U.S. patent application number 11/230594 was filed with the patent office on 2007-03-22 for gaming system with phone card payout.
Invention is credited to David M. Shields.
Application Number | 20070066386 11/230594 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 37884926 |
Filed Date | 2007-03-22 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070066386 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Shields; David M. |
March 22, 2007 |
Gaming system with phone card payout
Abstract
The gaming system with phone card payout is a system for playing
a video game using a smart card. A dispensing station includes a
smart card reader, a bill acceptor and a phone card dispenser. The
bill acceptor reads the monetary value of currency inserted in the
machine and stores the monetary value on a smart card. The stored
monetary value can be used to either purchase prepaid phone cards
at the dispensing station or to play video games at an
establishment hosting the dispensing station. The video games at
the establishment are equipped with smart card readers. Logic in
the video games verifies that the smart card monetary value was
purchased at the hosting establishment and accepts the monetary
value from a verified smart card for playing the video game. Video
game credits accumulated on the game may be transferred back to the
smart card.
Inventors: |
Shields; David M.; (Kitty
Hawk, NC) |
Correspondence
Address: |
LITMAN LAW OFFICES, LTD
PO BOX 15035
CRYSTAL CITY STATION
ARLINGTON
VA
22215
US
|
Family ID: |
37884926 |
Appl. No.: |
11/230594 |
Filed: |
September 21, 2005 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
463/25 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G07F 17/3251 20130101;
G07F 17/32 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
463/025 |
International
Class: |
A63F 9/24 20060101
A63F009/24 |
Claims
1. A gaming system with phone card payout, comprising a phone card
dispenser station having: a bill acceptor for receiving currency
and determining the value of the received currency; a smart card
reader for receiving a smart card and storing a monetary value on
the smart card; a phone card dispenser for dispensing phone cards;
one or more value-dispensing buttons operable to receive a request
to dispense phone cards; and dispensing control logic having means
for directing the smart card reader to store a monetary value on a
smart card determined by the value of received currency received by
the bill acceptor.
2. The gaming system with phone card payout according to claim 1,
wherein the dispensing control logic further comprises means for
directing the phone card dispenser to dispense a prepaid phone card
and directing the smart card reader to decrement the monetary value
stored on the smart card.
3. The gaming system with phone card payout according to claim 1,
further comprising at least one video game machine having a video
game smart card reader operable to read a monetary value stored on
a smart card; a video game logic board containing logic having
means for: receiving monetary value from the smart card;
incrementing game credit value by an amount based on a used value,
the used value being a portion of the monetary value read from the
smart card; decrementing the monetary value stored on the smart
card by the used portion; playing a round of a video game using
input from one or more user controls, decrementing the game credit
by a predetermined increment at the start of the round; and
incrementing the game credit when a successful outcome is obtained
during the round of the video game.
4. The gaming system with phone card payout according to claim 3,
wherein the at least one video game further comprises means for
receiving a request to redeem game credits, and wherein the video
game logic board containing logic further comprises means for
decrementing the game credit value by a predetermined credit rate
and incrementing the stored value on the smart card by an amount
determined by the predetermined credit rate upon receiving the
request to redeem game credits.
5. The gaming system with phone card payout according to claim 3,
wherein said means for directing the smart card reader to store a
monetary value on the smart card comprises: means for storing an
establishment identifier indicating an establishment hosting the
gaming system; and means for encrypting the establishment
identifier and the monetary value.
6. The gaming system of claim 3, wherein said means for receiving
the monetary value from the smart card comprises means for
verifying an establishment identifier stored on the smart card
matches the establishment identifier for an establishment
identifier hosting the gaming system.
7. The gaming system of claim 6, wherein said means for verifying
comprises means for decrypting the establishment identifier stored
on the smart card.
8. The gaming system of claim 3, wherein said means for receiving
the monetary value from the smart card further comprises means for
decrypting the monetary value stored on the smart card.
