CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Application Serial No. 10/436,040 filed May 12, 2003 entitled APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR GENERATING NUMBERS, incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates to the electronic generation of one or more numbers in a chance-related manner. More specifically, the invention relates to number generation by an electronic clock or counter with selective controls for initiating and terminating operation of the counter, i.e., the "counting" operation, as well as means for selecting the range or set from which numbers are to be selected, and the number of selections to be made, i.e., how many numbers will be generated to form the required number set. The invention further relates to various schemes for varying the counting rate.
[0003] Generation of numbers in a random manner is virtually as old as the concept of numbers itself. The chance selection of one or more numbers is often made the subject of a game with rules related to the significance of the selected number(s). For example, the flipping of a coin or casting of one or more dice, if performed in a manner which precludes conscious manipulation of the outcome, yields what may be termed a chance-generated result. In fact, it is the very randomness of the numeric selection process, i.e., the practical impossibility of predicting the outcome of an individual selection transaction, that defines number-related gaming or gambling. At least, this is the case for the individual or short term sequence of random number selection, ignoring the application of probability theory (the "law of averages") after many repetitions of the operation.
[0004] Although sweepstakes or lottery games have been in practice for centuries, their widespread adoption by governmental bodies in the United States (primarily at the state level) has been quite recent. There are at present some 37 states, plus the District of Columbia, offering a total of more than 175 number-selection lottery games, some 55 of which may be said to be unique (the others simply being repeated in a plurality of states). The games wherein pre¬ selected numbers, symbols, or other devices are printed on cards and revealed only after the player has purchased the card are not within the scope of the invention, only those games which involve prediction by the player of number(s) to be subsequently selected in a random manner. [0005] Of course, every player has his or her favorite way of predicting the numbers which will be randomly selected in the manner prescribed by the particular lottery operation. Some players
prefer to select the numbers in an essentially random manner, much like the way in which the winning numbers are selected. To this end, there are numerous random number generators available which operate electronically while remaining simple and inexpensive enough to appeal to a mass market. Typically, the user manipulates a switch to initiate operation of a clock, i.e., an electronic counter with a fixed counting rate, typically from several thousand to over a million numbers per second depending on the particular components chosen by the manufacturer of the device. After a time interval which is also a function of the electronic components, cycling stops and the number present in the counter at that instant is displayed and/or stored in the device. The process is repeated until the desired quantity of numbers has been selected. The duration of the time interval is intentionally established electronically in a manner which is imprecise with respect to the counting rate so that the counter does not stop at the same number for each repetition. However, the counter stops and the number is selected, at each repetition, under control of the built-in electronics and not the user. Additionally, these numbers can, and often are, generated mathematically using algorithms known as pseudo-random number generators. These also are not subject to user control.
[0006] It is a principal object of the present invention to provide electronic apparatus for, and a method of, generating a number or sequence of numbers which may be used in gaming or other applications wherein the user exercises a degree of control over the selection process but does not know what number will be selected.
[0007] Typically, a single lottery authority (state) offers a plurality of games having different parametric game data (lowest and highest number values used, how many numbers are selected, etc.) . Likewise, a lottery game in one state may have the same or different parameters from those in the games of other states, and the same name may be used in two or more states to indicate games with different parameters. Accordingly, it is useful to have a number generating device which includes manually manipulated input means for selecting a desired game, i.e., for causing the microcontroller to perform according to the parametric game data of the game chosen by the user.
[0008] It is another object to provide a number generating device for use in any of a plurality of number predicting games having differing game parameters wherein the device may be selectively initialized by the user in a simple manner to operate according to the parameters of a desired game.
[0009] Interest may be added to the electronic number selection process by offering to the user an interactive means for affecting the result, i.e., for changing the counting rate of the counter. Of course, the number(s) selected are still a function of the apparatus and are not known in advance to the user. Although the possibilities are numerous, one such means is a bio-feedback
system wherein an input to ϊhe ' oscillator which establishes the operating frequency, and hence the counting rate of the counter driven thereby, is a function of some instantaneous physical attribute of the user, e.g., body reactance, temperature, pulse rate, blood pressure, etc. [0010] It is a further object to provide an electronic device having a counter for counting repeatedly through a set of numbers wherein the counting rate is influenced by a contemporary physical condition of the user.
