Adding bonus games to existing coin-operated poker machines

Patent holder (s):

Innovative Gaming Corporation of America in Reno, Nevada, United States of America (US).

© Date:

03.01.2002

Inventor (s):

Terrence Plourd of Las Vegas, Nevada (US) © Published:

01.03.2002 IE 2002/03

Authorized representative:

Mr. Ir. AW Prins et al. At 2508 DH The Hague.

[54) Bounty Playground and Method.

<57) Method and device for use with existing machines by providing a premium device for these machines. The bounty device is activated when someone operating the device plays the corresponding machines with a predetermined number of coins and hits a predetermined outcome on the reels of the machine. By potentially activating the premium device, the person operating the device is encouraged to play the machine and / or to play additional coins / chips.

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NL C 1007157

The contents of this patent correspond to the original filed description with claim (s) and any drawings.

Title: Premium play equipment and working method.

Field of the invention

The invention generally relates to an electronic device and more particularly to a device and method for applying a second game of chance, which operates selectively, based on the outcome of a first game of chance.

Background of the invention

Many types of machines already exist in the art. In general, such machines are provided with three 10-roll, 4-roll or 5-roll, in which one or more coins (or chips) are deposited and then the rollers are activated by pressing a button or pulling a lever. The rollers rotate and come to a stop one by one. It will be clear that it is typical

15 'manner a number of symbols are present around the circumference of the reel and that when the reels stop, one or more of the symbols are visible to the person operating the machine through a transparent envelope on one or more payment lines. Based on the number of coins and the type of machine, the person operating the machine can receive a refund based on the selection of the visible symbols.

In many machines, as the operator of the machine plays more coins, the probability of the refund increases (eg, a greater number of payment lines may be present in the game and / or the number of combinations of symbols resulting in a refund may increase). Also, the amount of the refund may increase as a multiple of the number of coins played and there may be a premium reward on one or more winning combinations when the maximum number of coins has been played. In general, such a premium is imposed by the mathematics of the machine for it

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total yield percentage as a function of the random dynamics of the machine. Therefore, the bounty cannot require any further interaction from the person operating the machine in the form of a separate game (except those playing with a simple double or nothing characteristic and the machine manufactured by Anchor Gaming, Inc. or Nevada under the model designation WHEEL OF GOLD described below^&lt;R1) .

Also known in the art are devices connected to vending machines operating at a predetermined event energizing the device. For example, one device is designed as an illuminated cabinet that simulates a roulette wheel. This game is energized upon receiving a certain combination of symbols from the machine to which it is attached. The game is manufactured by Anchor Gaming, Inc. or Nevada under the model designation WHEEL OF GOLD^&lt;R&gt; . However, this game has a drawback in that it cannot be easily reprogrammed to implement other types of games and cannot display video information such as advertisements, schedules and / or attraction mode sequences when the game is not being played.

Play other establishments including modern IGT and CDS (eg the one with the designations Mega Bucks^{(R |},

Quarter Mania^(R), Nevada Nckels^{! R&gt;}, Dollars Deluxe^(R&gt; and Cool Millions^(Rl) as well as Williams Gaming, Inc.'s Piggy Bankin^lR)have similar drawbacks.

Therefore, there is a need in the art to provide for a premium or secondary game of chance that makes the operation of existing machines more attractive. It is desirable to increase the number of ways in which the person operating a machine can win, while simultaneously encouraging the person operating the machine to play multiple coins. Preferably, such a game can also provide flexibility so that the programming can be changed, whereby a number of premium games can be offered and / or a different game can be implemented with the same components.

Summary of the invention

The present invention provides a simple, relatively inexpensive method and device for use with existing vending machines by providing a premium device for these machines. The principles of the present invention provide for activation of the bounty device when the operator of a machine plays the corresponding machine with a predetermined number of coins and has a predetermined outcome on the machine reels. By potentially activating the bounty device, the person operating the machine is encouraged to play the machine and / or play additional coins / chips.

In accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the secondary or premium device comprises a combination of displayed video information and lighting which makes the game aesthetically pleasing and relatively easy to operate. In a preferred embodiment, the device plays a no-repeat deck with a 52-card deck (eg, the bouncer displays cards on the video screen until there are two equivalent playing cards). After determining the final outcome of the bounty game, the outcome is transferred to the corresponding slot machine and the bounty device starts displaying a pre-game show (eg an attraction mode video clip) until the next command is received to receive a play another premium game from the corresponding machine.

In the preferred embodiment, the device comprises a computer on one printed circuit board with a 486 processor to receive information from and transfer it to the corresponding machine, to control the operation of the video35 screen to the lighting, to play the premium game of chance-programming logically process instructions, and logically process attraction mode and / or advertising and schedule information, which is displayed selectively when the premium device is not activated.

