Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Objections
Claims 1, 3, 6-8, 10, and 21-22 are objected to because of the following informalities.
• Claim 1, line 4, “the game” should read as “a game”.
• Claim 3, line 1, “first and second criteria” should read as “first criteria and second criteria”.
• Claim 6, line 8, “cell” should read as “the cell”.
• Claim 7, line 1, “a state” should read as “the state”.
• Claim 8, line 1, “a state” should read as “the state”.
• Claim 8, line 2, “a state” should read as “the state”.
• Claim 10, line 2, “an integer list” should read as “the integer list”.
• Claim 10, line 3, “each cell index value” should read as “the cell index value”.
• Claim 10, line 3, “each cell index value” should read as “the cell index value”.
• Claim 21, line 21, “cell” should read as “the cell”.
• Claim 22, line 20, “a symbol” should read as “the symbol”.
• Claim 22, line 20, “a state of cell” should read as “the state of the cell”.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1 and 6-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable under US 9454879 B2 (“Pierer”) in view of US 20160086426 A1 (“Gilmore”) and US 20080274784 A1 (“Bosarge”).
In regards to claim 1, Pierer discloses the following limitations with the exception of the underlined limitations.
A method comprising: outputting, on a display (column 3, lines 64-67 and column 4, line 1 “the method … comprising … displaying … output”), a virtual game board, the virtual game board including a grid with multiple cells indexed to respective cell positions within the grid (column 15, lines 37-39, “the game may be a grid of … cells”), each cell being adapted to display a symbol corresponding to (column 10, line 28, “symbols are provided in … cells”) a state of the cell determined for (column 22, lines 60-61, “cell has been used to … identify the status of a symbol”) a round of the game (column 2, lines 61-65, “game may include … a … round of the … game”);
initiating, within a computer-readable memory (column 31, lines 55-58, “game … may be embodied as … computer readable … memory”), a data structure to contain (column 32, lines 20-23, “Computer-executable instructions may be … program modules … program modules include … data structures”) initial game data for the round of the game to be displayed on the virtual game board (column 6, line 67 and column 7, line 1, “display … provides game data”);
performing multiple drawings using a random number generator to determine a tokens quantity, a first token-type quantity, a second token-type quantity, and cell positions within the grid for placement of a quantity of (column 15, lines 37-39, “the game may be a grid of … cells”) symbols equal to the tokens quantity (column 10, line 28, “symbols are provided in … cells”);
performing the first token-type quantity of drawings and the second token-type quantity of drawings to determine new states of at least some of the multiple cells (column 22, lines 60-63, “the … cell has been used to … identify the status of a symbol”);
generating, within the data structure (column 32, lines 20-23, “Computer-executable instructions may be … program modules … program modules include … data structures”), modified data corresponding to the round of the game based on (column 14, lines 62-66, “enhancements may be provided as a primary game …, secondary game or a bonus game … data for the player … may be used to update and modify … enhancements”) the multiple drawings and the new states of at least some of the multiple cells, the modified data indicating a set of symbols and corresponding cell positions where to (column 22, lines 60-63, “the … cell has been used to … identify the status of a symbol”) display the set of symbols during performance of the round of the game (column 20, lines 5-6, “the device displays … symbols”);
determining a board payout based on the modified data (column 14, lines 7-8, “Triggers may lead to … payouts”);
outputting, within the virtual game board on the display (column 3, lines 64-67 and column 4, line 1 “the method … comprising … displaying … output”), an animation representing a respective reel spinning in at least some of the multiple cells (column 28, lines 40-42, “animated frame … may remain visible throughout the entire time the reels are spinning”) until the respective reel stops to display the symbol corresponding to the state of the cell determined for the round of the game (column 28, lines 42-43, “animation may continue when the reels come to a stop”);
and providing the board payout (column 21, line 49, “an instant payout is awarded”).
Gilmore discloses
a virtual game board ([0020], “invention includes … a virtual game board”),
a tokens quantity, a first token-type quantity, a second token-type quantity ([0029], “gaming controller … converts … tokens to a corresponding amount of gaming credits”),
performing the first token-type quantity of drawings and the second token-type quantity of drawings to determine ([0029], “gaming controller … converts … tokens to a corresponding amount of gaming credits”)
Pierer and Gilmore are considered analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the fields of electronic gaming systems and gaming machines. Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the applicant’s invention for a method comprising: outputting, on a display, the virtual game board including a grid with multiple cells indexed to respective cell positions within the grid, each cell being adapted to display a symbol corresponding to a state of the cell determined for a round of the game; initiating, within a computer-readable memory, a data structure to contain initial game data for the round of the game to be displayed on the virtual game board; and cell positions within the grid for placement of a quantity of symbols equal to the tokens quantity; new states of at least some of the multiple cells; generating, within the data structure, modified data corresponding to the round of the game based on and the new states of at least some of the multiple cells, the modified data indicating a set of symbols and corresponding cell positions where to display the set of symbols during performance of the round of the game; determining a board payout based on the modified data; outputting, within the virtual game board on the display, an animation representing a respective reel spinning in at least some of the multiple cells until the respective reel stops to display the symbol corresponding to the state of the cell determined for the round of the game; and providing the board payout, as disclosed by Pierer, a virtual game board, a tokens quantity, a first token-type quantity, a second token-type quantity, performing the first token-type quantity of drawings and the second token-type quantity of drawings to determine, as disclosed by Gilmore, to provide a virtual game board, a gaming controller, and tokens for gaming machines and a method that allows a player to play a game having persistent player positions. One skilled in the art would recognize and value the addition of a virtual game board, a gaming controller, and tokens for gaming machines and a method that allows a player to play a game having persistent player positions.
Bosarge discloses
performing multiple drawings using a random number generator to determine ([0033], “the drawing may be carried out by using a random number generator”)
the multiple drawings ([0033], “drawing … may be a series of drawings”)
Pierer and Bosarge are considered analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the fields of electronic gaming systems and lottery systems. Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the applicant’s invention for a method comprising: outputting, on a display, the virtual game board including a grid with multiple cells indexed to respective cell positions within the grid, each cell being adapted to display a symbol corresponding to a state of the cell determined for a round of the game; initiating, within a computer-readable memory, a data structure to contain initial game data for the round of the game to be displayed on the virtual game board; and cell positions within the grid for placement of a quantity of symbols equal to the tokens quantity; new states of at least some of the multiple cells; generating, within the data structure, modified data corresponding to the round of the game based on and the new states of at least some of the multiple cells, the modified data indicating a set of symbols and corresponding cell positions where to display the set of symbols during performance of the round of the game; determining a board payout based on the modified data; outputting, within the virtual game board on the display, an animation representing a respective reel spinning in at least some of the multiple cells until the respective reel stops to display the symbol corresponding to the state of the cell determined for the round of the game; and providing the board payout, as disclosed by Pierer, performing multiple drawings using a random number generator to determine the multiple drawings, as disclosed by Bosarge, to provide drawings and a random number generator for a method and a system that conducts a recurring lottery requiring winners of the lottery to return part of their winnings. One skilled in the art would recognize and value the addition of drawings and a random number generator for a method and a system that conducts a recurring lottery requiring winners of the lottery to return part of their winnings.
