Patent Description:
While a computerized slot machine, which does not include any physical components other than an interactive display, can be readily reprogrammed to provide a different game, the type of game is limited to just what can be displayed. There is no opportunity to replace the display with a different type of game, such as one that incorporate mechanical elements into the game as well. To offer that type of game in place of the slot machine, the entire cabinet would have to be removed and replaced. If the new cabinet is not exactly the same as the prior cabinet, the new cabinet may not align well with other cabinets in the same row, giving the row an awkward and unappealing appearance. Further, whether a cabinet has to be pulled out for maintenance or repair or conversion to another game or a cabinet has to be replaced, such operations are disruptive to the gaming area, require multiple machines to be shut down, and can significantly increase costs while revenue is lost.

It is also desirable to be able to provide a wide array of different games within a gaming cabinet, including dice, wheel and balls games that rely on gravity, such as roulette. The size of the cabinets, however, is problematic because the roulette wheel needs more horizontal space than is available. Yet, turning the roulette wheel vertical makes it impossible to spin a ball around the roulette wheel, which is critical to the game. <CIT> discloses a gamble wheel assembly for use in an amusement or gaming machine comprising a gamble wheel rotatably mounted with respect to a stationary support about an axis inclined at an acute angle or at a right angle to the vertical, the wheel being formed with a plurality of circumferentially arranged ball carrying pockets, so arranged that when a ball is in a pocket at least part of the ball is visible from the front side of the wheel, a part-annular ball retainer mounted on the support and so arranged to extend circumferentially about the wheel axis adjacent to the pockets to retain captive a ball that has been captured in a pocket in a ball capture region of the rotational path of the pockets, a ball supply unit mounted on said support and so arranged so as to deliver a ball to the wheel, the arrangement being such that the delivered ball is fed directly or indirectly to said ball capture region for capture in a pocket, controllable release means for releasing a captured ball from the pockets, and ball outlet means for receiving balls released from the pockets.

The present disclosure relates generally, but not exclusively, to the field of gaming, particularly gaming cabinets for different games, including roulette.

An embodiment is directed to a single player vertical roulette mechanism that includes a stand, a wheel and a motor, as defined in claim <NUM>.

The present disclosure describes particular embodiments and their detailed construction and operation. The embodiments described herein are set forth by way of illustration only and not limitation. Those skilled in the art will recognize, in light of the teachings herein, that there may be a range of equivalents to the exemplary embodiments described herein. Most notably, other embodiments are possible, variations can be made to the embodiments described herein, and there may be equivalents to the components, parts, or steps that make up the described embodiments. For the sake of clarity and conciseness, certain aspects of components or steps of certain embodiments are presented without undue detail where such detail would be apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the teachings herein and/or where such detail would obfuscate an understanding of more pertinent aspects of the embodiments.

Disclosed herein are methods, systems, and computer readable storage media that provide for increased guest satisfaction, game revenue generation and reduced maintenance costs. Some embodiments of the present invention are described herein in terms of a gaming cabinets for particular games for illustrative purposes. However, embodiments of the present invention are not limited to just the types of games described and may be implemented in various wagering systems - both automated and manual - that provide similar functionalities.

<FIG> illustrates a base <NUM> for a universal cabinet for a variety of different games that may be connected to a top <NUM> of an upper section <NUM> of the base <NUM>. The base <NUM> may further include a lower section <NUM> on which the upper section rests. As further illustrated in <FIG> and <FIG>, the base <NUM> may include a number of exterior elements that provide visual and audio effects that serve to either attract attention to the game, so as to entice someone passing by to play a game offered by the universal cabinet, or to enhance the play of a game being played in the universal cabinet.

