JP2007508874A - Apparatus and method for assigning prizes - Google Patents

Abstract

  The auxiliary controller (2) communicates with the main controller (1) via the wide area network (3). The routers (43, 44) provide an interface between the wide area network (3) and the main controller (1) and auxiliary controller (2), respectively. The communication band through the wide area network (3) is generally limited, and the controller (2) configures communication and processing so as to prevent the band limitation.

Description

  The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for assigning a prize.

  The present invention has been developed primarily for use with a plurality of linked gaming terminals in one or more gaming facilities and will be described below with reference primarily to this application. However, the present invention is not limited to this particular field of application and is placed on results that have a finite probability of occurrence, including online games, lots, pools, lotteries, lotteries, bingo, raffles. Also suitable for use with other games with one or more bets. Furthermore, the present invention is applicable to other types of electronic transactions, such as those processed by electronic cash registers and those that can be entered into a personal computer via the Internet.

  The description of the prior art throughout the specification should not be considered as recognition that such prior art is widely known or forms part of the common general knowledge in the field.

  It is known to “link” gaming terminals to provide a plurality of additional functions. This has the function of controlling the awarding of prizes when the pool of available funds is large and the amount of funds is known rather than needing to be estimated. Another function for connecting game terminals is that a secondary game is possible. For example, for a given group of linked game terminals, the central display provides gamers with a visual display of currently available jackpot prizes that gradually increase when the gamer operates the linked game terminals. It is known by gamers that a prize is awarded when increasing to a randomly selected value below a predetermined value. In general, the predetermined value is also visually displayed to the gamer by the display.

  Use of such features provides gamers with additional incentives to use the terminal, thereby providing incentives to win the jackpot award in addition to any available awards awarded at each terminal. The purpose is to do. However, prior art implementations of terminals connected in this way generally require high-bandwidth communication due to the large amount of data communicated between the various game terminals and the main controller. Additional problems may arise with prior art systems because the main controller needs to analyze a large amount of data collected from the gaming terminal in a short period of time generally available during subsequent games.

  A partial countermeasure is to use an auxiliary controller that mediates between the game terminal and the main controller. Known implementations of this measure continue to suffer from bandwidth issues.

  It is an object of the present invention to overcome or ameliorate at least one of the disadvantages of the prior art or to provide useful options.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for assigning a prize using a gaming device, the device comprising:
A main controller that determines the awarding of the award,
An auxiliary controller that can communicate with the main controller,
The auxiliary controller can further communicate with one or more game terminals,
The method is
Receiving data from one or more gaming terminals by an auxiliary controller, the data comprising at least one gaming terminal identifier and a cumulative amount of associated gaming terminals;
Storing data in a memory accessible to the auxiliary controller;
Responding to the cumulative amount of the gaming device to obtain the total contribution amount,
Communicating all contributions from the auxiliary controller to the main controller;
Determining by the main controller whether or not to award a prize based on the total contribution amount;
Communicating a decision-related data from the main controller to the auxiliary controller if the decision is to award a prize;
Analyzing the data related to the determination and the data stored in the memory by the auxiliary controller to determine to which gaming terminal a prize is assigned.

  The method preferably includes a step according to the accumulated amount of each game terminal to obtain each contribution amount. More preferably, the total contribution amount is the sum of each contribution amount within a predetermined period.

  The method preferably includes a step depending on the accumulated amount of the game terminal to obtain the total contribution amount. More preferably, the total accumulated amount is a sum of accumulated amounts within a predetermined period, and the total contributed amount is a part of the total accumulated amount. More preferably, the total contribution amount is any one of a ratio, a part, or a ratio of the total accumulated amount. In the preferred embodiment, the portion or ratio is calculated by comparing a portion of the total accumulated amount to the total accumulated amount.

  In another embodiment, the contribution amount is determined with reference to each game terminal. That is, in these other embodiments, the contribution amount need not be the same as the amount or proportion of the cumulative amount of each game terminal.

  The auxiliary controller preferably communicates with the main controller via a wide area network (WAN) having a bandwidth of less than 10,000 bits / second. More preferably, the auxiliary controller communicates with the gaming machine via a local area network (LAN) having a bandwidth approximately equal to 10 megabits / second.

  The apparatus preferably has a plurality of auxiliary controllers each capable of communicating with a main controller and each capable of communicating with each set of one or more gaming machines.

  The auxiliary controller and the main controller are geographically separated, and each of the auxiliary controllers is preferably located at a separate location.

  The method preferably includes communicating the auxiliary controller identifier from the auxiliary controller to the main controller.

