Abstract:
A gaming device having a bonus scheme wherein a combination of bonus symbols trigger a bonus game and any one of the bonus symbols in the bonus game provides a player with an award. The award may be an extension of the bonus game by providing the player with additional spins or games. Also, the award may modify the combination and type of bonus symbols needed to enter the bonus game. Furthermore, the award may modify the award values in the bonus game. Therefore, a combination of bonus symbols triggers the bonus game and also triggers the gaming device to provide bonus awards in the bonus game. The re-triggering symbol award bonus scheme changes the probability of winning for the player and therefore creates a higher level of excitement and enjoyment of the game.

Description:
PRIORITY CLAIM 
     This application is a continuation of, and claims priority to and the benefit of, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/555,583, filed on Jul. 23, 2012, which is a continuation of, and claims priority to and the benefit of, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/015,037, filed on Jan. 27, 2011, which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,246,444 on Aug. 21, 2012, which is a continuation of, and claims priority to and the benefit of, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/031,629, filed on Feb. 14, 2008, which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 7,927,206 on Apr. 19, 2011, which is a continuation of, and claims priority to and the benefit of, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/156,112, filed on Jun. 17, 2005, which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 7,331,867 on Feb. 19, 2008, which is a continuation of, and claims priority to and the benefit of, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/981,133, filed on Oct. 15, 2001, which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,913,532 on Jul. 5, 2005, the entire contents of each of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     COPYRIGHT NOTICE 
     A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains or may contain material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the photocopy reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure in exactly the form it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever. 
     BACKGROUND 
     The present invention relates in general to a gaming device, and more particularly to a gaming device having a re-triggering symbol bonus scheme. 
     The base or primary game of most slot machines involves one or more mechanical or video spinning reels, each of which display a plurality of symbols. In many such games, a triggering event such as a symbol or combination of symbols yield one or more opportunities or chances in a bonus or secondary game, which is played in addition to the base game. 
     It is desirable to provide players with new and different gaming devices with new and different bonus schemes for the enjoyment and entertainment of players. 
     SUMMARY 
     One embodiment of the present invention provides a gaming device having a slot base game and a slot bonus game wherein one or more bonus triggering symbols in the base game are employed as bonus re-triggers in the bonus game. In one preferred embodiment, the occurrence of a predetermined combination of a plurality of bonus triggering symbols (such as three bonus triggering symbols along a payline) in a base game triggers a corresponding bonus game. In that bonus game, the same bonus triggering symbols in any position (i.e., a scatter pay) functions as the bonus re-trigger in the bonus game which causes one or more additional activations of the reels or one or more re-triggers of that entire bonus game. The probability of obtaining the bonus re-trigger in the bonus game which is based on the same bonus symbols needed to trigger the bonus game in the base game is greater than the probability of obtaining the bonus trigger in the base game because the combination of bonus triggering symbols can occur anywhere on the reels in the bonus game to cause the bonus re-trigger (i.e., a scatter pay). 
     Accordingly, the present invention provides a gaming device, which includes a symbol or symbol combination in a primary or base game which triggers a secondary or bonus game, and a symbol or symbol combination in the secondary or bonus game which is more likely to occur in the bonus game and which re-triggers the secondary or bonus game or a portion thereof. More generally, the present invention provides a gaming device which includes a bonus triggering event in a primary or base game which triggers a secondary or bonus game and a bonus re-triggering event in the secondary or bonus game which re-triggers the secondary or bonus game or a portion thereof. The bonus triggering event in the primary or base game and the bonus re-triggering event in the secondary or bonus game preferably employ the same symbols or symbol combinations such that the bonus re-triggering event in the secondary or bonus game is more likely to occur in the bonus game than the bonus triggering event in the primary or base game. 
     The bonus re-trigger in the bonus game may, for instance, provide the player a bonus game extension such as additional or free spins in the bonus game, a replay of the entire bonus game, or a modification to the bonus game such as changing the bonus re-triggering symbol or bonus re-triggering combination of symbols in the bonus game. The bonus-retrigger can alternatively cause other changes in the bonus game as desired by the game implementor. For instance, the bonus re-trigger may cause a modification of the bonus award pay scale or table such as doubling or tripling subsequent award values in the bonus game. 
     It is therefore an advantage to provide a gaming device having a re-triggering symbol bonus scheme, 
     Other features and advantages will be apparent from the following detailed disclosure, taken in conjunction with the accompanying sheets of drawings, wherein like numerals refer to like parts, elements, components, steps and processes. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1A  is a front elevation view of a general embodiment of the gaming device of the present invention. 
