Integral ergonomic gaming terminal

Abstract

An ergonomic adjustable “integral” gaming terminal configured to comfortably surround the player and provide audio isolation from the surroundings. The position and orientation of the various ergonomic elements including the sound volume and video brightness are computer controlled and memorized together with the player profile. A signal may be activated to allow ease of sitting-in and exiting the gaming terminal. Embodiments of the invention accommodate two or more seated players to play as a couple or as a team. The terminal includes body-relaxing devices such as back massage, leg massage and foot massage as well as soothing audio that are available while the player is playing games. Some entertainment and information services may be activated for an additional fee, if a bonus or quota is attained or according to a promotional scheme.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] This invention relates generally to the field of casino gaming terminals and, more particularly, relates to an ergonomically designed “integral” gaming terminal configured to comfortably surround a player. [0003] 2. Copyright Notice / Permission [0004] A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material that is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever. The following notice applies to the software and data as described below and in the drawings hereto: Copyright 2004, Cyberscan Technology Inc., All Rights Reserved. [0005] 3. Description of the Related Art [0006] Traditional gaming terminals such as found in casinos are designed on the omnipresent 3-piece model ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0010] Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an “integral” gaming terminal design configured to offer the player a comfortable, private, relaxing and entertaining gaming experience. The gaming experience may be augmented by personal services such as TV viewing and Internet access. The gaming terminals according to embodiments of the present invention may be networked within a distributed gaming system and may communicate in many ways with other machines, such as via a peer-to-peer communication protocol with other gaming terminals and / or with other secure web services. Such gaming terminals may participate in bonusing and progressive schemes locally within the gaming operator premises or globally with other gaming operations located in other geographic areas.

[0012] When a player is sitting in a gaming terminal and has not played any games or utilized some other functionality of the terminal for a predetermined period of time that may be determined by the casino operator, the gaming terminal may transmit a signal to both the player and the operator to prevent prolonged non-play time. Although the present gaming terminal may include soothing and relaxing services (such as massaging in the chair and leg rest, for example), the player should not stop playing, and in particular should be prevented from falling asleep.

[0017] Also, embodiments of the present gaming terminal may further include means for allowing two or more players to seat conformably and play as a team.

Problems solved by technology

In addition, players using such conventional gaming terminals are often subjected to the characteristic surrounding casino clatter and din, which may displease or even disturb music / sound aficionados accustomed to the high-quality sound available on current multimedia PCs and DVD home theaters.

Moreover, as computer controllers integrated in gaming terminals are rapidly adopting the generic PC architecture and windowing software such as Microsoft windows and Linux (whether embedded or not) and that the gaming industry is rapidly shifting to cashless payment operation, the cost of gaming machines hardware is declining.

Images