  Preferably, the step of storing the data in a memory accessible to the auxiliary controller comprises storing a list of game terminal identifiers and associated game terminal accumulated amounts in time order received by the auxiliary controller.

  The auxiliary controller preferably responds to a signal from the main controller to maintain a list of game terminal identifiers and to send changes to the list to the main controller.

  The contribution amount is preferably communicated to the main controller once every predetermined polling period. In the preferred embodiment, the predetermined polling period is at least 2 seconds. More preferably, the predetermined polling period is at least 1 second.

  The method preferably includes the step of communicating a winning message from the auxiliary controller to a gaming terminal to which a prize is assigned.

  The method preferably includes communicating an award message from the auxiliary controller to the main controller.

  The method is preferably performed at least once every 5 seconds. The method according to any one of the preceding claims is preferably carried out at least once every 2-3 seconds.

Game terminals
Poker machines,
Store point-of-sale information management register,
Mobile phone,
A personal computer,
An access control point;
It is preferable to have one of a TV and a TV.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for assigning a prize,
The apparatus has a main controller, an auxiliary controller, and a plurality of game terminals,
The auxiliary controller receives data from one or more game terminals, the data comprising first communication means having at least one game terminal identifier and a cumulative amount of associated game terminals;
The auxiliary controller has a memory for storing data,
The auxiliary controller has a processor that obtains the total contribution amount from the accumulated amount of the game terminal,
The auxiliary controller has a second communication means for communicating the total contribution amount to the main controller,
The main controller has a comparator that determines whether to award a prize based at least in part on the total contribution amount;
The main controller has access to the second communication means to communicate data related to the decision to the auxiliary controller;
The auxiliary controller responds to the data associated with the determination and the data stored in the memory to determine to which gaming terminal a prize is assigned.

  The first communication means is a local area network, and the second communication means is a wide area network.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for assigning a prize in a game system having a main controller, an auxiliary controller, and a plurality of game terminals,
Collating and storing data indicating an accumulated amount associated with one or more game terminals at the auxiliary controller;
Calculating the total contribution with the auxiliary controller;
Communicating all contributions to the main controller;
Using a main controller to determine whether to award a prize and to determine data related to the determination;
Communicating data related to the decision to the auxiliary controller;
Using an auxiliary controller to determine to which gaming terminal a prize is assigned.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for assigning a prize using an electronic device,
The device is
A main controller that determines the awarding of the award,
An auxiliary controller that can communicate with the main controller,
The auxiliary controller can further communicate with one or more game terminals,
The method is
a) receiving data from one or more terminals by an auxiliary controller, the data comprising one or more terminal identifiers and a cumulative amount of associated terminals;
b) storing data in a memory accessible to the auxiliary controller;
c) calculating the total contribution at least partly from the data by the auxiliary controller;
d) communicating all contributions from the auxiliary controller to the main controller;
e) determining by the main controller whether to award a prize based at least in part on the total contribution;
f) if the decision in step e) is affirmative, communicating data related to the decision from the main controller to the auxiliary controller;
g) analyzing the data related to the decision and the data stored in the memory by the auxiliary controller to determine which terminal is to be assigned a prize.

