Patent Application
20100117544
The subject matter described herein relates generally to wireless communications and, more particularly, to methods and systems for controlling a light emitting diode (LED) display within a gaming machine using infrared (IR) communications.
At least some known gaming machines use standard peripheral component interconnect (PCI) connections between a controller and an LED lighting display that is part of a light circuit board used to display graphics to players. Because of space constraints, often within such gaming machines, the light circuit board is coupled to an access door of the gaming machine such that, when the access door is closed, the light circuit board may physically contact the controller or other electronics within the gaming machine. Such gaming machines often couple a cushion, such as a soft foam cushion, to the light circuit board to protect the controller, the light circuit board, and/or the connecting wires. More specifically, the cushion protects the light circuit board and/or other electronics within the gaming machine from impact forces induced when the access door is closed. Moreover, the cushion facilitates decreasing an amount of force that may be applied to other internal electronics by the light circuit board due to gravity, vibrational forces, and/or other external forces. However, over time, known cushions may break down and/or lose their effectiveness and may provide only limited vibration damping and limited protection.
This Brief Description is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Brief Description is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.
In one aspect, a gaming machine is provided. The gaming machine includes a main door coupled to a main cabinet, and a controller positioned within the main cabinet, wherein the controller includes a wireless transmitter configured to transmit wireless control signals. The gaming machine also includes a display board coupled to the main door. The display board includes a plurality of light devices and a wireless receiver configured to receive the wireless signals from the wireless transmitter, wherein the wireless signals are representative of control commands for the plurality of light devices.
In another aspect, a method is provided for operating a gaming machine display. The method includes transmitting a control signal from a wireless transmitter coupled to a gaming machine controller to a wireless receiver coupled to a display board, wherein the display board is coupled to a main door of the gaming machine. The method also includes controlling operation of a plurality of light devices of the display board based on the control signal received by the wireless receiver.
In another aspect, a wireless communication system is provided for use with a gaming machine. The system includes a controller that includes a wireless transmitter configured to transmit control signals using a wireless protocol, and a display board coupled to a main door of the gaming machine. The display board includes a plurality of light devices, a wireless receiver configured to receive control signals, and a processor coupled to the plurality of light devices and the wireless receiver. The processor is configured to control the plurality of light devices based on the control signals.
The embodiments described herein may be better understood by referring to the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
The order of execution or performance of the operations in embodiments of the invention illustrated and described herein is not essential, unless otherwise specified. That is, the operations may be performed in any order, unless otherwise specified, and embodiments of the invention may include additional or fewer operations than those disclosed herein. For example, it is contemplated that executing or performing a particular operation before, contemporaneously with, or after another operation is within the scope of aspects of the invention.
Technical effects of methods, systems, and apparatus described herein include at least one of (a) encoding a display command for use by a gaming machine, thereby forming a control signal; (b) transmitting the control signal, by a wireless transmitter, to a wireless receiver coupled that is included in a display circuit coupled to a main door of the gaming machine; (c) decoding the control signal to obtain the original display command; (d) based on the decoded display command, controlling a plurality of light devices included in the display circuit, wherein the display command relates to one or more of on/off pulses, a color or color combination to be displayed to a player of the gaming machine from within red, blue, and/or green color spectrums, and a symbol or symbol combination to be displayed to the player in relation to game play; and (e) powering off the plurality of light devices due to a loss of communication between the wireless transmitter and the wireless receiver when the main door of the gaming machine is opened.
Various embodiments of the invention described herein use a wireless transmission protocol to communicate control signals from a wireless transmitter coupled to a gaming machine controller to a wireless receiver of a display circuit coupled to a main door of the gaming machine. Examples of such wireless transmission protocols include, but are not limited to only including, infrared (IR) light, Bluetooth®, and ZigBee® (Bluetooth® is a registered trademark of Bluetooth SIG, Inc., Bellevue, Wash., USA, and ZigBeet is a registered trademark of ZigBee Alliance Corporation, San Ramon, Calif., USA). However, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that any other suitable wireless transmission protocol may be used in the embodiments described below.
