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Patent US6077162A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US6077162A
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Cooperative group gaming system: apparatus and method
Assignee: Aristocrat Technologies Inc
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Filing: 1997-01-22
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Granted: 2000-06-20
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Expires: 2017-01-22
Abstract
Abstract A cooperative group gaming apparatus and method therefore including a plurality of gaming machines including means for individual play, means for communal play and communal payout means influenced by any gaming machine participating in cooperative group play, said plurality of gaming machines operatively coupled to at least one controller which, inter alia, communicates with at least one display means for displaying the effects of cooperative group play to game players.
Inventors
- 👤 Steven A. Weiss
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 18:38
CPC Classifications
G; G07; G07F; G07F17/00; G07F17/32
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 28
Claim 1
Independent Claim
135 words
A cooperative group gaming system, comprising, in combination: a bank of individual gaming machines, each said individual gaming machine having means for individual play including means for receiving a wager, and each said individual gaming machine including an indicator means; said indicator means transitioning from an off state to an on state on each said individual gaming machine having received a communal contribution by a player to reflect player participation; each said individual gaming machine having means for communal play, and a meter reflecting communal activity; and communal payout means influenced by any machine participating in communal play; wherein said communal payout means distributes an award of the communal jackpot to at least one player achieving a winning outcome recognized by the system and distributes another award to all remaining players participating in communal play.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
135 words
A cooperative group gaming system, comprising, in combination: a bank of individual gaming machines, each said individual gaming machine having means for individual play including means for receiving a wager, and each said individual gaming machine including an indicator means; said indicator means transitioning from an off state to an on state on each said individual gaming machine having received a communal contribution by a player to reflect player participation; each said individual gaming machine having means for communal play, and a meter reflecting communal activity; and communal payout means influenced by any machine participating in communal play; wherein said communal payout means distributes an award of the communal jackpot to at least one player achieving a winning outcome recognized by the system and distributes another award to all remaining players participating in communal play.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
19 words
The system of claim 1 wherein said meter reflects communal activity in the form of a communal jackpot amount.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
43 words
The system of claim 2 wherein said communal payout means distributes a primary percentage of the communal jackpot to at least one player achieving a winning outcome recognized by the system and distributes the remainder to all remaining players participating in communal play.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
32 words
The system of claim 2 wherein said communal payout means equally distributes the communal jackpot to all participating players when at least one player achieves a winning outcome recognized by the system.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
31 words
The system of claim 2 further including means for distributing a first award based on a first tier of awards to all players achieving a winning outcome recognized by the system.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
28 words
The system of claim 5 wherein said communal payout means equally distributes a second said award based on a second tier of awards to all participating communal players.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
30 words
The system of claim 6 wherein said first tier of said awards is based on a paytable associated with said gaming machine in which a winning outcome has been achieved.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
18 words
The system of claim 7 wherein said second tier of said awards is based on the communal jackpot.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
34 words
The system of claim 5 wherein said communal payout means distributes a second said award based on a second tier of awards to all participating communal players except for players winning said first award.
Claim 11
Independent Claim
138 words
A method for sharing from communal gaming activity, the steps including: uniting a plurality of machines to enable both independent play and communal play; providing an indicator means on each of the plurality of gaming machines, each of the indicator means including an on state and an off state; initializing the plurality of machines by placing all indicator means to the off state; reflecting individual communal play participation by placing the indicator means to the on state on each of the plurality of gaming machines having received a communal contribution; displaying the effect of communal play, and distributing a series of awards to communal players when at least one player in the community of players achieves a recognized winning outcome by giving an award to the one player achieving the winning outcome and another award to remaining players.
Claim 12
Independent Claim
138 words
A method for sharing from communal gaming activity, the steps including: uniting a plurality of machines to enable both independent play and communal play; providing an indicator means on each of the plurality of gaming machines, each of the indicator means including an on state and an off state; initializing the plurality of machines by placing all indicator means to the off state; reflecting individual communal play participation by placing the indicator means to the on state on each of the plurality of gaming machines having received a communal contribution; displaying the effect of communal play, and distributing a series of awards to communal players when at least one player in the community of players achieves a recognized winning outcome by giving an award to the one player achieving the winning outcome and another award to remaining players.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
45 words
The method of claim 10 wherein distributing a series of awards to communal players includes the steps of distributing a primary amount of a communal jackpot to at least the one winning player and a remainder of the communal jackpot to all remaining communal players.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method of claim 10 wherein displaying the effect of communal play includes the step of displaying a dynamic communal jackpot amount.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
31 words
The method of claim 10 further including the step of distributing a first award to at least the one player in the community of players who achieved the recognized winning outcome.
Claim 16
Independent Claim
149 words
A method for providing a cooperative group gaming system; the steps including: providing a bank of gaming machines, each said gaming machine including an indicator identifying each said gaming machine and having means for individual play and communal play; initializing the system by turning off all indicators identifying the gaming machine; selecting at least one bonus combination which constitutes a bonus event; turning on the indicator of each gaming machine having received a communal wager for identifying each player participating in the communal jackpot; providing at least one display means operatively coupled to the bank of gaming machines for displaying a communal jackpot and at least the one bonus combination; distributing a plurality of awards to communal players when at least one player in the community achieves a recognized winning outcome by giving an award to the one player achieving the winning outcome and another award to remaining players.
Claim 17
Independent Claim
149 words
A method for providing a cooperative group gaming system; the steps including: providing a bank of gaming machines, each said gaming machine including an indicator identifying each said gaming machine and having means for individual play and communal play; initializing the system by turning off all indicators identifying the gaming machine; selecting at least one bonus combination which constitutes a bonus event; turning on the indicator of each gaming machine having received a communal wager for identifying each player participating in the communal jackpot; providing at least one display means operatively coupled to the bank of gaming machines for displaying a communal jackpot and at least the one bonus combination; distributing a plurality of awards to communal players when at least one player in the community achieves a recognized winning outcome by giving an award to the one player achieving the winning outcome and another award to remaining players.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 14 further including the step of receiving wagers from a plurality of players playing the gaming machines.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
24 words
The method of claim 15 further including the step of computing the amount of the wagers which will be provided to a communal jackpot.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method of claim 16 further including the step of displaying the communal jackpot amount on the display means.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method of claim 17 further including the step of providing an indicator means of each player participating in the communal jackpot.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method of claim 17 further including the step of providing game play on each game having received a wager by a player.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method of claim 19 further including the step of counting the number of players participating in the communal jackpot.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
26 words
The method of claim 20 further including the step of awarding a primary award to at least the one player who has achieved a winning outcome.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method of claim 21 further including the step of awarding residual awards to the remaining players participating in the communal jackpot.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
67 words
The method of claim 22 wherein the step of awarding the residual awards includes the step of computing the residual award for each player by utilizing the formula: RA=(JP-PA)/NP Where RA is the residual award for each player, JP is the total communal jackpot amount PA is the amount of the primary award, and NP is the number of players in addition to the primary award winner.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method of claim 23 including the step of computing the primary award amount as a percentage of the total communal jackpot amount.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method of claim 24 further including the step of resetting the communal jackpot and bonus combination for subsequent play.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2003-06-20 | 2003-12-20 | 2004-06-20 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2007-06-20 | 2007-12-20 | 2008-06-20 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2011-06-20 | 2011-12-20 | 2012-06-20 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |