Amusement devices: games – Including means for processing electronic data – In a chance application
Reexamination Certificate
1998-10-05
2002-09-24
Harrison, Jessica (Department: 3713)
Amusement devices: games
Including means for processing electronic data
In a chance application
C463S016000, C463S018000, C463S019000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06454649
ABSTRACT:
The present invention relates to a gaming terminal or other gaming device and methods for using which uses one or more user-pressable switches which have controllable or programmable displays or labels thereon, and in particular switches with movable activation surfaces with an array of liquid crystal or other programmable pixels.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Gaming devices or terminals (including, for example, slot machines, poker machines, blackjack machines, keno machines and the like) have been found to present particular challenges with respect to providing switches for user or player input to operate the game or gaming device, particularly when it is desired to provide the game or gaming device in a cost-effective manner. Like many controllable devices, gaming terminals often need to provide the capability for receiving different types of user input such as selecting among different choices at a given stage of a game and/or presenting various different sets of choices, for user selection, depending on which of multiple stages of a game have been reached. For example, many gaming terminals are configured to provide a main game component and a “bonus” game component in which the bonus component is not necessarily played as a part of each “round” of the main gaming component, e.g., in which the bonus game is only played in response to one or more predetermined outcomes of the main game component. In many situations, the bonus game involves user activation of user input or controls for functions which are different from functions which appear in the main game component. Unlike many other types of controllable machines or devices, gaming devices have particular needs to provide such various inputs while accommodating a situation in which the operation of many aspects of the game must be substantially unpredictable. In addition to providing unpredictability for purposes of increasing the interest or entertainment value provided by a gaming device, in many situations, gaming devices are regulated by government agencies which require an assurance of randomness or unpredictability in at least some aspects of game operation. Owing partly to such requirements for unpredictability, gaming devices present particular challenges for establishing user input or controls when the unpredictability means that the sequence, meaning and/or location of inputs or other game components cannot be known in advance.
Some previous approaches to design of gaming terminals involved including a plurality of different mechanical switches which may be activatable or usable at different times during the progress of a game. As used herein, a “mechanical” switch refers to a switch which is activated by touching or pressing a switch activation surface. Typically a mechanical switch involves movement of the activation surface, even if such movement is relatively slight. There are, however, touch or press-activated switches which respond to proximity, heat, interruption of a light beam and the like, where movement of the activation surface does not necessarily occur. As used herein, a mechanical switch, however, does not include a touch screen device in which touches of a region of a CRT or similar computer screen or monitor are detected. The variety of different types of user inputs which are typically provided in games designed to maintain user interest and entertainment has meant that a relatively large number of such mechanical switches have been provided in previous designs. The consequent proliferation of mechanical switches is associated with a number of disadvantages. The cost of a gaming terminal will typically increase as the number of discrete switches increases, owing not only to the cost of the switches themselves, but also to the costs for providing cabling or other connections to the various switches, power, control and the like. Furthermore, previous mechanical switches typically involve a degree of maintenance and/or repair, including the cost of monitoring and replacing burnt-out lighting, which is typically in the form of incandescent bulbs. In many situations, the amount of surface area which is available or feasible for positioning switches is relatively limited. This is partly because of practical and economic limits on the volume or areal space (“footprint”) which is available in a casino or similar location for accommodating a gaming device and partly owing to limits on how accessible or reachable such buttons are to a player. The proliferation of mechanical switches can have a detrimental effect on attracting or retaining gaming terminal usage, e.g. because potential players may be intimidated by or confused by devices having a relatively large number of controls.
Furthermore, proliferation of controls or switches on a gaming device can increase the number of items which a gaming device manufacturer or a casino must maintain in inventory (for fabrication, repair or maintenance purposes) including maintaining the various labels or legends for each button or switch, providing adequate training for personnel who must install or replace such legends or labels and detecting and/or reconfiguring labels which have been incorrectly installed. Additionally, gaming devices which have relatively large number of mechanical switches can be relatively difficult to initially design and/or update or retrofit (e.g. when it is desired to change a gaming terminal which is configured for playing the first game into a gaming terminal which is configured for playing a second game).
Accordingly, it would be useful to provide gaming terminals which can achieve the desired gaming functions, to maintain high user interest, while reducing the number of controls, such as reducing the number of mechanical switches or buttons, without incurring substantially increased costs.
Although it may be possible to position mechanical switches or buttons adjacent a CRT, LCD or similar display (so that the display can provide button labels or legends with, e.g., arrows pointing to the respective adjacent buttons) it is believed that configurations with legends or labels which are physically spaced from the button activation surface are inordinately confusing to players and are often considered unattractive, thus reducing overall gaming terminal utilization.
In some devices, a single mechanical switch is used for two or more functions with each of the two or more functions being displayed on the button activation surface. It is believed that providing buttons with multiple legends, only one of which is applicable at any one time, is confusing to many players and is often perceived as unattractive. Although switches with multiple legends, or spaced-apart legends or devices with a relatively large number of switches may be useful in some contexts, including contexts where switch operation is performed by trained users, the potential for confusion in gaming terminals is relatively high when gaming terminals are used by members of the general public and thus by untrained users. Accordingly, it would be useful to provide a gaming terminal in a manner that user-activatable switches or similar controls will avoid player confusion and intimidation.
Some gaming terminals have been provided with certain user controls which are activated using a touch screen. Touch screen controls, however, are relatively expensive and can undesirably add to the overall cost of fabricating, maintaining or repairing a gaming terminal. Furthermore, it is particularly difficult (or impossible) and/or expensive to operate touch screens having relatively fine spatial resolution and/or relatively rapid response times of a nature which may be desirable in certain types of games. For example, some games include at least an element of skill (such as requiring activation of a switch or other user input within a predetermined period after a certain type of display or other cue). Accordingly, it would be useful to provide a gaming device with the capability for receiving user input or displaying game cues (or other components) with a relatively rapid response time while
Griswold Chauncey Warner
Mattice Harold E.
Wilder Richard
Cherubin Yveste G
Gerstman George H.
Harrison Jessica
International Game Technology
Shaw Seyfarth
LandOfFree
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