Abstract:
A computer assisted process useful in managing the task assignments of a pool of casino employees in accordance with the service requests issued by automated gaming machines either indicating the state of machine operation or the patron&#39;s request for attention issued at the machine is enabled with intra-casino communication devices. In accordance with the process the employee pool is fractioned by the type of service skill required, i.e., machine service or patron&#39;s requirement for attention, and each employee is assigned a uniquely addressed communication device to which the task assignment is communicated and by which the employee indicates task completion. The employee pool is decremented on each task assignment and incremented on each task completion in a first-in, first-out arrangement in each skill group. In the instances of a large casino facility further division into zones can be made with each zone having its own pool assigned.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a service communication system for directing a service attendant to an automated, user operated device requiring service attention, and more particularly to a communications system for coordinating the assignments of a pool of service personnel. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     In current casino settings the use of a large number of automated gaming devices, including slot machines, is an arrangement of substantial commercial preference. Automated devices allow for more varied selection of games, the comfort of impersonal interchange, along with all the other well-known advantages associated with automation, cybernetics and/or robotics. The automated gaming device and its most basic form, the slot machine, are therefore found in large numbers throughout commercial establishments devoted to gambling. 
     While the servile, untiring obedience of an automated device is well known, in a casino there still remains a substantial need for personal service. Most frequently the attention required in the course of use of a slot machine or automated gaming device is that associated with the demands of the patron. Typically the playing patron may not understand the mechanics of the use of the machine, may require some credit accommodation, or may simply be out of change. Less frequently, but nonetheless with some regularity, the automated device itself may require service, a function somewhat more technically complex entailing different skills and proficiency. 
     Both instances, however, evoke the same response from the patron, the response of pushing a summoning button to turn on a light on the machine. Since personal attention needs to be provided promptly to maintain customer satisfaction and loyalty, work duplication is inherent in this current practice. Moreover the number of illuminated summoning lights can become quite large on a busy day, to a point where perception is rendered difficult when displayed against a background of jackpot bells and other flashing lights, a background in which the attending staff encounters some difficulty in perceiving the requesting signal. Confusion is therefore inherent. 
     In the past various mechanisms have been devised which in one manner or another produce some kind of a remote signal indicating, or even anticipating, a troubling state of an automatic machine. For example: U.S. Pat. No. 5,954,576 to Coulter et al appears to teach a signaling system for a low coin level in a slot machine, allowing for a preemptive replenishment; U.S. Pat. No. 4,614,342 to Takashima appears to teach a multiple player automatic gaming system which is implemented with an indicator useful to indicate operational problems perceived by a player; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,919,091 to Bell et al appears to teach a plurality of casino gaming machines tied together in a computer network which includes servicing requests sent to a central station. Each of the foregoing, while suitable for the purposes intended, fails to attend to the noisy work setting of the attending personnel, and particularly the confusing mix of machine service and patron demand signals that is so prevalent in the current setting. 
     Those in the art will appreciate that a signal from a gaming casino patron sometimes coincides with one or another failure in the operation of the gaming machine. Simply, the latter precipitates the former. Thus patron attention requests that immediately follow or are contemporaneous with a machine failure are usually reporting the failure, and if both the service attendant and the patron assistant respond duplication is inherent. Accordingly, a logical process is required to detect these coinciding signals in order to direct only the service attendant to provide the response. 
     Moreover, some machine service requirements are less complex than others and can therefore be sequenced in the service assignment. Thus the service attendant may be assigned to replenish some coin hoppers on his path to the site of a major machine failure, again a logical sequencing process susceptible of programmed implementation. There are therefore numerous instances in a casino setting where coherent, logical communications will both simplify the process while also reducing the stress level of the employees. 
