System and method for combining low-power signals and high-power signals on a single circuit board in a gaming machine

#The present invention relates generally to gaming machines, and, more particularly, to a circuit board having low-power circuitry and high-power circuitry for controlling the operation of a gaming machine.

#Gaming machines, such as slot machines, video poker machines, and the like, have been a cornerstone of the gaming industry for several years. The electronics of a gaming machine typically include a backplane which provides connectors for connection to various devices of the gaming machine, a logic circuit board which includes a central processing unit, memory, and other logic circuitry, and an I/O circuit board which includes communications and power interfaces to devices of the gaming machine. In one arrangement, the logic circuit board and the I/O circuit board are “piggybacked” to the backplane via separate connectors, and are thus disposed parallel to one another. However, the communications interfaces of the I/O circuit board may also include logic circuitry, so the connector connecting the I/O circuit board to the backplane may carry both low-power digital signals and high-power analog signals. The mixing of digital and high-power signals may cause undesirable crosstalk.

#To mitigate crosstalk, the digital and high-power signals from the I/O circuit board are connected to pins on the connector such that a digital signal and a high-power signal are not presented to consecutive pins of the connector. This arrangement imposes design challenges as it is often convenient and intuitive to provide digital and high power signals to consecutive pins on the connector.

#The foregoing and other advantages of the invention will become apparent upon reading the following detailed description and upon reference to the drawings.

#FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a typical gaming machine.

#FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of a gaming control board and a game interface board assembly according to the present invention.

#While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments have been shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detail herein. It should be understood, however, that the invention is not intended to be limited to the particular forms disclosed. Rather, the invention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

#FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of selected electronic circuitry and devices of a typical gaming machine 10. The electronic circuitry of the gaming machine 10 generally includes a central processing unit (CPU) 12, digital logic and system memory circuitry 14, communications interface components 16, and power interface components 18. The communications interface components 16 are coupled to peripheral devices such as a host 20, a network 22, and a money/credit detector 24 (such as a currency validator). The power interface components 18 are coupled to peripheral devices such as a payoff mechanism 26 and lamps 28. A power supply 30 supplies power to the electronic components of the gaming machine 10. The payoff mechanism 26 may be a coin/token hopper, a coupon/ticket/bill dispenser, or a media reader, for example. As is known, the gaming machine 10 includes numerous other devices which are not shown in FIG. 1, such as any combination of game push-buttons, coin optos, sensors, a video display, a touchscreen, a reel, a printer, and audio devices, for example.

#A backplane 32 interfaces the devices of the gaming machine including the host 20, the network 22, the money/credit detector 24, the payoff mechanism 26, and the lamps 28 with the communications interface components 16 and the power interface components 18. The devices are connected to the backplane 32 via one or more wiring harnesses, and the backplane 32 is connected to the communications interface components 16 and the power interface components 18 via one or more connectors.