Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US7887405?dq=5636223
Timestamp: 2013-12-08 15:30:18
Document Index: 723316884

Matched Legal Cases: ['Application No. 96', 'Application No. 96', 'Application No. 52850', 'Application No. 7706', 'Application No. 52850', 'Application No. 52850', 'Application No. 7706', 'Application No. 7706', 'Application No. 96', 'Application No. 9']

Patent US7887405 - Off-line remote system for lotteries and games of skill - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Advanced Patent Search | Sign inAdvanced Patent SearchPatentsAn off-line remote lottery system which enables players to purchase instant-type lottery game outcomes from a randomized prize data stream in a central computer, and view the outcomes on remotely disposed gaming computers which do not require an on-line connection during play....http://www.google.com/patents/US7887405?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US7887405 - Off-line remote system for lotteries and games of skillPublication numberUS7887405 B2Publication typeGrantApplication numberUS 11/426,963Publication dateFeb 15, 2011Filing dateJun 28, 2006Priority dateJun 30, 1995Also published asUS6402614, US6607439, US6942570, US7008318, US7285045, US7303468, US20020169018, US20040038723, US20050143162, US20060160601, US20060246998, US20060246999, US20060247000Publication number11426963, 426963, US 7887405 B2, US 7887405B2, US-B2-7887405, US7887405 B2, US7887405B2InventorsBruce Schneier, Jay S. Walker, James JoraschOriginal AssigneeWalker Digital, LlcPatent Citations (72), Non-Patent Citations (31), Classifications (29) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetOff-line remote system for lotteries and games of skillUS 7887405 B2Abstract An off-line remote lottery system which enables players to purchase instant-type lottery game outcomes from a randomized prize data stream in a central computer, and view the outcomes on remotely disposed gaming computers which do not require an on-line connection during play.
The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/304,103, entitled �OFF-LINE REMOTE SYSTEM FOR LOTTERIES AND GAMES OF SKILL�, filed Dec. 15, 2005 and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 7,285,045 on Oct. 23, 2007;
which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/057,665, entitled �OFF-LINE REMOTE SYSTEM FOR LOTTERIES AND GAMES OF SKILL�, filed Feb. 14, 2005 and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 7,008,318 on Mar. 7, 2006, in the name of Schneier et al.;
which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/620,260 entitled �OFF-LINE REMOTE SYSTEM FOR LOTTERIES AND GAMES OF SKILL�, filed Jul. 15, 2003 and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,942,570 on Sep. 13, 2005;
BACKGROUND The present invention relates generally to remote gaming systems, and more particularly, to an off-line system for playing games of chance, including instant-type lottery games typically embodied in a ticket having multiple chances which represent a single predetermined outcome offered by a managing authority are rendered on a gaming computer as an �electronic ticket,� such as, for example, a dedicated hand-held device or programmed is general personal computer. In addition, the present invention provides for playing games of skill on such a device. In a lottery application, the system enables a player to play instant-type tickets on the game computer with the same convenience as typical paper scratch-off tickets at any location without the gaming computer ever having to be physically or electronically connected to a lottery system network during play, thereby providing enhanced play value for the player and greater revenues for the managing authority.
To prevent fraud, the Validation number cannot be seen without scratching off the latex covering material. If the validation number were Visible without requiring that the latex be removed first, retailers could check whether or not each ticket was a winner, and then keep winning tickets for themselves, selling only the losing tickets to customers. In, this connection, the validation number is typically comprised of nine (9) digits. An illustrative validation number for the above �Win for Life� ticket is: 71069-7041. This number singularly identifies this ticket from the millions of tickets that are printed for that game. It is important to note that this number is encoded and not in sequential order. If the latter was the case, retailers could buy one ticket for themselves and check its validation number. They could then enter the next ten validation numbers into the online system to determine whether any were winners. Again, customers might be sold the losing tickets while the retailer kept the winners. Encryption prevents this, because knowing one validation number provides the retailer with no information about the next number.
Some lotteries place restrictions on the distribution of outcomes, including limits on the number of high tier winners per book; how many consecutive non-winning tickets Y % of the time; and the maximum number of non-winning tickets per row. In arranging the lottery, the authority decides how many tickets are to be sold, the payback percentage of the game as a whole, and what prizes will be awarded and the frequency of winning tickets among the total number of tickets. For example, if the lottery wanted to sell a total of 20 tickets and have a payout percentage for the game of 50%, they might need to pay $10 total for the game. This might consist of one $5 winner, one $2 winner, and three $1 winners and is may be represented as: 5, 2, 1, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0. Note that the process so far has been completely deterministic. There is no randomness at all. Of course the lottery does not want to have the first five tickets sold to be winners, so it randomizes the order of the tickets. The resulting sequence might look like the following: 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 2, 0, 0, 5, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 1. As tickets are requested by players, they are removed from the sequence of outcomes. From the above set of outcomes, a player requesting four tickets might buy four losers�0, 0, 0, 0. If the next player requested three tickets, he or she may get 0,1,0. The next three tickets sold might be 2,0,0. This process continues until the entire sequence of outcomes is exhausted. Of course the computer can also pull outcome requests from the game sequence at random, so that a request for three outcomes could get the outcomes in location 5, 8, and 11 (which might correspond to 0,2,5). These outcomes would then be eliminated from the game sequence so that the next player cannot get the same sequence.