     Along with these requests summoning personal assistance or machine service are also the occasional signals indicating a jackpot payout that may exceed the coin storage capacity of the machine. These jackpots are usually accompanied by all sorts of light and sound displays which add to the already noisy background of a gambling establishment. Thus machine failure, an imminent need for intervention in the automatic operation thereof (e.g., running out of currency or coin) or any other condition that may be sensed by the diagnostic system of the machine are cumulative with the high stress events of a payout that is often competing with a patron&#39;s request for assistance now expressed by a single signal, a light on the machine requesting change. 
     In the past these concerns have been only sporadically considered, most often in the setting of a particular machine failure or servicing requirement. For example U.S. Pat. No. 5,919,091 to Bell et al appears to teach a communication system between a plurality of slot machines provided with some fault protection and a central control, while U.S. Pat. No. 5,954,583 to Green describes in portions thereof an automatic summoning process for calling a service operator. Once again, each of the foregoing, while suitable for the purposes intended, fails to describe or suggest a summoning system which logically selects the correct responding skill level, while conserving all others to their proper tasks. 
     Thus, mixed in with the requests summoning personal assistance, are also the occasional signals indicating a jackpot, a machine failure, an imminent need for intervention in the automatic operation thereof (e.g., running out of currency or coin) or any other condition that may be sensed by the diagnostic system of the machine. Clearly, this intense environment is prone to breed patron irritation. 
     A logical system that optimizes the response patterns and assignments of a large group of attending personnel is therefore extensively sought, and it is one such system that is disclosed herein. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, it is the general purpose and object of the present invention to provide a central processing system for logical management of assisting and servicing personnel assignments. 
     Other objects of the present invention are to provide a wireless communication system for directing the assignments of servicing casino gaming machines and for assisting casino patrons. 
     Yet further objects of the invention are to provide a communication system for use in a casino for communicating various requests for personal assistance and sequencing machine servicing requests to a central processing facility for retransmission in a logical arrangement to individual ones of servicing and assisting personnel. 
     Briefly, these and other objects are accomplished within the present invention by providing a communication link between the various slot machines, automatic gaming machines and other automated devices in the casino that interface with a patron, and a central processing station. The communication link may be hard wired, by radio frequency (RF), infrared or even optical carrier and may convey separate codes for at least the following events at a gaming machine: 
     1. The patron has depressed the change button, causing a light to go on on top of the machine; 
     2. The player has caused the statistical combination of a jackpot and there is a large payment due; 
     3. The gaming machine is out of coins; 
     4. The machine is simply jammed; and 
     5. The machine is in some other failure state. 
     Of course, the first condition will often occur in parallel with items 2 through 5, as a patron will typically reach for the sole communication mechanism once any difficulty arises. Accordingly, within the central processing station the signals that carry diagnostic information are compared in their time relationship with the corresponding patron&#39;s personal service request signal, and if a coincidence is found a logical deduction is made that the former caused the latter. In this manner one primary source of confusion is reduced. 
     Moreover, the logical process does not need to differentiate between the machine service requests 2 through 5. In each instance the response required is one provided by a skilled machine service attendant and not by the personal patron assistant that heretofore was primarily devoted to providing change. In this manner the number of dispatching messages is reduced, optimizing the use of personnel. 
     Accordingly, upon receipt of the several signals 1 through 5 from a particular gaming machine the central station performs the above logical operation determining if the response is to be made by a service attendant, and if so a summoning signal is transmitted which identifies (a) the attendant selected, (b) the machine location from which the service signal was received, and (c) the type of service request, i.e., a code corresponding to one of the requests 2 through 5. If, on the other hand, the personal service (the light) signal is unrelated to a concurrent machine service request then the central station processor issues a personal service request, now directed to a particular patron assistant. Thus the central processing station selects the type of employee that is sent to cure the problem and the particular one of the employees within each class. This last selection is based on geometric proximity of the assigned employee pool, a pool continuously reduced by those summoned earlier that are still on assignment and increased by those that have completed their task, grouped by grid mapping of the casino wherein each grid coordinate is associated with a specific personnel roster. Once the assigned employee completes the task he or she then sends a completion signal to the central station and is returned back to the pool of available employees. 