In regards to claim 6, Pierer discloses the following limitations with the exception of the underlined limitations.
further comprising: performing a drawing using the random number generator to determine a base game (column 2, lines 55-56, “game is a base game”) feature to trigger outputting (column 29, lines 57-58, “the gaming output may include … trigger … features”) an additional animation for the round of the game (column 8, lines 47-48, “The … panel may include animation”), wherein: the symbol corresponding to the state of a particular cell determined for the round of the game is (column 22, lines 60-61, “cell has been used to … identify the status of a symbol”) a preliminary symbol (column 10, line 28, “symbols are provided in … cells”), and the method further includes outputting, within (column 3, lines 64-67 and column 4, line 1 “the method … comprising … displaying … output”) the virtual game board on the display, the additional animation to represent a respective reel spinning in the particular cell until the respective reel in the particular cell stops to (column 28, lines 42-43, “animation may continue when the reels come to a stop”) display a final symbol corresponding to the state of cell determined for the round of the game (column 25, lines 13-17, “ball graphics … include symbols … balls … interact … with the spinning reels, the reels come to a stop, the balls settle into their final position”).
Bosarge discloses
further comprising: performing a drawing using the random number generator to ([0033], “the drawing may be carried out by using a random number generator”)
Pierer and Bosarge are considered analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the fields of electronic gaming systems and lottery systems. Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the applicant’s invention for a method comprising: outputting, on a display, the virtual game board including a grid with multiple cells indexed to respective cell positions within the grid, each cell being adapted to display a symbol corresponding to a state of the cell determined for a round of the game; initiating, within a computer-readable memory, a data structure to contain initial game data for the round of the game to be displayed on the virtual game board; and cell positions within the grid for placement of a quantity of symbols equal to the tokens quantity; new states of at least some of the multiple cells; generating, within the data structure, modified data corresponding to the round of the game based on and the new states of at least some of the multiple cells, the modified data indicating a set of symbols and corresponding cell positions where to display the set of symbols during performance of the round of the game; determining a board payout based on the modified data; outputting, within the virtual game board on the display, an animation representing a respective reel spinning in at least some of the multiple cells until the respective reel stops to display the symbol corresponding to the state of the cell determined for the round of the game; and providing the board payout, determine a base game feature to trigger outputting an additional animation for the round of the game, wherein: the symbol corresponding to the state of a particular cell determined for the round of the game is a preliminary symbol, and the method further includes outputting, the additional animation to represent a respective reel spinning in the particular cell until the respective reel in the particular cell stops to display a final symbol corresponding to the state of cell determined for the round of the game, within as disclosed by Pierer, performing multiple drawings using a random number generator to determine the multiple drawings, further comprising: performing a drawing using the random number generator to, as disclosed by Bosarge, to provide drawings and a random number generator for a method and a system that conducts a recurring lottery requiring winners of the lottery to return part of their winnings. One skilled in the art would recognize and value the addition of drawings and a random number generator for a method and a system that conducts a recurring lottery requiring winners of the lottery to return part of their winnings.
In regards to claim 7, Pierer discloses
wherein initiating the data structure includes (column 32, lines 20-23, “Computer-executable instructions may be … program modules … program modules include … data structures”) setting a state for each indexed cell to an empty state (column 22, lines 60-63, “the … cell has been used to … identify the status of a symbol”).
In regards to claim 8, Pierer discloses
wherein initiating the data structure includes (column 32, lines 20-23, “Computer-executable instructions may be … program modules … program modules include … data structures”) setting a state for one particular indexed cell state to a free space state and a state for each indexed cell except for one particular indexed cell to an empty state (column 22, lines 60-63, “the … cell has been used to … identify the status of a symbol”).
In regards to claim 9, Pierer discloses the following limitations with the exception of the underlined limitation.
wherein the data structure includes (column 32, lines 20-23, “Computer-executable instructions may be … program modules … program modules include … data structures”) an extensible markup language (XML) file containing user session data (column 7, line 46, “keypad … may accept player input”).
Bosarge discloses
an extensible markup language (XML) file containing ([0022], “instructions may be written in … XML”)
Pierer and Bosarge are considered analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the fields of electronic gaming systems and lottery systems. Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the applicant’s invention for a method comprising: outputting, on a display, the virtual game board including a grid with multiple cells indexed to respective cell positions within the grid, each cell being adapted to display a symbol corresponding to a state of the cell determined for a round of the game; initiating, within a computer-readable memory, a data structure to contain initial game data for the round of the game to be displayed on the virtual game board; and cell positions within the grid for placement of a quantity of symbols equal to the tokens quantity; new states of at least some of the multiple cells; generating, within the data structure, modified data corresponding to the round of the game based on and the new states of at least some of the multiple cells, the modified data indicating a set of symbols and corresponding cell positions where to display the set of symbols during performance of the round of the game; determining a board payout based on the modified data; outputting, within the virtual game board on the display, an animation representing a respective reel spinning in at least some of the multiple cells until the respective reel stops to display the symbol corresponding to the state of the cell determined for the round of the game; and providing the board payout, wherein the data structure includes user session data, as disclosed by Pierer, performing multiple drawings using a random number generator to determine the multiple drawings, an extensible markup language (XML) file containing, as disclosed by Bosarge, to provide drawings, a random number generator, and XML instructions for a method and a system that conducts a recurring lottery requiring winners of the lottery to return part of their winnings. One skilled in the art would recognize and value the addition of drawings, a random number generator, and XML instructions for a method and a system that conducts a recurring lottery requiring winners of the lottery to return part of their winnings.
In regards to claim 10, Pierer does not disclose wherein the XML file includes: an integer list comprising a cell index value corresponding to each cell of the multiple cells, an integer list comprising symbol identifiers corresponding to each cell index value, and a decimal list comprising a value for each cell index value.
Bosarge discloses
wherein the XML file includes: an integer list comprising a cell index value corresponding to each cell of the multiple cells, an integer list comprising symbol identifiers corresponding to each cell index value, and a decimal list comprising a value for each cell index value ([0022], “instructions may be written in … XML” Examiner notes that an XML file can include integers, decimal values, and symbol identifiers as part of its data content.).
Pierer and Bosarge are considered analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the fields of electronic gaming systems and lottery systems. Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the applicant’s invention for a method comprising: outputting, on a display, the virtual game board including a grid with multiple cells indexed to respective cell positions within the grid, each cell being adapted to display a symbol corresponding to a state of the cell determined for a round of the game; initiating, within a computer-readable memory, a data structure to contain initial game data for the round of the game to be displayed on the virtual game board; and cell positions within the grid for placement of a quantity of symbols equal to the tokens quantity; new states of at least some of the multiple cells; generating, within the data structure, modified data corresponding to the round of the game based on and the new states of at least some of the multiple cells, the modified data indicating a set of symbols and corresponding cell positions where to display the set of symbols during performance of the round of the game; determining a board payout based on the modified data; outputting, within the virtual game board on the display, an animation representing a respective reel spinning in at least some of the multiple cells until the respective reel stops to display the symbol corresponding to the state of the cell determined for the round of the game; and providing the board payout, wherein the data structure includes user session data, as disclosed by Pierer, performing multiple drawings using a random number generator to determine the multiple drawings, an extensible markup language (XML) file containing, as disclosed by Bosarge, to provide drawings, a random number generator, and XML instructions for a method and a system that conducts a recurring lottery requiring winners of the lottery to return part of their winnings. One skilled in the art would recognize and value the addition of drawings, a random number generator, and XML instructions for a method and a system that conducts a recurring lottery requiring winners of the lottery to return part of their winnings.