[0011] Additional objects are to provide electronic apparatus and methods for generating a number, or a set of N numbers, in a manner controlled by the user, wherein :the apparatus/method includes one or more of the following: the device is incorporated in a wireless telephone; the counting rate of the device is affected by a plurality of sensing means; the numbers generated are stored in a memory for future access; the device includes a visual and/or audible indication of counting rate; the device operates in association with a slot machine, or other gaming machine; the user refers to a chart of game names and locations (states) to obtain instructions for initializing the device to conform to the number selection criteria for the desired game. [0012] Other objects will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0013] In accordance with the foregoing objects, in a first embodiment the invention envisions a relatively small and lightweight (hand held) case having a plurality of buttons (switches) for selective user actuation, a numeric display preferably of two digits, and LED displays for indicating various conditions of the device. The case contains a microcontroller and power source such as a 9 volt, alkaline, transistor radio battery. The microprocessor is connected to an oscillator of conventional design through a counter of one or more stages which converts the pulse output of the oscillator to a square wave required for operation of the microcontroller program. Accompanying the device is a list or chart containing the names of all states (and the District of Columbia) where lottery games are offered, followed by the name of each game offered by each lottery authority. Each game is assigned an identifying number corresponding to its parametric game data, e.g., the numerical range (lowest and highest numbers in the set) and the number of selections to be made. The user actuates one or more of a plurality of game selector switches to enter the identifying number of the game to be played, thereby directing the microprocessor to operate according to the parametric data of that game. [0014] When the desired game number is displayed the user presses a "select" button on the case which causes the microcontroller to execute a program count function, i.e., the counter which is
implemented' rtfffflinrwarei;rM-t Hf fh£*program which resides in the microprocessor's memory) begins counting through the set of allowable numbers in the selected game, and continuously recycles through this count. At any desired time, the user again presses the "select" button which causes the number present in the counter at that moment to be displayed and entered into memory for later playback, and, assuming more than one number is to be selected in the designated game, the counter resumes counting. Again, the "select" button is pressed at any time the user wishes to display and store the second number, and resume counting. This sequence is repeated until the number of selections for the designated game has been made. A "last #" indicator light (LED) will light after selection of the last number, and the computer enters the playback mode. Pressing the "end/results" button causes the computer to cycle through the memory. Following a second press of the "end/results" button, the selected numbers are sequentially shown in the display, beginning with the first number selected. This process continues until the "reset" button is pressed, following which the same game may be repeated or a different game may be initiated by entering a new game number in the game selection switch(es).
[0015] The oscillator base frequency, which controls counting speed, is established by the value of a capacitor in the oscillator circuit. In the basic version described above,, the counting speed remains fixed although the user may actuate the processor at any desired time to select the number in the counter at that instant. The counting rate is sufficiently fast that the user cannot actually choose the number which will be in the counter at the moment of actuation. In an alternate, but preferred, version one or more sensors or interface means are incorporated in the device to affect counting speed. For example, the case may include a touchpad for contact by the user's hand or finger during the selection process. The reactance of the hand/finger acts as a detuning component of the circuit to reduce the oscillator frequency (counting rate). Other interface means for generating a variable electrical signal may be used, individually or in combination, to vary oscillator frequency and thus counting rate. Visual and/or audible indicia may be provided on the case to indicate counting parameters (e.g., whether the counting rate is increasing or decreasing) to the user
[0016] In another embodiment, an auxiliary electronic device having a processor, variable oscillator and user touchpad, or other such interface means, is used in association with a conventional computer wherein actual number selection (from the computer's clock), user graphics and other functions of the previously described handheld device are emulated in a software program executed by the computer. Still another embodiment, wherein the invention is employed in connection with a slot or other gaming machine, is described in two versions. In one version an oscillator varies in frequency commensurately with the value of a signal
generated in response to a " biologfc ~ aT'parameter of the player (e.g., body reactance, as communicated via a touchpad); the bio-influenced oscillator drives the pseudo random number generator (algorithm) in the slot machine's CPU and the number present at the time the player actuates the machine is the selected number. In the other version, the variable speed oscillator drives a multi-bit counter or sequencer connected to the machine's CPU which reads the number in the counter at the time the player actuates the machine (by pulling a handle/lever, pressing a button, etc.); that is, the bio-influenced clock/counter replaces the machine's pseudo random number generator.