     Concurrently the central station may also maintain a transaction log corresponding to each employee, each machine and each coordinate group. This transaction data may be used to develop assignment profiles, work load predictions and even redistribution of the whole employee roster in the various coordinate groups. This available data base is therefore not just useful in meeting customer demands but is also useful in casino management, to optimize staffing levels. 
     Accordingly, each casino service employee is provided with a communication device, e.g., a transceiver, by which the employee is summoned, directed to a particular machine and with which the employee then responds once the assignment is completed. These communication devices may take the form of general purpose pagers, or preferably a dedicated form useful with a single channel or narrow frequency, low wattage, local carrier or transmission medium. In each instance the information is transmitted in the form of data bursts or packets, including the identification code of the receiving device (destination address), the identification code of the sender (originating address) and the message (e.g., the coordinate of the machine to be serviced and the type of service). 
     Of course, the data packet may also include one or more error detection schemes to insure data integrity, (e.g., odd parity bit) which may automatically invoke a ‘repeat’ request back to the sender. The receiving instrument is thus assured of receiving the correct message which includes the location of the service request and the type of assignment (e.g., reload coin hopper). Similarly, the task completion response includes the identification code of the sender, the address of the recipient device and some code indicating completion of the assignment, together with error checking signals to invoke a similar ‘repeat’ response from the receiving device if a transmission error is detected. 
     Those in the art will appreciate that the foregoing transmission ‘packets’ are quite limited in their content or bit length and are therefore well suited for single channel transmission like that generally known under the mark or symbol “Ethernet” adopted by the Xerox Corporation, Stamford, Conn., and described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,063,220 to Metcalfe et al. More importantly, the several types of response to a summoning signal are particularly useful in rank ordering the interval between the various devices competing for the channel. Thus the central station will be accorded a higher priority, and therefore a shorter inactive interval following data collision, while the personal service transceivers are assigned the lowest priority and consequently the longest interval. 
     The foregoing single channel system is particularly suited for multiple network arrangement according to ‘zones’ in a single gaming establishment. Simply, the use of a single channel allows for very narrow carrier tuning, low power levels and therefore several communication systems may co-reside in a single facility without causing mutual interference or bandwidth crowding. 
     While the acknowledgment signal protocol and error checking substantially increase system reliability and convenience of use, further benefits may be derived from two-way communication. For example, a reassuring message like “an assistant is on the way” or “an assistant will be here shortly”, depending on the current depth of previous assignments, may be communicated back to be displayed on the summoning device. The inventive communication system, therefore, both organizes the labor pool and also assists in the maintenance of patrons&#39; tranquility and enjoyment. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic illustration of an inventive casino communication system in accordance with a first implementation thereof; 
     FIG. 2 is a logic diagram of a transceiver useful with the inventive communication system generally illustrated in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is a logic diagram of a communication adaptor for slot machines or other gaming machines useful with the invention herein; 
     FIG. 4 is a pulse diagram of a pulse sequence useful in the transmission of signals in the inventive communication system shown in FIG. 1; and 
     FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating the sequence of steps effected by the logical processes of the present invention. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     As shown in FIGS. 1 through 4, the inventive communication system generally designated by the numeral  10  comprises a first communication zone Z 1  and a second communication zone Z 2  where the signals between the zones may overlap. Zone Z 1  comprises a central station generally at  11  including a transceiver stage  12  tied to a data processing system  14 . Transceiver  12  then communicates by way of a narrow frequency band radio signal ff 1  to a plurality of portable communication units  21 - 1  through  21 - n , each of the units again including its own transceiver  22  tied to a logic stage  24 . 
     Similarly, zone Z 2  includes its own central station  111  also provided with a transceiver  112  and a processor  114  communicating by way of rf signal ff 2  with a further plurality of communication units  121 - 1  through  121 - n . Each of these-portable units, like those earlier described, includes a transceiver stage  122  tuned to the frequency ff 2  and communicating with a logic stage  124 . 
