Wagering Game Machine Resource Sharing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Wagering game machines often experience downtime due to faulty components or lack of expendable resources like printer paper, leading to interrupted player interaction and reduced profitability for operators.
Innovation Solution
Implementing resource sharing between wagering game machines and servers, allowing a machine in need of a resource to access equivalent resources from another machine or server, either directly or indirectly, to ensure continuous operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If each wagering game machine has its own dedicated resources (printers, bill acceptors, etc.), then each machine can operate independently, but the system complexity increases and resources cannot be shared when one machine experiences resource failure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges resource management across multiple wagering game machines by enabling a first machine to access resources (such as printers, bill acceptors, or displays) located in a second machine. This consolidation allows resources to be shared across the network, improving reliability by providing backup resources when a machine experiences resource failure, while reducing overall system complexity through centralized resource pools rather than requiring every machine to have redundant dedicated resources.
2Productivity
If resources are shared between machines over a network, then resource availability increases and downtime is reduced, but the communication overhead and network dependency increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a resource manager as an intermediary component that facilitates resource sharing between wagering game machines. The resource manager handles the complexity of network communication, resource allocation, and coordination, allowing individual machines to access shared resources without directly managing the complex network protocols and communication overhead. This mediator approach enables efficient resource utilization while isolating the communication complexity within a dedicated management system.
3Reliability
If a machine immediately switches to alternative resources when a resource fails, then player engagement is maintained, but the time required to locate and switch to alternative resources increases downtime
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by pre-establishing resource pools and maintaining readiness of alternative resources before failures occur. The system proactively manages resource allocation and identifies available alternative resources in advance, so when a resource failure occurs, the switch to alternative resources can happen immediately without time-consuming search or coordination delays. This preliminary preparation of resource alternatives minimizes downtime while ensuring continuous operation capability.
Data Source
AI summary
Apparatus, systems, and methods may operate to determine that a second resource is available to be shared in place of a first resource located in a first wagering game machine operable to receive a wager associated with a wagering game. The second resource may be located apart from the first wagering game, perhaps in a second wagering game machine, or in a wagering game server.