| Patent application number | Description | Published |
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| 20080202889 | Products and Processes For Establishing Multi-Transaction Relationships With Customers of Vending Machines - Disclosed herein are various systems and methods for improving the establishment and management of vending machine subscriptions, including systems and methods for constructing, communicating, and registering subscriptions, as well as various methods for processing the redemption of vending machine subscription items. Several additional embodiments are disclosed, including various alternate methods of promoting longitudinal machine-customer relationships. | 08-28-2008 |
| 20080248865 | Method And Apparatus For Facilitating Usage Of A Supplemental Ticket At A Gaming Device - In accordance with one or more embodiments, a method may provide for receiving a first indicia associated with play of a gaming device, receiving a second indicia associated with play of the gaming device, and modifying, based upon the receipt of both the first and second indicia, a parameter of play of the gaming device. The parameter is only modified if both the first indicia and the second indicia are received. For example, upon receiving both a cash-out ticket and a supplemental ticket, a gaming device may activate a feature or increase a credit balance by more than the face value of the cash-out ticket. | 10-09-2008 |
| 20080249386 | Systems, Methods, and Computer Program Product for Improved Management of Medical Procedures for Patients on Medical Protocols - Techniques are described for improved monitoring and control of a patient's physiologic status, such as blood glucose control according to a protocol for use in a patient care unit, such as an intensive care unit. Instructions to medical staff are adapted to factor in variations in responses to protocol recommendations. For example, a patient's physiological data as a result of a blood analysis is submitted as input to a program. An instruction for a medical procedure for the patient in response to the physiological data is automatically provided by the program. A confirmation response that the medical procedure has been accomplished and results of following the medical procedure are requested by the program. The time when the medical procedure was accomplished and the results of following the medical procedure are evaluated by the program to determine whether to adapt a subsequent instruction. | 10-09-2008 |
| 20080249658 | Products and Processes for Addressing a Customer Service Issue - According to an embodiment, a vending machine or other device receives, from a customer, a request for a product to be dispensed by a vending machine. It is determined that a customer service issue exists with the vending machine. It is also determined whether to provide a resolution to the customer service issue, and the resolution is provided to the vending machine customer. | 10-09-2008 |
| 20080274808 | METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR REPLAYING A PLAYER'S EXPERIENCE IN A CASINO ENVIRONMENT - A method and system is provided wherein an event experienced by a player is documented and the documentation of the event is stored (e.g., in association with an indication of the event). One example of an event experienced by a player is an outcome obtained by a player on a gaming device. In such an embodiment the documentation of the event may comprise an image of the player's reaction to the outcome and/or a still or video image of the outcome. In accordance with some embodiments of the present invention a player may subsequently access (e.g., purchase) an output of the documentation. In one embodiment an outcome of a prior game play that was documented is replayed. When the outcome of the prior game play is output, the outcome may be output in a manner that indicates to a viewer that the outcome is an outcome of a prior game play and not an outcome of a current game play. | 11-06-2008 |
| 20080318656 | APPARATUS AND METHODS FOR FACILITATING AUTOMATED PLAY OF A GAME MACHINE - According to some embodiments of the present invention, a gaming device such as a slot machine may be operated in an automated play mode in which the need for player input is reduced or eliminated. Termination of and/or changes in the automated play mode may be related to player input, other types of information about a player (or the player's body), and/or whether a player is directing attention to play of the gaming device. | 12-25-2008 |
| 20090012878 | Apparatus, Systems and Methods for Facilitating Commerce - According to one or more embodiments, apparatus, systems and methods are provided for facilitating commerce. In some embodiments, an apparatus (e.g., a central computer) facilitates posting of an item for sale by receiving a digital image of an item for sale, receiving an audio description (e.g., included in an audio file) of the item, and providing an indication of the description to at least one potential buyer. In one embodiment, the digital image and the audio description are received from a mobile phone. | 01-08-2009 |
| 20090137312 | SELECTIVE RESET FOR GAMING DEVICE - A gaming device offers the illusion of control to a player by selectively offering the player the opportunity to request that the gaming device reset itself. Criteria may be imposed about which players may make the request and how frequently a player may make such requests. Techniques for making the reset request vary by embodiment. Once the gaming device receives the request, the gaming device may, depending on embodiment, undergo a number of different reset processes that fall along a continuum from merely informing the player that the gaming device has been reset (e.g., a faux-reset) to a full operating system reboot with or without power interruption to components of the gaming device. In at least one embodiment, any credit balance associated with the player is preserved through the reset procedure. | 05-28-2009 |
