Patent Application
20110250943
There are many different types of game tickets known in the art. One conventional type of game ticket is associated with a pull-tab (pull tab) game. In a pull tab game, a set of game tickets, often referred to as a “deal of tabs,” is created. There are a fixed amount of wins in each deal. The type and amount of wins are used to create the content of the pull tab tickets. A typical two-ply pull tab ticket has multiple tabs (windows) per game ticket that are initially hidden. Upon purchase, a player uncovers each of the pull tabs to determine if the ticket is a winner. A winning pull tab ticket may require the presence of a combination of symbols (similar to a slot machine), or the presence of a winning symbol under a single pull tab. Machines have been created to automatically dispense and even validate pull tabs. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,941,771 (Haste, III) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,348,299 (Clapper, Jr.), both of which are incorporated by reference herein. One commercially sold pull tab machine is the Lucky Tab II machine, available from Diamond Game Enterprises, Inc., Chatsworth, Calif.
Single-ply pull tab tickets also exist. Single-ply pull tab tickets have at least one game region with game content similar to the content of a pull tab game, but with no pull tab structure. One example of prior art single-ply pull tab tickets is shown in
Conventional pull tab tickets are sold in fixed denominations, typically ranging from $0.25 to $2.00 with award (prize) amounts ranging from the cost of the ticket to $5,000. Most of the prize amounts are small multiples of the ticket price. The average chance of winning for any particular ticket typically ranges from about 1 in 5 to about 1 in 7, but other ratios are known in the art.
Electronic pull tab machines also exist. These machines are electronically loaded with one or more electronic “digital deals” (i.e., an electronic version of a set of physical tickets). Unlike a slot machine, the electronic pull tab machine does not select the outcome. It merely dispenses the set of tickets which have predetermined content that provides a predetermined outcome. The electronic pull tabs are dispensed in a previously determined order, such as sequentially. A touch screen is often provided on such machines. Upon receipt of payment, a pull tab appears on the touch screen and the player touches each tab or window to reveal its hidden content. Another type of electronic pull tab machine uses spinning reels which simulate physical reels that display tab results upon stopping. A receipt is printed if the electronic pull tab ticket is a winner. When all of the pull tabs in each available deal are sold, new digital deals must be electronically loaded into the machine to allow for continued play. One example of a touch screen electronic pull tab machine that dispenses “digital pull tabs” is commercially available from Tekbilt USA, Huntingdon Valley, Pa. The digital deal is loaded into the Tekbilt USA machine using a floppy disk and security key.
Pull-tab tickets that allow a user to play multiple games on a single ticket are well-known in the art, as discussed above. Additional examples of such tickets are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,735,432 (Stoken et al.). However, the individual tickets have a fixed denomination and the purchase price of the ticket includes all of the games on the ticket.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 2006/0094491 (Breslo), which is incorporated by reference herein, discloses a vending machine for dispensing preprinted game tickets, such as pull tab tickets. Instead of having a fixed cost and a fixed prize amount, the game tickets may be purchased at different bet levels and credit values, both of which change the cost and prize amount. Buy-a-pay payments are also provided to buy additional winning symbol combinations. The methods described in U.S. Patent Publication No. 2006/0094491 are referred to as “multi-bet” methods. The vending machine may dispense the types of tickets shown in prior art
Notwithstanding the technology discussed above, there is still a need to improve the efficiency of ticket dispensing so that the volume of paper devoted to ticket printing can be reduced even further, and the frequency of roll replacements or ticket stack replenishments in vending machines can be further reduced. The present invention addresses these needs.
One preferred embodiment of the present invention provides a method of vending game tickets from a vending machine during a game play session. Each ticket is preprinted with a plurality of individually playable games, and each game has a game result. The games are associated with at least one deal of games that includes at least some games that have predetermined winning game results. One or more games on a ticket are electronically purchased in a current game play session in response to a request inputted into the vending machine from a patron. Less than all of the games on the ticket may be purchased during the current game play session. An indication of which games on the ticket have been purchased is electronically recorded in database records. The vending machine dispenses all tickets that are played, including tickets wherein less than all of the games on the ticket were purchased during the current game play session. The records of the database may be used to verify which of the games on each of the played tickets have been purchased in the game play session.