         FIG. 1B  is a front elevation view of a second embodiment of the gar ping device of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic block diagram of the electronic configuration of one embodiment of the gaming device of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3A  is an enlarged front elevation view of one of the display devices of  FIGS. 1A and 1B  showing an embodiment of a bonus triggering symbol combination. 
         FIG. 3B  is an enlarged front elevation view of one of the display devices of  FIGS. 1A and 1B  illustrating a bonus re-trigger symbol combination in a bonus game. 
         FIG. 4  is an enlarged front elevation view of one of the display devices of  FIGS. 1A and 1B  illustrating a bonus re-trigger in a bonus game where a player receives additional spins. 
         FIG. 5A  is an enlarged front elevation view of one of the display devices of  FIGS. 1A and 1B  showing a bonus re-trigger where the bonus re-triggering combination is two “B” symbols on a payline. 
         FIG. 5B  is an enlarged front elevation view of one of the display devices of  FIGS. 1A and 1B  illustrating a bonus re-trigger where the bonus re-triggering symbol is a different symbol. 
         FIG. 6  is an enlarged front elevation view of one of the display devices of  FIGS. 1A and 1B  wherein the bonus re-trigger includes an award modification. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Gaming Device and Electronics 
     Referring now to the drawings, two embodiments of the gaming device of the present invention are illustrated in  FIGS. 1A and 1B  as gaming device  10   a  and gaming device  10   b , respectively. Gaming device  10   a  and/or gaming device  10   b  are generally referred to herein as gaming device  10 . Gaming device  10  is in one embodiment a slot machine having the controls, displays and features of a conventional slot machine. It is constructed so that a player can operate it while standing or sitting, and is preferably mounted in a console or cabinet. However, it should be appreciated that gaming device  10  can be constructed as a pub-style table-top game (not shown) which a player can operate preferably while sitting. Furthermore, gaming device  10  can be constructed with varying cabinet and display designs, as illustrated by the designs shown in  FIGS. 1A and 1B . Gaming device  10  can also be implemented as a program code stored in a detachable cartridge for operating a hand-held video game device. Also, gaming device  10  can be implemented as a program code stored on a disk or other memory device which a player can use in a desktop or laptop personal computer or other computerized platform. 
     Gaming device  10  may be adapted to incorporate any primary game such as slot, poker, blackjack or keno, any of their bonus triggering events and any of their bonus round games in conjunction with the present invention. The symbols and indicia used on and in gaming device  10  may be in mechanical, electronic, electrical or video form. 
     As illustrated in  FIGS. 1A and 1B , gaming device  10  includes a coin slot  12  and bill acceptor  14  where the player inserts money, coins or tokens. The player can place coins in the coin slot  12  or paper money or ticket vouchers in the bill acceptor  14 . Other devices could be used for accepting payment such as readers or validators for credit cards or debit cards. When a player inserts money in gaming device  10 , a number of credits corresponding to the amount deposited is shown in a credit display  16 . After depositing the appropriate amount of money, a player can begin the game by pulling arm  18  or pushing play button  20 . Play button  20  can be any play activator used by the player which starts any game or sequence of events in the gaming device. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 1A and 1B , gaming device  10  also includes a bet display  22  and a bet one button  24 . The player places a bet by pushing the bet one button  24 . The player can increase the bet by one credit each time the player pushes the bet one button  24 . When the player pushes the bet one button  24 , the number of credits shown in the credit display  16  decreases by one, and the number of credits shown in the bet display  22  increases by one. The gaming device may also include a conventional bet maximum button (not shown) and conventional payline bet buttons. 
     A player may “cash out” and thereby receive a number of coins corresponding to the number of remaining credits by pushing a cash out button  26 . When the player “cashes out,” the player receives the coins in a coin payout tray  28 . The gaming device  10  may employ other payout mechanisms such as credit slips redeemable by a cashier or electronically recordable cards which keep track of the player&#39;s credits. 
     Gaming device  10  also includes one or more display devices. The embodiment shown in  FIG. 1A  includes a central display device  30 , and the alternative embodiment shown in  FIG. 1B  includes a central display device  30  as well as an upper display device  32 . Gaming device  10  in one embodiment displays a plurality of reels  34  such as three to five reels  34  in mechanical or video form at one or more of the display devices. However, it should be appreciated that the display devices can display any visual representation or exhibition, including but not limited to movement of physical objects such as mechanical reels and wheels, dynamic lighting and video images. A display device can be any viewing surface such as glass, a video monitor or screen, a liquid crystal display or any other display mechanism. If the reels  34  are in video form, the display device for the video reels  34  is preferably a video monitor. 