The exterior elements may include soft touch gel buttons, such as buttons <NUM> and <NUM>, gel arm rests <NUM> at the bottom of the upper section <NUM> where a players arms would rest for extended periods of time, and a control button <NUM> that may be used for different games. Other lighting effects that may be provided include gel LED modules <NUM> of different sizes and shapes and an ambient LED <NUM> that illuminates the bottom section <NUM> from underneath the upper section <NUM>. The upper section <NUM> may further include a money/credit/card receiving/payout mechanism <NUM> and a display <NUM>. Speakers <NUM> in the lower section <NUM> may provide some or all of the sound, depending on the nature of the game being played. A foot rest <NUM> may also be built into the lower section <NUM>.

The inside of the universal cabinet may include a controller module <NUM> that may provide common connections for each of the different types of toppers and provide a USB connection to an embedded computer (not shown) in the bottom section <NUM>. The embedded computer may be a GANLOT AMDY-<NUM>, which is designed for gaming applications. The controller module <NUM> may also provide outputs for the base cabinet lighting and buttons, which makes it possible to offer numerous gaming machine lighting designs. The controller module <NUM> may also make it possible to quickly change toppers on the base <NUM>. Only the upper section <NUM> may need to be removed to access the controller module <NUM>. Connections from the existing topper may be disconnected and the topper removed from the upper section <NUM>. The new topper may then be attached to the upper section <NUM> and its connections plugged into the controller module <NUM>. In an embodiment, a switch in the controller module <NUM> may then be switched to correspond to the new topper. In other embodiments, the new topper can be identified by connecting or plugging one or more additional modules for that topper into the controller module <NUM> or changing a program of the embedded computer. This may make it possible to quickly change the type of game that is being played on the universal cabinet base <NUM> without have to remove the base <NUM> from any row it is in and without moving other machines or forcing the other machines to be shut down. The may also make it possible to prototype and develop other toppers for new games, further reducing development and production costs.

As previously note, <FIG> and <FIG> further illustrate the base <NUM> of the universal cabinet when a seat <NUM> and a tall curved display topper <NUM> have been connected. In addition to the speakers <NUM> built into the lower section <NUM> of the base <NUM>, such as a <NUM> Watt/<NUM> Ohm subwoofer speaker, the seat <NUM> may include additional speakers <NUM>, such as two <NUM> Watt/<NUM> Ohm speakers in an upper section <NUM> of the seat <NUM>. Additional speakers may be included in the topper <NUM>, such as two <NUM> Watt/<NUM> Ohm speakers <NUM> at the top of the topper <NUM> and two <NUM> Watt/<NUM> Ohm speakers <NUM> at the bottom of the topper <NUM>. In addition to those speakers, a <NUM> Watt/<NUM> Ohm rumble speaker <NUM> may be provided in the bottom section <NUM> of the seat <NUM>. This many speakers may enable a variety of audio effects, especially if a range of speaker types are used, including tweeters, midranges and subwoofers or woofers.

<FIG>, <FIG>, <FIG> and <FIG> illustrate different types of topper that may be added to the base <NUM> as previously discussed. These toppers include the dice topper <NUM> of <FIG>, which enables craps and similar types of dice games to be played. The base <NUM> includes a random generator (not shown) for controlling the randomness of the dice roll in order to make game fair. Even though the dice are being tossed as part of the game in the see-through section <NUM> of the dice topper <NUM>, the game cycle speed may be just as fast as slot machine game cycles, thereby providing a different and more exciting form of a game with at least the same revenue potential as a slot machine being played for the same period of time. Depending on the type of game incorporated into the topper, the base <NUM> may send random results for the game to the topper and in other cases the topper may send the random results to the bottom. For example, in the dice game, the resulting throw of the dice may be randomly effected by a random generator in the base, but the resulting throw cannot be predetermined so it has to be determined at the topper and then sent to the base <NUM>.

<FIG> illustrates to card game toppers, a baccarat topper <NUM> and a blackjack topper <NUM>. Each of the card mechanism <NUM>, such as a SUZO card flipper module, may flip cards under control of the random generator. The card decks can be varied depending on the game, such as a classic deck with or without jokers, and cards including the back sides of cards so cards can be covered. <FIG> illustrates a display card topper <NUM> where the display is wider than tall, which may allow higher resolution display. <FIG> illustrates two different versions of vertical roulette toppers <NUM> and <NUM>. Vertical roulette topper <NUM> includes a roulette wheel <NUM> and signage <NUM> on top of the roulette wheel <NUM>, while vertical roulette topper <NUM> includes an additional display <NUM> on top of which is mounted a roulette wheel <NUM> and signage <NUM>.