| 20090144179 | PRODUCTS AND PROCESSES FOR VENDING A PLURALITY OF PRODUCTS VIA DEFINED GROUPS - Products and processes are disclosed for defining at least one inventory group. This at least one inventory group includes at least two products that are available for sale by a vending machine. The vending machine outputs an indication of products that the at least one inventory group includes. The vending machine receiving, from a customer, a selection of a first product that the at least one inventory group includes. The vending machine processes a sale of a unit of the first product and a respective unit of at least one additional product for a single price. | 06-04-2009 |
| 20090144785 | METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR BROADCASTING MODIFIED LIVE MEDIA - Methods and systems are presented for broadcasting a modified live media feed of an event. In an embodiment, the method includes receiving a live media feed at a broadcast computer from one or more recording devices, wherein the live media feed includes real time occurrences of a live event. The live media feed is broadcast after a predetermined delay, and the method includes identifying, during monitoring of the live event, a portion of the live event that is suitable for application of a modification effect. The process also includes the broadcast computer applying the modification effect to a portion of the live media feed corresponding to the identified portion of the live event, and then broadcasting the modified live media feed. | 06-04-2009 |
| 20090305765 | PROVIDING AND REDEEMING PARTIAL WAGERING GAME OUTCOMES - Described are methods, computer readable media and systems related to wagering games, and in particular those that concern providing and redeeming partial game outcomes. A method according to an embodiment includes receiving a completion request from a player who is operating a gaming device to complete at least one partial game outcome. The partial game outcome was previously provided to the player, who used a first device that is different than the gaming device. The method includes determining that the player is entitled to a complete game outcome, displaying the partial game outcome on the gaming device, determining the complete game outcome, and then displaying the complete game outcome. | 12-10-2009 |
| 20090313473 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SECURE MEASUREMENT CERTIFICATION - The invention relates to methods and apparatuses for acquiring a physical measurement, and for creating a cryptographic certification of that measurement, such that its value and time can be verified by a party that was not necessarily present at the measurement. | 12-17-2009 |
| 20100016070 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PROVIDING ELECTRONIC CREDITS AT A GAMING DEVICE WITHOUT FIRST REQUIRING PAYMENT THEREFOR - In accordance with some embodiments, apparatus and methods are disclosed for providing electronic credits to a player of a gaming device. The electronic credits are provided in response to an occurrence of an event other than an outcome of a game play. Further, the electronic credits are provided without requiring the player to first provide payment therefore. In some, the number of electronic credits may be determined based on information associated with at least one of the player, the gaming device, and a casino associated with the gaming device. In some embodiments, the an offer for the electronic credits is output to the player at the gaming device and the electronic credits are added to a credit meter balance of the gaming device upon the player's acceptance of the offer. In some embodiments, the player is required to provide a payment for the electronic credits at a time subsequent to the time at which the electronic credits are provided to the player. | 01-21-2010 |
| 20100062826 | METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR CONDUCTING LOTTERY GAMES - Systems, computer readable media and methods are presented that pertain to lottery games, which permit lottery players to reinvest their lottery entry winnings in one or more subsequent lottery drawings. In one embodiment, a method includes selling to a player at least one second lottery entry of a second lottery game in exchange for at least a portion of an initial payout, in accordance with at least one repurchasing action that corresponds to a repurchasing condition. | 03-11-2010 |
| 20100094751 | APPARATUS AND METHODS FOR ENFORCING PURCHASE AGREEMENTS - Systems, apparatus, articles of manufacture and methods are provided for establishing (e.g., online) a buyer price for a first plurality of products. In one embodiment, the buyer price is lower than a retail price of the first plurality of products. A second plurality of products that the buyer has actually received during the subsequent transaction is determined. A penalty may be assessed if the first plurality of products does not correspond to the second plurality of products. | 04-15-2010 |
| 20100113161 | APPARATUS, SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR HANDHELD GAMING, INCLUDING INTERACTIVE MAPS - A method comprises receiving a request for a location of at least one player of at least one gaming device from a handheld device, determining the location of the at least one player based upon gaming information derived from the at least one gaming device of the at least one player, and transmitting location information comprising the determined location of the at least one player to the handheld device. | 05-06-2010 |