The preferred embodiment also includes its own random number generator for a random, no-prejudice game determination that results in one of the possible bonus rewards.

According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a device for processing a secondary game of chance based on the outcome of a first game of chance, the device comprising: a connector for transmitting and receiving signals from a first game of chance; a visual display means for displaying the results of the second game of chance to the person operating a machine; a memory means for storing programming instructions for the second game of chance; and a processing means cooperatively connected to the connector, the memory means, the visual display means for determining the messages from the first game of chance; storing and looking up information from the memory device; and effectively displaying the outcome of the second game of chance on. the visual display device.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus which operates essentially as set forth in the previous paragraph and wherein the memory means stores data related to events and other advertising information and the processor looks up the advertising information on the visual monitor, when the second game of chance is not active.

While the invention will be described with reference to a preferred embodiment and with respect to particular components used therein, it will be understood that the invention is not to be construed in any way by such a configuration or components. Furthermore, while the invention will be described in conjunction with an automatic, it will be appreciated that the scope of the invention is not limited by use with this type of device. The principles of the invention also apply to the detection of the signal to play a premium or secondary game of chance, based on the outcome of a primary or first game of chance and displaying results and / or information on a video display. These and other variations of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from a more detailed description of the invention.

Other advantages and features which characterize the invention are particularly set out in the appended claims and form a part thereof. For a better understanding of the invention, its advantages and the purposes obtained by its use, reference should be made to the drawing, which is a further part thereof, and the accompanying description, which describes and shows a preferred embodiment of the invention .

Brief description of the drawing

Referring to the drawing in which like reference numerals represent like parts is:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the device placed on top of a vending machine to illustrate a preferred embodiment in which the present invention can be used;

FIG. 2 is a function block diagram of the various functional components comprising a preferred bouncer manufactured in accordance with the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the logical flow of computer programming steps implemented by the processor block 20 of FIG. 2.

100715

Detailed description of the preferred embodiment

The principles of the present invention apply to the implementation of a second game of chance based on a predetermined outcome of a first game of chance. A preferred application for this invention is in conjunction with an automatic. However, such an application is typical of only one of the myriad types of applications in which the principles of the present invention can be used. Although the present invention will therefore be described in conjunction with a machine as the first game of chance, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that other electronic devices may also be used.

Referring now to the figures, there is shown a preferred embodiment of a bouncer device and method performed in accordance with the types of the present invention. The bouncer is generally shown in Fig. 1 on top of a three20 roll oblique top vending machine by reference numeral 10. The vending machine is indicated by reference numeral 11. The machine (primary game) 11 includes three reels 13, coin and banknote accepting device 12, a coin receptacle 14 and some operator buttons 15. An example of a machine 11, with which the preferred embodiment of the premium device 10 can be used is manufactured by International Game Technology, Inc., or Reno Nevada with model designation S Plus automatic bevel top.

Again, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the primary or first game may be any game as long as it can communicate with the bouncer 10, preferably through an RS-232 connection port (to be described below).

Before proceeding to a detailed description of various components of the * 7 preferred premium device 10, the communication protocol and the programming steps, a brief overview of how the preferred embodiment operates will be presented.

1. Overview.

Generally, the operator of the machine plays the primary machine game 11. When a predetermined special symbol is hit on the third reel 13 and a predetermined number of coins have been played (three coins in the preferred embodiment), the bouncer 10 is activated. The premium device provides an instruction to the person operating the machine through a combination of a displayed information on a video screen 25 and a number of lights 16.

In the preferred embodiment, the bounty device plays a no-repeat deck with a 52-deck deck. In short, this type of game continues to draw cards until two equivalent playing cards are present. Since with each drawn card the chances that two equivalent playing cards will be present will increase the outcome / payout with each drawn card as long as no two equivalent playing cards with the other cards shown are present. By way of example, in the preferred embodiment, the operator of the machine is dealt seven cards from the game (eg, seven cards are displayed on the video screen 25). If two equivalent playing cards are raised, the person operating the machine wins 45 coins. If there are no two playing cards of equal value, the person operating the machine then draws cards for a higher premium up to 13 cards for a top reward of either 10,000 or 25,000 coins. Once two equal playing cards have been drawn, the game awards a winner and an amount.

This amount is then sent to the primary game 11 and is added to the credit meter (not drawn) of

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, ίΛ

Ü the person operating the machine. The bounty device 10 then enters a waiting mode, in which a pre-game show (or other advertising information) is displayed on the video screen 25. This mode continues until the next command to play another bounty game is received from the primary game 11.

1 .. Function blocks.

Referring now to Fig. 2, the functional blocks are shown that include the various hardware components of the preferred embodiment. Again, the premium device is generally shown at 10. The main processing block of the premium device 10 is the processor block 20. In the preferred embodiment, the processor block 20 consists of a computer on one circuit board and more particularly includes a personal computer of the 486DX 100 Megahertz type.