9. A gaming system with phone card payout, comprising a video game
having: a bill acceptor for receiving currency and determining the
value of the received currency; a phone card dispenser for
dispenser for dispensing a phone cards; at least one
value-dispensing button having means for receiving a request to
dispense phone cards; and game control logic having means for:
storing a game credit value based on the value of currency
determined by the bill acceptor; directing the phone card dispenser
to dispense phone cards based on a request; and playing a round of
an interactive video game, the stored game credit being decremented
at the beginning of the round and the stored game credit being
incremented based on a successful outcome obtained while playing
the interactive video game.
10. The gaming system of claim 9, wherein the game control logic
further comprises means for incrementing an incoming value register
based on the value of currency determined by the bill acceptor.
11. The gaming system of claim 9, wherein the game control logic
further comprises means for dispensing a phone card upon receiving
a request from the value-dispensing button.
12. The gaming system of claim 11, wherein said means for directing
the phone card dispenser to dispense a phone card further comprises
means for verifying that a predetermined value is less than the
stored game credit.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to video gaming systems, and
more specifically to a gaming system with phone card payout
awarding a non-monetary pay out as an incentive to play the
game.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] Video-based gaming machines are very effective revenue
generating sources for businesses. Operators of such establishments
as restaurants and nightclubs value both the revenue directly
generated by playing the game, and the revenue indirectly
attributed to the games generated when customers visit the
establishment to play the game and spend money during their on
other goods offered by the establishment.
[0005] Video machines offering a cash incentive for playing the
game are very attractive to many games players. With a conventional
cash incentive game, players who obtain successful outcomes while
playing a video game accumulate points on the game. The accumulated
points can be converted into a cash award by presenting the
accumulated point total to the establishment operator either by
having the operator visual view the point total, or by having the
video game dispense to the player a printed representation of the
award earned by the game player which the player then presents to
the establishment operator. The visual representation may be a
number of tickets indicating the credit value earned by the player.
The player is then provided with a cash or merchandise as a prize
with the prize value based on the accumulated points and an
exchange rate determined by the establishment.
[0006] In many jurisdictions, the playing of games that award cash
prizes or merchandise exceeding a certain value is considered
gambling and is either prohibited by the law of the jurisdiction or
is highly regulated. Systems issuing non-cash prizes may be allowed
in some jurisdictions as long as the prizes do not exceed a certain
value, but in some cases establishments in those jurisdictions will
provide cash payouts for the merchandise tickets, thus allowing the
machines to be used for illegal gambling. Even when the players are
not being rewarded with illegal cash or merchandise prizes, the
operation of the machine may create an impression of illegal
gambling activity discouraging patronage by players who want to
avoid illegal activity.
[0007] One type of prize found acceptable in some jurisdictions is
a prepaid phone card. Prepaid phone cards are cards similar in
shape to credit cards containing identifying information allowing
the card to be used to make phone calls totaling a fixed number of
minutes or of a fixed monetary value. The identifying information
links the card to an account in which the available phone minutes
or phone call value are stored and updated as calls are made. The
phone cards are paper or plastic cards about the size of a credit
card and can be dispensed using available phone card
dispensers.
[0008] French Patent No. 2,830,353, published Apr. 4, 2003,
describes a mobile telephone system allowing a player to
participate in a lottery-type game hosted in a central location.
Financial arrangements for participating in the system are by prior
arrangement. Japanese Patent No. 2003-216,771, published Jul. 31,
2003, describes a betting system using a prepaid card to
participate in a betting system though a telephone line. These
patents show the state of the art with respect to electronic gaming
systems, but the inventions described in these patents do not
perform the same gaming method as the instant invention.
