Service Controller For Servicing Wagering Game Machines
Contents
1. 0069 At block 802 it is determined that there is no player interaction with a wagering game machine For example a wagering game machine s wagering game unit 232 deter mines that a player is not currently interacting with the wager ing game machine 302 Player interaction can include insert ing monetary value activating input devices playing a wagering game etc The flow continues at block 804 0070 Atblock 804 a self analysis is performed on service information For example the service information unit 238 analyzes its own service information or service information describing with other wagering game machines The analysis can include statistically analyzing the service information to determine whether it falls within acceptable ranges compar ing service information between wagering game machines etc The analysis performed at block 804 can reveal compo nent failures or indicate that components need specific ser vices The flow continues at block 806 0071 At block 806 player interaction is detected For example the wagering game unit 232 detects that a player is interacting with the wagering game machine 302 Player interaction can include receiving value e g money or credit pressing buttons to view wager gaming information etc The flow continues at block 808 0072 At block 808 the analysis is stopped For example the service information unit 238 stops analyzing service information The flow continues at block2. a player input device configured to receive a player input for a wagering game and a display unit configured to display the wagering game and a wagering game unit configured to attempt performing an operation with at least one device of the one or more wagering game machine devices in response to a condition of the at least one device determine that the at least one device should be sub stituted with a substitute device and perform the operation with the substitute device instead of with the at least one device 5 The wagering game machine of claim 4 wherein the player input is selected from a group consisting of a wager input and a game selection 6 The wagering game machine of claim 4 wherein the attempt of performing the operation is in response to receiv ing the player input 7 The wagering game machine of claim 4 wherein the attempt of performing the operation is in response to one or more other operations of the wagering game machine 8 The wagering game machine of claim 4 wherein the condition of the at least one device is a fault condition 9 The wagering game machine of claim 4 wherein the display unit is a primary display unit of the wagering game machine 10 The wagering game machine of claim 4 wherein the substitute device is selected from a group consisting of at least one other device of the one or more wagering game machine devices at least one device of another wagering game Sep 4 2014 mach
3. 810 0073 Atblock 810 there is a determination about whether a fatal error has been discovered during the analysis Fatal errors can include hardware and or software faults such as faults in Non volatile Random Access Memory Ifa fatal error has been discovered the process continues at block 814 Otherwise the flow 800 continues at block 812 0074 At block 812 the player interaction is processed For example the wagering game unit 232 processes a player interaction In one embodiment processing the player inter action can include receiving monetary or player input such as button or touch screen input Processing the player interaction can also include conducting a wagering game e g video slots video poker etc based on the player input The flow continues at block 812 From block 812 the flow ends 0075 At block 814 the wagering game machine is dis abled from conducting wagering games For example the service information unit 238 disables the wagering game machine s wagering game unit 232 from conducting wager ing games Although the wagering game unit 232 will not conduct wagering games it and or the service information unit 238 may report additional service information to the service controller 316 and perform service commands received from the service controller 316 In one embodiment after encountering a fatal error the service information unit 238 informs the service controller 316 and or presents an error messa
4. informa tion can include information indicating component utiliza tion repair codes failure information component sensor readings e g printer s print head temperature sensor print er s paper tray sensor etc etc The service information can also include information about other wagering game machines 302 and or mobile wagering game units 304 in the local area network 314 Additionally the service information can include information about player inputs player informa tion wagering game outcomes or any other information that can be used in determining a wagering game machine s ser vice status 0035 In one embodiment the service controller 316 can use the service information to deduce that a machine is expe riencing technical difficulties For example the service infor mation may indicate that an unusually low number of 5 bills has been received by the value input device 214 Although in this example the service information does not include any data directly indicating a fault in the value input device 214 the service controller 316 can compare parameters in the service information to expected parameter values Ifthe val ues are outside of an acceptable range the service controller 316 can take service actions prescribed in a service plan associated with the wagering game machine and or the value input device 214 Embodiments of the service controller 316 can use the service information to deduce maintenance needs f
