Modular Gaming Buttons With Wireless Power for Fast Maintenance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional button decks in gaming machines require complete removal for maintenance, leading to downtime and limited placement options due to physical power and communication connections, and lack flexibility in design and functionality.
Innovation Solution
Modular buttons with a dynamic display and wireless power/communication capabilities, allowing for quick replacement and integration into gaming environments, along with interactive surface displays that provide a flexible and durable button deck surface.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of repair
If conventional button decks are used with physical power and communication connections, then reliable power and data transmission is achieved, but maintenance requires complete removal leading to downtime and limited placement options
Solution Approach 1:
The button deck is divided into modular button units that can be independently removed and replaced. Each button module contains its own power and communication interfaces, allowing individual maintenance without affecting other buttons. This segmentation enables quick swap-out of defective buttons while keeping the rest of the system operational.
Solution Approach 2:
Power and communication connection features are extracted from the main system and integrated directly into each button module. This extraction eliminates the need for complex wired connections to the main board, allowing buttons to be independently powered and communicated with via wireless or alternative interfaces, thereby enabling maintenance without complete deck removal.
2Adaptability or versatility
If conventional button decks with physical connections are used, then stable power and communication are ensured, but placement options are limited and design flexibility is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
Each button module is designed as a universal unit that can be placed in various locations and configurations. The modules incorporate multiple functions including power reception, communication, and user interaction capabilities within a single standardized design, allowing them to be deployed in diverse gaming machine configurations without requiring custom wiring for each position.
Solution Approach 2:
Physical wired connections are replaced with wireless power and communication technologies. This substitution eliminates the mechanical constraints of cable routing and connection points, enabling buttons to be positioned freely according to design requirements rather than being constrained by physical connection pathways.
3Productivity
If modular buttons with wireless capabilities are implemented, then maintenance efficiency is enhanced and placement flexibility is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Power reception, communication interfaces, and button functionality are merged into integrated modular units. This consolidation reduces the overall system complexity by eliminating separate wiring harnesses, power supplies, and communication modules that would otherwise be distributed throughout the system. The modular design simplifies maintenance while managing complexity through standardization.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions from wired to wireless power and communication parameters. This parameter change fundamentally alters the complexity profile by replacing complex physical connection infrastructure with simpler wireless protocols, enabling easier maintenance and greater design flexibility without proportionally increasing system complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed are gaming systems, methods and machines that include one or more modular buttons. In particular, a modular button is configured for mounting within a frame or panel. The modular button may be interchangeable, such that various modular buttons may be added, exchanged, and/or removed from the frame. In some examples, the frame may be formed of a metal or other structural material. In some examples, the frame may be formed within a surface of another system, such as a bar-top, a gaming table, or an EGM, as a non-limiting listing of examples. The modular buttons include devices and/or circuitry to enable wireless transfer of power and/or communications.