device of the gaming machine.

15. The gaming system of claim 14, wherein the master gaming controller is configured to send the information stored in the log to the host.

16. The gaming system of claim 14, wherein the log is stored in a non-volatile memory location.

17. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the master gaming controller is configured to receive a command from the host to lock out any play of the wager-based game.

18. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the master gaming controller is configured to scale the hosted visual component to fit within the hosted window on the display device.

19. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the master gaming controller is configured to receive a request from the host to show the hosted window.

20. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the master gaming controller is configured to receive a request from the host to hide the hosted window.

21. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the master gaming controller is configured to:

detect an error condition, and in response, hide the hosted window.

22. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the master gaming controller is configured to:

generate a first hosted window on the display to output a first hosted visual component generated from a first of the plurality of instances of the hosted content loaded from a first media display device;

generate a second hosted window on the display to output a second hosted visual component generated from a second of the plurality of instances of the hosted content loaded from a second media display device.

23. The gaming system of claim 22, wherein the master gaming controller is configured to determine whether the first hosted window and the second hosted window overlap on the display.

24. The gaming system of claim 22, wherein the master gaming controller is configured to:

determine whether the first hosted window and the second hosted window overlap on the display, and

select one of the first hosted window the second hosted window to resize such that the first hosted window and the second hosted window no longer overlap.

25. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the master gaming controller is configured to release all of the loaded plurality of instances of the hosted content from the media display device in response to detecting an error in the hosted content.

26. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the master gaming controller is further configured to release all the loaded instance of the hosted content in response to detecting an error condition.

27. A gaming system machine comprising:

a display;

a master gaming controller configured to;

(a) load a plurality of different instances of hosted content from a plurality of hosts that are executable within a media display device, the media display device associated with a first portion of the display, the hosted content including a plurality of executable by the master gaming controller to generate a hosted visual component, the hosted content not including content any wager-based game content;

(b) activate only one of the loaded plurality of instances of the hosted content on the media display device at a time, wherein the activation enables the master gaming controller to execute the hosted content;

(c) receive a request to load a first instance of the hosted content from a first host of the plurality of hosts, and in response, load the first instance of the hosted content on the media display device;

(d) receive a request to load a second instance of the hosted content from a second host of the plurality of hosts, and in response, load the second instance of the hosted content on the media display device;

(e) receive a request to activate each of the first instance of the hosted content and the second instance of the hosted content;

(f) determine whether to activate the first instance of the hosted content or the second instance of the hosted content;

(g) responsive to determining to activate the first instance of the hosted content, activate the first instance of the hosted content; and

(h) responsive to determining to activate the second instance of the hosted content, activate the second instance of the hosted content, wherein;

(i) if outputting the hosted content on the first portion of the display is determined to utilize less than a designated limit of master gaming controller resources, generate a hosted window on the first portion of the display to output the hosted visual component of either the first instance of the hosted content or the second instance of the hosted content and a gaming window on a second portion of the display to output a wager-based game visual component; and

(ii) if outputting the hosted content on the first portion of the display is determined to utilize more than the designated limit of master gaming controller resources, not output the hosted visual component of either the first instance of the hosted content or the second instance of the hosted content via any hosted window on the first portion of the display;

an input mechanism; and

an output mechanism.