System and method for management of settings groups in amusement devices

Abstract

A method of assigning configuration settings to one ore more amusement devices is described. Each of the amusement devices has a display, a memory and a controller. The method includes establishing, at a central server, an operator account for an amusement device operator, the operator account associated with one or more amusement devices; receiving, by the central server, definitions of one or more settings groups for the operator account; receiving, by the central server, assignments of the amusement devices to the settings groups; and transmitting over a network, to each of the assigned amusement devices, the configuration settings for the settings group to which the respective amusement device has been assigned.

1 . A method of assigning configuration settings to one or more amusement devices, each of the amusement devices having a display, a memory and a controller, the method comprising:
 a) establishing, at a central server, an operator account for an amusement device operator, the operator account being associated with one or more amusement devices;   b) receiving, by the central server, definitions of one or more settings groups for the operator account, each of the settings groups identifying configuration settings for configuring amusement devices assigned to the respective settings group;   c) receiving, by the central server, assignments of the one or more amusement devices to the settings groups; and   d) transmitting over a network, to each of the assigned amusement devices, the configuration settings for the settings group to which the respective amusement device has been assigned.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more settings groups are defined by the amusement device operator. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein all amusement devices assigned to the same settings group are configured with the same configuration settings. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein each of the settings groups corresponds to a location having amusement devices controlled by the amusement device operator. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the location is selected from the group comprising a geographic location, a venue, and a position of the amusement device. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein each of the amusement devices has default configuration settings and the transmitted configuration settings replace the default configuration settings. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 e) receiving, by the central server, a re-assignment of at least one of the amusement devices to another one of the settings groups; and   f) transmitting, to the at least one of the re-assigned amusement device, configuration settings corresponding to the another one of the settings groups.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein transmitting the configuration settings further comprises transmitting a setting prohibiting the configuration settings from being changed directly at the amusement device. 
     
     
         9 . A method of assigning settings to one or more amusement devices, each of the amusement devices having a display, a memory and a controller, the method comprising:
 a) receiving, by the central server, for each of a plurality of operator accounts, definitions of one or more settings groups, each of the one or more settings groups for each operator account identifying configuration settings for configuring amusement devices assigned to the respective settings group;   b) receiving, by the central server, for each of the plurality of operator accounts, assignments of one or more amusement devices to the settings groups; and   c) transmitting over a network, to each of the assigned amusement devices, the configuration settings for the settings group to which the respective amusement device has been assigned.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the settings groups for each of the operator accounts are defined by the respective amusement device operators. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein all amusement devices assigned to the same settings group in an operator account have the same configuration settings. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein each of the settings groups for the respective operator accounts correspond to a location having amusement devices controlled by the respective amusement device operator. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the location is selected from the group comprising a geographic location, a venue, and a position of the amusement device. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein each of the amusement devices has default configuration settings and the transmitted configuration settings replace the default configuration settings. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein transmitting the configuration settings further comprises transmitting a setting prohibiting the configuration settings from being changed directly at the amusement device. 
     
     
         16 . A computer program product for assigning settings to one or more amusement devices, each amusement device having a video touchscreen, a controller, and a memory, the computer program product comprising computer-readable media encoded with instructions for execution by a processor to perform a method comprising:
 a) establishing, at a central server, an operator account for an amusement device operator, the operator account associated with one or more amusement devices;   b) receiving, by the central server, definitions of one or more settings groups for the operator account, each of the settings groups identifying a setting configuration for configuring amusement devices assigned to the respective settings group;   c) receiving, by the central server, assignments of the one or more amusement devices to the settings groups; and   d) transmitting over a network, to each of the assigned amusement devices, the configuration settings for the settings group to which the respective amusement device has been assigned.