     Each of the zones Z 1  and Z 2  may be geometrically segmented into a set of grid coordinates G 1 - 11  through G 1 - mn  and G 2 - 11  through G 2 - pq  where the suffix defines the particular area within which one or more slot machines or other gaming devices are located, illustrated herein as machines M 1 - 1  through M 1 - r  for those located in zone Z 1  and as machines M 2 - 1  through M 2 - s  for those in zone Z 2 . In a manner described below each of the foregoing machines M 1 - 1  through M 1 - r  and M 2 - 1  through M 2 - s  may be connected to the corresponding central station  11  and  111  either by way of the rf links ff 1  and ff 2  or even by hard wire (not shown). It is this communication path that transmits to the central station the earlier summarized conditions 1 through 5. 
     By particular reference to FIG. 2 each of the communication units  21 - 1 - 21 - n  and  121 - 1 - 121 - n  take the form of a portable device contained in a housing  20  and including a message display. Except for the carrier frequency ff 1  and ff 2  the operation of transceivers  22  and  122  are functionally alike and their corresponding logic units  24  and  124  are also substantially alike excepting, of course, the unit&#39;s designation or address. Accordingly the description following refers by like numbered parts logical units that operate in like manner, it being understood that while one manner of implementation is disclosed the individual ones of the logical operations are well known and various levels of integration thereof are now commercially available. 
     Thus the transceiver  22  (and  122 ) may be any commercially available receiving-transmitting system tuned tightly to the frequency ff 1  (or ff 2 ) including means for phase, frequency or amplitude modulation and/or demodulation of a logical signal  25 . Signal  25  is passed along one branch through a gate  26  to an address filter  27 , which could be variously implemented and may take the form of a shift register read by a decoder (not shown), and when the code sequence corresponding to the designation of one of the communication units. If the address of the particular unit is decoded in the received bit stream of signal  25 , address decoder  27  then enables an AND gate  29 . The other input to gate  29  is then the same signal  25 . Thus a signal path is opened following an address decode for transferring the succeeding bit burst to a message decoder  30  tied to a display  31 , e.g., a  7 -segment display. In this manner the central station can communicate to the portable unit the address of the machine requiring service, and perhaps the type of service  2 - 5 , or personal attention. 
     Along the other branch of signal  25  a bidirectional gate configuration is provided comprising gates  36  and  37 , respectively in the transmitting and receiving directions. The receiving gate  37  then passes its output to the input of an EXCLUSIVE OR gate  38 . The selection between gate  26  and gates  36  and  37  is effected by a manual switch  41  on the unit exterior which sets a latch  39 , the Q and Qnot ouputs of the latch then respectively enabling gates  26  and  36 - 37 . Thus the employee assigned the portable unit issues the task completion signal by depressing switch  41  to reconfigured the unit to a data burst transmitter. This data packet, as previously described, may be generated in a data generator  42  and will include the destination address of the central station  11  or  111 , the address of the sending unit and the code corresponding to a completed task. This same data stream is also fed to the other input of gate  38  for comparison, to detect any data collisions or interference, in a manner similar to that earlier described in the patents first disclosing the Ethernet implementation. If a collision is detected, gate  38  enables a clock driven random number generator  44  which delays the retransmission attempt. 
     By particular reference to FIG. 3, each of the slot or gaming machines M 1 - 1 -M 1 - r  and M 2 - 1 -M 2 - s  is provided with a transceiver stage  50  tied to a logic unit  60  by way of a data signal. As before, transceiver  50  is tuned tightly to either of the carrier frequencies ff 1  or ff 2  which are separated from each other for optimal rejection of the other by well known techniques associated with tuned circuits. Again like numbered parts functioning in like manner the signal  25  from the transceiver is fed to the EXCLUSIVE OR gate  38  which compares the signal against the output of an encoding stage  242  which collects the outputs of a plurality of photo couplers  251  through  255  corresponding to the earlier described conditions 1 through 5. Within encoder  242  this signal combination is combined with the output of a register  243  in which the destination address (corresponding central station) and the sending address (the numerical designation of the machine) are then side loaded to a shift register  244  for transmission. The output of register  244  is then tied to signal  25  and also to the input of gate  38  to detect data collisions. These are then resolved in a manner earlier described by reference to the clock driven random number generator  44 . 
