US 11,238,702 B2Granted

Method of modifying a primary game of an existing legacy gaming machine to include secondary awards

AssigneeVulcan Gaming LLC

InventorSam Johnson

Life of this patent

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Abstract

Secondary gaming functionality is implemented relative to a casino gaming machine by a secondary controller which is associated with the gaming machine. In this manner, primary gaming functionality, such as primary wagering games and the award of primary awards and/or player reward points, may be implemented by the main game controller of the gaming machine. In addition, however, secondary gaming functionality may also be implemented at the gaming machine, such as secondary wagering games, secondary awards such as bonus and progressive awards and/or player reward points, via the secondary controller. The secondary controller may only implement secondary gaming functionality in response to a secondary wager placed by a player beyond a primary wager which enables the primary gaming functionality.

Claims19

Dependent claims

A modified gaming machine comprising:

a housing;
a master gaming controller;
a plurality of gaming machine peripherals communicating with said master gaming controller via one or more communication links, at least one of said plurality of gaming machine peripherals comprising an electronic video display;
said master gaming controller configured to present a wager based main game based upon a wager of one or more primary monetary value credits associated with said gaming machine, said wager based game offering one or more base awards for winning outcomes of said main game, said base awards comprising one or more primary credits;
and
a secondary hardware controller added to the gaming machine to modify the gaming machine to implement one or more progressive jackpots, said secondary hardware controller in communication with one or more of said communication links, said secondary hardware controller configured to increment a value of at least one of said one or more progressive jackpots based upon a secondary wager placed with said secondary hardware controller and award at least a portion of at least one of said one or more progressive jackpots in the event a predetermined bonus opportunity winning outcome is generated by said main game.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 16/838,862Filed 2 Apr 2020 · continuation
Priority: 18 Sep 2012
Published: US 2020/0234542 A123 Jul 2020
Granted: 1 Feb 2022
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification3 codes

G07F 17/3267
Game play aspects of gaming systems: game outcomes which determine the course of the subsequent game, e.g. double or quits, free games, higher…
G07F 17/3258
Payment aspects of a gaming system, e.g. payment schemes, setting payout ratio, bonus or consolation prizes: cumulative reward schemes, e.g. jackpots
G07F
Coin-freed or like apparatus

Family

Application13/622,150Parent of this continuation-in-part · filed 18 Sep 2012
Application62/232,356Us provisional application · filed 24 Sep 2015
Application15/151,120Parent of this continuation-in-part · filed 10 May 2016
Application15/271,208Parent of this continuation · filed 20 Sep 2016
US 10,002,492 B2Parent of this continuation-in-part · filed 19 Jun 2018
US 10,607,441 B2Parent of this continuation-in-part · filed 31 Mar 2020
US 2020/0234542 A1Pre-grant publication · published 23 Jul 2020
US 10,614,667 B2Parent of this continuation
Application15/271,208Parent of this continuation-in-part
US 2014/0080562 A1Published application
US 2016/0253871 A1Published application
US 2017/0053497 A1Published application
US 11,238,702 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.