  At least one terminal is a point-of-sale information management terminal, and the accumulated amount related to the point-of-sale information management terminal preferably represents the dollar value of the purchase of the point-of-sale information management terminal. In another preferred embodiment, the cumulative amount associated with the point-of-sale information management terminal preferably represents a plurality of products sold in a transaction processed at the point-of-sale information management terminal.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for assigning a prize,
A memory controller, an auxiliary controller, and a plurality of terminals;
The auxiliary controller receives data from one or more terminals, the data comprising a first communication means having one or more terminal identifiers and a cumulative amount of associated terminals;
The auxiliary controller has a memory for storing data,
The auxiliary controller has a calculator that calculates the total contribution at least partly derived from the data,
The auxiliary controller has a second communication means for communicating the total contribution amount to the main controller,
The main controller has a comparator that determines whether to award a prize based at least in part on the total contribution amount;
The main controller has access to the second communication means to communicate data related to the decision to the auxiliary controller;
The auxiliary controller responds to the data associated with the determination and the data stored in the memory to determine to which terminal the award is assigned.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for assigning a prize in a system having a memory controller, an auxiliary controller, and a plurality of game terminals,
Collating and storing data at the auxiliary controller indicating accumulated amounts associated with one or more terminals;
Depending on the data to calculate the total contribution in the auxiliary controller,
Communicating all contributions to the main controller;
Using a main controller to determine whether to award a prize and to determine data related to the determination;
Communicating data related to the decision to the auxiliary controller;
Using an auxiliary controller to determine to which gaming terminal a prize is assigned.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of assigning a prize using a game device,
The device is
A main controller that determines the awarding of the award,
An auxiliary controller that can communicate with the main controller,
The auxiliary controller can further communicate with one or more game terminals,
The method is
a) receiving data from one or more terminals by an auxiliary controller, the data comprising one or more game terminal identifiers and associated game terminal contributions;
b) storing the data in a memory accessible to the auxiliary controller;
c) calculating the total contribution by its auxiliary controller;
d) communicating all contributions from the auxiliary controller to the main controller;
e) determining by the main controller whether to award a prize based at least in part on the total contribution;
f) if the decision in step e) is affirmative, communicating data related to the decision from the main controller to the auxiliary controller;
g) analyzing the data related to the determination and the data stored in the memory by the auxiliary controller to determine to which gaming terminal a prize is assigned.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for assigning a prize in a system having a main memory controller, an auxiliary controller, and a plurality of game terminals,
Collating and receiving data indicating contributions associated with one or more terminals by an auxiliary controller;
Depending on the data to calculate the total contribution in the auxiliary controller,
Communicating all contributions to the main controller;
Determining whether to award the award using the main controller and determining data associated with the determination;
Communicating data related to the decision to the auxiliary controller;
Using the auxiliary controller to determine to which terminal a prize is assigned.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for assigning a prize using a game device,
The device is
A main controller that determines the awarding of the award,
An auxiliary controller communicable with the main controller and further communicable with one or more game devices;
Have
The method is
Receiving data from one or more gaming terminals by an auxiliary controller;
Storing data in a memory accessible to the auxiliary controller;
Communicating the total contribution obtained from the data from the auxiliary controller to the main controller;
Determining by the main controller whether or not to award a prize based on the contribution amount;
Communicating a decision-related data from the main controller to the auxiliary controller if the decision is to award a prize;
Analyzing the data related to the determination and the data stored in the memory by an auxiliary controller to determine to which gaming terminal a prize is assigned.

  The data from one or more game terminals preferably includes at least one game terminal identifier and a cumulative amount of associated game terminals. More preferably, the contribution amount is obtained from the accumulated amount of the game terminal. In another embodiment, the data indicates the contribution from each game terminal, and the contribution amount is obtained from the contribution from each terminal. In one embodiment, the contribution is the sum of contributions from different terminals.

  Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  Referring to the drawings, the first preferred embodiment of the gaming apparatus shown in FIG. 1 has a main controller (1) that determines the awarding of a prize. The main controller (1) is generally a server, for example, a personal computer that uses a SQL database by operating a Windows (registered trademark) Advanced Server program. Such hardware and software are readily commercially available and their use is well known to those skilled in the art.

  The logic used by the main controller (1) to determine whether an award is awarded varies in different implementations, but in the preferred embodiment shown, it is gradually tracked by the main controller (1). An award is awarded when the unpaid input amount that increases at a later time reaches or exceeds a randomly selected value. In other embodiments, an alternative mechanism is used, for example as described in co-pending Australian provisional patent application 2003903769. All of its contents are captured as a reference.

  The auxiliary controller (2) can communicate with the main controller (1) via the wide area network (3). As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, such a network is called a WAN. Routers (43 and 44) provide an interface between the wide area network (3) and the main controller (1) and auxiliary controller (2), respectively, as is well known to those skilled in the art. Communication bandwidth over wide area networks (3) is generally limited. For example, in the preferred embodiment, the data communication baud rate is 9600 bits / second. In other embodiments, an alternative baud rate is used.

  The auxiliary controller (2) can also communicate with one or more gaming terminals (4) via a local area network (5) having a data communication baud rate of 10 megabits / second. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, such a network is called a LAN.

  In other embodiments, the LAN uses different baud rates. Nevertheless, the LAN baud rate is generally much larger than the WAN baud rate connecting the LAN to the central controller.

  In the preferred embodiment, this LAN (5) is in the form of a serial network (eg, RS-485). Each game terminal (4) interfaces with a serial network via an interface card (45) in a known manner. Each game machine (4) has a display (46) on which a game is displayed. It should be noted that the terms “game terminal” and “game machine” are considered interchangeable for purposes of the specification.

  The game terminal (4) is generally a poker machine, but the present invention is also applicable to other types of games with one or more bets placed on results with a finite probability of occurrence. It is. Still other embodiments of the invention are applicable to retail transactions such as loyalty mechanisms and related marketing mechanisms. For example, a trader chooses to offer an award when a certain amount of revenue is earned on all sales, when a predetermined number of predetermined product lines are sold, or when a predetermined milestone is achieved May be. In one embodiment, if the terminal is in the form of a point-of-sale information management terminal such as an electronic cash register, a prize is awarded to every 100 consumers who participated in the transaction. In such a case, the game is a marketing promotion that can be awarded. Consumers generally have a certain degree of recognition of the level of participation in such games. In another embodiment, the game terminal includes a personal computer, a mobile phone, and an access control point. For example, a prize is awarded when a website is visited under set conditions, when a mobile phone call meets a predetermined criteria, or when a predetermined number of people use access control points. Currently, digital television technology is also considered as an interface for game terminals.

