Patent Application
20080076524
These and other more detailed and specific objectives will be disclosed in the course of the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:
Referring now to the drawings where the illustrations are for the purpose of describing the preferred embodiment of the invention and are not intended to limit the invention hereto,
It should be noted that the number of playing positions in the playfield, and the above described configuration of the playfield are set forth for the purpose of describing the preferred embodiment, and are not intended to limit the invention herein. As would be appreciated by a person skilled in the art, any configuration of the playing positions could be used. Because the current invention does not employ pay lines, a winning combination of symbols does not have to be contiguous.
The slot machine 10 has conventional controls including an activation lever 12, a start button 24, “BET ONE” 27, “BET MAX” 29 and “CREDIT PER GROUP” 20 buttons. Further, the preferred embodiment includes a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) screen 16, which provides game information to the player that includes the number of groups selected, coins per group, number of coins won, and balance of remaining coins or credit. In addition, the preferred embodiment employs a touch screen control mechanism 44 to enable a player to select the playing positions of the “key” group.
A block diagram of the control circuitry to operate this gaming device 10 is illustrated in
An on/off toggle switch 8 is provided to control the operational state of the slot machine and the connection of the external AC power supply 82 to the electric circuitry. Also, an interface and coding device 52 is used as an input interface between the various control elements and the CPU 30. These control elements include the touch control mechanism 44 of the video screen 11, main lever switch 12, “BET ONE” switch 27, “BET MAX” switch 29, “START” button 24, “CREDIT PER GROUP” switch 20 and other conventional control elements of a slot machine. Similarly an LCD control driver 56, and an audio driver 58 are used to interface the LCD screen 16, which provides game information, and the audio circuits that activate the loudspeaker 76, with the CPU 30. Also, a driver 60 is used to interface the video screen 11 with the CPU 30. A common address and control bus 92, and a separate common data bus 90 are used to interconnect the central processing unit 30 with the interface and coding device 52, the video driver 60, the LCD driver 56, the audio driver 58, the read only memory (ROM) 34, and the random access memory (RAM) 36.
Similar to conventional slot machines, the player is required to deposit a wager prior to the start of a game or a spin. The player can proceed to deposit a wager for a game using traditional control switches that include “BET ONE” 27, “BET MAX” 29, and “CREDIT PER GROUP” 20 buttons.
After depositing a wager, the player is instructed to select the three playing positions for the key group 50 using the touch screen controls 44. Then upon such manual selection of the playing positions for the key group 50, the CPU 30 executes a segment of the game code, which controls the operation of the slot machine, to randomly select and identify the playing positions for the remaining four (4) groups. A segment of the game code also identifies to the player the active playing positions for the game based on the amount of wager deposited by the player. A minimum wager activates seven (7) of the fifteen (15) playing positions. The seven activated positions include the three positions of the key group, and four positions selected at random from the remaining four groups (one per group). Each additional wager expands the playfield by two positions that are selected at random from the remaining playing positions.
The preferred embodiment employs five (5) simulated rotating reels to generate random symbols for each game. The rotating reels are used in conjunction with three lines, each of which crosses the five rotating reels. However, these lines are not pay lines. They are rather used to generate symbols for each spin. It should be noted that, in the preferred embodiment, the rotating reels and associated lines are not visible to the player.
After the configuration of the playfield into groups, and after indicating to the player the active playing positions, the player is required to initiate a game or a spin by activating the main lever 12, or the “START” button 24. Upon such activation the microprocessor executes a segment of the control logic that initiates the starting and stopping of the simulated reels, and the random generation of 15 symbols (3 symbols per reel, one at each line). Then the microprocessor executes a segment of the game code control logic that randomly assigns the generated symbols to the fifteen positions 17.
Further, the CPU 30 selectively accesses the audio resources to be played through one or more audio speakers 76 mounted to a housing of the slot machine. If the outcome after the random assignment of the generated symbols corresponds to a winning combination outcome identified on a pay table, then the CPU 30 instructs a payoff mechanism 55 to award the player a payoff for that winning outcome combination in the form of coins or credits.
Referring again to
It should be noted that the above description of the block diagram illustrated in
With respect to the operation of this gaming machine, the logic steps utilized are illustrated in flow diagram form in
Upon the activation of the “On-Off” switch 8, and the initialization of the program variables, the slot machine is ready to operate. The player is expected to deposit a wager, and select three positions for the “key” group using touch screen controls 44.
Once the player has deposited a wager, and selected the playing positions for the “key” group, the control logic program randomly configures the remaining playfield into four groups with three playing positions per group. The groups are indicated on the video screen, and are visually distinguishable from each other using different colors. The “key” group is identified by the color red. The remaining four groups are identified using the colors blue, green, yellow, and white. The identity of each playing position, i.e. which group it belongs to, is indicated by a colored ring around the perimeter of the position. Further, active playing positions are distinguished using a bright color that simulates the illumination of the positions.
Upon the activation of the “START” button 24, or the main lever 12, the microprocessor generates 15 symbols, and randomly assigns them to the playing positions of the playfield. Then the microprocessor determines if a win condition has occurred, and process such win condition by crediting the player an appropriate credit that corresponds to the resulting winning combination(s) of symbols.
Upon the completion of the control program segment that checks and processes winning combinations, the control program logic returns to the program segment that determines if the player has deposited a wager, and the above described process is repeated.
The present invention could also be implemented as a bonus game on a conventional reel type slot machine. Referring to the drawings where the illustrations are for the purpose of describing an alternate embodiment of the invention, and are not intended to limit the invention hereto,
The alternate embodiment includes a second video screen 111, with fifteen (15) playing positions 117. Prior to each free spin, the player is requested to select three playing positions to define the “key” group on the upper screen 111, using a touch screen control mechanism 144. The microprocessor that controls the slot machine then randomly configures the remaining playing positions of the upper screen 111 into four (4) groups. The microprocessor also activates a plurality of playing positions on the upper screen 111 based on the number of pay lines activated by the player in the underlying conventional game. If the player had activated one pay line in the underlying game, then the microprocessor will activate seven (7) playing positions in the upper screen 111 for the bonus game. The seven playing positions include the three positions selected by the player for the “key” group, and four (4) other playing positions selected at random from the remaining four (4) groups. This random selection is such that one playing position is selected at each non-key group.
Similarly, if the player had activated two (2) lines in the underlying game, then the microprocessor will activate eleven (11) playing positions at the upper screen 111 for the bonus game. These eleven (11) playing positions include the three playing positions selected by the player for the “key” group. Further, if the player had selected all three pay lines of the underlying game, then the microprocessor will activate all fifteen (15) playing positions of the upper screen 104 for the bonus game.
Upon the completion of a free spin, the occurring symbols at the three pay lines 108 of the lower screen 104 are randomly mapped to the playing positions 117 of the upper screen 111. A winning determination is then made based on the “key” symbols of the “key” group. The number of credits or coins per line deposited by the player for the underlying game is used to calculate the amount of a win in the bonus game. This process is repeated for each free spin in the bonus game.
As will be understood by those skilled in the art, many different programs may be utilized to implement the flow charts disclosed in
This utility application benefits from provisional application of U.S. Ser. No. 60/847,132 filed on Sep. 26, 2006.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60847132 | Sep 2006 | US |