[0017] The foregoing and other features of construction and operation of the apparatus and method of the invention will be more readily understood and fully appreciated from the following detailed disclosure, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0018] Figure 1 is an electrical schematic diagram of circuitry embodying the invention in a first embodiment;
[0019] Figure IA is the schematic of Figure 1 with additional elements, forming a second embodiment;
[0020] Figure 2 is a front view of a handheld case containing, or having mounted thereon, elements of the circuit shown schematically in Figure 1;
[0021] Figure 2A is a front view of the case of Figure 2, modified to include the additional circuit elements of Figure IA; [0001]
[0022] Figure 3 is a logic block diagram illustrating operational features of the invention; [0023] Figure 4 is a diagrammatic illustration of another embodiment of the invention in association with an external computer; and
[0024] Figures 5 and 6 are block diagrams of further embodiments in association with a slot or other gaming machine.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0025] One form of circuitry for implementing the invention is schematically detailed in Figure 1. Power is provided by 9 volt, alkaline (transistor radio type) battery 10 connected through on/off switch SwI to voltage regulator 12, providing the system operating voltage at terminal 14 for connection to the various other circuit locations indicated by V+. "Reset" and "select" switches Sw2 and Sw3, respectively, are connected to pins on opposite sides of microcontroller 16. "Game selector" switch Sw4 is shown as a plurality (six, in the illustrated version) of individually operable switches, four of which are connected through chip 18 and two through chip 20 to one side of microcontroller 16, along with switch Sw3 and latch output 22. Pins on the opposite side of microcontroller 16 are connected to "reset" switch Sw2, counter 24, "end
game" switch Sw5, to ground and to latch output 26. An uneven number (3 in the illustrated design) of inverters 28 are connected in a ring fashion, as shown, to provide oscillator 30. As is the usual case, microcontroller 16 requires a 50% duty cycle, i.e., a square wave, to operate its program. Since the output of oscillator 30 is a pulse, it is applied to the first stage of counter 24 and thence (via line 31) to the clock input of microcontroller 16 as a square wave. In fact, in the present embodiment, counter 24 may be a single stage counter (i.e., a flip-flop) since its only purpose is to convert the pulse output of the oscillator to a square wave input to the microcontroller.
[0026] The numerical display of the illustrated circuit has two digits 32 and 34 although this may obviously be varied to accommodate all games which the device is expected to provide. Digits are displayed in conventional manner by electrical inputs to the appropriate ones of the seven segments forming each of the digits. Chips 36 and 38 which drive the digital display include inputs on lines indicated as blank, test and latch, in addition to the four indicated data inputs, and each chip provides seven outputs .to the respective segments of the two digits forming the display. An optional, but preferred, setup mode indicator is provided by LED 40, connected between chip 20 and the regulated voltage.
