Network Access Device for Pinball Machine Data Transmission
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Solution Overview
Problem
Entertainment machines, such as pinball and arcade games, lack network access, making it difficult to remotely monitor user interactions, maintain the machines, and provide enhanced features like leaderboard tracking and remote updates.
Innovation Solution
A network access device with a modular probe architecture that bridges user interactions and machine data to various networks, using components like field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth low energy (BTLE), enabling remote access and data transmission to cloud-based APIs for tracking, maintenance, and user engagement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If entertainment machines are designed without network access components, then device complexity is reduced and manufacturing cost is lowered, but the ability to remotely monitor user interactions and provide network services is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a network access device as an intermediary component that bridges the entertainment machine and the network. This mediator handles all network communications, allowing the main entertainment machine to remain relatively simple while still gaining network capabilities through the intermediary device that manages connectivity and data transmission.
Solution Approach 2:
The network access device is designed to perform multiple functions including Wi-Fi connectivity, Bluetooth low energy communications, data transmission to cloud-based APIs, and support for various network protocols. This multi-functional approach allows a single device to provide comprehensive network access rather than requiring separate dedicated components for each function.
2Loss of information
If network access components are added to entertainment machines, then remote monitoring and data transmission capabilities are enabled, but manufacturing cost and device complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the network access functionality from the core entertainment machine and places it in a separate dedicated network access device. This extraction allows the main machine to focus on its primary entertainment function while the separate device handles all network-related data transmission and communication tasks, reducing the complexity burden on the main system.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces potential complex wired network connections with wireless communication technologies including Wi-Fi and Bluetooth low energy. This substitution eliminates the need for physical network infrastructure modifications and simplifies the connection architecture while maintaining robust data transmission capabilities for user interaction tracking.
3Quantity of substance
If local leaderboard storage is used in entertainment machines, then leaderboard functionality is provided, but leaderboard capacity is limited by machine storage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions leaderboard storage from a local two-dimensional machine-based system to a cloud-based distributed system. By moving data storage to the cloud, the system gains virtually unlimited storage capacity and can handle significantly larger volumes of leaderboard data without being constrained by the physical storage limitations of individual entertainment machines.
Solution Approach 2:
The network access device continuously transmits user interaction data and leaderboard information to cloud-based APIs, which then provide feedback by updating leaderboard rankings and returning updated information to the machine. This feedback loop enables dynamic leaderboard management with large datasets while maintaining real-time updates at the machine level without requiring the machine to store all data locally.
Data Source
AI summary
A display signal associated with a pinball machine display is received. The display signal is interpreted. A network message is transmitted via a network interface based at least in part on the interpretation of the display signal.A network message is received via a network interface. A maintenance signal associated with the network message is submitted via a communication interface, wherein the communication interface is coupled to a pinball machine coin door panel driver board.