[0009] None of the above inventions and patents, taken either
singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention
as claimed. Thus, a gaming system with phone card payout solving
the aforementioned problems is desired.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0010] The gaming system with phone card payout is a system for
playing a video game using a smart card. A dispensing station
includes a smart card reader, a bill acceptor and a phone card
dispenser. The bill acceptor reads the monetary value of currency
inserted in the machine and stores the monetary value on a smart
card. The stored monetary value can be used to either purchase
prepaid phone cards at the dispensing station or to play video
games at an establishment hosting the dispensing station. The video
games at the establishment are equipped with smart card readers.
Logic in the video games verifies that the smart card monetary
value was purchased at the hosting establishment and accepts the
monetary value from a verified smart card for playing the video
game. Video game credits accumulated by on the game may be
transferred back to the smart card.
[0011] After accumulating credits on the smart card while playing a
game, the player may return the smart card to the phone card
dispenser station. By inserting the game card into the game card
machine, the player may enter a request to have all or part of the
monetary value stored on the smart card converted dispensed as
prepaid phone cards. The converted value is decremented from the
smart card as phone cards are dispensed from the phone card
dispenser. The smart card value is decremented in increments equal
to the value of the dispensed phone card. For example if the
dispenser holds ten dollar phone cards, the value on the phone card
is converted in ten dollar increments. When the value on the smart
card is below the value of the phone card, no additional value on
the smart card may be converted to phone cards.
[0012] In an alternate embodiment of the game, the phone card
dispensing station is not required and no smart cards or smart card
readers are used. Instead the video games are provided with a phone
card dispenser and a bill acceptor. A game control board in the
video game maintains stored game credit value that can be
incremented by feeding bills into the bill acceptor. The bill
acceptor reads the value of the currency fed into the bill acceptor
and increments the game credit by an amount proportional to the
currency value. The game credit value is decremented when a round
of a video game is played and may be incremented when a successful
game outcome is obtained during a round of the video game. The
player may convert the accumulated game credits into phone
cards.
[0013] These and other features of the present invention will
become readily apparent upon further review of the following
specification and drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0014] FIG. 1 is an environmental perspective view of a gaming
system with phone card payout, showing a phone card dispenser and
video games with smart card readers in accordance with an
embodiment of the invention.
[0015] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of smart card reader based phone
card dispenser system for a gaming system with phone card payout
according to the present invention.
[0016] FIG. 3 is block diagram of a smart card based video game for
a gaming system with phone card payout according to the present
invention.
[0017] FIG. 4 is a block diagram of smart card for a gaming system
with phone card payout according to the present invention.
[0018] FIG. 5 is a diagram of the data structures stored on smart
card for a gaming system with phone card payout according to the
present invention.
[0019] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of video game with bill
acceptor and phone card dispenser in accordance with another
embodiment of gaming system with phone card payout according to the
present invention.
[0020] FIG. 7 is a block diagram of video game with phone card
dispenser and bill acceptor in accordance with the embodiment of
the invention shown in FIG. 6.
[0021] Similar reference characters denote corresponding features
consistently throughout the attached drawings.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0022] The present invention is a system for operating a video game
with a phone card payout. FIG. 1 shows a phone card dispensing
station 20 and two video game machines 22a and 22b in accordance
with an embodiment of the invention.
[0023] The phone card dispensing station 20 contains a bill
acceptor 28, a smart card reader 24, and a phone card dispenser 26.
Smart cards (described below) store a credit or monetary value
purchased by a games player for use at a specific video game
business or establishment. To use the phone card dispensing station
20, a games player places a smart card into the smart card reader
24 and inserts currency into the bill acceptor 28. The bill
acceptor 28 verifies that the inserted currency is valid, and
detects the value of the bill. The detected value is then
transferred to the smart card reader 24. A typical format for
transferring a bill value is for the bill acceptor 28 to generate a
series of pulses proportional to the value of the bill to the smart
card reader 24. The smart card reader 24 includes circuitry to
count the pulses and to convert the count into a monetary value.
The smart card reader then increments the monetary value stored on
the smart card based on the value of the bills inserted into and
validated by the bill acceptor 28. A display on the smart card
reader 24 allows a games player to verify the value stored on the
smart card.