In regards to claim 11, Pierer discloses
wherein determining the second token-type quantity includes determining a difference between the tokens quantity and the first token-type quantity (column 23, line 32, “A pay-out component may store pay-out attributes”).
In regards to claim 12, Pierer discloses
wherein the grid with multiple cells includes a first quantity rows and a second quantity columns (column 15, lines 37-39, “the game may be a grid of … cells”).
In regards to claim 13, Pierer discloses
wherein the first quantity does not equal the second quantity (column 10, lines 18-20, “a grid of five columns … and four rows … is displayed”).
In regards to claim 14, Pierer discloses
wherein the first quantity equals the second quantity (column 10, lines 24-27, “Gaming component … is … formed by columns … and rows … formed by a 2×2 grid of new cells”).
In regards to claim 15, Pierer discloses
wherein the grid includes multiple pay patterns (column 11, lines 52-53, “symbols line up on an active wagered pay pattern”).
In regards to claim 16, Pierer discloses the following limitation with the exception of the underlined limitation.
wherein one or more of the multiple pay patterns includes (column 11, lines 52-53, “symbols line up on an active wagered pay pattern”) a horizontal payline, a vertical payline, a diagonal payline, a cluster of adjacent cells, a cluster of non-adjacent cells, and a partially vertical and partially horizontal pattern.
Gilmore discloses
a horizontal payline, a vertical payline, a diagonal payline, a cluster of adjacent cells, a cluster of non-adjacent cells, and a partially vertical and partially horizontal pattern ([0058], “paylines include horizontal paylines and/or diagonal pay-lines, and/or zig-zag paylines”).
Pierer and Gilmore are considered analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the fields of electronic gaming systems and gaming machines. Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the applicant’s invention for a method comprising: outputting, on a display, the virtual game board including a grid with multiple cells indexed to respective cell positions within the grid, each cell being adapted to display a symbol corresponding to a state of the cell determined for a round of the game; initiating, within a computer-readable memory, a data structure to contain initial game data for the round of the game to be displayed on the virtual game board; and cell positions within the grid for placement of a quantity of symbols equal to the tokens quantity; new states of at least some of the multiple cells; generating, within the data structure, modified data corresponding to the round of the game based on and the new states of at least some of the multiple cells, the modified data indicating a set of symbols and corresponding cell positions where to display the set of symbols during performance of the round of the game; determining a board payout based on the modified data; outputting, within the virtual game board on the display, an animation representing a respective reel spinning in at least some of the multiple cells until the respective reel stops to display the symbol corresponding to the state of the cell determined for the round of the game; and providing the board payout, wherein the grid with multiple cells includes a first quantity rows and a second quantity columns, wherein the grid includes multiple pay patterns, as disclosed by Pierer, a virtual game board, a tokens quantity, a first token-type quantity, a second token-type quantity, performing the first token-type quantity of drawings and the second token-type quantity of drawings to determine, a horizontal payline, a vertical payline, a diagonal payline, a cluster of adjacent cells, a cluster of non-adjacent cells, and a partially vertical and partially horizontal pattern, as disclosed by Gilmore, to provide a virtual game board, a gaming controller, tokens, and paylines for gaming machines and a method that allows a player to play a game having persistent player positions. One skilled in the art would recognize and value the addition of a virtual game board, a gaming controller, tokens, and paylines for gaming machines and a method that allows a player to play a game having persistent player positions.
In regards to claim 17, Pierer discloses the following limitation with the exception of the underlined limitation.
wherein performing the multiple drawings further includes using the random number generator to determine a base game feature state selected from the group consisting of: a no base game feature state, a respin base game feature state, and a power-up base game feature state (column 15, lines 66-67, “base game may include … features that may be triggered by gaming events or player movements”).
Bosarge discloses
wherein performing the multiple drawings further includes using the random number generator to ([0033], “the drawing may be carried out by using a random number generator”)
Pierer and Bosarge are considered analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the fields of electronic gaming systems and lottery systems. Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the applicant’s invention for a method comprising: outputting, on a display, the virtual game board including a grid with multiple cells indexed to respective cell positions within the grid, each cell being adapted to display a symbol corresponding to a state of the cell determined for a round of the game; initiating, within a computer-readable memory, a data structure to contain initial game data for the round of the game to be displayed on the virtual game board; and cell positions within the grid for placement of a quantity of symbols equal to the tokens quantity; new states of at least some of the multiple cells; generating, within the data structure, modified data corresponding to the round of the game based on and the new states of at least some of the multiple cells, the modified data indicating a set of symbols and corresponding cell positions where to display the set of symbols during performance of the round of the game; determining a board payout based on the modified data; outputting, within the virtual game board on the display, an animation representing a respective reel spinning in at least some of the multiple cells until the respective reel stops to display the symbol corresponding to the state of the cell determined for the round of the game; and providing the board payout, as disclosed by Pierer, performing multiple drawings using a random number generator to determine the multiple drawings, as disclosed by Bosarge, to provide drawings and a random number generator for a method and a system that conducts a recurring lottery requiring winners of the lottery to return part of their winnings. One skilled in the art would recognize and value the addition of drawings and a random number generator for a method and a system that conducts a recurring lottery requiring winners of the lottery to return part of their winnings.
In regards to claim 18, Pierer discloses
wherein the new states of at least some of the multiple cells correspond to a token value or a type of wild symbol (column 22, lines 60-61, “cell has been used to … identify the status of a symbol”).
In regards to claim 19, Pierer discloses the following limitations with the exception of the underlined limitation.
wherein: the display comprises a touch screen display (column 7, line 8, “Display … may have a touch screen”), the method further comprises: outputting, on the display (column 3, lines 64-67 and column 4, line 1 “the method … comprising … displaying … output”), a user-selectable control while the virtual game board is output on the display (column 14, line 67, “the player may control aspects of the game”);
determining a contact with the display occurs where the user-selectable control is output on the display (column 20, lines 29-34, “Player control buttons … may include … a display pay lines button, a display payout tables button”);
launching, within a processor in response to determining the contact with the display occurs, an executable module for initiating the data structure.
Gilmore discloses
launching, within a processor in response to determining the contact with the display occurs, an executable module for initiating the data structure ([0080], “computing device … includes … processors … Computer storage media may include … data structures”).