5. method of claim 13 further comprising attempting to perform the operation via the wagering game unit in response to one or more other operations of the wagering game machine 16 The method of claim 13 wherein the condition of the at least one device is a fault condition 17 The method of claim 13 wherein the substitute device is selected from a group consisting of at least one other device of the one or more wagering game machine devices at least one device of another wagering game machine and at least one device of a network device communicatively coupled with the wagering game machine 18 The method of claim 13 wherein the substitute device is selected from one or more idle wagering game machines that are communicatively coupled with the wagering game machine on a network 19 A non transitory machine readable storage device including instructions which when executed by a particular wagering game machine cause the particular wagering game machine to perform operations comprising receiving via a player input device a player input for a wagering game displaying the wagering game on a display unit attempting to perform an operation with at least one device of one or more wagering game machine devices the one or more wagering game machine devices including at least the player input device and the display unit in response to a condition of the at least one device deter mining that the at least one device should be subst
6. For example the operations of FIG 5 can be used to ensure that each casino 312 always or almost always has Jackpot Party games running on at least three wagering game machines 302 0048 FIG 5 is a flow diagram illustrating operations for instructing a wagering game machine to conduct a particular wagering game according to example embodiments of the invention The flow diagram 500 commences at block 502 0049 At block 502 information is received over a net work where the information indicates that a certain number of wagering game machines are presenting a particular wagering game For example the service controller 316 receives service information from the wagering game machines 302 where the service information indicate that three or any other suitable number of the wagering game machines 302 are presenting a particular wagering game such as Jackpot Party or Monopoly based slots The num ber of wagering game machines 302 presenting the particular wagering game may fluctuate over time because of compo nent failures or other service needs The flow continues at block 504 0050 At block 504 a determination is made based on a service plan about how many wagering game machines should be presenting the particular wagering game For example the service controller 316 looks up and inspects an electronic representation ofa service plan associated with the wagering game machines 302 Based on the service plan the service c
7. IS THERE A SERVICE PLAN ASSOCIATED WITH THE WAGERING GAME MACHINE BASED ON THE SERVICE PLAN AND OR THE INFORMATION SHOULD ANY SERVICE ACTIONS BE PERFORMED PERFORM THE SERVICE ACTIONS 408 FIG 4 Patent Application Publication Sep 4 2014 Sheet 5 of 10 US 2014 0248955 Al BEGIN RECEIVE VIA A NETWORK INFORMATION INDICATING A CERTAIN NUMBER OF WAGERING GAME MACHINES ARE PRESENTING A WAGERING GAME DETERMINE BASED ON A SERVICE CONTRACT THAT THERE SHOULD BE A DIFFERENT NUMBER OF WAGERING GAME MACHINES PRESENTING THE FIRST WAGERING GAME TRANSMIT TO ONE OR MORE WAGERING GAME MACHINES AN INDICATION TO BEGIN OR TO STOP PRESENTING THE WAGERING GAME FIG 5 Patent Application Publication Sep 4 2014 Sheet 6 of 10 US 2014 0248955 Al FR 600 BEGIN RECEIVE A WAGER ASSOCIATED WITH A COLLECT SERVICE INFORMATION WAGERING GAME ER UN vun 602 606 CONDUCT A WAGERING GAME AND IF TRANSMIT THE SERVICE INFORMATION NEEDED PAY OUT ON THE WAGER TO A SERVICE CONTRACT CONTROLLER RECEIVE AND OR PERFORM SERVICE COMMANDS END FIG 6 Patent Application Publication Sep 4 2014 Sheet 7 of 10 US 2014 0248955 Al 700 4 BEGIN RECEIVE SERVICE INFORMATION DESCRIBING RELATED WAGERING GAME MACHINES gt 702 COMPARE THE SERVICE INFORMATION DESCRIBING RELATED WAGERING GAME MACHINES WITH SERVICE INFORMATION ABOUT SELF SN EDR IS THE SERVICE VES INFORMATION DESCRIBING OTHER MACHINES WI
8. Sep 4 2014 next section describes example operations performed by components of a wagering game network Operations 0040 This section describes operations performed by embodiments of the invention In the discussion below the flow diagrams will be described with reference to the block diagrams presented above In certain embodiments the operations are performed by instructions residing on machine readable media e g software while in other embodiments the operations are performed by hardware and or other logic 0041 FIGS 4 9 are discussed below FIGS 4 and 5 describe operations for receiving and processing service information while FIGS 6 9 describe operations for collect ing and transmitting service information This description will proceed with a discussion of FIG 4 0042 FIG 4 is a flow diagram illustrating operations for receiving service information and performing service actions according to example embodiments of the invention Flow diagram 400 commences at block 402 0043 At block 402 service information originating from a wagering game machine is received over a network For example the service controller 316 receives service informa tion from a wagering game machine 302 The flow continues at block 404 0044 At block 404 a determination is made about whether there is a service plan associated with the wagering game machine For example service controller 316 deter mines whether there is a serv
9. THIN AN ACCEPTABLE 706 RANGE OF THE SERVICE INFORMATIOD ABOUT SELF TRANSMIT INFORMATION ASSOCIATED WITH THE COMPARISON 708 FIG 7 Patent Application Publication Sep 4 2014 Sheet 8 of 10 US 2014 0248955 Al soo 4 BEGIN DETERMINE THAT THERE IS NO PLAYER INTERACTION WITH A WAGERING GAME MACHINE S gt 802 PERFORM SELF ANALYSIS OR ANALYZE OTHER J 804 NETWORKED WAGERING GAME MACHINES DETECT PLAYER INTERACTION WITH THE WAGERING GAME 806 MACHINE 1 E RECEIVE A WAGER ASSOCIATED WITH A WAGERING GAME gt 808 STOP ANALYSIS DISABLE THE WAGERING GAME yes MACHINE FROM CONDUCTING FATAL ERROR gt gt 810 WAGERING GAMES PROCESS THE PLAYER INTERACTION 812 END FIG 8 Patent Application Publication Sep 4 2014 Sheet 9 of 10 US 2014 0248955 Al 900 A BEGIN RECEIVE PLAYER INPUT ASSOCIATED WITH A WAGERING 902 GAME ATTEMPT TO PERFORM AN OPERATION USING A WAGERING GAME MACHINE DEVICE DETERMINE THAT THE WAGERING GAME MACHINE DEVICE SHOULD BE SUBSTITUTED WITH A SUBSTITUTE DEVICE PERFORM THE OPERATION USING THE SUBSTITUTE DEVICE FIG 9 Patent Application Publication Sep 4 2014 Sheet 10 of 10 US 2014 0248955 Al 1000 4 10 10 1020 eem SS 4028 1042 FIG 10 US 2014 0248955 Al SERVICE CONTROLLER FOR SERVICING WAGERING GAME MACHINES RELATED APPLICATION 0001 This patent application is a continuation of U S patent applicatio