[0024] Once the smart card has been initialized with a monetary
value or a credit value representing the monetary value, the smart
card may be removed from the phone card dispensing station. The
smart card can then be used to play one of the video games 22a and
22b.
[0025] The video games machines 22a and 22b may be programmed to
play a variety of types of games. For example, the first video game
machine 22a may be programmed to play a video version of a card
game, such as poker or blackjack, while the second video game 22b
may be programmed to play a game of pure chance, such as a video
roulette style game. Alternatively the video games may play the
same game. The system may employ any number of video game
machines.
[0026] A person desiring to play the game inserts his smart card
containing a stored credit value into the smart card reader of one
of the video games 22a and 22b. For example, a person may elect to
play the first video game 22a. The smart card reader performs a
validation routine to verify that an authentic game card is being
provided. The smart card reader of the video game 32 of the video
game includes value-selecting buttons 40a, 40b, 40c, and 40d, which
allow the user to indicate the value to be transferred from a
validated smart card to the video game 22a. Each button transfers a
specific value amount to the video game. For example, button 40a
may transfer a one-dollar amount, button 40b a five-dollar amount,
button 40c a ten-dollar amount, and button 40d a twenty-dollar
amount.
[0027] The dollar values transferred to the game are converted into
game credits, with the game credit amount being displayed on a
video display monitor 108. The video game further includes a set of
control buttons 102. The person playing the game uses the control
buttons 102 to operate the game 22a while viewing the game results
on the video display monitor 108. Typically the game will decrement
the game credit amount at the start of each game played, and will
increment or decrement the game credit by varying amounts
determined by the outcome or progress of the game. The amounts to
be incremented or decremented may be set the game operator.
[0028] The player may elect to transfer convert all or part of the
remaining value stored on his smart card into game credits by
operating the value value-selecting buttons 40a, 40b, 40c, and 40d
while playing the game. At any time the person playing the video
game may elect to covert the game credits stored in the video game
back into stored credit on the smart card by operating the credit
button 100. Pressing the credit button 100 converts the game
credits in increments selected by the operator of the video game
(such as 100 points or 1000 points) back into a dollar amount,
decrementing the game credit total by the selected increment and
transferring the dollar amount of the increment to the smart card
reader which increments the stored value on the smart card. If the
game credit remaining is less than the selected increment, a dollar
value will not be transferred to the smart card.
[0029] The player may remove his smart card from the first video
game 22a and use it to play a second game 22b by inserting the
smart card into the smart card reader of the second game 34. The
video display 110, credit button 104, control buttons 106, smart
card reader 34, and value-selecting buttons 42a, 42b, 42c, and 42d
of the second video game 22b operate exactly as described for the
respective components of the first video game to allow a player to
play the game, accumulate credits and to transfer value to and from
the smart card.
[0030] When a player has completed playing the video games, the
player may use his smart card with the phone card dispensing
station 20 to redeem the value stored on the smart card as prepaid
phone cards. The player inserts his smart card into the smart card
reader of the dispensing station 24 and presses a credit converting
button 30. If the smart card stored value is greater than or equal
to the value of a phone card, a phone card is dispensed and the
smart card stored value is decremented by the amount of the phone
card. Repeatedly pressing the credit converting button 30 will
dispense addition phone cards and decrement the stored smart card
value as long as the value remaining on the phone card is greater
than or equal to the value of the smart card. For example if the
smart card holds 38 dollars in stored value, and the phone card
dispenser is stocked with ten dollar phone cards, the smart card
holder may obtain pre-paid phone cards from the phone card
dispenser leaving eight dollars in value on the smart card. The
smart card holder will not be able to purchase additional phone
cards without increasing the value on the smart card to at least
ten dollars by purchasing more value at the phone card dispensing
station 20 or by winning more card value by playing a video
game.