  Returning to the exemplary poker machine gaming application of the preferred embodiment, a single auxiliary controller (2) is typically located at each gaming location and connected to the local area network (5), thereby ensuring that all Communicate with the game terminal (4) at that location. However, it will be appreciated that other embodiments of the present invention use more than one auxiliary controller (2) at a given location, or a single auxiliary controller serves multiple locations. For ease of reference, the group of gaming terminals (2) to which some given auxiliary controller (2) is connected via the local area network (5) is called the “related group” (8) of that auxiliary controller. . Furthermore, the locations (6) where the auxiliary controller (2) is located are generally geographically separated from each other and are geographically separated from the location (7) where the main controller (1) is located. For ease of reference, as shown in FIG. 1, the location where the auxiliary controller (2) is located may be referred to as the “remote site” (6), and the location where the main controller is located is the “central site” "(7) may be called. A progressive display (47) is placed at the game location and displays information about the jackpot award to the gamer. Some embodiments of the gaming machine (4) have a separate display called a “tablet”. The “tablet” is also used to display information about the jackpot award to gamers.

  The database server (40) and workstation (41) are located at the central site and are connected to the main controller (1) via a local area network (42). This local area network (42) may be in the form of Ethernet (registered trademark) using a category 5 cable, a hub or the like in a known manner. However, other types of LANs such as wireless LANs may be used in alternative embodiments. The database server (42) is used by the main controller (1) for data storage and retrieval. The workstation (41) allows an administrator to interface with the device.

  Each game terminal (4) has an instrument that tracks and records various parameters related to the performance and use of the game terminal (4). In particular, each game terminal (4) has a measuring instrument that tracks and records the total amount of income received by the game terminal (4). This is one of the main parameters used in the preferred embodiment of the present invention, but other parameters (e.g., number of games played, number of prizes awarded or monetary value, performance at the terminal). It can be seen that parameters that track and record contributions made to the connected jackpots by the game played may be used. In general, whatever of these parameters is used is referred to as “cumulative amount”.

  The auxiliary controller (2) responds to each polling period. In the preferred embodiment, the polling period is 1 second. This period is chosen large enough so that the auxiliary controller (2) can receive data from the maximum possible number of gaming terminals (4) that may be present in its associated group (8). In the preferred embodiment, this maximum possible number is 128, but in other embodiments it can be seen that this number may be large or small. As shown in step 20 of FIG. 2, within each polling period, the auxiliary controller (2) receives data from at least some of the game terminals (4). The data has one or more game terminal identifiers and a cumulative amount of related game terminals. In one embodiment, each auxiliary controller (2) obtains this data from each of the game terminals (4) connected via the local area network (5). In other words, each auxiliary controller (2) acquires this data from each member of the related group (8) of the game terminal (2). However, it is preferable that each auxiliary terminal (2) receives data only from the game terminals of each group (8) whose accumulated amount has changed since the last polling period. This is because in a 1-second polling period, only a small subset of the related group (8) of a given auxiliary controller (2) may have received a change in its accumulated amount (increased revenue, etc.) Is advantageous. Also, if there is a change in the accumulated amount, it is generally only due to a single game started or played at a given terminal. That is, the system is configured to provide substantially real-time operation.

  As shown in step 21 of FIG. 2, data received by the auxiliary controller (2) within some predetermined polling period is stored in a memory accessible to the auxiliary controller (2). For the purpose of illustrating an example, the preferred embodiment shown in FIG. In FIG. 5, the game apparatus has five auxiliary controllers (2) identified as server Nos. 1 to 5. Furthermore, for the purpose of explaining an example, the server No. 4 (also recognized as the auxiliary controller No. 4) has 25 game terminals identified by game terminal identifiers No. 1 to 25 in its related group (8) Have During one polling period, auxiliary controller No. 4 receives the following data and stores it in its memory.

  This data is represented in the list in the order of time received from the game terminal (2) and stored in the memory. In other words, the game terminal No. 12 is the first one that has received a change in its accumulated amount, which increases its revenue by $ 2. Subsequently, there is a game terminal No. 20, and so on. In other words, the order of the entries in this list indicates the order in which the entries are received by the server No. 4 (2) from various game terminals (4). In one embodiment, additional date and time data is also stored in association with the data shown in Table 1. All communication of data between the game terminal (4) and the auxiliary controller (2) takes place through the local area network (5) and therefore benefits from a higher baud rate compared to that of the wide area network (3). receive. This is in contrast to general prior art systems where game terminals communicate directly with the main controller via a wide area network.