As illustrated in <FIG> and <FIG>, the vertical roulette wheel <NUM> includes a stationary roulette ball <NUM>, which is shown mounted to a non-moving portion of the wheel <NUM> near the top, although other positions are possible. Since the roulette ball <NUM> does not move, the numbers do, which is accomplished by mounting a circular ring of numbers on a transparent or translucent number wheel <NUM> that is rotated based on the random generator of the base <NUM>. To simplify the electro-mechanics associated with rotating the number wheel <NUM>, the number wheel <NUM> is sufficiently translucent that LED lighting <NUM> provided behind the numbers is clearly visible. The LED lighting <NUM> circuit board is illustrated in <FIG>. The numbers themselves may be physically printed or attached to the number wheel so they can be illuminated by the LED lighting <NUM>. In play, the random generator determines an amount of force to be applied to rotate number wheel <NUM> or the random generator determines when a breaking force will be applied to the number wheel <NUM> or a combination of both.

The techniques described above can be implemented on a computing device associated with a gaming device (e.g., a gaming cabinet), a plurality of computing devices associated with a plurality of gaming devices, a controller in communication with the gaming device(s) (e.g., a controller configured to synchronize the gaming devices(s)), or a plurality of controllers in communication with the gaming device(s). Additionally, the techniques may be distributed between the computing device(s) and the controller(s). <FIG> illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a computing system that includes hardware modules, software module, and a combination thereof and that can be implemented as the computing device and/or as the server.

In a basic configuration, the computing system may include at least a processor, a system memory, a storage device, input/output peripherals, communication peripherals, and an interface bus. Instructions stored in the memory may be executed by the processor to perform a variety of methods and operations, including the shooter selection and console mirroring, as described above. The computing system components may be present in the gaming device, in a server or other component of a network, or distributed between some combinations of such devices.

The interface bus is configured to communicate, transmit, and transfer data, controls, and commands between the various components of the electronic device. The system memory and the storage device comprise computer readable storage media, such as RAM, ROM, EEPROM, hard-drives, CD-ROMs, optical storage devices, magnetic storage devices, flash memory, and other tangible storage media. Any of such computer readable storage medium can be configured to store instructions or program codes embodying aspects of the disclosure. Additionally, the system memory comprises an operation system and applications. The processor is configured to execute the stored instructions and can comprise, for example, a logical processing unit, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor, and the like.

The system memory and the storage device may also comprise computer readable signal media. A computer readable signal medium may include a propagated data signal with computer readable program code embodied therein. Such a propagated signal may take any of variety of forms including, but not limited to, electro-magnetic, optical, or any combination thereof. A computer readable signal medium may be any computer readable medium that is not a computer readable storage medium and that can communicate, propagate, or transport a program for use in connection with the computing system.

Further, the input and output peripherals include user interfaces such as a keyboard, screen, microphone, speaker, other input/output devices, and computing components such as digital-to-analog and analog-to-digital converters, graphical processing units, serial ports, parallel ports, and universal serial bus. The input/output peripherals may also include a variety of sensors, such as light, proximity, GPS, magnetic field, altitude, and velocity/acceleration. RSSI, and distance sensors, as well as other types of sensors. The input/output peripherals may be connected to the processor through any of the ports coupled to the interface bus.

The user interfaces can be configured to allow a user of the computing system to interact with the computing system. For example, the computing system may include instructions that, when executed, cause the computing system to generate a user interface and carry out other methods and operations that the user can use to provide input to the computing system and to receive an output from the computing system.