[0031] The operation of the phone card dispensing station will be
described by referring to FIG. 2. The dispensing logic controls 202
the operation of the phone card dispensing station to dispense
phone cards and to transfer value to and from the smart card via
the smart card reader. The dispensing logic 202 receives inputs
from the components of the card dispensing station. The dispensing
logic 202 receives data from the bill acceptor 212 indicating the
value of valid bills inserted into the bill acceptor via path 240.
The data may be in the form of a count of pulses proportional to
the denominational value of the inserted bill. The dispensing logic
202 transfers the bill values to the smart card reader via path
230. The dispensing logic 202 may receive a signal from the smart
card reader 206 indicating the presence or absence of a valid smart
card in the smart card reader via path 232. Based on the signal
from the smart card reader on path 232, the dispensing logic 202
may inhibit the transfer of bill value to the smart card reader
until the smart card reader has accepted and validated a smart
card. Alternatively, the dispensing logic 202 may direct the phone
card dispenser 208 to dispense phone cards when a smart card is not
provided.
[0032] The dispensing logic 202 also receives an input from the
value dispensing control button 204 on the phone card dispensing
station via path 238. As described above, a player operates the
dispensing control button to convert value stored on the smart card
into dispensed pre-paid phone cards. Each time the dispensing
control is pressed, a phone card is dispensed and the smart card
value is decremented by the value of the phone card, provided that
the transaction would not result in a negative value on the smart
card. When there is insufficient value left on the smart card to
purchase a pre-paid phone card, pressing the dispensing control
button does not result in a phone card being dispensed or in the
smart card value being further decreased.
[0033] The dispensing logic controls the phone card dispenser 208
to dispense phone cards via control data sent on path 236. The
dispensing logic may receive data from the phone card dispenser
logic 208 via path 234 indicating that the phone card dispenser is
out of phone cards. Upon receiving an out of phone cards signal,
the dispensing logic 202 inhibits the transfer of value from the
smart card so that value is not decremented from the players smart
card when there are no phone cards available to purchase.
[0034] The phone dispensing station 20 contains two display
registers for monitoring transactions with the station. The first
register is the incoming value display register 214. The incoming
value display register 214 displays the total amount of money
inserted into the phone dispensing station 20. The incoming value
display register 214 accumulates value based on data transmitted by
the bill acceptor 212 via path 242. The incoming value display may
be implemented using a mechanical pulse counter operated by pulses
transmitted by the bill acceptor indicating the value of bills fed
into the bill acceptor. Alternatively, the incoming value may be
stored in non-volatile memory associated with the incoming value
display register 214 and displayed via a digital display.
[0035] The second display register is the out going phone card
display 210. The outgoing phone card display 210 provides a count
of the phone cards dispensed by the phone card dispensing station
using data transmitted from the phone card dispenser along path
244. The outgoing phone card display 210 may be a mechanical
counter operated by pulses transmitted by the phone card dispenser
during a card dispensing operation. Alternatively, the control
signal generated by the dispensing logic 202 and transmitted to the
phone card dispenser along path 236 can be used to operate the
outgoing phone card display.
[0036] The operation of a video game in accordance with the
invention is explained referring to FIG. 3.
[0037] The video game logic is represented in block 302, and
resides on a circuit board inside the video game. The video game
logic 302 controls the operation of the video game. Video data
describing the visual aspects of the video game and displaying the
game credits accumulated on the game is transmitted from the video
game logic 302 to the video display 308 via path 326, where the
information is presented to the game player. The logic residing on
the video game control receives control information from the player
controls along path 324 to provide player interaction with the game
via the game control buttons, and to direct via the credit button
that the credits be transferred to the smart card. The logic on the
game control card contains stored values specifying the translation
of smart card value to machine credits, as well as specifying the
game credits to be added or decreased based on the game results.
The outcomes of the games may be based on chance, operator skill,
or combinations of skill and chance, depending on the game logic
stored on the game control board.