  In the operation example of the operation of the preferred embodiment, the game terminal (4) communicates to the auxiliary controller (2) the accumulated amount, which is the amount that the income has changed. However, in other embodiments, the gaming machine simply communicates the updated total revenue number to the auxiliary controller (2), which subtracts the previous revenue number of the associated gaming terminal. , Calculate the amount that the income has changed.

  The next step is that each auxiliary controller (2) calculates the total contribution, as shown in step 22 of FIG. It can be seen that the revenue from each machine has only a small percentage that contributes to a large prize. In the preferred embodiment, the total contribution is derived from the cumulative amount by determining the percentage of the cumulative amount from each machine that contributes to the decision by the main controller (1) whether to award a prize.

  In one embodiment, the total contribution is calculated from the total cumulative amount, which is the sum of each of the machine's cumulative amounts. In another embodiment, the total contribution is calculated by summing the contributions obtained from each machine, which is a percentage of the total amount of each machine. In a further embodiment, the machine provides contributions (ie, the cumulative amount provided by the machine is each contribution calculated by the machine first) and the auxiliary controller is responsible for these amounts for a given polling period. Total.

  In any case, the contribution amount is generally obtained from the accumulated amount, but is a separately calculated number. In an embodiment, the calculation is performed at the auxiliary controller or terminal. That is, it is not done at the central or main controller.

  In this example, 1% of the accumulated amount of each machine contributes to the decision by the main controller (1) whether or not to award a prize. Therefore, the contribution amount is 1% of the cumulative amount. In other embodiments, alternative ratios or uniform amounts are used. In yet another embodiment, the ratio varies with the machine at a given site. In certain embodiments, the ratio or amount is determined at least in part by the gamer using each machine.

  In the above example, server No. 4 calculates a total contribution of $ 0.08 during the polling period under consideration. As shown in step 23 of FIG. 2, this respective sum is communicated from each auxiliary controller (2) to the main controller (1) via the wide area network. In the operation example, auxiliary controller No. 4 communicates the following data to the main controller.

  Therefore, instead of receiving data from each independent game terminal (4) as in most prior arts, the main controller (1) only needs to receive data from each of the auxiliary controllers (2). . This advantageously reduces the amount of data that must be communicated over a relatively slow wide area network (3), since the number of auxiliary terminals (2) is typically much smaller than the number of individual gaming terminals (4) Result.

  In practice, it can be seen that by processing the accumulated amount to obtain the total contribution, a fairly small number is communicated to the main controller (1). This results in a further reduction in the amount of data that has to be communicated over a relatively slow wide area network (3). This is more fully realized when the polling period is very short, the number of auxiliary controllers is generally very large and it turns out that large prizes can be accumulated quickly and awarded. The In more practical scenarios, the cumulative amount is greater than 10 digits and the associated contribution is typically less than 5 digits.

  There is a further advantage in the example operation in that the processing of the auxiliary controller increases and the processing of the main controller decreases. That is, the processing is distributed so that the main controller can better perform its main function, determine what contributions have been awarded, and notify each site accordingly .

  Referring now to FIG. 3, when the main controller (1) receives data from each auxiliary controller (2) in step 24, it is determined in step 25 whether or not a prize is awarded. In this embodiment, a prize is awarded when the total contribution income received by all game terminals (2) exceeds a randomly selected value. For example, assume that the current value of the total contribution revenue tracked and recorded by the main controller (1) is $ 1,072.10 before the main controller (1) processes the data received from the auxiliary controller No. 4. Assume further that the randomly selected trigger value at which the award is awarded is $ 1,072.14. If the main controller (1) increases the current total by the amount of $ 0.08 communicated by server No. 4, the current value of the total contribution revenue is $ 1,072,18, and a randomly selected trigger value of $ 1,072.14 To exceed. Accordingly, the main controller (1) determines that a prize is awarded to one of the game terminals of the group (8) related to the server No. 4.

  If it is determined that no award is awarded, the main controller (1) returns to step 24 and receives data from the other auxiliary controller (2). However, if the main controller (1) determines that an award will be awarded, it communicates "data related to that determination" to the associated auxiliary controller (2), as shown in step 26 of FIG. In one embodiment, “data relevant to the determination” is a portion of the total contribution identified by the associated auxiliary controller (2) that is required to increase the current value to the trigger value. In the example operation, this part is $ 0.04. The reason is that this is the amount required to increase the current value from $ 1,072.10 to the trigger value of $ 1,072.14. Therefore, in the operation example, the main controller (1) communicates the following data to the server No. 4 via the wide area network (3).

