Patent Application
20160093142
This description relates to gaming machines, and, more particularly, to a method and system for enhancing player comfort and ergonomics in gaming machines.
Gaming machines have evolved to a substantially consistent form due to interchangeability and standardization considerations. For example, button layouts follow a standard linear arrangement in which players' must adjust their reach to accomplish different actions. Rather than assuming a more ergonomic configuration that is less fatiguing to players, buttons of gaming machines are arranged at consistent intervals in a straight line pattern. Additionally, gaming cabinets have a footprint at floor level that is either similar to and that exceeds the dimensions of the game itself Often, gaming machines are placed on box stands to elevate them to a consistent height. However, the box stands also extend to a footprint that meets or exceeds the dimensions of the game. Players at such gaming machines are constantly at odds of being near enough to the machine to comfortably reach the game buttons, but far enough away from the gaming machine to have room to place their feet in front of them. Placement of the button panel or button deck is generally fixed on the front of the cabinet and is not adjustable to facilitate game play or player comfort.
Moreover, many gaming machines have player tracking modules that include a card reader and dedicated display. Often such player tracking modules appear to be retrofit devices placed inconsistently at various locations on the front of the gaming machine. Typical gaming machine player tracking modules do not have a lighted bezel to assist in locating the player tracking module and those that do, only light up to indicate that a player tracking card has been read properly or has not been read properly by the player tracking card reader.
Value acceptors and printers of the gaming machine are typically located inside the gaming machine cabinet and access slots for passing items from the player to the value acceptor or to the player from the printer are typically separated and positioned inconsistently on the front of the gaming machine. In some cases, value acceptors and printers are positioned adjacently with separate access slots for accessing the devices. In still other cases, value acceptor and the printer share a common slot. However, it is often difficult to differentiate the value acceptor slot from the printer slot and errors in trying to feed currency or vouchers into the printer slot occur regularly.
Such discomforts and poor ergonomics affect player satisfaction with the gaming machine and the gaming experience and may affect revenues of the affected machines.
In one aspect, a gaming machine includes a base including a width having a first length dimension and a depth having a second length dimension and a columnar pedestal extending vertically from the base, the pedestal including a width having a third length dimension and a depth having a fourth length dimension, the first length dimension being greater than the third length dimension, the second length dimension being greater than the fourth length dimension. The gaming machine also includes a game cabinet including a gaming display including at least one of a single video display panel, a plurality of video display panels, and a combination of mechanical reels and one or more video display panels and a mating flange configured to releasably mount to a complementary pedestal flange positioned at an upper edge of the pedestal. The gaming machine further includes one or more mating plugs configured to engage a complementary one or more mating plugs positioned proximate the mating flanges, the mating plugs configured to join respective signal and power conduits between the pedestal and the game cabinet.
In another aspect, a gaming machine includes a gaming display including a display frame surrounding a display area, a first side panel device coupled to a first side of the frame and a second side panel device coupled to a second side of the frame opposite the first side, the first and second side panels including a touchscreen video display panel. The gaming machine also includes a beacon light including a planar substrate including an outer peripheral edge, a light source configured to illuminate an interior of the substrate through at least a portion of the outer peripheral edge, a first transparent hemispherical member including an edge configured to mate to the outer peripheral edge, and a second hemispherical member including an edge configured to mate to the outer peripheral edge, the second hemispherical member formed of a material that is at least one of translucent and opaque.
In a further aspect, a gaming machine system includes a pedestal including a button deck adjustably coupled to the pedestal, the button deck including a pair of extendable arms, each arm coupled at one end to the pedestal and at a second end to the button deck, the button deck extendable away from and towards the pedestal, a player tracking card reader positioned within the button deck and accessible through a slot in a front edge of the button deck, and a plurality of interchangeable gaming displays selectable such that one of the plurality of gaming displays is mounted to the pedestal at a time. The plurality of gaming displays including a single video display panel oriented in at least one of a portrait and a landscape orientation, a plurality of video display panels oriented in at least one of a portrait and a landscape orientation, and a combination of mechanical reels and one or more video display panels. The gaming machine also includes a mating flange configured to releasably mount to a complementary pedestal flange positioned at an upper edge of the pedestal, and one or more mating plugs configured to engage a complementary one or more mating plugs positioned proximate the mating flanges, the mating plugs configured to join respective signal and power conduits between the pedestal and the game cabinet, and a player tracking display area of the plurality of interchangeable gaming displays configured to display player tracking information, the player tracking display area displayed on one of the video display panels.
Although specific features of various embodiments may be shown in some drawings and not in others, this is for convenience only. Any feature of any drawing may be referenced and/or claimed in combination with any feature of any other drawing.