     Since each machine is essentially a passive device for the purposes of the instant invention no local need exists for any display or task assignment. Accordingly those functions earlier ascribed to logic operations at gate  29 , encoder  30  and display  31  are not required, nor is there a requirement for any latching function. 
     By reference to FIG. 4, the first signal in any requesting process is that emitted by transceiver  50 , shown as signal S 50  and comprising a bit sequence for the destination and sending address S 50 A, followed by the fault code  1 - 5 , shown as sequence S 50 D and thereafter the error checking bits S 50 E. As this signal sequence is in the carrier ff 1  (or ff 2 ) all other transceivers defer in response to the suppression signal from the corresponding gates  38 . On completion the carrier is once again idle and each of the gates  38  will then allow its own transmission. As will be shown below, the typical sequence will be from the central station transceiver  12  (or  112 ), shown as signal S 12 , again comprising the address sequence S 12 A, the data sequence S 12 D and error sequence S 12 E. It is this signal that selects a particular portable unit and delivers a data message thereto. Once the task assigned is completed the employee depresses the task completion switch  41  to issue its response signal stream S 41  comprising sequences S 41 A, S 41 D and S 41 E. In each instance the channel is monitored for the presence of other data in the manner earlier described. 
     This same signal sequence is logically developed in the course of operation of the data processing system  14  (or  114 ), in a logical sequence illustrated in FIG.  5 . In this sequence the slot machine or device M 1 - 1  (or any other machine) issues the service requesting signal S 50  received in step  501  indicating the source of the request and the type of problem. Concurrent therewith the patron may also be making a request shown as a signal sequence PS, received in step  502 . The timing between the signals is then compared in step  503  and if signal PS lags signal S 50  by a selected time increment or less then the sequence is returned to the main branch at step  504 . Otherwise, signal PS returns to the initial step  501  as a separate, unrelated process. 
     In step  504  the request is identified and a service assignment is then communicated in step  505 , as signal S 12 , to the employee at the bottom of a first-in, first-out stack (FIFO)  511 - 1 - 511 - n , assigned to each grid coordinate. On the completion of the task the employee sends the completion signal S 41  reconciled in step  506 . Then in step  507  a record is made of the service, including the length thereof, and in step  508  the employee is returned back to those available in FIFO stack  511 - 1 - 511 - n . Thereafter the system remains in an idle do-loop shown at step  509 , waiting for the next request signal. 
     In this manner a single, very narrow bandwidth communication carrier can be used to service contiguous zones which because of its narrow nature is relatively immune to cross-talk or other interference. The same attributes render this system particularly useful for low power, multiple area application. 
     While the foregoing description illustrates the various data reception and transmission paths by way of holding registers, shift registers and the like, such is illustrative only. Those in the art will appreciate that various serial data transmission and reception devices, at various levels of integration and capacity, are currently available, as for example devices commonly known as  U niversal  A synchronous  R eceiver and  T ransmitters [UARTs]. 
     In all the forms illustrated herein the inventive system allows for higher employee productivity, better management information and, most importantly, better customer response. Moreover, good data is available for analysis on the reliability of the various machine types, assisting in the task of quality control. 
     Since the foregoing system communicates into a single channel, the same task assignment signal directing the employee to a particular casino machine location may also be utilized to display a re-assuring message like “Your request will be serviced in just a few minutes.” In this manner optimal employee use is effected while also maintaining good customer relations. 
     Obviously, many modifications and variations can be effected without departing from the spirit of the invention disclosed herein. It is therefore intended that the scope of the invention be determined solely by the claims appended hereto.