Transparent Touch Input Device for Wagering Game Screens
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing wagering game systems lack efficient and user-friendly input methods for electrically responsive touch screens, which limit customization and player interaction, particularly in terms of wagering and game parameter settings.
Innovation Solution
The development of electrically responsive touch screen input devices (EIDs) that provide stable, machine-readable inputs, allowing players to place wagers and customize game settings through a free-standing, upright position on the touch screen, enabling multi-touch and gesture inputs, and integrating with the touch screen's electrical sensing mechanisms.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If traditional touch screen interfaces are used, then the system can receive basic user inputs, but the input method lacks efficiency and user-friendliness for wagering game operations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary device (transparent touch-sensitive panel with conductive elements) that mediates between the user and the touch screen. This panel includes conductive traces or patterns that can be touched or gestured with, providing a more efficient input method while maintaining compatibility with the existing touch screen infrastructure.
Solution Approach 2:
The input device is designed to support multiple input methods including direct touch, stylus input, and gesture recognition on the same transparent panel. This multi-functional approach enhances ease of operation without requiring multiple separate devices, thereby managing complexity effectively.
2Measurement precision
If electrically responsive touch screens are used, then the system can detect user contact through electrical sensing mechanisms, but the input precision and machine-readability are insufficient for complex wagering operations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates conductive elements or traces at specific locations on the transparent panel corresponding to different input zones. These localized conductive features enhance measurement precision by providing distinct electrical signatures for different areas, improving machine-readability for complex wagering operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical input devices with an electrically responsive system using conductive traces and electrical sensing. This substitution enables more precise and reliable detection of user inputs through electrical fields, enhancing measurement precision while reducing mechanical complexity.
3Ease of manufacture
If the input device is designed to stand upright freely on the touch screen, then visibility and stability are improved, but the device structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent designs the input device with a flat, uniform base that creates stable contact with the touch screen surface. The transparent panel and supporting structure are configured to distribute weight evenly, ensuring stability without requiring complex mounting mechanisms, thus maintaining ease of manufacture.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses a thin, transparent panel as the primary structure of the input device. This thin-film approach provides sufficient structural integrity for stability while maintaining a simple, lightweight design that is easy to manufacture and assemble without complex fastening or support mechanisms.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enhances player interaction and customization options by allowing precise and machine-readable inputs, improving the gaming experience through customizable wagers, game settings, and virtual representations, while maintaining the stability and visibility of the input device.
Implementation Method 1
These electrically responsive touch screens typically measure either a change in resistance or a change in capacitance between electrodes (or similarly functioning components) within the touch screen; where the change in resistance or capacitance results from a portion of a user's body in contact with or immediately adjacent an exterior surface of the touch screen
Implementation Method 2
These electrically responsive touch screens typically measure either a change in resistance or a change in capacitance between electrodes (or similarly functioning components) within the touch screen
Data Source
AI summary
Systems described herein include wagering game systems having one or more electrically responsive touch screens, and input devices for use with such touch screens. The disclosure addresses example configurations for such input devices that may be used to provide inputs to the wagering game system. The described input devices may be used to provide various input capabilities to the gaming assembly, and to thereby facilitate different configuration options of the gaming assemblies, including new operational options and functional capabilities.