[0027] To initiate a number selection process with the circuit of Figure 1 the device is initialized and setup mode indicator 40 is turned on by placing switch SwI in the "on" position. The user then manipulates switch Sw4 in a prescribed manner to enable the controller program to operate according to the parametric game data of the desired game, i.e., the lowest and highest numbers in the set, the number of selections to be made and whether or not numbers may be repeated in the same set.. This game selection operation is performed by the user placing the six switches denoted collectively as "game selector switch" Sw4 in positions prescribed for the game the user desires to play. This operation is expedited by providing to the user a list of the names of lottery games offered by each lottery authority (e.g., each state which operates lotteries, plus D.C.) with a number (or other designator) assigned to the games in a group having the same parameters. The user, after ascertaining the game designator from the list, enters, via switch Sw4, the designator corresponding to the group including the lottery game which the user intends to play. Microprocessor 16 ,when in setup mode, continually reads the collective binary value of switch SW4 and causes the current value ( i.e. game number) to be displayed . When the desired game is selected, the user presses the "select" button to close switch Sw3, whereupon microcontroller blanks the display, reads the selected game parameters, and places the selected game number in the "game" register (memory location) for later use by the program. A virtual (or software) counter (not the hardware counter 24 of either disclosed embodiment)) is implemented as a software loop consisting of multiple commands (instructions). Under program control, the
microcontroller executes these instructions sequentially, initiating what is herein termed a "software count function." That is, the software counter increments through a sequence of all allowable numbers in the game being played, and repeats this cycle continuously until the user again presses the "select" button. The number present in the software counter at that moment is displayed (by digital displays 32, 34) and retained in the device's memory for later playback. It should be noted that, while the count would normally be in a continuous sequence from the lowest to the highest allowable number, such is not necessarily the case. For example, one of the games may be in the nature of a dice game, using the usual pair of six-sided dice. For each "roll" of the dice there are 36 possible combinations of die faces. These 36 combinations may be listed in a look-up table and accessed in non-sequential order, although each possible combination is included in every iteration.
[0028] Assuming the selected game requires that multiple numbers be selected, the computer automatically resumes the counting cycle and continues until the user again presses the "select" button. The second number, i.e., the number present in the counter when the "select" button is next pressed, is displayed and entered in memory. This process continues, with a number being selected (displayed and entered in memory) each time the user presses the "select" button until the requisite number of selections has been made. When the last number in the set is selected and displayed, LED 40 lights to indicate "last #." The user may then press the "end game" button to close switch Sw5, causing the computer to enter the playback mode and cycle through the memory. Pushing the "end game" button a second time displays the selected numbers from first to last selected. This process continues until the "reset" button is pressed to close switch Sw2, permitting the same number selection process to be repeated or allowing a new game number to be entered via switch Sw4.
[0029] There are some lottery games (e.g., Keno) in which the user decides the number of selections to be made. When playing such games, the device has no parametric information relating to the number of selections. When the designator for a Keno-type game is entered via switch Sw4, successive selections will be made, up to a predetermined maximum (e.g., 20), until the user presses the "end game" button (Sw5) to indicate that the desired number of selections has been made. Upon pressing of the "end game" button, the playback mode is activated and continues until the "reset" button is pressed, indicating initiation of another game. [0030] It will be noted that the numbers are not selected in an entirely random manner as they are when the counting cycle of a clock is automatically interrupted at a time which is a function of the electronics of the device, nor is it a pseudo random event dictated by a mathematical algorithm. In effect, the user's personal sense of timing is what determines the number which is ultimately displayed.. In the present invention counting is interrupted, and the number in the
counter at thatϊhonieht isTeTocteffatfa displayed, under the control of the user, even though the user does not know the number in the counter at any given moment and thus does not mentally pick the selected number. The base oscillator frequency is established by capacitor 42. [0031] An alternate version of the circuit is shown schematically in Figure IA. This circuit includes all features of the circuit of Figure 1, as just described, and further includes means for varying the oscillator frequency (counting rate of both the hardware and firmware counters) and visible and/or audible indicia relating to counter speed. Means for interfacing with the oscillator circuit an electrical signal commensurate with some variable parameter provides an electrical input to oscillator 30 which is used as a detuning component of the circuit to reduce the counting speed. For example, the interface means may be in