Pierer and Gilmore are considered analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the fields of electronic gaming systems and gaming machines. Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the applicant’s invention for a method comprising: outputting, on a display, the virtual game board including a grid with multiple cells indexed to respective cell positions within the grid, each cell being adapted to display a symbol corresponding to a state of the cell determined for a round of the game; initiating, within a computer-readable memory, a data structure to contain initial game data for the round of the game to be displayed on the virtual game board; and cell positions within the grid for placement of a quantity of symbols equal to the tokens quantity; new states of at least some of the multiple cells; generating, within the data structure, modified data corresponding to the round of the game based on and the new states of at least some of the multiple cells, the modified data indicating a set of symbols and corresponding cell positions where to display the set of symbols during performance of the round of the game; determining a board payout based on the modified data; outputting, within the virtual game board on the display, an animation representing a respective reel spinning in at least some of the multiple cells until the respective reel stops to display the symbol corresponding to the state of the cell determined for the round of the game; and providing the board payout, wherein: the display comprises a touch screen display, the method further comprises: outputting, on the display, a user-selectable control while the virtual game board is output on the display; determining a contact with the display occurs where the user-selectable control is output on the display, as disclosed by Pierer, a virtual game board, a tokens quantity, a first token-type quantity, a second token-type quantity, performing the first token-type quantity of drawings and the second token-type quantity of drawings to determine, launching, within a processor in response to determining the contact with the display occurs, an executable module for initiating the data structure, as disclosed by Gilmore, to provide a virtual game board, a gaming controller, tokens, a computing device, processors, computer storage media, and data structures for gaming machines and a method that allows a player to play a game having persistent player positions. One skilled in the art would recognize and value the addition of a virtual game board, a gaming controller, tokens, a computing device, processors, computer storage media, and data structures for gaming machines and a method that allows a player to play a game having persistent player positions.
In regards to claim 20, Pierer discloses the following limitations with the exception of the underlined limitation.
wherein: the display comprises a touch screen display at a client device (column 7, line 8, “Display … may have a touch screen”), the method further comprises: outputting, on the display (column 3, lines 64-67 and column 4, line 1 “the method … comprising … displaying … output”), a user-selectable control while the virtual game board is output on the display (column 14, line 67, “the player may control aspects of the game”);
receiving, with a processor at the client device (column 4, lines 46-51, “embodiments … may provide … processors to perform a method for enhancing game components in a gaming system”), an input signal indicating (column 7, line 46, “keypad … may accept player input”) a contact with the display occurs where the user-selectable control is output on the display (column 20, lines 29-34, “Player control buttons … may include … a display pay lines button, a display payout tables button”);
launching, within the processor at the client device in response to determining the contact with the display occurs (column 4, lines 46-51, “embodiments … may provide … processors to perform a method for enhancing game components in a gaming system”), an executable module to (column 32, lines 20-23, “Computer-executable instructions may be … program modules”) transmit to a server a request to perform (column 9, lines 14-15, “The communications board … transmits using a wireless transmitter”) the round of the game (column 2, lines 61-65, “game may include … a … round of the … game”);
and launching, within a processor at the server in response to receiving the request, a module for initiating the data structure.
Gilmore discloses
and launching, within a processor at the server in response to receiving the request, a module for initiating the data structure ([0080], “computing device … includes … processors … Computer storage media may include … data structures”).
Pierer and Gilmore are considered analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the fields of electronic gaming systems and gaming machines. Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the applicant’s invention for a method comprising: outputting, on a display, the virtual game board including a grid with multiple cells indexed to respective cell positions within the grid, each cell being adapted to display a symbol corresponding to a state of the cell determined for a round of the game; initiating, within a computer-readable memory, a data structure to contain initial game data for the round of the game to be displayed on the virtual game board; and cell positions within the grid for placement of a quantity of symbols equal to the tokens quantity; new states of at least some of the multiple cells; generating, within the data structure, modified data corresponding to the round of the game based on and the new states of at least some of the multiple cells, the modified data indicating a set of symbols and corresponding cell positions where to display the set of symbols during performance of the round of the game; determining a board payout based on the modified data; outputting, within the virtual game board on the display, an animation representing a respective reel spinning in at least some of the multiple cells until the respective reel stops to display the symbol corresponding to the state of the cell determined for the round of the game; and providing the board payout, wherein: the display comprises a touch screen display at a client device, the method further comprises: outputting, on the display, a user-selectable control while the virtual game board is output on the display; receiving, with a processor at the client device, an input signal indicating a contact with the display occurs where the user-selectable control is output on the display; launching, within the processor at the client device in response to determining the contact with the display occurs, an executable module to transmit to a server a request to perform the round of the game, as disclosed by Pierer, a virtual game board, a tokens quantity, a first token-type quantity, a second token-type quantity, performing the first token-type quantity of drawings and the second token-type quantity of drawings to determine and launching, within a processor at the server in response to receiving the request, a module for initiating the data structure, as disclosed by Gilmore, to provide a virtual game board, a gaming controller, tokens, a computing device, processors, computer storage media, and data structures for gaming machines and a method that allows a player to play a game having persistent player positions. One skilled in the art would recognize and value the addition of a virtual game board, a gaming controller, tokens, a computing device, processors, computer storage media, and data structures for gaming machines and a method that allows a player to play a game having persistent player positions.
In regards to claim 21, Pierer discloses the following limitations with the exception of the underlined limitations.
A computing system comprising: one or more processors (column 4, lines 46-51, “embodiments … may provide … one or more processors”);
and non-transitory computer-readable memory storing (column 31, lines 55-57, “enhancements to game components may be embodied as a … non-transitory computer readable storage medium”) executable instructions, wherein execution of the instructions by the one or more processors causes the computing system to perform the following functions (column 32, lines 20-23, “Computer-executable instructions may be … program modules): outputting, on a display (column 3, lines 64-67 and column 4, line 1 “the method … comprising … displaying … output”), a virtual game board, the virtual game board including a grid with multiple cells indexed to respective cell positions within the grid (column 15, lines 37-39, “the game may be a grid of … cells”), each cell being adapted to display a symbol corresponding to (column 10, line 28, “symbols are provided in … cells”) a state of the cell determined for (column 22, lines 60-61, “cell has been used to … identify the status of a symbol”) a round of the game (column 2, lines 61-65, “game may include … a … round of the … game”);
initiating, within a computer-readable memory (column 31, lines 55-58, “game … may be embodied as … computer readable … memory”), a data structure to contain (column 32, lines 20-23, “Computer-executable instructions may be … program modules … program modules include … data structures”) initial game data for the round of the game to be displayed on the virtual game board (column 6, line 67 and column 7, line 1, “display … provides game data”);
performing multiple drawings using a random number generator to determine a tokens quantity, a first token-type quantity, a second token-type quantity, and cell positions within the grid for placement of a quantity of (column 15, lines 37-39, “the game may be a grid of … cells”) symbols equal to the tokens quantity (column 10, line 28, “symbols are provided in … cells”);
performing the first token-type quantity of drawings and the second token-type quantity of drawings to determine new states of at least some of the multiple cells (column 22, lines 60-63, “the … cell has been used to … identify the status of a symbol”);
generating, within the data structure (column 32, lines 20-23, “Computer-executable instructions may be … program modules … program modules include … data structures”), modified data corresponding to the round of the game based on (column 14, lines 62-66, “enhancements may be provided as a primary game …, secondary game or a bonus game … data for the player … may be used to update and modify … enhancements”) the multiple drawings and changes to the states of at least some of the multiple cells, the modified data indicating a set of symbols and corresponding cell positions where to (column 22, lines 60-63, “the … cell has been used to … identify the status of a symbol”) display the set of symbols during performance of the round of the game (column 20, lines 5-6, “the device displays … symbols”);
determining a board payout based on the modified data (column 14, lines 7-8, “Triggers may lead to … payouts”);
outputting, within the virtual game board on the display (column 3, lines 64-67 and column 4, line 1 “the method … comprising … displaying … output”), an animation representing a respective reel spinning in at least some of the multiple cells (column 28, lines 40-42, “animated frame … may remain visible throughout the entire time the reels are spinning”) until the respective reel stops to display the symbol corresponding to the state of the cell determined for the round of the game (column 28, lines 42-43, “animation may continue when the reels come to a stop”);
and providing the board payout (column 21, line 49, “an instant payout is awarded”).