| 20100131840 | PRODUCTS AND PROCESSES FOR PROVIDING ONE OR MORE LINKS IN AN ELECTRONIC FILE THAT IS PRESENTED TO A USER - Methods, systems, and apparatus are described for providing a link in an electronic file being presented to a user in accordance with a set of one or more preferences, each preference providing an association between one or more data patterns and a computer network resource. According to some embodiments, one or more layers may be available and/or selectively activated (e.g., by a user) for modifying electronic files. | 05-27-2010 |
| 20100210350 | PROBLEM GAMBLING DETECTION IN TABLETOP GAMES - A gaming establishment may determine the existence of problem gamblers within its halls by monitoring player behavior with one or more sensors from an array of sensors. The player's behavior is then compared to normal behavior and/or problem gambling behavior to determine if the player is potentially a problem gambler. Behavior patterns that may be tracked are player movement, player betting patterns, facial expressions, physical clues, nonverbal clues, and the like. | 08-19-2010 |
| 20100211218 | PRODUCTS AND PROCESSES FOR STABLISHING MULTI-TRANSACTION RELATIONSHIPS WITH CUSTOMERS OF VENDING MACHINES - Disclosed herein are various systems and methods for improving the establishment and management of vending machine subscriptions, including systems and methods for constructing, communicating, and registering subscriptions, as well as various methods for processing the redemption of vending machine subscription items. Several additional embodiments are disclosed, including various alternate methods of promoting longitudinal machine-customer relationships. | 08-19-2010 |
| 20100240433 | METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR LOTTERY GAME PLAY AGGREGATION - According to one embodiment, a player may accumulate occurrences of matched lottery numbers over a plurality of lottery outcomes (e.g., lottery number drawings) and/or a plurality of lottery entries. The player may be allowed a bonus if a running count of occurrences of matched numbers is at least equal to a predetermined number. | 09-23-2010 |
| 20100252997 | MULTIPLE POSITION SINGLE ROUND GAMING SLOT MACHINE AND METHOD - A gaming device presents multiple hands of the game played on the gaming device as part of a single round of game play. The player wagers on whether the composite set of the multiple hands has certain attributes. If the attributes are present in the composite set, the player receives a winning outcome and receives a benefit. In a particularly contemplated implementation, the game is blackjack, and the attributes are based on the number and type of cards as well as the manner in which individual hands beat the dealer and by how many points. | 10-07-2010 |
| 20100267444 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR DETERMINING A LEVEL OF REWARD - In accordance with one or more embodiments, a method comprises associating, with a casino patron, a benefit of a first value. The benefit of the first value is determined based on a first algorithm and based on the patron's activity during a first portion of a period of time. The method further comprises associating, with the patron, a benefit of a second value. The benefit of the second value is determined based on a second algorithm and based on the patron's activity during a second portion of the period of time, the second portion occurring after the first portion. Associating the benefit of the second value is only performed if the associating the benefit of the first value is first performed. | 10-21-2010 |
| 20100279765 | PROBLEM GAMBLING DETECTION IN TABLETOP GAMES - A gaming establishment may determine the existence of problem gamblers within its halls by monitoring player behavior with one or more sensors from an array of sensors. The player's behavior is then compared to normal behavior and/or problem gambling behavior to determine if the player is potentially a problem gambler. Behavior patterns that may be tracked are player movement, player betting patterns, facial expressions, physical clues, nonverbal clues, and the like. | 11-04-2010 |
| 20100285869 | GAMEPLAY-ALTERING PORTABLE WAGERING MEDIA - Portable wagering media may be utilized to alter play of wagering games. | 11-11-2010 |
| 20110017837 | Method And Apparatus For Promoting The Selection And Use Of A Transaction Card - One embodiment of the present invention provides for detecting a physical change at a transaction card, and, in response to detecting the physical change outputting content to attract the attention of a user. | 01-27-2011 |
| 20110028200 | PRODUCTS AND PROCESSES FOR APPLYING CONDITIONS TO A LOTTERY EVENT - Products and processes are disclosed for receiving a lottery record associated with a sale of a lottery ticket. The lottery record includes a plurality of lottery numbers, and a condition for creating at least one entry that includes the lottery numbers in a lottery drawing. It is determined that the condition is satisfied and the at least one entry in the lottery drawing is created. | 02-03-2011 |
| 20110047022 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PROVIDING CROSS-BENEFITS BASED ON A CUSTOMER ACTIVITY - In accordance with some embodiments of the present invention, a controller receives an indication of acceptance by a customer of an offer for a subsidy from a second vendor (e.g., a subsidizing vendor). The offer may define, for example, a reduction in the price charged for an item purchased from a first vendor and an obligation for the customer to fulfill in exchange for the subsidy. The customer is charged a second price for the items, which is less than the total price, and may even be zero. | 02-24-2011 |