     Each reel  34  displays a plurality of indicia or symbols such as bells, hearts, fruits, numbers, letters, bars or other images or symbols which preferably correspond to a theme associated with the gaming device  10 . Furthermore, gaming device  10  preferably includes speakers  36  for making sounds or playing music. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 2 , the general electronic combination of gaming device  10  preferably includes: a processor  38 ; a memory device  40  for storing program code or other data; a central display device  30 ; an upper display device  32 ; a sound card  42 ; a plurality of speakers  36 ; and one or more input devices  44 . The processor  38  is preferably a microprocessor or microcontroller-based platform which is capable of displaying images, symbols and other indicia such as images of people, characters, places, things and faces of cards. The processor may include a main processor and a sub-processor which control certain features of the gaming device in conjunction with the main processor. The memory device  40  can include random access memory (RAM)  46  for storing event data or other data generated or used during a particular game. The memory device  40  can also include read only memory (ROM)  48  for storing program code which controls the gaming device  10  so that it plays a particular game in accordance with applicable game rules and pay tables. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 2 , the player preferably uses the input devices  44 , such as pull arm  18 , play button  20 , the bet one button  24  and the cash out button  26  to input signals into gaming device  10 , In certain instances it is preferable to use a touch screen  50  and an associated touch screen controller  52  instead of a conventional video monitor display device. Touch screen  50  and touch screen controller  52  are connected to a video controller  54  and processor  38 . A player can make decisions and input signals into the gaming device  10  by touching touch screen  50  at the appropriate places. As further illustrated in  FIG. 2 , the processor  38  can be connected to coin slot  12  or bill acceptor  14 . The processor  38  can be programmed to require a player to deposit a certain amount of money in order to start the game. 
     It should be appreciated that although a processor  38  and memory device  40  are preferable implementations of the present invention, the present invention can also be implemented using one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC&#39;s) or other hard-wired devices, or using mechanical devices (collectively referred to herein as a “processor”). Furthermore, although the processor  38  and memory device  40  preferably reside on each gaming device  10  unit, it is possible to provide some or all of their functions at a central location such as a network server for communication to a playing station such as over a local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), Internet connection, microwave link, and the like. The processor  38  and memory device  40  are generally referred to herein as the “computer” or “controller.” 
     With reference to  FIGS. 1A, 1B and 2 , to operate the gaming device  10  in one embodiment the player must insert the appropriate amount of money or tokens at coin slot  12  or bill acceptor  14  and then pull the arm  18  or push the play button  20 . The reels  34  will then begin to spin. Eventually, the reels  34  will come to a stop. As long as the player has credits remaining, the player can spin the reels  34  again. Depending upon where the reels  34  stop, the player may or may not win additional credits. 
     In addition to winning credits in this manner, preferably gaming device  10  also gives players the opportunity to win credits in a bonus round. This type of gaming device  10  will include a program which will automatically begin a bonus round when the player has achieved a qualifying condition in the game. This qualifying condition can be a particular arrangement of indicia on a display device as discussed in detail below. The gaming device  10  in one embodiment uses a video-based central display device  30  to enable the player to play the bonus round. In one embodiment as discussed below, the qualifying condition is a predetermined combination of indicia or symbols appearing on a plurality of reels  34 . As illustrated in the five reel slot game shown in  FIGS. 1A and 1B , the qualifying condition could be the number seven appearing on three adjacent reels  34  along a payline  56 . It should be appreciated that the present invention can include one or more paylines, such as payline  56 , wherein the paylines can be horizontal, diagonal or any combination thereof. 
     Bonus Re-Trigger 
     Referring now to  FIG. 3A , a set of mechanical or video reels  34  is generally illustrated having symbols  58  designated as A through F. It should be appreciated that any suitable set of symbols could be used as the symbols  58  in accordance with the present invention. In this embodiment, the “B” symbols  60  are the bonus symbols and the appearance of three “B” symbols on any activated payline, such as payline  1 , triggers a bonus game as indicated by bonus display  62 . Although in this example three “B” symbols are used to trigger the bonus game, it should be appreciated that any symbol combination having the same symbol or designated symbols may be used as the bonus triggering combination. 