These printed circuit boards can be easily obtained commercially. An example of such a computer on one circuit board is manufactured by Computer Dynamics of South Carolina under the model designation SBC-486 DX.

However, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that other processors may be used in conjunction with the processor block 20 to provide the necessary processor of the present invention. For example, other computers and central processing units (including Intel's 286, 386 and Pentium processors as well as equivalents manufactured by other manufacturers) can be used. The required functionality means that the processor is capable of determining messages received from a first device implementing a game, implementing programming steps for a second game of chance and transmitting messages regarding the outcome of the second game of chance. to the first institution.

The processor block 20 includes a readily accessible motherboard memory and dead memory to operate in the intended manner. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that, while not particularly detailed in the figures, it is understood that the various function blocks must be properly connected with appropriate bias and reference power to operate in the intended manner. It will also be appreciated that the correct memory, buffers and other peripheral devices must be properly connected to the processor block 20 (and other functional blocks) to operate in the intended manner. For example, the necessary video card is contained in the computer on one printed circuit board to power the visual display block 25 in an intended manner.

The hard disk block 21 is connected to the processor block 20. Hard disk block 21 preferably includes operating system programs, premium game programming instructions and programmable attraction mode video 20 screen sequences and / or advertising information for the casino or other building where the premium device 10 is located. Such information is preferably displayed on the video screen displayed by the video block 25 when the bouncer 10 is not playing. The information may include time information (such as hours when a restaurant is open), special dishes from a restaurant or show times and persons.

The I / O interface card block 22 provides an output to the lighting block 24 and the switching block 23. In the preferred embodiment, the switching block comprises a pull button, a reset button and a door opening switch. The pull button is accessible to a person operating the bouncer 10, as will be described more fully below. The reset button and the door opening switch 35 are used to restart the bouncer 10 and to indicate a malfunction condition for the programming steps, respectively.

Still referring to Fig. 2, the processor block 20 is also connected to the visual display block 25. In the preferred embodiment, the visual display block 25 consists of an LCD display panel, as manufactured by Sharp Electronics of Japan, and as model designation LQ14D4112.

The processor block 12 is operatively connected to the primary game block 11 via an RS-232 communication port. The communication protocol is described in the following.

3__Communication protocol.

As mentioned above, the bouncer 10 communicates with the primary game 11 via an RS232 interface. The preferred protocol provides a header block and data block. The title block includes starting a message signal, a message sequence, and error detection data. The data block provides up to 1024 data bytes.

While the following Table 1 illustrates the format of the communication protocol in more detail, it will be appreciated that such a protocol can be modified to allow the present invention to communicate with a different primary game of chance than the machine described above.

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TABLE I

COMMUNICATION PROTOCOL

Format

The messages include a six-byte header and a data block ranging from 0 to 1024 bytes.

STX | SEQ | LCRC | HCRC | LDC | HDC | DATA BLOCK

The header byte definitions are:

STX Start of message 03H

SEQ Message Sequence Number 00H-07H. The sequence number increases when ag is received from the bouncer 10

LCRC LSB of a zero selected CCITT CRC (eg a cyclic redundancy check) in hexadecimal format of the DATA BLOCK.

HCRC MSB of a zero selected CCITT CRC in hexadecimal format of the DATA BLOCK.

LDC LSB of the data byte count in the DATA BLOCK in hexadecimal format.

HDC MSB of the data byte count in the DATA BLOCK in hexadecimal format.

DATA BLOCK content: Primary Game 11 =&gt; Bonus device 10:

R - Reset the display S - Start of the game

DATA BLOCK contents: Premium device 10 =&gt; Primary Game 11:

g - The DATA BLOCK in the last package received was correct b - The DATA BLOCK in the last package received was incorrect

Note: The contents of the DATA BLOCK depend on the particular case and all numerical values ​​are in hexadecimal form and are in order LSB to MSB unless otherwise indicated.

In the preferred embodiment, the data transmission format is 96, n, 8.1. It will also be clear from Table 1 above that the receipt of a message starts with STX and ends when the DATA BLOCK has ended (or a 20 ms intra-byte controller turns off). In case 3 bad block messages are received, a communication error should preferably be flagged and the device turned off.

Several examples of the messages transmitted using the above communication protocol are shown in the following tables. Table II indicates the reset command that is transferred to the premium device 10.

TABLE. II

Resetting the premium facility 10

The primary game 11 sends a Reset message to the bounty device 10 after it has restored its state.