Turning now to the outcomes/game authorizations that are actually communicated to the HTV 20, they are predetermined in the sense that the CMC 12 knows exactly what has been transferred to a given HTV 20 in connection with any purchase. In order to facilitate outcome generation, the CMC 12 may include a program 42 for generating a random prize data stream (�RPD�) 44; a pool containing a finite series of win/lose outcomes/game authorizations O1 . . . On (e.g., . . . win $2, win $2, lose, lose, win $10, lose, lose . . . . etc). In the case of lotteries, the aggregate of all winning outcomes/game authorizations in any RPD 44 is a predetermined percentage payout of the total revenues to be generated by the sale of all �tickets� represented by the outcomes/game authorizations in the RPD 44. However, the outcomes may be generated �on the fly� (i.e., contemporaneous with or simultaneous to a purchase request). In the illustrative situation where the RPD is determined in advance, when a purchase request is received, the CMC 12 utilizes a �ticket� (outcome) purchase routine 48 that randomly selects the next m outcomes/game authorizations from the RPD 44 (and possibly �standby outcomes/game authorizations�−x to allow for reinvestment of winnings, this will be described below) to be assigned to a particular HTV 20. The outcome purchase routine 48 then directs the CMC 12 to generate an authenticatable game authorization message AGAM which is subsequently communicated to and read by the HTV 20 following one of the protocols described below. For auditing purposes, the outcome purchase routine 48 may also direct the CMC 12 to store transactional data in a record 40, including the outcomes/game authorizations m assigned in field 52, and the standby outcomes/game authorizations x assigned in field 54, and optionally, even the AGAM itself. Accompanying this data may be the price point for a given �ticket� (outcome) such as $0.25, $1, $2, etc., in field 56, the net payoff in field 58, and the time/date in field 60. Thus, a record is generated in the CMC 12 for each transaction with a given HTV 20.
In order to provide for tracking player history, data relating to players, including any related bonus award data, may be stored in a player information database 79. In this manner, the managing authority 11 can provide, players with loyalty rewards such as free outcomes/game authorizations for total �tickets� purchased or the like.
The game generation program 152 may be designed to generate a variety of games of types well known in the art. Accordingly, the specifics of presenting electronic games on a game computer need not be discussed in detail. It is contemplated that many kinds of games can be rendered, including games of skill; �no-choice� or non-skill games with a predetermined outcome such as, for example, the type commonly associated with pull-tab type instant lottery tickets, slot machine type games where the outcome appears random to the player but is known to the CMC 12 prior to, or becomes known to the CMC 12 at the time of, game purchase a sweepstakes, or bingo; or pseudo-choice games with a predetermined outcome such as video poker. In the case of the latter, the outcome for a particular poker game is predetermined with a maximum payoff which is recovered if the player plays every hand correctly. If the player plays incorrectly, the payout is less than the maximum represented by the outcome for a particular game. In addition, the game program 152 may generate games that are races of skill. These include crossword puzzles or word descrambler games which must be completed within a specified period of time. If the player completes the game in the time allotted, the player is paid the predetermined payoff on the outcome purchased for that game. If not, a win is not credited to the HTV account 155 described below. The game program 152 can be designed to require a game identifier such that the managing authority 11 selects the particular games to be played in connection with any outcomes/game authorizations that are sold. In this regard, the authenticatable game authorization message AGAM may include data that the game program 152 uses to direct the HTV 20 to generate a specific game for those outcomes/game authorizations. In order to provide for updating games in the HTV 20, new game programs can be loaded into memory 100 in a conventional manner via the smart card 28 or by plugging the HTV 20 into the AT 16 as described above and then uploading the appropriate software instructions/data.
Referring now to FIG. 10, there is shown another embodiment of the present invention for playing probabilistic games of chance, in which the authenticatable game authorization message AGAM represents a plurality of player selectable chances to win. Thus, the player's selection determines the outcome of the game. The CMC 12 then verifies the player's selection through the foregoing protocols. In the example shown, the game has five (5) �scratch-off� areas identified by the reference numerals 157 a . . . 157 e (for the purpose of this example, the outcomes are sequential�Oj . . . Oj+5). The player can only select one of these areas per game authorization. Assume the sequence represents the following outcomes in the RPD; lose, win $20, lose, win $5, lose, and the player selects area 157 c (Oj+2), corresponding to a win of $20. To effectuate redemption, the HTV 20 generates an authenticatable redemption request message ARRM that represents outcome Oj+2. To prevent a player from hacking the device in an attempt to ascertain which chance to select, the HTV 20 only contains data identifying outcomes that were assigned from the CMC 12. Thus, reading the data in the HTV 20 is useless, since the player could not interpret the same to find the most favorable outcome. Alternatively, this embodiment can be modified such that the HTV 20 immediately indicates the prize amount, by protecting the integrity of the data. This may be implemented by having the processor components disposed within a tamper-resistant secure perimeter as described above.