10. US 20140248955 A1 a9 United States a2 Patent Application Publication o Pub No US 2014 0248955 A1 Cramer et al 43 Pub Date Sep 4 2014 54 71 72 73 21 22 63 SERVICE CONTROLLER FOR SERVICING WAGERING GAME MACHINES Applicant WMS Gaming Inc Waukegan IL US Steven R Cramer Mundelein IL US Grover T Surratt Winfield IL US Alfred Thomas Las Vegas NV US Inventors Assignee WMS Gaming Inc Waukegan IL US Appl No 14 279 029 Filed May 15 2014 Related U S Application Data Continuation of application No 13 295 909 filed on Nov 14 2011 now Pat No 8 747 221 which is a continuation of application No 12 293 371 filed on Feb 12 2009 now Pat No 8 075 397 filed as appli cation No PCT US07 06696 on Mar 16 2007 1000 amp 60 Provisional application No 60 743 521 filed on Mar 17 2006 Publication Classification 51 Int Cl G07F 17 32 2006 01 52 U S Cl CPUs G07F 17 3209 2013 01 USPE wenende raed 463 31 57 ABSTRACT Methods and apparatus for servicing wagering game machines are described herein In one embodiment the method includes receiving over a wagering game network service information originating from a wagering game machine wherein the wagering game machine is configured to receive a wager associated with a wagering game The method can also include based on the service information and a service plan as
11. according to example embodiments of the invention As shown in FIG 3 the wagering game network 300 includes a plurality of casinos 312 and a service control ler 316 connected to a communications network 318 Each of the plurality of casinos 312 includes a local area network 314 which includes a wagering game server 306 mobile wagering game units 304 and wagering game machines 302 Although not shown in FIG 3 each casino 312 can include a service controller 316 In one embodiment the wagering game server 306 serves wagering games and or distributes wagering game content over the local area network 314 The wagering game server 306 mobile wagering game unit 304 and wagering game machines 302 can include hardware and machine read able media including instructions for transmitting service related information to the service controller 316 In one embodiment the service controller 316 receives the service US 2014 0248955 Al information and determines service actions based on the information and service plans applicable to the wagering game machines 302 0034 The service information can include information about any component of a wagering game machine 302 or mobile wagering game unit 304 such as a CPU 226 main memory 228 peripheral device software program etc Addi tionally the service information can include information about machines on the local area network 314 such as the wagering game server 306 For example the service
12. aring frequencies with which error mes sages are received from different wagering game machines 302 If the errors are occurring more frequently in some wagering game machines 302 the service controller 316 may determine that service actions are required for those wagering game machines 302 If service actions should be performed the flow continues at block 408 Otherwise the flow ends 0046 Atblock 408 the service actions are performed For example the service controller 316 performs service opera US 2014 0248955 Al tions based on the service information and service plan asso ciated with the wagering game machine 302 The service actions can include transmitting appropriate portions of a service manual to a wagering game machine 302 so techni cians can use the service manual in servicing the wagering game machine 302 The actions can also include transmitting reboot commands scheduling a wagering game machine for maintenance communicating instructions to a technician and remotely accessing any of a wagering game machine s addressable storage locations such as locations in BIOS not shown main memory 228 storage unit 230 or any periph eral device From block 408 the flow ends 0047 This description continues with FIG 5 which describes additional service actions In particular FIG 5 describes operations for ensuring that a particular wagering game is being presented on a predetermined number of wagering game machines
13. cted to main memory 228 0028 The CPU 226 is also connected to an input output I O bus 222 which facilitates communication between the wagering game machine s components The I O bus 222 is connected to a wagering game unit 232 In one embodiment the wagering game unit 232 can receive wagers and conduct wagering games such as video poker video black jack video Sep 4 2014 slots video lottery etc The I O bus 222 is also connected to a service information unit 238 which includes an electronic service plan 239 In one embodiment the service information unit 238 collects and analyzes service information and carries out service operations 0029 The I O bus 222 is also connected to a payout mechanism 208 primary display 210 secondary display 212 value input device 214 player input device 216 information reader 218 storage unit 230 and service information unit 238 which includes a service plan 239 The I O bus 222 is also connected to an external system interface 224 which is connected to external systems 204 e g wagering game net works 0030 In one embodiment the wagering game machine 206 can include additional peripheral devices and or more than one of each component shown in FIG 2 For example in one embodiment the wagering game machine 206 can include external system interfaces 224 and multiple CPUs 226 In one embodiment any of the components can be inte grated or subdivided Additionally the compone
14. e controller For example the wagering game machine 302 transmits the service information through the external interface 224 to the service controller 316 In one embodiment the wagering game machine transmits the ser vice information to the service controller 316 in response to the service controller s request not shown for the service information In another embodiment the wagering game machine 302 transmits the service information to a repository not shown accessible to the service controller 316 The flow continues at block 605 0056 Atblock 605 service commands are received and or performed For example the service information unit 238 receives service commands from the service controller 316 The service information unit 238 can carry out the service commands In one embodiment the service information unit 238 itself carries out the service commands In another embodiment the service information unit 238 forwards the service commands to the CPU 226 for execution As noted above the commands can include reboot commands reset commands cycle commands clear commands and com mands for accessing addressable memory locations and returning data to the service controller 316 etc The service information unit 238 can perform the service commands immediately or it can wait until later e g until after a wager ing game is complete and all wagers are paid 0057 In one embodiment the service information unit 238 does not rec
