Did You Know...
...that the inventor of the electric motor was a blacksmith named Thomas Davenport? Described as "a brilliantly unsuccessful inventor", Davenport invented the first rotary electric motor. In 1836 he headed out -- on foot -- from his Vermont home to file a patent application at the Patent Office in Washington, D.C. By the time he got there, he had squandered away his money and couldn't afford the $30 filing fee so he turned around and went home. When he later mailed in his application with money he'd raised, the Patent office was destroyed in a fire. He did finally get credit for his invention on Feb. 5, 1837.
PatentStorm News
Make the Most of Our Site
See this month's Top Inventors and Most Cited Patents.
Stay on top of the latest innovations by subscribing to an RSS feed.
Registered users: Manage your profile.
| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7654901 | Video game system using bio-feedback devices A video game system using one or more bio-feedback devices for the monitor and transmission of physiological data of a participant of the video game system to the video game system where the data, along with conventional controller data is incorporated into game pla... | 02/02/2010 |
| 7404766 | Gaming machine The gaming machine has the game result display means for displaying a result concerning with a game and beneficial state generating means for generating a beneficial state for a player when a specific game result is displayed on the game result display means, wherei... | 07/29/2008 |
| 7314413 | Control unit and system utilizing the control unit The invention relates to a system including a machine capable of retrieving data from a recording medium and of executing a program retrieved from the recording medium in response to an instruction given by an operator to the machine. Particularly, the invention rel... | 01/01/2008 |
| 7311600 | Game based upon fluctuations of an objective environment A method and apparatus for playing a game is provided. Unique indicia are assigned to each member of a plurality of groups. Each group is composed of entries that correspond to items that each have a value that is objective, arbitrary, and that fluctuates over time,... | 12/25/2007 |
| 7311606 | System and method for betting on a subset of participants in an event wherein betting parameters may change over time A method of managing bets is provided. The method includes identifying a set of participants in an event and receiving a group bet for the event. The group bet comprises a bet that one of an undefined subset of the set of participants will win the event. The undefin... | 12/25/2007 |
| 7311605 | Player tracking assembly for complete patron tracking for both gaming and non-gaming casino activity A player tracking system for tracking customer activity for a casino establishment having gaming sections and non-gaming sections. The player tracking system includes a plurality of player tracking cards for distribution to respective participating customers that in... | 12/25/2007 |
| 7306523 | Etroops infrared shooting game An electronic toy gun for a toy shooting game includes an infrared beam emitter, a trigger, a game data input device, and an internal processor. The infrared beam emitter is configured to emit an encoded infrared beam. The trigger is configured to activate a state o... | 12/11/2007 |
| 7297062 | Modular entertainment and gaming systems configured to consume and provide network services A secure and modular architecture for monitoring and controlling clusters of pay entertainment and gaming devices. The architecture allows flexible and secure use of state-of-the-art multimedia and Internet technologies to attract the younger player generation used ... | 11/20/2007 |
| 7291072 | Performance measurement system with fluorescent markers for golf equipment The present invention is directed to a monitor system that measures flight characteristics of at least one object moving in a predetermined field-of-view using at least one fluorescent marker. The system may include a lighting unit with a light filter, at least one ... | 11/06/2007 |
| 7288024 | Gaming machine, server and program for card game A gaming machine, with which a plurality of players who join a game from the beginning can enjoy the game by the end of the game, is provided. The gaming machine is equipped with a rank determination means and a win/loss determination means to provide the gaming mac... | 10/30/2007 |
| 7288025 | Apparatus and method for controlling and preventing compulsive gaming A system and method for passively tracking the play of gaming devices which allows compulsive gambling to be controlled. Players provide identification information and physical recognition data is acquired. For each player an account file and a file of the image dat... | 10/30/2007 |