Referring now to FIG. 11, there is depicted another embodiment of the invention, in which games of skill are played on the HTV 20 with no immediate outcome. The results of the game are generated by the CMC 12 upon receipt of certain game parameter data from the HTV 20. In an illustrative application, the game program 152 directs the HTV 20 to render a golfing game of skill, such as, for example, PGA TOUR 96 available from ELECTRONIC ARTS. In this game, a digital image of a golf game is rendered on the HTV display 84, comprising a golf ball on a tee, fairway, trees, sand traps, etc. A human figure is superimposed on this background, and Swings a golf club in response to player inputs via the input controls 148. The player's club swing data reperesents various parameters, including the club selected (e.g., one iron, two iron, three wood, etc.) and its specific characteristics (e.g., club head orientation), foot placement, and swing force, speed, direction and the like. In the course of a typical computer generated golf game, these parameters are applied to software instructions that compute a trajectory path for the ball to generate a resultant ball location. After the player swings the club, the display may depict the new ball location relative to the hole. The player continues the game in accordance with well known principles until he places the ball in the hole, and a corresponding score is generated. The present invention contemplates such a game of skill where the player's swing produces a given result that is not known by the player until confirmed by the CMC 12. Assume for the purpose of illustration, that the game objective is to attain a hole-in-one. The initial ball position is the same for every swing, and only one swing per game is allowed. Thus, each game/game authorization is contained in the authenticatable game authorization message AGAM as described in the foregoing, and enables a single swing to be made. The game program 152 is executed by the HTV 20 and allows the player to select a club, foot placement, swing power and other swing parameters to �swing� the club in accordance with the above, utilizing the input controls 148. Other factors, including ambient conditions such as wind speed and direction or other random variables, may be introduced for greater realism. In response to the player's swing input, the HTV 20 generates a data message representing all of the above-described swing parameters but the player does not immediately know the result. The HTV 20 or other associated literature instruct the player to contact the central authority as described in the foregoing to find out whether the swing resulted in a �win.� The swing data is incorporated into an authenticatable redemption request message ARRM and communicated to the CMC 12 using any of the protocols discussed above (e.g., code input by telephone, direct electronic link, etc.). The CMC 12 then runs a program that takes the player's swing parameters to produce a given result; in this case, either a hole-in-one or a miss. If the player achieved a hole-in-one, then some prize may be authorized. To prevent players from eventually determining the swing parameters that produce a favorable result for a given game, such as the proper club choice and swing force/timing, the game program 152 can render different course configurations. These are selected by the CMC 12 for any given game authorization, and identified by appropriate data in the authenticatable game authorization message AGAM that enables game play on the HTV 20.
Referring now to FIG. 12, an CMC 12 is coupled to a telecommunications network 14′ having interactive voice capability and is accessible by dialing a 900 number or the like to enable the outcome purchase and redemption to be effectuated over the telephone 13. Alternatively, the telecommunications network 14′ may be any interactive communications or data network. The protocol is similar to that described above with regard to purchase and redemption at an AT 16, except that here the player simply keys the information into the telephone 13 in response to prompts from the system. Thus, the player first communicates the HTV identification information and requested game authorization data to the CMC 12. If HTV identification/registration is confirmed, the CMC 12 then provides a �ready� indication to the player with instructions to select the number of outcomes game authorizations to be purchased for each price point. The CMC 12 then generates an authenticatable game authorization message AGAM as described above which the player enters into the HTV 20. The system operates similarly to effectuate prize redemption. The HTV 20 generates an authenticatable redemption request message ARRM, and the player simply keys the redemption request message into the telephone in response to the appropriate prompts. The authenticatable redemption request message ARRM is communicated to the CMC 12, which verifies the same, including the expected payoff as discussed above. A credit can then be made to an account for the HTV/player in the CMC 12. In a modification of this embodiment, the HTV 20 may contain its own modem 96 that enables it to communicate directly over the telecommunications network 14. Alternatively, the HTV 20 may incorporate a cellular phone (not shown) or some other communications apparatus for the same purpose. For the purpose of this invention, this embodiment is still considered to be an �off-line arrangement� as there is no need to have an on-line data connection between the HTV 20 and the CMC 12 while game are being played.
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