the nature of a "bio-feedback" touchpad 44 which is contacted by the user's hand, thumb or fmger(s) when the device is held in the hand and operated. The reactance of the user's hand provides an electrical input to the circuit, slowing the oscillator frequency proportionately to the value of the signal, i.e. the capacitance due to body reactance, the instantaneous value of which is added to the fixed value of capacitor 42. The device is operated in the same manner as the previously described embodiment with each number selected at the moment the user presses the "select" button. However, the counting speed is varied as a function of the signal provided by touchpad 44, which tends to be a constantly variable dynamic, lending a further degree of interest to the number selection process. Of course, there are many parameters other than reactance of the user's body which may be used to provide the detuning component in proportion to which oscillator frequency is varied. To give only a few examples, these could include one or more of: the user's body temperature (internal or epidermal), blood pressure, or respiration rate, as well as environmental factors such as barometric pressure, air temperature, and light level. EEG pads, which measure brain wave activity are a prime candidate for bio sensory input to the device. Wired or wireless interface means could be employed to communicate the signal value to the oscillator circuit. It should be noted here that it is not particularly necessary to actually touch the above said touchpad in order to detune the oscillator. There are many circuit means, well known in the art, which will respond to the mere proximity of a living body. The above said touchpad actually begins its detuning process to some degree as the users hand approaches the touchpad circuit elements. It is certainly possible and practical to design circuits which will sufficiently detune an oscillator based on the proximity of the user. It is therefore understood that any reference in this application to contact with a touchpad or similar circuit element may also include "proximity to" said circuit element. [0032] A secondary means for varying the counting rate is to program various delay loops in software between count steps based on the sensor data being read at the moment. Hardware
variation in the oscillator circuit and software variation in the program can occur simultaneously, accommodating simultaneous sensor inputs. Some of these parameters may be sensed directly by means incorporated in the device while others may be measured independently of the device and entered, for example, via a rotary switch which is adjusted to vary the value of the signal providing the detuning component. As a further refinement, when the device includes the counter speed variation feature, it is preferred that a visual and/or audible indication of clock speed be provided. To that end, hardware counters 46 and 48 (successive stages of flip-flops) provide inputs to an array of LEDs 50 which cycle (scroll) at a rate proportional to counter speed. Also, signal frequency is divided by 2 at each stage of the counter, thus being slower by half at each successive stage until the frequency becomes slow enough to cause the LEDs to scroll at a visually perceptible rate. The LEDs (and/or audio device 43) are physically connected to the slower nodes of the hardware counter.
[0033] In Figure 2 is illustrated an example of a hand held device including casing 52, within which the circuitry of Figure 1 is enclosed, and upon which the displays and manually operated buttons are mounted. Switch 54, at the lower left of the casing face, provides manual operation of on/off switch SwI . Game Select switch Sw4 is operated by selective positioning of the six buttons at lower right denoted collectively by reference numeral 56. The switches indicated as Sw2, Sw3 and Sw5 in the schematic of Figure 1 are in the form of momentary push-button switches actuated by pressing buttons 58, 60, and 62, respectively, on case 52. The LED indicating game setup and last number is denoted by reference numeral 40 in both Figures 1 and 2.. Digital displays 32 and 34 are positioned above switches 58, 60 and 62. [0034] Case 52' of Figure 2A is a physical implementation of the schematic illustration of Figure IA. The elements common to the Figure 2 embodiment are indicated in Figure 2A by the same reference numerals with a prime sign (') added. In addition to the common elements, case 52' includes, mounted above the two-digit display, five LEDs indicated collectively by reference numeral 50, the same numeral used in Figure IA to denote the schematic version of the LEDs which are cycled to provide a visual indication of relative counting speed. Also shown in Figure 2A is input device 44, again using the same reference numeral as in the schematic, which may simply be a piece of copper tape affixed in the indicated or other desired position on the case and electrically connected to the oscillator circuit as shown in the schematic. As earlier indicated, device 44 may be a touchpad responsive to reactance of a portion of the user's hand which holds casing 52' during operation thereof, or other sensor or input device which furnishes a detuning component to oscillator 30 affecting the frequency thereof. Operations are performed by the user in the same manner and sequence for the circuit and physical components of the Figure
1 A/2A embodiment as for the Figure 1/2 embodiment when input device 44 operates
automatically in response to a senseα condition. If input device 44 must be manipulated in some manner by the user, as in the case, for example, of a rotary switch, then this additional operation is performed. In any event, the number in the counter at the moment the user presses "Select" button 60, is displayed and stored in the device memory.