Gilmore discloses
a virtual game board ([0020], “invention includes … a virtual game board”),
a tokens quantity, a first token-type quantity, a second token-type quantity ([0029], “gaming controller … converts … tokens to a corresponding amount of gaming credits”),
performing the first token-type quantity of drawings and the second token-type quantity of drawings to determine ([0029], “gaming controller … converts … tokens to a corresponding amount of gaming credits”)
Pierer and Gilmore are considered analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the fields of electronic gaming systems and gaming machines. Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the applicant’s invention for a computing system comprising: one or more processors; and non-transitory computer-readable memory storing executable instructions, wherein execution of the instructions by the one or more processors causes the computing system to perform the following functions: outputting, on a display, the virtual game board including a grid with multiple cells indexed to respective cell positions within the grid, each cell being adapted to display a symbol corresponding to a state of the cell determined for a round of the game; initiating, within a computer-readable memory, a data structure to contain initial game data for the round of the game to be displayed on the virtual game board; and cell positions within the grid for placement of a quantity of symbols equal to the tokens quantity; and changes to the states of at least some of the multiple cells; generating, within the data structure, modified data corresponding to the round of the game based on and the new states of at least some of the multiple cells, the modified data indicating a set of symbols and corresponding cell positions where to display the set of symbols during performance of the round of the game; determining a board payout based on the modified data; outputting, within the virtual game board on the display, an animation representing a respective reel spinning in at least some of the multiple cells until the respective reel stops to display the symbol corresponding to the state of the cell determined for the round of the game; and providing the board payout, as disclosed by Pierer, a virtual game board, a tokens quantity, a first token-type quantity, a second token-type quantity, performing the first token-type quantity of drawings and the second token-type quantity of drawings to determine, as disclosed by Gilmore, to provide a virtual game board, a gaming controller, and tokens for gaming machines and a method that allows a player to play a game having persistent player positions. One skilled in the art would recognize and value the addition of a virtual game board, a gaming controller, and tokens for gaming machines and a method that allows a player to play a game having persistent player positions.
Bosarge discloses
performing multiple drawings using a random number generator to determine ([0033], “the drawing may be carried out by using a random number generator”)
the multiple drawings ([0033], “drawing … may be a series of drawings”)
Pierer and Bosarge are considered analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the fields of electronic gaming systems and lottery systems. Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the applicant’s invention for a computing system comprising: one or more processors; and non-transitory computer-readable memory storing executable instructions, wherein execution of the instructions by the one or more processors causes the computing system to perform the following functions: outputting, on a display, the virtual game board including a grid with multiple cells indexed to respective cell positions within the grid, each cell being adapted to display a symbol corresponding to a state of the cell determined for a round of the game; initiating, within a computer-readable memory, a data structure to contain initial game data for the round of the game to be displayed on the virtual game board; and cell positions within the grid for placement of a quantity of symbols equal to the tokens quantity; new states of at least some of the multiple cells; generating, within the data structure, modified data corresponding to the round of the game based on and changes to the states of at least some of the multiple cells, the modified data indicating a set of symbols and corresponding cell positions where to display the set of symbols during performance of the round of the game; determining a board payout based on the modified data; outputting, within the virtual game board on the display, an animation representing a respective reel spinning in at least some of the multiple cells until the respective reel stops to display the symbol corresponding to the state of the cell determined for the round of the game; and providing the board payout, as disclosed by Pierer, performing multiple drawings using a random number generator to determine the multiple drawings, as disclosed by Bosarge, to provide drawings and a random number generator for a method and a system that conducts a recurring lottery requiring winners of the lottery to return part of their winnings. One skilled in the art would recognize and value the addition of drawings and a random number generator for a method and a system that conducts a recurring lottery requiring winners of the lottery to return part of their winnings.
In regards to claim 22, Pierer discloses the following limitations with the exception of the underlined limitations.
Non-transitory computer-readable memory having stored therein (column 31, lines 55-57, “enhancements to game components may be embodied as a … non-transitory computer readable storage medium”) instructions executable by one or more processors to cause a computing system to perform functions comprising (column 32, lines 20-23, “Computer-executable instructions may be … program modules): outputting, on a display (column 3, lines 64-67 and column 4, line 1 “the method … comprising … displaying … output”), a virtual game board, the virtual game board including a grid with multiple cells indexed to respective cell positions within the grid (column 15, lines 37-39, “the game may be a grid of … cells”), each cell being adapted to display a symbol corresponding to (column 10, line 28, “symbols are provided in … cells”) a state of the cell determined for (column 22, lines 60-61, “cell has been used to … identify the status of a symbol”) a round of the game (column 2, lines 61-65, “game may include … a … round of the … game”);
initiating, within a computer-readable memory (column 31, lines 55-58, “game … may be embodied as … computer readable … memory”), a data structure to contain (column 32, lines 20-23, “Computer-executable instructions may be … program modules … program modules include … data structures”) initial game data for the round of the game to be displayed on the virtual game board (column 6, line 67 and column 7, line 1, “display … provides game data”);
performing multiple drawings using a random number generator to determine a tokens quantity, a first token-type quantity, a second token-type quantity, and cell positions within the grid for placement of a quantity of (column 15, lines 37-39, “the game may be a grid of … cells”) symbols equal to the tokens quantity (column 10, line 28, “symbols are provided in … cells”);
performing the first token-type quantity of drawings and the second token-type quantity of drawings to determine new states of at least some of the multiple cells (column 22, lines 60-63, “the … cell has been used to … identify the status of a symbol”);
generating, within the data structure (column 32, lines 20-23, “Computer-executable instructions may be … program modules … program modules include … data structures”), modified data corresponding to the round of the game based on (column 14, lines 62-66, “enhancements may be provided as a primary game …, secondary game or a bonus game … data for the player … may be used to update and modify … enhancements”) the multiple drawings and changes to the states of at least some of the multiple cells, the modified data indicating a set of symbols and corresponding cell positions where to (column 22, lines 60-63, “the … cell has been used to … identify the status of a symbol”) display the set of symbols during performance of the round of the game (column 20, lines 5-6, “the device displays … symbols”);
determining a board payout based on the modified data (column 14, lines 7-8, “Triggers may lead to … payouts”);
outputting, within the virtual game board on the display (column 3, lines 64-67 and column 4, line 1 “the method … comprising … displaying … output”), an animation representing a respective reel spinning in at least some of the multiple cells (column 28, lines 40-42, “animated frame … may remain visible throughout the entire time the reels are spinning”) until the respective reel stops to display the symbol corresponding to the state of the cell determined for the round of the game (column 28, lines 42-43, “animation may continue when the reels come to a stop”);
and providing the board payout (column 21, line 49, “an instant payout is awarded”).
Gilmore discloses
a virtual game board ([0020], “invention includes … a virtual game board”),
a tokens quantity, a first token-type quantity, a second token-type quantity ([0029], “gaming controller … converts … tokens to a corresponding amount of gaming credits”),
performing the first token-type quantity of drawings and the second token-type quantity of drawings to determine ([0029], “gaming controller … converts … tokens to a corresponding amount of gaming credits”)
Pierer and Gilmore are considered analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the fields of electronic gaming systems and gaming machines. Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the applicant’s invention for non-transitory computer-readable memory having stored therein instructions executable by one or more processors to cause a computing system to perform functions comprising: outputting, on a display, the virtual game board including a grid with multiple cells indexed to respective cell positions within the grid, each cell being adapted to display a symbol corresponding to a state of the cell determined for a round of the game; initiating, within a computer-readable memory, a data structure to contain initial game data for the round of the game to be displayed on the virtual game board; and cell positions within the grid for placement of a quantity of symbols equal to the tokens quantity; and changes to the states of at least some of the multiple cells; generating, within the data structure, modified data corresponding to the round of the game based on and the new states of at least some of the multiple cells, the modified data indicating a set of symbols and corresponding cell positions where to display the set of symbols during performance of the round of the game; determining a board payout based on the modified data; outputting, within the virtual game board on the display, an animation representing a respective reel spinning in at least some of the multiple cells until the respective reel stops to display the symbol corresponding to the state of the cell determined for the round of the game; and providing the board payout, as disclosed by Pierer, a virtual game board, a tokens quantity, a first token-type quantity, a second token-type quantity, performing the first token-type quantity of drawings and the second token-type quantity of drawings to determine, as disclosed by Gilmore, to provide a virtual game board, a gaming controller, and tokens for gaming machines and a method that allows a player to play a game having persistent player positions. One skilled in the art would recognize and value the addition of a virtual game board, a gaming controller, and tokens for gaming machines and a method that allows a player to play a game having persistent player positions.
Bosarge discloses
performing multiple drawings using a random number generator to determine ([0033], “the drawing may be carried out by using a random number generator”)
the multiple drawings ([0033], “drawing … may be a series of drawings”)
Pierer and Bosarge are considered analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the fields of electronic gaming systems and lottery systems. Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the applicant’s invention for non-transitory computer-readable memory having stored therein instructions executable by one or more processors to cause a computing system to perform functions comprising: outputting, on a display, the virtual game board including a grid with multiple cells indexed to respective cell positions within the grid, each cell being adapted to display a symbol corresponding to a state of the cell determined for a round of the game; initiating, within a computer-readable memory, a data structure to contain initial game data for the round of the game to be displayed on the virtual game board; and cell positions within the grid for placement of a quantity of symbols equal to the tokens quantity; new states of at least some of the multiple cells; generating, within the data structure, modified data corresponding to the round of the game based on and changes to the states of at least some of the multiple cells, the modified data indicating a set of symbols and corresponding cell positions where to display the set of symbols during performance of the round of the game; determining a board payout based on the modified data; outputting, within the virtual game board on the display, an animation representing a respective reel spinning in at least some of the multiple cells until the respective reel stops to display the symbol corresponding to the state of the cell determined for the round of the game; and providing the board payout, as disclosed by Pierer, performing multiple drawings using a random number generator to determine the multiple drawings, as disclosed by Bosarge, to provide drawings and a random number generator for a method and a system that conducts a recurring lottery requiring winners of the lottery to return part of their winnings. One skilled in the art would recognize and value the addition of drawings and a random number generator for a method and a system that conducts a recurring lottery requiring winners of the lottery to return part of their winnings.
Claims 2-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable under US Pierer in view of Gilmore, Bosarge, and US 20220172569 A1 (“Colvin”).
In regards to claim 2, Pierer discloses the following limitation with the exception of the underlined limitations.
wherein: performing the multiple drawings occurs sequentially including performing a first drawing to determine the tokens quantity, then performing a second drawing to determine the first token-type quantity, and then performing a quantity of drawings equal to the tokens quantity to determine the cell positions, and determining the second token-type quantity includes determining a difference between the tokens quantity and the first token-type quantity (column 23, line 32, “A pay-out component may store pay-out attributes”).
Bosarge discloses
wherein: performing the multiple drawings occurs ([0033], “drawing … may be a series of drawings”)
Pierer and Bosarge are considered analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the fields of electronic gaming systems and lottery systems. Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the applicant’s invention for non-transitory computer-readable memory having stored therein instructions executable by one or more processors to cause a computing system to perform functions comprising: outputting, on a display, the virtual game board including a grid with multiple cells indexed to respective cell positions within the grid, each cell being adapted to display a symbol corresponding to a state of the cell determined for a round of the game; initiating, within a computer-readable memory, a data structure to contain initial game data for the round of the game to be displayed on the virtual game board; and cell positions within the grid for placement of a quantity of symbols equal to the tokens quantity; new states of at least some of the multiple cells; generating, within the data structure, modified data corresponding to the round of the game based on and changes to the states of at least some of the multiple cells, the modified data indicating a set of symbols and corresponding cell positions where to display the set of symbols during performance of the round of the game; determining a board payout based on the modified data; outputting, within the virtual game board on the display, an animation representing a respective reel spinning in at least some of the multiple cells until the respective reel stops to display the symbol corresponding to the state of the cell determined for the round of the game; and providing the board payout, and determining the second token-type quantity includes determining a difference between the tokens quantity and the first token-type quantity, as disclosed by Pierer, performing multiple drawings using a random number generator to determine the multiple drawings, as disclosed by Bosarge, to provide drawings and a random number generator for a method and a system that conducts a recurring lottery requiring winners of the lottery to return part of their winnings. One skilled in the art would recognize and value the addition of drawings and a random number generator for a method and a system that conducts a recurring lottery requiring winners of the lottery to return part of their winnings.
Colvin discloses
sequentially including performing a first drawing to ([0232], “puzzles … may be … offered sequentially”)
Pierer and Colvin are considered analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the fields of electronic gaming systems. Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the applicant’s invention for non-transitory computer-readable memory having stored therein instructions executable by one or more processors to cause a computing system to perform functions comprising: outputting, on a display, the virtual game board including a grid with multiple cells indexed to respective cell positions within the grid, each cell being adapted to display a symbol corresponding to a state of the cell determined for a round of the game; initiating, within a computer-readable memory, a data structure to contain initial game data for the round of the game to be displayed on the virtual game board; and cell positions within the grid for placement of a quantity of symbols equal to the tokens quantity; new states of at least some of the multiple cells; generating, within the data structure, modified data corresponding to the round of the game based on and changes to the states of at least some of the multiple cells, the modified data indicating a set of symbols and corresponding cell positions where to display the set of symbols during performance of the round of the game; determining a board payout based on the modified data; outputting, within the virtual game board on the display, an animation representing a respective reel spinning in at least some of the multiple cells until the respective reel stops to display the symbol corresponding to the state of the cell determined for the round of the game; and providing the board payout, and determining the second token-type quantity includes determining a difference between the tokens quantity and the first token-type quantity, as disclosed by Pierer, sequentially including performing a first drawing to, as disclosed by Colvin, to provide puzzles for systems and methods that generate prizes based on primary game outcomes. One skilled in the art would recognize and value the addition of puzzles for systems and methods that generate prizes based on primary game outcomes.
Gilmore discloses
determine the tokens quantity, then performing a second drawing to determine the first token-type quantity ([0029], “gaming controller … converts … tokens to a corresponding amount of gaming credits”), and then performing a quantity of drawings equal to the tokens quantity to determine the cell positions ([0045], “the … game module … may select … a position location”)
Pierer and Gilmore are considered analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the fields of electronic gaming systems and gaming machines. Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the applicant’s invention for a method comprising: outputting, on a display, the virtual game board including a grid with multiple cells indexed to respective cell positions within the grid, each cell being adapted to display a symbol corresponding to a state of the cell determined for a round of the game; initiating, within a computer-readable memory, a data structure to contain initial game data for the round of the game to be displayed on the virtual game board; and cell positions within the grid for placement of a quantity of symbols equal to the tokens quantity; new states of at least some of the multiple cells; generating, within the data structure, modified data corresponding to the round of the game based on and the new states of at least some of the multiple cells, the modified data indicating a set of symbols and corresponding cell positions where to display the set of symbols during performance of the round of the game; determining a board payout based on the modified data; outputting, within the virtual game board on the display, an animation representing a respective reel spinning in at least some of the multiple cells until the respective reel stops to display the symbol corresponding to the state of the cell determined for the round of the game; and providing the board payout, as disclosed by Pierer, a virtual game board, a tokens quantity, a first token-type quantity, a second token-type quantity, performing the first token-type quantity of drawings and the second token-type quantity of drawings to determine, determine the tokens quantity, then performing a second drawing to determine the first token-type quantity, and then performing a quantity of drawings equal to the tokens quantity to determine the cell positions, as disclosed by Gilmore, to provide a virtual game board, a gaming controller, tokens, and game module for gaming machines and a method that allows a player to play a game having persistent player positions. One skilled in the art would recognize and value the addition of a virtual game board, a gaming controller, tokens, and game module for gaming machines and a method that allows a player to play a game having persistent player positions.
In regards to claim 3, Pierer discloses the following limitation with the exception of the underlined limitations.
further comprising: determining first and second criteria for the round of the game (column 2, lines 61-65, “game may include … a … round of the … game”), wherein: performing the first drawing is based on the first criteria, performing the second drawing is based on second criteria, and determining the second criteria is conditioned on the tokens quantity determined by performing the first drawing.
Colvin discloses
further comprising: determining first and second criteria for ([0211], “outcomes to the sub-events are … based on predetermined criteria”)
Pierer and Colvin are considered analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the fields of electronic gaming systems. Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the applicant’s invention for non-transitory computer-readable memory having stored therein instructions executable by one or more processors to cause a computing system to perform functions comprising: outputting, on a display, the virtual game board including a grid with multiple cells indexed to respective cell positions within the grid, each cell being adapted to display a symbol corresponding to a state of the cell determined for a round of the game; initiating, within a computer-readable memory, a data structure to contain initial game data for the round of the game to be displayed on the virtual game board; and cell positions within the grid for placement of a quantity of symbols equal to the tokens quantity; new states of at least some of the multiple cells; generating, within the data structure, modified data corresponding to the round of the game based on and changes to the states of at least some of the multiple cells, the modified data indicating a set of symbols and corresponding cell positions where to display the set of symbols during performance of the round of the game; determining a board payout based on the modified data; outputting, within the virtual game board on the display, an animation representing a respective reel spinning in at least some of the multiple cells until the respective reel stops to display the symbol corresponding to the state of the cell determined for the round of the game; and providing the board payout, as disclosed by Pierer, further comprising: determining first and second criteria for, as disclosed by Colvin, to provide predetermined criteria for systems and methods that generate prizes based on primary game outcomes. One skilled in the art would recognize and value the addition of predetermined criteria for systems and methods that generate prizes based on primary game outcomes.
Bosarge discloses
wherein: performing the first drawing is based on the first criteria, performing the second drawing is based on second criteria ([0033], “drawing … may be a series of drawings”)
Pierer and Bosarge are considered analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the fields of electronic gaming systems and lottery systems. Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the applicant’s invention for a method comprising: outputting, on a display, the virtual game board including a grid with multiple cells indexed to respective cell positions within the grid, each cell being adapted to display a symbol corresponding to a state of the cell determined for a round of the game; initiating, within a computer-readable memory, a data structure to contain initial game data for the round of the game to be displayed on the virtual game board; and cell positions within the grid for placement of a quantity of symbols equal to the tokens quantity; new states of at least some of the multiple cells; generating, within the data structure, modified data corresponding to the round of the game based on and the new states of at least some of the multiple cells, the modified data indicating a set of symbols and corresponding cell positions where to display the set of symbols during performance of the round of the game; determining a board payout based on the modified data; outputting, within the virtual game board on the display, an animation representing a respective reel spinning in at least some of the multiple cells until the respective reel stops to display the symbol corresponding to the state of the cell determined for the round of the game; and providing the board payout, as disclosed by Pierer, performing multiple drawings using a random number generator to determine the multiple drawings, wherein: performing the first drawing is based on the first criteria, performing the second drawing is based on second criteria, as disclosed by Bosarge, to provide drawings and a random number generator for a method and a system that conducts a recurring lottery requiring winners of the lottery to return part of their winnings. One skilled in the art would recognize and value the addition of drawings and a random number generator for a method and a system that conducts a recurring lottery requiring winners of the lottery to return part of their winnings.
Gilmore discloses
and determining the second criteria is conditioned on the tokens quantity determined by performing the first drawing ([0029], “gaming controller … converts … tokens to a corresponding amount of gaming credits”).
Pierer and Gilmore are considered analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the fields of electronic gaming systems and gaming machines. Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the applicant’s invention for a method comprising: outputting, on a display, the virtual game board including a grid with multiple cells indexed to respective cell positions within the grid, each cell being adapted to display a symbol corresponding to a state of the cell determined for a round of the game; initiating, within a computer-readable memory, a data structure to contain initial game data for the round of the game to be displayed on the virtual game board; and cell positions within the grid for placement of a quantity of symbols equal to the tokens quantity; new states of at least some of the multiple cells; generating, within the data structure, modified data corresponding to the round of the game based on and the new states of at least some of the multiple cells, the modified data indicating a set of symbols and corresponding cell positions where to display the set of symbols during performance of the round of the game; determining a board payout based on the modified data; outputting, within the virtual game board on the display, an animation representing a respective reel spinning in at least some of the multiple cells until the respective reel stops to display the symbol corresponding to the state of the cell determined for the round of the game; and providing the board payout, as disclosed by Pierer, a virtual game board, a tokens quantity, a first token-type quantity, a second token-type quantity, performing the first token-type quantity of drawings and the second token-type quantity of drawings to determine, and determining the second criteria is conditioned on the tokens quantity determined by performing the first drawing, as disclosed by Gilmore, to provide a virtual game board, a gaming controller, and tokens for gaming machines and a method that allows a player to play a game having persistent player positions. One skilled in the art would recognize and value the addition of a virtual game board, a gaming controller, and tokens for gaming machines and a method that allows a player to play a game having persistent player positions.
In regards to claim 4, Pierer discloses the following limitation with the exception of the underlined limitations.
wherein determining the first and second criteria includes reading a computer-readable configuration file containing the first and second criteria for the round of the game (column 2, lines 61-65, “game may include … a … round of the … game”).
Colvin discloses
wherein determining the first and second criteria includes ([0211], “outcomes to the sub-events are … based on predetermined criteria”) reading a computer-readable configuration file containing the first and second criteria for ([0096], “a card reader … is provided to read … aspects of cards”)
Pierer and Colvin are considered analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the fields of electronic gaming systems. Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the applicant’s invention for non-transitory computer-readable memory having stored therein instructions executable by one or more processors to cause a computing system to perform functions comprising: outputting, on a display, the virtual game board including a grid with multiple cells indexed to respective cell positions within the grid, each cell being adapted to display a symbol corresponding to a state of the cell determined for a round of the game; initiating, within a computer-readable memory, a data structure to contain initial game data for the round of the game to be displayed on the virtual game board; and cell positions within the grid for placement of a quantity of symbols equal to the tokens quantity; new states of at least some of the multiple cells; generating, within the data structure, modified data corresponding to the round of the game based on and changes to the states of at least some of the multiple cells, the modified data indicating a set of symbols and corresponding cell positions where to display the set of symbols during performance of the round of the game; determining a board payout based on the modified data; outputting, within the virtual game board on the display, an animation representing a respective reel spinning in at least some of the multiple cells until the respective reel stops to display the symbol corresponding to the state of the cell determined for the round of the game; and providing the board payout, as disclosed by Pierer, further comprising: determining first and second criteria for, wherein determining the first and second criteria includes reading a computer-readable configuration file containing the first and second criteria for, as disclosed by Colvin, to provide predetermined criteria and a card reader for systems and methods that generate prizes based on primary game outcomes. One skilled in the art would recognize and value the addition of predetermined criteria and a card reader for systems and methods that generate prizes based on primary game outcomes.
In regards to claim 5, Pierer discloses the following limitations with the exception of the underlined limitations.
wherein the first criteria indicates whether the round of the game is (column 2, lines 61-65, “game may include … a … round of the … game”) a free round (column 14, lines 34-35, “free games may be played”), and whether quantities of tokens available for determining by the first drawing are weighted (column 4, lines 46-51, “embodiments … may provide a computer-readable storage medium storing one or more sequences of instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, causes the one or more processors to perform a method for enhancing game components in a gaming system” Examiner notes that a processor can calculate weighted token quantities by using mathematical formulas that account for the weights of the tokens.).
Colvin discloses
wherein the first criteria indicates ([0211], “outcomes to the sub-events are … based on predetermined criteria”)
Pierer and Colvin are considered analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the fields of electronic gaming systems. Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the applicant’s invention for non-transitory computer-readable memory having stored therein instructions executable by one or more processors to cause a computing system to perform functions comprising: outputting, on a display, the virtual game board including a grid with multiple cells indexed to respective cell positions within the grid, each cell being adapted to display a symbol corresponding to a state of the cell determined for a round of the game; initiating, within a computer-readable memory, a data structure to contain initial game data for the round of the game to be displayed on the virtual game board; and cell positions within the grid for placement of a quantity of symbols equal to the tokens quantity; new states of at least some of the multiple cells; generating, within the data structure, modified data corresponding to the round of the game based on and changes to the states of at least some of the multiple cells, the modified data indicating a set of symbols and corresponding cell positions where to display the set of symbols during performance of the round of the game; determining a board payout based on the modified data; outputting, within the virtual game board on the display, an animation representing a respective reel spinning in at least some of the multiple cells until the respective reel stops to display the symbol corresponding to the state of the cell determined for the round of the game; and providing the board payout, whether the round of the game is a free round, are weighted, as disclosed by Pierer, further comprising: determining first and second criteria for, wherein the first criteria indicates, as disclosed by Colvin, to provide predetermined criteria for systems and methods that generate prizes based on primary game outcomes. One skilled in the art would recognize and value the addition of predetermined criteria for systems and methods that generate prizes based on primary game outcomes.
Gilmore discloses
and whether quantities of tokens available for determining by the first drawing ([0029], “gaming controller … converts … tokens to a corresponding amount of gaming credits”)
Pierer and Gilmore are considered analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the fields of electronic gaming systems and gaming machines. Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the applicant’s invention for a method comprising: outputting, on a display, the virtual game board including a grid with multiple cells indexed to respective cell positions within the grid, each cell being adapted to display a symbol corresponding to a state of the cell determined for a round of the game; initiating, within a computer-readable memory, a data structure to contain initial game data for the round of the game to be displayed on the virtual game board; and cell positions within the grid for placement of a quantity of symbols equal to the tokens quantity; new states of at least some of the multiple cells; generating, within the data structure, modified data corresponding to the round of the game based on and the new states of at least some of the multiple cells, the modified data indicating a set of symbols and corresponding cell positions where to display the set of symbols during performance of the round of the game; determining a board payout based on the modified data; outputting, within the virtual game board on the display, an animation representing a respective reel spinning in at least some of the multiple cells until the respective reel stops to display the symbol corresponding to the state of the cell determined for the round of the game; and providing the board payout, whether the round of the game is a free round, are weighted, as disclosed by Pierer, a virtual game board, a tokens quantity, a first token-type quantity, a second token-type quantity, performing the first token-type quantity of drawings and the second token-type quantity of drawings to determine, and determining the second criteria is conditioned on the tokens quantity determined by performing the first drawing, and whether quantities of tokens available for determining by the first drawing, as disclosed by Gilmore, to provide a virtual game board, a gaming controller, and tokens for gaming machines and a method that allows a player to play a game having persistent player positions. One skilled in the art would recognize and value the addition of a virtual game board, a gaming controller, and tokens for gaming machines and a method that allows a player to play a game having persistent player positions.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the
examiner should be directed to Lisa Antoine whose telephone number is
(571) 272-4252 and whose email address is lantoine@uspto.gov. The examiner can be reached Monday-Thursday, 7:30 am-5:30 pm CT. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Xuan Thai, can be reached on (571) 272-7147. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is (571) 273-8300.
Publication Information
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be
obtained from the Patent Center. Unpublished application information in the Patent
Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in the
Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit
https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about the
Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in
DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC)
at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer
Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/LISA H ANTOINE/
Examiner, Art Unit 3715
/XUAN M THAI/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3715
Prosecution Insights