       FIG. 3B  illustrates one embodiment of the bonus game of the present invention in which the bonus re-trigger occurs in the bonus game when the same symbols which trigger the bonus game in the base game are displayed in a scattered combination on multiple paylines. In this embodiment, the “B” symbol  60  is the bonus re-trigger symbol and any three “B” symbols on three paylines provides the bonus re-trigger in the bonus game as described in bonus display  64 . Accordingly, as described above, in accordance with the present invention, the bonus re-trigger will occur more frequently than the bonus trigger because the bonus trigger will only occur when the bonus triggering symbols are aligned along a payline. The bonus re-trigger, however, will occur when the bonus triggering symbols are aligned along a payline or when the bonus triggering symbols occur along any payline. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 4 , one embodiment of the present invention is shown in which the bonus re-trigger occurs when one bonus triggering symbol occurs. In this example, the bonus game was triggered by obtaining a predetermined combination of the bonus symbols “B”  60  as illustrated in  FIG. 3A , for instance. The bonus triggering symbol “B” is the bonus re-trigger symbol in the bonus game. In other words, any one of the bonus symbols “B” which in combination trigger the bonus game in the base game, is the symbol in the bonus game which provides a bonus re-trigger in the bonus game. In one embodiment, only one bonus symbol  60  located on any payline  56  is required to obtain a bonus re-trigger in the bonus game. It should be appreciated, however, that any combination of the same bonus symbols, which is more likely to occur in the bonus game than in the primary game, may be used to obtain a bonus re-trigger in the bonus game in accordance with the present invention. Thus, the present invention provides a bonus game which increases the chances of obtaining a bonus re-trigger using the same primary symbols by requiring less of those symbols in the bonus game to obtain a bonus re-trigger than in the primary game, or by requiring a more likely to occur combination of those symbols in the bonus game to obtain a re-trigger in the bonus game. Returning now to  FIG. 4 , the appearance of bonus symbol “B”  60  in the bonus game causes a bonus re-trigger for the player in the bonus game. The bonus re-trigger is ten free spins in the bonus game as designated by the bonus display  66 . 
     Another embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in  FIGS. 5A and 5B . In this embodiment, the bonus re-trigger restructures or changes how the bonus game is subsequently re-triggered, initiated, or played, or changes the structure or type of the bonus game. Initially, the bonus game was triggered by obtaining three “B” symbols along a payline as shown in  FIG. 3A , for instance. The bonus symbol “B” triggers the bonus re-trigger in the bonus game, which, in this case, changes the bonus game re-triggering symbol combination or event. 
     In  FIGS. 5A and 5B , a player obtains two “B” symbols which changes the bonus re-triggering symbol or bonus mode. In one embodiment, the probability of obtaining the bonus re-triggering symbol becomes even greater.  FIG. 5A  illustrates one embodiment where the player obtains two “B” symbols  60  on one payline  56  in the bonus game which changes the bonus game as indicated by bonus display  68 . This changes the bonus game to include another bonus re-triggering symbol “C.” 
     In  FIG. 5B , the bonus re-triggering symbol also now includes the “C” symbol  69  on any payline as described in bonus display  70 . Since the bonus retrigger symbols now also includes the “C” symbol  69 , the player has a better chance of obtaining the bonus re-trigger because both the “B” symbol and the “C” symbol now provide the bonus re-trigger in this new, modified, or changed bonus game. The bonus re-trigger could be, for instance, additional spins of the reels wherein a player can obtain bonus awards. The new bonus game could also change the paylines or other functions of the game, increase or decrease the number of reels in the base game, or change to an entirely new bonus game. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 6 , another embodiment of the present invention is shown where the bonus re-trigger additionally changes or modifies an award in the bonus game. In  FIG. 6 , the player entered the bonus game by obtaining a bonus triggering event that included three bonus symbols “B,” designated by the numeral  60 . The bonus symbol “B” is the bonus re-triggering symbol in the bonus game. The player obtains the bonus re-triggering symbol “B” on paylines one and three. Thus, the player receives the bonus re-trigger and a modification of the award provided to the player in the bonus game as described by bonus display  72 , which includes tripling the bonus award values. It should be appreciated that any modifications of the bonus award values may be made including, but not limited to, multiplying the values by some factor or increasing the bonus award values by a fixed amount. 
     Accordingly, the present invention provides a gaming device which includes a secondary game triggering event in a primary game which triggers a secondary game, a secondary game re-triggering event in the secondary game which re-triggers the entire secondary game or a portion thereof, wherein the secondary game re-triggering event in the secondary game is more likely to occur in the secondary game than the secondary game triggering event in the primary game. Preferably, the secondary game re-triggering event in the secondary game and the secondary game triggering event in the primary game employ the same triggering symbols. 
     While the present invention is described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it should be appreciated that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, and is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the claims. Modifications and variations in the present invention may be made without departing from the novel aspects of the invention as defined in the claims, and this application is limited only by the scope of the claims.