  Next, referring to FIG. 4, in step 27, “data related to the determination” is received by server No. 4. As shown in step 28 of FIG. 4, this data is analyzed by the auxiliary controller (2) together with the data stored in the memory (ie, the data shown in Table 1), and a prize is assigned to any game terminal (2). To decide. In the operation example, when the “data related to the decision” is between or equal to $ 0 and $ 0.02 (that is, $ 2 specified by the game terminal No. 12 is the accumulated amount for starting the jackpot), the game terminal To determine that No. 12 is the winning terminal (2), auxiliary controller No. 7 shows the information previously stored in its memory. When the amount is greater than $ 0.02 and less than or equal to $ 0.07 (that is, $ 5 specified by game terminal No. 20 is the cumulative amount for starting the jackpot), the winning terminal is No. 20. Finally, when “data related to the decision” is greater than $ 0.07 and less than or equal to $ 0.08 (that is, $ 1 specified by the game terminal No. 3 is an accumulated amount for starting the jackpot). The award-winning terminal is No.3. In this example, “the data related to the decision” is $ 0.04 and is between $ 0.02 and $ 0.07, so the winning terminal is No. 20.

  As shown in step 29 of FIG. 4, the auxiliary controller (2) communicates a winning message to the game terminal (4) to which a prize is assigned. In the operation example, the auxiliary controller No. 4 sends an award message to the game terminal No. 20 via the local area network (5), so that the game terminal No. 20 notifies the gamer who operates the terminal of the award. Bring you to. Further, as shown in step 30 of FIG. 4, the auxiliary controller (2) communicates an award message to the main controller (1). This award message includes the game terminal identifier of the game terminal (2) to which the award is assigned, and is game terminal identifier No. 20 in the operation example. This allows the main controller (1) to log the prizes awarded by the game device.

  Compared to at least some prior art systems, the preferred embodiment of the present invention advantageously streamlines the amount of processing that must be performed at the main controller (1). Instead, a certain percentage of processing is performed at each auxiliary controller (2). The preferred embodiment also significantly reduces the amount of data that needs to flow between the main processor (1) and each gaming machine (4) compared to at least some prior art systems. This makes use of the high-speed communication performance of the LAN (5) compared to the WAN (3), and the auxiliary controller determines the winning game machine (4) upon receipt of “data related to the decision” This is realized by implementing the means that can be used. These features help ensure that the preferred embodiment of the present invention processes the required data within the relatively short time available between games of generally about 2.5-3 seconds.

  For security and efficiency, the main controller (1) needs to have an accurate list of contributing machines. Thus, the main controller maintains a separate list of contributing machines associated with each auxiliary controller. The list is updated as each auxiliary controller is brought online. However, updates are performed to reduce bandwidth requirements from the WAN. To achieve this, each time the auxiliary controller (2) comes online, the main controller (1) sends a cyclic redundancy code (CRC) from the list associated with the auxiliary controller (2) to the auxiliary controller. connect. This CRC is a compression code generated algorithmically for the associated list, and is much smaller in size than the resulting list. The auxiliary controller (2) stores in memory a real-time current list of machine identifiers of machines that currently contribute to the award. The auxiliary controller (2) generates a CRC from the locally stored list and compares the CRC with the CRC communicated by the main controller. If the two CRCs are different, the auxiliary controller notifies the main controller accordingly. In response, the main controller sequentially generates and sends CRCs for separate items in the list of auxiliary controllers. These CRCs are progressively received and compared with the corresponding CRCs in the list held locally by the auxiliary controller until list differences are identified by the auxiliary controller. Once identified, the difference is adjusted to ensure that the list of primary controllers is an accurate representation of the associated device connected to the auxiliary controller (2).

  As described above, using CRC further reduces the amount of data transferred over the WLAN when compared to known system approaches. That is, only the compressed code is communicated first, and if this identifies the difference, further investigation is performed on the difference. Even then, the lists themselves are not directly compared, preventing the need to send the complete list. When the difference study is complete, the communication of the relevant entries in the locally held list is also communicated to the main controller as a CRC. This allows further processing to be distributed to the auxiliary controller. That is, in this embodiment, the CRC comparison occurs at the auxiliary controller.

  In the above embodiment, all CRCs are generated using the CRC32 common protocol. However, in other embodiments, alternative protocols are used.