15. eive service commands from the service controller 316 Instead service information unit 238 itself analyzes the service information and performs service com mands such as tilting the wagering game machine 302 or disabling wagering game machine components From block 605 the flow ends US 2014 0248955 Al 0058 At block 606 a wager is received in association with a wagering game For example the wagering game machine 302 receives a wager through its player input device 216 value input device 214 The flow continues at block 608 0059 At block 608 the wagering game is conducted and if needed a wager is paid For example the wagering game machine s wagering game unit 232 conducts the wagering game e g slots video poker video blackjack etc and if needed pays out the wager From block 608 the flow ends 0060 The description continues with FIG 7 which describes how wagering game machines can collect service information from other wagering game machines in a gaming network 0061 FIG 7 is a flow diagram illustrating operations for collecting service information from wagering game machines in a gaming network according to example embodiments of the invention The flow diagram 700 begins at block 702 0062 At block 702 service information about other wagering game machines is received For example a wager ing game machine 302 receives service information from a neighboring wagering game machine In one embodim
16. ent the service information originates from and describes one or more wagering game machines in close spatial proximity to the wagering game machine 302 In one embodiment the service information can describe wagering game machines that not in close spatial proximity but that are related in some other way such as having identical or similar game themes components configurations operating times etc The flow continues at block 704 0063 At block 704 the service information about other wagering game machines is compared to service information about the machine performing flow 600 For example the wagering game machine s service information unit 238 com pares the service information describing other wagering game machines with the service information describing the wagering game machine 302 The flow continues at block 706 0064 At block 706 a determination is made about whether the other service information is within an acceptable range For example the service information unit 238 deter mines whether the service information describing the other machines is within an acceptable range of the service infor mation describing the wagering game machine 302 If the service information is not with an acceptable range the flow continues at block 708 Otherwise the flow continues at block 708 0065 At block 708 information associated with the com parison is transmitted For example the service information unit 238 transmits info
17. ge on the wagering game machine s primary dis play 210 From block 814 the flow ends US 2014 0248955 Al 0076 While FIG 8 describes operations for scheduling service information analyses this description continues with FIG 9 which describes a failover technique that finds sub stitute components to perform wagering game operations 0077 FIG 9 is a flow diagram illustrating operations for performing wagering game operations using a substitute wagering game machine device according to example embodiments of the invention The flow 900 commences at block 902 0078 At block 902 player input associated with a wager ing game is received For example the wagering game unit 232 receives player input e g a button press through the player input device 216 The player input can include wagers game selections etc The flow continues at block 904 0079 At block 904 an attempt is made to perform an operation using a wagering game machine device For example the wagering game unit 232 or the wagering game machine s operating system attempts to present a player input screen on the primary display 210 In one embodiment the operation at block 904 occurs in response to the player input from block 902 or as a result of other operations occur ring in the wagering game unit 232 The flow continues at block 906 0080 At block 906 a determination is made that the wagering game machine device should be substituted with a substit
18. hine device according to example embodiments of the invention and 0017 FIG 10 is a perspective view of a wagering game machine according to example embodiments of the inven tion DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 0018 Methods and apparatus for servicing wagering game machines are described herein This description of the embodiments is divided into five sections The first section provides an introduction to embodiments of the invention The second section describes example gaming device archi tectures while the third section describes example operations performed by some embodiments of the gaming device archi tectures The fourth section describes gaming machines and gaming network and the fifth section provides some general comments Introduction 0019 This section introduces embodiments of the inven tion In one embodiment wagering game machines can elec tronically report varying types of service information to remotely located service controllers The service controllers can analyze the service information along with service plans applicable to the wagering game machines The service con trollers can based on the service information and service plans take measures to repair maintain the wagering game machines 0020 In one embodiment the service controller can use general service information to determine that specific wager US 2014 0248955 Al ing game machine components need service For example the service i