[0035] The invention also contemplates modifications wherein the parametric game data is stored separately in an erasable, electrically programmable memory (EEPROM, FLASH, or equivalent). This would allow the user to keep the device data-current as various games are added or deleted, or parameters (range of numbers, number of selections) of existing games are changed. One means of implementing this would be for the user to access an internet website where a file containing the current version of the parametric data is stored. The device could then incorporate one or more commercially available hardwired or wireless interface connection, such as a USB port or RS232 serial port, and could make use of future standard interfaces as they become generally available. The user would connect the device to the computer using the interface hardware, select the file to download and press a button on either the device or the computer (keyboard or mouse click) to initiate the download. Under program control, the device would rewrite the information in the EEPROM, FLASH, or the like, thus updating the device. Any of a myriad of schemes could be used to invoke the reprogramming algorithm, e.g., reserving one of the settings on the "game select" switch for this function. The non- reprogrammable model is intended to be sufficiently economical to make replacement practical; however, the reprogrammable device would be more flexible and convenient. [0036] From the foregoing it will be understood that the present invention provides electronic means for and methods of selecting numbers in a manner especially suited to lottery type games wherein numbers are selected according to parametric game data which specify such parameters as the range of numbers from which selections are made, the number of selections to be made, and the like. This data is stored for a plurality of games with means provided, e.g., in the form of manually manipulated switch means on a handheld device, for selecting the game or type of game to be played; that is, the user manipulates switch(es) telling a microcontroller which set of parametric game data is to be used for a given game. It should be noted here that a myriad other input options are suitable to the game select function. Keypads, sequence switches, or software display/select programs are just a few of the optional means which could perform this function. A conventional oscillator is connected to the clock input of the microcontroller through the first stage of a hardware counter, converting the pulse output of the oscillator to the square wave input required by the controller . Although the oscillator operates continuously, its frequency may be varied and, in one aspect of the invention, a detuning input is provided to the oscillator to affect its frequency and thus the counting rate of the counter. Upon closing a switch, under
selective control ot the user, a program count function is initiated, wherein the program counter, implemented in firmware as part of the controller program, successively (although not necessarily in a continuous sequence) counts through the allowable numbers of the game for which numbers are being selected. Also at the closing of a switch (in the disclosed embodiment the same switch used to initiate the program count function) the count is interrupted (by the program of the microcontroller) and the number present in the software counter at that moment becomes the selected number. The closing of the switch to make a number selection is entirely under the control of the intuitive timing of the user of the device although, as pointed out earlier, the user has no way of knowing what number will be selected at the moment of switch closing. This is the case both when the oscillator frequency is fixed and when means are provided to vary the frequency and thus the counting rate. The microcontroller operates its program at the clock rate it receives from the oscillator (through the first counter stage to provide the required square wave) even though this rate may be varying as the device operates. [0037] Another embodiment of the above invention utilizes a so-called "palm" (handheld), notebook, laptop, or other conventional computer, having the usual clock/counter, in association with a version of the handheld device of the invention. Figure 4 shows a device 70 which attaches to computer 72 either directly via mating connectors 74 and 76 or through any of the standard serial or parallel computer interfaces including cables and wireless means. Auxiliary device 70 contains a processor, variable oscillator and user touchpad(s) 78. As before, circuitry design is such that the frequency of the oscillator varies in accordance with the value of body reactance of a user in physical contact with at least one of touchpads 78. The processor of device 70 generates a signal having a value based on the instantaneous frequency of the oscillator, as influenced by the user's body reactance. The value of the signal generated in device 70 is communicated to computer 72, telling the computer to either speed up or slow down its clock/counter, i.e., the rate at which the numbers are generated. This signal can be updated as frequently or infrequently as the designer desires. The actual number selection, user graphics and other functions described in previous embodiments of the handheld device are, in this embodiment, emulated in a software program executed by the computer. At any time the user desires, a key (either a designated key or any key) on the computer keypad is pressed and the number in the computer clock/counter at that instant is selected, displayed on the computer screen, and/or stored in computer memory. In the case of a handheld computer, auxiliary device 70 is preferably connected to the computer in such a fashion as to cause the auxiliary device's touchpads to contact the users hand while holding the mated unit, leaving the users other hand free to manipulate the controls.