  A preferred embodiment of the present invention applied to a retail environment has a configuration similar to that shown in FIG. However, for example, a point-of-sale information management terminal (4) such as a cash register replaces the game terminal (4). In one exemplary application of such a preferred embodiment, every time the total sales through all terminals (4) of the network (hereinafter referred to as “global total sales”) exceed a predetermined target amount (eg $ 1,000,000). The trader may choose to award a prize. In this embodiment, the contribution amount for each terminal is equal to the accumulated amount. However, it can be seen that the value of the prize is much smaller than the total accumulated amount. In each polling period, each auxiliary controller (2) acquires data from each terminal (4) of its related group (8). This data includes a terminal identifier and a “cumulative amount” in the form of a sales number. This data is stored in a list that is grouped by the auxiliary controller (2) in the order in which the data is received from the terminal (4) (and thus in the same order as sales occurred at the terminal (4)). Revenue figures are calculated so that each auxiliary controller (2) calculates the total sales generated for its associated group (8) of terminals (2) within the polling period (hereinafter referred to as “local total sales”). Summed by controller (2).

  Each auxiliary controller (2) sends its local total sales to the main controller (1) which tracks and records the global total sales and determines whether a prize is awarded or not. When the total global sales exceed the target amount of $ 1,000,000, the main controller (1) decides that an award will be awarded. The main controller also determines the portion of the amount from local total sales that is required to increase the global total sales to the target amount. For example, if a specific auxiliary controller (2) communicates $ 10 local total sales to the main controller (2), which increases global total sales from $ 999,993 to $ 1,000,003, it is necessary to increase the global total sales to the target amount The amount of money is $ 7.

  This $ 7 number is communicated from the main controller (1) to the auxiliary controller (2), which is responsible for activating the award. This information is used by the auxiliary controller (2) along with previously stored data to determine to which terminal (4) the award will be awarded.

  Other uses of this preferred embodiment used in a retail environment include awarding a prize when a predetermined number of specified products are sold. For example, a trader may decide to award a consumer who has purchased a 10,000th hamburger. In this embodiment, the polling period is preferably 1 second or less. In this way, it is very unlikely or impossible that more than one consumer can be served on any one terminal (4) within any given polling period. Therefore, during each polling period, each auxiliary controller (2) uses its respective LAN to communicate with each terminal (4) in its associated group (8) and is processed by each terminal (4) during the polling period. Receive a contribution that represents the number of burgers sold.

  In another embodiment, the terminal provides to the auxiliary controller during each polling period, predetermined details of each transaction that occurred during that period. The auxiliary controller responds to these predetermined details to obtain a total contribution corresponding to the number of burgers sold via the terminal within the polling period.

  In a further embodiment, the terminal provides a contribution corresponding to the number of burgers sold at each terminal within the polling period. The auxiliary controller responds to the contribution amount to determine the total contribution amount communicated to the main controller. In this example, the total contribution is the sum of the separate contributions. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the contribution is equal to 1 per hamburger. In other embodiments, the contribution is weighted according to one or more characteristics of the hamburger (or other goods and / or services sold).

  Each auxiliary controller (2) stores the data received from the terminal (4) in the list in the order of data reception. This list includes terminal identifiers and individual terminal sales data. For example, the auxiliary controller No. 2 may store the following data in one polling period.

  Auxiliary controller No. 2 calculates all hamburgers sold by its associated terminal (2) and communicates this data to the main controller (1) over the WAN as follows.

  The main controller (1) maintains a current record of the total number of burgers sold through the entire network. For purposes of example, assume that this global sum is, for example, 9994 before processing data from auxiliary controller No. 2. When 10 hamburgers communicated by auxiliary controller No. 2 are added, this global total is 10,004, so the main controller (1) determines that a prize will be awarded. The main controller (1) calculates that the number of hamburgers sold to activate the award is 6 (ie 10,000-9994), and this number becomes “data related to the decision”, as follows: Communicate to auxiliary controller No.2.

  This data is used by the auxiliary controller No. 2 along with previously stored list data to determine that the consumer of terminal No. 7 is the person to whom the award is awarded.

  The advantages of the preferred embodiment of the present invention considered here are at least from the application of the present invention which minimizes the amount of data transmitted between the central controller and the auxiliary controller and increases the improvement of the minimum data transmitted. Partially occurs. This data includes not only data relating to awarding of awards determined centrally, but also other data about the type or status of the terminal hosted by a given auxiliary controller.

  Although the invention has been described with reference to specific examples, those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention may be embodied in many other forms.