In the exemplary embodiment, gaming machine 100 includes a main cabinet 102 that includes a main door 104 coupled to a front 106 of gaming machine 100 via a hinge (not shown). When opened, door 104 provides access to an interior (not shown) of gaming machine 100. In the exemplary embodiment, a plurality of player-input switches and/or buttons 108 are coupled to main door 104. Moreover, in the exemplary embodiment, a coin acceptor 110, for accepting coins and/or tokens, a bill acceptor 112, for accepting and/or validating cash bills, a coin tray 114, for collecting a coin-based payout, and a belly glass 116 are each coupled to main door 104. A video display 118 and an information panel 120 are viewable through main door 104. In the exemplary embodiment, video display 118 is implemented via a plurality of lighting devices (not shown in
In the exemplary embodiment, gaming machine 100 also includes a top box 122 that is positioned on a top surface 124 of main cabinet 102. In the exemplary embodiment, top box 122 includes a number of devices that may be used to add features to a game being played on gaming machine 100. Such devices may include, but are not limited to only including, speakers 126, 128, and 130, a ticket printer 132 for printing bar-coded tickets 134, a key pad 136 for entering player tracking information, or player preferences or characteristics, a florescent display 138 for displaying player tracking information and/or player preferences or characteristics, and a card reader 140 for receiving a magnetic striped card containing player tracking information and/or player preferences or characteristics encoded thereon. Card reader 140 may also be used to accept coupons, credit cards, printed cards, smart cards, and/or ticket vouchers. Moreover, top box 122 may house additional devices not shown in
In the exemplary embodiment, display commands are transmitted as display control signals to display circuit 300 to facilitate controlling display of game-related elements, such as video slot machine indicia, video poker cards, and the like. As such, light devices 306 are not maintained in a constant “on” position. Rather, controller 202 and processor 304 control light devices 306 as defined by software that is executed via gaming machine 100 (shown in
Moreover, in the exemplary embodiment, wireless transmitter 218 transmits control signals to light circuit 300. Specifically, wireless transmitter 218 transmits 404 control signals to wireless receiver 302. Wireless receiver 302 receives control signals and transmits control signals to processor 304. In the exemplary embodiment, processor 304 then decodes 406 the control signals to obtain the display command. Based on the display command, processor 304 controls 408 operation of light devices 306. Specifically, processor 304 controls operation of light devices 306 during game activities, such as attraction sequences, primary game play, award sequences, bonus game play, and the like. More specifically, based on the display command, processor 304 controls light devices 306 via on/off pulses that activate and/deactivate light devices 306, respectively. Moreover, processor 304 controls the colors displayed to a player of gaming machine 100 via light devices 306 using combinations of color ranges in the red, blue, and green spectrums. Furthermore, processor 304 controls patterns or indicia displayed to a player of gaming machine 100 via light devices 306. In the exemplary embodiment, when main door 104 is opened, communication between wireless transmitter 218 and wireless receiver 302 is interrupted, which results in light devices 306 being powered down. As such, in the exemplary embodiment, a power down of light devices 306 is not due to a loss of electrical power but, rather, is as a result of an interruption in communication between wireless transmitter 218 and wireless receiver 302.
The systems, methods, and apparatus described herein facilitate use of less wiring within a gaming machine. Requiring less wiring within a gaming machine facilitates decreasing an amount of pressure induced to a display board that includes light devices configured to display game-related indicia and/or symbols to a player. Reducing the pressure on the display board facilitates reducing an amount of needed maintenance and/or troubleshooting, which facilitates reducing a cost of maintenance and/or lengthens a usable life of the display board.
When introducing elements of aspects of the invention or embodiments thereof, the articles “a,” “an,” “the,” and “said” are intended to mean that there are one or more of the elements. The terms “comprising,” including,” and “having” are intended to be inclusive and mean that there may be additional elements other than the listed elements.
Exemplary embodiments of systems, methods, and apparatus for controlling a gaming machine display are described above in detail. The systems, methods, and apparatus are not limited to the specific embodiments described herein but, rather, steps of the methods and/or components of the system and/or apparatus may be utilized independently and separately from other steps and/or components described herein. Further, the described steps and/or components may also be defined in, or used in combination with, other systems, methods, and/or apparatus, and are not limited to practice with only the systems, methods, and apparatus as described herein.
This written description uses examples to disclose the invention, including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the invention, including making and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scope of the invention 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 language of the claims.