[0038] The video game control logic (block 302) receives input data
from the smart card reader (block 304) via path 320. The input data
transferred along path 320 indicates the value to be transferred
from a smart card. The value is selected by the value-selecting
buttons described above. The video game control logic converts
value transferred from the smart card reader to game credits using
a stored value on the game control board specifying the translation
of smart card value to machine credits. Under direction of the
player via the player control buttons (block 306), the logic on the
video game control logic (block 302) operates to control the smart
reader to increment the stored value on a smart card to reflect
game credits converted to smart card value. The control of the
smart card reader to increment the smart card value is performed by
control data sent over path 322. The data on paths 322 and 320 may
be implemented using a series of pulses proportional to the value
to be transferred to and from the card. Alternatively,
communication between the smart card reader and the game board
logic can be implemented using any conventional input/output
protocol, such as the USB (universal serial bus) protocol.
[0039] Details of a smart card on which aspects of the invention
may be implemented are described with reference to FIG. 4. The
smart card operates as a small computer system implementing the
control logic and encryption routines for securely storing and
accessing data stored on the card. The smart card includes a
processor 402 that communicates with the other components of the
smart card. The processor 402 executes instructions stored in the
memory of the card to direct the operation of the card. The smart
card further includes I/O facilities 406 for communicating data
between the processor 402 and interfacing systems outside of the
card. As described above, communication to and from the card are
handled by a smart card reader. The I/O facilities 406 of the smart
card implement the communication protocol used by the reader and
provide the physical connection facilities for electrically
connecting the smart card to the reader. The smart contains memory
areas for storing data and instructions. The memory areas may
include a read only memory (ROM) 408 for storing the operating
system and any application programs used to support the intended
use of the smart card. The operating system may include a Java
virtual machine and a supporting Java based operating system such
as JavaOS. The use of a Java-based operating system and virtual
machine allows the application programs written for the smart card
to be hosted on smart cards of various CPU technologies without
requiring the applications to be rewritten for the specific
hardware used. The memory further includes random access memory
(RAM) 410. The RAM is used for temporary storage of data and
instructions during operation smart card operations.
[0040] The memory area further includes a non-volatile memory 412
that can be written to under control of the CPU 402. This memory
may be implemented using EEPROM. The non-volatile memory area 412
is used to store data that must be maintained when the smart card
is removed from the smart card reader. The non-volatile memory is
used in the present invention to store values the stored credit
value and other data required by the current invention.
[0041] The smart card may also include an encryption coprocessor
404. The encryption process is a second processing unit
specifically optimized to perform mathematical calculations
associated with one or more encryption algorithms. The coprocessor
increases the speed of operation of the card by offloading
computation intensive calculations from the main processor 402.
[0042] Referring to FIG. 5, the data structures to be stored in the
non-volatile memory of a smart card in accordance with an aspect of
the current invention may be understood. The smart card stores two
data fields in non-volatile memory. A first data field is an
establishment identifier 502 identifies an establishment hosting
one or more video games. The establishment identifier 502 may
comprise the name of the establishment and may further comprise
numerical identifiers. The establishment identifier is unique for
every establishment or group of establishments that will honor a
specific smart card. The establishment identifier 502 is used to
implement a rejection feature, whereby only a video smart card
provided by a particular establishment may be used to play the
games at that establishment or to convert stored credit into phone
cards at that establishment.
[0043] The smart cards contain a second field consisting of a
credit value field. 504. The credit value field 504 stores the
credit value currently associated with the smart card.
[0044] The credit value 504 and the establishment identifier 502
are preferably encrypted prior to storing values on the card to
prevent the card from being tampered with. Any suitable encryption
algorithm supported by application software on the smart card or an
encryption processor located on the smart card may be used. The
values of the data structure may be combined into a single value
prior to encryption and storing on the card.
[0045] A video game machine in accordance with an alternate
embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. 6. The video game
machine 600 includes a video game display 606, which displays the
visual aspects of the game being played, as well as the game
credit, stored in the game machine 600. A player playing the game
provides input to the game by pressing the game control buttons 622
while viewing the game video display 606 so that an interactive
video game may be played.
[0046] The video game machine 600 is provided with a bill acceptor
602 that validates bills inserted into the video game and
determines the value of the inserted bills. The video game machine
also includes a phone card dispenser 604 for dispensing phone cards
awarded as prizes for successful outcomes from playing the video
game. As a player plays the game, the player may accumulate game
credits based on successful outcomes form playing the game. Credits
are debited from the accumulated game credits for each round of the
game, and credits may also be debited from the accumulated game
credits based on unsuccessful outcomes from playing the game.
[0047] A credit button on the game 620 allows the user to request
that some or all of his game credits be converted into the phone
cards that are provided as a reward for playing the game. Pressing
the credit button converts a predetermined amount of game credits
into phone cards that are dispensed by the phone card dispenser 604
on the video game 600. When the remaining game credit on the game
is less than the predetermined amount, the remaining game credit
may not be converted into phone cards, but can be used to play
additional rounds on the video game.
[0048] The operation of the video game is described by referring to
FIG. 7. The video game operation is controlled by the video game
board (block 702). The video game board contains the logic for
playing the video game and controls the operation of the other
components of the video game.
[0049] Before the game may be played, game credit must be stored on
video game control board. Entering bills into the bill acceptor
(block 706) accumulates a credit value stored on the video game
control board. The bill acceptor validates the bills entered into
the game and communicates the values of the valid bills to the
video game control board via path 740. A value stored on the video
game control board determines the number of game credits to be
provided for each monetary unit entered into the bill acceptor.
[0050] The video game board provides video display information to
the video game monitor 710 via path 748. The video game may be
programmed to play a variety of interactive games in which the
outcome depends on player skill, chance, or combinations of player
skill and chance. The display 710 shows the progress of the game as
well as the number of accumulated game credits currently stored in
the video game. The player interacts with the video game by
operating the player controls (block 708). The player controls
communicate the player's reactions and choices to the logic of the
video game board via path 746.
[0051] The player controls also allow the player to direct that his
game credits be converted to phone cards using the credit button as
described above. Pressing the credit button sends credit a
credit-redeeming request to the game control board via path
746.
[0052] When receiving a request to redeem game credits from a
player, the video game control board logic (block 702) verifies
that there is sufficient credit stored in the game to honor the
request. Values stored in the game control board logic determine
the number of credits required to obtain a phone card. When the
logic board determines that sufficient credit is accumulated to
honor the request, the game control logic board commands the phone
card dispenser (704) to dispense a phone card via path 742. The
video game logic card then decrements the value of the stored game
credits and updates the display (block 710) to indicate the new
reduced value of available game credits.
[0053] The phone dispenser (block 704) may provide data information
indicating whether or the phone card dispenser holds any phone
cards via path 744. When the phone card dispenser does not contain
game cards, logic in the video game logic card will not decrement
the game value until the cards in the phone card dispenser have
been replenished. Alternatively, the video game machine may store
the number of cards to be dispensed in a register in the phone card
dispenser. The phone card dispenser then controls the dispensing of
cards autonomously from the logic on the video game logic
board.
[0054] The video game may also include monitoring displays, such as
the registers to display the total value of bills validated by the
video game and the total number of phone cards, similar to that
described in the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2.
[0055] The information paths between elements, such as bill
acceptors, phone card dispensers and smart card readers have been
described as pulse trains where the pulse count is proportional to
the values being communicated to and from the components. The
values can alternatively be communicated using any conventional
serial or parallel interface. The values can be converted between
disparate formats as necessary using interface devices capable of
reading one format and providing an output in a second format.
[0056] The partitioning of functions as described above may be
varied without departing from the spirit of the invention. For
example, logic described as residing in the logic of a game card or
in a dispensing logic control hosted on other components of the
invention.
[0057] It is to be understood that the present invention is not
limited to the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and
all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.
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