Unless otherwise indicated, the drawings provided herein are meant to illustrate features of embodiments of the disclosure. These features are believed to be applicable in a wide variety of systems comprising one or more embodiments of the disclosure. As such, the drawings are not meant to include all conventional features known by those of ordinary skill in the art to be required for the practice of the embodiments disclosed herein.
The following detailed description illustrates embodiments of the disclosure by way of example and not by way of limitation. It is contemplated that the disclosure has general application to gaming machine embodiments providing player comfort and ergonomic considerations in industrial, commercial, and residential applications.
The following description refers to the accompanying drawings, in which, in the absence of a contrary representation, the same numbers in different drawings represent similar elements.
In the example embodiment, base 102 is configured to rest on or be coupled to a lower horizontal surface such as, but, not limited to, a floor 124. Base 102 includes one or more vertically upwardly extending sidewalls 126, which may include straight panels, and/or curved and contoured panels, such as, but, not limited to a circular, oval, oblong, and/or irregularly curved cross-section. Base 102 includes an upper surface 128 configured to fair base 102 by producing a closed smooth outline, support column 104, and/or provide a resting place for a user's feet. Accordingly, upper surface 128 may include a smooth, glossy, or rough surface texture. Upper surface 128 may be angled with respect to floor 124 to facilitate providing a foot rest or to inhibit a placement of, for example, beverage containers on upper surface 128. A height 130 of base 102 may be set at various fixed dimensions or may adjustable to various dimensions. The dimensions may be selected to accommodate a particular installation and base 102 may be interchangeable with other bases 102 to facilitate relocating gaming machine 100 in different locations in an establishment. Height 130 may be adjustment only by the establishment or also by the user for comfort, ergonomic considerations, preference, and/or ease of operating gaming machine 100.
Column 104 is a rigid, relatively slender, upright support, composed of relatively few components that extends vertically between base 102 and game cabinet 106. In various embodiments, column 104 includes a cylindrical or polygonal shaft 132. Column 104 houses various components and conduits that are configured to support the operation of gaming machine 100 and its integration into a larger operation and control network (not shown), in which gaming machine 100 is in communication.
Column 104 and base 102 are configured to be standard across many embodiments of game cabinet 106. In various embodiments, and as described below, game cabinet 106 is configured to include a single video display panel 109, which may have a horizontal, a vertical, or combination concavely curved aspect. Game cabinet 106 is also configured to include a plurality of video display panels 109 adjacently tiled or overlapping. In another embodiment, game cabinet 106 is configured to include one or more mechanical reels 168. Column 104 includes power supplies, controllers, servers, cabling, connectors and conduits to support operation of gaming machine 100. Each embodiment of game cabinet 106 includes complementary cabling, connectors and controllers to facilitate interchangeable operation with a single column 104. Likewise, column 104 may include several embodiments based on a height of column 104 and/or a height of base 102 or a height of a platform 170 on which base 102 is mounted. Base 170 may be part of a cluster of banked gaming machines of which gaming machine 100 is a part.
Game cabinet 106 includes one or more video display panels 109. In various embodiments, one or more video display panels 109 are configured to display only game-related information. In other embodiments, one or more video display panels 109 are configured to display other than game-related information and game-related information simultaneously or alternately. One or more video display panels 109 may comprise, for example, a TFT LCD (Thin-Film-Transistor Liquid Crystal Display) or an OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) display, or other appropriate display technology. In the example embodiment, one or more video display panels 109 comprise a single monolithic display screen. In various embodiments, one or more video display panels 109 comprise a plurality of video display screens. In other embodiments, the plurality of display screens are adjacently tiled to give the appearance of being a single video display screen. In other embodiments, the plurality of display screens are tiled with a border or spacing surrounding at least a portion of one or more of the plurality of display screens. Additionally, one or more video display panels 109 may comprise a concavely curved transparent window with a plurality of flat panel video display screens arranged behind the window on the convex side of the window. The flat panel display screens may be adjacently tiled with respect to each other or may be overlapping with a portion of one flat panel display screens in front or behind another of the flat panel display screens.
Game cabinet 106 is positionable in a portrait and/or landscape orientation and may include a combination of game types, for example, but not limited to a single video display panel, multiple video display panels tiled or overlapping in the vertical and/or horizontal directions, or may include mechanical reels 168 and video display panels 109.
