Gaming device including a card processing assembly having vertically-stacked card holders operable with thermally-printable data cards and portable card changeover machines

Abstract

A gaming device having a card management system which is operable to manage a plurality of circulating data cards. The gaming device includes a card read-write device for reading data cards, a plurality of vertically-stacked card holders for holding a plurality of data cards and one or more card transporters for moving data cards to and from the card holders. The gaming device is operable with a portable card changeover machine. The present invention increases the convenience and efficiency for playing and managing gaming devices.

The invention is claimed as follows: 
     
         1 . A method of transferring data cards between a portable card changeover device and a card management assembly of a gaming device, the method comprising:
 establishing a communications session between the portable card changeover device and the card management assembly;   determining status information for transferring data cards between the portable card changeover device and the card management assembly;   providing the determined status information to the portable card changeover device;   synchronizing operation of a card transport device in the card management assembly with a card transport device in the portable card changeover device;   transferring data cards between the portable card changeover device and the card management assembly in accordance with the determined status information, the portable card changeover device being detachably coupled with the gaming device, the portable card changeover device capable of being detached from the gaming device and being detachably coupled with a different gaming device.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein transferring data cards includes transferring data cards from the portable card changeover device to the card management assembly. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the transferred data cards have a use designation. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein transferring data cards includes transferring data cards from the card management assembly to the portable card changeover device. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the transferred data cards have a non-use designation. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein transferring data cards includes transferring: (a) a first plurality of data cards from the portable card changeover device to the card management assembly, and (b) a second plurality of data cards from the card management assembly to the portable card changeover device. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the first plurality of data cards have a use designation and the second plurality of data cards have a non-use designation. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein transferring the first plurality of data cards from the portable card changeover device to the card management assembly includes transferring the first plurality of data cards from the portable card changeover device to a first card holder of the card management assembly, and transferring the second plurality of data cards from the portable card changeover device to the card management assembly includes transferring the second plurality of data cards from a second different card holder of the card management assembly to the portable card changeover device. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the first card holder is positioned above the second card holder. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , which includes displaying, on a display device associated with the gaming device, card input/output information received from a processor associated with the card management assembly. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , which includes causing a bezel coupled to the gaming device to display one of a plurality of different visual effects while the data cards are being transferred. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , which includes producing an alert signal indicating a designated card level of a card holder of the card management assembly when the designated card level is reached. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein determining the status information includes determining whether the designated card level of the card holder has been reached. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the designated card level is a designated card depletion level. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein determining the status information includes determining whether the designated card depletion level has been reached. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the transferring is performed automatically. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 1 , which includes providing audio output to a speaker of the portable card changeover device, the audio output relating to operation of the portable card changeover device. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 1 , which includes providing visual output to a display device of the portable card changeover device, the visual output relating to operation of the portable card changeover device. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 1 , which includes receiving one or more inputs to control operation of the portable card changeover device. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 1 , which includes reading machine-readable data stored on one of the transferred data cards using a data reader of the card management assembly.