This user interface may be in the form of a graphical user interface that is rendered at the screen and that is coupled with audio transmitted on the speaker and microphone and input received at the keyboard. In an embodiment, the user interface can be locally generated at the computing system. In another embodiment, the user interface may be hosted on a remote computing system and rendered at the computing system. For example, the server may generate the user interface and may transmit information related thereto to the computing device that, in tum, renders the user interface to the user. The computing device may, for example, execute a browser or an application that exposes an application program interface (API) at the server to access the user interface hosted on the server.

Finally, the communication peripherals of the computing system are configured to facilitate communication between the computing system and other computing systems (e.g., between the computing device and the server) over a communications network. The communication peripherals include, for example, a network interface controller, modem, various modulators/demodulators and encoders/decoders, wireless and wired interface cards, antenna, and the like.

The communication network includes a network of any type that is suitable for providing communications between the computing device and the server and may comprise a combination of discrete networks which may use different technologies. For example, the communications network includes a cellular network, a WiFi/ broadband network, a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a telephony network, a fiber-optic network, or combinations thereof. In an example embodiment, the communication network includes the Internet and any networks adapted to communicate with the Internet. The communications network may be also configured as a means for transmitting data between the computing device and the server.

The techniques described above may be embodied in, and fully or partially automated by, code modules executed by one or more computers or computer processors. The code modules may be stored on any type of non-transitory computer-readable medium or computer storage device, such as hard drives, solid state memory, optical disc, and/or the like. The processes and algorithms may be implemented partially or wholly in application-specific circuitry. The results of the disclosed processes and process steps may be stored, persistently or otherwise, in any type of non-transitory computer storage such as, e.g., volatile or non-volatile storage.

As previously noted, the various features and processes described above may be used independently of one another, or may be combined in various ways. All possible combinations and sub- combinations are intended to fall within the scope of this disclosure. In addition, certain method or process blocks may be omitted in some implementations. The methods and processes described herein are also not limited to any particular sequence, and the blocks or states relating thereto can be performed in other sequences that are appropriate. For example, described blocks or states may be performed in an order other than that specifically disclosed, or multiple blocks or states may be combined in a single block or state. The example blocks or states may be performed in serial, in parallel, or in some other manner. Blocks or states may be added to or removed from the disclosed example embodiments. The example systems and components described herein may be configured differently than described. For example, elements may be added to, removed from, or rearranged compared to the disclosed example embodiments.

Conditional language used herein, such as, among others, "can," "could," "might," "may," "e.g.," and the like, unless specifically stated otherwise, or otherwise understood within the context as used, is generally intended to convey that certain embodiments include, while other embodiments do not include, certain features, elements, and/or steps. Thus, such conditional language is not generally intended to imply that features, elements and/or steps are in any way required for one or more embodiments or that one or more embodiments necessarily include logic for deciding, with or without author input or prompting, whether these features, elements and/or steps are included or are to be performed in any particular embodiment.

Claim 1:
A vertical roulette mechanism, comprising:
a stand;
a transparent or translucent wheel (<NUM>; <NUM>) configured to be mounted to the stand, the wheel (<NUM>; <NUM>) including a circular ring of a plurality of numbers corresponding to a movable roulette wheel (<NUM>);
a motor affixed to the stand and configured to rotate and brake the movable roulette wheel (<NUM>) while the stand remains stationary;
a stationary roulette ball (<NUM>) fixedly mounted to the stand;
a plurality of lights (<NUM>) fixedly mounted to the stand between the stand and the wheel (<NUM>) and behind each of the plurality of numbers, the plurality of lights configured to illuminate the wheel so the numbers are visible to a player of the vertical roulette mechanism; and
a base section (<NUM>) including a controller module (<NUM>) and a computer module, the controller module (<NUM>) including a plurality of connectors, the base section (<NUM>) including an interactive display and one or more buttons configured to enable a player to interact with a roulette game at least partially displayed on the display, the wheel and the plurality of lights including connectors configured to mate with the plurality of connectors;
the base section further comprising a random number generator that determines an amount of force to be applied to rotate the movable roulette wheel or when a braking force will be applied to the movable roulette wheel or a combination of both.