US 9,311,774 B2Granted

Gaming machine with externally controlled content display

AssigneeIgt

InventorsReid M. Weber, Erik B. Petersen, Adrian R. Marcu, William C. Little, Steven G. LeMay

Life of this patent

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Abstract

A gaming system including a number of host devices each coupled to one or more gaming machines, wherein content provided by the host device is output on the gaming machine. To output the content provided by the remote host, a host-controlled process that is authenticated by the gaming machine and executed in a secure memory location such that it is isolated from other processes executing on the gaming machine may be utilized. The host-controlled processes may be decoupled from the process used to execute the game of chance played on the gaming machine such that the content output by the host-controlled process doesn't alter the play of game of chance.

Claims27

Dependent claims

A gaming system comprising:

a host including a processor configured to:
(a) receive information regarding a status of a media display device located on a gaming machine, the media display device associated with a first portion of a display of the gaming machine;
(b) send a request to load hosted content on the media display device, the hosted content including a plurality of instructions executable by a master gaming controller of the gaming machine to generate a hosted visual component, the hosted content not including any wager-based game content;
(c) send a request to activate the hosted content, wherein the activation enables the master gaming controller of the gaming machine to execute the plurality of instructions of the hosted content;
and
(d) send a request to release the hosted content, wherein the released hosted content is no longer executable by the master gaming controller of the gaming machine;
the gaming machine including:
the display;
and
the master gaming controller configured to:
(i) receive the request from the host to load the hosted content on the media display device, and in response to the received request to load the hosted content, load a plurality of different instances of the hosted content on the media display device;
(ii) receive the request from the host to activate the loaded hosted content and in response to the received request to activate the loaded hosted content, activate one of the loaded plurality of instances of the hosted content on the media display device, wherein
(A) only one of the loaded plurality of instances of the hosted content is activatable at a time;
(B) if outputting the hosted visual component on the first portion of the display is determined to utilize less than a designated limit of master gaming controller resources, generate a hosted window on the first portion of the display to output the hosted visual component;
and
(C) if outputting the hosted visual component on the first portion of the display is determined to utilize more than the designated limit of master gaming controller resources, not output the hosted visual component via any hosted window on the first portion of the display;
(iii) generate a gaming window on a second portion of the display to output a play of a wager-based game including a wager-based game visual component;
and
(iv) receive the request from the host to release the hosted content and in response to the received request to release the hosted content, release the hosted content;
an input mechanism;
and
an output mechanism.

19 more elements

A gaming system machine comprising:

a display;
a master gaming controller configured to:
(a) load a plurality of different instances of hosted content from a plurality of hosts that are executable within a media display device, the media display device associated with a first portion of the display, the hosted content including a plurality of executable by the master gaming controller to generate a hosted visual component, the hosted content not including content any wager-based game content;
(b) activate only one of the loaded plurality of instances of the hosted content on the media display device at a time, wherein the activation enables the master gaming controller to execute the hosted content;
(c) receive a request to load a first instance of the hosted content from a first host of the plurality of hosts, and in response, load the first instance of the hosted content on the media display device;
(d) receive a request to load a second instance of the hosted content from a second host of the plurality of hosts, and in response, load the second instance of the hosted content on the media display device;
(e) receive a request to activate each of the first instance of the hosted content and the second instance of the hosted content;
(f) determine whether to activate the first instance of the hosted content or the second instance of the hosted content;
(g) responsive to determining to activate the first instance of the hosted content, activate the first instance of the hosted content;
and
(h) responsive to determining to activate the second instance of the hosted content, activate the second instance of the hosted content, wherein:
(i) if outputting the hosted content on the first portion of the display is determined to utilize less than a designated limit of master gaming controller resources, generate a hosted window on the first portion of the display to output the hosted visual component of either the first instance of the hosted content or the second instance of the hosted content and a gaming window on a second portion of the display to output a wager-based game visual component;
and
(ii) if outputting the hosted content on the first portion of the display is determined to utilize more than the designated limit of master gaming controller resources, not output the hosted visual component of either the first instance of the hosted content or the second instance of the hosted content via any hosted window on the first portion of the display;
an input mechanism;
and
an output mechanism.

14 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 12/209,608Filed 12 Sep 2008 · continuation in part
Priority: 10 Nov 2006
Published: US 2009/0098943 A116 Apr 2009
Granted: 12 Apr 2016
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification8 codes

G07F 17/3244
For games, toys, sports, or amusements: payment aspects of a gaming system, e.g. payment schemes, setting payout ratio, bonus or consolation prizes
G07F 17/32
Coin-freed apparatus for hiring articles; Coin-freed facilities or services: for games, toys, sports, or amusements
G07F 17/3211
Player-machine interfaces: display means
G07F 17/3223
Hardware aspects of a gaming system, e.g. components, construction, architecture thereof: architectural aspects of a gaming system, e.g. internal…

Family

Application11/595,774Parent of this continuation-in-part · filed 10 Nov 2006
Application60/993,985Us provisional application · filed 13 Sep 2007
Application61/055,316Us provisional application · filed 22 May 2008
US 2009/0098943 A1Pre-grant publication · published 16 Apr 2009
US 8,777,737 B2Parent of this continuation-in-part
US 2007/0243925 A1Published application
US 9,311,774 B2This patent

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