[0038] Althoughlfte^ήvenWn ϊsifselul and interesting as a handheld device for the purposes described above, the concept of generating random numbers based on some biological condition of the user is also useful in other gaming applications. For example, modern slot and other gaming machines such as those described in U. S. Patent No. 4,448,419 of Telnaes, and U. S. Patent No. 5,456,465 of Durham use a pseudo random number generator algorithm to derive the number selected at the time the user pulls the handle or presses the button. These numbers are sequentially generated at a rate based on the speed of the machine's processor. This rate is usually a carefully guarded secret known only to the manufacturer. It is generally known and accepted that the outcome of any given "pull" of the machine is random and that the lights and sounds made by the machine as well as the colors and graphics in the users view are carefully chosen to maximize the user's interest in playing the machine.
[0039] In the application illustrated in Figure 5, the bio-influenced clock generates a signal which drives the pseudo random number generator in the CPU of an otherwise conventional slot machine. The player physically contacts touchpad 80 which is mounted in a convenient position on slot machine 82. A signal commensurate with the player's body reactance (or other parameter) is fed from the touchpad to oscillator 84 to vary the speed (frequency) thereof as a function of the instantaneous signal value. The output of oscillator 84 is connected to pseudo random number generator algorithm 86 in CPU 88 of the slot machine. Block 90 represents the handle, button or other such element which is actuated by the player to initiate operation of the game; that is, upon actuation of element 90 the number generated at that instant by number generator 86, as influenced by the instantaneous speed of oscillator 84, is used to calculate the payout, from zero to jackpot, of that play of machine 82. Block 94 represents the sounds, lights, graphics, etc. which are generated to accompany, and add interest and excitement to the game. [0040] In the application represented by Figure 6, the bio-influenced clock/counter in effect replaces the slot machine's pseudo random number generator algorithm. Again, touchpad 96 provides a direct interface between the player and the machine by generating a signal which varies commensurately with some physical parameter of the player. The signal from touchpad 96 is fed to oscillator 98 to act as a detuning signal, varying the frequency of the oscillator to speed up or slow down its counting rate as a function of the value of the signal from touchpad 96. The signal representing the oscillator counting rate is supplied to multi-bit counter or sequencer 100 which is external to CPU 102. When the player, who is in physical contact with touchpad 96 and thus influencing the number in counter 100, actuates element 104 (handle, button, etc.) CPU 102 reads the number in counter 100, which is then used as the number determining the payout for that game. Thus, no pseudo random number generator is required in this embodiment.
[0041] As in the case oHKe " fixed cTock, both approaches will generate a random number which can then be mapped into "virtual reels" or tables which define the statistical probability of any given number set and therefor define a statistically predictable payout table. The inclusion of a variable speed clock based on some biological attribute of the user (or indeed on any other outside source that the designer can imagine) WILL NOT affect the payout probability any more than the fixed clock would. What it WILL do is to add a level of interest and excitement on the part of the user, since the users themselves are able to exercise some control over the machine. As described earlier, the variable speed clock can be designed to operate at any desired frequency and further be variable by any amount determined by the designer. It should be reiterated here that even at the slowest speeds, the numbers are changing hundreds of times faster than any possible human reaction time, making the number selection truly random. As in the case of the handheld device described earlier, varying lights and sounds (based directly or indirectly on the varying clock) and placed in the users playing field will further add to the interest and excitement of the game. As the user must either push a button or pull a lever to begin or continue a game , the inclusion of a touchpad or some other user interface could easily be implemented. As in the case of the present genre of gaming machines, a myriad of graphic design variations can be implemented while the basic principles remain the same. [0042] The principles described above are applicable to new machine designs, but are also applicable to existing machine retrofits or upgrades.
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