| 7285045 | Off-line remote system for lotteries and games of skill An off-line remote lottery system which enables players to purchase instant-type lottery game outcomes from a randomized prize data stream in a central computer, and view the outcomes on remotely disposed gaming computers which do not require an on-line connection d... | 10/23/2007 |
| 7285049 | Universal overlay games in an electronic gaming environment A new method and system for displaying winning and non-winning game results in a traditional gaming environment is disclosed. The system of the present invention uses an overlay game to present an entertaining display to a player upon the occurrence of a win or trig... | 10/23/2007 |
| 7286793 | Method and apparatus for evaluating educational performance An improved method and apparatus for evaluating the performance of an individual. In one aspect, the invention includes a method of encoding questions used in an examination in order to accurately identify and evaluate deficiencies in an individual's knowledge. In a... | 10/23/2007 |
| 7281976 | Gaming machine A gaming machine comprises a game board 3 formed from a light-transparent member; a projecting device 42 for projecting a game medium onto the game board; a plurality of entrances 10 adapted to receive the game medium projected onto the game boa... | 10/16/2007 |
| 7278923 | Smart discard rack for playing cards A discard rack moves and reads suit and rank of individual cards. The cards are provided to a card in-feed area and moved to a card collection area. Both suit and rank of each card is read in the card in-feed area or between the card in-feed area and the card collec... | 10/09/2007 |
| 7278915 | Game machine A game machine includes a first display and a second display. The first display displays an image of a first game. The first game provides a plurality of symbols in either a moving condition or a stopping condition, and provides a state being advantageous to a playe... | 10/09/2007 |
| 7275991 | Slot machine with ticket-in/ticket-out capability A gaming apparatus which comprises a slat machine capable of accepting either paper currency, preprinted coupons, or cash out slips. The slot machine also includes a printer that prints and dispenses cash out slips which include a bar code representing a unique iden... | 10/02/2007 |
| 7275986 | Method for performing game, information storage medium, game device, data signal and program A game performing method for making a computer device execute a predetermined game by generating a first object and a second object as seen from a virtual camera, has: judging whether there is a hit between the first object and the second object; judging whether a p... | 10/02/2007 |
| 7275993 | Game machine and monitor system A camera picks-up an image external of a game machine and outputs image pick-up data Dv. A display control part controls the camera to pick-up an image and outputs the image pick-up data DV to an external device. In this case, a display device for displaying an imag... | 10/02/2007 |
| 7273414 | Race game device A loop track for racing objects is disposed at the center of a race game device, for example for a simulated horse race. A plurality of racing objects, such as race horses, run on the track. The X- and Y-directional positions of the race horses are detected by a sep... | 09/25/2007 |
| 7267612 | Gaming apparatus with portrait-mode display Improved electronic gaming apparatus, including a cabinet for housing video and sound generating electronics, coin-handling and pay-out mechanism and a video display screen. The display screen is substantially taller than it is wide and may have a touch screen assoc... | 09/11/2007 |
| 7264546 | Interactive wagering system with promotions An interactive wagering system is provided that promotes wagering to users at user equipment. The user equipment may be based on a set-top box and television, a personal computer, a cellular telephone with a display, or other such devices. Wagering may be promoted b... | 09/04/2007 |
| RE39817 | Gaming device for operating in a reverse payout mode and a method of operating same A gaming device of the type wherein a play generates one of multiple possible outcomes having reverse payout information. The gaming device comprises a memory device containing a first set of data correlating possible outcomes to a first set of payouts and a second ... | 09/04/2007 |
| 7261635 | Method and apparatus for operating a gaming device to dispense a specified amount A gaming device, such as a slot machine, determines a balance and a “dispensed amount” that is less than the balance. The dispensed amount may be determined by, for example, receiving signals from one or more key presses that specify the dispensed amount. Altern... | 08/28/2007 |
| 7258612 | Game facility monitoring system and game facility A system providing greatly improved monitoring against wrong or fraudulent acts. A game facility monitoring system includes game machines or game-related devices provided with detectors that detect the state of a device and the operation of the device resulting from... | 08/21/2007 |
