Progressive Jackpot System With Dynamic Increment Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current gaming machines lack features that provide enhanced excitement and increased opportunities for winning, particularly in progressive games, which often have limited jackpot growth and require significant initial capital to fund progressive jackpots.
Innovation Solution
A progressive gaming system that introduces an initial increment rate and threshold limit, with a secondary increment rate that speeds up, slows down, or stops contributions to the jackpot, and a hidden increment that channels contributions to an overflow amount, allowing the jackpot to reset to a lower value while adding the overflow to the next jackpot, thereby encouraging continued play and reducing the capital required for future jackpots.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a progressive jackpot uses a single increment rate, then the jackpot grows at a predictable rate, but the player engagement and excitement are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements multiple increment rates (initial increment rate, secondary increment rate, and hidden increment rate) that dynamically apply at different stages of jackpot growth. The system transitions from the initial increment rate to the secondary increment rate when the jackpot reaches a threshold limit, and utilizes the hidden increment rate to create overflow amounts, making the jackpot growth adaptive and variable rather than static and predictable.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the increment rate parameter based on the jackpot's current value relative to the threshold limit. When the jackpot is below the threshold, the initial increment rate applies; when it reaches or exceeds the threshold, the secondary increment rate takes effect. Additionally, the hidden increment rate modifies the contribution amount to generate overflow, effectively changing the contribution parameter to enhance player engagement.
2Productivity
If the progressive jackpot resets to a fixed value after a win, then the system is simple to manage, but player interest decreases for subsequent jackpots
Solution Approach 1:
The patent recovers and retains a portion of the jackpot growth (overflow amount) even after a jackpot is won. Instead of completely resetting the jackpot to the initial value, the system adds the overflow amount to the reset value, creating a higher starting jackpot for the next cycle. This recovers value that would otherwise be lost, maintaining player interest in subsequent jackpots while preserving the progressive growth mechanism.
3Quantity of substance
If significant initial capital is allocated to fund progressive jackpots, then large jackpot amounts can be offered, but the cost to operate the game increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses the hidden increment rate to accumulate overflow amounts during the jackpot growth phase, preparing supplemental funds in advance. When a jackpot is won and resets, this pre-accumulated overflow is added to the reset value, reducing the need for significant initial capital allocation to fund the next jackpot. The system effectively self-funds a portion of its progressive structure through the overflow mechanism.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is a gaming system for playing a progressive game, wherein the progressive game has an initial increment rate and threshold limit, and each time the progressive game is played a contribution is made to a progressive jackpot's current value. The system includes: a display screen for displaying a gaming presentation, one or more player-activated buttons for receiving player input, and a processor that executes game software and processes input from the player-activated buttons. In this gaming system, each contribution increases the current value until the jackpot reaches the threshold limit, wherein once the threshold limit has been reached, the progressive jackpot uses a secondary increment, to speed up, slow down, or stop the amount contributed to the progressive jackpot. The progressive jackpot's current value is reset to a lower reset value, when a jackpot is won by a player. Further, the progressive game implements a hidden increment that channels contributions to an overflow amount. The progressive game is configured to increase a starting jackpot amount to more than the reset value after a jackpot win by adding the overflow amount to the reset value, thereby encouraging more game play.