19. hines provide many benefits to game owners and players including increased reliability over mechanical machines greater game variety improved sound and animation and lower overall management cost 0005 When technicians initially deploy wagering game machines for use in casinos they typically manually wire the machines into wagering game networks and manually con figure numerous settings For example the technicians may configure settings such as currency denominations for bill validators screen resolution for video displays volume for an audio devices etc Technicians often configure gaming machine settings by toggling DIP switches moving expan sion board jumpers setting various dials and knobs and paging through complicated set up menus 0006 After deploying the wagering game machines into operation technicians typically expend considerable efforts maintaining and repairing the machines Technicians often utilize a variety of resources such as service manuals and schematics to facilitate the maintenance repair process However despite these resources even the most experienced technicians have difficulties maintaining and repairing wagering game machines in the field Additionally the main tenance repair process can be complicated by a need for spe cialized tools and replacement parts Sep 4 2014 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES 0007 The present invention is illustrated by way of example and not limitation in
20. ice plan associated with the wagering game machine 302 In one embodiment the service controller 316 searches a database or other data store for a service plan associated with the wagering game machine 302 In one embodiment the service plan enumerates services to be performed by the service controller 316 The service plan can be part of a service contract or other agreement between a wagering game machine operator and a service provider If there is a service plan associated with the wagering game machine the flow continues at block 406 Otherwise the flow ends 0045 At block 406 a determination is made about whether service actions should be performed where the determination is based on the service plan and the service information For example the service controller 316 deter mines based on the service plan and information whether to perform service actions The service controller 316 can make the determination according to different criteria In one embodiment the service controller 316 can inspect the ser vice information for indicia e g service codes explicitly indicating that particular services are needed by components of a wagering game machine 302 Alternatively the service controller 316 can deduce based on the service information whether service actions should be taken see discussion of FIG 3 In one embodiment the service controller 316 records and analyzes the service information Such analysis can include comp
21. ine and at least one device of a network device commu nicatively coupled with the wagering game machine 11 The wagering game machine of claim 4 wherein the display unit is a primary display unit of the wagering game machine the substitute device being a secondary display unit of the wagering game machine and the condition being a fault condition of the primary display unit 12 The wagering game machine of claim 4 wherein the substitute device is selected from one or more idle wagering game machines that are communicatively coupled with the wagering game machine on a network 13 A method performed by a wagering game machine comprising receiving via a player input device a player input for a wagering game displaying the wagering game on a display unit attempting via a wagering game unit to perform an opera tion with at least one device of one or more wagering game machine devices the one or more wagering game machine devices including at least the player input device and the display unit in response to a condition of the at least one device deter mining via the wagering game unit that the at least one device should be substituted with a substitute device and performing the operation with the substitute device instead of with the at least one device 14 The method of claim 13 further comprising attempting to perform the operation via the wagering game unit in response to receiving the player input 15 The
22. ituted with a substitute device and performing the operation with the substitute device instead of with the at least one device US 2014 0248955 Al 20 The non transitory machine readable storage device of claim 19 wherein the instructions further cause attempting to perform the operation in response to receiving the player input 21 The non transitory machine readable storage device of claim 19 wherein the instructions further cause attempting to perform the operation in response to one or more other opera tions ofthe wagering game machine 22 The non transitory machine readable storage device of claim 19 wherein the condition of the at least one device is a fault condition 23 The non transitory machine readable storage device of claim 19 wherein the substitute device is selected from a group consisting of at least one other device of the one or more wagering game machine devices at least one device of another wagering game machine and at least one device ofa network device communicatively coupled with the wagering game machine Sep 4 2014
23. ment the primary display unit 1004 displays a plural ity of video reels 1020 According to embodiments of the invention the display units 1004 and 1010 can include any visual representation or exhibition including moving physi cal objects e g mechanical reels and wheels dynamic lighting and video images In one embodiment each reel 1020 includes a plurality of symbols such as bells hearts fruits numbers letters bars or other images which corre spond to a theme associated with the wagering game machine 1000 Additionally the wagering game machine 1000 also includes an audio presentation unit 1028 The audio presen tation unit 1028 can include audio speakers or other suitable sound projection devices 0089 In one embodiment the wagering game machine 1000 can transmit service information and perform opera tions described above General 0090 In this description numerous specific details are set forth However it is understood that embodiments of the invention may be practiced without these specific details In US 2014 0248955 Al other instances well known circuits structures and tech niques have not been shown in detail in order not to obscure the understanding of this description Note that in this description references to one embodiment or an embodi ment mean that the feature being referred to is included in at least one embodiment of the invention Further separate ref erences to one embodime
