Controlling mechanical outcome indicators of gaming machines

• US 9,489,795 B2
• Filed: 06/03/2014
• Issued: 11/08/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 06/03/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LNW Gaming Incorporated
• Original Assignee: WMS Gaming Incorporated (Scientific Games Corporation)
• Inventors: Adiraju, Srinivyasa Murthy
• Primary Examiner(s): Kim, Kevin Y
• Application Number:
  US14/294,720
• Publication Number:
  US 20150348361A1
• Time in Patent Office: 889 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3213 Details of moving display elements, e.g. spinning reels, tumbling members
• 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 17/326 Game play aspects of gaming systems
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/34 depending on the stopping of moving members in a mechanical slot machine, e.g. "fruit" machines

Abstract

The present invention describes a system having a gaming machine using game circuitry logic and a primary controller to perform a primary wagering game. The system may further include a secondary controller using mechanical components of the gaming machine to perform secondary wagering games. The secondary controller is configured to actuate and control mechanical components of the gaming machine system controlled by the primary controller. The secondary controller further combines output of the primary and secondary wagering games to generate a unified graphical user interface displayed on a display device of the gaming machine. The secondary controller also actively translates input and output coordinate data between each of the primary and secondary controller graphical user interfaces and the unified graphical user interface.

Claims

1. A gaming system comprising:

a display device;

an input device configured to detect a physical item associated with a monetary value that establishes a credit balance; and

game-logic circuitry including a primary controller and a secondary controller, the primary controller configured to;

receive an initiation input indicative of a wager covered by the credit balance to initiate and play a primary wagering game,

in response to the initiation input, actuate a mechanical outcome indicator in a first instance to display an outcome of the primary wagering game, and

in response to a cashout input, initiate a payout from the credit balance; and

the secondary controller configured to;

receive a secondary game user input;

in response to the secondary game user input, generate a command causing the primary controller to actuate the mechanical outcome indicator in a second instance to display an outcome associated with a secondary game; and

generate modified output data for display on the display device by processing graphics data for the primary wagering game to include secondary graphics data.

2. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the secondary game user input occurs via a secondary graphical user interface generated by the secondary controller.

3. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the secondary game user input occurs via actuation of a physical button.

4. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the primary controller receives an event subscription list from the secondary controller that specifies an event corresponding to the secondary game user input.

5. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the primary controller generates graphics data for a primary graphical user interface including graphics data for the primary wagering game and the secondary controller generates, for the secondary game, graphics data for a secondary graphical user interface including secondary graphics data, the modified output data including the graphics data of the primary graphical user interface and the secondary graphical user interface being simultaneously displayed on the display device as a unified graphical user interface.

6. The gaming system of claim 5, wherein the unified graphical user interface is generated by the secondary controller according to a defined layout.

7. The gaming system of claim 6, wherein all input received via the unified graphical user interface is processed by the secondary controller.

8. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the secondary game is executed by the secondary controller.

9. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the mechanical outcome indicator includes symbol bearing mechanical reels or a rotatable mechanical wheel.

10. A computer-implemented method in a gaming system having one or more electronic input devices, a display device, and game-logic circuitry including a primary controller and a secondary controller, the method comprising the steps of:

detecting, via at least one of the one or more electronic input devices, a physical item associated with a monetary value that establishes a credit balance;

receiving, by the primary controller, an initiation input via at least one of the one or more electronic input devices indicative of a wager covered by the credit balance to initiate and play a primary wagering game,

in response to the initiation input, actuating a mechanical outcome indicator in a first instance to display an outcome of the primary wagering game;

receiving, by the primary controller, a cashout input via at least one of the one or more electronic input devices initiating a payout from the credit balance;

receiving, by the secondary controller, a secondary game user input;

in response to the secondary game user input, generating a command by the secondary controller causing the primary controller to actuate the mechanical outcome indicator in a second instance to display an outcome associated with a secondary game; and

generating, by the secondary controller, modified output data for display on the display device by processing graphics data for the primary wagering game to include secondary graphics data.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising the steps of:

generating, by the primary controller, graphics data for a primary graphical user interface including the graphics data for the primary wagering game;

generating, by the secondary controller, graphics data for a secondary graphical user interface for the secondary game including the secondary graphics data; and

generating, by the secondary controller, a unified graphical user interface on the display device including the graphics data for the primary graphical user interface and the secondary graphical user interface.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising the step of the secondary controller receiving the secondary game user input via the unified graphical user interface.

13. The method of claim 10, further comprising the step of the secondary controller receiving the secondary game user input in response to an actuation of a physical button.

14. The method of claim 11, further comprising the step of processing, by the secondary controller, all input received via the unified graphical user interface.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising the steps of:

in response to user input received via the unified graphical user interface corresponding to the primary game, routing a primary controller event for the primary game to the primary controller; and

in response to user input received via the unified graphical user interface corresponding to the secondary game, routing a secondary controller event for the secondary game to the secondary controller.

16. The method of claim 10, wherein the mechanical outcome indicator includes symbol bearing mechanical reels or a rotatable mechanical wheel.

17. A computer-implemented method in a gaming system having one or more electronic input devices and game-logic circuitry, at least one of the one or more electronic input devices configured to detect a physical item associated with a monetary value that establishes a credit balance and the game-logic circuitry including a primary controller and a secondary controller, the primary controller configured to control actuation of a mechanical outcome indicator for a wagering game in response to an input indicative of a wager covered by the credit balance initiating the wagering game, the method comprising:

receiving, by the primary controller, an event list request from the secondary controller;

in response to the receiving, sending, by the primary controller, a list of events to the secondary controller;

subscribing, by the secondary controller, to an event in the list of events;

in response to the event, forwarding, by the primary controller, the event to the secondary controller;

in response to the forwarding, generating, by the secondary controller, a command causing the primary controller to actuate the mechanical outcome indicator; and

receiving, by the primary controller via at least one of the one or more electronic input devices, a cashout input that initiates a payout from the credit balance.

18. The method of claim 17, further including in response to the generating, displaying on a display device an outcome associated with a secondary game based upon the mechanical outcome indicator.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the event is a button press event responsive to actuation of a physical button.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein the mechanical outcome indicator includes symbol bearing mechanical reels or a rotatable mechanical wheel.