Another preferred embodiment of the present invention provides a method of vending game tickets from a vending machine during a game play session. Each ticket is preprinted with a plurality of individually playable games, and each game has a game result. The games are associated with at least one deal of games that includes at least some games that have predetermined winning game results. One or more games on a ticket are electronically purchased in a current game play session in response to a request inputted into the vending machine from a first patron. Less than all of the games on the ticket may be purchased during the current game play session. An indication of which games on the ticket have been purchased is electronically recorded in database records. At the end of the current game play session, an electronic determination is made as to whether all of the games on the currently played ticket have been purchased. If all of the games on the currently played ticket have not been purchased, then the currently played ticket is retained in the vending machine for purchase of one or more of the unpurchased games on the ticket in the next game play session. The one or more of the unpurchased games on the retained ticket are then electronically purchased in the next game play session in response to a request inputted into the vending machine from a second patron.
The above summary, as well as the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention, will be better understood when read in conjunction with the following drawings. For the purpose of illustrating the invention, the drawings show embodiments that are presently preferred. It should be understood that the invention is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown. In the drawings:
Certain terminology is used herein for convenience only and is not to be taken as a limitation on the present invention. In the drawings, the same reference letters are employed for designating the same elements throughout the several figures.
The tickets described with respect to the present invention are referred to as multiple game tickets. However, they differ from conventional multiple game tickets such as those shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,735,432 because each game on the ticket must be individually purchased.
A pull tab machine for implementing the present invention may be similar to the machines described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,941,771 and 5,348,299 or the Lucky Tab II machine, with the additional features shown in
1. The display screen, which can be separate from, or part of, the original display screen, may include a display of the last game played on a multiple game ticket, here, game 8 of 10.
2. The face may include a button that can be pressed to dispense any partially played ticket. The button is preferably made active only when there are unpurchased (i.e., unplayed) games left on the previously played ticket, as shown in the display screen described above, and (i) the current patron has ended their game play session, or (ii) a new patron game play session has begun but no games have yet been played. In the first instance, the patron may wish to receive the ticket as a receipt of game play, even though there are unpurchased games on the ticket. In the second instance, the new patron may wish to start the game play session with their own new ticket by clearing the vending machine of the previous patron's unfinished ticket. The button is preferably not made active during a game play session to prevent the current patron from dispensing an actively played ticket with unpurchased games, and thereby waste game plays.
3. The “Winning Ticket” buttons in step 4 refer to the presence of at least one winning game on the multiple game ticket that has been played. (In U.S. Patent Publication No. 2006/0094491, there is only one game on a ticket.)
In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, one or both of these features are not employed, and the vending machine is programmed to automatically perform in a certain manner when the above-discussed conditions occur. For example, the vending machine may be programmed to never dispense unfinished tickets that have no winning games that have been played, thereby maximizing the advantage of the present invention in reducing the frequency of reel replacements or ticket stack replenishments. The vending machine may be programmed to only allow the current patron to receive the currently played ticket at the end of a game play session, but not to allow a new patron to clear out a previous patron's unfinished ticket. Some of these choices will depend upon jurisdictional requirements and capabilities of the vending machine, such as (i) whether the played ticket must be physically dispensed to the patron, even if only partially played, (ii) whether the vending machine has other ways to provide a patron with a receipt of game play, and (iii) whether ticket cashing is permitted at remote locations, such as a cashier, or must be performed at the vending machine. If ticket cashing is permitted at a remote location, then a ticket with a winning game must be physically given to the patron for presentation at the remote location.
A game play session may be initiated and terminated either actively or passively. One active manner of initiating a game play session is by loading credits into the vending machine in preparation for game play in conjunction with an electronic card, as described in U.S. Patent Publication No. 2006/0094491. To initiate game play using the vending machine in
A game play session may be initiated and terminated in a passive manner merely by using the presence or absence of game credits as a proxy for initiation and termination of the session. That is, when game credits are initially loaded into the vending machine, such as by loading money into the bill acceptor, this action signals the initiation of a game play session. When no more game credits exist, this signals the termination of a game play session unless more money is inserted within some predetermined time period.