24. n Ser No 12 293 371 filed Feb 12 2009 which is a U S National Stage Filing under 35 U S C 371 from International Patent Application Ser No PCT US2007 006696 filed Mar 16 2007 and published on Sep 27 2007 as WO 2007 109168 A2 and republished as WO 2007 109168 A3 which claims the priority benefit of U S Provisional Patent Application Ser No 60 743 521 filed Mar 17 2006 and entitled SERVICE CONTROLLER FOR SERVICING WAGERING GAME MACHINES the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties LIMITED COPYRIGHT WAIVER 0002 A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material to which the claim of copyright protection is made The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by any person of the patent document or the patent disclosure as it appears in the U S Patent and Trade mark Office file or records but reserves all other rights what soever Copyright 2006 2007 WMS Gaming Inc FIELD 0003 This invention relates generally to the field of wagering game machines and more particularly to the field of troubleshooting and servicing wagering game machines BACKGROUND 0004 A wide variety of computerized wagering game machines are now available to casino operators and players Computerized wagering game machines range from slot machines to games that are traditionally played live such as poker blackjack roulette etc These wagering game mac
25. nformation can indicate how many maximum bets were made in a given time period If the number of maximum bets is uncharacteristically low the service con troller can determine that the max bets button needs ser vice The service controller can determine how to service the max bets button based on a service plan e g a service contract covering the wagering game machine The follow ing discussion of FIG 1 shows one embodiment of such a system 0021 FIG 1 is a block diagram illustrating dataflow and operations for remotely servicing wagering game machines according to example embodiments of the invention As shown in FIG 1 the wagering game network 100 includes a wagering game machine 102 and service controller 106 0022 The dataflow and operations may occur in four stages At stage one the wagering game machine 102 trans mits service information 104 to the service controller 106 The service information 104 can include raw data or summa ries describing how often the machine has been used the machine s performance fault information and or any other information relevant to ascertaining whether the wagering game machine 102 needs service 0023 Atstage two the service controller 106 analyzes the service information 104 based on a service agreement cover ing the wagering game machine 102 Using an electronic representation ofthe service agreement not shown the ser vice controller 106 determines what service inf
26. ng the appropriate amount of money a player can begin playing the game by pushing play button 1008 The play button 1008 can be any play activator used for starting a wagering game or sequence of events in the wagering game machine 1000 0086 As shown in FIG 10 the wagering game machine 1000 also includes a bet display 1012 and one or more bet buttons on the panel 1016 The player can place a bet by pushing one or more of the bet buttons on the panel 1016 The player can increase the bet by one or more credits each time the player pushes a bet button When the player pushes a bet one button 1016 the number of credits shown in the credit display 1006 decreases by one credit while the number of credits shown in the bet display 1012 increases by one credit 0087 A player may end the gaming session or cash out by pressing a cash out button 1018 When a player cashes out the wagering game machine 1000 dispenses a voucher or currency corresponding to the number of remaining credits The wagering game machine 1000 may employ other payout mechanisms such as credit slips which are redeemable by a cashier or electronically recordable cards which track player credits or electronic funds transfer 0088 The wagering game machine also includes a pri mary display unit 1004 and a secondary display unit 1010 also known as a top box The wagering game machine may also include an auxiliary video display 1040 In one embodi
27. nt in this description do not nec essarily refer to the same embodiment however neither are such embodiments mutually exclusive unless so stated and except as will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art Thus the present invention can include any variety of combinations and or integrations of the embodiments described herein Each claim as may be amended constitutes an embodiment of the invention incorporated by reference into the detailed description 0091 Herein block diagrams illustrate example embodi ments of the invention Also herein flow diagrams illustrate operations of the example embodiments of the invention The operations of the flow diagrams are described with reference to the example embodiments shown in the block diagrams However it should be understood that the operations of the flow diagrams could be performed by embodiments of the invention other than those discussed with reference to the block diagrams and embodiments discussed with references to the block diagrams could perform operations different than those discussed with reference to the flow diagrams Addi tionally some embodiments may not perform all the opera tions shown in a flow diagram Moreover although the flow diagrams depict serial operations certainembodiments could perform certain of those operations in parallel 1 3 canceled 4 A wagering game machine comprising one or more wagering game machine devices including
28. nts of the wagering game machine 206 can be interconnected according to any suitable interconnection architecture e g directly connected hypercube etc 0031 In one embodiment any of the components of the wagering game machine 206 e g service information unit 238 can be embodied as hardware firmware and or software for performing the operations described herein For example in an alternative to the embodiment shown in FIG 2 the service information unit 238 can be software stored in the main memory 228 and executed by the CPU 226 Any of the wagering game machine s components can include machine readable media including instructions for causing a machine to perform the operations described herein Machine read able media includes any mechanism that provides i e stores and or transmits information in a form readable by a machine e g a wagering game machine computer etc For example tangible machine readable media includes read only memory ROM random access memory RAM mag netic disk storage media optical storage media flash memory machines etc Machine readable media also includes any media suitable for transmitting software over a network 0032 While FIG 2 describes example embodiments of a wagering game machine FIG 3 shows how a plurality of wagering game machines can be connected in a network Example Wagering Game Network 0033 FIG 3 is a block diagram illustrating a wagering game network