| 20110054988 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR FACILITATING ELECTRONIC COMMERCE THROUGH PROVIDING CROSS-BENEFITS DURING A TRANSACTION - Accordingly some embodiments, a merchant server receives an indication of acceptance by a customer of an offer for a subsidy from a second merchant of a purchase of at least one item from a first merchant. The customer agrees to participate in an additional transaction with the second merchant in exchange for having the subsidy applied against the purchase from the first merchant. In one embodiment, after selling the at least one item to the customer, the merchant server determines that the customer did not participate in an additional transaction with the second merchant as the customer agreed to, and assesses a penalty against the customer. | 03-03-2011 |
| 20110111842 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ENABLING A PLAYER TO SIMULTANEOUSLY CONTROL GAME PLAY WITH MULTIPLE GAMING DEVICES - In accordance with at least one embodiment, a gaming system is operable to determine a first gaming device being operated by a player and select a second gaming device to be controlled, via the first gaming device, by the player. In some embodiments, the gaming system is further operable to configure the second gaming device to be controlled via an interface of the first gaming device. | 05-12-2011 |
| 20110128414 | Method and apparatus for automatically capturing and managing images - According to one embodiment of the invention, a camera determines whether to acquire an image (e.g., automatically), determines whether to store the acquired image, and determines how to store the acquired image. | 06-02-2011 |
| 20110131111 | METHOD, SYSTEM AND COMPUTER PROGRAM PRODUCT FOR FACILITATING AN AUCTION BEHAVIOR AND AUTOMATIC BIDDING IN AN AUCTION - One or more proxy bidders is associated with a rule which determines a time to place a bid. The proxy bidder places a bid at the determined time, instead of immediately after the bidder's prior bid is exceeded. Such rules may be selected for all proxy bidders to encourage a desired auction behavior. By controlling the placement of bids based on rules associated with the desired auction behavior, bids may be placed in a manner that seems natural and competitive to bidders in the auction when, in fact, they are placed in accordance with the selected rules. The desired auction behavior may be selected statically for an auction or dynamically during the auction. Historical auction data maybe analyzed to characterize the behavior of an auction, such as the average period of time between bids and the average increment between bids. Rules may be generated to correspond to a behavior so as to provide the same average time and increment between bids. | 06-02-2011 |
| 20110143832 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR USING CONDITIONAL PARAMETERS TO ALTERNATE BETWEEN WAGERING GAMES - A wagering method is provided that allows players or gaming establishments to specify conditions which when satisfied, reconfigure the gaming device to change game play from a first game to a second game. The condition may depend upon the value of a parameter—generally related to game play—to determine if the condition is valid and triggers the reconfiguration. The second game may be selected from a game on the same gaming device, from a game on a different gaming device, or a game played by a specific player. | 06-16-2011 |
| 20110145121 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PROVIDING AND PROCESSING INSTALLMENT PLANS AT A TERMINAL - According to some embodiments, a central controller receives a selection signal. If the selection signal indicates acceptance of any installment plan, use of the accepted installment plan for the financial account is authorized. Thereafter, bills may be generated that reflect installment charges to be paid. | 06-16-2011 |
| 20110145142 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ISSUING AND MANAGING GIFT CERTIFICATES - The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for issuing and redeeming a gift certificate drawn on a credit card or other financial account. | 06-16-2011 |
| 20110161146 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MANAGING VENDING MACHINE OFFERS - Systems, methods, and articles of manufacture for providing promotions at vending machines, such as by providing vending machine subscriptions to a category of products, are disclosed. | 06-30-2011 |
| 20110166919 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS WHEREIN A SECURITY DEPOSIT FACILITATES A TRANSACTION IN WHICH A BENEFIT IS APPLIED IN EXCHANGE FOR PERFORMANCE OF A TASK - Methods, computer readable media and systems are described wherein a security deposit is used to facilitate a transaction with a customer. In an embodiment, a process includes receiving an indication that a customer is interested in making a purchase during a transaction from a merchant, and transmitting an offer for a benefit to be applied to the transaction in exchange for a future performance of a task by the customer and a security deposit. The task is associated with a subsidy provider other than the merchant. The method also includes providing the offer to the customer, receiving the security deposit, applying the benefit to the transaction before performance of the task, and returning at least a portion of the security deposit to the customer based on the performance of the task. For example, a subsidy provider may offer to apply a subsidy amount to a transaction involving the purchase of a lawn mower in exchange for a future performance of a task by the customer such as test driving a new car. It is also arranged for the customer to provide a security deposit. When the customer performs the task by test driving the car, arrangements are then made to return at least a portion of the security deposit to the customer. | 07-07-2011 |
