Control system for reel mechanism

Abstract

A reel control system is disclosed for eliminating known problems with reel mechanisms used in gaming machines. First of all, phase setting of the reel position is greatly simplified. The control system also provides a relatively accurate method for determining if a reel position has moved from a standstill position, due to low power, no power or outright tampering. Any movement of the reel can be corrected. The reel control system is also configured with multiple serial bus interfaces connected to a single serial bus that, in turn, can be connected to multiple stepper motor drivers which provides for fast response time to commands. In accordance with other aspects of the invention, the reel control system can drive multiple stepper motor drivers configured with the same physical address to reduce manufacturing costs and is further configured to simultaneously drive multiple reels, different distances, different directions, with different numbers of symbols per reel as well as drive different types of reels.

1 . A reel control system for communicating with a reel mechanism having a reel for carrying symbols and a stepper motor driver, the reel control system comprising:
 an intelligent reel driver configured to communicate with a host application and a stepper motor driver, said intelligent reel driver configured to enable the home position of the reel to be aligned with a pay line by way of an external PC.   
     
     
         2 . The reel control system as recited in  claim 1 , wherein said home position corresponds to a predetermined symbol on said reel. 
     
     
         3 . The reel control system as recited in  claim 1 , wherein said intelligent reel controller includes at least one serial bus for communicating with said host application. 
     
     
         4 . The reel control system as recited in  claim 1 , wherein said intelligent reel controller includes one serial bus for communicating with a plurality of reel mechanisms. 
     
     
         5 . The reel control system as recited in  claim 1  wherein said reel includes symbols of different lengths. 
     
     
         6 . A reel control system for a reel mechanism having at least one stepper motor driver and at least one reel for carrying symbols, the reel control system comprising:
 an intelligent reel driver configured to monitor the reel position of said at least one reel and automatically corrects the position of said reel when improper movement is detected.   
     
     
         7 . The reel control system as recited in  claim 6 , wherein said intelligent reel driver is configured with two modes of operation. 
     
     
         8 . The reel control system as recited in  claim 7 , wherein said intelligent reel driver automatically corrects the position of said reel in a lock mode of operation. 
     
     
         9 . The reel control system as recited in  claim 7 , wherein said intelligent reel driver includes a tilt mode of operation in which a tilt alarm when improper movement is detected. 
     
     
         10 . A reel driver for controlling a plurality reels driven by a plurality of stepper motor drivers in a gaming machine, the reel driver comprising:
 a CPU;   a memory;   an input serial bus coupled to said CPU for receiving commands from a host application.   an output serial bus coupled to said CPU for transmitting commands to said plurality of stepper motor drivers; and   a plurality of serial bus interfaces coupled to said second serial bus for connection to a plurality of stepper motor drivers.   
     
     
         11 . The reel driver as recited in  claim 10 , wherein said plurality of stepper motor drivers is eight. 
     
     
         12 . The reel driver as recited in  claim 10 , wherein said reel driver is configured to translate commands from said host application to commands having a proper format and syntax for said stepper motor drivers. 
     
     
         13 . The reel driver as recited in  claim 10 , further including a multi-channel multiplexer for coupling said plurality of serial bus interfaces to said output serial bus. 
     
     
         14 . The reel driver as recited in  claim 13 , wherein all of said stepper motor drivers are configured with the same physical address and are connected to said multiplexer. 
     
     
         15 . The reel driver as recited in  claim 10 , wherein said reel driver is configured to drive reels with different symbol lengths. 
     
     
         15 . The reel driver as recited in  claim 10 , wherein said reel driver is configured to drive reels in different directions. 
     
     
         16 . The reel driver as recited in  claim 10 , wherein said reel driver is configured to drive reels of different reel types.