If no game credits are left on the vending machine but all games on the current ticket have not been played, the display screen may prompt the patron with a message such as “Insert x dollars to play remaining games on the ticket or press button to dispense ticket,” wherein x is the value required to complete the remaining games on the ticket, and the button refers to the button in
Other embodiments for initiating or terminating a game play session are within the scope of the present invention, such as by providing dedicated buttons for communicating such an intent to the vending machine.
The following alternative embodiments may be performed:
1. If there is a winning game on the ticket and all games on the ticket have not yet been played, the options in step 4 of
2. If all games on a ticket have not been played and the patron has not ended the game play session, the patron may nonetheless still request that the current ticket be dispensed. This is a less preferred embodiment because it causes unplayed games to be wasted because the unplayed games never get played, thereby defeating one of the benefits of the present invention.
To maximize the number of games played per ticket, patrons would be prevented from, or discouraged from, starting with new tickets by dispensing partially purchased tickets that are still in the vending machine, and likewise would be prevented from, or discouraged from, dispensing partially purchased tickets that the current patron has just played.
In
In the game play of
1. The first patron purchased one game on the first ticket, ended the game play session, and requested to receive the ticket for use as a receipt.
2. The first patron purchased one game on the first ticket, ended the game play session, and did not request to receive the ticket, but then a second patron requested to start game play with a new game ticket that has no previously purchased games. This caused the current unfinished ticket to be dispensed into the ticket dispenser.
Referring again to
In
As discussed above, jurisdictional requirements and/or the capabilities of the vending machine may require that all played ticket be physically dispensed to the patron, even if the ticket is only partially played (i.e., if the ticket has one or more unplayed games). An alternative embodiment of the present invention implements this process. In this manner, the second patron always begins game play with a new ticket and thus does not complete the games on the unfinished ticket of the first patron. In this embodiment, once all games on a ticket are played, the ticket is dispensed to the patron. If a game play session is terminated either actively or passively, as discussed above, and the currently played ticket has unplayed games, the ticket is still dispensed. As discussed above, the patron may be prompted with a message to complete the ticket before it is automatically dispensed by the vending machine or before the patron requests that the ticket be dispensed.
In this alternative embodiment, the database records would appear similar to the records shown in
1. First patron plays only one game on the first ticket before terminating the game play session. The remaining unplayed games 2-9 never get purchased.
2. Second patron plays nine of the ten games on the second ticket before terminating the game play session. The remaining unplayed game 10 never get purchased.
If a patron successively plays out a plurality of tickets (i.e., plays all ten games of a succession of tickets), then the “Purchased?” status would reflect a continuous series of “Y”s.
Unless a ticket with unpurchased games is dispensed, the games are played in sequential order based on the order of their respective tickets in the reel or stack in the vending machine. If tickets are drawn from multiple reels or stacks in the vending machine, the order for each respective reel or stack is still maintained.
The present invention is described in the context of pull tab tickets. However, the scope of the present invention also includes generic tickets, such as instant game tickets (e.g., scratch off lottery tickets). These tickets are also conventionally preprinted in fixed denominations based on electronic deals and can be printed as multiple game tickets.
As shown in
1. If the bar code contains an encoding of the ticket contents, the bar code is decoded and the game contents are presented on the display screen of the vending machine as the respective individual games are played.
2. If the bar code does not contain the game results but instead contains an identification number, the number is used as a pointer to locate the multiple game results in a remote database. The multiple game results are then relayed back to the vending machine for display as the respective individual games are played. This method is preferred because only a limited amount of information can be encoded in bar codes, and there is a large amount of information associated with ten game values and corresponding game results. This method also allows for easy expansion of the invention for even larger numbers of games per ticket since the same bar code can be used, regardless of the number of games per ticket.
The tickets used in the present invention may be dispensed from a continuous roll or sheet, or they may be printed on separate sheets of printed media and dispensed from a stack.
The vending machine in
Instead of tickets being printed with different strings of alphanumeric characters that represent different symbols, the actual symbols may be printed instead.
The present invention may be implemented with or without the multi-bet features of U.S. Patent Publication No. 2006/0094491. For convenience and speed of playing, the multi-bet aspects are preferably set on a ticket by ticket basis or a patron session by session basis, and not on a game by game basis. However, the scope of the present invention includes the game by game basis capability.
The present invention may use some or all of the other features of the vending machine described in U.S. Patent Publication No. 2006/0094491, such as the ticket marking feature.
The vending machine is preferably associated with a bank of vending machines connected to a remote server (not shown) via an electronic network. Some or all of the parts of the database may be located at the remote server.
Since the database maintains a record of whether a game was purchased or not purchased, it is not necessary to make any markings on dispensed tickets regarding which games on the tickets were purchased or not purchased. Thus, if a patron is in possession of a ticket having unpurchased winning games, the database provides an indication that no money should be paid to the patron for those games. Alternatively, ticket markings may be made on any dispensed tickets for the visual convenience of the patron or cashier to indicate which games were purchased or not purchased.
In one preferred embodiment, the database is pre-populated with an “N” indication for all unpurchased games loaded into vending machines, and then as games are purchased, the “N” indications are changed to “Y” indications, or an equivalent thereof. Any games that are skipped due to dispensing a ticket with unpurchased, and thus unplayed, games, simply remain in the “N” status. In an alternative embodiment, the database uses three different designations, namely, “Y” for purchased, “N” for skipped and unpurchased, and a third or blank designation for games that have not yet been reached in the sequence, and thus are neither played or skipped and unplayed. The three designations allow for tighter audit control since there will be some potential ambiguity with the embodiment that uses only “Y” and “N” indications because “N” can mean two different things, namely, that the game was skipped and unpurchased or that the game was not yet reached in the sequence. The ambiguity will be most evident for the games near the last played games since they could legitimately be in either status. If tickets are properly played in the sequence in which they are loaded into the vending machine, then only the games near the last played games would have this ambiguity. However, if tickets can be drawn from multiple reels or stacks within the vending machine as described above, or if loose tickets are physically shuffled before being stacked into the vending machine, then it may be preferred to use three designations to provide better audit control.
In the embodiments described above, a ticket having a winning game result is redeemable for a currency-related prize (e.g., $1, $5). In an alternative embodiment, a ticket having a winning game result is redeemable for a non-currency-related prize. The actual prize would be stored in the Game result field of the database records and would preferably be displayed on the display screen of the vending machine after the game on the ticket is played. In this embodiment, the cashier station may alternatively be a prize counter. If the vending machine is not equipped to physically dispense non-currency related prizes, then the vending machine would display a message informing the patron to redeem the winning ticket at the cashier station or prize counter. If the vending machine is equipped to physically dispense non-currency related prizes, then the patron would have the same two choices described above for redeeming a currency-related prize, namely to redeem at the vending machine or redeem at a cashier/prize counter.
In the embodiment described above, if a winning ticket is present, the patron selects the option of dispensing and immediately redeeming the winning ticket or dispensing the winning ticket for subsequent redemption at a cashier (STEP 4). If the patron selects the option of dispensing and immediately redeeming the winning ticket, the amount of the winning ticket is automatically added to the credit meter or dispensed in cash as the ticket is dispensed, depending upon the capabilities of the vending machine, and how it is configured. In an alternative embodiment, the patron may be provided with an option to merely dispense the winning ticket without being automatically redeemed, and then the patron may decide when and where the winning ticket will be redeemed (i.e., at the vending machine, such as by having the vending machine read the bar code of the ticket, or by bringing the ticket to a cashier for redemption).
It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes could be made to the embodiments described above without departing from the broad inventive concept thereof. It is understood, therefore, that this invention is not limited to the particular embodiments disclosed, but it is intended to cover modifications within the spirit and scope of the present invention.