In the example embodiment, first user interface 110 is mounted to column 104 proximate a lower edge 134 of game cabinet 106. First user interface 110 typically includes a value acceptor 136, which may include a paper acceptor for bills of currency and currency vouchers. In various embodiments, value acceptor 136 is configured to receive payment cards, such as, but, not limited to credit cards, debit cards, and prepaid cards. Value acceptor 136 is positioned behind a front bezel 138 of first user interface 110 aligned with a slot 140. A printer 142 (not shown in
In various embodiments, value acceptor 136 includes a second slot 172 configured to dispense paper from printer 142 while slot 140 is configured to receive paper (currency bills, vouchers, etc.) and cards (credit cards, debit cards, etc.). In the example embodiment, slot 140 is configured to receive the paper and cards horizontally and first user interface 110 includes a flat receiving surface 174 to facilitate alignment and translation of the paper and/or cards into slot 140. In the example embodiment, slot 172 is oriented in a downward slope an angle β from an interior of game cabinet 106 out towards the user. In various embodiments, angle β is an angle of between 0° and 90° with respect to horizontal. Such a configuration permits an appearance of the material from printer 142 exiting the same location as the paper and/or cards are inserted into slot 140 without the possibility of inserting the paper and/or bills into slot 172.
First user interface 110 also includes a graphical output device 176, which may include a video display screen or an array of lights configurable to coordinate their operation to provide various indications to the user. For example, graphical output device 176 may provide various hints as to an action of the user expected by gaming machine 100. In one state of gaming machine 100, gaming machine 100 may be expecting the user to insert value items into value acceptor 136. Graphical output device 176 may indicate such expectation by generating an arrow object (not shown in
First side panel 112 is hingedly coupled to game cabinet 106 along a first vertical side 144, in some embodiments. First side panel 112 may alternatively be fixedly mounted to first vertical side 144. In one embodiment, first side panel 112 is coupled to an electric motor (not shown) through a linkage (not shown). The electric motor is controlled by gaming machine 100 and/or the user to rotate through an angle a (not shown) of approximately −90° (flat along a side of game cabinet 106) to +45° (angled toward the user when seated in front of gaming machine 100) with respect to a face of game cabinet 106. In various embodiments, first side panel 112 includes one or more speakers 147 configured to generate sounds related to gaming machine 100.
First side panel 112 may also be configured with a flexible display, which may be backlit or include video display elements including, in some embodiments a touchscreen capability. During operation, first vertical side 144 may receive tactical indications from the user and respond with visual indications related to game play of independent of game play on gaming machine 100.
Second side panel 114 is complementary to first side panel 112 and is coupled to game cabinet 106 along a second vertical side 146.
Edge lighting 116 includes an elongate light transmitting member 148 extending through grooves in various surfaces of game cabinet 106, column 104 and/or base 102. In various embodiments, light transmitting member 148 includes a plastic, polymer, glass, or other light transmissive material configured to receive light from a light source positioned in a single position along a predetermined portion of light transmitting member 148 or from multiple locations across an entire length of light transmitting member 148. Moreover, light transmitting member 148 may include the light source within light transmitting member 148 or light transmitting member 148 may use light emitted from an external source, direct the light to various locations along the length of light transmitting member 148 where it is allowed to emit from light transmitting member 148. For example, light transmitting member 148 may comprise a fiber or plastic rope that does not exhibit total internal reflection properties, but, rather light entering an end of light transmitting member 148 is transmitted down its length with a portion of the light being emitted substantially evenly along the length.
In one embodiment, beacon light 118 is configured to traverse linearly across an upper edge 160 of game cabinet 106. In various embodiments, beacon light 118 revolves at least partially about a pivot point 162 and coupled to a linkage or arm 164. In some embodiments, an electric motor controls the movement of beacon light across upper edge 160. For example, the electric motor may control the linear translation of beacon light 118 across upper edge 160 or through an arc about pivot point 162.
A courtesy light 120, which may also be activated to attract users to gaming machine 100 or to add excitement during game paly, is used to provide lighting for entering the vicinity of gaming machine 100 by the user.
In various embodiments, button deck 122 is mounted to column 104 and is controlled through a gaming machine 100 controller (not shown in
Upper input surface 602 also may include an element 608 configured to control an opacity of button deck 122. Element 608 may comprise a liquid crystal display (LCD) element or other element configured to be electrically controlled to alter its transmissive properties. Element 608 may be configured to control opacity of button deck 122 as a whole or may be configured to control smaller regions of button deck 122 to present graphical objects to the user.
Button deck 122 also includes a card reader 610 for player tracking and communication. Card reader 610 is a part of a player tracking system that receives a player tracking card inserted and removed by the user. Card reader 610 transfers information stored on a player card to gaming machine 100. Gaming machine 100 is configured to provide player information on a player information portion (not shown in
This written description uses examples to describe the disclosure, including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the disclosure, including making and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scope of the disclosure is defined by the claims, and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if they have structural elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from the literal languages of the claims.