Schematic of the first preferred embodiment of the present invention Flow chart showing steps executed by auxiliary controller when polling game terminal A flowchart showing the steps performed by the main controller when determining whether to award a prize. A flowchart showing the steps performed by the auxiliary controller when the main controller determines that an award will be awarded. Schematic of the first preferred embodiment of the present invention

Claims (24)

A method for assigning a prize using a game device,
The device is
A main controller that determines the awarding of the award,
An auxiliary controller capable of communicating with the main controller,
The auxiliary controller is further communicable with one or more game terminals;
The method
Receiving data from one or more of the game terminals by the auxiliary controller, the data comprising at least one game terminal identifier and a cumulative amount of associated game terminals;
Storing the data in a memory accessible to the auxiliary controller;
Responding to the cumulative amount of the gaming terminal to obtain a total contribution amount;
Communicating the total contribution from the auxiliary controller to the main controller;
Determining by the main controller whether to award a prize based on the total contribution amount;
Communicating the data related to the decision from the main controller to the auxiliary controller if the decision is to award a prize;
Analyzing the data related to the determination and the data stored in the memory by the auxiliary controller to determine to which gaming terminal a prize is assigned. The method of claim 1, comprising:
A method comprising the step of responding to the accumulated amount of each game terminal to obtain each contribution amount. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein
A method comprising the step of responding to a cumulative amount of the game terminal to obtain a total contribution amount. The method of claim 3, comprising:
The total contribution amount is a part of the total cumulative amount. A method according to claim 3 or 4, wherein
A method in which the total contribution is one of a ratio, a part, or a ratio of the total accumulated amount. 6. A method according to claim 5, wherein
The ratio, part or ratio is calculated by comparing a part of the total accumulated amount with the total accumulated amount. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, comprising:
The auxiliary controller communicates with the main controller via a wide area network having a bandwidth of less than 10,000 bits / second. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
The auxiliary controller communicates with the game terminal via a local area network having a bandwidth approximately equal to 10 megabits / second. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, comprising
The method includes a plurality of auxiliary controllers each capable of communicating with the main controller and each capable of communicating with each set of one or more gaming machines. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, comprising:
The method wherein the auxiliary controller and the main controller are geographically separated and each of the auxiliary controllers is located at a separate location. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, comprising
Communicating the auxiliary controller identifier from the auxiliary controller to the main controller. 12. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, comprising:
The step of storing the data in a memory accessible to the auxiliary controller comprises storing a list of the game terminal identifiers and the cumulative amount of the related game terminals in order of time received by the auxiliary controller. Method. 13. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 12, comprising
The auxiliary controller responds to a signal from the main controller to maintain a list of game terminal identifiers and to send changes to the list to the main controller. 14. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, comprising
The contribution amount is communicated to the main controller once every predetermined polling period. 15. A method according to claim 14, comprising
The method wherein the predetermined polling period is at least 2 seconds. 16. A method according to claim 14 or 15, comprising
The method wherein the predetermined polling period is at least 1 second. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 16, comprising:
Communicating a winning message from the auxiliary controller to a gaming terminal to which a prize is assigned. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 17,
Communicating the award message from the auxiliary controller to the main controller. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 18, comprising
A method that is performed at least once every 5 seconds. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 19, comprising
A method that is performed at least once every 2-3 seconds. 21. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 20, comprising:
The game terminal
Poker machines,
Store point-of-sale information management register,
Mobile phone,
A personal computer,
An access control point;
A method having one of TV and A device for assigning a prize,
The apparatus has a main controller, an auxiliary controller, and a plurality of game terminals,
The auxiliary controller receives data from one or more of the game terminals, the data comprising first communication means having at least one game terminal identifier and a cumulative amount of the associated game terminal;
The auxiliary controller has a memory for storing the data,
The auxiliary controller has a processor for obtaining a total contribution amount from the accumulated amount of the game terminal,
The auxiliary controller has second communication means for communicating the total contribution amount to the main controller,
The main controller comprises a comparator for determining whether to award a prize based at least in part on the total contribution;
The main controller has access to the second communication means to communicate data related to the decision to the auxiliary controller;
The auxiliary controller is responsive to data related to the determination and data stored in the memory to determine to which gaming terminal a prize is assigned. The apparatus of claim 21, comprising:
The first communication means is a local area network;
The second communication means is an apparatus that is a wide area network. A method for assigning a prize in a game system having a main controller, an auxiliary controller, and a plurality of game terminals,
Collating and storing data indicating cumulative amounts associated with one or more game terminals at the auxiliary controller;
Calculating the total contribution with the auxiliary controller;
Communicating the total contribution to the main controller;
Using the main controller to determine whether to award a prize and to determine data related to the determination;
Communicating data related to the determination to the auxiliary controller;
Using the auxiliary controller to determine to which gaming terminal a prize is assigned.

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