<td></td><td>STX 00</td><td>LCRC HCRC</td><td> 01</td><td> 00</td><td>R</td>

<td>It</td><td>premium-</td><td>design</td><td> 10</td><td colspan="2">replies with:</td>

<td></td><td>STX 00</td><td>LCRC HCRC</td><td> 01</td><td> 00</td><td>g</td>

<td>or</td><td>STX 00</td><td>LCRC HCRC</td><td> 01</td><td> 00</td><td>b</td>

To determine whether the bouncer 10 is still functioning, the primary game 11 may periodically call the bouncer 10 to detect whether it is still functioning. Table III shows this communication sequence.

TABLE III

Detecting the premium device 10

The primary game 11 sends this message to detect whether the bouncer 10 is still functioning.

Sends a Zero message STX 00 00 00 00 00

The bounty game 10 answers with:

STX 00 LCRC HCRC 01 00 g or STX 00 LCRC HCRC 01 00 b

In the event that the predetermined symbol (or other rule event) from the first game of chance occurs, an order is transferred to the bouncer device 10. This order sequence is shown in Table IV.

TABLE IV

Play a premium game that wins 45 coins

The primary game 11 sends this message to start a secondary game:

STX 00 LCRC 01 00 S

The bounty game 10 answers with:

STX 00 LCRC HCRC 01 00 g or STX 00 LCRC HCRC 01 00 b

Following completion of the secondary game of chance, bouncer device 10 sends the following:

STX 01 LCRC HCRC 05 00 D 45H 00H 00HO and then the primary game 11 returns in response:

STX 01 LCRC HCRC 01 00 g or STX 01 LCRC HCRC 01 00 b

Table IV above shows a secondary game in which 45 coins were won. However, in case the predetermined symbol (or other rule event) from the first game of chance occurs 5 1000 coins are won, the command sequence will be as shown in Table V.

TABLE V

Play a premium game that wins 1000 coins

The primary game 11 sends this message to start a secondary game 10:

STX 00 LCRC 01 00 S

The premium device 10 replies as follows:

STX 00 LCRC HCRC 01 00 g or STX 00 LCRC HCRC 01 00 b

15 · When the game is over, the bounty device 10 sends the following message:

STX 01 LCRC HCRC 05 00 D 00H 10H 00HO Then primary game 11 answers with:

STX 01 LCRC HCRC 01 00 g or STX 01 LCRC HCRC 01 00 b

4. Operation of the program.

In the preferred embodiment according to the principles of the present invention, the processor block 20 operates on programming instructions stored in a memory device (e.g., a readily accessible memory or on the hard disk block 21). The logic flow of such programming is generally shown in FIG. 3 at 30. While the processor will be characterized as proceeding from logic block to logic block while describing the operation of the program logic, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the programming steps are acted upon by processor block 20.

In operation, the processor starts at block 31 to initialize programming instructions to enable the various components of the bouncer 10. At block 32, the processor determines whether the device has been interrupted while playing a previous game. This is done by checking the status of one or more memory locations. If a previous game was interrupted, the processor block 20 moves to the block 34 to reset the game to the state prior to the loss of power. As part of this procedure, the processor block 20 jumps to the point in programming where the interrupt occurred.

If the previous game was not interrupted, the processor block 20 moves to block 33. In this mode, commercial material and / or a pre-game attraction mode is displayed on the display device 25. Periodically (or preferably asynchronously based on an interrupt routine), the processor moves to the block 35 to handle commands from the primary game 11. At block 35, the processor determines whether a command from the bottom game has been received. The command may be a routine command to poll the status of the bouncer 10 (or may display additional advertising type data). In this case, the processor block 20 processes the command and returns to the block 33 where the pre-game show has continued. However, if the command from the primary game 11 indicates that a premium game is to be induced, the processor moves to the block 36.

When moving to the block 36, the video material displayed on the display block 25 is interrupted and seven cards are treated / displayed on the display block 25. In the block 37, the processor determines whether an appropriate card occurred (i.e. is displayed). If no appropriate card was present, the processor block 20 proceeds to the block 38. In this block, the processor waits for a command from the pull button block 23 (eg. an input command from the person operating the machine). If no command is received within a five second delay, the processor automatically moves to block 39 and displays another card. Therefore, after either a pull button command or a shutdown signal from an internal switch, the following map is displayed on the visual display in block 39 and the processor returns to block 37. If there are still no matching cards, the processor continues through blocks 38 and 39 again until an adjustment is made.

Once an adjustment / two equivalent playing cards are present, the processor moves to block 40 to display the winnings on the visual display 25. Also, the processor then determines the amount won based on the number of cards present for the adjustment. and sends a signal to the primary game 11 regarding the amount won.

The processor block 20 then returns to the block 33 and a pre-game or advertising information is displayed on the visual display device.

It will be understood that even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of the invention, the protection is illustrative only and changes may be made in detail, in especially in the type of game with which the secondary game is used. The full scope of the present invention is reflected in the description of the claims.