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Automated locking method

Automated locking method description/claims

This application is related to co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/678,502, concurrently filed on Feb. 23, 2007, entitled AUTOMATED LOCKING SYSTEM.

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 files or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.

Generally, security is a very important concern for casinos. Typically, many casinos employ a wide variety of surveillance cameras to monitor the activity of both casino patrons and employees. Furthermore, a variety of security devices are utilized to restrict access to and from certain areas of the casino.

Additionally, various security measures are used to protect the gaming devices found on the casino floor. Traditionally, mechanical locks have been used to restrict access to the interior region of a gaming device. Commonly, the mechanical lock (or fastening device), may be released by inserting a key into the lock or by applying the correct combination to release the lock. For example, to drop coins, bills, and coupons from a gaming device, a casino employee is required to use mechanical keys to open a particular door, remove a container, and close and lock the door with the key. This can be a cumbersome and time extensive task, especially when a casino employee needs to access more than one gaming device.

In some casino gaming systems, every gaming device has a unique key. Further, components within the gaming device, such as the coin or bill box may be secured by a fastening device and may require additional keys to release the lock on the fastening device. Therefore, the number of keys needed to access the various gaming machines and components within the gaming machines, can easily grow to a large number of keys. Additionally, in the case of a lost key or security breach, gaming devices must be re-keyed. The task of re-keying machines can become very expensive and very time consuming.

What is needed is both a system and method to reduce the labor and improve the security aspects of certain manual operations performed on a gaming device.

Briefly, and in general terms, various embodiments are directed to methods for controlling the locking mechanisms in a gaming machine or casino gaming system. According to one method, one or more automated locking mechanisms are provided on a plurality of gaming machines. Each locking mechanism is connected to a locking controller such that the locking controller controls the release and locking of the locking mechanism. The automated locking system receives a request from a user to release one or more locking mechanisms, and the gaming machine is locked or unlocked in response to the user request. In another method, the identity of the user is authenticated, and the locking mechanism is released if the user is authenticated.

According to another method, one or more automated locking mechanisms are provided on a plurality of networked gaming machines, wherein the locking mechanisms secure a main door of the gaming machine and one or more components within the gaming machine. A request is sent from a back end system to one or more gaming machines to unlock the gaming machine, and the locking mechanism of the main door is released in response to the request.

Other features and advantages will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate by way of example, the features of the various embodiments.

FIG. 1 is an illustration of a gaming machine having an automated locking mechanism.

FIG. 2 is the interior perspective of a gaming machine having an automated locking mechanism.

FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of a casino gaming system for use in accordance with an embodiment of the automated locking mechanism.

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• Utility Patent

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