Atronic International GmbH Patent applications |
Patent application number | Title | Published |
20130102390 | Gaming Console Having Movable Screen - A gaming machine has a flat panel display screen that is pivotable over a range of angles to allow the player to tilt the screen to directly face the player. The screen also can be pulled toward the player for maximum comfort. The screen has user interface controls, such as part of a touch screen. The screen contains one or more accelerometers for detecting movement of the screen. The player grips the screen with both hands to control the game via movement of the screen (e.g., shaking, tilting, pushing in, or pulling out) and the touching of the user interface controls. The screen may include a vibrator for providing tactile sensations to the player. The screen allows a player to completely control a game, including wagering and carrying out the game, without releasing the screen from the player's two-handed grip. | 04-25-2013 |
20110014968 | Device to Automatically Change Award Parameters for a Gaming Machine - A control unit in communication with a plurality of gaming machines selects one or more of the active machines to be set to an enhanced play mode. The selection may be random or based on other factors. During the enhanced play mode, the awards attributed to each symbol combination are increased, and the game parameters, other than the award amounts may be changed. | 01-20-2011 |
20100279758 | Matrix Game Involving an Award Based on Non-Highlighted Grid Positions - In one embodiment, the invention is a secondary game played concurrently with a conventional Keno game. In Keno, a player selects a plurality of numbers (e.g., 4-20) within an M×N grid (e.g., 8×10) of different numbers. A random number generator randomly selects a plurality of numbers (e.g., 20) in the grid. The player is then granted a first award based on matches between numbers that the player selected and the randomly selected numbers. As a secondary game played over the Keno game, for each number randomly selected, all numbers in the same row and column in the grid as the selected number are highlighted on the grid display. The player is granted a second award (e.g., free games) for each number not being in a highlighted row or column at the end of the Keno game. Variations of the secondary game are described. | 11-04-2010 |
20100075737 | Special Symbol Remains in Position Until Used in a Winning Combination - A game involves emulating spinning and randomly stopping virtual reels. If a special symbol is displayed in the matrix, and the special symbol is not used in a winning combination of symbols, then, for the next game, the special symbol is held in its position in the array, and all the reels are spun to randomly display symbols in all positions in the matrix other than in the special symbol position. If the special symbol is used in a winning combination of symbols, the special symbol is not held. The machine may hold the special symbol for an unlimited number of games as long as the player makes a maximum bet or an extra bet. Under certain conditions, an award for a winning combination using the held special symbol is enhanced the longer the special symbol is held without being used, so the player desires to not utilize the special symbol right away. | 03-25-2010 |
20090325667 | Reel Add-On Symbols for Simultaneously Playing Two Games - A reel-type secondary game is played simultaneously with a conventional reel-type main game on a gaming machine. The secondary game is initiated only after the player meets certain criteria, such as betting additional credits. Once the secondary game is initiated, one or more special symbols are added to the leftmost reel and the rightmost reel used in the main game, but not the reels in-between. The added special symbols do not affect the symbols used in the main game. All the reels containing the symbols used in the main game and the one or more special symbols are rotated and randomly stopped. Awards are granted for winning symbol combinations obtained in the main game. If the special symbols align with a certain stop position, a special bonus game is played or the player wins a progressive jackpot. | 12-31-2009 |
20090298574 | Multiple Progressive Jackpots For A Gaming Device - A gaming machine is described wherein a player first plays a primary game, such as the spinning and stopping of mechanical or video reels displaying symbols. A plurality of progressive jackpots is displayed to the player, where the progressive jackpots are incremented at different random rates. Upon a jackpot-winning outcome of the primary game, the number of different progressive jackpots paid to the player depends on the number of credits bet by the player. The jackpots are incremented upon jackpot-incrementing symbols being displayed by the reels. In one embodiment, the jackpot above each column of symbols gets incremented upon a special symbol, such as a credit value, being displayed in that column. | 12-03-2009 |
20090233709 | Software Security for Gaming Devices - A secure smart card or other secure modular memory device is plugged into (or otherwise connected to) a port of a game controller board internal to a gaming machine, where it is not accessible to a player. The smart card is programmed to detect an encrypted “challenge” message from the host CPU and output an encrypted “response.” If the host CPU determines that the response has the expected properties, then the host CPU verifies that the game program (an application program) is also is authentic, and the game can be played. The challenge/request exchange may be performed periodically to ensure the smart card is still installed. If the response is improper, then the host CPU will issue a halt command to halt play of the game. | 09-17-2009 |
20090181759 | Gaming Machine Providing Free Game Pots to Reward Extended Playing - For each bet on a slot machine game, such as a conventional reel-type game, a fraction of a free game is stored in the machine's memory, where the stored free game fraction is associated with the amount bet. Thus, each possible bet amount option is associated with a particular free game pot in memory. Each paid-for play may accumulate any free game fraction, such as 1/10, ⅕, ¼, ⅓, etc. The player is notified of the accumulated free games on a video screen so the player wants to keep playing so as to not waste any stored free game fractions. The player may play stored whole free games at any time by actuating a button. The free game pots may be easily added to existing games without significant regulatory involvement and does not affect the casino's profit. | 07-16-2009 |
20090156287 | Activating Blocks of Symbol Positions in a Gaming Machine To Determine Winning Combinations of Symbols - Instead of individual paylines being applied across an A×B matrix of symbols to determine winning combinations of symbols, a unique group (or block) of adjacent symbol positions is activated for each possible bet amount. The possible bet amounts are limited. After the player bets, only the associated group of adjacent symbol positions is highlighted on the display screen so the player can focus on only the relevant symbol positions. After the reels are spun and randomly stopped, symbols at the highlighted symbol positions, limited to one symbol per reel per combination, are combined to create symbol combinations to determine the award to be paid. The technique of highlighting blocks of adjacent symbol positions, and not using individual paylines, enables the player to comprehend, in real time, developing winning combinations of symbols as the reels stop from left to right. | 06-18-2009 |
20080311971 | Hand Held Tablet Communicating with Gaming Machine - The present invention is a small tablet that wirelessly communicates with a stationary gaming machine. The player makes bets using the tablet. The gaming machine, and not the tablet, determines the outcome of the game and transmits the award information to the tablet. The gaming machine may be an ordinary slot machine displaying random symbols in an array or displaying another game. The player using the tablet views the display on the gaming machine to see the outcome of a game, so the tablet does not need a large display to play a game. The player who operates the gaming machine bets independently from the player using the tablet. In another embodiment, the gaming machine is operated automatically, and multiple players with tablets independently bet on a common game. | 12-18-2008 |