| 7258614 | Interactive photo gaming with user ratification A mechanism is disclosed for engaging in interactive photo gaming with user ratification. The mechanism can be used to provide a picture-tag game or other games. In a picture-tag game, for instance, a user designated as “IT” tags another user by capturing a phot... | 08/21/2007 |
| 7255646 | Video gaming console with printer apparatus A video gaming console comprising a housing, the housing incorporating a receptacle for receiving detachable storage means, the detachable storage means containing a computer gaming program, the housing including: communication means for receiving interaction data f... | 08/14/2007 |
| 7247094 | Game machine and game system A game machine is provided that comprises a main controller to record reserved number data readably in an external device and a data communication unit. A lending management unit selectively performs either settlement lending processing to lend game balls correspond... | 07/24/2007 |
| 7247092 | Gaming device having a multiplier poker game A video poker gaming device, a method of operating a gaming device and a method of playing a poker game including a plurality of cards displayed to a player where the cards are drawn from a deck of fifty-two cards including at least one modifier card. The gaming dev... | 07/24/2007 |
| 7247098 | Combination fingerprint reader and I/O devices for gaming machines A replacement device for a conventional bill acceptor in a gaming machine, located in the same space as the bill acceptor, has a bill acceptor or voucher reader/printer, plus at least a fingerprint reader. In one preferred embodiment, the new device has a bill accep... | 07/24/2007 |
| 7247097 | Electronic sword game with input and feedback An electro-mechanical device for providing an input to a computer program and said computer program providing a tactile output through said electro-mechanical device to a user. More specifically, the present invention provides an electro-mechanical virtual sword gam... | 07/24/2007 |
| 7244183 | Gaming system employing both action figure and video game play A gaming system that employs a video game system and action figures to allow both video game play and action figure play. A video game score, obtained by a player through video game play, may be transferred to the action figure associated with that player to become ... | 07/17/2007 |
| 7235012 | Video game controller with side or quick look feature A video game includes a controller, a processor and display. The controller includes a special quick look button 28 that, when activated, allows a player to causes a looking movement of a character that simulates the lateral rotation of the head or upper body... | 06/26/2007 |
| 7234697 | Gaming machine A gaming machine disclosed includes a rotary reel having a plurality of symbols on an outer periphery thereof, a group of sheet members disposed in front of the rotary reel, the sheet members being laminated each other and each having an opening, a liquid crystal pa... | 06/26/2007 |
| 7235010 | Gaming device having improved offer and acceptance bonus scheme A gaming device having an improved offer and acceptance bonus scheme wherein the player has an opportunity to determine the number of offers the player may obtain during the bonus round and after the gaming device selects one of the possible award offers to the play... | 06/26/2007 |
| 7229353 | Method and apparatus for cashless gaming A method for enhancing cashless gaming. Preferably, game player is provided with an incentive to redeem winnings on a cashless device. The method preferably includes providing a wagering game to a player, allowing the player to transfer value to the wagering game, r... | 06/12/2007 |
| 7229355 | External memory system having programmable graphics processor for use in a video game system of the like A fully programmable, graphics microprocessor is disclosed which is designed to be embodied in a removable external memory unit for connection with a host information processing system. In an exemplary embodiment, a video game system is described including a host vi... | 06/12/2007 |
| 7223173 | Game system and game information storage medium used for same A game system includes a housing to be held by a player. The housing incorporates an XY-axis acceleration sensor to detect an acceleration in a X-axis direction and a Y-axis direction and a Z-axis contact switch to detect an acceleration in a Z-axis direction. The s... | 05/29/2007 |
| 7223171 | Gaming apparatus and method A method and apparatus are provided for playing a one player video game of chance. The method includes the steps of providing a plurality of items that until selected by the one player occupy a set of non-selected items, displaying an indicia of a winning combinatio... | 05/29/2007 |