29. nts of the inven tion As shown in FIG 10 the wagering game machine 1000 can be a computerized slot machine having the controls displays and features of a conventional slot machine 0084 The wagering game machine 1000 can be mounted ona stand 1042 or it can be constructed as a pub style tabletop game not shown As a result the wagering game machine 1000 can be operated while players are standing or seated Furthermore the wagering game machine 1000 can be con Sep 4 2014 structed with varying cabinet and display designs The wager ing game machine 1000 can incorporate any primary game such as slots poker or keno and additional bonus round games The symbols and indicia used on and in the wagering game machine 1000 can take mechanical electrical or video form 0085 As illustrated in FIG 10 the wagering game machine 1000 includes a coin slot 1002 and bill acceptor 1024 Players can place coins in the coin slot 1002 and paper money or ticket vouchers in the bill acceptor 1024 Other devices can be used for accepting payment For example credit debit card readers validators can e used for accepting payment Additionally the wagering game machine 1000 can perform electronic funds transfers and financial transfers to procure monies from financial accounts When a player inserts money in the wagering game machine 1000 a number of credits corresponding to the amount deposited are shown in a credit display 1006 After depositi
30. ons can be performed sequentially or in an interleaved fashion 0054 At block 602 service information is collected For example a wagering game machine s service information unit 238 collects service information As noted above see discussion of FIG 3 the service information 238 can include any information that directly or indirectly indicates service states of a wagering game machine s components In one embodiment the service information unit 238 receives status information from one or more of the wagering game machine s peripheral devices e g the ticket printer 216 payout mechanism 208 etc The service information unit 238 can also collect service information about hardware and software that are not part of the wagering game machine s peripheral devices For example the service information unit 238 can receive service information from the wagering game machine s operating system not shown where the informa tion indicates service states of a hard disk drive not shown expansion card not shown main memory 228 or other device In one embodiment the service information unit 238 can collect service information set forth in a service plan covering the wagering game machine 302 In one embodi ment a representation of the service plan is stored on the wagering game machine 302 see service plan 239 of FIG 2 The flow continues at block 604 0055 At block 604 the service information is transmitted to a servic
31. ontroller 316 determines how many e g 3 4 or any suitable number wagering game machines 302 should be presenting the particular wagering game The flow continues at block 506 0051 At block 506 an indication is transmitted to one or more wagering game machines where the indication instructs the wagering game machine s to begin cease pre senting a particular wagering game For example the service controller 316 instructs a wagering game machine 302 to begin presenting a particular wagering game In one embodi ment the indication causes the wagering game machine 302 to switch between different wagering games For example the wagering game machine may be presenting a Monopoly based slots game before switching to Jackpot Party as a result of an indication from the service controller 316 From block 506 the flow ends 0052 While the discussion of FIGS 4 and 5 describes operations for processing service information and performing service actions FIGS 6 9 will describe operations collecting and transmitting service information and carrying out service actions This description will continue with FIG 6 Sep 4 2014 0053 FIG 6 is a flow diagram illustrating operations for transmitting service information according to example embodiments of the invention The flow diagram 600 com mences at blocks 602 and 606 In one embodiment the opera tions of flow 600 can be performed in parallel In another embodiment the operati
32. or any component of the wagering game machines 302 mobile wagering game unit 304 and wagering game server 306 0036 In one embodiment the wagering game machines 302 can alone or in concert with the service controller 316 detect hardware software faults and isolate faulty compo nents After detecting faults the wagering game machines 302 and or service controller 316 can analyze the faults to determine what service actions may fix the faults In one embodiment the service controller 316 can remotely initiate services whereas in another embodiment the wagering game machines 302 initiate service operations on their own 0037 The wagering game machines described herein can take any suitable form such as floor standing models hand held mobile units bartop models workstation type console models etc In one embodiment the wagering game network 300 can include other network devices such as accounting servers wide area progressive servers and or other devices suitable for use in connection with embodiments of the inven tion 0038 The components of each casino 312 can communi cate over wired 308 and or wireless connections 310 Further more they can employ any suitable connection technology such as Bluetooth the IEEE 802 communication protocol family Ethernet public switched telephone networks SONET etc 0039 While the discussion of FIGS 2 and 3 describes wagering game machines and wagering game networks the
