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US 7,351,151 B1Granted
Gaming board set and gaming kernel for game cabinets
AssigneeSierra Design Group
InventorRobert William Crowder, Jr.
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The present invention is a method and apparatus enabling a low cost hardware upgrade path and low cost processor board retrofit for gaming machines. The enabling features include a two-board set made up of an industry standard form factor processor board (a single board system, able to support an operating system) coupled to an I/O adapter board, and further having a specially architected game kernel based on a UNIX-compatible operating system. The game kernel provides a consistent API to game applications, enabling quick and easy use of new hardware features while providing backward compatibility for existing game applications.
Claims31
A board set and gaming kernel for a game device comprising:
- an upgraded processor board having an industry standard form factor and configured as a single-board system that supports an operating system, and wherein the upgraded processor board has at least one connector operably interfaced thereto;
- an input/output (I/O) adapter board having at least one connector operably interfaced thereto and connectable to said at least one connector on said upgraded processor board, and configured to have at least one interface for connecting to at least one gaming cabinet, and further having a form factor configured to attach to said upgraded processor board using said at least one connector, wherein the combination of said upgraded processor board and said I/O board provides enhanced functionality as compared to an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) processor board;
- and
- the gaming kernel comprising:
- the operating system associated with said upgraded processor board;
- a game manager operably disposed in a layer above said operating system, wherein the game manager drives independent game-specific processes that are not utilized as game shared objects, wherein said game manager includes a single application program interface useable by game applications for communication with the game manager, and wherein the game applications are non-shared, executable objects;
- thereby enhancing game security and design flexibility;
- an I/O board server operably disposed in the layer above said operating system;
- and
- user level modules operably disposed in the layer above said operating system, wherein said user level modules are configured to send, receive, and process information from gaming machine I/O devices, and wherein said user level modules and said I/O board server are configured to perform logical operations associated with operation of at least one gaming machine I/O device connectable to said adapter board, wherein said gaming kernel facilitates a conversion of the upgraded processor board to a game-specific processor board for the gaming device.
7 more elements
A game machine comprising:
- a game cabinet having an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) processor board mounting system sized to accommodate an OEM processor board, and further comprising interactive player devices and passive player devices, wherein said player devices having electronic interfaces;
- an upgraded processor board having an industry standard form-factor that is configured as a single-board system that supports an operating system, and wherein said upgraded processor board has at least one connector operably interfaced to said upgraded processor board;
- an input/output (I/O) adapter board, said I/O adapter board having at least one connector compatible with at least one of said at least one connector on said upgraded processor board, said I/O adapter board operably providing at least one additional function beyond that provided by said upgraded processor board, and said I/O adapter board configured to have at least one functional interface for said player devices, and wherein said player devices are operably connected to said functional interface, wherein said upgraded processor board is connected to said I/O adapter board to form a two board assembly sized and shaped to fit in said OEM processor board mounting system;
- and
- the gaming kernel comprising:
- an operating system associated with said processor board;
- a game manager operably disposed in the layer above said operating system, wherein the game manager drives game-specific processes that are not utilized as game shared objects, wherein said game manager includes a single application program interface useable by game applications for communication with the game manager, and wherein the game applications are non-shared, executable objects;
- thereby enhancing game security and design flexibility;
- an I/O board server operably disposed in the layer above said operating system;
- and
- user level modules operably disposed in the layer above said operating system, wherein said user level modules are configured to send, receive, and process information from gaming machine I/O devices, and wherein said user level modules and said I/O board server are configured to perform logical operations associated with operation of at least one gaming machine I/O device connectable to said adapter board, wherein said gaming kernel facilitates a conversion of the upgraded processor board to a game-specific processor board for a gaming device.
8 more elements
A method for providing an upgraded and upgradeable game machine using an existing game machine, the method comprising:
- having a used gaming machine comprising a gaming cabinet with original equipment manufacturer (OEM) processor board mounts and one or more player devices;
- providing a two-board processor board set comprising an upgraded processor board connected to an I/O adapter board, wherein said connected processor board and I/O adapter board form an overall shape and size enabling the use of said OEM processor board mounts;
- providing a game kernel associated with said upgraded processor board, wherein said game kernel comprises an operating system, a game manager, I/O board server, and user level modules running on top of said operating system,
- wherein said game manager is operably disposed in a layer above said operating system, wherein the game manager drives game-specific processes that are not utilized as game shared objects, wherein said game manager includes a single application program interface useable by game applications for communication with the game manager, and wherein the game applications are non-shared, executable objects;
- thereby enhancing game security and design flexibility;
- wherein said user level modules and said I/O board server are configured to provide programming to enable interaction with said player devices;
- and
- installing said two-board processor board set in said OEM processor board mounts.
5 more elements
A method for providing a cost effective alternative to the purchase of an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) processor board in an existing game cabinet, the method comprising:
- having a gaming machine with an OEM processor board mounted inside said gaming machine via an OEM mounting system;
- providing a two-board processor board set comprising an industry standard processor board connected to an I/O adapter board, wherein the connected boards are shaped and sized to enable the use of said OEM mounting system;
- providing a game kernel associated with said industry standard processor board, wherein said game kernel comprises an operating system, a game manager, I/O board server, and user level modules running on top of said operating system,
- wherein said user level modules and said I/O board server are configured to provide programming to enable interaction between any desired device in said gaming machine and said game manager,
- wherein said game manager drives game-specific processes that are not utilized as game shared objects, wherein said game manager includes a single application program interface useable by game applications for communication with the game manager, and wherein the game applications are non-shared, executable objects;
- thereby enhancing game security and design flexibility;
- and
- installing said two-board processor board set in said gaming machine using said OEM mounting system.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.