33. ormation and or service commands it will send to the wagering game machine 102 The service commands can include instructions for resetting the wagering game machine 102 and or its com ponents recalibrating components testing components etc The service commands can include service information which can include human readable service notes service manual text machine specific maintenance logs or other information useful in servicing the machine 0024 At stage three the service controller transmits the service commands 108 to the wagering game machine 102 0025 At stage four the wagering game machine 102 per forms the service commands and or stores the service infor mation If additional services are needed the wagering game machine 102 or the service controller 106 can inform techni cians about what services have been performed and what services are needed s a result the service controller 106 can provide service according to a service plan to remotely located wagering game machines 0026 These and other features will be described in more detail below The next section describes example wagering game machines in more detail Example Operating Environment Example Wagering Game Machine Architecture 0027 FIG 2 is a block diagram illustrating a wagering game machine according to example embodiments of the invention As shown in FIG 2 the wagering game machine 206 includes a central processing unit CPU 226 conne
34. rmation about the comparison to the service controller 316 In one embodiment the information can include statistics indicating how far out of range the service information is For example the service information can indicate that temperatures are 30 higher than normal particular buttons have been pressed with 50 higher fre quently than normal pay outs have been 5 higher than normal etc 0066 Although the operations of the flow 700 can be performed by embodiments ofa wagering game machine the service controller 316 can perform similar operations For example in one embodiment the service controller 316 can compare service information collected from a set of wagering game machines with the service information of an individual wagering game machine The service controller 316 can take service actions based on the comparisons For example if a Sep 4 2014 wagering game machine received significantly fewer max bets than other machines in close spatial proximity the ser vice controller 316 could notify service technicians that the machine s max bet button may have failed or the service controller 316 could reposition the max bet button on the machine s configurable button panel 0067 This description continues with FIG 8 0068 FIG 8 is a flow diagram illustrating operations for scheduling a service analysis according to example embodi ments ofthe invention The flow diagram 800 begins at block 802
35. sociated with the wagering game machine determining a service action The method can also include performing the service action 10 10 1028 1004 1912 1002 4024 1 1008 11042 Patent Application Publication Sep 4 2014 Sheet 1 of 10 US 2014 0248955 Al 108 11 CONTRACT BASED TI SERVICE SERVICE INFORMATION I COMMANDS INFORMATION Dame e SERVICE CONTROLLER FIG 1 Patent Application Publication 200 4 PAYOUT 20811 MECHANISM PRIMARY 210 DISPLAY 42 SECONDARY LT DISPLAY 214 VALUE INPUT DEVICE 2167 PLAYER INPUT DEVICE 218 14 INFORMATION READER 2207 WAGER INPUT UNIT 2 SERVICE INFORMATION UNIT SERVICE PLAN Sep 4 2014 Sheet 2 of 10 US 2014 0248955 A1 204714 EXTERNAL SYSTEM INTERFACE gt 226 CPU 228 5 MAIN MEMORY WAGERING 6 232 GAME UNIT STORAGE 230 UNIT FIG 2 Patent Application Publication Sep 4 2014 Sheet 3 of 10 US 2014 0248955 Al I CASINO MOBILE WAGERING GAME UNIT MOBILE WAGERING GAME UNIT WAGERING GAME SERVER CASINO SERVICE CONTROLLER CASINO S 312 FIG 3 Patent Application Publication Sep 4 2014 Sheet 4 of 10 US 2014 0248955 Al 400 amp BEGIN RECEIVE VIA A NETWORK INFORMATION ORIGINATING FROM A WAGERING GAME MACHINE
36. the Figures of the accompany ing drawings in which 0008 FIG 1 is a dataflow diagram illustrating dataflow attendant to operations for remotely servicing wagering game machines according to example embodiments of the inven tion 0009 FIG 2 is a block diagram illustrating a wagering game machine according to example embodiments of the invention 0010 FIG 3 is a block diagram illustrating a wagering game network according to example embodiments of the invention 0011 FIG 4 is a flow diagram illustrating operations for receiving service information and performing service actions according to example embodiments of the invention 0012 FIG 5 is a flow diagram illustrating operations for instructing a wagering game machine to conduct a particular wagering game according to example embodiments of the invention 0013 FIG 6 is a flow diagram illustrating operations for transmitting service information according to example embodiments of the invention 0014 FIG 7 is a flow diagram illustrating operations for collecting service information from other wagering game machines in a gaming network according to example embodiments of the invention 0015 FIG 8 is a flow diagram illustrating operations for scheduling a service analysis according to example embodi ments of the invention 0016 FIG 9 is a flow diagram illustrating operations for performing wagering game operations using a substitute and wagering game mac
37. ute device For example the wagering game unit 232 or operating system recognizes that the primary display 210 is exhibiting a fault and selects the secondary display 212 to operate as a substitute device In one embodiment the wager ing game unit 232 can select any suitable device in the wager ing game machine 302 to be the substitute device In one embodiment the wagering game unit 232 can select devices that are not part of the wagering game machine 302 For example the wagering game unit 232 can select a processor in an adjacent sign controller not shown as a substitute for the CPU 226 Similarly the wagering game machine 302 can select CPUs of idle wagering game machines in the network 314 The flow continues at block 908 0081 At block 908 the operation is performed using the substitute device For example the wagering game unit 232 presents the player input screen on the secondary display 212 As noted above in one embodiment the substitute device can be any device of the wagering game machine 302 or other network devices such as other wagering game machines on the local area network 314 From block 908 the flow ends Wagering Game Devices and Wagering Game Networks 0082 This section describes addition details of wagering game machines in which embodiments of the invention can be practiced Example Wagering Game Machine 0083 FIG 10 is a perspective view of a wagering game machine according to example embodime
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